Chapter XI: Part 11

His half-brother, George Granville, who succeeded to the titles on Lord Stafford’s death in 1803, and was later created Duke of Sutherland, married, in 1785, Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland in her own right.

[122] Lord Holland, in his _Miscellaneous Reminiscences_ (_Further Memoirs of the Whig Party_), states that the work was said to be that of Fabroni, the Sub-Director of the Museum, though Fontana always exhibited it as his own.

[123] The _Amphitrite_ frigate was wrecked on its passage from Porto Ferraio, in Elba, to Leghorn. Sir Gilbert writes on January 31, 1794, to Lady Elliot, ‘I was yesterday shipwrecked, but nevertheless I arrived at Leghorn without even having wetted my feet’ (_Life and Letters of Sir Gilbert Elliot_).

[124] Charles George Beauclerk (1774–1846), only son of Topham Beauclerk and Lady Diana Beauclerk, daughter of Charles, second Duke of Marlborough. He married, in 1799, Emily Charlotte, daughter of William Ogilvie, Esq. and Emilia Mary, widow of James, first Duke of Leinster.

[125] Rev. Matthew Marsh, a great friend of Lord Morpeth and his family. He took orders in 1799, and became Chancellor of the Diocese of Salisbury and Rector of Brinkworth, and later of Winterslow, in Wilts.

[126] Edward, second and last Earl Digby. He was born in 1773; succeeded his father in the titles in 1793; and died unmarried in 1856.

[127] Thomas Wallace (1768–1844), created Baron Wallace of Knaresdale in 1828. He was a supporter of Pitt, and at this time member for Grampound.

[128] Pius VI.

[129] Afterwards Lady Pellew.

[130] John, Lord Wycombe (1765–1809), eldest son of William, first Marquess of Lansdown, by his first wife, Lady Sophia Carteret, daughter of John, Earl Granville. Lord Wycombe became second Lord Lansdown on his father’s death in 1805, and married the same year Mary Arabella, widow of Sir Duke Gifford, of Castle Jordan, in Ireland.

[131] Lord Lansdown’s second wife was Lady Louisa Fitzpatrick, daughter of John, first Earl of Upper Ossory, and Evelyn, daughter of John, Earl Gower. After Lord Upper Ossory’s death his widow married Richard Vernon, and by him had three daughters. The one here mentioned was the youngest, Elizabeth. Miss Fox, Lord Holland’s only sister, was Lord Lansdown’s niece.

[132] William Pitt Amherst (1773–1857). He succeeded his uncle in 1797 as second Baron Amherst, and was raised to an earldom in 1826. He was Governor-General of India from 1823 till 1828. He married, first, in 1800, Sarah, widow of Other Hickman, fifth Earl of Plymouth, and daughter of Andrew, Lord Archer. She died in 1838, and he married, secondly, in 1839, Mary, widow of Other Archer, sixth Earl of Plymouth, and daughter of the third Duke of Dorset.

[133] Probably George Cornewall (1774–1835), who succeeded his father as third Baronet in 1819. The latter changed his name from Amyand on his marriage to Catherine, daughter of Velters Cornewall, of Moccas Court, Hereford.

[134] Near the Porta alle Croce, at the south end of the town. Probably it is a house still extant, the Villino Ginori, just inside the walls.

[135] _Paradise Lost._

[136] See Appendix A.

[137] The French gained a foothold in Holland early in January 1795, and so rapid was their advance that before the end of the month Amsterdam and the Dutch fleet, frozen into the Texel, were in their hands. The Duke of York had been recalled in November, and was superseded in the chief command by General Walmoden.

[138] Vasari, in his Life of Jacopo da Pontormo, mentions that the villa was built by Cosimo de Medici the elder.

[139] Now in the Turin Gallery.

[140] George, Earl Macartney (1737–1806). Ambassador to Russia in 1764; Governor of Madras 1780–86; Ambassador Extraordinary to China, 1792–94; and Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, 1797–9. At this time he was on a confidential mission to Louis XVIII. at Verona, and remained in Italy until the following year.

[141] Most of the pictures formerly in this palace are now in the Brera Gallery at Milan.

[142] The picture is now in the Pinacoteca.

[143] Frederick Augustus, fourth Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry (1730–1803), who succeeded to the titles on the death of his brother in 1779. Father of Lady Webster’s friend Lord Hervey, for some years Minister at Florence. Lady Louisa, who married Mr. Jenkinson, afterwards second Lord Liverpool and Prime Minister, was his youngest daughter.

[144] The picture is now at Holland House. It was painted in 1793, and was bought in Rome by Henry Edward Fox (afterwards fourth Lord Holland) for his father in 1828. It belonged at that time to Prince Gargarin, a Russian. See Frontispiece, vol. i.

[145] Giovanni Fabroni (1752–1822), Sub-Director of the Museum at Florence under Fontana, whom he succeeded as Director. He was appointed Overseer of the roads and bridges by Napoleon. The commencement of the Corniche road was chiefly due to his exertions.

[146] Don Neri Corsini (1771–1845), a leading politician in Tuscany under the Grand Dukes Ferdinand III. and Leopold II. His brother was Don Tommaso Corsini, Prince of Sismano.

[147] Vittorio Fossombroni (1754–1844). In addition to his scholastic acquirements he was an active politician, and was Minister for Foreign Affairs in Tuscany for many years.

[148] Lorenzo Pignotti (1739–1812), Professor of Physic at Florence and Pisa, and afterwards Rector of the latter university. He wrote poetry, though his fables are the best known of his works.

[149] Melchiore Deifico (1744–1835). Historian and statesman with liberal views which he openly avowed. He was President of the State Council at Naples in 1806, and President of the Provisional Junta in 1820.

[150] Carlo Greppi (1751–1811), dramatic author and poet.

[151] Pietro Benvenuto (1769–1844), Director of the Academy at Florence at the time of his death.

[152] The figure is evidently ‘Justice,’ one of the two allegorical figures on the tomb of Pope Paul III. by Guglielmo della Porta. After the sculptor’s death ‘his son Teodoro was employed to cover the body with a bronze tunic’ (Perkins’s _Italian Sculptors_).

[153] This eruption commenced in February 1793, and lasted almost continuously till the end of June 1794. It reached its worst on June 15, 1794. The cone lost height, and became flattened, as was the case in the recent eruption of 1906.

[154] Sir Morton Eden (1752–1830). Diplomatist, Ambassador at Vienna in 1793 and 1794–99. In the latter year he was created Baron Henley.

[155] Charles Joseph, Comte de Clerfait (1733–1798), a Belgian, who entered the Austrian service and rose to high command in the army. His successes and popularity, however, became too great for the court, and he was superseded in his command by Archduke Charles two years before his death.

[156] Lord Elgin had been sent to Berlin as Envoy Extraordinary in 1795.

[157] The Pitt diamond was bought by Mr. Pitt, Governor of Madras in 1702, for about 20,000_l._ He resold it in 1717 to the Duc d’Orleans, for Louis XV., for 130,000_l._ It was sent at this time to Berlin, but appeared a few years later in the hilt of Napoleon’s sword of state.

[158] Sir Gilbert Affleck was Lady Holland’s stepfather; he married her mother, Mrs. Vassall, in 1796. He succeeded his uncle as second Baronet in 1788, and died in 1808 at the age of sixty-seven.

[159] The Treaty of Campo Formio, concluded between France and Austria, embodying the preliminaries of Leoben, was signed on October 18, but at the same time the negotiations between England and France were broken off.

[160] At the battle of Camperdown.

[161] Mr. Fox married Mrs. Armstead in September 1795 at Wyton, near Huntingdon, but the fact was not announced till 1802. She died in 1842, at the age of ninety-two. Lord Minto, writing in 1805, says of her: ‘She has grown fat, and not younger, nor softer flavoured, but her manner is pleasing and gentlewomanlike. I perceive that Lady Holland does not admire her, and would willingly indulge herself now and then with a fling at her.’ And again: ‘Mr. Fox has been shopping with Mrs. Fox, an amusement they say he is very fond of; they had been buying china--cheap china, I mean, for they seem great economists.’ Miss Fox’s (Lord Holland’s sister) account of Mrs. Fox’s conduct in 1806, written to Lord Ossory, is also interesting, to show the bias of Lady Holland’s description. ‘Mrs. Fox’s patient fortitude, her gentle piety, endear her to me every minute, and loving her as I do for his sake, still I must do so for her own, for she deserves it.’

[162] La Fayette remained in Europe and took up his residence at Wittmold, in Holstein. After the _coup d’état_ of 1799 he returned to France, but lived in retirement on his property until 1814.

[163] François Claude Amour, Marquis de Bouillé (1739–1800). He distinguished himself against the English in the Antilles during the War of Independence, and after Louis XVI.’s arrest at Varennes left France and went to England, where he died.

[164] See _ante_, p. 92.

[165] Lord Malmesbury had been sent to Lille in July to negotiate for peace. His efforts were fruitless owing to the ascendancy of the Jacobin party in France, and he left for home on September 18.

[166] Catherine, first wife of Thomas, second Viscount Hampden, and only daughter of General David Graeme. She died in 1804. Colonel Graeme was appointed Secretary to the Queen in 1761, and Controller of her household in 1765. These posts he held until 1774, when he left the Court and retired to Scotland. Jesse, on the authority of the Rev. A. Carlyle, states that he became too presumptuous and arrogant, and thereby forfeited the favour of the Queen. He became Major-General in 1763, General 1783, and died in 1797.

[167] Charles Martel’s defeat of the Saracens near Tours in 732 A.D.

[168] Jean Gresset (1709–1777), French poet and writer of plays. Educated by the Jesuits, he became well known for his satires against the priesthood. Later in life he gave up his literary work under the influence of the Bishop of Amiens, and retired to a monastery.

[169] Juan Andrès (1740–1817).

[170] Admiral Duncan had completely destroyed the Dutch fleet under Admiral de Winter on October 11, 1797, off the village of Camperdown. With sixteen ships of the line he captured eight Dutch ships of the line out of a total of fifteen. His task was rendered more difficult by the mutinous spirit which had affected many of his crews for some months previously.

Sir John Jervis’s victory had been gained on February 11 off Cape St. Vincent on the coast of Portugal. In his case the odds were greater with respect to the number of ships engaged, _i.e._ fifteen English to twenty-seven Spanish, but the ships of the latter were poorly manned, and in many cases the crews were incomplete. Indeed, it is probable that, had the English Admiral realised his superiority in this respect, he would have been able to destroy the whole Spanish fleet. As it was, four ships of the line were captured, and others destroyed.

[171] Antoine Joseph Santerre (1752–1809). Though a violent revolutionist, his influence seems to have been employed to obtain kindly usage for the Royal Family. The well-known story of his order to the drums to drown Louis XVI.’s speech to the populace when on the scaffold is open to doubt. Even if he gave the order, which is uncertain, he was only a subordinate, and the command would in all probability have emanated from General Burruyer, the commander of the troops. His campaign in 1793 against the insurgents of La Vendée was a complete failure, and he was arrested and imprisoned on the charge of disaffection towards the Republic. On his release he retired into private life.

[172] Robert Percy Smith (1770–1845), better known as ‘Bobus’ Smith. He was the eldest son of Robert Smith, and Maria Ollier, the daughter of a French refugee. He was at Eton with Lord Holland, and continued from that time in the closest friendship and intimacy with him. He was appointed Advocate-General of Bengal, by Lord Lansdown’s influence, in 1803, and remained seven years in India. He entered Parliament in 1812, but never took much part in the debates. The sprightliness and originality of his wit and conversation obtained for him a fame to which he could never have attained by his performances in public life.

[173] Miss Caroline Vernon was second daughter of Evelyn, first Countess of Upper Ossory, and Richard Vernon, whom she married after the death of her first husband. Her eldest sister, Henrietta, married George, Earl of Warwick, in 1776, and the youngest, Elizabeth, died unmarried in 1830. Robert Vernon Smith, the son of this marriage, married Emma Mary, a natural daughter of the second Earl of Upper Ossory, and was created Lord Lyveden in 1859.

[174] Lord Thurlow (1731–1806) was Lord Chancellor from 1778 till 1783. After the fall of the Coalition he resumed that office, and retained it until 1792, when he was compelled to resign on account of his opposition to Pitt.

[175] This was Pitt’s proposal to treble for a year the Assessed Taxes payable on houses, windows, carriages, horses, &c. By this means he proposed to provide the necessary funds for the year without increasing the national debt; and by a system of graduation he considered that the tax would only fall on those who could reasonably afford to contribute towards the revenues of the country. The tax, in effect, did not nearly approach the figure Pitt estimated it would produce.

[176] On the Assessed Taxes Bill.

[177] James, eighth Earl of Lauderdale (1759–1839), second son of James, seventh Earl of Lauderdale, whom he succeeded in the titles in 1789. He first entered the House of Commons in 1780, and was elected a Scotch representative peer in 1790, but was not re-elected during the next two Parliaments on account of his advanced views on social questions. His ideas, however, underwent a marked change later in life, and he even opposed the Reform Bills. He married, in 1782, Eleanor, only daughter of Anthony Todd, Esq.

[178] Matthew Gregory Lewis (1775–1818), eldest son of Matthew Lewis, Esq., and Frances Maria, daughter of Sir Thomas Sewell. He was educated at Westminster, and passed some time in Germany, near Weimar, where he learnt the language and imbibed that taste for German literature which clung to him for the remainder of his life. When only twenty he wrote the novel which gave him the nickname by which he is best known. In addition to novels, he wrote numerous poems and verses, and also plays, several of which were produced in London. He sat in the House of Commons as a Whig from 1796 to 1802. His father, who was a large landed proprietor in the West Indies, died in 1812, and after his death Lewis took up very enthusiastically the question of the welfare of the slaves working on the property. He twice visited Jamaica, and died on the return journey in 1818 from yellow fever.

[179] Frederick William III. (1770–1840) succeeded to the throne of Prussia on his father’s death in November 1797. The late King, Frederick William II. (1744–1797), was nephew and successor of Frederick the Great. The boundaries of Prussia were largely extended during his reign, but his methods of ruling the country, influenced by unworthy favourites, did not commend themselves to his people. He divorced his first wife, Princess Elizabeth of Brunswick, in 1769, and married Princess Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, by whom he had six children.

[180] Better known under the name of Wilhelmine, Comtesse de Lichtenau (1752–1820), the title bestowed on her by Frederick William II. The daughter of a musician, she became his mistress at the age of sixteen, probably under the promise of morganatic marriage, and for the sake of appearances was married to one of his body servants, Rietz. On the King’s death she suffered eighteen months’ imprisonment, besides the loss of all her belongings. Some of her property was restored to her by Napoleon in 1807.

Her daughter was called Comtesse de la Marche. Lord Bristol, in several letters to Lady E. Foster, published in _The Two Duchesses_, implores her assistance in persuading his second son, Frederick (who succeeded him), to marry the lady, and enumerates the benefits which would accrue to the whole family by the alliance. The young man in question, however, thought otherwise, and married, in February 1798, Elizabeth Charlotte, daughter of Clotworthy, first Lord Templetown.

[181] Charles James Fox, writing to Lord Holland on January 16, 1798, says: ‘I do assure you, my dear young one, that I do not flatter you at all, if by flattering is meant saying more than one thinks, but if praise is to be called flattery, then I beg that you will tell Lady H. that I know enough of the family constitution to know that it is remarkably good and wholesome for us all, and that, too, in good doses. I think your speech, whether well or ill given, reads very well indeed; but it was not the goodness of the speech only that I alluded to, it was the stoutness of fighting so well, all alone against them all, and I really was delighted full as much as I said, or more.’

[182] In the form of a National Defence Fund. Forty-six thousand pounds were subscribed at an open-air meeting of bankers and merchants held in the Royal Exchange. The Bank of England subscribed 200,000_l._

[183] He married, in 1794, Mary Elizabeth, only daughter of William, first Lord Ponsonby, of Imokilly.

[184] George Tierney (1761–1831) was son of Thomas Tierney, a native of Limerick, and originally a merchant in London. He married, in 1789, Miss Miller, of Stapleton, in Gloucestershire.

[185] Mungo Park (1771–1806). He lost his life in a second attempt to solve the mystery of the sources of the Niger. An account of his travels was published in 1815 by Whishaw.

[186] See _ante_, p. 33.

[187] Claude Etienne Savary (1750–1788), who spent some years in Egypt and wrote, among other works, _Letters on Egypt_ and _Letters on Greece_.

[188] During the autumn of 1797 various intrigues were on foot in Rome, and all centred in the residence of the French Ambassador, Joseph Bonaparte (Napoleon’s eldest brother), who desired a means of breaking with the Papal Government. His opportunity came at last on December 28, when a revolutionary band sought refuge from the soldiery and populace in the courtyard of the French Embassy. In the tumult a member of the Embassy was shot by one of the Papal soldiers. Joseph instantly quitted the Pope’s dominions, and a French army under Berthier entered the city on February 10. It was received with acclamation by the multitude, and the Roman Republic was proclaimed an accomplished fact. The Pope was removed to Tuscany, and afterwards to Valence, where he died in 1799. In November 1798, Ferdinand issued a proclamation to the Neapolitans that he was about to restore the Pope to his throne, and immediately proceeded, with the help of an Austrian army, to try to carry out his boast. The whole force, under the command of General Mack, did indeed reach Rome, but were unable to maintain their position, owing to lack of discipline and bad generalship. The French closely pursued their disorderly retreat, and in their turn entered Naples in January 1799.

[189] Joseph Jekyll, the celebrated wit. He practised at the Bar, and was returned to Parliament for Calne in 1787 through the influence of Lord Lansdown. He was a favourite with the Prince of Wales, and it is probable that he owed his appointment as Master in Chancery (1815) to that fact, for he was barely qualified for the post. He died in 1837.

[190] Lord Henry Petty (1780–1863), Lord Lansdown’s only son by his second marriage. He became third Marquess on his half-brother’s death in 1809.

The first Lord Lansdown always signed his name without the terminal _e_, a practice not followed by his successors.

[191] At the Anchor and Crown.

[192] The estrangement between the Prince and Grey arose over the latter’s refusal to make a statement in the House of Commons concerning the Prince and Mrs. Fitzherbert. At her desire the Prince wished for a modification of Fox’s outspoken denial of the marriage. Grey would have nothing to do with it, and the business was handed over to Sheridan, who made a confused and undecided statement.

[193] Wraxall relates of O’Byrne that he was an Irish adventurer who amassed a considerable fortune at the gaming tables. He was intimate with the Prince, who often dined at his house.

[194] Gilbert Wakefield (1756–1801) was son of a Nottinghamshire clergyman. He took the highest possible classical honours at Cambridge, and was intended for the Church. He developed, however, leanings towards Arian doctrines, which precluded him from taking orders. He published a number of works on the classics, and his correspondence with Fox on those subjects appeared in Lord Russell’s work. His political opinions became very advanced as years went on, and brought trouble upon him on this occasion. He was convicted, with his printer and publisher, of seditious libel, and was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment in Dorchester gaol. He died soon after his release.

[195] Richard Watson, Bishop of Llandaff (1737–1816). His pamphlet, _Address to the People of Great Britain_, was published in January, and Wakefield’s _Reply_ was issued with such speed that it was finished for the press in the compass of a single day. Wakefield’s _Reply_ stated ‘that the poor and the labouring classes would lose nothing by a French invasion, and declared that if the French came they would find him at his post among the illustrious dead. It also contained charges of corruption against the civil and ecclesiastical system of the day, and detailed numerous accusations against the Bishop of Llandaff as an absentee and a pluralist’ (_Dictionary of National Biography_). The Bishop never obtained the See he coveted.

[196] Hugh, second Duke of Northumberland, of the third creation (1742–1817), who succeeded to the titles in 1786. He was originally a follower of Pitt, but complained of neglect and went over to the Opposition.

[197] Holland House.

[198] William Robert, second Duke of Leinster (1749–1804), married, in 1775, Emilia Olivia, only daughter of Lord St. George. She died on June 23. The Duke’s mother, the Dowager Duchess, was a daughter of Charles, second Duke of Richmond, and Lord Holland’s great-aunt.

[199] Lord Fitzwilliam accepted the Lord-Lieutenancy of the North Riding in succession to the Duke of Norfolk.

[200] His wife, whose origin is shrouded in mystery. The probability is that she was a daughter of Madame de Genlis and Philippe Egalité, Duke of Orleans. Madame de Genlis, however, always declared that when she adopted her in order to assist the Orleans children, whose governess she was at the time, to learn English, she was the five-year-old daughter of Nancy Sims, living at Christchurch; that she had been born in Newfoundland, and that her father was one Guillaume de Brixey. Lord Edward first met her in Paris in 1792, and married her within a month. After her husband’s death she went to Hamburg, where she married, in 1800, Mr. Pitcairn, the United States Consul. The marriage, however, was not a happy one, and they were soon separated. After leaving Hamburg, she went to Vienna, and finally settled near Montauban, in Chambord.

[201] A warrant had been issued on March 12 against Lord Edward on the information given to Government by Thomas Reynolds, a man intimately acquainted with the revolutionary counsels in Ireland. He gave notice that a meeting of the conspirators would be held at the house of a well-to-do merchant in Dublin, and important arrests were made in consequence. Several of the leaders were not present, but were taken soon after, and Lord Edward alone succeeded in eluding the close search. He remained the whole time hidden in Dublin or the neighbourhood, notwithstanding the rumours to the contrary, and most of his relations had no certain knowledge of his whereabouts. In the meantime preparations for a rising continued under his supervision, and the intelligence that May 23 was fixed for the outbreak increased the desire of Government to secure his person. A further act of treachery brought about his arrest, which took place on May 19.

[202] The Duke of Portland was at the Home Office from 1794 until 1801.

[203] _Consolation à Monsieur du Périer sur la mort de sa fille._

[204] Arthur O’Connor (1763–1852), born in co. Cork. He was called to the Irish Bar in 1788, and entered the Irish Parliament three years later. He became deeply imbued with the spirit of the French Revolution, and resigned his seat in 1795. The year after, he joined the United Irishmen and became chief editor of their organ, _The Press_. After his release from prison he went to France, and was appointed a general of division by Napoleon, but never saw active service. He married, in 1807, Élize de Condorcet, and became a naturalised Frenchman.

He was tried at Maidstone, before Mr. Justice Buller, on a charge of high treason, with O’Coigly and others, but was acquitted. Bow Street runners were, however, in attendance to rearrest him on a second charge, and in the confusion which arose in court after judgment had been delivered, certain of his friends and one of his counsel, Robert Fergusson, were said, rightly or wrongly, to be implicated in an attempt to contrive his escape. Lord Thanet, Fergusson, and Denis O’Brien were arraigned on this count some months later, and the two first named were sentenced to imprisonment and fine.

[205] James O’Coigly, son of a Roman Catholic farmer in Armagh. He was partly educated in Paris, and later took orders. He was found at Margate in 1797 with papers in his possession implicating him in correspondence with the French regarding a proposed invasion of England, and in other treasonable practices.

[206] Thomas Hardy, Horne Tooke, and others had been tried in October 1794, before a special commission, for nine specified acts of high treason. They were acquitted on each count.

[207] Lady Holland’s account of the arrest is not accurate. From the account of eye-witnesses Lord Edward was the first to use weapons. Lady Louisa Conolly, in a letter to Mr. Ogilvie, states that his wounds were attended to at once by Mr. Stewart, the surgeon-general at Dublin Castle, and that Lord Camden had ordered him a room, but owing to the acts of violence he was removed to Newgate. No mention is elsewhere made of the attempts at rescue, and Murphy, in whose house he was taken, was not hanged, but was imprisoned, without any trial, for over a year before he was released.

[208] The Lord-Lieutenant.

[209] For Lady Louisa Conolly’s account of this visit, see her letter to Mr. Ogilvie (Moore’s _Life of Lord Edward Fitzgerald_, ii. 135).

[210] Lord Henry Fitzgerald.

[211] The insurrection broke out on the appointed day, May 23.

[212] John, fifteenth Earl of Suffolk and eighth Earl of Berkshire (1739–1820). He succeeded to the titles in 1783 on the death of a distant cousin. He became a general in the army, and married, in 1774, Julia, daughter of John Gaskarth, of Penrith.

[213] Grattan was arrested by mistake for Mr. Henry, of Straffan. Lawless (afterwards Lord Cloncurry) wrote in a letter to Ireland, which fell into the hands of Government, the names of various subscribers to a fund raised for O’Coigly’s defence. Among other entries was, ‘Little Harry has put down 50_l._’ ‘Little Harry’ was taken by the Government to mean Grattan; hence the error.

[214] _Voyage to South America_, translated from the Spanish by John Adams.

[215] _Account of conduct of D. of M. from her first coming to Court to 1710, in letter from herself to my Lord_ ---- 1742 (N. Hooke).

[216] Another account states that the Duchess thus treated the picture of Lady Anne Egerton, her grand-daughter and daughter of Elizabeth, Duchess of Bridgewater.

[217] Hon. John Spencer, youngest son of Charles, third Earl of Sunderland, and Anne, daughter and co-heiress of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. His only son was created Earl Spencer. His elder brother Charles became Duke of Marlborough.

[218] It was written by Nathaniel Hooke, who is said to have received 5000_l._ for his assistance. David Mallet, a writer of plays and miscellaneous poems, was selected by the Duchess a short time before her death to write a life of the Duke in collaboration with Richard Glover. She left 500_l._ to each in her will to continue the work, but though Mallet accepted the money he never carried out his contract, and the task was practically uncommenced at the time of his death.

[219] The seat of Frederick, fifth Earl of Carlisle (1748–1825), who succeeded to the title on his father’s death in 1758. He held the posts of Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland 1780–82, and Privy Seal 1783. He married, in 1770, Margaret Caroline, daughter of Granville, first Marquess of Stafford. He was a well-known figure in society, and if his verses are not of the highest merit, they were well spoken of at the time. His eldest son, Lord Morpeth, who succeeded him, is frequently mentioned in these pages.

[220] A cast iron bridge uniting Monkwearmouth with Bishopwearmouth. It was commenced in 1793, and was opened by the Duke of Gloucester in 1796.

[221] Comte d’Artois, afterwards Charles X. He came over to England in 1795, and lived at Holyrood for some years. Besides this residence he received a sum of 24,000_l._ from the British Government. Most of this money was expended in intrigues and secret endeavours to recover the throne of France for the Bourbons.

[222] The Hon. Henry Erskine (1746–1817), second son of Henry, tenth Earl of Buchan, and brother of Thomas Erskine, the Lord Chancellor. He held the post of Lord Advocate in the Coalition Ministry, and again in 1806.

[223] George William, Marquess of Lorne (1766–1839), who succeeded his father as sixth Duke of Argyll in 1806.

[224] Thomas Beddoes, M.D. (1760–1808). Reader in chemistry at Oxford for some years. He resigned the post in 1792. The last years of his life were spent at Clifton, where he became a fashionable physician.

[225] The Battle of the Nile was fought on August 1, with the immediate consequence that the French force in Egypt was obliged to fall back upon its own resources and those of the country.

[226] The official letters were published in the course of the year, but the private portions of the letters here quoted have no place in the series.

[227] Joseph Bonaparte. Bourrienne relates (i. 187) that he was the eyewitness of a conversation between Napoleon and Junot on the subject of Josephine’s infidelities at Messoudiah in February 1798. It seems doubtful, however, whether Junot was then with the army. Bourrienne says that Berthier left Egypt for France in January.

[228] John James, ninth Earl and first Marquess of Abercorn (1756–1818), who succeeded his uncle in 1789, was raised to a Marquisate the following year. He married, first, in 1779, Catherine, daughter of Sir Joseph Copley, Bart. She died in 1791, leaving two sons and three daughters, and he married, secondly, in 1792, his first cousin, Cecil, daughter of Hon. and Rev. George Hamilton. This lady, here alluded to, ran away with (and subsequently married after the divorce) Joseph Copley (who succeeded his brother in the Baronetcy in 1806), brother of Lord Abercorn’s first wife. He married, thirdly, in 1800, Lady Ann Hatton. He received the nickname of ‘Blue Beard.’

[229] Wraxall states she had four sisters older than herself.

[230] In _Les Muses Rivales_, or _L’Apothéose de Voltaire_, published in 1779.

[231] Lloyd, first Baron Kenyon (1732–1802), appointed Master of the Rolls, 1784, and Lord Chief Justice in 1788.

[232] Thomas Pelham was first appointed Chief Secretary by Lord Camden when he became Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland in 1795. Owing to ill-health he was often absent, and early in 1798 Lord Castlereagh temporarily took his place. Pelham finally resigned the post on November 2.

[233] See _ante_, p. 12.

[234] Mrs ‘Bobus’ Smith. Lady Warwick was her sister (see _ante_, p. 163).

[235] In February 1797, when owing to the scarcity of specie the Ministers issued an Order in Council prohibiting cash payments until measures had been taken by Parliament to restore the credit of the country.

[236] On December 11, in favour of concluding peace with the French Republic, whenever a suitable opportunity should occur. Pitt called the speech ‘one of the best ever heard on any occasion.’

[237] Lord Lauderdale in a letter, written in 1809, to Lord Holland, strongly upholds this view, and gives an amusing story of Sheridan’s groom’s opinion of Canning. ‘Sheridan’s groom being told by his butler many years ago that he had laid a plate too few at table, enumerated the company he supposed was to dine, and on being informed that he had forgot Mr. Canning, said, “D--n that fellow. He has impudence for anything! What! Come here and dine with my master after deserting all the principles that you and I have heard him so often hold forth upon”’ (Holland House MSS.).

[238] Charles Rose Ellis (1771–1845), son of John Ellis, of Jamaica, and Elizabeth, daughter of John Pallmer, also of that island. He entered Parliament in 1793 and sat continuously for various seats until his elevation to the peerage, by Canning’s influence, in 1826, as Baron Seaford. He married, first, in 1798, Elizabeth Catherine, only daughter of John Augustus, Lord Hervey, and grand-daughter of Frederick, Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry. Their son succeeded his great-grandfather in the title of Lord Howard de Walden.

[239] He was placed in confinement by the French, into whose hands he had fallen, and at the same time a valuable collection of antiquities which he was about to despatch to England was confiscated.

[240] On January 22 a message was presented to both Houses of Parliament from the King suggesting that their immediate attention should be directed to measures for obtaining a closer and more satisfactory connection between the kingdoms of England and Ireland. A few days after, a proposal for a Union was laid before the Irish Parliament, but was rejected, Pitt, in the debate in the House of Commons on the 31st, stated that he thought it proper to unfold his proposed scheme, though he was fully aware that there was no chance of its adoption unless the Irish Parliament were willing to alter their present views.

[241] On January 22. ‘The banner of party is furled, but it is not beaten down. I trust that it will again be displayed and that it will assemble round it the steady friends to true liberty, hostile alike to despotic rule, and to wild innovation.’

[242] James Hare (1749–1804), son of an apothecary at Winchester, and grandson of Francis Hare, Bishop of Chichester. He was brought up at Eton and Oxford, and there became intimately acquainted with Charles James Fox and many others of the Whig circle. He married, in 1774, Hannah, only daughter and heiress of Sir Abraham Hume. He sat in Parliament for many years, but only once addressed the House. He was sent as Minister-Plenipotentiary to Poland, 1779–82.

[243] Hon. William Lamb (1779–1848), afterwards Prime Minister, son of Peniston, first Viscount Melbourne, whom he succeeded in the titles in 1819.

[244] Imitations in verse of two satires of Juvenal, which were entitled _Secession_ and _The Yeoman_. The subject of the latter, which was addressed to Lord Wycombe, was the excesses of the military in Ireland.

[245] Lord Minto mentions him in Paris, in a letter dated 1793. ‘Fish Crawfurd, with whom Madame du Deffand, being blind, was in love, was of the party the other day’ (_Life and Letters of Sir G. Elliot_).

[246] The Right Hon. Thomas Grenville (1755–1846), second son of George Grenville and brother of Lord Grenville. He was sent on an embassy to Berlin in order to persuade the King to join England against the French. He left Yarmouth on January 29 in the _Proserpine_ frigate, but in attempting to ascend the Elbe the ill-fated vessel was driven ashore. Abandoning the ship the passengers and crew escaped across the ice to Cuxhaven with only the clothes in which they stood. An interesting account of their hardships is given in the _Annual Register_ for 1846. The delay proved fatal to the object of Mr. Grenville’s mission, for Sieyès arrived in time to persuade Frederick William to remain neutral.

[247] By Madame de la Fayette.

[248] François le Vaillant (1753–1824), author of _Voyage dans l’intérieur de l’Afrique par le Cap de Bonne Espérance_, and _Second Voyage_, &c.

[249] Pierre Etienne Louis Dumont (1759–1829), born at Geneva. His family was French, but had fled to Switzerland in the sixteenth century to escape religious persecution. He became a preacher, and came to England about 1783 to superintend the education of Lord Lansdown’s sons. He there made the acquaintance of Bentham, whose secretary he became later in life. He espoused the cause of the French Revolution with enthusiasm at its commencement, but became terrified by its excesses, and left France soon after his friend Mirabeau’s death.

[250] Richard Hurd, D.D. (1720–1808), Bishop of Lichfield (1774), and of Worcester (1781). He was offered the Primacy in 1783, but refused to take it. The _Dialogues_ were published in 1759, and introduce historical persons, who are made to discuss the themes under consideration.

[251] Mr., afterwards Lord Archibald, Hamilton (1770–1827), youngest son of Archibald, ninth Duke of Hamilton and sixth Duke of Brandon, by Harriot, daughter of Alexander, sixth Earl of Galloway. He was a close friend and frequent correspondent of Lord Holland.

[252] Charles Alexandre de Calonne (1734–1802), Louis XVI.’s Minister of Finance. His system of taxation was so arbitrary and unbearable, and his statement of public accounts in 1787 so unsatisfactory, that he was deprived of his honours, and banished to Lorraine. He came to England, where he remained until 1802. Bonaparte then granted his request to return to France, but he died almost immediately upon his arrival in that country. Lord Holland relates in his _Foreign Reminiscences_ that Calonne’s death was due to mismanagement, and that he wrote in pencil to his doctor when no longer able to speak, ‘Tu m’as assassiné, et si tu es honnête homme tu renonceras la médecine pour jamais.

[253] Lord Bessborough’s brother-in-law. He married Lady Charlotte Ponsonby in 1770.

[254] Lord Robert Fitzgerald (1765–1833), sixth son of James, first Duke of Leinster, and Emilia Mary, daughter of Charles, second Duke of Richmond.

[255] Sir Lionel Copley, Bart., of Sprotborough. He was born about 1767, succeeded to the title in 1781, and died in 1806.

[256] Sir Gilbert Affleck, Lady Holland’s stepfather.

[257] A friend of Lord Wycombe, who introduced him to Lord Holland.

[258] Emily Charlotte (_d._ 1832), the Duchess’s daughter by her second husband, William Ogilvie. She married, in 1799, Charles George Beauclerk (1774–1846), only son of Topham Beauclerk and Lady Diana.

[259] Sackville Tufton, ninth Earl of Thanet (1767–1825), son of Sackville, eighth Earl, and Mary, daughter of Lord John Sackville. He married, in 1811, a Hungarian lady, Anne de Bojanowitz.

[260] Robert Cultar Fergusson (1768–1838), son of Alexander Fergusson, of Craigdarroch, Dumfriesshire. He was called to the Bar in 1797, and was counsel to Allen, one of O’Connor’s fellow prisoners at Maidstone. After his release from prison he went to Calcutta, where he became Attorney-General. He obtained a seat in Parliament in 1826, and became Judge-Advocate-General in 1834.

[261] Gunter Browne, Esq.

[262] Edward Fox Fitzgerald (1794–1863). He was educated by his grandmother, the Duchess of Leinster, and served in several cavalry regiments. He married a daughter of Sir John Paul in 1827.

[263] Lady Lucy Fitzgerald, the Duchess of Leinster’s daughter. She married Admiral Sir Thomas Foley, G.C.B., in 1802, and died in 1851.

[264] Son of Thomas Adderley, Esq., of Innishannon, Co. Cork, and Margaretta, daughter of Edmund Bourke, Esq., of Urrey. His mother married, secondly, in 1792, Robert, Lord Hobart.

[265] Charles, third Duke of Richmond (1735–1806), Lady Lucy Fitzgerald’s uncle.

[266] The Protest was signed by Lords Holland, Thanet, and King. It remains on the records.

[267] Robert, Lord Hobart (1760–1816), son of George, third Earl of Buckinghamshire, whom he succeeded in 1804. He married, in 1792, Margaretta, daughter of Edmund Bourke, Esq., of Urrey, and widow of Thomas Adderley, Esq. She died in 1796, leaving one daughter, and Lord Hobart married, in 1799, Eleanor, daughter of William, first Lord Auckland.

[268] Called in the _Annual Register_ for 1799 the battle of Ostrach.

[269] Louise Marthe de Conflans d’Armentières, the wife of François-Marie-Casimir, Marquis de Coigny. She was celebrated for her wit and quickness of repartee, and many anecdotes are told of her curious tastes, and the hold she maintained on society at the time. Marie Antoinette once said that she was only Queen of Versailles, but Madame de Coigny was Queen of Paris.

[270] Right Hon. Lord John Townshend (1757–1833), second son of George, first Marquess Townshend. Lord of the Admiralty 1782–1783. He married, in 1787, Georgina Anna, daughter of William Poyntz, Esq., of Midgham, Berks, the divorced wife of Everard Fawkener, Esq. His second son, John, succeeded to the Marquisate in 1855.

[271] Henry Richard, Lord Brooke (1779–1853), son of George, second Earl of Warwick, by his second marriage with Henrietta, daughter of Richard Vernon, Esq., and Evelyn, first Countess of Upper Ossory. Lord Brooke succeeded his father as third Earl in 1816.

[272] Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, fifth Baronet (1772–1840), son of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn (who died in 1789), and his second wife, Charlotte, daughter of the Right Hon. George Grenville.

[273] _Alonzo the Brave_, first published in _The Monk_ (vol. iii.).

‘A warrior so bold and a virgin so bright
Conversed, as they sat on the green;
They gazed on each other with tender delight;
Alonzo the Brave was the name of the knight,
The maid’s was the fair Imogene,’ etc.

[274] The Hon. and Rev. Augustus George Legge (1773–1828), youngest son of William, second Earl of Dartmouth.

[275] John Fitzmaurice, Viscount Kirkwall (1778–1820), only son of Hon. Thomas Fitzmaurice (brother of William, first Marquess of Lansdown), and Mary, Countess of Orkney in her own right. He married, in 1802, Anna Maria, daughter of John, Baron de Blaquière, of Ardkill, but predeceased his mother, who died in 1831.

[276] Jane, daughter of Sir William Maxwell, and first wife of Alexander, fourth Duke of Gordon, whom she married in 1767. She died in 1812.

[277] Lord Boringdon.

[278] He said that ‘her creation betokened a “glorious mood” in her creator’ (Sichel’s _Emma, Lady Hamilton_).

[279] Compare _Letters of Sir Gilbert Elliot_, ii. 364, 365. ‘With men her language and conversation are exaggerations of anything I ever heard anywhere, and I was wonderfully struck with these inveterate remains of her origin, though the impression was very much weakened by seeing the other ladies of Naples.’

‘We had the _attitudes_ a night or two ago by candle-light; they come up to my expectations fully, which is saying everything. They set Lady Hamilton in a very different light from any I had seen her in before; nothing about her, neither her conversation, her manners, nor figure announce the very refined taste which she discovers in this performance, besides the extraordinary talent that is necessary for the execution; and besides all this, says Sir _Willum_, “she makes my apple pies.”’

[280] The Hon. Charles Francis Greville (1749–1809), second son of Francis, first Earl of Warwick, of this creation, and Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Archibald Hamilton and sister of Sir William Hamilton.

[281] Frere succeeded Canning as Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs early in 1799.

[282] The actor.

[283] Elizabeth, daughter of Charles, second Duke of Marlborough, who married Henry, tenth Earl of Pembroke, in 1756, and died in 1831. She was Charles Beauclerk’s aunt. Her son, George Augustus, who succeeded as eleventh Earl of Pembroke in 1794, married, in 1787, Beauclerk’s sister, Elizabeth. She died in 1793.

[284] Lord Lansdown.

[285] Edward Law (1750–1818), afterwards created Lord Ellenborough; appointed Attorney-General in 1793.

According to the published account of the trial, Law in his questions to Sheridan tried to obtain the admission that in his opinion Thanet and Fergusson meant to favour O’Connor’s escape. This Sheridan refused to answer, and he was justified in doing so. He stated, however, most clearly that he saw nothing which would lead him to that conclusion, though perhaps they may have ‘_wished_,’ for the escape.

The fracas took place after judgment was delivered, which was not until 1.30 A.M. Sheridan, in a letter to his wife, written at the time, says that O’Connor had no thought of escaping himself, but that ‘three or four injudicious friends’ were responsible for the attempt to hustle him away. He also mentions that he himself was the means of preventing ‘some serious mischief’ after ‘the soldiers got in,’ for which conduct he was thanked by the Judge.

[286] The French fleet lying in Brest was able to escape from the rigid blockade maintained by the Allies, and appeared in the Mediterranean. There they remained until the beginning of June, when they returned to Brest with the Spanish fleet, which had joined them off Cadiz.

[287] Claire Hippolyte Legris de Latude, better known as Mlle. Clairon, the celebrated French actress. Born in 1723; died in 1802.

[288] Benjamin Flower, of Cambridge, a printer.

[289] Lady Anne Fitzpatrick, Lord Upper Ossory’s daughter.

[290] A political association founded under the guidance of Major Cartwright to promote reform.

[291] The French plenipotentiaries were assassinated on April 19 just outside the town of Rastadt by some drunken hussars of the Austrian regiment of Szeckler, only one of them escaping with his life.

[292] Sir Francis Burdett married, in 1793, Sophia, daughter of Thomas Coutts (1735–1822), founder with his brother James of the banking-house, and banker to George III. Sir Francis’ advanced and independent views on all the political questions of the day are well known.

[293] Sir James Mackintosh (1765–1832), the celebrated writer and conversationalist. It was a visit to Burke in 1797 which cooled his revolutionary ardour, and led him to change his views so completely upon the course of events in France.

[294] William Sturges-Bourne (1769–1845), a follower of Canning. A Lord of the Treasury 1807–9, and Home Secretary 1827.

[295] Sir Philip Francis (1740–1818), the reputed author of the _Junius Letters_. He was son of the Rev. Philip Francis, a _protégé_ of Henry, first Lord Holland. He commenced life as a clerk in Government offices, and in 1773 obtained a seat on the East India Council. On his return to England he obtained a seat in Parliament (1784), and became a staunch supporter of the Whigs. He was twice married, first, in 1761, to Elizabeth Macrabie; and secondly, in 1814, to Emma Watkins, daughter of a Yorkshire clergyman.

[296] Sir Lionel Copley. His brother, Joseph, succeeded him in the Baronetcy, and died in 1838.

[297] Probably fifth son of William Markham, Archbishop of York, who was preceptor to the Prince of Wales from 1771 to 1776. Robert Markham became rector of Bolton Percy, Yorkshire, and Archdeacon of York. He died in 1837.

[298] Lord Henry Spencer, who died in 1795.

[299] Robert, Viscount Belgrave (1767–1845), only son of Richard, first Earl Grosvenor, and Henrietta, daughter of Henry Vernon, Esq., of Hilton Park, Co. Stafford. He succeeded his father as second Earl in 1802, having married, in 1794, Eleanor, only daughter of Thomas, first Earl of Wilton. He was created Marquess of Westminster in 1831, on the occasion of William IV.’s coronation.

[300] Thomas Sheridan (1775–1817), only son of Richard Brinsley Sheridan. He served for some time in the army, and died at the Cape of Good Hope when holding the post of Colonial Treasurer. He married, in 1805, Caroline Henrietta, daughter of Colonel James Callender, and had four sons, and three daughters--the three noted beauties, Mrs. Norton, Lady Dufferin, and the Duchess of Somerset. Mrs. Sheridan wrote several novels which received favourable notice.

[301] Richard Porson (1759–1808), classical scholar. This is evidently the occasion mentioned by Lord Holland in his _Miscellaneous Recollections_. ‘When I asked him to my house he peremptorily declined coming; on my repeating my invitation, he sent me word that he had “broken his leg and could not come,” though he was frequently met about the same time walking in the streets. Perhaps he was affronted at my sending the invitation by a common friend, instead of calling myself, or perhaps he was on that, as on other occasions, extremely jealous of being invited as a show.’

[302] An architect, who superintended structural repairs to Holland House which were found necessary a few months later, and was afterwards constantly staying there.

[303] Colonel Harvey Aston was wounded in a duel with Major Allen, and died a week later, having fought with Major Picton the preceding day, on account of the same affair. Several stories of him are related in _Recollections of the Table Talk of Samuel Rogers_.

[304] William Wickham (1761–1840), Minister to the Swiss Cantons, 1794–97. He was appointed Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department in 1798. He went abroad again, while still retaining his post at home, in June 1799 as special envoy to Switzerland and the allied armies, and did not return until 1802.

[305] Frederick Augustus, fifth Earl of Berkeley (1745–1810), who married Mary, daughter of William Cole, of Wotton-under-Edge, co. Gloucester. The case came before the House of Lords in 1811, after Lord Berkeley’s death. Lady Berkeley then swore that the marriage took place at Berkeley in 1785, eleven years previous to the public marriage in 1796. Little evidence, however, was forthcoming, and as the entry in the Register was not in its right place, and was in the opinion of several witnesses almost entirely in Lord Berkeley’s own handwriting, the marriage was disallowed. William Berkeley, the eldest son (afterwards created Earl Fitzhardinge), was therefore debarred from succeeding to the titles.

[306] Sir Robert Adair (1763–1855), son of Robert Adair, surgeon to George III., and Lady Caroline Keppel, daughter of William, second Earl of Albemarle. He was an intimate friend of Charles James Fox, and was employed by him on a diplomatic mission in 1806.

[307] She married, in 1816, the Hon. Fleetwood Broughton Reynolds Pellew (afterwards K.C.H., and Rear-Admiral), second son of Edward, Viscount Exmouth. She died in 1849.

[308] Lady Anne and Lady Gertrude Fitzpatrick, Lord Upper Ossory’s daughters.

[309] In the House of Lords on June 11.

[310] John Hookham Frere and his brother Bartholomew.

[311] John or Joseph Smith is mentioned in Lord Holland’s _Miscellaneous Reminiscences_ as a contributor to the Etonian publication, the _Microcosm_, in conjunction with Frere, Canning, Bobus Smith, and others. Lord Holland mentions that he was known by the nickname of Easley, and that he died in 1827.

[312] Charles Richard Fox (1796–1873), born in November 1796; Lady Holland’s favourite child. He entered the navy in 1809, but was later transferred to the army, in which service he rose to be General. He married, first, in 1824, Lady Mary FitzClarence, second daughter of William IV. and Mrs. Jordan; and secondly, in 1865, Katherine, daughter of John Maberley, Esq. He sat in Parliament for some years, and held several minor posts in the Ordnance Department. He collected coins, and the result of his labours formed a most valuable addition to the treasures at the Royal Museum at Berlin, by which the collection was acquired after his death. He died at his house in Addison Road, after a long illness, in 1873.

[313] See _ante_, p. 170.

[314] Published in 1781. Compare Lord Byron’s _English Bards and Scotch Reviewers_:--

Behold!--ye Tarts!--one moment spare the text,
Hayley’s last work, and worst--until his next;
Whether he spin poor couplets into plays,
Or damn the dead with purgatorial praise,
His style in youth or age is still the same,
For ever feeble and for ever tame.
Triumphant first see ‘Temper’s Triumphs’ shine!
At least I’m sure they triumphed over mine.

[315] Charles Francis Sheridan (1750–1806), son of Thomas Sheridan and elder brother of Richard Brinsley Sheridan. He went to Sweden in 1772 as secretary to the British Envoy, and remained until 1775. He entered the Irish Parliament the following year, and was Secretary at War in Dublin from 1782 till 1789, when he obtained a pension and retired from politics. He occupied the remaining years of his life with chemical experiments and fruitless attempts to discover the secret of perpetual motion. He married, in 1783, Letitia, daughter of Theophilus Bolton.

[316] ‘His steadiness and zeal have been of the greatest use, and I think he is a man that, having begun, is sure to go on. I look upon him to be one of the main pillars of the party. You know I am one who think both property and rank of great importance in this country in a party view; and in addition to these, the Duke of Bedford has a very good understanding; I wish I could add popular manners.’ C. J. Fox to Lord Holland, March 1794 (_Memorials and Correspondence of C. J. Fox_).

[317] A Bill ‘to prohibit the trading for slaves on the coast of Africa within certain limits.’ It was thrown out in committee on July 5.

[318] Richard Penn (1736–1811), grandson of William Penn, and brother of John Penn, the writer. He acted as Deputy-Governor of Pennsylvania for his brother from 1771 to 1773, and returned to England in 1775 with a petition from Congress. He sat in the House of Commons for many years.