32                                Richard B. Morris

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The opening portion of Jav's diarv entry for December 22, 17S2.

22 Deer. 1782. Between 7 and 8 o'C. this Evening I visited Mr Oswald.
After some general Conversation he took occasion to say that Ld.
Mount Stuart the Son of Ld Bute had dined with him to Day, and
that he had also seen his Brother Col. Stuart who had served the whole
War in America. He spoke of the Col's aversion to the Am. War, and
the Acct. he gave of the want of Discipline and Disorder which pre¬
vailed in the british army there, and the Depredations committed by
them. He passed several Encomiums on the Coil's Character, some¬
times of the Father and then of the Son's, and observing how unlike
they were to \vhat the Father was supposed to be, tho for his part he
believed that more sins were laid upon his back than he had ever com¬
mitted. He said that Ld. Mountstuart execrated the American War,
and Iiad shewen him to day several Letters written by him at Turin
(where he was Emb.) to Ld. Hilsborough on that Subject. Mr. Os¬
wald asked me if I remembered what he had told me of iMr. Pultney's
Information about the propositions of C. De Vergennes to Divide Am.
with Britain. I told him I did. Well, says [he] the same kind of propo¬
sition was made to Ld. /Mountstuart. His Ld brought with him here
to Dinner his Letter Book which he did not chuse to leave with his
Charge D'aifairs and in which he shewed me his Letters written with
his own Hand for he would not confide it to his Secy, to Ld. Hils-