Part 19

_10th._--Mr. Fox dined at the Whig Club; in the speech he made he did not supply materials for fresh attacks. We sat up very late with him; his conversation is always instructive and entertaining. He shuns politics as much as I could wish. Criticism, literature, and observations upon character are ye chief topics. It is astonishing what a storehouse of knowledge his mind is of every sort, from a fairy tale up to a system of philosophy. A novel was mentioned, upon which he launched forth upon a discussion on the different merits of the novelists, in which he displayed as great a range of reading as a miss who reads from a circulating library could do. He knows, in short, every production of the sort that has appeared. He professed liking fairy tales, romances, novels, etc. The only sort he admitted were dull are the old French ones of Mlle. Scudéri--_Le Grand Cyrus_, etc.--tho’ he made a few exceptions, especially for ye _Princesse de Cleves_,[247] as well he might, for that is very pretty. He set off early the next morning. Mrs. Armstead disapproves of his absence being extended beyond the time she fixes.

On the 6th we dined at Lansdown House. Ld. L. received me with cordiality. _I_ hope his terrors of my _machinations_ are dissipated. Ld. Wycombe is gone to Ireland. Thursday.--Dined with Mrs. Wyndham. Friday.--Lds. Bor. and Digby, Mr. Adderley and General Fitzpatrick dined. Saturday.--Mrs. W.

Ld. and Ly. Macartney called this morn. It is the first time I have seen him since his return from the Cape. He looks well, tho’ he says he is _confiscated_. The climate of the Cape, he says, is unfavourable to a gouty habit. He told me the people at the Cape look upon Vaillant[248] as a vagrant, lying sort of a gentleman, who undertook to describe places he never saw, and boast of friends he never had: his secretary is going to publish his travels, and has annexed an accurate map he made himself to the work.

[Sidenote: LORD MACARTNEY]

Ld. M. is remarkable for a retentive memory. He remembers the minutest circumstance, tho’ I half-suspect he plays tricks, and frequently makes his recollection dwell upon strange objects, that as you find he remembers them, you may give him credit for knowing the commonest. When he went Minister to Russia, Mr. Grenville, in giving him instructions upon commercial arrangements, advised him to take the Navigation Act, as it might be of service to him. ‘To avoid encumbering myself, as I knew its use, _I have learnt it by heart_,’ and true it was he could say every tittle. Louis XVIII. is remarkable for a strong memory; when Ld. M. went to Verona, somebody said, ‘Ah! quels assauts de mémoire il y aura entre eux.’

_14th March._--Sunday. Dumont[249] came and slept. He has all the good, and none of the bad qualities of a _Génevois_. A sarcastic person might ask, ‘What are the good qualities of a _Génevois_?’ To be candid, I protest I know of none but their enthusiastic admiration of Rousseau, and when I made that _éloge_ of Dumont by giving them to him, I meant in truth to say he was a Frenchman; for all the _agréments_ I bestow on him are the due of an amiable, enlightened, polished _homme de lettres_ of Paris.

Tuesday, we dined with Mrs. W. and went to the play: I found Lewis in my box. Mrs. W. in her quaint manner asked him, ‘How he could have such a horrid imagination with such a comical face?’ Thursday, Dr. Ash and Mr. Moore dined here. To-day, the weather has been horrible, and we have not seen a soul, but have stayed snugly alone at home. I read two acts of Buonarotti’s _Tancia_. It is very difficult, and to a foreigner has no merit but simplicity and poetry. Its wit and truth are lost where the language and allusions are unknown, and the names ideal; for the _vera lingua Fiorentina_, as spoken by the peasants, is a distinct idiom from the common Italian, and the proverbs are local, nor is it possible for a foreigner resident in the country to obtain so exact a notion of the rustic manners of the _contadini_, as to be able to judge of the justness of the picture. I have been reading several of Hurd’s[250] _Dialogues_; his style is frigid, and, though correct, insipid. It was of him and Warburton that Dr. Parr said, ‘_He_ has blundered into sublimity; _you_ have refined into littleness.’

_22nd March._--On Friday, 15th, we had an uncommonly pleasant party--Mrs. W., Lds. Mor., Bor., Thanet, General Fitz., Lord Robert, Mr. Hare, and (by chance) little Lewis.

_25th March,’99._--On Sunday, 17th, Ld. H. dined with Mr. Francis. Mr. Marsh and Hamilton[251] dined here with me. At Francis’s they drank a good deal of wine. The joke was to exhaust his cellar. It succeeded, much to the mirth of Ld. Thanet, who is the promoter of all fun and mischief. On Monday Ld. Bor., Misses Fox and Vernon came to sleep, and some others.

[Sidenote: DEBATE ON THE UNION]

On Tuesday the House of Lds.; Miss Fox and I dined at home with Hodges only. Ld. H. and Marsh went to the H. of Lds. The debate was upon the Union. It was conducted, as Ld. Carlisle said, in a very gentlemanlike manner, which in plainer language means dully. Ld. L. spoke. The tenor of his speech was ambiguous, and none could judge how he would have voted had the question come to a division. He deprecated the principle of confiscation, and urged strongly the injustice of the Fitzgerald Attainder Bill. He illustrated his argument by several political cases, one of which the world say he intended for his own situation; but he certainly did not. He said any of their Lordships might be cursed with a Republican son, and by this system of confiscation their grandchildren would be beggars. Ld. H. spoke, but out of good nature he let the others speak before him, so that he was obliged to curtail his arguments on account of the lateness of the hour. We did not get to bed until 6 o’clock.

The next day we dined at Mr. Crawfurd’s. He had all our own friends to meet us, Ld. and Ly. B., Mr. Canning, Ld. Mor., Bor., Amherst, Ossory, and M. de Calonne.[252] The dinner was pleasant and cheerful; the Fish said something slighting of Ld. Fitzwilliam,[253] which made Ld. Bessborough redden, and Canning in his flippant way took it up, but _à force_ of winks, shrugs, and nods, we made them shift the subject. ’ Canning had on that day left the Foreign Department for a sinecure under Dundas in the Board of Control. I called on Ld. L. for five minutes, then went to ye Dss. of Leinster, and afterwards supped at Ld. Bessborough’s. On Thursday we dined alone. On Friday Ld. Robert,[254] Ld. Granville, Sir Lionel Copley,[255] and Sir Gilbert[256] dined. Sr. Lionel was, as usual, Jacobinical and tiresome. His only merit in conversation (for in conduct he has many) is that he surprises his audience by the extreme accuracy of his knowledge of all the epochs in the Revolution, the stations of the armies, and the names of the members of the different councils.

On Saturday (23rd) we had a very numerous party, and one person who never came before, who diverted us all by his manner. I invited him, as I knew him to be good-natured, and, therefore, likely to be of service about my seeing my children. I knew him at the period of my solitary confinement in Sussex: his name is Fuller. His vulgar bluntness excited much mirth; he thought the laugh was raised by his waggery, so was delighted. The others were Boringdon, G. Leveson, Lorne, Amherst, Digby, Mr. Cornewall Lewis, Hamilton, Adderley, Marsh, and little Lewis. The day went off extremely well. On Sunday we had Ld. Mor., Bor., G. Leveson, and some strange people, Don Roberto Gordon, Baron de Baje, Mr. Hodges, American Smith,[257] etc., etc. Dr. Drew came to stay; in the evening Ly. B. came. On Monday I was 28 years old!!! Alas! Alas!

[Sidenote: LORD LORNE]

The Dss. of Leinster and family came yesterday to stay some days. She is in very tolerable spirits and health. Mimi[258] is ill, but is to come to-day. I was vexed at her not being here yesterday, because Beauclerk is come on purpose to see her. I abhor the character of a meddler, but I should be delighted at succeeding in bringing two such delightful persons together. Ld. Lorne is a very old acquaintance of mine. He is very handsome, well-made, and like a gentleman; his manner is remarkably simple and unaffected, and tho’ his abilities are not of the most brilliant order, yet he does not appear in the least deficient. He has in his disposition an uncommon share of indifference, almost to apathy, and tho’ in the possession of every requisite for happiness, it does not appear that he enjoys anything.

_26th March,’99._--Ld. Thanet[259] is in great alarm at the approaching trial. He is indicted with Mr. Denis O’Brien, Fergusson,[260] and Brown,[261] for attempting to rescue Arthur O’Connor in the court at Maidstone. He is apprehensive of imprisonment, and, indeed, it is generally thought he will be condemned to it. I really do not believe he was at all riotous. The only strong fact against him is his having said, when Judge Buller expressed surprise at such an idle attempt being made, ‘Oh, he may as well have a run for it!’

Poor Ld. Edward’s little boy is here.[262] He is a remarkable child; I cannot look at him without feeling strongly. His pretty manner and liveliness saved the poor Dss.’s life; her whole mind is occupied with him. When he was two years old, after eating heartily, he asked for more. His maid told him he had had enough. ‘No, no, Eddy does not like enough; Eddy likes too much,’ a sentiment he inherited from his poor father, I fancy.

Mr. Dumont told us of a trick his friend Chauvet played a German Baron at Geneva. The German came from the heart of Germany, ‘To adore,’ he said, ‘le grand homme,’ and had brought letters of recommendation. It struck Chauvet that it would be a good joke to make the Baron go away without seeing Voltaire. Chauvet told him that the philosopher was so pestered with visitors that, unless they were introduced by some of his own friends, he did not receive them cordially. To make the story short, he personated Voltaire, and put many ridiculous questions to the Baron. One was, ‘M. le Baron, avez-vous lu mon histoire par Rollin?’ ‘Avec le plus grand plaisir, Monsr.’

_10th April,’99._--The good Dss., Mr. Ogilvie, and Eddy stayed exactly a fortnight, Mimi and Ly. Lucy[263] till to-day. Mimi, indeed, is still here till to-morrow. My wishes have succeeded. Mimi’s beauty and charming character have captivated Beau. He has obtained consent. The settlements are drawing, and their union will soon take place. Their dispositions suit exactly, and I never saw a fairer prospect of happiness than they have before them. She is uncommonly sensible, her temper is mild, and her manner serene; altho’ cheerful, her turn is rather serious. Her person is lovely, her complexion a clear brown, black eyes, white teeth, and a very small head, a fine-shaped throat and neck, pretty hands and feet, and, altogether, she is as beautiful and fascinating as a woman can be. A very favourable proof of the goodness of her understanding and temper is her being so beloved by a numerous family, the interests of which must oftentimes jar. The first week they were here we had a great deal of company, but as soon as the love began, we confined our society to those in the house, and then it was pretty large--Hamilton, Beau., Drew, Marsh, Miss Fox, Mr. Adderley.[264]

[Sidenote: A CHRISTENING PARTY]

On Saturday, 30th March, we had the baby christened; an immense party to dinner, Ld. and Ly. B., Ld. Duncannon, Ld. Ossory, G. Leveson, Sr. Gilbert and my mother, ye Duke of Bedford, Miss Vernon, and all those in the house. My mother, D. of B., and Lord Ossory stood for him. To comply with the Dss. of L.’s wish he was called Stephen, so we have now a Ste. Fox in the family. Marsh performed the ceremony; it was his first clerical function. He is to come up for Beau.’s marriage. Ly. Lucy is very clever, naturally very lively, but the loss of her brother has affected her spirits; she is enthusiastic, and her affection for him was worked up to a most romantic pitch. She was in his confidence, and knew how deeply he was involved in that fatal business in Ireland; any reference to the affair agitates her violently. At the time of O’Connor’s trial at Maidstone (a few months after Ld. E.’s death) she was at Goodwood; he being but too intimately connected with Ld. E., made her, of course, anxious about his fate: in short, she was ill. Ye Duke of Richmond[265] worked up his imagination, and fancied her grief arose from fear for O’Connor’s safety, she being in love with him. He went to her in the most affectionate manner, and proposed, if she would confide in him, to obtain O’Connor’s release, and assist their marriage. She assured him she only felt the regard due to him as a friend of her own and her brother’s. He is a strange, odd man. His conduct to Ly. E. Foster is very unaccountable. He is always talking and writing as if he intended to marry her, and yet the marriage is not more advanced than it was two years ago. She came here the other morning. As soon as ye Dss. of L. heard she was here, she immediately begged to see her in her room, a thing that very much flattered Ly. E., and added to her hopes.

I have had very little time for reading: I have, however, contrived to read something, half Bernier’s _Travels into Hindostan_, and about as much of Pennant’s _Hindostan_, a part of a great work called _Outlines of the Globe_.

[Sidenote: LORD HOBART]

_12th April._--Mimi left us yesterday. Dumont dined with me, a remarkable lively pleasant dinner. I reproached myself for being so cheerful without Ld. H., for I never am completely so if he is away. He went to the House of Lords; intended speaking, but was unwell. He entered a protest, which stands a good chance of being erased, as Ld. Auckland has found out that a sentence in it reflects upon the H. of Lords.[266] I went in the evening to Dss. of L., and Ly. Bess. To-day I had fifty visitors, among them Ld. Hobart.[267] He is pleasing, sensible, and well-looking, the finest teeth possible. He exhibited his high sense of a _point d’honneur_ in marrying Mrs. Adderley. When her husband died Ld. H. fulfilled the promise made in the warmth of his heart, tho’ she was old, ugly, and vulgar. The heats of Madras released him of his burdensome duty. About a year since she died. He is very kind to her son, Mr. Adderley.

Ly. Bess., Morpeth, and Bor., dined here, very cheerful and comfortable. The Hambro [_sic_] mail confirms the report of Jourdan’s being beaten by the Austrians.[268] The Austrian troops are very much attached to the Arch-Duke. Their cry is ‘Live Charles and Francis!’ I had the happiness of seeing Webby three times, but by stealth, at my mother’s; she insisted upon my hazarding an interview. He was very affectionate. He seems clever, but is not handsome. He is cold in his disposition, and taught by his father to be a boaster. He is at Harrow. From my window I see the church; often do I sigh to be nearer to him.

_16th April, ’99._--On Saturday, ye 15th, I dined with Mrs. W., and in the evening went to the Opera with Mde. de Coigny.[269] On Sunday Ld. H. dined with Ld. Thanet. Ld. Granville and Mr. Hamilton dined with _me_, a pleasant_ish_ day. Monday, dined with my mother, went to the play; Canning, etc.; very pleasant. To-day Ld. and Ly. Bess. dined, Ld. John Townshend,[270] Ld. Morpeth, Mr. Adderley. Hare was ill, and could not come. The General said it was _impossible_--his constant reply when he refuses. Ld. John married Mrs. Fawkener. He is one of the wittiest men there is; his verses are excellent. Like the rest of his family he is mad; never enough to be confined, but often very flighty. He is admirable at mimicking, not only of a person’s manner, but invents a subject, and talks upon it as they would. He did not shine particularly to-day. This morning I had a prodigious levée; among the many were two new ones, Ld. Brooke[271] and Sr. Watkin. The first is rather handsome, talkative, like his father, but less tiresome, tho’ he promises a fair rivality. A few years of baronial retirement at Warwick Castle, with the _benefit_ of his father’s loquacious society, will secure his inheritance of the taste. Sr. Watkin[272] is a Grenville in person and manner all over him; his tongue is immensely too big for his mouth, and his utterance is so impeded by it that what he attempts to articulate is generally unintelligible.

[Sidenote: LORD MORPETH]

Ld. Morpeth is perfect in person and manner; he has the _air noble_ without haughtiness, and his mirth is cheerful, not boisterous. What Ld. Wycombe said of him is very descriptive, ‘He is an excellent specimen of aristocracy.’ He has inherited a considerable portion of his father’s love of fashion, but as it does not run away with him, I see no fault in it, tho’ he sometimes allows his judgment to be guided by it. His understanding is excellent; he is fond of literature, and is reckoned a good scholar. He has rather too much diffidence of his own abilities, and will frequently be silent, tho’ he has a strong opinion upon the subject discussed, unless he has some established authority to support him. What he says is always well expressed, with great neatness and precision. He seldom enters into an argument at length, but his observations are invariably correct and judicious. He is a chaste poet, and has written many very pretty things. His passions are not strong; he can never enjoy the extreme of delight, or suffer excess of sorrow. Not that he is deficient of right feelings; he can be angry, but not vindictive. Lately he has given in to a love of play, by which his temper is at times irritated. He is exemplary as a son, and has such strong principles of honour that he will excel in every station. He is very much attached to Ld. H.

Canning was very entertaining, he can be extremely so. I made him repeat his parody upon Lewis’s _Alonzo and Imogene_. It is comical, and goes very well with the music:--[273]

A Parson so grave and a Baron so bold Conversed as the coach drove along; Many stories they heard, many stories they told, Parson Legge[274] was the parson, his stories were old, And ye Baron was Lord Boringdon.

There is more, but I forget it.

Ld. Lansdown came to see me yesterday. He looked very well, and appeared more cordial to me than he has done since Ld. W.’s affairs have worried him. There is certainly something very whimsical in my situation with respect to him and Ld. W.; each suspect I prefer the other, and both have taken an aversion to me on that account, for Ld. W. is really so displeased with me that in his letters he never names me, or does he write, as he used to do, frequently to me. Arduous would be the attempt to decipher Ld. W.’s character. The most predominant feature is the love of singularity. His success in that aim is most favourably aided by his possessing innately a large portion of it. He endeavours more to surprise than to please. His sarcastic humour is excellent, the gravity of his manner sets off his wit. It is difficult to ascertain whether he is in joke or earnest, and he frequently begins seriously a conversation which his love of persiflage makes him end ironically.

[Sidenote: LORD MACARTNEY]

_21st April._--Wednesday, 17th, dined with the Dss. of Leinster; went to the play. Returned here. Thursday, Lds. Digby, Kirkwall,[275] and Mr. Adderley dined. Friday we dined alone, went to the play with Mrs. Smith. Saturday we dined alone; went to the Opera. Smith dined to-day. Lord Macartney came to see me; he has been very ill, seriously so with gout, etc., etc. I asked him his opinion of Hastings, whether, tho’ a tyrant, he administered the Government of India with ability. He said his testimony would be that of an enemy, as they had quarrelled in India upon the subject of the Nabob of Arcot; but his opinion of him was that he was a man of violent passions, who would stop at nothing where his avarice, ambition, and revenge could be satisfied; that, as to his public conduct, had he not been recalled the English settlements would have been ruined. He deprecated politics, and lamented Ld. H.’s decided opposition, and quoted a maxim of Ld. H.’s grandfather’s that no man ought to be in Opposition above six months, just to show what his abilities could do, that he might be justly estimated. This conversation reminded me of Hare’s story of Ld. Macartney’s reason for not adhering to Mr. Fox. Hare asked him how it happened that, connected as he had always been with the Fox family, he never was politically united with them. He said he loved consistency, for if he had once gone into Opposition, he must always have continued so. ‘Why, no,’ replied Hare; ‘if the Opposition got into power, maintaining their principles, you would then not always be in Opposition.’ ‘No, no. Once in Opposition, always in Opposition. I love uniformity.’ This was all the answer he could extract from him.

Gilbert Wakefield pleaded again in person at the King’s Bench in behalf of his pamphlet. He first compared himself to Paul pleading before Festus, and throughout manifested a firm conviction that he was a martyr to his principles, and endeavoured to show the heroism with which he submitted to the persecution. In the course of his speech he named Nero, Tiberius, and Polypheme. Ld. Kenyon, in the summing up, said an English jury would not be browbeaten, notwithstanding all he said about the _Three Roman Emperors_.

Tierney said he was expected at dinner where he dined, and that the effect was comical when his apology came, giving for excuse his imprisonment. Ld. Thanet is very apprehensive as the day approaches for his trial.