postponed to the present year. It is true, that I now wish myself in
England, and almost repent that I did not grasp the opportunity when
the obstacles were comparatively smaller than they are now likely to
prove. Yet had I reached you last summer before the month of August,
a considerable portion of my time would be now elapsed, and I should
already begin to think of my departure. If the Gout should spare me
this winter, (and as yet I have not felt any symptom,) and if the
spring should make a soft and early appearance, it is my intention to
be with you in Downing-street before the end of April, and thus to
enjoy six weeks or two months of the most agreeable season of London
and the neighbourhood, after the hurry of parliament is subsided,
and before the great rural dispersion. As the banks of the Rhine
and the Belgic provinces are completely overspread with anarchy and
war, I have made up my mind to pass through the territories of the
French Republic. From the best and most recent information, I am
satisfied that there is little or no real danger in the journey; and
I must arm myself with patience to support the vexatious insolence
of democratical tyranny. I have even a sort of curiosity to spend
some days at Paris, to assist at the debates of the Pandæmonium, to
seek an introduction to the principal Devils, and to contemplate a
new form of public and private life, which never existed before, and
which I devoutly hope will not long continue to exist. Should the
obstacles of health or weather confine me at Lausanne till the month
of May, I shall scarcely be able to resist the temptation of passing
some part at least of the summer in my own little paradise.
But all these schemes must ultimately depend on the great question
of peace and War, which will indeed be speedily determined. Should
France become impervious to an English traveller, what must I do?
I shall not easily resolve to explore my way through the unknown
language and abominable roads of the interior parts of Germany,
to embark in Holland, or perhaps at Hamburgh, and to be finally
intercepted by a French privateer. My stay in England appears not
less doubtful than the means of transporting myself. Should I arrive
in the spring, it is possible, and barely possible, that I should
return here in the autumn; it is much more probable that I shall
pass the winter, and there may be even a chance of my giving my own
country a longer tryal. In my letter to My Lady I fairly exposed
the decline of Lausanne; but such an establishment as mine must not
be lightly abandoned; nor can I discover what adequate mode of life
my private circumstances, easy as they now are, could afford me in
England. London and Bath have doubtless their respective merits, and
I could wish to reside within a day's journey of Sheffield-place.
But a state of perfect happiness is not to be found here below; and
in the possession of my library, house, and garden, with the relicks
of our society, and a frequent intercourse with the Neckers, I may
still be tolerably content. Among the disastrous changes of Lausanne,
I must principally reckon the approaching dissolution of poor Severy
and his family. He is still alive, but in such hopeless and painful
decay, that we no longer conceal our wishes for his speedy release. I
never loved nor esteemed him so much as in this last mortal disease,
which he supports with a degree of courage, patience, and even
chearfulness, beyond all belief. His wife, whose whole time and soul
are devoted to him, is almost sinking under her long anxiety. The
children are most amiably assiduous to both their parents, and at all
events, his filial duties and worldly cares must detain the son some
time at home.
[Sidenote: A LITERARY SECRET.]
And now approach, and let me drop into your most private ear, a
literary secret. Of the Memoirs little has been done, and with that
little I am not satisfied. They must be postponed till a mature
season; and I much doubt whether the book and the author can ever
see the light at the same time. But I have long revolved in my mind
another scheme of Biographical writing: the lives, or rather the
characters, of the most eminent persons in arts and arms, in Church
and State, who have flourished in Britain from the reign of Henry
VIII. to the present age. This work, extensive as it may be, would
be an amusement rather than a toil: the materials are accessible
in our own language, and for the most part ready to my hands: but
the subject, which would afford a rich display of human nature and
domestic history, would powerfully address itself to the feelings of
every Englishman. The taste or fashion of the times seems to delight
in picturesque decorations; and this series of British portraits
might aptly be accompanied by the respective heads, taken from
originals, and engraved by the best masters. Alderman Boydell,[293]
and his son-in-law, Mr. George Nicol, bookseller in Pallmall, are
the great undertakers in this line;* but your negociation with them
will require the dexterity of an Auckland or a Malmsbury, as it is
most essential that I be solicited, and do not solicit. In your walk
through Pall Mall, you may call on the bookseller, who appeared to
me an intelligent man, and after some general questions about his
Edition of Shakespeare, &c., you may open the British portraits as an
idea of your own to which I am perfectly a stranger. If he kindles
at the thought, and eagerly claims my alliance, you will begin to
hesitate. "I am afraid, Mr. Nichols, that we shall hardly persuade
my friend to engage in so great a work. Gibbon is old, and rich, and
lazy. However, you may make the tryal, and if you have a mind to
write to Lausanne (as I do not know when he will be in England), I
will send the application."
On the receipt of his proposal, the business will come properly
before me, and it will then be in my power to deliberate, to demur,
to state observations, and to prescribe terms. Should Nichols or
Boydell be cool, you will be still colder; I shall hear from you the
tone and motives of their refusal, and on my arrival in England I
shall be free to consider, whether it may suit me to proceed in a
mere literary work without any other decorations than those which
it may derive from the pen of the author. *It is a serious truth,
that I am no longer ambitious of fame or money; that my habits of
industry are much impaired, and that I have reduced my studies to be
the loose amusement of my morning hours, the repetition of which will
insensibly lead me to the last term of existence. And for this very
reason I shall not be sorry to bind myself by a liberal engagement,
from which I may not with honour recede.
Before I conclude, we must say a word or two of Parliamentary and
pecuniary concerns. 1. We all admire the generous spirit with which
you damned the Assassins, but I hope that your abjuration of all
future connection with Fox was not quite so peremptory as it is
stated in the French papers. Let him do what he will, I must love
the dog. The opinion of Parliament in favour of Louis XVI. was
declared in a manner worthy of the representatives of a great and
wise nation.[294] It will certainly have a powerful effect; and if
the poor King be not already murdered, I am satisfied that his life
is in safety: but is such a life worth his care? Our debates will
now become every day more interesting; and as I only expect from
you opinions and anecdotes, I most earnestly conjure you to send me
Woodfall's Register, with the margins cut close, as often (and that
must be very often) as the occasion deserves it.* My direction, more
distinctly than in my last letter, must be under cover to Le Citoyen
le Rebours, Maitre de Poste a Pontarlier, dans le department du
Doubs. *I now spare no expense for news.*
2. Will it never be possible to get me a good Mortgage for my £3000?
I believe it may be advisable to change my stock from the Short
Annuities, the value of which is wearing every day, to the 3 per
Cents., which are now so low. Notwithstanding Sainsbury's death,
I hope the Buriton interest is regularly paid; when there is a
stoppage, the Goslings might give you or me notice that I may not
be exposed to the danger of overdrawing. I want to have Caplin's
direction, as I may have some orders that should be executed before
my arrival. We have written twice to Ostend without obtaining an
answer. Have you had no better success? I tremble for my Madeira.
*I want some account of Mrs. G.'s health. Will my lady never write?
How can people be so indolent! I suppose this will find you at
Sheffield-place during the recess, and that the heavy baggage will
not move until after the birthday. Shall I be with you by the first
of May? The Gods only know. I almost wish that I had accompanied
Madame de Staël.*
Ever yours,
E. G.
[293] Boydell was Lord Mayor in 1790-91.
[294] On December 21, 1792, a copy was read to the House of
Commons of the instructions sent to Earl Gower, the British
Ambassador at Paris, signifying his recall in August on the
ground that, as the executive power was withdrawn from Louis
XVI., the credentials under which the ambassador acted were no
longer available. In the instructions, the king, while "adhering
to the principles of neutrality in respect to the settlement of
the internal government of France," considered it "no deviation
from those principles to manifest, by all the means in his power,
his solicitude for the personal situation of their most Christian
majesties, and their royal family; and he earnestly and anxiously
hopes that they will, at least, be secure from any acts of
violence, which cannot fail to produce one universal sentiment of
indignation through every country of Europe." It was unanimously
resolved that the paper should remain on the table of the House.
The king was sentenced to death by the Convention, January 17,
1793. His appeal to the nation was rejected, January 19-20, and
the final sentence announced to him on Sunday, January 20. He was
executed the following day.
613.
_Lord Sheffield to Edward Gibbon._
Sheffield Place, Jan. 23rd, 1793.
Your silence, which seemed long after your extraordinary epistolary
efforts, threw the family into a state of revolt; we abjured writing
to you until we had further information of your state, &c. Your
letters of the 1st & 6th (the latter rec^{d}. this day) promoted an
immediate search for this large sheet of paper.
[Sidenote: LORD SHEFFIELD ON SWISS POLITICS.]
In respect to the French Revolution at Geneva, I consider it in a
very serious light. I am perfectly satisfied that if a War with
England does not take place, that the execrable french demons will
produce the same Revolution in the Pays de Vaud. From what has
passed lately, I have entirely changed my opinion of the Swiss
character. I no longer expect that noble resistance which was
supposed characteristic of them. This mortifies me, but I see a
greater probability of your re-establishment in England than I had
flattered myself with before. I acknowledge that no creature could
leave your spot without deep regret. It is eminently beautiful and
pleasant. Its convenience is of your own creation, your books are
there--but tho' the translation of them to this island might cost you
£400, it would not be impossible expence.
But war between this country and France is more certain than you
seem to think it. You could not have read Lord Grenville's notice of
Chauvelin's Paper.[295] I like it much, it seemed to show that War is
inevitable--indeed letters received this day mention it as certain,
and Chauvelin's departure is immediately expected. The Devils seem
damnably afraid of us, and I hope with reason. There can be little
doubt that Spain and Holland will heartily join and compleat the
Circle of Fire, except on the frontier of your poor Swiss. Surely
it will be more politick and more economick for us to engage, when
backed by all Europe, than to fight them single-handed hereafter. Our
merchants however affect to be panic-struck on Acct. of our Turkey
fleet, which they say is worth a million sterling. I should not
forget a strange dilemma in which we find ourselves through a most
extraordinary neglect of that essential naval store--cordage. All
the Rope-yards in England will not in a considerable time be able to
supply the quantity that is wanted. I have the pleasure however of
observing that the War is not likely to be unpopular. Charles F. and
they who bellowed most against it certainly most wish it, because it
is the only thing that can eventually overturn the Administration.
But you remark how few join in the cry against War. None of the
innumerable declarations of Associations give the smallest hint of
disapprobation.
[Sidenote: FOX AND THE DUKE OF PORTLAND.]
I believe I mentioned that I thought, if C. Fox should manage
prudently, that the Party would not suffer essentially. But he seems
totally to have discarded all attention to that respectable and most
necessary though vulgar condescension. In the Debate,[296] when Sir
Gilbert Elliot stated that the Duke of Portland entirely differed
from C. Fox, the latter distinctly said, that he had no reason to
think so, but if that was the case, there was nothing left for him
to do, but either to carry on the most fruitless opposition or to
quit Parliament. It is said he went next morning to the Duke and
repeated his threat to quit Parliament. The Duke was induced to send
the Marquis of Titchfield to the House of Commons to contradict in
a degree, or at least give a different colour to what Sir Gilbert
had said, although the latter had taken down in writing the Duke's
sentiments which he had delivered to the House. It is a most serious
business to cast off or deny the Leader of the Party in the House of
Commons, and such a man as Fox, with whom he has always acted. But
it seems probable from the spirit of the times that the Duke will
ruin himself with the Publick by adhering to him. It is probable
that he will still remain enthralled with a connection which at this
moment is neither consistent with his opinions, his interest, nor
his estimation with those who have hitherto highly respected him;
should that happen, it is impossible to unite two confidences so
entirely opposite to each other, and no party can hold men together
whose views for the Publick Interest are so totally different. The
state of the times will accelerate decision. The ambiguous state
in which things were left at the time of the Recess, must in some
way be cleared up before our meeting, which is to take place a week
hence.[297]
Every appearance indicates War--a War for the very existence of the
Constitution--half measures cannot be pursued with safety or honour.
Charles seemed disposed to support the enemies of the country,
against the country, as he and his Party did the last War. You will
recollect how it used to affect my nerves, and how I used to execrate
the conduct of Opposition. The second attempt at the same vile game
revolts me in the highest degree, and I think it will be impossible
for me ever to follow such a leader. I have kept out of the way, yet
I find the Country Gentlemen and many others much disposed to follow
the style I took up so vigorously on the proposition being made to
acknowledge the Republick. What I then said is _vaunted_ throughout
Europe far beyond what it deserves. It has been nobly seconded by the
Country Gentlemen. It certainly was not pronounced with indifference,
but with the most hearty zeal. It was a natural effort, and probably
the best of the kind I had ever made, and the friends of Government
said it was the best and most useful speech that will probably be
made this Sessions.
I hear since my absence that others and of high consequence are tired
and disgusted with the uncertainty of the situation in which some of
our friends have placed themselves, and with the multiplied intrigues
that have been used to keep them in that state. In the country, by
all accounts, and certainly in town, there has been a very general
consent to the measures which have been taken to resist all that
torrent of evil which was pouring in upon us from France; and it is
truly mortifying, that those, who have done great good by their early
favor to those measures, should suffer their conduct to be obscured
and lose the credit of their good intentions. I believe I mentioned
that I had reason to suppose L^d. L. would not accept the Seals,
unless there should be something like a general coalition. But this
was before the meeting of Parliament. Several of my correspondents
say that he is certainly to have them immediately. The _disorganized_
state of the Party and the wrong-headedness of a Chief among the
Commons have perhaps promoted it.
In respect to your passage to this country. War renders it very
difficult. After a declaration, you, especially a notorious
aristocrate, will hardly venture it--a degree of acrimony is to be
expected, and ought to be promoted by us between the two countries.
The Rhine will not be a desireable route for such an unweildy
personage, who could not easily shift as difficulties arose, but you
might travel the road by which Mrs. Moss returned,--by Stutgard and
Frankfort, without touching upon the Rhine till she came to Cologne.
From Cologne or Dusseldörf you might find your way to the Hague, and
there our friend Lord Auckland would contrive to amuse you till he
could find a passage in a Frigate for you to England. I by no means
intend to recommend this route to you early in the Spring, but in
Summer, when the invading armies will probably have left the Rhine in
their rear. But until they have left its neighbourhood--Frankfort,
&c., I do not see a chance of even a more active person passing that
way without disagrement. In short, I should think you rather wild if
you attempted to go to Paris, even if there were not war; and if you
were there, the uncivilized crowding at the Pandemonium would not
delight you.
[Sidenote: EXECUTION OF LOUIS XVI.]
Since this was began a letter from the D. of Richmond announces the
horrid account received yesterday from Paris, that, the King was
condemned to death on Sunday, was to be executed on Monday,[298]
and that a general massacre of his friends was expected. I have not
words to express myself. Life cannot be desireable to the unfortunate
man--the abomination will in the end be useful--the execration of the
World will be uniform and the extirpation of the miscreants surely
must and will follow. The abhorrence of their principles will be
compleat check to the further spreading of the greatest evils we have
ever heard of, and on account of the odium which shall fall on their
whole system. I rejoice that the worse than savage act should be done
by the Assembly rather than by a tumultuous mob. I can hardly think
on any other subject.
Another letter acquaints me that Parliament will meet for business
sooner than I expected. Dundas has given notice of a message to come
down on Monday the 31st, equivalent to a declaration of War.[299]
I shall send the diary as you desire; I was astonished to receive
your letters with the Pontarlier post-mark. You may know best; I
should not have supposed France the surest way for them, as the War
cannot last. I shall not think of selling your stock to lay it out on
a Mortgage at present. I shall consult Darrell on the rational plan
of exchanging the short annuities into 3 per Cents. I have told you
more than once that I had information of your Madeira, and that it
was moving towards you at last. Whether de Custine has since tasted
it, I cannot say, but I shall enquire. I fear some letters must have
miscarried. Mention dates.
I shall never consent to your dropping the Memoirs. Keep that work
always going; but you should decide whether the book and the author
are to see the light together, because it might be differently
filled up according to that decision. A man may state many things
in a posthumous work, that he might not in another; the latter
often checks the introduction of many curious thoughts and facts.
But I like your Biographical plan very much. It will give great
satisfaction, and it may last as long as yourself. What think you
of the manner of Plutarch? I shall mention the matter to Nicholls.
Well-engraved portraits is a decoration that will be desired by
all. We have a slight work by Birch[300] which you know, and which
accompanies some very good portraits.
We hear with most sincere concern of the state of that eminently
honest _gentleman_, poor de Severy, and were highly concerned for the
family. It must be obvious to you that a tolerable situation for the
son, in the way you wish, becomes every day more unpromising. Nothing
but the North and part of Germany is open, and the passage there
during the war will not tempt our great people to send their sons,
and I know and you may readily suppose that the market is overstocked
in the greatest degree by the numberless Frenchmen of fashion who are
soliciting for the office on any terms. So many solicit for them,
Severy has scarce a chance during War.
I saw in a Newspaper some time ago a Paragraph which stated several
circumstances concerning your present situation at Lausanne, and
added that the account came from a noble Lord. I was a good deal
annoyed, altho' the circumstance of great incorrectness proved that
it did not come from me.
[295] Chauvelin had been accredited by Louis XVI. in May, 1792.
But he now (December 27) addressed a note to Lord Grenville, as
agent of the Executive Council of the French Republic, asking
whether Great Britain was to be considered as a belligerent or
as a neutral power. Lord Grenville declined (December 31) to
acknowledge his official position, but explained the policy of
the British Government. On January 18, 1793, Lord Grenville
replied to M. Chauvelin that the British Government would
continue its preparations to protect the country and its allies,
and to oppose a barrier to French views of aggrandizement and
the propagation of destructive principles. On January 24, M.
Chauvelin was ordered to leave the kingdom within eight days. He
left on January 25. The Convention declared war against England
and Holland, February 8, 1793, and against Spain, March 7.
[296] Lord Sheffield alludes to the debate on the second reading
of the Alien Bill (December 28, 1792). Fox opposed the Bill; Sir
Gilbert Elliot spoke for it, and stated that the Duke of Portland
was in its favour, and that the majority of the Opposition,
of which the duke was the leader, intended to support the
Government. After the debate, Elliot, Wyndham, and Fox met at
the Duke of Portland's, when the duke stated that Sir Gilbert
had correctly expressed his views. Fox, however, recovered
his ascendency over the Duke of Portland, who authorized the
Marquis of Titchfield (December 31), his eldest son, M.P. for
Buckinghamshire, to confine the support of the Opposition to this
particular measure. The marquis ended his speech with an attack
upon the individual ministers, a passage added, it is said, by
Fox, which neutralized the effect of his support (_Diaries and
Correspondence of Lord Malmesbury_, vol. ii. pp. 494, 495).
[297] The Parliamentary recess lasted from January 4 to January
28, 1793.
[298] Louis XVI. was executed in the Place de la Révolution at
10.22 in the morning of Monday, January 21, 1793.
[299] The message was delivered on January 28, laying before the
House the correspondence between Lord Grenville and M. Chauvelin,
and asking for an augmentation of the forces by sea and land.
[300] _The Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain, with
their Lives and Characters_, 2 vols. fol., 1743-52, by the Rev.
Thomas Birch, D.D. The engravings are by Houbraken, Gravelot, and
Vertue.
614.
_Lord Sheffield to Edward Gibbon._
Downing Street, 29th Jan., '93.