certain late Secretary of Ireland,[29] the husband of Polly Jones,
reckons the House of Commons thus: Minister 140, Reynard 90, Boreas
120, the rest unknown, or uncertain. The last of the three, by self
or agents, talks too much of absence, neutrality, moderation. I still
think he will discard the game.
I am not in such a fury with the letter of American independence;[30]
but it seems ill-timed and useless; and I am much entertained with
the Metaphysical disputes between Government and secession about the
meaning of it. Lord Lough[borough] will be in town Sunday sen-night.
I long to see him and Co. I think he will take a very decided part.
If he could throw aside his Gown, he would make a noble Leader. The
East India news are excellent; the French gone to the Mauritius,
Heyder desirous of peace, the Nizam and Mahrattas our friends, and
70 Lack of Rupees in the Bengal treasury, while we were voting the
recall of Hastings.[31] Adieu. Write soon.
E. G.
[28] Lord Howe arrived at Gibraltar early in October. On
September 13 the final effort of the French and Spaniards to
capture the Rock had been repulsed by Sir George Eliott, who
destroyed their floating batteries. Lord Howe returned to
Portsmouth November 15, 1782.
[29] Probably William Eden, who had been secretary to the Earl of
Carlisle during his Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland. But he married
Eleanor, daughter of Sir Gilbert Elliot, and sister of the first
Earl of Minto. Eden, who was created Lord Auckland in the Irish
peerage in 1789, was advanced to an English peerage in 1793, and
died in 1814.
[30] The reference probably is to the letter which Fox, before
his resignation, wrote to the American agents in Paris, offering
"_to recognize the independence of the United States in the
first instance, and not to reserve it as a condition of peace_."
Fox interpreted this as an absolute recognition of American
independence; Lord Shelburne and his colleagues held that it was
a conditional recognition dependent on peace being concluded.
[31] In September, 1780, Hyder Ali invaded the Madras district;
Warren Hastings at once negotiated peace with the Mahrattas in
order that he might send all available troops to Madras. Sir
Eyre Coote defeated Hyder at Porto Novo (July 1, 1781) and at
Pollilore (August 27). The full Treasury was the result of the
recent overthrow of Cheyte Singh, Rajah of Benares, and the
spoliation of the Begums of Oude. In the summer of 1782 the
House of Commons resolved that it was the duty of the Court of
Directors to recall Hastings. In compliance with this resolution
the directors voted an order of recall, but afterwards rescinded
it and maintained the Governor-General at his post. See note to
Letter 487, on page 85 of this volume.
449.
_To Lady Sheffield._
Bentinck Street, October 31st, 1782.
Although I am provoked (it is always right to begin first) with your
long and unaccountable silence, yet I cannot help wishing (a foolish
weakness) to learn whether you and the two infants are still alive,
and what have been the summer amusements of your widowed and their
orphan state. Some indirect intelligence inclines me to suspect that
the Baron himself has quitted before this time a house of Canvas
for one of brick, and that he enjoys a short interval between the
fatigues of War and those of Government. Should he happen to find
himself in your neighbourhood you may inform him that Hugonin (good
creature) came to town purposely on my business and passed three
hours with me this morning. Harris has resigned his Case of the
conflagration, and either by a sale to Lord Stawell or by a new
Tenant we shall make it rather a profitable affair.
[Sidenote: ENTHUSIASM FOR SIR GEORGE ELIOTT.]
You have doubtless received very accurate accounts of my proceedings
from the Cambridges by which channel I have likewise obtained very
frequent narratives of your life and conversation, and this mutual
Gazette has contributed not a little to stifle the reproaches of my
conscience. In my excursions round the Hampton neighbourhood, I have
often visited and dined with them, and found him properly sensible of
his happyness in the absence of his wife: indeed I never saw a man
more improved by any fortunate event. My campaign, and it has been
a pleasant one, is now closed, but in the time which remains before
the opening of our Pandemonium, I should not dislike to breathe for a
week or ten days the air of Sheffield Place, and as the Lord will be
accessible in town before Christmas, my attack (according to modern
rules) will be chiefly designed for the Lady. About Wednesday or
Thursday next would be the day that I should think of moving, but I
wish to be informed how far such a plan may consist (as the Scotch
say) with other arrangements. Adieu. Is not Elliot[32] a glorious old
fellow? We suspend our judgment of Lord Howe, yet I like the prospect.
I embrace, &c.,
E. G.
[32] Sir George Augustus Eliott, created Lord Heathfield for his
defence of Gibraltar.
450.
_To his Stepmother._
November 7th, 1782.
DEAR MADAM,
Last week I finished my Hampton Court expedition, and think myself
obliged to the person and to the accident which have thrown that
unexpected but not unpleasing variety into my Summer life. I am now
fixed in town till Christmas, or if Lord Sheffield who has quitted
his camp should drag me into Sussex, it can be only for three or four
days.
The Parliamentary campaign is approaching very fast,[33] and a very
singular one it must be from the conflict of _three_ parties, each of
which will be exposed in its turn to the direct or oblique attacks
of the other two. As a matter of curiosity I shall derive some
gratification from my silent seat, but at present I do not perceive
its use in any other light. From honour, gratitude and principle I am
and shall be attached to Lord N., who will lead a very respectable
force into the field, but I much doubt whether matters are ripe for
either conquest or coalition, and the havock which Burke's bill has
made of places, &c., encreases the difficulties of a new arrangement.
However a month or two may change the face of things, and the faces
of men.
[Sidenote: WILLIAM PITT AND MRS. SIDDONS.]
Among those men surely Will Pitt the second is the most
extraordinary.[34] I know you never liked the father, and I have
no connection public or private with the son. Yet we cannot refuse
to admire a youth of four and twenty whom eloquence and real merit
have already made Chancellor of the Exchequer without his promotion
occasioning either surprize or censure.
We are much indebted to your Bath Theatre for Mrs. Siddons:[35]
two years ago, and in the part of Lady Townley, she did not strike
me: but I saw her last night with the most exquisite pleasure. She
gave sense and spirit to a wretched play (the Fatal Marriage), and
displayed every power of voice, action, and countenance to a degree
which left me nothing to wish. To-morrow I promise myself still more
satisfaction from Jane Shore, as the character is more worthy of
her talents. Adieu, Dear Madam. Inform me that the beginning of the
winter has not affected your health. Whatever may be the state of my
namesake, I hope at Christmas to bring you a sound body, and a mind
not dissatisfied with external things, because it is not dissatisfied
with itself.
I am
Ever yours,
E. G.
[33] Parliament, which had been prorogued to November 26, was
further prorogued to December 5, in order that the negotiations
for peace might be completed. Peace was provisionally signed with
the United States at Paris on November 30, 1782.
[34] Pitt's first meeting with Gibbon is thus described by Sir
James Bland Burges, Bart. (_Letters and Correspondence_, pp.
59-61). The dinner was given in Lincoln's Inn to the officers of
the Northumberland Militia, who were quartered in the Inn during
the Gordon Riots.
"I invited the four military gentlemen, our committee, and six
other persons the best qualified I could meet with, among whom
were my father, Lord Carmarthen, and Mr. Gibbon, the historian,
who was then at the zenith of his fame, and who certainly was not
at all backward in availing himself of the deference universally
shown to him, by taking both the lead, and a very ample share
of the conversation, in whatever company he might honour with
his presence. His conversation was not, indeed, what Dr. Johnson
would have called _talk_. There was no interchange of ideas, for
no one had a chance of replying, so fugitive, so variable, was
his mode of discoursing, which consisted of points, anecdotes,
and epigrammatic thrusts, all more or less to the purpose, and
all pleasantly said with a French air and manner which gave
them great piquancy, but which were withal so desultory and
unconnected that, though each separately was extremely amusing,
the attention of his auditors sometimes flagged before his own
resources were exhausted.... He had just concluded, however, one
of his best foreign anecdotes, in which he had introduced some of
the fashionable levities of political doctrine then prevalent,
and, with his customary tap on the lid of his snuff-box, was
looking round to receive our tribute of applause, when a
deep-toned but clear voice was heard from the bottom of the
table, very calmly and civilly impugning the correctness of the
narrative, and the propriety of the doctrines of which it had
been made the vehicle. The historian, turning a disdainful glance
towards the quarter whence the voice proceeded, saw, for the
first time, a tall, thin, and rather ungainly-looking young man,
who now sat quietly and silently eating some fruit. There was
nothing very prepossessing or very formidable in his exterior,
but, as the few words he had uttered appeared to have made a
considerable impression on the company, Mr. Gibbon, I suppose,
thought himself bound to maintain his honour by suppressing such
an attempt to dispute his supremacy. He accordingly undertook
the defence of the propositions in question, and a very animated
debate took place between him and his youthful antagonist, Mr.
Pitt, and for some time was conducted with great talent and
brilliancy on both sides. At length the genius of the young man
prevailed over that of his senior, who, finding himself driven
into a corner from which there was no escape, made some excuse
for rising from the table and walked out of the room. I followed
him, and, finding that he was looking for his hat, I tried to
persuade him to return to his seat. 'By no means,' said he. 'That
young gentleman is, I have no doubt, extremely ingenious and
agreeable, but I must acknowledge that his style of conversation
is not exactly what I am accustomed to, so you must positively
excuse me.' And away he went in high dudgeon, notwithstanding
that his friend [Lord Sheffield] had come to my assistance."
[35] Mrs. Siddons first appeared on the London stage in December,
1775, when she acted Portia at Drury Lane. She gained no great
success, and in June, 1776, received her dismissal from the
managers. In the provincial theatres, and especially at the
Bath Theatre, then managed by Palmer, she became famous. At
Bath, in 1780, she had twice acted the part of Lady Townly in
Vanbrugh's and Cibber's play of _The Provoked Husband_. In 1782
she reappeared in London (October 10) at Drury Lane, in the part
of Isabella in Southerne's tragedy of _The Fatal Marriage_. On
October 30 she took the part of Euphrasia in Murphy's _Grecian
Daughter_. On November 8 she played Jane Shore in Rowe's tragedy
of that name. W. Hamilton's picture of Mrs. Siddons as Isabella
belongs to the nation.
451.
_To his Stepmother._
December 21st, 1782.
DEAR MADAM,
I write a little letter on little paper because I shall soon have
the pleasure of conversing with you in a less laborious manner. Next
Thursday I propose to begin my journey for Bath, but as the times (in
a public and private light) are very _hard_, I shall travel with my
own horses, lye two nights on the road, and reach the Belvidere for a
late dinner Saturday. You will be so good as to secure me a lodging;
the nearness to your house will be its best recommendation, as you
are my sole inducement. If any business should detain me two or three
days longer in town, you may depend on the earliest notice.
I am, Dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. G.
452.
_To his Stepmother._
Bentinck Street, December 26th, 1782.
DEAR MADAM,
It was not in my power to set out this morning (Thursday), and
therefore I cannot hope to reach Bath Saturday. I am not perfectly
sure whether Sunday or Monday will be the day of my arrival: for
which reason I shall eat a mutton chop at the Devizes, and beg you
would not wait dinner for me.
I am
Most truly yours,
E. G.
453.
_To Lord Sheffield._
Tuesday evening, 1782.
[Sidenote: THE DEARTH OF NEWS.]
*I have designed writing every post.--The air of London is admirable;
my complaints have vanished, and the Gout still respects me. Lord L.,
with whom I passed an entire day, is very well satisfied with his
Irish expedition, and found the barbarous people very kind to him:
the castle is strong, but the volunteers are formidable. London is
dead, and all intelligence so totally extinct, that the loss of an
army would be a favourable incident. We have not even the advantage
of Shipwrecks, which must soon, with the society of Ham[ilton]
and Lady Shelley, become the only pleasures of Brighton. My lady
is precious, and deserves to shine in London, when she regains
her palace. The workmen are slow, but I hear that the Minister
talks of hiring another house after Christmas. Adieu, till Monday
seven-night.* Shall Caplin get you a lodging?
454.
_To his Stepmother._
Bentinck Street, Jan. 16th, 1783.
DEAR MADAM,
I reached London after an easy and pleasant journey, and am now
seated in my library before a good fire, and among three or four
thousand of my old acquaintance. The prospect of my future life is
not _gloomy_: yet I should esteem myself a very happy man indeed, if
every fortnight could be of as pure a white as the last which I have
spent at Bath in the society of the most sincere as well as amiable
of my friends.
I am, Dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. G.
455.
_To Lord Sheffield._
January 17th, 1783.
*As I arrived about five o'Clock on Wednesday last, we were some
time in town in mutual ignorance. Unlucky enough: yet our loss will
be speedily repaired. Your reason for not writing is worthy of an
Irish Baron. You thought Sarah might be at Bath, because you directed
letters to her at Clifton, near Bristol; where indeed I saw her in
a delightful situation, swept by the winter winds, and scorched by
the summer sun. A nobler reason for your silence would be the care
of the public papers, to record Your steps, words, and actions. I
was pleased with your Coventry oration: a panegyric on the Hertford
family[36] is a subject entirely new, and which no orator before
yourself would have dared to undertake. You have acted with prudence
and dignity in casting away the military yoke,* yet even if I _had_
a right I should try to moderate my indignation. *This next summer
you will sit down (if you can sit) in the long-lost character of a
country Gentleman.
For my own part, my late journey has only confirmed me in the
opinion, that No. 7 Bentinck-street is the best house in the World. I
find that peace and war alternately, and daily, take their turns of
conversation, and this (Friday) is the pacific day. Next week[37] we
shall probably hear some questions on that head very strongly asked,
and very foolishly answered. I embrace, &c. Give me a line by return
of post, and possibly I may visit Downing-street on Monday evening;
late, however, as I am engaged to dinner and cards. Adieu.*
E. G.
[36] The "Hertford family" included Francis, first Earl and
Marquis of Hertford; his brother, General Conway; his eldest son,
Lord Beauchamp, M.P. for Orford; and his youngest son, William
Conway, who was at this time standing at a by-election for
Coventry.
[37] The preliminaries of peace were signed at Versailles with
France and Spain, January 20, 1783, and Parliament met, after the
Christmas recess, January 21.
456.
_To his Stepmother._
Feb. 19th, 1783.
DEAR MADAM,
On Monday or rather Tuesday last we gave the first blow to Lord S.'s
Government by a majority of sixteen in the House of C. on the Peace,
which will be followed by new and decisive attacks.[38] The victory
was obtained by the union of Lord North with Fox and the Rockingham
party.--You would have blamed me for going, or rather being carried,
down with flannels and crutches, and sitting all night till past
eight in the morning: but I have the pleasure of assuring you that
the heat and fatigue have done me no harm, that I have already
changed my two crutches into a single stick, which I hope to throw
away in three or four days. This fit of the Gout, though severe, has
been short, regular, and I think beneficial. Adieu.
I am
Ever yours,
E. GIBBON.
[38] On Monday, February 17, 1783, an address of thanks to his
Majesty for the peace was moved by Thomas Pitt, M.P. for Old
Sarum, and William Wilberforce, M.P. for Kingston-upon-Hull.
Amendments were moved by Lord J. Cavendish and Lord North, which
were carried at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, February 18, by 224 to 208. On
February 21, a resolution, proposed by Lord J. Cavendish, that
the concessions made to the United States were excessive, was
carried by 207 to 190.
457.
_To his Stepmother._
March 29th, 1783.
DEAR MADAM,
[Sidenote: RESIGNATION OF LORD SHELBURNE.]
Will you credit and excuse the cause of my delay? I came home
late and found your letter on my table: meaning to read it the
next morning, I slipt it into my drawer, and till this moment it
escaped my memory and my eye.--I would not bribe you to prefer my
silence, yet you may always take it as an assured proof that the
body Gibbon is in a perfect state of health and spirits, as it is
most truly at the present moment, and since the entire retreat of
my Gout. The state of public affairs is Anarchy without example and
without end,[39] and if the King does not decide before Monday, the
consequences to the House of Commons will be fatal indeed. Every
day produces its own lye, and nothing that is probable is true. Yet
I believe that Pitt will not accept, and that the Coalition must
succeed.
I am, Dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. GIBBON.
[39] On February 24, 1783, Lord Shelburne resigned office in
consequence of the vote of February 21; and Pitt, as Chancellor
of the Exchequer, publicly stated that he only retained his post
till his successor was appointed. On March 24, Mr. Coke, M.P. for
Norfolk, moved and carried an address to the king, asking for the
appointment of a new administration.
458.
_To his Stepmother._
March 31st, 1783.
DEAR MADAM,
[Sidenote: THE COALITION MINISTRY.]
In my last, written like this in a very great hurry, I used (if I am
not mistaken) an expression which at a distance might alarm you too
much. The _fatal_ Monday is past without any _fatal_ consequences,
yet no Administration is appointed; but as Pitt has formally
resigned,[40] the K. will probably yield without expecting a second
and more serious address on Thursday.--I rejoyce to hear that you
have surmounted your complaint, and hope you will feel every day the
genial influence of the spring.
I am
Ever yours,
E. G.
[40] Pitt, on March 31, resigned the office of Chancellor of the
Exchequer. On April 2 the new administration was formed; the
principal members were--
The Duke of Portland First Lord of the Treasury.
Lord North } Secretaries of State.
Mr. Fox }
Lord J. Cavendish Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Lord Keppel First Commissioner of the Admiralty.
Lord Stormont President of the Council.
Lord Carlisle Lord Privy Seal.
Lord Townshend Master of the Ordnance.
Mr. Burke Paymaster-General.
Lord Northington Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
The Great Seal was put in commission. The first seven formed the
Cabinet.
Lord Townshend said "he had always foreseen the Coalition
Ministry could not last, for he was at Court when Mr. Fox kissed
hands, and he observed George III. turn back his eyes and
ears just like the horse at Astley's, when the tailor he had
determined to throw was getting on him" (_Correspondence of C. J.
Fox_, vol. ii. p. 28).
459.
_To his Stepmother._
May 5th, 1783.
DEAR MADAM,
My cousin Robert Darrel gave me great pleasure by the information
that he thought you perfectly recovered from your late indisposition.
I depend on his testimony, which removed all my doubts and suspicions
of your giving too favourable an account of yourself. For my own
part, after paying my annual tribute to the gout, I find myself in
the same even course of health and spirits which I have enjoyed for
many years. The business of the house of Commons has been postponed
by waiting first for peace and afterwards for Government; the long
hot days will be crowded, and we shall wrangle with a strong June
sun shining through the windows to reproach our folly.[41] I
have already made one short visit to my Cottage at Hampton Court;
I propose every week to steal away like a Citizen from Saturday
till Monday, and persuade myself that I shall be revived by such
excursions. You express a kind indignation against the persons for
whose sake I acted the devil upon two sticks. Notwithstanding their
apparent neglect I have reason to think them well inclined towards
me, and have even received some assurances, but as every thing that
depends on ministers is precarious and uncertain, I would not raise
too much either your hopes or my own. If any situation[42] permanent
and proper could be obtained, incompatible with a seat in parliament,
I should retire from that Assembly without the least reluctance.
I am, Dear Madam,
Ever yours,
E. G.
[41] The session closed July 16, 1783.
[42] "Gibbon and I," writes Lord Sheffield to William Eden (_Lord
Auckland's Journal and Correspondence_, vol. i. p. 53), "have
been walking about the room and cannot find any employment we
should like in the intended establishment. He agrees with me that
the place of dancing-master might be one of the most eligible for
him, but he rather inclines to be painter, in hopes of succeeding
Ramsay."
460.
_A M. Deyverdun, à Lausanne._
A Londres, ce 20 Mai, 1783.
*Que j'admire la douce et parfaite confiance de nos sentimens
réciproques! Nous nous aimons dans l'éloignement et le silence, et
il nous suffit à l'un et à l'autre, de savoir de tems en tems des
nouvelles de la santé et du bonheur de son ami. Aujourd'hui j'ai
besoin de vous écrire; je commence sans excuses et sans reproches,
comme si nous allions reprendre la conversation familière du jour
précédent. Si je proposois de faire un _compte rendu_ de mes études,
de mes occupations, de mes plaisirs, de mes nouvelles liaisons, de
ma politique toujours muette, mais un peu plus rapprochée des grands
événemens, je multiplierois mes _in quarto_, et je ne sais pas encore
votre avis sur ceux que je vous ai déjà envoyés. Dans cette histoire
moderne, il seroit toujours question de la décadence des empires; et
autant que j'en puis juger sur mes réminiscences et sur le rapport
de l'ami Bugnon, vous aimez aussi peu la puissance de l'Angleterre
que celle des Romains. Notre chute, cependant, a été plus douce.
Après une guerre sans succès, et une paix assez peu glorieuse, il
nous reste de quoi vivre contens et heureux; et lorsque je me suis
dépouillé du rôle de Membre du Parlement, pour redevenir homme,
philosophe, et historien, nous pourrions bien nous trouver d'accord
sur la plupart des scènes étonnantes qui viennent de se passer devant
nos yeux, et qui fourniront une riche matière aux plus habiles de mes
successeurs.
Bornons nous à cette heure à un objet moins illustre sans doute, mais
plus intéressant pour tous les deux, et c'est beaucoup que le même
objet puisse intéresser deux mortels qui ne se sont pas vûs, qui à
peine se sont écrit depuis--oui, ma foi--depuis huit ans. Ma plume,
très paresseuse au commencement, ou plutôt avant le commencement,
marche assez vîte, lorsqu'elle s'est une fois mise en train; mais une
raison qui m'empêcheroit de lui donner carrière, c'est l'espérance
de pouvoir bientôt me servir avec vous d'un instrument encore plus
commode, la langue. Que l'homme, l'homme anglois, l'homme Gibbon, est
un sot animal! Je l'espère, je le désire, je le puis, mais je ne sais
pas si [je] le veux, encore moins si j'exécuterai cette volonté.