Chapter C (2)

Grand rejoicings in honour of this reconciliation. Lady Cowper goes to
congratulate the Prince and Princess: ‘The square full of coaches, the
guards before the door, everything gay and laughing, everybody
kissing, and wishing of joy. When I wished the Prince joy he embraced
me, with all his old heartiness, five or six times, and the Princess
burst into a loud laugh, and said: “Sir, I do think you two always
kiss on great occasions.” All the town feignedly or unfeignedly happy.
I kissed Lord Cowper on coming home, and said: “Well, I thank God your
head is your own, and that is more than could be said six months
ago.”’ And then she alludes to all the intrigues that were being
carried on, and says: ‘There was not a rogue in the town but was
engaged in some scheme and project to undo his country.’

The King still very distant to his son and daughter-in-law (with
occasional variations of humour), and speaking of the pending change
of Ministry, asked angrily if the Whigs could not come back, without
the Prince of Wales. We have mentioned in Lord Cowper’s life how many
overtures were made to him to return and resume office on the return
of the Whigs to power. He came to his wife’s bedside one Sunday
morning to let his ‘dear girl’ into his secrets,—how that he had
thought with her to take service again, and that he had always
considered a reconciliation so necessary, that it would help to make
everything in its own condition again. And ‘I did think to accept of
that offer made me, of my friend Kingston’s place, who has behaved
himself so shamefully to me, that it would be a piece of justice upon
him.’ But that, on further consideration, all his reasons for quitting
office subsisted still. ‘I am old and infirm, and rich enough, and am
resolved not to enslave myself to any power upon earth. At
five-and-fifty it is time to think of making life easy. My infirmities
will not let me struggle with knaves and fools. My tranquillity will
content me more than all they can give me, under their power and
influence.’ His wife said all she could to dissuade him from this
decision, and he agreed with some of her arguments, but declared he
thought any reproach better than the loss of his tranquillity, and
that his resolution was taken. But to show he was not out of humour,
he would ask for the key which had been promised Lady Cowper, and that
he would accept a place in the Cabinet, but neither place nor pension,
for he was resolved to live a freeman and an Englishman.

We have inserted this characteristic speech of Lord Cowper’s here,
rather than in the notice appropriated to him, because it was made in
private to his wife, and is recorded in her Diary. No wonder that
after such a conversation, Lady Cowper was often tempted to answer the
Princess and others with some degree of asperity when they insinuated
that her lord was a place-hunter. The day before the new Ministry came
in, she was in attendance on the Princess, and the new Lord Chancellor
was there. ‘I dare say, Lady Cowper,’ said Her Royal Highness,
laughing, ‘you are glad to see the purse in that hand.’ ‘Yes, truly,’
she replied; ‘I am right glad, and hope it will remain there until
that hand is as weary of it as ours was.’

Diary.—‘Lord Cowper invited to the ministerial dinner; does not mean
to go. Great hugging and kissing between the two old and the two new
Ministers. They walk all four with their arms round one another to
show they are all one.’ Now, though Lord Cowper could not be persuaded
to change his resolution as regarded himself, he was most desirous to
obtain the post of Mistress of the Robes for his wife, to whom the
Princess had promised it, and who seemed best fitted by position,
politics, and character, in all the Court. But the King wished the
Duchess of St. Albans to remain, and that lady had ‘locked up the key
in her cabinet, and did not intend to resign, unless compelled to do
so.’ Lord Cowper waited several times on the Princess with the
intention of urging his wife’s claim, but Her Royal Highness gave him
no opportunity, and the lady was sorely aggrieved. ‘The Princess not
willing to give me the key, yet she promised it. And when the King
asked for some one else, she said: “Remember the obligations I am
under to Lady Cowper, no one else can have it.” But now, she says,
“Lady D. [Deloraine?] will be disobliged.” What claim has she?—is it
for flying all over Richmond with the Prince?’

‘A new clamour for the Duchess of St. Albans. I am quite sick of this
usage. Why did the Princess promise me the key, if she had not the
power to give it? To what purpose such dissimulation? Sure she thought
me a tame fool, who was to be easily imposed on, and who had not her
interest at heart. The Germans used to call her, “Une grande
comédienne:” I say no; if actors played their parts in such a manner
they would be hissed off the stage, and must starve. She has
disobliged the two best friends she ever had.’ Here follows a little
bit of natural petulance. ‘There is indeed a great advantage in going
to the drawing-room to be used as ill as Lord Sunderland pleases; he
has undoubtedly taken care to betray his master for at least thirty
pieces of silver; it were well if he would follow out the whole
example, and go and hang himself.’ Alas for the change in Mary
Cowper’s opinion of Caroline of Anspach, and her surroundings! She
gives us a sarcastic speech made by the Archbishop of Canterbury
(Wake), showing to the Princess his opinion of the state of public
matters and public men at that crisis, which we therefore insert:—

‘Madam, we must now wish ourselves and the world joy. First of this
happy reconciliation, and next of the honour, integrity, and
disinterestedness of the Ministers, as well as their wisdom and
virtue. They would be matchless were they not equalled by the two
great governors of this Court, Townshend and Walpole. What glorious
things must we not expect from the conduct of the first in the
Ministry and the two last here? What happiness for the people to be
under such directors! and what a glorious figure we must make all the
world over when we are influenced by such counsels!’

‘No, sure, my Lord,’ answered the Princess, somewhat meekly; ‘those
men are not our only advisers—what do you make of Lord Cowper?’

‘Oh! madam,’ replied the Archbishop, ‘he is not fit to be put on a
level with such great men.’ Then the Archbishop asked her plainly if
the Duchess of St. Albans was to have the key?

‘No, never!’ she said; ‘though she is always tormenting me about it.’

‘My Lord into the country for good; leaves me to get everything ready.
Busy packing all day. The Princess asks why Lord Cowper leaves London;
and answer, “To avoid importunity, and be quiet.” “And what makes you
go so soon?” “Because he commands me, madam, and I have nothing to do
but to obey.”’

The Cowpers still kept up their friendship with Baron Bernstorff, who
was himself subject to the most capricious treatment in high places,
and the German Baron, and the Lady-in-Waiting had many long
discussions on political matters.

They were agreed on many subjects, and above all in abhorrence of the
South Sea Scheme, which was then the great topic of the day. ‘Go into
the country, nothing material there.’ But she ‘came back to go to the
birthday of our most gracious King.’ ‘Waited on the Princess to Court,
where was one of the greatest crowds I ever saw; it being greatly
increased by our new Lords and Masters of the South Sea, who had more
court made to them than the Ministers themselves.’

As a climax to the confusion that reigned between the rival Courts,
the Lord Chamberlain, the Duke of Newcastle, chose to celebrate His
Majesty’s birthday-night by getting drunk, in consequence of which the
ladies of the Princess’s household had no places, but ‘stood in the
heat and crowd all night.’ The Duchess of Shrewsbury scolded aloud,
which only elicited insulting answers from the great official, and so
indignant were the Princess’s ladies, that they all went home, with
the exception of my Lady Dorset.

Here is another mention of the Chamberlain: ‘Newcastle stood before me
both day and night. If I had not seen his face I should have known who
it was, it being his peculiarity to turn his back upon those he has
any obligations to.’ Another incident in Lady Cowper’s Court life
shows the Princess of Wales could be flippant as well as capricious,
but her attendant was a match for her. ‘She had a mind to be out of
humour with me, and put on a frown. The King turned his back to me who
was playing. But a sudden curiosity took him, and he turned his face
round, and had his eyes fixed on me all night so intently, without
being angry, that it was talked about. The Princess said to me next
morning, that the King could not help liking me as well as ever; and
that she saw plainly by his manner that I could do what I pleased, and
that it was my own fault if I did not rule them all. I answered, for
the thing itself I did not believe it at all, and, supposing it were
true, power was too dear bought when one was to do such dishonourable
work for it.’

_July 5._—‘My waiting concluded without my having had any opportunity
of saying one word to the Princess alone, without the door being
open;’—her Royal mistress, whom she so much loved, and by whom, but a
short time ago, she had been trusted, and consulted on every subject,
public or private. It is probable Lady Cowper found much truth in a
passage in one of the Duchess of Marlborough’s letters to her, though,
as far as one could tell, her Grace’s taste did not always incline to
private life! ‘I don’t wonder that you find it melancholy to be away
from your Lord and children, for though the Princess is very easy and
obliging,’—this was as early as 1716,—‘I think any one who has common
sense or honesty must needs be weary of everything one meets with at
Court. I have seen a good many, and lived in them many years, but I
protest I was never pleased but when I was a child; and after I had
been a maid of honour some time at fourteen I wished myself out of the
Court as much as I wished to come into it before I knew what it was.’

We have been tempted step by step into lengthening our record of Mary,
the first Countess Cowper, not only because we have authentic records
of herself, and the Court she adorned, from her own pen, but because
in those records we find so much nature and simplicity of style, so
many evidences of her sterling qualities, her many accomplishments and
excellent judgment, the whole tempered by playful sallies and
pardonable petulance. A modest and well-conducted woman in a vicious
Court, and uncontaminated by the immorality of those with whom she was
compelled to associate; the worthy wife of a good and great man, whose
loss she could not endure. She closed his eyes, and four months
afterwards she once more lay by his side in their last resting-place.

Lord Cowper died in October 1723, and ‘in the latter end of December,’
says Lady Sarah Cowper, ‘my mother grew much weaker, and extremely
ill. She lost her appetite, and at times her memory, so that she would
speak of my father as if living, ask for him, and expect him home.
When she recollected his death, it was with so lively a grief as if it
had just happened. In short, she had really what is so often talked
of, so seldom seen, a broken heart. She died on the 5th of February
1724.’

She expected him home; he did not come, and so she went to join him in
‘the Court of Heaven.’

------------------

_No. 6._

WILLIAM VISCOUNT FORDWICH, AFTERWARDS SECOND EARL COWPER, SON AND HEIR
OF THE LORD CHANCELLOR.

_Blue velvet coat. White cravat. Powder._

------------------

_No. 7._

MRS. GORE.

_White flowered brocade. Lace cap._

She was the wife of Charles Gore, Esq. Her daughter married George,
third Earl Cowper, whose acquaintance they made at Florence, where Mr.
Gore and his family were residing.

------------------

_No. 8._

GEORGIANA CAROLINA, SECOND WIFE OF THE SECOND EARL COWPER.

_Grey gown. Blue bows._

BORN 1716, DIED 1780.

SHE was the younger daughter of John Lord Carteret, afterwards Earl
Granville. Her sponsors were King George II. and his Queen, hence her
baptismal names. In 1733-4 a contemporary paper announces her
marriage:—‘The bride, a beautiful young lady, with a portion of
£30,000, to the Hon. John Spencer, brother to the Duke of Marlborough,
and grandson to Sarah, Duchess Dowager of Marlborough.’ John, or
‘Jack,’ as he was familiarly called, was one of those reckless
spirits, who, in the days of which we are speaking, went by the name
of ‘Rattlebrains,’ being very wilful, merry, extravagant, and the best
company in the world! Better to laugh, talk, or drink, than to
transact any business with. By this description it will be seen that
between him and his aged grandmother there were many points of
resemblance, and in consequence the Duchess was very partial to her
scapegrace grandson. They fell out, it must be confessed, over and
over again, but Jack always contrived to coax, cajole, or joke himself
back into favour. On one festive occasion, when Sarah was presiding at
the head of her own table at Althorp, supported by a crowd of
daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, and what not, in the pride of
wealth, relationship, and splendid surroundings, she said aloud, ‘Here
am I, the root, encircled by my branches.’

‘True,’ says mischievous Jack, at the bottom of the table, in a
whisper to his neighbour; ‘pity that the root should not be in its
proper place, under ground.’ The young man to whom the sally was
addressed was thrown into such convulsions of laughter that the
Duchess’s curiosity was aroused, and she insisted on knowing the cause
of so much mirth. Few people dared to gainsay the aged virago, and
certainly not this timid youth; thus questioned, he had neither the
courage nor the imagination for a false or evasive answer, and he
blurted out the bare truth. The Duchess rose in a fury. ‘Leave the
room, Jack,’ said she; ‘leave the house, and never darken my doors
again.’ The culprit obeyed with an air of mock submission, and on
reaching the door he turned, and with a profound salutation, quitted
the apartment. But in another moment his head appeared above the sill
of the window, which was open. He cleared it at a bound, vaulted into
the room, and knelt at his grandmother’s feet. It was the window, not
the door! A perfect reconciliation ensued; and so completely was Jack
forgiven, that the Duchess settled a considerable annuity on him,
pending the large fortune and estates he would inherit by her will, in
addition to those left in trust for him by his grandfather the Duke.

Mrs. Delany, in her amusing diaries and letters, published of late
years by Lady Llanover, to whom many thanks are due for the same,
speaks constantly of her cousin Georgiana Granville, with an obvious
pride in the relationship. She says, in writing to her sister, ‘You
will expect to hear some account of our cousin Spencer. The marriage
took place between eight and nine o’clock at night. The guests were
very distinguished,—the Dukes and Duchesses of Marlborough and
Bedford, Sir Robert and Lady Worsley, the bride’s grandparents, and
numerous members of their family, Lord Morpeth, Colonel Montagu, etc.
etc. After they were married, they played a pool of commerce, then
retired between twelve and one, and went next day to Windsor Lodge.
They are to return on Monday, to what was Mr. Percival’s lodging in
Conduit Street. Georgiana was dressed in white satin, embroidered in
silver, her laces very fine, and the jewels the Duchess of Marlborough
gave her, magnificent. Frequent allusions are made by the writers of
the day to these famous jewels in which Mrs. Spencer ‘sparkled.’ Then
follows a catalogue of the bride’s wedding bravery, of laces and linen
very fine, and flowered silks, such as would rouse the envy of many a
lover of old brocade in modern times; a pink and silver poudesoy, a
blue damask night-gown, and rich brocades, all stiff with embroidery.

John Spencer dying, his widow contracted a second marriage with Lord
Cowper, and Mrs. Delany speaks of the union as being a very happy one,
for ‘Georgiana is much attached to her new Lord and his children, and
it is warmly reciprocated.’ Horace Walpole, in describing the gorgeous
sight which the coronation of George III. and his Queen presented,
gives an amusing account of the preparations for the same among the
ladies: how several were dressed overnight, and reposed in armchairs,
with watchers beside them to wake up the sleepers when in danger of
ruffling their garments or tumbling their headdresses. Walpole
conveyed Ladies Townshend, Hervey, Hertford, and Anne Conolly, with
Mrs. Clive, to see the show in his deputy’s house at the gate of
Westminster Hall. Says Lady Townshend, ‘I should like to go to a
coronation, for I have never seen one.’ ‘Why,’ remarked Horace, ‘you
walked at the last.’ ‘Yes, child,’ was the candid reply, ‘but I saw
nothing; I only looked to see who was looking at me.’ There seemed to
have been a great stir among the Countesses, who all objected to
associate with Lady Macclesfield. Horace again: ‘My heraldry was much
more offended with the ladies who did walk, than with those who walked
out of place, but I was not so furiously angry as my Lady Cowper. She
flatly refused at first to set a foot with my Lady Macclesfield, and
when at last compelled to do so she set out at a round trot’ (to
distance her companion?), ‘as if she designed to prove the antiquity
of her family by walking as lustily as a maid of honour of Queen
Guinevere.’ Mrs. Delany writes later on, ‘Lady Cowper is very much
pleased at her son being made an Earl, and all the more as the honour
was entirely unsolicited.’ Lord Spencer was a generous and dutiful
son, and when his mother once more became a widow, he gave her a
charming house at Richmond, fully furnished, where she was very
hospitable to Mrs. Delany and that branch of her family, as well as to
the relations and connections of both her husbands. Here her ‘cousin’
frequently mentions meeting Lady Spencer and her mother, Mrs. Poyntz,
Anne Maria Mordaunt, who had been maid of honour to Queen Caroline,
and governess to the Duke of Cumberland. Lady Cowper’s letters are
lively and genial. In one, dated New Year’s Day, she says, ‘Last
evening came Lord Montagu (only son of the Earl of Cardigan, created
Baron Montagu). He spent most of the evening alone with me, and I
played on the guitar, and sang to him. I hope we may not be talked
about, for he is quite alive, I assure you, although he is fourscore
struck, as the Duchess of Marlborough used to say.’ Georgiana retained
her good looks to a very advanced age, for Mrs. Delany says, not long
before her death, ‘I saw Lady Cowper yesterday. She is still the
Glastonbury Rose.’ During her last illness, which was of some
duration, her daughter-in-law, Lady Spencer, was unremitting in her
attentions, driving over daily from her home at Wimbledon to Richmond,
sometimes twice in the twenty-four hours, and often passing the night
by the sufferer’s bedside.

------------------

_No. 9._

LADY SARAH COWPER.

_Black gown. Pink ribbons._

DIED 1758.

THE daughter of the first Earl, Lord Chancellor Cowper, by his second
wife, Mary Clavering. Mrs. Delany in her lively and good-natured
gossip makes frequent mention of Lady Sarah, with whom she became well
acquainted, her ‘cousin Carteret’ being Lady Sarah’s sister-in-law.
This was Georgiana Carteret, Lady Cowper, of whom we have just given a
notice.

‘I envy you, says Mrs. Delany, writing to a friend, ‘for living in the
neighbourhood. There is quite a happy nest of brothers and sisters.
Lady Sarah has taken a little cottage to be near Lord Cowper, to whom
she is tenderly attached. We had a delightful day when we drank tea at
Panshanger, and we walked through a beautiful wood, Mrs. Poyntz and
her daughter being of the party. Her daughter had married Lord
Spencer, Lady Cowper’s son by her first husband. Lord and Lady Cowper
took us to Cole Green, a good large house, with nothing in it except,
oh! such a picture!’ This is an allusion to the magnificent portrait,
by Vandyck, of Count John of Nassau Siegen and his family. Lady Sarah
did not long enjoy the facilities which her little cottage afforded of
constant intercourse with her relatives. She fell into bad health,
which entailed great suffering, and died in 1758, making a sad gap in
the happy family circle.

------------------

_No. 10._

LADY CAROLINE SEYMOUR.

_Low black gown. White sleeves._

Daughter of the second Earl Cowper by his first wife. Married to Henry
Seymour, Esq.

------------------

_No. 11._

WILLIAM LAMB, SECOND VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.

_Dark coat. Blue tie._

BY PARTRIDGE.

PASSAGE OPPOSITE LADY COWPER’S BOUDOIR.

SIR PENISTON LAMB, FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.

_Head in pastel._

BORN 1745, DIED 1828.

HE was the son of Sir Matthew Lamb of Brocket Hall, county Hertford
(originally in the possession of the Winnington family), by Charlotte,
daughter of the Right Honourable Thomas Coke, and sister and heir of
Charles Coke, who died suddenly at Geneva, leaving a very large
fortune. Sir Peniston Lamb, besides inheriting half a million at his
father’s death, came in for a considerable sum, the savings of his
uncle, the Bishop of Peterborough, and to his accumulated wealth he
added considerably by his alliance with the beautiful heiress, Miss
Milbanke, in 1769.

He was a member of the House of Commons for many years; and in 1770 he
was created an Irish Peer by the title of Baron Melbourne of Kilmore,
county Cavan; in 1780 he was made a Viscount. He was handsome,
gentlemanlike, genial, fond of the country and of sport, but had no
love for study. On the contrary, he was illiterate for a man in his
position; and one or two of his early love-letters to the celebrated
actress, Mrs. Baddeley, have been quoted as examples of bad grammar
and spelling. He was very popular in society, both in London and the
country. But, for his own taste, he preferred his shooting or hunting
parties to the brilliant reunions of Melbourne House, and was the idol
of the neighbourhood round Brocket. He sat in the House of Commons for
many years, but when his eldest son was old enough, he willingly made
way for ‘Pen.’ He was one of the most indulgent of husbands, as we
have said in Lady Melbourne’s Life, and used to declare he had given
his wife her dowry back in diamonds. He was a most tender father, his
health being much affected at the time by his son Peniston’s untimely
death. The Prince of Wales prevailed on him to turn part of his park
into a race-course, for he was easily persuaded to comply with the
wishes of others, and was very kind to his eccentric daughter, Lady
Caroline Lamb, who was fond of him in her own peculiar way. Lord
Melbourne survived his wife some years, and died peacefully; carefully
and tenderly nursed by his son William, and his daughter, Lady Cowper.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

CORRIDOR.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

CORRIDOR.

-------

_No. 1._

HEAD BY REMBRANDT.

------------------

_No. 2._

MALE PORTRAIT. UNKNOWN.

_Black suit and cap. White ruff._

BY FERDINAND BOL.

------------------

_No. 3._

MALE PORTRAIT. UNKNOWN.

_Black and white dress. White ruff. Coat of arms in corner._

BY PORBUS THE ELDER.

------------------

_No. 4._

MISS JACKSON.

_Fawn-coloured frock. Large straw hat lying on the ground._

BY WILLIAM JACKSON, R.A.

SHE was the daughter of the artist, who was born in 1730 at Exeter,
where his father was a tradesman. Began life as a musician and teacher
of music, but took to painting, and became a Royal Academician. He at
first tried his hand at landscapes, but preferring portraiture, became
a skilful copyist, being especially successful in the works of Sir
Joshua Reynolds, and Gainsborough, who was very friendly to him.
Jackson died in 1803.

------------------

_No. 5._

LADY OF THE HOUSE OF NASSAU.

_Black dress braided with gold. White bow. Stand-up ruff._

------------------

_No. 6._

ANNE, COUNTESS COWPER. A HEAD.

SHE was the daughter of Charles Gore, who resided with his wife and
family at Florence, where Lord Cowper (the third Earl) made her
acquaintance, and married her. Mrs. Delany mentions her cousin, Lady
Cowper, having received a commission from the betrothed lover to buy
jewels for his intended; at the same time he sends his stepmother a
portrait in water-colours of Miss Gore, as a Savoyard peasant. ‘Pretty
enough, but I should think it cannot do her justice, as it certainly
does not answer to her reputation for great beauty.’ She became one of
the leaders of the brilliant society at Florence, where she was very
much admired, particularly at the Grand-Ducal Court. She survived her
husband many years, living for the most part in a villa outside the
walls, where she died at an advanced age. Lady Cowper was said to have
been much imposed upon, and even robbed by her dependants in her
latter days.

------------------

_No. 7._

THREE CHILDREN OF THE FIRST EARL COWPER, LORD CHANCELLOR.

_The eldest, who is standing, is dressed in a red frock and white
skirt. The two younger children, who are sitting, are in pink,
with white pinafores._

------------------

_No. 8._

JARICH VAN BOTNIA.

_Black suit, trimmed with ermine._

He was ancestor of Lady Henrietta Auverquerque, first wife of the
second Earl Cowper.

------------------

_No. 9._

LADY. UNKNOWN.

_Black and white dress. Cap._

------------------

_No. 10._

LUITS VAN BOTNIA.

_Black and white gown. Ruff. Peaked cap. Gold chain._

She was the daughter of Jarich Van Botnia, and wife of Louve Van
Walta.

------------------

_No. 11._

HENRY BENNET, EARL OF ARLINGTON, HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER.

BORN 1618, DIED 1685.

BY SIR PETER LELY.

THE family was settled in Berkshire, when, towards the close of the
sixteenth century, two brothers Bennet went to London, and
respectively made their fortunes by successful commercial
undertakings. From the elder descended a certain Sir John Bennet,
living at Dawley, county Middlesex, who married Dorothy, daughter of
Sir John Crofts of Saxham, county Norfolk. The subject of this notice
was their second son. He was educated under the paternal roof till he
went to Oxford, and was entered a student at Christ Church, where he
took his degree as B.A. and M.A., and was much esteemed both as
scholar and poet. He remained some time at the University, where he
was still a resident when the Court arrived in 1644.

He was presented to King Charles, and soon after entered the army as a
volunteer. Lord Digby, then Secretary of State, took a fancy to young
Bennet, and appointed him Under-Secretary. But this post did not
interfere with his military duties; he was ever in the field ‘when
honour called,’ and was so severely wounded at Andover, in an
engagement near that town, as to be invalided for a long time. He was
indeed dangerously ill, and there is little doubt that it was in one
of these encounters that he received the scar by which he is so well
known in all his portraits.

Deeply attached to the Royal cause, on the termination of the war
Bennet went to France, and on into Germany and Italy, never losing
sight of the hope of once more joining and serving the house of
Stuart. In 1649 he was summoned to Paris by James Duke of York, to
fill the post of private secretary.

King Charles, writing to his brother, says: ‘You must be very kind to
Harry Bennet, and communicate freely with him, for as you are sure
that he is full of duty and integrity to you, so I must tell you that
I shall trust him more than any about you, and cause him to be
instructed in those businesses of mine, when I cannot write to you
myself.’

In 1658 Sir Henry Bennet, Knight, was sent as Ambassador to Madrid.
Clarendon says it was at the instigation of Lord Bristol, but at this
time there was strife between the new ambassador and his former
patron. Henry Bennet, with all the zeal that usually characterises a
recent convert to Catholicism, was very anxious that his Royal master
should make his profession to the same faith, whereas Digby, or rather
the Earl of Bristol (as he had become), though himself a Roman
Catholic, considered that such a step would be ruinous to Charles’s
interests. Great bitterness in consequence existed between Bristol and
Bennet, increased by the jealousy excited in the mind of the former
with regard to the latter’s mission, being under the impression that
he himself was far better fitted for the post.

Sir Henry, however, seems to have pleased most parties in his
diplomatic capacity; and at the Restoration the King gave him the
office of Privy Purse, and made him his constant companion. Bennet was
well calculated to suit the taste of the Merry Monarch. Burnet tells
us he had the art of observing the King’s humour, and hitting it off,
beyond all the men of his time; and Clarendon gives us a clue to one
of the reasons, when he mentions that ‘Bennet filled a principal
place, to all intents and purposes, at the nightly meetings’ (alluding
to the King’s jovial suppers in Lady Castlemaine’s apartments), ‘added
to which, he was most lively and sparkling in conversation.’

In 1662 Charles bribed Sir Edward Nicholas to resign his Secretaryship
of State (and that with a considerable sum), that he might bestow the
vacant post on his favourite. The contrast between Bennet’s entire
submission to the Royal will, and the honest rectitude of the
Chancellor (Clarendon), increased the King’s dislike to that worthy
servant of the Crown, on whose downfall Bennet rose still higher.

In 1663 he was raised to the Peerage as Lord Arlington, whereupon
Clarendon threw some ridicule on the choice of the title, taken from
an obscure village in Middlesex, which had once belonged to Bennet’s
father, but was now in the possession of another family.

While at the head of public affairs, no measures of any importance
were undertaken, with the exception of the first Dutch war.

In 1670 was formed the famous Cabal Ministry (spoken of more fully in
our notice of Lord Shaftesbury) which Arlington consented to join, and
of which his title formed one of the initials.

So notoriously now did he consult the King’s wishes rather than the
public good, that he was rewarded in 1672 by the dignity of Baron
Thetford and Earl of Arlington, and later invested with the Garter. He
was sent on an embassy to Utrecht, in company with the Duke of
Buckingham and Lord Halifax (which was productive of no good results),
and afterwards turned his attention to the overthrow of the Cabal, in
the breaking up of which he was most instrumental. He however fell
into great disrepute with both Catholics and Protestants about this
time, the Duke of York (on the passing of the Test Act) loading him
with every kind of abuse, while the opposite side charged him with
endeavouring to introduce Popery.

The Duke of Buckingham was loud in censure of Lord Arlington, who was
impeached, and, after making a long defence, acquitted by a small
majority. He held office for some time longer, and advocated a treaty
of peace with the Dutch, but soon after resigned office, having
received (it was said) a _douceur_ from his successor of several
thousands.

In 1674 he was named Chamberlain of the Household, in recompense (so
ran the Royal declaration) ‘of his long and faithful services, and
particularly of his having discharged the office of principal
Secretary of State to his Majesty’s entire satisfaction.’

Lord Arlington’s wish to be again employed in public affairs was not
gratified till 1675, when he once more went on a diplomatic mission to
Holland, in company with the Earl of Ossory. Lady Arlington and Lady
Ossory were sisters, and members of the house of Nassau. This was his
last appearance in public life. Burnet says that ‘Arlington entirely
mistook the character of William, Prince of Orange,’ with whom he had
to deal, speaking to him in a dictatorial manner, which was not at all
agreeable to that Prince, although he was then young in years.
Arlington still held a place in the Royal household, but he had fallen
into disgrace, and the King encouraged and enjoyed any jest, or
ridicule, at the expense of his former boon companion. Nothing
delighted Charles more than to see some of his courtiers put a black
patch upon their noses, and strut about with a long white staff, in
imitation of ‘Harry Bennet.’

James II. did not remove him from his post in the household, but he
only survived the new accession a few months, dying in July 1685.

Lord Arlington was buried at Euston, in Suffolk; his wife was the
daughter of Lewis de Nassau, Count of Beverwoort and Auverquerque (a
natural son of Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange), by Elizabeth,
Countess Horn. She had two sisters, Mauritia, married to Colin, Earl
of Balcarres, and the second to the gallant Earl of Ossory. An only
child was born to Lord and Lady Arlington,—Isabella, who married in
1672 Henry Fitzroy, natural son of Barbara Villiers, Duchess of
Cleveland, afterwards created Earl of Euston and Duke of Grafton.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

LARGE DINING-ROOM.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

LARGE DINING-ROOM.

_All the pictures in this room are full-length portraits by Vandyck._

-------

_No. 1._

ANNE LADY RICH.

_Black dress. White sleeves. Gold-coloured scarf. Curls. Standing
by a table near a window. Dark red curtain._

BY VANDYCK.

SHE was the only daughter of William, second Earl of Devonshire, by
his wife, Lady Christian Bruce, renowned alike for her loyalty, her
wisdom, and her wealth. Lady Anne Cavendish married Robert, Lord Rich,
son and heir to Robert, Earl of Warwick.

------------------

_No. 2._

PHILIP, LORD WHARTON.

_Red doublet embroidered with gold. Dark red breeches. Yellow boots.
Hat under his arm. Holds a stick. Red curtain and garden in the
background._

BORN 1613.

BY VANDYCK.

THE family of Wharton derive the name from a ‘fair lordship’ on the
river Eden, county Westmoreland.

Grainger, in speaking of this picture in the Wrest collection, says of
Lord Wharton that he was in the service of the Parliament during the
civil war in the reign of Charles I., but that courage was undoubtedly
not his shining point. ‘Like his grandson Duke Wharton, he could
better exercise his tongue than his sword.’

Walker says of him, that at the battle of Edgehill, where he was the
colonel of a regiment of Roundheads, his Lordship was found hidden in
a ditch, but we are bound to take such testimonies _cum grano_. He was
the fourth Baron, of decidedly puritanical views, and, whether a good
soldier or not, he was constantly with the army, and his political
life was an eventful one. He sat in Parliament for many years, and was
summoned to attend the treaty of Ripon, together with several other
Peers, among those who were the least obnoxious at that time to the
popular party. Lord Wharton was also one of the so-called
Commissioners who went to Edinburgh at the meeting of the Scotch
Parliament. After the Restoration he was sent to the Tower, together
with the Duke of Buckingham and Lords Salisbury and Shaftesbury,
‘charged with contempt of the authority, and being, of Parliament,’
for having called in question the Parliament meeting after a very long
prorogation. In this case the Duke of Buckingham petitioned the King,
and the captive Peers were soon set at liberty, with the exception of
Lord Shaftesbury. But Lord Wharton’s chief characteristic seems to
have been his high esteem of the matrimonial state, since he married
three times. His first wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Richard
Wandesford, Knight, in the county of York, by whom he had an only
daughter, married to Robert Bertie, Lord Willoughby d’Eresby,
afterwards Earl of Lindsay. His second wife was Jane, daughter and
heir to Arthur Goodwin, upper Winchenden, county Bucks, by whom he had
six children. His third spouse was the daughter of William Carre,
Groom of the Bedchamber to James I., who was widow of Edward Popham.
By her he had one son, William, killed in a duel.

------------------

_No. 3._

MADAM KIRKE.

_Tawny-coloured gown. White sleeves with lace. Pearl necklace. Fair
curls. Standing by a table. Garden in the background._

BY VANDYCK.

SHE was one of the dressers to Queen Henrietta Maria,—‘a situation for
which she competed with Mistress Neville,’ says Grainger, and gained
the preference. When King Charles I. left Hampton Court, he desired
Colonel Whalley to give Mistress Kirke a picture of the Queen, which
appeared to betoken she had been faithful to their Majesties in times
of trouble.

------------------

_No. 4._

PORTRAIT OF A MAN UNKNOWN.

_Dressed in black._

BY VANDYCK.

------------------

_No. 5._

THREE BROTHERS OF THE HOUSE OF BALBI.

_They are standing on a flight of steps between two columns, feeding a
bird. The eldest wears a red and gold doublet, red stockings,
white collar and cuffs, holding a black hat. The second boy in a
black and gold suit, holds his youngest brother by the hand, who
is dressed in a white and gold frock._

BY VANDYCK.

THIS charming picture was bought by the grandfather of the present
Lord Cowper, Lord de Grey, but we are unable to identify the children,
or the date at which it was painted, doubtless during one of Vandyck’s
visits to Genoa; neither have we any authority for the supposition,
but it appears more than probable that the beautiful Marchesa Balbi,
in Mr. Holford’s splendid collection at Dorchester House, is the
mother or sister-in-law of these noble boys.

------------------

_No. 6._

DIEGO MESIA FELIPE DE GUZMAN, MARQUEZ DE LEGANES.

_Black dress. White collar. Order._

BY VANDYCK.

HE was the son of Diego Mesia de Obando, by Elizabeth, daughter of the
Count D’Olvares. From early youth he showed an aptitude for military
and diplomatic affairs; and in 1626 he was created Marquez de Leganes,
and sent by Philip IV. in command of the Spanish forces in the
Netherlands; and the ensuing year the King further employed him in
negotiations respecting the proposed annexation to Spain of some of
the disputed Provinces. Leganes was a companion in arms of the
celebrated Cardinal Infant, Ferdinand, son of Philip III., by whose
side he fought at Nordlingen, and contributed not a little to that
decisive victory gained by the Imperialists over the Swedes and Duke
Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar. It was in allusion to this battle that the
pious Canon Antonio Calderon, in his funeral oration on the Cardinal,
after extolling the virtues and valour of this warlike prelate,
reminded his hearers that Nordlingen was the place ‘where the heretic
Luther preached his most pestilential doctrines.’ On the death of the
Archduchess Clara Eugenia, Ferdinand succeeded to the Government of
the Spanish Netherlands, and thither Leganes followed him, but was
summoned to Milan in 1636, on his appointment as Governor of that
city. Northern Italy was at that time the theatre of constant warfare,
and Leganes distinguished himself in frequent encounters with the
French, the Piedmontese, and the Savoyards. The Valteline especially
was torn by internal discord, the result of religious differences
between the Protestants and the Catholics; while the position of the
country made it an object of desire and contention among foreign
powers. Leganes had his hands full in that direction, both as regarded
military operations and negotiations with the French, who disputed the
territory. On the death of the Duke of Savoy, the Emperor Ferdinand
employed the Milanese Governor to oppose the election of the widowed
Duchess as Regent for her son’s dominions; after which Leganes invaded
Piedmont, took Vercelli, Asti, Crescentine, and some smaller towns;
marched on Turin, where he was unsuccessful; and then attacked Casale,
a stronghold of much importance, where he was beaten back with great
loss by the French, under Comte Simon d’Harcourt. This failure was a
source of terrible mortification to the Spanish General; but the
future had consolation in store for him. His Italian campaign at an
end; he marched into Catalonia, and there had his revenge on his old
enemies, and the Comte d’Harcourt himself, by wresting from them the
town of Lerida, which had been some time in the occupation of the
French. While thus engaged in active service, intrigues were being
carried on at the Court of Spain against Leganes, and imputations were
cast on his military conduct, from which he had great difficulty in
defending himself. In spite, however, of the machinations of his
enemies, he was named Generalissimo of the Forces, and despatched
against the Portuguese in 1646. His death took place in 1655. He had
to wife Philippina, daughter of the famous commander, Ambrogio
Spinola, who had done such gallant service for the Spaniards in the
Netherlands and elsewhere. In the wars of Northern Italy he had been
less successful; and the mortification he experienced from several
discomfitures, combined with the slights put upon him by the reigning
King of Spain, from whose predecessor he had received the highest
marks of favour, was said to have accelerated the death of the great
commander.

In the collection of the engraved portraits by Vandyck there is a
spirited likeness of the Marquis de Leganes, with a Latin inscription
enumerating his many titles. In addition to those already mentioned,
he was Lord of the Bedchamber to the King of Spain, Grand Commander of
the Order of the Lion, Privy Councillor of State and War, President of
the Council in Flanders, and Captain-General of Artillery.

------------------

_No. 7._

ELIZABETH, COUNTESS OF SOUTHAMPTON.

_White satin gown. Blue scarf. Pearl necklace. Fair hair. Landscape
seen through window in the background._

BY VANDYCK.

SHE was the daughter of John Vernon of Hodnet, county Salop, and
married Henry Wriothesley, third Earl of Southampton, brother in arms
of Robert, Earl of Essex, under whom he served in his foreign
campaigns; and in one engagement in which he had distinguished
himself, Lord Southampton was knighted by his general’s hand on the
field, ‘before he could sheathe his sword, or wipe the sweat from his
brow.’ His adhesion to Lord Essex, when that nobleman fell under her
Majesty’s displeasure, nearly cost Lord Southampton his life; but he
was more prudent than his friend, for he made submission, and asked
mercy of Elizabeth, while Essex, who disdained to follow a similar
course in his own case, interceded with the Queen for his former
comrade. Southampton’s life was spared; but he was kept a close
prisoner in the Tower till the accession of King James, when he was
set at liberty.

Lord Southampton had two sons, the eldest of whom accompanied him to
the Low Countries on military service, where they were both attacked
by fever. Young Lord Wriothesley died, to the inexpressible grief of
his father, who, travelling home with the loved remains ere he was fit
to move, was delayed by a relapse, and expired at Bergen-op-Zoom.

Lady Southampton survived her Lord many years. We hear of her, 1647,
giving shelter to King Charles on his escape from Hampton Court. She
was staying at her son’s country house, at Titchfield, in Hampshire,
where the King, who was riding for his life, thought best to take
refuge, while he sent messengers to Portsmouth to inquire for a ship
that ought to have been in waiting there, but which failed him. Lord
Southampton, a zealous loyalist, and devoted personal friend of
Charles’s, was absent from home, but his mother, the aged Countess,
was a woman of courage and fidelity, and as deeply attached to the
Royal cause as her son. To her the King felt no hesitation in
declaring himself, and claiming her protection; and in that safe
custody he remained several days, before proceeding to the Isle of
Wight, where he was retaken by the rebels.

------------------

_No. 8._

LORDS JOHN AND BERNARD STUART.

_One boy has long curling auburn hair. He wears a white satin vest,
and hose, silk stockings, and buff shoes. Blue mantle over one
shoulder; his foot is on the base of a pedestal. The other brother
wears a crimson dress, with a tawny yellow mantle over his left
arm. Dark buff boots._

BOTH killed in action, within a few years of each other. Esmé Stuart,
Duke of Richmond and Lennox, had seven sons, all of whom he survived,
and, on his death, the title merging in the person of his Royal
kinsman, Charles II., his Majesty bestowed it on his natural son, by
Louise de la Querquaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, ancestor of the
present Duke.

Lord John Stuart was the eldest son of Duke Esmé. Grainger, in his
description of the portrait in question, speaks most highly of his
noble disposition and courage, which ‘he carried indeed to rashness.’
A devoted loyalist, at the battle of Cheriton Down he was charging
up-hill in command of a troop of light horse to attack Sir William
Waller’s army, when he fell into an ambuscade, having had two horses
killed under him. He lay, pierced by innumerable wounds, amidst
hundreds of his own men; he was, however, carried off the field while
still living (as was Sir John Smith, brother to Lord Carrington), and
conveyed first to Reading, and the next day still further on the road,
in order to be within help of skilful surgeons. But the gallant youth
did not survive the second dressing of his wounds. He was buried at
Christchurch, Oxford, as was a younger brother, killed at the battle
of Edgehill. Lord Clarendon, speaking of Lord John, says that he was
early bent on a military career, being ‘of a tough and choleric
disposition,’ and caring little for the ‘softnesses of social life.’
Yet he must have been of a loveable nature, for his death was deeply
regretted. Lord Bernard was the youngest son of Duke Esmé. He
commanded the gallant troop known as the King’s Bodyguard, consisting
of the most eminent Royalists in both Houses of Parliament, and,
indeed, in all England. Their servants formed another troop under Sir
William Killigrew, and invariably followed their lords and masters to
the field. At the battle of Cropedy Bridge, where the King commanded
in person, Lord Bernard secured the safety of his Majesty, who was in
imminent peril, by charging two bodies of the Roundhead horse, and
bearing the brunt of the enemy’s cannon, by remaining stationary in an
open field, to cover the free passage of the King. He also
distinguished himself greatly at the battle of Naseby, among other
engagements, and in consideration of his services was created Earl of
Lichfield, an honour he did not long enjoy. He was killed at the
battle of Rowton Heath, near Chester, having once more come to the
assistance of his Royal master and kinsman. Young Lord Lichfield was
deeply regretted. The Duke of Richmond’s seven gallant sons all served
in the King’s army, and three of them died, like gallant Cavaliers, on
the field of battle.

------------------

_No. 9._

RACHEL, SECOND WIFE OF THOMAS, LAST EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON.

_She is seated in the clouds, habited in blue floating drapery. In her
right hand she holds a wand; her left rests on a sphere. A skull
lies at her feet._

BY VANDYCK.

HER father, the Marquis de Ruvigny, came of a noble Huguenot family in
France, and her brother was at one time head of the Protestant party
in that country. But in spite of his religious opinions, he was much
in favour, not only with Louis XIV., but also with Cardinal Mazarin.
He eventually went to England on a diplomatic mission, where he
settled with his family. One of his sons was killed at the battle of
the Boyne, the other was created Earl of Galway by William III. We do
not know the date of Rachel de Ruvigny’s marriage, but take it for
granted that young Wriothesley made her acquaintance on his first
visit to France. His elder brother dying of fever, Thomas, the second
son, succeeded to the earldom of Southampton on the death of his
father. His wife bore him two sons, who both died _v. p._, and three
daughters, the second being Rachel, the faithful and devoted wife of
William, Lord Russel, who was beheaded.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

STAIRCASE.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

STAIRCASE.

-------

_No. 1._

JOHN HUGHES.

_Violet coat. Wig._

BORN 1677, DIED 1720.

BY SIR GODFREY KNELLER.

HE was born at Marlborough, in Wiltshire, but went to London, where
his father resided, when quite young; and, being of a delicate
constitution, received his education at private schools. He showed an
early predilection for the gentle arts of poetry, music, and drawing,
yet, when he came to man’s estate, these tastes, which never left him,
did not prevent his filling the posts he held under Government with
credit, and proving himself a good man of business. He had an
appointment in the Ordnance Office, and was secretary to several
Commissions for the purchase of lands for the better securing of the
Royal Docks and Yards of Portsmouth, Chatham, and Harwich. He found
leisure in the midst of his public duties to devote a considerable
time to the acquisition of modern languages, with which he
supplemented his previous knowledge of Greek and Latin. His first
poetic effusion was inspired by the Treaty of Ryswick, and was very
popular. He wrote many translations and imitations of classical
authors, together with such productions as ‘The Court of Neptune,’—an
ode on the return of King William from Holland; and many monodies,
elegies, and panegyrics, chiefly in honour of royal personages, which
would now be considered but dreary reading. For all that he was much
esteemed by the literati of the time, being intimate with Addison,
Pope, Rowe, etc.; and Johnson tells us that Addison consulted with
him, and even at one time asked his co-operation, in the matter of his
tragedy of Cato, which, it appears, was finished, and put on the stage
at the instigation of John Hughes. He was also much favoured by men of
high standing and position, and when Lord Wharton was made
Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, he offered our author an appointment in
the sister country. Hughes declined, although at the time in very poor
circumstances; but he had another true friend and patron,—the Lord
Chancellor Cowper, in whose family he had been tutor. Lord Cowper not
only made Hughes secretary for the Commission of the Peace, but, on
his own removal from office, recommended him to the notice of his
successor. Hughes was now in comparatively affluent circumstances, but
his failing health prevented his enjoyment of life. He had consumptive
tendencies, and grew gradually weaker. His last work was a drama
entitled ‘The Siege of Damascus,’ which set the fashion of sieges
innumerable. He completed it a short time before his death, with a
dedication to Lord Cowper; but he had no strength to attend the
rehearsals, or energy to resist the emendations, alterations, and
innovations thrust upon him by the worshipful company of players. The
first night of his tragedy’s representation was the last of the
author’s life; they brought him word that ‘The Siege’ was progressing
satisfactorily; but by that time his thoughts were fixed on the new
life which was opening before him, and he made no remark, but passed
silently away. Many of his works were published during his life; many
more after his death. He was a constant contributor to the
_Spectator_, the _Guardian_, and similar periodicals; and Steele wrote
an eulogistic paper on his death. Two letters which passed between
Swift and Pope may perhaps help to enable us (if we accept their
testimony) in assigning Hughes a place as an author. The Dean writes:
‘A month ago a friend sent me over the works of John Hughes in prose
and verse. I never heard of the man in my life, yet I find your name
as a subscriber. He is far too grave a poet for me, and I think among
the mediocrists in prose, as well as verse.’ Pope replies: ‘To answer
your question about Hughes: what he wanted in genius he made up in
honesty; but he was of the class you think him.’

Only a few weeks before his death he sent Lord Cowper the picture of
which we are now treating, having been painted for him by Sir Godfrey
Kneller,—a very favourable specimen of the artist’s handiwork. Lord
Cowper acknowledges the gift in these words:—