THE GREVILLE MEMOIRS
Dr. de Mussy had recommended Reeve to drink the water at Carlsbad, so to
Carlsbad they went, and stayed there twenty-four days. The manner of life
at Carlsbad may be very wholesome, but no one has ever ventured to speak
of it as jovial. The Reeves thought it 'dull enough,' and left it with a
feeling of release, on August 23rd. On the 24th they were at Dresden,
and reached home on September 3rd. And then came a curious reaction; a
disagreeable experience of the Carlsbad treatment. 'Henry,' wrote Mrs.
Reeve a few days later, 'who had been quite well and quite free from gout
all the time, had a tendency thereto on leaving Hamburg, which, on landing
at Gravesend, was a sharp attack in the right hand. He cannot hold a
pen.... His doctor and some fellow-patients all say that after Carlsbad
waters such attacks are frequent, and that they in no way imply that the
waters did not suit.' The Journal goes on:--
_September 16th_.--To Gorhambury [Lord Verulam's] with Christine. On
leaving the house on the 18th to go to the station, the horse in the fly
ran away. We were overturned near the park gates, and had a narrow escape.
Nobody was hurt, and we drove on [in another fly] to Lord Ebury's at Moor
Park.
_October 2nd_.--To Scotland on a visit to Moncreiff at Cultoquhey; thence
to Minard (Mr. Pender's) on Loch Fyne; thence to Edinburgh; Ormiston on
the 21st; the John Stanleys there and Lord Neaves. [Footnote: A lord of
justiciary, one of the foremost authorities on criminal law in Scotland,
and for more than forty years a regular contributor of prose and verse to
_Blackwood's Magazine_.] Lady Ruthven to dinner.
_26th_.--To Auchin, and home on the 28th.
A bill had passed at the close of the last session for the appointment of
four paid members of the Privy Council. They were Sir James Colvile, Sir
Barnes Peacock, Sir Montague Smith, and Sir Robert Collier. These judges
began to sit on November 6th of this year. The Court, from that time, sat
continuously. I obtained an additional clerk, and also an addition of 300 £
a year to my own salary, which was fixed at 1,500 £.
Pleasant visit to New Lodge (Van de Weyer's) in November. Shooting at Lithe
Hill in December.
The Prince of Wales's serious illness. He very nearly died on December 6th.
_December 20th_.--The Broglies dined with us, to meet Beust and the
Foresters.
_22nd_.--Mrs. Forester asked us, at my desire, to meet Disraeli and Lady
Beaconsfield, at a small party. There was nobody else there but Lord and
Lady Colville. It was very interesting and agreeable.
1872.--The year opened in Paris, where I had gone after Christmas; the
first time I had been there since the war. M. Thiers was President of the
Republic. I went to Versailles to see him on January 3rd, and found him in
the Préfecture--the room that had been occupied just before by the German
Emperor. M. Lesseps was there that evening, and we returned to Paris
together. He and his friends were apparently very anxious to sell the Suez
Canal. I dined with Thiers on the 6th also.
M. Thiers's conversation on the war, the Commune and the siege was very
interesting. He said to me: 'Certainement je suis pour la République! Sans
la République qu'est-ce que je serais, moi?--bourgeois, Adolphe Thiers.' He
described the withdrawal of the troops from Paris, which was his own act.
Then the siege, which he claims to have directed, the battery of Mouton
Tout, adding, 'Nous avons enterré, en entrant à Paris, vingt mille
cadavres.'
Dined at Mme. Mohl's on the 5th with M. de Loménie and M. Chevreuil, who is
about eighty-five.
The Duc d'Aumale had opened his house in the Faubourg St.-Honoré; reception
there.
_January 8th_.--Dined with the Economists to meet the Emperor of Brazil. I
was presented to him, and made a speech in French on the maintenance of the
commercial treaty, which was applauded. Back to London on the 9th.
Reeve had already proposed to Mr. Longman to publish a volume of his
articles from the 'Edinburgh Review.' He now wrote to him:--
_C.O., January 11th_.--I find that the French articles I wish to collect
and publish amount to _twelve_. I enclose a list of them. They make about
380 pages of the 'Edinburgh Review' form. How much will that make if
printed in a smaller form? The title of the volume is an important matter.
I have thought of 'Royal and Republican France,' or 'A Cycle of French
History;' but I may think of something better. If you will make the
arrangements, I shall be able to supply copy very soon. The introduction
can be printed afterwards, I suppose?
I conclude you will publish on the half-profit plan, though my past
experience of that system does not lead me to regard it as the road to
fortune. Of our military volume about 650 copies were sold, and Chesney and
I made 2 £. 3_s_. 0_d_. apiece!
To this Mr. Longman replied:--
_From Mr. T. Longman_
_January 14th_.--I will have the calculation made of the articles you
mention. I conclude you would wish to print in the usual demy 8vo. form,
like Macaulay's Essays and all the other reprints from the 'E.R.'
The plan of a division of profits has been usual in such republications;
and it seems peculiarly adapted to them, as neither the contributor nor
the publisher can republish separately without the consent of the other.
Whether that plan of publication may be a road to fortune or not depends on
the demand for the book. I had once the satisfaction of paying 20,000 £ on
one year's account, on that principle, to Lord Macaulay. I certainly had
no expectation of a fortune from the republication which produced you 2 £
3_s_. 0_d_.; but had I purchased the right of separate publication for 100
£, I hardly think you would have been satisfied that fortune should have so
favoured you at my expense. It seems to be the fashion to decry that mode
of publication; but there will always be books that can be published on no
other terms, unless at the cost and risk of the author.
_From Lord Westbury_
_Hinton St. George, January 12th._--I am glad to find that you have
returned in safety from Paris with your oratorical honours [Footnote: Of
the French speech in Paris on the 8th.] rich upon you. I do not think that
even Cicero ventured on making an oration in Greek, in Athens; but you have
charmed fastidious Paris with your pure accent and your classic French. I
was in despair when I found your eloquence imputed to another name; but I
heard the error was so generally corrected that you may count on your fame
descending unchallenged to posterity.
I should agree with you that Franco was to be despaired of, if France were
to be considered as subject to ordinary rules. But she is, and has ever
been, so anomalous, that ordinary moral reasoning from history is wholly
inapplicable to her. At present, one would think she had reached the lowest
depth of moral degradation. She might be usefully touched to the quick,
if she could only believe that she is becoming ridiculous in the eyes of
Europe.
Not that _we_ can expect a much better fate. When the Treaty of Washington
was published, I strove to awaken in the minds of several leading men a
full sense of its folly, and of the calamitous consequences that would be
sure to follow from such an act of foolish, gratuitous submission; but I
made no impression; not even as to the absurdity of introducing new
and ill-considered rules, and giving them a retrospective operation. I
succeeded with no one. I therefore concluded I must be in the wrong. Now,
however, the American indictment bears testimony to the accuracy of my
forebodings. I entreated Lord Granville not to permit the arbitration to go
on upon such a basis, which it was never intended that the reference should
cover or include. It is a fraudulent attempt to extend the reference most
unwarrantably; and if the arbitration is permitted to proceed on such a
claim, the consequences will be most disastrous. It is a sad spectacle to
see a once gallant and high-spirited nation submitting tamely to be thus
bullied. If not firmly protested against, and resisted _in limine_, you
will have an award which England will repudiate with indignation; and war,
the fear of which has made us submit to these indignities, will be sure to
follow.
The relative attitudes of England and the United States in 1896 and 1897
have not materially differed from those of 1872. The policy which has been
persistently followed by this country has not yet resulted in war, but it
seems to many now, as it did to Lord Westbury then, extremely likely to do
so. Peace between two such countries can only be assured when it rests on
mutual respect and a community of interests. We may persuade ourselves
that, in the main, our true interests are identical; but the recent
diplomatic correspondence from the States does not tell of much respect.
But as to the point at issue in 1872, Reeve wrote in reply to Lord
Westbury, about January 15th:--
I agree very much with what you say of the Treaty of Washington, and have
never been able to prevail on myself to say a word in its favour. The
result is that the fate and honour of this country are placed in the hands
of a Swiss and a Brazilian referee, neither of whom knows a word of the
English language! Lord Lyons told me so last week in Paris.
The Journal notes:--
_January 22nd_.--Visit to the Archbishop of Canterbury at
Addington--pleasant; but in going up from Croydon on the 23rd, I was nearly
killed by a runaway _hearse_, which struck my cab and knocked it over. I
was not hurt, but two accidents in a year made me nervous. [Footnote: See
ante, p. 201.]
_From Mr. H. F. Chorley_
18 Eaton Place West, February 8th.
My dear Reeve,--I send you what I have done _in re_ Hawthorne. I offer a
character rather than a review, proved by extracts; since had I gone on _in
extenso_ I don't know where I should have stopped. Nothing but my strong
wish to get my subject before the public could have made me carry out my
article, poor as it is, seeing that I have written it half a leaf at a
time, and with a weak, weary hand, the end of which will not impossibly be
palsy. But I think as a character, when duly corrected, my work may not
come out amiss. Ever yours faithfully, HENRY F. CHORLEY.
_Endorsed_--Chorley's last note. He died about a week afterwards [suddenly
on February 16th. The article had apparently not been finished, and was not
published].
From the Journal:--
_January 24th_.--Went to see the Sandhursts at Brighton, but gout came on
worse, and I was ill for some weeks. I presided at The Club, however, on
the 27th, the Thanksgiving Day for the recovery of the Prince of Wales, and
proposed his health.
_March 14th_.--I published a collection of my articles on French history
and affairs under the title of 'Royal and Republican France.'
_From Lord Derby_
23 _St. James's Square, March 15th_.--Many thanks for your book on France.
Most of the articles were familiar to me, but all will bear reading again.
You here show up the weakness of French public life and the faults of
French parties as no one else has done; and I do not recollect to have seen
anywhere else pointed out the intimate connexion between the social state
of modern France--with every old tradition destroyed, and the continuance
of a family, as we understand the word here, rendered impossible--and the
political condition, in which every public man is either fighting for
his own personal interest and nothing else, or for the triumph of his
particular theory of politics, which, if successful, is to be enforced
despotically by all the power of a centralised administration. I have never
thought so badly of the French future as now--no energy except among the
Reds, no power of united action; general apathy even as to the present, and
utter indifference to the future.
The Journal continues:--
_March 31st_.--Came down to Bournemouth for the first time with Hopie and
the horses.
_April 8th_.--Rode to Hengistbury Head and saw for the first time the
Southbourne estate. Dined with Lord Cairns. Back to town on the 9th.
_17th_.--Dined at Lord Derby's. Sat next Lady Clanricarde, who, _à propos_
of Sir H. Holland's 'Past Life,' talked about her father [Footnote: George
Canning, _d_. 1827.] and his last illness. She said that in truth Holland
saw Canning very little at Chiswick, and that it was Sir Matthew Tierney
who really attended him; and then she told me the following story of
Tierney:--News came from Clumber that the Duke of Newcastle was dangerously
ill with typhus fever. Tierney was sent down as fast as post-horses could
carry him. It was about 1823, in the pre-railway days; and when he arrived
he was informed that the Duke had been dead about two hours. Shocked at
this intelligence, he desired to see the corpse, which was already laid
out. At his first glance he thought he was dead. At the second he doubted
it. At the third he cried out, 'Bring me up a bucket of brandy!' They tore
the clothes off the body and swathed it in a sheet imbibed with brandy, and
then resorted to friction with brandy. In rather more than an hour symptoms
of life began to manifest themselves, and in two hours the Duke was able to
swallow. He recovered, and lived twenty-five years afterwards. Certainly
this triumph over death beats even Dr. Gull's nursing of the Prince of
Wales. It is the myth of Hercules and Alcestis.
_May 4th_.--Visit to Drummond Wolff at Boscombe. A further look at
Southbourne. I chose the site I afterwards purchased.
_8th_.--The King of the Belgians presided at the Literary Fund dinner.
Disraeli made a capital speech.
_18th_.--Visit to Mrs. Grote at Sheire. Called at Albury. Many London
dinners.
The Bennett case was heard at this time by the Judicial Committee. Long
deliberation on the judgement at the Chancellor's on June 1st. It was
delivered on June 8th. [Footnote: See 'The Bennett Judgement' in _Edinburgh
Review_, October 1872.]
_From Lord Westbury_
_June 1st_,--I am going to Oxford, and fear I may be late at the committee.
There are very important subjects in which we wish to examine you;
especially the danger, if not the illegality, of attempting by new
legislation to create a new Appellate Jurisdiction for the Colonies.
_From Mr. E. Twisleton_
3 Rutland Gate, June 6th
Dear Reeve,--I send you herewith Francis's translation of Pinto on Credit,
together with the original French work of Pinto. The attack on Pombal is in
Francis's concluding observations. Some of the notes are very interesting,
as illustrating the feeling of national superiority among the English, and
of national depression among the French, between 1763 and the American War
of Independence--see pp. 52, 66, 166. My impression is that the French felt
more humiliated during that period than during an equal number of years
after 1814. The loss of Canada and their expulsion from America wounded
their national feelings of pride _then_ nearly as much as the loss of
Alsace and part of Lorraine wounds those feelings now. A hundred years ago
there were very exaggerated ideas, both in England and in France, as to the
strength which a nation derived from colonies.
Yours very truly,
EDWARD TWISLETON.
P.S.--In Francis's Fragment of Autobiography he speaks of this translation
as his own; and says that upon accepting his appointment to India he
surrendered all his papers to Stephen Baggs, 'in whose name the translation
had been published.' See 'Memoir of Sir P.F.' vol. i. p. 366.
The Journal notes:--
_June 28th_.--Assembly at Grosvenor House. July 2nd, assembly at Lansdowne
House. July 3rd, Queen's ball--a very brilliant season.
_From Lady Smith_
Lowestoft, July 9th.
Dear Mr. Reeve,--In one of your friendly letters to me, after the decease
of our valued friend Emily Taylor, you kindly hinted that you would
occasionally favour me with a note; but, knowing the demands upon your pen,
I should not have reminded you of this kindness but for an incident which
occurred last evening when my niece, Ina Reeve, came in to me, saying she
had read such a severe and bitter review of your late publication as quite
surprised her. As she brought the 'Saturday Review' with her, she read it
to me, and perhaps, dear friend, you may have read it, and perhaps guess
its author. To me it seems he is not so angry with your books as with
yourself. Mr. Reeve floats uppermost in almost every line, and 'tis you he
hates. I perceive he cannot endure you, and makes use of your books only
to insult you. I hope you will take care how you come in his way, for I am
sure he will do you a mischief. Beware of the evil eye! He talks of your
ignorance of the New Testament. I could not help thinking how little he is
acquainted with its spirit.
I also read with much concern of the treatment by Mr. Ayrton of that
admirable Curator at the Kew Gardens--Dr. Hooker. Cruel it will be to
science and the public if he is driven from the position he is so competent
to fill with good results.
I have read at present only a part of your first volume, which I much
enjoyed. Sir James was in Paris about two or three years before the Great
Revolution began, but the fermentation was beginning. 'Tis time to relieve
you from my imperfect writing, for my sight is not very perfect, and by
candlelight I can neither see to read or write. About two months go I
completed my ninety-ninth year; but I have health and a new source of
happiness in my nephew James and his dear daughter, who are come to reside
at Lowestoft. _She_ is a daily friend to me, a second self; as our taste in
literature, in poetry, and in morals agree. Only think, the Dean of Norwich
sent me his defence of St. Athanasius' Creed!
I am your dear friend,
P. SMITH.
The next entry in the Journal introduces us to the place--a site on the
Southbourne estate already spoken of--where, two years afterwards, Reeve
built the house in which so much of the last twenty years of his life was
passed. It will be seen that for some time he hesitated between this and
the neighbourhood of Ascot where, in the autumn, he inherited a small
property.
_July 13th_.--To Christchurch, with Parker and Cockerell, [Footnote:
Frederick Pepys Cockerell, one of a family of distinguished architects, and
himself of a high reputation. He died at the age of 45, in 1878.] about the
house at Foxholes.
_17th_.--Dined at Duke of Argyll's. 20th, three days at Strawberry Hill.
27th, party at Aldermaston: Otway, Layards, H. Bruce.
Having taken Loch Gair House for the season, went there by Greenock on
August 2nd. I paid about twelve guineas a week. [Loch Gair--wrote Mrs.
Reeve--is a tiny, land-locked bay on the west shore of Loch Fyne. Park-like
grounds, with a pretty burn rushing down, skirt this loch. There is a
small kitchen garden, and a dairy of six cows. The best fishing is in Loch
Clasken, about a mile and a half west. There is a boat on the loch. The
house is a square structure, three stories high, and with underground
larders, dairy, &c. and attics for servants, so that there is ample
accommodation. I think Henry will enjoy the serene beauty of the place, the
balmy air and fragrant odours, and idleness, delicious because earned by
hard work.]
The Penders being at Minard, we had the benefit of their society and his
yacht. Roland Richardson, Frank Hawkins, Mr. Dempster, the Worsleys, Edmund
Wallace, Fairfax Taylor, Sir A. Grant, the Colebrookes, came to stay
with us; and Colvile. The Derbys and Sir W. Thomson, [Footnote: Now Lord
Kelvin.] Rawlinson, Massey, C. Villiers and the Lowes, staying at Minard.
[Of this time Mrs. Reeve wrote:--The sun is again ruling the day and the
moon the night, to the very great glory of Loch Gair. On Sunday (August
18th) the whole Minard party, seventeen in number, came over to tea, much
to the amusement of Mr. Dempster, to whom we talked of seclusion, and who
did not expect a cabinet minister, a very 'swell' admiral, and sundry fine
ladies. Mr. Dempster's was but a short visit, to our regret; and on Monday
I took him in the dog-cart to meet the 'Iona' at Ardrishaig.]
_October 2nd_.--Left Loch Gair. Visit to Orde's at Kilmory; then to
Invergarry (E. Ellice's) by the Caledonian Canal. Deer shooting. 11th,
to Keir; 16th, to Ormiston; then to Abington--shooting there. To town on
October 26th.
Miss Handley died in October. She left me the Winkfield portion of the
Bracknell estate, which was afterwards confirmed by a decree of the Master
of the Rolls.
_November 13th_.--Dined at Sandbach's with the Queen of Holland, Prince
Edward of Saxe-Weimar, Lady Eastlake, and Bishop Wilberforce. A few other
dinners.
_Monday, 25th_.--I have been down to the Van de Weyers at New Lodge,
Windsor Forest, from Saturday till Monday, a thing I have frequently done
of late. Van de Weyer is almost the last survivor of the brilliant London
society of thirty or forty years ago, and to his great literary and social
experience he unites an unequalled knowledge of the politics of Europe.
During the whole of his reign King Leopold was his own foreign minister;
and he succeeded, by his connexion with the Queen of England, and with
Louis-Philippe, and with Germany, in creating a most influential position
in the world, which he did not impart to his Belgian ministers. But Van de
Weyer was the exception. He was the constant channel of communication with
the Court of England. The King wrote to him two or three times a week, and
he to the King. Their correspondence must be a complete history of the
times. Baron Stockmar was to an equal degree in his King's confidence; but
Stockmar never had the political position of Van de Weyer, nor do I think
he was so able a man. I had hinted, in my review of Stockmar's Life,
[Footnote: _Edinburgh Review_, October 1872.] that his oracular powers had
been somewhat exaggerated, and that he was rather more attached to the
interests of the House of Coburg than to those of England; for which I do
not blame him. However, Van de Weyer and some others of Stockmar's friends
(including the Queen) dispute this, and probably think I have not done him
justice.
For instance, Van de Weyer asserts that when the marriage of the Queen of
Spain was on the _tapis_, Leopold and Queen Victoria had it in their power
to bring about the Coburg marriage, but that they deliberately refused to
do so from respect to their engagements with France. And they acted in this
with the full concurrence of Stockmar. The Queen of Spain had established,
by private means, a correspondence with Queen Victoria. The letters passed
through the hands of Mr. Huth, the merchant, and from him to Van de Weyer,
who delivered them. Isabella complained in these letters of her desperate
and forlorn condition; said she was bullied and threatened by the French,
and expressed her abhorrence of the marriage Bresson was urging upon her.
She declared that if Leopold and Queen Victoria would sanction the Coburg
marriage, she would throw the French over, and marry Prince Leopold the
next day.
The King and our Queen held a solemn conference and deliberation on the
subject. Palmerston was informed of the transaction; but the ministers seem
to have had no great voice in the matter, for the Queen considered the
engagement she had entered into at Eu as a personal promise, and England
had consistently declared that 'she had no candidate.' To put forward
Leopold at the last hour would have been to forfeit this pledge, which, on
the contrary, was most strictly and honourably maintained.
It was the knowledge of this, and the consciousness that a less
conscientious policy might have rescued the Queen of Spain from a dreadful
fate, that rendered the Queen of England and Stockmar so indignant when it
turned out that the French Government had been far less scrupulous, and had
not only forced on the marriage of the Queen to a man she detested, but had
also married the other Infanta to Montpensier.
This communication of Queen Isabella to Queen Victoria is to this day
wholly unrevealed.
With regard to Leopold's annuity (which I explained in the 'Edinburgh
Review'), it was not only secured by act of Parliament, but by treaty; for
there was a regular treaty of marriage concluded between Prince Leopold and
the Crown of England on his marriage with the Princess Charlotte.
The intrigues going on with reference to Belgium, both in France and in
Holland, during the Polignac Ministry have been alluded to in a former
page. [Footnote: _Ante_, pp. 111-12.] But it is less generally known that
at this same time, the Prince of Orange, afterwards William II., was
intriguing to form a party to place him on the throne of France in the
event of the overthrow of the Bourbons.
He spent thirty or forty millions of francs in bribing officers of the army
and others, which was the cause of his subsequent embarrassment and debts.
The French found the plot out, and demanded of the King of Holland that
the Prince should be signally punished. He was accordingly deprived of his
command and of his rank in the army, and even for a time arrested and put
in confinement. He then found out that his French adherents had only been
deluding him to get his money.
_December 4th_.--To Teddesley. Shooting there. Thence to Crewe, to meet
Lady Egerton of Tatton.
_12th_.--Henry Greville died. To Farnborough. I determined to publish the
Greville Journals.
To Bracknell to see the Winkfield land; and to Timsbury for Christmas.
1873.--At Bournemouth early in January, about the house. To London on
January 11th.
_January 25th_.--Lord Lytton's funeral in Westminster Abbey.
_February 14th_.--Dined at Harvie Farquhar's. He was one of C. Greville's
executors, and was curious about the Journals.
_To Mr. W. Longman_
_C.O., March 4th_.--Mr. Morris [Footnote: Edward E. Morris, editor of
_Epochs of Modern History_.] writes under a complete delusion. I could not
possibly write anything for him in less than two years; and I had rather
not enter into any agreement. On reflection, I am satisfied that it would
not answer my purpose to write a popular 'History of the French Revolution'
for 100 £, and to surrender the copyright. An author never ought to
surrender a copyright unless he is compelled to do so. If I wrote a History
of the French Revolution which became a school book or an educational book,
it might become a property of some little value.
But the truth is that the 'Review' suffers when I am too busy to write in
it; and I have in my hands and before me literary work and materials of a
far more remunerative character, which will suffice to fill the remainder
of my life. It would be unwise in me to undertake a fresh task, which could
not possibly pay me. Therefore, upon the whole, I think you had better put
it in other hands. [Footnote: Eventually the work was written by Mrs. S. R.
Gardiner, though from a point of view very different, we may believe, from
that which Reeve would have taken.] O'Connor Morris would do it very well.
I am sorry to alter my mind. My first impulse was to accept from a wish to
oblige you, and from interest in the subject; but further consideration
says 'NO!'
The Journal notes:--
_March 19th_.--Dined at Goschen's at the Admiralty. Mme. Novikoff there, an
active Russian agent.
Mr. Gladstone's Government was beaten by a majority of three. Most of the
casual elections this year went against the Government. Gladstone resigned
on this occasion, but came in again, which he had better not have done.
_March 31st_.--Dined with Charles Austin--very old and infirm; his last
effort. Lord Belper was there.
To Bracknell at Easter, in Miss Handley's house. Took the horses; went to
meet of Queen's Hounds; stayed there till April 19th.
_To Mr. W. Longman_
Old Bracknell House, April 13th.
My dear William,--I am glad you have been to see my scrap of land. I have
taken a great fancy to the spot, and should be very well contented to end
my days there, gazing on that magnificent view of the coast and the sea. At
present I am spending this vacation in Berkshire, and only suffering from
the excessive cold.
I am reading with the greatest interest Baron Hübner's 'Promenade autour du
Monde,' which was reviewed in the 'Times' two or three days ago. It is a
work of extraordinary merit and importance. I shall review it in the next
'Edinburgh,' and I strongly recommend you to publish a translation of it,
if you can. I have seldom read so wonderful a book.
Ever yours faithfully,
HENRY REEVE.
The Journal goes on to speak of perhaps the most remarkable 'centenarian'
of the nineteenth century:--
_May 23rd_.--Dined at Lord Stanhope's with the Antiquaries. Dean Stanley
proposed Lady Smith's health. She was just 100.
Pleasance Reeve, Lady Smith, widow of Sir James Smith, the botanist and
founder of the Linnaean Society, was born on May 11, 1773, and christened
on the following day at Lowestoft, where her baptismal register still
exists. On May 13, 1873, having just completed her hundredth year, she
caused a dinner to be given to the hundred oldest persons in Lowestoft,
whose joint ages averaged seventy-seven years, and public rejoicings were
held in the town. On May 24th I went down with my daughter to see her, and
spent the best part of three days with her. Married in 1795 to Dr. Smith,
afterwards Sir James, she had been the intimate friend, in Norwich, of my
grandfather and grandmother. On my father's marriage in 1807, he took a
house in Surrey Street, next door to the Smiths, and their intercourse was
perpetual. I have myself no earlier recollection than that of her kindness
to me and attachment to my mother. We used to sit in their pew at the
Octagon Chapel, Norwich; and the first evening party I can remember was at
her house, when Mrs. Opie and William Taylor were present--the latter I
think rather drunk!
We found Lady Smith at Lowestoft on this 24th of May, sitting in her chair,
looking extremely well, though shrunk; her voice was firm and unchanged; no
deafness; no dulness of sight; and when they served a little collation she
had ordered for us, she got up, moved to the table, and did the honours.
She complained, however, that the excitement of the last two or three weeks
had impaired her strength and taken away her appetite, I told her that the
evening before, when I was dining at Lord Stanhope's with the Antiquaries,
her health had been proposed in a graceful speech by the Dean of
Westminster. The venerable Society drank the most venerable lady. This
affected her, and she exclaimed, 'You must not tell me such things as
these. They drive me mad. I find it harder to support the many marks of
kindness and distinction I have received than to bear the burden of a
hundred years.'
I asked her what was the first thing she remembered. She said she was
confident she remembered being taken to her aunt's at Saxmundham as an
infant of nine months old, and still saw her eyes, the crocuses in the
border, and the flutter of the fringe on her own robe. Of political events
she thought the first in her memory was the taking of the Bastille, and she
enlarged on the extraordinary enthusiasm excited by the French Revolution.
I said the American war came before the Revolution of 1789; and she replied
'Yes, no doubt I remember hearing the American war talked about;' and then
quoted the lines (Dr. Aikins' she said):--
See the justice of Heaven! America cries;
George loses his senses, North loses his eyes.
When first they provoked me, all Europe could find
That the Monarch was mad and the Minister blind.
But the date of this epigram must be somewhat later. Lord North became
blind in 1787 [and the King's insanity was not publicly known till November
1788].
She remembered Mr. Windham as one of the most graceful and fascinating
of men. Lady Morley [Footnote: Frances, daughter of Thomas Talbot, of
Wymondham, Norfolk, married Lord Boringdon, afterwards Earl of Morley, in
1809.] (the present Earl's grandmother) was staying with the Smiths when
she came out, and was equally remarkable for her wit, her beauty, and her
fine hair. Her mother, Mrs. Talbot, was very ugly. We then talked over all
the old Norwich families, Gower, Taylors, Aldersons, Bathurst, &c. She said
she thought my mother a much finer character than Mrs. Austin, and, she
added, a fine understanding too.
Her interest in all the events of the day--the last spider discovered
by Dr. Carpenter at the bottom of the ocean and the last improvement at
Burlington House--is as keen as the recollection of the past. 'Punch' and
the 'Illustrated News' and the other newspapers bring it all before her.
_May 28th_.--Gladstone presided at the Literary Fund dinner. I took Meadows
Taylor, who was staying with us.
_From Lady Smith_
_Lowestoft, May 31st_.--Many thanks, dear Mr. Reeve, for sending me the
handsome present of turtle soup, which came on Thursday evening and made
the best part of my dinner on Friday. My intellectual treat has been the
speeches by the Premier and others at the Literary Fund dinner, and I much
admire the eloquence of the several talented gentlemen. I write so badly
I will spare you, and only send my affectionate regards to Mrs. Reeve and
dear Hopie, and to yourself. I am very sincerely yours,
P. SMITH.
Continuing the Journal:--
To Bracknell again on June 1st. Attended Ascot for the last time. The Shah
of Persia was in London this year, and was received in state. The Queen
lent him Buckingham Palace.
_June 25th_.--Goschen's fête to the Shah of Persia at Greenwich Hospital.
Fine sight. We steamed through the docks after the Shah.
_29th_.--Met M. de Laveleye at Van de Weyer's.
_July 14th_.--Dined at Merchant Taylors' Hall; made a speech.
_17th_.--Dined at Lambeth, to talk over the Judicature Bill with the
Archbishop. Met Bishop Wilberforce as I was driving down Constitution Hill.
He was killed two days afterwards (on the 19th) by a fall from his horse,
riding with Lord Granville.
Count Münster came as German ambassador. I dined with him at Beust's and at
Houghton's.
Lord Westbury died in London on July 20th, 1873; a man whose bitter tongue
made him many enemies, and procured for him a reputation as of one without
respect or regard for aught human or divine. Those who knew him well told
a different tale. He has been described by them as having a most kind and
feeling nature. 'He did not make many professions, but had the good of his
fellow-creatures at heart. He always found time to give advice and help.'
Reeve, who had been thrown into frequent and familiar intercourse with him,
was in the habit of speaking of him as one whose real character was very
different indeed from that assigned him by popular repute; and the letter
of sympathy which he wrote to Lord Westbury's daughter, the Hon. Augusta
Bethell,[Footnote: Afterwards Mrs. Parker, and, by a second marriage, Mrs.
Nash.] merely expressed his honest opinion.
Rutland Gate, July 23rd.
Dear Miss Bethell,--I should have written sooner if I had had the use of
my hand, to express to you my profound sorrow and sympathy in the loss you
have sustained.
I look back with unmixed satisfaction on the relations I maintained for
so many years with your father. He honoured me with his confidence and
friendship. I have the profoundest admiration, not only for his qualities
as a lawyer, but for his just and enlarged mind, his vast reading, his
memory, and the inexhaustible kindness of his heart. He was one of the
greatest men I have known, and one of those whose loss to us all is most
irreparable. How much more so to you!
Mrs. Reeve begs to unite her condolences to mine; and we remain always
Your much attached friends,
HENRY REEVE.
The Journal notes a six weeks' tour with Mrs. Reeve in Switzerland and
Germany:--
_August 1st_.--To Paris and Geneva, _viâ_ Dieppe. Saw Thiers in Paris. He
had been turned out of office on May 4th. On August 4th reached Binet's
_campagne_. Family dinners, &c., at Geneva. 12th, called at Blumenthal's
_chalet_, near Vevey. 14th, to Berne, Grindelwald, and Ragaz, by Zurich.
Took baths at Ragaz. Longmans came there on the 22nd. Pleasant excursion
to Glarus. 26th, to Syrgenstein [near the Lake of Constance--wrote Mrs.
Reeve--where some cousins of ours, the Whittles, bought an old schloss
with some 300 acres, and settled about fifteen years ago]. 31st, by Ulm to
Baden-Baden, Bonn, Aix, Antwerp; home on September 8th.
_September 10th_.--Sir Henry Holland dined with us. He had just been to
Nijni Novgorod, and was starting for Naples. He died as soon as he got
back, on October 27th. This was the last time I saw him. He was then
eighty-five. To Bracknell in September.
_September 27th_.--To Christchurch. Ordered fences for Foxholes.
_October 3rd_.--To Cultoquhey (Lord Moncreiff's). 6th, fishing at Battleby
(Maxtone Graham's), in the Tay. We killed seven fish; I, one of 19 lbs.;
Hopie, two, one of 25 lbs. Thence to the Colviles', at Craigflower, and on
the 11th to Minto. 14th, drove to Ancrum and Kirklands. Beautiful day.
We went from Minto to Dartrey, co. Monaghan, by Carlisle and Stranraer;
crossed to Larne, but had to sleep at Dundalk, on the 17th. At Dartrey
found the Ilchesters, Mr. Herbert, and others. Lady Craven and the
Headforts came later. Returned to England on the 27th by Greenore and
Holyhead.
For the October number of the 'Review,' Reeve had written an article on
the Ashantee War, in which he would seem to have been assisted by Lord
Kimberley, then Colonial Secretary. On its appearance, Mr. Pope Hennessy,
at this time Governor of the Bahamas, but who, in the preceding year, had
been Governor of the Gold Coast, wrote to 'The Editor of the "Edinburgh
Review,"' objecting to some of the statements regarding his own conduct,
which, he declared, were inaccurate. And, having given utterance to his
objections, he continued:--
_November 28th_.--As I have ventured on fault-finding about one article, I
must not deprive myself of the pleasure of congratulating you heartily
on another. Since October 1802 no article on foreign affairs has been so
apropos as your Cuban one of last October. Here it has been read with
avidity and universal satisfaction, and I believe it will do much to guide
influential opinion in England at this crisis. I hope to see you return to
the subject in January. Remember that your January number, as far as the
instruction of M.P.s is concerned, is always an important political one. In
view of your dealing with the subject again, I give you a few facts that
may perhaps add special interest once more to the 'Edinburgh's' mode of
dealing with it.
England is directly concerned in Cuba by its close proximity to the
Bahamas. Cay Lobos (British territory) is but fourteen miles from Cay
Confites (Cuban territory). That leaves but eight miles of high seas in
width. The people of the Bahamas have made frequent complaint to the
governor about the conduct of the Spanish authorities in Cuba. In
August this year the Governor of the Bahamas sent a memorial to the
Captain-General of Cuba about the impediments to the Bahama sponging trade
caused by the arbitrary acts of the Spaniards. No notice has been taken of
this. It has not even been acknowledged. In 1870 complaints were made to
Sir James Walker (my predecessor) that James Fraser and three other British
subjects were captured in a Bahama schooner, taken ashore to Cuba, and
there shot. The Spaniards justified this by saying that the ship was
conveying supplies to the insurgents, and they (the Spaniards) executed
Fraser and the others as pirates. In the same year a man named Williams
complained that sixty or seventy Spanish soldiers landed at Berry Island (a
part of the Bahama colony), chasing Cuban refugees, firing off their guns,
and threatening to hang Williams if he did not aid them in their search.
Subsequently the Spanish admiral, Melcampo, made a sort of apology for
this; but the Captain-General of Cuba, on the other hand, wrote to Sir
James Walker, complaining that the British lighthouse-keepers on Berry
Island had refused to aid the Spaniards in pursuit of 'pirates' on British
soil. Lord Granville took up the matter in a proper spirit. He sent
energetic remonstrances to Madrid. He got the Admiralty to telegraph to Sir
Rodney Mundy, at Halifax, to despatch ships of war to aid the Governor of
the Bahamas in protecting the colony from the raids of the Spaniards. As to
the seizing of ships on the high seas under neutral flags, he telegraphed
to Sir John Crampton, at Madrid, to say that it would be 'a glaring
violation of the law of nations.' The Madrid Government promised to get the
Captain-General's proclamation revoked; but my predecessor reported that
General Dulce had not revoked it, and he returned to Spain without doing
so. The half-and-half revocation that took place left 'exceptional
cases' at the discretion of the Spanish cruisers. Hence the case of the
'Virginius.'
The excitement here about the recent executions is intense. Twenty-nine of
those shot resided at Nassau. The public feeling is now so strong that it
deprives me of power (especially as all British troops are withdrawn) to
stop expeditions against the Spaniard, though I am doing my best to allay
it and to be strictly neutral. Indeed, in the interest of the peace and
well-being of the Bahamas, I have had to write to Lord Kimberley, asking
him to use his influence in getting some law-abiding government substituted
in Cuba for the present lawless rule of the volunteers. Your article will
do much to support H.M. Government in a decided course now.
Believe me, yours faithfully,
J. POPE HENNESSY.
The Journal records here:--
_December 8th_.--We went to Knowsley, with Lord Cairns. There were there
Lord C. Hamilton, Henry Cowper, &c. Lord Sefton shot with us. We killed
827 head on the 9th, 784 head on the 10th, 366 head on the 11th. Went to
Liverpool with Lord Cairns on the 12th, and home next day.
_To Lord Derby_
_C. O., December 15th_.--The last edition of my translation of
Tocqueville's book on France has probably not yet found its way to
Knowsley's library, and I shall be much gratified if you will allow me to
place a copy there. This edition has the advantage of containing fourteen
posthumous chapters not to be found in any other, and these certainly are
not the least remarkable part of the work. I was moved to translate them
partly by your saying to me one day, 'Can't you give us any more of
Tocqueville?'
The Journal goes on:--
To Paris for Christmas. Saw M. Guizot; dined at the Embassy. Dined with
Mme. Faucher on Christmas Day; with M. Guizot on the 27th; Camille Rousset
and Taine there. On the 28th dined at the Duc de Broglie's, then home
minister; Apponys, Prince Orloff, Lord Lyons, Lambert de Sainte-Croix
there. Dined on the 29th with the Lyttons at Mme. Gavard's; and on the 30th
with the Comte de Paris at De Mussy's.
1874.--The year opened at Paris. Called on M. Guizot and dined with the
Raymonds on New Year's Day. Breakfasted with the Duc d'Aumale at Chantilly
on the 2nd; first time I had seen him there. Dined at Mohl's with
Haussonville, the Lyttons, and Tourguéneff.
Renewed my acquaintance with Drouyn de Lhuys, who related to me the affairs
of 1866. Very curious. Dined at the Political Economy Club on the 5th; and
at Lytton's on the 6th. Back to London on the 7th.
_January 24th_.--To Aldermaston, with Lord Aberdare, the Samuel Bakers,
Herbert Spencer, Franks and others. Pleasant and interesting; but I had the
gout and was laid up for a month. This was the day Gladstone published his
fatal address to the electors at Greenwich. Parliament was dissolved on the
26th. We all told Lord Aberdare that the party would be smashed, and so it
was. Disraeli's Government came in on February 21st.
_21st_.--The Master of the Rolls gave judgement in the Handley suit, which
gave me the Winkfield property.
The case was shortly described by Mrs. Reeve:--
'There were two wills, one of Edwin Handley, the other that of his two
surviving sisters. His will was good as to devise of money, bad as to land;
therefore the land passed to the sisters, and their bequests of land come
into effect. The property in Winkfield which comes to Henry is a little
more than 30 acres. Of course the agricultural value is not very great; but
we hope, as building and accommodation land, to make a good thing of it.'
It appears, indeed, that the advisability of settling on it themselves was
considered; but there was no house on the property; so that as in either
case a house had to be built, the Christchurch site was preferred. In June
Reeve sold this Winkfield property for nearly 6,000 £., which--he added to
a note of the sale--'enabled me to build Foxholes.'
The following is endorsed:--'M. Guizot on the death of [his daughter]
Pauline. The last letter he wrote me with his own hand.'
8 _mars_.--Je vous remercie de votre sympathie, my dear Sir. J'y comptais.
Vous êtes un des anciens témoins de ma vie et de mon bonheur. Il a été
grand; mais le bonheur se paye. Je me soumets douloureusement mais sans
murmure. La vie est ainsi faite. C'est pour mon gendre Cornélis de Witt que
je ressens une pitié profonde. Il a joui pendant vingt-cinq ans de ce que
j'ai moi-même appelé le bonheur parfait, l'amour dans le mariage. Il reste
seul avec ses sept enfants. Ils viendront tous vivre avec moi, sous les
yeux de ma fille Henriette,[Footnote: Mme. Guizot de Witt.] une vraie mère.
Revenez nous voir.
Je n'ai pas le coeur à vous parler d'autre chose. Je n'ai pas encore reçu
'l'Edinburgh Review' des mois d'octobre et janvier dernier. Je les fais
demander. Je vis aussi en Angleterre. C'est beaucoup d'avoir deux vies et
presque deux patries. Mr. Burton a-t-il publié l'article qu'il projetait
sur mon Histoire de France? Je vous envoie quelques pages que je viens
d'écrire sur mon excellent ami, M. Vitet. [Footnote: Louis Vitet, 'de
l'Académie française,' _d_.June 1873. This is presumably the 'notice'
prefixed to Vitet's _Etudes philosophiques et littéraires_ (8vo. 1875).]
Encore un profond regret.
Adieu, my dear Sir. Tenez-moi un peu au courant de ce qui se passe chez
vous et de ce que vous en pensez. Nous végétons ici dans les ténèbres,
en attendant un mieux qui viendra, je ne sais quand ni comment. Mais je
persiste à y croire. Tout à vous, GUIZOT.
The Journal here has:--
_March 10th_.--The Duc d'Aumale dined at The Club dinner.
_18th_.--Met Disraeli at Lady Derby's first party. A day or two before
this, at Windsor, Lord Granville was chaffing Lady John Manners and
said--referring to the Prime Minister's birth--'You must acknowledge that
your chief's nose is very queer.' 'At all events,' was Lady John's ready
rejoinder, 'it is not out of joint.'
_28th_.--Took the Duc de Rochefoucault (the French Ambassador) to the boat
race at Mortlake.
_April 2nd_.--To Christchurch. On the 4th, in torrents of rain, we fixed,
with Cockerell, the exact site of Foxholes House.
_May 8th_.--Ball to the Prince of Wales at the French Embassy. Duchess of
Edinburgh there.
Lord Hertford, the Tory Lord Chamberlain, omitted me from the Court ball
this year, for the first time since 1847. This was before the publication
of the 'Greville Memoirs,' and not on account of it.
To Aix in the end of May. Longman was with me. Home on June 4th.
_From M. Guizot_
Val Richer, ce 22 juillet.
My Dear Sir,--Je réponds à votre aimable lettre du 14 juillet, et je
commence par supprimer mon écriture. J'en avais autrefois un qu'on trouvait
très jolie, mais, depuis quelques mois, ma main est devenue si tremblante
que j'ai renoncé à écrire moi-même. Je ne veux cependant pas tarder
davantage à vous dire avec quel plaisir j'ai lu l'article de Mr. Burton
sur mon Histoire de France que je viens de trouver dans le numéro 285 de
'l'Edinburgh Review.' C'est excellent; il est impossible de serrer de plus
près les diverses parties de mon ouvrage en les analysant d'une manière
plus claire et plus frappante. Les liens de l'histoire de France avec
l'État, la Couronne, l'Église et les moeurs publiques y sont résumés
dans toute leur vérité. Je ne pourrais dans ce moment-ci, avec ma main
tremblante, en remercier moi-même Mr. Burton comme je le voudrais faire.
Je me promets d'y revenir plus tard. En attendant, je vous prie de le
remercier pour moi, en lui disant tout ce que je pense de son parfait
résumé. Vous me pardonnerez d'être si bref; je suis encore assez souffrant
et fatigué. Je reprends pourtant dans ce moment même la publication
périodique des livraisons de mon histoire; elles seront envoyées chaque
semaine à Mr. Burton comme à vous, et je serai bienheureux si vous me dites
qu'elles vous intéressent autant que les précédents volumes. Pardon, my
dear Sir, de ne pas vous en dire davantage. Je suis au Val Richer jusqu'à
la fin de l'année. Ecrivez-moi quelquefois, je vous prie, et croyez-moi
affectueusement tout à vous,
GUIZOT.
P.S.--C'est ma fille Henriette qui me sert de secrétaire pour ma
correspondance comme pour mon histoire. Je n'en retrouverais nulle part un
pareil.
This letter, written by Mme. Guizot de Witt, was the last Reeve received
from his old friend, who died at Val Richer on September 12th, in his 87th
year. A month later he received the following:--
_From Mme. Guizot de Witt_
Val Richer, ce 20 octobre.
Mon cher Monsieur,--Je savais bien ce que vous senteriez pour nous et aussi
pour vous-même. Mon père avait pour vous beaucoup d'amitié. En rangeant ses
papiers, au milieu de toutes vos lettres, je trouve une foule de minutes de
ses réponses; quelques-unes sont bien belles. Je ne vous parle pas du vide
affreux de ma vie et de mon âme. Je sais que Dieu me donnera la force de le
supporter en travaillant encore pour ceux qui m'ont quittée. Et le jour du
revoir viendra. Mon père est parti tout entier, lui-même jusqu'au bout,
dans la possession de son esprit et de son âme, plein de confiance en Dieu,
nous recommandant de servir le pays qu'il avait suprêmement aimé et dont
les malheurs ont d'abord ébranlé sa santé. Ma Pauline aussi ne s'était
jamais relevée de la guerre. Us sont ensemble et en paix. Adieu, mon cher
Monsieur. Vous viendrez certainement à Paris cet hiver, et nous vous
verrons. Je compte aller dans six semaines retrouver tout mon monde qui
y est déjà. Remerciez pour moi Mrs. Reeve et Hope, et croyez à tous mes
meilleurs sentiments.
GUIZOT DE WITT.
_Journal_
_July_.--The building Foxholes was now going on. To Scotland, July 31st,
having again taken Loch Gair. Also hired a 16-ton yacht--the 'Foam.' Got
there on August 1st. John Binet came to Loch Gair, straight from Geneva.
Mrs. Reeve wrote of him:--'It is his first visit to North Britain, and his
enthusiasm--at 62--is quite delightful to witness. He travelled here from
Paris without stopping, and though a good deal tired and half-starved, was
ready for a walk that afternoon and for climbing hills the next morning.'
I was engaged all the autumn at Loch Gair in revising the press of 'The
Greville Memoirs' and in preparing a new edition of the 'Democracy in
America.'
We left Loch Gair on October 8th: and after visits to Abington, Ormiston
and Minto, returned to London on the 26th.
The publication of the first part of 'The Greville Memoirs' took place on
October 17th. It excited far greater interest than I had expected, and the
first edition sold very rapidly. Five editions were published in less than
six months; the two first of 2,500 each, and the three last of 1,000; so
that about 8,000 copies were sold.
The Press, in the main, was highly favourable. On the 28th the
Queen--though I believe she had not yet read the book, but only newspaper
extracts--sent me a message by Helps to express her disapproval of it, on
these grounds 1. It was disparaging to her family. 2. It tended to weaken
the monarchy. 3. It proceeded from official persons. I begged Helps to
reply, with my humble duty, that the book showed that, if the monarchy
had really been endangered, it was by the depravity of George IV. and the
absurdities of William IV.; but that under Her Majesty's reign it had
become stronger than ever.
It may, however, be believed that the Queen, who was, not unnaturally, much
offended, never quite forgave the publication; and it is at least probable
that the annoyance she had felt was the principal reason for Reeve's never
receiving the K.G.B., to which his long service at the Council Office would
seem to have, in a measure, entitled him.
I saw the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg the same day, October 28th, but I
don't think the Cambridges were very angry. The old Duchess was having the
book read to her, and frequently added amusing recollections to it.
This publication was one of the most important incidents in Reeve's
literary life; one which was warmly discussed at the time and has been much
commented on since. It is probably as the editor of this remarkable book
that Reeve will be best known to future generations, and it is therefore
well to relate the story in a clear and detailed manner. From the first,
Reeve was fully alive to the responsibility he was undertaking; and the
following memorandum was apparently drawn up at the time of Greville's
death.
_Memorandum on 'The Greville Memoirs,' and on the death of Charles
Greville_, 1865
On January 7th, 1865, I received from Mr. Greville, I being at Torry Hill,
a note requesting me to call on him for a matter, as he expressed it,
not very important, but partly of a personal and partly of a literary
character. I answered directly that being out of town I could not call
immediately, but would not fail to do so as soon as I returned to London.
I returned to London on the afternoon of Monday, the 9th, and called in
Bruton Street about 11 A.M. on Tuesday the 10th. I thought Mr. Greville
looked thin, but not ill, and he was free from gout. He said, however, that
he was seriously unwell in other ways. The truth was (although he did not
then tell me so) that he had an effusion of water on the heart. I know
not how long it had been coming on; but in the preceding week he had been
staying at the Grenfells' at Taplow, where Lady Colvile had the scarlatina.
From Taplow he proceeded to Savernake; but Lady Ailesbury had so violent a
fear of the infection that she sent a servant to stop Greville's fly on the
way from the station to the house, on the ground that she could not receive
him. He was therefore compelled to go to sleep at the inn at Marlborough,
where, besides being excessively annoyed, he caught a bad cold. The next
day he returned to Taplow, saying to Grenfell, 'I come back here because no
one will receive me!' and he soon afterwards came back to Bruton Street.
This was the history of the malady of which he died; but whether it was
brought on by the cold he caught, or by any other cause, I do not know.
When I saw him on the 10th he was in no pain, and apparently not seriously
ill. He began by talking about Privy Council affairs; he then gave me an
account of the Windham papers, which Mrs. Henry Baring is preparing for
publication; but I saw that these were not the subjects on which he wished
to see me, and there was evidently a nervousness in his manner as he
approached it. At last, sitting down in his easy-chair, he said--'And now
I want to speak to you about my own affairs. Reeve, I am getting devilish
old, and I think in all probability I have not long to live. I have
therefore been considering what I ought to do with the journals I have kept
on all important occasions for so many years of my life. They amount, I
think, to ninety volumes [Footnote: These are now in the British Museum.],
and extend over nearly fifty years. I left off writing them two years ago,
finding that since I withdrew from the office I knew less of the course of
events. Let us look at them.' He then opened the lower part of a bookcase
in which I saw these volumes in a row. He then added, 'Now, will you take
charge of them? I have been thinking a great deal of what I can do with
them. They contain a good deal of curious matter, as you know, which may
be of interest hereafter. I can do nothing better than leave them in your
hands. You will be the judge whether any part of them, and what, can be
published.'
To this I replied, that I was very much touched by so great a mark of his
confidence and friendship; that as for the journals, he was quite right in
supposing that I should set as much store by them as he did himself, and
that in whatever I did with them hereafter, I should conform to what
I might suppose to be his wishes; that it appeared to me that a broad
distinction exists between the earlier half, including the reigns of
George IV. and William IV., and the latter half, subsequent to the Queen's
accession, and that if the former part might to a certain extent be
published soon, the other part could not. That the person I should
naturally consult in such a trust would be Lord Clarendon; but that at
present it was not necessary to take any steps, as I hoped he would still
be with us some years; that I would read the journals through, with his
permission, and tell him what I thought.
To all this he assented. He said, 'They are all full of Clarendon, who
has always been so intimate with me. I will bring you down a dozen of the
volumes the first day I go out in my carriage; and if my life should be
spared a few years, we will talk them over.'
He then spoke of his letters, particularly of his own letters to the late
Duke of Bedford, which had been recently sent back to him. He said he would
read them over; that some of them might serve to fill up and complete
passages in the journals. To this I remarked, 'Do you mean, then,
these letters are to go with the journals?' He replied, 'That requires
consideration.' He did not therefore give me any power over the letters.
I was going that day (January 10th) to Ampthill, to see Lord Wensleydale;
and on the 14th to the Grove. This led me to say, 'Am I at liberty to
mention to Lord Clarendon what has passed on this subject?' He answered
'No. I had rather it should be entirely confidential.' I therefore of
course said nothing to anyone.
On Monday, the 16th, I returned to town from the Grove, and went in the
evening, about five, to Bruton Street. Lady Sydney and Lady Enfield were
with him. He looked somewhat weaker, and complained of total loss of
appetite. As soon as the ladies were gone, he resumed the subject of the
journals, and immediately said, 'Now you are come back to town, you
can take some of them.' He rang for his servant to hold a light to the
bookcase, and by his directions I took vols. v., vi., vii., and viii., and
carried them home with me. He said he had lent the first four vols. to his
brother Henry, but that I should have them soon. He then again said, 'When
you have read these, you will see what you think can be published; but as
you advance they become more interesting.' I read these volumes nearly
through the same evening, beginning from the death of Lord Liverpool.
On Tuesday, January 17th, I returned to Bruton Street about six. He was
alone. Another volume of the journals was on the table by him, which he
gave me, saying, 'You will find this more interesting'--but this was as I
was going away. I told him that I had read the former volumes greedily, and
that he had treated George IV. with great severity. He replied, 'What I
have said of him is not flattering; but that is what he was.' I then asked
him about the passages in cipher. He said he had invented this cipher
himself for the purpose of his journal; that he could read it, but nobody
else. That he would read to me the passages in cipher if I would bring them
to him; but he added, 'For that matter, the truth is the greater part of
them had better be omitted, as they relate to things which are better
forgotten.' He then mentioned that he had told Henry Greville that 'I was
to have the journals.' And I afterwards found that he had intimated his
intention to Mr. Baring and I think to Lord Granville.
He said that Meryon (his doctor) thought him better to-day-that the day
before had been a very bad one; but he had still no appetite, though he was
going to try to eat a piece of woodcock for his dinner. It was then near
seven o'clock, and I left him, taking the volume with me, but with no
presentiment that we were parting for ever. He said, as I wished him good
night, 'Come again to-morrow if you are near me.' I promised to come, and
to come often, and left the room.
He can scarcely have seen anyone afterwards; for the evening was advancing,
and between nine and ten he went to bed. His servant proposed to sleep
near him. He said, 'No; I don't want that, unless I am very ill.' He fell
asleep, and seems never to have waked, for when he was found in the morning
he lay with his finger resting on his pillow in his accustomed attitude,
like a child asleep.
On January 27th I received a letter from Henry Greville, stating that
Charles had informed him of his intention, but that there was nothing about
the journals or letters in the will or codicil. I answered this letter
the same day, by giving him an abridged copy or version of the preceding
statement.
I ought to have stated that, in the conversation of January 10th, Mr.
Greville said that he thought it better not to fix any stated time
within which the journals might or might not be published. Part might be
published, but it was a mere question of discretion and propriety what and
when.
I observed to him that in selecting me as his literary executor, the only
question was whether some member of his own family might not more properly
be selected. To this he replied that he had considered that, and preferred
that I should have them. I have since found that, prior to the death of
Sir George Lewis, he had been selected by Greville for this trust. He then
hesitated for some time whom he should appoint, and then chose me.
Having made up his mind that the time was ripe for the publication of the
earlier volumes of the journals, Reeve--as has been said--gave them to the
world on October 17th, fully prepared to take all the responsibility of his
act. And indeed he was quickly called on to do so; for some of Greville's
relations, uneasy--it would appear--at the hostile attitude of the Court,
called on him to make a public declaration that they had nothing to do with
it, whilst others were disposed to question Reeve's legal right. Of this,
however, he had plenty of evidence; amongst others, that of Mr. T. Longman,
who wrote:--
_Farnborough Hill, November 7th._--... In the interview I had with Mr.
Harvie Farquhar, I stated that Mr. Greville consulted me some time before
his death as to whom he should leave his journals to, and that Mr. Greville
concurred in my suggestion that he should leave them to you. As Mr.
Greville acted on this some time after our conference, it became obvious to
Mr. H. Farquhar that, as between gentlemen, the main question that had been
raised, as to your right of possession, fell to the ground.
After this the matter was settled in a perfectly amicable manner in a
meeting between Reeve and Mr. Harvie Farquhar, representing the timorous
kinsfolk, and together they wrote the following letter, which was
published, under Reeve's signature, in the 'Times,' 'Pall Mall Gazette,'
and some other papers, on November 7th.
Finding that statements are current that Mr. Charles Greville's and Mr.
Henry Greville's executors had been consulted as to the publication of Mr.
Charles Greville's Journals of the Reigns of George IV. and William IV.,
I think it right to say that they were in no way consulted by me, nor
was their assent asked for, because I believed it to be the wish of
Mr. Greville that his family and executors should be relieved from all
responsibility in the matter.
The journals were not left to Mr. Henry Greville, nor did they pass to
his executors, having been given to me by Mr. Greville himself before
his death, as stated by me in the preface, for the purpose of eventual
publication, but the time and manner of publication were left to my sole
discretion. I am, therefore, alone responsible for the production of this
portion of the journals at the present time, and any beneficial interest
in them is a matter entirely between my publisher and myself. Beneficial
interest in the publication had not, however, the slightest influence on
the course I thought it right to pursue, and I take this opportunity of
stating that, in my opinion, many years must elapse before the more recent
portions of these journals can with propriety be published.
On the actual publication he received many encouraging letters, a few of
which are here given, together with a remarkable expression of opinion from
Lord Russell, one of the few public men then living who could speak of the
regency and the reign of George IV. from personal knowledge.
_From Mr. Delane_
October 22nd.
Dear Reeve,--I am glad you are pleased with the first notice of Greville's
Journals. There are at least two more to come, which will, I hope, be
equally gratifying to you. Certainly you did not publish too soon. The
world moves too quickly for long intervals of suppressed publication. I
suppose the book is not really published, as I have only seen it in sheets.
Yours ever faithfully,
J. T. DELANE.
_From Lord Derby_
Knowsley, October 31st.
Dear Reeve,--The Greville papers are quite the most interesting and amusing
work of the year; and, considering the extreme difficulty of editing such a
work without spoiling it--on the one hand, by too much suppression, or by
leaving in it passages which would give reasonable cause of offence to
private persons--I think you have been singularly judicious.... As to the
journalist's criticisms on public men, they seem to me to be the harsh
judgements of a man trying to be impartial, though inclined to be
acrimonious. There is certainly nothing in them which you could have
the slightest scruple about publishing, or which the relatives of those
concerned can resent.
Very sincerely yours,
DERBY.
_From Mr. E. Cheney_
St. Anne's Hill, Chertsey, October 31st.
My dear Reeve,--... I have been reading Charles Greville with much interest
and entertainment. I think you are quite right in publishing now, and not
waiting for a generation 'who knew not Joseph.' There is always a clamour
against those who tell the truth. Charles Greville may very likely [have
been], and certainly was, very often wrong; but he believed he told the
truth, and he certainly uttered his genuine sentiments. These journals
throw a strong light on contemporary events, and will be very valuable to
the future historians of the period. Ch. G. was a man who felt much and
expressed himself strongly; and had you attempted to soften his language
you would have injured the effect and destroyed the _couleur locale_.
He was a man naturally of a quick and irritable temper, and he had been a
spoilt child all his life. His original education was defective. He lived
with the selfish and the self-indulgent, and naturally became selfish and
self-indulgent himself. At six years old an old friend of his mother's
found him crying at dinner because he had not got the liver wing of the
chicken; and to the last he would have wanted 'the liver wing.' But he had
naturally a kind heart, and a just perception; and he admired what was
noble and generous, if he did not always practise it. He suffered greatly
in health, and he was too self-indulgent, even with the certainty of pain
before his eyes, to moderate his appetite. His last years were unhappy. The
indulgence of his temper made his company often disagreeable, and he very
keenly felt the neglect of his old friends. With a better education
he would have been a most valuable man, for his natural powers were
considerable. Like so many other London men, he thought the whole world was
bounded by Oxford Street, Pall Mall, the Parks, and the City; and he took
his opinions from the clubs in St. James's Street and Pall-Mall, and, as
those opinions varied, so we find his judgements in these journals vary.
But he himself was convinced, and he uttered the genuine sentiments of the
moment.... I hope you will publish the rest of the four vols. before long,
and that you will preserve exactly the same plan you have done in these....
Yours very sincerely, E. C.
_From Mr. Harvie Farquhar_
16 St. James's Street, November 28th.
The yeast of society ferments easily, and--at present--C. G.'s manes are
the best abused in or out of Hades; but all will settle down soon, and when
people have done throwing stones, and the water is placid enough to enable
them to see below the surface, they will better appreciate what lies at the
bottom. Whether abused or not, the book will be in every library--on its
merits.
_From the Queen of Holland_
The Hague, Monday, November 30th.
My dear Mr. Reeve,--Saturday night, November 28th, the books arrived. I
am afraid, after Sunday church, more of my time than ought to have been
Sunday's occupation was given to these three volumes. Of course, I have not
_read_ them; I _rushed_ through, and am now going to read page by page.
The interest is an immense one. Not only that I have _known many_ of the
persons named, but I have _heard_ from all, and they seem to me like
shadows reviving, returning to light and life. Dear Lord Clarendon's name
struck me several times; and I remember, when Mr. Greville died, Lord
Clarendon wrote me 'his papers had been given to the person most able to
judge them.' At that time I did not know Mr. Reeve; but I recollect the
words perfectly. Pray give my best compliments to Mrs. Reeve, and believe
me very sincerely yours,
SOPHIE.
_From Lord Russell to Mr. T. Norton Longman_
_December 9th_.--I was much interested in C. Greville's Memoirs. He is not
a bit too severe on George IV. A worse man has not lived in our time.
On the other hand, many of the papers criticised the work in a hostile and
violent manner. It was, they said, a breach of official confidence for a
man in Greville's position to keep a journal at all. Greville--whose name
it was fatally easy to rhyme to Devil--was described as a man delighting in
listening at keyholes, and habitually misrepresenting the only half-heard
secrets. Here is a specimen; one epigram out of many, all to the same
effect, and all ending with the same rhyme:--
For fifty years he listened at the door,
And heard some secrets, and invented more;
These he wrote down, and statesmen, queens and kings,
Are all degraded into common things.
Though most have passed away, some still remain
To whom such scandal gives a needless pain;
And though they smile, and say 'Tis only Greville,'
They wish him, Reeve, and Longman at the devil.
The 'Quarterly Review,' too, in a peculiarly venomous article, compared
the relative positions of Greville and Reeve with those of Bolingbroke and
Mallet, as painted by Dr. Johnson. Bolingbroke, he had said, was a cowardly
blackguard, who loaded a gun which he was afraid to fire off himself, and
left a shilling to a beggarly Scotchman to pull the trigger after his
death. The inference was inevitable; and though Reeve was neither a
Scotchman nor a beggar, he unquestionably felt the sting, coming, as it
did, from a friend of more than forty years' standing, Abraham Hayward
[Footnote: See _ante_, vol. i. pp. 12, 34.]. The friendship was not
unnaturally broken, nor does the old intimacy appear to have been ever
renewed.
Of course the gravamen of this charge, made not only by the 'Quarterly
Review,' but by other less distinguished journals, was that Reeve had been
mainly, if not solely, influenced by the idea of making a good thing out of
it. The sale of the work--they said--was very great. Commercially, it had
been a brilliant success. Reeve's trained insight into literary affairs had
shown him that it must be so, and, tempted by the _auri sacra fames_, he
had yielded, maugre the counsels of his better part. Never was charge more
unjust, more untrue. Reeve, though not a wealthy man, was now in easy
circumstances, with a sufficient and assured income. Prudent in the
management of his property and in his expenditure he seems to have always
been; but as far removed, both by temperament and education, from parsimony
as from extravagance. Money he valued only for what it could give him; and
both in fact and in sentiment he was in a position to say with the poet--
mihi parva rura et
Spiritum Graias tenuem Camoenae
Parca non mendax dedit, et malignum
Spernere vulgus.
Still, the charge was made at the time, was currently repeated, and
has been believed by many. It happens, however, that the most complete
contradiction of it remains in the shape of Reeve's letters to Mr. T.
Longman, some of which we can now read.
_C. O., November 7th_.--Nothing could end better for me than the amicable
discussion with H. Farquhar, and I am exceedingly glad to have had an
opportunity of writing the letter which appears in the 'Times' and 'Post'
to-day.
I have never desired to make this book a source of profit to myself, beyond
a reasonable remuneration for the time and labour I have spent on it.
The returns have already exceeded my expectation and desire. It is not,
therefore, my wish or intention to press or urge the sale of the book. I
have no doubt the second edition will go off fast enough--indeed a good
part of it is already bespoken. But I have not at all made up my mind to
proceed to a third edition if the second is exhausted. I am inclined to
think I shall hold my hand. I have no wish to make more money out of the
book, or to make it a very common popular work; and my feeling is that I
should best consult my own dignity by leaving matters as they are, at any
rate for the present.
However, it is needless to decide this now, as the demand for a third
edition may never arise. But I think it right to let you know my view of
the matter, because you are by no means called upon to advertise largely,
or make efforts to extend the sale--at least, not more than you think
necessary to cover your own interests. But I believe you would be sure to
sell this second edition without any advertising at all. I certainly do not
wish to have any puffing advertisements. I had rather that the book were to
become scarce and dear than that you should sell ten thousand copies.
_November 9th_.--There is a good deal of truth in what you say about not
publishing a third edition if the second is sold off. People would probably
attribute it to the wrong motive, and say I had been stopped in some
way, or was afraid; and nobody gets any credit for disinterestedness.
Fortunately the first edition was a very small one, for you could have sold
5,000 as easily as 2,500, and this has given a check to the sale, which I
do not regret. If necessary, I suppose these editions must go on as long as
there is a demand for the book. But the desire to get hold of new books is
a short-lived passion, and is soon turned aside by some other novelty. I
shall not wish to publish the book at all in a cheaper form, and I think it
will require very little outlay in advertising.
Reeve would, however, have been more than human if the continued success
of the book had not greatly modified his views, and reconciled him to the
steady sale; and some months later he wrote again:--
_January 25th_, 1875.--The general impression seems to be that Hayward's
article is a fiasco. It has done me no harm, and his clients have no reason
to thank him. The fourth edition of Greville will contain a good many
improvements and corrections, and will be the best edition to keep. I
believe they are printing 1,000. I wish they had made it 1,500, for this
multiplication of editions is troublesome, and I have no doubt that 1,500
will ultimately be sold. The book has struck root below the stratum of the
circulating libraries.
_April 15th_, 1875.--Nothing seems to be wanting to the indirect
advertisement of Greville's Journals, though the usual advertisements were
by my desire restricted. I do not recollect another instance of a book
being made the subject of a hostile motion in the House of Commons.