But he was the only child of his mother, and his parents concentrated upon him an affection which he returned with touching ardour and persistence.

They were both forty-six in the year of his birth.

He inherited headaches from his mother, and a crooked figure from his father.

A nurse who shared their care, lived with him for many years, and was buried by him, with an affectionate epitaph, in 1725.

The family tradition represents him as a sweet-tempered child, and says that he was called the "little nightingale," from the beauty of his voice.