Chapter X: Part 10

On Saturday, 8th June, passed the morning very pleasantly in the garden; many visitors. Dined at Lansdown House, went with my mother to the Opera. Walked most part of the way home; the nightingales delightful, weather serene. On Sunday our usual party of the Smiths; besides them some odd people, such as Sir John Riddell, Mr. Gordon, Mr. Douglas, the Bishop of Salisbury’s son. Also we had Adderley, Ly. Lucy, Cornewall, Hamilton: stayed in the garden past midnight. The harper played under the trees. Monday, my mother and Sr. Gilbert came to stay some days with us. Misses Vernon and Fox came and stayed all night. Ld. H. just gone down to the H. of Lords; the Russian subsidy. A note from Ld. Thanet to say Bob Adair is to come in for Appleby.[306]

[Sidenote: HER DAUGHTER HARRIET]

_19th June, 1799._--On this day my mother left me. During her stay I disclosed an event that has incessantly occupied my mind for now 3 years. I restored to her father my little daughter Harriet,[307] who I had concealed, pretending her dead.

When I left Florence in ’96 my situation was such that a final separation with Sir G. W. was inevitable as soon as I returned to England. The certainty of losing all my children was agonising, and I resolved to keep one in my possession, and I chose that one who, from her age and sex, required the tenderness of a mother. Besides, I was undetermined whether I could bring myself to incur the _éclat_ and anxiety that would arise from my publicly avowing my situation, and among the visionary schemes that passed in my mind there was one I dwelt upon during my dejection with a sort of pleasure. It was to retire and bury myself in some remote corner; what, then, would have been the comfort of possessing such a little partner in my solitude? In short, _necessity_ has compelled me to give her up. Here I will not disguise a feeling, whatever _tournure_ for worldly effect I may give the proceeding--nothing but the dread of discovery and involving Ld. H. in a difficulty on her and my account could have induced me voluntarily to relinquish all the schemes of happiness I had promised myself in educating and possessing her. In short, my mother avowed the whole transaction to Sir G. W., who immediately recollected and acknowledged her; he behaved extremely well. I have dwelt so long upon the subject since I have determined upon the avowal that my mind is wearied, and I shall reserve further details. She was here with my mother for two days, is now gone with her and Henry, and is without exception by far the _most_ lovely I ever beheld. She has all the beauties I had when I was very pretty, and fewer blemishes. Her complexion is fine; she has dimples, fine hair, and thick eyelashes, open chest, flat back.

_20th June._--The last week we had company. On Friday the Ladies Fitzpatrick[308] dined here, Lds. Morpeth, Boringdon, Adderley, Tierney, Amherst, and some others. Ld. Plymouth died: a great release to his wife, who will be rewarded by marrying Amherst within the year. _His_ constancy is unparalleled. On Saturday alone; went quietly to the Opera. Sunday, the event took place, and there was a sort of scene at dinner: Smith, Miss Fox, Sydney Smith, Add., Wm. Lamb, Lewis.

[Sidenote: LORD HOLLAND’S SPEECH]

Ld. Holland’s speech upon the Russian subsidy was reckoned excellent.[309] Ld. Grenville said it was the best he ever made, and one or two traced a resemblance to his uncle’s manner. There is no doubt that if he were to apply himself to a regular attendance in the H. of Lords, he would distinguish himself as a first-rate speaker. His power of mind is fully equal to excellence, but he is indolent, and wants method in his arrangement; arguments crowd upon him whilst speaking, and an overstock of matter makes him confused. On the 19th, Sr. Lionel, Mr. Add., Murray, and Mr. Dumont dined with me. Ld. H. dined with Mr. Wm. Smith. Yesterday (21st), Drew and I alone; Lord H., House of Lords. About 8 Tierney came from the H. of Commons (with Mr. Add.) after having made an excellent speech upon the state of the finances of the country; it was so good that Pitt deferred replying till Friday next, and ordered his statements to be printed. Canning is desirous of bringing Add. into Parliament as a Treasury member, and is now urging him to accept a seat for 1200_l._, to which he will be recommended as a Ministerial man; the price is rather lower than the common market traffic, but Add. judges the thing well, and is disinclined to come in with a pledge of always voting their way. He is not decided yet. A good post in India has not corrupted him; he is young enough in politics to think he may long continue open to conviction. The feeling is honest, but not durable. Canning will be glad to attach him to himself, for tho’ he is the great decrier of party, yet imperceptibly he is forming one of his own, Ellis’, Freres,[310] Sturges, _Microcosm_ Smith,[311] Leveson, and one or two more, most of whom he has brought in himself.

Ld. Wycombe asked Tierney, ‘If he had heard the romance of _our_ friend at H. House.’ The story is very much talked of, but as it is sure to be misrepresented, I had rather hear nothing of the fables engrafted on it. I only feel I have renounced a darling child, and my heart aches afresh when I think of the separation. She is so captivating. With her I feel amused, with my others I feel gratified at seeing them healthy and intelligent, but her winning manners convert the duty of maternal attention into a positive enjoyment. I delight in being with her, and think her society sufficient. Would to God I were allowed to bring her up! To-day Ld. Digby and Ly. Bessbro’ dined. We went into the garden after; stayed late. Adderley came to pass the evening and sleep. He ought for his own comfort to go to Ireland--at least, away, as he looks ill and is unhappy. I have been to blame. I delay from awkwardness, and not knowing how to check the inclination. I myself was _checked_ from the dread of appearing to consider the matter in serious light, and it has become more so to him than I could have suspected. When not here he shuts himself up alone at home, and reflects upon the foolishness of his own feelings, for foolish and hopeless must any love to me be, circumstanced as I am, loving and being beloved by the most delightful of men. I fear in my conduct I may be accused of trifling with his feelings, but I solemnly protest I had no such wish.

[Sidenote: GENERAL FITZPATRICK]

_23rd June._--On Saturday Mr. Adderley took leave of us, previous to his departure for Ireland. I was really touched at saying adieu. We came afterwards to this place--Sunning Hill, a charming little spot in Windsor Forest, which belongs to General Fitzpatrick; we remain till to-morrow. Yesterday (Sunday) Ld. H. and ye General went to St. Anne’s; Drew and myself stayed here reading and talking. Little Charles[312] is come. This is the first excursion he ever made out of his nursery; he is very tractable and happy.

To the tranquillity of this pretty retreat we owe many of those correct and beautiful verses which the General has written. It is much to be lamented that there is no collection made, as in point of wit and real taste they are unequalled. His epigrams are excellent; the one upon Ld. Carlisle’s subscribing 4000_l._ to the voluntary subscription[313] just after he had distributed a political pamphlet for sixpence is truly witty:--

My Lord subscribes four thousand pounds
Produced from rich domains,
While he for sixpence deals around
The produce of his brains.
Thus we the just proportion hit
Between his fortune and his wit.

On Pitt saying what he did not intend in the H. of Commons, being drunk:--

The lying tongue, which t’other day
Proved Billy Pitt’s disaster,
Was so accustomed to betray,
That it betrayed its master.

On Hayley’s _Triumphs of Temper_[314]:--

Your nymph her temper keeps six cantos thro’,
By G--d that’s more than half your readers do.

[Sidenote: SIR PHILIP FRANCIS]

_26th._--Yesterday, 25th, we left Sunning Hill; Ld. H. went round by St. Anne’s. Mr. Secretary Windham invited him to dinner, where he went, and met Charles Sheridan.[315] Mr. Francis dined with me. He was pleased at being confidentially treated, as he called it. He is soured against Mr. Fox for various reasons. Notwithstanding he boasts that the violence of his temper prevents his being vindictive, because he ‘expectorates’ his bile at the moment; he yet retains a very settled resentment against him. One of his griefs is that he was not summoned to the meeting previous to the measure of secession. ‘_Secession_, did I say, Madam? _Dispersion_ I mean.’ Of Fox’s disposition, he says he is a man of great ‘facility,’ but no ‘cordiality.’ Perhaps the remark is not without point and justice. It is impossible to deny Francis’s great cleverness. His vivacity and fine sense survived the rolling over of many years and tens of years. His temper is irritable to madness; indeed, he is more or less always in a passion, for if he begins temperately the ardour of his imagination works him to rage before his sentence closes. He has a remarkable facility in writing all State Papers, Protests, Petitions, etc., etc. It was the desire of displaying that talent that made him advise Ld. Thanet to write to the King; at least, so those say who disapproved of the proceeding. His great intimacy with Burke enabled him to judge of the motives that actuated him to quarrel with Fox; he assured me the arrow was sped long before the French principles became the test of morality and virtue. They were a popular ground for attack, and upon them that venom burst, which had been rankling in his breast since the Regency; for at that period, in the partition of offices, etc., it appears Burke asked something, either for himself or son, which Fox denied him. From thence the enmity sprung, and was constantly fomented by a jealousy of Sheridan and various other trivial occurrences that would have passed unnoticed between sound friends, but were treasured up: ‘All his faults observed, set in a note book, learn’d and conn’d by rote, to cast into _his_ (my) teeth.’

_27th._--Instead of going to Cork, I found Add. still remaining; he came Tuesday eve., and yesterday to dinner, and very imprudently did not go to Eden Farm fête. This morning I went to the Tower; Ld. H. made a visit to Ld. Thanet, whilst Drew and I saw the sights. Of the latter none are worthy of notice, except the beasts, and those are very fine. Ld. Thanet came down to the court to see me. He looks very well; the confinement will be of service to his health, as he is perforce obliged to live regularly with regard to hours and drinking, for the gates shut at eleven. He is allowed to see whom he pleases and do precisely as he likes, but not quit the precincts of the Tower. He has always some company with him. It is very amiable in the D. of Bedford being so attentive to him. He scarcely stays a week out of town on purpose that he may visit him; there cannot be a better natured man.

_27th._--To-day D. of Bedford and Ld. Boringdon dined here; stayed late in the garden. Ld. B. stayed cozing with me very late. The Duke has half a mind to attend the H. of Lords, but _secession_ hangs round his neck like a dead weight. He and Grey are the _two_ who repent the most; but as they were the two who urged Mr. Fox to it, a dereliction from it in them would come with a bad grace. Indeed, in Grey it would be suspicious, as it might be inferred he had got Fox out of the way to make room for himself as leader. That D. of B. should be unpopular is not marvellous. His manner to _all_ is rude, and to acquaintances must be intolerable; but exterior polish is immaterial when the foundation is good, and with him it is respectable: no man so just, so generous, so true.[316] The first may at times amount to harshness, but the second never to ostentation, for with the slur of penuriousness it may be asserted that his donations to friends and family are unequalled by those reputed highly liberal. His veracity is quite remarkable; to the most minute occurrence he applies a degree of accuracy that is prolix: one would take upon trust what he convinces you by proof is true. His understanding is good, and so is his judgment, but he has given the latter into Ld. Lauderdale’s keeping too much. It is notorious that the _secession_ never would have been dreamt of unless Ld. L. had not lost his election as one of the sixteen Scotch peers, and he, being out of Parliament, determined to make those who _were in_ as null as himself.

[Sidenote: NATURE OF THE SOUL]

_30th June._--On Friday, 28th, Ld. H. went to the Slave business.[317] I dined at home with Drew and Mr. Adderley. When Ld. H. returned they fell into a long metaphysical disquisition upon the nature of the soul. Add. has applied himself to the examination of that inquiry, and can reason fluently and technically upon those abstract, incomprehensible points. He has adopted the Platonician doctrine of spirit and matter, and conceives that spirit is a quality endued with faculties indefinable, that it is a particle of celestial origin, and secures to us immortality. The other two supported the old Epicurean tenet (for after all those old fellows were the first who started the systems which our modern philosophers appropriate to themselves) of materialism, that life and intelligence were carried on by material objects only, matter acting upon matter; in short, that to a fortuitous concourse of atoms we owed _being_ as we are. I have not the capacity to follow thro’ a labyrinth of metaphysical sophisms; the very little I could ever understand I had no sooner been convinced was right than a new system proved to me it was fallacious, and this having happened above once, I have determined not to trouble myself with endless speculations that neither make one wiser nor happier.

Ld. Wycombe has neglected an eruption. He is under the care of Adair and Hawkins, and is quite a cripple. This disease gives him an opportunity of moralising upon the want of moral justice among mankind. A pampered debauchee writhing under the gout, a malady brought on by his own excesses, is an object of general pity; all hearts are in union with his pangs and sympathetic with every twinge, whereas he says a temperate, unoffending person who acquires accidentally a disease conveyed by harmless, innocent contact, is shunned and treated with disgust and contumely.

The D. of Bedford told a story of Ld. Lauderdale’s delight at reading a passage in Arthur Young, who says the cattle, especially the sheep, in Lincolnshire, are affected with a cutaneous disease upon their nose. This, he says, is owing to their rubbing their snouts upon thistles. ‘Aye, to be sure,’ cried Ld. L., ‘we pull the thistles in Scotland between our fingers, so we catch the itch.’

On Saturday I went to town and did many duties in the visiting way. T. has made his wife low-spirited and unhappy by his foolish whimsies about me. Ld. G. Leveson came to dinner accidentally on his way from Winchester races; Mr. Adderley dined also. In the evening the Smiths came. She looked, as usual, cold and starch. Nothing very interesting in the conversation.

_4th July._--Sunday, 30th June, Lds. Ossory and Macartney came; the latter stayed 3 hours and 3 quarters. We drove up and down the Green Lane in the whisky all the time; he declares that he has closed his peregrinations, that he always said he would at 60. Mr. Richard Penn[318] called to see me upon the score of an old acquaintance.

[Sidenote: A FOOLISH SECRET]

We had to dinner General Fitzpatrick, Mr. Charles Sheridan, Tierney, Lord Ossulston,[319] Amherst, Mr. Weld, the Smiths, Hamilton. Adderley came in the eve. for a little time. On Monday alone; went for a short time to the play, sat with Mrs. Wyndham. On Tuesday Marsh arrived; dined at Lord Digby’s, went in the evening to see Ld. Morpeth. On Wednesday went to Boyle Farm to stay the day for the christening of Lord Henry’s[320] youngest son. Lord Holland is his godfather; he is christened Edward. Returned at night. To-day, July 4th, Adderley called for a few minutes in ye morning. Marsh and I drove in the whisky after dining alone with Ingenhousz.[321] Ld. H. at the House of Lords, from which he is just returned, and is now at dinner with Lds. Bessbro’ and Digby.

So many unpleasant observations have been made upon the frequency of a person’s visits to this house, and the self-reproach I have felt at having anything mysterious or hidden from Ld. H. was so great, that I resolved to unburthen the foolish secret I had participated in concealing (by allowing it to go on) by telling the whole affair to Ld. H. A confidence in him is never misplaced; his head is so right, and his heart, where I am concerned, so peculiarly indulgent that, delicate as the nature of the subject is, I felt very little apprehension in disclosing the whole. He considered the affair in a proper light, by feeling more compassion than resentment. The circumstance that brought the noticing it among Adderley’s friends to a crisis was the following. Canning proposed to bring A. in for a Treasury Borough, and he told me of the proposal that was made. I inadvertently deprecated the patronage of Canning, alleging (by way of conversation, not for _influence_) all the mortifying objections I conceived to subsist against such dependence. Thus, what I said became a rule of conduct; he rejected the offer. Canning, who is full of intrigue, was surprised, and immediately conjectured that the refusal was from counter-movement, and went so far as to hint something about Holland House politics, and even particularising the quarter. Hence I, without caring five straws for the business, was involved into the thick of it. Unluckily enough, Tierney proposed a seat to him at Coventry, which he may be secure of provided the Treasury won’t oppose, to ascertain which Canning was consulted. Thus this last measure will confirm _his_ opinion of my interference. I also told Ld. H. of Tierney’s persecution; we jointly laughed at his vain presumption, and imputed it to his opinion of the depravity and corruption he believes exists among women of fashion. I confess I feel sorry that Add. should allow a romantic love to interfere with his happiness, for I sincerely credit it has done so, tho’ I hope and believe it is rapidly abating. Be it as it may, my mind is easier since I have shaken off all reserve about it with Ld. H., for I have a superstitious dread of keeping a secret from him. Mystery between those who love is dangerous; it may begin upon a trifle, another trifle that may depend upon that may grow to involve so much that one can never too soon prevent the possibilities of such difficulties.

[Sidenote: CHARLES SHERIDAN]

Charles Sheridan is Sheridan’s elder brother; he was Secretary in Sweden at the time of the revolution made by the late King in favour of the people against the nobles. His history of that period is reckoned very good and correct. The General told me that in coming here he spoke strongly and freely with regard to the Union between Ireland and this country, adding that he rejoiced at having an opportunity of telling him his sentiments, as he did not like speaking openly in mixed companies. This sounded cautious; but before dinner was over he got into a long argument with Bobus, in which he not only displayed his own opinion, but told that of all whom he had consulted with. He told Bobus he would make an excellent lawyer, as he was _disputatious_. He appears animated, and inclined to embellish his narrative by imagination where dry facts would not bear him out.

Lord Ossulston is insignificant and diminutive in his appearance, and aims at thinking and judging for himself. How far his understanding warrants the attempt I cannot yet judge; I am rather disposed to think favourably of him for the effort, as it is without arrogance.

I got into correspondence with Maurice,[322] the author of _Indian Antiquities_, from reading his preface. I thought him poor and neglected, and was willing by way of subscription to do something for him; I did, and obtained him a few subscribers. His language is diffuse, and his style unconnected, but the book is curious, as it assembles curious facts from prolix, voluminous writers, which otherwise I should never have got at.

_6th July._--Ld. H. is said to have made a most excellent speech on Thursday night on the Forfeiture Bill.[323] Last night he spoke on the Slave business, but the Limitation Bill was rejected. Add. came and dined. I bathed in ye evening; when I returned to the library after ye bath he made me some compliments upon my person, freshness, etc. Being previously resolved to say something upon the continuance of his love, I thought the opportunity these observations offered as good as any. I represented to him the impropriety of allowing himself to indulge an inclination that could only end in vexation and annoyance; that to him it had already been productive of unhappiness, by unsettling his plans and inducing him to shun his friends; that to me, in a worldly point of view, it was materially injurious, but _that_ was a secondary consideration compared to the effect that might be produced upon Ld. H.’s mind, were any officious person to suggest to him that _his_ visits did not proceed from friendship to him, but from love to me. I coloured as highly as I could the statement of the deplorable consequences that might ensue if Ld. H. should become suspicious of me--of _me_, I who owed him everything, more than a long life of tenderness and acquiescence can repay. I diminished the possibility of Ld. H.’s supposing it possible I could ever feel an abatement of love for him, but noted the uneasiness he would suffer, first, at finding his friend was acting ungenerously, and, 2ndly, at the possibility of the world’s supposing I could encourage it; for, idolising me as he does, he would think me incapable of deceiving him. He was agitated, and absented himself sulkily till yesterday.

On Saturday Ld. Morpeth dined. Tierney came in ye eve.; he asked to have a run for his horses, as the soil seemed likely to suit their feet. Drew looked comical, and whispered me that it would suit him for an excuse to come and see after them. On Sunday Ld. Digby dined and stayed till ¼ past 12. He is a man who has not yet been fairly judged by the world; he passes for a fool, but, if I have any discernment, _bien s’en faut_. He has sound good sense, great shrewdness in his understanding, tho’ downright in his manner, and I would as soon abide by his opinion of a character or event as by that of a more refined person. On Monday, yesterday, Add. dined; he is less annoyed, and begins to see the advice I gave him as just and reasonable; he goes the end of the week.

[Sidenote: LORD DARNLEY]

_10th July._--Tuesday, 9th, Ld. Morpeth, G. Leveson, Digby, Canning dined. Ld. H. brought Ld. Darnley[324] from the H. of Lords. He had never been here before, tho’ I have known him for many years. His father fancied himself made of glass, and imagined a particular part of his person essential to sitting the most brittle; besides, he had various other fancies. Ld. D. has one great merit for a great man, excessive generosity; he has assisted with large sums, and even annuities, young men of promising abilities in mean circumstances, by which means they have got on in life, tho’ as yet he is too young to see the entire advantage of his benevolence. The Dean of Christ Church[325] has hurt him in his _own_ judgment, and in that of the world, by most disproportionate praise; he is himself intoxicated with vanity, and the world, expecting much and finding but a modicum, have fallen into the common extreme, and deny him any ability whatever.

Canning asked me whether his suspicions had fallen rightly when he accused me of advising Add. to accept of the offer for Coventry. I declared the truth, that I had nothing to do with it, and had only heard him converse on the subject, but as it was one I felt little interest about I did not even know the result. Ld. D. told with some humour a remark of a Mr. W. Bootle or Boodle, who has written several pamphlets and poems, and said with great naïveté that whatever people might say of the profits of books, he knew better, as they did not clear the expense they incurred. His brother used to come a good deal last year; he had travelled into Arabia, Persia, etc. He looks like a wild Arab.

On Wednesday, Tierney, Sr. Lionel, Mr. Adderley, and those who are in the house. The news came on that day of Suwarrow’s victory over the French.[326] The citadel of Turin seems evidently to have been surrendered by treachery, as it was besieged but 3 days. If the skill of Vauban can do no more, a clay fence _à l’abri d’un coup de main_ would be sufficient. One of the terms of the capitulation is a tacit acknowledgment of bribery; the Governor who surrenders requires a safeguard from the Austrians beyond the French posts, and he is to remain as a hostage--both circumstances that denote fear.

I had a long walk upon the terrace with Tierney. I was in an eloquent _veine_, and happily conveyed all I intended to express without the rigorous exterior of forbidding prudery. I think I convinced him his attentions offended and his hopes insulted me, that I was firmly attached at home, and tho’ I felt at present no resentment towards him, yet I should if his pretensions continued. On Thursday Ld. H. dined at the Tower; Ld. T. is confined by a fit of the gout. Sheridan was of their party; he is just come from ‘Peruvianising,’ that is from the country. He is so delighted with _Pizarro_ that his allusions are taken from it in everything he says. He said ye 10th of July was so delicious, something in the temperature so bewitching and tempting to go astray and follow ye dictates of nature, that if he were to sit in judgment upon a cause of gallantry, if the indictment stated it as committed on ye 10th of July, he would go into the evidence, but instantly bring in _Guilty, by the visitation of God_.

[Sidenote: COUNT RUMFORD]

In ye eve. I, Drew, and Marsh went to Astley’s, Ld. B., Ly. E. Foster, and some of the girls; we had a very comfortable chat. Friday, Add. and Cornewall and ourselves in ye house. Saturday we were alone; reading Mr. Browne’s book, _Travels into Africa_. On Sunday Ct. Rumford, Ld. G. Leveson, Adderley, and ourselves in the house. The first was entertaining; he gave an account of some experiments going on in France upon ye tanning matter, by which it is ascertained that a larger quantity of it is contained in willow and some other aquatic plants than in oak bark, and that it is even better, as there is less of ye gallic acid, which consumes ye leather. His manner is soft and plausible; it rather excites distrust, and perhaps more than his intentions merit, but there is something suspicious in a kept-down manner. Ld. G. is going to his regiment at Winchester. He praised me for my behaviour to Add., approves of keeping friends, but checking the progress of an attachment. He laughs at women’s dexterity in letting a man in love down gently. He, Add., goes to Ireland immediately.

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME

PRINTED BY
SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. LTD., NEW-STREET SQUARE
LONDON

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Abbé Maury (1746–1817), one of the most violent members of the _États Généraux_. He obtained a Cardinal’s hat in 1794.

[2] Hon. William Frederick Wyndham (1763–1828), fourth son of Charles, second Earl of Egremont. He married, in 1784, Francis Mary Harford, natural daughter of Frederick, Lord Baltimore. Their son succeeded as the fourth and last Earl of Egremont.

[3] Hon. Thomas Pelham, afterwards Lord Pelham and second Earl of Chichester (1756–1826), son of Thomas, Lord Pelham, of Stanmer (who was created Earl of Chichester in 1801). He married, in 1801, Lady Mary Osborne, daughter of Francis, fifth Duke of Leeds; and was Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1783–4 and 1795–8, and Secretary of State for the Home Department, 1801–1803.

[4] _Zaïre_ was written in Paris, not in Switzerland.

[5] John Baker Holroyd (1735–1821), created Baron Sheffield in 1781, and advanced to an earldom in 1816. He married, in 1767, Abigail, only daughter of Lewis Way. She died in 1793, and Lord Sheffield married, the following year, Lady Lucy Pelham, daughter of Thomas, first Earl of Chichester. He married, thirdly, in 1798, Lady Anne North, daughter of Frederick, second Earl of Guilford.

[6] Comte Bonnières de Souastres, Duc de Guines (1735–1806), Ambassador in London from 1770 to 1776. On the outbreak of the French Revolution he left France, and did not return until Napoleon became Consul.

[7] Simon Tissot (1728–1797), a celebrated Swiss doctor. He died at Lausanne.

[8] Miss Holroyd’s description of Lady Webster on this expedition is amusing: ‘If anybody ever offends you so grievously that you do not recollect any punishment bad enough for them, only wish them on a party of pleasure with Lady Webster! The ceremony began with irresolution in the extreme whether they should or should not go! How and which way they should go? And everything that was proposed she decidedly determined on a contrary scheme, and as regularly altered her mind in a few hours’ (_Girlhood of Maria Josepha Holroyd_, p. 65).

[9] Sir Godfrey Webster had returned to England late in 1791.

[10] Frederick, Viscount Duncannon (1758–1844), who succeeded his father as third Earl of Bessborough in 1793. He married, in 1780, Henrietta, daughter of John, first Earl Spencer, and Margaret Georgiana, daughter of the Right Hon. Stephen Poyntz. Her sister, Lady Georgiana, married, in 1774, William, fifth Duke of Devonshire.

[11] Charles Rose Ellis (1771–1845), son of John Ellis, a large landed proprietor in Jamaica. He was created Lord Seaford in 1826.

[12] John Hampden Trevor (1749–1824), who succeeded his elder brother as third Baron Hampden in 1824, a month before his own death. He was Minister at Turin from 1783 until 1798. He married, in 1773, Harriot, only child of the Rev. Daniel Burton, Canon of Christ Church.

[13] The Prince of Piedmont (1751–1819) succeeded his father as King of Sardinia in 1796 under the name of Charles Emmanuel IV., but abdicated in 1802 in favour of his brother. He married, in 1775, Marie-Therèse de Bourbon, sister of Louis XVI.

[14] Josephine-Louise, Comtesse de Balbi (1763–1836), a favourite of the Comte de Provence (Louis XVIII.) and lady-in-waiting to his wife for some years.

[15] Harriet Mary, daughter of Sir George Amyand, Bart. She married James, first Earl of Malmesbury in 1777, and died in 1830.

[16] George Ellis (1753–1815), miscellaneous writer. A joint founder with Canning of the _Anti-Jacobin_. He was the only son of George Ellis, member of the House of Assembly in Grenada.

[17] Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex (1773–1843), sixth son of George III. He married at Rome, in 1793, Lady Augusta Murray, daughter of John, fourth Earl of Dunmore. The marriage was annulled the following year, as it violated the Royal Marriage Act.

[18] Lazaro Spallanzani (1729–1799). Director of the museum at Pavia.

[19] Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count von Rumford (1753–1814), was born at North Woburn, Massachusetts. After suffering imprisonment in 1774, for lukewarmness in the cause of liberty, he sailed for England. He became Under-Secretary for the Colonies in 1780, and also served in America against his fellow-countrymen. On his return he entered the service of the Elector of Bavaria, and received the honour of knighthood from George III. He came back to England in 1795, and devoted the remainder of his life to scientific research. His experiments for the improvement of fireplaces and chimneys have proved of lasting benefit to mankind.

[20] Lord Henry Spencer (1770–1795), second son of George, third Duke of Marlborough. He died at Berlin, to which court he had been accredited as Envoy-Extraordinary. Lord Holland, in his _Miscellaneous Reminiscences_, says of him: ‘Notwithstanding his constitutional shyness and reserve, he would have distinguished himself by his wit and ingenuity, but died at the early age of twenty-four, when employed on a mission to Berlin.’

[21] Hugh Elliot (1752–1830), brother of Gilbert, first Earl of Minto. Minister at the Court of Saxony from 1791 until 1803.

[22] An Eton publication, which first appeared about 1786. Canning, Frere, and ‘Bobus’ Smith were among the chief contributors.

[23] The Duke of Brunswick’s Manifesto, issued on July 25 in the joint names of the Emperor and King of Prussia, was very unlikely, under the circumstances of the case, to assist the French Royal Family. Paris was ordered to submit to the King, under penalty of instant attack, and all popular leaders were to suffer for their misdeeds with their lives.

[24] The Association was formed largely to promote Parliamentary Reform, a subject which was brought forward by Grey in that session of Parliament. It was originated at a dinner at the house of Lord Porchester, who refused to join as it was not sufficiently Republican. A few months later he termed it a seditious movement, and was raised to an earldom. Lord Holland relates that Mr. Fox said upon this that Lord Porchester was right in saying that the Association was not as Republican as he wished, otherwise he would probably have got a marquisate.

[25] Mr. Thomas Pelham, in a letter to Lady Webster, dated June 15, 1792 (_Holland House MSS._), recounts a conversation he had with Mr. Fox about the Association:--‘He told me (what I knew to be the truth, notwithstanding what is _now_ said) that he had never been consulted about it, and that, on the contrary, the Associators seemed determined _not to have any advice_, and particularly not to _have his_. This I know to be true, for Lauderdale told me that they were determined not to consult Fox until they saw the probability of success, in order that he might not be involved if they failed.’

[26] Henry, second Viscount Palmerston (1739–1802), who succeeded his grandfather in 1757. He was twice married, his second wife, whom he married in 1783, being Mary, daughter of Benjamin Mee, Esq. She died 1805. The celebrated statesman was her son.

[27] Under La Touche Tréville. Their unwelcome presence was due to the recent dismissal of the French Minister, Mackau. The Court were ignominiously compelled to allow him to return.

[28] Russian Secretary of Legation at Naples, and afterwards Minister there. He was Minister at Constantinople for some years.

[29] Roger Joseph Boscovitch (1711–1787), mathematician and astronomer.

[30] Sarah, daughter of Andrew, Lord Archer. She married Other Hickman, fifth Earl of Plymouth, in 1778, and after his death in 1799, William Pitt, first Earl Amherst. She died in 1838.

[31] Marie Caroline (1753–1814), daughter of Empress Marie Thérèse of Austria, and sister of Queen Marie Antoinette. She married Ferdinand IV., King of Naples, in 1768. One of her sixteen children was married to her nephew, Francis, who had succeeded his father, Leopold, as Emperor during the preceding year. He proclaimed himself Emperor of Austria in 1804 under the title of Francis I., and resigned the Empire of Germany altogether, two years later.

[32] One of the patron saints of Naples, more especially of the Lazzaroni. The yearly liquefaction of the Saint’s blood was said to propitiate Vesuvius. Mr. Sichel, in his _Emma, Lady Hamilton_, states that the Saint was accused of Jacobinism at the outbreak of the French Revolution, and that his statue was condemned in court.

[33] The King’s hunting box, near Caserta.

[34] Alexandre Sauveur, who in a letter to Wilhelmine, Comtesse de Lichtenau (1796), says that he retired from the world owing to his unspoken love for Princess F----. (He was engaged in Berlin to instruct the latter in the Italian language.)

[35] Probably Jacob Philipp Hackert (1737–1807), a Prussian landscape painter, who with his brother entered the service of the King of Naples in 1782.

[36] Among Marie Caroline’s favourite schemes for the social and mental improvement of her people was the foundation of an ideal colony of San Leucio, near Caserta. The inhabitants were subjected to a most rigid code of laws and regulations for religious and domestic observance. A copy of these ordinances, given to Lady Hamilton on this very occasion by the King, with the names of the party present in her own handwriting, is now in the British Museum (Sichel’s _Emma, Lady Hamilton_).

[37] Thomas Noel, second Lord Berwick, of Attingham (1770–1832). He married, in 1812, Sophia, daughter of John James Dubochet.

[38] Margaret, daughter of Sir John Stuart, Bart., of Allonbank, Berwickshire, and first wife of John Coxe Hippisley, whom she married in Rome in 1780. She died in 1799. Mr. Hippisley resided in Italy from 1792 to 1796, and was engaged in negotiations between the Vatican and the English Government. He was made a Baronet in 1796, for his services in connection with the marriage of the Duke of Würtemberg with the Princess Royal of England. He died in 1825.

[39] Thomas Jenkins, the principal English banker in Rome at this time. He died in 1798.

[40] William George Browne (1768–1813), who published his description of these journeys in 1800. He was murdered, in 1813, in Persia while on his way to Teheran. Whishaw was approached in 1817 on the question of editing his papers, but the publication did not take place.

[41] The Princess Santa Croce was one of the most celebrated of the Roman ladies of her day. Her intrigue with Cardinal Bernis does not seem to have attracted any attention, though well known to all.

[42] There is certainly a decided likeness in both these cases to Lady Webster’s picture, painted by Fagan in 1793.

[43] Clement XIII.

[44] François Joachim de Pierre de Bernis (1715–94), poet and statesman. Taken up by Madame de Pompadour in Paris, he was made Foreign Secretary by her influence. He only held the post for one year (1757–8), and on his retirement became a Cardinal. He was French Ambassador in Rome for many years, and was deprived of that post for his refusal to take the oath of allegiance to the Revolutionary Government. He spent the remainder of his days there.

[45] Daughter of Louis XV. She was born in 1733, and leaving France early in 1791, remained abroad until her death at Trieste in 1799.

[46] The Duke of Sussex and Lady Augusta Murray were married in Rome by a Protestant Minister in April 1793; and again at St. George’s, Hanover Square, in December.

[47] Phillipina Deane, wife of Admiral Sir Joseph Knight, and mother of Miss Cornelia Knight, Princess Charlotte’s companion. A volume of her letters from Italy, 1776–95, was published in 1905.

[48] Now called Ponte Molle, a contraction of the original name.

[49] Compare Byron’s _Childe Harold_, Canto iv. lxix.--lxxii.

The roar of waters! From the headlong height
Velino cleaves the wave-worn precipice; etc.

[50] Curius Dentatus, the Conqueror of the Sabines.

[51] The Prince of Wales’s friend.

[52] Trasimene.

[53] _Gil Blas’_ uncle, ‘three and a half feet high, with his head sunk well between his shoulders.’

[54] The celebrated Italian tenor (1750–1830).

[55] Gustavus Maurice, Baron d’Armfeldt (1757–1814). After Gustavus IV. reached his majority he was appointed Ambassador at Vienna. He retired to Finland in 1810, and held office under the Russians.

[56] Gustavus III. (1748–1792). He was assassinated at the instigation of certain nobles, who considered that he was interfering with the rights of their order. Gustavus IV., his son, was only fourteen years old at the time, and until 1796 the government was carried on by his uncle, the Duke of Sudermania.

[57] John Augustus, Lord Hervey (1757–1796), son of Frederick Augustus, fourth Earl of Bristol. He served in the navy, and was Ambassador at Florence from 1787 to 1794. He married, in 1776, Elizabeth, daughter of Colin Drummond, of Megginch Castle, Perthshire. Lord Holland in his _Memoirs of the Whig Party_ (i. 56) states that he was recalled for violently and indecorously insisting on the dismissal of La Flotte, the French Minister, and thereby causing the Grand Duke to commit a breach of neutrality. Lord Holland mentions that common report in Florence suggested that Lord Hervey’s enmity to his colleague was not entirely based on public grounds.

[58] Thomas Pelham, afterwards second Earl of Chichester.

[59] The Princess Royal of Sweden, who was travelling incognito as the Princess of Wasa.

[60] Louise de Stolberg-Goedern (1753–1824). She married Prince Charles Edward in 1772, but after eight years of unhappiness left him, and went to Florence. There she became the mistress of Alfieri, and remained with him until his death in 1803. She subsequently formed an attachment for Fabre, a young French painter, and possibly married him.

[61] One of the insurrectionist leaders in La Vendée, formerly a hairdresser. He was killed at Saint-Gervois towards the latter end of 1793.

[62] Prime Minister of Tuscany. Originally tutor to the sons of Grand Duke Leopold, he accompanied the latter to Vienna on his elevation to the Imperial throne. He returned as Minister to Archduke Ferdinand, and continued in the same position in the Duchy of Würtzburg, which the Archduke received from Napoleon as compensation for the loss of Tuscany.

[63] Ferdinand III. (1769–1824) became Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1790 when his father succeeded as Emperor. He was ejected in 1801, receiving the Grand Duchy of Würtzburg in 1805, but finally returned to Florence after the battle of Waterloo. His wife was Luigia Amalia, daughter of the King and Queen of Naples.

[64] Felix Fontana (1730–1805), originally Professor at the University of Pisa. He was appointed director of the museum at Florence by the Grand Duke Leopold.

[65] The war between Austria and France broke out on the Netherlands frontier in April 1792, and success in turn favoured each of the combatants. Dumouriez’s treachery in March 1793 allowed the Austrians to pass the French frontier, and the scene of action was removed to that country. England declared war against France in February, and despatched a force under the Duke of York to assist the Austrians.

[66] The Opera House of Florence.

[67] Lady Ann Hatton. Daughter of Arthur, second Earl of Arran, she married first, in 1783, Henry Hatton, of Clonard, co. Wexford; secondly, in 1800, John, first Marquess of Abercorn. She died in 1827.

[68] King Sebastian (1554–1578), who succeeded to the throne of Portugal at the age of three, and was killed fighting the Moors in Morocco.

[69] Count Rumford.

[70] Lord Henry Spencer.

[71] An old French measure. A toise is just over six feet.

[72] He took part in the trial and condemnation of Charles I.

[73] Armand-Louis de Gontaut Biron (1747–1793). He was guillotined in December.

[74] Francis, afterwards second Marquess of Hertford; at this time Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Berlin and Vienna.

[75] George, Lord Morpeth (1773–1848), eldest son of Frederick, fifth Earl of Carlisle, and Margaret, daughter of Granville, first Marquess of Stafford. He married, in 1801, Georgina, eldest daughter of William, fifth Duke of Devonshire, and succeeded to the titles on his father’s death in 1825.

[76] George James, fourth Earl of Cholmondeley (1749–1827), who was created Marquess of Cholmondeley in 1815. He married, in 1791, Georgina Charlotte (1764–1838), daughter of Peregrine, third Duke of Ancaster.

[77] Valenciennes was invested by the allied troops under the Duke of York, and capitulated after a siege lasting forty-three days.

[78] La Fayette had broken his connection with the Jacobins after the execution of Louis XVI., and was forced to take refuge in neutral territories at Liège. He was there taken prisoner by the Austrians, and was kept in confinement at various places for five years.

[79] Charles François Dumouriez (1739–1823). At the outbreak of the Revolution he was closely connected with the Girondist faction, and held for short periods the offices of Foreign Minister and Minister for War. He was appointed to the army of the north as Lieut.-General, and inflicted a severe rebuff to the allies at Valmy in 1792. After the execution of Louis XVI., however, he became lukewarm in the cause, and when defeated by the Austrians at Neerwinden he seized the opportunity of joining the Austrians, with a small portion of his army. He lived at Hamburg for some years, but finally settled in England in 1804, and was granted a pension of 1200_l._ by Government.

[80] Spencer, eighth Earl of Northampton (1738–1796). He was twice married, and died at Berne. The _Gentleman’s Magazine_ records that he originally retired to Switzerland to recover from the expenses of a Parliamentary contest at Northampton, for which he sat 1762–63. He succeeded to the peerage in the latter year.

[81] It was sold in 1830 for 20,000_l._ to the Emperor of Russia, and is now in England.

[82] Lenzburg.

[83] Custine was placed in charge of the northern army after Dumouriez’s defection, but found it in such a state of disorganisation that he was unable to cope with the enemy. Condé and Valenciennes fell without him being able to give them any assistance. His ill success cost him his life.

[84] Charles Eugène (1728–1793) who succeeded his father as Duke of Würtemberg in 1737. He was twice married, his second wife being Franziscka de Bernardin, Comtesse de Hohenheim.

[85] Ludwigsburg.

[86] Lionel Robert Tollemache, grandson of Lionel, fourth Earl of Dysart, and son of the Hon. John Tollemache and Bridget, daughter of Robert, first Earl of Northington. He was in his nineteenth year.

[87] They were not to serve against the allies for a year. This condition, however, left them free to serve against the insurgents in La Vendée, and there they were sent.

[88] Dormagen (?).

[89] The collection was removed for safety in 1805 to Munich by Maxmilian Joseph, King of Bavaria, and was never returned.

[90] Lord H. Spencer.

[91] Thomas, seventh Earl of Elgin and eleventh of Kincardine (1766–1841), the collector of the ‘Elgin Marbles.’ He was at Brussels from 1792 till 1795.

[92] Three of these were fired from covered mines, and the assault was delivered at the same moment, during the confusion caused by them.

[93] Lady Webster’s spaniel.

[94] The English army was engaged at Dunkirk, while the Imperial force besieged Quesnoy. A very large force was also required to preserve the communications between them.

[95] Charles, third Duke of Richmond (1735–1806), Master-General of the Ordnance 1783–1795. ‘The Duke of Richmond quitted the Ordnance, ascribing the failure to the Duke of York, and the Duke of York, or at least his friends, insinuated that it had arisen from the neglect or the malicious delay of the Ordnance’ (Lord Holland’s _Memoirs of the Whig Party_, i. 68).

[96] It is interesting to compare a letter of Mr. Elliot, of Wells, quoted in Lady Minto’s _Life of Sir Gilbert Elliot_, and written on Nov. 2, from Tournay, after a visit to the Duke’s headquarters. ‘Almost all the persons immediately about the Duke are very young men, and as they live at headquarters, they fill his table and prevent him from inviting the general officers and colonels of regiments as frequently as it is usual for a Commander-in-Chief to do. This is one source of disgust. The youth of the circle which surrounds him occasions also a levity of manners at headquarters, hence arises a lamentable deficiency of discipline among the officers. The Duke feels this, and sometimes _expresses_ himself hardily, when he ought to _act_ with severity.’

[97] Mrs. Wyndham’s house.

[98] Better known as Lady Hertford. Isabella Anne, second wife of Francis, Lord Yarmouth, who succeeded his father as second Marquess of Hertford in 1794. The first Marquess, whose stepmother was a daughter of Lawrence Hyde, Earl of Rochester, was created Viscount Beauchamp and Earl of Hertford in 1750, and was raised to a Marquisate in 1793. Lady Beauchamp was daughter of Charles Ingram, Viscount Irvine, and married in 1776. She died in 1834, at the age of seventy-four.

[99] Madame de Walmoden, George II.’s mistress, was created Countess of Yarmouth.

[100] Lord Sheffield married Miss Pelham, Thomas Pelham’s sister, in December 1794. She died early in 1797.

[101] Elizabeth, only daughter of Sir Ralph Milbanke. She married Peniston, first Viscount Melbourne, in 1769, and died in 1818. Her second son, William, succeeded to the titles, and became Prime Minister.

[102] Afterwards first Earl of Minto. As a follower of the Duke of Portland he had ceased to co-operate with the Opposition when his leader joined the Ministry.

[103] Toulon was handed over by its inhabitants to Lord Hood on the condition that it should be held in trust for Louis XVII., and given back to the Royalists on the restoration of the monarchy. It was soon afterwards besieged by the Republicans under General Cartaux, who appeared before the walls on August 30. Large reinforcements swelled his force to over 30,000 men, while the numbers of the allies never exceeded 12,000. After several sorties, in one of which General O’Hara, the commander of the land forces, was taken prisoner, it was decided to evacuate the town, and the design was successfully carried out after burning the majority of the stores and ships in the harbour.

[104] Sir Charles Grey, a distinguished general officer and K.B. (1783), was created Baron Grey of Howick in 1801. He was raised to an earldom in 1806, but died the following year at the age of seventy-eight. His elder brother, Sir Henry Grey, died unmarried in 1808, and the baronetcy devolved on Charles, second Earl Grey, the commencement of whose political career Lady Webster here relates.

[105] Pitt brought forward his plan for reform in 1785.

[106] Lord Hervey’s brother, who survived him, and became fifth Earl of Bristol upon his father’s death in 1803.

[107] Duchess of Ancaster.

[108] James Harris (1746–1820), created Baron Malmesbury in 1788, and raised to an earldom in 1800. He was originally a friend of Fox and the Whigs, but severed his connection with that party in 1792. He was at this time on a special mission to King Frederick William at Berlin.

[109] John, fourth Earl of Darnley (1767–1831). He married, in 1791, Elizabeth, daughter of the Right Hon. William Brownlow, of Lurgan.

[110] He was appointed to command the expeditionary force sent to assist the Royalist insurgents in La Vendée. The undertaking was a failure, and the troops returned without effecting anything decisive.

[111] Ambassador at St. Petersburg and afterwards Louis XVI.’s Minister for the Home Department. He emigrated at the time of the Revolution, but returned under the Empire.

[112] George Augustus, afterwards eleventh Earl of Pembroke (1759–1827). He was at this time in command of the 2nd Dragoon Guards, but returned home on the death of his father in 1794.

[113] Ehrenbreitstein.

[114] Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford. See _ante_, p. 12.

[115] General O’Hara was wounded and taken prisoner in the attack on Fort Mulgrave. He was taken to Paris, and imprisoned in the Luxembourg until his exchange for General Rochambeau in August 1795.

[116] Louis Eugène, brother of the preceding Duke. He only lived until 1796, when he was succeeded by a third brother, Frederick Eugène.

[117] Lord Henry Fitzgerald (1761–1829), fourth son of James, first Duke of Leinster. He married, in 1791, Charlotte, Baroness de Ros in her own right.

[118] See _ante_, pp. 47, 55.

[119] As soon as the news of the outbreak of war between England and France was received in India, the English took possession of all the small French factories. Lord Cornwallis, the Governor-General, also made preparations to besiege Pondicherry, but the fortress capitulated to the troops under Colonel Braithwaite before he arrived upon the scene. The town was restored to France in 1816.

[120] St. Domingo was taken over in September 1793, by a force from Jamaica, at the request of the inhabitants of Jeremie and other towns, to be held under British protection until the conclusion of a general peace.

[121] Lord Granville Leveson-Gower (1773–1846), afterwards created Viscount and Earl Granville, son of Granville, first Marquess of Stafford, by his third wife, Lady Susannah Stewart, daughter of Alexander, ninth Earl of Galloway. He was Ambassador to Russia in 1804, and married, in 1809, Lady Henrietta Cavendish, daughter of William, fifth Duke of Devonshire.