to have been a risky venture. Almack only held a twenty-one-year lease of part of the ground on which the building was erected, and the new assembly was a direct challenge to Teresa Cornelys's entertainments, which had been established at Carlisle House in Soho Square since 1760. In December 1764 Horace Walpole noted that Mrs. Cornelys, 'apprehending the future assembly at Almack's', was already enlarging and redecorating her rooms, while Mrs. Harris thought that 'As there is already so commodious a place, [Almack's] seems an unnecessary piece of extravagance.' In a letter of 14 February 1765 to Lord Hertford, Horace Walpole described the opening of the new rooms. 'The new Assembly Room at Almack's was opened the night before last, and they say is very magnificent, but it was empty; half the town is ill with colds, and many were afraid to go, as the house is scarce built yet. Almack advertised that it was built with hot bricks and boiling water—think what a rage there must be for public places, if this notice, instead of terrifying, could draw anybody thither. They tell me the ceilings were dropping with wet, but can you believe me, when I assure you the Duke of Cumberland was there? . . . There is a vast flight of steps, and he was forced to rest two or three times.' Despite this unpropitious start the assembly rooms soon became firmly established. In a letter of 22 February 1765, Gilly Williams refers to the 'three very elegant new-built rooms' in which Almack provided the twelve weekly balls. There were already between three and four hundred subscribers; the ladies could lend their tickets, but 'The men's tickets are not transferable, so, if the ladies do not like us, they have no opportunity of changing us, but must meet the same persons for ever.' In the following month Gilly Williams reported that 'Our female Almacks flourishes beyond description. . . . Almack's Scotch face, in a bag-wig, waiting at Supper, would divert you, as would his lady in a sack, making tea and curtseying to the duchesses.' The great room is said to have been completed in 1767. In a letter dated 15 January 1768 George Selwyn refers to dancing 'in the new blue damask room, which by the way was intended for cards'. The Advertiser of 12 November 1768 carries the following notice:—"Mr. Almack humbly begs leave