persons who had been very pressing to induce Mr. Cobbett not to write
in my favour on my becoming a candidate for Bristol, but to support the
cause of Sir Samuel Romilly. This man, one William Adams, a currier, of
Drury Lane, one of the pillars of the Westminster Rump, had frequently
been traducing me to Mr. Cobbett, who always dared him to the proof of
any of the calumnies that he urged against me; and, in order to get
rid of the fellow's impudent and malignant representations, told him
plainly, that he should not be prejudiced against me without proof.
"But," added he, "Adams, I promise you, that if you will bring me proof
that Mr. Hunt has ever been guilty of a dishonest or dishonourable act,
I will give him up instantly, and will have no more to do with him:
but, till you do this, I beg you will refrain from all your little
tittle-tattle about his wife, of whom you appear to know nothing."
Adams took his departure, but called again some time after, saying,
that he had been to Bristol fair, and he now could substantiate, upon
unquestionable authority, that I had been guilty of a most flagrant act
of dishonesty to all my tenants at Glastonbury. "Well," said Cobbett,
"let us hear what it is." Adams proceeded as follows:--"Mr. Hunt went
down to Glastonbury, and under a threat of compelling all his tenants to
pay their rent in specie, he induced them to advance him three years'
rent, for which he gave them receipts. But, no sooner had they paid
him their rent, than the mortgagee came, and made them all pay it over
again, so that all his tenants were paying double rents." "Well," said
Cobbett, "if this be true, it is a very dishonourable act; but, as I
have ascertained that the last story you told me, about his having
turned his wife out of doors to starve, without making her any
allowance, is a fiction, or, to speak plainly, I have ascertained it to
be a most scandalous and wicked falsehood, you must excuse me if I do
not believe one word of this affair, about his tenants, till you bring
me some better proof than your bare assertion." At length, Adams
confessed that he was only told so by a person with whom he met at
Bristol fair. The fact was, that Mr. Haine had related the circumstance
at Bristol amongst his friends, just as it happened; Adams heard of
it, and out of such slender materials, he manufactured as base and as
unfounded a lie as ever defiled the lips of an inhabitant of Drury-Lane
or St. Giles's. Mr. Cobbett saw at once through the villainy of this Mr.
Currier Adams, and he always afterwards treated him; as he deserved,
with merited contempt. This Adams is the person who, in the Court of
King's Bench, upon the trial of "Wright _versus_ Cobbett," for a libel,
(if Wright's and the other reports are true,) swore that he had several
times assisted in turning Hunt out of the room at public meetings. This
is a most bare-faced falsehood as ever was stated in a court of justice;
and Mr. Cobbett, who knew that it was false, should have indicted the
fellow for perjury. No human being ever laid hands upon me in the whole
course of my life, to turn me out of a room, either public or private,
with the exception of the ruffians who endeavoured to drive me and my
friends out of the theatre at Manchester, in the year 1818. The very
idea of Mr. Currier Adams ever attempting to do any such thing, is
absolutely ludicrous. If the ruffian had said that he had often been
hired to assail me at the Crown and Anchor meetings, for the purpose of
preventing the truths that I delivered being heard there, he might have
told the truth; but to swear that he or any of his gang had ever dared
to lay hands on me, either at a public or a private meeting, is as
arrant a falsehood as ever was uttered at the Old Bailey.
As I observed before, when the election was over at Bristol I returned
to Rowfant, in Sussex, by the way of Botley, in Hampshire, to
congratulate my friend upon his release from Newgate, and to talk over
the election at Bristol. When I arrived there with my friend Davenport,
Mr. Cobbett received us with that hearty welcome which he was accustomed
to give; but the other part of the family behaved in the most rude,
unhandsome, and disgusting manner, both to Mr. Davenport and myself. I
shall not descend to particulars; but I am sure my friend Davenport will
never forget it, as long as he lives. There is, however, no accounting
for the conduct of some women. Mr. Cobbett was always, as far as I was
capable of seeing, a kind and indulgent husband, as well as a most fond
father, and this he carried even to a fault; and it now appeared very
evident that he began to feel his error. But perhaps Socrates would
never have proved himself so great a philosopher, if he had not been
blessed with the little _ripplings_ of Xantippe.
I returned to Rowfant, where every thing had gone on pretty well in my
absence, under the care of my brother and my old Wiltshire servants. The
hay was all made, and the harvest was near at hand. I soon recovered
from the excessive exertion which I had undergone at Bristol, an
exertion, such as few men ever overcome, and in consequence of which, my
family always said, I was seven years older. It is a fact, that my hair
turned grey during the three weeks that I was at Bristol, and I have no
doubt but it was occasioned by excessive mental and corporeal efforts.
On our arrival at Rowfant we found the infamous letter, which was
written from Bristol to my family, giving a detailed and sanctimonious
account of my death. I have met with a great number of base scoundrels
during my political life, but it was reserved for the gentlemen
of Bristol to find among them a monster in human form, capable of
committing so detestable and cowardly an act as that. The people of
Bristol are proverbial for their bravery; witness the Belchers, Pierce,
Neate, &c. but what is called the _gentry_ of Bristol, with a very few
exceptions, are the most mean, dastardly, selfish, and cowardly of
their species. Burke's definition of a Bristol merchant is truly
characteristic. "He has no church but the Exchange; no Bible but his
ledger; and no God but his gold!!!" Burke stood a contested election for
Bristol, and represented that city many years in Parliament, and he well
knew the character of the dominant classes. I believe that this race of
Bristolians are greatly degenerated since Burke's time. The people, the
populace, are brave, generous, and humane; but the merchants and gentry,
as they are called, are the most selfish, the most corrupt, the most
vulgar, the most ignorant, the most illiberal, and the most time-serving
race that are to be found in Europe. It is said that a Bristol man is
known all over the world for his underhanded, tricking, overreaching,
sharper-like dealing; he is described to be exactly the reverse of a
Liverpool merchant; and it is added, (and the sarcasm is not too bitter)
that you may know a Bristol merchant, by his always sleeping with one
eye open. There are, of course, some very honourable exceptions, though
I am compelled to say, that I met with very few instances of liberality,
Christian charity, or even common honesty amongst them, while I was
there. The Corporation is the richest in the world, perhaps, except
London; while the freemen, whose property goes to enrich the said
Corporation, are the very poorest freemen in the world. Queen Anne
granted a charter to the city, by which the daughters of a freeman
confer upon their husbands the right of voting at an election. Tradition
says, that the Queen, when at Bristol, took notice that the women were
so remarkably plain, that she conferred this boon upon them as a sort
of dower; so that whoever marries the daughter of a freeman, is himself
immediately entitled to the freedom of the city. So that the freedom of
Bristol may be gained by birth, by marriage, or by servitude. While,
however, I relate this circumstance, I do not mean to concur in the
assertion, that the women of Bristol are proverbially ugly; on the
contrary, some of them are very pretty; and I recollect that, when I was
a young man, Bristol justly boasted of having given birth to one of the
handsomest women of the age. Miss Clementina Atwood, who was a native of
Bristol, was, at the period when I knew her, universally esteemed, and
in my estimation was the most beautiful, elegant, and accomplished
female in the British dominions. I remember riding from Enford to
Bristol and back again, a distance of ninety-two miles, on the same day,
only for the chance of passing a few hours in her society; and the worst
of it was, that I was disappointed at last, as she had left Bristol for
a few days, with her friend Miss Rigg, whose mother was just deceased.
But I passed the day with her cousins, and returned home in the evening.
I now directed my attention towards the management of my farm, with
as much zeal as I had recently directed it to the concerns of the
election. My natural disposition, my taste, and my habits, all led me
to the enjoyment of domestic comforts, in a rural sphere. I was always
doatingly fond of the country, country pursuits, and a country life. The
sports of the field--hunting, shooting, &c., to me afforded the most
captivating delight. The pleasures of cultivating the soil, and
attending to the growth and progress of the crops, can only be known
to, and can only be estimated by, one who has a perfect knowledge of
agricultural pursuits. Then, the domestic felicity enjoyed in a quiet,
cheerful country house, surrounded by one's own family, and every now
and then a good neighbour and sincere friend dropping in, has always
been to me that sort of exquisite enjoyment which I could never find in
any other situation, or in any other occupation. My natural taste is so
domestic, that I should not wish, on my own account, ever to mingle in
the busy haunts of man. I could freely remain in the country, and never
enter a city or a town again. Nothing but a sense of public duty should
ever induce me to sacrifice myself by residing in a town; and if I
could once see my country free, and the people happy, and honestly
represented, the greatest blessing I could wish for, would be, to pass
uninterrupted, a tranquil old age in the country, far away from the
harassing turmoil, danger, and misery of boisterous, unprofitable
politics. But the man who would immolate the interest, the honour, the
freedom, and the happiness of his country, to gratify his own love of
ease and comfort, is unworthy the name of patriot. I can scarcely
hope to be permitted to enjoy such unmixed bliss, such delightful
tranquillity, during the remainder of that short race which I have to
run in this sublunary world; neither shall I sigh and pine after that,
which it appears fate has forbidden.
In the early part of this year 1812, there had been great riots in the
North; great mischief was done at and near Nottingham, by the Luddites
destroying knitting frames. On the 9th of January, a number of those
Luddites were taken up at Nottingham, for breaking frames, and they
showed a spirit of resistance, and had several skirmishes with the
military. On the 16th of March, the Spanish constitution was settled by
the Cortes, which Cortes abolished the Inquisition in Spain, on the
20th of June. On the 9th of May, _Napoleon left Paris for Poland_, and
entered upon that fatal campaign which ended in his ruin. The Senate met
in Paris, and decreed extraordinary levies of soldiers, and an immense
army was formed, to attempt the subjugation of Russia. Both Prussia and
Austria had now signed treaties of alliance with France. A negotiation
was entered into between France and Russia, but without success; and the
latter power concluded treaties with England and Sweden. Having passed
the Vistula, Napoleon declared war against Russia on the 22nd of June.
The French then advanced, and entered Wilna on the 28th of June; upon
which the Russians formed a plan of a gradual retreat, and the invaders
pursued them towards the Russian frontiers. Many partial actions took
place, and on the 17th of August, the Moscovites sustained a severe
defeat at Smolensko, which city they set on fire before it was entered
by the French. A second battle was fought at Viasma; but that at
Borodino, on the 7th of September, was most decisive in favour of the
French; when the Russians, having been completely routed, left open
the road to Moscow, into which city Buonaparte entered on the 14th;
Rostophin, the Russian Governor, having taken the dreadful resolution to
have it set on fire in various quarters, previous to the entry of the
French army. He accomplished his purpose by means of criminals, whom he
employed under the promise of having their lives saved. It is said, that
30,000 Russians were burnt in this city, whose wounds rendered them
incapable of escaping from this terrible conflagration. Half the city
was destroyed before Napoleon and his troops entered, and the work of
ruin was nearly completed before a stop could be put to the flames.
Napoleon ordered the execution of all those that were detected in
spreading and increasing the fire. This city being mostly built of wood,
nothing could equal the dreadful ravages which the flames committed.
Calculating too confidently upon the character of the Emperor Alexander
alone, which he knew well to be timid and indecisive, and anticipating
that the moment he approached his capital, the Russian sovereign would
sue for peace, in which case the French troops might take up their
winter quarters in Moscow with perfect safety, Napoleon had pushed on to
Moscow so late as the 14th of September, the time when a Russian winter
was already approaching. In thus calculating upon the fears of his
enemy, Napoleon was perfectly correct, and it was well known that
Alexander would come himself, with open arms, as he had before done,
to ask for terms of peace from Napoleon, the moment after the decisive
battle of Brorodino, if he had not been prevented by his nobles. It was
by his not taking the nobles into the account that the French Emperor
failed in his calculations. It is confidently said, and I can readily
believe the fact, that Alexander was threatened with sharing a similar
fate to that which was inflicted upon his _Father Paul_, if he offered
to make any terms with Napoleon; these nobles having determined to
burn riot only Moscow, but, if necessary, Petersburgh itself, and
three-fourths of the inhabitants, in order to harass and destroy the
French army by the frost, as they well knew that they could not conquer
it by arms.
I will now leave Napoleon amidst the ruins of Moscow, and return to
what was passing in the southern parts of Europe; and if I dwell a
considerable time on the events of this year, my readers must recollect
that it was the most interesting period in the history of the world, and
that more important events occurred in this year than in any other that
I have recorded.
In England, the manufacturing population began to suffer the greatest
distresses, and consequently rioting and Ludditism were the order of the
day. Great and destructive riots occurred at Macclesfield, Manchester,
Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, and various towns in the North: the people
were ignorant of the cause of their distresses, and they wreaked their
vengeance upon the knitting frames, machinery in general, and destroyed
the property of their employers. These excesses they were, no doubt, led
to in consequence of the delusions and deception practised upon them
by the venal hirelings of the public press, under the influence and
controul of the Government. Every particle of the real liberty of the
press was nearly destroyed; almost every liberal writer in the kingdom
had been prosecuted by the _ex-officio_ informations of the vindictive
and remorseless tyrant, Sir Vicary Gibbs, the Attorney-General,
encouraged by the equally cruel and remorseless Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Spencer Perceval. Mr. Cobbett, Messrs. Hunts, of the
_Examiner_, Mr. Drakard, of the _Stamford News_, Mr. Peter Finnerty,
and other literary characters, were incarcerated in the dungeons of
the borough-mongers. Under this system eight persons were executed at
Manchester for rioting, and many others suffered death in various parts
of the country.