[52] In 1815, or early in 1816, Lady Holland and myself were asked if we
would receive him without any explanation of his long estrangement. We
answered, “Yes”; and he resumed the habits of familiarity and intimacy as
if nothing had happened.—V.H. [See p. 234.]
[53] [Henry George, Lord Porchester, who succeeded his father as second
Earl of Carnarvon in 1811. Born in 1772; died in 1833.]
[54] [James, eighth Earl of Lauderdale (1759-1839). During the greater
part of his political life he was included among the ultra-Whigs, but
after 1820 his views underwent a radical change, and he even became an
opponent of Lord Grey’s Reform Bill.]
[55] [Right Hon. Richard Ryder (1766-1832), second son of Nathaniel,
first Baron Harrowby.]
[56] [William Frederick Eden (1782-1810), eldest son of William, first
Lord Auckland, and Deputy-Teller of the Exchequer. He was found drowned
in the Thames.]
[57] [Right Hon. Charles Philip Yorke (1764-1834), eldest son of the
Right Hon. Charles Yorke, by his second wife; Secretary for War under Mr.
Addington.]
[58] [John Gale Jones, the President of a debating society known by the
high-sounding name of the “British Forum.” He was by trade an apothecary.]
[59] This they technically call “cushioning” a speaker.—V.H.
[60] [Published in 1866, by Mrs. Henry Baring.]
[61] [George Ellis (1745-1815), miscellaneous writer. He contributed to
the _Rolliad_ and the _Anti-Jacobin_.]
[62] The Charter’s House, I think.—V.H.
[Mr. Windham died from the effects of a severe operation for tumour,
which was caused by a slight injury received about a year before, while
helping to save a valuable library from a fire in the house of his
friend, the Hon. Frederick North.]
[63] I have been told that some parts of the original, not extracted by
Mr. Ellis, and written in very plain English but in the Greek character,
are very strange, and relate to very strange subjects.—V.H.
[64] [By a clause in the Appropriation Bill this sum was to be handed
over to Queen Anne’s Bounty for the relief of the poorer clergy.]
[65] [Dr. John Allen (1771-1843). He was first introduced to Lord and
Lady Holland in 1801, and accompanied them to Spain as their medical
adviser. After their return in 1805, he lived almost entirely at Holland
House, and was treated as a member of the family. He was a constant
contributor to the Whig periodicals and reviews, and also published
several historical treatises.]
[66] [Lord Lauderdale’s amendment in the House of Lords was directed
against the payment of compensation to Mr. Thomas Scott for the abolition
of a small Government post in Edinburgh, to which he had only been
appointed a short time previously. A letter from Sir Walter Scott to
his brother, written a few weeks later, is quoted in Lockhart’s _Life
of Sir Walter Scott_: “Lord Holland has been in Edinburgh, and we met
accidentally at a public party. He made up to me, but I remembered his
part in your affair, and _cut_ him with as little remorse as an old pen.”
The meeting took place at a dinner of the _Friday Club_.]
[67] [Covent Garden Theatre was destroyed by fire in September, 1808, and
Drury Lane in February, 1809. The former was reopened by Kemble, with
_Macbeth_, in September, 1809. The rise in prices, which aroused the
displeasure of the theatre-going public, was but a small one. An extra
shilling was to be charged for the boxes, and sixpence for the pit. The
riots continued until the middle of December, when the original prices
were restored.]
[68] [Henry Clifford (1768-1813), son of Hon. Thomas Clifford, of Tixall,
Staffordshire.]
[69] The old Duke of Queensberry, in theory and practice the most selfish
philosopher and consistent voluptuary of our days, tremblingly alive to
every appearance of danger which threatened even remotely the stability
of property, took the alarm. I believe he parted with money in support of
the interests of the managers, and he subscribed largely soon afterwards
to the rebuilding of Drury Lane Theatre.—V.H.
[70] Such I have seen from him to his sister, the Crown Princess of
Brunswick; the copy of Smollett’s edition containing the mysterious
passage I never saw. His son, George IV., when Prince of Wales, told me
it was in Lord Buckingham’s library or in Buckingham House library; and,
strange to say, I forget which.—V.H.
[71] [The following anecdote appears in a manuscript volume containing
various reminiscences and short essays written by Lord Holland, which
may possibly relate to the incident mentioned in the text: “In the
Coalition Administration there was a Cabinet held for granting pardons
and reprieves and signing warrants of execution, etc., when a difficulty
occurred that had not been foreseen, _viz._, that when sentence of death
was converted into transportation there was no place to transport the
felons to. Some conversation ensued between Lord North and Mr. Fox,
when His Majesty, with a levity quite unusual to his character, said,
‘Gentlemen, the felons used to be sent to America. But America is now
lost. It is none of my fault. It is for you, gentlemen’ (addressing
Mr. Fox and Lord North) ‘to settle it between you;’ and retired half
bowing and skipping out of the room. Mr. Fox, probably from having been
disconcerted at so strange a sally, would never allow that there was
the least pleasantry or fun in this singular trait of His Majesty; and
General Conway observed on the spot that it seemed to him His Majesty was
a little touched in the head.”]
[72] [Mr. Pitt resigned in 1801 on account of the King’s refusal to deal
in any way with the Roman Catholic question.]
[73] Afterwards Sir Herbert.—V.H.
[He was originally Military-Secretary to the Duke of York, and first
acted as Secretary to the King in 1804. It is stated on his own authority
that he was the first Private Secretary employed by George III.]
[74] [Jesse, in his _Memoirs of King George III._, states that the
King had at some period of his youth conceived a passionate admiration
for Elizabeth, Countess of Pembroke, daughter of Charles, second Duke
of Marlborough. Whether this ever came to the knowledge of the lady
in question is uncertain, but her beauty seems to have made a deep
impression on George III.’s mind. During his illness in 1789, and again
in 1810, her name was continually on his lips; and it is even reported
that he thought he was married to her, and was furious at not being
allowed to see her.]
[75] If His Majesty meant by “stable” monarchical, his prophecy has
been happily fulfilled; but if he used the word in its true sense, the
events of the ensuing forty years strangely belied his expectations.
Almost every monarchy in Christendom has been convulsed by insurrections,
revolutions, and changes, but the Republic of the United States has been
uniformly tranquil and undisturbed in its sure progress, improvement, and
prosperity.—V.H.
[76] [Edward Venables Vernon (1757-1847), youngest son of George, first
Lord Vernon, and Martha, daughter of Hon. Simon Harcourt; appointed
to the See of York in 1807. He took the name of Harcourt in 1831, on
succeeding to the estates of that family.
Charles Manners-Sutton, grandson of the third Duke of Rutland; born in
1755; became Bishop of Norwich in 1792, and Archbishop of Canterbury in
1805; died in 1828. He was father of Charles Manners-Sutton, created
Viscount Canterbury, Speaker from 1817 to 1834. Wraxall relates that
Pitt was anxious to raise Dr. Tomline, Bishop of Lincoln, who was at
one time his Private Secretary, to the vacancy at Canterbury. George
III., however, refused to listen to the suggestion, and insisted on the
appointment of Dr. Manners-Sutton.]
[77] Perhaps, when compared with his immediate predecessors, he is
entitled to some little praise for promoting literature and encouraging
the arts. His father had courted popularity by affecting a passion for
poetry, and the real or ostentatious respect for letters entertained by
Lord Bute had impressed on his mind a notion that it became a sovereign
to patronise such pursuits. He accordingly founded the Royal Library,
pensioned Dr. Johnson and some less celebrated writers, and collected
more than one valuable library. He had, however, little or no perception
of the beauties of any of those arts he thus rewarded. He had no relish
for poetry, wit, or eloquence; no love of study; no discrimination in
painting, sculpture, or even conversation. He had some fanciful notions
about architecture, but all perverted or bad.—V.H.
[78] Beneficia, eo usque læta sunt, dum videntur exsolvi posse: ubi
multum antevenere, pro gratia odium redditur.—_Tacitus Ann._, lib. iv. 18.
Quidam, quo plus debent, eo magis oderunt. Leve æs alienum debitorem
facit, grave inimicum.—_Seneca_, ep. 19.—V.H.
[79] It was with reference to this infirmity or talent, whichever it
be, in His Royal Highness, that Mr. Fox, on being sent for by him from
the country to hear an explanation of his conduct or sentiments on some
public occasion, said with more peevishness, but with as much pleasantry
and simplicity, as were usual in him, “Here must I leave my roses and
St. Anne’s, and go to London to hear _a lie an hour long_ at Carlton
House.” Nothing could more happily describe the character of the Prince’s
conversation when he wished to conceal his views or opinions.—V.H.
[80] [Sir Robert Adair (1763-1855), son of Robert Adair, Surgeon to
George III., and Lady Caroline Keppel, daughter of the second Earl of
Albemarle.]
[81] [Lord Eldon.]
[82] [The Bill was composed of five resolutions: (1) Appointing the
Prince of Wales Regent with certain restrictions: (2) Refusing him
the power, for a time, of granting peerages: (3) Refusing the power
of granting offices and reversions for a longer term than the royal
pleasure: (4) Treating of the King’s private property: (5) Vesting the
management of the King’s Household in the Queen.]
[83] [Richard, second Lord Ashburton (1782-1823). The title became
extinct at his death.]
[84] [William Eden, created Lord Auckland in 1789. He died in 1814.]
[85] [Charles, third Earl Stanhope (1753-1816). He married a sister of
William Pitt, whom he supported in Parliament until 1786. During that
year Lord Stanhope succeeded to the title, and differences on the Sinking
Fund caused him to desert his brother-in-law and ally himself to the
Whigs. He was an ardent admirer of the revolutionary doctrines in France,
and gave his support to any advanced schemes for reform in this country.
Lord Holland gives a detailed account of his inventions and eccentric
ways in the early volumes of this work. See also p. 245.]
[86] [By a majority of 3. The House adjourned at 5 o’clock in the
morning.]
[87] [Gustavus IV., King of Sweden from 1792 to 1809. In the latter year
he was removed from the throne by the Swedish people, who were enraged by
his foreign policy. He was succeeded by his uncle.]
[88] [Lord Grenville insisted on retaining his auditorship in addition to
the post of First Lord of the Treasury. The arrangement was especially
indefensible, from his objection to the principle in the case of two
members of the existing Government.]
[89] [Lord Holland was accustomed to take a house in London every year.
Holland House was at that period completely surrounded by country. Dr.
Drew writes in December, 1797: “Again, the walk from Kensington to Hyde
Park Corner by day is pleasant enough, but the return by night dark and
dangerous and infested by footpads....” (_Holland House MSS._)]
[90] [See Moore’s _Life of Sheridan_, vol. ii. p. 394.]
[91] [Francis Charles, Earl of Yarmouth (1777-1842), who succeeded his
father as second Marquess of Hertford in 1822.]
[92] Then Dr. Vaughan.—V.H.
[George III.’s principal medical attendant.]
[93] [Charles William, Viscount Milton (1786-1857). He succeeded his
father as Earl Fitzwilliam in 1833.]
[94] Lord Dartmouth, in his notes to Burnett, ascribes this repartee
to some other Whig lord. No matter who said it, the saying is good,
illustrates much of the private and party history of this country, and
is, I think, applicable to the passage which I have been relating.—V.H.
[95] [General the Hon. Richard FitzPatrick (1748-1813), Lord Holland’s
uncle.]
[96] Lords Grey and Grenville.—V.H.
[97] Cumberland.—V.H.
[98] Bedfordshire.—V.H.
[99] Vernon Smith, his nephew, then ill at Ampthill Park.—V.H.
[100] Mr. Wellesley Pole, afterwards Lord Maryborough, brother to the
Duke of Wellington.—V.H.
[101] [The letter is given in the _Annual Register_ for 1811, p. 12.]
[102] [_Ex officio_ informations are those filed by the Attorney-General
_in virtue of his office_, without applying to the court, where they are
filed, for leave, or giving the defendant an opportunity of showing cause
why they should not be filed (_Cabinet Lawyer_).]
[103] [Edward Law, first Baron Ellenborough (1750-1818). Lord Chief
Justice from 1802 till the year of his death. Charles Greville, in his
_Memoirs_, repeats an amusing story of his treatment of counsel in his
court. “A man was opening his speech, and said, ‘My Lord, my unfortunate
client,’ and then repeated the words again. ‘Go on, sir,’ said Lord
Ellenborough, ‘the court is with you so far.’”]
[104] [“The general tenour of his speech (that of Mr. Horner on May 6)
was to show that the paper currency of the country had undergone an
actual depreciation, and that the only remedy was to provide for the
resumption of cash payments at the bank as speedily as possible.”—_Annual
Register_, 1811.
The report of the Parliamentary Committee on bullion, of which Mr.
Horner was president and Mr. (afterwards Sir Robert) Peel was a member,
was to the same effect, _i.e._ that paper issues were always liable to
depreciation unless they were at any time convertible into gold.]
[105] [Peter, seventh Lord King (1776-1833). His eldest son, who
succeeded him, was created Earl of Lovelace.]
[106] [This famous case was raised by William Berkeley, eldest son of
Frederick-Augustus, fifth Earl of Berkeley, on the death of his father in
1810, claiming the titles. He was born in 1786, and though his father was
not supposed to have married his mother, Mary Cole, until 1796, a secret
marriage was alleged to have taken place in 1785. This was, however,
proved to be untrue, and the suit was disallowed. William Berkeley was
created Earl Fitzhardinge in 1841: his youngest brother, the only son
born after the marriage, never took any steps to claim the title of Earl
of Berkeley.]
[107] In the course of the cause a question arose whether the declaration
or deposition of the late Lord Berkeley could be admitted in evidence. It
was referred to the judges; and their solemn opinion was delivered that
it could _not_. Never was the force of a phrase more strongly exemplified
than on that occasion. Mr. Justice Laurence drew a distinction between
declarations made before and after any question had been raised on the
subject. In stating the distinction, he borrowed a Latin phrase from the
Civil Law, and said that a declaration _post litem motam_ could not be
admitted. _Lis mota_ occurred in every fourth or fifth sentence of every
opinion delivered afterwards by the learned judges. The Lords looked
wise, and acknowledged in whispers to each other a _lis mota_ altered the
whole nature of a declaration. The declaration in question was, on this
principle, rejected. Yet the phrase _lis mota_, which seemed to awaken
all the recollections of the learned, was then mentioned for the first
time, and had hitherto been utterly unknown to our law and our lawyers.
Even the principle, though perhaps not unreasonable, had never, or at
least very seldom, if ever, been recognised in our Courts.—V.H.
[108] The business was decided in Parliament, or rather compromised
finally elsewhere in 1812, but it was obvious that the zeal of the Prince
Regent in the cause of his friend had abated in 1811.—V.H.
[Colonel Palmer, the manager of the Bath Theatre, had, in 1784, after
much difficulty, obtained a trial for his scheme of fast mail coaches.
Such was its success that, in 1800, the postal revenues were more than
trebled. It was at first proposed to grant him 2½ per cent. on a portion
of the increase, but this fell through, owing to the opposition of the
authorities, and with much difficulty he finally obtained a pension of
£3,000 a year and a gratuity of £50,000.]
[109] I have sometimes thought that this book, which is too long, might
with due regard to method and perspicuity be divided here. As it stands,
however, it embraces all the negotiations between the Prince Regent and
the Whigs, and the period included in it is not more than one year and
half.—V.H.
[110] When I related the substance of these conversations to Lord Grey,
I could not but be diverted with his characteristic and somewhat jealous
remark, “There was no use,” said he, “in mentioning A. G. Ponsonby;
to such an arrangement there might be many objections. I feel some
myself.”—V.H.
[111] [General the Hon. Henry Edward Fox, Lord Holland’s uncle, youngest
brother of Charles James Fox. He was born in 1755, and married, in 1786,
Marianne, daughter of William Clayton, Esq.]
[112] Lord Dorchester.—V.H.
[113] [Rumours were afloat in Spain at this time of a desire to place
British officers in command of Spanish troops, and of the possibility
of a permanent occupation by the English of certain portions of Spanish
territory. A note was delivered to the Cortes by the British Minister,
Mr. Wellesley, flatly contradicting these statements.]
[114] [Richard Colley, Marquess Wellesley (1760-1842), elder brother of
the Duke of Wellington; Governor-General of India, 1797-1805; Ambassador
at Madrid, 1809; Foreign Secretary, 1809-1812; Lord-Lieutenant of
Ireland, 1821-1828 and 1833-1834.]
[115] [Sir Archibald Alison claims the initiation of this policy for Lord
Castlereagh. Lord Holland’s account, however, is more probably correct,
for Mr. Thornton, who was in charge of the negotiations, was sent to
Sweden five months before Lord Castlereagh’s return to office.]
[116] Some say he was a relation, and an Irishman. The original name of
the Wellesley or Wesley family was Colley.—V.H.
[117] [His views on the Roman Catholic question also tended to his
subsequent resignation. See Appendix B.]
[118] [He delivered up the Seals on February 19th.]
[119] [The letter is published in the _Annual Register_ for 1812, p. 329.
After a lengthy dissertation on the state of affairs at the moment when
he became Regent, the Prince discussed the danger of any sudden change
of Administration in the critical state of the war, but hoped that his
former friends would combine with the Ministers to form a really powerful
Government. He asked the Duke of York to convey this expression of his
views to Lords Grey and Grenville.]
[120] I allude particularly to Mr. Southey,* who should have found
in the recollection of early kindnesses received from Mr. Charles
Williams Wynn,† when he was himself accused of obnoxious and Jacobinical
principles and not in affluent circumstances, some motives for
suppressing or softening rather than promulgating and exaggerating
any hasty or unguarded declarations which that gentleman might have
made to him in the heat of argument or in the warmth and confidence of
friendship. But Mr. Southey seemed about that time tired of opinions
which led to no worldly advantages, and angry with all Whigs because
those among them who were critics were not boundless in their admiration
of all his poetical effusions.—V.H.
[* Robert Southey (1774-1843), the poet.]
[† Charles Watkin Williams Wynn (1775-1850), a nephew of Lord Grenville
and Under-Secretary for the Home Department in the Ministry of “all the
talents.” He settled a small allowance on Southey, which was to continue
until he was able to obtain a pension for him from Government.]
[121] [See _ante_, p. 103.]
[122] [The letter appears on p. 331 of the _Annual Register_ for 1812.
The reasons for their refusal to take office with the Ministers were
based entirely on the advice given them by Lord Lansdowne.]
[123] [For Foreign Affairs.]
[124] “Weep, daughter of a Royal line,” etc., etc.
The stanzas are printed, and to be found in his works.—V.H.
[The incident took place at a banquet at Carlton House on February 22,
1812. According to the account printed in the _Courier_, the Prince
Regent expressed his “surprise and mortification” at Lords Grey and
Grenville’s unfavourable reply to the Duke of York’s letter. Lord
Lauderdale thereupon made it clear, in somewhat brusque language, that
the sentiments of the two Lords reflected exactly the disposition of the
whole Whig party, and that he himself had given his cordial assent to
their answer.]
[125] It was written by Mr. Brougham.—V.H.
[126] I have altered this passage from “hitherto has been” to “was,” for
since I originally wrote it in 1821 the great poetical genius of whom it
treats has terminated his short and irregular, but brilliant, career in
a place and in circumstances (and perhaps at a period of life) fortunate
for his literary and political fame. He was perhaps the shortest, but
surely not the least, miracle of our age.—V.H.
[127] [John Milner, D.D. (1752-1826), Bishop of Castabala and
Vicar-Apostolic in the West of England.]
[128] [The chief question was whether the English Government should have
a right of veto on the appointment of Catholic Bishops in the United
Kingdom.]
[129] [These Orders in Council were issued in 1807, in order to
counteract Napoleon’s Berlin and Milan decrees against British commerce.
Any ship bound for a port in the French dominions was proclaimed a lawful
prize, unless she had already touched at some British harbour.
The effect of this was to entirely put an end to the carrying trade of
the world; for one side confiscated ships which had come from English
ports, and the other those which had not. The Americans withdrew their
ships entirely from European waters, and passed a Non-Intercourse Act
forbidding commercial transactions with either of the combatants.]
[130] [Created Earl Granville in 1815. (1773-1846).]
[131] [_King Richard II._, Act II., Scene i.]
[132] [Charles George, Lord Arden (1756-1840), Mr. Perceval’s eldest
brother.]
[133] I wrote this in 1820 or 1821. Since that period the impression
of which I speak, if not altered, has been worn away and is much
forgotten. The change in men and in the condition of the country, and the
unreasonable and extravagant excitement produced by recent crimes and
their punishments, have, I believe, obliterated in the mind of the common
people the recollection of their feelings about Bellingham.—V.H.
[134] [Mr. Perceval had, in April, sanctioned the appointment of
Committees of both Houses to examine the flood of petitions which were
pouring in.]
[135] [The papers and minutes relating to these negotiations are given in
the _Annual Register_ for 1812, State Papers, p. 346, etc.]
[136] [This letter was dated May 18.]
[137] [James Archibald Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie (1776-1845), created
Baron Wharncliffe in 1826.]
[138] [Mr. Creevey’s account of these negotiations in a letter, dated May
25, is worthy of comparison with the text: “First then when Prinney sent
for Wellesley, the latter began by mentioning some of the Opposition as
persons to be consulted with; to which the former replied: ‘Don’t mention
any names to me _now_, my Lord, but make an Administration for me!’ To
which the other says: ‘In a business of such nicety I trust your Royal
Highness will not press me for time.’ ‘Take your own time,’ says Prinney,
‘tho’ there is not a shilling left in the Exchequer!’” (_The Creevey
Papers._)]
[139] [In a communication made to Lords Grey and Grenville at Lord Grey’s
house on May 23.]
[140] [George, third Earl of Egremont (1751-1837). He took little part in
politics, but is justly remembered for the encouragement he gave to every
form of art.]