Part 25

[107] Count Semen Vorontzoff was appointed Russian Ambassador in London, 1784, and remained there until 1806. He obtained permission from his Government to continue to reside there after his official connection with England had ceased, and died in 1832 at the age of eighty-nine.

[108] The Duke of Clarence used these quotations in a speech in the House of Lords on the Divorce Bill. The sermon referred to was delivered in 1795 by Samuel Horsley, Bishop of Rochester. The reason for the Duke’s reference was to oppose the arguments which the Bishop used on that occasion to his statements made on the Bill. Samuel Horsley (1733–1806) was appointed Bishop of St. David’s in 1788, was transferred to the see of Rochester in 1793, and to that of St. Asaph in 1802.

[109] Georgina Elizabeth, second daughter of George, fourth Viscount Torrington, who married Lord John Russell (afterwards sixth Duke of Bedford) in 1786, and died in 1801, leaving three sons, one of whom was the celebrated statesman, Lord John Russell. Her husband succeeded his brother in the dukedom in 1802. He was born in 1766, and married, secondly, in 1803, Georgina, daughter of Alexander, fourth Duke of Gordon. He held the post of Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, 1806–7, and died in 1839.

[110] Lady Georgina Dorothy Cavendish, eldest daughter of William, fifth Duke of Devonshire, and Georgina, daughter of John, Earl Spencer. She married Lord Morpeth in 1801, and died in 1858.

[111] Sir William Scott (1745–1836), created Lord Stowell in 1821. He practised in the Admiralty and Ecclesiastical Courts, and was appointed Judge of the Consistory Court in 1788, Master of the Faculties in 1790, and Judge of the High Court of Admiralty in 1798.

[112] Grey married, in 1794, Mary Elizabeth, only daughter of William Brabazon, first Baron Ponsonby, of Imokilly. She died in 1861. His eldest sister, Elizabeth, married Samuel Whitbread in 1789. The latter (1758–1815) was only son of Samuel Whitbread, of Southill, Beds. He was elected as member for Bedford in 1790, and sat in Parliament until his death by his own hand in 1815.

[113] Magistrate at Bow Street. He retired on a pension the following year.

[114] Charles Abbot (1757–1829). He first entered Parliament in 1795, and was made Speaker in 1802. He retired in 1816, and was then created Baron Colchester.

The Bill was the result of a Committee appointed by Pitt in 1797, with Abbot as chairman. It was designed to put an end to the habit, prevalent in the preceding century, of persons in high office placing the public moneys to their own account and appropriating to their own use the interest which thus accrued. It was not even considered necessary to refund the capital sum at the expiration of their term of office, when the accounts were closed, and the matter was allowed to drag on, as in the Hollands’ case, until it was found convenient to pay off the whole.

The monies were outstanding from Lord Holland’s grandfather’s (Henry Fox, first Lord Holland) Paymastership. The practice was looked on as a right, though certain statesmen of the time--the Pitts and others--refused to benefit by it, and thereby obtained the praise and increased confidence of the public. The retrospective clauses were not finally included in the Bill.

[115] George O’Brien, third Earl of Egremont (1751–1837), the well-known connoisseur and patron of the fine arts, who succeeded to the title in 1763.

[116] By her grandfather Florentius Vassall’s will the property was to be equally divided among all her sons at her death.

[117] John Lens (1756–1825), became a Serjeant-at-law in 1799, and King’s Serjeant in 1806.

[118] On him and his share in the quarrel between Lord Carlisle and Lord Kenyon.

[119] He was appointed Louis XV.’s doctor in 1731.

[120] Joan, daughter and co-heiress of Major-General Scott, of Balcomie, co. Fife. She was created Viscountess Canning in 1828, after her husband’s death, and died in 1837.

[121] John Millar (1735–1801). He accepted a professorship in law at Glasgow in 1761. His lectures on civil law and jurisprudence were renowned. He was strongly inclined to Whiggism, and favoured the principles of the French Revolution, though detesting the excesses which afterwards arose in that country.

[122] Mr. Fox, writing of Lord Henry in 1802, says, ‘I never did see a young man I liked half so much. Whatever disappointments Lansdown may have had in public life, and of a still more sensible kind in Lord Wycombe, he must be very unreasonable if he does not consider them all compensated in Lord Henry.’

[123] Mme. de Staël mentions Bonaparte’s visit to her father in her _Considérations sur la Révolution française_, but does not allude to having seen him herself. Bourrienne quotes Napoleon’s opinion of her: ‘I do not like women who make men of themselves, any more than I like effeminate men.... I cannot endure that woman: for one reason, that I cannot bear women who make a set at me, and God knows how often she has tried to cajole me!’

[124] Charles, third Earl Stanhope (1753–1816), an outspoken admirer of the doctrines of the French Revolution, and a social reformer of a most advanced type.

[125] Mrs. Warren Hastings, the divorced wife of Baron Imhoff. She married Hastings in 1777.

[126] Edward Law (1750–1818), created Lord Chief Justice and Baron Ellenborough in 1802.

[127] John, sixth Earl of Stair (1749–1821), only son of John, fifth Earl of Stair, and Miss Middleton, daughter of George Middleton, Esq. He succeeded his father in the earldom in 1789. He was Minister Plenipotentiary in Poland, 1782, and to Berlin, 1785.

[128] Sheridan’s second wife, whom he married in 1795--Esther Jane, daughter of Newton Ogle, Dean of Winchester.

[129] A note in the _Annual Register_ for 1800, dated May 7, states that the Duke, having disposed of the materials of Bedford House, ordered a sale of the contents. A list of the most valuable of these is given.

Russell and Bloomsbury Squares, connected by Bedford Place, were erected on the site of the house and gardens. The idea of a statue of Lord Russell was not carried out, but in Russell Square a statue of the Duke himself, by Sir Richard Westmacott, erected in 1809, now stands facing Bedford Place. At the other end, in Bloomsbury Square, is a bronze one of Charles James Fox by the same sculptor.

[130] William V., the last Stadtholder, who left Holland in 1795 when the Batavian Republic was declared, and died in 1806. His son was restored as King in 1813.

[131] Henry Webster, her son.

[132] Sir Thomas Maitland (_d._ 1824) a brother of Lord Lauderdale. He was in command of the troops in this expedition, with local rank of major-general, while the naval force was under Sir Edward Pellew. The peninsula of Quiberon was attacked and forts on it captured, but nothing decisive was achieved.

[133] John William, Viscount Duncannon (1781–1847), eldest son of Frederick, third Earl of Bessborough, and Henrietta, daughter of John, Earl Spencer. He succeeded to the titles on his father’s death in 1844.

[134] Jean François Bourgoing (1748–1811), appointed Minister at Copenhagen in 1799.

[135] As soon as Napper Tandy took refuge at Hamburg in 1798, Lord Grenville summoned the Senate to hand him over to the British representative on the charge of high treason. After some delay he was sent to England, and was tried early in 1800. He was acquitted on one charge, but was condemned to death on a second. The sentence was never carried out, and he was released in 1802. His surrender, however, cost the Senate dear, for Bonaparte fined the city four and a half million francs, for their action in handing over an individual who claimed to be a French subject.

[136] Perhaps the adventurer, James George Semple, alias Semple Lisle, the son of an exciseman, who lived an adventurous life on the Continent and in England, where he was several times sentenced to imprisonment for fraudulent transactions. It is stated in the _Dictionary of National Biography_ that the last thing known of him is in 1799, when he was still in confinement in Tothill Fields prison.

[137] Thomas Holcroft (1745–1809), the dramatist and novelist. His best play, _The Road to Ruin_, was first performed at Covent Garden in 1792. He was indicted of high treason in 1794, but was acquitted. He left England in 1799, owing to want of money, but only stayed in Hamburg a short time. He then went to Paris for two years, and died in England.

[138] Charles Maclean, writer on politics and on medical subjects. He spent the best years of his life in India in the service of the East India Company.

[139] Henriette de Sercey, Mme. de Genlis’ niece (‘_A Circe_,’ according to Miss Burney), and companion on her visit to England in 1791, married M. Mathiessen at Hamburg in 1795 or 1796.

[140] Lady Edward Fitzgerald.

[141] Prince Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge (1774–1850), and father of the late Duke of Cambridge. He was educated at Göttingen, and served in the Hanoverian army until 1804.

[142] Ahlden.

[143] The heiress was Lady Elizabeth Percy, daughter of the eleventh Earl of Northumberland. She was married at the age of eleven to the Earl of Ogle, son of the Duke of Newcastle, who died the following year. When fourteen her mother married her to Mr. Thynne, of Longleat, in order to preserve her from Königsmark, who was trying to marry her. As Thynne refused to fight a duel with a friend of Königsmark, who was put up to pick a quarrel with him, his assassination, while driving in Pall Mall, was arranged and duly carried out. In the ensuing trial Königsmark was acquitted of complicity, but had to fly the country.

[144] Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. He was born in 1735, and married, in 1764, Princess Augusta, sister of George III. He was killed at the battle of Auerstadt in 1806. Their daughter, Caroline, married George IV. The Duchess returned to England in 1807, after the death of her husband, and died in 1813.

[145] John Joshua, first Earl of Carysfort (1751–1828), only son of Sir John Proby, first Baron Carysfort. He succeeded to the title on his father’s death in 1772, and was raised to an earldom in 1789. He married, first, in 1774, Elizabeth, daughter of the Right Hon. Sir John Osborne; and, secondly, in 1787, Elizabeth, daughter of the Right Hon. George Grenville. He held the post of Minister Plenipotentiary in Berlin from 1800 until 1802.

[146] Prince Ferdinand Augustus of Prussia (1730–1813), youngest brother of Frederick the Great.

[147] Frederick William III. married, in 1793, Louise, daughter of Duke Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was born in 1776, and died in 1810. Frederick William, who was son of Frederick William II. and his second wife, Princess Louise of Hesse Darmstadt, became King of Prussia in 1797.

[148] Prince Henry of Prussia (1726–1802), another brother of Frederick the Great.

[149] Hugh Elliot, British Minister in Dresden until 1803, when he was transferred to Naples.

[150] Strict regulations were at this time in force against any voluntary visit to places in the French dominions or under the rule of the Republic. Lord Holland mentions in his _Memoirs of the Whig Party_, that to obviate this he applied for a special permit, but received no answer. As they had, however, passports from Bournonville and La Valette, the French Ministers at Berlin and Dresden, and having read a letter from Lord Grenville to Lord Carysfort saying that all would be well if they did not visit Paris, they decided to go on. This was fortunate, he says, for the Duke’s letter, which he did not receive until his return to England, gave no decided permission, while as it was they had no difficulty, on reaching Dover, in obtaining leave to land.

[151] Duchess Amalia of Saxe-Weimar, a Princess of Brunswick. She married Ernest Augustus, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, who died in 1758, and acted as guardian to her infant son, Charles Augustus, who lived until 1828.

[152] James Henry Lawrence (1773–1840), miscellaneous writer, son of Richard James Lawrence, Esq., of Jamaica. His essay on the customs of native caste in Malabar was inserted by Wieland in his _Merkur_, and he later published a romance on the same subject. In later life he asserted that he was a Knight of Malta, and called himself Sir James Lawrence.

[153] Stephen, born January 18, 1799.

[154] ‘The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, otherwise called the Imperial Parliament, was opened, by commission, on the 22nd of January, 1801.’... The King, however, did not meet Parliament till the 2nd of February (_Annual Register_).

[155] His medical attendant.

[156] William, fourth Earl Fitzwilliam (1748–1833), Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland in 1795.

[157] The attempt to blow up Bonaparte on the way to the Opera took place on December 24, 1800. The plot was hatched by three Chouans--Limoëlan, Saint-Réjant, and Carbon. The two latter were taken and executed; but the first-named escaped to America. An extract from Lord Wycombe’s diary relating to the atrocity appears on p. 142.

[158] Hon. William Stuart (1755–1822), fifth son of Lord Bute. Appointed Bishop of St. David’s, 1793, and Archbishop of Armagh in 1800.

[159] Hon. Mary Elizabeth Nugent, daughter of Robert, Viscount Clare (afterwards Earl Nugent). She married, in 1775, George Grenville, second son of the Right Hon. George Grenville. He succeeded his uncle as second Earl Temple in 1779, and was created Marquess of Buckingham in 1784. He was twice Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, 1782–3, 1787–9: and died in 1813. Lady Buckingham was created Baroness Nugent in 1800, with remainder to her second son, George, at whose death in 1850 the title became extinct.

[160] Charles, afterwards second and last Marquess Cornwallis (1774–1823).

[161] John Fitzgibbon, appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1789, and raised to an earldom in 1795, as Earl of Clare. He married, in 1786, Anne, daughter of Richard Whaley, Esq.

[162] This of course was not the case. The King recovered sufficiently to permit of the necessary arrangements being made.

[163] Lord St. Vincent became First Lord of the Admiralty in Addington’s Government, giving up the Channel Fleet.

[164] Admiral the Hon. William Cornwallis (1744–1819), Marquess Cornwallis’ brother, when proceeding as commander-in-chief to the West Indies in 1796, put back owing to damage to his ship. He was ordered to start again at once in a small frigate, but declined to do so on the grounds of health. For this he was brought to a Court martial, but though practically acquitted, he resigned his command.

[165] Margaret Georgina, eldest daughter of the Right Hon. Stephen Poyntz. She married John, first Earl Spencer, in 1755, and died in 1814.

[166] This is not true. E.V.H., November 1801.

[167] Grey’s wife was George Ponsonby’s niece. Ponsonby was the leader of the Whigs in the House of Commons from 1808 till 1817.

[168] Sir Walter Farquhar (1738–1819), the well-known doctor: physician in ordinary to the Prince of Wales, and created a Baronet in 1796.

[169] _Deaf and Dumb_, first acted on February 24. It was a free translation of a play of Kotzebue.

[170] See _ante_, ii. 74. The general impression in the minds of Fox’s followers all through this vexed question of secession appears to have been that those who did attend, and especially Tierney, were not really anxious for Fox’s return to active political life, and preferred to make the most of their own opportunities. Hence the somewhat biassed feelings with which Lady Holland approaches the subject. Fox himself was perfectly ready and willing that anyone should attend who wished to do so, but there was an uneasy feeling which rankled in the hearts of his friends, that interested and insidious motives underlay the professions of goodwill towards him in certain quarters.

[171] The letter is printed in the _Memorials and Correspondence of C. J. Fox_, iii. 189. In it he states that he thinks he will go to town no more that year. If he can be of service to the public or the party he would do so, but he can see no chance of doing any good.

[172] This was a second protest against the Bill. Lord Clare moved on March 31 to have it expunged, and carried his point by ninety-two votes to twenty. The first protest remains on the Journals. It was signed by the same four Lords, and in addition by Lord Ponsonby.

[173] The attempt to blow up Bonaparte on December 24 (3 Nivôse) 1800, referred to previously, ii. 127.

[174] The first performance in Paris of Haydn’s _Creation_.

[175] Fouché.

[176] Horne Tooke stood against Charles Fox for Westminster in 1790 and in 1796, but was each time rejected by a large majority. Fox, however, strongly opposed the Bill, aimed at Horne Tooke, forbidding clergymen to sit in Parliament.

[177] Lord Grenville refused to continue to support the Government, because of the utterly inadequate terms on which he considered peace had been obtained, and wrote to Addington, on October 14, informing him of his reasons.

[178] Lady Holland’s old friend Thomas Pelham, now Lord Pelham. His father was created Earl of Chichester in June 1801.

[179] Afterwards fourth Lord Holland. He was born on March 7, 1802.

[180] Hugues Bernard Maret (1763–1839), created Duc de Bassano in 1809. Appointed Secretary of State, after the _coup d’état_ of 18 Brumaire, he succeeded Bourrienne as the Emperor’s secretary in 1804. Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1811.

[181] The horses, which were taken from Venice in 1797 and were restored in 1815, stood on the triumphal arch in the Carrousel.

[182] General Fitzpatrick.

[183] Lord Robert Spencer.

[184] Hon. Frederick Ponsonby (1785–1837), second son of Frederick, third Earl of Bessborough. He became a Major-General and K.C.B., and was Governor of Malta from 1826 till 1835. He married, in 1825, Emily, daughter of the third Earl Bathurst.

[185] John Bernard Trotter (1775–1818), who accompanied Fox to assist him in transcribing certain material for his _History of the Reign of James II._ He became his private secretary in 1806, and published _Memoirs_ of the later years of his chief’s life in 1811, including an account of this visit to Paris.

[186] Washington George Louis, Marquis de la Fayette (1779–1849), Washington’s godson, and a French deputy. La Fayette’s son-in-law, De Lasteyrie, had finally to leave the army on account of the treatment he received.

[187] Antoine François, Count Andréossy (1761–1828), grandson of the maker of the Languedoc Canal. He was appointed Ambassador to England early in 1802, but left upon the recommencement of war. He was successively Ambassador at Vienna (1809), and at Constantinople (1812).

[188] Charles Ambroise de Caffarelli (1758–1826), born at Falga. Originally a priest, he left the Church on the outbreak of the Revolution, and after suffering imprisonment held several posts under Napoleon. After the Restoration he again took up his ecclesiastical duties. His brother, Louis, was a distinguished general, and had already lost a leg when he joined the Egyptian expedition.

[189] Cyrus-Marie de Timburne-Timbronne, Comte de Valence (1757–1822). He served under Dumouriez, but did not desert the French cause for the Austrian. He sent in his resignation, however, shortly after, and came to England. He returned to France after 18 Brumaire, and commanded a division in Spain and Russia. He married a daughter of Madame de Genlis.

[190] Amédée-Bretagne-Malo de Durfort, Duc de Duras (1771–1838). He was attached to the suite of Louis XVIII. when in exile, but returned to France during the Consulate. He married Claire de Kersaint (1779–1828), the well-known writer and friend of Chateaubriand.

[191] Trophime Gérard, Comte de Lally-Tollendal (1751–1830), the legitimate son of Lally, of Indian fame, and Félicité Crafton. At the outbreak of the Revolution he sided with the Third Estate, but disgusted with excesses he went over to the Court party and was obliged to fly to England. He returned to France after 18 Brumaire, and was made a peer by Louis XVIII.

[192] Adélaïde Marie Filleul (1761–1836). She married the Comte de Flahaut, who was more than three times her age, when eighteen. She went abroad at the commencement of the Revolution, and after the Count’s death on the scaffold, supported herself and her son by her pen. She returned to France in 1798, and married, in 1802, the Portuguese Minister in Paris, the Marquis de Souza-Botelho. Her novels are well known, among the most celebrated being _Adèle de Sénanges_ and _Emilie et Alphonse_.

Her son, Auguste Charles Joseph (1785–1870), served with distinction in Napoleon’s wars, and resided outside France from 1815 to 1830. Returning after the Revolution he held various high diplomatic posts, and was Ambassador to England from 1860 to 1862. He married, in 1817, Baroness Keith and Nairn, and one of his daughters married the fourth Marquess of Lansdowne.

[193] René Louis, Marquis de Girardin (1735–1808), who distinguished himself in the Seven Years’ War, and afterwards settled at Ermenonville. There he gave an asylum to Rousseau, who died in his house. He was fortunate in saving his life in the Terror, and left France to return after the troubles were over.

[194] Jean Antoine Gallois (1761–1828), the friend of Cabanis. He was made President of the Tribunate in 1802. He took but little part in politics after 1814.

[195] André Morellet (1727–1819), French writer. Made a Senator in 1808.

[196] Louis Mathieu, Comte de Molé (1781–1855), who was imprisoned with his father in 1794, but escaped death owing to his youth, and came to England. He held various offices under Napoleon, and was continued in his employment by Louis XVIII. He continued to take a leading part in politics until 1851, and held several important posts.

[197] Giuseppe Acerbi (1773–1846), an Italian naturalist. His book was first published in English. He was Austrian Consul-General in Egypt, 1826–36.

[198] Louis, Comte de Narbonne (1755–1813). He was son of one of Princess Elizabeth’s ladies, possibly by Louis XV. At any rate he was educated at the Court, and given a position in Madame Adélaïde’s suite. He escorted the Princesses to Rome in 1791. After his return he was made War Minister by Madame de Staël’s influence, but only held the post three months. He fled abroad soon after, and did not return till after 18 Brumaire. He offered his services to Napoleon, and was variously employed by him until his death of typhus at Torgau.

[199] Octave Gabriel, Comte de Ségur (1778–1818), son of Louis Philippe, Comte de Ségur, and Antoinette d’Aguesseau. He married his first cousin, daughter of Henri Cardin d’Aguesseau. He showed great literary promise, but drowned himself in the Seine in 1818.

His brother, Philippe Paul (1780–1873), gained much distinction by his military services, and became a recognised writer on military history.

[200] Arnail François, Marquis de Jaucourt (1757–1852), born of a Protestant family. He escaped death during the Terror and left France in 1793. After his return in 1800 he became a Tribune and a Senator, and later held several offices under Louis XVIII.

[201] Giambattista Casti (1721–1803). Born at Montefiasconi, he entered the Church, but gave up a canonry at his native town to travel. He is best known by his poems, and became Poet Laureate of Austria after the death of Metastasio.

[202] Jean Baptiste Chevalier (1752–1836), secretary to the Ambassador to Turkey, Comte de Choiseul-Gouffier, with whom he travelled in Asia Minor in 1784–. He remained abroad during the Revolution, and on his return was made keeper of the Sainte-Geneviève library.

[203] Casimir, Comte de Montrond (1768–1843). He was incarcerated during the Terror, and met in prison Mlle. de Coigny (Duchesse de Fleury), the _Jeune Captive_ of André Chénier, whom he soon afterwards married. After his divorce he became the bosom friend of Talleyrand, and was one of the best known men in French society until obliged to fly the country in 1812 on account of intrigues against Napoleon.