and esteems you more truly than your Ladyship's truly affectionate
ST. VINCENT.
Rosia House,
27th February 1799.
Letters
FROM
SIR ALEXANDER JOHN BALL
TO
LADY HAMILTON.
Letters OF SIR ALEXANDER JOHN BALL, _&c_.
I.
My Dear Madam,
I cannot help loving and esteeming you very much, although you have
proved such a false gipsey to me. Pray, do you recollect looking into
my hand, and telling me a pretty story of carrying home Sir William
and Lady Hamilton, &c. &c. However, I forgive you; as you did not take
money, and could only have in view giving me much pleasure.
I beg leave to introduce to your Ladyship's notice the Abbé Savoye;
who is a sensible man, and the most polished here. He has great
influence with the Maltese. Pray, request Sir William to introduce him
particularly to Le Chevalier Acton.
I shall have the pleasure of seeing you and Sir William Hamilton in
England, this summer. How very much I wished to be near you, when you
were reading the parliamentary effusions of gratitude and joy for the
services Lord Nelson has rendered his country! I would rather be Lord
Nelson, than any Duke--or, indeed, any man--in England; and you may
guess how very proud I am in having such a friend. Indeed, I feel,
that I owe more to him than any man in this world. I have written to
Sir William; God bless you both!
I remain, with sincere respect and esteem, my dear Madam, your
Ladyship's most devoted and obliged humble servant,
ALEXANDER JOHN BALL.
Alexander,
9th February 1799.
Davidge Gould is sighing for Palermo; _alias_ Miss K----. I wish the
Admiral would let him recreate for a fortnight, and send Hardy to me
again.
II.
My Dear Madam,
I had the honour of writing to your Ladyship and Sir William, by the
Vanguard; since which, I have read the few lines you had the goodness
to address to me at the bottom of Lord Nelson's letter of the 9th
inst.
I cannot entertain any hopes of personally paying my respects to you
and Sir William, before your departure for England; but, be assured,
that I can never forget the very flattering attention you have both
been pleased to honour me with.
You must wait a month longer, for the warm weather; otherwise, the
transition may be too great for Sir William.
We are anxiously waiting for the Maltese deputies to return from
Palermo. The inhabitants are critically situated; but, I hope, all
will end well. Good news from you will determine it.
I find, that you fascinate all the navy as much at Palermo as you
did at Naples. If we had many such advocates, every body would be a
candidate for our profession.
God bless, and protect, you and Sir William. May prosperous gales
attend you! May you live a thousand years!
Believe me, with sincere respect and esteem, my dear Madam, your
Ladyship's most devoted and obliged servant,
ALEXANDER JOHN BALL.
23d February 1799.
Letters
FROM THE
EARL OF BRISTOL,
_Bishop of Derry, in Ireland_,
TO
LADY HAMILTON.
Letters OF THE EARL OF BRISTOL, _Bishop of Derry, &c_.
I.
Naples, Sunday Morning,
[1795.]
I return you the inclosed, my Dearest Emma, which does equal honour
to the excellent head and heart of the writer. I shall begin, for the
first time of my life, to have a good opinion of myself, after such
honourable testimonials.
In the mean time, I send you an extraordinary piece of news, just
written me from Ratisbon--a courier from the Elector of Mentz,
desiring _the Empire_ to make a separate peace with France.
Couriers have been sent from the Diet to Sweden and Denmark, desiring
their mediation: "and it is clear," says my letter, "_Somebody_ is at
the bottom of all this; the Elector of Mentz only lends his name."
The suburbs of Warsaw taken; the capitulation of the city daily
expected.
The King of Prussia totally retired beyond Potsdam, and supposed to be
at the eve of madness.
Oh! Emma, who'd ever be wise,
If madness be loving of thee.
B.
II.
Munich, 14th July 1795.
Dearest Emma,
Here is great news from England. My letters of the 26th June assure
me, seven thousand men are embarked for St. Pol de Leon, together with
an immense number of emigrés--that, the week before, a bishop, and
sixty priests, were most prosperously landed at the same place, and
received with the greatest acclamations--that six sail of the line
from Russia, were in sight, and the pilots gone to conduct them--that,
in Amsterdam, and other towns of Holland, there is the greatest
insurrections in favour of that fool the Stadtholder. All this,
however, can only tend to facilitate peace, but not at all to restore
that despicable, odious family of Bourbons--the head of which is now
at _Verona_, where we left him eating _two capons_ a day; ('tis a pity
the whole family are not _capons_!) and, what is more, dressing them
himself in a superb kitchen--the true chapel of a Bourbon Prince.
Emma! if that dear Queen of Naples does not write, herself, to
Prince D'Oria, for me, I won't look at your beautiful face these six
months--"_coute qui coute_."
To-morrow, for _Pyrmont_, near Hanover. Emma--adieu!
III.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * There is no doubt
but Don Luizi is implicated: that very circumstance, argues the extent
of the mischief; for so cautious a man, and one whose sentiments are
so publicly known, would not engage without good support.
I have conversed with one of his intimates--one "who is no stranger
to his dearest secret." The evidence will be difficult; perhaps,
impracticable: unless his most confidential friends can be gained; and
that, I deem, impossible.
But the character of the Garrison at Capua is of the most alarming
complexion; and, yet, is what I can best depend on. I think, _Wade_
could tell much, if he would speak out.
Adieu!
Lovel and I were on Vesuvius. He goes, like a true parson, only to
eat the better. I foresee, he will once more fall into _Nudi's_ hands.
Procyta will be another _Duo_; for I hate large parties on such, and
especially females--unless they be Phoenixes, like yourself.
It is a great discouragement to a Caserta party, to view the whole
town buried in a mist; and the Belvidere alone, like a buoy, to point
out the shoal.
Sweet Emma--adieu!
Every wish of my heart beats for the dear Queen.
IV.
Send me word, Dearest Emma! how the invaluable, adorable Queen, finds
herself.
The weather changed so unmercifully, yesterday, that Lovel and I
both grew ill; and this makes me the more anxious to hear of our
too sensible and inestimable Queen. My warmest wishes--physical,
political, and moral--ever attend her.
B.
V.
Here is my cousin's answer, Dearest Emma--"_Io lo capisco_." Her
brother assured me, there is not the semblance of an insurrection;
and, that our dear, dear Queen, is misled by a set of scoundrels.
Send me word where you will be. Adieu!
VI.
Yesterday, we dined on Mount Vesuvius; to-day, we were to have dined
on its victim, Pompeii: but, "by the grace of God, which passeth all
understanding," since Bartolomeo himself, that weather-soothsayer, did
not foresee this British weather, we are prevented.
In the mean time, all this week and the next, is replete with projects
to Ischia, Procita, &c. &c. so God only knows when I can worship,
again, my Diana of Ephesus.
Write me word, explicitly, how you are, _what_ you are, and where you
are; and be sure that, wheresoever I am, still I am your's, my dearest
Emma.
VII.
Wednesday.
MY DEAREST EMMA,
The very unexpected intelligence, which Prince Augustus has most
delicately communicated to me, of poor Lord Hervey's _decease_, has
quite _bouleversée_ my already shattered frame.
I would not allow your friendly mind to learn an event so interesting
to me from any other hand than that of your affectionate and devoted
friend,
BRISTOL.
VIII.
MY EVER DEAREST LADY HAMILTON,
I should certainly have made this Sunday an holy day to me, and have
taken a Sabbath day's journey to Caserta, had not poor Mr. Lovel been
confined to his bed above three days with a fever.
To-day, it is departed; to-morrow, Dr. Nudi has secured us from its
resurrection; and, after to-morrow, I hope, virtue will be its own
reward, and that my friendship for Lovel will be recompensed with the
enjoyment.
This moment I receive your _billet-doux_, and very dulcet it is!
All public and private accounts agree, in the immediate prospect of a
general peace. It will make a delicious foreground in the picture of
the new year; many of which, I wish, from the top, bottom, and centre
of my heart, to the incomparable Emma--_quella senza paragona_!
_Dans ce moment, on m'assure que Mayence est prise. Je ne vous
garantis pas cette maudite nouvelle--mais je me flatte que la paix se
fait_.
IX.
EVER DEAREST EMMA,
I went down to your Opera box two minutes after you left it; and
should have seen you on the morning of your departure--but was
detained in the _arms_ of _Murphy_, as Lady Eden expressed it, and was
too late.
You say nothing of the adorable Queen; I hope, she has not forgot me:
but, as Shakespeare says, "Who doats, must doubt;" and I verily deem
her the very best edition of a woman I ever saw--I mean; of such as
are not in _folio_, and are to be _had_ in _sheets_.
I will come on Friday or Saturday; but our British colony are so
numerous, that my duties obstruct my pleasures.
Ever, and invariably, dearest, dear Emma, most affectionately, your
B.
You see, I am but the second letter of your alphabet, though you are
the first of _mine_.
X.
Milan, 24th November 1798.
I know not, Dearest Emma, whether friend Sir William has been able
to obtain my passport, or not; but this I know--that, if they have
refused it, they are damned fools for their pains: for, never was a
_Malta orange_ better worth squeezing or sucking; and if they leave me
to die, without a tombstone over me, to tell the contents--"_tant pis
pour eux_!"
In the mean time, I will frankly confess to you, that my health most
seriously and urgently requires the balmy air of dear Naples, and the
more balmy atmosphere of those I love, and who love me; and that I
shall forego my garret with more regret than most people of my silly
rank in society forego a palace or a drawing-room.
But I will augur better things from the justice of my neighbour; and
that they will not condemn, against all rules of probability, one of
their best friends, unheard: especially, one who, if he be heard, can
say so much.
My project, then, in case I receive the passport, is to travel on
horseback as far as _Spalato_ in Dalmatia; and, from thence, cross
over to Manfredonia--a passage of a few hours--and which, in the year
1772, I performed with my horses on board; and, afterwards, had a most
delightful jaunt through that unexplored region, Dalmatia; where the
very first object that strikes both the eye and the imagination, is
a modern city built within the precincts of an ancient palace--for
Spalato stands within the innermost walls of Diocletian's palace.
For that wise Sovereign quitted the sceptre for the pleasures of
an architect's rule; and, when he had completed his mansion in that
delightful climate, enjoyed that, and life, to a most advanced old
age--
"The world forgetting, by the world forgot."
_A-propos_ to _Spalato_! Do not fail hinting to Sir William, that
a most safe, convenient, and expeditious packet-boat, might be
established, in these perilous times, between that and Manfredonia:
by which all dispatches, and all travellers, either for business or
pleasure, might make a very short and safe cut between Naples and
Vienna, and Naples and the rest of Europe, without touching one palm
of any ground but Austrian and Neapolitan; and, of course, without the
risk of being ever stopped.
The small towns, too, are in quick succession; and, the whole country
being a limestone rock, the roads will make themselves, and afterwards
pay themselves, by means of good turnpikes.
Nothing can exceed the dreariness, gloominess, and humidity, of a
Milanese sky in winter; which, I conclude, under the _old regime_,
led to all the hospitality, and conviviality, practised here, by their
voluptuous but social nobility.
Now, we have nothing left to _comfort_, but another _Nudi_--a son of
Esculapius, born in Italy; but an enthusiast for England, and all that
is English--an excellent physician, but a still better friend; and,
like Nudi, when he has a pint of Madeira in his belly, and the fumes
of it in his brain, a most cheerful and improving companion: for, I
protest to you that, during my convalescence, I made greater strides
to recovery by his Attic evenings, than by his morning potions, or
even his beef broth.
Sweet Emma, adieu! Remember me in the warmest and most enthusiastic
stile, to your friend, and my friend, and the friend of human kind.
If Sir William does not contrive to send me my passport, I will--I
will--excommunicate him, and send him to the devil before his time.
Letter
FROM
THE HONOURABLE
CHARLES GREVILLE,
_Nephew of Sir William Hamilton_,
TO
LADY HAMILTON.
Letter OF THE HONOURABLE CHARLES GREVILLE, _&c_.
August 18th, 1794.
DEAR LADY HAMILTON,
You will, I am sure, be glad to hear, that a favourable change
has been announced to me; and that I am reinstated in the King's
household, and honoured with a gold key, as his Vice-Chamberlain--and
I hope, in a few days, to be in parliament.
You have seen me in prosperity, and in adversity; and know how much I
estimate worldly concerns, according to their influencing the opinion
of my real friends. Friendship has borne me up in the most difficult
times; and the general satisfaction which my friends express, on my
promotion, renders me very happy at present: and, to make me more so,
I have anticipated to my own mind the sincere satisfaction with which
you will receive this news.
I should not flatter myself so far, if I was not very sincerely
interested in your happiness; and, ever, affectionately your's,
C.F.G.
Letters
FROM
LADY HAMILTON
TO
THE HON. CHARLES GREVILLE,
_Nephew of Sir William Hamilton_.
Letters OF LADY HAMILTON, &c.
I.
25th of February, [1800.]
DEAR SIR,
I received your letter by Mr. Campbell. He is lodged with us. We find
him a pleasant man; and shall write fully by him. He will tell you a
little how we go on, as to our domestic happiness. We are more united
and comfortable than ever, in spite of the infamous Jacobin papers,
jealous of Lord Nelson's glory, and Sir William's and mine. But we do
not mind them. Lord N. is a truly virtuous and great man; and, because
we have been fagging, and ruining our health, and sacrificing every
comfort, in the cause of loyalty, our private characters are to be
stabbed in the dark. First, it was said, Sir W. and Lord N. fought;
then, that we played, and lost. First, Sir W. and Lord N. live like
brothers; next, Lord N. never plays: and this I give you my word of
honour. So I beg you will contradict any of these vile reports. Not
that Sir W. and Lord N. mind it; and I get scolded by the Queen, and
all of them, for having suffered one day's uneasiness.
Our fleet is off Malta: Lord Nelson has taken Le Genereux, and was
after the frigates; so the attempt to relieve Malta has failed.
I have had a letter from the Emperor of Russia, with the Cross of
Malta. Sir William has sent his Imperial Majesty's letter to Lord
Grenville, to get me the permission to wear it. I have rendered some
services to the poor Maltese. I got them ten thousand pounds, and sent
corn when they were in distress. The deputies have been lodged in my
house; I have been their Ambassadress, so his [I.]M. has rewarded me.
If the King will give me leave to wear it abroad, it is of use to me.
The Q----n is having the order set in diamonds for me; but the one the
Emperor sent is gold. I tell you this little history of it, that you
may be _au fait_. Ball has it also, but I am the first Englishwoman
that ever had it. Sir W. is pleased, so _I am happy_. We are coming
home; and I am miserable, to leave my dearest friend, the Q----. She
cannot be consoled. We have sworn to be back in six months; and I will
not quit her, till Sir William binds himself to come back. However,
I shall have a comfort in seeing some of my old friends; and you, in
particular. We have also many things to settle. I think, I can situate
the person you mention about the Court, as a _Camerist_ to some of the
R. F----y, if her education _is good_.
It is a comfortable situation _for life_; so, I will bring her out.
The Q. has promised me. Let this remain _entre nous_.
II.
[April 1803.]
Lady Hamilton will be glad to know how long Mr. Greville can permit
her to remain in the house in Piccadilly, as she must instantly look
out for a lodging; and, therefore, it is right for her to know the
full extent of time she can remain there. She also begs to know, if he
will pay her debts, and what she may depend upon; that she may reduce
her expences and establishment immediately.
END OF VOL. I.
Printed by Macdonald and Son, Cloth Fair, London.