Chapter XXVIII (2)

[54] Henry Bilson Legge, a younger son of the first Earl of Dartmouth, was at this time Chancellor of the Exchequer. It should be remembered that Mr. Legge had abandoned Lord Winchelsea, and attached himself to Mr. Pelham in the Cabinet schism of 1744. He shared, with many respectable statesmen of that day, the charge of having served several masters, the partial changes so frequently made in the Government having rendered coalitions almost inevitable, especially at a time when, owing to the decline of Jacobitism, the lines of demarcation between the different political parties had become very indistinct. None, however, with whom he acted, could deny his eminent qualifications as a man of business, or as a debater in the House of Commons on all questions of trade and finance. His political integrity is less commendable. Dodington says, that his thoughts were “_tout pour la trippe_”--all for quarter-day (Diary, 407); and has, in common with Walpole, reproached him with perfidy, in disclosing to the Duke of Newcastle the negotiations of Leicester House with the Court in 1757. The more detailed account of the transaction, since published in the posthumous memoirs of Mr. Glover, makes it far more probable that the secret was insidiously drawn from him by the Duke, whose skill in imposing on men of superior ability to his own, is one of the most remarkable traits of his character; and that Mr. Legge was very open to such arts, may reasonably be inferred, from the well-known fact of his having incurred the serious displeasure of George the Second by an indiscreet slip in conversation, when minister at Berlin. He had the laxity of principle that belonged to the school of Walpole, but there is no ground for believing him to have been actually dishonest; and Mr. Pelham, who knew him well, said, “that he thought him as good as his neighbours: more able, and as willing, to serve them that served him as anybody he had been acquainted with for some time.” Whatever may have been his delinquencies in this respect, they would certainly have been overlooked by the Court, had he added to them by adopting the course which was urged on him by Lord Bute in the Hampshire election. This is proved by their published correspondence, in which he had a great advantage over Lord Bute. When that minister had the assurance to ask him to support Sir Simeon Steuart, who had come forward on the opposite interest, he honestly answered, “If the Whigs and Dissenters, who are very numerous in this country, will make it a point of opposing him, it will be impossible for me to declare for him, and abandon those who have supported me, to take part with those against whom they have supported me.” Lord Bute’s rejoinder is admirable! he protests against any desire on the Prince’s part to require the sacrifice of Mr. Legge’s honour, but besought him out of real friendship, to consider seriously whether he could not still, as far as was in his power, co-operate with the Prince’s wishes for the return of two candidates, and required a categorical answer. This was at once given in the negative by Mr. Legge, who added, that he would submit to any consequences rather than incur such a disgrace. Hence his dismissal. See more of Mr. Legge _infra_.--E.

[55] Daniel Finch, Earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham, Knight of the Garter. Lord Winchelsea is one of the few statesmen of the reign of George the Second whose character is worthy of a purer age. He was the son of Lord Winchelsea, the great Tory leader, whose disgrace he shared when that nobleman was dismissed for espousing the cause of the Jacobite peers involved in the rebellion of 1715. He subsequently became reconciled to Sir Robert Walpole, and in 1742 was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Lord Waldegrave says of his conduct at that period, “That it was so unexceptionable that faction itself was obliged to be silent.”--Walpole Memoirs, p. 139. Horace Walpole is equally warm in his praise. This is the testimony of political friends, but it stands uncontradicted. Indeed Lord Winchelsea appears to have enjoyed the respect of all parties. His public career, to use the words of Lord Mahon, “without being illustrious, was long, useful, and honourable.” He died in 1769, aged 81.--E.

[56] William Wildman Shute Barrington, Viscount Barrington, Treasurer of the Navy.

[57] Robert Darcy, Earl of Holderness. This is an exaggeration of Lord Holderness’s incapacity; for it appears by the Mitchell papers, that he had attended closely to the business of his office, and performed it respectably. His talents, however, were not above mediocrity. His foreign connexions had recommended him to George the Second, whom he attended as Lord of the Bedchamber at the battle of Dettingen, and he was afterwards minister at Turin and at the Hague. The Duke of Newcastle succeeded in making him Secretary of State, against the opinion of Mr. Pelham, when scarcely thirty years of age. His qualifications for that high office are thus summed up by the Duke, in a letter, urging the appointment:--“He is indeed, or was thought, trifling in his manner and carriage; but believe me, he has a solid understanding, and will come out as prudent a young man as any in the kingdom. He is good-natured, so that you may tell him his faults, and he will mend them. He is very taciturn, dexterous enough, and most punctual in the execution of his orders. He is got into the routine of business, and knows well the present state of it.” (Letter from Duke of Newcastle to Mr. Pelham, in Coxe’s Life of Pelham, vol. ii. p. 387.) A portrait not less characteristic of the Duke than of Lord Holderness. His lordship married a lady of the Fagel family, and his mother was daughter of the last Duke of Schomberg. He died 1778, without issue male, and his earldom became extinct. See more of him in Walpole’s Memoirs, vol. i. p. 172; and Lord Waldegrave’s Memoirs, p. 121.--E.

[58] James Grenville, second brother of Earl Temple. He had already been Deputy Paymaster General, and one of the Lords of Trade, and, lastly, of the Treasury.--E.

[59] John Manners, Duke of Rutland, Knight of the Garter, died in 1779, at the age of 83, having survived his gallant and amiable son, the Marquis of Granby.--E.

[60] Samuel Lord Sandys, formerly the indefatigable opponent of Sir Robert Walpole; but his importance had greatly diminished since that minister’s downfall. He died in 1770.--E.

[61] Thomas Osborne, Duke of Leeds, Knight of the Garter. He married Mary, daughter and co-heir of Francis Earl of Godolphin, and died in 1783, aged 76.--E.

[62] Charles Townshend, second son of Charles Viscount Townshend.

[63] Gilbert Elliot, afterwards Sir Gilbert.

[64] George Bussy Villiers, Viscount Villiers, only son of the Earl of Jersey, whom he afterwards succeeded. He held the post of Lord Chamberlain from 1765 to 1769, and subsequently filled other high offices in the royal household. He died in August, 1805, aged 70.--E.

[65] T. Pelham, of Stanmore, afterwards Lord Pelham.

[66] George Rice married Cecil, only child of William Lord Talbot, and a great heiress. He was Lord Lieutenant of the county of Carmarthen, and a Privy Councillor. He died in 1779. The present Lord Dynevor is his son.--E.

[67] John Spencer, only son of John Spencer, brother of Charles Duke of Marlborough. He was a person of very resolute, independent spirit, and warmly attached to the Whig interest, as he too well proved at the celebrated Northampton election, which seriously impaired even his immense fortune, while it made Lord Northampton an exile for the remainder of his life, and obliged Lord Halifax to sell Horton and his principal estates. With the exception of a very brief interval, Lord Spencer remained all his life in Opposition. He died greatly respected in 1783, aged 49. The present Earl Spencer is his grandson.--E.

[68] Sir Thomas Robinson, created Lord Grantham, had been minister at Vienna, and Secretary of State. He was the fourth son of Sir William Robinson, Baronet. His fortunate connexion with Horace Lord Walpole, to whom he had been Secretary in 1723, quickly raised him to eminence. He was an excellent man of business, and highly esteemed as a diplomatist. His despatches are written with great spirit and clearness. In the House of Commons he failed, as might have been expected from his previous pursuits, and his talents have in consequence been much underrated. He died in 1770. The Earl de Grey and the Earl of Ripon are his grandsons.--E.

[69] Sir Nathaniel Curzon, (fifth Baronet, and M. P. for Derbyshire,) created Lord Scarsdale. He afterwards was appointed Chairman of the Committee of the House of Lords, and died at an advanced age, in 1804.--E.

[70] Sir William Irby, created Lord Boston. He had been Page to George I. and George II., and Equerry to the Prince on the arrival of the latter in England. He married a niece of Mr. Selwyn, and died in 1773, aged 66.--E.

[71] George Bubb Dodington, created Lord Melcomb.

[72] William Pulteney, Earl of Bath.

[73] Son of the Lord Chancellor. He had in his youth been one of Sir Robert Walpole’s most violent opponents. The Count de Fuentes, in a letter to Mr. Wall, of 27th March, says that this appointment was ascribed to the Princess of Wales: of whom he adds, “they speak with too much liberty.”--Chatham Corresp. vol. ii. p. 106. The adherence of Lord Talbot to the Leicester House party certainly entitled him to consideration, but he was now much overpaid; and this was felt even by his patron Lord Bute, who wanted firmness to resist pretensions which were urged with impetuosity, amounting almost to passion.--(Dodington’s Diary, cited in note to the letter _supra_.) Lord Talbot had talents, was resolute and ready; and his speeches had an air of independence and a plausibility that made him rather a favourite with the public, notwithstanding his vices, until his duel with Wilkes brought ridicule upon his name, not to be effaced.--E.

[74] Son of Selina Countess of Huntingdon. He remained Groom of the Stole till 1770. Akenside, who was one of the least adulatory of poets, addressed to him, in 1747, a didactic ode on his setting out on his travels. He was an amiable and accomplished nobleman, though it requires some partiality to believe of his early youth that his “breast the gifts of every Muse had known.” Delicate health prevented his taking an active part in public business, and in 1766 he declined the embassy to Spain, which was pressed on him by Lord Chatham. He died in 1790, aged 62, without having been married, and the title was for some years supposed to be extinct. In 1819 the father of the present Earl established a claim to it, and took his seat in the House of Lords accordingly.--E.

[75] See page 39, and _infra_.

[76] Henry Seymour Conway, only brother of Francis Earl of Hertford.

[77] John Waldegrave, only brother of James Earl Waldegrave, whom he succeeded in the title, married Lady Elizabeth Leveson Gower, sister of Gertrude Duchess of Bedford. His presence of mind and intrepidity at the battle of Minden established his character as a soldier.--Mem. vol. ii. p. 367. He was appropriately rewarded with the regiment of dragoons, vacated by Lord George Sackville’s dismissal. Subsequently he obtained one of the regiments of foot-guards, and was made Master of the Horse to the Queen. His love of state, not less than the handsome manner in which he lived, well adapted him to any great office at Court. He died in 1784. His eldest son, a most respectable nobleman, and also an officer, only survived him five years.--E.

[78] John Mostyn, brother of Sir Roger Mostyn, Bart., and Groom of the Bedchamber to the King. He had commanded the British cavalry with distinction in Germany, and was mainly instrumental in gaining the Battle of Warburgh, the credit of which Lord Granby ascribed entirely to him. He might have risen high in the army, had he not shrunk from the responsibility of great commands. He refused the command of the expedition to the Havannah, on the ground that he did not pretend to be more than a cavalry officer. His good nature and conviviality, as well as his quiet military deportment, made him popular at Court; and George the Second liked him so much, that he generally formed one of the King’s evening party. It was believed he might have been a favourite if he pleased. His last employment was as Governor of Minorca.--Memoirs of Sir James Campbell, vol. i. p. 173.

[79] John Manners, Marquis of Granby, son of John Duke of Rutland.

[80] Letter (of 21st March) to George Montagu, and the note.--Walpole’s Collected Correspondence, vol. iv. p. 128.

[81] Sir John Philipps, Bart., of Picton Castle, in Pembrokeshire, an opulent and influential Jacobite. He was the second son of Sir Erasmus Philipps, and had succeeded to the title and estates on the death of his elder brother. He died in 1764, leaving an only son, Sir Richard, who was afterwards created an Irish Peer by the title of Lord Milford, and died without issue in 1823.--E.

[82] Henry, brother of Thomas Lord Archer.

[83] Mr. Onslow died in February 1768, aged 76. A very pleasing account of him is given in the Preface to the second volume of Hatsell’s Precedents, p. 6.

[84] William Pulteney, Earl of Bath.

[85] Henry Arthur Herbert, Earl of Powis.

[86] Dr. Hayter, afterwards Bishop of London. Vide p. 73, _infra_.

[87] Dr. Thomas, afterwards Bishop of Winchester. Vide Appendix.

[88] Charles Wyndham, Earl of Egremont, afterwards Secretary of State. Vide _infra_.

[89] Sir Joseph Yorke, Ambassador in Holland, third son of Philip Earl of Hardwicke. He had been a captain of the Guards, and aide-de-camp of the Duke of Cumberland at the battle of Fontenoy. In 1751 he was appointed Minister at the Hague, where he remained many years, and became almost naturalized, having married a Dutch lady. His estimable conduct, and also his splendid hospitality, gave him great consideration in Holland. In 1788 he was created Lord Dover. He died in 1792 without issue, and the title became extinct.--E.

[90] Admiral Edward Boscawen, brother of Lord Viscount Falmouth, a distinguished naval commander. He died this year, at the early age of 50. The late Earl of Falmouth was his grandson.--E.

[91] Hans Stanley, one of the Lords of the Admiralty, and afterwards Cofferer.

[92] M. Bussy was one of the chief Commis of the Foreign Department at Paris. He had great experience in business, and was eminently adroit and persuasive; qualities to which he owed his nomination to this difficult post. Formerly he had been private secretary to the Duc de Richelieu, through whose interest he was employed on a mission to George the Second in Hanover in 1754. Flassan, Hist. de la Diplomatic Française, vol. vi. p. 388. See more respecting him in Mr. Stanley’s Correspondence in the Appendix to the Life of Lord Chatham.--E.

[93] Memoirs of George the Second, vol. i. p. 242. It is ably drawn, and not unkindly, considering the belief long entertained by the Whigs of the Duke having betrayed Sir Robert Walpole. The more favourable portrait given by Archdeacon Coxe, from materials supplied by his family, is, like too many family portraits, feeble, flattering, and indistinct. His Grace unquestionably possessed a powerful, active, and cultivated mind. He had studied, and thoroughly understood the weaknesses of men, and was unscrupulous in the practice of all the arts of intrigue. Success usually crowned his efforts, and notwithstanding the various changes of Government, he maintained much of his power to the last. Disappointment attended only his private life, which was chilled by aversion to his wife and the want of children. _Il fut riche, il fut titré, mais il ne fut point heureux_--the just and natural result of a line of conduct which, as Lord Mahon correctly observes, was seldom on any occasion swayed either by virtue or generosity.--Coxe’s Life of Sir R. Walpole, vol. iv. p. 236; Mahon’s Hist. vol. iii. p. 237.--E.

[94] This prediction has not been realized. The Bangorian controversy has long lost its interest, and great as was their success in their day, and great their reward--no less than the Bishoprick of Winchester--the three massive folios of Hoadley’s Works now slumber on the shelves of theological libraries. His two sons, one of whom was chaplain, and the other physician to the King, were men of talent, and are still recollected as the joint authors of that popular comedy, “The Suspicious Husband.” They were the last of their family.--E.

[95] John Hay, Marquis of Tweedale, had been secretary of State for Scotland. Lord Tweedale had been one of the extraordinary Lords of Session in Scotland, and also had held the post of Secretary of State for that country. He was the last person that filled either of these offices. His connexion with Lord Granville, whose daughter he had married, brought him into public life in opposition to Walpole, and he shared the spoils of that minister. Like Lord Granville, he possessed considerable knowledge of law. He is said also to have been a good debater in Parliament. He died, without male issue, in December 1762.--E.

[96] Dr. Robert Hay Drummond, brother of the Earl Kinnoul.

[97] Richard Edgcumbe, second Lord Edgcumbe, an intimate friend of the author, who has given him a place in the Noble Authors. He was a humourist, and had a turn for poetry and drawing, of which some amusing specimens are noticed in the publications of his day. Walpole says, he never had a fault but to himself, never an enemy but himself.--E.

[98] Lady Caroline Lenox, eldest daughter of Charles second Duke of Richmond, married to Henry Fox, Paymaster of the Forces.

[99] Eldest daughter of Stephen Fox, Earl of Ilchester, by the sole daughter and heiress of Mr. Strangways Horner, whose name he assumed.

[100] Holland House, beyond Kensington, the seat of the Earls of Warwick and Holland; now of Henry Fox, Lord Holland.

[101] John Fane, Earl of Westmoreland, Chancellor of Oxford, Lieutenant-general in the army, and formerly captain of one of the troops of Horse Guards. In early life, when a younger brother, and a Whig, he had served under the Duke of Marlborough; and afterwards commanded “the body of troops which George the First had been obliged to send to Oxford, to teach the University the only kind of passive obedience of which they did not approve.” He subsequently joined the Jacobites in their opposition to Sir Robert Walpole, and became a high Tory; as indeed may be inferred from Lord Arran appointing him High Steward of the University in 1754, and from his succeeding that nobleman as Chancellor in 1758. He was comely in his person, and highly respected for his virtues in private life. Glover describes him as “a veteran patriot, slow, but solid; always meaning well, and therefore judging right.” He died without issue in 1762, at a very advanced age. Walpole’s Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 340. Memoirs of a distinguished Political and Literary Character, p. 121.--E.

[102] Sir Philip Yorke, Earl of Hardwicke, formerly Lord Chancellor.

[103] John Carteret, Earl of Granville, some time Prime Minister to George the Second.

[104] Simon Lord Harcourt, formerly Governor to the King. See an account of his resignation of that post, in the preceding reign, (Memoirs of George the Second, vol. i. p. 254.)

[105] Mary Panton, second wife of Peregrine Bertie, Duke of Ancaster.

[106] Elizabeth Gunning, Duchess Dowager of Hamilton, married, secondly, to John Campbell, Marquis of Lorn, eldest son of John Duke of Argyle.

[107] Mr. Hammond had been in love with her, and then forsaken her. The poems which he wrote on her have been published.

[108] Mr. Andrew Stone was appointed Treasurer to the Queen on her arrival. He was the well-known confident of the Duke of Newcastle and Mr. Pelham, over both of whom he exercised great influence. He had been private, and afterwards under secretary to the former. Latterly he had been sub-governor to the King when Prince of Wales. He was a fine scholar, and had distinguished himself at Oxford, where he was the rival and friend of Murray (Lord Mansfield). Bishop Newton, who knew him well, says that his tastes and feelings were better suited to the Church than to politics. Lord Waldegrave likewise commends his integrity. Walpole can find no fault in him, except that he had a tendency to Jacobitism, a charge which his conduct and connections proved to be unfounded. He appears to have been entirely devoid of ambition, honest, and most disinterested. He died in 1773, aged 72. The best account of Mr. Stone is in a note to Coxe’s Life of Pelham, vol. i. p. 430.--E.

[109] She did some years afterwards with the King, but quite in private.

[110] Dr. Robert Hay Drummond, brother of the Earl of Kinnoul, and Bishop of Salisbury, a man of parts and of the world. He was the second son of George eighth Earl of Kinnoul, formerly Ambassador at Constantinople. He had attended George the Second in the campaign of 1743, and preached the thanksgiving sermon at Hanover, for the battle of Dettingen. On his return he was made a prebendary of Westminster, and in 1748 Bishop of St. Asaph. He was a dignified and accomplished prelate. He died in 1776, in his 66th year. In 1803 one of his younger children, the late Mr. George Drummond, published a volume, intituled “Sermons on Public Occasions, and a Letter on Theological Study, by Robert, late Archbishop of York,” &c. The Archbishop’s eldest son became tenth Earl of Kinnoul.--E.

[111] Dr. Hayter was supposed to be the natural son of Dr. Blackburne, Archbishop of York. This supposition is indignantly attacked in an article on the first part of these Memoirs, in the Quarterly Review. In justice to Walpole, it is only fair to state, that this was a report generally believed at the time. In the quarrel in the Princess’s household which led to the Bishop’s disgrace, Mr. Cresset, the Princess’s confident, was charged with calling him a bastard.--Edinburgh Review, No. 73, p. 5, note. The suspicious report was rather strengthened than otherwise by Archbishop Blackburne’s leaving him a large fortune. What is of more importance to Bishop Hayter’s memory is, that he bore a high character for generosity and learning. He only survived his translation a single year, having died in 1762, aged 59. Nichols’s Literary Anecdotes, vol. ii. p. 505.--E.

[112] There were at this time two bishops of the same name; Dr. John Thomas, Bishop of Winchester, and Dr. John Thomas, Bishop of Lincoln: the latter had been promoted by Lord Granville.

[113] George William Hervey, Earl of Bristol, Ambassador in Spain, son of the famous John Lord Hervey.

[114] Charles third King of Spain, and before of Naples; commonly called Don Carlos.

[115] The Duke positively denied having made any such communication to Bussy. See _infra_.--E.

[116] The following note is transcribed from the manuscript memoirs of Sir George Colebrooke, Bart., M.P., Chairman of the East India Company; an eminent merchant, who sat many years in Parliament, and possessed the confidence of some of the leading statesmen of his day.

“During the time I attended Newcastle House and the Treasury Chambers on the Contract business, I had frequent opportunities of knowing how despotically Mr. Pitt governed his ministerial colleagues, and how much he was dreaded by the Duke. Some years afterwards I recollect his Grace making this the subject of lively conversation at table, at Claremont; but it was no subject of merriment at the time the transaction passed. More than once I was summoned to the Treasury to give an account of the state of the provisions, and of the money, for the army, Mr. West giving, for reason, that Mr. Pitt threatened the Duke, that if at any time a want of either should be found, he would impeach him in the ensuing session. At the Treasury I frequently met Mr. Wallis, Commissioner of the Navy, who mentioned the following memorable instance. A train of artillery was wanted at Portsmouth for an expedition. Mr. Pitt told Wallis that it must be down by a certain day he named. Wallis made some excuse for the delay, either that the transports were not ready or the winds were contrary; upon which Mr. Pitt insisted that they should go by land, a method of conveyance which was afterwards pursued.

“General Harvey, who had been sent by Prince Ferdinand to prepare matters in England for the campaign, and to carry over the English draughts, waited on Mr. Pitt to take his leave. Mr. Pitt asked him whether he had obtained everything he wanted, and the General answered, not; and he therefore came to take leave, that no blame might fall on him from the Prince. Mr. Pitt desired the General to enumerate what he wanted, and immediately rang his bell for Mr. Wood, who in the names of the different Boards signified to their officers his Majesty’s commands for the dispatch of what was required for Germany, and in four days General Harvey had in readiness what he had been as many months soliciting.

“West, the Secretary, always looked frightened; and well he might, for Mr. Pitt would have been as good as his word, which was to impeach the Commissioners of the Treasury, if they neglected anything needful for the war. At times he depended so little on them, that, notwithstanding a contract to supply the army, he caused provisions to be sent by victualling transports.

“Proceeding in the way I have mentioned, of writing in the names of the different public officers, there were numberless hiatus in their books of correspondence, and instances of orders carried into execution without their sanction. The name of Lord Barrington was principally used as Secretary at War, who did not know more than a stranger of troops being ordered on service, till the embarkation had actually taken place.

“The Duke of Newcastle, speaking himself of the cavalier manner with which Mr. Pitt treated the Cabinet, mentioned the instance of some foreign expedition which Mr. Pitt had proposed, but which, in the opinion of the ministers, and of Lord Anson, First Lord of the Admiralty, deprived Great Britain of too great a part of its internal defence. Lord Mansfield had not yet given his opinion; but Mr. Pitt, apprehensive that it would be against him, summed up the opinions of Council, a majority of which he declared to be for the expedition; adding, “The Chief Justice of England has no opinion to give in this matter thereby stopping his mouth. The Duke told Lord Coventry, that Mr. Murray, when Attorney-General, and in the House of Commons, had acknowledged to him that he was intimidated by Pitt. The more the latter found Murray to be intimidated, the more he naturally pressed him.

“I never saw the Duke in higher spirits than after Mr. Pitt, thwarted by the Cabinet in his proposal of declaring war against Spain, had given notice of resignation. The Duke had done more wisely, if he had followed Lord Hardwicke’s advice, and had resigned on the death of his late master. The Duke could not endure to part with his power, much less to devolve it on one who meant to keep it. When he last resigned the Treasury to the Duke of Devonshire, it was with a view to have it back again at a convenient season.”--E.

[117] The following extraordinary notice was published in the Gazette of the 9th October: “The Right Honourable William Pitt having resigned the Seals into the King’s hands, His Majesty was this day pleased to appoint the Earl of Egremont to be one of His Majesty’s principal Secretaries of State; and, in consideration of the great and important services of the said Mr. Pitt, His Majesty has been graciously pleased to direct that a warrant be prepared for granting to the Lady Hesther Pitt, his wife, a Barony of Great Britain, by the name, style, and title of Baroness of Chatham, to herself, and of Baron of Chatham to her heirs male, and also to confer upon the said William Pitt, Esq., an annuity of three thousand pounds sterling, during his own life and that of Lady Hesther Pitt, and their son John Pitt, Esq.”--E.

[118] It certainly is not the practice now (1844) to insert pensions in the Gazette. Whether it ever was so it would be difficult to ascertain, as there is no index prior to the year 1787. The impression of two very old officers, who have frequent occasions to consult the Gazette, is, that no such general practice ever prevailed.--E.

[119] It was by such expressions as this that Mr. Pitt created the disappointment in the public mind, that followed the announcement of his pension. To use the words of Lord Brougham: “He did not sustain the exalted pitch of magnanimous independence, and utter disregard of sublunary interests, which we should expect him to have reached and kept as a matter of course, from a mere cursory glance at the mould in which his lofty character was cast.” Statesmen of the Time of George III., 1st series, p. 45. A pension of £4000 a year to Lord Holderness passed without a murmur, while one of £3000 a year to Mr. Pitt raised a general burst of indignation, only because the country regarded the latter as lowering their idol to the level of the jobbing statesmen of the day. The cry against Mr. Pitt was, indeed, almost universal. See letter to Mr. Conway, vol. iv. of Walpole’s Collected Correspondence, p. 184; and particularly the note containing the opposite opinions of Mr. Gray and Mr. Burke. Mr. Pitt’s noble refusal of the vast emoluments of the Pay-office, which so enriched those who preceded and succeeded him as Paymaster, entitles his conduct in all pecuniary matters to a liberal construction from posterity. What is really to be regretted, is the humiliating tone of his correspondence with Lord Bute, in accepting the pension (Chatham Correspondence, vol. ii. p. 152,) and his language at his interview with the King on that occasion.--Annual Register for 1761. But we will not dwell on the defects of a man who certainly was far above his age, not only in talent, but in real independence.--E.

[120] Thomas Prowse, member for Somersetshire, which he had represented in five successive Parliaments, having been every time unanimously elected. He was an opulent, well-informed, and influential country gentleman. He died, after a long illness, in 1767, aged 59, and was buried in Axbridge Church; where the long panegyric on his tomb states--“That though frequently solicited, he never could be prevailed upon to accept any employment in the state.” Collinson’s History of Somerset, vol. iii. p. 563.--E.

[121] Edward Bacon, of Earlham Hall, Norfolk, barrister-at-law, and M. P. for Norwich. He was son of Walter Bacon, of Earlham Hall, and M. P. for Norwich. Mr. Edward Bacon had been member for Lynn in 1742. He represented Norwich from 1752 to 1784, when he retired from Parliament. He died in March 1786, and was buried in the chancel of Earlham Church. His portrait is still preserved at Earlham Hall.--E.

[122] A more favourable character of Sir John Cust is given in the preface of Moore’s General Index to the Journals of the House of Commons, vol. iv.; a very useful work, to the compilation of which he contributed. He added to great industry, a considerable knowledge of Parliamentary history and constitutional law; and his amiable disposition and obliging temper were no insignificant recommendations to the Speakership. He was a Lincolnshire country gentleman, of ancient family, and had inherited a great estate from his mother, the heiress of the Tyrconnels.--E.

[123] Sir Hugh Smithson Percy, Earl of Northumberland.

[124] John Berkeley, fifth and last Lord Berkeley of Stratton. He died without issue in 1773, having left his principal estates to Lord Berkeley.--E.

[125] It is certain that Monsieur de Bussy told different persons what the Duke of Bedford had said to him, particularly to Lady Hervey, from whom I heard it.

[126] George Spencer, Duke of Marlborough, K.G. He was son-in-law of the Duke of Bedford. He died in January 1817, aged 78.--E.

[127] Thomas Lord Parker, eldest son of the Earl of Macclesfield, whom he succeeded in that title in March 1764. Like his father, he cultivated the mathematics successfully, and was much respected. He had been defeated in the great contest for the county of Oxford in 1757, but was seated on petition. He died in 1795, aged 72.--E.

[128] The famous John Wilkes, member for Aylesbury, and author of “The North Briton.”

[129] George Dempster, an East India Director, and for nearly thirty years member for the Perth district of Boroughs. He was the friend of Dr. Johnson, and the patron of Robert Burns; and is described by Mr. Croker as a man of talents and very agreeable manners. He took an active part in all the debates of the House on East India questions; and was one of the few who, after defending Warren Hastings, gave a zealous support to Fox’s India Bill. He died about the year 1790, at a very advanced age. Croker’s Boswell, vol. i. p. 418. Annual Necrology, vol. iii. p. 141.--E.

[130] Peregrine Cust. He is mentioned in Churchill’s Satires.

[131] Eliab Harvey, brother of William Harvey of Chigwell, in Essex, died in 1769.

[132] During the administration of Sir Robert Walpole the Opposition propagated a report, which was universally believed, that the Spaniards, though at peace with us, had taken one of our ships, and cut off the captain’s ears.

[133] This was the famous sentence so often quoted, and so often ridiculed, in the pamphlets of that time.

[134] The Spanish Ambassador. See _infra_.

[135] Percy Windham Obrien, Earl of Thomond, second son of Sir William Windham, and brother of the Earl of Egremont. Their sister was married to Mr. George Grenville.

[136] Henry Arthur Herbert, Earl of Powis, having become male heir of this illustrious family by the death of the last peer, Henry Lord Herbert, of Cherbury, in 1738, he was created Lord Herbert in 1743, and Earl of Powis in 1748. His Lordship married Barbara, sole daughter and heiress of Lord Edward Herbert, brother of the last Marquis of Powis, and died in 1772, leaving a son, on whose death in 1801 the earldom became extinct.--E.

[137] Next brother of the Duke of Devonshire.

[138] Second son of Charles Lord Viscount Townshend.

[139] Thomas Charles Bunbury, called, after his father’s death, Sir Charles Bunbury. [He represented the county of Suffolk for forty-five years, and died in March 1821, in his 81st year. He forsook politics for horse-racing, which he found a more congenial pursuit, and was long considered as the father of the turf. See more of him in Selwyn’s Correspondence, vol. ii. p. 180.--E.]

[140] At the conferences held there previously to the Treaty of Utrecht.

[141] In twenty-eight years, viz. to 1788, the King has not once been at Hanover, nor seems to design it.

[142] Additional particulars respecting Colonel Barré are given in Chatham Correspondence, vol. ii. p. 41, 168-171. See especially the notes, containing extracts from the Mitchell MSS.--E.

[143] Richard Glover, a merchant, who, by superior intelligence, great fluency of speech in public, and some reputation as a poet, had gained considerable influence in the City, and was thought of sufficient importance to be admitted into the councils of Leicester House. This distinction, and the success of his poems, which had all a political tendency, made him fancy himself on an equality with Pitt, Lyttelton, and the other men of talent who surrounded the Prince of Wales. The illusion was painfully dispelled. The sudden death of the Prince broke up the party; Mr. Glover’s services were no longer required; and happening to be at the time under commercial embarrassments, he sank into obscurity. In a few years, however, by diligent application, and a successful speculation in the copper trade, he retrieved his fortunes, but he never forgave the neglect of his former associates; and the memoirs he left behind him show the angry feelings he entertained, particularly against Mr. Pitt. To this circumstance he probably owed his seat for Weymouth, the borough being one of those which Mr. Dodington placed at the disposal of Lord Bute. Mr. Glover died in 1785, aged 73. His autobiography from 1742 to 1757 was published in 1813, under the title of Memoirs of a Distinguished Literary and Political Character. They are not without spirit, but show few signs of a powerful mind, and are in every respect inferior to what might have been expected from him.--E.

[144] James Oswald, of Brunnikier, joint Vice-Treasurer of Ireland.

[145] Dr. George Hay, of the Commons, one of the Commissioners of the Admiralty.

[146] George Cooke, Prothonotary, member for Middlesex.

[147] Second son of John Duke of Argyle, for many years Lord Register of Scotland in Mr. Pitt’s administration.--E.

[148] Robert Nugent, Esq., of Gosfield, in Essex, afterwards Earl Nugent. See _infra_.

[149] This became a stronger truth every day.

[150] Mr. Gascoyne was the only son of Sir Crispe Gascoyne, Lord Mayor of London, from whom he inherited a considerable estate. He had a strong understanding, and was esteemed highly as a man of business. His rough deportment had gained him at the University (we are told by Wilkes) the appellation of the Butcher; and he took no pains to get rid of it. He was also called “the King of Barking,” his country residence and principal patrimony being in that village, where he was much respected, and where he lies buried. He died in 1791. The late Marchioness of Salisbury was his granddaughter, and inherited his estates.--E.

[151] Soon after, seeing another member give Barré a biscuit, Townshend said, “Oh! you should feed him with raw flesh.”

[152] George Augustus Selwyn, of Matson, Gloucestershire, famous for his wit. His correspondence has been recently published in 4 vols. 8vo.--E.

[153] Philip Francis, translator of Horace and Demosthenes, and the father of Sir Philip Francis, K.B.; a scholar and a man of talent, and a most active political partisan. He was for some time the tutor of Gibbon.--E.

[154] “Of this very alarming connection Mr. Pitt had the most early and authentic intelligence, together with the most positive assurances from persons of undoubted veracity, who are at this moment in no common sphere of life.” History of the Minority, p. 30. Mr. Adolphus states the treaty itself to have been communicated to Mr. Pitt by the Earl Marechal Keith, in gratitude for the reversal of his attainder, but “that the fact, if it existed, was not disclosed to the Cabinet,” Adolphus, vol. i. p. 44. This story receives some confirmation from a cotemporary memoir of the Earl Marechal recently published by the Spalding Society of Aberdeen, and supposed to have been written by Sir Robert Strange, who had once been a zealous Jacobite. Neither the Chatham Correspondence nor the Mitchell manuscripts contain anything on the subject; and the papers of the Earl Marechal, at Cumbernald, have never been thoroughly examined. The Editor is disposed to believe the intelligence received by Mr. Pitt did not go so far as the existence of the treaty, but consisted of facts sufficient, in his estimation, to leave no doubt of the object of the negotiation between France and Spain, and of the general intentions of the Spanish government. These facts he had imparted to Lord Bute, who had not drawn the same conclusions from them. Hist. of Minority, p. 33.--E.

[155] Charles Pratt was a younger son of Lord Chief Justice Pratt, and became afterwards Lord Chancellor and Baron Camden, as will appear in these memoirs. Pratt had been made Attorney-General by Pitt in 1757, and their connection was too close for the Government to feel easy at his continuing any longer in office.--E.

[156] He nevertheless made a favourable impression on the Duke of Newcastle, at their first interview; and at a later period we find him very handsomely mentioned by Lord Rochford. Some of his private letters in the Chatham Correspondence, as well as his public dispatches in the Parliamentary Papers, are those of an ambassador who understood his duty, and performed it. He laboured hard, in conjunction with his friend the Marquis of Grimaldi, to restore the old connection of his country with France; and one result of their success was, the appointment of Grimaldi to succeed Wall as First Minister of Spain. Fuentes, then, for some time, replaced Grimaldi at Paris; and subsequently returning to Spain, he employed all his influence, which was considerable, in supporting Grimaldi’s administration, until the latter imprudently allowed his son, the Prince of Pignatelli, to accompany the expedition to Algiers, under the Count O’Reily, in 1777, where the Prince perished; and Fuentes, who had refused his consent to his going, was so deeply offended, that he immediately joined the opposition to Grimaldi, and contributed essentially to his retirement from office. Coxe’s History of the Kings of Spain of the House of Bourbon, vol. v.--E.

[157] George William Hervey, Earl of Bristol, son of the famous John Lord Hervey, and grandson of John Earl of Bristol, whom he succeeded in the title. His dispatches prove him to have acted with great prudence as long as the disposition of the Spanish Court was doubtful and with great spirit afterwards. His connection with Mr. Pitt was in no degree of a servile character. It appears to have strengthened as that great minister was losing his ascendancy in the Cabinet, and it stood the test of his downfall. Lord Bristol died unmarried, in March 1775, aged 54.--E.

[158] Amelie Sophie de Walmoden, Countess of Yarmouth, mistress of George the Second.

[159] Philip Yorke, Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Chancellor in the preceding reign.

[160] William Murray, Lord Mansfield, Lord Chief Justice of the King’s Bench.

[161] John Carteret, Earl Granville, President of the Council, and formerly Prime Minister to George the Second.

[162] George Lord Anson, first Lord of the Admiralty.

[163] James Lord Tyrawley, formerly Ambassador at Lisbon, Governor of Port Mahon and Gibraltar, and Colonel of a regiment of Guards.

[164] George Keppel, third Earl of Albemarle, one of the Lords of the Bedchamber to William Duke of Cumberland.

[165] Frederick Lord North, eldest son of Francis Earl of Guilford.

[166] Thomas Walpole, second son of Horatio Lord Walpole, only brother of Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford. Thomas married the eldest daughter of Sir Joshua Vanneck, with whom he dwelt in the City.

[167] Augustus Keppel, second son, and William Keppel, Groom of the Bedchamber to William Duke of Cumberland, third son of William Anne second Earl of Albemarle.

[168] Humphrey Parsons, formerly Lord Mayor of London, a great brewer. Odunn was an Irishman.

[169] Bishop Newton gives an anecdote of this prelate, not much to his credit. When it was proposed to allow monuments to be erected in St. Paul’s Cathedral, he violently opposed the plan, on the ground that, as there had been no monuments in all the time before he was bishop, there should be none in his time. Bishop Newton’s Life, p. 145.--E.

[170] Charles Lyttelton, brother of Lord Lyttelton, and President of the Antiquarian Society, died in 1768, aged 54. Warburton sneers at “his antiquarianism,” to which he was more exclusively devoted than strictly became his high position in the Church. On the other hand, he was what Bishop Warburton certainly was not, a very amiable, kind-hearted man. In early life he had been a barrister.--George Selwyn and his Contemporaries, vol. i. p. 71.--E.

[171] A greater military critic, General Jomini, was of a different opinion. He pronounces Broglio to be the only French commander of that day whose operations were uniformly skilful. He had fought in more battles than perhaps any of his contemporaries. An authentic account of his life would still be of value, but his fame was eclipsed by the exploits of younger heroes, and he had even ceased to be an object of interest when he died in exile at Munster, in 1804, at the advanced age of 86.--E.

[172] The Count de Broglio’s talents were undeniable. It was his misfortune, not less than his fault, that they were seldom well directed. His brilliant defence of Cassel during the Seven years’ war showed that he had no mean capacity for war; but his ambition was, to shine as a statesman, and, unhappily for him, the enmity of Choiseul excluded him from civil employments. Partly, perhaps, out of revenge, and partly from his love of political intrigue, he condescended to take charge of the secret correspondence which Louis the Fifteenth carried on for many years, independently of his ministers, at the principal foreign Courts, a system which made it almost impossible for an honourable man to serve the King with benefit. M. de Broglio eventually fell into disgrace, and died in obscurity in 1781, aged 62.--E.

[173] Granville Leveson Gower, Earl Gower, a converted Jacobite.

[174] George Walpole, Earl of Orford, grandson of Sir Robert Walpole.

[175] Francis Egerton, Duke of Bridgwater, author of the famous Navigation.

[176] William Henry, afterwards Duke of Gloucester.

[177] Edward Legrand, Esq., Governor to Prince William and Prince Henry.

[178] George Montagu Dunk, third and last Earl of Halifax, of that house. He was a nobleman of great elegance of person and manners, and of a cultivated mind, and was quite equal to his post, which did not then, as now, require decided ability as well as rank and good intentions to satisfy the expectations of the country. “He never,” says Cumberland, “could be mistaken for less than he was.” He maintained the magnificence of the Vice-Regal Court, whilst he attended closely to public business.--E.

[179] The Court of the Lords-Lieutenant.

[180] Wills Hill, Earl of Hilsborough. He had gone over to Ireland professedly on his private affairs; a large estate having recently been bequeathed to him by Sir William Cowper. Letter from Lord Barrington to Sir A. Mitchell.--Ellis’s Original Letters, vol. vii. p. 443.--E.

[181] Dr. George Stone, Archbishop of Armagh. See the preceding reign.

[182] William Gerard Hamilton, son of a Scotch lawyer, made two good speeches, and only two, in the English House of Commons. One being forgotten (the last being of inferior merit to the other), he was long known by the name of _Single-speech_. He came into Parliament in 1754; and after sitting silent for somewhat more than a year, at length delivered that _single speech_ upon which his reputation has exclusively rested down to the present day. This speech, which we are told was set and full of antitheses, was in favour of the Ministry, and was speedily rewarded by a place at the Board of Trade.--Edinburgh Review, vol. xv. p. 164. He had a promptitude of thought, and a rapid flow of well-conceived matter, with many other requisites that only seemed waiting for opportunities to establish his reputation as an orator. These were set off by a striking countenance, a graceful carriage, great self-possession, and personal courage.--Cumberland’s Memoirs, i. 225. With all these advantages he did not rise to eminence, nor did he deserve it, for his views were narrow, and he was selfish and cold-hearted. He resumed his silence upon attaining the lucrative and sinecure office of Chancellor of the Exchequer in Ireland, and died in 1796, rich and unmarried. His “Parliamentary Logic” is an insignificant work.--E.

[183] Robert Monckton, brother of Lord Galway, a very gallant officer, who signed the reddition of Quebec, and performed other memorable services in that war.

[184] Sir George Bridges Rodney, afterwards Lord Rodney, the great naval commander. He died in 1792.--E.

[185] Colonel John Burgoyne, natural son of W. Benson, Lord Bingley. He proved a very unfortunate commander in the subsequent American war. He was also an author, and wrote that excellent comedy, “The Heiress.”

[186] Infidelity was then no uncommon charge against an unsuccessful commander. The Prince had in 1752 been worsted at Breslau, where he had only twenty-four thousand men to oppose to an army of ninety thousand, under Daun and Prince Charles of Lorraine. In return, he defeated Daun in 1762 at Reichenbad, a victory that decided the fate of Schweidnitz, and thus contributed to the final success of Prince Henry of Prussia at Friedberg.--E.

[187] Considering that Lord Tyrawley was in his 72nd year, and had not been employed on active service for a very long period, the Government surely acted discreetly in not appointing him to this command. He died in 1773, in his 83rd year. His life had been singularly licentious, even for the Courts of Russia and Portugal, where, however, he acquired extraordinary influence, for he had a thorough knowledge of the world, a great deal of humour, and an undaunted spirit. See more of him in Walpole’s Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 291; and Lord Chatham’s Correspondence.--E.

[188] This remarkable man was Sovereign of Lippe Buckebourgh, a petty state, lying on the confines of Hanover and Westphalia. His mother was daughter of George the First, by the Duchess of Kendal. He received the early part of his education in England, and held a commission in the Guards: at nineteen, he served at the battle of Dettingen; and two years after he showed signal intrepidity as a volunteer under Prince Lobkowitz, in Italy. At the outset of the Seven years’ war he joined the Confederates with his small contingent, and bore a prominent part in the various military operations that ensued. His bravery, in common with his opinions, had a tinge of eccentricity, but the boldness and originality of his mind were not ill directed. He became an enterprising and successful partisan, and an able commander of artillery; in which latter capacity he distinguished himself both at Minden and at Kampen. Being intrusted with a separate corps for the reduction of Munster, he not only captured the place, but defeated General Armentières, who had been sent with a French army to its relief. It was in Portugal, however, that he established his reputation. “He found the army there,” says his biographer, “in a state of thorough disorganization, without either food or pay; even the guards at the Royal Palace implored alms from strangers, with bended knees and outstretched caps. The officers, impelled by want, followed various humble crafts. There were instances of the husband working as a journeyman tailor, whilst his wife earned her subsistence as a washerwoman; and captains might be seen bringing baskets of linen from the wash. Many were servants in the households of generals and governors; indeed servants were sometimes presented with commissions in order that their pay might serve in lieu of wages.” All these abuses the Count, unsupported, if not opposed by the Court and the ministers, succeeded in rectifying. With the assistance of the English, he checked the progress of the Spanish troops, and defeated them in several encounters. He built the citadel of Elvas. He organized a plan for the defence of the kingdom; and at the end of the war he quitted Portugal, followed by the gratitude and attachment of the King and the people. Indeed, the House of Braganza were not under greater obligations to his illustrious predecessor, Marshal Schomberg. His reforms show considerable acuteness and knowledge of character, and were completely successful. One of the most questionable was, that while he punished officers in Germany for accepting a challenge, he punished the Portuguese for refusing, with the view of restoring a martial spirit among the troops. The remainder of his life he passed at Buckebourgh, the chief town of La Lippe, beloved by his subjects, and always employed in promoting their prosperity, though he has been charged with sometimes mistaking himself for a great monarch, while he was only a petty prince. He married in 1765 the Countess of La Lippe Bustafeld, a young lady of great beauty and accomplishments, and had one daughter, whose early death was quickly followed by that of the mother; and the Count, inconsolable under this double affliction, fell into a lingering disorder, of which he died in 1777, at the age of 53. He enjoyed the warm friendship of the King of Prussia, the Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and other great commanders. They entertained a high opinion of his military capacity. He inspired a sort of enthusiasm in all around him. Even the Spanish officers, who used to ridicule his reforms, and when they first descried him in the field, with his large hat and little sword, contemptuously asked whether the Portuguese were commanded by Don Quixote, eventually partook of the general feeling of admiration that attached to his generosity--his extreme disinterestedness--his abilities and valour. Biographische Denkmale, von K. Barnhagen von Ense.--E.

[189] Doctor Johnson, in the newspapers of the day, published an account of this inquiry. His weakness consisted in so far giving confidence to this flimsy imposture, as to think a solemn inquiry necessary. Croker’s Boswell, vol. i. p. 415, note.--E.