LAW AND LITERATURE
By what must seem a curious coincidence, in 1863 and the two years
immediately following, death carried off all who had been mainly
instrumental in forming Reeve's career. Greville, who introduced him to the
'Times,' died in 1865; his mother died in 1864; in 1863, his early patron
and assured friend, the Marquis of Lansdowne, died on January 31st, at the
ripe age of 82; his uncle, John Taylor, the head of the Taylor family, a
man of singular ability as a mining engineer, died on April 5th; and Sir
George Lewis, whose retirement from the editorship of the 'Edinburgh
Review' had paved the way for Reeve's succession, died on April 13th.
Much of Reeve's correspondence with Lord Clarendon--Lewis's
brother-in-law--refers to the wish of the widow, the Lady Theresa Lewis,
that a collected edition of her husband's contributions to the 'Review'
should be published. The wish was only partially carried into effect; seven
of the articles were collected in a volume published in 1864 under the
title of 'Essays on the Administrations of Great Britain from 1783 to
1830;' and Lewis's brother, Sir Gilbert Lewis, who succeeded to the
baronetcy, published his letters in 1870. The following letter from
Lord Clarendon refers to the death (on January 31st) of Lewis's
stepdaughter--Lady Theresa's daughter by a former marriage--and wife of
Mr., now Sir, William Harcourt:--
_G. C., February 3rd_.--I came up early yesterday morning, and only
received this evening your most kind letter directed to The Grove, or I
should have thanked you for it sooner.
A great misfortune has befallen us, and we are all very sad, but derive
some comfort from the calmness and resignation with which my sister is
bearing up against her grief. To William Harcourt it is, indeed, as you
say, a wreck of all happiness and hope; but no man under such trying
circumstances could have displayed more fortitude, or more tender concern
for others. I meet him to-morrow at Nuneham for the last sad office.
I grieve for Lord Lansdowne, and yet it is impossible not to feel that,
at his age, and with rapidly increasing infirmities, a prolongation
of existence was not to be desired. He was a rare combination of high
qualities, and we shall not look upon his like again.
The next letter, also from Lord Clarendon, refers to the 'Albert
Memorial':--
_The Grove, March 29th_.--I knew you would approve of the Cross. I myself
should prefer it to any other form of memorial, if it was in the centre of
converging roads, or of a great place surrounded by buildings more or less
harmonising with it; but placed in Hyde Park, with no local assistance
beyond its imaginary connexion with the Exhibitions of '51 and '62, I have
my fears that it will be thought unmeaning.
I forget at this moment the exact height of the design, but I do not think
it is to be 300 feet; and Mr. Scott is to consider whether the proportions
may not generally be reduced. He may wish to build the largest cross in the
world, but neither the Queen nor her committee have any such desire....
I don't think that a grant by the representatives of the people, as a
supplement to their voluntary contributions, and aided by the subscription
of the Queen, would destroy the feeling of the monument. There might
perhaps be less sentiment, but the whole would be more national.
From the Journal:--
_May 4th_.--Lord Hatherton died at Teddesley. His illness had been long.
When we parted at Wiesbaden in August last, I knew we should not meet
again. Never was there a kinder and more active friend. The confidence he
showed me was unbounded; insomuch that in November he placed in my hands
the original correspondence of the ministers with himself in June and July,
1834, on the Irish Coercion Bill, which led to the breaking up of Earl
Grey's Cabinet. These I have power to publish; but, if not published, I
mean eventually to return them to the Littleton family.
This I did in July 1864. The volume was published in 1872.
_To Mr. Dempster_
_C. O., July 10th_.--I am rather like a boy to whom some benevolent genius
offers a basket of peaches, and who feels rather shy of taking the biggest
of them; but, on the other hand, it would be a shabby return for great
kindness to keep you in suspense. I, therefore, answer that, _sauf cause
majeure_, we hope to be with you on the evening of Tuesday, August 11th. We
shall probably go down to Aberdeen by sea, starting on Saturday, the 8th,
if decent berths can be obtained, and I have sent to take them. If this
fails we should start on Sunday evening by rail. I cannot express to you
how delightful to me is the thought of the kind welcome of Skibo, and the
fresh air of your hills, after a very long and laborious season. But I have
still a month in the mill, and a huge list of causes to be disposed of.
The 'Edinburgh' will be out on Thursday. You will find it very Scotch.
The Journal notes:--
We went to Chichester, on a visit to Dr. McCarogher; and from there to
Goodwood races.
_August 8th_.--To Scotland by sea. Beached Skibo on the 11th. Shooting on
the 12th with Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, Seaforth, and Dempster.
_25th_.--To Brahan. Little old General Kmety there; very good fun; but he
does not look a hero.
_To Mr. Dempster_
_Brahan Castle, August 26th_.--We performed our pleasant but slow journey
very well, and arrived at five P.M. The weather yesterday was the worst I
have seen this year in Scotland. I declined to face the woods, but we got
a walk by the Conan in a gleam of sunshine. However, the house and its
collections, and their most amusing and hospitable owner, afforded us ample
amusement. I am sorry, for my own sake, that this country is constantly
gaining stronger claims on my affection and regard; for am I not born a
dweller by our inglorious southern streams and downs? If, however, there be
such a thing as transmigration hereafter, let me hope that I shall come out
at last as a Highland laird.
The Journal continues:--
_August 28th_.--To Invergarry, where we lunched with Mr. Peabody; and to
Glenquoich--Ed. Ellice's. The Elchos, Sir F. and Lady Grey, and Lowe there.
_31st_.--Excursion from Glenquoich to Loch Hourn. Then by Oban to Glasgow.
Visit to the Belhavens at Wishaw, September 4th, and to Abington. Home on
the 10th.
_September 15th_.--Torry Hill. Shooting there for some days.
_17th_.--Mr. Ellice died suddenly [Footnote: Of heart disease and
eighty-two years. He was found dead in his bed.] at Ardochy, only a
fortnight after we left his house. That excursion to Loch Hourn was his
last.
_To Mr. Dempster_
_Torry Hill, September 21st_.--What a sudden and painful loss is this
abrupt termination of the life of our kind friend at Glenquoich! It is
scarcely three weeks since we left him in his usual health and spirits,
and now--as Evelyn says--all is in the dust.... I have had an unpleasant
accident, though--thank God!--not a serious one. Turning round very
suddenly to shoot a partridge behind me, without seeing that Lord Kingsdown
was on his pony about fifty yards off, a pellet of shot from my gun hit
him in the cheek, and another hit his pony in the eye. Conceive my horror!
Fortunately, the wound was very slight, and, indeed, was well in half an
hour; but if it had hit him in the eye I never should have forgiven myself.
_From Lord Clarendon_
_The Grove, October 4th_.--I was very glad to hear from you this morning,
but very sorry to learn that you have cause for deep anxiety respecting
your mother, and I fear, from what you say, that she is hopelessly ill and
suffering much. I sympathise with you sincerely. I joined my people at
Lathom a month ago, and we returned last week from our peregrinations,
all well, except myself, who can't shake off the gout, which is a
disappointment after having taken the trouble of a Wiesbaden cure.
On the day of my last bath there I received an urgent request from our
Foreign Secretary that I should proceed to Frankfort and observe the
conference. I did so, and was interested and amused. It was an opportunity
that may never occur again of meeting the sovereigns of Germany, great and
small....
The impression made upon me by the E. of Austria was very agreeable. He had
none of the proud manner of which at one time we heard so much, but, on the
contrary, he was frank and gentlemanlike, and told me the difficulties in
which Germany was placed by such an effete institution as the Diet, and the
advances making by Democracy, which, for the first time, were dangerous,
because the people had reason and justice on their side. He told me, also,
all the steps he had taken to secure the co-operation of the K. of Prussia,
which were straightforward and deferential; and he complained, though
without bitterness, of the manner in which they had been misrepresented....
It may be that some good will come, perhaps before the close of the present
century, from a public avowal by congregated sovereigns that their subjects
had grievances of magnitude, and that delay in redressing them was full of
dynastic danger.
One can conceive no more complete diplomatic fiasco than the three great
Powers of Europe giving a triumph to Gortschakoff. The mistake originally
made was thinking that Russia was weak and in trouble, and would therefore
yield to menace. Several months ago I took the liberty of suggesting that,
although Russia was powerless for an aggressive war, she would be found as
strong and formidable as ever in resisting any attack from without, and
that foreign dictation would probably have the effect of uniting all the
parties into which Russia was divided. I don't mean to deny, however, that
intervention of some kind was inevitable; but the difficulties attending it
were either overlooked or not foreseen, and the mode of dealing with them
has consequently been unskilful.
Continuing the Journal:--
_October 5th_.--To Aiupthill. On the 17th to the Grove; Odo Russell there.
24th, to Torry Hill, with Christine and Hopie. Met the Roger Leighs there;
also the Heads and Sir Lawrence Peel. High jinks on Hopie's twenty-first
birthday.
_November 19th_.--To Shoeburyness, to see the trial of Sir William
Armstrong's 600-pounder gun.
My mother was exceedingly ill during the autumn, and it became apparent
that her illness was mortal. She was attended with great assiduity by Dr.
Fyfe. For this reason we remained within reach of London.
_From Lord Westbury_ [Footnote: At this time Lord Chancellor.]
_Basingstoke, November 28th_.--I shall be much obliged to you if, by the
application of the whip to the printer, you can get him to strike off a
few copies of the notes of my opinion on the appeals in the matter of the
'Essays and Reviews' by Tuesday afternoon, so that a copy may, on the
evening of Tuesday, be sent to Lords Cranworth, Chelmsford, and Kingsdown.
The notes are not long, but I am anxious that they should be, as soon as
possible, in the hands of the three noble lords I have named. I hope we
shall be able to give judgement about December 15th.
Lord Brougham's next letter refers to one of the few unpleasant passages in
Reeve's life. In October 1863 the 'Edinburgh Review' had an article on J.
G. Phillimore's 'Reign of George III.,' in which the book was somewhat
roughly handled. That the comment was honest is quite certain; that it was
just would probably be the opinion of most historical students; but Mr.
Phillimore thought that it was neither one nor the other, and being--as the
'Saturday Review' described him--one whose 'normal position was that of
a belligerent,' he replied to the review by a studiously offensive and
personal pamphlet, [Footnote: This sensitiveness to literary criticism was,
perhaps, a family failing. Some forty years before, Phillimore's uncle, Sir
John Phillimore, was fined 100£. for bludgeoning James, the author of the
_Naval History_, for some unflattering remarks on the discipline of the
'Eurotas' whilst under his command.] bearing the title 'Reply to the
Misrepresentations of the "Edinburgh Review."' According to this, the
article was a spiteful attack made by 'Mr. Reeve' himself; it was mainly
noticeable for its ignorance, its malice, its time-serving toadyism of Lord
Stanhope, and should be contrasted with another article in the same number
of the 'Review' on 'Austin on Jurisprudence,' which was outrageously
belauded because Austin was 'Mr. Reeve's' uncle. In point of fact, the
article on Phillimore was written by the present Judge O'Connor Morris, and
that on Austin by John Stuart Mill, neither of whom was an intimate friend
of the editor's. Phillimore did not notice, or was not sufficiently
acquainted with Reeve's family history to appraise yet another article on
'Tara: a Mahratta Tale,' by Captain Meadows Taylor--Reeve's cousin. If he
had, he would certainly have made it the subject of some more scurrilities.
_Cannes, January 7th_.--I have only a moment before the post goes to write,
and it may be too late another day. Pray allude to Phillimore's pamphlet,
and give some explanation on certain parts of it. I have not read the whole
of it, but friends here who borrowed it of me have, and they tell me that
some explanation is required. They are a good deal prejudiced, however,
owing to your having praised Stanhope's book, of which they have a very
bad opinion. I myself rather agree with them, though not going to the same
length. Of Phillimore, I only know that he did good service in the Commons
for a public prosecutor, and was very shabbily supported by the friends of
Law Amendment. But I had a very poor opinion of the book, though he is a
very clever man, and the Yankees considered him the first man in the House
of Commons.
Reeve's letters for several months had been leading up to the next sad
entry in the Journal. For a woman of seventy-five, a serious and prolonged
illness could scarcely have any other issue.
My mother's illness was approaching its melancholy end. On January 8th I
sat up all night at Brompton. On the 9th she was speechless. On Sunday,
the 10th, at 3 P.M., she died. On the 16th she was buried in the Brompton
Cemetery. Edward James Reeve read the service. Arthur Taylor, John,
Richard, John Edward, and Fairfax Taylor, Sir A, Gordon, P. Worsley, W.
Wallace, J. P. Simpson, R. Lane, Dr. Fyfe, and John Cox attended.
On the 17th I went to Essex Street Chapel, where Madge preached her funeral
sermon. He had preached my father's funeral sermon just fifty years before.
My mother survived my father nearly fifty years. This is not the place to
comment on her singular virtues!
We went to Boulogne on the 18th for the first period of mourning, and
visited Amiens and Abbéville. Home on the 25th.
_To Mr. Dempster_
62 _Rutland Gate, January 11th_.--Your long kindness and friendship tell
me how much I may rely on your sympathy. My dear mother expired yesterday
afternoon, in perfect serenity. However long one may have anticipated such
a stroke and, as I told you in July, I knew it was impending--one cannot
realise it till it falls. As Gray said to Mason, 'A man has but one
mother;' it is a blank that cannot be filled up. But I have the consolatory
thought that my dear mother's life was complete in its usefulness, its
energy, its unquenchable zeal for the good of others, its Christian
endurance of sorrow and of pain; and no one ever lived in this world more
fitted to enter upon another. Christine was with her to the last.
_From the Duc d'Aumale_
_Orleans House_, 11 _Janvier_.--Hélas! cher Monsieur; je n'ai pas de
consolation à vous offrir; je ne puis que vous assurer de ma profonde
sympathie. Je juge de ce que vous devez souffrir par ce que je ressentirais
à votre place. Mon coeur est avec le vôtre. H. D'ORLÉANS.
_From Lord Clarendon_
January 11th.
My Dear Reeve,--I heard to my great regret a little while ago that the
day of your affliction was fast approaching, and I knew at once by your
envelope this afternoon that the hour had come. I thank you for your kind
thought of not allowing me to hear by public report an event that so deeply
affects your happiness; and I know from my own sad experience how to feel
for you in this trial--the loss of a mother's never-failing love and
sympathy, and of one's own daily occupation, that real labour of love, in
ministering to her comfort and soothing the ills of declining years. You
have the consolation, and it is one to be grateful for, my dear Reeve, that
your last impressions are of a calm and painless passage from this life,
such as you would have most desired for her whom you have so loved and can
never forget. Lady Clarendon and my daughters desire me to send you their
kind regards and the expression of their sincerest sympathy.
Believe me, my dear Reeve,
Ever yours truly,
CLARENDON.
_To Madame de Tocqueville_
Boulogne-sur-mer, January 20th.
My dear Madame de Tocqueville,--One's own sorrows bring back with increased
vivacity the sorrows of others and the melancholy recollections of other
years, for at each successive blow a great gap is made in life, and one
feels that another record of the past is closed. We have come to this place
for a few days to regain a little health and spirits after the long and
anxious year we have passed by my dear mother's sick bed. All our cares
have unhappily been vain, and about ten days ago she breathed her last. I
cannot express how great a loss this is to me, or how deeply I feel it.
Your dear and ever-lamented husband was one of those who appreciated the
exquisite simplicity and energy of my mother's character, and the words he
let fall from time to time about her are very precious to me.
To any one who now reads the book, [Footnote: See _ante_, vol. ii. p. 66.]
and considers the later course of the lives of its authors, it is difficult
to conceive the excitement which was raised about the case referred to in
the next note from the Journal. The remembrance of it seems to throw a
doubt on the reality or immutability of 'first principles.'
_February 8th_.--Judgement was given by the Judicial Committee on the great
ecclesiastical cause of 'Essays and Reviews.' It was drawn with great care
by Lord Westbury, who read it all over with me before it was submitted to
the committee.
_From Lord Brougham_
_Cannes, February 13th_.--I received your melancholy letter [Footnote:
Announcing the death of his mother.] some time ago, but I did not answer
it because I felt that your excuse for not taking notice of Phillimore's
attack was too good, and I had no comfort to offer you. I suffered most
severely myself by the same loss, and I have not, after above twenty
years, learnt to forget it. Your letter brought it back strongly to my
mind, as it also did the memory of my excellent friend your father.
I find my opinion, and those I cited in support of it, is confirmed by
the articles in the journals--such as the 'Saturday Review' [Footnote:
February 6th, 1864.]--which, though attacking Phillimore in some
particulars, yet show that some answer to him, or explanation of matters
which he represents, was wanted. But I dare say his attacks will be
forgotten, and you may be right in doing nothing that can help to keep
them in people's recollection. [Footnote: Reeve, who was always averse
from any controversy of this nature, took no public notice of the
pamphlet, and Phillimore died early the next year.]
I have just got your new number and not read a page of it, as the
'Quarterly' came with it, and I was anxious to read the review of our
friend your neighbour's book, [Footnote: _The Life of Marcus Tullius
Cicero_.] which is learnedly and most justly praised, and the value of
the praise not impaired, like that of the 'Saturday Review,' [Footnote:
February 6th, 1864.] by praising Houghton's (Dick Milnes') poems in
another article.
The Journal has:--
_February 20th_.--Went to Farnborough. The Longmans just installed in their
new house.
To Ampthill at Easter. On April 1st to Paris, with Christine and the
Dempsters. I had the gout all the time.
_April 3rd_.--Races at Vincennes. Embassy ball on the 5th. Persignys and
Morny there. Breakfast at Vaux with Marochettis on the 6th. Met Sigismond
Krasinski's son Ladislas at his mother's.
_From Lord Clarendon_
_G. C., April 6th_.--As five years of freedom had augmented my inveterate
dislike of office, you may suppose that I made a gallant resistance--quite
_à la Danoise_; but at last I could not help taking an oar with old friends
in a boat which they believed to be sinking, and in which they fancied I
might be of some use. If the Government had been as clear of some of the
worst shoals a fortnight ago as it is now, nothing would have induced me to
say 'Yes.'
I hope that Stansfeld's exit and Palmerston's speech, and, more important
still, the feeling throughout the country upon the Mazzini affair, will
mend our relations with France by showing Frenchmen of all classes and
colours that the alliance is here estimated at its real value; indeed,
nothing will go well in Europe if England and France are supposed to be
pulling different ways; and if they had been acting together, instead of
being _en froid_ six months ago, the Dano-German difficulty would never
have attained its present developement. Some soreness was natural at our
not agreeing to the congress; but too much has been made of the tone of J.
R.'s answer, and offence ought not to be taken where none was intended, but
quite the reverse, as I can certify from the conversations I had at the
time with the writer....
It was this letter which suggested to Reeve to propose to Lord Clarendon
the advisability of coming over to Paris himself 'to see the Emperor and
endeavour to settle joint action on the Danish question.' He wrote also to
the same effect to Lord Granville.
_From Lord Granville_
London, April 9th.
My dear Reeve,--Many thanks for your note, and for the suggestion it
contains. I [had] already had some talk with Clarendon and Russell on the
subject. The first thought that it was too late now, and urged some minor
objections, but in my opinion he is wrong, and I hope the matter will be
arranged. Yours sincerely,
GRANVILLE.
_From Lord Clarendon_
_London, April 9th._--Your letter is very important. It has been settled at
the Cabinet that I shall go over on Tuesday. It is particularly troublesome
and inconvenient to me; but I shan't mind that, if any good is to be done
and that the friendly motive of my going is appreciated.
_From M. Fould_
Dimanche [April 10th].
Mon cher Monsieuer,--Je me suis empressé de transmettre à l'empereur la
nouvelle que vous voulez bien me donner et qui me fait grand plaisir.
Mille compliments bien désirés,
ACHILLE FOULD.
The visit led to no result, as the French refused to act. The Journal
continues:--
_April 20th_.--Interesting day at Versailles with Feuillet de Conches and
Soulié; took the Dempsters and Hamiltons of Dalziel.
My father's old friend Dr. de Roches died at Geneva on April 18th. On the
23rd, Christine and I went to Geneva on a visit to the Binets. Saw Mme.
de Roches, who also died a few days afterwards. Returned by Lausanne and
Neufchatel to Paris, and home on May 1st.
_From Lord Brougham_
_Paris, May 15th_.--I have been reading the new number of the 'E. R.,' and
have been greatly interested in it. The review [Footnote: Sc. of Renan's
_Life of Jesus_.] is most ably and learnedly done, though in one or two
places a little obscure. But the subject was most difficult to handle, and
I think no one can complain of Renan being unfairly treated; indeed he is
lavishly praised, though he is rejected--but rejected most candidly.
I have also read the first article, [Footnote: _Diaries of a Lady of
Quality._] on Miss Wynn's book. I am convinced that the facts must be taken
with large allowance; some of them are to my personal knowledge erroneously
given--from no intention to deceive, but from hasty belief. But there is
one story which on the face of it is not only untrue, but impossible; which
she appears to have had from a Mrs. Kemble, and to have swallowed whole.
How could any being believe in Lord Loughborough's telling such a tale?
Mrs. K. may have, from ignorance, supposed that a prisoner on trial for his
life can be examined by the prosecutor's counsel; but can anyone suppose
that such a story as Davison's murder of his old companion could have
happened, and no one even heard of it, or of his being hanged, as he must
have been, on his own confession? I knew intimately those friends of Miss
Baillie who are said to have been present, and I never heard a word of it
from them--probably because they regarded the story as ridiculous.
_From the Comte de Paris_
Claremont, le 23 mai.
Mon cher Monsieur Reeve,--N'ayant pas eu le plaisir de vous rencontrer
depuis mon retour d'Espagne, j'ai passé samedi chez vous pour vous parler
d'une affaire que j'aurais préféré traiter de vive voix. Ne vous ayant
pas trouvé, il me faut aujourd'hui avoir recours à la plume, car le temps
presse. Je voulais vous dire que mon mariage avec ma cousine Isabelle
sera décidément célébré lundi prochain, le 30 mai. Je n'ai pas _issued_
d'invitations pour assister à cette cérémonie, mais il y a certaines
personnes dont la présence serait pour moi une grande satisfaction à cause
des anciennes relations qui ont existé entre elles et ma famille. Je n'ai
pas besoin de vous dire que vous êtes de ce nombre, mon cher Monsieur
Reeve, et surtout après la lettre si aimable que vous m'avez écrite à
propos de mon mariage je ne puis me refuser le plaisir de vous avertir de
sa célébration, afin que, si vous le pouvez, vous veniez y assister. Si
j'avais pu vous en parler de vive voix, je vous aurais mieux dit que je
n'ai adressé à personne d'invitation formelle, qu'en vous faisant cette
proposition je ne veux vous imposer aucune gêne, mais que par cela même
votre présence n'aurait que plus de prix à mes yeux.
Vous m'excuserez de n'avoir cherché ce matin qu'à vous expliquer ma pensée
aussi brièvement que possible. En ce temps-ci tous mes moments sont
comptés.
La cérémonie aura lieu à la chapelle catholique de Kingston à 10-1/2h. a.m.
Le train qui part de Waterloo Station à 9h.40 pour Surbiton arrive à temps.
Votre bien affectionné,
LOUIS PHILIPPE D'ORLÉANS.
As to which the Journal says:--
_May 23rd_--The Raymonds and Mlle. Lebreton came.
_24th_.--Dined with Raymond at Claremont. Great royal dinner; fifty-two
persons; was presented to the Infanta Isabella.
_30th_.--Marriage of the Comte de Paris. Banquet at Claremont. Ball at the
Duc de Chartres'--Ham House. I drove Chartres from Claremont to the ball.
_June 7th_.--The centenary dinner of The Club; twenty-five members present;
Milman in the chair. Lord Brougham was there. I sat between the Bishop of
London (Tait) and Eastlake.
There was at this time much sentimental sympathy with Denmark in her
unequal struggle against the combined forces of Prussia and Austria; but as
France, Russia, and Sweden, which, equally with England, were parties
to the treaty of 1852, refused to give Denmark any active support, the
practical feeling was that English interests were not involved to such an
extent as to render it advisable to assert them by force of arms.
_From Lord Clarendon_
_G. C., June 24th_.--As far as I can make out there is no real war feeling
in the country, though a great disposition in the H. of C. to turn out
the Government, whether it decides upon being pacific or bellicose; and I
expect that a vote of censure, or want of confidence, will be successful.
If you hear anything reliable on the subject, pray let me know.
_June 26th_.--The island-occupation plan is very well devised, and if our
cat was jumping that way, it would be worthy of very serious consideration;
but it won't do to embark single-handed in such operations.... The peace
feeling at home becomes stronger every day, except for mere party purposes,
and I don't believe that sending the fleet to the Baltic even would meet
with support, as we are under no obligation to do so; though if German
operations were to extend beyond the peninsula, and Copenhagen was menaced,
a different policy must, of course, be adopted.
The Journal goes on:--
_July 20th_.--The Duc d'Aumale's ball to the Prince of Wales; beautiful
night.
_21st_.--To Ongar, to see my uncle, Edward Reeve.
_24th_.--Went to Aix by Rotterdam, with W. Wallace; met the James Watneys
at Aix. Back by Ostend, August 3rd.
_August 9th_.--Joined Christine and Hopie at Perth, and proceeded to Skibo.
Marochetti and Seaforth there. Shot with Marochetti. On the 25th left
Skibo. Thence to Brahan. On the 31st, pic-nic to the Falls of Rogie, with
Lord Blandford playing on the bugle.
_September 1st_.--To Raith. 7th, to Arniston. 10th, to Ancrum, Kirklands.
16th, to see Harriet Martineau at Ambleside. 18th.--Home.
_September 22nd_.--Torry Hill. 23rd, excursion to Margate races, with Lord
Kingsdown. Shooting at Torry Hill.
Mr. Richardson died at Kirklands on October 4th. Attended the funeral at
Ancrum on the 10th. Mr. Liddell read the English service at the grave. To
Brougham on my way back.
_October 13th_.--Left London on a visit to the Marochettis at Vaux.
_23rd_.--Visit to the Guizots at Val Richer. 27th, to Caen. 28th, to
Angers. 30th, to Saumur.
_November 1st_.--Amboise. 2nd, Loches. 4th, Paris.
_7th_.--Home.
_8th_.--Dinner at Lord Granville's.
_23rd_.--Munro of Novar died very suddenly. He was buried at Kensal Green
on December 1st.
_To Mr. Dempster_
_C. O., November 24th_. You may conceive with how much surprise and concern
I received this morning a telegram from the factor at Novar, to announce
the sudden death last night of my old and much-valued friend, the Laird
of Novar, for whom, in spite of his singularities, I had a most sincere
regard. I have telegraphed to Butler Johnstone, in Dumfriesshire, and
to his son at Rokeby, and urged them to go down immediately; but it has
occurred to me that perhaps you would take the train and go over yourself,
as there is no one there to give any directions, and the factor is a new
man. I have also telegraphed to Raith at Cannes.... Let me know if you hear
any particulars. I wonder whether he left a will; very probably none.
_C. O., November 28th_.--We felt so much alike in our regard for Novar,
that I was confident that we should feel exactly alike in this most sudden
and terrible catastrophe. I could well have spared many a better man, and,
in spite of his peculiarities, there are few persons for whom I could feel
a more sincere and painful regret. For more than twenty years I have shared
with Novar many of the pleasantest hours of life; and although we were in
many respects very dissimilar, there are few persons for whom I felt a
greater sympathy. I have no doubt you decided rightly as to not going to
Novar. My telegram, fortunately, reached Butler Johnstone and his son, both
of whom were in the country, and they speedily got down to Novar. I am told
they have decided to inter our poor friend in London--a decision I should
not have taken myself, but which I bow to, as it is their wish.
Mrs. Butler Johnstone was so much agitated by this event--for she was
passionately attached to her brother--and so entirely solitary--for there
was no one with her but young Theobald Butler--that my wife thought it her
duty to go down to Brighton with her on Saturday, to endeavour to calm and
comfort her until Harry can come back to his mother, which I hope will be
to-morrow....
I have heard from Ferguson, who little expected to survive his cousin and
inherit Novar.
_C. O., December 1st_.--I am just returned from the funeral of our poor
friend at Kensal Green. It was as quiet as possible.... There is no will
at all; but every paper and letter of Novar's is carefully preserved, and
accurately docketed, so that the whole state of his affairs and accounts
may be seen in a moment. The personal property is enormous; he cannot
have had much less than 24,000 £ a year. Ferguson's share of the entailed
estates is about 5,000 £ gross rental; everything else goes to the B. J.'s.
I am very much pleased with the spirit in which B. J. takes all this--a
great desire to do whatever is right to those who may have any claim on
Novar, and no brag or ostentation. He and Harry immediately determined, as
money is no object to them, they would allow nothing to be sold, but would
keep together the gallery of pictures and everything else Novar collected.
The quantities of things are incalculable.... I thought these details would
interest you. For my part, I feel that I have lost one of the persons in
the world with whom I had spent the most pleasant hours, and for whom I had
an extreme regard.
The Journal mentions:--
Shooting at Haslemere and Farnborough to the end of the year.
_January 2nd_, 1865.--Went to Strawberry Hill. A large party in the house;
Clarendon, Duc d'Aumale, Lady Hislop, Perrys, &c. On the 5th to Torry Hill.
12th, to Ampthill. 13th, down to Woburn with Lord Wensleydale and Froude.
14th, to the Grove.
When at Torry Hill I got a note from Charles Greville asking me to come up
to see him. I did so on the 10th. It was then he asked me to take charge of
his journals. Some further conversation took place between us. On the
17th I was with him till half-past seven, and in the same night he died.
[Footnote: See _post_, p. 230.]
_From M. Guizot_
Paris, 1 février.
My dear sir,--Je regrette Charles Greville. C'etait l'un des spectateurs
politiques les plus clairvoyants, les plus fins et les plus équitables que
j'aie rencontrés en ma vie; et un ami fidèle sans se donner tout entier à
personne. Vous devez regretter beaucoup son amitié et sa société. Ses
mémoires seront bien curieux. Je suis charmé qu'il vous les ait légués.
Personne ne saura mieux choisir ce qu'il en faut publier, et le moment
opportun pour les publier. Quand vous prendrez une résolution à cet égard,
je vous prie de m'en avertir; vous en désirerez, ce me semble, une édition
française....
The Journal here gives a remarkable contribution to the history of the
French Revolution of 1830, the substance of which Reeve afterwards
published in the 'Edinburgh Review,' in an article on 'Circourt' (October
1881).
_March 14th_.--The Club elected the Duc d'Aumale and Tennyson.
_19th_.--Mrs. Gollop [Mrs. Reeve's mother] died. I joined Christine at
Strode, and attended the funeral at Lillington.
_April 5th_.--M. de Circourt has been staying with us for three weeks;
inexhaustible in memory, anecdote, and conversation. I first knew him at
Geneva in 1830, where he took refuge after the storm of the Revolution, and
where he soon afterwards married Anastasia de Klustine.
I asked him the other day what he knew of the 'Ordonnances' of July. He
was at that time, with Bois-le-Comte and Vieil-Castel, one of the chief
employés of Prince Polignac, in the Office of Foreign Affairs; and from his
wonderful memory and facility, Polignac used often to send him to Charles
X., to relate the substance of the despatches from foreign Courts. But,
although he was thus versed in foreign affairs, he knew very little of what
was passing in the interior of France, though from the violence of the
conflict between the Court and the Chamber he foreboded a catastrophe.
Polignac told him nothing of the Ordinances, nor had he told the Princess,
his wife; for Circourt dined with them on the day they were signed--it was
Sunday, July 25th, 1830. The minister was _distrait_. The Princess got C.
aside to the piano after dinner, and said to him: 'Il se passe quelque
chose;--do you know what it is?' Neither of them knew. C. thinks, however,
that Bois-le-Comte was in Polignac's confidence.
In consequence of the absence of Marshal Bourmont on the Algerian
expedition, Polignac was minister of war _ad interim_ [as well as
minister of foreign affairs]; but he had not made the smallest military
preparations, or even inquiries, as to the possibility of putting down
a popular tumult. On that Sunday, for the first time, he sent for the
officers in command of the troops. A dispute arose between them, which
Polignac had to settle. It then turned out that in the whole of the first
military division, which included not only Paris, but Orleans and Rouen and
all the intermediate places, there were not 12,000 men. In Paris itself
about 3,400 at that moment, including the _gendarmerie_.
The reason of this was a political and military combination which the
Government had formed, but which I never before heard mentioned by anyone.
Polignac had for some time been intriguing to detach Belgium from the
King of Holland's dominions--chiefly from a fanatical desire to release a
Catholic population from their Protestant connexion, but in part, also,
from a notion that a military demonstration on the side of Belgium would be
popular in France, and would disarm the Opposition. So that the movement
which took place at Brussels shortly after the Revolution of July, and was
attributed to the example of that democratic explosion, had, in fact, been
prepared by Polignac himself. This is strange enough; but what is still
more strange is that the very means taken to promote this lawless object
proved to be the ruin of Charles X. and his minister.
With a view to the occupation of Belgium, or at least of a demonstration on
the frontier, they had assembled two large camps at Luneville and St.-Omer;
and in these camps the bulk of the available forces of the kingdom
were collected, especially as Bourmont had with him a considerable and
well-appointed army in Africa. So that at the very moment when troops were
most needed in Paris, one portion of the King's army was beyond the seas,
and another out of reach on the Belgian frontier.
Bourmont was perfectly aware that some such scheme as that of the
Ordinances was hatching, and the King had given him special orders to
terminate the campaign in Algeria, to carry off the treasure from the
Kasbah, and bring the troops back to France, as soon as possible. About
a month before the Revolution, a ciphered despatch came from Bourmont
--which, I think, Circourt said he was told to transcribe--in which the
marshal earnestly entreated the King to take no important step till his
return; adding that he hoped in a few weeks to terminate the African
expedition, and to prove to the King what he was capable of in his
Majesty's service. He had calculated that by the month of September he
could bring the greater part of the army hack to Paris, and that the
success they had recently had in Africa had attached the troops to himself,
as their commander, so that he would be in a condition to crush all
resistance; and had this plan been pursued, it is by no means impossible
that the _coup d'état_ might have succeeded, as we have seen on some
subsequent occasions.
But Bourmont's despatch in cipher had exactly the opposite effect from that
contemplated by the marshal. It produced in the mind of Polignac a violent
jealousy of his military colleague, and the determination to act in
Bourmont's absence, so as to have all the credit to himself, and remain at
the head of the King's Government. On the day the Ordinances were signed,
Polignac said to Circourt: 'From this day the King begins to reign, which
he has not done before.' These were the motives which precipitated the
blow, and caused it to overwhelm its authors with ruin and confusion.
_April 8th_.--I was elected a corresponding member of the Académie des
Sciences Morales et Politiques, in France.
_14th_.--Went to Paris, and on the 22nd took my seat at the Institute.
_From Lord Clarendon_
_The Grove, April 23rd_.--Fould is not reasonable about Mexico; for he well
knows that it is we who had to complain of France, and not France of us, in
the original convention, and that ever since we got out of it, so far from
thwarting French designs, we have done what was in our power to support
them; our Government can't help to float a bad loan, but I am sure we have
done the French no harm at Washington. It will be good policy on the part
of Maximilian to encourage Confederate soldiers, provided they don't come
and squat in too great numbers. I understand that the French army is not to
be withdrawn until it is no longer wanted by Maximilian, but that will not
be till the day of judgement--if then.
The journey to Algeria is an inscrutable business. McMahon, I am told, has
insisted strongly upon it, and says that the Imperial presence is
indispensable to _relever_ the tone of the colony; but that is hardly
reason enough for such a _grosse affaire_ as absenting himself from Paris
for six weeks; but if he wishes to create alarm and make people feel how
much he and social order are bound up together, and that they want him
more than he them, then the expedition has a motive, and may have a great
success.
Palmerston had the gout all last week, and was unable to attend the Cabinet
yesterday, but he is expected in town tomorrow, so I hope it is a slight
attack. The uneasiness on one side and excitement on the other, whenever he
is ailing, are curious to observe; for it is pretty generally understood
that until he dies there will be no real shuffle of cards. Last autumn the
Tories talked tall about the majority that the general election was to give
them, but of late they have come down very much, and the best informed
among them now say that things will remain pretty much as they are.
The Journal continues:--
_April 27th_.--Excursion to Port Royal and Dampierre, where we were
received by order of the Duc de Luynes. Circourt was with us. 28th, to
Fontainebleau. Met William Stirling and Lady Anna there; they were just
married. 30th, races in Bois de Boulogne. Took Mrs. Henry Baring there.
Dined at the Embassy.
_May 3rd_.--Excursion to Reims with Circourt and Belvèze.[Footnote: The
Comte de Belvèze, an intimate friend of the Circourts, a man, Reeve wrote,
'of great wit and discernment.' In 1873 he had printed, for private
circulation, a small volume of _Pensées, Maximes et Reflèxions_, a copy of
which he gave Reeve, who 'highly valued it for its intrinsic merit and its
rarity.'] Back to London by Lille and Laon.
_13th_.--My uncle, Tom Reeve, the rector, died. I attended the funeral, and
went on to Thorpe Abbotts.
_June 10th_.--Party given by the Hudson's Bay Company to see their ships at
Gravesend. Dined there.
Went to Bracknell and Ascot.
_From Lord Clarendon_
_The Grove, June 11th_. I make you my sincere compliment upon the article,
[Footnote: 'Dissolution of Parliament,' by Reeve. It appeared in the July
number of the _Review_.] and thank you for giving me an early read of it.
It is by far the ablest defence I have yet seen for the donothingness of
the Government about Reform; and you have most skilfully brought all the
different schemes face to face, in order to knock their heads together, at
the same time that you show yourself, as the organ of the Whig party, to be
liberal and progressive, and not only ready, but anxious, to adopt any
plan of Reform that will really effect that which reasonable men unite in
desiring. I think the article will do great good; and I only wish that it
could be circulated among classes rather lower than the ordinary readers of
the 'Edinburgh Review.'
Might you not in the last page enlarge a little more upon the opposition
which the Tories, for party purposes, or from shortsightedness, have always
made to Liberal measures? For that in reality is the strong case against
them; and in judging of their fitness for power, the electors should
consider how the country would have stood if their persistent opposition
had been successful; how we should have passed through the political crisis
of '48 if the Corn Laws had been unrepealed; or the cotton famine, if
Free-trade had not been established. The electors should also well consider
whether they will accept, as governors and guides, men who predicted evils
of the worst kind from measures which have produced the happiest results.
All these points are well alluded to in the last page, but they seem to me
to want a few grains of salt; and we may be sure that Lord Robert Cecil
[Footnote: The present Marquis of Salisbury. His elder brother, Viscount
Cranborne, died three days after the date of this letter, June 14th.] in
the 'Quarterly' will pepper the Whigs abundantly.
The Journal at this time has:--
Gout in July. Went to Aix on the 25th. The Aumales, Alcocks, and Lord St.
Germans there. Home on August 17th.
_August 9th_.--To Scotland. We went again to Skibo. Harry Butler Johnstone
there. Stayed at Skibo till the 30th. Then to Brahan. Found the Fergusons
at Novar. Lord Kingsdown had taken Holme House, near Nairn. Went to see him
there. Cawdor Castle. Then to Pitcorthie [James Moncreiff's] [Footnote: At
this time Lord Advocate. Created a baronet in 1871, and a peer, as Lord
Moncreiff, in 1874.] and Raith and Abington.
_September 23rd_.--Dined with Lord Granville to meet Castalia Campbell and
Lady Acton. Lord G. was married on the 26th [to Miss Campbell].
To Torry Hill in October; also to Badger Hall and High Legh, and Loseley
(then rented by Thomson Hankey).
_November 15th_.--Went down to Woodnorton [near Evesham], to see the
Aumales at their farm. Shot there.
But the great topic of the latter part of the year, the subject which was
in everyone's mind, was the cattle plague--the rinderpest--which threatened
to become a matter of extreme national importance. When, at the time that
now is, people are inclined to grumble at the precautionary measures
adopted by Government, they should look back to the records of 1865 and
read of the very serious alarm then felt. Writing to Dempster, himself a
high authority on agricultural questions, Reeve naturally spoke of this,
and the correspondence is largely filled with such sentences as:--
_September 22nd_.--A nearer acquaintance with the cattle disease is a very
disagreeable addition to one's knowledge. They are afraid it will last for
many years, and sweep off a great portion of the cattle in the kingdom....
You'll think I have got the rinderpest myself to write about nothing but
these brutes.
_September 28th_.--The disease has now spread to sheep, and I verily
believe we shall have a meat famine.
_October 12th_.--The ravages of the disease increase. We were to have gone
to pay two visits in Essex this week, but our hosts are so distracted by
the loss of their kine and the absence of dairy produce that they broke up
their party and put us off.
_October 18th_.--The opinion of the Cattle Commission is that nothing can
be done to stay the plague without putting a stop to all transport or
movement of live cattle; and I expect this will be done. But how are we to
be fed?
_November 23rd_.--The Lords of the Council have at last resolved to give
all local authorities in Britain the power of stopping the entry of cattle
into their own district, and all beasts brought to the Metropolitan Market
are to be killed there.
And thus this plague, the illness and death of Lord Palmerston, and--more
personal--the alarming illness and slow, lingering convalescence of Miss
Charlotte Dempster--'my fair contributor,' as Reeve used to call her--fill
the correspondence of the year. One note only, an account of Reeve's visit
to Woodnorton, has a more particular interest.
_To Mr. Dempster_
_C. O., November 23rd_.--My last campaign has been in Worcestershire, where
I went to see a barnful of princes and princesses in a house much more like
a very wild Highland shooting quarter than an Englishman's hunting-box.
However, this only made the whole party more jolly; and as the stables are
very superior to the house, I shall entreat them, the next time I go, to
give me a loose box instead of a bedroom. Cutbush is supposed to have slept
on a dresser in the servants' hall; and a stray Frenchman who arrived one
evening was laid up in the smoking-room, on a sofa.
And, according to the Journal, the year closed with--
Visits to Farnborough, Denbigh (Haslemere), and Timsbury [Ralph Dutton's,
near Romsey].
Between Reeve and the Duttons there was a friendship of many years'
standing, and they were there, wrote Mrs. Reeve, 'a pleasant little party
of ten, only Henry has had a very bad fit of gout and could not join the
shooters, or even the dinner-table some days: too provoking!' They remained
at Timsbury for a week, and then:--
_January 10th_.--A pleasant party at Torry Hill, with Sir E. Head and Kit.
Pemberton. Shooting in the snow, which was heavy.
_18th_.--Sir C. Eastlake was buried.
One day at a dinner party of Royal Academicians at Eastlake's, they were
discussing the merits of Solomon the painter and praising him. 'Yes,' said
Valentine Prinsep, 'but Solomon in all his glory is not R.A.ed like one of
these.'
_24th_. We were invited rather late in the morning to the christening
of Sir Robert and Lady Emily Peel's infant daughter, and to a banquet
afterwards. Christine came down to my office at two o'clock, and we went
across to Whitehall Chapel. Sir Robert stood _rayonnant_ at the door; Lady
Emily looked the picture of maternal beauty; and in the chapel we found a
small but remarkable party--Duke and Duchess of Wellington, Lord and Lady
Russell, the Gladstones, Lady Ely, the Dufferins, &c., about fifty in all.
Lord Russell said he had never been inside that building [Footnote: Now the
Museum of the Royal United Service Institution.] before. Gladstone was very
cordial, and we joined our enthusiasm about the roof of the building and
the Rubenses. The Queen stood Godmother.
After the ceremony we all adjourned to Whitehall Gardens. I was unluckily
obliged to go away, but Christine stayed for the luncheon, which was
superb. Gladstone proposed the health of the infant.
_25th_.--Dinner at Orleans House, on Condé's departure for his journey to
the East; Murchison and Trevelyan there. The Prince de Condé [Footnote: The
eldest son of the Duc d'Aumale, born in 1845, died at Sydney on May 24th,
1866. The Duke's second and third sons lived only a few weeks; the fourth,
the Duc de Guise, born in 1854, died in 1872.] reached Sydney, but caught a
fever there and died. His poor mother never recovered the shock.
_27th_.--John Edward Taylor, my oldest friend,[Footnote: A first cousin,
elder son of Edward Taylor; see _ante_, vol. i. p. 167.] died.
A couple of months later Mr. Taylor's daughter, Lucy, was married to
William Markby, going out to Calcutta as a judge on a salary of 4,000 £
a year. 'She is a very lucky girl' wrote Mrs. Reeve, 'her face her sole
fortune, to win the love of a man so clear-headed and warm-hearted.'
Circourt came on a visit to us in March. We went together to Lincoln. I
spent Easter at Lord Wharncliffe's at Wortley, with the Samuel Bakers (the
African traveller) and the Tankervilles, and rejoined Circourt at Frystone
(R. M. Milnes'). Thence to Ampthill, also with Circourt.
_From Lord Westbury_
_March 1st_.--I send you the proof of the judgement in Edwards _v_.
Moss, corrected and purged of some of its colloquial pleonastic forms of
expression. It is very difficult to reduce a speech to the accuracy of a
written composition. In doing so, the merit of the speech is lost, and the
'redacted' elements form a very bad paper. Old Tommy Townshend, when he
heard of a good speech being printed, used to ask 'How does it read?--for
if it reads well, it was not a good speech.' A judgement orally delivered
extempore may be satisfactory to the ear, but when reduced to paper, the
sentences become involved and jejune.
The diction of a good composition is [Greek: lexis katestrammeon],
the diction of a speech is [Greek: lexis eiromeon]. I cannot understand
how the senators or the Roman plebs could follow or endure the elaborate
periods of Cicero, if they were delivered as written. I am sure with the
funeral oration of Pericles, a common audience would have sat with mouths
open, incapable of following a single sentence. So also with the orations
of Livy. In fact, if the speeches delivered in the Roman Senate or the
Athenian Forum were anything like the speeches reported, to listen to them
must have been a great strain upon the mind and attention of the hearer.
I am writing to you whilst a learned counsel is arguing, but whose words
and meaning are so obscure and involved that I am much in the condition of
my supposed [Greek: aplous hakroataes] of the funeral oration.
The Journal goes on to speak of a subject of peculiar literary and
historical interest.
_April 11th_.--Started with Christine and Circourt for Paris _viâ_ Havre,
and at Rouen paid a visit to the Cardinal-Archbishop (Bonnechose).
The publication in 1864 of three volumes of the letters of Marie
Antoinette, under the title 'Louis XVI., Marie Antoinette et Madame
Elisabeth. Lettres et Documents inédits;' publiés par F. Feuillet de
Conches, and of another volume--' Correspondance inédite de Marie
Antoinette. Publiée sur les Documents originaux;' par le Comte Paul Vogt
d'Hunolstein--had excited a keen controversy, in which one party, led by
Professor von Sybel, the historian of the Revolution, maintained that the
letters were forgeries. On the other hand, Reeve wrote an article for
the 'Edinburgh Review' of April 1866, on the 'Correspondence of Marie
Antoinette' in which he argued that the letters edited by M. d'Hunolstein
were of very doubtful authenticity, but that those of the larger work of
M. Feuillet de Conches were genuine. His visit to Paris gave him the
opportunity to make a further examination, of which, and his interview with
Sybel, he wrote a curious account.
_Sunday, April 15th_.--I called on M. Feuillet de Conches, the editor
of the Marie Antoinette letters, whose authenticity is impugned, and on
leaving his house I called on Lavergne, where I met M. de Sybel, the German
professor, by whom these charges have been most actively brought and
disseminated. I found that M. de Sybel, though in Paris, had not seen
anything of Feuillet's collection, though he had publicly stated that he
was going to Paris to clear up the whole story. Upon this I assured him
(as was the fact) that I knew Feuillet would receive him with the utmost
courtesy, if he would call upon him, and would show him anything and
everything in his collections bearing on this matter; and as he appeared
to hesitate, I offered myself to conduct and introduce him. Upon this he
hesitated still more, and at last said that the fact was that his mind was
so fully made up on the subject, and his conviction that these documents
are forged is so complete, that no amount of ocular evidence would shake
it, and he should only conclude that the author of these fabrications was a
very skilful fellow.
Upon this I desisted from any further attempt to bring M. de Sybel
acquainted with M. Feuillet's collection, but I made this note of the
conversation (which took place in the presence of M. de Lavergne) to show
how strong M. de Sybel's prepossessions are. I have myself again examined
the documents, and though I have doubts as to one or two of them, said to
proceed from the Abbé Vermond's papers, I see no reason to disbelieve the
genuineness of the vast majority of the letters of the Queen which Feuillet
possesses.
Home on April 26th.
_May_.--Dr. Watson said, dining at the Literary Club, that he had been
present at the death of Lord Palmerston. He retained his usual courtesy and
cheerfulness in his last illness, and when Lady Palmerston came into the
room he kissed his hand to her. The immediate cause of his death was his
taking a walk on the terrace at Brocket without his hat. The apothecary
remonstrated--upon which he said: 'Oh! it's only what the bathers call
taking a "header."' As the hour of dissolution approached he lost
his consciousness, but still spoke occasionally. His last words were
(apparently as if his mind was at work on a treaty) 'That's article
ninety-eight; now go on to the next.' Very characteristic end.
_From M. Guizot_
_Val Richer, June 9th_.--I had little doubt of the war, and I now consider
it as begun. With the exception of the Italians and M. de Bismarck,
everyone is entering on it with regret and uneasiness. I have never known
France so unanimous in the desire for peace; but notwithstanding the
injury to our interests and the shock to our opinions, the country has no
confidence in its right to resist, and has lost the habit of it. There
will be grumblings and prophecies of misfortune, but there will be no
opposition; and if there should be any military success, followed by
territorial aggrandisement, people will forget their ill humour, and will
even applaud a little, but always without confidence. It is impossible to
stray with impunity from the path of sound policy; as soon as we leave it,
we enter on the wrong path and advance by that. In this life it is not
possible to remain stationary.
I understand your political attitude. There is no reason why you should
take part in the struggle; but what I do not understand, what I regret, is
the manifest uncertainty of your opinions. Not only do you do nothing, but
you seem as if you did not know what to believe. As lookers-on you are
undecided, as actors you are inert. In the state of trouble and weakness
in which the intelligence of Europe is now plunged, you, simply by letting
your opinions be clearly seen, by the directness of your language, might
have an enormous influence on the course of events. But in England, as
everywhere else, the idea of moral force seems lost. It is true that such
idea requires a knowledge of what one thinks, and of what one desires. It
is possible not to give material support to a cause, but it is necessary to
have one.
In any case, I am extremely glad that Lord Clarendon remains at the Foreign
Office. He will, perhaps, see more clearly, will act with less want of
foresight than others. Is it true that, on account of the state of affairs
on the Continent, there is in England a tacit suspension of hostilities
between the two parties, and that the Cabinet is no longer seriously
attacked?...
Je suis charmé que le second volume de mes 'Meditations' vous ait
intéressé. Je ne sais pas le nom de la personne qui fait, dans 'l'Edinburgh
Review,' un article sur le premier volume. Dites-moi si elle aurait quelque
envie de parler du second, et si vous voulez que je vous en fasse envoyer,
pour elle, un exemplaire. Most cordially yours,
GUIZOT.
War broke out between Prussia and Austria in June.
_June 9th_.--Party down to Gravesend by water to see the Hudson's Bay
Company's ships. Dinner at Gravesend.
_July 13th_.--To Aix-la-Chapelle by way of Paris. Heard Mignet read his
notice of Tocqueville at the Institute. Spent a fortnight at Aix, and
visited Bruges in our way home.
_August 11th_.--Went to Novar, by Perth. Thence to Braban, to Ardross, and
to Foss, where Lord Kingsdown had taken a moor. Then to Dunnichen; called
at Glamis and Kinnaird Castle. Then to Eaith, and to Lord Belhaven's at
Wishaw; the Warwicks and Sir A. Alison there. Home on September 17th.
_To Mr. Dempster_
_Dunnichen, September 10th_.--Your kind letter from Paris reached me at
Novar, at the precise moment when I was about to take the field with the
new laird on August 13th. It gave me real pleasure to have something of
your company on that day; and when we had reached the back of Fyrish, and
could command the Dornoch Firth and the hills beyond it, even to Dunrobin,
I looked with affectionate eyes to the woods of Skibo.
The season has been favourable. Raith and I--neither of us a first-class
walker--killed seventy brace on the Monday, and I got thirty brace alone on
several succeeding days. From Novar we went to Brahan, where everything
is as lively as usual, and Seaforth in great force,... I then joined Lord
Kingsdown at Foss, on Loch Tummel, a delightful place in the centre of the
Perthshire Highlands, where you see all Scotland at your feet, from Ben
Nevis to Lochnagar. By this time the grouse were becoming wild, and we had
descended to fifteen or sixteen brace a day, but we had a splendid drive of
blue hares, and slew 367 of them. I then came on here, where I find a
most comfortable house, a most kind reception, and a most sociable
neighbourhood.... All in short is extremely pleasant, and it is most
agreeable to see George so perfectly in his place, and at the head of a
well-managed estate....
_From Lord Westbury_
_September 5th_.--I am anxious, before I leave for the Continent, to know
if I can be of any service at the sittings of the Judicial Committee. My
present purpose is to go to Biarritz, and thence to Italy. But if I can be
of utility, and am really wanted, I would return from Biarritz by November
1st, and could devote the whole of November to diligent attendance on
the Judicial Committee. I am sorry that I cannot offer to attend during
December, as matters of a pressing nature will then require my presence in
Italy.
It is, I think, very desirable that the sittings of the Judicial Committee
should be certain and continuous at and during a considerable portion of
the year; and I should be glad to see the practice adopted of its beginning
to sit on November 1st in every year, and continuing its sittings until
Christmas if required. You will know whether the state of business at
present renders this desirable....
Lord Justice Knight Bruce is a great invalid, and it is hardly fair to
expect that, after a laborious term, the Lords Justices should at once
commence sitting at the Privy Council. These considerations induce me to
write to you. But you will fully understand that, if it is possible to do
without further aid, I shall be much obliged to you not to accept my offer.
I shall not write to the President or the Lord Chancellor until I have
heard from you.
_To Lord Westbury_
_C. O., September 28th_.--Under the peculiar circumstances of the present
year and the state of business in the Court, the Lord Chancellor thinks
it right to acquiesce in your lordship's suggestion that the Judicial
Committee should sit one month earlier than usual in order to dispose of
the existing arrear of causes. The Lord Chancellor is, however, of opinion
that this sitting in Michaelmas term should be regarded as exceptional and
not to be drawn into a precedent, and that it will be expedient hereafter
to adhere to the established practice and to the order in Council which
directs the sittings to be held after each term. For many years the
sittings have been invariably so held in December, February, and June and
July; and at each sitting the whole of the business ready for hearing has
been disposed of. The only exception to this order occurred last summer in
consequence of the illness of Sir James Colvile; and the consequence is
that (for the first time for many years) there is now an arrear to be
disposed of. Your lordship's timely assistance will, however, enable the
court to clear off this arrear by this extraordinary sitting; and it is not
to be anticipated that the same necessity will occur again, although it
undoubtedly exists at the present time. When November 1st approaches, I
shall have the honour to send the printed cases and the usual summons to
your lordship's residence in London, and I shall give ample notice to the
parties that the Judicial Committee will meet for the despatch of business
on that day.
_From Lord Chelmsford_[Footnote: At this time Lord Chancellor.]
7 Eaton Square, October 3rd.
Dear Reeve,--Lord Westbury's letter is satisfactory. Your communication to
him, which was highly judicious, has contributed mainly to put things on
the right footing.
Knight Bruce's state of health, following upon what I should think must
have been for some time his felt incapacity for work, ought to be a warning
to him to terminate a life of useful labour by an honourable retirement. If
the hint is lost upon him, he will be a great impediment to the efficiency
of the Judicial Committee.
I suppose the temporary assistance of Lord Westbury will not dispense with
the necessity of providing some permanent addition to the strength of the
tribunal. Your suggestion as to Vice-Chancellor Kindersley quite met my
views, and I suppose might still be carried out with advantage. Of course I
can do nothing of this sort without Lord Derby's sanction, and therefore I
should like to have your confirmation of my opinion that this is the best
plan that can be resorted to for the present, before I communicate with him
on the subject. A letter sent to my house will be forwarded in my box which
I receive daily. Yours sincerely, CHELMSFORD.
The Journal notes:--
Visits to Sparrow's Herne and to Shendish (Charles Longman's), Parnborough
and Torry Hill. The Judicial Committee sat early-November 1st.
_November 8th_.--Lord Westbury, Froude, Lecky, Mrs. Norton, Bayleys,
Simpson, and Longman dined with us. It was very amusing. [Mrs. Reeve wrote
of it as 'brilliant;' and of Lord Westbury as resembling Falstaff and Lord
Bacon rolled into one.]
The earliest critical notice of the battle of Lissa, fought on July 20th,
appeared in the 'Revue des deux Mondes' of November 15th. It was at the
time, and has been ever since, generally attributed to the Prince de
Joinville; an error which gives the following letter a more especial
interest, though it may be thought doubtful whether the suggestion offered
by the Prince was correct:--
_From the Prince de Joinville_
Woodnorton, 22 novembre.
Mon cher Monsieur Reeve,--Mon frère Aumale vient de me communiquer votre
aimable lettre, à laquelle je m'empresse de répondre. Les éloges que vous
donnez à l'auteur de l'article sur Lissa sont très-mérités, car le
travail est très-intéressant; mais ils ne sont pas pour moi, car je suis
_complètement_ étranger à la paternité de ce remarquable morceau, auquel je
ne reproche qu'une chose--la sevérité de ses jugements sur un homme dans la
position de Persano.
J'ignore absolument le nom de l'auteur; mais le style élégant, la précision
des informations et quelques détails d'opinion que je ne partage pas
m'avaient fait supposer que nous devions attribuer à Jurien de la Gravière
le travail en question. En tous cas, quelque soit l'auteur, je demande
à tous mes amis de lui renvoyer le mérite et la responsabilité qui lui
appartiennent.
Croyez toujours, Monsieur, à mes sentiments d'amitié.
FR. D'ORLÉANS.
_To Lord Westbury_
_G. O., November 28th_.--I received the revised judgements yesterday, and
have sent them to the printers for correction. I will take care that your
emendations are carefully made, and I will again look them all carefully
over. Unless I hear again from you to the contrary, I do not understand
that you wish to see another revise of them (as it is termed) before they
are issued.
In spite of your own preference for the 'wild freshness of morning' and all
the dewdrops hanging on the roses, I must be allowed to assure you that, in
my poor judgement, they are improved by this severe revision, and that the
judicial style is, like Musidora, when 'unadorned adorned the most.' Of
that style I think these judgements will be quoted hereafter as masterly
specimens.
_From Lord Kingsdown_
Torry Hill, Sittingbourne: January 7th, 1867.
My dear Reeve,--I have read your paper, and have no hesitation in saying
that I think the smallness of your salary quite a scandal and a disgrace
to the Court of which you are so important an officer. Knowing as I do the
past services which, during a period of more than twenty years, you have
rendered to the board, whilst its position has been gradually settling,
I should say that 2,000 £. a year would be not at all more than a fair
remuneration to you during the remainder of your term of office. If the
country could be certain, by the same salary, of securing an equally
efficient successor, I should think it money well laid out. Your duties
are of a very peculiar character; and often require, in addition to the
qualities required for the discharge of the ordinary routine duties of a
registrar, others of a much rarer description. The correspondence with the
different tribunals whose decisions are reviewed, and with the different
departments of the Government, which are sometimes disposed to shift to the
Judicial Committee the determination of matters not properly belonging to
it, demand not unfrequently the exercise of great tact, discretion, and
delicacy. But unfortunately a large salary does not always secure services
of corresponding value, and sometimes, I am afraid, rather has an opposite
tendency, and operates as a temptation to jobbery. On the whole, I should
say that 1,500 £. a year would be a fair offer to a new man; but I think
that the Treasury should have the power to increase it to any amount
not exceeding 2,000 £. after ten or fifteen years' service, on the
recommendation of the committee.
The next letter, from Lord Wensleydale, is interesting as a piece of verbal
criticism; showing, also, how a pilot in avoiding Scylla may easily run
his bark into Charybdis, or how a writer, whilst objecting to a harmless
'firstly,' may perpetrate an atrocious 'differ with.'
Ampthill Park, January 31st.
My dear Reeve,--I was much pleased to hear that 'firstly' was an error. I
hope you will take some course to indicate your judgement--'a very best
authority'--and to prevent the 'Edinburgh Review' giving the word its high
authority. I have taken every opportunity to amend Acts of Parliament when
I find the error in Dom. Proc. I have a sort of mania on the subject.
I have not had an opportunity of looking at the Bishop of Oxford's case.
I differ with him entirely about the Banns case, and, between ourselves,
think he is oily and saponaceous.--Yours ever sincerely,
WENSLEYDALE.
The following, from Professor--afterwards Sir Richard--Owen, seems to refer
to a proposed review of the Duke of Argyll's 'Reign of Law,' and possibly,
also, of the Rev. Edwin Sidney's 'Conversations on the Bible and Science.'
Whether Owen was too drastic in his methods or not does not certainly
appear; but, for some reason, the article was either not written or not
published, though the friendly relations between Owen and Reeve remained
unaffected.
Sheen Lodge, Richmond Park, March 9th.
My dear Reeve,--The end and aim of the 'Reign of Law' is to exalt our
conceptions of its head, and to destroy pretenders to the throne. The Duke
has shown, as you observe, caution in avoiding the latter application. But
the old 'Edinburgh' was once eminently iconoclastic, and its reputation
still floats on the brave work of its youth. I fear, too we should have
lost some best bits and hits of dear old Sydney had his editor been too
precise in defining a personality. As to the other old Sidney, I, too, know
him well; his libellus _is_ small game, but it is the type of a class doing
much mischief. You think I have been too outspoken. Believe me, it is only
a question of time; and _you_ will speak out quite as plainly when the
'Forlorn' has made the breach safe. But one would wish to see the 'Blue and
Yellow' in the post of honour.
I had misgivings at the first that I might be unfit for your want. My time
draws on, and, under a sense of responsibility for its use, I cannot write
platitudes.
Sincerely yours,
RICHD. OWEN.
The Journal for 1867 begins with--
Usual engagements in the early part of the year. Circourt came in April,
and we went together to Norwich.
To Paris in April. Met Mrs. Grote and Hayward on the road. Morny gave me a
card to see the Great Exhibition before it opened. A great banquet at the
Embassy on the 25th. On the 30th with Chevalier to Lemaire's fabrique. He
gave me my aluminium binocle. Ball at the Marine. Dined at Julian Fane's.
[Footnote: The secretary of the embassy.] Binet came to Paris from Geneva.
May 6th, went to see Thiers on the last evening. May 7th, dined with Mon,
the Spanish ambassador. Home on the 8th.
_May 11th_.--Some of the Novar pictures were sold. I bought my Cuyp, small
Claude, P. Veronese, Watts, Rubens' drawing, Palma Vecchio, and some small
ones.
Visit to Torry Hill in June, but Lord Kingsdown was dying. [Footnote: He
died on October 7th.] I took De Mussy down to see him. I went there again
in July.
_From Lord Kingsdown_
_Torry Hill, June 26th_.--It is most kind in you to write to me as often as
you do, and always whenever you have anything agreeable to tell me. Both
your last letters are full of such matter. It is inexpressibly pleasing to
me to receive so many marks as I do of the kindness and affection of my
friends; and if any or all of those who professed a disposition to come and
see me would do so, I should be delighted to receive them, collectively
or individually. I have a letter from Cranworth this morning, most kindly
offering to come down here on Saturday next. If you could look up and send
down anybody as a companion to him, it would be more agreeable to him and
to me. Possibly Peel [Footnote: Sir Lawrence Peel.] might be induced to
come.
I have not, of course, the face to ask you to come down on Saturday, but I
hold you to your promise to see me again here before you go to the North.
I am, truly and gratefully yours,
KINGSDOWN.
The Journal mentions some of the functions of the season.
_June 27th_.--Dinner at home to the F. Stanleys, [Footnote: The present
Earl and Countess of Derby.] Mme. Mohl, Seaforth, Lecky, Blumenthal, T.
Bruces, Fords remarkably pleasant.
_29th_.--Dinner at the Duc de Chartres', at Ham. The Russells, Clarendons,
Saxe-Weimars, Waldegraves, A. Kinnaird.
_July 10th_.--Holland House garden party. Lady Derby's party to the Pasha
of Egypt. On the 19th, grand ball, at the India Office, to the Sultan.
_From Lord Cairns_
5 Cromwell Houses, South Kensington, July 17th.
Dear Reeve,--I enclose the Indian judgement, revised, and also the 'Agra'
judgement [Footnote: A case of collision in the Channel between the ship
'Agra' and a bark, 'Elizabeth Jenkins.' The judgement was delivered on the
20th by Sir William Erle.] with a few verbal alterations. I am sorry I
cannot deliver the latter; but the state of our work in Chancery is such
that the sittings cannot be well curtailed, even for an hour. I trust some
member of the board, with a strong nautical twang, will be so good as to
deliver it; and if the speaker could but adopt that hitch of the trouser
which made Lord Clarence Paget so effective in the House of Commons, it
would, I have no doubt, add much to the effect of a composition otherwise
so tame.
Yours faithfully, CAIRNS.
_From Lord Kingsdown_
_Torry Hill, July 30th_.--I hear you are starting for Scotland the end of
this week, and I cannot let you go without repeating to you once more my
earnest and most cordial thanks for the great kindness which you have shown
to me during my long sickness, both in constantly writing to me and in many
other ways. I wish I had a letter from you this morning, for the upshot of
what passed last night in the House of Lords far passes my comprehension.
If you should find occasionally a leisure half-hour, and will employ it in
informing me of your proceedings on the moors, I shall be very grateful.
I think it not impossible that in the course of your wanderings you may
fall in with Jowett. If you do, pray explain to him how very sensible I was
of his friendship in offering to come down here to see me, and how very
much I was mortified at being obliged to decline his offer. In my present
condition, it is absurd even to suppose plans for the future; but I do not
_quite_ despair of seeing you here during this next partridge or pheasant
season.
The Journal mentions that--
Gladstone agreed to write the political article for the 'Edinburgh' in
October. It was called 'Sequel to the Session.' Curious conversation with
him about the Irish Church.
_August 3rd_.--Went down to Weybridge to see Mrs. Austin. It was the last
time, for she died on the 8th, when I was at sea, on my way to Scotland. We
arrived at Aberdeen on the 9th, and learned it there. To Novar and Ardross,
where good shooting. Then to Uppat, boating and fishing with the Duke of
Sutherland, George Loch, and Forsyth.
We went from Uppat to Brahan; then to Dunnichen and Springfield, a place
near Roslyn the Dempsters had taken. Then to Abington and home.
_From M. Guizot_
Val Richer, 15 Août.
My dear Sir,--Sir Alexander Gordon m'avait annoncé la perte que nous
venons de faire. Je dis nous, car Madame Austin était pour moi une vraie
et intime amie. Je l'ai connue dans mes joies et mes tristesses, dans mes
succès et mes revers. Je l'ai trouvée toujours la même, la même élévation
d'esprit, le même coeur sympathique et dévoué. Je n'espérais plus la
revoir; je le lui disais dans la dernière lettre que je lui ai écrite, et
en me répondant il y a un mois, elle me disait presque adieu. Mais la
distance est grande entre l'adieu annoncé et l'adieu réel. Sa mort est
pour moi un vrai chagrin. Et pour mes filles aussi, à qui elle a temoigné
tant d'affection et de bonté.
J'ai prié Sir Alexander de m'envoyer la meilleure gravure en photographie
qui existe d'elle. Envoyez moi aussi, je vous prie, ce qui sera publié sur
son compte, et ajoutez y tous les détails que vous recueillerez.
Sadly and sincerely yours,
GUIZOT.