And now we come by a process of exhaustion to the subject of this book.
William Pitt, the elder statesman of that name, was born in London, in
the parish of St. James's, November 15, 1708. It does not now seem
possible to trace the house of his nativity, but it was probably in Pall
Mall, where his father then or afterwards resided. We are limited to the
information that his godfathers were 'Cousin Pitt' (probably George Pitt
of Strathfieldsaye) and General Stewart, after the latter of whom he was
named. General Stewart was the second husband of William's grandmother,
Lady Grandison.[20]
It may be well to recall here that William was the second son of Robert
Pitt, the Governor's eldest son, and his wife, Harriot Villiers, fourth
daughter of Catherine, Viscountess Grandison, and her husband the Hon.
Edward Villiers Fitzgerald, who was descended from a brother of the
first Villiers, Duke of Buckingham.
Of his childhood we catch but occasional and remote glimpses.
His grandfather, as we have seen, had early marked him. The shrewd old
nabob had discerned the boy's possibilities, but seems also to have
determined that his energies should not be relaxed by wealth. At any
rate, the Governor refrained from any special sign of favour, and
bequeathed the lad only an annuity of 100_l._ a year. This was
William's sole patrimony, for he seems to have received nothing from his
father.
He was sent to Eton, or, as William always spells it, 'Eaton,' at an
early age; the exact period does not seem to be ascertainable. Here he
had notable contemporaries: Henry Fox, George Lyttelton, Charles Pratt,
Hanbury Williams, and Fielding.
'Thee,' said this last, addressing Learning, 'in the favourite fields,
where the limpid gently rolling Thames washes thy Etonian banks, in
early youth I have worshipped. To thee, at thy birchen altar, with true
Spartan devotion I have sacrificed my blood.'[21] Pitt could have echoed
his schoolfellow's apostrophe if the not improbable legend be true that
he underwent an unusually severe flogging for having been caught out of
bounds. But even without this, his experiences were no doubt poignant
enough; for, though the son of a wealthy father, he was placed on the
foundation, and the Eton of those days afforded to its King's Scholars
no lap of luxury. The horrors and hardships of Long Chamber, the immense
dormitory of these lads, have come down to us in a whisper of awful
tradition, and it is therefore no matter for surprise, though it is for
regret, that William did not share the passionate devotion of most
Etonians for their illustrious college. He is credited indeed with
saying that he had scarcely ever observed a boy who was not cowed for
life at Eton[22]: a sweeping condemnation which sounds strange in these
days, but which is easily explained by the misery that he, as a sickly
boy, may well have undergone in that petty Lacedaemon. For his health
deprived him of all the pleasures of his age, as he was already a martyr
to gout. That hereditary malady which cut him off from the sports of the
school impelled him to study, and so served his career. Mr. Thackeray,
who wrote his biography in quarto and who may be discriminated without
difficulty from the genius of that name, deposes vaguely that 'Dr.
Bland, at that time the headmaster of Eton, is said to have highly
valued the attainments of his pupil.' We rest more securely on a letter
of his Eton tutor, Mr. Burchett, of which the last sentence need only be
quoted here, as it is all that relates to William.
MR. BURCHETT TO MR. PITT.
Yr younger Son has made a great Progress since his coming hither,
indeed I never was concern'd with a young Gentleman of so good
Abilities, & at the same time of so good a disposition, and there is
no question to be made but he will answer all yr Hopes.
I am, Sr,
Yr most Obedient & most Humble Servant,
WILL. BURCHETT.[23]
This reference under the hand of an Eton tutor is exuberant enough. But
no doubt rests on Pitt's school reputation. It survived even to the time
of Shelburne, who speaks of him as distinguished at Eton. Lyttelton
wrote of him while still there: 'This (good-humour) to Pitt's genius
adds a brighter grace;'[24] a remarkable tribute from one Eton boy to
another. More striking still is the tradition preserved by an unfriendly
witness, William's nephew, Camelford. 'The surprising Genius of Lord
Chatham,' he writes, 'distinguished him as early as at Eaton School,
where he and his friend Lord Lyttelton in different ways were looked up
to as prodigies.' School prodigies rarely mellow into remarkable men;
though remarkable men are often credited, when their reputation is
secure, with having been school prodigies. But the contemporary letter
of Burchett and the reluctant testimony of Camelford admit of no doubts.
Most significant, perhaps, of all is the preservation of the flotsam of
school life, a couple of school bills, the tutor's letter, another from
the boy himself. This last, which took eleven days in transmission, is
here given. The bills have been already published by Sir Henry Lyte in
his History of Eton.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS FATHER.
_Eaton, Septembr ye 29th._
Hon'ed Sr,--I write this to pay my duty to you, and to lett you
know that I am well, I hope you and my mama have found a great
benefit from the Bath, and it would be a very great satisfaction to
me, to hear how you do, I was in hopes of an answer to my last
letter, to have heard how you both did, and I should direct my
letters, to you; for not knowing how to direct my letters, has
hindered me writing to you. my time has been pretty much taken up
for this three weeks, in my trying for to gett into the fiveth form,
And I am now removed into it; pray my duty to my mama and service to
my uncle and aunt Stuart if now att the Bath. I am with great
respect,
Hon'ed Sr, Your most dutiful Son,
W. PITT.[25]
This is the whole record extant of William's Eton life; to so many lads
the happiest period of their existence, but not to him. An invalid, and
so disabled for games, a recluse, perhaps a victim, he had no pleasant
memories of Eton. But there, in all probability, he laid the foundations
of character and intellect on which his fame was to be reared. It is not
usually profitable to imagine pictures of the past, but it may not be
amiss to evoke, in passing, the shadow of the lean, saturnine boy as he
limped by the Thames, shaping a career, or pondering on life and
destiny, dreaming of greatness where so many have dreamed, while he
watched, half enviously, half scornfully, the sports in which he might
not join. He is not the first, and will not be the last, to find his
school a salutary school of adversity. He looked back to it with no
gratitude. But Eton claims him for her own; and long generations of
reluctant students have whiled away the reputed hours of learning or
examination by gazing at his bust in Upper School, and dreamily
conjecturing why so great a glamour still hangs about his name.
With these few remnants and this vague surmise ends all that is, or will
probably ever be, known of William's childhood. Little enough if we
compare it to the copious details furnished by modern autobiographers.
But self-revelation was not the fashion of the eighteenth century, and
childhood then furnished less to record. Boys were in the background,
repressing their emotions, and inured to a rugged discipline which,
though odious to the sympathetic delicacy of modern civilisation,
produced the men who made the Empire.
From Eton, Pitt proceeded to Oxford, where he was admitted a Gentleman
Commoner at Trinity College on January 10th, 1726 (o.s.), guided
thither, probably, by the fact that his uncle, Lord Stanhope, had been a
member of that society. There are indications that at this time he was
destined, like a great minister of a recent day, for the Church, but the
gout attacked him with such violence as to compel him to leave the
University without taking his degree. We have, however, an indirect
proof of the reputation which he brought to Oxford in a letter from a
Mr. Stockwell, who, although he had determined to give up tuition,
consents to take William as his pupil, partly as a 'Salsbury man,' and
so owing respect to the Pitt family; partly because of 'the character I
hear of Mr. Pitt on all hands.'
William's only public achievement at Oxford was a copy of Latin verses
which he published on the death of George I. They are artificial and
uncandid, as is the nature of such compositions, and have been justly
ridiculed by Lord Macaulay. But the performance is at least an early
mark of ambition. If this be all, and it is all, that we know of this
period of William's life, it seems worth while to print the two letters
written by Mr. Stockwell to Robert Pitt, the more as they throw some
light on bygone Oxford, a topic of evergreen interest.
MR. I. STOCKWELL TO ROBERT PITT.
Hon'ed Sr,--I had long since determin'd, not to engage any more
in a Trust of so much consequence, as the Care of a young Gentleman
of Fortune is, & have in fact refus'd many offers of that sort: but
the great Regard, that every Salsbury-Man must have for your Family,
and the Character I hear of Mr Pitt from All Hands, put it out of
my Power to decline a Proposal of so much Credit & Advantage to
Myself & the College. I heartily wish your Business and Health
would have allow'd you to have seen him settled here, because I
flatter Myself, that you would have left Him in Our Society with
some Degree of Satisfaction; as That can't be hop'd for, You will
assure Yourself that everything shall be done with the exactest Care
and Fidelity.
I have secur'd a very good Room for Mr Pitt, which is just now left
by a Gentleman of Great Fortune, who is gone to the Temple. Tis
thoroughly furnish't & with All necessarys, but perhaps may require
some little Additional Expence for Ornament or Change of Furniture.
The method of paying for the Goods of any Room in the University is,
that Every Person leaving the College receives of his Successor Two
Thirds of what He has expended. On this foot the Mony to be paid by
Mr Pitt to the Gentleman who possess't the Room last, is 43l, Two
thirds of which, as likewise of whatever Addition He shall please to
make to the Furniture, He is to receive again of the Person, who
succeeds Him.
Tis usual for Young Gentlemen of Figure to have a small quantity of
Table-Linnen, & sometimes some particular peices of plate, for the
reception of Any Friend in their Rooms, but everything of that sort
for Common & Publick Uses is provided by the College.
If you please to send me the Servitor's Name, I will immediately
procure His admission into the College, & show Him all the Kindness
in my Power, but as to His attendance on Mr Pitt it is not now
usual in the University, nor, as I apprehend, can be of any Service.
Tis much more Customary & Creditable to a Gentleman of Family to be
attended by a Footman--But this I barely mention.
The other Expences of Mr Pitt's Admission will be in the following
Articles:
Caution Mony (to be return'd again) 10 0 0
Benefaction to the College 10 0 0
For Admission to the Fellow's Common Room 2 0 0
Fee for the Use of the College Plate, &c. 2 0 0
College Serv'ts Fees 1 15 0
University Fees 0 16 0
I have stated Mr Pitt's Benefaction at Ten Pounds, because that is
what we require & receive of every Gentleman-Commoner, & of very
many Commoners; but I know Sr that you will excuse me for
mentioning, that several Young Gentlemen of Mr Pitt's Gown have
besides made the College a Present of a Peice of Plate of 10, or
12l. I am thus particular only in Obedience to Your Orders. I
believe Sr if You please to remit a Bill of An Hundred Pounds, it
will answer the whole expence of Mr. Pitt's settlement here and I
shall have the Honour to send you a particular Account of the
disposal of it. As I am debarr'd the Pleasure of waiting on You by a
little Office, that Confines me to the College in Termtime, I shall
take it a very great Favour, if you please to let me know at what
time I may hope to see Mr Pitt here.
I beg my Humble Duty to Your Good Lady, & my Humble Service &
Respects to Mr Pitt, and am with the highest Respect
Sr Yr most Oblig'd & Obedient Servt
IOS. STOCKWELL.[26]
MR. STOCKWELL TO ROBERT PITT, 'AT SWALLOWFIELD
NEAR READING, BERKS.'
_Trin: Coll: Oxon: Decr 22. 1726._
Hon'rd Sr,--Upon receiving the favour of Yours & finding that it
was your Intention that Mr Pitt should keep a Servant, I have made
choice of Another Room much more Convenient for that Purpose, as it
supply's a Lodging for His Footman. I have employ'd some Workmen in
it to make some necessary alterations; but the whole expence will
not amount to the Charge of the Chamber, I had mention'd to you
before. As I am not willing, Mr Pitt should be put to the distress
of lying One Night in an Inn, I will take Care, it shall be fit for
his Reception by New Years Day, & I am sure He will like it very
well.
I proposed so large a Sum, because I had not mention'd the Articles
of Gown, Cap Bands, Tea-Furniture, & some other little Ornaments &
Conveniences that young Gentlemen don't care to be without. You will
be pleas'd to mention, in what degree of mourning[27] His Gown must
be made; & I will send you an exact Account of the whole expence.
There is no need of remitting any Mony, till He comes.
If You are willing to recommend the Servitor You spoke of, who may
live here at a very easy rate (I believe very well for 15l p. Ann)
I have bespoke a place for him, & He may be admitted when you
please. I beg My Humble Duty to Your Good Lady, & my Humble Service
& Respects to Your Good Family, & am
Sr Yr most Obliged & Obedient Servt
IOS. STOCKWELL.[28]
Fortunately, too, a few of William's Oxford letters have also been
preserved. The first apologetically continues Stockwell's tale of
preliminary expenses, and endeavours to deprecate Robert Pitt's
economical wrath.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS FATHER, IN PALL MALL.
_Trin: Coll: Janry Ye 20th 1726/7._
Hon'ed Sr--After such delay, though not owing to any negligence
on my Part, I am ashamed to send you ye following accompt, without
first making great apologies for not executing ye Commands sooner.
Matriculation Fees 0 16 6
Caution money 10 0 0
Benefaction 10 0 0
Utensils of ye Coll 2 0 0
Common Room 2 0 0
Coll: Serv'ts Fees 1 15 0
Paddesway[29] Gown 8 5 0
Cap 0 7 0
Tea Table, China ware, bands &c. 6 5 0
Glasses 0 11 0
Thirds of Chamber & Furniture 41 7 8
Teaspoons 1 7 6
--------
Summe total 84 14 8
--------
Balance pd me by Mr Stockwell 15 05 4
I have too much reason to fear you may think some of these articles
too extravagant, as they really are, but all I have to say for it is
humbly to beg you would not attribute it to my extravagance, but to
ye custom of this Place; where we pay for most things too at a high
rate.
I must again repeat my wishes for yr health, hoping you have not
been prevented by so painfull a delay as ye gout from pursuing yr
intended journey to Town I must beg leave to subjoin my Duty to my
Mother & love to my Sistrs and am with all Possible respect
Sr Yr most dutyfull Son
WM. PITT.[30]
The next is written after an evident explosion of that wrath. In the
Pitt family, even more than in others, father and son viewed filial
expenditure from opposite points of view. It is painful, then, but not
surprising to find that Robert should have regarded William's washing
bill as beyond the dreams of luxury.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS FATHER, 'IN PALL MALL.'
_Trin: Coll: April ye 29th._
Hon'ed Sr,--I recd yrs of ye 25th in which I find with
ye utmost concern ye dissatisfaction you express at my expences.
To pretend to justify, or defend myself in this case would be, I
fear, with reason thought impertinent; tis sufficient to convince me
of the extravagance of my expences, that they have met with yr
disapprobation, but might I have leave to instance an Article or
two, perhaps you may not think 'em so wild and boundless, as with
all imaginable uneasiness, I see you do at present. Washing 2_l._
1_s._ 0_d._, about 3_s._ 6_d._ per wk, of which money half a dozen
shirts at 4_d._ each comes to 2_s._ per wk, shoes and stockings
19_s._ 0_d._ Three pairs of Shoes at 5_s._ each, two pair of
Stockings, one silk, one worcestead, are all that make up this
Article, but be it as it will, since, Sr, you judge my expence too
great, I must endeavour for ye future to lessen it, & shall be
contented with whatever you please to allow me. one considerable
article is a servant, an expence which many are not at, and which I
shall be glad to spare, if you think it fitt, in hopes to convince
you I desire nothing superfluous; as I have reason to think you will
not deny me what is necessary. As you have been pleased to give me
leave I shall draw upon you for 25li as soon as I have occasion.
I beg my duty to my Mother & am with all possible respect
Hon'ed Sr, yr most Dutifull Son
W. PITT.
The third is mysterious enough to us, but it expresses gratitude for
some marks of kindness, whether to the writer or not, cannot now be
known. It is difficult to imagine that Robert should have extended his
beneficence to any one at Trinity but William, and yet it is not easy to
depict the gratitude of a College for a favour done to one of their
undergraduates by his father. In any case there remains no longer any
trace of such benefaction at Trinity. The inevitable financial statement
in which the bookseller's bill figures handsomely, not far behind the
tailor's, is tactfully kept separate in a postscript. It is, however,
well to know that this letter, the last in all probability that William
wrote to his father, who died six weeks afterwards, is one of as much
affection as the fashion of that day permitted.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS FATHER.
_Trin: Coll: April ye 10th 1727._
Hon'ed Sr,--I hope you gott well to London yesterday as I did
to this place, though too late to trouble you with a letter that
Evening. I can not say how full of acknowledgements every one
amongst us is for ye favr you confer'd upon one of their society.
One could almost imagine by ye good wishes I hear express't toward
you from all hands, you were rather a publick benefactor to ye
College, than a Patron to any one member of it. I mention this
because I believe it will not be unacceptable to you to hear yr
favrs are gratefully recd. I hope my Mother is well, to whom I
beg my Duty: & am with all possible respect, Sr,
Yr most dutifull son,
WM. PITT.
Sr,--Finding ye quarter just up I send you ye following accompt
commencing Janry ye 9th to ye 9th of this month.
Battels 15 0 0
Paid Lambert bd Wages 4 4 0
Three months learning french & entrance 2 2 0
For a course of experimental Philosophy 2 2 0
For coat & breeches & making 5 18 0
Booksellers bill 5 0 0
Cambrick for ruffles 1 4 0
Shoes, stockings 1 19 0
Candles, coal, fagots 3 10 0
Pockett money, Gloves, Powder, Tea, &c. 4 4 0
For washing 2 2 0
----------
47 5 0
Remains 9 15 0[31]
Robert Pitt died in Paris, May 20, 1727, and the next letter is
addressed to his widow at Bath. The eldest son, Thomas, already, it
would appear, had played William false, and caused a coolness with the
mother by not delivering a letter.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS MOTHER.
_Oxford July ye 10th 1727._
Hon'ed Madm,--Tis with no small impatience I have waited for ye
pleasure of hearing from you, but as that is denied me, I take this
opportunity of repeating my Duty and enquiries after yr health. I
wrote to you by return of ye coach, enclos'd to my Brother, to be
forwarded by him, from whom I have also received no answer, which
makes me imagine you may not have less reason to be angry with me
for not paying my Duty to you, than I have to be sorry at not having
ye pleasure to hear from you, I mean my letter has not come into
yr hands. I send this by ye Post from hence, which I hope will
find better luck, it will be a sensible pleasure to me to hear ye
waters agree with you: for wch reason out of kindness to me, as
also in regard to yr own quiet (lest I should trouble you every
other post with an importuning epistle) be so good as to give ye
satisfaction of hearing you are well; I am with all respect,
Yr most Dutifull Son,
WM. PITT.
The following letter would seem to indicate that William was spending
the Long Vacation at Oxford, while his mother as usual was spending hers
at Bath. He appears to hint disapproval of an acquaintance she wished
him to make, reversing the usual position of parent and son on such
matters. There is again reproachful allusion to his brother; there are
few indeed in any other tone throughout William's correspondence.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS MOTHER, 'AT BATH.'
_Oxon Septr ye 17th 1727._
Hon'ed Madm,--I rec'd ye favour of yrs by Mr Mayo and have
waited on Mr Vesey as you order'd, with whom, had you not
recommended him to me upon ye knowledge you have of his family, I
should not have sought an acquaintance. I hope you will lett me hear
soon yr intentions. If I am not to be happy in seeing you hear, ye
certainty of it can not be more uneasy than the apprehension; if I
am, I shall gain so much happiness, by ye foreknowledge of it. What
part of ye world my Brother is in or when he will be in Town, I
know not. I hope to hear from him between this and ye Coronation.
The only consideration yt can make me give up quietly ye pleasure
I promis'd myself in seeing you here, is yt you are employ'd in a
more important care to yrself and Family, ye preservation of yr
health. I have only to add my Love to my Sister and am with all
respect,
Yr most dutifull son
WM. PITT.
The gout, we have seen, drove William prematurely from Oxford, after a
little more than a year of residence. Thence he proceeded to Utrecht,
where it was then not unusual for young Englishmen and Scotsmen to
complete their education. Here we find him in 1728 with his cousin Lord
Villiers and Lord Buchan, father of the grotesque egotist of that name
and of Henry and Thomas Erskine. Pitt writes in 1766 that Buchan was his
intimate friend from the period that they were students together at
Utrecht, and, when in office, he showed kindness on that ground to Lord
Cardross, Buchan's eldest son, the egotist himself. Of this period some
few letters to his mother survive, dutiful yet playful.
The first letter is of the formal kind then general between sons and
parents, mentioning his cousin Lord Villiers, for whom he puts in a good
word, not unnecessarily, as we shall see presently.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS MOTHER.
_Utrecht, Febry ye 6th N.S. 1728._
Hon'ed Madm,--I have ye pleasure to repeat my assurances of
affection & duty to you, together with my wishes for yr health: I
shall take all opportunities for paying my respects to you, I hope
you will now and then favr me wth a line or two, especially
since you have so good a Scribe as Miss Ann to ease you of ye
trouble of writing yrself. My Ld Villiers begs his Compliments
may be acceptable to you, at ye same time I should not do my Ld
justice if I omitted saying something in his just praise, but as I
can not say enough, I forbear to say more. My Love to my Sistrs &
Compliments where due. I am with all respt
Your dutiful Son
WM. PITT.
The next seems to denote a reluctant intention of returning to England
to pay his family a visit.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS MOTHER.
_Utrecht Febry ye 13th 1728._
Hon'ed Madm,--I hope I need not assure you yr letter gave me a
very sensible pleasure in informing me of yr better health; I wish
I may any way be able to contribute toward farther establishment of
it by obeying a Command which tallies so well with my own
Inclinations though at ye same time be assured, nothing less than
ye pleasure of seeing you should prevail upon me to repeat so much
sickness & difficulty as I met with Coming over to Holland. I
believe I shall not fail in my respects to you, as often as occasion
permits, though I fear my letters are hardly worth postage: unless
to one who I flatter myself believes me to be
hr most Dutifull Son
WM. PITT.
P.S. my Love to all ye Family.
The next letter again pleads on behalf of my Lord Villiers, for whose
excess of vivacity William feels obvious sympathy. He mentions, too, and
characterises with a sure touch, his old Eton friend Lyttelton, who has
fallen in love with Harriot Pitt, as he was afterwards to fall in love
with Ann. Lyttelton was apparently determined that the Lytteltons and
Pitts should be matrimonially connected as closely as possible, for two
months afterwards we find him exclaiming in a letter to his father:
'Would to God Mr. (William) Pitt had a fortune equal to his brother's,
that he might make a present of it to my pretty little Molly! But
unhappily they have neither of them any portion but an uncommon share of
merit, which the world will not think them much the richer for.'[32] As
Thomas had just married Christian Lyttelton, it is clear that the writer
meditated a triple alliance as the end to be aimed at. The peerage books
tell us that this pretty little Molly died unmarried.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS MOTHER, 'IN PALLMALL, LONDON.'
_Utrecht Feb: ye 29th_
Hon'ed Madm,--The return of my Ld Villiers into England gives me
an opportunity of assuring you of my respect & wishes for yr
health; I can not omitt any occasion of shewing how sensible I am of
yr affection, but must own I could have wish'd any other than this
by which I am depriv'd of my Ld Villier's Company, he is recall'd
perhaps deservedly: if a little Indiscretion arising from too much
vivacity be a fault, my Ld is undeniably blameable; but I doubt not
but my Ld Grandison himself will find more to be pleas'd with in
ye one than to correct in ye other respect. I have received so
many Civilities from Mr Waddel, who does me ye honr to be ye
bearer of this, yt I should not do him justice to omitt letting you
know how much I am obliged to him. I hope ye Family is well:
Lyttelton prevented you in ye account of his own Madness. Sure
there never was so much fine sense & Extravagance of Passion jumbled
together in any one Man. Send him over to Holland: perhaps living in
a republick may inspire him with a love of liberty & make him scorn
his Chains. My love to all, who (a second time) I hope are well: &
believe me with all respect & affection
Yr most Dutiful Son
WM. PITT.
The third contains, perhaps, the only token of kindness between the two
brothers which survives. It also alludes to Lyttelton's passion for
Harriot.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS MOTHER, 'IN PALL MALL, LONDON.'
_Utrecht April ye 8th N.S. 1728._
Hon'ed Madm,--Yr letters must always give me so much pleasure,
yt I beg no consideration may induce you to deprive me of it. they
can never fail being an entertainment to me when they give me an
opportunity of hearing you are well. I can not omitt thanking you
for ye enquiry you make about my supplies from my Brother: neither
should I do him justice, if I did not assure you I receiv'd ye
kindest letter in ye world from him: wherein he gives me ye offer
of going where I think most for my improvement, and assures me
nothing yt ye estate can afford shall be denied me for my
advantage & education. I hope all ye family is well. Miss Anne's
time is so taken up with dansing & Italien yt I despair of hearing
from her. I should be glad to hear what conquests miss Harriot made
at ye birthday. if I had not a letter from one of ye Three, I must
think they have forgott me. I am in pain for poor Lyttelton: I wish
there was leagues of sea between him & ye Charms of Miss Harriot.
If he dies I shall sue her for ye murder of my Friend. This Place
affords so little matter of entertainment, yt I shall only beg you
to believe me with all respect,
Hon'ed Madm, Yr most Dutifull Son
WM. PITT.
My love & service to my Brother & Compliments to all ye Family.
His stay at Utrecht was probably not protracted, as we find no more
letters from thence. The next glimpse we have of him is in January 1730,
at Boconnoc. He is now established at home, rather, perhaps, from
economy than of his own free will, for he disrespectfully calls Boconnoc
'this cursed hiding-place;' living in Cornwall or at Swallowfield, near
Reading, another of the family residences; or on military duty at
'North'ton,' evidently Northampton, which William, however, abbreviates
differently in later letters. When we consider the elaborate style and
formulas of the letters of this period there seems nothing so strange as
the passion for abbreviation by apostrophe, such as 'do's' for 'does,'
which seems to save neither time, trouble, nor space.
In February 1731 he received a commission in the 1st Dragoon Guards,
then under the command of Lord Pembroke, and we find him in country
quarters at Northampton and elsewhere. In the autumn we find him once
more at Boconnoc, whence he writes this more genial note to his mother.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS MOTHER, AT BATH.
_Bocconnock Octbr ye 17 1731._
Dear Madam,--I am, after a long Confinement at Quarters, at present
confined here, by disagreeable, dirty weather, which makes us all
prisoners in this little house. I knew nothing of your journey to
Bath, when I came to Town, and was therefore disappointed of the
pleasure of seeing you there. I see you have put a bill upon your
door. Pray what do you intend to do with yourself this winter? I
shou'd be mighty glad to know whether your affairs are near an
Issue. I hope they will very soon leave you at Leisure to consult
nothing but your health and Quiet. Be pleas'd to favour me with a
Letter here, where I shall stay about a month longer; and give me
the satisfaction of knowing how much you profit by the Waters.
Believe me,
Dear Madam, Your dutifull affect son
WM. PITT.
My service to the Col: and Mrs. Bouchier: I shall Be glad to hear he
makes one at the Balls.
In 1733 he set out on a foreign tour, of which we shall see more
presently, and before leaving writes this note, which gives some ground
for thinking that his brother helped him at least to meet the expenses
of this voyage, as Lord Camelford thinks was actually the case.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS MOTHER, 'IN BATEMAN STREET, NEAR PICCADILLY,
LONDON.'
_Boconnock jan: 19: 1732/3._
Dear Madam,--I hope Miss Kitty who is now upon ye Road will get
safe to You: I cant omit doing Justice To your goodness in making
room for her, she no doubt wanting your care very much in the ill
state she is in. I continue still here and shall not set out yet
this month, haveing a design to go abroad then. It is however
uncertain till I hear from my Brother after he gets to Town. Miss
Harriot, by her letters, Is much recovered and I flatter myself your
house will prove as lucky to Poor Kitty. I need not assure you of my
wishes for your health and speedy deliverance from the Misery of
Late: my Love to my Sisters and believe me
Dear Madam Your most Dutifull Son
WM. PITT.
Miss Nanny gives her Duty to you.
He visited Paris, and Geneva, Besancon (where he lost his heart for a
time), Marseilles, and Montpelier, passing the winter at Luneville.
From Paris he again writes to his mother this letter, of no significance
except dutiful affection; and another from Geneva which gives a strong
proof of filial obedience in giving his consent, though with strong and
obvious reluctance, to one of the bills filed by his mother and Lord
Grandison in reference to his father's succession.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS MOTHER, 'IN BATEMAN STREET NEAR PICCADILLY A
LONDRES.'
_Paris May ye 1 1733._
Dear Madam,--Though I have nothing to say to you yet of the Place I
am arrived at, I cant help giving you a bare account of my being got
safe to Paris: You are pleased to give me so much reason to Think
you interest yourself in my welfare That I cou'd not acquit myself
of my Duty In not giving you this mark of my respect and the sense I
have of your goodness. I shall make my stay as short here as
possible. let me have the pleasure of hearing some account of your
health and situation: be pleased to direct to me Chez Monsieur
Alexandre Banquier, dans la Rue St. Appoline pres de la Porte St.
Denis, a Paris. I am
Madam Yr most Dutifull Son
WM. PITT.
WILLIAM PITT TO HIS MOTHER, 'IN BATEMAN STREET PICCADILLY LONDON.
ANGLETERRE.'
_Geneva Sepr ye 17: N.S. 1733._
Dear Madam--I have just recd ye favour of your letter of ye
7th august, with the answer to a bill of complaint of my Ld
Grandison and your self: I cou'd wish you had pleased to have let me
know in general that that bill is, for at present I have no Idea of
it. You assure me, Madam the answer you wou'd have me make is a
form, and can lead me into no farther consequences, by engageing me
In Law, or disobligeing My Brother; neither of which I am persuaded
you wou'd upon any consideration involve me in: upon these grounds I
readily send you my consent to the answer proposed By Mr Martyn in
your letter. I am sorry it did not come to my hands sooner, least my
answer shou'd not be time enough; and that I shou'd, by that means,
be any involuntary obstacle to your affairs which wou'd be a
sensible concern to
Dear Madam Yr most Dutyfull affece Son
WM. PITT.
I leave this Place shortly not knowing yet where I shall pass ye
winter.
In 1734 he was back in England, doing duty with his regiment at Newbury.
It is unnecessary to speculate on the measure of success that William
would have achieved in the army had he remained a soldier. That he had
an early disposition to the career of arms seems probable, as his uncle,
Lord Stanhope, a soldier himself, who died when William was twelve, used
to call him 'the young Marshal.' It is useless to surmise; but had he
not been so great an orator, one would be apt to imagine that his bent
and talent lay in the direction of a military career. This at least is
certain, that he sedulously employed his time, preserved from mess
debauches and idle activity by his guardian demon the gout. He told
Shelburne that during the time he was a cornet of horse, there was not a
military book that he had not read through. This is a large statement,
but denotes at least unstinted application. So his career as a
subaltern, though abruptly cut short, was probably fruitful, and these
studies must have been useful to the future war minister. To paraphrase
Gibbon's pompous and comical phrase, the cornet of dragoons may not have
been useless to the history-maker of the British Empire. For his destiny
was to plan and not to conduct campaigns, and he was now to be caught in
the jealous embrace of parliamentary politics.