France was received in India, the English took possession of all the
small French factories. Lord Cornwallis, the Governor-General, also
made preparations to besiege Pondicherry, but the fortress capitulated
to the troops under Colonel Braithwaite before he arrived upon the
scene. The town was restored to France in 1816.
[120] St. Domingo was taken over in September 1793, by a force from
Jamaica, at the request of the inhabitants of Jeremie and other towns,
to be held under British protection until the conclusion of a general
peace.
[121] Lord Granville Leveson-Gower (1773–1846), afterwards created
Viscount and Earl Granville, son of Granville, first Marquess of
Stafford, by his third wife, Lady Susannah Stewart, daughter of
Alexander, ninth Earl of Galloway. He was Ambassador to Russia in 1804,
and married, in 1809, Lady Henrietta Cavendish, daughter of William,
fifth Duke of Devonshire.
His half-brother, George Granville, who succeeded to the titles on Lord
Stafford’s death in 1803, and was later created Duke of Sutherland,
married, in 1785, Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland in her own right.
[122] Lord Holland, in his _Miscellaneous Reminiscences_
(_Further Memoirs of the Whig Party_), states that the work was
said to be that of Fabroni, the Sub-Director of the Museum, though
Fontana always exhibited it as his own.
[123] The _Amphitrite_ frigate was wrecked on its passage from
Porto Ferraio, in Elba, to Leghorn. Sir Gilbert writes on January 31,
1794, to Lady Elliot, ‘I was yesterday shipwrecked, but nevertheless
I arrived at Leghorn without even having wetted my feet’ (_Life and
Letters of Sir Gilbert Elliot_).
[124] Charles George Beauclerk (1774–1846), only son of Topham
Beauclerk and Lady Diana Beauclerk, daughter of Charles, second Duke of
Marlborough. He married, in 1799, Emily Charlotte, daughter of William
Ogilvie, Esq. and Emilia Mary, widow of James, first Duke of Leinster.
[125] Rev. Matthew Marsh, a great friend of Lord Morpeth and his
family. He took orders in 1799, and became Chancellor of the Diocese of
Salisbury and Rector of Brinkworth, and later of Winterslow, in Wilts.
[126] Edward, second and last Earl Digby. He was born in 1773;
succeeded his father in the titles in 1793; and died unmarried in 1856.
[127] Thomas Wallace (1768–1844), created Baron Wallace of Knaresdale
in 1828. He was a supporter of Pitt, and at this time member for
Grampound.
[128] Pius VI.
[129] Afterwards Lady Pellew.
[130] John, Lord Wycombe (1765–1809), eldest son of William, first
Marquess of Lansdown, by his first wife, Lady Sophia Carteret, daughter
of John, Earl Granville. Lord Wycombe became second Lord Lansdown on
his father’s death in 1805, and married the same year Mary Arabella,
widow of Sir Duke Gifford, of Castle Jordan, in Ireland.
[131] Lord Lansdown’s second wife was Lady Louisa Fitzpatrick, daughter
of John, first Earl of Upper Ossory, and Evelyn, daughter of John,
Earl Gower. After Lord Upper Ossory’s death his widow married Richard
Vernon, and by him had three daughters. The one here mentioned was the
youngest, Elizabeth. Miss Fox, Lord Holland’s only sister, was Lord
Lansdown’s niece.
[132] William Pitt Amherst (1773–1857). He succeeded his uncle in 1797
as second Baron Amherst, and was raised to an earldom in 1826. He was
Governor-General of India from 1823 till 1828. He married, first,
in 1800, Sarah, widow of Other Hickman, fifth Earl of Plymouth, and
daughter of Andrew, Lord Archer. She died in 1838, and he married,
secondly, in 1839, Mary, widow of Other Archer, sixth Earl of Plymouth,
and daughter of the third Duke of Dorset.
[133] Probably George Cornewall (1774–1835), who succeeded his father
as third Baronet in 1819. The latter changed his name from Amyand on
his marriage to Catherine, daughter of Velters Cornewall, of Moccas
Court, Hereford.
[134] Near the Porta alle Croce, at the south end of the town. Probably
it is a house still extant, the Villino Ginori, just inside the walls.
[135] _Paradise Lost._
[136] See Appendix A.
[137] The French gained a foothold in Holland early in January 1795,
and so rapid was their advance that before the end of the month
Amsterdam and the Dutch fleet, frozen into the Texel, were in their
hands. The Duke of York had been recalled in November, and was
superseded in the chief command by General Walmoden.
[138] Vasari, in his Life of Jacopo da Pontormo, mentions that the
villa was built by Cosimo de Medici the elder.
[139] Now in the Turin Gallery.
[140] George, Earl Macartney (1737–1806). Ambassador to Russia in 1764;
Governor of Madras 1780–86; Ambassador Extraordinary to China, 1792–94;
and Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, 1797–9. At this time he was on a
confidential mission to Louis XVIII. at Verona, and remained in Italy
until the following year.
[141] Most of the pictures formerly in this palace are now in the Brera
Gallery at Milan.
[142] The picture is now in the Pinacoteca.
[143] Frederick Augustus, fourth Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry
(1730–1803), who succeeded to the titles on the death of his brother
in 1779. Father of Lady Webster’s friend Lord Hervey, for some
years Minister at Florence. Lady Louisa, who married Mr. Jenkinson,
afterwards second Lord Liverpool and Prime Minister, was his youngest
daughter.
[144] The picture is now at Holland House. It was painted in 1793, and
was bought in Rome by Henry Edward Fox (afterwards fourth Lord Holland)
for his father in 1828. It belonged at that time to Prince Gargarin, a
Russian. See Frontispiece, vol. i.
[145] Giovanni Fabroni (1752–1822), Sub-Director of the Museum at
Florence under Fontana, whom he succeeded as Director. He was appointed
Overseer of the roads and bridges by Napoleon. The commencement of the
Corniche road was chiefly due to his exertions.
[146] Don Neri Corsini (1771–1845), a leading politician in Tuscany
under the Grand Dukes Ferdinand III. and Leopold II. His brother was
Don Tommaso Corsini, Prince of Sismano.
[147] Vittorio Fossombroni (1754–1844). In addition to his scholastic
acquirements he was an active politician, and was Minister for Foreign
Affairs in Tuscany for many years.
[148] Lorenzo Pignotti (1739–1812), Professor of Physic at Florence and
Pisa, and afterwards Rector of the latter university. He wrote poetry,
though his fables are the best known of his works.
[149] Melchiore Deifico (1744–1835). Historian and statesman with
liberal views which he openly avowed. He was President of the State
Council at Naples in 1806, and President of the Provisional Junta in
1820.
[150] Carlo Greppi (1751–1811), dramatic author and poet.
[151] Pietro Benvenuto (1769–1844), Director of the Academy at Florence
at the time of his death.
[152] The figure is evidently ‘Justice,’ one of the two allegorical
figures on the tomb of Pope Paul III. by Guglielmo della Porta. After
the sculptor’s death ‘his son Teodoro was employed to cover the body
with a bronze tunic’ (Perkins’s _Italian Sculptors_).
[153] This eruption commenced in February 1793, and lasted almost
continuously till the end of June 1794. It reached its worst on June
15, 1794. The cone lost height, and became flattened, as was the case
in the recent eruption of 1906.
[154] Sir Morton Eden (1752–1830). Diplomatist, Ambassador at Vienna in
1793 and 1794–99. In the latter year he was created Baron Henley.
[155] Charles Joseph, Comte de Clerfait (1733–1798), a Belgian, who
entered the Austrian service and rose to high command in the army. His
successes and popularity, however, became too great for the court, and
he was superseded in his command by Archduke Charles two years before
his death.
[156] Lord Elgin had been sent to Berlin as Envoy Extraordinary in 1795.
[157] The Pitt diamond was bought by Mr. Pitt, Governor of Madras
in 1702, for about 20,000_l._ He resold it in 1717 to the Duc
d’Orleans, for Louis XV., for 130,000_l._ It was sent at this time
to Berlin, but appeared a few years later in the hilt of Napoleon’s
sword of state.
[158] Sir Gilbert Affleck was Lady Holland’s stepfather; he married her
mother, Mrs. Vassall, in 1796. He succeeded his uncle as second Baronet
in 1788, and died in 1808 at the age of sixty-seven.
[159] The Treaty of Campo Formio, concluded between France and Austria,
embodying the preliminaries of Leoben, was signed on October 18, but at
the same time the negotiations between England and France were broken
off.
[160] At the battle of Camperdown.
[161] Mr. Fox married Mrs. Armstead in September 1795 at Wyton, near
Huntingdon, but the fact was not announced till 1802. She died in 1842,
at the age of ninety-two. Lord Minto, writing in 1805, says of her:
‘She has grown fat, and not younger, nor softer flavoured, but her
manner is pleasing and gentlewomanlike. I perceive that Lady Holland
does not admire her, and would willingly indulge herself now and then
with a fling at her.’ And again: ‘Mr. Fox has been shopping with Mrs.
Fox, an amusement they say he is very fond of; they had been buying
china--cheap china, I mean, for they seem great economists.’ Miss Fox’s
(Lord Holland’s sister) account of Mrs. Fox’s conduct in 1806, written
to Lord Ossory, is also interesting, to show the bias of Lady Holland’s
description. ‘Mrs. Fox’s patient fortitude, her gentle piety, endear
her to me every minute, and loving her as I do for his sake, still I
must do so for her own, for she deserves it.’
[162] La Fayette remained in Europe and took up his residence at
Wittmold, in Holstein. After the _coup d’état_ of 1799 he returned
to France, but lived in retirement on his property until 1814.
[163] François Claude Amour, Marquis de Bouillé (1739–1800). He
distinguished himself against the English in the Antilles during the
War of Independence, and after Louis XVI.’s arrest at Varennes left
France and went to England, where he died.
[164] See _ante_, p. 92.
[165] Lord Malmesbury had been sent to Lille in July to negotiate
for peace. His efforts were fruitless owing to the ascendancy of the
Jacobin party in France, and he left for home on September 18.
[166] Catherine, first wife of Thomas, second Viscount Hampden, and
only daughter of General David Graeme. She died in 1804. Colonel Graeme
was appointed Secretary to the Queen in 1761, and Controller of her
household in 1765. These posts he held until 1774, when he left the
Court and retired to Scotland. Jesse, on the authority of the Rev.
A. Carlyle, states that he became too presumptuous and arrogant, and
thereby forfeited the favour of the Queen. He became Major-General in
1763, General 1783, and died in 1797.
[167] Charles Martel’s defeat of the Saracens near Tours in 732
A.D.
[168] Jean Gresset (1709–1777), French poet and writer of plays.
Educated by the Jesuits, he became well known for his satires against
the priesthood. Later in life he gave up his literary work under the
influence of the Bishop of Amiens, and retired to a monastery.
[169] Juan Andrès (1740–1817).
[170] Admiral Duncan had completely destroyed the Dutch fleet under
Admiral de Winter on October 11, 1797, off the village of Camperdown.
With sixteen ships of the line he captured eight Dutch ships of the
line out of a total of fifteen. His task was rendered more difficult
by the mutinous spirit which had affected many of his crews for some
months previously.
Sir John Jervis’s victory had been gained on February 11 off Cape St.
Vincent on the coast of Portugal. In his case the odds were greater
with respect to the number of ships engaged, _i.e._ fifteen
English to twenty-seven Spanish, but the ships of the latter were
poorly manned, and in many cases the crews were incomplete. Indeed,
it is probable that, had the English Admiral realised his superiority
in this respect, he would have been able to destroy the whole Spanish
fleet. As it was, four ships of the line were captured, and others
destroyed.
[171] Antoine Joseph Santerre (1752–1809). Though a violent
revolutionist, his influence seems to have been employed to obtain
kindly usage for the Royal Family. The well-known story of his order
to the drums to drown Louis XVI.’s speech to the populace when on
the scaffold is open to doubt. Even if he gave the order, which is
uncertain, he was only a subordinate, and the command would in all
probability have emanated from General Burruyer, the commander of the
troops. His campaign in 1793 against the insurgents of La Vendée was
a complete failure, and he was arrested and imprisoned on the charge
of disaffection towards the Republic. On his release he retired into
private life.
[172] Robert Percy Smith (1770–1845), better known as ‘Bobus’ Smith.
He was the eldest son of Robert Smith, and Maria Ollier, the daughter
of a French refugee. He was at Eton with Lord Holland, and continued
from that time in the closest friendship and intimacy with him. He was
appointed Advocate-General of Bengal, by Lord Lansdown’s influence,
in 1803, and remained seven years in India. He entered Parliament in
1812, but never took much part in the debates. The sprightliness and
originality of his wit and conversation obtained for him a fame to
which he could never have attained by his performances in public life.
[173] Miss Caroline Vernon was second daughter of Evelyn, first
Countess of Upper Ossory, and Richard Vernon, whom she married after
the death of her first husband. Her eldest sister, Henrietta, married
George, Earl of Warwick, in 1776, and the youngest, Elizabeth, died
unmarried in 1830. Robert Vernon Smith, the son of this marriage,
married Emma Mary, a natural daughter of the second Earl of Upper
Ossory, and was created Lord Lyveden in 1859.
[174] Lord Thurlow (1731–1806) was Lord Chancellor from 1778 till 1783.
After the fall of the Coalition he resumed that office, and retained
it until 1792, when he was compelled to resign on account of his
opposition to Pitt.
[175] This was Pitt’s proposal to treble for a year the Assessed Taxes
payable on houses, windows, carriages, horses, &c. By this means he
proposed to provide the necessary funds for the year without increasing
the national debt; and by a system of graduation he considered that the
tax would only fall on those who could reasonably afford to contribute
towards the revenues of the country. The tax, in effect, did not nearly
approach the figure Pitt estimated it would produce.
[176] On the Assessed Taxes Bill.
[177] James, eighth Earl of Lauderdale (1759–1839), second son of
James, seventh Earl of Lauderdale, whom he succeeded in the titles in
1789. He first entered the House of Commons in 1780, and was elected
a Scotch representative peer in 1790, but was not re-elected during
the next two Parliaments on account of his advanced views on social
questions. His ideas, however, underwent a marked change later in life,
and he even opposed the Reform Bills. He married, in 1782, Eleanor,
only daughter of Anthony Todd, Esq.
[178] Matthew Gregory Lewis (1775–1818), eldest son of Matthew Lewis,
Esq., and Frances Maria, daughter of Sir Thomas Sewell. He was educated
at Westminster, and passed some time in Germany, near Weimar, where
he learnt the language and imbibed that taste for German literature
which clung to him for the remainder of his life. When only twenty he
wrote the novel which gave him the nickname by which he is best known.
In addition to novels, he wrote numerous poems and verses, and also
plays, several of which were produced in London. He sat in the House of
Commons as a Whig from 1796 to 1802. His father, who was a large landed
proprietor in the West Indies, died in 1812, and after his death Lewis
took up very enthusiastically the question of the welfare of the slaves
working on the property. He twice visited Jamaica, and died on the
return journey in 1818 from yellow fever.
[179] Frederick William III. (1770–1840) succeeded to the throne
of Prussia on his father’s death in November 1797. The late King,
Frederick William II. (1744–1797), was nephew and successor of
Frederick the Great. The boundaries of Prussia were largely extended
during his reign, but his methods of ruling the country, influenced
by unworthy favourites, did not commend themselves to his people. He
divorced his first wife, Princess Elizabeth of Brunswick, in 1769, and
married Princess Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, by whom he had six children.
[180] Better known under the name of Wilhelmine, Comtesse de Lichtenau
(1752–1820), the title bestowed on her by Frederick William II. The
daughter of a musician, she became his mistress at the age of sixteen,
probably under the promise of morganatic marriage, and for the sake
of appearances was married to one of his body servants, Rietz. On the
King’s death she suffered eighteen months’ imprisonment, besides the
loss of all her belongings. Some of her property was restored to her by
Napoleon in 1807.
Her daughter was called Comtesse de la Marche. Lord Bristol, in several
letters to Lady E. Foster, published in _The Two Duchesses_,
implores her assistance in persuading his second son, Frederick (who
succeeded him), to marry the lady, and enumerates the benefits which
would accrue to the whole family by the alliance. The young man in
question, however, thought otherwise, and married, in February 1798,
Elizabeth Charlotte, daughter of Clotworthy, first Lord Templetown.
[181] Charles James Fox, writing to Lord Holland on January 16, 1798,
says: ‘I do assure you, my dear young one, that I do not flatter you
at all, if by flattering is meant saying more than one thinks, but if
praise is to be called flattery, then I beg that you will tell Lady
H. that I know enough of the family constitution to know that it is
remarkably good and wholesome for us all, and that, too, in good doses.
I think your speech, whether well or ill given, reads very well indeed;
but it was not the goodness of the speech only that I alluded to, it
was the stoutness of fighting so well, all alone against them all, and
I really was delighted full as much as I said, or more.’
[182] In the form of a National Defence Fund. Forty-six thousand pounds
were subscribed at an open-air meeting of bankers and merchants held in
the Royal Exchange. The Bank of England subscribed 200,000_l._
[183] He married, in 1794, Mary Elizabeth, only daughter of William,
first Lord Ponsonby, of Imokilly.
[184] George Tierney (1761–1831) was son of Thomas Tierney, a native
of Limerick, and originally a merchant in London. He married, in 1789,
Miss Miller, of Stapleton, in Gloucestershire.
[185] Mungo Park (1771–1806). He lost his life in a second attempt
to solve the mystery of the sources of the Niger. An account of his
travels was published in 1815 by Whishaw.
[186] See _ante_, p. 33.
[187] Claude Etienne Savary (1750–1788), who spent some years in Egypt
and wrote, among other works, _Letters on Egypt_ and _Letters on
Greece_.
[188] During the autumn of 1797 various intrigues were on foot in Rome,
and all centred in the residence of the French Ambassador, Joseph
Bonaparte (Napoleon’s eldest brother), who desired a means of breaking
with the Papal Government. His opportunity came at last on December 28,
when a revolutionary band sought refuge from the soldiery and populace
in the courtyard of the French Embassy. In the tumult a member of the
Embassy was shot by one of the Papal soldiers. Joseph instantly quitted
the Pope’s dominions, and a French army under Berthier entered the city
on February 10. It was received with acclamation by the multitude, and
the Roman Republic was proclaimed an accomplished fact. The Pope was
removed to Tuscany, and afterwards to Valence, where he died in 1799.
In November 1798, Ferdinand issued a proclamation to the Neapolitans
that he was about to restore the Pope to his throne, and immediately
proceeded, with the help of an Austrian army, to try to carry out his
boast. The whole force, under the command of General Mack, did indeed
reach Rome, but were unable to maintain their position, owing to lack
of discipline and bad generalship. The French closely pursued their
disorderly retreat, and in their turn entered Naples in January 1799.
[189] Joseph Jekyll, the celebrated wit. He practised at the Bar, and
was returned to Parliament for Calne in 1787 through the influence of
Lord Lansdown. He was a favourite with the Prince of Wales, and it is
probable that he owed his appointment as Master in Chancery (1815) to
that fact, for he was barely qualified for the post. He died in 1837.
[190] Lord Henry Petty (1780–1863), Lord Lansdown’s only son by his
second marriage. He became third Marquess on his half-brother’s death
in 1809.
The first Lord Lansdown always signed his name without the terminal
_e_, a practice not followed by his successors.
[191] At the Anchor and Crown.
[192] The estrangement between the Prince and Grey arose over the
latter’s refusal to make a statement in the House of Commons concerning
the Prince and Mrs. Fitzherbert. At her desire the Prince wished for a
modification of Fox’s outspoken denial of the marriage. Grey would have
nothing to do with it, and the business was handed over to Sheridan,
who made a confused and undecided statement.
[193] Wraxall relates of O’Byrne that he was an Irish adventurer who
amassed a considerable fortune at the gaming tables. He was intimate
with the Prince, who often dined at his house.
[194] Gilbert Wakefield (1756–1801) was son of a Nottinghamshire
clergyman. He took the highest possible classical honours at Cambridge,
and was intended for the Church. He developed, however, leanings
towards Arian doctrines, which precluded him from taking orders. He
published a number of works on the classics, and his correspondence
with Fox on those subjects appeared in Lord Russell’s work. His
political opinions became very advanced as years went on, and brought
trouble upon him on this occasion. He was convicted, with his printer
and publisher, of seditious libel, and was sentenced to two years’
imprisonment in Dorchester gaol. He died soon after his release.
[195] Richard Watson, Bishop of Llandaff (1737–1816). His pamphlet,
_Address to the People of Great Britain_, was published in
January, and Wakefield’s _Reply_ was issued with such speed
that it was finished for the press in the compass of a single day.
Wakefield’s _Reply_ stated ‘that the poor and the labouring
classes would lose nothing by a French invasion, and declared that if
the French came they would find him at his post among the illustrious
dead. It also contained charges of corruption against the civil and
ecclesiastical system of the day, and detailed numerous accusations
against the Bishop of Llandaff as an absentee and a pluralist’
(_Dictionary of National Biography_). The Bishop never obtained
the See he coveted.
[196] Hugh, second Duke of Northumberland, of the third creation
(1742–1817), who succeeded to the titles in 1786. He was originally
a follower of Pitt, but complained of neglect and went over to the
Opposition.
[197] Holland House.
[198] William Robert, second Duke of Leinster (1749–1804), married, in
1775, Emilia Olivia, only daughter of Lord St. George. She died on June
23. The Duke’s mother, the Dowager Duchess, was a daughter of Charles,
second Duke of Richmond, and Lord Holland’s great-aunt.
[199] Lord Fitzwilliam accepted the Lord-Lieutenancy of the North
Riding in succession to the Duke of Norfolk.
[200] His wife, whose origin is shrouded in mystery. The probability is
that she was a daughter of Madame de Genlis and Philippe Egalité, Duke
of Orleans. Madame de Genlis, however, always declared that when she
adopted her in order to assist the Orleans children, whose governess
she was at the time, to learn English, she was the five-year-old
daughter of Nancy Sims, living at Christchurch; that she had been born
in Newfoundland, and that her father was one Guillaume de Brixey. Lord
Edward first met her in Paris in 1792, and married her within a month.
After her husband’s death she went to Hamburg, where she married, in
1800, Mr. Pitcairn, the United States Consul. The marriage, however,
was not a happy one, and they were soon separated. After leaving
Hamburg, she went to Vienna, and finally settled near Montauban, in
Chambord.