Chapter IX: Part 9

But let us turn from this melancholy subject.--The man of the people[124] escaped from the tumult, the bloody tumult of the Westminster Election,[125] to the lakes and mountains of Switzerland, and I was informed that he was arrived at the Lyon d'Or. I sent a compliment; he answered it in person;* we returned together to the Inn, brought away the fair Mrs. Armstead,[126] *and settled at my house for the remainder of the day. I have eat and drank, and conversed and sat up all night with Fox in England; but it never has happened, perhaps it never can happen again, that I should enjoy him as I did that day, alone,* for his fair Companion was a cypher,* from ten in the morning till ten at night. Poor Deyverdun, before his accident, wanted spirits to appear, and has regretted it since. Our conversation never flagged a moment; and he seemed thoroughly pleased with the place and with his Company. We had little politicks; though he gave me, in a few words, such a character of Pitt, as one great man should give of another his rival: much of books, from my own, on which he flattered me very pleasantly, to Homer and the Arabian nights; much about the country, my garden (which he understands far better than I do), and, upon the whole, I think he envies me, and would do so were he Minister. The next morning I gave him a guide to walk him about the town and country, and invited some company to meet him at dinner. The following day he continued his journey to Berne and Zurich, and I have heard of him by various means. The people gaze on him as a prodigy, but he shows little inclination to converse with them.* The wit and beauty of his Companion are not sufficient to excuse the scandalous impropriety of shewing her to all Europe, and you will not easily conceive how he has lost himself in the public opinion, which was already more favourable to his Rival. Will Fox never know the importance of character?

Far different has been the conduct and success of *our friend Douglas;[127] he has been curious, attentive, agreeable; and in every place where he has resided some days, he has left acquaintance who esteem and regret him: I never knew so clear and general an impression.

After this long letter I have yet many things to say, though none of any pressing consequence. I hope you are not idle in the deliverance of Buriton, though the late events and edicts in France begin to reconcile me to the possession of dirty acres. What think you of Necker[128] and the States generals? Are not the public expectations sanguine? Adieu. I will write soon to My Lady separately, though I have not any particular subject for her ear.

Ever yours,*
E. GIBBON.

[124] C. J. Fox.

[125] In 1788, on a by-election caused by Lord Hood's acceptance
of office as one of the Commissioners of the Admiralty, Lord John
Townshend won the seat against Hood. In Bond Street there was a
battle between Lord Hood's sailors and the Irish chairmen and
butcher-boys. Several were killed and wounded.

[126] Charles James Fox married Elizabeth Bridget Cane, otherwise
Mrs. Armitstead, at Wyton, Huntingdonshire, on September 28,
1795. She survived her husband. In 1799, on his fiftieth birthday
(January 24), Fox addressed to her the following lines:--

"Of years I have now half a century past,
And none of the fifty so blessed as the last.
How it happens my troubles thus daily should cease,
And my happiness thus with my years should increase,
This defiance of nature's more general laws
You alone can explain, who alone are the cause."

[127] Sylvester Douglas, afterwards Lord Glenbervie (1743-1823),
who married, in September, 1789, Catherine, eldest daughter of
Lord North. He was educated at Leyden as a doctor, a circumstance
to which Sheridan alludes in the lines--

"Glenbervie, Glenbervie,
What's good for the scurvey?
For ne'er be your old trade forgot."

He became a barrister, reported in the King's Bench, and was made
a K.C. After his marriage he left the Bar for a political career,
and held several minor appointments.

[128] Brienne retired to Italy in August, 1788, and Necker was
recalled in the same month. He at once took steps for summoning
the States-General which met at Versailles, May 4, 1789.

536.

_To Lord Sheffield._

Lausanne, Nov. 29, 1788.

[Sidenote: INSANITY OF GEORGE III.]

*As I have no Correspondents but yourself, I should have been reduced to the stale and stupid communications of the papers, if you had not most gloriously dispatched me a sketch of the* strange revolution that three Kingdoms should depend on the brain of one man![129] *In so new a case the _Salus populi_ must be the first law; and any extraordinary acts of the two remaining branches of the Legislature must be excused by necessity, and ratified by general consent.* Yet I cannot any more than yourself understand this speedy and peremptory sentence of the Medical tribe. The apprehension or rather hope of his death may admonish the reigning ministers not to irritate the heir apparent: otherwise, since they have a Majority, what should prevent them from shackling him with a Counsel, or from tacking to the address of support a request that he would not change his servants? They have the confidence (aye growl) of the Country and of Europe: by _them_, I mean Pitt. *Till things are settled, I expect a regular Journal.

From kingdoms I descend to farms,* and the latter in a selfish consideration are not the least important and interesting. You seem to have made a considerable progress in the Buriton affair, since you would not have fixed the price without a careful survey and valuation of each particular founded on your own judgement and that of some able professor. You do not however mention that you have employed any such person. I submit to your science, but I cannot say that I am fond of this mode of auctions: besides the publicity, which on this occasion may be dangerous, you expose yourself either to let the estate go for an inadequate price or to an improper purchaser; or else by purchasing it in, you incur the expences, tax, &c., to a large amount. Since we know the persons whom Buriton best suits, suppose Bonham, Lords Stawell, and Egremont, might not the same end be answered with less inconvenience by writing at the same time a public circular letter to each, and desiring that by a certain day they would send in sealed proposals? Would they not have the same inducement to bid against one another? Upon the whole the 18,000 pounds would make me happy for life. Yet I would not proceed hastily in this momentous business. What is the motive of Hugonin's sudden migration, is it health, distress, fancy? Where does he settle? Who will take care of my affairs? A year's rent is now due, besides some arrears.

I have written to my two old Ladies without receiving answers. What are your accounts from Bath? I hope you have satisfied _her_ about the sale of Buriton, which I would much sooner delay than give her any uneasiness. I wish we had a correspondent at Stamford (that Attorney whose name I have forgot, who called upon me in Downing Street) to give you notice in case it should please Almighty God, &c.--Deyverdun is not worse. Yet I much doubt whether you will see him next year. Do you still persist? Thinking as you do, I feel the force of a certain objection, and must own that a small circle is often more dangerous than a large one. I likewise fear for yourself the want of occupation in winter, and am now apprehensive of the views of Parliament, office, &c., that may open themselves under a new and friendly reign. As soon as you are _absolutely_ determined let me know; as the arrangement of a proper house would not be easy.

The Severys are well and _all_ impatient to see you. I have passed three weeks with them at Rolle, as comfortably as at S.P.: we made a tour to Geneva. The youth is perfectly reconciled to his little Country. If My Lady, in the paradise of Brighton, could find leisure for a line, it would be gracious. Adieu.

[129] In the summer of 1788 George III. showed symptoms of
mental derangement; but he had signed a warrant for the further
prorogation of Parliament from September 25 to November 20.
In that interval he grew rapidly worse, and was placed under
restraint. The evidence of the king's physicians was laid
before the Privy Council and Parliament, and a motion was made
in the Lower House for a committee to search for precedents
of proceedings in the case of the interruption or suspension
of the royal authority. Pitt, on December 16, 1788, moved
three resolutions: (1) that the personal exercise of the royal
authority was interrupted; (2) that the two Houses have the right
to supply this defect of the royal authority; (3) that it was
necessary to determine the means by which, during the continuance
of the king's incapacity, the royal assent should be given to
bills passed by the two Houses. The resolutions were carried
in both Houses. The plan of a regency was then submitted to
the Prince of Wales, and five resolutions embodying the scheme
were proposed and carried in January, 1789. On February 5,
1789, the Regency Bill was introduced in the House of Commons,
carried, and sent up to the Lords. It was still under discussion
when, on February 19, the Lord Chancellor announced the king's
convalescence, and further proceedings were suspended.

537.

_To Lord Sheffield._

Lausanne, Dec. 13, 1788.

[Sidenote: DEATH OF HUGONIN.]

Poor Hugonin! I can assure you that my thoughts, my first thoughts at least when I read your letter, turned much more on himself. I knew him from my youth: he was an honest useful friend, and though he could never be much of a companion to me, I always loved and esteemed him. His death is a loss if an auction at Petersfield was ever an advisable measure. You have considered and must have determined before this can reach you. But if it be not too late, revolve the advantages and inconveniences of auctions.

Buriton is no elegant villa which may catch the eye and fancy of a stranger; it is an heap of dirty acres which can only derive their extraordinary value from local merit. Will any man give so much as Mr. Bonham and Lord Stawell, and in that case would not a private treaty with them be more easy and effectual? I again repeat that Mrs. Gibbon must be perfectly satisfied. I hope you will not let it go under £18,000. We once talked of twenty.

*Of public affairs I can only hear with curiosity and wonder: careless as you may think me, I feel myself deeply interested. You must now write often; make Miss Firth copy any curious fragments; and stir up any of my well-informed acquaintance, Batt, Douglas, Adam, perhaps Lord Loughborough, &c., to correspond with me; I _will_ answer them.

We are now cold and gay at Lausanne. The Severys came to town Yesterday. I saw a good deal of Lords Malmsbury[130] and Beauchamp and their Ladies; Ellis,[131] of the Rolliad, was with them; I like him much: I gave them a great dinner.

Adieu for the present. Deyverdun is not worse.*

Will you direct Richard Andrews to collect and remitt my year's rent which is now payable? I suppose he can be trusted, and that you can authorize him. H.'s departure seems to be a new reason for disposing of Buriton.

[130] James, first Earl of Malmesbury, the distinguished
diplomatist, married Harriet Mary, daughter of Sir G. Amyand,
Bart.

[131] George Ellis (1753-1815) is best known for his _Specimens
of the Early English Poets_ (1790) and his _Specimens of Early
English Romances in Metre_ (1805). He was, wrote Sir Walter
Scott, "the first converser I ever saw. His patience and good
breeding made me often ashamed of myself, going off at score upon
some favourite topic." To him Scott addresses the lines in the
fifth canto of _Marmion_, beginning--

"Thou who canst give to lightest lay
An unpedantic moral gay," etc.

He had been employed in diplomatic work by Lord Malmesbury at the
Hague in 1784, and accompanied him for the same purpose to the
Lille Conference in 1797. He was at this time travelling on the
Continent with Lord and Lady Malmesbury. The lines on Pitt in
Number ii. of the _Rolliad_ are attributed to him--

"Pert without fire, without experience sage,
Young, with more art than Shelburne glean'd from age,
Too proud from pilfer'd greatness to descend,
Too humble not to call Dundas his friend,
In solemn dignity and sullen state,
This new Octavius rises to debate!" etc., etc.

538.

_To Lord Sheffield._

December 31st, 1788.

[Sidenote: HUGONIN'S DISHONESTY.]

This moment I receive and answer your Epistle. We are in the
midst of the hardest winter I ever felt, and three English mails
are arrived at once this morning. A black prospect indeed of
public and private affairs, and such is my patriotism that I
must fairly own the latter are predominant in my thoughts. Is it
possible that my old friend poor Hugonin should turn out a rogue?
I thought him both an honest and a frugal man, but the facts you
mention are strongly against him. Is it possible that his landed
property, which was considerable, should be insufficient to
satisfy my demands and those of all his creditors? Is it possible
that, living retired in the Country, he should have deranged
his affairs? I still flatter myself that his executors must and
can repay any sums which he may have _borrowed_ in my name, and
though there should be some delay, I still hope that, with proper
steps on your side, there will not finally be much loss. If all
is indeed desperate down to Hugonin's strange receipt in full, it
is not a year but a year and a half's rent that I have miserably
lost, as I had been persuaded or compelled to allow six months'
grace, and to be satisfied with receiving before Christmas the
year's rent which had been due the preceding Lady-day. There is
besides some arrear of rent from the College farms which was due
at the time of the sale, and which Hugonin has never clearly
settled. Such a blow, at least of seven or eight hundred pounds,
will most essentially distress me, and derange those schemes of
comfort and order which I now thought most firmly established.
You are my only refuge. Could I hope (I may wish, I must not
ask) that you would get into your post-chaise in Downing Street
and run down to Petersfield? Your eagle-eye and active firmness
would see more and do more in eight and forty hours than all the
agents and letters in the World. If this be too much, a man of
confidence (is Purden fit for the commission?) might be sent to
make a full observation and report of the state of accounts, and
of the farm at Beriton with respect both to present arrangements
and final operations. Andrews has a fair character, but an
Attorney!

This unforeseen and unfortunate blow encreases my desire of
getting rid of such dangerous and ungovernable property; and
from the produce of any sum between 18 and 15,000 pounds I
could certainly draw a larger and safer income than I enjoy
at present. But how to proceed. Is Mrs. G. of Bath perfectly
satisfied? I have not heard from her nor do you mention her name.
Have you heard of the Northamptonshire Saint? You wait for my
instructions, I can send none. You are an able and active friend,
and I shall acquiesce in all you think right, even in the
auction, which does not thoroughly suit my taste. I should prefer
a fair Gentlemanlike private address to Bonham either by letter
or in person. For God's sake, or rather for friendship's sake,
comfort and extricate me. I am in low spirits. Adieu.

Ever yours,
E. G.

Write soon--I think the earliest and most vigorous steps should
be taken for making my demand on H.'s executors. Is there no
allusion between him and the Tenant? if there is would it not
invalidate his _unusual_ receipt?

539.

_To Lord Sheffield._

Lausanne, Feb. 4th, 1789.

If Hugonin's debt be desperate I must submit, but there is no
_imbecillity_ in saying that the loss will derange my plans,
since I must sell out of the funds to supply the deficiency.
The amount of my fruitless demand I cannot specify, but you
may easily make it out by comparing Hugonin's remittances to
the Goslings with the rent-roll of the Estate. Mrs. G. of Bath
must doubtless be satisfied and secured in any way and on any
fund which her prudence or fancy may prefer. You had once dropt
something of giving _her_ a security on your Estate. That method,
which could not be attended with any risk or inconvenience to
yourself, would perhaps be most agreable to all parties. I
most sincerely hope that the sale may be already dispatched by
private contract, before the decisive 18th of February. Why
should you confine yourself to so short a day, since the town is
equally full in March and April? and you are sensible how much
the failure of the auction would blast any other operations. Is
it yet too late for a delay? I mean only of some weeks, for I
am very desirous of terminating this winter, in the _present_
prosperous state of the Country: and indeed so desirous that I
could patiently submit to a much larger abatement, to be at last
possessed of a much better income free from those accidents and
deductions to which land is so woefully exposed. You talk of
£18,000, but if you could not get more than 17 or even 16, I
might afterwards repent your refusal. I would certainly vest part
in a mortgage, but I would rather chuse my man and my county, and
should like to have the security of a larger estate than that
of Buriton. While such an one was looking for, the part of the
purchase money not secured to Mrs. G. might lye safely in the
funds.

I have not heard from either of the old Ladies, and wish you
could inform yourself of the state of the Northamptonshire Saint.
If you will apply to my good friend Lord Spencer, he could easily
find you a correspondent in that neighbourhood who without noise
or scandal might send you regular and early notice of her decline
and fall.--On smaller matters you are too earnest and almost
angry: the continuance of the foreign papers I could not foresee
and will try to rectify. Jones's bill, a trifle of about ten
pounds, I will settle----

Had I the least idea of the 25 guineas of the Royal society, I
should not have solicited so useless a title: but the dye is
now cast, and I will write to Elmsley to satisfy that demand as
well as the Antiquarian and African. I certainly did not give
him any orders about newspapers, magazines, &c., as I cannot
devise any method of getting them in any reasonable time without
an extravagant expence. Your copiousness on my affairs makes
you concise on those of the public. The debates and the outside
transactions I can read in English and foreign papers, but from
you, as Cicero says to his friend Cœlius (ad familiares, L. ii.
Ep. 8) _nec præterita nec præsentia, sed ut ab homine longe in
posterum prospiciente futura exspecto, ut ex tuis litteris, cum
formam Rei publicæ viderim, quale ædificium futurum sit scire
possim_. Above all I wish to hear what part you are likely
yourself to act in the new regency, your hopes, your wishes, and
whether you intend next winter to breathe the free and pleasant
air of Lausanne or to tug at the parliamentary and official oar,
amid the fogs of London.

[Sidenote: DEYVERDUN'S SECOND ATTACK.]

Of my book I have not leisure or inclination to talk. Its genuine
reputation will rise or fall without any regard to the barking
critics who always attend the heels of any popular work. Two
translations are printing at Paris, and two English editions in
Germany. I embrace My lady, &c., and still hold my _intention_
of writing. Adieu. Severy tells his own story. I believe he is
a tolerable correspondent. Poor Deyverdun has had another, a
slighter, attack; he is now better, but I fear that his days will
be neither long nor happy. A melancholy theme. Once more Adieu.

E. G.

540.

_To his Stepmother._

Lausanne, February 28th, 1789.

DEAR MADAM,

Immediately on my return to this place, I wrote to inform you
of my safe arrival: but some months have now elapsed without
hearing from you. I should not have patiently acquiesced under
this silence, had I not in the mean time obtained, through the
channel of Mrs. Holroyd and Lord Sheffield, such frequent and
authentic information as gave me tolerable though not perfect
satisfaction on the very interesting subject of your health and
happiness. With regard to my own I have no reason to complain. I
have supported without inconvenience the short but severe cold of
this winter; the gout has not yet invaded my tranquillity, and I
again enjoy the life of society and study which renders Lausanne
so agreable to my taste. The heaviest drawback is the state of
poor Deyverdun. Besides a gradual and visible decline he has had
two strokes of an Apoplexy, and as these dreadful warnings cannot
teach him a lesson of temperance, his physicians do not allow me
to entertain a hope of his recovery.

My desire to get rid of Buriton is much confirmed by a very
disagreable proof of the danger of distant and landed property.
Hugonin is just dead, and dead insolvent: his real estate is
entailed on his brother, his personals will not satisfy his bond
creditors, and as he had given receipts to my tenants down to
Michaelmas last, I must lose without hopes of redress the rent
and arrears of a year and a half. An heavy and unseasonable loss!
Yet notwithstanding my ardour to shake off the incumbrance, I
have made it my first condition with Lord Sheffield that in
the progress of the business he shall obtain not only your
legal consent, but your free and chearful approbation. Since
you dislike a mortgage, the security of your jointure may be
transferred to an adequate part of the purchase money, vested in
the funds, or if you prefer land I am persuaded that Lord S. will
not refuse the broad basis of his Sussex estate. May you long
enjoy an income which I have often wished it were in my power to
enlarge to the full measure of my affection.

Let me hear from you soon; if writing be inconvenient, I am
persuaded that Mrs. or Miss Gould would discharge with pleasure
the office of secretary.

I am, Dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. G.

541.

_To Lord Sheffield._

Lausanne, April 25, 1789.

[Sidenote: THE SALE OF BERITON.]

*Before your letter, which I received yesterday, I was in the
anxious situation of a King, who hourly expects a courier from
his general, with the news of a decisive engagement. I had
abstained from writing, for fear of dropping a word, or betraying
a feeling, which might render you too cautious or too bold. On
the famous 8th of April, between twelve and two, I reflected
that the business was determined; and each succeeding day I
computed the speedy approach of your messenger, with favourable
or melancholy tidings. When I broke the seal I expected to
read, "What a damned unlucky fellow you are! Nothing tolerable
was offered, and I indignantly withdrew the estate." I _did_
remember the fate of poor Lenborough, and I was afraid of your
magnanimity, &c.* Well, then, I have £16,000 pounds instead of
Buriton! upon the whole I rejoyce in the exchange, although the
sum has fallen short of our expectations, and I feel the weight
of the reasons which kept it down. But if Lord Stawell was the
only bidder, why in God's name could he not make the same offer
by private contract, and save me the expences of the Auction,
which I fear are considerable? Pray who pays the tax, the buyer
or the seller, and what deduction will occur on the gross sum?

What I am specially pleased with is the character of the
purchaser, or rather of his agent, whom I still suppose to be my
old acquaintance, Mr. Sainsbury, a man of sense, experience, and
a fair reputation. He was bred an Attorney at Petersfield, knows
every inch of the estate, and would not have suffered his Lord
to purchase without having the money, or to give a price above
the real value. From him we shall have no captious difficulties
or evasive delays--he will be content with a fair title, and I
flatter myself that the whole business will be terminated with
ease and despatch. But as many things fall out between the cup
and the lip, your friendship I am sure will not be asleep, you
will goad the slow-paced lawyers, and settle Mrs. G.'s security
for her jointure in the manner most convenient and agreable for
herself. By what time do you probably suppose that I may have the
money in my pocket? It would be generous, too generous perhaps,
in Lord S. and his agent, if they would make the payment and
take possession of the estate on your act and guarantee without
waiting for the return of the writings from Lausanne. I have
sketched a short paper which you may shew them if you think it
will be of any use.

*It is whimsical enough, but it is in human nature, that I now
begin to think of the deep-rooted foundations of land, and the
airy fabrick of the funds. I not only consent, but even wish,
to have eight or ten thousand pounds on a good mortgage; but I
think the whole of that sum too large for Buriton, and conceive
that Lord Stawell should reinforce it by some collateral
security.* How often have I regretted my dear New-river share
which the Goslings so rudely tore from me. I should not be
unwilling to repurchase it for the same money, I mean instead of
the mortgage.--I forgot to say, indeed it is needless, that I
suppose all proper care has been taken about a deposit, and to
secure my receipt of the rents till the payment of the money. A
propos of the rents, half a year is now due since that worthy
general discharge of last Michaelmas, and I desire that Andrews
may instantly exact it, it will be a seasonable supply, and if
Heartfee suffers any inconvenience it will be no more than a just
punishment for his scandalous and manifest collusion with poor
Hugonin, whose merits I am more inclined to remember than his
faults.

Mrs. G[ibbon] of Cliffe has not answered my letters, and I am
anxious to learn the state of her health. Her correspondent in
town is Mr. Law, I know not of what trade, in Sun Court, Cornhill
or Cheapside: if you call on him in one of your morning walks
you may gain and transmit some information.--When you see your
Madeira friends (is not his name Millighan?) of John Street, pray
thank him in my name; the wine proves excellent, it is a credit
to my table, and a comfort to my health. I want a pipe that he
can answer for, and as bottles almost double the expence, I
think it should be packed carefully in a double cask, and sent
with all convenient speed to Messieurs Romberg at Ostend, the
greatest voituriers in Europe: they must be instructed to forward
it with all proper precaution to their correspondent at Basil or
Basle in Switzerland, who must keep it safe till he has received
from me a permit for its admission into the Canton of Berne,
which I shall be able to send beforehand if Messieurs Romberg
inform me of his name and direction. For want of such a permit my
former wine *was seized, and would have been confiscated, if the
Government of Berne had not treated me with the most flattering
and distinguished civility: they not only released the wine, but
they paid out of their own pocket the shares to which the Bailiff
and the informer were entitled by law. I should not forget that
the Bailiff refused to accept of his part.

Poor Deyverdun's constitution is quite broken; he has had two or
three attacks, not so violent as the first: every time the door
is hastily opened, I expect to hear of some fatal accident: the
best or worst hopes of the Physicians are only that he may linger
some time longer; but, if he lives till the summer, they propose
sending him to some mineral waters at Aix, in Savoy. You will
be glad to hear that I am now assured of possessing, during my
life, this delightful house and garden. The act has been _lately_
executed in the best form, and the handsomest manner.

[Sidenote: RECOVERY OF GEORGE III.]

I know not what to say of your miracles at home: we rejoyce in
the king's recovery, and its ministerial consequences; and I
cannot be insensible to the hope, at least the chance, of seeing
in this Country a first Lord of trade, or Secretary at War. In
your answer, which I shall impatiently expect, you will give me
a full and true account of your designs, which by this time must
have droppt, or be determined at least, for the present year. If
you come, it is high time that we should look out for a house--a
task much less easy than you may possibly imagine.*

I embrace My Lady with warm affection, and still cherish the
firm intention of writing to her soon. But the Dame pays more
attention to the Epistles which she does not, than to those
which she does, receive. At her request Madame de Severy wrote
her a long letter about the two _Tufts_ and many other important
matters, and Mademoiselle at my desire added a scrap for
Mademoiselle. They begin to wonder at her silence, and accuse
the negligence of the post. By her correspondence with Severy I
rejoyce to find that the clouds are dispelled, and hope that she
leads Maria into the winter pleasures of the World.

*Among new books, I recommend to you the Count de Mirabeau's
great work, _sur la Monarchie Prussienne_;[132] it is in your own
way, and gives a very just and compleat idea of that wonderful
machine. His _Correspondence secrette_ is diabolically good.
Adieu. Ever yours.*

[132] _De la monarchie Prussienne sous Frédéric le Grand_
(1788, 4^o); and _Histoire Secrète de la Cour de Berlin, ou
Correspondance d'un voyageur Français_ (1789, 8^o). Both books
were by Honoré Gabriel Riquetti, Comte de Mirabeau.

542.

_To Lord Sheffield._

Lausanne, June 13, 1789.

*You are in truth a wise, active, indefatigable, and inestimable friend; and as our virtues are often connected with our faults, if you were more tame and placid, you would be perhaps of less use and value. A very important and difficult transaction seems to be nearly terminated with success and mutual satisfaction: we seem to run before the wind with a prosperous gale; and, unless we should strike on some secret rocks, which I do not foresee, we shall, on or before the 31st July, enter the harbour of content; though I cannot pursue the metaphor by adding we shall _land_, since our operation is of the very opposite tendency. I could not easily forgive myself for shutting you up in a dark room with parchments and attornies, did I not reflect that this probably is the last material trouble that you will ever have on my account; and that, after the labours and delays of near twenty years, I shall at last attain what I have always sighed for, a clear and competent income, above my wants, and equal to my wishes. In this contemplation you will be sufficiently rewarded. I hope Sainsbury will be content with our title-deeds, for I cannot furnish another shred of parchment.*

[Sidenote: ANXIETY FOR HIS STEPMOTHER.]

What difficulty can arise about our family Wills? My father made none, and I took out letters of administration as heir at law: my grandfather's may be found at the Commons for a shilling: but it is not worth that shilling, since I joyned on coming of age with my father to cut off the entail. Our fine and recovery (in the year 1758) are doubtless registered in the proper courts. I as little understand the want of my father's marriage settlement. With his first wife? she has been dead above forty years, and I am her sole representative. With his second, the present Mrs. Gibbon? From her it may be easily procured, and you are not ignorant that *her jointure of £200 a year is secured on the Buriton estate, and that her legal consent is requisite for the sale. Again and again I must repeat my hope that she is perfectly satisfied, and that the close of her life may not be embittered by suspicion, or fear, or discontent. What new security does she prefer,--the funds, the mortgage, or your land? At all events she must be made easy. I wrote to her again some time ago, and begged that if she were too weak to write, she would desire Mrs. Gould or Mrs. Holroyd to give me a line concerning her state of health. To this no answer; I am afraid she is displeased.* By the channel of Mrs. H. you might convey some idea of my _real_ anxiety.

The Saint seems ripe for heaven: could you not learn from Law, what people are about her, and what measures can be taken to have the earliest intelligence of her departure to prevent a Will being secreted, &c.? Yet I am her heir-at-law.

*Now for the disposal of the money: I approve of the £8000 mortgage on Buriton; and honour your prudence in not showing them, by the comparison of the rent and interest, how foolish it is to purchase land.* If you can obtain from Lord S[tawell] the four and a half, _tant mieux_. In case you cannot, I will suggest an odd but I think a rational scheme. Let four and a half, or rather five per cent. be stipulated in the mortgage deed, with a proviso in a separate act that, as long as the interest shall be paid on or before the day appointed, I will be satisfied with four per cent. As long as Lord S. is punctual (and this will be a stimulus) he will pay no more; and should I ever be forced by his neglect to transfer the mortgage, which will, I suppose, be in my power, I shall easily find a substitute at the advanced interest. For how many years do I lend? Do I reserve a right of putting in my own receiver? Six thousand more will be vested in the three per cents, and if Mrs. G. chuses them, that sum will not be too large a basis for her jointure of £200 a year. The additional hundred which I pay her is a separate account. The remainder, between two and three thousand, may be trusted to private security.

Did you wish for the whole, or part, or more? it is perfectly at your service; but as you are indifferent, I write to you in the third person.

"I have some knowledge of the Lord Sheffield whom you mention, and though he is poor, I believe him to be honest, and I should therefore prefer his four and a half regularly paid at Gosling's, without trouble or application, to a more doubtful five per cent. which might perhaps be found on bond security."

But I had rather wait some weeks before I absolutely determine, as *there is a chance of my drawing the greatest part of the sum into this country, for an arrangement which you yourself must approve, but which I have not time to explain at present. For the sake of dispatching, by this evening's post, an answer to your letter which arrived this morning, I confine myself to the _needful_, but in the course of a few days I _will_ dictate to Severy a more familiar Epistle. I embrace, &c. Adieu. Ever yours.*

543.

_To Lord Sheffield._

Lausanne, July 14, 1789.

[Sidenote: DEATH OF DEYVERDUN.]

*Poor Deyverdun is no more: He expired Saturday the 4th instant: and in his unfortunate situation, death could only be viewed by himself, and his friend, in the light of a consummation devoutly to be wished for. Since September he has had a dozen Apoplectic strokes, more or less violent: in the intervals between them his strength gradually decayed; every principle of life was exhausted; and had he continued to drag a miserable existence, he must probably have survived the loss of his faculties. Of all misfortunes this was what he himself most apprehended: but his reason was clear and calm to the last; he beheld his approaching dissolution with the firmness of a philosopher. I fancied that time and reflection had prepared me for the event; but the habits of three-and-thirty years' friendship are not so easily broken. The first days, and more especially the first nights, were indeed painful. Last Wednesday and Saturday it would not have been in my power to write. I must now recollect myself, since it is necessary for me not only to impart the news, but to ask your opinion on a very serious and doubtful question, which must be decided without loss of time. I shall state the facts, but as I am on the spot and as new lights may occur, I do not promise implicit obedience.

Had my poor friend died without a Will, a female _first_ cousin settled somewhere in the north of Germany, and whom I believe he had never seen, would have been his heir at law. In the next degree he had several cousins; and one of these, an old companion, by name Mr. de Montagny, he has chosen for his heir. As this house and garden was the best and clearest part of poor Deyverdun's fortune; as there is an heavy duty or fine (what they call _Lods_) on every change of property out of the legal descent; as Montagny has a small estate and a large family, it was necessary to make some provision in his favour. The will therefore leaves me the option of enjoying this place during my life, on paying the sum of £250 (I reckon in English money) at present, and an annual rent of £30; or else of purchasing the house and garden for a sum which, including the duty, will amount to £2500. If I value the rent of £30 at twelve years' purchase, I may acquire my enjoyment for life at about the rate of £600; and the remaining £1900 will be the difference between that tenure and absolute perpetual property. As you have never accused me of too ardent a zeal for the interest of posterity, you will easily guess which scale at first preponderated. I deeply felt the advantage of acquiring, for the smaller sum, every possible enjoyment, as long as I myself should be capable of enjoying: I rejected, with scorn, the idea of giving £1900 for ideal posthumous property; and I deemed it of little moment whose name, after my death, should be inscribed on my house and garden at Lausanne. How often did I repeat to myself the philosophical lines of Pope, which seem to determine the question:

Pray Heaven, cries Swift, it last as you go on;
I wish to God this house had been your own.
Pity to build without or son or wife:
Why, you'll enjoy it _only_ all your life.
Well, if the use be mine, does it concern one,
Whether the name belong to Pope or Vernon?

In this state of self-satisfaction I was not much disturbed by the unanimous advice of all my real or nominal friends, who exhort me to prefer the right of purchase: among such friends, some are careless and some are ignorant; and the judgment of those, who are able and willing to form an opinion, is often byassed by some selfish or social affection, by some visible or invisible interest. But my own reflections have gradually and forcibly driven me from my first propensity; and those reflections I will now proceed to enumerate:

1. I can make this purchase with ease and prudence. As I have had the pleasure of _not_ hearing from you very lately, I flatter myself that you advance on a carpet-road, and that almost by the receipt of this letter (July the 31st) the acres of Buriton will be transmuted into Sixteen thousand pounds: If the payment be not absolutely compleated by that day, Sainsbury will not scruple, I suppose, depositing the £2500 at Gosling's, to meet my draught. Should he hesitate, I can desire Darrel to sell off _quantum sufficit_ of my short annuities. As soon as the new settlement of my affairs is made, I shall be able, after deducting this sum, to square my expence to my income.* The decay of the Belvidere[133] _must_ place me in easy, and the bounty of the Cliffe[134] _may_ establish me in affluent circumstance. If this Lausanne purchase should seem a violent measure, at the worst I can make Cadell repay me the money in three or four years. I am revolving the means. I am beginning to be a rich man.

*2. On mature consideration, I am perhaps less selfish or less philosophical than I appear at first sight: Indeed, were I not so, it would now be in my power to turn my fortune into life-annuities, and let the Devil take the hindmost. I feel, (perhaps it is foolish,) but I feel that this little paradise will please me still more when it is absolutely my own; and that I shall be encouraged in every improvement of use or beauty, by the prospect that, after my departure, it will be enjoyed by some person of my own choice. I sometimes reflect with pleasure that my writings will survive me: and that idea is at least as vain and chimerical.

[Sidenote: "FIERCE AND ERECT, A FREE MASTER."]

3. The heir, Mr. de Montagny, is an old acquaintance* of mine. I _believe_ him to be a man of honour: but I _know_ him to be a man of a passionate quarrelsome disputatious temper. *My situation of a life-holder is rather new and singular in this country: the laws have not provided for many nice cases which may arise between the Landlord and tenant: some I can foresee, others have been suggested, many more I might feel when it would be too late. His right of property might plague and confine me: he might forbid my lending to a friend, inspect my conduct, check my improvements, call for securities, repairs, &c. But if I purchase, I walk on my own terrace, fierce and erect, the free master of one of the most delicious spots on the Globe.*

4. You will perhaps think £2500 a very smart price for a moderate house and three or four acres of land (I fancy that is about the measure). You will be much more surprized to hear that poor Deyverdun has valued it in my favour at least £1000 below the real value and market price. Of this I must inform myself more correctly, but I am much inclined to believe it, from the general opinion, from the comparison of other sales and purchases, from the peculiar merits of the situation, and from the scarcity of ground. If it were divided into three houses and gardens and sold to builders, I know not what it would produce.

*Should I ever migrate homewards, (You stare, but such an event is less improbable than I could have thought it two years ago,) this place would be disputed by strangers and natives, and the difference would perhaps clear the expences of my removal.

Weigh these reasons, and send me without delay a rational, explicit opinion, to which I shall pay such regard as the nature of circumstances will allow. But, alas! when all is determined, I shall possess this house, by whatsoever tenure, without friendship or domestic society. I did not imagine, six years ago, that a plan of life so congenial to my wishes, would so speedily vanish. I cannot write upon any other subject. Adieu, yours ever.*

[133] His stepmother, Mrs. Gibbon.

[134] His aunt, Miss Hester Gibbon.

544.

_To Lord Sheffield._

July 22nd, 1789.

Am I not an exact man! The power is executed, attested, and dispatched the same day (July 22) on which it was received. The appearance of liberality confirms my belief that we are transacting with a fair willing purchaser, and inclines me to hope that the small defects of deeds will be supplied or excused. Surely a great part of our strict formalities is calculated for the emolument of the lawyers rather than the security of the parties. In this simple country we are far less rigid, and a quiet possession of some years (all mortgages are registered) is admitted as a sufficient title. But at all events, as this letter will not reach you before the third or fourth of next month, I see that the day of payment will be postponed beyond the 31st of July. Before this time you will have received, weighed and answered my important missive of the 15th. I am still in a state of doubt and suspense from which your opinion may possibly relieve me, but I must know whether, in case of farther delay, Sainsbury will advance the £2500, or rather £2800, and whether I may draw on the Goslings, from whom I must never expect any favour.

You say nothing of the Belvidere. Have you her legal acquiescence? What security has she chosen? I think she cannot last very long, but I should be hurt if her last days were embittered by any fears or scruples. As to the money destined for the funds you had better consult with David. He is friendly and knowing.

I embrace my lady, but no longer dare talk of writing to her. Maria must now be in all the glories of Lewes races. At Severy's we often talk of the _famille_. I rejoyce in the Douglas match: it is just such a wife as I should chuse,[135] but I hope she will still live with her father.--Is your picture on the road? Mine shall set out whenever you please. Are you not amazed at the French revolution? They have the power, will they have the moderation to establish a good constitution? Adieu.

Ever yours,
E. G.

[135] It may be mentioned that Lord Sheffield married, in
January, 1798, as his third wife, Lady Anne North, daughter of
the Earl of Guilford, and sister of Lady Catherine Douglas.

545.

_To Lord Sheffield._

Lausanne, July 25th, 1789.

[Sidenote: DEFECTIVE TITLE TO BERITON.]

*After receiving and dispatching the power of attorney, last Wednesday, I opened, with some palpitation, the unexpected missive which arrived this morning. The perusal of the contents spoiled my breakfast: they are disagreeable in themselves, alarming in their consequences, and peculiarly unpleasant at the present moment, when I hoped to have formed and secured the arrangements of my future life. I do not perfectly understand what are these deeds which are so inflexibly required; the wills and marriage-settlements I have sufficiently answered. But your arguments do not convince Sainsbury, and I have very little hope from the Lenborough search. What will be the event? If his objections are only the result of legal scrupulosity, surely they might be removed, and every chink might be filled, by a general bond of indemnity, in which I boldly ask you to joyn, as it will be a substantial important act of friendship, without any possible risk to yourself or your successors. Should he still remain obdurate, I must believe what I already suspect, that Lord Stawell repents of his purchase, and wishes to elude the conclusion. Our case would be then hopeless, _Ibi omnis effusus labor_, and the Estate would be returned on our hands with the taint of a bad title. The refusal of mortgage does not please me; but surely our offer shows some confidence in the goodness of my title. If he will not take £8000 at _four per cent._ we must look out elsewhere; new doubts and delays will arise, and I am persuaded that you will not place an implicit confidence in Woodcock or any other Attorney. I know not as yet your opinion about my Lausanne purchase.

If you are against it, the present posture of affairs gives you great advantage, &c., &c.* The purchase money of Buriton will not be paid in time. Sainsbury, if false, will not advance a shilling, and with the prospect of living or rather starving on a landed estate, I cannot afford to sell out £2500 of my short annuities. For my own part I hang in suspense, but if the money could be easily found I rather incline to the _property_ as simple and beneficial.

I am ignorant of your picture: mine shall depart by the first proper occasion: but should not some precautions be taken with regard to duties? the importation of foreign pictures is heavily taxed, but a work of Sir Joshua's may surely return home.

*The Severys are all well; an uncommon circumstance for the four persons of the family at once. They are now at Mex (pronounce May), a country-house six miles from hence, which I visit to-morrow for two or three days: they often come to town, and we shall contrive to pass a part of the Autumn together at Rolle. I want to change the scene; and beautiful as the garden and prospect must appear to every eye, I feel that the state of my own mind casts a gloom over them; every spot, every walk, every bench, recalls the memory of those hours, of those conversations, which will return no more. But I tear myself from the subject. I could not help writing to-day, though I do not find I have said any thing very material. As you must be conscious that you have agitated me, you will not postpone any agreeable, or even _decisive_ intelligence. I almost hesitate, whether I shall not run over to England, to consult with you on the spot, and to fly from poor Deyverdun's shade, which meets me at every turn. I did not expect to have felt it so sharply. But six hundred miles! why are we so far off?

Once more, what is the difficulty of the title? Will men of sense, in a sensible Country, never get rid of the tyranny of lawyers? more oppressive and ridiculous than even the old yoke of the Clergy. Is not a term of seventy or eighty years, near twenty in my own person, sufficient to prove our legal possession? Will not the record of fines and recoveries attest that _I_ am free from any bar of entails and settlements? Consult some Sage of the Law, whether their present demand be necessary and legal. If our ground be firm, force them to execute the agreement or forfeit the deposit. But if, as I much fear, they have a right, and a wish, to elude the consummation, would it not be better to release them at once, than to be hung up five years, as in the case of Lovegrove, which cost me in the end four or five thousand pounds? You are bold, you are wise; consult, resolve, act.

In my penultimate letter I dropped a strange hint, that a migration homeward was not impossible. I know not what to say; my mind is all afloat; yet you will not reproach me with caprice or inconstancy. How many years did you damn my scheme of retiring to Lausanne! I executed that plan; I found as much happiness as is compatible with human nature, and during four years (1783-1787) I never breathed a sigh of repentance. On my return from England the scene was changed: I found only a faint semblance of Deyverdun, and that semblance was each day fading from my sight. I have passed an anxious year, but my anxiety is now at an end, and the prospect before me is a melancholy solitude. I am still deeply rooted in this country; the possession of this paradise, the friendship of the Severys, a mode of society suited to my taste, and the enormous trouble and _expence_ of a migration. Yet in England (when the present clouds are dispelled) I could form a very comfortable establishment in London, or rather at Bath; and I have a very noble country-seat about ten miles from East Grinstead in Sussex.[136] That spot is dearer to me than the rest of the three kingdoms; and I have sometimes wondered how two men, so opposite in their tempers and pursuits, should have imbibed so long and lively a propensity for each other.