Part 26

[204] Arcadi Ivanovitch Markoff, the favourite of Catherine II. He was appointed Ambassador to Paris in 1801, but was recalled ere long at the instance of Napoleon, who feared his diplomatic skill and _finesse_. He held several other diplomatic posts, and died at a great age.

[205] Perhaps Pierre Marie, Marquis de Grave (1755–1823), successor to Narbonne as War Minister. He only held the post a few months, as he was obliged to leave the country on account of his devotion to Louis. Trotter says Madame Roland describes him in one of her works as ‘a good-natured little man, unfit for an ordinary situation--rolling his blue eyes and falling asleep over his coffee.’

[206] Edouard Dillon, son of Robert Dillon, and his second wife, Miss Dicconson; one of a family of thirteen.

[207] Joseph François Talma (1763–1826), the friend of David. He was educated as a dentist, and first went on the stage in 1787. He quite overcame a certain thickness of speech and stiffness of manner, and was later justly celebrated for the purity of his accent.

[208] Roch Amboise Sicard (1742–1822), the head of the Deaf and Dumb Asylum in Paris initiated by the Abbé de l’Épée. The objective of this institution, which still exists, has been to educate the inmates so as to fit them to go out into the world and earn their own living.

[209] Possibly Antoine Henri Bertrand the sculptor. He worked for some years in Italy with Canova.

[210] Charles de Noailles, afterwards Duc de Mouchy (1771–1834), eldest son of Philippe de Noailles, Prince de Poix. He left France in 1792 and came to England, where he remained till the Consulate. On his return he continued his career in the army, and became Field-Marshal in 1815. He was the bearer of the message from the Provisional Government in 1814 asking Louis XVIII. to return to France.

[211] With the battle of Austerlitz, late in 1805, ended all hope of a successful European coalition against Napoleon. The wavering counsels of the Prussian Cabinet were decided once and for all by the action of their envoy, Haugwitz, who concluded a treaty with Napoleon upon receipt of news of the battle. The Austrians had to take the best terms they could obtain, and by the Treaty of Presburg, in December, retired from the struggle bereft of their fairest provinces. Napoleon, who had given the kingdom of Naples to his brother, Joseph, now turned to make peace with England. He found Fox, the new Foreign Minister, less pliant than he had hoped. The restitution of Hanover, which had been handed over to Prussia a few months before, was insisted upon, as well as the maintenance in Sicily of Ferdinand. To the former demand Napoleon agreed, and seemed inclined to accede to the latter request, until he found that the Russian envoy, d’Oubril, was prepared to throw over England, and sign a separate treaty. He then changed his tone and demanded the cession of Sicily to Joseph; but by so doing lost the opportunity for peace with both countries, for the Czar repudiated the preliminaries signed by d’Oubril, and Fox recalled his envoy from Paris. The failure of these negotiations put an end for the moment to Napoleon’s designs on Portugal. A large portion of the French army never actually reached Bayonne, but was elsewhere employed against the Prussians. Lord St. Vincent remained with his fleet at Lisbon until it was evident that the danger of an invasion of Portugal was past; and a large force of troops, under Lord Rosslyn, who had been assembled at Plymouth to await eventualities, was at the same time disbanded.

[212] Three months (_Annual Register_ for 1806, Chapter ix.).

[213] Francis Charles, Earl of Yarmouth (1777–1842), eldest son of Francis, second Marquess of Hertford, whom he succeeded in the titles in 1822. He married, in 1798, Maria Fagniani. He had been one of those English who were detained in France after the rupture of the peace of Amiens. He was released early in June owing to Fox’s personal intervention, and was a bearer of a verbal message from Talleyrand to him on the subject of peace. As it was necessary to keep these communications secret, and as Lord Yarmouth’s return to his family in France would not in any way excite attention, Fox sent him back to Paris with orders to conduct the subsequent negotiations with the French Government.

[214] Talleyrand first offered the Hanse Towns.

[215] Adam Georges Czartoriski (1770–1861). He was first brought to Petersburg as a hostage, but gained the Emperor’s friendship, and was made Foreign Minister at his accession. The views he held were liberal and enlightened, and every influence he possessed over his master was for the best. Despairing, however, of carrying out his schemes he resigned in 1807, but still retained the Emperor’s ear.

[216] James, second Earl of Rosslyn (1762–1837), nephew of the Lord Chancellor, whom he succeeded in 1805. He had already served in Portugal, 1796–9, as second-in-command to Sir Charles Stuart.

[217] The Russian Ambassador in England.

[218] Lord Holland in the _Memoirs of the Whig Party_ maintained his entire disbelief in these rumours.

[219] Henri Jacques Guillaume Clarke (1765–1818), afterwards created Duc de Feltre. He was War Minister 1807–13, and held the same post under Louis XVIII. in 1815. It was said of him, ‘C’est l’homme d’épée qui doit le plus à sa plume.’

[220] The town of Gaeta was besieged by the French under Masséna, and capitulated before the Neapolitan and English forces, fresh from their victory at Maida, were able to intervene. By this capture, Masséna’s army of 18,000 was freed to make common cause with Regnier against the Calabrians, and as all hope of success in that quarter was thereby removed, Sir John Stuart withdrew his troops to Sicily.

[221] Manuel de Godoy (1767–1851), Prime Minister of Spain. He obtained this title from having concluded the peace with France in 1795.

[222] Spanish Ambassador in Paris.

[223] Lord Howick was First Lord of the Admiralty, and Lord Henry Petty Chancellor of the Exchequer.

[224] Ali Pacha, vizier of Janina (1744–1822), son of an Albanian chief. He made his name by cruelty and brigandage, and was appointed Governor of Trikala by the Turks for his assistance against Russia. He allied himself to Napoleon in 1797, and again in 1807, but went over to the English after the treaty of Tilsit. He made himself practically independent of the Turks, who decided to rid themselves of him, and having taken him prisoner, treacherously put him to death.

[225] Two important points were at issue between England and the United States, and popular excitement had risen to such a pitch in the latter country that a non-importation order had been issued against British goods, to take effect on November 15. The first ground of complaint was the right claimed by England of searching and taking deserters out of American ships; the second, the practice of seizing ships engaged in the carrying trade between France and her colonies, although they had touched at a neutral port.

[226] James Monroe (1758–1831) who took a leading part in the war of Secession and sat in the United States Senate from 1790 to 1794. He was then sent as Ambassador to Paris, but was recalled two years later. He was again sent there in 1802, and was employed for some years in London and Madrid. He returned to America after the refusal of Jefferson to ratify this treaty. He was appointed Secretary of State in 1811, and was elected President in 1816, a post which he retained until he retired from public life in 1825. He was the author of the message to Congress in 1823, embodying the principles known as the ‘Monroe doctrine.’

[227] William Pinkney (1764–1822), an Englishman by birth, who gained distinction in the legal profession. He was first sent to London in 1796 by Washington and added diplomacy to his other employments. Going back to America in 1804 he returned to England two years later, and remained as Minister till 1811. He was Attorney-General of the United States for three years, and was Minister to Russia for a short time.

[228] The latter was taken ill on the journey, returned immediately to England, and died a few days after his arrival.

[229] The correspondence relating to these negotiations is given in the _Annual Register_ for 1806.

[230] ‘His tenacity about the _uti possidetis_, and his frequent recurrence to that phrase, led Napoleon to reproach him with an adherence to “des formules Latines,” which to those well acquainted with the nature of Lauderdale’s acquirements in classical phraseology was diverting enough.’ (_Memoirs of the Whig Party_).

[231] Comte de Montrond. See _ante_, ii. 159.

[232] Baron André Jakovlevitch Budberg (1750–1812).

[233] Ambassador to Russia, 1804–06, and again in 1807.

[234] Jerome Bonaparte’s ship, the _Veteran_, was one of Admiral Villaumez’s fleet, now France’s sole hope on the high seas. Originally detailed for the Cape of Good Hope, Villaumez had crossed over to the West Indies on hearing of the capture of the African settlement by the English. He was unable to elude the vigilance of Sir Thomas Cochrane, and three squadrons under the command respectively of Sir John Borlase Warren, Sir Richard Strachan, and Admiral Louis were despatched to confront him. Villaumez seeing that his fleet could not hope to escape _en masse_, gave the order for his ships to separate. Only one however, was successful in regaining France safely, and Jerome was only able to save his crew and guns by running his ship ashore on the coast of France. Sir John Warren’s fleet was despatched with exemplary haste, but lost several days at Spithead owing to contrary winds. To this delay Mr. Allen, in the _Annual Register_ for 1806, attributes the escape of Villaumez’s squadron.

Sir John Borlase Warren (1753–1822), son of John Borlase Warren, of Stapleford, Nottinghamshire. He entered the Navy in 1771, and saw much service. He became Rear Admiral in 1799, and was sent to Russia in 1802 to compliment Alexander on his accession.

[235] Mr. Fox had been lent Chiswick House by the Duke of Devonshire, and was moved there at the end of July.

[236] Near Malmesbury, in Wilts.

[237] The funeral was fixed for October 10, by a curious coincidence the anniversary of his first election for Westminster.

[238] The new appointments were, Lord Howick, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; Mr. T. Grenville, Admiralty, in place of Lord Howick; Mr. Tierney, President of Board of Control, in succession to Mr. Grenville; Lord Sidmouth, President of the Council, in place of Lord Fitzwilliam; and Lord Holland, Lord Privy Seal, in place of Lord Sidmouth.

[239] Lord Holland states fully his reasons for accepting office in a letter to Lord Lauderdale, dated September 22. It is published in _Memoirs of the Whig Party_, ii. 53.

[240] Early in March Murat was given the Duchy of Berg and Cleves, ceded to Napoleon by Bavaria, and other territories claimed by Prussia were occupied by French troops a month later--this without any communication to the Prussian Cabinet.

These and other arbitrary actions, following closely on the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine, opened the eyes of the Prussians to the true policy of the French Emperor, but the final blow to their _amour propre_ was the discovery of their Ambassador in France, Lucchesini, that Napoleon had cheated them over Hanover, by his willingness to restore it to England, and that he threw no obstacles in the way of the immediate re-establishment of the Kingdom of Poland.

[241] Prince Louis Ferdinand, nephew of Frederick the Great, was born in 1772. He served with distinction against Napoleon and was killed at Saalfeld in 1806 in command of the advance guard.

[242] ‘They want ordnance, and yet would begin by spiking one of their great guns.’ Lord Holland relates this as another remark of Windham’s upon the proposal.

[243] Sir Home Popham’s expedition to South America, where he effected the capture of Buenos Ayres on June 28. He had been originally despatched to the Cape of Good Hope, where he met with complete success and annexed that colony to the British Empire. Fired with this triumph he made his way to the Rio Plate, without any instructions from Government, who on hearing of his destination took steps to stop him, but their orders arrived too late. Buenos Ayres remained in his hands until August 4, when it was retaken by the Spaniards, with severe loss to the British.

[244] Lord Morpeth was sent to Berlin to offer the assistance of England conditionally upon the immediate restoration of Hanover. He arrived at headquarters two days before the battle of Jena, and found Haugwitz, with whom he was to negotiate, unwilling to meet him in any way. The intriguing Prussian still hoped to retain Hanover, and expected after the battle to be able to say so. The result, however, was contrary to his expectations, and as no diplomatic negotiations were possible in the confusion after the battle Lord Morpeth returned to London.

[245] Bartholomew Frere (1778–1851), a younger brother of John Hockham Frere, and son of John Frere, M.P. for Norwich. He was Secretary of Legation to his brother in Spain and held various minor diplomatic posts.

[246] M. Jacobi, the Prussian Minister, had left England when diplomatic relations between the two countries were broken off in the spring. He passed Lord Morpeth on the sea, and reached England early in October.

[247] In the interval which elapsed since Lady Holland’s last entry in her journal the whole position of Europe had again changed. The Prussian army, decimated in one day at Jena and Auerstadt, had practically ceased to exist; Frederick William was a fugitive at the eastern end of his dominions in Königsberg. Napoleon had occupied Berlin, and in two months had become master of many of the Prussian fortresses, which it should have taken him years to reduce. Lucchesini in the course of his negotiations for peace in Berlin was even ready to give up those strongholds which had not surrendered, but the patriotic party were too strong to allow the King to consent to further ignominy. Russia was prepared to give her assistance, and this nerved Frederick William to continue the war. Haugwitz resigned, but the King rendered this lucky event ineffective by also dismissing Count Stein, the only really able man in his councils.

[248] War was formally declared between Russia and the Porte towards the end of December.

[249] Gustavus IV. succeeded, at the age of fourteen, to the crown of Sweden after his father’s assassination in 1792. His hatred of Napoleon and inclination towards an English alliance were the leading features of his reign--features to which he so obstinately adhered as to cause his country much unrest and suffering, and his own downfall. He was deposed in 1809 in favour of his uncle.

[250] The dissolution took place in October, and the new Parliament met on December 15. Tierney was defeated at Southwark by Sir Thomas Turton. He obtained a seat, however, at Athlone.

[251] Sir Samuel Auchmuty (1756–1822), born in New York, of Scotch descent. He served the crown in America as a volunteer, obtaining a commission. He went to India, where he saw much service. He took Monte Video, and showed considerable skill on this expedition until superseded by General Whitelocke, who arrived with further reinforcements. He later returned to India, and was also employed in the East Indian islands.

Sir Home Popham, who was court-martialled in March, and reprimanded for his share in the unauthorised expedition to Buenos Ayres, remained with his fleet off the Rio Plate after the loss of the town. The Government were much disconcerted by the whole affair, but the enthusiasm of the public forced them to send reinforcements instead of orders of recall. Three thousand men were despatched with Sir Samuel.

[252] General Robert Craufurd (1764–1812). He served under Lord Cornwallis in India, and was Quartermaster-General in Ireland during the insurrection of 1798. His force was joined to General Whitelocke’s. He commanded a light brigade in the Peninsula and was killed at the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo. This expedition was intended for the conquest of Chili, but was diverted to Buenos Ayres.

[253] Aaron Burr’s (1756–1836) conspiracy was a sequel to his defeat for the Presidency of the United States by Jefferson in 1801. This was mainly brought about by General Hamilton’s influence, which was again brought to bear against him in 1804 when he stood for the Governorship of New York. A duel took place in which General Hamilton was shot dead. Burr after this went to the West and established himself on the Mississippi. He gained over General Wilkinson, the commander of the United States army at New Orleans, to assist him in his schemes, though nobody appeared to know their exact trend. Jefferson, however, grew alarmed, Wilkinson recanted, Burr was arrested, and the whole plot fell to the ground. Burr was acquitted of actual treason, and went to Europe. There he remained, first in one country, then in another, till 1812, when he returned to America. He took no further active part in politics, and died in extreme poverty.

[254] Lord Mulgrave was Secretary for Foreign Affairs, 1805–6.

[255] Preparations for this expedition ceased with the fall of the Ministry. Their successors again took the project into consideration, but the troops destined to take part in it under Sir Arthur Wellesley were sent instead to Portugal.

[256] Charles, third Duke of Richmond; born in 1735, died on December 29, 1806. He was succeeded by his nephew, Colonel Lennox.

[257] The charges of immorality raised against the Princess of Wales by Sir John and Lady Douglas were laid before a Committee of the Cabinet in 1806 for investigation. It was composed of four members, the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Chief Justice (Lord Ellenborough), and Lords Grenville and Spencer, with Sir Samuel Romilly, the Solicitor-General, as legal adviser. Their report acquitted her of the more serious charges, but animadverted with severity on the levity of her conduct. The Princess replied with a letter to the King ‘the joint composition of Lord Eldon, Mr. Perceval, and Mr. Plomer; the first furnishing the law, the second the argument, and the third the prolixity. It concluded with a request to be restored to the comfort and honour of his Majesty’s royal presence’ (_Memoirs of the Whig Party_, ii. 151). This the King referred to the Cabinet, and after many deliberations, with the exception of Mr. Windham, they concurred in the report.

It is curious that Lord Eldon, who it is here suggested was the secret adviser of George III., was also the confidential adviser of George IV. at the time of the trial in 1820.

[258] This incident is fully described in _Coke of Norfolk_, ii. 69–73. Mrs. Berney and her friend were in the habit of parading the town every day in a carriage decked in Colonel Wodehouse’s (the Tory candidate) colours. One day, however, the Whigs produced a carriage arranged to closely resemble theirs in every particular, but flaunting the rival hue. A riot ensued, for which the Berney family held Coke and Windham responsible, though they had in no way countenanced the trick. All three candidates were convicted of treating, but as no petition was brought against Colonel Wodehouse, he retained the seat. Mr. Coke’s brother, Edward Coke, resigned his seat for Derby, for which the former was elected; while the latter took the vacant seat at Norwich. Mr. Windham was returned for Higham Ferrers by Lord Fitzwilliam.

[259] ‘A clear and precise rule was laid down for the regulation of the circuitous trade by the enemy to the colonies, which defined the difference between a continuous and intercepted voyage’ (Alison, _History of Europe_, v. 677). The discussion of the question of impressment of seamen was postponed till some future occasion, owing to the difficulties which surrounded it. The British Government pledged themselves in the meantime to use their powers with the utmost moderation. President Jefferson, however, refused to ratify the treaty.

[260] At the rupture of the Treaty of Amiens.

[261] Lord Minto had been appointed Governor-General of India. He at first refused to accept office, and only did so at the earnest desire of Lord Grenville. That he was loath to do so is shown by letters, published in vol. iii. of his _Life and Letters_, to Lady Minto, who on the score of health was precluded from accompanying him. Fox first offered the appointment to Lord Lauderdale, but the Court of Directors refused to receive him. He therefore consented to waive his claim to the dignity.

[262] In answer to Lord Howick Mr. Perceval explained that the word ‘attached’ was taken from a letter of Mr. Fox to Talleyrand published in the Correspondence, in which he had ‘subscribed himself “with the most perfect attachment”’ (_Hansard_).

[263] William Roscoe (1753–1831), the author of the _Lives_ of _Lorenzo de’ Medici_ and _Leo X._ He was elected in the Whig interest as member for Liverpool in 1806, but was defeated at the succeeding election.

[264] William Frederick, second Duke of Gloucester (1776–1834), son of William Henry, Duke of Gloucester, and Maria, Countess of Waldegrave. He married, in 1816, Princess Mary, George III.’s daughter.

[265] Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge (1774–1850), seventh son of George III.

[266] This is probably the paper printed in _Memorials and Correspondence of C. J. Fox_, ii. 340, &c. It was to be delivered to the King in 1789, with the memorial, also drawn up by Minto and Burke, containing a justification of the Prince’s and Duke of York’s conduct during their father’s illness. Both documents were discussed at a meeting of the Whig leaders held at Carlton House, and it was decided not to present the memorial with this paper, but to accompany it only with a short explanatory letter.

[267] Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland.