was preceptor to the Prince of Wales from 1771 to 1776. Robert Markham
became rector of Bolton Percy, Yorkshire, and Archdeacon of York. He
died in 1837.
[298] Lord Henry Spencer, who died in 1795.
[299] Robert, Viscount Belgrave (1767–1845), only son of Richard, first
Earl Grosvenor, and Henrietta, daughter of Henry Vernon, Esq., of
Hilton Park, Co. Stafford. He succeeded his father as second Earl in
1802, having married, in 1794, Eleanor, only daughter of Thomas, first
Earl of Wilton. He was created Marquess of Westminster in 1831, on the
occasion of William IV.’s coronation.
[300] Thomas Sheridan (1775–1817), only son of Richard Brinsley
Sheridan. He served for some time in the army, and died at the Cape of
Good Hope when holding the post of Colonial Treasurer. He married, in
1805, Caroline Henrietta, daughter of Colonel James Callender, and had
four sons, and three daughters--the three noted beauties, Mrs. Norton,
Lady Dufferin, and the Duchess of Somerset. Mrs. Sheridan wrote several
novels which received favourable notice.
[301] Richard Porson (1759–1808), classical scholar. This is evidently
the occasion mentioned by Lord Holland in his _Miscellaneous
Recollections_. ‘When I asked him to my house he peremptorily
declined coming; on my repeating my invitation, he sent me word that he
had “broken his leg and could not come,” though he was frequently met
about the same time walking in the streets. Perhaps he was affronted
at my sending the invitation by a common friend, instead of calling
myself, or perhaps he was on that, as on other occasions, extremely
jealous of being invited as a show.’
[302] An architect, who superintended structural repairs to Holland
House which were found necessary a few months later, and was afterwards
constantly staying there.
[303] Colonel Harvey Aston was wounded in a duel with Major Allen, and
died a week later, having fought with Major Picton the preceding day,
on account of the same affair. Several stories of him are related in
_Recollections of the Table Talk of Samuel Rogers_.
[304] William Wickham (1761–1840), Minister to the Swiss Cantons,
1794–97. He was appointed Under-Secretary of State for the Home
Department in 1798. He went abroad again, while still retaining his
post at home, in June 1799 as special envoy to Switzerland and the
allied armies, and did not return until 1802.
[305] Frederick Augustus, fifth Earl of Berkeley (1745–1810), who
married Mary, daughter of William Cole, of Wotton-under-Edge, co.
Gloucester. The case came before the House of Lords in 1811, after
Lord Berkeley’s death. Lady Berkeley then swore that the marriage
took place at Berkeley in 1785, eleven years previous to the public
marriage in 1796. Little evidence, however, was forthcoming, and as
the entry in the Register was not in its right place, and was in the
opinion of several witnesses almost entirely in Lord Berkeley’s own
handwriting, the marriage was disallowed. William Berkeley, the eldest
son (afterwards created Earl Fitzhardinge), was therefore debarred from
succeeding to the titles.
[306] Sir Robert Adair (1763–1855), son of Robert Adair, surgeon to
George III., and Lady Caroline Keppel, daughter of William, second Earl
of Albemarle. He was an intimate friend of Charles James Fox, and was
employed by him on a diplomatic mission in 1806.
[307] She married, in 1816, the Hon. Fleetwood Broughton Reynolds
Pellew (afterwards K.C.H., and Rear-Admiral), second son of Edward,
Viscount Exmouth. She died in 1849.
[308] Lady Anne and Lady Gertrude Fitzpatrick, Lord Upper Ossory’s
daughters.
[309] In the House of Lords on June 11.
[310] John Hookham Frere and his brother Bartholomew.
[311] John or Joseph Smith is mentioned in Lord Holland’s
_Miscellaneous Reminiscences_ as a contributor to the Etonian
publication, the _Microcosm_, in conjunction with Frere, Canning,
Bobus Smith, and others. Lord Holland mentions that he was known by the
nickname of Easley, and that he died in 1827.
[312] Charles Richard Fox (1796–1873), born in November 1796; Lady
Holland’s favourite child. He entered the navy in 1809, but was later
transferred to the army, in which service he rose to be General. He
married, first, in 1824, Lady Mary FitzClarence, second daughter of
William IV. and Mrs. Jordan; and secondly, in 1865, Katherine, daughter
of John Maberley, Esq. He sat in Parliament for some years, and held
several minor posts in the Ordnance Department. He collected coins,
and the result of his labours formed a most valuable addition to the
treasures at the Royal Museum at Berlin, by which the collection was
acquired after his death. He died at his house in Addison Road, after a
long illness, in 1873.
[313] See _ante_, p. 170.
[314] Published in 1781. Compare Lord Byron’s _English Bards and
Scotch Reviewers_:--
Behold!--ye Tarts!--one moment spare the text,
Hayley’s last work, and worst--until his next;
Whether he spin poor couplets into plays,
Or damn the dead with purgatorial praise,
His style in youth or age is still the same,
For ever feeble and for ever tame.
Triumphant first see ‘Temper’s Triumphs’ shine!
At least I’m sure they triumphed over mine.
[315] Charles Francis Sheridan (1750–1806), son of Thomas Sheridan and
elder brother of Richard Brinsley Sheridan. He went to Sweden in 1772
as secretary to the British Envoy, and remained until 1775. He entered
the Irish Parliament the following year, and was Secretary at War in
Dublin from 1782 till 1789, when he obtained a pension and retired from
politics. He occupied the remaining years of his life with chemical
experiments and fruitless attempts to discover the secret of perpetual
motion. He married, in 1783, Letitia, daughter of Theophilus Bolton.
[316] ‘His steadiness and zeal have been of the greatest use, and I
think he is a man that, having begun, is sure to go on. I look upon him
to be one of the main pillars of the party. You know I am one who think
both property and rank of great importance in this country in a party
view; and in addition to these, the Duke of Bedford has a very good
understanding; I wish I could add popular manners.’ C. J. Fox to Lord
Holland, March 1794 (_Memorials and Correspondence of C. J. Fox_).
[317] A Bill ‘to prohibit the trading for slaves on the coast of Africa
within certain limits.’ It was thrown out in committee on July 5.
[318] Richard Penn (1736–1811), grandson of William Penn, and brother
of John Penn, the writer. He acted as Deputy-Governor of Pennsylvania
for his brother from 1771 to 1773, and returned to England in 1775 with
a petition from Congress. He sat in the House of Commons for many years.
[319] Charles Augustus, Lord Ossulston (1776–1859), eldest son of
Charles, fourth Earl of Tankerville, and Emma, daughter of Sir James
Colebrooke, Bart. He married, in 1806, a daughter of Antoine, Duc de
Gramont, and succeeded to the titles upon his father’s death in 1822.
[320] Lord Henry Fitzgerald (1761–1829), fourth son of James, first
Duke of Leinster, married, in 1791, Charlotte, Baroness De Ros. The boy
died at the age of eleven.
[321] John Ingenhousz (1730–1799), a doctor and intimate friend of Lord
Lansdown. He first came to England in 1765.
[322] Thomas Maurice (1754–1824), the author of several works on
India, and a writer of poetry. He was appointed Assistant Keeper of
Manuscripts at the British Museum in 1798.
[323] A Bill ordaining Forfeiture of Inheritance for High Treason.
[324] John, fourth Earl of Darnley (1767–1831), son of John, third Earl
of Darnley, and Mary, daughter of John Stoyte, of Street, Westmeath.
He married, in 1791, Elizabeth, daughter of the Right Hon. William
Brownlow, of Lurgan. Lord Darnley presented a petition to the King, in
1829, claiming the Dukedom of Lennox, but no decision was given when
the case was referred to the House of Lords.
[325] Dr. Cyril Jackson (1746–1819), Dean of Christ Church from 1783
till 1809.
[326] The Battle of the Trebbia, which lasted from June 17 until the
19th, and resulted in the defeat of the French under Macdonald. The
losses were very heavy on both sides.
Transcriber’s Notes:
1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been
corrected silently.
2. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have
been retained as in the original.
3. Where hyphenation is in doubt, it has been retained as in the
original.
4. Italics are shown as _xxx_.