the Russian campaign and at the battle of Waterloo. His name was removed
by the influence of Talleyrand from the list of proscriptions, but he
remained in England some years, and married Margaret, Baroness Keith and
Nairne. He became French Ambassador in London in 1860, and died ten years
later.]
[221] I erase _without my knowledge_, for the words convey more than
I mean and more than is strictly true. His Royal Highness did, after
reproaching me for not showing him the protest before I had entered it,
ask me if, consistently with the orders and usages of the House, he could
sign it on the third reading. I, of course, told him that he could refer
in a dissentient to the reasons of a protest on the same subject on the
journals, and he took that course.—V.H.
[222] [It is interesting to find that Lady Holland writes to Mrs. Creevey
on January 1, 1816: “There is a strong feeling getting up in the country
at our permitting the Capitulation to be broken, altho’ none are sorry
Ney suffered.”]
[223] [Printed in the _Annual Register_ for 1816. State Papers, p. 378.]
[224] [Charles, eighth Lord Kinnaird, born in 1780; died in 1826. He
married, in 1806, Lady Olivia Fitzgerald, daughter of the second Duke of
Leinster, and Lord Holland’s cousin.]
[225] [Antoine Marie, Count de La Valette (1769-1833), aide-de-camp of
Napoleon. He was condemned to death, but escaped to England, with the
help of his wife assisted by Sir Robert Wilson and two other Englishmen.]
[226] [Neither Ney nor Labedoyère were present in Paris when the
Capitulation was signed.]
[227] [Afterwards second Earl of Donoughmore. Commander-in-Chief in
Egypt, 1801.]
[228] Underlined in the above copy.—V.H.
[229] [Miguel Ricardo d’Alava (1771-1843), a Spanish general who obtained
considerable distinction under Wellington. He was for some years Spanish
representative in Paris.]
[230] I once asked an East Indian, who knew the details of the
transaction, if his brother, Lord Wellesley, had not raised him from the
ground. “The ground?” replied he, “the mire, the filth. He was lost but
for Wellesley.” The phrase was no doubt too strong, but there must have
been great favour shown to give a colour to such expressions. Subsequent
differences between the brothers may and have occurred, and the conduct
of the elder has probably been offensive and almost intolerable to the
younger; but can it have entirely cancelled such obligations, or justify
the neglect with which he has occasionally been treated? The Duke had
resumed intimate and even cordial habits with him when out of office, but
on his appointment to the Premiership he dropped them entirely.—V.H.
[231] I have been told of this unamiable trait in his character by
officers who have served under him. His unpopularity with corps that
he has commanded, and especially the Engineers and Artillery, seems to
confirm it.—V.H.
[232] At the beginning of the French Revolution Castlereagh was a
reformer and even propagandist; he disseminated Payne’s pamphlet in the
North of Ireland.—V.H.
[233] [The income tax imposed “for and during the continuance of the war,
and no longer.” The Government was defeated by a majority of 37, and the
tax repealed.]
[234] [See _ante_, p. 45.]
[235] [Canning was living in Lisbon at the time for the benefit of his
son’s health. Lord Liverpool, learning he was on the spot, pressed him to
take the post of Ambassador Extraordinary, and his offer was accepted.]
[236] I think I have since heard that £7,000 or £9,000 would have covered
all those that could be legally substantiated.—V.H.
[Mr. Rae, in his _Biography_, puts the figure at £5,000, and states that
the whole sum was paid by Sheridan’s relations.]
[237] [Thomas Sheridan (1719-1788).]
[238] Her maiden name was Chamberlayne.—V.H.
[239] He assured me, at the same time, that his treatment had created
in his mind such an aversion for the stage, that he had never even seen
a play when he wrote _The Duenna_; that he engaged in that work from
absolute indigence; and that, throughout his life, he had never seen
a representation from beginning to end, except of his own pieces at
rehearsals. I did not think it worth while to repeat these incredible, or
at least exaggerated, stories in the text.—V.H.
[240] [Samuel Parr (1747-1825), classical scholar, and master at Harrow
School. Several letters written by him describing young Sheridan’s
promise and ability have been published by Moore.]
[241] Mr. Sheridan has more than once observed to me, with great apparent
sincerity and warm commendation, the astonishing resources of Mr.
Fox’s mind, and the no less astonishing generosity with which he would
frankly impart his thoughts and materials to any speaker of his side.
“He seemed,” said Sheridan, “to exhaust the subject he spoke upon; yet
when he sat down he could, and often did, supply those who came after
him with fresh and excellent matter nearly equal to what he had used,
and quite new to the person about to speak; and, again, from those whose
turn in debate came before him, he never concealed any thought, but on
the contrary would communicate to them most readily the best argument and
even the liveliest illustration that occurred to him in favour of his
view of the question.”—V.H.
[242] [William Howley (1766-1848), appointed Bishop of London in 1813,
and Archbishop of Canterbury in 1828.]
[243] [Sir Gilbert Elliot (Lord Minto) writes to Lady Elliot of this
speech: “It was by many degrees the most excellent and astonishing
performance I ever heard, and surpasses all I ever imagined possible in
eloquence and ability.” (_Life and Letters of Sir G. Elliot_, vol. i. p.
123).]
[244] [See _Memoirs of the Whig Party_, vol. i. p. 34, where many curious
and interesting anecdotes of him are related.]
[245] [Lord Stanhope left practically the whole of his disposable
property to his executors. The estates devolved on his son and heir. The
rest of the family, however, obtained nothing under the will, on account
of their conduct at the period of Lord Stanhope’s separation from Mr.
Pitt, except such sums as they were entitled to by marriage settlements.]
[246] [Major John Cartwright (1740-1824), the descendant of an old
Northamptonshire family. He served in the Navy and Militia, and became an
ardent reformer and political pamphleteer.]
[247] [William Cobbett (1762-1835), political writer and originator of
the _Weekly Political Register_.]
[248] [Henry Hunt (1773-1835), reformer and orator. Originally a
successful farmer in Wiltshire.]
[249] “Valentine Day,” and “Post office at Maidstone.”—V.H.
[250] [The scene here referred to took place during a discussion of the
Alien Bill on December 28, 1792. Burke, who had quarrelled with Fox
over the French Revolution, mentioned that an order had been given at
Birmingham for 3,000 daggers, and, hurling one suddenly on to the floor
of the House, exclaimed, “This is what you are to gain by an alliance
with France.”]
[251] [Thomas Cochrane (1775-1860), son of Archibald, ninth Earl of
Dundonald, on whose death he succeeded to the titles in 1831.]
[252] [The Habeas Corpus Act was suspended during the greater part of the
year 1817.]
[253] I transcribe this book in 1838, and this clause is added to my
sentiment: Burdett’s defection and recurrence to High Tory principles
being in 1837.—V.H.
[254] [William, fourth Earl Fitzwilliam (1748-1833), Lord-Lieutenant of
Ireland, 1794-1795.]
[255] [The secret Committee appointed to inquire into the cases which had
occurred of meetings alleged to be dangerous to the public tranquillity.]
[256] [Horner was only thirty-eight years old when he died.]
[257] [The book here referred to by Lord Holland was said to be by
Santini—Napoleon’s gamekeeper, haircutter, and tailor. It is in reality
a fabrication, and “was written by Colonel Maceroni, an Anglo-Italian
follower of Murat’s, who has left some readable memoirs.” (Lord
Rosebery’s _The Last Phase_).]
[258] [Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.]
[259] Mr. Brougham was particularly averse to meddling with a matter he
deemed so unpalatable to the Court and the country.—V.H.
[260] [Hugh Fortescue, afterwards second Earl Fortescue (1783-1861).]
[261] [James Abercromby, afterwards created Lord Dunfermline (1776-1858).
Speaker of the House of Commons, 1835-1839.]
[262] [Alexander Baring (1774-1848), created Lord Ashburton in 1835.]
[263] [Carlo Andrea (1764-1842), a Corsican, born at “Pozzo di Borgo,”
near Ajaccio, whence he took his name. He entered the Russian service
after the final capture of Corsica by the French, and was Russian
Ambassador in Paris from 1815 to 1834, when he was transferred to London.]
[264] [William Hone (1780-1843), writer and bookseller. The work was
written satirically against the Government, and parodied the Church
Catechism, Litany, and Athanasian Creed. He was brought to trial, but was
acquitted on all counts; and was afterwards presented with the sum of
£3,000, raised by public subscription.]
[265] [Thomas Philip, third Lord Grantham (1781-1859), who succeeded his
maternal aunt in 1833 as Earl de Grey.]
[266] [In Bedfordshire. The estate was sold at Lady Holland’s death in
1845, and passed into the hands of the Duke of Bedford.]
[267] [A Bill brought forward to indemnify various persons for
apprehending and restraining those who had taken part in the late
treasonable practices and unlawful assemblies.]
[268] [The suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act.]
[269] [Philip Henry, fourth Earl of Stanhope (1781-1855).]
[270] [The Act in question was one passed by the Scotch Parliament in
1695. It contained a clause, which constituted as naturalised subjects
of Scotland any foreigners who held shares in the Bank of Scotland; and
these were naturalised as English subjects by the terms of the Act of
Union. The _ex post facto_ clause seems to have been moved in the House
of Lords by the Lord Chancellor, and not by Lord Melville, as stated by
Lord Holland.]
[271] [Pierre Étienne Louis Dumont (1759-1829), Swiss author and tutor to
the third Lord Lansdowne.]
[272] In Sir Samuel’s MS. Memoir the following passage occurs: “Our
family had been increased and enlivened by two female cousins, the
children of my Uncle Isaac, who had been left orphans by the _premature_
and almost _sudden death_ of _both_ their parents _within a few days of
each other_.”—V.H.
[No evidence can be found to support Lord Holland’s statement that Sir
Samuel’s uncle also committed suicide.]
[273] It has been published in this year, 1840, and edited with great
judgment and taste by his children. The picture of so pure a mind or,
as Lord Jeffreys happily expresses it, such serious sweetness in a
first-rate man, delights everybody.—V.H.
[274] [Mr. Ponsonby, who had led the party since 1808, died in 1817.
Creevey certainly thought little of Tierney’s chances of success,
and wrote that his life had been in “direct opposition to all Whig
principles.”]
[275] [William Philip, second Earl of Sefton (1772-1838), who succeeded
to the title on his father’s death in 1795.]
[276] [John Charles, Viscount Althorp (1782-1845); Chancellor of the
Exchequer, 1830-1834. He became third Earl Spencer in 1834.]
[277] Mr. Fox, whose fearless and generous nature abhorred all refinement
and suspicion, always undervalued Mr. Tierney’s sagacity, and felt
less confidence than he ought to have done in his professions and
principles.—V.H.
[278] [The residence of the Duke of Portland.]
[279] [Afterwards created Earl of Durham.]
[280] [The meeting was held at Smithfield.]
[281] [This must be a mistake. The number of people present was probably
about 80,000. From twenty to thirty persons were wounded by sabre cuts,
but the majority of the injuries were received by those who were trying
to escape from the danger, real or imaginary.]
[282] [Edward Stanley (1779-1849), Bishop of Norwich (1837), and father
of Arthur Stanley, Dean of Westminster.]
[283] [January 12, 1834.]
[284] [The Duke of Kent was Commander-in-Chief in British North America,
1799-1800, and Governor of Gibraltar, 1802-1803. His death was caused by
a sudden chill.]
[285] [Known as the Cato Street Conspiracy. The delinquents made
preparations to murder the whole of the Ministers on February 23,
when they had arranged to dine together at Lord Harrowby’s house in
Grosvenor Square. The plot was, however, divulged before the day, and the
conspirators were arrested by the police and military when on the point
of setting out to achieve their fell purpose.]
[286] [He died on January 29.]
[287] [She was not to assume at any time the rank and title of Queen of
England.]
[288] This was not an unusual practice with him; and as it was not
only in speeches, but in correspondence, paragraphs, and pamphlets
that he resorted to such contrivances, he was for such an effusion of
ink not inaptly compared to the ink fish, who, to elude its pursuers,
environs itself in clouds, or rather floods, of that dark and liquid
composition.—V.H.
[289] [Early in April Lord Liverpool made the same proposition to
Brougham as is mentioned on the last page, but raising her annual
allowance from £35,000 to £50,000. This proposal, however, does not
seem to have been communicated to the Queen, nor did she hear of it
until it was communicated by Lord Hutchinson, on June 3, at Saint Omer,
when on her way to England. She then entirely refused to consider the
matter, and, continuing her journey, arrived in London on June 7.
Negotiations were at once opened to persuade her to leave the country;
but popular opinion was on her side, and she remained. Early in July
Lord Liverpool brought in a bill in the House of Lords to deprive her
of her prerogatives as Queen of England and to dissolve her marriage,
but, finding it injudicious to persevere, dropped the whole affair in
November.]
[290] [Garter King-of-Arms.]
[291] [This Constitution was drawn up by the Spanish Cortes, in session
at Cadiz in 1810-1812. Its aim and object was to limit the power of the
Crown, and the deputies by their action showed their determination,
without any actual disloyalty to the House of Bourbon, to strictly limit
Ferdinand’s power whenever he was successful in regaining the throne.
On his return to Spain in 1814, Ferdinand’s first act as King was to
dissolve the Cortes and abrogate the Constitution, promising another in
its stead. The promise, however, was never carried out, and, with all
the old Royalist abuses springing up on every side, a veritable reign of
terror ensued. In 1820 the standard of revolt was raised in Cadiz, and
the movement spread throughout the country. The King at once gave way and
restored the Constitution in its original form.]
[292] [On the occasion of the “Massacre of Peterloo.”]
[293] [A bill to disfranchise the borough of Grampound, on account of the
gross corruption which had there taken place.]
[294] [John Pike Jones (1790-1857). He obtained the living of Alton,
Staffordshire, in the gift of Lord Shrewsbury.]
[295] [Hon. Shute Barrington (d. 1826).]
[296] [Sir Matthew Wood (1768-1843), son of a serge-maker in Tiverton.
Lord Mayor of London, 1815-16, and 1816-17. He was one of those who
rendered pecuniary assistance to the Duke and Duchess of Kent and was
made a Baronet by Queen Victoria soon after her accession.]
[297] [“By this Act, none of the descendants of George II., unless of
foreign birth, can marry under the age of twenty-five, without the
consent of the King; at and after that age, after twelve months’ notice
given to the Privy Council, they may contract such marriage, which shall
be good unless both Houses of Parliament shall disapprove.” (Hadyn’s
_Dictionary of Dates_).]
[298] [Sir John Leach (1760-1834), appointed Vice-Chancellor of England,
1818, and Master of the Rolls, 1827.]
[299] See his _Letter to a Constituent_, p. 537 of Chronicle, in _Annual
Register_, 1820.—V.H.
[300] [Charles Greville says: “The military in London have shown alarming
symptoms of dissatisfaction, so much so that it seems doubtful how far
the Guards can be counted upon in case of any disturbance arising out of
this subject.”]
[301] An account of my conversations with Sir John Leach in June,
1820, may be found in a letter from me to Lord Grey, dated Holland
House June 12, 1820, and a copy of it should be kept among the _Pièces
Justificatives_ of this work.—V.H. [See Appendix C.]
[302] [Charles Greville (_Reign of George IV._, vol. i. p. 43) says:
“_February 7._—The King went to the play last night (Drury Lane) for the
first time, the Dukes of York and Clarence and a great suite with him.
He was received with immense acclamations, the whole pit standing up,
hurrahing, and waving their hats.... A few people called out ‘the Queen,’
but very few.”]
[303] [Sir Arthur Pigott (1752-1819), Attorney-General, 1806-1807. He
died on September 6, 1819.]
[304] The _tibia_ in Negroes is said to be slight and slender; and the
_os calcis_ long.—V.H.
[305] [Those of Hardy, Horne Tooke, Stone, and others, for conspiracy to
raise a rebellion.]
[306] [A prospective and retrospective clause to prevent the annulling of
marriages on slight informalities previous to the solemnisation. (_Annual
Register_, 1820).]
[307] [The Revolution at Naples, fostered by the secret society of
the _Carbonari_, attained its object without serious difficulty. King
Ferdinand, who had been restored in 1815, accepted the Constitution
as proposed to him, though in a letter to the Emperor of Austria he
protested that he had done so under constraint.
The Portuguese Royal Family were still in the Brazils; and the rising
planned to obtain an amendment of the Constitution took place at Oporto
in 1820. It is worthy of note that Marshal Beresford and the other
English officers who had assisted the Portuguese against the French were
sent out of the country.
The Treaty of the Holy Alliance had been concluded during the
negotiations for the second Treaty of Paris in 1815, at the instance of
the Czar of Russia. The other signatories were the Emperor of Austria
and the King of Prussia, their object being to maintain the peace of
Europe by a system of collective diplomatic pressure and intervention.
Great Britain had refused to become a party to the Treaty, as her
representatives, though cordially concurring in the desirability of these
views, considered them visionary and impracticable.]
[308] Chronicle, _Annual Register_ of 1820, p. 537.—V.H. [Also see
_ante_, p. 286.]
[309] [The _New Monthly Magazine_.]
[310] [The first meeting of the three great Powers composing the
Holy Alliance took place at Troppau in October, 1820. The sovereigns
circulated a manifesto to the great European Powers stating their views
on intervention, and invited the King of Naples to meet them at Laybach.
The Congress was held in January, 1821, and Lord Stewart, the British
Ambassador at Vienna, represented Great Britain. King Ferdinand, whose
absence from Naples was only permitted on condition that he renewed his
oath to preserve the Constitution, renounced all his engagements on his
arrival at Laybach. The Congress decided to restore the King by means
of an Austrian army, and successfully carried out their design. Great
Britain and France remained neutral on this occasion, but issued no
protest against the action of the Powers.]
[311] [Charles William, third Marquess of Londonderry (1778-1854),
half-brother of Lord Castlereagh. No mention is made by Sir Archibald
Alison of his absence from Laybach.]
[312] [Sir Robert Gordon (1791-1847), diplomatist, son of George, Lord
Haddo, and brother of George Hamilton, fourth Earl of Aberdeen.]
[313] [The Russian Ambassador in England.]
[314] [_Foreign Reminiscences._]
[315] [Lord Holland published in 1822 Horace Walpole’s _Memoirs of the
Last Ten Years of the Reign of George II._, and prepared his _Memoirs of
the First Ten Years of George III._ This latter work was published after
his death by Sir Denis Le Marchant in 1845.]
[316] The elder brother of that famous wit, courtier, and infidel, who is
satirised by Pope under the names of Sporus and Lord Fanny, who fought
a duel with Pulteney, corresponded with Mr. Middleton about the Roman
Senate, was a favourite of Queen Caroline, and died 1749.—V.H. [He died
in 1743.]
[317] [An Etonian publication, which was first brought out in 1786. The
chief contributors were Bobus Smith, Canning, and Hookham Frere. See p.
314.]
[318] [Joseph Goodall (1760-1840): Assistant Master at Eton, 1783;
Headmaster, 1801; and Provost, 1809.]
[319] [William Hayward Roberts, D.D; appointed Provost of Eton in 1781,
and died in 1791.]
[320] For a long time Resident Senior Fellow of King’s College. He had
taken an active part in the Chatterton controversy, and maintained to
the last the authenticity of the poems. I knew nothing of him but his
appearance. That was not prepossessing. He had the reputation of a
saturnine and sarcastic wit, but was known by his intimates to conceal a
very warm heart under that rugged exterior. He it was who said of Porson,
that it was “a pity so much wit should be in a fool’s keeping.” Mr. Smith
(Bobus) related an incident which occurred when he was sitting with
him in his study at King’s, and which, as it illustrates his whimsical
character and at the same time redounds to his credit, may be worth
repeating. They heard a strange noise and clacking on the staircase,
which, when followed by a knock at the door, greatly discomposed the
morose old bachelor. However, he exclaimed with a resolute voice, “Come
in,” and an ill-dressed old country-woman, with a magpie on her wrist,
made her appearance. Glynn, it seemed, from charity had frequently, and
ultimately with success, visited her sick daughter gratis at a distance
from Cambridge, and the grateful old goody had trudged over from the fens
with the only remuneration her slender means could supply, _viz._, “her
favourite magpie.” The studious Doctor was appalled at the prospect of
so troublesome an inmate, and yet unwilling to mortify the kind feelings
that had brought him. So, after sundry gesticulations and grotesque
exclamations of “Pretty Meg,” “Charming bird indeed,” he archly and
good-humouredly said, “Thank ye, Dame, thank ye from the bottom of my
heart. I like the bird vastly; I enjoy the present exceedingly. And now
I’ll tell you what you shall do; you shall board it for me at half a
crown a week, for I know you will take care of it, and mind you do: but I
should be called out to my patients and neglect it.”—V.H.
[Robert Glynn (1719-1800), physician. He was a firm believer in the
authenticity of the _Rowley Poems_, and bequeathed the originals, at his
death, to the British Museum. These poems are now undisputably known
to be the work of Thomas Chatterton, the youthful genius who poisoned
himself at the early age of eighteen in despair at his poverty and the
ill success of his forged essays and verses.]
[321] William Barford, D.D. (d. 1792)
[322] Dr. George, however, seems to have been an elegant scholar, and a
good writer of Greek and Latin verse. Some of the best specimens in the
_Musa Anglicana_ and _Musæ Etonenses_ are, if I recollect right, of his
composition. In one addressed to the Prince of Wales,
Tu destinatus imperare liberis
Parere primum,
are lines happily imitated from the Greek adage,
οὐκ ἔστιν ἄρχειν, μὴ ἀρχθέντα:
a maxim Dryden might have introduced in a tragedy and rhymed thus,
“Stoop then to rise; Ambition’s sons, they say,
Are taught to rule by learning to obey.”—V.H.
[William George, D.D., Headmaster of Eton; and Provost of King’s College,
Cambridge, in 1743. He died in 1756. His wife was Miss Bland, daughter of
his predecessor at Eton.
Lord Holland’s quotation is obscure, and is, besides, scarcely legible.
It is suggested that ἄρχε πρῶτον μυθὼν ἄρχεσθαι was the line which he had
in mind.]
[323] [Lord Henry Spencer (1770-1795), second son of George, fourth Duke
of Marlborough, and Lady Caroline Russell, daughter of John, fourth Duke
of Bedford.]
[324] He died, Deputy-Paymaster of the Navy, in 1827.—V.H.