Chapter V: Part 5

I have deferred writing to you, till I could tell you something certain of the fate of Admiral Byng: no history was ever so extraordinary, or produced such variety of surprising turns. In my last I told you that his sentence was referred to the twelve judges. They have made law of that, of which no one else would make sense. The Admiralty immediately signed the warrant for his execution on the last of February--that is, three signed: Admiral Forbes positively refused, and would have resigned sooner. The Speaker would have had Byng expelled the House, but his tigers were pitiful. Sir Francis Dashwood tried to call for the Court-martial's letter; but the tigers were not so tender as that came to. Some of the Court-martial grew to feel, as the execution advanced: the City grew impatient for it. Mr. Fox tried to represent the new ministry as compassionate, and has damaged their popularity. Three of the Court-martial applied on Wednesday last to Lord Temple to renew their solicitation for mercy. Sir Francis Dashwood moved a repeal of the bloody twelfth article [of Byng's indictment:] the House was savage enough; yet Mr. Doddington softened them, and not one man spoke directly against mercy. They had nothing to fear: the man who, of all defects, hates cowardice and avarice most and who has some little objection to a mob in St. James's-street, has magnanimously forgot all the services of the great Lord Torrington [the victor of Cape Passano, 1718]. On Thursday seven of the Court-martial applied for mercy: they were rejected. On Friday a most strange event happened. I was told at the House that Captain Keppel and Admiral Norris desired a bill to absolve them from their Oath of Secrecy, [as members of the Court-martial on Byng] that they might unfold something very material towards the saving the prisoner's life. I was out of Parliament myself during my re-election, but I ran to Keppel; he said he had never spoken in public, and could not, but would give authority to anybody else. The Speaker was putting the question for the orders of the day, after which no motion could be made; it was Friday. The House would not sit on Saturday, the execution was fixed for Monday. I felt all this in an instant, dragged Mr. Keppel to Sir Francis Dashwood, and he on the floor before he had taken his place, called out to the Speaker, and though the orders were passed, Sir Francis was suffered to speak. The House was wondrously softened: pains were taken to prove to Mr. Keppel that he might speak, notwithstanding his oath; but he adhering to it, he had time given him till next morning to consider and consult some of his brethren who had commissioned him to desire the bill. The next day the King sent a message to our House, that he had respited Mr. Byng for a fortnight, till the bill could be passed, and he should know whether the Admiral was unjustly condemned. The bill was read twice in our House that day, and went through the Committee; Mr. Keppel affirming that he had something, in his opinion, of weight to tell, and which it was material his Majesty should know, and naming four of his associates, who desired to be empowered to speak. On Sunday all was confusion again, on news that the four disclaimed what Mr. Keppel had said for them. On Monday, he told the House that in one he had been mistaken; that another did not declare off, but wished all were to be compelled to speak; and from the two others he produced a letter upholding him in what he had said. The bill passed by 153 to 23. On Tuesday it was treated very differently by the Lords. The new Chief Justice [Mansfield] and the late Chancellor [Hardwicke] pleaded against Byng like little attorneys, and did all they could to stifle truth. That all was a good deal. They prevailed to have the whole Court-martial at their bar. Lord Hardwicke urged for the intervention of a day, on the pretence of a trifling cause of an Irish bankruptcy then depending before the Lords, though Lord Temple showed them that some of the Captains and Admirals were under sailing orders for America. But Lord Hardwicke and Lord Anson were expeditious enough to do what they wanted in one night's time; and for the next day, yesterday, every one of the Court-martial defended their sentence, and even the three conscientious said not one syllable of their desire of the bill, which was accordingly unanimously rejected, and with great marks of contempt for the House of Commons.

This is as brief and as clear an abstract as I can give you of a most complicated affair, in which I have been a most unfortunate actor, having to my infinite grief, which I shall feel till the man is at peace, been instrumental in protracting his misery a fortnight, by what I meant as the kindest thing I could do. I never knew poor Byng enough to bow to--but the great doubtfulness of his crime, and the extraordinariness of his sentence, the persecution of his enemies, who sacrifice him for their own guilt, and the rage of a blinded nation, have called forth all my pity for him. His enemies triumph, but who can envy the triumph of murder?

II.

THOMAS POTTER TO MR. GRENVILLE, SEPTEMBER 11, 1756.

+Source.+--_Grenville Papers_, 1852. Vol. i., p. 173.

This morning I heard the whole city of Westminster disturbed by the song of a hundred ballad-singers, the burthen of which was, "To the block with Newcastle, and the yard arm with Byng."

[This ballad is to be found as a single sheet broadside in the British Museum in a volume lettered _Ballads and Broadsides_; the first verse is as follows:--]

_THE BLOCK AND YARD ARM_

A NEW BALLAD ON THE LOSS OF "MINORCA," AND THE DANGER OF OUR "AMERICAN" RIGHTS AND POSSESSIONS.

_To Tune of the "Whose e'er been at Baldock," &c._

Draw nigh my good Folks whilst to you I Sing
Great Blak'ney[23] betray'd by N[ewcastle] and B[yng],
Before such a Story ne'er has been told
We're bought all, my Friends, by shining _French_ gold.

_Chorus._ To the Block with N[ewcastle] and Yard Arm with B[yng].
_Terra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ring._

[23] The Governor of Minorca, then eighty-five, "that gallant old man," as Lady Hervey (_Letters_, p. 219) justly calls him, "who had behaved like a hero of antiquity," had held out in Fort St. Philip for five weeks after Byng's retreat.

THE COALITION GOVERNMENT OF 1757.

+Source.+--Baron FitzMaurice's _Life of William Earl of Shelburne_, 1875-76. Vol. i., pp. 85-87.

[By the new Coalition] there was produced a strong Council and a strong Government. The Cabinet Council was composed of the Duke of Newcastle, Mr. Pitt, Secretary of State, Lord Keeper Henley, Lord Hardwicke, Lord Mansfield, Lord Granville, Lord Holdernesse, Lord Anson, and Lord Ligonier. There were no party politics, and consequently no difference of opinion. I have heard Lord Chatham say they were the most agreeable conversations he ever experienced. The Duke of Newcastle, a very good-humoured man, was abundantly content with the whole patronage being left to him.... Lord Hardwicke ... was kept in order by Lord Granville's wit, who took advantage of the meeting of the balance of all parties to pay off old scores, and to return all he owed to the Pelhams and the Yorkes. He had a rooted aversion to Lord Hardwicke and to all his family. I don't know precisely for what reason, but he got the secret of cowing Lord Hardwicke, whose pretensions to classical learning gave Lord Granville, who really was a very fine classical scholar, a great opportunity. To this was added his knowledge of civil law,[24] in which Lord Hardwicke was deficient, and above all, his wit; but whatever way he got the key, he used it on all occasions unmercifully. In one of the short-lived administrations at the commencement of the war, Lord Granville, who had generally dined, turned round to say, "I am thinking that all over Europe they are waiting our determination and canvassing our characters. The Duke of Newcastle, they'll say, is a man of great fortune, who has spent a great deal of it in support of the present family."[25] "Fox, they'll say, is an impudent fellow who has fought his war through the House of Commons; as for me, they know me throughout Europe, they know my talents and my character; but I am thinking they will all be asking, _Qui est ce diable de Chancelier?_ How came he here?"

[24] In illustration of this, and as a great statesman's verdict on a great period, it seems not inappropriate to quote here the famous story of Carteret's death, as told by Robert Wood in his _Essay on the Original Genius of Homer_, 1776, pp. v.-vi.: "Being directed to call upon his Lordship, a few days before he died, with the preliminary articles of the Treaty of Paris, I found him so languid that I proposed postponing my business for another time; but he insisted that I should stay, saying it could not prolong his life to neglect his duty; and, repeating the following passage out of Sarpedon's speech, dwelled with particular emphasis on the third line, which recalled the distinguishing part he had taken in public affairs--=Ô pepon=, etc. His Lordship repeated the last word [=iomen=] several times with a calm and determined resignation; and, after a serious pause of some minutes, he desired to hear the Treaty read, to which he listened with great attention, and recovered spirits enough to declare the approbation of a dying statesman (I use his own words) on the most glorious War, and most honourable Peace, this nation ever saw."

[25] This was so true that Newcastle, after a public life of five and forty years, died £300,000 the poorer for it.--ED.

THE ENGLISH IN INDIA (1757-1759).

I.

THE BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA DESCRIBED BY A SURVIVOR.

+Source.+--_A Complete History of the War in India, from the Year 1749 to the Taking of Pondicherry in 1761._ Pp. 18-21.

[The nabob of Bengal marched on Calcutta, which was abandoned by the commanding officer and the principal inhabitants.] Mr. Holwell, with a few gallant friends, and the remains of a feeble garrison, bravely defended the fort to the last extremity; but it was insufficient to protect an untenable place, or to affect an ungenerous enemy. The fort was taken on the twentieth day of June, 1756, and the whole garrison, consisting of 146 persons, being made prisoners, were thrust into a dungeon, called the Black-hole, from whence Mr. Holwell, with twenty-one others, came out alive, to paint a scene of the most cruel distress, which perhaps human nature ever suffered or survived.

When he came to England, in the year 1757, he published, in a letter, an account of this shocking barbarity, in terms so pathetic and moving as cannot fail drawing pity from the most obdurate and savage breast. "Figure to yourself, says he, if possible, the situation of one hundred and forty-six wretches, exhausted by continual fatigue and action, thus crammed together, in a cube of eighteen feet, in a close sultry night in Bengal; shut up to the eastward and southward, the only quarters from whence air could come to us, by dead walls, and a door open only to the westward by two windows strongly barred within; from whence we could receive scarce any the least circulation of fresh air.

"Such was the residence of those unhappy victims for the space of twelve hours. When they had been in but a little while, a profuse sweat broke out on every individual; and this was attended with an insatiable thirst, which became the more intolerable as the body was drained of its moisture. In vain these miserable objects stripped themselves of their cloaths, squatted down on their hams, and fanned the air with their hats, to produce a refreshing undulation. Many were unable to rise again from this posture, but falling down, were trod to death or suffocated. The dreadful symptom of thirst was now accompanied with a difficulty of respiration, and every individual gasped for breath. Their despair became outrageous. The cry of _water! water!_ issued from every mouth; even the jemmadar [the serjeant of the Indian guard] was moved to compassion, at their distress. He ordered his soldiers to bring some skins of water, which served only to enrage their appetite and increase the general agitation. There was no other way of conveying it through the windows but by hats, and this was rendered ineffectual by the eagerness and transports of the wretched prisoners; who, at sight of it, struggled and raved even into fits of delirium. In consequence of these contests, very little reached those that stood nearest the windows; while the rest, at the farther end of the prison, were totally excluded from all relief, and continued calling on their friends for assistance, and conjuring them by all the tender ties of pity and affection. To those who were indulged it proved pernicious; for, instead of allaying their thirst, it enraged their impatience for more. The confusion became general and horrid, all was clamour and contest; those who were at a distance endeavoured to force their passage to the windows, and the weak were pressed down to the ground, never to rise again. The inhuman ruffians without derived entertainment, from their misery; they supplied the prisoners with more water, and held up lights to the bars, that they might enjoy the inhuman pleasure of seeing them fight for the baneful indulgence. The miserable prisoners perceiving that water rather aggravated than relieved their distress, grew clamorous for air; they insulted the guard, in order to provoke them to fire upon them; and loaded the _Suba_ [the nabob of Bengal] with the most virulent reproach; from railing they had recourse to prayers, beseeching Heaven to put an end to their misery.

"They now began to drop on all hands, but a steam arose from the living and the dead as pungent and volatile as spirit of hartshorn; so that all who could not approach the window were suffocated. Mr. Holwell, being weary of life, retired, as he had done once before, from the window, and went and stretched himself by the reverend Mr. Jervas Bellamy, who, together with his son, a lieutenant, lay dead in each other's embrace. In this situation he was soon deprived of sense, and lay, to all appearance, dead, till day broke, when his body was discovered and removed by his surviving friends to one of the windows, where the fresh air revived him, and he was restored to his sight and senses."

II.

CLIVE TO PITT ON ENGLAND'S OPPORTUNITY.

+Source.+--_Correspondence of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham._ Edition of 1838-1840. Vol. i., pp. 387-392.

CALCUTTA, _January 7, 1759_.

SIR,

Suffer an admirer of yours at this distance to congratulate himself on the glory and advantage which are likely to accrue to the nation by your being at its head, and at the same time to return his most grateful thanks for the distinguished manner you have been pleased to speak of his successes in these parts, far indeed beyond his deservings.[26]

The close attention you bestow on the affairs of the British nation in general has induced me to trouble you with a few particulars relative to India, and to lay before you an exact account of the revenues of this country; the genuineness whereof you may depend upon, as it has been faithfully copied from the minister's books.

The great revolution that has been effected here by the success of the English arms, and the vast advantages gained to the Company by a treaty concluded in consequence thereof, have, I observe, in some measure engaged the public attention; but much more may yet in time be done, if the Company will exert themselves in the manner the importance of their present possessions and future prospects deserves. I have represented to them in the strongest terms the expediency of sending out and keeping up constantly such a force as will enable them to embrace the first opportunity of further aggrandizing themselves; and I dare pronounce, from a thorough knowledge of this country government and of the genius of the people, acquired by two years' application and experience, that such an opportunity will soon offer. The reigning Subah, whom the victory at Plassey invested with the sovereignty of these provinces, still, it is true, retains his attachment to us, and probably, while he has no other support, will continue to do so; but Mussulmans are so little influenced by gratitude, that should he ever think it his interest to break with us, the obligations he owes us would prove no restraint: and this is very evident from his having very lately removed his prime minister, and cut off two or three of his principal officers, all attached to our interest, and who had a share in his elevation. Moreover, he is advanced in years; and his son is so cruel and worthless a young fellow, and so apparently an enemy to the English, that it will be almost useless trusting him with the succession. So small a body as two thousand Europeans will secure us against any apprehensions from either the one or the other, and in case of their daring to be troublesome, enable the company to take the sovereignty upon themselves.

There will be the less difficulty in bringing about such an event, as the natives themselves have no attachment whatever to particular princes; and as, under the present government, they have no security for their lives or properties, they would rejoice in so happy an exchange as that of a mild for a despotic government; and there is little room to doubt our easily obtaining the mogul's sannud (or grant) in confirmation thereof, provided we agree to pay him the stipulated allotment out of the revenues. That this would be agreeable to him can hardly be questioned, as it would be so much to his interest to have these countries under the dominion of a nation famed for their good faith, rather than in the hands of people who, a long experience has convinced him, never will pay him his proportion of the revenues, unless awed into it by the fear of the imperial army marching to force them thereto.

But so large a sovereignty may possibly be an object too extensive for a mercantile company; and it is to be feared they are not of themselves able, without the nation's assistance, to maintain so wide a dominion. I have, therefore, presumed, Sir, to represent this matter to you, and submit it to your consideration, whether the execution of a design, that may hereafter be still carried to greater lengths, be worthy of the government's taking it in hand.

I flatter myself I have made it pretty clear to you, that there will be little or no difficulty in obtaining the absolute possession of these rich kingdoms; and that with the mogul's own consent, on condition of paying him less than a fifth of the revenues thereof. Now I leave you to judge whether an income yearly of upwards of two millions sterling, with the possession of three provinces abounding in the most valuable productions of nature and art, be an object deserving the public attention; and whether it be worth the nation's while to take the proper measures to secure such an acquisition,--an acquisition which, under the management of so able and disinterested a minister, would prove a source of immense wealth to the kingdom, and might in time be appropriated in part as a fund towards diminishing the heavy load of debt under which we at present labour.

Add to these advantages the influence we shall thereby acquire over the several European nations engaged in the commerce here, which these could no longer carry on but through our indulgence, and under such limitations as we should think fit to prescribe. It is well worthy consideration, that this project may be brought about without draining the mother country, as has been too much the case with our possessions in America. A small force from home will be sufficient, as we always make sure of any number we please of black troops, who being much better paid and treated by us than by the country powers, will very readily enter into our service.

Mr. Walsh, who will have the honour of delivering you this, having been my secretary during the late fortunate expedition, is a thorough master of the subject, and will be able to explain to you the whole design, and the facility with which it may be executed, much more to your satisfaction, and with greater perspicuity, than can possibly be done in a letter. I shall therefore only further remark, that I have communicated it to no other person but yourself; nor should I have troubled you, Sir, but from a conviction that you will give a favourable reception to any proposal intended for the public good.

The greatest part of the troops belonging to this establishment are now employed in an expedition against the French in the Deccan: and, by the accounts lately received from thence, I have great hopes we shall succeed in extirpating them from the province of Golconda, where they have reigned lords paramount so long, and from whence they have drawn their principal resources during the troubles upon the coast.

Notwithstanding the extraordinary efforts made by the French for sending out M. Lally with a considerable force the last year, I am confident, before the end of this, they will be near their last gasp in the Carnatic, unless some very unforeseen event interpose in their favour. The superiority of our squadron, and the plenty of money and supplies of all kinds which our friends on the coast will be furnished with from this province, while the enemy are in total want of everything, without any visible means of redress, are such advantages as, if properly attended to, cannot fail of wholly effecting their ruin in that as well as in every part of India.

May your zeal, and the vigorous measures projected for the service of the nation, which have so eminently distinguished your ministry, be crowned with all the success they deserve, is the most fervent wish of him, who is with the greatest respect, Sir,

Your most devoted humble servant, ROB. CLIVE.

[26] Mr. Pitt, in his speech on the Mutiny Bill, in December, 1757, after adverting to the recent disgraces which had attended the British arms, said, "We have lost our glory, honour, and reputation everywhere but in India: there the country had a heaven-born general, who had never learned the art of war, nor was his name enrolled among the great officers who had for many years received their country's pay; yet was he not afraid to attack a numerous army with a handful of men."

THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM.

_September 13, 1759._

I.

THE NIGHT ATTACK.

+Source.+--The following passages rest on the same authority, that of Professor Robison, who, as a youth, served as midshipman in the same boat with Wolfe--or, according to another account, commanded the boat next to his--on the eventful night. The first quotation is taken from W. W. Currie's _Life of James Currie_, 1831, vol. ii., p. 248; the second from Dr. James Graham's _History of North America_, 1836, vol. iv., p. 51.

(_a_) "General Wolfe kept his intention of attacking Quebec a most profound secret, not even disclosing it to the Second in Command, and the night before the attack nothing was known. The boats were ordered to drop down the St. Lawrence." (_b_) "Silence was commanded under pain of death, which was indeed doubly menaced: and a death-like stillness was observed in every boat, except the one which conveyed the commander-in-chief, where, in accents barely audible to the profound attention of his listening officers, Wolfe repeated that noble effusion of solemn thought and poetic genius, Gray's _Elegy in a Country Churchyard_, which had been recently published in London, and of which a copy had been brought to him, by the last packet from England. When he had finished his recitation, he added in a tone still guardedly low, but earnest and emphatic,--'Now, gentlemen, I would rather be the author of that poem than take Quebec.'"

II.

THE BATTLE.

+Source.+--_An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North America_, by Captain John Knox, 1769. Vol. ii., pp. 66-71, 77-79.

Before day-break this morning we made a descent upon the north shore [of the St. Lawrence], about half a quarter of a mile to the eastward of Sillez; and the light troops were fortunately, by the rapidity of the current, carried lower down, between us and Cape Diamond; we had in this debarkation, thirty flat-bottomed boats, containing about sixteen hundred men. This was a great surprise on the enemy, who, from the natural strength of the place, did not suspect, and consequently were not prepared against, so bold an attempt. The chain of sentries, which they had posted along the summit of the heights, galled us a little, and picked off several men, and some Officers, before our light infantry got up to dislodge them. This grand enterprise was conducted and executed with great good order and discretion; as fast as we landed, the boats put off for reinforcements, and the troops formed with much regularity: the General, with Brigadiers Monckton and Murray, were a-shore with the first division. We lost nothing here, but clambered up one of the steepest precipices that can be conceived, being almost a perpendicular, and of an incredible height. As soon as we gained the summit, all was quiet, and not a shot was heard, owing to the excellent conduct of the light infantry under Colonel Howe; it was by this time clear daylight. Here we formed again, the river and the south country in our rear, our right extending to the town, and our left to Sillez, and halted a few minutes. The general then detached the light troops to our left to route the enemy from their battery, and to disable their guns, except they could be rendered serviceable to the party who were to remain there: and this service was soon performed. We then faced to the right, and marched towards the town by files, till we came to the plains of Abraham, which Mr. Wolfe had made choice of, while we stood forming upon the hill. Weather showery; about six o'clock the enemy first made their appearance upon the heights, between us and the town; whereupon we halted, and wheeled to the right, thereby forming the line of battle.... General Wolfe, Brigadiers Monckton and Murray, to our front line; and the second was composed of the fifteenth, and two battalions of the sixtieth regiment, under Colonel Burton, drawn up in four grand divisions, with large intervals. The enemy had now likewise formed the line of battle, and got some cannon to play on us, with round and canister shot: but what galled us most was a body of Indians and other marksmen they had concealed in the corn opposite to the front of our right wing, and a coppice that stood opposite to our center, inclining towards our left: but the Colonel Hale, by Brigadier Monckton's orders, advanced some platoons, alternately, from the forty-seventh regiment, which, after a few rounds, obliged these sculkers to retire.... About ten o'clock the enemy began to advance briskly in three columns, with loud shouts and recovered arms, two of them inclining to the left of our army, and the third towards our right, firing obliquely at the two extremities of our line, from the distance of one hundred and thirty--until they came within forty yards; which our troops withstood with the greatest intrepidity and firmness, still reserving their fire, and paying the strictest obedience to their officers: this uncommon steadiness, together with the havoc which the grape-shot from our field-pieces made among them, threw them into some disorder, and was most critically maintained by a well-timed, regular, and heavy discharge of our small arms, such as they could no longer oppose; hereupon they gave way, and fled with precipitation, so that, by the time the cloud of smoke was vanished, our men were again loaded, and, profiting by the advantage we had over them, pursued them almost to the gates of the town, and the bridge over the little river, redoubling our fire with great eagerness, making many Officers and men prisoners. The weather cleared up, with a comfortably warm sunshine: the Highlanders chased them vigorously towards Charles's river, and the fifty-eighth to the suburb close to John's gate, until they were checked by the cannon from the two hulks; at the same time a gun, which the town had brought to bear upon us with grape-shot, galled the progress of the regiments to the right, who were likewise pursuing with equal ardour, while Colonel Hunt Walsh, by a very judicious movement, wheeled the battalions of Bragg and Kennedy to the left, and flanked the coppice where a body of the enemy made a stand, as if willing to renew the action; but a few platoons from these corps completed our victory. Our joy at this success is irrepressibly damped by the loss we sustained of one of the greatest heroes which this or any other age can boast of,--GENERAL JAMES WOLFE, who received his mortal wound, as he was exerting himself at the head of the grenadiers of Louisbourg.... After our late worthy General, of renowned memory, was carried off wounded, to the rear of the front line, he desired those who were about him to lay him down; being asked if he would have a surgeon? he replied, "it is needless; it is all over with me." One of them then cried out, "they run, see how they run." "Who runs!" demanded our hero, with great earnestness, like a person roused from sleep. The Officer answered, "The enemy, Sir; Egad, they give way every-where." Thereupon the General rejoined, "_Go one of you, my lads, to Colonel Burton;--tell him to march Webb's regiment with all speed down to Charles's river, to cut off the retreat of the fugitives from the bridge_." Then, turning on his side, he added, "_Now, God be praised, I will die in peace_": and thus expired....

The Sieur de Montcalm died late last night when his wound was dressed, and he settled in bed, the Surgeons who attended him were desired to acquaint him ingenuously with their sentiments of him, and, being answered that his wound was mortal, he calmly replied, "he was glad of it"; his Excellency then demanded,--"whether he could survive it long, and how long?" He was told, "about a dozen hours, perhaps more, peradventure less." "So much the better," rejoined this eminent warrior; "I am happy I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec."... Some time before this great man departed, we are assured he paid us this compliment,--"Since it was my misfortune to be discomfited, and mortally wounded, it is a great consolation to me to be vanquished by so brave and generous an enemy: If I could survive this wound, I would engage to beat three times the number of such forces as I commanded this morning with a third of their number of British troops."

"THE HEAVEN-BORN MINISTER": HORACE WALPOLE'S HOMAGE TO PITT.

I.

IN THE GREAT YEAR.

+Source.+--_Works of Horace Walpole, Earl of Oxford_, 1798. Vol. ii., P. 375.

_To the Rt. Hon. William Pitt._

_November 19, 1759._ SIR,

On my coming to the town I did myself the honour of waiting on you and lady Hesther Pitt, and though I think myself extremely distinguished by your obliging note, I should be sorry for having given you the trouble of writing it, if it did not lend me a very pardonable opportunity of saying what I much wished to express, but thought myself too private a person, and of too little consequence to take the liberty to say. In short, sir, I was eager to congratulate you on the lustre you have thrown on this country; I wished to thank you for the security you have fixed to me of enjoying the happiness I do enjoy. You have placed England in a situation in which it never saw itself--a task the more difficult, as you had not to improve, but recover. In a trifling book written two or three years ago, I said (speaking of the name in the world the most venerable to me), "Sixteen unfortunate and inglorious years since his removal have already written his eulogium" [in the account of Sir Robert Walpole in the _Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors_]. It is but justice to you, sir, to add that that period ended when your administration began.

II.

CHARACTER OF WILLIAM PITT, DESCRIBED BY WALPOLE IN THE LIGHT OF SUBSEQUENT HISTORY.

+Source.+--_Memoirs of the Reign of George II._, 1847. Vol. iii., pp. 84, 85, 86, 176.

Pitt was now arrived at undisturbed possession of that influence in affairs at which his ambition had aimed, and which his presumption had made him flatter himself he could exert like those men of superior genius, whose talents have been called forth by some crisis to retrieve a sinking nation. He had said the last year to the Duke of Devonshire. "My Lord, I am sure I can save this country, and no one else can." It were ingratitude to him to say that he did not give such a reverberation to our stagnating Councils, as exceedingly altered the appearance of our fortune. He warded off the evil hour that seemed approaching; he infused vigour into our arms; he taught the nation to speak again as England used to speak to Foreign Powers; and so far from dreading invasions from France, he affected to turn us into invaders. Indeed, these efforts were so puny, so ill-concerted, so ineffectual to any essential purpose, that France looked down with scorn on such boyish flippancies, which Pitt deemed heroic, which Europe thought ridiculous, and which humanity saw were only wasteful of lives, and precedents of a more barbarous warfare than France had hitherto been authorized to carry on. In fact, Pitt had neither all the talents he supposed in himself, nor which he seemed to possess from the vacancy of great men around him....

Pitt's was an unfinished greatness: considering how much of it depended on his words, one may almost call his an artificial greatness; but his passion for fame and the grandeur of his ideas compensated for his defects. He aspired to redeem the honour of his country, and to place it in a point of giving law to nations. His ambition was to be the most illustrious man of the first country in Europe; and he thought that the eminence of glory could not be sullied by the steps to it being passed irregularly. He wished to aggrandize Britain in general, but thought not of obliging or benefiting individuals....

Posterity, this is an impartial picture. I am neither dazzled by the blaze of the times in which I have lived, nor, if there are spots in the sun, do I deny that I see them. It is a man I am describing, and one whose greatness will bear to have his blemishes fairly delivered to you--not from a love of censure in me, but of truth; and because it is history I am writing, not romance.

DEATH OF GEORGE II. (1760).

_Horace Walpole to Sir Horace Mann._

ARLINGTON ST., _October 28, 1760_.

... This is Tuesday; on Friday night the King went to bed in perfect health, and rose so the next morning at his usual hour of six; he called for and drank his chocolate. At seven, for everything with him was exact and periodic, he went into the closet.... Coming from thence, his _valet de chambre_ heard a noise; waited a moment, and heard something like a groan. He ran in, and in a small room between the closet and bedchamber he found the King on the floor, who had cut the right side of his face against the edge of a bureau, and who after a gasp expired. Lady Yarmouth was called, and sent for Princess Amelia; but they only told the latter that the King was ill and wanted her. She had been confined some days with a rheumatism, but hurried down, and saw her father extended on the bed. She is very purblind and more than a little deaf. They had not closed his eyes; she bent down close to his face, and concluded he spoke to her, though she could not hear him--guess what a shock when she found the truth. She wrote to the Prince of Wales, but so had one of the _valets de chambre_ first. He came to town, and saw the Duke [of Cumberland] and the Privy Council. He was extremely kind at the first--and in general has behaved with the greatest propriety, dignity, and decency. He read his speech to the Council with much grace, and dismissed the guards on himself to wait on his grandfather's body. It is intimated that he means to employ the same ministers, but with reserve to himself of more authority than has lately been in fashion. The Duke of York and Lord Bute are named of the cabinet council. The late King's will is not yet opened. To-day everybody kissed hands at Leicester House, and this week, I believe, the King will go to St. James's. The body has been _opened_; the great ventricle of the heart had burst. What an enviable death! In the greatest period of the glory of this country, and of his reign, in perfect tranquillity at home, at seventy-seven, growing blind and deaf, to die without a pang, before any reverse of fortune, or any distasted peace, nay, but two days before a ship-load of bad news: could he have chosen such another moment?

APPENDIX

LONDON IN 1725-1736.

DEFOE'S DESCRIPTION OF LONDON IN 1725.

+Source.+--_A Tour through the Whole Island of Great Britain_, 1724-7. Vol. ii., pp. 94-97.

_London_, as a City only, and as its Walls and Liberties live it out, might, indeed, be viewed in a small Compass; but, when I speak of _London_, now in the Modern Acceptation, you expect I shall take in all that vast Mass of Buildings, reaching from _Black Wall_ in the _East_ to _Tothill Fields_ in the _West_; and extended in an unequal Breadth, from the Bridge, or River, on the _South_, to _Islington North_; and from _Peterburgh House_ on the Bank Side in _Westminster_, to _Cavendish Square_, and all the new Buildings by, and beyond _Hanover Square_, by which the City of _London_, for so it is still to be called, is extended to _Hyde Park Corner_ in the _Brentford Road_, and almost to _Maribone_ in the _Acton Road_, and how much farther may it spread, who knows? New Squares, and new Streets rising up every Day to such a Prodigy of Buildings, that nothing in the world does, or ever did, equal it, except old _Rome_ in _Trajan's_ time, when the walls were Fifty Miles in Compass, and the Number of Inhabitants Six Millions Eight Hundred Thousand Souls.

It is the Disaster of _London_, as to the Beauty of its Figure, that it is thus stretched out in Buildings, just at the pleasure of every Builder, or Undertaker of Buildings, and as the Convenience of the People directs, whether for Trade, or otherwise; and this has spread the Face of it in a most straggling, confus'd Manner, out of all Shape, uncompact, and unequal; neither long nor broad, round or square; whereas the City of _Rome_, though a monster for its Greatness, yet was, in a manner, round, with very few Irregularities in its Shape.

At _London_, including the Buildings on both Sides the Water, one sees it, in some Places, Three Miles broad, as from St. _George's_ in _Southwark_, to _Shoreditch_ in _Middlesex_; or Two Miles, as from _Peterburgh House_ to _Montague House_; and in some Places, not half a Mile, as in _Wapping_; and much less, as in _Redriff_ [Rotherhithe].

We see several Villages, formerly standing, as it were, in the County and at a great Distance, now joyn'd to the Streets by continued Buildings, and more making haste to meet in the like Manner; for Example, 1. _Deptford_, This Town was formerly reckoned at least Two Miles off from _Redriff_, and that over the Marshes too, a Place unlikely ever to be inhabited; and yet now, by the Encrease of Buildings in that Town itself, and by the Docks and Buildings-Yard on the River Side, which stand between both the Town of _Deptford_, and the Streets of _Redriff_ (or Rotherhith as they write it) are effectually joyn'd, and the Buildings daily increasing; so that _Deptford_ is now more a separated Town, but is become a Part of the great Mass, and infinitely full of People also; Here they have, within the last Two or Three Years, built a fine new Church, and were the Town of Deptford now separated, and rated by itself. I believe it contains more People, and stands upon more Ground, than the City of _Wells_.

The Town of _Islington_ on the _North_ side of the City, is in like Manner joyn'd to the Streets of _London_, excepting one small Field, and which is in itself so small, that there is no Doubt, but in a very few years, they will be intirely joyn'd, and the same may be said of _Mile-End_, on the _East_ End of the Town.

_Newington_, called _Newington Butts_, in _Surrey_, reaches out her Hand _North_, and is so near joining to _Southwark_, that it cannot now be properly called a Town by itself, but a Suburb to the Burrough, and if, _as they now tell us is undertaken_, St. _George's Fields_ should be built with Squares and Streets, a very little Time will shew us _Newington_, _Lambeth_, and the _Burrough_, all making but one _Southwark_.

The Westminster is in a fair Way to shake Hands with Chelsea, as St. _Gyles's_ is with _Marybone_; and Great _Russel Street_ by _Montague House_, with _Tottenham Court_: all this is very evident, and yet all these put together are still to be called _London_: Whither will this monstrous City then extend? and where must a Circumvallation or Communication Line of it be placed?

THE PRESENTMENT OF THE MIDDLESEX GRAND JURY, JANUARY SESSION (1735-1736).

+Source.+--_Distilled Spirituous Liquors the Bane of the Nation_, 1736.

We the Grand Jury for the County of _Middlesex_ taking notice of the vast number of _Brandy_ and _Geneva-Shops_, _Sheds_, and _Cellars_, of late set up and opened, for the retailing of _Gin_ and other _Spirituous Liquors_, which being sold at a very low Rate, the Meaner, though Useful, Part of the Nation, as Day-Labourers, Men and Women Servants, and common Soldiers, nay even Children, are enticed and seduced to taste, like, and approve of those pernicious _Liquors_ sold for such small Sums of Money, whereby they are daily intoxicated and get drunk, and are frequently seen in our streets in a Condition abhorrent to reasonable Creatures.

It is visible, that by this destructive Practice, the strength and Constitution of Numbers is greatly weakened and destroyed, and many are thereby rendered useless to themselves as well as to the Community, many die suddenly by drinking it to Excess, and infinite Numbers lay the Foundation of Distempers which shorten their Lives, or make them miserable, weak, feeble, unable and unwilling to Work, a Scandal and Burthen to their Country.

But it does not stop here; the unhappy Influence reaches to the Posterity of those poor unhappy Wretches, to the Children yet unborn, who come half burnt and shrivelled into the World, who as soon as born, suck in this deadly spirituous Poison with their Nurse's Milk; the barbarous Mothers also often giving the detestable spirits to poor Infants in their Arms; so that, if the Infection spreads, as it lately has done, it must needs make a general Havock, especially among the laborious Part of Mankind, who are seen manifestly to degenerate from the more manly and robust Constitutions of preceding Generations.

The natural Consequences of which will be, that his Majesty will lose Numbers of his Subjects, the Publick the Labour and Industry of her People, the Soldiery will be greatly weakened and enfeebled, and Masters will every Day have greater Reason to complain of bad and dishonest Servants, especially whilst that scandalous Custom prevails amongst Chandlers and other lower Trades, of giving Drams, making them uncapable of doing their Business, saucy to their Superiors, and in the End tempts them to cheat and rob their Masters, to supply themselves with large quantities of this destructive Liquor.

We therefore the Grand Jury aforesaid, do present all such _Brandy_ and _Geneva-Shops_, _Sheds_ and _Cellars_, where _Gin_ and other _Spirituous Liquors_ are sold and vended by Retail, as publick Nuisances, which harbour, entertain and shelter the indolent, dissolute, and incorrigibly Wicked, that they are a high Grievance, and of the greatest ill Consequence to all our Fellow Subjects, as most plainly appear by the daily Meetings and Associations of Numbers of loose and disorderly Persons of both Sexes in these Places, where after they have drank of this most pernicious Liquor, they are ready for, and actually do spirit up each other to perpetrate and execute the most bold, daring, and mischievous Enterprizes, and shaking off all Fear and Sham, become audaciously impudent in all manner of Vice, Lewdness, Immorality, and Profaneness, in Defiance of all Laws, Human and Divine.

We therefore earnestly hope, that the Magistrates will unanimously and vigorously put the Laws already made, and which have any relation to the rooting out this pernicious Custom, in full Execution: That they will punish severely all Transgressors of them, and use their utmost Endeavours to put some stop to the bold Encroachments of this terrible Destroyer of our Fellow-Creatures, which we apprehend will greatly conduce to the Honour and Glory of God, to the Safety, Happiness, Welfare, and Benefit of the Nation in general, and of every Family in particular, and will be a Means to secure the Health and Strength of our Posterity.

If the Laws already made should not be found sufficient to put a stop to a Custom so universal, and yet plainly, so destructive; As it is now become a National Concern, and the ill Consequences arising therefrom universally felt and confessed, we do not doubt but it will be thought worthy the most serious Consideration of the Legislature, and of his most gracious Majesty, the most tender Father of his People.

[Here follow the signatures of the Grand Jury.]

BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD.

BELL'S ENGLISH HISTORY SOURCE BOOKS

Scope of the Series and Arrangement of Volumes.

1. Roman Britain to 449. 2. 449-1066. 3. 1066-1154. 4. 1154-1216. 5. 1216-1307. 6. 1307-1399. 7. 1399-1485. 8. 1485-1547. _Ready Immediately._ 9. 1547-1603. _Now Ready._ 10. 1603-1660. " 11. 1660-1714. " 12. 1714-1760. " 13. 1760-1801. " 14. 1801-1815. " 15. 1815-1837. 16. 1837-1856. 17. 1856-1876. 18. 1876-1887. 19. 1887-1901. 20. 1901-1912.

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Transcriber's note:

Apparent typographical errors have been corrected.

Two occurrences of unpaired doublel quotation marks were left unchanged.

Notices of other books in the series have been moved to the end of the text.