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FIFTY YE AKS
MY LIFE
GEORGE THOMAS, EARL OF ALBEMARLE.
THIRD EDITION, EE VISED.
MACMILLAN AND CO.
1877.
\_Tlie Eiijht of Translation and Reproduction is Reserved."]
V
32
1877
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Prefatory. My Birth. Elden Hall. Early Recollections. The " Junius"
Duke of Grafton. His friendship for Lord Keppel. His Opinion on
Naval First Lords. Account of a Cabinet Council. The Right Hon.
Sir Robert Adair. His First Interview with Charles Fox. Visits St.
Petersburg. Ambassador to Vienna. Adair and the Anti-Jacobin.
His Mission to Constantinople. His last act of Diplomacy. Sir
William Keppel. Sir David Dundas . . . Pages 116
CHAPTER II.
The threatened Invasion. The Dowager Lady de Clifford. Mrs. Fitz-
herbert. "Minnie" Seymour. I am presented to George, Prince of
"Wales. My first School. "ALL THE TALENTS" Administration.
My father appointed Master of the King's Buckhounds. Visit to
Charles Fox. My Game of Trap-ball with him. Anecdotes of Fox.
The Prince of Wales at "Red Barns." The old "Pavilion."
Chairing of Sir Francis Burdett .... Pages 17 25
CHAPTER III.
My Entrance into Westminster School. A Westminster Legend. Sub-
stance and Shadow. Charles Atticus Monk. Masters and Ushers.
Fagging. My two Grandmothers. Dowager Lady Albemarle. A
Game at Pope Joan. Dowager Lady de Clifford appointed Governess
to Princess Charlotte. Mrs. Campbell. George the Third to Lady
de Clifford. Prince of Wales to Lady de Clifford. Prince of Wales's
CONTENTS.
Memorandum. Princess Charlotte's Letters to Lady Albemarle. The
Princess's Dressers. Rev. George Nott. Letters from Princess
Charlotte. The Princess's Will and its Consequences . Pages 26 54
CHAPTER IV.
The Duchess Dowager of Brunswick. Charles, Duke of Brunswick.
Lord Malmesbury's description of the Duchess. The Princess of
Wales to Princess Charlotte. The Duchess of Gloucester. Her Sister
Mrs. Frederick Keppel. Prince of Wales to Lady de Clifford.
Warwick House. Prince of Wales to Lady de Clifford Pages 55 61
CHAPTER V.
My first acquaintance with Princess Charlotte. Her appearance and
character. Her letter to me. Her letters to my mother. The
Princess's alias. Her visit to Westminster. Dr. William Short.
"Longs and Shorts." Lady de Clifford's stipulation with George the
Third. Dr. Fisher, Bishop of Exeter. His encroachments upon Lady
de Clifford's authority. The Duke of Kent to Colonel Macmahon.
The Princess witnesses a battle at Westminster. Her performances as
a Cook. Dr. Gamier, Dean of Winchester. "The Rape of the Lock."
Garnier's interview with Buonaparte as First Consul. The Princess's
letter to Dr. Page and its result. The Princess's visit to my father.
I am presented to the Duke of Brunswick. A skip out of bounds.
Mr. Robert Tyrwhitt Pages 6285
CHAPTER VI.
The Four-in-Hand Club. Mr. Granville Vernon. Betty Radcliffe of the
" Bell." Charles Longley, the late Archbishop of Canterbury. The
Jubilee. The Burdett Riots. Princess Charlotte to Lady Albemarle.
The Fighting Mania. Crib and Molyneux. Training for a Prize Fight.
Tothill Fields. George the Fourth's appearance there. "Slender
Billy." Princess Charlotte to Lady Albemarle. Children's Balls.
The Prince Regent's Change of Politics. The Princess Charlotte's
Political Manifesto. Lady de Clifford's Retirement. The Princess's
Letters to her and to Lady Albemarle. The Princess Charlotte at
Windsor. Prince of Orange. Sir Thomas Picton. Visit of the
Allied Sovereigns. Blucher. Platoff. Grand Duchess of Oldenburgh.
The Oldenburgh Bonnet. "All the World's at Paris." My Last
Exploit at School. I leave Westminster . . Pages 86 126
CONTENTS. vii
CHAPTER VII.
Am destined for the Army. A Brother Truant. Lansdowne House.
Proceed to join the Army in Flanders. Three Campbells. Ostend.
My first day's March. Join my Regiment. My Commanding Officer.
The Fourteenth to the FRONT. Our Brigade. Sir Henry Ellis.
Our Cantonment. Grammont Races. "We receive the "Route."
Nivelles. Hougoumont. The Belgic Lion. A pun upon "Waterloo."
Colonel Sir John Colborne. My Sensations on going into Action.
Napoleon's Illness on the Morning of the 18th. A Narrow Escape.
My Captain's account of the Battle. Bivouac at Hougoumont.
Pages 127155
CHAPTER VIII.
Ca ira. Our Entry into Nivelles. A False Alarm. Le Cateau. Our
General's Congratulations. My "Westminster Fag Master. Com-
mandant of Head-quarters. Attack on Cambray. Louis XVIII. 's
Proclamation. Open Right and Left. Hare-hunting extraordinary.
First Sight of Paris. A "Ghost." A Catastrophe. Mr. Alexander
Adair. Lady Castlereagh and her Dogs. " Buonapartists. " Bum-
melo. General La Bedoyere. A Dinner at the Louvre
Pages 156 177
CHAPTER IX.
Our March through Paris. Ordered Home. Our Cold Reception in
England. The<Sea Horse its fate. Property-tax Repealed. Princess
Charlotte at the Chapel Royal. Our Waterloo Medals. Embark
for the Mediterranean. Zante. Santa Maura. Corfu. Frederick
Chamier. A Military Execution. Return to England. Embark for
the Mauritius. Crossing the Line. Peter Booth. Mauritius during
the " Reign of Terror." Slave Trade and Slavery. A Hurricane.
Cape of Good Hope. Lord Charles Somerset. Dr. James Barry. St.
Helena. Napoleon's last moments. Land in England
Pages 178208
CHAPTER X.
Appointed Equerry to the Duke of Sussex. The Duke's Political debut.
A Regal Canvasser. Accompany the Duke of Sussex to Holkham.
viii CONTENTS.
" Coke of Norfolk." A Norwich Corn Law Riot. The Norwich Fox
Dinner. " The Trumpet of Liberty." The " Taylors " of Norwich.
Death of the Duke of Kent. George the Fourth to General Keppel.
The Holkham Sheep-shearing. Lord Erskine. Queen Caroline. A
Ball at the Argyll Rooms. Attend the Queen's Trial. Her Personal
Appearance and Demeanour. Witnesses for the Prosecution. The
Queen and Teodoro Majocchi. Lord Albemarle to Lady Anne Keppel.
Brougham and Lord Exmouth. A Letter from Lord Albemarle.
House of Lords adjourns to the 3rd of October. Letters from Lord
Albemarle. Second Reading of the Bill. Brougham, Denman,
Gifford, and Copley. Lord Holland on the "Call of the House."
George the Fourth and the Irish Primacy. Vice-Chan cellor Leech.
" Othello " and the Queen's Trial. Beefsteak Club Pages 209245
CHAPTER XI.
Ordered out to India. Appointed Aide-de-camp to Lord Hastings. My
tetes-a-tete with the Governor-General. Calcutta Theatricals. Jackal
Hunting. An Indian Fever. A Cobra di Capello. General Hard-
wick's Suakery. A Suttee. Lord Hastings embarks for Europe. I
am appointed Aide-de-camp to the Governor-General ad interim. Set
out on my Overland Journey. Arrival at Bombay. Captain Marryat.
His Caricatures. My brother Tom in a gale of wind. My brother
Harry in another. Marryat's prose improvisations.
Pages 246260
CHAPTER XII.
Preparations for my Overland Journey. My Fellow-Travellers. Embark
on board H.M.S. Alligator. Yard-arm Smith. Land at Bussorah.
Horse-racing in the Desert. Prepare for our Trip up the Tigris. Our
Arab Guard. Take leave of our shipmates. Arab Black Mail. Our
Voyage up the River. Koorna. Our first Interview with the Desert
Arabs. Partridge Shooting in the Desert. A Lion and Lioness.
Arrive at Bagdad. -Visit to the ruins of Babylon. The Pasha of
Bagdad. A residence of Caliph Harouu al Raschid. Reflections
thereupon. "We leave Bagdad. Are Waylaid. Arrive at Kerman-
shah. A curious order of Knighthood. An Arab Outlaw. A
Moolah. A Royal Funeral. We prevent & Duel. The Moolah's
opinion of Duelling. An audience with the Prince Governor.
Pages 261279
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIII.
Arrive at Teheran. Are presented to Futteh All Shah. Interview with
another Shah. Tabreez. My Valet ad interim Becomes a Khan.
Resume my Journey. " The Proud Araxes." Enter the Russian
Territory. Sheesha. Baku. Steppe Travelling. Smatreetels.
Astrakhan. A Sturgeon Fishery. Fair of Nishney Novogorod.
Horsemanship. A Russian Dance. Moscow. Dine with the Governor-
General. A Russian State Prisoner. First sight of a Macadamized
Road. St. Petersburg. An Imperial Aide-de-camp. We are under
secret Surveillance. Departure from St. Petersburg. GeneralJomini.
General and Madame de ZabloukofF. Emperor Alexander. His
Death foretold. Military Colonies. Russian Corvee. Sir Robert Ker
Porter. We are overtaken by a Storm. Run into a small Harbour in
Finland. Arrive at England .... Pages 280 298
CHAPTER XIV.
Duke of Sussex to Lord Albemarle. Roger Wilbraham. I am promoted
to a Company. Wells Theatricals. Join my Regiment. Torrens's
"Field Exercises." Colonel Gauntlett Appointed Aide-de-camp to
the Lord- Lieutenant of Ireland. Crampton, the Surgeon-General.
The two Wellesleys. Richard Colley, Earl of Mornington. His
early Promise. Arthur Wellesley His slow Development His
Demeanour as Aide-de-camp of the Viceroy. The Wellesleys in
India. Lord Wellesley's Contingent to the Army in Egypt A
question to Wellington His answer. Wellington's first Visit to
his last Battle-field. Death of the Emperor Alexander. A tour
of waiting on the Duke of Sussex. An Illustrious Young Lady. A
Brother Equerry. Deville the Phrenologist. A Visit to Holkham.
Joe Hibbert. Polly Fishbourne. I appear in Print. Miss Lydia
White. My admission into Literary Circles. A Dinner at General
Phipps's. Colman and Lady Cork. Three Agreeable Acquaintances.
Interview with the Duke of Wellington. Its Result. Pages 299319
CHAPTER XV.
The Hoo. Lady Dacre. Hoo Theatricals. Cosy. Charles Young the
Tragedian. Join the Hatfield House Company. Our Corps Dramatique,
The Marchioness of Clanricarde. Theodore Hook. Our Audience.
The Ghost of Queen Elizabeth. A distinguished Brother Actor.
Harrington House Theatre. Travellers' and Raleigh Clubs. James
CONTENTS.
Holraan, the Blind Traveller. Return to Ireland. Lord Plunkett's
definition of the Word "Personal." A Vice-Regal Dinner. Lady
Morgan and Lady Clark. A Masquerade Group. A poetical Sketch
of Dublin Society. Lady Morgan and her Sister "Livy." Pass
Christmas holidays at Bowood. Make a new acquaintance. Moore
and his Melodies. Sloperton Cottage. Extracts from Moore's
"Journal." The Bowood Servants' Ball. A Day with Poet Moore.
My Lodgings in Bury Street. Enter the Military College. Bagshot
Park. Death of Lady de Clifford. Meet the Duke of Orleans at
Cobham. Lady Elizabeth Brownlow's Account of the Visit. A Soiree
at Mrs. Norton's. Theodore Hook. Lord Castlereagh and Mrs.
Norton. The two Chinmen .... Pages 320337
CHAPTER XVI.
Aspect of the " Eastern Question " in 1829. Public Opinion on the
Turkish Military Organization. On the Campaign of 1828. Dr.
Walsh's Account of the Balcan. "History repeats itself." Set out
for Turkey. Zante. "Campbell's direction post." Egina. Visit to
Athens. Boatswain of H.M.S. Wasp. Join the British Squadron.
Land at the entrance of Dardanelles. Constantinople. Visit to the
Ambassador. My fellow-guests. Captain Lyons and his Two Sons.
Execution of Three Greeks. En route to Adrianople. Field-Marshal
Diebitsch. A Question of Identity. Departure from Adrianople. The
Selimno pass of the Balcan. Shumla. Our Wretched Quarters. An
Execution. Visit to the Grand Vizier. Our Dialogue. Departure
from Shumla. The Pravodi Pass. Our First Night's Quarters.
Carnabat. Our Adventures by Flood and Field. Louleh Bourgaz.
Chorli. Return to Constantinople. Ball at the French Embassy.
The French Ambassador and Ambassadress. Journey into Asia
Minor. Return to England Pages 338357
CHAPTER XVII.
Visit to Paris. Dine with the King of the French. Aumale and
Albemarle. My Father Master of the Horse. My Journey across the
Balcan. King William's Visit to my Father. The Court at Brighton.
The King and the Paddocks' Keeper. Twelfth Night at the
Pavilion. Toast-drinking extraordinary. Sykes and Punch. The
State-Coachman and the Guard of Honour. Lord Dudley and Ward.
His opinion of Pavilion Cookery. His Dinner to the Duke and
Duchess of Clarence. I am elected Member for East Norfolk. The
Chairing. Anecdote of William Windham the Statesman. Take my
CONTENTS.
seat in the first Reformed Parliament. Princess Victoria's Visit to
Holkham Pages 358372
CHAPTER XVIII.
Death of Mrs. Fitzherbert. The Duke of Wellington and my father.
History of Two Miniatures. George the Fourth's Dying Request.
Horace Smith. Am appointed Groom-in-Waiting to the Queen.
In attendance at the Coronation. Visit to Charles Fox's Widow.
In attendance upon her Majesty on the Day of her Wedding.
Presented to the Princess Royal. Woburn Abbey Theatricals in the
18th and 19th Centuries. The Russells. Walking-Sticks of the
"Martyr to Prerogative" and the "Martyr to Liberty." Reynolds's
Portrait of Lady Elizabeth Keppel. A Family episode. Succeed to
the Family Title. Accompany the Lord Mayor and Corporation to
Paris. Banquet at the Hotel de Ville. James Stuart Wortley.
The Lord Mayor's "Chasseur." Am presented to the Prince Presi-
dent of the French Republic. Les Cameleons. My Memoirs of Lord
Rockingham. Move the Address. Bearer of the Cap of Maintenance.
The Duke of Wellington. His last appearance in a Public Pageant.
His last appearance at a Wedding. His last Speech in Parliament.
His last Waterloo Banquet. Scene in the House of Lords. Mrs.
Beecher Stowe. The Busby Trust. A dinner at the Poet Rogers's.
The End Pagres 373 412
FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE.
CHAPTER I.
Prefatory. My Birth. Elden Hall. Early Recollections. The
" Junius " Duke of Grafton His friendship for Lord Keppel
His Opinion on Naval First Lords. Account of a Cabinet
Council. The Eight Hon. Sir Eobert Adair His First Inter-
view with Charles Fox Visits St. Petersburg Ambassador to
Vienna. Adair and the Anti- Jacobin His Mission to Con-
stantinople His last act of Diplomacy. Sir William Keppel.
Sir David Dundas.
FOR some years past my wife and children have been
asking me to give some account of my life. To do their
bidding has not proved a very easy matter ; for although I
have " seen much of the world," literally and figuratively, it
has not been my wont, as my family well know, to commit
to writing my thoughts on things seen, heard, or done. On
two occasions, it is true, I kept regular diaries, but these
had reference to journeys which lay out of the ordinary
track of travellers, and have already been laid before the
public. 1 I was set, as it were, to furnish the "tale of
bricks " without any allowance of straw. Shrinking from
the task, I used to put off my importuners with, " Wait till
I am seventy, and then perhaps," a phrase intending a
1 Keppel's "Overland Journey from India, 1827." Keppel's
" Journey across the Balcan, 1831."
B
2 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. fen.
postponement of the undertaking to the Greek Kalends ;
but when, contrary to expectation, I reached the Psalmist's
standard of longevity, I was left without an excuse for
at least not attempting to fulfil the implied promise.
From that time forth, therefore, I have been in the habit
of making notes of occurrences as they suggested them-
selves to a tolerably retentive memory, and of throwing
my jottings into a box. The contents of that box will
be found embodied in the following pages.
On the fly-leaf of a family Bible is the following record,
in my father's handwriting, of the first important event
of my life :
" George Thomas Keppel, born y e 13 June 1799, chris-
tened by the Eev. Croft, July y e 7, 1799, in the Parish
of Marylebone."
My earliest childhood was passed principally at Elden
Hall, Suffolk : an estate bequeathed to my father by
Admiral Viscount Keppel. Charles Fox, the statesman,
who was in the habit of shooting there both in my uncle's
and father's time, used to speak of Elden as the best
sporting manor for its size in the kingdom. The property
has passed out of the family ; it is now the residence of
the Maharajah Dhuleep Singh, and its fame as a preserve
has suffered no diminution in the hands of its present
princely owner.
My memory carries me back to a very early period.
I have a distinct recollection of the dress and personal
appearance of my eldest brother, William, who died in
the year 1804 in consequence, as was believed in the
family, of ill-treatment at Harrow School.
Equally present to my mind's eye with my brother's
form is that of the starch little governess who taught me
my letters. How well I remember when one day she
was directing my attention, pin in hand, to some such
letters as c, a, t, cat, that my forefinger came in contact
i.] SALLY MARTINDALE.
with the point, how the smart, the sight of the blood and
the sense of injury, called forth a flood of tears ; how the
little lady raised her hands and eyes in affected astonish-
ment that a nephew of THE Admiral should cry at the
prick of a pin. Her voice and manner led me to resolve
for the future better to sustain the credit of the family ;
but my powers of endurance were put to a sore proof
by a pretty nursery-maid, Sally Martindale by name.
Cruelty is proverbially the attendant of beauty, but Sally's
attribute was not of that nature of which lovers complain ;
it was not so much the hardness of her heart, as of her
hand, that has left its mark on my memory.
Although my father was one of the most good-natured
of men, it never entered his head to check the severe
discipline carried on in the nursery. He was born in an
age when the paterfamilias was not wont to spoil the child
by a too sparing use of the rod. The coercive system had
the sanction and the example of the first man in the realm.
In the matter of chastisement George the Third gave a
carte Uanche to the persons charged with the education
of the young princes. The Duke of Sussex, in whose
household I was some years an equerry, used frequently
to speak of the barbarous treatment which the Duke of
Kent and he experienced from their pedagogue ; and it
is on record that the sub-governor of the Prince of Wales
and Prince Frederick (Duke of York), a clergyman of the
name of Arnald (a very different man from the Arnold
of Rugby celebrity) exercised his discretionary power so
indiscreetly, that his pupils one day rose against their
tormentor, and he, in turn, became the floggee. 1
Four miles distant from Elden is Euston Park, the
residence in my young days of Augustus Henry, the third,
or, as he was popularly called, the "Junius" Duke of
Grafton. As I was twelve years old before he died I had
Georgian JEvst, of Eminent Persons,'' vol. i. p. 105, 106.
B 2
4 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en.
frequent opportunities of seeing so near a neighbour.
Once seen he was not easily forgotten. Not that I would
pretend to any personal acquaintance with this formidable
individual, for he had no liking for children, and when
my mother took me to lunch with the ladies at Euston,
if the Duke happened to enter at one door, I was always
smuggled out at the other. It was while fishing some-
times for roach and dace in the stream that runs through
the Park that I used to see an elderly gentleman pass by
mounted on a thorough-bred horse, which he bestrode
with much grace and dignity. He was of low stature
and spare figure, had lank silver hair, a long nose, high
cheek-bones and a stern expression of countenance, which
a picture of him at Euston forcibly recalls to me. He was
usually habited in a peach-coloured, single-breasted coat
extending below the knee, leather breeches, and long top-
less boots, then only worn by bishops and butchers. On
his head was a small gold-laced three-cornered hat this
whole style of dress he might almost have worn when he
was Lord of the Bedchamber to George the Third's father,
Frederick Prince of Wales.
The Duke was a keen sportsman, and in his autobio-
graphy takes himself to task for liking hunting better than
politics. His principal kennel was in Northamptonshire,
but he used to bring his hounds to Euston for a part
of every season. He had a great aversion to our broad
ditches with their honeycombed banks, and used to call
them " Suffolk graves." Indeed the whole country is a
mere rabbit-warren, and still goes by the name of the
holey (holy) land.
In the field the Junius Duke was a strict disciplinarian.
"Woe betide the wight who uttered a sound when the pack
was making a cast. His nephew, General William Fitzroy,
told me that on one of these occasions an old gentleman
happened to cough ; the Duke rode up to him, and taking
i.] ^ "JUNIUS" DUKE OF GRAFTON. 5
off his gold-laced hat, said to him, in a voice in which
politeness and passion strove for the mastery, " Sir, I wish
to heaven your cold was better."
But although of an irascible temper and a somewhat
cold and repulsive exterior, the Duke was capable of warm
and lasting friendships. With the Keppel family (my
generation excepted) he lived on terms of great cordiality.
It will be seen by the memoir of his life, to which I have
already alluded, that some hundred and thirty years ago
he was a guest of William Anne, Lord Albemarle, then
Ambassador at Paris.
But it was with this Lord Albemarle's second son, and
his own near neighbour, Admiral Keppel, that the Duke was
best acquainted. Although both professed the common
name of Whig, they were, as not unfrequently happened
in those days, diametrically opposed to each other in
politics, yet this difference of opinion never for one
moment marred their private friendship. Evidence of
this feeling pervades the autobiography, in which the
name of the Admiral is always mentioned with honour
and regard.
A few extracts from the MS., while affording evidence
of the estimation in which the writer held his neighbour,
will show also the opinion of a distinguished statesman
upon a subject that crops up from time to time the
description of person to whom the direction of naval
affairs in this country ought to be consigned.
Speaking of 1770, soon after he had resigned the post
of First Lord of the Treasury, the Duke writes :
"There was a strong belief about this time that I
was invited to become First Lord of the Admiralty, and.
in the opinion of many it was thought that I was par-
ticularly desirous of holding that office. Having gone
so far, I will not close the subject (very uninteresting
to any but my own friends) without mentioning my
6 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
real sentiments. I was always strongly of opinion that
a naval officer should preside at the head of the
Admiralty. Any other could never know enough to
answer satisfactorily to the incessant questions which
must necessarily be put to him by a Cabinet composed
of landsmen. In such cases, what can the First Lord
do but run out to get the information from others, who,
in consequence, must be let into the secret of what is
passing, the knowledge of which ought to be confined as
much as possible to the Cabinet alone ? Admiral Keppel
and Lord Howe were as men and officers well qualified
for the station, though probably Mr. Keppel would have
declined it, as he was much connected with Lord Rocking-
ham and his friends who were hostile to the Ministry."
The Duke reverts to the subject in 1782 when he and
his friend had become members of the same Cabinet, the
one as Lord Privy Seal and the other, who had just been
created Viscount Keppel, as First Lord of the Admiralty.
England was then at war with France and Spain.
" Great was the anxiety of the public on the perilous
state of Gibraltar, against which a force so very formidable
had been collected both by sea and land. The enemy
thought they were marching down to certain conquest,
and the French Princes of the Blood came in order to be
eyewitnesses of the downfall of this mighty fortress
At Paris nothing could be admitted as fashionable which
was not ' a la Gilbraltar.' The ladies' dresses were entirely
so, and their very fans represented on one side ' Gibraltar
comme il e*tait,' on the other they were so constructed as
to fall to pieces in order to exhibit 'Gibraltar comme il
est.' ....
" Before the arrival of General Elliot's account of the
glorious defence of Gibraltar, a Cabinet was summoned to
take into consideration the most effectual means for the
relief of that important fortress. I was alone with Lord
i.] ON NAVAL FIRST LORDS. 7
6 ___, .. __ >
Keppel some time, and he opened to me the plan, of
operations he had prepared, and which appeared to me to
be entitled to great applause, for none could be more
rational or simple, or better calculated to answer the
different services ; and I may say that whenever I have
related the detail of this business, it always conveyed to
those present a high idea of Lord Keppel's naval character,
with a strong conviction of the great utility of placing
a seaman at the head of the Admiralty.
"On Lord Thurlow's coming into the room where we
were all assembled, he asked, in his blunt manner, where
was the man who could point out the means to save
Gibraltar ? Lord Keppel answered to the Chancellor and
to us that he certainly had a plan prepared for our con-
sideration and approval, which he would proceed to open
to the Cabinet. But he expressed his concern that he was
obliged to state to them another service as pressing and
equally necessary as the relief of Gibraltar, namely, to
get the Baltic Fleet safe into our ports."
After giving in detail the deliberations of the Cabinet,
the Duke continues :
"We were all so well pleased with the relief which
Lord Keppel had given to our minds that, after a few
questions to indulge the curiosity of us landsmen, we
assured him we concurred most cordially with every part
of his scheme. He then acquainted us that Mr. Stephens
with two Lords of the Admiralty were waiting to sign the
instructions, which should go into no other hands in order
to greater secrecy. We undertook to assure His Majesty
of the absolute necessity for the service that the whole
plan should be put into motion instantly.
"The wisest of human schemes are under superior
control, and the present well-digested plan must have
been deferred at least, had the wind come about too soon ;
but all was propitious, and gave just time to the officer
8 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
commanding at Bergen to receive his orders and execute
them instantly with success."
One of my first friendships, begun in the Elden nursery,
continued till after I had passed my climacteric, and
then only ended by death, was the late Sir Eobert Adair,
the diplomatist. He was born in 1764, and lived to
be upwards of ninety. His father was Staff-Surgeon to
George III., his mother my father's aunt, Lady Caroline
Keppel.
His name calls up the image of a tall, thin man, with a
sallow complexion and a melancholy cast of features, who
was known in the family as " the knight of the woeful
countenance." like his cousins, the Duke of Bedford and
Lord Albemarle, 1 he wore his hair d la guillotine, that is
to say, he kept it cut short, and had neither powder nor
pigtail. This coiffure derived its name from a practice of
the French Eoyalists who, during the Eeign of Terror,
being liable to be summoned suddenly from their cells to
the scaffold, cut off their queues in prison to prevent the
executioner from performing that office for them. As the
fashion in England was mainly adopted by members of the
Whig party, their political opponents affected to believe it
was a symbol of their sympathy with sans culotterie. It is
in this sense that Adair figures in the "Anti- Jacobin." In
"A Bit of an Ode to Fox," he is described as undergoing
the metamorphosis of a goose, and is thus made to address
his political chief :
" I feel the growing down descends
Like goose-skin to my fingers' ends ;
Each nail becomes a feather.
My cropped head waves with sudden plumes,
Which erst (like Bedford's and his grooms')
Unpowdered braves the weather."
1 Elizabeth, Marchioness of Tavistock, mother of the Duke of
Bedford, and Lady Caroline Adair were sisters of George, Lord
Albemarle.
i.] CHAELES FOX AND ADAIE.
Adair took early to politics. At six years old, in the
Wilkes and Liberty riots, he broke his father's windows,
because he was a placeman.
Like most of his mother's male relations, he was sent
to Westminster School ; and with a view to his future
profession of diplomatist, finished his education at the
University of Gottingen. On his return to England he
became a constant guest of his uncle, Lord Keppel, and
was staying at Elden when the Whigs came in for their
short tenure of office in 1782. In the autumn of that
same year he went over to Euston to shoot pheasants in
Fakenham wood. He there first became acquainted with
his celebrated cousin, Charles James Fox. That most
good-natured of men, seeing a shy youth, whom nobody
knew or noticed, did all in his power to set him at his
ease. " Well, young 'un," said Fox, " where do you spring
from ? " " From Gottingen," was the reply. " Not much
shooting there, I suppose ? " " Oh yes, we used to shoot
foxes." " Hush ! " said Fox ; " never pronounce that word
again, at least in this house, for if the Duke were to hear
that you had ever killed one of my namesakes, he would
swear it belonged to Fakenham wood."
In order to acquire a knowledge of continental politics,
Adair, after making the tour of Europe, took up his residence
for a time at St. Petersburg. Bishop Tomline, in his " Life
of Pitt," asserts that he went to the Eussian capital on a
political mission from Fox, then a member of the Opposi-
tion. The statement was untrue, and although it met with a
strenuous denial, it furnished another stanza to the "Bit of
an Ode," at Adair's expense, still in his character of goose.
" I mount, I mount into the sky
Sweet bird, to Petersburg I fly,
Or if you bid to Paris.
Fresh missions for the Fox and Goose
Successful treaties may produce,
Though Pitt in all miscarries."
10 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
While in the Russian capital Adair was presented to the
Empress Catherine. He does not seem to have been
favourably impressed with the personal appearance of
that famous princess, whom he used to describe to me as
vulgar-looking and shabbily dressed.
Adair once accompanied Lord Whitworth, the British
Ambassador, to a dinner which her Imperial Majesty gave
at Tzarskarselo. The hour of the meal was at three in the
afternoon. After dinner the guests lounged about the
gardens till sunset. One of the ladies of the company
wishing to show her friends an ornamental box which lay
on her toilet-table, a general officer sent his aide-de-camp
to bring it down. Unfortunately for the young man he
fetched the wrong one. Whereupon his chief began
boxing his ears and pulling his hair. The aide-de-camp
fell upon his knees and implored pardon for his blunder ;
but the general was implacable, and kicked him while in
the posture of supplication. "This is not a scene for
Englishmen to witness," said Lord Whitworth significantly,
and he and Adair each turned upon his heel.
The acquaintance between Fox and Adair begun at the
Euston battue soon ripened into friendship. In 1788 there
was the prospect of a change of Ministry in consequence of
the King's illness. It had been Fox's intention to make
Adair his Under Secretary in the Foreign Office, and when
the great Whig leader came into power in 1806 he sent
him Ambassador to Vienna. Such confidence did Fox
place in Adair, that upon his going to him for instructions,
he received for answer, " I have none to give you. Go to
Vienna and send me yours."
The Austrian aristocrats, aware of the profession of
Adair's father, complained that he was not of sufficient
rank to be accredited to their court, " Que voulez-vous ? "
said the pretended apologist ; " c'est le fils du plus grand
Saigneur (Seigneur) d'Angleterre."
i.] ADAIR AND THE ANTI-JACOBIN. 11
An early effusion of his pen was a defence of his cousin,
the Duke of Bedford, against Burke's attack upon him in
his celebrated " Letter to a Noble Lord." He was also a
contributor to the Rolliad, and other satirical Whig publi-
cations. Sir Gilbert Elliot speaks of him as "a young
man who wrote in the probationary odes, and is a great
buff and blue squib-maker."
It was this literary partisanship which brought down
upon him the hostility of the " Anti-Jacobin." Canning,
the principal contributor, made Adair the chief butt against
which he directed his shafts.
Throughout life my kinsman was an enthusiastic
admirer of the fair sex, which he generally "loved not
wisely but too well." Canning seized upon this foible
in his character, and in the " Eovers," Adair figures as the
captive in the dungeon in which he has been immured
eleven years and fifteen days, and sings to the guitar his
reminiscences of his college life and his college love :
" This faded form, this pallid hue,
This blood my veins is clotting in ;
My years are many They were few
When first I entered at the U-
-NIVERSITY of Gottingen.
" There, first for thee, my passion grew,
Sweet Matilda Pottingen ;
Thou wast the daughter of my TU-
TOR, Law Professor of the U-
NIVERSITT of Gottingen."
Besides the squib of the " Fox and Goose," we have the
" Translation of a letter in oriental characters from Bawba-
Dara-Adul-phoolah, Dragoman to the Expedition to Neek-
Awl-Aretched-kooez" (Bob Adair a dull fool to Nicholl l a
wretched quiz).
1 Mr. John Nicholl was member for Tregony. A hostile writer
describes him as blind of one eye, altogether ugly, his delivery
ungraceful, and his action much too vehement.
12 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en.
In 1808, Canning became .Foreign Secretary. England
was at war with Europe. It was expedient to make peace
with Turkey. The unwise passage of a British fleet up
the Dardanelles and its disastrous return through the same
straits had thrown obstacles in the way of pacific proposals.
The services of a skilful diplomatist were wanting; no
person of sufficient ability for such a post was to be found
among the Tory supporters of the Government. Secretary
Canning was obliged to seek for such a man in the Whig
camp, and whom should he pitch upon but " Bob Adair
the dull fool."
Before Adair accepted the appointment he consulted his
political friends. He was then member for Camelford, a
nomination Borough of the Duke of Bedford's, to whom he
thus wrote :
"June 2, 1808.
" MY DEAK DUKE,
" As it appears to be your opinion that I ought to accept
the proposal made to me by Mr. Canning on my return,
and which, as I explained it to you at the time, arose out
of my letter to him at Malta ; I think it right, in con-
formity with those principles of publick conduct which
have invariably guided me, to request that you would
dispose of my seat in Parliament. Of my steady and
inviolable fidelity to those principles it will be needless to
assure you. It is equally true (and on this point I am
anxious to do the fullest justice to Mr. Canning's liberality)
that there is nothing in the sort of duty I am about to
execute which can alter my political connections ; but it
is no less clear that I ought not to retain a situation which
my absence will, for a time, necessarily render inefficient.
It would greatly grieve me were any act of mine to have
the effect of weakening, even by the suspension of a single
vote, the efforts of a party in the consolidation of whose
strength, and in the prevalence of whose principles this
i.] DUKE OF BEDFORD TO AD AIR. 13
country, in my opinion, can alone hope for salvation. I
say this without any exception or reserve ; but I am
perhaps more particularly induced to say it from the
circumstances of my not having been able to take my seat
on the 25th, in time enough to support the Catholick
Petition. I should be sorry, very sorry indeed, that my
vote were neutralized in any future discussion of the
Catholick claims.
" I am, my dear Duke,
" &c., &c.,
" R. ADAIR."
The Duke writes in answer :
"STANHOPE STREET, June 5, 1808.
" DEAR ADAIR,
" I called upon you yesterday to answer verbally your
letter, and to explain to you the reasons which must
induce me to decline the request you make me, to dispose
of your seat in Parliament. I perfectly understand the
feelings which have urged you to make this offer, and I
never could for a single moment allow myself to doubt
your steady and unvarying attachment to those principles
upon which we have uniformly acted together through life,
and which ought now to be more than ever dear to us,
from the irreparable loss we have sustained by the death
of him, who was the invigorating soul of those principles ;
but under all the circumstances attending your acceptance
of the offer made you by Mr. Canning, arising out of your
communication to him from Malta, I must entreat of you
to retain your seat in Parliament. The length of your stay
abroad is of course very uncertain, from the nature of the
mission ; and as I should at all events restore you on your
return to that seat which you have temporarily vacated, it
would subject' me to frequent elections at Camelford, an
inconvenience which I must at all times wish to avoid ;
14 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [on.
moreover, the electors of the Borough have retained an
attachment to you, from the circumstances of your having
been the means of bringing about that spirit of harmony and
confidence subsisting between them and me, which would
make them very reluctant to see the seat filled by any one
but yourself. These are the motives which urge me to reject
your proposal. I repeat that I have the fullest confidence
in the zeal and steadiness of your publick principles, and>
as I have before told you, your acceptance of the mission
now entrusted to you, has, under all its accompanying
circumstances, my entire and unqualified approbation.
" Ever yours truly and affectionately,
" BEDFORD."
" I accepted the mission," says Adair in his narrative of
this embassy, " under an express agreement, that after
having made the peace, I should be at liberty to return
home, and resume my seat on the Opposition benches of
the House of Commons." l
Among the principal events of 1831 were the proceed-
ings consequent upon the separation of Belgium from
Holland and the election of Prince Leopold of Saxe-
Coburg to the throne of the newly-established kingdom.
On the 3rd of August (it was my wedding-day) intelli-
gence reached England that the Prince of Orange was
about to enter Flanders at the head of a Dutch army
to resist the dismemberment of his father's dominions?
while France was supporting the pretensions of Belgium
with an army of 50,000 men. Sir Eobert was sent out as
Ambassador Extraordinary to prevent a collision between
the parties. He was present at the wedding breakfast
given by my father-in-law, Sir Coutts Trotter, at his villa
at Brandsbury and immediately after set out for Belgium.
He arrived not a moment too soon. The Prince of Orange
1 Sir Robert Adair's " Mission to Constantinople," preface, p. xxi.
i.] SIR WILLIAM KEPPEL. 15
was besieging King Leopold at Liege. His first visit was
to Leopold, whom he had frequently met at Holkham.
His Majesty was paring his nails when he entered. Adair
tried hard to extort from him some concession. " My good
friend," said Leopold, with one of those calm, good-natured
smiles which all who knew him must so well remember,
I have just been elected a King. You can hardly expect
that I should make my abdication the first act of my
reign." Thus rebuffed, the Ambassador proceeded to the
hostile camp. Seizing a soldier's ramrod, he tied his
handkerchief to it, and flourished it over his head. His
improvised flag of truce was not respected : probably it
was not understood, for, as he said in a letter to Mr. Coke,
" I was shot at like a Holkham rabbit." He at length
obtained access to the Prince of Orange, whom for a long
time he found equally obdurate at length he obtained
from him a cessation of hostilities for forty-eight hours.
An armistice ensued. Adair's last stroke of diplomacy
was to save Europe from the calamity of a general war.
Another annual guest at Elden was my father's first
cousin William Keppel, who afterwards became a full
General, Colonel of the 67th Eegiment, a Privy Councillor,
a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, and Equerry to George
the Fourth, in whose good graces he held a high place. Sir
William is associated in my mind as the bestower upon
me of my first school-boy " tip" to wit, a bright half-
guinea; and as the last wearer of a pigtail that I ever
remember to have seen. " Keppel," once said the Duke
of York to him, pointing to the hirsute ornament, " why
don't you get rid of that old-fashioned tail of yours ? "
" From the feeling," was the reply, " that actuates your
Eoyal Highness in weightier matters the dislike to part
with an old friend."
The name of Sir William recalls to remembrance a
brother Knight and one of his oldest friends, the late Sir
16 FIFTY YEAES OF MY LIFE. [CH. i.
David Dundas. This officer had served under my grand-
father at the reduction of the Havannah, and succeeded
to the chief command of the army during the temporary
retirement of the Duke of York. Sir William told me
that being one day at the Horse Guards, the Duke ex-
pressed a wish to know whether he or Sir David were
the tallest. The ex-Commander-in-Chief and the Com-
mander-in- Chief elect stood back to back. Sir William
who measured them declared they were exactly of a height.
When the Duke retired, Keppel asked Dundas why he
did not keep his head still while under the process of
measuring. "Well, man," was the reply of the wily
Scotchman, " how should I just know whether His Eoyal
Highness would like to be a little shorter or a little
taller?"
CHAPTER II.
The threatened Invasion. The Dowager Lady de Clifford. Mrs.
Fitzherbert. "Minnie" Seymour. lam presented to George,
Prince of Wales. My first school. "ALL THE TALENTS"
Administration. My father appointed Master of the King's
Buckhounds. Visit to Charles Fox. My Game of Trap-ball
with him. Anecdotes of Fox. The Prince of Wales at " Eed
Barns." The old " Pavilion." Chairing of Sir Francis Burdett.
[1805.] I HAVE some vague recollection of the alarm
produced by the avowed intention of Napoleon to invade
England, and it was of a nature to find its way even
into an English nursery. A flotilla capable of conveying
150,000 men and the materiel for such a force were
visible to the naked eye of anyone standing on the
Kentish coast.
Like other children of my day, I was often frightened
into submission by the cry of " Boney's coming" a threat
which in any dark or foggy night might have become a
reality. Snatches of song relating to the invasion still
float unbidden on my memory. How they came there
except by hearing them in the nursery I cannot divine.
One of them began somewhat thus :
" Folks tell us that the French are coming to invade us,
I think they'll repent of the visit they'll have paid us ;
For their broad- bottomed boats I have a mighty notion.
We very soon shall sink to the bottom of the ocean."
Ill the summer of 1805 my mother took me with her
to London, where she became the guest of her mother,
c
18 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
the Dowager Lady de Clifford, who had recently been
appointed governess to the Princess Charlotte of Wales.
Of that dear old lady I shall have frequently occasion
to speak. All I will say of her at present is that she
lived at No. 9, South Audley Street, within a stone's
throw of Mrs. Fitzherbert, the wife, as far as the laws
of her Church could make her so, of George, Prince of
Wales.
But my visits to No. 6, Tilney Street, were less in-
tended for the mistress of the mansion than for a little
lady of my own age, who even then gave promise of those
personal and mental attractions of which she became so
distinguished in after life. This was Miss Mary Georgiana,
or, as she was called by her friends, " Minnie" Seymour,
afterwards the wife of Colonel the Hon. George Dawson
Darner. She was daughter of Lord Hugh and Lady
Horatia Seymour, who, dying nearly at the same time,
appointed Mrs. Fitzherbert the guardian of their orphan
child.
By my little hostess, I had the honour of being pre-
sented to the Prince of Wales, afterwards George the
Fourth. His appearance and manners were both of a
nature to produce a lively impression on the mind of a
child a merry, good-humoured man, tall, though some-
what portly in stature, in the prime of life, with laughing
eyes, pouting lips, .and nose which, very slightly turned
up, gave a peculiar poignancy to the expression of his face.
He wore a well-powdered wig, adorned with a profusion
of curls, which in my innocence I believed to be his own
hair, as I did a very large pigtail appended thereto. His
clothes fitted him like a glove, his coat was single-breasted,
and buttoned up to the chin. His nether garments were
leather pantaloons and Hessian boots. Bound his throat
was a huge white neckcloth of many folds, out of which
his chin seemed to be always struggling to emerge.
ii.] AM PRESENTED TO THE PRINCE OF WALES. 19
No socmer was his Eoyal Highness seated in his arm-
chair than my young companion would jump up on one
of his knees, to which she seemed to claim a prescriptive
right. Straightway would arise an animated talk between
" Prinny and Minnie" as they respectively called each
other. As my fatheT was in high favour with the Prince
at this time, I was occasionally admitted to the spare
knee and to a share in the conversation, if conversation
it could be called, in which all were talkers and none
listeners.
Small boys are often, of course undesignedly, their own
liberators from female government. A slap on the face
is repaid with interest by a kick on the shin. Young
master makes the nursery too hot to hold him, and off
he is packed to school.
It is possibly by some such process that before I reached
the age of seven I escaped out of the clutches of Sally
Martindale to pass into those of the Eev. William Farley,
Effingham, Surrey.
My entrance into the second of Shakespeare's ages bears
the same date as a great public event, in which I had
indirectly a personal interest. William Pitt dying in
January, 1806, " All the Talents " came in for a short
tenure of power. The post held by Charles James Fox
was that of Foreign Secretary and leader of the House of
Commons.
The office he held gave him no power over the House-
hold appointments, but he succeeded in obtaining that of
Master of the King's Buckhounds for my father, who,
shortly after his appointment, took some of his children,
of whom I was one, to* Swinley Lodge, his official resi-
dence, I being thus far on my way to school.
Soon after my father's arrival at Swinley, the King's
hounds met in Windsor Park ; my mother took me with
her to the meet. The buck was uncarted at a short
c 2
20 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
distance from the spot where we were posted. The yellow
barouche, the four grey horses, the postilions in their
yellow jackets, the hounds in full cry and hot pursuit,
the goodly assemblage of scarlet-coated horsemen all
appear as vividly to the " mind's eye " of the man of
seventy-seven, as did the actual scene to the boy of seven.
From Swinley Lodge the family proceeded to St. Anne's
Hill, Chertsey, there to pass the Easter holidays with
Charles Fox.
It was just at this time that the statesman's health
underwent a very perceptible change. His nephew, Lord
Holland, who accompanied him to Nelson's funeral, ob-
served that the length of the ceremony and the coldness
of the cathedral overpowered him in a way that no
fatigue which he had known him undergo had done before.
Fox himself appears to have had a consciousness of his
approaching end. " Pitt," he said, " has died in January,
perhaps I may go off before June." But, when at the
Easter recess he reached St. Anne's Hill, that home he
loved so well, all gloomy forebodings vanished, and at
the time of our arrival, the spirits of the dying patriot
were at their highest pitch.
I cannot call to mind which of my brothers or sisters
besides myself it was that went with our parents to St.
Anne's Hill, but as Mr. Fox's private secretary, who has
recorded our visit, speaks of more than one child as
accompanying my mother, 1 I should suppose that my
brother Edward 2 must have shared with me the honour
of being a guest of Fox.
1 " Lady Albemarle, whose sincerity and naivete were very pleasing,
and who was the lovely mother of some fine children who were there
with her, also contributed, to make St. Anne's Hill still more agree-
able." Trotter's Life of Fox, p. 391.
a Rector of Quidenham, late deputy clerk of the closet to the
Queen.
ii.] AM A PLAYMATE OF CHAELES FOX. 21
It was at the time of our visit that the symptoms of
dropsy, the disease of which Fox died a few months later,
began to show themselves, His legs were so swollen that
he could not walk ; he used to wheel himself about in what
was called a " Merlin chair ; " indeed out of this chair I
never remember to have seen him.
In many respects his personal appearance at this time
differed but little from that assigned to him in the many
prints and pictures still extant of him. There were still
the well-formed nose and mouth, the same manly, open,
benevolent countenance. But his face had lost that
swarthy appearance, which in the caricatures of an earlier
day had obtained for him the name of " Niger : " it was
very pale. His eyes, though watery, twinkled with fun
and good humour. " The thick black beard of true British
stuff," recorded by Peter Pindar, had become like that of
Hamlet's father, " a sable- silvered." He wore a single-
breasted coat of a light grey colour, with plated buttons
as large as half-crowns ; a thick linsey-woolsey waistcoat,
sage-coloured breeches, dark worsted stockings, and gouty
shoes coming over the ankles.
Fox was not visible of a morning. He either transacted
the business of his office, or was occupied in reading
Greek plays, or French fairy tales, of which last species of
literature I have heard my father say lie was particularly
fond.
At one o'clock was the children's dinner. We used to
assemble in the dining-room ; Fox was wheeled in at the
same moment for his daily basin of soup. That meal
despatched, he was for the rest of the day the exclusive
property of us children, and we all adjourned to the
garden for our game at trap-ball. All was now noise and
merriment. Our host, the youngest amongst us, laughed,
chaffed, and chatted the whole time. As he could not
walk, he of course had the innings, we the bowling and
22 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
fagging out ; with what glee would he send the ball into
the bushes in order to add to his score, and how shame-
lessly would he wrangle with us whenever we fairly bowled
him out !
Fox had been a very keen sportsman too keen to be a
successful one. In his eagerness he would not unfrequently
put the shot into the gun before the powder. Bob Jeffs,
the Elden gamekeeper (an heirloom of the Admiral's), was
fond of telling me how he once marked down a woodcock,
and went to the Hall with the intelligence. It was break-
fast time. Up started Fox from the untasted meal, and
gun in hand followed the keeper. A hat thrown into
the bush flushed the game, the bird escaped scot-free, but
Jeff's hat was blown to pieces.
One hot September morning Fox set out from Holkham,
fully anticipating a good day's sport at Egmere, Mr. Coke's
best partridge beat. As was usual with sportsmen in those
days, he started at daylight. Just as the family were
sitting down to breakfast, Fox was seen staggering home
" Not ill, I hope, Charles ? " inquired his host. " No," was
the reply, "only a little tipsy." Being thirsty, he had
asked the tenant of Egmere for a bowl of milk, and was
too easily persuaded to add thereto a certain, or rather an
uncertain, quantity of rum. As a consequence he passed
the rest of the day in bed instead of in the turnip-field.
A party of Holkham shooters were one day driven
home by a very heavy rain. Fox did not arrive till some
time after the rest ; he had fallen in with one of Mr.
Coke's labouring men, who had come for shelter under the
same tree. The statesman became so interested in the
society of the ploughman, who gave him an account of the
system of " turnip husbandry " just come into vogue, that
he had great difficulty in tearing himself away.
At my father's table one evening the conversation turned
upon the relative merits of different kinds of wine. Port,
ii.] PEINCE OF WALES AT KED BARNS. 23
Claret, Burgundy, were criticized in turn ; but Fox, who
considered alcohol the test of excellence, said, " Which is
the best sort of wine I leave you to judge ; all I know is
that no sort of wine is bad."
Earl Eussell is the only person of my acquaintance now
living who, besides myself, 'had personal access to this
great statesman. Lord Eversley, as a small boy, was once
admitted to hear the debates of that Assembly over which
he afterwards so gracefully and efficiently presided, but he
does not appear to have highly appreciated that eloquence
which so electrified the rest . of mankind, for when Fox
rose to address the House, he cried out, " What is that fat
gentleman in such a passion about ? "
To the rear of the Eutland Arms, Newmarket, is a house
called "the Palace." It was the residence of Charles the
Second during the races, and was used for the same
purpose by George, Prince of Wales, when he was on
the turf.
Mr. Tattersall, the .founder of the celebrated establish-
ment that goes by his name, had a breeding farm at Ely
called " Eed Barns." Here stood his famous horse " High-
flyer." The Prince, who was very intimate with Mr,
Tattersall, and joint proprietor with him in the Morning
Post, was a frequent, though an uninvited guest at Eed
Barns. His Eoyal Highness used to take his own party
with him, and the consumption of port-wine on such
occasions was something awful.
Mr. Edmund Tattersall tells me that his uncle Eichard,
the grandson and successor of the founder of the firm,
when he was a boy of about nine years old, one day
saw a post-chaise and four drive furiously up to the
" Palace " door, William Windham riding leader, and
Charles Fox wheel, while the Prince of Wales, too full
of Eed Barn port to be in riding or even sitting trim, lay
utterly helpless at the bottom of the chaise.
24 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
After the Easter holidays, I went in Mr. Fox's carriage
to my first school, kept, as I have already mentioned,
by the Rev. William Farley. Here I remained two
years.
Like all boys in a like situation, I had to submit to the
catechism which is inflicted on the new coiner of a school,
be it public or private, " What's your name ? Who's your
father ? " &c. I thought to impress my querists with a
due sense of my family dignity by informing them that
my father was Master of the King's Buckhounds, but was
somewhat mortified by being pointed at as the son of a
blackguard old huntsman.
I passed a portion of Christmas this year with my
family at Brighton, the Prince of Wales having lent my
father the Pavilion ; my recollection of the building is a
small, low-roomed, mean-looking house, constructed of
Bath bricks, only two stories high. It stood, as I have
since learned, upon the sixth part of the ground occupied
by the edifice which now goes by its name.
[1807.] During my summer holidays in 1807 I was
taken to see the chairing of Sir Francis Burdett, the
successful, candidate for Westminster in the general
election of that year.
The occasion was one of intense public excitement. A
month before the ceremonial, Sir Francis had a quarrel
with Mr. James Paull, the member for that city in the
preceding Parliament, who was then seeking re-election.
The result was a duel on Wimbledon Common. Burdett
and Paull each hit the other in the leg. Both combatants
were conveyed to town in the same carriage. While they
lay ill in bed of their wounds their respective partisans
placed them in nomination for Westminster. Burdett was
returned by an enormous majority.
All that I can recollect of this ovation is the appearance
and demeanour of the hero of the hour. He was drawn in
ii.] CHAIRING OF SIR FRANCIS BURDETT. 25
an enormous triumphal car and seated on a chair of state,
raised so high as to be on a level with the balcony from
which I saw the procession. Sir Francis's dress indicated
the Whig colours of the period a blue coat, buff waistcoat
and breeches the wounded limb reposed artistically on a
large purple cushion, and was covered by a bandana
handkerchief.
Except for this outward evidence, Burdett seemed to
have entirely recovered from the effects of his late en-
counter. His antagonist was not so fortunate ; his wound
never healed, and a few months later he died by his
own hand.
CHAPTEE III.
My entrance into Westminster School. A Westminster legend.
Substance a shadow. Charles Atticus Monk. Masters and
Ushers. Fagging. My two Grandmothers. Dowager Lady
Albemarle. A game at Pope Joan. Dowager Lady de Clifford
appointed Governess to Princess Charlotte. Mrs. Campbell.
- George the Third to Lady de Clifford. Prince of Wales to
Lady de Clifford. Prince of Wales's Memorandum. Princess
Charlotte's letters to Lady Albemarle. - The Princess's Dressers.
Red George Nott. Letters from Princess Charlotte. The
Princess's Will and its consequences.
[1808.] AFTER two years unprofitably spent at Farley's,
I was sent to Westminster. My entrance into that famed
seminary is one of the events of my life of which I have a
most lively recollection. It was at three in the afternoon
of Wednesday, the 14th of March, 1808, that, almost a
man in my own estimation, I took my seat at the exa-
mination-table. Across the building, which looks like the
nave of a church, and immediately above my head, was
an iron bar, on which formerly hung a curtain, and on
which there still hangs a tale.
The intention of this curtain was to separate the upper
from the under school. In the reign of Charles the First,
when Dr. Busby reigned paramount in the school, a boy,
one John Glyn, tore the curtain. The name of the culprit
is suggestive to me of Legion, for there was a whole tribe
CH. HI.] A WESTMINSTER LEGEND. 27
of Glyns in my day, one of them being my old friend,
the late Lord Wolverton. In school phrase, Glyn funked
his " six-cutter," and prevailed upon a form-fellow, William
Wade, to take the blame and bear the punishment.
Some years after the execution of Charles the First,
John Glyn, now a serjeant-at-law, sat upon a Commission
which sentenced a batch of prisoners to death for con-
spiring against the Commonwealth. Among the con-
demned Glyn recognised the vicarious sufferer for the
rent curtain. He said nothing, but rode post-haste to
the Lord Protector, and succeeded in procuring his
friend's pardon. John Glyn lived to become Lord Chief
Justice. There is a picture of him in his judicial robes
and gold chain in Lord Wolverton's house in Carlton
Gardens, and another, I believe, in the possession of
Mr. Gladstone.
I was ruminating on the novelty of my situation when
there came towards me two burly-looking clergymen in
full canonicals, master of arts' gowns, with pudding sleeves,
wearing huge three-cornered cocked hats on their heads,
powder in their hair, and large silver buckles in their shoes.
They took their seats side-saddle fashion on the table,
one on each side of me. The examination was a very
short one ^sop's little fable of " Mater ad Cancrem "
was given me to construe a few questions were put to
me respecting the parts of speech, and I was placed in
the under first, the lowest remove in the lowest form save
one (the petty).
When a boy enters Westminster his existence is almost
ignored. If admitted to be a sentient being at all, it is not
one responsible for its actions. He is called " a shadow,"
and to him is attached a form-fellow, his " substance,"
who initiates him into the ways of the school, and becomes
in a certain degree liable to punishment for his misdeeds.
My substance, with whom I lived for many years on terms
28 FIFTY YEAES OF MY LIFE. [CH.
of great intimacy, was the late Major- General Sir Henry
Barnard, K.C.B., and Chief of the Staff at the siege and
fall of Sebastopol.
I found my new schoolfellows to the full as inquisitive
about my private affairs as those whom I left at Farley's ;
my first week was passed in answering questions respect-
ing myself and my belongings.
This habit of prying into the birth and parentage of
the new comer recalls to mind the stereotyped answer
which, some years later, I used to hear given by a little
fellow who boarded in the same house with me. It ran
thus : " I am Charles Atticus Monk, born at Athens in
Greece, son of Sir Charles Monk, of Belsey Castle, New-
castle-upon-Tyne." This formula the poor child was
teased into repeating a hundred times in a day. One
afternoon Charles Atticus was missing : a hue and cry
was raised. Advertisements appeared in the newspapers
respecting him, and after a fruitless search for his son,
his father threw himself despairingly, in the night mail.
He was within a couple of stages of Newcastle, when he
heard a little boy ask the coachman to take him on the
box. Sir Charles thought he recognised the voice, but
doubt became certainty when he heard the words, " I am
Charles Atticus Monk, born at Athens, in Greece," &c.
The fugitive was returning to Belsey Castle, Newcastle-
upon-Tyne.
Sir Charles brought back the truant to Westminster,
and implored Dr. Page to remit the penalty usually at-
tached to such a delinquency. He might as well have
talked to the winds. The young Athenian got his " six-
cutter" and, me teste, well laid on too.
At the time of his escapade, Charles Atticus had half-a-
crown in his pocket. He owed the pastry-cook eighteen-
pence, which debt he loyally discharged, and with a
shilling in his pocket, and his biographical shibboleth
in.] MASTEKS AND USHEES. 29
on his tongue, he accomplished the long and then ex-
pensive journey into the North of England.
" CARET, vetus SMEDLEY, JEMMY DODD, simul et JOHNNY CAMPBELL,
KNOX, ELLIS, LONGLANDS, PAGEQUE furore gravis."
These doggrel verses (they are not mine) comprise the
names of the masters and ushers of my day. Dr. William
Carey, whose name stands first on the list, was head-
master. Before I left Westminster he became Bishop of
St. Asaph, and was afterwards translated to the see of
Exeter. The doctor was a thickset, bandy-legged man,
with punch -like nose and chin, but with a good-humoured
expression of face, pleasant, affable manners, and was alike
a favourite with parents and boys.
The last name in the pentameter designates Dr. William
Page, for twelve years under-master, and in 1814 the
successor of Carey in the chief command. He was a
wittier man and a riper scholar than his principal, but
in no other respect equal to him in the requisite qualities
for the conduct of a public school. The epithet " furore
gravis" was not ill applied. With a more savage, ill-
tempered man I have seldom come in contact.
The great Dr. Busby used to assert that the rod was
the proper instrument for sifting the wheat of learning
from the chaff. Dr. Page was so far of the Busby school,
and unfortunately for me I was that description of grain
that frequently underwent this species of winnowing.
Eor the Seven years that I spent at Westminster I
boarded at " Mother Grant's," as had done generations of
Keppels before me. The fagging system was then in full
vogue. My first fag-master I have reasons for sup-
pressing his name, for though a kinsman of my own, he
was "less than kind" was a good-looking fellow, who
left Westminster for the Peninsula, and served afterwards
at Waterloo.
30 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
For the edification of a more luxurious and less oppressed
generation of fags, let me give a sample of a day's work
during my period of servitude.
I rose as the day broke, hurried on my clothes, brushed
those of my master, cleaned several pairs of his shoes, went
to the pump in Great Dean's Yard for hard water for his
teeth, and to the cistern at Mother Grant's for soft water
for his hands and face, passed the rest of the time till eight
in my own hasty ablutions, or in conning over my morning
school lesson.
Eight to nine. In school.
Nine to ten. Out for my breakfast, or rather for my
master's breakfast. I had to bring up his tea-things, to
make his toast, &c. my own meal was a very hasty
and a very nasty affair.
Ten to twelve. In school.
Twelve to one. In the Usher's correcting room pre-
paring for afternoon lessons.
One to two. Dinner in the Hall a sort of roll-call
absence a punishable offence, the food of "Do the Boys
Hall " quality.
Two to five. Evening school.
Five to six. Buying bread, butter, milk, and eggs for
the great man's tea, and preparing that meal.
Six to the following morning. Locked up at Mother
Grant's ; till bed-time, fagging of a miscellaneous character.
I had borne this description of drudgery for about a
fortnight, when, without weighing the consequences
remember, reader, I was not nine years old I determined
to strike work. Instead, therefore, of preparing tea as
usual, I slipped behind one of the maids into the coal
cellar, and there lay perdu for a couple 'of hours. I was at
length dragged out of my hiding-place and delivered over
to the fury of my tea-less master. He made me stand
at attention, with my little fingers on the seam of my
in.] MY GRANDMOTHER ALBEMARLE. 31
trousers, like a soldier at drill. He then felled me to the
ground by a swinging buckhorse l on my right cheek. I
rose up stupefied, and was made to resume my former
position, and received a second floorer. I know not how
often I underwent this ordeal, but I remember going to
bed with a racking headache, and being unable to put in
an appearance next morning at school.
" Oh ! the merry days when we were young ! " Such is
the burden of one of Moore's charming melodies, which I
have frequently heard its gifted author sing. Yet the
sentiment appears to me more poetical than true at least
it could hardly apply to a Westminster fag when this
century had not yet reached its teens. For my own part,
I can truly say that the least "merry days" of my long
life, were those in which I had Dr. Page for my master in
school, and his promising pupil for my master in what were
facetiously called my "hours of recreation."
Boys having relations in London were permitted to go
home to them from the afternoon of a Saturday till eight
in the morning of the following Monday. Now I had the
good fortune to have two grandmothers permanent resi-
dents in the metropolis, and my weekly visits to one or
the other of them were the " silver linings to the clouds "
which lowered upon this period of my school life.
My father's mother, the Dowager Lady Albemarle, lived
at No. 10, Berkeley Square. She was the daughter of Sir
John Miller, a Hampshire Baronet ; a kind-hearted woman,
but not attractive to her grandchildren. Her manners
were formal, and she had but little indulgence for their
youthful follies. Moreover, her temper was not of the
sweetest. I remember her boxing my ears after I had
served the Waterloo campaign. She had been a great
beauty in her day, and she took care to let us know it,
1 "Buckhorse," in Westminster language, a blow on the cheek
with the open hand.
32 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
but as time had obliterated the traces of these good looks,
we were somewhat sceptical of the assurance. Yet when
I gaze upon a picture I have of her by Eomney, I am
inclined to believe that the good old lady did herself no
more than justice.
One anecdote she used to tell of herself, and if she
repeated it somewhat too often it was her wicked grand-
children who were to blame, for they took a pleasure in
inducing her to bear record of the homage that had once
been paid to her loveliness.
"When I was a girl," she would say to us, "young
ladies used to wear aprons of valuable lace. A clever
young gentleman in our neighbourhood happened to tear
this ornamental part of my dress. ' Eeally, Mr. /
said a witness of the accident, 'you ought to make an
ample apology to Miss Miller for your awkwardness,'
upon which he immediately produced the following ele-
gant impromptu:
" ' I tore your apron, lovely maid !
But you the injury doubly repaid,
For, from your eyes, you sent a dart
Which tore as much my "bleeding heart.' "
After her husband's death in 1773, Lady Albemarle
lived much in retirement, her principal associates being a
set of elderly females, whom we grandchildren irreverently
called her " toadies." One of them a certain Mrs. B. I
have good cause to remember. I met her one evening in
Berkeley Square in company with the rest of the anti-
quated coterie. I was to return to school the next day
after the Christmas holidays. It was Twelfth Night. We
drew King and Queen. My character was a sailor " Jack
Generous ; " my motto :
" A friend ever willing
To share his last shilling."
in.] DOWAGER LADY DE CLIFFOED. 33
After we had eaten our cake we played at Pope Joan.
At that game I acted up to my character, " not wisely, but
too we'll," for all the " tips " of Jack Generous, which were
to have served him for "next half," found their way from
his pocket into that of Mrs. B . The next morning.
one of the dullest and bitterest of January, with a heavy
heart and a light purse I " trudged like snail unwillingly
to school."
My other grandmother, the Dowager Lady de Clifford,
was the very opposite of her in Berkeley Square. If the
one was too hard upon my faults, the other erred in the
opposite extreme. She was ever ready to help me out of
my scrapes, and up to the time of her death would fight
my battles against all comers. She had passed much of
her time abroad, and been acquainted with many of the
notabilities of the Court of Louis the Sixteenth. Until age
had impaired her faculties she was full of anecdote, and
a very agreeable companion. Moore, the poet, whom I
introduced to her, has made honourable mention of her in
his journal. She used to tell me that as a young woman
she was quite plain ; but I had difficulty in believing her,
for she had a lively, intelligent expression of countenance,
bright hazel eyes, and when, according to the fashion of
those days, she was turbaned, powdered, and rouged for an
evening party, I was quite proud of her. She was a woman
of great personal courage. When she was travelling with
her dying husband through France by easy stages on her
way to England, she stopped at a small road-side inn.
Hearing a noise at midnight, she opened her door and saw
a man stealing into her husband's bedroom. She seized
him by the collar, threw him down stairs, ordered horses
immediately, and proceeded on her journey.
Not long before her death she was then eighty-four
some robbers climbed over the garden wall which lines the
north side of Hill Street where it abuts on South Audley
D
34 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
Street. They had nearly succeeded in gaining an entrance
into the house, when the old lady threw open her window,
discharged one of the pistols which she always kept
loaded, and lustily cried " Thieves ! " The rogues made off
no doubt resolving that when next they attacked a lone
elderly woman, it should be one less ready to show fight.
It was in the month of January 1805, when the Princess
Charlotte of Wales had completed her ninth year, that an
establishment was formed for her education, and placed
under the control of my grandmother.
Subordinate to Lady de Clifford were two sub-govern-
esses, Mrs. Campbell and Mrs. Udney, one of whom was
required to be in constant residence with her royal pupil.
Mrs. Campbell, the first-named of these ladies, was the
daughter of a landed proprietor in the North of Ireland of
the name of Kelly. At the age of nineteen she married
William Campbell, a grandson of a Duke of Argyll. This
gentleman, a colonel in the army, was appointed, in 1796,
Governor of Bermuda, in which island he soon after died
of the yellow fever. From the time of his death to that of
her own, a period of twenty-six years, the widow became
an inmate of the family of Lord Ilchester, and it was
probably through the influence of Lady Ilchester, a Lady
of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte, that she obtained
the situation of sub-governess.
When Mrs. Campbell was first presented to George the
Third, she expressed her fears that she would be found
hardly suitable to the post, on account of her want of ac-
complishments. " Madam," was the reply, " I hope we can
afford to purchase accomplishments, but we cannot buy
principles." Now I am inclined to think, that, whatever
meaning his Majesty intended to convey to Mrs. Campbell's
mind by the word " principles," it had in his own mind a
political rather than a moral signification, and that knowing
in.] GEORGE THE THIRD TO LADY DE CLIFFORD. 35
his protfyge to be a Tory like himself, he hoped she would
be able to counteract the opinions on public affairs which
the Princess was likely to imbibe from Mrs. Udney, the
other sub-governess, who had received her appointment
from the Prince of Wales, and was a zealous disciple of
his Majesty's great political adversary Charles Fox.
I shall presently explain my reasons for putting this
construction on the King's words.
Notwithstanding a somewhat unfavourable sketch of
Mrs. Campbell by the late Baron Stockmar, I have reason
to believe that she was a very amiable and attractive
person. She appears, indeed, to have possessed the happy
faculty of drawing towards herself the affections of young
and old. Of this, the universal regard entertained for her
by all the branches of the Strangways family is a proof.
My old friend and schoolfellow, William, the fourth Earl
of Ilchester, and his brother John Strangways, father of
the present peer, who had both known her from their
childhood, retained in after life their regard for " Tarn "
their infantine mode of pronouncing her name.
GEORGE THE THIRD TO THE DOWAGER LADY DE CLIFFORD.
" QUEEN'S PALACE,
"February 22, 1805.
" The King thinks it right to acquaint Lady de Clifford
that he received an intimation this morning from the
Countess of Ilchester, of Mrs. Campbell's being far from
well, and requiring indulgence from her nerves being much
agitated from the looking most anxiously to the employ-
ment on which she is now entering. The King trusts
Lady de Clifford will see the propriety of therefore not
requiring her attendance at Windsor on the present occa-
sion, as his Majesty trusts a little rest and quiet will
enable her to be in future of greater utility.
"GEORGE E."
D 2
36 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en.
The dislike with which, at this time, the Sovereign and
the Heir Apparent to the throne regarded each other was
so intense, that any circumstance affecting their mutual
interest would suffice to fan their animosities into a flame.
Thus the question of the future care of the young Princess
led to an open quarrel between father and son.
A few months prior to my grandmother's appointment
to her charge, the Prince of Wales offered, through Lord
Moira, to consign the Princess entirely to the care of her
grandfather. The King eagerly accepted the proposal, and
gave orders for the Lower Lodge, Windsor, to be prepared
for her reception. As the time for the fulfilment of the
engagement drew nigh, the Prince changed his mind,
alleging, as a reason for withdrawing from his proposal,
that it was made "before he had seen the King at
Windsor," a brutal insinuation that his royal father had
in the interval been afflicted with insanity, and was there-
fore unfit for so important a charge. On the other hand,
George the Third was determined to keep his son to his
engagement, and communicated this intention to him
through the medium of Lord Chancellor Eldon.
On the 1st of March, 1805, the King writes to Lord
Eldon : " The preparations for establishing the Princess
Charlotte at Windsor are in such forwardness that the King
can authorize the Lord Chancellor to acquaint the Prince
of Wales that the apartments will be completely ready
for her reception in two weeks, and that he shall then give
notice to Lady de Clifford for her removal to that place."
The same evening that the Prince received this intima-
tion from the Chancellor he wrote to my grandmother as
follows :
"MY DEAEEST LADY DE CLIFFORD,
'' I am only this instant returned home, and I have
so many letters to write, and so much to do this evening that
in.] PRINCE OF WALES TO LADY DE CLIFFORD. 37
will not admit of delay, in order to summon an early meet-
ing to-morrow morning, that it will be too late before I
.have finished all my business to attempt to come and
see your little charge and you. However, at one
to-morrow, you may be certain of seeing me and, I hope,
Mrs. Udney. 1
" Pray, if possible, let me have the little watch, that I
may give it to Charlotte in your presence. I shall be most
happy to do so for every reason, but I shall consider myself:
most fortunate the having it in my power thus early in
life after your very short acquaintance with her, not only
to prove to her my readiness to acquiesce in, and to
forward every reasonable wish she may entertain, but also
the implicit confidence I place in you, as well as that you
are. the medium, and ever must be the properest medium
through which her wishes and inclinations must be con-
veyed to me. Excuse my saying anything more at present,
for I am, as you may believe after so long and so very
irritating a day, quite worried to death. If you wish for
me later this evening, I mean by that between eleven and
twelve o'clock, you will know where to find me. 2
" Ever most affectionately yours,
"GEORGE P.
" CARLTON HOUSE, Friday, 8 o'clock, March 1, 1805.
" P.S. Say everything that is most kind to the child and
to Mrs. Udney, whose goodness in temporising with her
present situation I can never forget."
The attention of the reader is called to the paragraph in
the preceding letter, in which the Eoyal writer declares
Lady de Clifford to be " the properest medium " through
which the wishes and inclinations of his daughter should
be conveyed to him.
1 See ante, p. 34. 2 At Mrs. Fitzlierberf s in. Tilney Street.
38 FIFTY YEAES OF MY LIFE. [CH.
It will be seen that in the following " memorandum,"
in the Prince's handwriting, he again deprecates " the in-
terference of any other person whatever, except his Majesty,"
in matters relating to himself and his daughter.
Both passages have evidently reference to Lord Chan-
cellor Eldon, whom the King would insist upon making
the medium of communication between himself and his
son.
The employment of any third party in such a matter
would have been naturally a source of annoyance to His
Royal Highness, but this great legal functionary was the
more especially obnoxious to him, as his lordship was at
this time the confidential and professional adviser of the
Princess of Wales.
" MEMORANDUM
"FOR LADY DE CLIFFOBD FROM THE PRINCE
"OF WALES.
" March 4th, 1805.
" Lady de Clifford and the Bishop of Exeter 1 having
now entered upon the important functions committed to
them, the Prince is desirous that they should from time
to time lay before his Majesty such ideas as occur to him
as to the details necessary for carrying into execution the
general opinion adopted respecting the education of
Princess Charlotte. This memorandum is intended to
apprize them of the present state of the business, and to
serve as a guide for them in such conversations as his
Majesty may honour them with on this subject.
" In consequence of some previous intimation which the
Prince had received of his Majesty's wishes, the Prince
has expressed that without meaning to discharge himself
in any degree of that duty of superintendence and control
which nature imposes upon a father in all that relates to
1 Dr. Fisher, Preceptor to the Princess Charlotte.
in.l PEINCE OF WALES'S MEMORANDUM. 39
the education of his child, he was at the same time desirous
of receiving the benefit of his Majesty's gracious assistance
and advice in a matter so interesting to his feelings, and
of giving the Princess Charlotte the full advantage ot
that affectionate interest which his Majesty is graciously
pleased to take in her welfare. But a reason which it is
not here necessary to particularize compelled the Prince
to require that the person through whom this communica-
tion was made should respectfully "but distinctly explain
to his Majesty that the Prince could on no account agree
to the interference of any other person whatever except his
Majesty in the dispositions to be made on this subject,
and that this point must at all times be considered as the
indispensable condition of the Prince's consent to any
arrangement, present or future. 1
" What has hitherto been done on the subject has, as
the Prince conceives, been intended to be regulated by
this principle. The next point to be adjusted for giving
effect to it is that which relates to the residence of the
Princess Charlotte, on which subject the Prince desires
that Lady de Clifford and the Bishop will submit to his
Majesty for his gracious consideration the following ideas,.
" The Prince thinks that during the period of the yean
in which he is usually resident in London his daughter
can nowhere so properly be placed as under her father's
roof, where her education may be carried on without in-
terruption, and where he himself will have the constant
opportunity of observing its course and progress. His
Majesty's habit of doing business in London several days
in each week during most part of the year will afford to
the Princess Charlotte ample opportunities of. paying her
duty there to the King and Queen as often as they may
be pleased to require it, and it is by no means the Prince's
idea that this arrangement should exclude such short
1 See ante, p. 38.
40 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
visits to Windsor during the season of holidays or on other
temporary occasions as may be found not to break in too
much on the course of her education.
" During those months when the Prince is usually not
resident in London, he would have great satisfaction in
his daughter's being allowed to reside with his Majesty, at
Windsor, Weymouth, or elsewhere, reserving to himself in
the same manner as above stated the pleasure of seeing
her sometimes, if he should wish i',on short and occasional
visits.
" The communications already made to Lady de Clifford
seem to give every reason to hope that these ideas are very
little, if at all, different from those entertained by his
Majesty on the subject. And at all events, the Prince is
confident that they cannot fail to be considered as fresh
proofs of his respectful desire to meet his Majesty's
wishes in every way consistent with his honour and with
the feelings of paternal affection and duty towards his
daughter."
This memorandum, though professedly for the guid-
ance of Lady de Clifford was of course intended for the
King, who, upon its receipt, wrote to Lord Eldon :
" His Majesty must either have the whole care and superin-
tendence of the person and education of the Princess,
or entirely decline any interference or expense."
In reference to the " memorandum " just quoted, his
Majesty in the same letter says, " The Lord Chancellor is
desired to take a copy for the King of this returned paper
of instructions, and prepare the paper to be transmitted
to the Prince of Wales, who certainly means further
chicane."
While the young Princess's father and grandfather
were thus engaged in inflicting pain upon each other,
her mother appeared on the scene, and infused a fresh
element of discord into the family feud.
in.] GEORGE THE THIRD TO LORD ELDON. 41
When the Princess of Wales was driven from under
her husband's roof, she returned to the neighbourhood of
Blackheath. The Princess Charlotte was at the same time
consigned to the care of the Countess of Elgin, who
established her in a villa on Shooter's Hill. Here, for
nearly nine years, the mother had almost as free access to
her child as when living at Carlton House. But when the
new educational engagements were made, the visits of the
Princess of Wales became more restricted, and it was the
great object of the Prince that they should cease alto-
gether. It would doubtless have given the King a great
advantage over his rebellious son if he had been in a
position to throw over the Princess the aegis of his pro-
tection, and to insist that she should be allowed a free
intercourse with her daughter. This, however, his un-
happy niece had thwarted by her own conduct, for such
was her levity of deportment at this period that the King
was prevented from receiving her as a member of his
family. All he could do without infringing upon the
decorum of his court was to assign to her apartments
in Kensington Palace, to allow her to take place with
the Princesses at public ceremonials, and surreptitiously to
encourage her to resist the machinations of her husband
to separate her from her child.
I cannot find among my grandmother's papers any refer-
ence to the communication which the Prince of Wales
made to her at this time, but the nature of it may be
inferred from the following passage in a published letter of
George the Third to the Chancellor, in which he declares
his belief that " Lord Eldon could not sanction the
language held by the Prince of Wales to Lady de Clifford."
One can imagine the pleasure with which his Majesty
penned the next paragraph, knowing, as he must have
known, how soon it would meet the eyes of his son. " It
is quite charming to see the Princess and her child to-
42 FIFTY YEAES OF MY LIFE. [CH.
gether, of which I have been since yesterday a witness, and
I must add that Lady de Clifford's conduct is most proper." l
At the time of Lady de Clifford's death in 1828 I had
just entered my thirtieth year. During the latter period
of her life I was almost her sole male companion. We
had few secrets from each other ; there was indeed as free
an interchange of thought as could well exist between
persons so different in age. She used often to recount to
me the events of her court life. The behaviour of the
Princess of Wales naturally came under review. I fear
that the judgment she formed of the conduct of this much
sinned against and sinning lady coincides but too closely
with the verdict that public opinion has since passed upon
her. To Lady de Clifford she was a source of constant
anxiety and annoyance. Often when in obedience to the
King's commands my grandmother took her young charge
to Charlton Villa, the Princess of Wales would behave
with a levity of manner and language that the presence
of. her child and her child's governess were insufficient to
restrain.
On more than one occasion Lady de Clifford was obliged
to threaten her with making such a representation to the
King as would tend to deprive her altogether of the
Princess Charlotte's society. These remonstrances were
always taken in good part, and produced promises of
amendment.
From the day that this poor Princess landed in England
she became fully aware that she was beset by persons of
her own sex who looked upon her as a rival, and who
endeavoured to make her an object of disgust to her
husband. The odd thing was, that with all her cleverness
she should have had so little discernment as to become a
dupe to their devices. One of these ladies told her that
1 Jesse's George III., iii. p. 424.
in.] THE PRINCESS OF WALES TO LADY DE CLIFFORD. 43
the Prince was a great admirer of a fine head of hair.
" Now you know," she once said to my grandmother, " we
Germans are very proud of this ornament, so the moment
the Prince and I were alone I took out my comb and let
my hair flow over my shoulders, but my dear," she added,
with a loud laugh, " I only wish you could have seen the
poor man's face."
The Princess landed, as is well known, at the Greenwich
Hospital stairs. She was conducted to one of the Gover-
nor's rooms which looked out on the quadrangle, in which
were assembled groups of maimed Greenwich pensioners.
They were nearly the first Englishmen she had seen on
their own soil. " Comment," she exclaimed, to a lady near
her, " manque-t-il a tous les Anglais un bras ou line
jambe ? " but, as she said to Lady de Clifford, to whom
she told her story, " my little pleasantry was crushed in
the bud by a harsh ' Point de persiflage, Madame, je vous
en prie.' "
Here is one of a series of letters written in the same
spirit :
" The Princess of Wales being under great anxiety since
yesterday concerning Princess Charlotte's not coming to
see her at Kensington, as she has done the last two weeks,
is under the dreadful apprehension that some unforeseen
accident or sudden illness deprives the Princess of Wales
of the happiness of seeing her daughter. The Princess
begs Lady de Clifford will be obliging enough to acquaint
her with the real motive which prevented the Princess
Charlotte from coming as usual to, Kensington to dinner.
The Princess of Wales would have come to Windsor
herself to-day to see the Princess Charlotte had not an
attack of bile prevented her, but the Princess of Wales
shall certainly, if the Princess Charlotte is not well, be
with her next Monday.
44 IxFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
" By return of the servant the Princess hopes to receive
a comfortable account of Princess Charlotte."
"KENSINGTON PALACE, August 1, 1805."
The foregoing extracts from my family papers will show
the sort of " triangular duel " in which the father, mother,
and grandfather of the Princess were engaged when Lady
de Clifford entered upon her functions. As may easily be
imagined, these intestine broils greatly increased the
difficulties of her situation sufficiently great without any
such drawbacks for a less manageable young lady than
the Princess could hardly have been committed to her
charge. It was the common practice of her Eoyal High-
ness to rush impetuously into my grandmother's room at
all hours, and as a rule to leave the door open. " My dear
Princess," said Lady de Clifford once to her, " that is not
civil ; you should always shut the door after you when
you come into a room." " Not I indeed," was the reply in
the loudest of voices ; " if you want the door shut, ring
the bell," and so saying, out she bounced again.
The following four letters to my mother do not appear
to require any prefatory remarks from me.
PRINCESS CHARLOTTE TO LADY ALBEMARLE.
" September 4, 1805.
" MY DEAR LADY ALBEMARLE,
"I am so much obliged to you for the partridges
that I must thank you over and over again. I take it
very kind of you^ that you have told me my fault in my
last letter, and hope you will find this to your liking.
Lady Elgin x is with me and is very affected. She is very
angry at my paying Lady de Clifford any attention, and
1 Martha, widow of Charles, fifth Earl of Elgin and ninth of
Kincardine, Lady de Clifford's predecessor in charge of Princess
Charlotte.
in.] PRINCESS CHAELOTTE TO LADY ALBEMARLE. 45
when I spoke of you she seemed in a very great passion.
Your last letter was charming ; pray write me always such
long ones. God bless you.
" And believe me to be
" Your ever affectionate
" CHAELOTTE.
" P.S. My compliments to Lord Albemarle and love to
the children. Make Sophia write me a line in your next
letter. My writing is better."
The last person named in the preceding letter was my
sister Sophia, the Princess's special favourite of our family.
In 1817 she became the wife of Mr., afterwards Sir James,
Macdonald, member for Hampshire, but at one time the
parliamentary colleague of Macaulay for the borough of
Calne.
PE1NCESS CHAELOTTE TO LADY ALBEMAELE.
11 September 10, 1805.
" MY DEAE LADY ALBEMAELE,
" I cannot say how much obliged I am to you and
Lord Albemarle for the very kind and magnificent present
of partridges which you were so good as to give me.
They were very acceptable, and the first we had this year.
When we feasted on them we remembered the kind donor.
Let me thank you also for offering me some pheasants ;
don't think me a little gourmand if I say I am veiy fond
of them. You are very good for saying you were sorry
for my having been ill. I am now quite well, and have
learned a little prudence from my late indisposition.
" Pray give my love to all your little children,
" And believe me,
" My dear Lady Albemarle,
" Ever your affectionate
" CHAELOTTE."
46 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
FBOM THE SAME TO THE SAME.
" WARWICK STREET HOUSE, LONDON,
" September 15, Sunday, 4 o'clock, 1805.
" MY DEAR LADY ALBEMARLE,
" I take the first opportunity to thank you for the
very magnificent present, but pray do not send me so
much another time ; but I must insist you will send your
mother some partridges that I must insist. Mrs. Udney
begs to be kindly remembered to you, and pray make
. . [illegible] . . to send me a little dog. Lord Albemarle,
I hope, is well. I send a little book as a present to
Sophia, and when Elizabeth x is good may indulge her by
reading to her. Mrs. Campbell will soon come home ; I
long to see her.
" Mrs. Udney sends her compliments to Mrs. Durham. 2
" I am,
4 Your ever affectionate
"C.
"Write me a long letter next time of six or seven
pages, do, pray. I write anyhow je crive tres rnal.
Adieu."
FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME.
" MY DEAR LADY ALBEMARLE,
" I am quite shocked at not having written to you
before. I now take this opportunity to amend my fault.
I hope you have not thought that I had forgotten you.
Accept my best thanks for your kindness in sending me
the game.
1 My sister Elizabeth, one year my senior, died the following year.
2 My father's cook. Frequent mention is made of her in the
Princess Charlotte's letters.
in.] MRS. UDNEY. 47
"I saw Papa the other day, and he said he hoped he
should be able to come and see you soon. I hope Lord
Albemarle is well.
" And believe me to be
" Your affectionate
" CHAELOTTE.
"P.S. We rejoice to think we are to see dear Lady
de Clifford so soon. I am sure you must have been very
happy. Since I wrote the above, some game is arrived
from Scotland, and am happy to give you some. Pray
accept a part of them ; I hope you will find them good."
Mrs. Udney, to whom special allusion is made in the
next letter, was, as I have already mentioned, joint sub-
governess with Mrs. Campbell, and always in residence
during my acquaintance with the Princess. Her Eoyal
Highness used frequently to express to me her dislike of
this lady, but I could never understand the cause of that
feeling, for she was a person of a singularly prepossessing-
exterior, of refined manners, and always appeared to me
to be of a gentle disposition.
The Rev. George Nott, of whom the Princess also
speaks, was her chaplain and one of the sub-preceptors.
His father, a German, held some post in George the Third's
household, and was held in great esteem by the King.
PRINCESS CHARLOTTE TO LADY ALBEMARLE.
" MY DEAR LADY ALBEMARLE,
" I am very much obliged to you for sending me
the game. But I must tell you about the dog. I am
quite obliged to you for giving me a . . [illegible] . . but
I (would) rather have a pug. Pray have the goodness to
tell me how old the pug is. Pray give it a name, and tell
48 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
me if it is a female or not. I must add that you have no
idea how good and kind dearest [name illegible] is. I
knew you would like him, he is so very kind to me that
I cannot do to [too] much for him. I must tell you that
I beg you will forgive me if I do come back to the subject
of Mrs. Udney. I assure you I do not like her at all.
Pray do not tell. Besides, there is not a day but there is
something that happens. She does not pass over little
faults. I think that that is not kind, but I leave that to
you. I do assure you that I like Mrs. Cample [Campbell]
better. She is a very good woman.
" Pray how is Mrs. Durham ? l I hope she is well.
Mrs. Udney b.egs to be remembered to her, and to you,
and to Lord A., and to all the children. I would add
that myself, as it makes you laugh.
" I owe a great deal to Lady de Clifford and Mr. Nott. 2
Eemember me to all the children and Lord A.
" Pray right (sic) to me soon, and right a long letter,
and pray send my dog soon.
" Excuse this scrawl for I am in a great hurry, and have
a bad headach. Mr. [name illegible] I hope is [was] well
when you saw him. I have not told your mother your
secret. Your writing in the last letter was dreadfull.
" I am your
" Ever affectionate
" CHARLOTTE."
The dislike of Mrs. Udney which the Princess avows
in some of her letters to my mother is further implied
in a curious testamentary document, which I would
preface by some mention of two of the legatees under
its provisions, Mrs. Gagarin and Mrs. Lewis.
We learn from Lady Eosa Weigall's interesting memoir
of the young Princess that Her Eoyal Highness owed
1 See note p. 46. 2 See ante, p. 47.
in.] PRINCESS CHARLOTTE'S WILL. 49
much of her early instruction to the former-named of
these persons.
Mrs. Gagarin had been married in early life to a Eussian
nobleman, but soon after giving birth to a daughter she
discovered that his first wife was still living. She left
him immediately without claiming a maintenance for
herself. I was for three years a witness of the Princess's
affection for her. At the time of Lady de Clifford's
retirement in 1813, her health began to fail. " While,"
says Miss Knight, "she, Mrs. Gagarin, was capable of
taking airings, Her Eoyal Highness constantly sent her
out in a carriage, and when she grew so weak as to be
confined to her room, visited her two or three times
,a day, carried her in her arms to the window, and exerted
every faculty to soothe and comfort her. She died on
the 1st of July, 1813, at Warwick House. Her last
moments were solaced by the condescending and un-
remitting attentions of Her Eoyal Highness, reflecting
a lustre on the native goodness of her heart superior to
all the appendages of her exalted rank."
The other dresser, a Mrs. Louis, was a Swiss, between
whom and the Princess there also existed a warm
attachment.
After these few words of explanation, the following
quaint little document will tell its own story. In it the
likes and dislikes of the young testatrix are revealed,
artlessly enough :
PRINCESS CHARLOTTE'S WILL.
<c I make my will.
" First, I leave all my best books, and all my books,
to the Eev. Mr. Nott.
50 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
" Secondly, to Mrs. Campbell my three watches and
half my jewels.
"Thirdly, I beg Mr. Nbtt, whatever money he finds,
me in possession of, to distribute to the poor, and I
leave with Mr. Nott all my papers, which he knows of.
I beg the prayer-book which Lady Elgin gave me may
be given to the Bishop of Exeter, 1 and that the Bible
Lady Elgin gave me may be given to him also. Also my
playthings the Miss Fishers 2 are to have, and lastly,
concerning Mrs. Gagarin and Mrs. Lewis, I beg they
may be very handsomely paid, and that they may have
an house.
" Lady de Clifford the rest of my jewels, except those
that are most valuable, and these my father and mother,,
the Prince and Princess of Wales, are to take.
" Nothing to Mrs. Udney for reasons.
" I have done my Will, and trust that after I. am dead
a great deal may be done for Mr. Nott. I hope the King
will make him a Bishop.
" CHARLOTTE.
" March, 1806.
"My birds to Mrs. Gagarin, and my dog or dogs to
Mrs. Anne Button, my chambermaid."
A journal written at this period by Lady Susan O'Brien,
a daughter of Stephen, first Earl of Ilchester, contains
the following entry :
"While I was in town, I was informed of a curious
transaction going on at Carlton House, on account of a
childish will the Princess Charlotte had made, in which
1 Dr. Fisher, Bishop of Exeter, Preceptor to the Princess
Charlotte.
2 Daughters of the Bishop of Exeter.
in.] PRINCESS CHARLOTTE TO LADY ALBEMARLE. 51
she left half her jewels to Lady de Clifford, half to
Mrs. Campbell, and all her valuable jewels to her papa
and mamma. They suppose Mrs. Campbell concerned in
making it, and told the Bishop of it, who smiled. The
Prince was displeased, and said it was 'high treason,'
and called Mr. Adam, Chancellor of the Duchy of
Cornwall, who answered, ' Your Eoyal Highness has
taken a just view of the matter.' All this nonsense
has been before the Privy Council, whose time might
be better employed." 1
Persons unacquainted with Courts would be surprised
that such a trifle should have been made an affair of
State ; but this was just the sort of thing to assume
an importance in the eyes of the Prince of Wales, and
His Eoyal Highness's displeasure was so strongly ex-
pressed that Mrs. Campbell threw up her appointment,
and once more found a refuge in the Ilchester family.
From the following letter it would appear that the
Princess herself was unaware that her childish freak had
deprived her of the society of her friend.
THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE TO LADY ALBEMARLE.
"MY DEAR LADY ALBEMARLE,
"I am much obliged to you for your very kind
letter. Poor dear Mrs. Campbell is going away, for
her health is so bad. If you have any regard to me,
you will write to her and try to console her. Do if you
love me. I lose a great deal when she leaves me. Indeed
she is a charming woman, that is far above Mrs. Udney,
for the more I see of Mrs. Campbell, the more I love
[her], but Mrs. Udney I still continue to dislike. When
you come to town I wish to have a conversation with
1 Gentleman's Magazine for September, 1876.
E 2
52 FIFTY YEAES OF MY LIFE. [CH.
you about her. Do not be angry with me ; if you knew
Mrs. C. you would quite adore her. She is so charming
a woman. She tells me my faults, and, in short, is above
flattery. Let me hear in your next letter that you love
her. Do say so, or that you have a regard for her. You
have no idea how unhappy I am. I can scarcely wright
to you. I loved her dearly. Pray do not be angry
with me.
" I am your,
" Ever aff e
" C."
FEOM THE SAME TO THE SAME.
" MY DEAR LA.DY ALBEMAELE,
" If you want to see Mrs. Campbell you have only
to call at Old Burlington Street, 1 Lady Ilchester's, you
will find her their (sic). Love to you all.
" I am,
" Your affectionate
" CHARLOTTE.
"Mrs. Luice (Louis), Mrs. Gager (Gagarin), and myself
and Mr. Nott are very unhappy about Mrs. C going."
The sequel to Mrs. Campbell's story remains to be
told. After the celebrated flight of Princess Charlotte in
1814 from Warwick House to her mother's residence in
Connaught Place, the Prince of Wales resolved to make
a clean sweep of his daughter's household. In forming
a new establishment for her, his first care was to engage
the services of Mrs. Campbell, the lady whom a few years
before he had denounced before the Privy Council as
guilty of " high treason." How, it might be asked,
1 Lady Ilchester lived at No. 31, Old Burlington Street.
in.] PRINCESS CHARLOTTE TO LADY ALBEMARLE. 53
came he to think of intrusting a person so accused
with so important a charge ? The answer is an easy
one. Mrs. Campbell, as I have said elsewhere, was a
Tory. When the Princess made her "will," the Prince,
in fierce opposition to the King, his father, was a leader of
the Whig faction. But at the time of the Princess's flight
he had himself become
" In all but nanie a king,"
The change of circumstances had wrought a corresponding
change of opinions : his Eoyal Highness had come round
to Mrs. Campbell's way of thinking.
Hence it was that in his eyes the traitress of 1806
was a most loyal subject in 1814, and as such well
qualified to hold a confidential post about his daughter's
person.
It was not until after much personal solicitation on
the part of the Eegent that Mrs. Campbell consented to
become a second time a member of the Princess's house-
hold. On the marriage of the Princess with Prince
Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, Mrs. Campbell became Keeper
of her Privy Purse, and was one of the mourners who
followed her royal mistress to the grave.
The following letter, without date, appears to have been
written in the summer of 1806 :
PKINCES3 CHARLOTTE TO LADY ALBEMARLE.
"Mr DEAR LADY ALBEMARLE,
" Having heard that your finger was bad, I could
not help writing these few lines to inquire after your poor
finger. If you will take my advice, you will put some
Frier's Barlsom to it, and that will heal it very soon. You
must not move your finger for a couple of days.
54 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [OH. in.
" Poor Mrs. Udney is very unwell, and confined to her
room ; but I hope she will soon be better. She sends her
love to you. Pray tell me how Lady Sophia goes on with
her drawing. Give my love to them all, especially to my
dear little G-daughter, who, I hope, is well.
" Believe me to be
"Your ever affectionate
" CHAKLOTTE.
" I have seen Papa, who has been very ill, .... which
has pulled him down a good deal, and has made him very
pail (sic). Charles, I hope, is well."
The person mentioned in the last line of this letter
was my brother, Charles James Keppel, godson to Mr.
Fox, at this time four years old. He died September
27, 1817.
CHAPTER IV.
The Duchess Dowager of Brunswick. Charles, Duke of Brunswick.
Lord Malmesbury's description of the Duchess. The Princess
of Wales to Princess Charlotte. The Duchess of Gloucester.
Her sister Mrs. Frederick Keppel. Prince of Wales to Lady
de Clifford. Warwick House. Prince of Wales to Lady de
Clifford.
ON Tuesday the 7th of July, 1807, landed at Gravesend
from the Clyde, frigate, under a salute from the batteries
on both sides of the Thames, Augusta, Dowager Duchess
of Brunswick, Princess Eoyal of England, sister of George
the Third, his senior by one year, and mother to the
Princess of Wales. Her husband, Charles Duke of Bruns-
wick, had borne a distinguished part in the Seven Years'
War, and was considered by Frederick the Great to be one
of his best generals. At the breaking out of the French
Eevolutionary War, the Duke was appointed Generalissimo
of the Austrian and Prussian forces ; he is, however, less
memorable for his military achievements at that period
than for the violent Eoyalist Manifesto which goes by his
name. In 1806 Prussia called upon him to lead her
troops against the Emperor of the French ; but outnum-
bered and unacquainted with the more modern system of
warfare, he sustained a total defeat on the bloody field of
Jena, and was himself mortally wounded. The conqueror
was requested to allow his fallen enemy to die in his
own bed in Brunswick. With characteristic brutality, the
Corsican captain answered, " Qu'il s'en aille en Angleterre,
56 FIFTY YEAES OF MY LIFE. [CH..
y chercher son salut. Je veux 1'ecraser lui et toute sa
famiUe."
The dying and broken-hearted Duke fled to Ottersen,.
where he breathed his last. His dominions were im-
mediately annexed to Westphalia, of which country
Napoleon's brother Jerome was king. The French
Emperor, who had not a grain of chivalry in his com-
position, and would, if they lay in his way, as soon make
war upon women and children as men, tried to seize-
the person of the widowed Duchess, but she succeeded in
making her escape to Sweden, where she found a tem-
porary asylum. When she fled to this country she was
not without dread that her persecutor would follow her
even here.
From Gravesend the Duchess proceeded to the Princess-
of Wales's villa at Chaiiton, and the following day made
the acquaintance of her grand-daughter Princess Char-
lotte. Walpole, speaking of the marriage of the Princess-
in 1764, says, " Lady Augusta was not handsome, but tall
enough and not ill made ; with the German whiteness of
hair and complexion so remarkable in the Eoyal Family,,
with their precipitate yet thick Westphalian accent.
She had little grace or softness in her manner."
Lord Malmesbury's gossiping diary contains abundant
details of this Duchess. His lordship seems to have been-
much struck with the originality of her character ; a like-
impression was produced on Mirabeau, who met her in
1780. He describes her as a thorough Englishwoman in,
tastes, opinion and manners, " au point," says the Count,
" que son inde*pendance presque cynique fait avec 1'eti-
quette des cours allemandes le contraste le plus singulier
que je connaisse."
The month following the arrival of the Duchess of"
Brunswick in England, the Princess Charlotte, attended-
>by Lady de Clifford and Mrs. Udney, went to Worthing.
iv.] PEINCESS OF WALES TO PRINCESS CHARLOTTE. 57
The Prince of Wales, who was residing at Brighton, paid
his daughter a long visit the next day. He invited her to-
dine with him at the Pavilion, and sent her in his carriage
to witness a review of the 10th Hussars, of which he
was Colonel. The following letter, which the Princess
Charlotte received in answer to one giving an account of
her reception at Brighton, is to me an enigma, its whole
tone being so utterly out of keeping with the well known
character and sentiments of the writer.
THE PRINCESS OF WALES TO THE PRINCESS CHAKLOTTE.
"Mv DEAK CHARLOTTE,
" Mama l and myself join in thanks, and our best
love for your very entertaining and amusing letter, and we
have enjoyed the rational amusements you are able to
receive from the situation which you inhabit, which I have
no doubt but that they will be conducive as well to your
health as to your mind. But especially I have been much
gratified by the account of the papers, with your reception
at Brighton, which must have been an honour and a plea-
sure to you that your father wished to see you on his
birthday, 2 and I trust you will never in any day of your
life deviate from the respect and attachment which is due
to the Prince your father.
" My letter cannot be so pleasant as yours was, as my
mother and I have received the melancholy account of
the Duchess of Gloucester's death as we are both very
much attached to dear Princess Sophia, 3 whose loss is
1 Dowager Duchess of Brunswick.
2 On the 12th of August, 1807, the Prince of Wales completed his
forty-sixth year.
3 The issue of the marriage of Maria Wai pole with the King's
brother were William Frederick, the late Duke of Gloucester, and
his sister Princess Sophia Matilda of Gloucester.
58 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
irreparable, and we feel deeply for her in the new
calamity in which Providence has placed her, and I trust
that religion and resignation to the will of the Almighty
will support her that she may not sink under the loss of
both her parents. 1
" My best compliments to Lady de Clifford, and believe
me for ever,
" Your unalterably sincere
" and affectionate Mother,
" C. P.
" BLACKHEATH, August 24, 1807."
The Duchess of Gloucester referred to in the above
letter died at Blackheath on the 25th August, 1807. She
was the once beautiful Maria, daughter of the Honourable
Sir Edward Walpole, and afterwards wife of George III.'s
brother, William Henry, Duke of Gloucester. I have a
picture of her at Quidenham. Her sister Laura married
my great uncle, the Honourable Frederick Keppel, Bishop
of Exeter, Dean of Windsor, and Eegister of the Order of
the Garter.
Horace Walpole, uncle of these two ladies, thus alludes
to them both in his account of Mrs. Frederick Keppel's
marriage : " We are very happy with the match. The
bride is very sensible and agreeable and good: not so
handsome as her sister, but further from ugliness than
beauty. It is the second (Maria) who is beauty itself.
Her face, bloom, eyes, hair, are all perfect. You may
imagine how charming she is when her only fault, if
one must find one, is that her face is rather too round.
She has a great deal of wit and vivacity, with perfect
modesty."
I have no recollection of the Duchess. Of her elder
1 The Duke of Gloucester died the previous year.
iv.] PRINCE OF WALES TO LADY DE CLIFFORD. 59
sister, Mrs. Keppel, I stood much in awe, as did her
two grand- children and my school-fellows, Frederick and
Edward Keppel.
The following letter from the Prince of Wales to my
grandmother was written on hearing of the birth of my
brother Francis :
"My DEAR LADY DE CLIFFORD,
" I have only this moment learnt from Lady Hag-
gerston that Lady Albemarle is safely delivered of a son.
Pray accept my sincere congratulations on this event, as I
do assure you that no one can participate more truly in
everything that interests you than
" Your very affectionate friend,
"GEORGE P.
" CARLTON HOUSE, Saturday Night, Nov. 2lst, 1807.
" P.S. I hope the little lady and the new-comer are both
quite well. I have ordered them to be inquired after
to-morrow morning, for I only heard of the circumstance
too late this evening to send sooner."
Eunning out of Cockspur Street is a lane to the west-
ward of Cawthorne's library. At the end of that lane
formerly stood Warwick House. Attached to the house
was a garden which appeared to have formed part of that
of Carlton House, from which it was separated by a wall.
There was access between the residences of the father and
daughter by a gate, of which the Princess Charlotte had
a key. I mention the locality to render intelligible the
allusions in the letter which follows.
60 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES TO THE DOWAGEE LADY
DE CLIFFORD.
" MY DEAR LADY DE CLIFFORD,
" I am much obliged to you for the communication
you were so good as to make me respecting the notification
you received from the Princess of Wales. You not only
have acted up to the sacred trust imposed upon you by
your office in acquainting me immediately with the cir-
cumstances, but you have shown your usual excellent judg-
ment and good taste, as well in your way of meeting the
message, as in signifying to me the proposed visit, without
any comment. Indeed, it was impossible for you not to
know how I must regard it when you notice the date of
this letter, and the time at which you receive it. You
will comprehend that I did not wish to explain my senti-
ments more fully to you till the visit was actually over,
lest the Princess should put any question to you, and that
thereby you should be subjected to embarrassment by the
answer you would have been forced to give. The step
having been taken by the Princess, it was my wish that
the visit should not be interrupted, that nothing might
appear discordant to the polite attention always to be
observed ; though I might have my suspicion that the
visit was not really made from a misconstruction of the
licence I had granted in a special instance, but was an
attempt to pass beyond the line established by me through
the King. In the regulation laid down, and transmitted
by his Majesty to the Princess, it is precisely defined that
she is not to visit her daughter at "Warwick House, that
house being considered as part of Carlton House. Char-
lotte's illness, which prevented her from going to her
mother at Blackheath, was a case not foreseen, and was
sufficient reason for relaxation in this particular instance..
iv.] PEINCE OF WALES TO LADY DE CLIFFORD. 61
But as my daughter has been for some time able to go
about again, that pretext must no longer remain, and I
cannot assent to the Princess visiting at Warwick House
on any other grounds. Her apartments not being ready
.at Kensington can be no excuse whatever. Should you
have any apprehension of a visit hereafter, I must request
of you, my dear Lady de Clifford, immediately to ask for
an audience of the Princess at Blackheath ; when, with
.all that respectful delicacy which nobody knows so well
as yourself how to testify, you will explain to the Princess
the line herein enjoined you, and will entreat her not to
come to Warwick House, which she cannot do without
my previous assent, and which can only be given on some
consideration as strong as what lately induced me to grant
it. According to the existing regulation, Charlotte may
always (in moderation) be sent for by her mother to Black-
heath or Kensington, under the limitation of its not giving
any peculiar interruption to her studies or the necessary
.train of her education.
" I remain, my dear Lady de Clifford,
" With the greatest truth,
" Ever your sincere friend,
" GEORGE P.
'"CARLTON HOUSE, Tuesday Night, April Idth, 1808."
CHAPTER V.
My first acquaintance with Princess Charlotte. Her appearance and
character. Her letter to me. Her letters to my mother. The
Princess's alias. Her visit to Westminster. Dr. William
Short. " Longs and Shorts." Lady de Clifford's stipulation
with George the Third. Dr. Fisher, Bishop of Exeter. His
encroachments upon Lady de Clifford's authority. The Duke of
Kent to Colonel Macmahon. The Princess witnesses a battle at
Westminster. Her performances as a Cook. Dr. Gamier, Dean
of Winchester. " The Rape of the Lock." Garnier's interview
with Buonaparte as Fiist Consul. The Princess's letter to Dr.
Page and its result. The Princess's visit to my father. I am
presented to the Duke of Brunswick. A skip out of bounds.
Mr. Robert Tyrwhitt.
AT about the date of the letter just quoted (1808) I first
made the acquaintance of Princess Charlotte. It was on
a Saturday, a Westminster half holiday. From this time
forth for the next three years many of my Saturdays and
Sundays were passed in her company. She had just
completed her twelfth year. Her complexion was rather
pale. She had blue eyes, and that peculiarly blonde hair
which was characteristic rather of her German than of
her English descent. Her features were regular, her face,
which was oval, had not that fulness which a few years
later took off somewhat from her good looks. Her form
was slender, but of great symmetry ; her hands and feet
were beautifully shaped. When excited, she stuttered
painfully. Her manners were free from the slightest
affectation; they rather erred in the opposite extreme.
She was an excellent actress whenever there was anything
CH. v.] PRINCESS CHARLOTTE'S CHARACTER. 63
to call forth her imitative power. One of her fancies was.
to ape the manners of a man. On these occasions she
would double her fists, and assume an attitude of defence
that would have done credit to a professed pugilist. What
I disliked in her, when in this mood, was her fondness for
exercising her hands upon me in their clenched form.
She was excessively violent in her disposition, but easily
appeased, very warm-hearted, and never so happy as when
doing a kindness. Unlike her grandmothers, the Duchess
of Brunswick and the Queen of England, she was, as her
letters abundantly testify, generous to excess. There was
scarcely a member of my family upon whom she did not
bestow gifts. From Princess Charlotte I received my
first watch ; from her, too, my first pony, an ugly but
thoroughly good little animal, which from its habit of
"forging" in the trot I named " Humphrey Clinker."
Poor old Humphrey ! He did good service to the younger
members of the family after I had reached man's estate.
In speaking of the openhandedness of the Princess, I
must not omit to mention sundry " tips," which I hardly
think I should have accepted had I understood how near
our relative stations considered her poverty was akin
to my own.
The Princess was a great letter-writer. It is curious
that of so much that she wrote to the Keppel family so
little has been preserved. Her letters to me alone would
have thrown much light on her character, as of all her
correspondents I was probably the one to whom she wrote
with the least restraint; but with shame I confess it, I
gave away her letters almost as soon as read, sometimes, I
fear, even before they were read. One of them, after a
lapse of sixty-six years, has found its way back to the
person addressed. It has been forwarded to me by my
grand-niece, Lady Margaret Majendie.
64 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [OH.
"TO THE HONOURABLE GEORGE KEPPEL, AT THE DOWAGER
LADY DE CLIFFORD'S, SOUTH AUDLEY STREET, LONDON.
"MY DEAR KEPPEL,
" You know me well enough to suppose that I never
will refuse you a thing when there is no harm in it. But
tho' I send you the money, still I must give you a little
reprimand. You will, I hope, dear boy, love me as well
tho' I do sometimes find fault with you. You will, if you
go on asking for money and spending it in so quick a
manner, get such a habit of it that when you grow up
you will be a very extravagant man, and get into dept
(sic), &c., &c.
"Your grandmamma de Clifford allows me 10 a
month. 1 But though I spend it I take care never to go
further than my sum will allow. Now, dear George, if
you do the same you never will want for money ; say you
have a guinea, well then, never go beyond it, and in time
you will save up. That is the way everybody does, and
so never get into dept (sic).
" If you will call at Warwick House, my porter,
Mr. Moore will give you half- a-guinea. If you use that
well and give me an exact account how you spend it, I
will give you something more. I wish you was here.
Write to me often, and believe that no one loves you
better than I do, nor will be more happy to help you in all
troubles than I. We have very fine weather, and your
1 " Princess Charlotte Lad been, until just before Lady de Clifford
left her, allowed ten pounds a month for pocket-money
Lady de Clifford was obliged to furnish her with money for her little
charities out of the eight hundred pounds allotted for her wardrobe."
Autobiography of Miss Cornelia Knight, Lady 'Companion to the
Princess Charlotte, vol. i. pp. 234-5.
v.] PEINCESS CHARLOTTE TO LADY ALBEMARLE. 65
mamma is here and is pretty well. Gramma de Clifford
sends her love to you, and I remain,
" DEAR GEORGE,
" Your very sincere and affectionate
" CHARLOTTE."
It was not unfrequently that this youthful Minerva
would act the part of Mentor, although I fear her
Telemachus was not so amenable to good counsels as the
hero of Fe*nelon's tale.
The Princess rarely dated her letters, so that to myself
I imagine to have been written in the summer of 1808
at Bognor, where Her Eoyal Highness and my mother
used frequently to pass the bathing season together.
The note which follows, evidently from that watering-
place, is probably of the same date as the preceding.
PRINCESS CHARLOTTE TO LADY ALBEMARLE.
" MY DEAR LADY ALBEMARLE,
"I write to tell you that as you wish to see
Goodwood, it will be much better to go to-morrow
morning at eleven. If we go in the evening, it will take
us three hours ; and we shall not be back till very late.
If to-morrow morning we shall be home at two.
" Pray let me know,
" Your ever aff* 6 '
" CHARLOTTE.
" P.S. We shall go alone, and have it all to ourselves."
A gentleman of the name of Gretton was so good as to
offer me the perusal of a letter in his possession from the
Princess Charlotte to myself. I declined his obliging offer,
not anticipating at the time the honour of a third edition
and I have since been unable to discover his address.
F
66 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
I passed the Bartlemy-tide holidays of 1809 with my
family at Lowestoft, Suffolk, then little more than a
fishing village, now a fashionable watering-place. My
schoolfellows, Frederic and Edward George Keppel, of
Lexham, were there at the time. I am reminded by my
brother Edward of a pony which we four had in common.
We used to ride it in turn without stirrups. Whenever
we thought one of the quartet had had a long enough
ride, we shied our hats at the nag, which as a matter of
course started, and, equally as a matter of course, spilt its
rider, whose seat was immediately seized upon by another
occupant.
During my mother's stay at Lowestoft she received the
following letter from the Princess Charlotte.
" BOGNOE ROCKS,
"August 9th, 1809.
" MY DEAR LADY ALBEMARLE,
" As you was so good as to allow me to write to
you I hasten to accept your kind permission. I have seen
Mr. Yertue. I know the secret, which is curious, and
shows the dog's sagacity more than anything. I am in
duty bound not to tell the secret because I promised the
man. You may make your mind quite easy about the
dog. He cannot have been ill-used, for when the man
made his appearance, the dog's joy was astonishing.
When he left me and went to the Servants' Hall, the
dog found his way down, and would not come to me till
he was gone. This, I think, clearly shows that poor Jersey
could not have been ill-used.
" He is very fond of me, and will by constant practice
do the trick for me.
" I could not help wishing you had been here yesterday.
You would have been delighted with the Duke of
Norfolk's band, which played all the time we were at
v.] LORD BUKY.
dinner, until nine at night. We then had fireworks,
which were very fine, and would have pleased you much ;
we broke up at half-past ten. This day is dreadful damp,
dreary, and cold. (Name illegible) has got a dreadful
toothache which confines her to the house.
" Mr. Phillips is better, but could not officiate, therefore
Mr. Eeed, the clergyman of Felpham did his duty, and
after a dull, heavy, stupid sermon, there was a poor
woman brought her child to be christened who came from
Arndwick. As she had not her fee, only Is., he refused
to christen the child, and sent her away. This we heard
afterwards. Had we been there we should certainly have
given the fee. I could not help mentioning this to you
to show how little they minde what they have been
preaching about.
"I beg you a thousand pardons for having detained
you so long with so long and uninteresting a letter, and
beg you to believe me
" Your most aff te-
" And sincere
" CHARLOTTE.
" P.S. Pray give my kind love to all the Brats, parti-
cularly to Sophia and Augustus. Don't give the watch
till Ned's birthday."
" Augustus," one of the " brats " in the foregoing letter,
was my eldest brother Lord Bury, afterwards fifth Earl of
Albemarle. He was the Princess's senior by one year, and
at this time a midshipman on board the Superb, 74,
carrying the flag of Admiral Sir Kichard Keate, K.B.
In 1811 Bury obtained a commission in the 1st Foot
Guards, and saw some service with his regiment in the
Peninsula. In one action a bullet passed through his
boot near the ankle. In another the rosette which con-
F 2
68 FIFTY YEAES OF MY LIFE. [CH.
cealed the socket of his feather was carried away " a
feather in his cap," as his comrades used to say.
Perhaps I may be excused for here pointing out a
family coincidence namely that of us six Keppels who
have borne the title of Albemarle, we have all, with the
exception of my father, been what is commonly called
" under fire." My grandfather, and his father and grand-
father, each in his turn, commanded an army in the
field. For a special account of their several achieve-
ments I must refer to the former editions of these
memoirs ; my own humble performances as a campaigner
will appear in due course.
" Ned," the other " brat," is my brother Edward, now
Rector of Quidenham and lately Deputy Clerk of the
Closet to the Queen. Seven days after the date of the
Princess's letter (August 16) Edward completed his ninth
year, when he received the Princess's birthday present.
One of the Princess's great enjoyments was to go out
shopping with Lady de Clifford. On these occasions she
assumed the name of my sister, the "Sophia" of the
preceding letters. But Her Royal Highness was known
everywhere in spite of her alias. In truth, the borrowed
character was not at all in her line, for her freedom of
deportment contrasted oddly with the reserved and timid
demeanour of the person whose name she assumed.
One day I had to take a pair of my fagmaster's shoes to
" Cobbler Foots " to be mended. With the " high-lows "
slung over my shoulder, I was passing through the arch-
way which connects Little with Great Dean's Yard when
I espied the Princess Charlotte's carriage. Although I
was not on much ceremony with her Royal Highness, I
did not care to be seen in the ordinary garb and dirt of a
Westminster fag. So I tried to sneak by, but " George,"
uttered in a loud and well-known voice, proved to me
that I could not preserve my incognito. Giving the shoes
v.] "LONGS AND SHORTS." CO
to another boy, I approached the carriage. The Princess's
visit was to her newly- appointed sub-preceptor, the Rev.
Dr. William Short, who lived next door to our head-
master. After being made as fit for the royal presence as
a basin of water and a towel at the Doctor's could make
me, we sat down to luncheon. The sub-preceptor, who
after the Princess's marriage with Prince Leopold became
her domestic chaplain, was a handsome, good-humoured-
looking man, physically and morally the very opposite to
his right reverend principal the great U. P. 1 He was
somewhat portly in person, and looked as if he were not
indifferent to the good things of this world. The Princess
insinuated as much, and indulged in some amusing banter
on the subject, she preaching rigid abstinence, he solemnly
protesting that he took no more than nature craved.
Grown-up persons are advised to skip the next
paragraph as being too juvenile for their perusal, but I
insert it as, perchance, some of my young readers may
like to know the sort of nonsense we talked that same
afternoon.
Our host wrote on a piece of paper " Dr. Will," and
asked the Princess to read what he had written. "I
suppose," she answered, " that it means- Dear Will." " No,
madam," was the rejoinder ; " it designates not only the
dignity your humble servant holds in his profession, but
contains his Christian and surname in full ; for what is ' Dr.
Will ' but D(octo~)i Will(iam Short ?} " The Doctor told us
that when he was prebendary in residence at Exeter the
Sunday morning services were alternately conducted by
himself and a Dr. Long, but that in the evening he always
read prayers, and a Mr. Suett (pronounced Sweet) preached.
Thus, whether in the morning the services were long or
1 The Princess Charlotte's nickname for her preceptor, the Bishop
of Exeter.
70 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en.
short, in the afternoon they were always "Short and
Sweet."
I now, addressing the Doctor, said, " Sir, I once fought
a boy of the name of Long [it was the present Colonel
Samuel Long, of Bromley Hill, Kent], and he licked me.
I afterwards fought a fellow of the name of Short [it
was the Doctor's nephew] and I licked him, and that's
the long and short of the matter."
After some more talk of a like nature we adjourned to
the College Garden. It was the first and last time in my
life that I had the honour of admission into the inclosure,
nay, I question whether, prior to this occasion,
" That sacred sod
Had e' er by townboy's foot been trod."
When the office of governess was first offered to Lady
de Clifford, she stipulated with George the Third as the
condition of her acceptance, that inasmuch as she was in
the light of guardian of a female successor to the throne,
she should have the same paramount authority in the
establishment as would have been granted to the governor of
a prince in a like position as her royal charge. To this the
King gave his consent, but inasmuch as the instruction of
the Princess was to include branches of knowledge not
iisually taught by women, he placed this latter portion
of her studies under the superintendence of a Bishop.
The person selected by the King for this post was Dr.
John Fisher, then Bishop of Exeter, and afterwards
translated to the see of Salisbury. I used frequently to
meet him at Warwick House a dull, solemn-looking man,
with a severe expression of countenance, to which a pro-
jecting under-lip contributed not a little. He was a good
classical scholar, but had no more knowledge of mankind
than was to be acquired in the quadrangle of a college,
where he had passed the greater part of his life. He was
v.] DR. FISHER AND LADY DE CLIFFORD. 71
precise in dress and formal in manner. In language lie
was a thorough pedant, seeming to consider the force of
words to be in proportion to the number of syllables they
contained. To the Princess he was very distasteful, indeed
there were few persons whom she regarded with more
aversion than the great U. P., as she nicknamed him from
the affected emphasis he used to lay on the last syllable of
the word Bishop. I have read somewhere that the
Princess once pulled off the Bishop's wig and threw it into
the fire. I cannot vouch for the truth of the story ; all I
remember is that frequently when the Bishop's back was
turned, she would imitate his voice and gesture, and
shooting forth her nether lip, would giye a sample of those
grandiloquent homilies which he was in the habit of
inflicting upon her in and out of season.
Like most members of the Bench at that time, the
Bishop was an ultra-Tory. He would fain have brought
the Princess to his way of thinking, and tried to insinuate
into the ear of the inchoate Sovereign the pleasing
doctrine of
" The right divine of kings to govern wrong,"
with what success I shall presently have occasion to
show. It may have been in the spirit of contradiction,
but certainly during the short life of the Princess she
lost no opportunity of repudiating her right reverend
preceptor's political creed.
The dislike with which the Princess regarded the Bishop
was fully shared by her governess. From the moment
that Dr. Fisher was installed in his office, he began
systematically to encroach upon Lady de Clifford's duties,
even in matters which came exclusively within a woman's
department. 1 This interference on his part mv grand-
1 "His (the Bishop's) disputes with Lady de Clifford had been
terrible." Miss Knight's Autobiography, vol. i. p. 233.
72 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
mother always believed to have the secret connivance of
the King, who, in placing him about his granddaughter's
person, appears to have had the same object in view, as
when he appointed Mrs. Campbell as a counterpoise to
Mrs. Udney. The conduct of the Bishop was a source of
great annoyance to the Prince of "Wales, who employed
his brother, the Duke of Kent, of whom Dr. Fisher had
formerly been preceptor, to remonstrate with him on his
behaviour, and to intreat him to confine himself for the
future to the duties of his own peculiar province.
H.K.H. THE DUKE OF KENT TO COLONEL MACMAHON.
" KENSINGTON PALACE,
May 6th, 1806.
" DEAR MACMAHON,
" Having just received the inclosed from the Bishop
of Exeter, I am anxious to lose no time in laying it
before the Prince, and therefore send it herewith to your
care for that purpose. As some remark may be necessary
by way of introducing it, I must just add for the Prince's
information that on Wednesday evening, at the House of
Lords, I spoke very pointedly to the Bishop on the limits
of his duty about the Princess Charlotte, which had, on
two former occasions, been the subject of conversation
between him and me, although I was concerned to see it
lad failed to produce the effect I had expected; but the
result of what then passed between us appears to have
placed everything before his eyes in its right point of
view, as will appear from the annexed letter, in forwarding
which for the Prince's perusal my only motive is that he
should be convinced I had followed up his intentions with
regard to the Bishop, and that there would now be no
further possibility of anything incorrect from the effect of
v.] PRINCESS CHARLOTTE AT A FIGHT. 73
error or misapprehension on his part. I remain, with the
most friendly regard and esteem,
" Dear Macmah'on,
" Ever yours,
" Most faithfully and sincerely,
" EDWARD."
The remonstrance failed to produce the hoped-for
result. The Bishop waged a "seven years' war" with
Lady de Clifford, and hostilities only ceased be-
tween them on her retirement from office. In the
year 1813 this meddling Prelate was as busy as ever
in his endeavour to add the functions of governess to
those of preceptor.
After the Princess Charlotte's flight from Warwick
House in 1814, she was placed in a state of durance,
having for custodian her former preceptor. One of
the caricatures of the day represents her as sitting at
the window of her prison and the Bishop of Salisbury
as sentry over her, making his episcopal crown do duty
for a grenadier's cap.
One Saturday the Princess Charlotte and Lady de
Clifford drove down to Westminster to take me back
with them to Warwick House. I was not to be found
at Mother Grant's, for there was a battle on that day,
and as a matter of course T was in the " fighting-green."
Lady de Clifford and the Princess now went in search of
me in the " Great Cloisters," the grass quadrangle of which
formed the scene of action. While my good grandmamma
was reading quaint monumental inscriptions, her royal
charge was grasping the rails of the Cloister and eagerly
straining her eyes to watch the motions of the combatants.
Her Eoyal Highness was in high luck, for I appeal to my
contemporaries whether they ever witnessed a better fought
battle than that between John Erskine, afterwards Earl of
74 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
Mar," and Paddy Brown, afterwards Sir John Benyon de
Beauvoir.
On Saturdays I was generally the guest of the Princess.
The Sundays she used to spend either at Lady de Clifford's
villa at Paddington, or at my father's house at Earl's
Court, Brompton.
Once outside her own gates, the Princess was like a
bird escaped from a cage, or rather, like Sir Boyle Eoche's
bird "in two places at once." Into whatsoever house
she entered she would fly from top to bottom, one moment
in the garret, and almost in the same moment in the
kitchen.
Mrs. Durham,, to whom the Princess Charlotte so fre-
quently alludes in her letters, was at this time cook to my
grandmother. She was such an artiste in her business
that the Prince of Wales, who occasionally honoured Lady
de Clifford with his company at dinner, used to flatter her
by asking her how she could afford to keep a man-cook.
One day, however, at the hour of luncheon, things went
ill; the Dowager's bell rang violently: the mutton-chop
was so ill dressed and so well peppered as to be uneatable.
On inquiry it was discovered that the good old lady's royal
charge had acted as cook, and her favourite grandson as
scullery-maid.
I have a living witness to this mutton-chop scene in
the person of my kinsman, Dr. Thomas Gamier, Dean of
Winchester, who was on a visit to Lady de Clifford that
same morning. He assures me, through my sister, Lady
Caroline Gamier, that I said, " A pretty Queen you'll
make ! " I do not remember this flippant speech, but the
frank, hearty manner of the Princess made it difficult for
her young associates to preserve that decorum due to her
station.
Since I wrote the above paragraph, the person I quote
as an authority has passed away. Dr. Thomas Gamier was
v.] DR. GAENIER, DEAN OF WINCHESTER. 75
born February 26, 1776, and died June 29, 1873, so that
if he had lived but three more years, the time that I am
making this note, he would have completed his hundredth
year. His mother was a sister of my grandmother
Albemarle, his son, the late Dr. Thomas Gamier, Dean
of Lincoln, married my sister Caroline.
The Dean's father, George Gamier of Wickham Corner,
Hampshire, a most agreeable old gentleman, was very
kind to me in my private school days. In 1766 he filled
the office of high sheriff for his native county. His
house was the resort of the literary celebrities of his day :
they used to assemble in the month of May, and were
called " May Flies."
Garrick, Foote, and Churchill were frequent guests.
The latter wrote some of his poems in Wickham woods.
Sotheby, who translated Virgil, used often to invite himself
to Wickham Corner, to have what he called " a battle of
brains " with its owner.
The Dean, his second son, was educated at Winchester,
having first been at a preparatory school in the town
(Hyde Abbey, the Rev. C. Pdchards). George Canning
was one of his schoolfellows, and, according to the Dean,
not considered a boy of any ability.
Throughout life Dr. Thomas Gamier was a zealous
Whig, and took an active part in Lord Palmerston's
elections for Hampshire. From the Queen and the late
Prince Consort the Dean received many marks of con-
descension and kindness.
Lord Albemarle and the Dean were at college at the
same time, but not at the same university ; the former
was a Cantab, the latter an Oxonian.
There was one event in the college life of the Dean
about which my father was fond of chaffing him.
At a certain Oxford ball, some ninety years ago, " Cousin
Tom" wore a very smart coat with filagree steel buttons.
76 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
He was a most vigorous dancer, for dancing was not
the inanimate affair that it has since become. While
engaged in one of the most intricate labyrinths of " Sir
Eoger de Coverley," one of these buttons caught a ringlet
of the daughter of Dr. Warton, the famous Greek Professor,
and, the hair not being her own, my kinsman carried away
with him, through all the mazes of the dance, the whole
head gear, followed by the damsel in a state of fury at
this " Rape of the Lock." He, in the meantime, was so
absorbed in his favourite pastime as to have no conception
of the mischief which his peccant button had caused.
Dr. Gamier was probably the last survivor of those
persons who were admitted to an audience of Napoleon
Buonaparte as the First Consul at the Peace of Amiens
in 1802. In the leve*e at which Gamier was present,
General Buonaparte principally addressed himself to those
British officers who belonged to the army which drove the
French out of Egypt. Seeing a gentleman in a superb
military uniform, the Consul asked him to what regiment
he belonged. " To none, sir," was the reply. " De la milice
peut-etre ? " was the next inquiry. No answer. " Je
comprends bien," said Buonparte, turning contemptuously
on his heel ; " c'est un habit de fantaisie."
The further account of the Dean's visit is written by his
daughter-in-law, Mrs. Henry Gamier, at his dictation.
" I went abroad with Dr. Halifax (a friend of my
family) in the long vacation, during the short peace in the
year 1802. I went to Napoleon's levee in Paris with
Lord Carhampton and my friend Dr. Halifax. Lord
Carhampton was dressed in the uniform of a captain of
light infantry in those days. I burst out a laughing '
when I saw him, for he had only a short jacket and
breeches, and he said he had been obliged to have it made
by a German tailor, and must go without his skirts. It
was a magnificent leve'e splendid reception rooms, and
v.] CONSUL BUONAPARTE'S LEVEE. 77
servants all dressed in green, and gold livery. We saw
all the Marshals, General Dumouriez (distinguished in
the time of the war, 1793), Marmont, and others. Soon
after we got there Napoleon came in with the two vice-
consuls. The vice-consuls were very smart indeed, but
Napoleon was distinguished by the plainness of his dress.
He was in a red coat, white waistcoat, and silk stockings,
very plain, and with no orders. ' He went round talking
to the people, and had a few words for each. He told
Fox that ' he was the greatest man of the greatest country
in the world.' I heard him say it. He came up to my
friend Dr. Halifax and asked him ' Quelle profession ? '
Halifax answered. ' Docteur de Medecine to the Prince of
Wales.' Napoleon then asked him what was his system,
whether he followed the Brownonian. Dr. Halifax said
he followed his own system. He asked me how long
I had been in France, and to what country I belonged.
He smiled and looked very gracious. He then turned to
Lord Carhampton and said, ' Avez-vous servi ? ' ' Yes, sir/
he replied, ' I had the honour of commanding in Ireland
when General Hoche landed' (in 1797). He asked Sir
James Macintosh a great many questions on the law of
the land. Macintosh turned to me and said, ' That man
has astounded me with his knowledge, but I thought I
could give him a few hints on the Habeas Corpus.'
Napoleon went the whole round of the room, and varied
his questions to each one, and was very gracious. A
captain of the Surrey militia being asked by Napoleon
when he was presented to him what regiment he belonged
to, the captain was at a loss to explain or express
himself in French ; at last he replied, ' Un regiment de
Souris ' (Surrey). Napoleon laughed heartily, and ex-
claimed, ' Ma foi, quel drole de regiment ! '
" His (Napoleon's) staff wore a gingerbread uniform. I
went very frequently to Madame Saladin's, who was a
78 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
great friend of Josephine's. I used to meet there a great
many of the Court. One of the Generals (a Frenchman
of note) told me that he had often paid Napoleon's washing
bill at Corfu. One night Madame Saladin was very late,
and when she came in she said, 'I am so fatigued,
Josephine would keep me. She wished me to talk to her.
She told me the First Consul had been in such a passion,
and had made poor Josephine walk out at four o'clock in
the morning in the Jardin des Plantes.' 1 This was at a
time when Napoleon was in such a great state of irritation,
and there was a great talk of the passions he went into.
"At a large party one night at Madame Saladin's, Lally
Tollendal, at that time a great orator, told us that Napoleon
was in this state of excitement (this he mentioned as a
great secret). We English thought it was an imposture,
but it was quite true.
" He told us that, that morning, Buonaparte had been
with some merchants from Antwerp, and that he called
them insolent scoundrels, and told them to be off.
Napoleon was so angry too with Lord Whitworth, that
Lord Whitworth actually put his hand to his sword. Very
soon after the war broke out.
" If I had remained in Paris a very little longer to the
beginning of November I should have been one of the
prisoners, and kept at Verdun on parole.
" One day I was walking in Paris about that time with
Lady Mount Edgcumbe and her two little girls (one of
whom was afterwards Lady Brownlow), and went into a
lace shop. Lady Mount Edgcumbe asked for some lace.
She had a veil on. The shopman looked at her very
fixedly for some moments without making any answer,
and then said, ' Madame, what do you want ? There is
no lace we would not give you in exchange for that veil.'
1 The Dean probably meant the Jardin des Tuileries.
v.] PRINCESS CHARLOTTE'S LETTER TO DR. PAGE. 79
The veil was made in Honiton for twenty guineas at the
time when Honiton lace was first known.
" I was at Brussels at a very important moment. I saw
the Cap of Liberty taken off the top of the fine church at
Brussels amidst uproars of cannon. There were great
demonstrations, and the bells were all ringing, and the
people going to church at four o'clock in the morning.
" The Eoman Catholic religion was the first established
there, and I never saw churches better filled. I was in
the same hotel as the Bishop of Mechlin. There was a
great meeting to receive him, and I saw him give the
blessing. He was standing out from one window of the
hotel and I out of the next, so I was close to him and saw
the whole ceremony a very fine sight. The Bishop was
dressed in a beautiful lilac (the Dean pronounced it
laylock] dress trimmed with Mechlin lace, and red
stockings. I went to see the celebration of the host ; the
Bishop's chaplain and I used to meet at the hotel, so I
went with him. We walked between two rows of 4,000
soldiers, all with bayonets fixed. Then we went up the
steps of the church, but I did not remain for the
celebration, so I broke through the ranks and returned to
the hotel. I was with the prefet. He had never been in
church before, and was obliged to have a prompter to tell
him what to do."
I have spoken of Saturdays and Sundays as West-
minster holidays, but on the afternoons of Tuesdays and
Thursdays also boys might go " out " to any relations who
would receive them. Now my grandmother de Clifford
was very fond of a play, and our tastes were in this
respect identical. On some Tuesday or Thursday in the
winter of 1809 she was to take me to one of the theatres.
I told the Princess of the pleasure I had in prospect, and
of my readiness to incur the almost inevitable penalty
attached to that pleasure a good flogging the following
80 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [cij.
morning. From this, as I told H.RH., there was no
escape, for how was it possible after the play and a good
supper to be in time for the eight o'clock morning school ?
"Leave that to me," said the Princess, and forthwith
penned a letter to Dr. Page, taking upon herself the
blame for my anticipated non-appearance. The morning
after the play I came into school half-an-hour late and
was "shown up" as a matter of course. With a de-
precatory " Please sir," I presented my royal credentials.
The doctor glanced at the seal and the hieroglyphic
" Charlotte " on the envelope, and then dropped the
letter into the pocket of his gown that his hand might
be free to grasp the rod. His next proceeding was to
perform that part of his duty which always seemed to
him a pleasure. That done, he read the letter to the
whole form, and added how glad he was that he had not
opened it sooner, for he would have been under the
painful necessity of disobeying Her Eoyal Highness's
commands.
This was not the only occasion on which the Princess
made an ineffectual attempt to screen me from the con-
sequences of a neglect of school duties. She had some
project which required my co-operation. I pleaded my
unfinished exercise for the Monday. It was again, " Leave
that to me." I did so, but her latinity, in spite of Bishop
Fisher's preceptorship, was found on examination not even
to come up to my low standard. This second attempt to
help me was attended with exactly the same result as
the former.
The house at Earl's Court, Brompton, which my father
occupied, is next door to what was then a villa residence
of Mr. Gunter, the confectioner, nicknamed by us children
" Currant- Jelly Hall." Our house, with the grounds
attached, would comprise, I suppose, about two acres.
A small gate leads out of the garden into the road ; .next
v.] THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE AT EARL'S COURT. 81
come two large entrance gates, which open upon a court
forming a carriage drive to the house. Further on are
gates leading to the stables. From the stables is a
subterraneous passage which communicates with a small
orchard. Encircling the orchard is a gravel walk and a
garden. A semicircular plot of ground laid out in flower-
beds faces the drawing-room windows.
This description of the locality is prefatory to the
narrative of an event which occurred there one Sunday
afternoon.
In her visits to Earl's Court the Princess usually came
in my grandmother's carriage, but on this occasion in her
own. The scarlet liveries soon brought opposite to the
entrance gate a crowd of people anxious to get a glimpse
of the Heiress Presumptive to the throne.
Soon after her arrival at Earl's Court I happened to
pass outside the gates. I was asked by the bystanders,
'' Where is the Princess ? " I told her how desirous the
people were to have a sight of her. "They shall soon
have that pleasure," was the reply. Slipping out of the
garden gate into the road, she ran in among the crowd
from the rear, and appeared more anxious than anyone to
have a peep at the Princess. I would fain have stopped
her, but she was in boisterous spirits, and would have her
own way: she proceeded to the stable entrance, saddled
and bridled my father's hack herself, and armed with the
groom's heavy riding-whip, led the animal through the
subterranean passage to the garden gravel walk. She
now told me to mount. I, nothing loth, obeyed. But
before I could grasp the reins or get my feet through the
stirrup leathers, she gave the horse a tremendous cut with
the whip on the hindquarters. Off set the animal at full
gallop, I on his back, or rather on his neck, holding on by
the mane and roaring lustily. The noise only quickened
his pace. I clung on till I came to the plot in front of
G
82 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
the drawing-room windows, when the brute threw his heels
into the air and sent me flying over his head. At the
same moment the Princess emerged from the rose-bushes,
panting for breath. She had hoped, by making a short
cut, to intercept the horse and its r;der before they came
into view. My cries brought the whole family on to the
lawn. Of course the Princess got a tremendous scolding
from Lady de Clifford. That she was used to, and took
coolly enough. Unluckily for her up came my father, in
whose good graces she was desirous to stand high. By
looks rather than words he expressed his disapprobation,
In a short time quiet was restored, and my people
returned to the house. But no sooner were the Princess
and I alone again, than the heavy riding- whip was once
more put into requisition, and she treated my father's son
exactly as she had just treated my father's horse.
My sister, Lady Mary Whitbread, reminds me of a
certain mound in the orchard of Earl's Court. To the top
of this mound the Princess would entice her and her
sisters (who were at that time of the respective ages of
seven, six, and four) to climb, in order to roll them down
into a bed of nettles below. If the little girls refrained
from crying and from complaining to their governess, they
were sure to be rewarded for their reticence by a doll.
Indeed the Princess, never so happy as when making
presents, kept their nursery well supplied with dolls.
Two of these Lady Mary remembers as going by the
names of the Princess Charlotte and the Princess of
Wales.
In the same year (1809) I had the honour of being
presented by the Princess Charlotte to a man with whose
recent wonderful achievement all Europe was ringing.
This was her uncle, the Princess of Wales's brother,
afterwards " Brunswick's fated chieftain," the first officer
of note who fell in the Waterloo campaign.
v.] RETREAT OP THE BLACK BRUNSWICKERS. 83
Early in the year, the Duke entered into a treaty with
the Court of Vienna, engaging to bring into the field two
thousand men to act in concert with the Austrian
Emperor against Napoleon. He soon succeeded in raising
a corps of twelve hundred men, principally university
students, whom hatred of a foreign yoke had rallied round
his standard. In token of the disasters that had befallen
him and his house, and of his resolve to avenge them or to
die in the attempt, he clothed his little army in black,
and as if these dusky habiliments were not sufficiently
expressive of his feelings, he gave tbem a death's-head
and cross-bones as the sole device on their arms and
accoutrements.
Scarcely had he taken the field, when the armistice
which followed the defeat of the Austrians at Wagram
left him in the heart of Germany without an ally. It
remained to him to surrender at discretion to his mortal
foe, or with his good sword to cut himself a way to
England. With the pluck of his race, he chose the latter
alternative.
On the llth of July, the Duke set out on his hazardous
expedition, passing through Dresden, Leipzig, and Halle
without striking a blow. At Halberstadt he found a
Westphalian force three thousand strong in battle array.
These he fought and conquered, took their General
Wellingerode prisoner, together with all his officers and
sixteen hundred of his men.
At Oelfern with 150 Bruns wickers he took 600 more
prisoners.
On his twentieth day's march he arrived at Brunswick,
and bivouacked under the walls of his native city.
The following day (August 1) he learned that two corps,
a Westphalian and a Saxon, threatened his flank and rear.
The one he drove to their entrenchments, the other fled
before him, leaving ten waggons of its wounded to his mercy.
G 2
84 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
On entering Hanover he captured a battalion of West-
phalians, four pieces of cannon, and a large quantity of
military stores.
After running the gauntlet of the Danish batteries, he fell
in with an English squadron that had been sent in search
of him, which in a few days landed him and his men
safely on British ground.
It was not long after his return that I met the Duke
at Warwick House a sad and somewhat stern-looking
man with sunken eyes and bushy eyebrows, and, what
was then seldom seen in England, a pair of mustaches.
The demeanour of the uncle and niece were the very
opposites. His, sedate and silent; hers, impulsive and
voluble. He seemed well satisfied to be a listener, and to
be much interested in the Princess's lively and careless
prattle. On her part she almost worshipped him. Once,
after a visit from the Duke, she improvised a mustache,
swaggered up and down the room, then making a sudden
stop, with arms akimbo, she uttered some German
expletives which would probably have hardly borne a
translation, and thus sought to give you her conception of
a " Black Bruiiswicker!"
Warwick House was so short a distance from my
school that in the summer months I frequently made
it " a skip out of bounds." I fear there was too much of
" cupboard love " in these visits, for I was blessed with
an excellent appetite, and Mother Grant's food was exe-
crable. The Princess, aware of this, used to bring me
sandwiches of her own making. I once fancied that I
must needs have a sharer in the good fare. So I took
with me my chief crony, Robert Tyrwhitt, a gentleman
whose name, in more recent times, has been frequently
before the public as Chief Magistrate of Bow Street.
My quondam sodalis is still living, and well remembers
the joint adventure T am about to record. As I was a
v.] A SKIP OUT OF BOUNDS. 85
privileged person at Warwick House, I passed with my
companion unquestioned by the porter's lodge, and
through a small door which opened from the court-yard
into the garden. The Princess greeted us with a hearty
welcome. In the garden was a swing, into which Princess
Charlotte stepped, and I set it in motion. Unfortunately
it came in contact with Bob Tyrwhitt's mouth and knocked
him over. He forthwith set up a hideous howl. Out came
subgoverness, page, dressers, and footmen. Before they
reached us, the Princess had descended from the swing,
had assumed an air of offended dignity, and was found
lecturing me on the extreme impropriety of my conduct
in bringing a boy into her garden without her privity and
consent. The marvel is how she or I could either of
us keep our countenance.
CHAPTER VI.
The Four-in-Hand Club. Mr. Granville Vernon. Betty Radcliffe ot
the " Bell." Charles Longley, the late Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Jubilee. The Burdett Riots. Princess Charlotte to Lady
Albemarle. The Fighting Mania. Crib and Molyneux.
Training for a Prize Fight. Tothill Fields. George the
Fourth's appearance there. "Slender Billy." Princess Char-
lotte to Lady Albemarle. Children's Balls. The Prince Regent's
Change of Politics. The Princess Charlotte's Political Manifesto.
Lady de Clifford's Retirement. The Princess's Letters to her
and to Lady Albemarle. The Princess Charlotte at Windsor.
Prince of Orange. Sir Thomas Picton. Visit of the Allied
Sovereigns. Blucher Platoff. Grand Duchess of Oldenburgh.
The Oldenburgh Bonnet. "All the World's at Paris." My
Last Exploit at School. I leave Westminster.
I HAVE been desirous to avoid breaking in upon my nar-
rative of the illustrious young lady into whose com-
panionship I had the honour of admittance. I must now
invite my readers to return with me to Dean's Yard,
Westminster.
In the first year of my entrance into Westminster (1808)
was established the famous " Four-in-hand Club." It soon
became the height of the fashion not only to acquire the
skill of coachmen, but to ape their manners, dress, and
slang. In that same year the King's scholars acted
Terence's comedy of the "Adelphi." The representative
of ^Eschinus, the fashionable young Athenian in the play,
was my friend Mr. Granville Vernon, now in his eighty-
fourth year. He reappeared in the epilogue as a Member of
CH.VI.] BETTY RADCLIFFE OF THE "BELL." 87
the " Four-in-hand," wearing a broad-brimmed hat and a
great coat of many capes, called a " bang-up ; " and thus
explained to Demea, his testy rustic father, the principles
upon which the new club was based :
" Aurigee, moderari animos et flectere habenis
Quadrupedum cursus, hoc satis esse putas ?
Vestituiu, more?, imitabitur atque loquelam."
The Etonians, who were always lording it over us West-
minsters with their superior gentility, used to boast that
they would never condescend to handle the ribbons unless
with four sprightly nags at their feet ; in other words, they
drove stage and we hackney coaches. For my part I was
well content with the humbler vehicle. One Sunday
evening several of us boys met by agreement at the top
of St. James's Street. We each engaged a hackney coach
for himself, and having deposited his " Jarvey " inside, we
mounted our respective boxes and raced down to West-
minster, the north archway into Dean's Yard being the
winning-post. Over such roads, and with such sorry
cattle, the wonder is that we reached the goal Luckily
for us our course was all down hill.
When I became big enough to manage a team, I had
the honour of driving the London and Norwich Eoyal
Mail. I generally selected the stage from Bury to Thet-
ford, the last of my journey homewards. At the " Bell
Inn " of the latter town I used to sit down to a most
sumptuous breakfast of eggs, buttered toast, fried ham,
&c. &c., luxuries to which I was not used, either at school
or at home, and all for love and not money, for I was a
prime favourite with the landlady, Betty Radcliffe, who had
known me from infancy. So great was this partiality that
whenever I put up at the Bell, a kiss to her was a receipt
in full for all her good cheer the only coin, indeed, in
which she would ever consent to be paid. Dear old Betty !
88 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
Methinks I am now looking on that broad Saxon face, on
those twinkling little grey eyes, on the high mob cap, like
that in which Mrs. Gamp figures in Dickens' s novel, and
on the flaxen wig, which its wearer seemed to nave out-
grown, for it exposed to view those tresses of silver hair
which it was its business to conceal.
Sole proprietor of post-horses into Norfolk, she took
advantage of her monopoly, by observing a free and easy
demeanour towards customers of every degree.
Whenever the Duke of York passed through Thetford,
on his way to Mr. Tom Thornhills, of Kiddlesworth, he
used to have a chat with Betty. As he was paying her
one morning for the post-horses, she jingled the money in
her hand, and said to his Eoyal Highness, " I think I have
a right to a little of your money, for I have been paying
your father's taxes for many a day."
Prior to one of those ruinous election contests in which
Messrs. Coke and Wodehouse (afterwards Lords Leicester
and Wodehouse) engaged, the former said to Betty, " I
want all your post-horses for the next fortnight." She
gave Mr. Coke a knowing wink, and said, " I dare saa you
do, but cub, baw [come, boy] along w' me. What do you
see painted on that board ? " " The ' Bell ' of course."
" And what on t'other side ? " " The ' Bell ' too ! " " Just
so," said Betty. " Don't you see that my sign is painted
o' both sides ? You shall have half my horses, but
Wuddus [Wodehouse] the other half."
My sister Anne, soon after her marriage with Mr. Coke>
changed horses at Thetford, on her way to Holkham.
Mrs. Radcliffe thrust her head into the carriage. " Here
I am, Betty ! " exclaimed my sister. " Oh ! " was the reply,
" I wasn't thinking of you ; I only wanted to see whether
George was with you " my Christian name being Betty's
only designation of me, whether speaking of me or to me.
I am indebted to Mr. William Gurdon, brother of a
vi.] A SUPPLEMENTARY POST-BOY. 89
former member for West Norfolk, for the following account
of his first acquaintance with this provincial celebrity.
He was travelling with his family to Letton, their
country seat. While the horses were getting ready at the
Bell, the whole party stepped into Mrs. Radcliffe's parlour.
Here, Mr. William Gurdon's father taking up a book
which lay on the table, the following dialogue took
place :
Mr. Gr. " So, Betty, you have got Keppel's Travels" x
B. " Yes, and a pretty book it is."
Mr. G. " Well, books are pretty things for those who
can afford to buy them."
B. " Do you suppose I bought the book ? You don't know
George if you think that. Why, he gave it me."
Mr. G. " Indeed 1 That was nice of him."
B. " Nice ! So were the hot sausages that he used to
tuck in, as many as ever he liked. The dear boy had
a good twist of his own, after being all night on the top of
the coach."
Eeverting to the "Travels," Betty asked Mr. Gurdon
who he thought had written the godly parts of the work. 2
"They tell me," she added, "that it was my friend the
Duke of Sussex." 3
The next anecdote is from a near neighbour in the
country, whose father was eye-witness to the scene I
describe.
A chariot drives up to the inn door. " First pair out,"
resounds through the hostelry. The horses are ready
harnessed, but the driver is not forthcoming. Anon, there
appears in the saddle of the near wheeler, booted and
spurred and in the garb of a post-boy, mine hostess of
1 My Overland Journey from India.
2 In allusion to my notes on the ruins of Babylon.
3 At the time Betty made this remark I was Equerry to the Duke
of Sussex.
90 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [OH.
the Bell herself, who, in this strange guise, conveys the
chariot and its inmate in perfect safety to the next
stage.
A certain number of town-boys are annually elected
into St. Peter's College, to replace such of the forty King's
(now Queen's) scholars who obtain studentships at the
Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The competitive
examinations, which are virtually conducted by the King's
scholars themselves, last several weeks. To get in " head
to college " is considered a feather in a boy's cap, and the
winner of such distinction is honoured with a " ehairing,"
and called the " Liberty boy." Placed on a ladder, and
borne on the shoulders of his schoolfellows, he is preceded
by a large silk flag bearing the Westminster arms, and in
this fashion is paraded through the streets " within
bounds."
The "Liberty boy" whom I saw chaired in 1808 was
Charles Longley, the late Archbishop of Canterbury.
In the winter of the following year I witnessed Long-
ley's performance of a character in Terence's " Phormio "
that of Cratinus, one of the three lawyers of the piece.
Dr. Page wrote the epilogue. The subject was the 0. P.
riots, arising from the increase of the prices of admission
to the new Covent Garden Theatre. The dramatis personce
retained the names they bore in the comedy. The scene
was changed from a street in Athens to the Police Office in
Bow Street. Demipho, the " heavy father," was the sitting
magistrate. Phormio, the mauvais sujet, was brought
before him for having interrupted the performances by
imitating the sounds of divers animals. Cratinus a
radical lawyer held a brief for the defendant. Longley
did full justice to the character. With true forensic pom-
posity he laid it down as law that man being an imitative
animal his client had a perfect right to make a goose or an
ass of himself if so inclined ; but as my classical readers
vi.] THE BURDETT RIOTS. 91
would probably prefer the original pleading to my trans-
lation, I give it a place here :
" Homini certe ista licebit
Quae porcis, asiriis, anseribusque licet
Est homo natura a>bv /W^TIKW ergo
Qui boat, aut balat, sibilat, aut ululat,
Qui rugit, et mugit, gannitque et grunnit et hinnit
Omnia naturse convenienter agit."
[1809.] The morning of the 25th October, 1809, was
ushered in by the firing of guns, the ringing of bells, and
other signs of public rejoicing. It was the day on which
George the Third entered upon the 50th year of his reign.
There stood at that time in the centre of the garden in
Berkeley Square, an equestrian statue of the King, which
a few years later got out of repair and was taken down.
The jubilee day must have been a holiday at Westminster,
for I was present at the planting of a young oak seventy
yards to the north of the statue. On the base of the
statue was an inscription setting forth the occasion on
which the tree was put into the ground. During the
winter the sapling withered and died, and the inscription
was effaced. Before another 25th of October came round,
the poor King, although he continued to live, had virtually
ceased to reign.
[1810.] Things went ill with the King's government in
1810. First there was the parliamentary inquiry into the
serious mismanagement of the Spanish war. Then came
the debate relating to the miserable failure of the Wal-
cheren expedition. Out of this latter question arose that
of the privileges of Parliament.
When the subject of the Walcheren expedition came
under discussion in the Commons, the order against the
admission of strangers into the gallery was enforced. A
man named Jones, in a debating society, condemned the
92 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
exclusion of the public from the debates. The Commons
were foolish enough to send him to Newgate. Sir Francis
Burdett denied the right of the Commons to imprison
Jones, and they committed the still greater folly of sending
Burdett to the Tower.
The sergeant-at-arms was to have served the warrant on
him on Friday, the 5th of April, but ha,ving failed in
doing so, he purposed to discharge his disagreeable duty
the following day.
At eleven in the morning of Saturday the 6th, he called
upon Sir Francis, who disputed the legality of the warrant,
and informed the sergeant-at-arms that he would not go
unless taken by force. This refusal spread like wild-fire
all over the town. Now Saturday was a Westminster
half-holiday. So when at about one o'clock I entered
Piccadilly on my way to my grandmother's in Berkeley
Square, I found myself in the midst of a numerous and
infuriated mob.
The house in which Sir Francis lived, No. 77, Piccadilly,
is next door to that which his daughter Baroness Burdett-
Coutts now inhabits. In front of the residence of their
hero I found the populace assembled. A squadron of the
Horse Guards, or the " Oxford Blues " as they were then
called, was drawn up in line across Piccadilly, the right
flank resting on the wooden palings of the Green Park,
the left on the iron rails to the north side of the street.
The men arid horses were of the same colossal form as are
those of the same corps in our day. Their height was
considerably increased in appearance by the enormous
cocked hats which they wore, what sailors would call
"athwart ships." Their uniform was blue, with buff
facings, which covered their chests. Over the coat were
worn broad buff cross-belts. Their hair, greased and pow-
dered, terminated in a pigtail, which went half-way down
the back.
vi.] THE PICCADILLY BUTCHERS. 93
As I was a stout Burdettite, I imitated the actions of
his other admirers, yelled as lustily as they against the
military, and cried " Burdett for ever ! " I was too small
a boy to see what was going on in our front rank, 'and did
not know till afterwards that the Riot Act was being read,
preparatory to an active movement of the troops against
us. Anon I heard the clattering of swords and pattering
of hoofs. Sauve qui peut seemed to be the order of the
day with us Burdettites. For my part, I did not stop
running till I found myself safe and sound at my grand-
mother's house in Berkeley Square.
That same evening a large and noisy multitude assem-
bled in our square, and smashed every pane of glass in
the windows of No. 12, the house next but one to Lady
Albemarle's. The object of popular resentment was the
Earl of Dartmouth, who rented that house of my father.
I am not aware that harm came to the mob of which I
formed a part, but several lives were lost in the course of
the day, and the state of public feeling may be inferred
from the juries returning a verdict of wilful murder against
the military.
The unpleasant duty which this portion of the house-
hold cavalry was called upon to perform on the occasion
obtained for it the sobriquet of the " Piccadilly Butchers,"
and it was not till after its splendid achievements at
Waterloo that it entirely lost the opprobrious name.
A little before the time I am speaking of, the hair of a
soldier's head, like that of a lady's in the present day, was
combed from off his forehead, not however to terminate in
a chignon, but in a pigtail. A recruit one night was dis-
turbing his comrades by his lamentations. "You noisy
fool ! " called out one of them, " why don't you go to
sleep ? " " Because," was the reply, " the sergeant has tied
my hair so tight that I can't shut my eyes ! "
94 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
PRINCESS CHARLOTTE TO LADY ALBEMARLE.
"My DEAR LADY ALBEMARLE,
" May 20th, 1811.
" I write myself, as I have greater pleasure in
accommodating you myself than through any other per-
son. Lady de C - has been mentioning to me her fears
respecting the little black mare she gave you last year.
I have settled it, if you approve (as it will equally serve
my purpose), to send you down the little horse I bought
which I will answer for being perfectly good-tempered and
safe, by the return of the waggon.
" Pray tell me if you approve, and how I am to send the
little animal to you, which I trust you will do me the
kindness to accept, as I am sure I can never do too much
to show rtiy regard towards you. I hope you are better
for change of air, and that Sophia and all the children are
quite well. Pray give my kind love to Sophia, and my
very kind regards to Lord Albemarle.
" Pray answer my letter soon. Assure yourself it will
not be the least inconvenience to me : on the contrary,
a great pleasure.
" Believe me,
" My dear Lady Albemarle,
"Youraff*
" And very sincere
" CHARLOTTE."
The autobiography of a Westminster schoolboy of the
early part of the century would be incomplete without
some mention of the rage for fighting with which the
author of these memoirs, in common with the rest of his
countrymen, was then afflicted, and which made him a
performer in " the fighting green " much oftener than he
vi.] THE FIGHTING MANIA. 95
now cares to specify. The " noble science of self-defence "
was inculcated upon us boys as one of the essentials of a
gentleman's education. It was the point upon which no
difference of opinion existed either between masters and
pupils or between fathers and sons.
Carey, who had been a good fighter in his day, did all
in his power to foster this pugnacious feeling. When my
friend and co-Busbeian, Mr. James Mure, was captain of
the school, the Doctor took him to task for the idleness of
one Lambert, a junior on the foundation. Mure pleaded
that he had not " helped " Lambert into College, but that
he believed him to be a good honest fellow and by no
means deficient in abilities. " Where did he get that
black eye ? " asked Carey.
" In fighting a ' scy.' " l
" Which licked ? "
" Lambert."
" Well ! if he is a good fellow and a good fighter, we
must not be too hard upon him for his Latin and Greek."
When I went home for the holidays, my father preached
from the same text as the Doctor. " If," he would argue,
" our countrymen be discouraged from the use of their fists,
they will become more like Italians than Englishmen, and
be always resorting to the knife as the readiest mode of
settling their disputes." It was with this conviction that
Lord Albemarle became a patron of the prize ring.
Since the above paragraph appeared in print, I read of
another promoter of pugilism, still more enthusiastic in
the cause than even Lord Albemarle John Charles, third
Earl Spencer. This nobleman, besides being a frequent
attendant at prize fights, had been himself " to school ; " 2
had become a first-rate sparrer, and tried occasionally to
1 Westminster language for a blackguard.
2 Where an amateur had taken lessons in boxing he was said by
the " Fancy " to have " been to school."
96 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
initiate his colleagues in the Cabinet into the mysteries
of what he always called " that noble science."
As if to corroborate the correctness of my account of
my father's views, Lord Spencer justified his own advocacy
with the self-same arguments which he, my sire, used
towards myself.
The late Lord Ossington, formerly Speaker of the House
of Commons, mentioning a visit which he paid Lord
Spencer at his country seat, speaks of something having
been said of a recent case of stabbing with a knife.
"Lord Spencer observed that in his opinion cases of
.stabbing arose from the manly habit of boxing having
been discouraged. The pros and cons of boxing were
discussed : Lord Spencer became eloquent. He said his
conviction of the advantages of boxing was so strong that
he had been seriously considering whether it was not a
duty he owed to the public to go and attend every prize
fight which took place, and so to encourage this noble
science to the extent of his power. I have said he
became eloquent. It was the one time in my life, in the
House of Commons or out of it, that I heard him speak
with eagerness and almost with passion." 1
My father's special favourite of the bruising fraternity
was Henry Pearce, champion of England, better known as
"the Game Chicken," a man of great strength and singular
symmetry, with a generosity of disposition which miti-
gated in some degree the nature of his brutal calling. In
his famous fight with James Belcher, the one-eyed pugilist,
Pearce knocked his antagonist on to the ropes, and, accord-
ing to the pugilistic code, might have gained an easy
victory, but he forewent his advantage, saying, " I will
not hit thee, Jem, lest I knock out thy other eye."
Great was the excitement with us Westminsters in the
summer of 1811, at the forthcoming fight of Tom Crib,
1 Le Merchant's Memoir Eatl Spencer, pp. 140-141.
vi.] THE TRAINING FOE A FIGHT. 97
a coal-heaver, nicknamed from his calling " the Black
Diamond," and an American negro, of the name of Moly-
neux, for the championship. Our sympathies were of
course all in favour of the man of our own country and
colour.
Previous to the fight, Captain Barclay, the famous
pedestrian, who walked 1,000 miles in 1,000 consecutive
hours, took Crib into the Highlands to train him. Bar-
clay's sister, the late Mrs. Hudson Gurney, told me that
Crib was in bad condition when the Captain took him in
hand, and that lie had great trouble in making him breast
the Scotch hills. At last he resorted to an odd expedient;
he filled his pocket with small pebbles, and whenever Crib
refused to follow him in the ascent he hit the pugilist with
one of these missiles on the shins, who would run after
the Captain to be revenged for the pain he suffered. 1
The fight came off in September of this year. The
1 The following poetical account of the manner in which a boxer
was trained for a fight is to be found in the epilogue to the West-
minster play of 1813.* It will be observed that the hill-climbing to
which Crib was subjected, formed a material item in the process.
" Corporis ut cures ante omnia conditionem,
Ut vegetus pulmo sit, solidique tori ;
Primum per vomitoria, per que cathartica, crebrd
Viscera sunt miseris, evacuanda modis ;
Deducenda caro, et cultu induranda severe,
Inque vicem ingestis, est reparanda cibis.
Scilicet, sestivo surgens cum sole, labores
Montem currendo scandere prcecipitem,
Donee anhelando pcene' ilia ruperis ; inde
Cruda fere pars est magna vorar.da bovis ;
Mox iterum c^lrres ; in lecto deinde recumbes.
Atque iterum pars est magna voranda bovis.
Sic totos consume dies, per tres prope menses,
Quoque suis vicibus curre ; recumbe, vora.
* Lusus alteri Weslmonasterienm, p. 229.
H
98 FIFTY YEAKS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
national honour was saved. The Englishman won,
although, as the newspapers announced, ' his head was
terribly out of shape."
A lew weeks after the battle, Grandmamma Albemarle
sent me to Astley's Amphitheatre with her footman. As
my companion was in livery, we could not be admitted
into the boxes. Immediately in the row before us in the
pit sat Crib and Molyneux, to both of whom I obtained a
formal introduction, not a little proud of being able to
boast to my schoolfellows of having made the acquaint-
ance of two such celebrities. The appearance of the late
combatants was curious. The black man had beaten the
white one black and blue : the white man the black one
green and yellow.
Plaster of Paris models of the combatants in boxing
attitude w r ere carried about the streets by the image-sellers
probably by the same men who a few years later bore
on their heads the busts of Wellington and Blucher. One
of these models of the pugilists is at Southill Park,
Bedfordshire, the seat of Mr. Samuel Whitbread, whose
father, like mine, was a supporter of the prize ring.
In the Christmas pantomime of that same year, an
image-seller carrying one of the well-known models is
introduced on the stage. The model is stolen by the
clown (Grimaldi), who places it on a large round table.
He next robs a man of a large iron hoop. "A ring, a
ring," calls out Grimaldi, and the cry causes the stage to
be filled by a correct delineation of the sort of company
usually seen at a " mill." Harlequin by a wave of his
hand now sets the figures in motion. Crib deals Moly-
neux a facer. " Poor fellow," cries the clown, " he has got
a black eye." After a few rounds Crib knocks Molyneux's
head off. " Three cheers for the Champion of England,"
are proposed by the mimic mob on the stage, and are
re-echoed by the real one in the shilling gallery.
vi. ] TOTHILL FIELDS. 99
Tothill Fields, now the site of a large and populous
town, was the Westminster play-ground in my. time. In
one part of the field was a large pond called the " duck."
Here we skated in the winter and hunted ducks in the
summer. Near the " duck " lived Mother Hubbard, who
used to let out guns to the boys. At Mother Hubbard's
you might have fowling-pieces of all sorts and sizes, from
the " golden touch-hole " down to one which, from a deep
dent in the barrel, was called " the gun which shoots round
the corner."
The big fellows used to vapour about having shot
snipes in Tothill Fields, but such a description of game
had taken flight when I sported over this manor.
Leading from Tothill Fields was a road called the
"Willow Walk," which, terminating at the "Halfpenny
Hatch," opened on to the Thames near to the spot on
which Millbank Penitentiary now stands.
The road on each side of the walk was bordered by
wretched hovels, to which were attached small plots of
swampy ground, which served the poor inhabitants for
gardens, and were separated from each other by wide
ditches. To " follow the leader " over these ditches was
one of our summer amusements.
Between Mother Hubbard's and the Willow Walk was
a nest of low buildings known by the name of the
" Seven Chimneys." The inhabitants were of a somewhat
questionable character, and certainly not of that class
with whom ladies would wish their darling boys to
associate. Here lived Caleb Baldwin the bull-baiter;
a man who enjoyed a widespread fame for one particular
feat. Whenever his dog was tossed by the bull, Caleb
would break its fall by rushing in and catching it in his
arms. I cannot say that I ever witnessed this performance
in the " Fields," but I did in a Christmas pantomime, in
which Baldwin and his dog were specially engaged. By
H 2
100 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en.
means of a sham bull the dog was thrown high into the
air, and its owner caught it in the manner I have
described.
Bull-baiting was an "institution'" in the early part of
this century. Like prize-fighting, it had its advocates
among members of both Houses of Parliament. A Norfolk
friend of mine, still alive, tells me that in Bere Street,
Norwich, there was bull-baiting, of which Mr. Coke and
my father were the patrons. Their bull was never known
to have been " pinned." A farmer who had seen a number
of dogs tossed in succession called out, " Lawk ! it's like
batting at cricket."
Of all the indwellers of the "Seven Chimneys" the
prime favourite of us Westminsters was one William
Heberfield, better known by the name of " Slender Billy ; "
a good-humoured, amusing fellow, but whose moral cha-
racter, as the sequel will show, would not bear a searching
investigation. All we knew of him was that whenever
we wanted a dog to hunt a duck, draw a badger, or
pin a bull, Billy was sure to provide us with one, no
matter how minute we might be in the description of
the animal required.
In the year 1811 Heberfield was no longer an inmate
of the "Seven Chimneys." He was undergoing his
sentence in Newgate for having aided the escape of a
French general, a prisoner of war on parole.
It was just at this time that the Bank of England,
having suffered heavy losses from forgeries, resolved to
make an example. William Heberfield was fixed upon
by them for that example.
The solicitors of the Bank accordingly took into their
pay a confederate of Heberfield's of the name of Barry,
who was undergoing two years' imprisonment in Clerken-
well House of Correction for uttering base coin. Through
this man's agency Heberfield, who would turn Ms hand to
vi.] GEORGE THE FOURTH IN THE " BACK* SLUMS." 101
anything, was easily inveigled into passing forged notes
provided by the solicitors of the Bank themselves. On
the evidence of Barry, Heberfield was found guilty and
sentenced to death. Great exertions were made in the
House of Lords to avert the execution of the sentence on
account of the cruel conspiracy of which the unhappy
man had been the victim. All was of no avail. Heber-
field was hanged at Newgate for forgery on the 12th of
January, 1812.
Some little time ago, as I was talking over the changes
of the Tothill Fields of our time with my old school-
fellow Lord de Eos, 1 he related to me how these same
back slums of Westminster were once honoured with the
presence of the most gorgeous of monarchs, and on the
most gorgeous day of his reign of George the Fourth on
the day of his coronation.
I need hardly mention that while the sound of trumpets
and the firing of cannon announced that the newly-
crowned King was receiving the homage of the nobles of
England in Westminster Hall, there were assembled out-
side its walls large multitudes of his lieges, who were
expressing by hooting and yells their indignation that the
Queen Consort had not been admitted to her share in the
pageant.
This feeling had so increased towards the evening that
the King was told that if he attempted to return to his
palace by the ordinary route, he would run the risk of
being torn in pieces by the mob.
To avert this danger it was suggested that Tothill Fields
would be the safer way home. But who knew anything
of a region of such ill repute ? Who but my schoolfellow
De Eos, then a lieutenant of Life Guards, and forming
1 William, Baron de Eos, a Privy Councillor, Lieutenant-General,
Colonel of the Fourth Hussars, Lieutenant-Governor of the Tower,
died in 1874.
102 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
that day one of his Majesty's escort ? 1 To him was
consigned the pilotage of the Royal cortege; under his
guidance it proceeded up Abingdon Street, along Millbank,
through the Halfpenny Hatch and the Willow Walk,
leaving the " Seven Chimneys " on its right. It next
arrived at "Five Fields," now Eaton Square, passed
through Grosvenor Place and by Constitution Hill to the
back entrance of Carlton Palace, which they did not
reach till eleven o'clock at night. The King, as might
well be supposed, was horribly nervous, and kept con-
stantly calling to the officers of the escort to keep well up
to the carriage windows.
In the two letters which follow, the name of the year is
not mentioned, but the context of both shows that they
were written on the same day Sunday, January the 10th,
1812.
The Princess Charlotte's birthday fell on the 6th of
January ; that of my mother five days later. It appears
to have been the custom of these ladies to mark the
two anniversaries by an interchange of presents, and by
reciprocal expressions of regard.
PRINCESS CHARLOTTE TO ELIZABETH LADY ALBEMARLE.
"SUNDAY, Jan. 10th,
MY DEAR LADY ALBEMARLE,
" I am very much obliged to you for your letter, and
kind recollection of me and my birthday ; and I hope you
will accept my thanks, as well as my sincere congratula-
1 The escort was furnished by the first regiment of Life Guards.
The officers were : Major Henry Cavendish, Captain Oakes, Lieut.
Hon. William Fitzgerald de Ros ; Cornet Locke.
vi.] THE PRINCESS'S VISIT TO QUEEN CHARLOTTE. 103
tions on the return of yours. I wish you may see many
returns, and happy ones.
" Pray do me the favour to accept the little cadeau which
I send with this. I natter myself that it will sometimes
remind you of me, and how sincerely I am interested for
you and yours. By your letter I fear you have been
unwell, and Lady de Clifford does give me but an indif-
ferent account of you, which I am very sorry for. How-
ever, I hope you will be better soon. Though you do not
say anything of Sophia, pray remember me kindly with
my love. I can't say that I enjoy anything while I ani
here. As to the riding, it is a poor compensation for all
the continual disagreeables ; and the air is very unwhole-
some, and disagrees with me much.
" Adieu, my dear Lady Albemarle, and with every fond
wish for this as well as every succeeding birthday,
" Believe me,
" Yours aff ely >
" CHARLOTTE."
I am inclined to believe that this first letter was written
from Windsor Castle, whither the Princess used occasion-
ally to repair to pay her respects to Queen Charlotte.
These duty visits, as I have often heard her say, were
highly distasteful to her. The air of the place always
produced in her a depression of spirits, and the feeling
was further aggravated by the treatment she experienced
from a not over amiable grandmamma.
If my surmise be correct, the complaints of the un-
wholesomeness of the climate and of the "continual
disagreeables," may both be accounted for.
I further assume that, on her arrival in town, the
Princess Charlotte found my mother's little present, and
wrote the second letter in acknowledgment :
104 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LEFE. [CH.
PKINCESS CHARLOTTE TO ELIZABETH LADY ALBEMARLE.
"MY DEAR LADY ALBEMARLE,
" I seize this opportunity with pleasure, as I can
thank you for your kind letter and beautiful Save (Sevres)
cup, and of wishing you many returns of your birthday,
and that you may see many, and enjoy them with health
and happiness.
" I have sent down a little cabinet, which I hope you
will like, and accept as an offering from me. I think and
hope it will look well in your new room.
" I received a letter from Lady Tavistock, who mentions
having spent a very pleasant week with you. She is a
very good-humoured, unaffected person. If ever he (Lord
Tavistock) should get over his dreadful shyness (which is
against him in company), he will (would) be agreeable,
which I have seen him, when not among strangers.
" Thank you for your kind wish of seeing me at Quid-
enham. I hope some time or other to have the pleasure
of being your visitor and seeing the place. It would
amuse me very much seeing the little ones dance, as
nothing is so pretty as a children's ball. They appear so .
happy and so absorbed in that one object.
" I am afraid that I shall not (have) that (pleasure) for
some time, and so say that I hope the bust will arrive
safe, and that he (Lord Albemarle) will do me the favour
of accepting it.
" With my kind love to Sophia and to all the others,
" Believe me,
" My dear Lady Albemarle,
" Yours very sincerely,
" CHARLOTTE."
vi.] CHILDEEN'S BALLS. 105
In 1811, our family migrated from Elden Hall, Suffolk,
to Quidenham Hall, Norfolk. This event was celebrated by
the ball to us children, to which the Princess alludes in
her letter. I well remember Lord and Lady Tavistock
coming to Quidenham to pass the Christmas holidays of
that year. I was in my mother's room when they arrived.
They brought with them their only son, William, Lord
Eussell (afterwards eighth Duke of Bedford), then three
years old, and inheriting a double portion of his father's
shyness. My brother Francis, about his own age, was sent
for to keep him company. The two little kinsmen eyed
each other for a moment with mutual distrust, when Kussell,
from sheer nervousness, gave Francis a slap on the face.
The blow was returned with interest, and each child was
carried away howling to his respective nursery.
It was the Prince Eegent that at this time set the fashion
of children's balls from a love of these little people in
general, and of " Minnie Seymour " in particular. My
father's politics debarred the entrance of his family into
the palace of the Prince who had been recently converted
to Toryism. To make amends for the exclusion some of
the great Whig ladies opened their houses to us Whigs
of the rising generation, and my memory dwells especially
on a ball given by Lady Derby in Grosvenor Square.
A change had come over the head-dresses of the male
part of the creation. The Coiffure a la Guillotine had
given place to the Coiffure a la Brutus. This consisted in
having the hair curled on one side only. I remember
observing that Edmund Kean's wig was so dressed when
he played Junius Brutus, and this peculiarity is pre-
served in a full-length picture of him in that character at
Mr. "Whitbread's seat in Bedfordshire.
My mother's maid insisted upon my conforming to the
prevailing fashion ; but on looking in the glass I was so
disgusted with her performance that I ran my fingers
106 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
through the curls. She was a very excitable person, and
bouncing into the dining-room where there was company,
with tongs in one hand and comb in the other, burst into
an hysterical fit of crying. " None of the children ill, I
hope ? " said my mother. " No, my lady," sobbed her
maid, " but Mr. Keppel has spoilt his ' Brutus.' "
I had the honour that evening of a shake of the hand
from the Lord Derby of that day the most advanced
Liberal of the whole House of Peers, the great grand-
father of the present noble Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
Amidst a knot of brother Etonians stood a boy of my own
age, the present Earl's father, Edward Geoffrey Stanley,
afterwards England's Prime Minister. I did not make
his acquaintance till some years after, for although
Etonians were ready to dance with Westminster's sisters,
and vice versd, the brothers stood in relation to each other
as Jews and Samaritans.
[1812.] In the year 1812 a new epoch appeared to
dawn upon the Whigs. For nearly half a century this
party had, with the exception of three brief intervals,
been doomed, in consequence of their strenuous advocacy
of popular rights, to shiver in the cold shade of opposition.
Now, however, this constancy seemed about to receive its
reward. Their great patron, George, Prince of Wales, who
up to this time had declared himself the uncompromising
champion of their principles, was Regent of these realms,
free, too, from the limitations to his authority which, two
years before, his father's ultra-Tory ministers had imposed
upon him. He was therefore in a position to* give full
effect to his professions. But^just at the moment when
his political friends and associates expected to hear from
him the announcement that his accession to power had
produced no diminution of attachment to them and their
cause, there appeared a letter from the Prince to his
vi.] PRINCE REGENT CONVERTED TO TORYISM. 107
brother, the Duke of York, containing the ominous decla-
ration that he had no " predilections to indulge," a
phrase of which the full signification is given in the
poetical rendering of Thomas Moore :
" I am proud to declare I have no predilections,
My heart is a sieve, where some scattered affections
Do just dance about for a moment or two,
And the finer they are the sooner run through."
I do not profess to throw any new light upon the trans-
actions which led Lords Grey and Grenville to reject the
insidious overtures that were made to them to form an
administration, but I may mention as a piece of family
history that just before the re-establishment in power of
the old Tory clique, Lord Moira was employed by the
Eegent to endeavour to seduce some of the Whigs from
their political allegiance. One of those so tempted was
my father. The bribe offered was the Mastership of the
Horse, and a garter in perspective. I never saw the letter
containing his refusal, but I believe it to have been
couched somewhat in these terms : " Lord Albemarle
presents his compliments to the Earl of Moira, and has
the honour to inform his Lordship that he cannot obey
his Royal Highness the Prince Regent's commands."
When Lord Grey and his friends came into power in
1830, Lord Albemarle was appointed to the post which he
had declined in 1812.
No sooner had the prince repudiated the convictions of
his youth, manhood, and middle age, than he sought to
mako his daughter unlearn the political creed that he had
striven to teach her. But this was not so easy a task.
Not long before his own conversion, he had upon the
occasion of the health of the Princess Charlotte having
been drunk at the Pavilion, thus acknowledged the
toast :
108 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
" I have made it my care to instil into the mind and
heart of my daughter the knowledge and love of the true
principles of the British Constitution ; and I have pointed
out to her young understanding, as a model for study, the
political conduct of my most revered and lamented friend,
Mr. Fox, who has asserted and maintained with such trans-
cendent force the just principles upon which the govern-
ment under this excellent constitution ought to be adminis-
tered, for the true and solid dignity of the crown, and the
real security, freedom, and happiness of the people." His
Koyal Highness ended his speech by expressing his con-
fidence that " the Princess would fulfil all the duties which
she might be called upon to discharge when his bones were
laid in the grave."
With a view of bringing the Princess round to his new
way of thinking, he banished from her house all companions
of Whiggish proclivities, whom he now designated as
" associates possessing pernicious sentiments alike hostile to
herself, her father, and the country." Among the pro-
scribed was Miss Mercer Elphinstone, a zealous Foxite,
whose intimacy with the Princess he had himself pro-
moted. This was a clumsy mode of procedure towards a
young lady of his daughter's temperament, arid rather
strengthened her previous convictions by arousing a spirit
of antagonism. Accordingly she lost no opportunity, as
far as her state of seclusion would allow, of identifying
herself with her Eoyal Sire's former private and political
friends. It was in this spirit that shortly before the
anniversary of Mr. Fox's birthday she gave my father a
bust of that patriot. In answer to his acknowledgment
of the present with which he had been honoured, she wrote
to him what was evidently intended to be a manifesto of
her political creed.
vi.] PRINCESS CHARLOTTE'S POLITICAL MANIFESTO. 100
PRINCESS CHARLOTTE TO WILLIAM CHARLES LORD
ALBEMARLE.
" WARWICK HOUSE,
"January 17th, 1812.
DEAR LORD ALBEMARLE,
" I have been very much vexed at not being able
to answer your letter immediataly, which my wishes would
have led me to do, but I delay no longer taking up my pen
and expressing the emotions of satisfaction and pleasure I
received on reading it. I cannot say how happy I feel
that the bust has given you so much satisfaction. As
knowing your affection to Mr. Fox (both in public and
private), it struck me you would like to have it, and I was
therefore particularly anxious for its success.
" Nor shall I now stand in need of being reminded of
his great name or great deeds while there are such able
men, though few in number (comparatively speaking), who
make it their study as well as their pride to follow as
closely as possible the precepts of their late great leader.
Which to admire most I am at a loss to know ; for, turn
to either side, one beholds so much that calls forth un-
qualified praise, that it would be a difficult task imposed.
He has been one of those few those very few who have
really had the good of their country at heart and in view,
not in words only, but who both in thought and deed acted
for that alone ; who by his uncorrupted integrity proved
what a patriot and a statesman was, and united these
two different characters (which ought never to have been
divided). Of all his numerous deeds none are so to be
cherished as that most cruel and disgraceful procedure
(particularly to this country, which is called a free one),
the slave trade, and his laudable exertions for universal
110 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
toleration and comfort to our unfortunate and grossly-
abused sister kingdom, which, alas, was not crowned with
success ; and this is the man who, after devoting his time,
health, and at length life, is called a revolutionist ; one
who subverts, at least tries to subvert, the laws and liber-
ties of this country. Who would, who could, and who
can believe this ? No one who have their eyes opened
and an unprejudiced judgment, but the short-sighted and
jaundiced eye of the people. Many there are who say
they understand the word toleration. I will grant they do,
but not in deed. There are dignitaries in the Church 1
who pique themselves on their learning, but do not seem,
no more than the temporal peers, to comprehend its mean-
ing, or else they who are to preach meekness and charity
would certainly not, I should conceive, seem to rejoice so at
the sufferings of Ireland, nor utter such virulent protests
against their just claims. In fine, the word bishopric in-
cludes everything that is the touchstone of action, the
spring from whence all that holy fire issues ; that God
that they teach (or at least feign to do, who enjoins charit-
ableness and forgiveness) is wholly forgotten in their
rancorous hatred towards an oppressed and unfortunate
people, whose crime is following other ceremonies, not
owning these dignitaries, but above all having the name of
Irishman. It is with honest pride, the pride of a true-born
" The Bishop of Salisbury used to come three or four times a
week ' to do the important.' . . I could not but see how narrow his
views, how strong his prejudices, and how unequal his talents were
to the charge with which he had been entrusted by the good old
King. The Bishop's great points were to arm the Princess Charlotte
against the encouragement of Popery and Whig principles (two
evils which he seemed to think equally great)." Miss KNIGHT'S
Autobiography, vol. i. pp. 232-3. As the Princess's right reverend
preceptor was nearly the only Church dignitary with whom she was
acquainted, it was evidently to " the great U.P. that these remarks
in her letter to Lord Albemarle have reference."
vi.] LADY DE CLIFFORD'S RESIGNATION. Ill
English person, that I avow these sentiments, principles
that I am convinced are the only true foundation of this
country, and the spirit of the constitution, nor shall I be
ashamed to broach them before the whole world, should
I ever be called upon. Thank God, there are some young
of both sexes, some that I have the happiness to know
personally, as well as from report, that feel firm at this
state of things, and that are from their hearts and minds
followers of your late inestimable friend. Happy, thrice
happy, will the moment be when the plans Mr. Fox
pursued and planned are put into full force ; then indeed
England will have cause to rejoice, she may lift up her
head in conscious superiority and pre-eminence.
" But I must plead my excuses for having detained you
so long.
" Believe me, with the greatest esteem,
" My dear Lord Albemarle,
" Your most sincere
" CHAELOTTE."
A few weeks after the date of the foregoing letter the
Prince Eegent gave a dinner to his daughter. It was on
that occasion that he burst out into such invectives against
Lords Grey and Grenville that the Princess shed tears;
a circumstance which gave rise to Byron's famous lines
" Weep, daughter of a royal line,
A sire's disgrace, a realm's decay ;
Ah ! happy if each tear of thine
Could wash a father's fault away."
Towards the close of the year Lady de Clifford, having
first exacted a promise of secrecy from the Eegent, pro-
ceeded, in the discharge- of her duty, to make a statement
to him respecting the conduct of a person known to his
Eoyal Highness. With characteristic levity, he betrayed
112 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
her to the person complained of. She thereupon threw up
her appointment of governess to the Princess Charlotte.
Whether by word of mouth or by letter I do not remem-
ber, but the Prince requested her to state her reasons for
quitting his service in so abrupt a manner. "Because,"
was the reply, " your Eoyal Highness has taught me the
distinction between the word of honour of a Prince and
that of a gentleman."
"The Princess Charlotte," says Miss Cornelia Knight,
" was now in her seventeenth year, and was for some time
a visitor at the Castle. Her governess, Lady de Clifford,
having gone to town on account of illness, the Queen
commanded me to be present at her Royal Highness's
lessons." J
This " illness " I believe to have been feigned, in order
to avoid any further meetings with the Prince, and to
afford facilities for the appointment of a successor.
The letter which follows, without date, appears to have
been written during my grandmother's temporary absence.
THE PKINCESS CHARLOTTE TO THE DOWAGEB
LADY DE CLIFFORD.
u MY DEAREST LADY DE C.,
"A thousand thousand thanks for your very kind
letter. I should have answered it directly, but the real
truth was I miscalculated a day, that means lost a day.
" We go on pretty well, considering all things, without you.
Heaven knows how very much I long to see you. Never
have you been out of my mind since we parted. Our
dear Duke 2 sat of (sic) his picture yesterday, which was
Saturday. It is coming on very well indeed. He dined
1 "Autobiography of Miss Cornelia Knight, Lady Companion to
the Princess Charlotte of Wales" vol. i. pp. 180-1.
2 Duke of Brunswick.
vi.] PRINCESS CHARLOTTE TO LADY 1)E CLIFFORD. 113
with us and stayed till ten. I should have been quite
happy if you had been with me. He asked kindly after
you, and hoped when I heard last you was well. He sends
his kind remembrances.
" I have this moment received a line from my dear
mother, who sends her kind love and quite approves of
your plan. She begged me to tell you that the Duke l
means to have the babes with him in town on purpose
that the Duchess 2 may come up to town. Mamma is
determined to come up to town, I believe on the 25th.
" When you saw him (Duke of Brunswick) you took
leave of his dear beard ; it is all cut off, and he looks like
us Englishmen. I took leave of it Saturday. I will tell
you what will make you laugh. We were driving in Hyde
Park yesterday, Sunday, and a man in a plain black coat,
1 The Duke of Brunswick married, in 1802, a Princess of Baden.
This lady died in 1808, leaving two sons, Charles and William, the
"babes" in Princess Charlotte's letter. After the death of their
mother they were sent to Baden. Napoleon, enraged at the escape
of their father in 1809, tried to seize them, but they escaped out of
his clutches and were brought to England.
"The Princess of Wales (says Lady Charlotte Bury) sometimes
goes to see the Duke of Brunswick's two boys. She climbs to the
very top of a house at Vauxhall, where they are living. She
complains that they are frightful to look upon." In another place
Lady Charlotte writes : " Was commanded, at half-past two, to
accompany the Princess of Wales to see the young princes, her
nephews. She hates them, I don't know why, unless it is that, as
she says, they are frightful."
From the day that the Duke, their father, fell at Quatre Bras,
until the eldest of them came of age, the Prince Regent administered
the affairs of Brunswick, as his appointed guardian. By an insur-
rection in the city of Brunswick in 1830 Duke Charles, having
misruled his country for five years, was deposed by a resolution of
the German Diet, and was succeeded in the Duchy by his younger
brother, William. To judge from Duke Charles's nefarious will in
1874, he must never at any time of his life have been a very
lovable person.
2 Duchess Dowager of Brunswick.
I
114 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
round hat, &c , &c., on horseback rode up close to the carriage
and looked into it. I said to Mrs. U., 1 ' What a very
impertinent fellow this is ; ' when what should I hear but
' Vous ne me connais (sic) pas ? ' The carriage of couise
stopped ; and we spoke, the Duke so changed that you
would not know him again.
"As you were so good as to be anxious about everything
that concerns me. I cannot help telling you that I have lost
my dear Puff. We have advertised him at two guineas
reward. I hope I shall find him.
" But papa has made me a beautiful present of a
beautiful white Italian greyhound, with cropt ears, &c.
Captain Lake 2 took a ship in which the dog was, which
dog belonged to the Empress Napoleon, and was going to
some gentleman as a present from her. He took the ship
and brought the dog as an offering to papa. But he said,
' I don't care for dogs, I will send it to Charlotte, who
loves them.' He did, and by Dupaque.
" I send you a letter I have had from the great U.P., 3
and one for you I took the liberty to open.
"When we meet I want to tell you about the picture
Blomfield has got. I am rather in an embarra (sic] about it.
" Pray let me know how dear Elizabeth 4 is. Pray give
my kindest love to her and remembrances to Sophia, 5
Augustus, 6 &c., and my kind compliments to my Lord. 7
1 Mrs. Udney, sub -governess.
2 Captain, afterwards Admiral Sir Willoughby Lake, R.N., Bart.,
was at this time serving on the coast of Spain in command of the
Magnificent, 74.
3 Dr. Fisher, Bishop of Salisbury.
4 My mother.
5 My sister, whom the Princess used to personate, afterwards
married to Sir James Macdonald, Bart., M.P.
6 My brother Augustus, Lord Buiy, afterwards fifth Earl of
Albemarle. 7 My father.
vi.] PRINCESS CHARLOTTE AND THE PRINCE REGENT. 115
" God bless you, my dearest Lady. Forgive this long
letter, and
" Believe me ever
" Your very sincerely attached and
" Gratefully obliged
" CHAELOTTE.
" Mrs. U. sends her love to you. Au sujet louche dose
I always find when I write or see you that I have volumes
to say.
"Let me know how poor Parsons' 1 child is. My
remembrances to her.
" When I answered the Bishop's letter I did all I could
to make it over waite [weight]. I hope I succeeded."
The letter just quoted, I believe to contain the genuine
sentiments of the writer towards the person addressed;
not but that Lady de Clifford and her Royal charge had
constant quarrels with each other, for they were both very
hot-tempered. The Princess used frequently to complain
to me of her Governess's harsh treatment of her; but
Her Eoyal Highness in her cooler moments would say,
"After all, there are many worse persons in the world
than your snuffy old grandmother."
As soon as the Princess Charlotte became aware of
Lady de Clifford's intention to retire, she wrote a letter
to the Prince Eegent, couched in respectful terms, begging
that as she had now nearly completed her seventeenth
year, no other governess should be appointed, but that
she might have an establishment of her own, and that
ladies in waiting should be assigned her. Her father,
who was jealous of her growing popularity, and aware of
his proportionate disfavour in the public estimation, told
1 Mrs. Parsons, wife of a coal merchant, Lady de Clifford's maid.
I 2
116 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en.
her in answer that as long as he lived she should not
have an establishment, unless she married. On or about
the 6th of January, 1813, her seventeenth birthday, she
made the same request in form to Lord Liverpool, the
Prime Minister. This step, Miss Knight conjectures, was
suggested by Miss Elphinstone and Lord Erskine. " The
Begent," she says, "was furious;" and doubtless if His
Royal Highness shared Miss Knight's conjecture, it would
have greatly increased his wrath. The extent to which
his feeling of resentment was carried may be guessed by
the effect that the expression of it produced on his usually
high-spirited daughter.
THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE TO LADY DE CLIFFORD.
." MY DEAREST LADY DE CLIFFORD,
"Trusting to your goodness, I trouble you with
these few lines. I am wretched ; I know not what to
do. 1 have been thinking in my own mind, and have
written this enclosed letter. Should you approve, I need
not say you will be the means of restoring me to
happiness.
"Tor ever,
" Your most sincere and affectionate
" and grateful
" CHARLOTTE.
"P.S. To be branded with deceit and duplicity I cannot
bear. By throwing myself on papa's mercy I am sure I
will succeed. I fear not telling him the whole every-
thing.
" If you will, write me one line in answer."
The following letter may possibly be of the same date
as the foregoing^
vi.] PRINCESS CHARLOTTE AT WINDSOR. 117
PRINCESS CHARLOTTE TO LADY ALBEMARLE.
" MY DEAR LADY ALBEMARLE,
" I hope you will not be angry with me in not
having written that letter to you before, but I have long
wished to open my heart to you. As you are always a
true friend to me, I hope you will always find me one.
" That secret you entrusted to me I will not disclose.
"Pray excuse this short letter, but I am in a great
hurry.
"I am,
" Your ever
" Affectionate,
"C.
" P.S. Pray do not be angry with me, if you were to
be angry, you would break my heart."
Although Princess Charlotte wrote a submissive letter
to her father, she persisted in resisting the appointment
of a successor to my grandmother, and was ordered to
Windsor to answer for her contumacy. Accordingly on
Sunday, the 17th of January, she went to the Castle
attended by Lady de Clifford. In the Queen's room were
assembled Her Majesty, Princess Mary, afterwards Duchess
of Gloucester, and the Prince Eegent, who had brought
with him Lord Chancellor Eldon. This great legal
functionary pointed out to the Princess the somewhat
despotic power which the law gives to the Sovereign over
the members of the Eoyal family. During the interview
the Eegent loaded his daughter with reproaches. At
last, turning to the Chancellor, he asked him what he
would do with such a daughter. " If she were mine,"
was the answer, " I would lock her up." The Princess
burst into tears. " What," she exclaimed, " would the poor
118 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
King have said if he could understand that his grand-
daughter had been likened to the granddaughter of a
coal-heaver ! "
There are other versions of this story. Such, to the
best of my recollection, is the account of this strange
scene as frequently related to me by my grandmother,
and my impression is confirmed by a letter of my cousin
' Sophia, the late Baroness de Clifford.
This was the last day of Lady de Clifford's court life.
On the Monday the Duchess Dowager of Leeds was
installed as her successor. I dined with my grandmother
on the Saturday following, and went with her to Curzon
Street Chapel on the Sunday. It was the 24th of the
month, as I remember from a particular circumstance.
One of the Psalms for the morning service was the
hundred aud eighteenth. When we came to the ninth
verse she whispered into my ear, "Excellent advice, my
dear boy ; remember it as long as you live." The words
are, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put any
confidence in princes."
Yet with all her experience of courts, the good old lady
was fated once more to experience in her own person the
truth of the advice she enjoined upon me. Not long
after the stormy scene at the Castle she was surprised at
receiving a Royal command for a party at Carlton Palace.
She took her card of invitation to her son, Lord de
Clifford, who prevailed upon her to go, and accompanied
her to the Palace. When the Regent entered the drawing-
room the company ranged themselves into the usual court
circle, and His Royal Highness proceeded to address every
guest in turn with that gracefulness of manner for which
he stood unrivalled. But when he came to Lady de
Clifford he turned his back upon her, and thus showed to
the assembled courtiers his idea of the manner in which
" the first gentleman in Europe " ought to behave to a lady.
vi.] PEINCE OF ORANGE. 119
[1814] There was much excitement in the London
world this year at the breaking off of the projected match
between the Princess Charlotte and the hereditary Prince
of Orange. I was probably one of the few persons to
whom the rupture of the engagement caused no surprise.
The decision which the Princess came to was in keeping
with the language which she had always held with me
on the subject of her marriage. It was one of the few
topics which drew from her any allusion to her exalted
situation. " I am not," she used to say, " one of those
Princesses who mean to leave the choice of her husband
to others." No one who had seen the rejected and accepted
suitors would for a moment dispute the naturalness of
Her Eoyal Highness's election.
It was some months after the termination of this affair
that my brother, Lord Bury, was appointed to the staff of
the discarded pretender to the Princess's hand. One day
the Princess met my cousin, Miss Townshend. 1 Her Eoyal
Highness, after making many eager inquiries after her old
friends the Keppels, asked what Bury was about. My
cousin curtseyed and blushed, but did not answer. The
question was repeated. " He is aide-de-camp to the
Prince of Orange, Madam." " Indeed ! " said the Princess,
laughing. " Poor brute ! how I pity him."
On the entrance of the Allied Army into Paris in 1815
the Prince of Orange had assigned to him as a quarter,
No. 8, Eue de Mont Blanc, a few weeks before the hotel
of the Emperor Napoleon's uncle, Cardinal Fesch. It
was here that I had the honour of being presented to the
Prince, but my acquaintance ended then and there.
"The Prince of Orange," writes Lady Charlotte Bury,
1 Honourable Sophia Townshend, daughter of John Thomas,
Viscount Sydney, by the Honourable Sophia Southwell, daughter
of Edward, twentieth Baron de Clifford. Miss Townshend married,
in 1833, the late Lieut-Col, the Honourable Peregrine Gust.
120 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
" is good-humoured and civil, but he has no dignity. The
Flemings are surprised to see his English aides-de-camp 1
run up to him and slap him on the back." The only one
who treated him with proper respect was my old school-
fellow, Lord March (the late Duke of Richmond). My
brother and Henry Webster, of whom I was afterwards a
brother aide-de-camp, both admitted this cavalier behaviour
to their chief, but added that it was entirely the Prince's
own fault. He was a mere boy, delighting in rough
practical jokes but not complaining when he sometimes
got a Roland for his Oliver.
One of the barristers who went the Norfolk Circuit in
my schoolboy days was Mr. Lewis Flanagan. The rich
brogue of this gentleman and his stock of good stories
often led me to pay him a visit in his chambers in Figtree
Court. One day I met there a strong-built man with a
red face, small black eyes, and large nose. This was
General Sir Thomas Picton, G.C.B., the commander of
the famous " fighting division " in the Peninsula. An
account of some of my Westminster pranks seemed
greatly to amuse him, and the General, the lawyer, and
the schoolboy passed a merry quarter of an hour together.
It was the only time I ever saw this distinguished veteran.
There had been some misunderstanding between him and
the Duke of Wellington, and it was only a few days
before the opening of the campaign in the following year
that they were sufficiently reconciled to enable him to
take the command of a corps. He set out from London
on the llth June, having first made his will, as if he had
a presentiment of the fate that awaited him. My friend
1 The English staff of General the Prince of Orange consisted of
Lieut.-Col. Baron Tripp, 60th Foot ; Captain Lord John Somerset,
h.p. ; Captain Francis Russell, h.p. ; Captain Earl of March, 52nd
Foot ; Captain Viscount Bury, 1st Foot Guards ; Lieut. Henry
Webster, 9th Light Dragoons.
vi.] THE ALLIED SOVEREIGNS IN LONDON. 121
the late Mr. James Trotter, the Commissary-General of
his division, was with him for an hour on the morning of
the 18th of June. He told me that the demeanour of the
General was that of a man who did not expect to outlive
the day. He fell by a musket ball early in the action
while "gloriously leading the division to a charge with
bayonets, by which one of the most serious attacks made
by the enemy on our position was defeated." l The ball,
flattened by striking against Picton's right temple, was in
1874 in the possession of his nephew, Dr. Thomas Picton,
of 80, Cadogan Place.
His body was taken to Waterloo, and there placed in a
rough coffin made by the village carpenter. Thence it
was conveyed to England. At the Vine Inn, Canterbury,
it lay in state, as I have always understood, on the table
on which he had dined a fortnight before. On the 3rd of
July it was conveyed to the burial-ground of St. George's,
Hanover Square, facing the north side of Hyde Park.
There it remained four-and-forty years. It was then
inclosed in oaken and leaden coffins, and on the 8th. of
June, 1859, conveyed in solemn procession to St. Paul's
Cathedral, my friend, the late Sir Frederic Stovin, of the
" fighting division," being one of the mourners.
The good people of England are notorious for their love
of what is frequently called " a lion " while their attach-
ment lasts it is always at fever-heat. At one time a Shah
is the lion, at another a Claimant. In the month of June,
1814, there was a whole menagerie of this description of
animals in the persons of the Allied Sovereigns and their
most distinguished Generals. They had come over to
pay a visit to that ally whose powerful co-operation had
enabled them to hurl from the throne the mightiest tyrant
with which the world has been afflicted in modern times.
1 Duke of Wellington's official despatch.
122 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en.
I formed one of the crowd that assembled on Westmin-
ster Bridge to witness the arrival of Field-Marshal von
Bliicher, or " Blutcher," as the Londoners used to call him.
We had been waiting a good hour and a half, when we
heard loud cheering from the Surrey side, intermingled
with cries of " Blutcher for ever ! " The object of this
ovation turned out to be a fat, greasy butcher, mounted on
a sorry nag, and carrying a meat tray on his shoulder,
shortly afterwards Marshal " Forwards " appeared in a
barouche drawn by four horses, which, from the density of
the crowd, were obliged to go at a foot's pace. We gave
him a most enthusiastic reception, and he returned our
greetings by holding out his hand to be shaken by the
men and kissed by the women.
The next great object of attraction was Count Platoff,
General of Cossacks. Our ideas of the troops of which
he had the command was derived from the prints of them
in the shop windows men of colossal form, with red lank
hair, high cheek bones, and snub noses. My mother took
me with her to Covent Garden, not so much to see the
performances, as to have a sight of the renowned Hetman.
We were in the Duke of Bedford's box, which was next
to the Prince Eegent's, and, forming an obtuse angle with
it, we could see without being seen. There was Count
Platoff, sipping his coffee ; but instead of a semi-barbarous
giant I beheld a little narrow-chested man, with regular
features, olive complexion, black hair, eyes, and mustache,
and teeth to match.
The Emperor of all the Ptussias paid a visit one morning
to Dean's Yard, and preserved his incognito so well that he
was nearly going away without being discovered by us
Westminsters, and greeted with three hearty cheers. Lean-
ing on his arm was the lovely Grand Duchess of Oldenburg,
and it was her big hat that gave us a clue to her Imperial
brother.
vr.] "ALL THE WORLD'S AT PARIS." 123
At the time of the arrival of the Allied Sovereigns
English ladies wore straw bonnets fitting close to the
head, somewhat in the shape of a beehive cut in half,
but the Grand Duchess had not been with us a week
before the " beehive " disappeared, and the " coal-scuttle "
usurped its place. I went one night to see Elliston in his
best character Vapid in the "Dramatist." When the
curtain dropped Vapid seemed to be so busy making notes
for his new play as to be unaware that he was left alone.
After trying both stage doors he declared that the " rogues
had shut him out," and, advancing to the front, informed
the audience that he meant to dramatize them all. He
began by addressing some clever verses to the pit and
gallery. He then pointed to a pretty woman sitting in
the dress circle and coiffee d la Oldenburg. All eyes followed
the direction of his pencil. The lady at first appeared
unconscious of being the object of such universal obser-
vation, but suddenly rose to escape, upon which Mr.
Elliston called out
" Nay ! Madam, stop ! you lady in the bonnet,
I'll have you down, you may depend upon it."
The whole affair was of course a preconcerted coup de
thedtre.
The declaration of peace in the spring of this year
produced a general rush of our compatriots of both sexes
and of high and low degree to the French capital. This
national exodus furnished materials for the winter panto-
mimes. In one of them a scene was laid in the garden
of the Tuileries, in which were assembled French and
English groups, and the dress, manners, and appearance
of the two nations amusingly contrasted. The peculiarities
were further set forth from a song by Grimaldi the clown,
called "All the World's at Paris." Pointing to a gor-
geously dressed lady in the crowd, in an unusually large
Oldenburg bonnet, he sings :
124 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
" Lawk ! who is that, with monstrous hat,
And parasol who handles 1
It's Mrs. Flame, the Borough dame,
Who deals in tallow candles.
Nay ! Goody, pray don't turn away,
These Mounseers do not trust 'em,
When next we meet in Tooley Street
I'll promise you my custom."
I saw the same pantomime the following spring. But
the song was not sung. " All the world " had fled from
Paris. "Mrs. Flame, the Borough dame," and her fellow-
citizens were scampering across the Channel, fearful lest
the semi-barbarous tyrant who had just burst his bonds
should repeat the outrage that he had committed at the
rupture of the' treaty of Amiens, and seize upon the
persons of peaceable travellers.
I had always been taught to look to the law as my
profession, and it was held out to me that if I should
make a respectable figure at the bar, I might reasonably
expect to be returned to Parliament for a Whig nomi-
nation borough. It was my fate, unintentionally however,
to frustrate these plans for the future, by an act which
proved in its results to. be the turning point of my career.
Passing through Dean's Yard from the north, you come
upon Great College Street a single row of shabby-looking
houses facing a stone wall, which Dr. Stanley, the Dean,
tells me was built by Abbot Littlington in the reign of
Edward the Third, at the same time as the Jerusalem
Chamber and the College Hall. 1 But the wall, ancient
1 In the former editions of these memoirs, I assigned the name of
Livingstone to the builder of the college wall. Referring to this
mistake of mine, the Dean writes : " In deference to my excellent
predecessor, will you allow me to ask that in another edition you
will convert ' Livingstone ' into ' Littlington ' ? My enemies will else
say that I have endeavoured to glorify the Presbyterian Missionary
at the expense of the Popish Abbot."
vi.] MY ESCAPADE. 125
though it be, has less of personal interest to me than the
modern superstructure by which it is now surmounted.
When I first went to Westminster a lamp iron was
fixed in the wall, of which the use at least the only one
to which I saw it applied was to enable Mother Grant's
boarders to let themselves down into College Street after
lock-up hours. I took kindly to the prevailing fashion,
and the school authorities not wise in their generation
rendered it still easier to follow, by allowing a building
to abut on the inside wall.
But on my return to school after the Bartlemytide
holidays in 1814, I found that the wall had been con-
siderably raised, and the top covered with broken glass
bottles, which remain till the present day.
How to circumvent the enemy was the question. I
took into my counsel the school Crispin, one Cobbler Foot
by name, an old man-of-war's man, and he made for me
a rope ladder, a "Jacob's ladder" I think it is called,
similar to that used for ascending ships' sides. Thus
provided, I climbed the wall with much less risk to my
neck than md the lamp iron.
On the 18th of March, 1815, on my return from the
play, the scaling apparatus was all ready for me at the
street side of the Abbot's wall, but great was my disgust
when, on reaching my room, I found the lay figure which
I had left in my bed to personate me in my absence lying
piecemeal on the floor: my escapade was no longer a
secret to the authorities.
The next morning when I went into school I was
sorely puzzled at the silence in which so serious an act
of insubordination seemed to be passed over. The mystery
was solved next day. A letter from my father informed
me that my school-days had come to an end ; inclosed was
one from Dr. Page to him, dissuading him from thinking
any more of a learned profession for me, and recommending
126 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en. vi.
him to choose for me a calling in which physical rather
than mental exertion would be a requisite.
Thus was I, still wanting three months to complete
my sixteenth year turned adrift in the world to earn my
bread, but virtually debarred from entering that profession
by which bread might best be earned.
Although I dispute not the justice of the sentence
passed upon me by Dr. Page, I cannot help considering
that reverend gentleman himself, if not quite a particeps
criminis, at least the indirect cause of the act which
brought with it so heavy a punishment. That cause was
his treatment of me during the seven years of my West-
minster pupilage. In that long period, not one kind
expression towards myself ever passed his lips. On the
contrary, his looks and actions, as well as words, unmis-
takably denoted intense personal dislike.
Perhaps if he had made an appeal to some better feeling
than the fear of a flogging, he might have found me a
" Tom Brown " in my schooldays, and as ready to uphold
his authority among my juniors as I was, as in the wall-
scaling instance, so much disposed to set it at defiance.
But Page was not an " Arnold." To attempt to conciliate
the affections of his pupils was never dreamed of in his
philosophy.
The truth is that the doctor, with all his wit and learning
and he had abundance of both, was as ignorant as
a child of the motives that influence human actions,
else he would have found out that there are other
means available to the instructor of youth, besides the
rod, for securing their, cheerful obedience, for. developing
their intellectual faculties, and for imbuing their minds
with a taste for classical studies.
CHAPTER VII.
Am destined for the Army. A Brother Truant. Lansdowne House.
Proceed to join the Army in Flanders. Three Campbells.
Ostend. My first day's March. Join my Regiment. My
Commanding Officer. The Fourteenth to the FRONT. Our
Brigade. Sir Henry Ellis. Our Cantonment. Grammont
Races. We receive the "Route." Mvelles. Hougoumont.
The Belgic Lion. A pun upon " Waterloo." Colonel Sir John
Colborne. My Sensations on going into Action. Napoleon's
Illness on the Morning of the 18th. A Narrow Escape. My
Captain's account of the Battle. Bivouac at Hougoumont.
[1815.] IT was not without some trepidation that same
afternoon that I knocked at the door of my father's house
in Brook Street. The first person I saw there was my
eldest brother, Bury, who, as I have already mentioned, had
served in the Peninsula with the Foot Guards. He began
quizzing me on my late adventure. I jokingly shook my
fist at him. " What ! " said he, " would you dare to raise
your hand against your superior officer ? " This was the
first hint I received that the army was to be my profession.
Just at the time that a Westminster boy, impatient of
confinement within the narrow little back yard of Mother
Grant's boarding-house, was scaling the wall into College
Street for the enjoyment of a freer range of his limbs, a
truant on a much larger scale was also engaged in breaking
the bounds which his masters had assigned him. On the
first of March Napoleon Buonaparte landed from Elba on
the coast of France. The first news of his escape was
128 FIFTY YEA.RS OF MY LIFE. [err.
received by the 'Congress of the Allied Sovereigns with
shouts of laughter. In England, too, the event was treated
with a like contemptuous indifference. Beyond sending
some troops into Belgium, no immediate action was taken
by the Government. The earliest allusion in Parliament
to the landing of Napoleon was made on the 7th of April.
Wellington was in Vienna, and remained there the whole
month of March. My father's opposite neighbour in
Brook Street, Lord Uxbridge, fated a few weeks later to
play no mean rdle in the European drama, was quelling
Corn Law riots, or chaperoning his handsome daughters
to London assemblies. The Moniteur was holding up to
execration the " cowardly hero of Fontainebleau." Soult
was calling upon the French troops " to rally round the
spotless lillied banner at the voice of the father of his
people," and Marshal Key, the " bravest of the brave," was
setting out to take command of the army to stop the
progress of the invader.
The consequence of all these circumstances was that on
the day that I quitted Westminster School, the British
public were in a fool's paradise, and looked upon the
progress of the Corsican adventurer as a matter in which
they could have no possible concern.
Yet on that same Saturday evening the 20th of March,
Napoleon, once more Emperor of the French, entered Paris,
and was borne aloft amidst loud acclamation on the shoulders
of his troops into the Palace of the Tuileries, from which
Louis XVIII. had taken his departure a few hours before.
The news of this great event did not reach England till
the beginning of the next week. It then became known
that the most ardent of the supporters of the restored
Emperor was the same Marshal Ney who had promised
Louis XVIII. that he would bring back the usurper alive
in an iron cage.
Thinking over those eventful times, I am reminded of
vii.] MY DEBUT AT LANSDOWNE HOUSE. 129
an epigram of which, as I have been unable to find it in
the broadsheets of the period, I must ask the reader to be
content with my version :
" When Boney broke loose, Ney swore to his King
That, living or dead, he that traitor would bring.
To be true to his oath, and to make his words sure,
He brought him alive, crying, ' Vive 1'Empereur !' "
My father had been given to understand that my name
would appear in the Gazette of that same Saturday even-
ing, but the Prince Regent, happening at that time to be
in one of his most self-indulgent moods, could not be
induced to spare a few moments from his pleasures to affix
the sign-manual to the commissions of officers destined for
the seat of war. ' It was not till five weeks after Napoleon
had landed in France that a London Gazette appeared
containing a batch of military appointments. In that
Gazette my name figures as Ensign in the Fourteenth
Regiment of Foot.
Holding now a king's commission, I looked upon myself
as a man, and was what young ladies would call "out."
My first gaiety was a grand reunion at Lansdowne House.
A less gay evening I have seldom spent. I still wanted
two months of sixteen, and my fair complexion made me
look still younger. In my excessive bashfulness, I thought
that every one, whose eye I met, was speculating upon
what business a mere schoolboy could have in such an
assembly. To complete my confusion, I encountered my
mother, who, still young and handsome, did not care to see
a second grown-up son in society. " What, George ! " she
exclaimed ; " who would have thought of seeing you here ?
There, run away, you'll find plenty of cakes and tea in
the next room." I did run away, but not into the tea-
room ; and some years elapsed before I again dared to put
in an appearance at a London " at Home."
It was a salve to my wounded vanity to receive shortly
K
130 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en.
after an official communication " On His Majesty's Service,"
ordering me forthwith to proceed to Flanders to join the
third battalion of my regiment.
In obedience to the order, I, on the 27th of April, took
my seat on the box of a stage coach which in due time set
me down at the principal inn at Ramsgate.
The town was swarming with military, destined, like
myself, to the seat of war. Observing the respect shown
by the men to commissioned officers, I donned my uniform
and sauntered forth to come in for a share of the compli-
ments due to my rank. There was no lack of salutes, but
the irrepressible smile that accompanied them soon drove
me back to my inn. To indemnify myself for my mortifi-
cation, I ordered a dinner, the price of which would have
enabled me to fare sumptuously for a week on the other
side of the water. A kind friend in London had recom-
mended me to the especial care of Colonel Sir Colin
Campbell. 1 The Colonel was chief of the personal staff
of the Duke of Wellington, with the title of " Commandant
at Head-quarters." He was now about to proceed to
Brussels to prepare for the reception of the Field-Marshal.
I had just finished dinner when Sir Colin arrived post
from London, called for me at the inn, and took me with
him on board a small cutter called the "Duke of Wel-
lington " packet. The moment we reached the deck, the
vessel weighed .and sailed, and landed us at Ostend at
daylight the following morning.
At the moment of setting foot on shore I found myself
in company with three officers all three colonels,
knights, and Campbells Sir Colin, Sir Guy, and Sir
Neil. This last was a man of some celebrity, as having
1 Colonel Sir Colin Campbell, K.C.B., received the cross and six
clasps for Talavera, Busaco, Fuentes de Ofioro, Badajoz, Salamanca,
Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, and Toulouse. To these decora-
tions was to be added Waterloo.
vii.] REPORT MYSELF TO THE COMMANDANT. 131
been one of the last Englishmen who had had speech of
Napoleon before his escape. The year preceding, Sir Neil
was appointed British Commissioner at Elba, and was
directed to remain on the island till further orders, in case
Napoleon should consider the presence of a British officer
of use to protect him from insult or attack. At first
the Emperor admitted him freely to his presence, but
latterly discouraged his visits. It was during Colonel
Campbell's absence from Elba, between the 17th and 28th
of February, that Napoleon took flight, and Campbell was
popularly, but improperly, pointed out as " the man who
let Boney go." I remember hearing my father mention
many of the criticisms which Napoleon made to Sir Neil
upon some of our Generals Lords Anglesey and Lynedoch
among others. Respecting the great Captain, with whom
he was about to come into conflict for the first and last
time, he said, " "Wellington is a good General, but he is too
prodigal of his men." Campbell's countenance expressed
surprise. " You think this strange as coming from me ;
what I mean is, that he sends Englishmen on expeditions
involving a great sacrifice of life, when Spaniards or
Portuguese would answer his purpose just as well."
Depositing me at an inn, Sir Colin told me to be ready
to start with him for Brussels at two in the afternoon.
After breakfast, as in duty bound, I reported myself
to the Commandant, Colonel Lord Greenock, afterwards
Assistant Quartermaster-General to one of the divisions at
Waterloo. Lord Greenock told me that an Ensign of my
regiment was on his way to join, and advised me to accom-
pany him. If I had had a grain of worldly wisdom I
should have stuck close to the skirts of the Commandant
at head-quarters, but freedom of action was the ruling
passion of the moment, and this I thought I should not
obtain in the company of one so much my senior as
Sir Colin, so I said nothing to Lord Greenock of my
K 2
132 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
engagement to the Colonel, and cast in my lot with the
Ensign.
Hiring a horse and cart for our baggage, Ensign
and I set out on foot from Ostend. I had not proceeded
far when I discovered that I had made a had choice of a
travelling companion. My brother ensign was some two
years older than myself, and a few weeks my senior in the
regiment. He availed himself of this latter advantage to
" come the commanding officer over me," and ordered me
about as if I had been his fag. At Bruges I fell in with
my cousin and schoolfellow, Captain Frederick Keppel, of
the Third Guards, who was returning to England with a
detachment of invalided men. My kinsman was highly
amused at my account of the young martinet, whom he
advised me to leave in the lurch. I did so then and there.
We cousins passed a very pleasant evening together, and
thus ended my first day's march.
The next night I slept at Ghent, then the residence of
the ex-King of France. I here learnt that I should find
my regiment at Acren, which place I reached the following
day. Acren is a village on the left bank of the Dender,
about two miles from Grammont, now a station on the
Quievrain and Ghent Railway.
The third battalion of the 14th Foot, which I now
joined, was one which in ordinary times would not have
been considered fit to be sent on foreign service at all,
much less against an enemy in the field. Fourteen of the
officers and three hundred of the men were under twenty
years of age. These last, consisting principally of Buck-
inghamshire lads fresh from the plough, were called at
home " the Bucks," but their wi-Buckish appearance abroad
procured for them the appellation of the " Peasants."
Our Colonel, Lieut.-General Sir Harry Calvert, bore the
same name as a celebrated brewer, and as the Fourteenth
was one of the few regiments in the service with three
vii.] THE FOURTEENTH TO THE FRONT. 133
battalions, we obtained the additional nickname of
" Calvert's Entire."
In my commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Francis Skelly
Tidy, I found a good-looking man, above the middle height,
of soldier -like appearance, of a spare but athletic figure,
of elastic step, and of frank, cheerful, and agreeable
manners. He had been present at the reduction of all
the French islands in the West Indies, had served under
Baird and Wellesley in Spain, in 1808, and in the Wal-
cheren expedition the following year. When I reported
myself, Tidy was in high spirits at having procured for his
regiment a prospective share in the honours of the forth-
coming campaign. The battalion had been drawn up in
the Square at Brussels the day before, to be inspected by
an old General of the name of Mackenzie, who no sooner
set eyes on the corps than he called out, " Well, I never
saw such a set of boys, both officers and men." This was
of a piece with my mother's speech to me at Lansdowne
House. Tidy asked the General to modify the expres-
sion. " I called you boys," said the veteran, " and so you
are ; but I should have added, I never saw so fine a set of
boys, both officers and men." Still the General could not
reconcile it to' his conscience to declare the raw striplings
fit for active service, and ordered the Colonel to" march
them off the ground, and to join a brigade then about to
proceed to garrison Antwerp. Tidy would not budge a
step. Lord Hill happening to pass by, our Colonel called
out, " My lord, were you satisfied with the behaviour of
the Fourteenth at Corutma ? " " Of course I was ; but
why ask the question ? " " Because I am sure your lord-
ship will save this fine regiment from the disgrace of
garrison duty." Lord Hill went to the Duke, who had
arrived that same day at Brussels, and brought him to the
window. The regiment was afterwards inspected by his
Grace, and their sentence reversed. In the meanwhile a
134 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
priggish staff officer, who knew nothing of the counter-
mand, said to Tidy, in mincing tones, " Sir, your brigade
is waiting for you. Be pleased to march off your men."
" Ay, ay, sir," was the rough reply, and, with a look of
defiance, my Colonel gave the significant word of com-
mand, " Fourteenth, TO THE FEONT ! Quick march."
From henceforth our regiment formed part of Lord
Hill's corps.
Desperate were now my struggles to extricate myself
from leading strings. My youthful appearance caused the
Colonel to appoint me to the company of the oldest and
steadiest officer in the regiment, Captain (afterwards
General) William Turnor, who took great care of me
much too great, according to my then mode of thinking
made an inventory of my " kit," sent my clothes to , the
wash, and even superintended the darning of my stockings.
All these acts of real kindness were repaid with ingra-
titude by me, and obtained for him in the regiment the
nickname of " Keppel's dry nurse."
For four days in a week, from daylight to nine in the
morning we were generally engaged in regimental drill.
The other two days were devoted to exercise in brigade
movements.
Our brigade, under the command of Brigadier Mitchell,
was composed of the 14th, 23rd, and 51st regiments. The
commanding officers of these corps had all been actively
engaged against the enemy in various parts of the. world.
The most distinguished of them was Sir Henry Walton
Ellis, K.C.B., Lieut-Colonel of the 23rd Koyal Welsh
Fusiliers. For half his life his arms had used
" Their dearest action in the tented fiejd."
He had served in Holland, Egypt, America, the West
Indies, Spain, Portugal, and France. He was wounded at
the passage of the Helder, again at Aboukir, again at
vn.] GRAMMONT EACES. 135
Badajoz, again at Salamanca, again at the Pyrenees, again
at Orthes and at Waterloo a shot from a carbine put an
end to his glorious career. Although frequently in the habit
of seeing Sir Henry/' I was not personally acquainted with
him, but I used to hear much of him from his nephew, a
volunteer in his regiment. He was a light-hearted man,
of an affectionate disposition, and much loved by officers
and men. He lies buried at Braine 1'Alleud, within a few
hundred yards of the spot where he fell. At the time
of his death he was only thirty-three, and very young-
looking for his age.
Time hung somewhat heavily on the hands of us officers
in the Acren cantonment : a swim across the Dender, or a
stroll into Grammont, where we made acquaintances with
the 23rd, 51st, and 52nd regiments, formed our principal
recreations. Our men were more agreeably and usefully
employed : they were quite at home with the " Peasants,"
upon whom they were billeted, and clubbed their rations
of bread, meat, and schnapps, with the vegetables, cheese,
butter, and beer of their hosts. Whenever not on duty
they were to be seen assisting the Boers and Boerrinen in
their various labours. Before they left the cantonment,
they had weeded the flax and the corn, and the potato crop
of that year was entirely of their planting.
Eaces on a grand scale came off at Grammont on the
13th of June. There was a strong muster of men of all
ranks and of all arms. On that day I completed my
sixteenth year, and passed my birthday very pleasantly
with some " Old Westminsters." Everybody seemed de-
termined to make the most of his holiday. Perhaps the
pleasure of the assembled thousands would not have been
without alloy, if they had known that, within two days'
march of us there lay, concealed behind the low hills of
Avesnes, a hostile army 122,000 strong, commanded in
person by the greatest Captain of the age.
136 . FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
I was standing close to Lord Uxbridge, when a cheer
from the neighbourhood of the judge's stand announced
the winner of a sweepstakes. I thought I had hardly
ever seen so handsome a lad. He was beaming with
health and spirits, as he took his place in the scales in
his gay jockey dress. It was Lord Hay, an ensign in the
First Regiment of Guards, and aide-de-camp to General
P. Maitland. The races were on a Tuesday ; on the
Friday young Hay was killed at Quatre Bras, and the
following Sunday the gallant veteran by my side left
a leg on the field of Waterloo.
Nearly forty years after Lord Hay fell at Waterloo his
nephew, the present Earl of Erroll, at that time an ensign
in the Guards, was severely \vounded at the Alma. M.
Guizot somewhere mentions the occurrence in order to
point out the anomaly of the " Grand Connetable d'Ecosse,"
serving as a subaltern in an English regiment.
June 15th. I was this afternoon, about sunset, one of
a group of officers who assembled near the principal inn at
Acren, when a Belgian, dressed in a blouse, told us that
the French had crossed the frontier. I well remember the
utter incredulity with which his statement was received
by us all, but it proved to be perfectly correct. At day-
light that morning Napoleon opened the campaign by
attacking the first corps of the Prussian army, com-
manded by Count Zieten, in the neighbourhood of
Charleroi.
June Wth. The following morning as I was proceeding
to fall in with my company as usual, I found the regiment
in heavy marching order, and all ready for a start. They
had received the "route" to Enghien. The Wellington
despatches show that this route was in obedience to the
Duke's orders for the two divisions of Lord Hill's corps,
the 2nd and 4th, to proceed to that place, and that the order
was written just as the Field-Marshal was setting out to
vii.] HOUGOUMONT. 137
attend the ball given at Brussels by the Duchess of
Kichmond.
Hurrying back to my billet, I swallowed hastily a few
mouthfuls of food, and with the assistance of iny weeping
hostesses packed up my baggage. I then placed it on my
bat horse, and consigned it to the care of the baggage
guard. I had taken my final leave of both horse and
baggage. Thus, when I entered upon the Waterloo cam-
paign, all my worldly goods consisted of the clothes on
my back.
As we passed through the village, our drums and fifes
playing " The girl we left behind us," or some such lively
air. we were greeted with the cheers of the men and the
wailing of the women. Their leave-taking was as if we
were their own countrymen, sallying forth in defence of
a common " Vaderland."
At Enghien we received a fresh route for Braine-le-
Comte. During this afternoon we could hear the booming
of the artillery at Quatre Bras. I know nothing of Braine-
le-Comte, for I entered the town long after dark and left
it before the break of day.
June Vlth. We were now ordered to Nivelles. As we
approached the town we met several spring carriages of
the Eoyal Waggon Train, full of the men wounded at
Quatre Bras. As I shall not have occasion to speak again
of this admirably conducted branch of the service, I may
just mention the sobriquet of its chief a man of colossal
form, whose real name was Carpenter, but who was known
in the army as Magna Carta (Carter).
We were detained two hours at Mvelles to allow some
Belgian cavalry to pass through our ranks. We resumed
our march at three in the afternoon. Before we reached
our ground, the rain came down in torrents, and in a few
moments wetted us to the skin.
A march of seven miles from Nivelles brought us to the
138 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
avenue which leads to the Chateau de Goumont, now
better known by its anglicised name of Hougoumont.
Soon after passing the Chateau we quitted the chaiisste
and ascended the hill which gives its name to the village
of Mont St. Jean. That same hill has since shifted its
quarters. It forms part of the pedestal on which now
stands " Le Lion de Waterloo." If the erectors of that
hideous mound had confined their operations to this part
of the field, they would have done quite mischief enough,
but they continued their vandalism along our whole line,
so that when the British sight-seer visits the spot on which,
sixty years ago, some fifty-four thousand of his country-
men were drawn up in battle array, he looks in vain for
that rising ground which afforded them such cover as
almost to warrant the complaint of the French, that in
their last battle against us they had been beaten by an
invisible foe.
Our divergence from the high road brought us in sight
of a village with a church having a globe-shaped belfry.
" That," said the Colonel, " is Waterloo." The name, which
I had never heard before, suggested to my mind a pun so
execrable that nothing but the consideration of the time
and place of its utterance could justify "the repetition.
Pointing to our drenched clothes, I said, " We have had
plenty of Water to-day, we shall have something in loo
(lieu) of water to-morrow."
Prior to taking up our position for the night, the regiment
filed past a large tubful of gin. Every officer and man
was, in turn, presented with a little tin-pot full. No
fermented liquor that has since passed my lips could vie
with that delicious schnapps. As soon as each man was
served, the precious contents that remained in the tub
were tilted over on to the ground.
We soon after halted and piled arms.
Looking in the direction of the ground we had lately
TIL] COLONEL SIE JOHN COLBORNE. 139
traversed, we heard heavy firing to our left. This
proceeded from La Haye Sainte, where Picton had ordered
two brigades of artillery to play upon the French infantry,
which was pressing upon the Anglo-Allied forces in retreat
upon Waterloo from Quatre Bras. It was probably then
that Napoleon, who was with this portion of his army, first
understood that Wellington was in position, and prepared
to receive him on the morrow.
For about an hour before sunset, the rain that had so
persecuted us on our march relieved us for a time from its
unwelcome presence, but as night closed in, down it came
again with increased violence, and accompanied by thunder
and lightning. For a time I abode as I best could the
pitiless pelting of the storm : at last rny exhausted frame
enabled me to bid defiance to the elements. Wearied with
two days of incessant marching, I threw myself on the
slope of the hill on which I had been standing. It was
like lying in a mountain torrent. I nevertheless slept
soundly till two in the morning, when I was awoke by my
soldier-servant, Bill Moles. Eising from the bivouac, I
followed him down the hill, and entered one of those small
cottages which comprise the hamlet of Merbraine : here
fragments of chairs, tables, window 7 -frarnes, and doors were
heaped into the chimney-place. Around the fire made of
the fuel thus supplied, were three men seated on chairs
and drying their clothes. Not a word was spoken, but
room was made for me. I followed their example. At
daybreak my fellow-occupants of the hut resumed their
uniforms. With the appearance of one of them, I was
particularly struck a fine soldierlike looking man, con-
siderably above six feet in height. This was Colonel Sir
John Colborne, in command of the 52nd Regiment, after-
wards Field-Marshal Lord Seaton, G.C.B., &c. &c. Colborne
had served with distinction under Wellington in nearly all
his great European battles, and played no mean part in the
140 FIFTY YEAKS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
crowning event of their respective military careers, for
before night closed in upon the memorable day then
dawning, Sir John and the gallant regiment under his
command had the honour of encountering the Imperial
Guard of France, in their last attack on the British position,
of putting them to the rout, of pursuing them along the
Charleroi road single-handed, as far as Rossomme, and
of bivouacking within a couple of hundred yards of
the spot whence Napoleon had only recently taken his
departure. 1
Sir John had known my brother Bury in the Peninsula.
When his servant brought him his breakfast, he asked me
to partake of it, but the portion was so infinitesimally
small that, hungry as I was, I could not bring myself to
take advantage of an offer that could only have been made
in courtesy.
June 18th. During the first hour after sunrise on the
morning of the 18th, our regiment, like the rest of the
troops, were occupied in cleaning and drying their arms, a
very necessary business after such a night as we had passed
through. That done we had a rigid inspection of every
musket and ammunition-pouch. We then piled arms and
fell out till the bugle recalled us to the ranks.
If I were asked what were my sensations in the dreary
interval between daylight and the firing of the first
cannon-shot, on this eventful morning, I should say that all
I can now remember on the subject is, that my mind
was constantly recurring to the account my father had
given me of his interview with Henry Pearce, otherwise
the Game Chicken, just before his great battle with
Mendoza for the championship of England. "Well,
1 " Lord Seaton's Regiment at Waterloo," by the Rev. William
Leeke the ensign who carried the 52nd Regimental Colours in the
action.
vii.] NAPOLEON'S ILLNESS AT WATERLOO. 141
Pearce," asked my father, " how do you feel ? " " Why,
my lord," was the answer, "I wish it was Jit (fought)."
Without presuming to imply any resemblance to the Game
Chicken, I had thus much in common with that great man
T wished the fight w&sfit.
There was, I should suppose, hardly any British soldier
in the field that morning who did not understand that we
were there, not to give, but to receive battle, and who was
not surprised that hour after hour should pass away with-
out any indication from the enemy that he intended to
pay us a visit.
Jomini, passing in review Napoleon's plan of operations
for the battle, says, " II eut beaucoup import^ a la reussite
de ce projet de pouvoir brusquer 1'attaque des le matin"
After refuting the Emperor's plea for delay, set forth n,t
St. Helena, namely, that in consequence of the rain that
had fallen in the night, some hours' sunshine was necessary
to dry the ground so as to enable him to bring his guns
into position, the celebrated strategist adds, " Dans la
situation des affaires ce retard de quatre heures fut une
faute." x
In common with the rest of the British public, I was
puzzled for sixty years to account for this " retard de
quatre heures."
The enigma has at length found a solution.
From an able article on the " Memoirs of the Count de
Se"gur," in the Quarterly Review, it appears that for several
years the Emperor had been the victim of a painful
malady, which during its paroxysms prostrated the
energies alike of his mind and body : that there were four
or five occasions on which the destinies of the Empire and
the world were more or less influenced by this complaint. 2
For several of these occasions I must refer to the
1 Jomini, " Campagne de 1815," 198-9.
2 Quarterly Review for January 1876.
142 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en.
*
Review itself: I quote only that which bears upon this
narrative :
"A few days before he left Paris for Waterloo, the
Emperor told Davoust and the Count de Se'gur, p&re, that
he had no longer any confidence in his star, and his worn,
depressed look was in keeping with his words." Then
follows Segur's account. I borrow the Eeviewer's transla-
tion : " Some days later, at Charleroi, the morning of the
battle of Fleurus (Ligny), the Emperor having sent for
Eeille, this General on seeing him was affected by a painful
surprise. He found him, he told me, seated near the fire-
place in a state of prostration, asking questions languidly,
and appearing scarcely to listen to the replies ; a prostration
to which Eeille attributed the inaction of one of our corps
upon that day, and the long and bloody indecision of this
first battle."
"As to the second, that of Waterloo, Turenne and
Month yon, general of division and sub-chief of the staff,
have told me a hundred times, that during this battle,
which was deciding his fate, he remained a long time seated
before a table placed on this fatal field, and that they fre-
quently saw his head, overcome by sleep, sink down upon
the map before his heavy eyes. Monthyon added that,
when the catastrophe was declared, he, and the Grand
Marshal Bertrand, could only enable the Emperor to make
good his retreat to Charleroi by holding him up between
them on his horse, his body sunk (affaisse] and his head
shaking, overcome by a feverish drowsiness."
The Eeviewer adds: " M. Thiers admits that Jerome
Buonaparte and a surgeon in attendance told him that
at Waterloo Napoleon was suffering from the malady
described by M. de Segur." l
My son Lord Bury, who was in 1870 the representative
1 Quarterly Review for July 1875, p. 225.
vii.] NAPOLEON AND HIS PAGE. 143
at Eouen of the Society for the Relief of the Sick and
"Wounded in the war then raging between France and
Prussia, became acquainted there with General Gudin, 1
the commandant of the garrison. This officer, who was
page d'honneur in waiting upon the first Napoleon at
Waterloo, told Bury that the Emperor ordered his horses
to be ready at seven in the morning. The order was
obeyed, but time wore away and the Emperor made
no sign. At last the Grand Ecw/er came down to the
assembled staff and told them that his Imperial Majesty
was in his room, that he spoke to no one, that he was
seated and in a pondering attitude which forbade question
or interruption. It was nearly noon when the Emperor
descended the ladder that led to the sleeping-room and
rode away.
" Do you know, mon general," asked Bury, " why the
Emperor was so dilatory ? He must have known, what
all the world knows now, that minutes were of the highest
importance to him on that day."
" Certainement," answered the General, " tout le monde
se le disait. II avait joue son coup et il le savait
perdu."
Gudin also told Bury that when Napoleon came down
from his' apartment to mount his horse, the equerry in
waiting had stolen away to get some breakfast ; the duty
therefore of assisting the Emperor to mount devolved
upon Gudin, who gave him such a vigorous hoist under
the elbow that his Majesty nearly rolled off on the other
side. " Petit imbecile," exclaimed Napoleon, " va-t-en a
tons les diables," and rode off, leaving the unlucky page,
overwhelmed with confusion, to mount and to ride sadly
on in the rear. They had ridden a few hundred yards
1 General Gudin was, on the advance of the Prussians, transferred
to Paris, where he was killed, it is said, in a sortie.
144 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [erf.
when Gudin saw the staff open right and left, and the
Emperor came riding back. "Mon enfant," said he,
putting his hand kindly on the lad's shoulder, " quand
vous aidez un homme de ma taille a monter, il faut le
faire doucement."
The recollection of the implied apology, and the kind-
ness which induced one in Napoleon's position to think
at such a moment of a young man's feelings, brought
tears into the old General's eyes as he told my sou
the story.
Since the above remarks on Napoleon's health appeared
in print, they are corroborated by the account which
Mr. George Ticknor gives of a visit which he paid to
Madame Davoust, the wife of the Marshal, in August
1817.
" We fell," says Mr. Ticknor, " into a discussion almost
political, and as nothing touches the French and the
Bonapartists .like the loss of the battle of Waterloo, she
gave me reasons for it. I could have given her better
if it had been polite ; but one she gave was' curious
as an authentic anecdote. To prove that the Emperor
was ill that day, she said he did not rise till seven o'clock,
and never spoke while he dressed. When his secretary
gave him his sword he drew it with a sigh, and then,
thrusting it back into the scabbard, said with an air of
weariness which he had never shown before, ' Encore une
bataille,' sprang upon his horse, and hurried into the
field, as if more impatient to finish the day, than anxious
how it should be finished." l
We had been under arms for six hours, when a numerous
cavalcade appeared on the crest of the opposite hill
evidently some great man and his suite: they were so
near that a small body of Volunteer Eiflemen of the
1 Life, Letters, and Journals of George Ticknor, vol. i. p. 149.
vii.] OUR SERGEANT-MAJOR WOUNDED. 145
present day could easily have emptied every saddle. My
comrades and I made sure that we had seen Napoleon
himself we were wrong: it was Jerome Buonaparte,
whose division was posted on the extreme' left of the
French line, facing Hougoumont; he had just received
his Imperial brother's order to give the signal of battle.
Almost the moment he disappeared from view a single
cannot-shot was fired ; a pause of two seconds was dis-
tinctly perceptible, and then arose a roar of artillery,
which did not cease for the next eight hours.
For some time after the firing had begun, Mrs. Ross,
our Quartermaster's wife, remained with the regiment.
She was no stranger to a battle-field, and had received
a severe wound in Whitelock's disastrous retreat from
Buenos Ayres (1807), at which time her husband was a
sergeant in the 95th (now Eifle Brigade). She was loth
to quit the field : " accidents might arise," she told us,
" that would render her services useful." At last it was
suggested to her that what was right and proper in a
sergeant's wife, was not so becoming in an officer's lady.
Upon this hint she withdrew and passed the rest of the
Sunday in a neighbouring church, not in the aisle, in
attendance upon divine service, but in the belfry, where
she enjoyed a better view of the battle than could have
been obtained by the Commander of either army.
From the spot we then occupied we could see neither
friend nor foe. Our arms were piled, and we were waiting
for orders to fall in. I was one of a group assembled
round our sergeant-major, James Graham, who was fighting
some of his Peninsular "battles o'er again." Suddenly
the spokesman fell to the ground, a chance musket-ball
had struck him on the neck. Although in great pain,
nothing would induce him to leave the battle-field.
As junior ensign, I carried one of the colours on the
first two days' march, and when the bugle sounded to
L
146 FIFTY YEAKS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
fall in, I proceeded to take my usual post in the centre.
Inasmuch, however, as there were no less than sixteen
ensigns of " Calvert's Entire " in the field, and the service
entailed some additional labour, the Colonel determined
that the duty should be performed by roster, and Ensigns
Newenham and Eraser relieved me and my comrade. A
colour-sergeant of the name of Moore, who had served
with the regiment in the Peninsula, thought this would be
a good opportunity for instructing the two military neo-
phytes in what they had to expect. " Now you see," said
he, " the enemy always makes a point of aiming at the
colours, so if anything should happen to either of you
young gentlemen, I ups with your colour and defends it
with my life." One of the first casualties of the day
happened to Sergeant Moore. He did not belong to my
company, and I know not what became of him afterwards,
but as he was carried off the field, I heard the Colonel
say, " Serve him right for talking such nonsense to the
boys."
Colville's division, the 4th, to which we properly be-
longed, was posted at Hal, eight miles distant from the
field. We were therefore attached for the day to the 2nd
infantry division, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir
William Clinton.
I must borrow Siborne's account of our first position :
" Along a portion of this road, 1 principally consisting of
a hollow way, were posted in advance, some light troops of
the Anglo- Allied army. They formed a part of the fourth
brigade of the fourth division (under Colonel Mitchell)
attached to the second corps commanded by Lieutenant-
General Lord Hill. The brigade consisted of the third
battalion of the 14th British Eegiment, under Lieutenant-
1 A narrow road leading from the Nivelles chaussee across the
plateau in the direction of Braine 1'Alleud.
vii.] OUR FIRST POSITION. 147
Colonel Tidy ; of the 23rd Fusiliers, under Colonel
Sir Henry Ellis, 1 and of the 51st British Light Infantry
(under Lieutenant-Colonel Eice), in the following manner.
Along that portion of the Hougoumont avenue which is
nearest to the Nivelles road, was extended the light com-
pany of the 23rd Regiment. On its right was an abattis
which had been thrown across the great road, and close
upon the right of this artificial obstacle a company of the
51st was posted. Four more companies of this regiment,
and the light company of the 14th, were extended along
the hollow way alluded to as stretching across the ridge
on the extreme left of the French position. The remainder
of the 51st stood in column of support about two hundred
yards in rear of the hollow way. The 23rd Eegiment was
stationed on the left of the Nivelles road, on the reverse
slope and immediately under the crest of the main ridge,
in rear of the second brigade of Guards. The 14th Regi-
ment was posted in column on the southern descent of
the plateau, on which was assembled the second British
division." 2
To arrive at this position we descended the plateau we
had hitherto occupied, and entered upon a narrow ravine
covered with brushwood. This ravine has since been filled
up, and the ground, thus reclaimed, applied to arable
purposes ; but the spot is well known to the guides
over the battle field. Shot and shell occasionally came,
but as we were out of sight of the French artillerymen,
they did us no harm. How long we remained here I have
no idea. It is now known that at about three in the
afternoon, Napoleon, who in the early part of the action
had directed his principal attack on our left and left
centre, sent strong reinforcements to his troops engaged
1 Colonel Sir Henry Walton Ellis, K.C.B., was killed in this
battle.
2 Siborne's " Waterloo," vol. i. pp. 347-8.
L 2
148 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
in attacking Hongoumont that part of the field in which
we were posted. As a consequence General Byng carried
his brigade to assist his brother guardsmen in the Chateau.
His departure left an open space between Halkett's and
Kemp's brigades. Sir James Shaw Kennedy pointed out
the chasm to the Duke, who said to him, " I shall order
the Brunswick troops to the spot, and other troops besides ;
go you and get all the German troops of the division to
the spot where you are, and all the guns that you can
find." !
I presume that our regiment formed a portion of the
" other troops " whom the Commander-in-Chief sent to fill
up the hiatus, for it must have been about this time that
Captain Bridgeman, one of Lord Hill's aides-de-camp,
brought us the order to advance. We marched in columns
of companies. Emerging from the ravine we came upon
an open valley, bounded on all sides by low hills. The
hill in our front was fringed by the enemy's cannon, and
we advanced to our new position amid a shower of shot
and shells. Tumor, the captain of my company, writing
home, "June 19th: from the Field of Battle," says, " The
whole day we were exposed to the fire of several batteries
of artillery, and particularly two pieces brought to bear
upon us." I can well remember the interest I took in
those two pieces an interest heightened by the conscious-
ness that I formed part of that living target against which
their practice was pointed.
Fifteen years after the battle I was present at Paris at
the Grands Couverts, the annual dinner which the older
Bourbon Princes were in the habit of eating in public.
A French officer on duty entered upon a subject of his
own choosing, but one generally avoided by his country-
men " Waterloo." He told me that he was an artillery
1 Kennedy's "Waterloo," p. 128.
vii.] A NARROW ESCAPE. 149
officer posted in that action on the extreme left of the
French line, and that his orders were to fire upon three
British regiments the colours of which were respectively
blue, buff, and green ; thus proving, beyond all doubt, that
it was against our brigade that his practice had been
directed. 1
But to resume; we halted and formed square in the
middle of the plain. As we were performing this move-
ment, a bugler of the 51st, who had been out with skir-
mishers, and had mistaken our square for his own,
exclaimed, " Here I am again, safe enough." The words
were scarcely out of his mouth, when a round shot took
off his head and spattered the whole battalion with his
brains, the colours and the. ensigns in charge of them
coming in for an extra share. One of them, Charles
Fraser, a fine gentleman in speech and manner, raised
a laugh by drawling out, " How extremely disgusting ! "
A second shot carried off six of the men's bayonets, a
third broke the breastbone of a Lance-sergeant (Robinson),
whose piteous cries were anything but encouraging to his
youthful comrades. The soldier's belief that " every bullet
has its billet," was strengthened by another shot striking
Ensign Cooper, the shortest man in the regiment and in
the very centre of the square. These casualties were the
affair of a second. We were now ordered to lie down.
Our square, hardly large enough to hold us when standing
upright, was too small for us in a recumbent position.
Our men lay packed together like herrings in a barrel.
Not finding a vacant spot, I seated myself on a drum.
Behind me was the Colonel's charger, which, with his head
pressed against mine, was mumbling my epaulette, while
I patted his cheek. Suddenly my drum capsized and
1 The French, officer's statement corroborates Garrod's account of
the relative positions of the 23rd, 14th, and 51st at Waterloo.
150 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
I was thrown prostrate, with the feeling of a blow on the
right cheek. I put my hand to my head, thinking half
my face was shot away, but the skin was not even abraded.
A piece of shell had struck the horse on the nose exactly
between my hand and my head, and killed him instantly.
The blow I received was from the embossed crown on the
horse's bit. 1
The French artillerymen had now brought us so com-
pletely within range, that if we had continued much
longer in this exposed situation I should probably not
have lived to tell my tale. We soon received the order to
seek the shelter of a neighbouring hill. As I was rising
from the ground, a bullet struck a man of my company,
named Overman, immediately in front of me. He, falling
backwards, came upon me with the whole weight of knap-
sack and accoutrements, and knocked me down again
With some difficulty I crawled from under him. The'
man appeared to have died without a struggle. In my
effort to rejoin my regiment I trod upon his body. The
act, although involuntary, caused me a disagreeable
sensation whenever it recurred to my mind.
Our new position was further in advance, but less
exposed to the enemy's fire. We were now about a
hundred yards from the Nivelles chaussee, near to the
abattis, spoken of by Siborne, on which dbattis the left
wing of our right company rested. In our front were
some riflemen in grey uniforms faced with green, their
hats looped up on one side, and bearing the Hanoverian
badge of the white horse. They lined the road, and were
engaged with some French skirmishers in the corn-fields
on the opposite side.
On our right flank, and a little in advance, was a brigade
1 This adventure is mentioned by the late Mrs. (Colonel) "Ward in
her " Recollections of a Soldier's Daughter."
vii.J AN ALARM. 151
of artillery, which I find from a recent publication was
the 9th, under the command of Captain Mercer, who in
describing his position also marks ours. " Thus," says he,
" we were formed en potence with the first line, from which
we (my battery) were separated by some hundred yards,
in our rear the 14th Kegiment of Infantry (in square, I
think) lay on the ground." x
Looking back to the part of the field we had lately
quitted, we saw another brigade of artillery hurrying into
position a howitzer shell had penetrated one of their
ammunition waggons which exploded, drowning for a
moment the roar of the cannon, and dealing death and
destruction on all around. Our sympathies were for the
moment principally excited by the sufferings of some poor
horses, which were the principal sufferers by the cata-
strophe, and were galloping about the field. Some would
suddenly stop, and nibble the grass within their reach till
they fell backwards and died. One poor animal, horribly
mutilated, kept hovering about us, as if to seek the pro-
tection of our square.
The steadiness of our peasant lads, which had already
been tolerably tried, was about to be subjected to another
test. There appeared on our right flank an armed force,
some thousands strong, w r ho advanced towards us singing
and cheering. They wore the dress which the prints of the
day described as belonging to the French army. Charles
Brennan, an Irish lieutenant, who had served all through
the Peninsular War, called out, " Och then, them's French
safe enough ! " " Hold your tongue, Pat," thundered out our
Colonel; " what do you mean by frightening my boys?"
but the expression of his countenance showed that he
shared Pat's apprehension. They were neither of them
singular in their belief. The attention of our neighbours,
1 General Mercer's " Waterloo," vol. i. p. 300.
152 FIFTY YEAKS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
the 9th Brigade of Artillery, was directed to the same phe-
nomenon. "For a moment," says General Mercer, " an awful
silence pervaded that part of the position, to which we
anxiously turned our eyes. ' I fear all is over/ said Colonel
Gould, who still remained by us. Meantime the 14th, spring-
ing from the earth, had formed their square, whilst we,
throwing back the guns of our right and left divisions, stood
waiting in momentary expectation of being enveloped and
attacked. The commanding officer of the 14th, to end our
doubts, rode forward and endeavoured to ascertain who they
were, but soon returned assuring us they were French. The
order was already given to fire, when Colonel Gould re-
cognised them as Belgians." 1 The new comers were
General Chassis Dutch and Belgian division, who had
been posted in the early part of the day at Braine 1'Alleud
and were now ordered to the front. They had so recently
formed a part of Napoleon's army that the slight change
in their old uniform escaped the notice of the casual
observer.
Towards evening, the 14th was the right-hand infantry
regiment of the British line. We were placed there by
Lord Hill's brother, Sir Noel Hill. Our instructions were
to keep a good look-out upon a strong body of the cavalry
of the Imperial Guard.
We now occupied the crest of a gentle eminence, and
looked down upon what, from a few blades still standing,
was shown to have been in the morning a field of rye, ripe
for the sickle. It had now, from the action of horse, foot,
and artillery, been beaten down into the consistency and
appearance of an Indian mat.
From the reverse side of the hill in front of us there
now appeared the enemy our Colonel had been taught to
expect. They were a magnificent body of horsemen, wore
black helmets, and, if my memory does not deceive me,
1 General Mercer's Waterloo," vol. i. p. 301.
vii.] A CHARGE OF THE IMPEKI AL GUARD. 153
black cuirasses. As soon as they reached the ascent of our
hill they advanced towards us at the pas de charge. For a
moment they left us in doubt which square they intended
to honour, but gave the preference to our left-hand neigh-
bour, a regiment of Brunswickers, which was at wheeling
distance from ours. After one or two vain attempts to
pierce the square, they went some fifty paces to our rear.
Their presence amongst us procured us a momentary respite
from the fire of the enemy's artillery. They now repassed
between the two battalions. As soon as they were
clear of our battalion, two faces of the attacked square
opened fire. At the same instant the British gunners on
our right, who at the approach of the Cuirassiers had
thrown themselves at the feet of our front rank men, re-
turned to their guns and poured a murderous fire of grape
into the flying enemy. For some seconds the smoke of the
cross fire was so dense that not a single object in front of
us was discernible. When it cleared away the Imperial
horsemen were seen flying in disorder. The matted hill was
strewed with dead and dying : horses were galloping. away
without riders, and dismounted Cuirassiers running out of
the fire as fast as their heavy armour would allow them.
This is the last incident that I remember of that event-
ful Sunday. The next day I wrote to my father a detailed
account of the scenes of which I had been an eye-witness.
My letter created a great sensation in the family. If it
should reappear, it will, I think, be seen that my reminis-
cences agree tolerably with the observation made on the
spot. In the account which I now give, I have been
assisted by Major-General Thomas Holmes Tidy, the son
of my good old commanding officer, himself the wearer o^
a medal for his services with the 14th at the capture of
Bhurtpore. To the General's kindness I am indebted for
the perusal of letters from my Colonel and the Captain of
my company, addressed to a friend in Northamptonshire.
154 FIFTY YEAKS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
By these documents I am enabled to give to our corps a
very different position to that assigned to it in Siborne's
celebrated model of the battle-field.
In the absence of my letter to my father, also written
on the 19th of June, I give the following from the Captain
of my company, William Tumor, my " dry nurse " as he
was called by his comrades, addressed to his friend J. P.
Clarke, Esq., Welton Place, Daventvy :
" MONT ST. JEAN,
" THE FIELD OF BATTLE TEN MILES FROM BRUSSELS,
" 19th June, 1815.
"Tho' the papers will give you better information
relative to the sanguinary conflict of yesterday, I am
unwilling to permit a courier to proceed to England
without acquainting you that your friends in the 14th are
well The contest just terminated commenced at twelve
o'clock, and lasted without intermission till nine in the
evening. It was the most bloody as well as the most
decisive battle that has been fought since the commence-
ment of the French Revolution, and its result will be
more important than even that of Leipsic. The cannonade
was tremendous on both sides. The French fought with
desperation, and I am fully convinced that no troops on
earth except the English could have won the victory. They
are in action savagely courageous. The cavalry of the
enemy particularly distinguished themselves, and charged
our infantry when in squares of battalions, four, five, six
times, but they were not to be broken. Our infantry has
immortalized itself, and its conduct has never been sur-
passed, indeed never equalled. "We are so fortunate as
not to have suffered very great loss, having been posted
on the right of the line to hold in check a very strong
body of the Imperial Guard. The whole day we were
exposed to the fire of several batteries of artillery, and
vii.] BIVOUAC AT HOUGOUMONT. 155
particularly to that of two pieces brought to bear upon
us. The situation was trying in the extreme, but our
young soldiers behaved well. They would have been
glad to have been led against the infantry, but we dared
not lose sight of the cavalry. Many regiments both of
infantry and cavalry are almost annihilated, but it is said
that some regiments of dragoons were not so forward as
they ought to have been. One regiment of hussars is
particularly mentioned as having refused to charge. The
field of battle exhibits this next morning a most shocking
spectacle, too dreadful to describe. Every effort was
made by Buonaparte to turn our right, within 200 yards
of which we were posted ; he showed the greatest courage,
led in person many charges both of infantry and cavalry.
Those officers who were in the Peninsula describe the
battles there as mere combats in comparison with that
of yesterday, and this may easily be credited when we
reflect that Napoleon fought for a crown, and was opposed
to the greatest General of the age. The escape of Lord
Wellington is next to a miracle, for he was exposed the
whole day to the hottest fire. We know not the extent of
our loss, but it must be great indeed."
At sunset I found myself at Hougoumont, in the
immediate neighbourhood of which I had been posted
the greater part of the day. I bivouacked that night
under a tree facing the entrance to the Chateau. When
about a quarter of a century ago I visited the field of
battle in company with my son Bury, I looked in vain
for the tree the roots of which had served me for a
pillow. It was gone. The battle had been alike destruc-
tive of vegetable and animal life. The whole range of
those fine elms which formed the avenue leading to the
Chateau had died of wounds received in the action.
CHAPTEE VIII.
Ca ira. Our Entry into Nivelles. A False Alarm. Le Gateau.
Our General's Congratulations. My Westminster Fag Master.
Commandant of Head-quarters Attack on Cambray. Louis
XVIII. 's Proclamation. Open Right and Left. Hare-hunting
extraordinary. First Sight of Paris. A "Ghost." A Cata-
strophe. Mr. Alexander Adair. Lady Castlereagh and her
Dogs. "Bonapartists." Bummelo. General La Bedoyere. A
Dinner at the Louvre.
June 19th. All was still as the grave at daylight on the
morning of the 19th. The Prussians had gone the night
before along the Charleroi road in pursuit of the enemy.
The British army was ordered to Nivelles, a distance of
only nine miles. As the troops were marching upon one
road, we were some time moving off the ground. Some
of my comrades went over the field of battle. I set out
with the same intent, but soon returned to the Chateau
from the deep depression which the scene produced upon
me. One sight especially riveted my attention. It was
the body of a boy, who from his appearance could not
have been more than fourteen years of age. The finely-
chiselled features of the poor lad contrasted strongly with
the coarse lineaments of corpses in his neighbourhood,
which had been rendered still more grim by the agony
of the death-struggle. Like the bodies around him, no
vestige of dress remained to show his rank or nation.
Prom his peculiarly fair hair it may be assumed he was
a German ; from his small white hands, that he was of
gentle race; and from the heaps of dead horses around
CH. VIIL] OUR ENTRY INTO NIVELLES. 157
him, that he had fallen in a charge of cavalry. I have
looked over the lists of the killed and wounded, but can
find no one answering his description. The probability is
that he was a " freiwilliger," or volunteer, some of whom
were attached to most regiments, British or Prussian.
One thing is proved to me, that there was in the field
one younger>than myself.
The 14th bears on its colours the name " Tournay."
It was a distinction granted to the regiment for their
conduct in the action fought near that town in the War of
the Eevolution, on the 8th of May, 1793. In marching
to the attack, the band, as a mark of defiance, played the
Jacobin air of Ca ira, which thenceforth became the quick
march of the corps. To that un-English tune we marched
into Nivelles. Nor was this our only eccentricity ; our
lads had decked themselves in the spoils of the vanquished,
and presented a motley group of Imperial cuirassiers,
hussars, and grenadiers a cheval. One young fellow was
conspicuous as the wearer of the cumbrous cap of a
" tambour major."
The old hands quizzed our " Johnny raws " for volun-
tarily imposing upon themselves such burdens. They told
them that with a little more experience in campaigning
they would find their kit, arms, accoutrements, and sixty
rounds of ball-cartridge quite enough to carry for any
man's amusement, without gratuitously adding to these
incumbrances.
In marching to our ground we passed the First Regiment
of Foot Guards drawn up on one side of the street. From
them I learned the fate of Lord Hay, the winner of the
sweepstakes at Grammont races, and of a kinsman of my
own, Ensign the Honourable Samuel Barrington, who also
fell at Quatre Bras. The names of these two young men
will be found on the monument in the church at Waterloo
erected by the officers of the regiment to the memory of
158 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [OH.
their comrades who fell on the 16th and 18th of June. I
heard at the same time that two of iny Westminster
schoolfellows, Croft and Fludyer, ensigns in the same
regiment, had been severely wounded.
My Colonel's -billet was on a most charming house with
a bay-window looking out on an ornamental garden.
Tumor and I were his guests for the day. Our breakfast
was a most sumptuous one, not the less acceptable as
being almost the first food we had tasted since we left ou r
cantonment. Meals on the march to Paris were few and
far between. Indeed, if it had not been for an occasional
hard-boiled egg from the pistol holster of a friendly field-
officer, I should have hardly imbibed sufficient nourishment
to sustain life. Even Tidy, an old campaigner, and likely
from his position to have his full share of what was
procurable, says in one of his letters, "I am quite well,
though sleeping out and going often without food."
June 2Qth. On the 20th we bivouacked in the neigh-
bourhood of Mons. The next day we first set foot on
French territory. As we were entering a wood we heard
several discharges of musketry, at the same time some
clerks of the British Commissariat came running towards
us, telling us that the French were drawn up in line and
hotly engaged with our troops. We dashed through the
wood at " double quick ; " but when we came to the outside
" we met no foe to fight withal." The only person I saw
was a tall young man standing at the door of the village
inn, who was said to be a Belgian officer of rank. A few
years ago I met at Torquay, Prince Frederick of the
Netherlands, who commanded one of the Belgian divisions
of Lord Hill's corps. Upon my mentioning to him this
occurrence on the French frontier, his Eoyal Highness
told me that he was the officer whom I had seen, and that
our double quick march was caused by the Colonel of one
of his regiments who had determined to celebrate the entry
viii.] MY WESTMINSTER FAG MASTER. 159
of his men into France by firing a feu de joie. No one
was more astonished than the Duke of Wellington himself,
who thought that a part of his army had fallen into an
ambuscade.
Our night's halt was in the neighbourhood of Valen-
ciennes.
The next day we arrived at the heights above Le Gateau
Cambresis.
The services of our brigade had been acknowledged by
the Duke in his despatches ; by Lord Hill, to whose corps
we belonged; by Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton, to
whose division we had been attached ; and at Le Gateau
the following order was read at the head of every regiment
of the brigade, from the Commander of our own division :
"Lieutenant-General Sir .Charles Colville cannot deny
himself the satisfaction of adding to those of Lord Hill,
his own most hearty congratulations to Colonel Mitchell
and the 4th brigade on the share they so fortunately had
on the glorious and ever memorable battle of the 18th
instant.
"From every statement' it appears that the 23rd and
51st regiments acted fully up to their former high
character, while the very young battalion of the 14th
displayed a gallantry and steadiness becoming veteran
troops."
The Duke was this day at Le Gateau. Staff-officers,
dressed in their best, were parading the town. They had
been dining at head-quarters, where they met Louis XVIII.
and the Due de Berri. Among the guests I recognised the
fag-master who had given me such a terrible licking for
hiding in the coal-hole. I addressed him by his name : he
bowed coldly as he turned upon his heel, and said that " I
had the advantage of him." The reverse was the fact he
had greatly the advantage of me. He was well fed, well
dressed, and well lodged, whereas I had scarcely tasted
100 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
food since I left Nivelles, and my wardrobe, consisting of
the clothes on my back, was none the smarter for five days'
bivouacking. I was chewing the cud of resentment at this
rebuff when who should make his appearance but Colonel
Sir Colin Campbell, his breast blazing with stars and other
military distinctions. He immediately thrust his embroi-
dered sleeve into my ragged one. " Holla, youngster," he
called out, " what did you mean by giving me the slip at
Ostend ? But never mind that now. What can I do for
you ? " " Give me something to eat," was the reply. He
immediately took me to a traiteur's, where I had food to
my heart's content. Having thus played the part of a good
Samaritan, Sir Colin returned with me into the principal
street. The pride I felt at being seen in such company
could only be understood by those who know how wide
was then the social gulf that separated the staff from the
regimental officer. Everyone, I suppose, has " the proudest
day of his life." Mine unquestionably was that on which
I walked through the streets of Le Cateau with the
Commandant of head-quarters leaning on my arm.
June 23rd. A general halt of the Prussian and British
armies.
June 24:th. Sir Charles Colville was ordered to proceed
with his division, consisting of our brigade and two others,
to the attack of Cambray. I give Colonel Tidy's account
of the part our regiment took in the affair :
" Two of the brigades were ordered to attack it (Cambray)
on one side, whilst ours, the 4th, the only one of the divi-
sion engaged on the 18th, were to make a, feint on the
other, which we did accordingly, but having got close to
the wall with a few haystack ladders tied together, we
resolved to try our luck on a real attack. My position
happened to be on the bridge with a great part of the 51st
and all my own, who were getting over the top of the
gate, which being tedious we knocked at it, and an
VIIL] LOUIS EIGHTEENTH'S FIEST PKOCLAMATION. 161
inhabitant actually let down the bridge and we walked in
and marched in sub-divisions to the Grand Square in the
most regular order in columns of battalions."
June 25tk. We remained at Cambray on the 2oth, for
although we were in possession of the town, the citadel
still held out. Its Governor, Baron Eoos, proposed an
armistice which was refused. He then made an offer to
surrender to Napoleon II., which was also rejected.
Whereupon Comte d'Audenarde was despatched to Eoos
to summon him to surrender in the name -of Louis XVIII.
The last summons was obeyed.
It was said of the Bourbons in 1814 that they returned
to France along with the " foreigner's baggage. 1 ' The
same phrase would have been equally applicable to them
the following year. Thus at Cambray we marched out at
one end while the Due de Berri entered it in the French
King's name at the other.
The town was the only one in France which then owned
allegiance to the ancient dynasty. It was decided by
Louis XVIII.'s Councillors that a proclamation should be
issued; Count Beugnot, in his autobiography, says that
the duty of drawing one up devolved upon him. In the
performance of this task he endeavoured to preserve " the
moderation and dignity which he thought should never be
departed from when the King of France is made to
speak." The Count thought perhaps that a modest
demeanour would best befit a king lacking a kingdom.
Louis XVIII. thought otherwise. Another draft of a
proclamation was adopted which certainly did not err
either on the side of modesty or moderation. It is
.dated Cambray, the 28th of June, 1815. It purports to
be in the twenty-first year of the King's reign. In this
document, his Majesty hastens to bring his misguided
subjects to their duty. It asserts that " treason had
summoned foreigners into the heart of France/' that " the
M
162 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en.
King owes it to the dignity of his crown, to the interests
of his people, and to the repose of Europe, to except from
pardon the instigators and authors of this horrible plot."
When a soldier has to march from sunrise to sunset on
a broiling midsummer's day, in a cloud of dust raised by
the simultaneous action of several thousand pairs of feet,
he does not view with complacency any aggravation of his
discomfort. Thus there was an intense amount of
grumbling each time that we were momentarily compelled
to leave the crown of the road for some passing carriage
or horseman. " Open right and left " had always for us a
peculiarly distasteful sound. One day these words came
upon us from the rear, accompanied by hissing, hooting,
and yelling. I looked round to see the object of such
universal execration, and beheld, mounted on a grey
pony, a hideous-looking man with an enormous head, a
pale pasty complexion, small cunning grey eyes, and a
disagreeable expression of countenance. His cocked hat,
silk sash, and silver epaulette bespoke him to be an
officer, but no dress could have made him look like a
gentleman. It was the Provost Marshal. He was
accompanied by half a dozen drummers who held on to
his horse by straps attached to his saddle. They were in
the lightest marching order, carrying nothing but their
drum cases, which were slung across their shoulders.
These, I was told, contained either cat-o'-nine-tails or
some well-soaped ropes with nooses all ready for imme-
diate use.
" Men arc but children of a larger growth."
The reception that the Provost Marshal experienced was
somewhat similar to that with which we "Westminsters
used to greet the boy bringing in a fresh supply of
birch to the " birch-room."
Our division halted on the night of the 27th at
viii.] HARE-HUNTING EXTRAORDINARY. 163
Puzeaux, of the 28th at Petit Crevecceur, of the 29th at
Clermont, and of the 30th between La Chapelle and
Senlis.
On the 1st of July my regiment and some other troops
of Colville's division were ordered to occupy the heights
above St. Denis, one of the advanced posts of the
British army. Three light companies of our division
were thrown into the neighbouring village of Auber-
villiers, which, in the course of the day, had been
alternately in the hands of Prussians, French, and
English ; for although French commissioners were striving
to induce the allies to agree to an armistice, there was no
intermission of military operations.
Ascending a small hill we came to the ornamental
grounds of a handsome chateau. Loud cheering of those
in advance of me announced that there was something
extraordinary to be seen. It was Paris. The rays of the
setting sun were throwing a brilliant light on the gilded
dome of the Hotel des Invalides. I thought we should
never have ceased hallooing.
At this moment, a staff officer, whose neatness of dress
bespoke a fresh arrival from England, inquired for a Mr.
Keppel. Upon my answering to the name, he touched his
hat, put into my hand a small packet, which he said an
elderly lady at an evening party had given him in charge,
and immediately disappeared. The packet contained
twenty golden guineas a present from my grandmother
Albemarle. As, in consequence of the war indemnity,
each of these gold coins was at a very high premium in
the French money market, I was probably the most flush
of cash of any man of my corps.
Our position for the night was in the centre of a well-
stocked game preserve. As the sun went down, swarms
of hares came out to graze. Officers and men simulta-
neously gave chase. The poor animals, attacked in front,
M 2
164 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
flank, and rear, fell a prey to their numerous enemies, not
however till they had afforded abundance of sport. Any-
one who had seen our soldiers a few hours before, listlessly
dragging one weary leg after another along the dusty
chaussec, would hardly have known them again in the
active merry lads, who with peals of laughter were
tumbling over each other in the eagerness bf pursuit I
question whether a single hare escaped. Sure I am that
there was not a camp-kettle in which one of them, was not
seething into soup. Tidy, Turnor, and M'Kenzie (my
brother subaltern) and I were in the same mess. The
potager of the chateau supplied us with vegetables ; some
flour from a neighbouring mill we converted into Norfolk
dumplings. The canteens of such of us as had not lost
their baggage were laid under contribution for brandy, of
which commodity the owners, now that we were approach-
ing a land of plenty, could afford to be generous. The
glass, I should rather say the tin pot, was passing merrily
round, when a soldier rushed forward, with a " Please, sir,
one of our men has been poisoned by flour from the mill.
He is lying dead close by." " Here's a pretty kettle of
fish," said the Colonel, his usual expression in .moments
of excitement. Our faces lengthened. We went to see
the defunct comrade, whose fate we feared we should soon
share. The man was dead in one sense dead drunk. 1
July 2nd. Attention to our creature comforts had pre-
vented us from bestowing a thought upon the chateau
the night of our arrival. We now paid it a visit. The
Prussians, whom we succeeded, had left their mark behind
them. The broad mahogany hand-rail of the banisters
was hacked apparently with swords from top to bottom.
Fragments of gilt ornaments were strewed over the par-
quet floors. The green and yellow silk hangings were
1 This anecdote is recorded in Mrs. (Colonel) Ward's " Remi-
niscences of a Soldier's Daughter."
via.] CHATEAU DE ST. OUEN. 165
torn down. Pier glasses which had reached to the ceiling
were smashed to pieces. The salle a manger was semi-
circular and surmounted by a dome. The walls had been
tastefully decorated in fresco, with representations of
mythological subjects. These were half obliterated by
the smoke of the fires of the Prussian camp-kettles.
Some of Nassau's contingent were there when we entered,
and busy preparing their dinners. The chateau had been
gutted of its furniture before we arrived, but oddly enough,
the marauders had forgotten to take a peep at the cellar.
We found it full of the choicest wines, some bottles of
which we made free to appropriate to our own use.
I have been at some pains to find out the name of our
resting-place on the night of the 1st of July. The late
Hon. Henry Wodehouse, when an attach^ of the British
Embassy at Paris > suggested to me that our bivouac must
have been in the grounds of the Chateau of St. Ouen, and
the conjecture is, I think, strengthened by an entry in the
diary of Miss Cornelia Knight.
By this it will be observed that Louis XVIII. " rebuilt "
the chateau in 1815, a presumption that the former edifice
had been somewhat roughly handled, and his Majesty
might very naturally have been desirous that there should
remain no evidence of the sort of friends that had helped
him to recover his crown.
" Aug, 1st, 1827. Went to St. Ouen to visit the Countess
of Cayla and her daughter the Princess of Craon. Their
house is in the midst of extensive grounds. On Louis
XVIII.'s return in 1815 he rebuilt the house, or rather
erected the very beautiful villa, and made all the plans
himself. He presented it to Madame de Cayla as a resi-
dence for her life. The present king (Charles X.) allows
her 2,500 livres a year to keep up the place." x
St. Ouen is a place of historical interest. When the
1 Cornelia Knight, vii. p. 167.
166 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
Bourbons were on the throne, the cMteau was a royal
residence. In the time of Louis XV. it was occupied by
Madame de Pompadour. A few days before Louis XVIII.
fled from his capital in 1814, he gave the chateau 'to
Madame de Cayla to prevent its being confiscated as state
property. It was at the Chateau of St. Ouen that Louis
XVIII. slept in 1814, the night before he made the public
entry into the capital of his forefathers. It was from this
same chateau that he issued the famous " Declaration "
that goes by its name a declaration in which he made
those promises to the French people which, if he had but
kept, he would probably not have been sent a few months
later on his travels.
July 3rd. In the afternoon, and just as we had begun
to test the merits of our looted wine, the order came to
proceed immediately to the attack of St. Denis. Leaving
our scarcely tasted meal, we fell in ; soon the bugle
sounded the advance. Descending from our eminence
we came to a road which lay between stone walls that
had at intervals been pierced for musketry. At these
apertures we could not avoid casting sundry oblique
glances, for we expected every moment to see hostile fire
issue from them. Within a few hundred yards of the
outworks we learned that an armistice had been agreed
upon, and that we were to take military possession of the
town. We were detained a couple of hours at the entrance,
for the bridges had been blown up, and we were obliged
to wait till temporary ones could be substituted.
With a view to ensure the peace of the town it was
arranged that parties consisting of an equal number of our
men and of the Garde Nationale, and commanded alter-
nately by an officer of one or the other nation, should patrol
the streets throughout the night. I was one of those told
off for this duty, and not a little proud did I feel at being in
the momentary command of a body of armed Frenchmen.
VIH.] A SCENE AT THE PALAIS ROYAL THEATRE. 167
July 4th. In accordance with the military convention
signed the day before, the French army retired behind the
Loire, and that portion of the allied troops to which I
belonged was encamped outside the walls of St. Denis.
We remained there three days.
While in this neighbourhood I visited the hospitals,
then full of French soldiers who had been wounded at
Waterloo.
On the 7th my division (the 4th) took up its encamp-
ment in the Bois de Boulogne. We lined the road through
the wood from the Barriere de Neuilly to the town of
Boulogne. The officers' tents were pitched on the eastern,
or Paris side, those of the men on the other.
I know not what others did, but for my part I lay
awake all night thinking of the pleasure in prospect on
the following day.
July Sth. Long before sunrise this morning a party of
us set out on foot for Paris. So early were we that we
found the whole space lying between the gardens of the
Tuileries and the Champs Elyse'es, then called Place
Louis XV., covered with a Prussian bivouac.
I entered Paris barefooted and in rags. For the tattered
condition of my uniform there was no immediate help,
but the defects of the other parts of my wardrobe were at
once remedied by the bootmaker and haberdasher.
After a bath and a dejeuner a la fourchette, we sallied
forth to the Louvre, to view the finest collection of pic-
tures that the world ever saw, or will probably ever see
again. Towards evening, hunger drove us from this en-
joyment into the restaurant of Verey's, then the most
celebrated in Paris. Chance placed us at the same table
with some Prussian officers, one of whom spoke a little
English. We became companions for the rest of the
evening. After a sumptuous dinner we accompanied our
associates to the parterre of the theatre of the Palais
T68 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
Eoyal. The first piece was nearly over when we arrived.
One of our newly-made German friends, inspired probably
by champagne, started up from his seat, and asked for
" God save the King." The call met an immediate re-
sponse ; actors and actresses, some in plain clothes, others
dressed in character, rushed upon the stage and sang the
familiar song in a manner that made it not the least
amusing of the night's performances. I was puzzled to
think why my friend preferred the English to the
Prussian national anthem, not being then aware that
" God save the King " and the " Konig's Hymne " are
one and the same air. If this interruption had been
caused by a British officer, his commission would pro-
bably have paid the forfeit. But the Prussians were
" chartered libertines " at this time. Bliicher, their chief,
was bent on pulling down the column in the Place
Vendome, and the train was already laid which was to
blow up the Pont de Jena.
July 8th. The next day Captain Turnor and I strolled
into the Tuileries. Huissiers in embroidered uniforms
were posted at the doors of the several apartments, but
we were allowed to pass unquestioned. While we were
gazing at the pictures, a body of gentlemen in court-dresses
advanced towards us from the opposite end of the room.
The only one in plain clothes we at once recognised by
his portraits as Louis XVIII. The King was dressed like
an English country gentleman of the period a blue coat
with gilt buttons, pantaloons, and Hessian boots. We had
only just time to draw up on one side, to assume the
attitude of " attention," and to greet his Majesty with a
military salute as he passed a mark of respect which was
acknowledged by a bow and the most gracious of smiles.
Why we were permitted thus to penetrate into the
Eoyal sanctum is to me a riddle. Perhaps the King
he had only been twenty-four hours on the throne had
viii.] A GHOST IN THE BOIS DE BOULOGNE. 169
given orders to allow British officers a passepartout. It
was exactly one year before that he had acted in the
same spirit when holding a drawing-room at Grillion's
Hotel in Albemarle Street. His attendants proposed to
shut out the crowd. "No," exclaimed the King, "open
the door to John Bull, he has suffered a good deal in
keeping the door open for me." l
July 2<ith. The 24th of each month was pay-day.
After the morning's muster, not an officer, except the
orderly one, was to be seen in camp. All the others
were off to Paris to get rid of their money, a process
which the rouge el noir tables made easy and speedy.
On the 24th of July I was orderly officer. I well
remember the date. Towards sunset I was sitting at
the door of my tent when I saw a private soldier coming
towards me by the path on the officers' side of the
road. This was of itself an, unusual occurrence. As he
approached, I saw to my horror the deadly pale counte-
nance of Thomas Overman, the man upon whose body
I had unintentionally trod at Waterloo. The figure
saluted me as it passed. I put my hands before my
eyes to shut out the apparition from my sight: when
I removed them it had vanished. I spent an unusual
time in visiting my sentries, but was at last compelled
to retrace my steps with the prospect of being haunted by
the ghost the live-long night. I now remembered that
the sergeant-major's tent was close to mine. Thither I
went for company's sake. Unspeakable was my relief
on hearing from him that some wounded men had just
arrived from Brussels ; amongst others was Thomas
Overman of my company.
As each pay-day came round, there was a like exodus
from the camp. Happy the man who, at the end of the
first week, had saved a few francs wherewith to buy
1 Lockhart's " Life of Scott." *
170 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
vegetables to season his tough ration pound of meat, or
provide himself with some more palatable beverage than
the very ordinary wine that was served out to him.
Our chief amusement in these camp-days was to swim
our &<-horses over to an island in the Seine. On the
bank of the river was the brigade of artillery attached to
our division. One day as a party of us bathers were
approaching the artillery camp, we heard a loud explosion,
and the next moment learned the cause. Two men had
been employed in unloading live shells from an ammuni-
tion waggon, and were passing them over to each other,
two at a time, in the manner in which I have seen men,
in London, treat bundles of firewood. ' Two of these shells
coming in contact had exploded and blown one of the
men so completely to pieces that a tarpaulin had been
thrown over his remains. The other man was still alive,
but the flesh was completely stripped off both his arms.
What astonished us was that he appeared to suffer no
pain, and when we came up to him, he was calmly
bequeathing to his comrades the contents of his kit.
He survived the accident four hours.
Our dress off parade was of the lightest description
a forage cap, a shirt, a pair of trousers, and a pair of
slippers. Once, when thus attired, I was busy felling trees
to make a stable for my Mf-horse, and heard my name
called. Hatchet in hand, I jumped into the road, and
saw a carriage full of pretty Englishwomen dressed in
the height of the fashion. As they were strangers to
me I was about to return to my work, but was arrested
by a voice saying, " Come back, Mr. George," and from
among the huge Oldenburgh bonnets there emerged the
small familiar face of Mr. Alexander Adair, the wealthy
army agent of Pall Mall. I was again rushing back to
put on my uniform, but my old friend called out, " Stop
where you are; these young ladies see plenty of smart
viii.] ADMIRAL KEPPEL'S PICTURE. 171
officers in Paris, and I promised them I would show them
one en deshabille, arid I think," he added, eyeing me from
top to toe, " I have kept my word."
The Adairs of Flixton, Suffolk, were a junior branch of
the family of which my friend Lord Waveney, now the
inheritor of the estate, is the head.
For a century the greatest intimacy subsisted between
the Adairs and the Keppels. It began before my friend
Mr. Alexander was born, and he lived to the age of
ninety. William Adair, his uncle, owed his success in
life to my grandfather's influence with the then Duke
of Cumberland. Frequent reference to this William is
made in my family papers.
If his nephew Alexander had lived in the days of
Vanity Fair, he would not have escaped the notice of
the inimitable " Ape." He was a very small man, wearing
his back hair plaited and twisted into what was called
a " club," as great a singularity then as the pigtail would
be now.
Adair, who almost idolized Lord Keppel, was fond of
telling how, sauntering one day down Wardour Street, he
saw in a window a portrait of the Admiral, which he
knew to be an undoubted Sir Joshua. In the same shop
was a picture of himself. Pretending to be wonderfully
taken with his own likeness, he looked with an air of
indifference upon that of his friend, and asked the man
what he would take for the two. " Ten guineas," was the
reply, "is my price for the officer, but, if you will not
attempt to beat me down, I will make you a present of
the other fellow."
This picture, which I frequently saw in the saloon at
Flixton Hall, was a half-length replica of the full-length
portrait in the possession of the Queen, now in one of the
state apartments of St. James's Palace, and hanging in
company with the portraits of Howe, St. Vincent, and*
172 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
Nelson. The picture belonging to Mr. Adair shared the
fate of his mansion, which was burned down in 1847.
Mr. Adair was probably one of the last persons who had
learned " to ride the high horse : " he was a bold and
skilful rider. His kinsman Lord Waveney has heard of
his clearing a turnpike gate. I have been told that when
nearer eighty than seventy, he would, as a captain of
Suffolk Yeomanry Cavalry, leap over his own deer hurdles
in. full uniform, and invite his troop to follow him. He
had a villa near Croydon. Hyde Park was then sur-
rounded by wooden palings. It was his frequent practice
to jump over the enclosure as a short cut to his office. A
young Suffolk groom attempting to follow him one day got
a bad fall. The poor stunned lad was immediately col-
lared by the park-keeper, who said, " I will not let you go
till you tell me the name of your fool of a master."
In the Champs Elyse'es, and on the right-hand side of
the road looking towards the Barriere de 1'Etoile, was en-
camped the Brigade of Guards. Under the shade of a
large plane-tree near the officers' tents used to assemble
men of every rank from that of General to Ensign to hear
the last shave. Of a morning might be seen the portly
form of Lady Castlereagh taking her constitutional walk.
Her ladyship was accompanied by a large pack of dogs of
all sorts and sizes. One of these pets once strayed into
the camp, when, alas for the gallantry of my profession,
it afforded a good twenty minutes' chase to the idlers
round the plane-tree. The offence was of a nature that
Lady Castlereagh, although one of the most good-tempered
of women, could not put up with, so she sent a formal
complaint to the Commander-in-chief. In due time she
received an answer from F.M. the Duke of Wellington
informing her that he had made the necessary inquiries
respecting the delinquents, but found that they were
men of such distinguished rank that they could not be
viii.] BUMMELO. 173
proceeded against without prejudice to the discipline of
the army.
The follies of the Bourbons during their short reign of
1814 led many Englishmen of liberal tendencies to be-
lieve that the French would have been more likely to obtain
constitutional government from Napoleon than from their
own incorrigibly stupid race of legitimate princes. Men so
thinking were called " Bonapartists." My father was of
this school, and fully indoctrinated me with his opinions.
I have before me a miniature of the great Corsican captain,
which used to hang in his dressing-room. On its frame he
caused to be inscribed in gilt letters the words " Magnse
virtutes, nee minora vitia." If my good sire had known
as much of his hero as history has since revealed to us of
him, he would, I think (if we except the lellica VIRTUS),
have been puzzled to point out any other signification of
the Latin noun which would apply to this ATTILA 1 of
modern times. For my own part I have long recanted
this youthful heresy, but I thought differently when an
Ensign in the Bois de Boulogne, and was fond of sporting
my opinions to whomsoever would grant me a hearing.
One man I brought to my way of thinking, and as he was
a type of a numerous class of his countrymen, I give him
a place in my memoirs. He was the fruit-seller of the
camp, called by our men " Bummelo," the sound produced
on their ears by the cry of the staple of his wares, " Bons
melons."
Bummelo, a squat, black-muzzled Frenchman with rings
in his ears and a white cotton capon his head, used to
make us aware of his presence by his vociferous loyalty.
" Vive le Eoi ! vivent les Bourbons ! " was his constant
cry, and then would follow the eternal " Vive Henri
1 " Je serai un Attila pour Venise," words addressed by General
Bonaparte to the deputies of the Venetian Republic, April 19th,
1797.
174 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. '[en.
Quatre ! " a royalist air with which our ears were nauseated
morning, noon, and night. One day a party of brother
subs, and I, meeting Bummelo, told him that he was
much mistaken if he supposed we cared a rush for his
Louis XVIII. that all our sympathies were with
Napoleon le Grand." The conversion produced by this
speech was instantaneous. Seizing his cap by the tassel,
Bummelo waved it over his head and began screaming
at the top of his voice " Vive 1'Empereur ! a bas
les Bourbons ! a bas Louis dixhuit ! a bas ce vieux
cochon ! " and instead of " Henri Quatre " he favoured
us with a parody which I here give together with its
original.
" Vive Bonaparte !
Vive ce conque'rant !
Ce diable a quatre
A bien plus de talent
Que Henri Quatre
Et tous ses descendants."
" Vive Henri Quatre !
Vive ce Roi vaillant !
Ce diable a quatre
A le triple talent
De boire et battre
Et de faire le galant."
"With Englishmen the belief that Napoleon was capable
of sustaining the novel character of first magistrate in a
limited monarchy, was a mere speculative opinion. On
the other side of the Channel it was a vital principle.
There were Frenchmen who looked upon "Liberty and
the Emperor " as the war-cry of a cause in which they
implicitly believed, and for which they were ready to
shed their blood: they were for the most part men who
had shared in the victories of Austerlitz and Jena. A
viii.] GENERAL LA BEDOYERE. 175
conspicuous example of this class of politicians was
General La Bedoyere, who, in violation of the treaty
of Paris, was put to death one evening shortly after our
entry into the French capital.
A veteran in point of military service, although only
twenty-nine years of age, covered with wounds, one of
the handsomest men of his day, of engaging manners, of
the most amiable disposition, La Bedoyere, whatever may
have "been the errors of his political opinions, was guided
in his actions by an ardent love of country.
This officer, it will be remembered, was the first who in
March of this year (1815), brought an entire regiment under
the standard of the imperial adventurer. At the moment
that he approached Napoleon at the head of his men, he
gave vent to the feeling uppermost in his mind. He openly
assured Napoleon that Frenchmen would no longer lend
themselves to his schemes of ambition, but that they
expected to live under his rule a free and happy people.
The inchoate sovereign smiled at the enthusiasm of the
youthful patriot, for before the Colonel had ended his
harangue his regiment had donned the tricolor. When in
the month of June La Bedoyere found himself a peer of
France, general of division, and aide-de-camp of the
Emperor, he could not conceal his astonishment. " Mais,"
exclaimed he, "je n'ai rien fait pour 1'Empereur; j'ai tout
fait pour la France."
Among the last to quit the field of Waterloo, La Be-
doyere hurried to Paris to endeavour to obtain the throne
for the son of the abdicated Emperor, as the best bargain
he could make for his country. Finding he could produce
no impression on that assembly, he cried out, " Quant &
moi, mon sort n'est pas douteux." His words were
prophetic.
It was at the moment when all Paris was execrating
this act of perfidy, that I met in the streets Count Alfred
176 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
de Vaudreuil, an old Westminster schoolfellow and
brother boarder. He afterwards became Secretary of
Embassy to the British Court under the reign of Charles
the Tenth. His elder brother had borne a commission
in one of our hussar regiments.
These De Vaudreuils were of the same family as the
Marquis of that name who ceded Canada to the British in
1757, and as another Marquis de Vaudreuil who com-
manded a line-of-battle ship in d'Orvillier's action with
Admiral Keppel in 1778.
On Alfred de Vaudreuil's invitation, I dined with his
father at the Louvre, of which palace he was Governor.
The Count, an old man bordering on decrepitude, had
served throughout the Seven Years' War against Frederick
the Great, as aide-de-camp to Marshal Soubise. Besides
his post of Governor of the Louvre, he was Grand
Fauconnier and Pair de France. The Countess, many
years his junior and still handsome, was a friend of my
grandmother De Clifford, and, if I remember right, an
Englishwoman. I met at dinner Alfred's elder brother,
and a man between forty arffl fifty years of age, whom
the young men addressed as " mon oncle." This gentle-
man, as I gathered from his conversation, had passed his
time under the Consulate and the Empire, and was, as
may well be imagined, not over pleased with the new
order of things. Unfortunately, politics cropped up. In
the course of dinner " mon oncle " came to high words
with the Governor, and the two young Royalist sons were
struggling for the honour of fighting their Imperialist
kinsman. Madame de Vaudreuil took me aside, and with
tears in her eyes begged me to help her to get rid of her
foolish boys, then said aloud to them, " Pray show Mr.
Keppel the sights of the Palais Eoyal." Although this
was just the locality in which I had no need of a cicerone,
I took the Countess's hint and carried off her sons, for
CH. vin.J TWO YOUNG LEGITIMISTS. 177
although more of a Bonapartist than a Bourbonite, I coultl
not help feeling with Mercutio,
" A plague of both your houses."
We three young men now sauntered into the Palais
Royal. In every print-shop was a picture of La Bedoyere.
Our conversation naturally turned upon the event to
which I have just alluded. As I had been oftener in the
habit of calling my old schoolfellow " Froggy " than by
his real name, I felt no scruple in telling him that I looked
upon the execution of La Bedoyere as a judicial murder.
Whereupon the brothers, like two furies, turned upon me
at once. I was worse than " mon oncle." Did I mean to
insult them by espousing the cause of such a traitor to his
lawful sovereign ?
Somehow I managed to escape from the two young
Legitimists with a whole skin, but I at once -dropped my
acquaintance, and came to the conclusion that a tough
ill-dressed ration in camp was better than a feast in a
palace with such combative hosts.
CHAPTER IX.
Our March through Paris. Ordered Home. Our Cold Reception
in England. The Sea Horse its fate. Property-tax Re-
. pealed. Princess Charlotte at the Chapel Royal. Our Waterloo
Medals. Embark for Mediterranean. Zante. Santa Maura.
Corfu. Frederick Chamier. A Military Execution. Return
to England. Embark for the Mauritius. Crossing the Line.
Peter Booth. Mauritius during the " Reign of Terror." Slave
Trade and Slavery. A Hurricane. Cape of Good Hope. Lord
Charles Somerset. Dr. James Barry. St. Helena. Napoleon's
last moments. Laud in England.
WE remained in camp till the cold became so intense that
the troops could no longer be kept in safety under canvas.
On or about the 1st of November our division was ordered
into cantonments. Our line of march was by the Bar-
ri^re de Neuilly and the Champs Elyse'es, past Place Louis
Quinze, up Piue Koyale through the Boulevards des Italiens
and Poissoniere, and out of the Porte St. Martin, our
bayonets fixed, our drums beating, and our colours
flying. My company, which formed a part of the head-
quarters of the regiment, was billeted on a village to the
north of Paris, called Le Massy.
" We have come," writes Colonel Tidy to his friends in
Northamptonshire, " into a place successively occupied by
Prussians, Cossacks, and Austrians, and, would you believe
it, of the three they (the French) prefer the Cossacks ?
When we came in they expected to have everything eaten
and drunk up, and prepared accordingly ; but our fellows,
having been paid the day before, began to pull out their
CH. ix.] OUR COLD RECEPTION* 179
five-franc pieces. The villagers are actually enriching
themselves."
In this village we assembled as a mess for the first time
since the regiment left England. There was no end to
the schemes that the division did not form for its winter
amusements ; amongst others, one for setting up a pack of
foxhounds.
In a letter, dated Le Massy, November 4, 1815, Colonel
Tidy writes : " I am at length settled in a village nine
miles from Paris, with six companies of the 14th ; the
other four divided between two smaller villages, in one of
which resides the Lieutenant- General, Sir Charles Colville,
commanding the division^ who has taken our two flank
companies for his own guard."
In the above paragraph my good Colonel speaks of being
" settled ; " such a word ought to have no place in a
soldier's vocabulary. Within a few weeks of' the date of
Tidy's letter we were ordered home.
We landed at Dover in the latter end of December.
Public feeling in England had undergone a great revulsion
in regard to us soldiers. Iftie country was satiated with
glory, and was brooding over the bill that it had to pay for
the article. An anti-military spirit had set in. Waterloo
and Waterloo men were at a discount. We were made
painfully sensible of the change. If we had been convicts
disembarking from a hulk we could hardly have met with
less consideration. " It's us as pays they chaps," was the
remark of a country bumpkin as our men came ashore.
The very atmosphere contributed to the chilliness of our
reception. It was on a bitter winter day that we landed.
No cheers like those which greeted the Crimean army on
its return welcomed us home. The only persons who
took any notice of us were the Custom-house officers, and
they kept us for hours under arms in the cold while they
subjected us to a rigid search. These functionaries were
N 2
180 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [UH.
more than usually on the alert at this time, because a day
or two before a brigade of artillery with guns loaded to
the muzzle with French lace had just slipped through their
lingers.
Our treatment throughout the day was all of a piece.
Towards dusk we were ordered to Dover Castle, part of
which building served as a prison. Our barracks were
strictly in keeping with such a locality cold, dark,
gloomy, and dungeon-like. No food was to be had but
our "ration." No furniture procurable but what the
barrack stores afforded. In this bitter winter's night, the
first of my return from campaigning, I lay on a bed of straw.
[1816.] One day early in January 1816, we marched to
Hy the. With the aid of the upholsterers of the town we
had made ourselves tolerably comfortable in our weather-
boarded barracks, when we received our route for Deal. At
Deal we met with like treatment ; we were ordered at a
moment's notice to Ramsgate, there to take shipping for
the south of Ireland. We had accordingly embarked our
baggage on board the Sea Horse transport. That same
morning an order arrived for the disembarkation of our
baggage and the immediate disbandment of our battalion.
Deep were the lamentations of those of my brother
officers whose military career had been thus nipped in the
bud ; but it may be surmised that they became reconciled
to their fate when they learned the still heavier calamity
from which the decree of the Horse Guards had probably
saved them.
On the 26th of January of this year, the Sea Horse
sailed from the Downs, having on board, instead of my
regiment, the head-quarters of the 59th, and a few days
later was wrecked off Kinsale. The numbers on board,
counting women and children, amounted to 394. Of these,
365 were drowned ; among the saved was neither woman
nor child.
ix.] FATE OF THE "SEA HORSE." 181
The troops that relieved us at Deal met a like fate.
The Lord Melville and the Boadieea transports sailed at
the same time with the Sea Iforse. Like their consort,
they also were lost off Kinsale. The Lord Melville saved
all her crew but seven. Out of 280 in the Boadicea, only
60 were saved.
Beyond a short paragraph in the papers, no public
notice was taken of the catastrophe. There was then no
Plimsoll in Parliament to inquire what were the circum-
stances that caused those vessels taken up by Government
and nearly 600 soldiers to go to the bottom. But if such
a calamity were beneath the notice of the Legislature, it
was by no means a matter of indifference to us, who were
so nearly becoming its victims. Perhaps our apprehensions
made us judge unfairly, but I well remember the language
of the mess-table. It was argued that with the return of
peace, soldiers had become a drug in the market, while
freight was a costly commodity ; that hence our rulers
were much disposed to accept the lowest tender for
tonnage without examining too closely into the seaworthi-
ness of the ships engaged, and that consequently vessels
unfit to carry coals from Newcastle to London were taken
up to convey troops to all parts of the world. Nor was
the demeanour of the skippers of these transports re-
assuring ; they were generally men of very little education
their dialect showed that they belonged to the " black
country," and though they seemed to have a practical
knowledge of the soundings in the Channel, it was a
question whether, to many of them, the use of a Hadley's
quadrant was not an unknown science. It was frequently
my lot, as a subaltern, to sail in one of these coal-tubs ;
and often in a gale of wind I have fervently wished that
the craft in which I was a passenger might prove a bettev
swimmer than the Sea Horse.
The 14th Begiment, stripped of its third battalion, lost
182 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
its nickname of "Calvert's Entire," or rather exchanged
it for that of another malt liquor, " Calvert's All Butt "
(but).
Being " out of the break," I was told to hold myself in
readiness to join a detachment of the regiment about to
proceed to the Ionian Islands, where our second battalion
was stationed. Previous to embarkation I was granted a
few weeks' leave of absence.
When I arrived in London the opposition party in
Parliament were engaged in a fierce war against the
property-tax ; and their objections to the continuance of
this war impost in time of peace were the more strongly
urged in consequence of Lord Castlereagh's having taunted
the people with "an ignorant impatience of taxation."
After a struggle of six weeks a majority of thirty-seven
declared in favour of its repeal. I was not altogether
uninterested in the decision of the Legislature, for by it
I came, for the first time, into the enjoyment of the full
pay of an Ensign:, heretofore I had been mulcted four-
pence out of my day's pay of five shillings and threepence
as my contribution towards the expenses of the war.
The public was at this time wholly engrossed with the
approaching marriage of the Princess Charlotte. A short
time before the wedding, her .Royal Highness went in
state to the Chapel Royal. On that same morning I
went to the peers' seat in the chapel, and could not
resist looking furtively up at the Royal pew. It was five
years since I had seen the Princess. I wished to observe
what changes that lapse of time had wrought in her.
In form she was considerably altered, but a glance showed
me that in other respects she was the same Princess
whose playmate I had had the honour of being in my
under-school days. She knew me immediately, and from
under the shade of her hands, which were joined together
over her face as she knelt, she made me sundry telegraphic
ix.] ZANTE LADIES. 183
signals of recognition in her own peculiar manner. The
moment the service was over I rushed to the corner of
St. James's Street to see her pass. She kissed her hand to
me as she drove by, and continued doing so till her
carriage turned out of Pall Mall. Up to the moment
that I lost sight of her, I could see her hand waving from
the window.
I saw her for the last time.
When, after an absence of eighteen months, I returned
to England, the flags of the ships in the Channel were
hung half-mast high, and the whole nation was mourning
for her whom it had fondly looked upon as its future
Queen.
My leave expired, I joined a detachment of my regiment
then quartered at Chichester. The good people of that
town were very hospitably disposed towards our little
garrison. At a ball given by one of them, we " Waterloo
men" wore for the first timeithe medals which had just
been distributed to us. Towards the end of the month
we marched to Portsmouth. .Here I embarked on board
the Kennersley Castle transport. : on or about the day that
the Princess Charlotte was married to Prince Leopold of
Saxe-Coburg, my ship set sail for .Zaute. In due course
we landed in that very pretty island.
The ladies of Zante led the lives of Mohammedans
rather than of Christians. When I was quartered in
their town, we soldiers could never get a glimpse of their
proverbially pretty faces, save through the bars of the
latticed windows, at which they used to pass their days.
We did all in our power to entice them from their zenanas.
First, we tried to see what our band in the piazza would
do for us. But our music had no charms for them.
Failing to make an impression on their ears, we attacked
another sense. When the beccafico came into season we
invited the elite, of the island of both sexes to a feast, of
184 FIFTY YEAES OF MY LIFE. [CH.
which that delicious bird formed the staple; but no; the
gentlemen indeed gorged the hook greedily enough, but
their kinswomen would not rise to the bait.
Thus thrown on our own resources, we passed our time
in boating and swimming, and were almost as much on,
or in, the water as on dry land.
After some weeks of this amphibious life, my company
was ordered to Santa Maura, another of the Ionian
Islands, the Leucate of ancient history.
Taking leave of the Fiore di Levante, as its inhabitants
fondly call Zante, we embarked on board the Leonforte, a
Neapolitan man-of-war schooner. Our course, was the
same that Virgil assigns to the hero of his immortal poem.
Had I been a pupil in Tom Brown's School Days, and
had for tutor a Thomas Arnold, instead of a William
Page, I should doubtless have thoroughly enjoyed following
in .ZEneas's wake; but that "pius" worthy was so painfully
associated in my mind with my old Westminster task-
master, that I did not fully appreciate my advantage-
Even, however, with this drawback, it was impossible not
to admire the faithful delineation of the aspect the
surrounding country presented.
Like ^Eneas, we continue some time in sight of the
" Zacynthian woods ; " we sail past the " rocky Neritos ; "
we avoid " Ithaca's detested shore."
"At length Leucate's cloudy top appears,
And Phoebus' temple, which the sailor fears."
While gazing upon " Leucate's cloudy top," the Leonforte
runs aground. Thus, at one and the same moment we
are enabled by sight and feeling to test the fidelity of the
Roman poet's description.
The bump ashore was attended by no other incon-
venience than preventing us from reaching Amaxichi, the
capital of the island, till after dark. For this delay we
ix.] GREEK CONVICTS. 185
were indemnified by the beautiful appearance which the
lighted town presented as it lay reflected on the water by
a bright Mediterranean moon. But Amaxichi could not
stand the scrutiny of open day. It is, or more properly
speaking was, a collection of wooden two-storied houses,
small, low, and rickety, having verandas to the front.
Nearly the first time I set foot in Amaxichi the in-
habitants were on their knees in prayer. There was at
that moment, although I did not perceive it, a slight
shock of earthquake. The poor people had good reason
to be alarmed at such a phenomenon. Nine years later
their town was destroyed by an earthquake, and in 1870
its successor was a heap of ruins from the same cause.
My quarters lay in the old fort of Santa Maura,
separated from the town by a large lagoon some miles in
circumference, and nearly a mile across. The lagoon is
spanned over by a narrow stone causeway, consisting of
some three hundred and odd arches. The causeway has
no parapet, and is not a safe road even for a sober man.
It was the cause of more than one of our tipsy soldiers
finding a watery grave.
The first objects that met my eye on entering the fort
were five Greeks in irons, who now came under our
especial surveillance. They were murderers, whose capital
sentence had been commuted to hard labour for life. Upon
them devolved the scavenger work of the fort. They all
wore the picturesque dress of their nation the red skull-
cap, the short embroidered jacket, the sash round the
waist, the Albanian belt, the greave-shaped leggings, and
the sandals of undressed hide secured by thongs.
One of the five, a short, thick-set man, looked the
villain he was. With this exception, they were bright,
intelligent-looking men, of the usual Ionian type :
orange complexions, oval faces, highly-developed fore-
heads. They had thick moustaches, and wore their long
186 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
black hair flowing down their backs. Their gait was erect,
and their step, in spite of their fetters, elastic.
If a romance writer had wanted a den for his robbers,
he could have hardly found one better suited for
description than the actual abode of these convicts. It
was a huge cave hewn out of the solid rock, against which
the sea used to break with a perpetual roar.
It was my duty, as orderly officer, once or twice a week
to pay a visit to this dungeon in the still hours of the
night. I was accompanied by a sergeant who with an iron
bar would strike every link or ring of the prisoners'
fetters, in order to ascertain that they had not been filed
through.
We were as ill off for society at Santa Maura as at
Zante. The only house open to us was that of Sir Patrick
lioss, the Capo del Governo of the island ; but the broad
lagoon that lay between us prevented our visits from being
very frequent. Shooting was our principal amusement,
and of that we had abundance. The lagoon swarmed with
water-fowl, and on the island there was no lack of
partridge. The contents of our sportsmen's bags helped
greatly to lighten our weekly bills. We had a Scotch
brother officer for our caterer, one Lieutenant M'Kenzie,
and he managed admirably. A cow fed on the line wall
supplied us with milk and butter. We had a pound of
meat each for our ration. Fish, wine, and fruit were
nearly at nominal prices. Our money contributions to the
mess rarely exceeded fivepence-halfpenny a day.
Santa Maura has no rivers, but numerous mountain
rills. Whenever the snow descended below a certain line
in the mountains, well known to the natives, the sports-
men used to be in a state of great commotion. They
knew by this token that the rills were frozen over and
that the woodcocks would descend into the plains in
search of food. Once, when the snow had passed below
ix.] A GREEK FAST. 187
this line, Sir Patrick Ross invited some Greeks and the
officers of the garrison to accompany him on a shooting
excursion on the coast of Acarnania. We were escorted
by several guardianos to protect us from quarantine, and
by a number of our own men to act as beaters. Our
place of meeting was the skirts of an olive grove extend-
ing two or three miles along the sea-shore. The place
literally swarmed with game. There appeared to be a bird
under every tree. In point of skill we were perhaps
rather below the average of fowlers, yet game so abounded
that the slaughter was immense. I have forgotten the
quantity killed ; it was so large, that at the time I dared
not mention the actual amount for fear of being supposed
to indulge in a traveller's privilege. The garrison had
more than it could consume, and for some days our Greek
fellow-sportsmen glutted the market of Amaxichi with
their share of the game.
The only time that I sat at table with any of the Santa
Mauriote gentry was at a state-dinner given by the Capo del
Governo to the Bishop and \ the notabilities of the island.
Sir Patrick discovered when too late that his invitation
had been issued for one of the 191 fast-days of the Greek
Church.
Accordingly a good supply of eggs and fish was
provided for the native guests, and a noble sirloin for the
English. But the scent of the savoury joint no sooner
reached the nostrils of the worthy primate than he gave
himself and his co-religionists permission to eat meat. Of
this they amply availed themselves by picking the sirloin
to [the bone, and by leaving us to become the vicarious
observers of their fast.
Towards the close of the year I was ordered by Sir
Thomas Maitland, the Lord High Commissioner of the
Ionian Islands, to proceed to Corfu to join the head-
quarters of my regiment, then stationed in the island.
188 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en.
On my arrival I went to report myself to the redoubt-
able Lord High Commissioner " King Tom," as he was
universally called. I saw a soldier-like, stout-built man,
with a stern expression of countenance, and a pair of
penetrating grey eyes that seemed to dive into your very
thoughts. He was somewhat uncouth in his manners, and
his homeliness of language was rendered still more homely
by the broad Scotch accent in which his blunt phrases
were uttered.
My principal chum at Corfu was Frederick Chamier, a
lieutenant in one of the men-of-war in the harbour, but
afterwards known to the public as the writer of Ben
Brace and some other amusing sea novels. I was once
reading one of them in the full persuasion that it was from
Marryat's pen, until I came to the account of " a lark," in
which Chamier and I were the only persons engaged, and
thus discovered the real author.
Chamier's bete noire was his own commanding officer
Captain - of H.M.S. , the "tautest hand" in the
squadron. During the Carnival at Corfu, I was sitting
one evening in the naval officers' opera-box opposite this
redoubtable gentleman, when a mask personating a Jack
Tar of Nelson's days told the captain a " bit of his mind."
" Mr. Chamier," said that officer in a fury, " you shall
repent of this insolence." "Ay, ay, Sir," answered the
mask, respectfully grasping his forelock sailor-fashion.
At the door he was met by Chamier himself in full uni-
form, who took a seat next his skipper, looking the picture
of innocence, and in apparent unconsciousness of the scene
that had just been enacted.
This friend of mine had an uncle who, although blest
with as full a share of health and spirits as usually falls to
the lot of mortals, was always grumbling. To punish him,
Chamier made him the subject of a novel which he
entitled The Unfortunate Man; and that there might be no
ix.] A MILITARY EXECUTION. 189
mistake of the person intended, he designated his uncle
by name. In the title-page he inserted the words which
Shakespeare puts in the mouth of Richard the Second :
" What comfort have we now ?
By heaven, I'll hate him everlastingly
That bids me be of comfort any more."
A strait scarcely a mile broad separates Corfu from the
mainland. The short distance proved a sore temptation
to the soldiers of the garrison. The desertions were so
numerous that Maitland, who was Commander-in-chief as
well as Lord High Commissioner, declared that he would
make an example of the next offender, and when he
threatened he always meant what he said. In defiance
of this warning, one Thomas Pryke, a private of the 10th
Regiment, deserted to the Albanian coast. He was brought
back, tried by a court-martial, and condemned to be shot.
The whole garrison were ordered out to witness the carry-
ing into effect of the sentence. 'The column halted opposite
the condemned cell, which, like the Santa Mauriote prison,
was hewn out of the solid rock. The prisoner here took
his place in the procession.
Then was enacted the sad tragedy in all its grim details.
The muffled drums, the band playing the " Dead March in
Saul," the black coffin, and the living man performing the
chief mourner in his own funeral. The troops formed three
sides of a square. The fourth side was occupied by the
condemned. The sentence was read, a discharge of mus-
ketry followed, the prisoner fell, the garrison marched past
the lifeless corpse, and then, as is usual in like cases, they
returned to their private parades to the merriest of tunes.
That same day I lunched with the Lord High Commis-
sioner. I had expected to find his spirits visibly affected
by the course which a sense of duty had compelled him to
adopt. Not a bit of it a " Graham of Claverhouse " or a
General Hawley could not have shown less concern.
190 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
In the autumn of the year we were ordered home. We
encountered a heavy gale in the Bay of Biscay, and had
afterwards to grope our way up Channel in a thick
November fog. As the haze dispersed, we saw every vessel,
whether under way or at anchor, with its colours half-mast
high. The Princess Charlotte had died in childbirth a
few days before. In addition to the sorrow I felt for the
loss of one who had been associated with so many happy
boyish recollections, I had a still heavier grief to bear, for
almost at the same time that I learned the national calamity
I received intelligence that my mother had died within a
fortnight of the Princess, also after giving birth to a still-
born child. We anchored off the Isle of Wight on the
23rd of November. I obtained immediate leave of ab-
sence, and reached home a few hours before the funeral of
my mother, who was followed to the grave by her eleven
surviving children.
The second battalion of the 14th Eegiment was dis-
banded at the moment of disembarkation. As I was this
time " within the break," I lost my full pay and Sir Henry
Calvert his " All Butt " as well as his " Entire."
[1818.] My next appointment was to an Ensigncy in
the 22nd Eegiment of Foot. In January, 1818, I joined
the depot at Chatham. Here also were the depots of
several other regiments, the head-quarters of which were,
like mine, doing garrison duty in some of the more distant
British possessions.
At Chatham I passed several pleasant weeks, and was
buoying myself up in the hope that I was at length com-
fortably settled in an English country quarter, when a
circumstance occurred to dispel the illusion.
There were, at the time I am speaking of, periodical
shipments of convicts to Botany Bay. The charge of the
felons in their passage thither usually devolved on a sub-
altern of the Chatham consolidated Depots. The officer
ix.] CROSSING THE LINE. 191
next above me on the roster was ordered on this duty.
Not knowing how soon, if I continued in the garrison,
my turn might come for such an employment, I obtained
leave from the Horse Guards to join the head-quarters of
my regiment, and in a few days I found myself on board
a vessel bound indeed for the Southern Hemisphere, but
not for that part of it which Sydney Smith used to call
" the fifth or pickpocket quarter of the globe."
When our ship reached the line, the sailors had their
usual holiday. The sun was in the meridian, eight bells
were struck, the log was heaved, and the watch called. A
voice from the forecastle called " Ship ahoy ! " Neptune
was announced, and invited on board. The representative
of the water deity, a man of colossal form, wore on his
head a huge indented crown made of tin. In his right
hand he grasped dolphin grains by way of a trident. He
had a long oakum wig and beard ; his body from the
waist upwards was painted to represent scales of fish.
He was seated on a gun-carriage covered with flags, and
drawn by six amphibious-looking monsters of the same
type as himself. As if to mark our latitude, a little
Mauritius slave-boy, grinning from ear to ear, was perched
on a dicky behind Neptune. Mr. Markham, surgeon of
the 56th Eegiment, who had been well ducked in a voyage
to the West Indies, vowed that he would not submit to a
repetition of the ordeal. So when his name was called he
accosted Neptune as an old acquaintance. " Well, doctor,"
said that functionary, "I may have seen you somewhere
about the tropics, but this 'ere is the first time as you
have visited me at the ekynoxial." Before my friend
could answer, he was on his back in a huge tub of water.
My turn came next. " Keppel ? " said Nepture, with a
ruminating air, while he ran his fingers through his
dripping beard ; " sure I must have seen Mr. Keppel afore.
Scratchetary (secretary), just cast your eye over my list."
192 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
" Please your honour," was the reply, " you must mean the
gen'leman's uncle, the Admiral, \vho, you must remember,
was always a crossing o' your line." " Just so," rejoined
Neptune, " a little salt water will do his nevy no harm ; "
in a trice, I was floundering alongside the doctor.
After three dreary months on shipboard, our sailors
thought by their reckoning that we must be somewhere in
the latitude of the Mauritius. Ever since the early dawn
of one day we had been straining our eyes for this speck
on the ocean. Just as the sun was dipping below the-
horizon there was seen on its disk something resembling
the profile of a man's head and neck. " Land ! land ! "
resounded from all quarters. We had caught sight of the
summit of " Peter Booth," the most conspicuous mountain
of the Mauritius, which, from whatever point it is seen,
always presents this singular appearance.
The next morning we sailed into the harbour of Port
Louis. A boat came alongside almost as soon as we
anchored ; it was manned by some eight or ten negroes,
all of whose backs bore marks of the recent infliction of
the whip. They were maroons runaway slaves in the
temporary custody of the government police to be returned
to their respective owners within a given time.
The boat which came alongside brought on board two
planters notables habitants, as they were called. One of
them, addressing himself to me, wished to know what was
the general state of feeling in England respecting the
important subject which was agitating the breast of every
colonist. Now geography formed no part of the West-
minster curriculum. At the time that I ought to have
been learning this useful branch of science, Dr. Page was
whipping me into " longs and shorts." I could not there-
fore give my querist a direct answer without wounding
his vanity as well as my own, for I should have been
obliged to confess that so far from understanding the
ix.] MAURITIUS IN THE "REIGN OF TERROR." 193
nature of his question, I was not even aware of the exist-
ence of his island until I was appointed to a regiment
which formed part of its garrison.
In course of time I became better informed. I dis-
covered that the Mauritius, small as it is, has a history
of its own, and that it is not an uneventful one will be
shown by a few extracts from its annals :
The island was discovered by the Portuguese early in
the sixteenth century. From them it passed to the
Spaniards, and then to the Dutch, who called it Mauritius
after Prince Maurice, then Stadtholder. The Dutch aban-
doned it on account, it is said, of the rats by which it
was infested. For three years it was wholly deserted. The
French then took possession of it, gave it the name of the
Isle of France, and called its capital Port Louis, after their
reigning sovereign. For three-quarters of a century the
colonists lived under the ancient dynasty of France happy
and contented and well they might, for from all those ills
which drove the mother country into rebellion the Mauri-
tians were happily free. Here there were no titles, no
seignorial rights, no rivalry between the spiritual and
temporal authorities, no classes exempt from taxation, no
lettres de cachet, no Bastille, no corvee, none at least for
the white man. The colonists were in the full enjoyment
of these immunities, when, on 30th January, 1792, there
anchored in the port a vessel from Bordeaux. It was
observed that the captain and crew wore red, white, and
blue cockades. In a few moments the island learned the
meaning of this adornment. As a bull at the waving of
a red rag, so were these impulsive islanders roused to
instant fury at the sight of the tricolor. They straight-
way abjured all further allegiance to their Sovereign,
proclaimed the "one and indivisible Eepublic," assumed
the badge of Liberty, Fraternity, and Equality, and com-
pelled the General in command of the Eoyal garrison to
o
194 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en.
do likewise. Nor did they stop there ; they formed them-
selves into a Constituent Assembly, dispossessed Louis
XVL's civil officers, and filled their places by their own
retainers. At the same time, the soldiers of the garrison,
who had thrown off all discipline, sent delegates to the
self-appointed government to assure them of their adhesion
to the new order of things.
The Assembly now sent deputies to France, in order to
obtain a sanction to their proceedings ; but apprehensive
lest the Admiral on the station, Count de Macne"mara, a
stout Royalist, might intercept them in their passage, they
required as a guarantee that he should send on shore the
rudder of his ship.
As soon as the vessel containing the deputies was safe
out of port, four hundred soldiers, seizing the boats in the
harbour, went on board the Thetis the flagship to secure
the person of the Admiral. That officer would fain have
received them with a broadside, but his men fraternized
with the soldiers and refused to fire upon them. Making
a virtue of necessity, Macne"mara accompanied the sol-
diers ashore, first arming himself with a brace of pistols,
of which his valet without his knowledge had drawn the
charge.
On arriving in the Rue Royale, the Admiral came in
sight of a gibbet, from which was suspended a lanthorn.
Aware now of his danger, he rushed into a watchmaker's
shop. He was followed by some soldiers, at whom he
snapped both his pistols, and was immediately put to death ;
his head was severed from his body, fixed upon a pole, and
carried in triumph through the streets.
Throughout the " Eeign of Terror in France," these slave-
holding apostles of freedom endeavoured to ape the follies
and atrocities of their European cousins. Under the name of
" Les Chaumieres," they formed themselves into assemblies
on the Jacobin model, and when they heard that the
ix.] SLAVE TRADE IN THE MAURITIUS. 195
National Assembly had issued assignats, the Mauritians had
likewise recourse to an inconvertible paper currency. To
complete the horrible farce, they erected a guillotine in the
square, and were about to bring some of the officials of
the ancien r&gime under its knife x when the news of the
downfall of the Robespierre government defeated their
intentions, and in some degree restored the isle to its
propriety.
During the "Revolution war" the Mauritians made most
successful inroads upon our commerce. It is computed that,
in the first ten years of the war, the value of British ships
and cargoes taken by the privateers of the island amounted
to two millions and a half sterling. This profitable venture
of course ceased when in 1810 the island surrendered to
British arms.
But there was another lucrative employment which was
also threatened with deterioration by the capture. The
colonists were busily employed in importing negroes from
the island of Madagascar a commodity for which there
was a great demand, in consequence of the mortality of the
slaves, caused by excess of work and insufficiency of food.
An Act of the British Parliament was in force by which
traffic in slaves was punishable by transportation. But
the Mauritians were not slow to discover that they had not
much to apprehend from a too rigid enforcement of the law
on the part of the Governor, Mr. (afterwards Sir) Robert
Townsend Farquhar. If, therefore, their slavers could elude
the vigilance of the British war-cruisers off Madagascar,
the difficulties of landing their victims would be nearly
nominal. Farquhar was an almost undisguised advocate for
a continuance of the trade. I have before me some of
his despatches that were laid before Parliament. In one of
them he laments over " the great deficiency of labourers in
consequence of the strict blockade of these islands." He
expresses his fears, that " unless some means be speedily
o 2
196 FIFTY YEAES OF MY LIFE. [CH.
devised for supplying these colonies with hands, they cannot
continue in cultivation, and must become deserts." He
assures the Minister of the Colonies that " without a fresh
importation of slaves, these islands, he is given to under-
stand, and is led to believe, cannot continue in cultivation."
His Excellency had not far to go in search of persons who
gave him thus to understand and led him thus to believe,
for Belombre, the largest slave estate in the colony, was
the joint property of three members of his family, one of
whom, his aide-de-camp, Captain Thomas le Sage, was an
officer in my regiment. The immediate neighbourhood of
Belombre was one of the favourite creeks of the slavers
for running their contraband cargoes of human flesh.
The result of the connivance on the part of the Governor
was that, in contravention of the Act of Parliament, fifty
thousand negroes were smuggled into the island during
the first ten years that the Mauritius became a dependency
of the British Crown. Farquhar was in high favour with
the Prince Eegent and with Louis XVIIT. The one made
him a baronet, the other invested him with the Legion of
Honour. It is hardly necessary to add that he was a
zealous supporter of the Tory Government. He used to
boast in Parliament of the " series of measures he had
passed to better the condition and alleviate the oppression
of the slave." One of these alleged alleviations was the
abolition of the public flogging of women. No document
was produced in proof of this assertion, for the simple
reason that none such ever had an existence. I was an
eye-witness of one of these whippings. It took place in
the market-place. The poor woman was tied to a ladder
placed against the wall of the theatre. The punishment
was inflicted by a government policeman.
These castigations were not unfrequently imposed by
command of some lady in a sudden fit of passion against
a servant of her household. Fully to understand the
ix.] WORKING OF THE SLAVEEY SYSTEM. 197
severity of the sentence, we should bear in mind the
wideness of the social space that separated the house slave
from the " negresse de pioche," as the female worker in a
plantation was commonly called. It must be obvious, that
to a modest young woman reared in the luxury of an
opulent white man's family, the public exposure would
cause more mental anguish than the stripes could inflict
bodily torture.
During my residence in the island I was occasionally
the guest of a planter. What most surprised me in these
visits was the demeanour of the negroes towards their
white superiors. All the morning they would be romping
with their master's children, and at dinner time would
take part in the conversation of the persons behind whose
chairs they were standing. But while within the dwelling
of my host such a patriarchal scene was being enacted,
some unhappy wretch at the boiling-house might be
pinioned to the ground and writhing under the terrible
lash of the cowhide.
I am one of the few surviving members of that majority
in the House of Commons whose votes in 1833 caused
slavery to cease in the British dominions, and thereby
led the way to its extinction throughout the whole
civilized world.
At the period of which I am speaking, authentic
documents were made public, whereby it became evident
that in no one of our dependencies did slavery assume a
more frightful aspect than in the Mauritius. Scarcely
indeed does Mrs. Beecher Stowe, in her account of the
working of that hellish system in the Southern States
of America, describe one horror the counterpart to which
could not have been found in this small speck in the
Indian Ocean.
It has been commonly supposed that the author of
Uncle Tom's Cabin has over-coloured her picture when
198 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
she speaks of the manner in which the negro used to be
lumped together with other descriptions of goods and
chattels ; but the following extracts from the advertisement
sheets of the Mauritius Gazette a file of which I have
before me will contain a prosaic refutation of this belief :
" Mercredi, 25 Janvier, vente a Fen can chez M. cle Marign'y, bazin a
vaies, cambrick, toile bleue, cartes a jouer, drap, casimir, liqueur, eau
<le vie, eau de Cologne, bouchons, arinoires, table. Plus seront
vendus sans retrait six noirs et negresses de pioche appartenant a
M. de Marigny, savoir Antoine, Mozambique ; Sarima, Mozambique ;
Sabine, Mozambique, et son enfant ; Rosalie, Malgache, et son enfant.
"A la suite de la dite vente M. Aveline e"tant sur son depart, fera
vendre les nommes :
" Jean Baptiste, creole, age de 30 ans, excellent maitre d'hotel et
palefrenier.
" Henri 1'Eveille, creole, age de 17 ans, domestique et palefrenier,
sachant laver et plisser.
" Luron, Abraham, Moise et Valentin, tons noirs orfevres, bijoutier.*,
avec d'excellens outils.
"Plus quatre belles vaches et deux bouvillons, une jolie petite
maison, trois jeunes noirs, et 40 douzaines de biere. S'adresser au
M. Marchais."
Here follows a government advertisement for the hire
of slaves:
" COMMISSARIAT OFFICE,
" 22nd February,
" Sealed tenders in duplicate, marked on the envelope, " Tenders of
hire of Carpenters, Mason's, &c.," will be received at this office on
Saturday the 10th of March for the hire of
14 Negro Carpenters
6 Negro Labourers
and 4 Negro Masons
required by the Engineer department, and to be employed at Flacq
for such time as they may be required.
"JAMES LAIDI/EY,
" Deputy Commissary-General."
" A LOUER, une excellente et belle nourrice, chez M. Petit."
" Une bonne nourrice, sans enfant, chez M. Prezelin, tailleur, sur la
Chaussee."
ix.] A SLAVE AUCTION. 199
The word " Creole " attached to a slave's name indicated
that he was born in the colony " Malgache," that he
was imported from Madagascar ; " Mozambique," that he
came from the channel so called. The Mozambique was
considered more docile and intelligent than his fellow
slaves. From this class the domestic servant was generally
selected they are distinguishable by a peculiar smell.
An American of one of the Southern States was jus-
tifying his dislike of some of his negroes on account of
the offensiveness of their smell. " You ought not," replied
Sydney Smith, " to allow yourself to be so led by the nose."
Who does not remember the vivid picture of the con-
sternation that pervaded the household of Mr. St. Clare
(Uncle Tom's master) when that gentleman was brought
home in a dying state ? How his widow after his death
broke up the establishment, and thus caused husband to
be separated from wife, and mother from child, by a tap
of the auctioneer's hammer ? This violent tearing asunder
of all domestic ties used to occur in the Mauritius in
almost every day of the year Sundays not excepted.
Take as a sample the following notice from the Mauritius
Gazette. It relates to the estate of a M. Antoine Curtat,
whose widow acted in the same manner as the Mrs. St.
Clare in Mrs. Beecher Stowe's tale :
" II sera par le ministere de M rae- Bonnefin etsoii Collegue present
precede a la continuation de la vente a 1'encan du plus oft'rant et
dernier encherisseur, et an comptant, des meubles, effets, mobiliers, et
(;sclaves, dependant de la succession du dit M . Curtat, et consistant en
argenterie, line montre d'or a repetition, un troupeuu d'environ cin-
quante betes, et trente-six esclaves."
Out of the thirty-five lots I select the following :
Lot.
5. Marianne, malgache, 28 ans, faiseuse de sacs.
17. Jean-Paul, creole, 6
18. Jeannette, id. 5 J tous 3 enfans de Marianne.
19. Ernest, id. 2
200 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
Lot.
22. Clementine, Creole,
23 domestique.
23. Julien, id.
6 }
24. Laurencienne, id.
7 ( tine.
25. Angelique, id.
4)
27. Brigitte, , id.
25 domestique.
28. Hypolite, id.
4 )
29. Polidor, id.
1 (
30. Victorine, id.
21 couturiere.
31. Alphonse, id.
5 enfant de Victorine.
The above extract will show that in this single sale nine
children were forcibly torn for ever from their mothers
their ages ranging from the Laurencienne of seven years
to the little Polidor of one.
" How long do slaves generally last ? " asks a stranger of
Simon Legree, " Uncle Tom's " last master.
" Well, dunno ! 'cording as their constitution is. Stout
fellers last six or seven years ; trashy ones gets worked up
in two or three. I used to, when I furst begun, have
considerable trouble fussing with 'em and trying to make
'em hold out. Law ! 'twasn't no sort of use. I lost money
on 'em, and 'twas heaps of trouble. Now you see I just
put 'em straight through, sick or well. When one nigger's
dead I buy another ; and I find it comes cheaper and easier
every way."
It appears by a return laid before the British Parliament
that the annual mortality among the slaves of the Belombre
estate from 1816 to 1821 averaged 16 per cent. But the
average mortality of the free black and coloured popula-
tion in the Mauritius for the same number of years
scarcely amounted to 2f per cent.
What a cruel expenditure of human life, and what
a fearful amount of human suffering do these official
documents reveal? and how nearly do they tally with
the calculations of Mr. Simon Legree !
The Belombre estate, be it remembered, was that with
ix.] A MAURITIUS HUEEICANE. 201
which Governor Farquhar was indirectly connected, and
which he was constantly declaring in Parliament to be
the best regulated in the island.
The year before I arrived in the island, Farquhar went
to Europe on account of his health. Major-General Gage
John Hall, Commander of the troops, became Governor ad
interim. The new functionary soon became convinced that
not only his predecessor in office, but that all those whose
duty it was to carry out the provisions of the Slave-Trade
Abolition Act, were resorting to every expedient to make it
a dead letter. Acting upon these convictions, Hall sus-
pended the Chief Justice and the Attorney- General^
dismissed several civil servants from their posts, and
established domiciliary visits to planters' " habitations," in
search of newly-imported negroes. Remonstrances against
his proceedings by the colonists to the mother-country
procured his immediate recall ; and this brings me to the
question put to me by the notable habitant in Port Louis
harbour, namely, whether the removal of the obnoxious
Governor was to be construed into a virtual admission on
the part of the British Government that the planters were to
have no further let or hindrance to their free importation
of " hands."
In the month of December, General Hall embarked for
Europe, having first surrendered his post to the commanding
officer of my regiment, Colonel, afterwards Major-General,
Sir John Dalrymple ; and I became so far benefited by the
change of administration that I was appointed aide-de-camp
to the new Governor.
; [1819.] My chief resided for the most part at Mon Plaisir,
a country-house situate in that beautiful Shaddock Grove,
in which Bernardin de St. Pierre has placed the cradles
and the tombs of his Paul and Virginia. One event only
occurs to me as worthy of record during the six weeks I
abode in this pleasant retreat. This was a hurricane a
202 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
visitation to which this island is unfortunately liable. It
commenced on the 25th of January, at about six in the
evening. The sea-breeze had subsided, and the land-breeze
came not, as on ordinary occasions, to replace it. Over
our usually clear atmosphere there hung a lurid haze. In
the midst of a dead calm, a sudden gust of wind blew off
the tops of the cocoa-nut trees, which came bounding over
the country with the lightness of thistledown, presenting
the appearance of huge artichokes engaged in a steeple -
chase. In common with other houses in the island, Mon
Plaisir was built entirely of wood. As the storm increased,
which it did towards midnight, the timbers of the building
cracked and groaned like those of a ship at sea in a heavy
gale of wind. It was an anxious night that we passed, for
every moment we expected the walls would fall in and
bury us in the ruins.
Major- General, afterwards Sir Ealph Darling, who had
been appointed from home to succeed General Hall, arrived
in the island early in February, and continued me in iny
post of aide-de-camp. I now shifted my quarters from
Mon Plaisir to Eeduit, another charming country-house,
where I resided till June, when my regiment embarked
for England.
As we approached the Cape of Good Hope, called by its
early discoverers " Cabo Tormentoso " (the stormy cape),
we encountered the most violent tempest I ever witnessed.
The lightning was awful. Wet blankets were placed at
the foot of each mast. Every moment we expected that a
thunderbolt would send us to the bottom. But we pro-
videntially weathered the gale, and came safe to anchor in
Simon's Bay.
As soon as we set foot on shore, we started off on a
visit to Cape Town. In a few minutes our " wagen "
drew up before our inn-door a most unwieldy concern,
fitted up with benches, and covered with a canvas hood
ix.] LORD CHARLES SOMERSET. 203
resembling a huge gipsy tent on wheels. On a board in
front, and on a level with the horses, sat the driver. By
his side was his mate, whose sole business it was to keep
his horses up to the collar. This man was armed with a
whip, the handle of which was of bamboo and the thong
of rhinoceros-hide, roughly plaited together, and of suffi-
cient length to reach the foremost horses of the team.
The " wagenvoerman " belonged to a race of people
called at the Cape " Bastaards," the offspring of a Dutch
boer and a female Hottentot slave. He was of huge
dimensions, and inherited the peculiar form respectively
attributed to the race of both his parents.
In the first half of our journey, which led principally
along the seashore, we were almost stifled by the effluvia
arising from the carcasses of dead whales which lay rotting
on the beach.
The manner in which our coachman managed his sixteen-
in-hand was something marvellous. He piloted us with
great dexterity over a rough, rocky road, full of boulders.
It was with a nervous admiration I saw him wheel our
cumbrous vehicle into the inn-yard of " George's Half-way
House."
While at the Cape I became a frequent guest of the
Governor- General, Lord Charles Somerset, a man of con-
siderable humour, and possessing that easy, engaging
manner which seems to sit so naturally on the House of
Beaufort. When I first saw Lord Charles he was full of
a visit from Theodore Hook, the famous improvisatore,
who had made a short stay at the Cape on his way home
from the Mauritius. Dining one day at the Government
House, Hook was asked to give a sample of his talent.
He had been previously furnished with the names and
peculiarities of his fellow guests. For each of them he
had a verse which set the table in a roar. He, however,
made no allusion to Lord Charles himself. " No, no,
204 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
Mr. Hook," said his Excellency, " that won't do. I do not
choose to be passed over." Upon which Hook said, or
rather sang :
" When we come to a Governor,
Silence is best,
So we'll tip him a Summerset,
And pass on to the rest."
There was at this time at the Cape a person whose
eccentricities attracted universal attention Dr. James
Barry, staff-surgeon to the garrison, and the Governor's
medical adviser. Lord Charles described him to me as
the most skilful of physicians, and the most wayward of
mortals. He had lately been in professional attendance
upon the Governor, who was somewhat fanciful about his
health; but the Esculapius, taking umbrage at something
said or done, had left his patient to prescribe for himself. I
had heard so much of this capricious, yet privileged gentle-
man, that I had a great curiosity to see him. I shortly
afterwards sat next him at dinner at one of the regimental
messes. In this learned Pundit I beheld a beardless lad, ap-
parently of my own age, with an unmistakably Scotch type
of countenance reddish hair, high cheek bones. There
was a certain effeminacy in his manner, which he seemed
to be always striving to overcome. His style of conversation
was greatly superior to that one usually heard at a mess-
table in those days of wow-competitive examination.
A mystery attached to Barry's whole professional career,
which extended over more than half a century. While
at the Cape he fought a duel, and was considered to be of
a most quarrelsome disposition. He was frequently guilty
of flagrant breaches of discipline, and on more than one
occasion was sent home under arrest, but somehow or
other his offences were always condoned at head-quarters.
In Hart's Annual Army List for the year 1865 the
name of James Barry, M.D., stands at the head of the
ix.] ST. HELENA. 205
list of Inspectors-General of Hospitals. In the July of
that same year, the Times one day announced the death
of Dr. Barry, and the next day it was officially reported
to the Horse Guards that the Doctor was a woman. It is
singular that neither the landlady of her lodging, nor the
black servant who had lived with her for years, had the
slightest suspicion of her sex. The late Mrs. Ward,
daughter of Colonel Tidy, from whom I had these par-
ticulars, told me further that she believed the Doctor to
have been the legitimate grand -daughter of a Scotch Earl,
whose name I do not now give, as I am unable to sub-
stantiate the correctness of my friend's surmise, and that
the soi-disant James Barry adopted the medical profession
from attachment to an army-surgeon who has not been
many years dead.
Before I left the Cape I paid a visit to Constantia, and
had the pleasure of drinking at the fountain-head some of
the celebrated wine which derives its name from the place.
Very different from the luscious Constantia was a cheap
and nasty beverage, called Cape Madeira, of which our
mess laid in a stock for consumption on the voyage home.
My palate retains an unpleasant recollection of its dis-
agreeable earthy flavour. Doomed for three months to
taste the juice of no other grape, I can enter into the fun
of a travestie of " Eomeo and Juliet," in which the author
makes his hero poison himself with a bottle of South
African wine.
I was rejoicing at the prospect of a run with the Cape
foxhounds when I was informed that " Blue Peter " was
flying at the masthead of my transport, so I hurried back
to Simon's Bay, and was soon in full sail out of the
harbour.
Our next trip on shore was at St. Helena, a gloomy
little island, consisting of huge masses of arid rocks rising
abruptly from the sea a thousand or fifteen hundred feet.
206 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
He must have been a bold adventurer who first thought of
settling in so uninviting a locality. When viewed from
the sea there does not appear a spot level enough to build
a house upon even Jamestown, the only town in the
island, occupies the bed of a deep, narrow, and almost
perpendicular ravine. The first appearance of the place
produced upon me a deep feeling of depression, aggravated
doubtless by reflecting on the fate of the extraordinary
man whose prison it then was.
During my stay on the island, I was the guest of Captain
Power, brother of the late Ladies Blessington and Canter-
bury. He was just married to Miss Brooke, the prettiest
woman in the island, and daughter of the Secretary of the
Government. When Napoleon first arrived at St. Helena,
and before Longwood was ready for his reception, he took
up his residence with Mrs. Power's father, and showed by
his manner how much he was struck by the beauty of his
young hostess ; but his attentions were received with a
coldness and reserve that, said the St. Helenians, the
ex-Emperor could ill brook (Brooke).
O'Meara's " Voice from St. Helena " had exasperated all
Europe against Sir Hudson Lowe for his alleged ill-treat-
ment of his illustrious prisoner. There was probably
much exaggeration in the charges of the Irish doctor
against that functionary, but I do not believe them to
have been altogether without foundation. Whatever may
have been the merits of Sir Hudson as a brave officer in
the field, he appears to have been ill fitted for the difficult
and delicate duties he was called upon to perform.
When in the Ionian Islands, I was quartered with the
Pvoyal Corsican Eangers, of which regiment Lowe was a
long time in command, and several of the officers who had
served under him 1 spoke of him to me as a man of
1 One of these officers was Captain Susini, a native of Ajaccio, and
a second cousin of Napoleon. .
ix.] NAPOLEON'S LAST MOMENTS. 207
churlish manners and an irritable and overbearing temper.
Nor did his personal appearance speak much in his favour.
Cruikshank's sketch of Ealph Nickleby in Dickens's
novel forcibly recalls Sir Hudson to my mind the large
head and small body, the beetle brow, the shaggy
projecting eyebrows, the forbidding scowl on the coun-
tenance.
My brother officers, having obtained leave from the
Governor, went to Longwood, in the hope of getting a
glimpse of the Emperor. My principles as a Buonapartist
would not allow me to be of the party. I lost nothing by
my forbearance. My comrades returned much disap-
pointed, and with a certain feeling of injury. " The
beast," they said, " would not stir out of his den."
Two years after I quitted St. Helena, Napoleon had
ceased to breathe. His body, it will be remembered, after
lying nearly twenty years in the island, was taken from
its tomb and reinterred with great pomp in the Hotel des
Invalides. Comte de Jarnac, the late French ambassador
to our Court, was one of the Commissioners deputed by
King Louis Philippe to convey the body to France.
Associated with him in the Commission was Field-
Marshal Bertrand, that faithful servant of Napoleon,
who had fought by his side, and was with him in his
last moments. Comte de Jarnac, whose acquaintance
I had the pleasure to make some years ago at Woburn
Abbey, gave me a most interesting account of the process
of exhumation.
Shortly before Napoleon's decease, as the Marshal was
leaning over his bed to learn his wishes, the Emperor said
feebly, " C'est vous, Bertrand, qui me fermerez les yeux."
The Marshal heard the words, but did not seize their
import. " Parce que," added Napoleon, " naturellement
ils restent ouverts." In mentioning this incident to
de Jarnac, Bertrand added, " C'est singulier, mais je ne le
208 FIFTY YEAKS OF MY LIFE. [CH. ix.
savais pas " singular indeed, that such a well-known
phenomenon should have escaped the notice of one so
conversant with battle-fields !
The landing of a corps of officers, even for a couple of
weeks, created quite a sensation in the beau monde of
Jamestown. But the gay season was when the East
Indiamen used to anchor in the harbour for water and
provisions. A young lady of the island dancing with a
Captain of one of these vessels, said to him, " How dull
London must be when all you gentlemen are away ! "
My regiment landed in England towards the end of
November.
CHAPTER X.
Appointed Equerry to the Duke of Sussex. The Duke's Political
debut. A. Regal Canvasser. Accompany the Duke of Sussex to
Holkham. " Coke of Norfolk." A Norwich Corn'Law Riot.
The Norwich Fox Dinner." The Trumpet of Liberty." The
" Taylors " of Norwich. Death of the Duke of Kent. George
the Fourth to General Keppel The Holkham Sheep-shearing.
Lord Erskine. Queen Caroline. A Ball at the Argyll
Rooms. Attend the Queen's Trial. Her Personal Appearance
and Demeanour. Witnesses for the Prosecution. The Queen
and Teodoro Majocchi. Lord Albemarle to Lady Anne Keppel.
Brougham and Lord Exmouth. A Letter from Lord Albe-
marle. House of Lords adjoiirns to the 3rd of October.
Letters from Lord Albemarle. Second Reading of the Bill.
Brougham, Denman, Gifford, and Copley. Lord Holland
on the " Call of the House." George the Fourth and the Irish
Primacy Vice-Chancellor Leach. "Othello "and the Queen's
Trial. Beefsteak Club.
[1820.] EARLY in this year I was appointed Honorary
Equerry to the Duke of Sussex. The labours of my new
office were light and agreeable. My attendance on His
Eoyal Highness was not to interfere with any engagements,
whether of duty or pleasure. I had free quarters in Kensing-
ton Palace, access to an excellent library, and admission
on terms of intimacy to the society of one who was among
the best-natured of men and the best-instructed of Princes.
During a long life the Duke of Sussex was, as is well
known, a consistent asserter of popular rights. As he
used to tell me, he was an early sufferer in the good cause.
When only seven years old, he was, by order of the King,
p
210 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
locked up in his nursery and sent supperless to bed for
wearing Admiral Keppel's election colours.
The youthful politician had doubtless been instigated to
this display of partisanship by his uncle, William Henry,
Duke of Cumberland, an enthusiastic supporter of the
Admiral. The occasion was the contest for the borough of
Windsor in 1780 a contest without a parallel in election
annals. In the preceding year Admiral Keppel had been
brought to a court-martial and honourably acquitted. He
had represented Windsor in Parliament for twenty years.
His brother, Frederick Keppel, Bishop of Exeter, who was
also Dean of Windsor, had considerable property in the
town. On the dissolution of Parliament the Admiral
asked his constitutents for a renewal of their suffrages.
He found that he was opposed by a candidate of the
King's own choosing, and that the Court and Government
had united their influence against his return. Erskine,
under the signature of " A Freeholder," affirmed that the
highest power of Government, not content with having
deprived the nation of his (Keppel's) abilities in his
profession, made itself a party to rob it of his zeal and
honesty in the senate. Walpole says, "all the royal
brewers and bakers voted against Keppel." I have heard
my father and the late Sir Eobert Adair repeatedly affirm
that George III. canvassed the town in person against
their uncle. The Admiral himself, in his speech from the
hustings, affecting to treat as a rumour what he knew to
be a fact patent to the assembly whom he addressed, said,
"This cannot be true, it OUGHT not to be believed it
MUST not be believed." Special mention used to be
made of a certain silk mercer, a stout Keppelite, who
would mimic the King's peculiar voice and manner as
His Majesty entered his shop and muttered, in his hurried
way, " The Queen wants a gown wants a gown. No
Keppel no Keppel."
x.] "COKE OF NORFOLK." 211
In January, 1819, my father had presided at a grand
public dinner at Norwich, ostensibly to celebrate the
birthday of Charles Fox, but in reality to raise a feeling
of indignation against the unconstitutional conduct of
the Tory Government. In the winter of the same year
ministers had succeeded in carrying through Parliament
the famous " Six Acts," which placed the liberties of
England in a state of suspension. With a view to elicit
a strong expression of disapproval of these arbitrary
measures, Lord Albemarle was requested to resume the
chair at Norwich, at the next anniversary of the great
Whig statesman's birthday (1820). To give the meeting
more of a national than of a provincial character, men of
rank and station were invited from different parts of the
kingdom to take part in the proceedings. The Duke of
Sussex was one of those who responded to the call, and the
first act of my Equerryship was to accompany His Eoyal
Highness into Norfolk for the purpose of attending the
dinner.
Our second day's journey landed us at Holkham, where
we found assembled the Duke of Norfolk and other leaders
of the movement. I now first became acquainted with
the owner of the mansion, the late Earl of Leicester, then
so well known as "Coke of Norfolk." He was in his
sixty-sixth year, and retained much of that prepossessing
appearance which in his youthful days had procured for
him at Eome the appellation of " the handsome English-
man." Among the most ardent of his admirers in the
eternal city was the Princess Louise de Stolberg, wife of
the Count of Albany, James II.'s unfortunate grandson,
" Prince Charlie." As an acknowledgment of the impres-
sion which young Coke's good looks had produced on the
Countess, she insisted upon making him a present of his
own portrait, which is now at Longford Hall, Derbyshire,
the seat of his second son, Mr. Edward Coke. He is
P 2
212 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
represented with a mask in his hand, and in a pink-and-
white masquerade dress. The Countess has caused herself
to be typified by the statue of a reclining Cleopatra, at
the moment that she is applying the asp to her arm.
Under date of August 18, 1774, Horace Walpole writes :
' The young Mr. Coke is returned from his travels, in love
with the Pretender's queen, who has permitted him to have
lier picture." 1 It was probably the Cleopatra in the back-
ground of Mr. Coke's own picture to which Walpole alludes.
On his return from Eome, Mr. Coke became member for
Norfolk, and was for many years " Father of the House of
Commons."
Over one of the chimney-pieces in the saloon at Holkham
is Opie's picture of Charles Fox. Although, as a work of
art, it may not bear a comparison with the " Sir Joshua "
of that statesman, it recalls more forcibly to my mind the
form and features of my illustrious adversary at trap-ball.
Beneath the portrait are the well-known lines,
" A patriot's even course he steered, v
'Midst faction's wildest storm unmoved,
By all who marked his mind revered,
By all who knew his heart beloved."
Over the other chimney-piece is a charming picture by
Gainsborough, the last portrait, I believe, painted by that
artist, who thenceforth confined himself to landscapes.
Mr. Coke is depicted in the act of loading a gun ; a dog is
at his feet. He wears long boots, a broad-brimmed hat, and
the shooting-jacket of a century ago. Apart from its merit
as a work of art, it has an historical interest, as exhibiting
the actual dress in which Coke appeared before George III.
when, as knight of the shire, he presented an address from
the county of Norfolk, praying that monarch to recognise
the independence of the American colonies.
The high price of wheat and the low price of wages in
1 Letter to Conway.
x.] A NORWICH COEN LAW EIOT. 213
1815 led many of the working classes in the provincial
towns to hold tumultuous meetings for the repeal of the
Com Laws. Mr. Coke, as a true disciple of Fox, was no
believer in Adam Smith, and was all the more opposed
to his doctrine because Fox's great rival William Pitt was
one of Adam Smith's early disciples. Accordingly Coke
always voted, in common with other county members, for
"protection to agriculture." In the month of March,
1815, he and my father attended a Cattle Show in the
Norwich Castle Ditches. On the same day an Anti-Corn-
Law mob paraded the streets, preceded by a man bearing
a small loaf on a pole. Mr. Coke was immediately recog-
nised. "Let us seize the villain," cried some of the
weavers, " and before night we will have his heart on a
gridiron." At the same moment they made a rush
towards their intended victim. In the crowd a stalwart
poacher, whom my father had once befriended, formed
with his body a temporary barrier between the mob and
the object of their resentment. Coke and my father took
advantage of the momentary respite, and, amidst a shower
of stones, scrambled, over some cattle-pens. A butcher
named Kett, seeing their danger, opened the door of one
of his pens, and, having first twisted the tail of a large
bull, let him loose on the crowd. The beast, maddened
with pain, went bellowing and galloping down the hill.
The mob dispersed in a trice, but quickly reassembled in
greater force. The Eiot Act was read, and the military
a cavalry regiment of Black Brunswickers (soon to deal
with a more formidable foe) was called out. One trooper
was wounded by a stone.
In the meanwhile the two fugitives made their escape
to the " Angel," now the " Royal " Hotel. The gates were
closed; the Anti- Corn-Law rioters assembled round the
inn. It was whispered that Coke would be found in
the boot of the London night coach, just about to take
214 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
its departure. The gates were opened, the coach was
searched no Coke was to be found. He and my father
having escaped by the back way, were on their road to
Quidenham, where they arrived safely the same evening.
[1820.] On our arrival in Norwich from Holkham on
the morning of the 23rd of January, such alarming
accounts were received of the illness of the Duke of
Kent, that his royal brother gave up the intention of
attending the dinner ; but a more favourable report
arriving in the evening, he adhered to his original plan.
The dinner, over which Lord Albemarle presided, was
held in St. Andrew's Hall, a noble edifice built by Sir
Thomas Erpingham, that gallant old Norfolk knight
who gave the signal of battle to the English army at
Agincourt.
I give in inverted commas some of the toasts that were
proposed from the Chair, and enthusiastically responded to
by the assembled guests, as marking the excited -state of
public feeling at this period :
" THE KING, IN SOLEMN SILENCE."
This was probably the last time that the health of
George III. was given at a public meeting. He was
known to be rapidly sinking, and he died a few days later.
" THE PRINCE KEGENT, IN SILENCE."
In deference to our illustrious visitor, the following
words that usually accompanied this toast were omitted :
"May he never forget those principles which placed his
family on the throne of these realms." On one occasion
when the health of the Eegent with the above affix was
proposed, the band struck up the well-known air " Hope
told a flattering tale."
" THE CONSTITUTION, ACCORDING TO THE PRINCIPLES OP
THE REVOLUTION OF 1688."
" THE MEMORY OF CHARLES JAMES Fox, IN RESPECTFUL
SILENCE."
x.] THE TEUMPET OF LIBERTY." 215
"THE RESPECTABILITY OF THE CROWN, THE DURABILITY
OF THE CONSTITUTION, AND THE LIBERTY or THE SUBJECT."
"THE SPEEDY AND FINAL EXTINCTION OF ALL LAWS,
WHEREVER THEY EXIST, WHICH TEND TO OBSTRUCT THE
SACRED EIGHTS OF CONSCIENCE."
" THE CAUSE OF CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY ALL OVER
THE WORLD."
"THE CAUSE FOR WHICH HAMPDES BLED ON THE FIELD
AND SYDNEY AND RUSSELL ON THE SCAFFOLD."
" MAY THE EXAMPLE OF ONE REVOLUTION PREVENT THE
NECESSITY OF ANOTHER."
In the next toast from the Chair, my father declared
himself an advocate for the Ballot and Triennial Parlia-
ments.
"A FULL, FAIR, AND FREE REPRESENTATION OF THE
PEOPLE IN PARLIAMENT."
"MAY WE LIVE TO SEE THE RlGHT OF PETITION
RESTORED."
In the intervals between the toasts and speeches several
songs were sung, principally composed for the occasion
by John Taylor of Norwich. One of these, in honour of
Fox's birthday, set to music by his son Edward, was
quoted by my father in one of his speeches
" Come to his tomb, but not to weep ;
Here Freedom's holiday we keep.
The sacred altar let it be,
Bound which we vow to Liberty."
Nor must I pass over in silence another song, also by
John Taylor, and sung by Edward in his deep majestic
bass voice, to music of his own composing. Here is the
first stanza :
" The Trumpet of Liberty sounds through the world,
And the universe starts at the sound ;
Her standard Philosophy's hand has unfurled,
And the nations are thronging around.
216 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
The cruel dominion of priestcraft is o'er,
Its thunders, its fagots, its chains ;
Mankind will endure the vile bondage no more,
While Eeligion our freedom maintains.
Fall, tyrants, fall ! fall !
These are the days of Liberty !
Fall, tyrants, fall ! "
The chorus was taken up by the guests upstanding.
Among the five hundred voices raised on the occasion,
that of the Duke of Sussex was distinctly audible.
" The Trumpet of Liberty " had a good forty years' run
and only fell into disuse when the restoration of the
people to their rights and liberties deprived the song of
its point.
As this song appeared in England at about the same-
time as the Jacobin air the " Marseillaise " in France,
it was supposed to have been intended to commemorate
the French Eevolution, whereas it was written for the
centenary of the English Eevolution, and sung by its
author in 1788 at a Norwich dinner in celebration of
that event.
Edward Taylor, who has edited some " Hymns and
Miscellaneous Poems " of John Taylor, says, in reference
to "The Trumpet of Liberty," "while my father was
singing this song in Norwich, Dr. Priestley's house and
laboratory were destroyed by a ' Church-and-King ' mob. "
In the early part of the present century, when unwieldy
double-bodied coaches afforded to country folks the ordinary
access to the metropolis, the inhabitants of large towns
were more dependent upon themselves for society than
in these days of easy locomotion.
Norwich, as has been described by Sir James Mackintosh,
Mrs. Barbauld, Mrs. Opie, Henry Crabb Eobinson, and
Harriet Martineau, stood pre-eminent among provincial
towns for the intellectual character of its leading citizens.
x] THE "TAYLORS" OF NORWICH. 217
The Taylors, of whom I have just had occasion to speak,
formed the centre of its social circle. The first represen- '
tative of the family came to Norwich a century and a
half ago. Dr. John Taylor was a well-known Presbyterian
divine, author, amoug other works, of a "Hebrew Con-
cordance of the Old Testament." Literary talent seems to
have descended on his posterity as an heirloom. It is
a saying in Norfolk, that if a collection were made of the
works of the Taylors of Norwich, it would form a
respectable library. By the marriage of the Doctor's
son Eichard, the family became connected with the
Martineaus, from whom descended Harriet, the historian
and political economist. One of the Doctor's great-
grandsons, Edgar, was a writer on Law and History.
Edgar's sister, who died in 1872, was long known for her
poems and several excellent works for children. The wife
of John Taylor, a woman of extraordinary energy and
power, was styled in the language of the day the " Madame
Koland" of Norwich.
Among the children of this union were Eichard, editor of
" The Diversions of Purley ; " Edward, Gresham Professor
of Music; Mrs. Austin, the well-known authoress; and
Philip Taylor of Marseilles. This last, who died in July,
1870, the friend of Jean Baptiste Say and Eichard Cobden,
was himself distinguished as the founder of an important
public company, called " La Societe des Forges et Chantiers
de la Mediterranee." Philip Taylor's kind and judicious
treatment of his excitable Marseillaise workmen procured
for him the title of "Le Pere des Ouvriers." A great
great-grandson of the Presbyterian divine died last year
(1876), Colonel Philip Meadows Taylor, C.S.I., author
of "Confessions of a Thug," "Tara," "Ealph Darnell,"
" The Student's History of India."
Henry Eeeve of the Council Office is the sole surviving
representative of the literary tastes of the sixth generation
218 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
of this gifted family. A few years ago the Taylors could
boast of that most charming of letter-writters, my kins-
woman by marriage, Lucie Austin, the late Lady Duff
Gordon.
The post of the morning after the. Fox dinner brought
the news of the death of the Duke of Kent. I had to
break the sad intelligence to my chief. His Royal
Highness was much affected. Of all his brothers, the
Duke of Kent was the one to whom he was most warmly
attached, and with whom he agreed most cordially in
political sentiment.
The Duke had taken up his abode for the night at the
house of Mr. William Foster. An immense Norwich
crowd assembled in the morning round the door to see
the first Prince of the Blood who had honoured their
town with a visit. They had intended to greet His
Eoyal Highness ' with three hearty cheers, but the intel-
ligence of his loss having reached them, they, with much
good taste and feeling, observed a respectful silence when
he made his appearance, and stood with their heads
uncovered so long as his carriage remained in sight.
The Duke was my father's guest that same evening.
A large party had been invited to meet His Eoyal
Highness, but in consequence of his late bereavement
he dined by himself, and the next morning returned
to Kensington alone, in order to pay the last tribute of
respect and affection to his deceased brother. Scarcely
had the Duke performed this melancholy office, when he
was called upon to follow to the grave his father, George
the Third, who survived his son only six days.
From the time that my father had declined to accept
the Mastership of the Horse from the then Prince Eegent
in 1812, intercourse of any kind whatever had ceased
between them. There was, however, one member of
our family for whom friendly feelings of His Eoyal
x.] GEORGE THE FOURTH TO GENERAL KEPPEL. 219
Highness underwent no change. This was my cousin,
General William Keppel, whom I have already mentioned
as the bestower upon me of my first tip. Shortly after
that Prince ascended the throne as George the Fourth, he
wrote to my kinsman as follows :
"BRIGHTON, April 11, 1820.
" MY DEAR KEPPEL,
" If anything could have made a deeper impression
upon my feelings than the sense I have for years enter-
tained of your affection and attachment to me, it would
l)e the conversation which Bloomfield has related to me
that he has had with you. It is only when we feel
ourselves perhaps in a momentary difficulty that we
can appeal to our real friends. As such I called upon
you, never doubting, but being certain, that I should always
find you what you really are, and what the warmest
wishes of my heart told me I should ever find you. After
.so many years of affectionate intercourse it may be quite
unnecessary to say anything, especially to you, respecting
my nature or the genuine feelings of my heart. You
know, my dear friend, that whenever I have the means,
or am aware of the opportunity of giving or granting,
I am not only ready but too happy to seize upon it that
individually to yourself this has not only hitherto been
my inclination, but I must also add will be, as it has been
the study of my life, for there is no one deserves such a
proof mor$ than you do ; and believe me, that whenever I
shall be so fortunate as to be able to do so, it will be by far
a greater gratification to myself than it can be to you.
"Having said so much, it now shall rest with you
(should it not occur to me) to point out to me that object,
whenever the moment may arise, that will be most
beneficial, as well as most gratifying, I hope, to you, and
220 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
you shall find me most happy in completing it by giving it
my sanction. I will not bore you with repeating thanks
which, although certainly a good practice in genera], yet
between such friends as you and I now and then might
appear a little formal, for the heart is capable of feeling,
much more than the tongue, with all its studied verbiage,
is capable of expressing.
" I remain,
" My dear Keppel,
"Your ever and most affectionate Friend,
" GEOEGE R."
[June.] Early in June I accompanied the Duke of
Sussex for a second time to Holkham. The occasion
was the famous annual sheep-shearing. Here were
assembled men from all parts of Europe to witness
the practical working of a system of husbandry of which
Mr. Coke was considered to be the founder. We sat
down each day upwards of five hundred to dinner in
the state apartments. There were plenty of speeches
principally on the science of agriculture. An exception
to the rule was one from Lord Erskine, who afforded
much amusement from the manner in which he dealt
with a subject of which he was so profoundly ignorant.
One of the theories broached in the morning was that
crushed oyster-shells would prove an excellent manure.
The opinion was erroneous, but it was not then so con-
sidered. "Gentlemen," said Erskine, "we lawyers have
been accused of eating the oyster and of giving the shell
to our clients. The charge is true ; but our host has
shown this morning that we only take a fair share of
the bivalve."
The dinner, an early one, was followed by a supper for
the guests who remained in the house. Erskine, the soul
of the party, recited some humorous poetry of his own
x.] A BALL AT THE ARGYLL ROOMS. 221
composition. The Duke of Sussex and some of us who
were not so gifted with an ear for music sang songs,
sentimental, bacchanalian, or comic ; and, not the least
-amusing part of the performance, the foreigners made
speeches in broken English. Altogether we passed several
pleasant evenings.
The sheep-shearing lasted till the 6th of June. At this
period occurred an event which set the whole nation in a
flarne the return to England, after an absence of six
years, of the unhappy Caroline of Brunswick.
Her Majesty landed at Dover on the 5th. Her journey
to London was a perfect ovation. On the afternoon of the
6th she arrived at Alderman Wood's, No. 77, South
Audley Street, a house nearly opposite to that of my
grandmother De Clifford ; and this ordinarily quiet
neighbourhood, which usually knew no sounds but those
of carriage-wheels, became for several days the rendezvous
of the noisy " roughs " of London, who passed the nights
in breaking the windows of such of the inhabitants as
refused to "light up," and the days in cheering the Queen
and calling upon her to show herself on the balcony.
This summer I fell in with Sir Jacob Astley, afterwards
Lord Hastings. We were for six years form-fellows at
Westminster. At a later period we sat together as
Members for Norfolk in the first Eeformed Parliament.
I have a special reason for remembering a grand fancy
ball which he gave at the Argyll Eooms, and at which I
was present. Uniforms were admitted, and I was very
proud of mine. Two maiden ladies connected with
Norfolk, but well known in the West of London
.assemblies, attracted universal attention. They were
plump, dark-complexioned, and elderly ; they appeared
as Swiss shepherdesses, wore broad-brimmed straw hats
profusely decorated with ribands and flowers, scarlet
'bodices tastefully ornamented, and skirts which, if worn
222 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
on the stage, would have drawn down upon the wearers
the censure of the Lord Chamberlain. The Swiss costume
admits of much latitude, and of this they freely availed
themselves. To heighten the effect of their charms the-
rouge-pot had been called into requisition. The ball was
kept up with great spirit till long after daylight. As in
duty bound, I was among the last to go. I was hurrying
downstairs when my name was called and my assistance-
claimed in the shrill accents of my spinster friends.
"Their coachman had played them false ; no hackney-
coach was on the stand. Would I escort them home on
foot?" There was no help for it off I set, with a
shepherdess on each arm. As ill-luck would have it, we-
encountered a crowcl of bricklayers on their way to work.
Their comments on the trio may be imagined, but must
not be repeated. With a soldier's gallantry, I stuck to-
my shepherdesses ; but the epithets with which they and
I were pelted are still ringing in my ears.
[August IGth.] My father, wholly engrossed with his-
farm, was forced to tear himself away from its attractions
in obedience to a summons of the House of Lords to be in
his place to take into consideration " A Bill intituled An
Act to deprive Her Majesty Queen Caroline Amelia
Elizabeth of the title, prerogatives, rights, and privileges
of Queen Consort of this realm, and to dissolve the-
marriage between His Majesty and the said Caroline
Amelia Elizabeth." With a heavy heart he set out on the
journey on the 16th of August. I accompanied him.
We arrived late in London. My father took me to
Brooks's. Only one member was present, but he the most
popular man in all England Henry Brougham, Attorney-
General to the Queen, the fearless advocate who in [public
estimation had sacrificed all prospects of professional
advancement in order to defend the cause of a cruelly
persecuted woman. Brougham was in the highest spirits.
x.] TRIAL OF QUEEN CAROLINE. 223
I was thrown much in his company in after-life, and
frequently enjoyed the brilliancy of his conversation, but
never did he shine forth as on this evening when my father
and I comprised his whole audience.
{August 17^.] I started at nine the next morning for
the House of Lords. In passing through St. James's
Square I saw a large assemblage of persons waiting for
the arrival of the Queen from her villa on the Thames.
During the trial she occupied a house on the west side of
the Square, within two doors of King Street. She was
within a stone's throw of the residence of her husband
of that palace into which, five-and-twenty years before,
she had entered as bride, buoyant with the prospect of
eventually becoming the Queen Consort of the greatest
kingdom in the world. Her wish had been realized to-
the letter, and she had now to learn the vanity of human
wishes.
With the exception of the day on which the present
Queen was crowned (on which occasion I had the honour
of forming part of the procession), I never beheld so dense
a crowd as that which assembled between Pall Mall and
Westminster Abbey on the morning of the 17th of August.
The Household Cavalry, the City Light Horse, and the
Horse Police patrolled the streets ; a regiment of Guards
were posted in Westminster Hall and the avenues of the
Law Courts, and the approach to the Houses of Parliament
was lined with infantry. The mob seemed to make a
shrewd guess at the manner in which almost every Peer
would vote, and received with groans or cheers the
supposed supporters or opponents of the Ministerial
measure. The Duke of Sussex met with a most enthusi-
astic greeting from them.
The fine tapestries representing the Spanish Armada
which hung on the walls of the House of Lords were
almost obscured from view by the temporary galleries
224 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
which had been erected for the accommodation of the Peers.
Except a narrow passage for the witness, interpreter, and
short-hand writer, the space below the bar was divided
between the Law Officers of the King and Queen His
Majesty's on the left, and Her Majesty's on the right
fronting the throne. A gallery led from the Peers'
chamber to the apartment allotted to the Queen a many-
angled room looking upon the leads of the portico of the
Peers' entrance.
The Duke of Sussex having been excused from attend-
ance, on the plea of his consanguinity to both parties
in the suit, immediately set off for Tonbridge Wells.
Thither I followed him in a few days ; but as His Eoyal
Highness was naturally desirous of hearing how the trial
was proceeding, he frequently sent me to London to bring
him the earliest intelligence. Mr. Ellice, the Member for
Coventry, always lent me his carriage to and from Seven-
oaks ; the rest of the journey I performed on a fast-trotting
horse belonging to the Duke. Thus I became an eye and
ear witness of all the principal events in that celebrated
cause.
[August 18th.] Denman, as Solicitor-General of the
Queen, was addressing the House, on the morning of the
18th, against the principle of the Pains and Penalties
Bill, when a confused sound of drums, trumpets, and
human voices announced the approach of the Queen.
Beams a foot square had been thrown across the street
between St. Margaret's Church and the Court of King's
Bench; but this barrier Her Majesty's admirers dashed
through with as much ease as if they had been formed of
reeds, and accompanied Her Majesty to the entrance of
the House. She was received at the threshold by Sir
Thomas Tyrrwhitt, Usher of the Black Eod. The Queen
had known him while she was living under her husband's
roof. " Well, Sir Thomas," she is reported to have said,
x.] QUEEN CAROLINE'S ATTORNEY-GENERAL. 225
" what is your master trying me for ? Is it for inter-
marrying with a man whose first wife I knew to be
alive ? "
The Peers rose as the Queen entered, and remained
standing until she took her seat in a crimson and gilt
chair, immediately in front of her counsel. Her appear-
ance was anything but prepossessing. She wore a black
dress with a high ruff, an unbecoming gipsy hat tied
under the chin with a huge bow in front, the whole
surmounted with a plume of ostrich-feathers. Nature had
given her light hair, blue eyes, a fair complexion, and a
good-humoured expression of countenance; but these
characteristics were marred by painted eyebrows, and by
a black wig with a profusion of curls which overshadowed
her cheeks, and gave a bold, defiant air to her features.
My post of Equerry to the Duke of Sussex procured
me admission behind the throne, and occasionally to a seat
among the Queen's law advisers.
Brougham was fond of implying that he had ample
materials for recriminating .on the King. " If," said he,
" this necessity should be imposed upon me, I should act
directly in the teeth of the instructions of this illustrious
woman [here with a theatrical wave of the hand he
pointed to the Queen, who sat immediately below him] ; I
should disobey her solemn commands ; nor is it my
purpose to resort to it, unless driven to it by an absolute
and overruling compulsion."
In the course of the trial, the cashier of Coutts' bank
was called to attest Queen Caroline's signature. He
was retiring when he was called back : " You say, Sir,"
said Brougham, "you know Her Majesty's handwriting.
Perhaps you know His Majesty's also ? " He was answered
in the affirmative, whereupon he brought out from the
bottom of a bag a heap of letters which he arranged in his
hand after the fashion of a conjuror showing a trisk on
Q
226 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
cards, and then asked the cashier, "Is this the King's
handwriting? and this, and this, and this?" keeping
his eyes all the while fixed on the Peers with a look of
indescribable archness.
The old Houses of Parliament were separated by a
building which, with its inclosure, was called "Cotton
Garden." The front faced the Abbey, the rear the Thames.
It was the residence of the Italian witnesses against the
Queen : I should rather say, their prison, for they would
have been torn in pieces by the populace if they had
ventured beyond its precincts. The land entrance was
strongly barricaded. The side facing Westminster Bridge
was shut out from the public by a wall run up for the
express purpose at a right angle to the Parliament stairs.
Thus the only access was by the river. Here was erected
a causeway to low-water mark ; a flight of steps led to
the interior of the inclosure. The street side was guarded
by a strong military force, the water side by gun-boats.
An ample supply of provisions was stealthily (for fear of
the mob) introduced into the building; a bevy of royal
.cooks were sent to see that the food was of good quality,
.and to render it as palatable as their art could make it.
About this building, in which the witnesses were immured
from August till November, the London mob would hover
like a cat round the cage of a canary. Such confinement
would have been intolerable to the natives of any other
country, but it was quite in unison with the feelings of
Italians. To them, it realized their favourite " dolce far
niente." Their only physical exertion appears to have
been the indulgence in that description of dance that
the Pi/erari have made familiar to the Londoner. When
these fellows appeared at the bar of the House they
looked as respectable as fine clothes and soap and water
could make them. Those persons who saw them before
they emerged from the chrysalis into the butterfly state,
x.] QUEEN CAROLINE AND TEODORO MAJOCCHI. 227
described them as swarthy, dirty-looking fellows, in scanty,
ragged jackets, and greasy leather caps.
There was something irresistibly comic in the manner in
which Brougham with mock solemnity apologised for
seeking to elude a Bill "supported by so respectable a
body of witnesses " as those assembled in Cotton Garden.
" Judging from their exterior," said Brougham, " they must
be like those persons with whom your Lordships are in
the habit of associating. They must doubtless be seized
in fee-simple of those decent habiliments persons who
would regale themselves at their own expense, live in
separate apartments, have full powers of locomotion, and
require no other escort than their attendant lacguais de
place."
[August 2lst.] I was present on the morning of the
21st of August at the celebrated interview between Queen
Caroline and Teodoro Majocchi, the prevaricating postilion
of "Non mi ricordo" notoriety. The moment she saw
him, she raised her hands above her head and, uttering a
loud exclamation, bounced out of the House of Lords in
a most unqueenlike manner. What that exclamation was
intended to convey is still a mystery. Some said the word
was "Teodoro," others "Traditore." To me it seemed to
be simply the interjection " Oh ! " as expressive of disgust
at seeing in her accuser one whom she had known as a
dirty, discharged menial, but who was now transformed
into a clean-looking gentleman, dressed in the height of
the fashion.
Since making the above note, I have become possessed
of several of my father's letters, written during the trial.
They are addressed to my sister Anne, afterwards
Countess of Leicester. The Cokes and Keppels lived at
this time as one family. My sisters Anne and Mary were
guests at Holkharn during the constrained absence of
their father from home.
Q 2
228 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [OH.
WILLIAM CHARLES LORD ALBEMARLE TO LADY ANNE
KEPPEL.
"LONDON, Sunday, August 20th, 1820.
" I sat this morning half an hour with Lady Anson, 1
and though I did not find her as I wished to see her, still
I did find her much better than I expected from the report
1 had heard better in looks, and better in spirits. One
could not judge of her health by seeing her for - so short
a time; but I am positive that I have seen her much
worse, and hope that her illness will be of short duration.
"We are now embarked in this trial.
" To-morrow we begin with the witnesses, and as their
evidence must pass through an interpreter, it will go on
slowly.
" I think, if we sit daily, only for six hours, from ten
till four, some weeks must be wanting to get through it.
I am going to-morrow till Thursday to Holland House ;
we shall come into London every morning, but it will be
pleasanter to dine and sleep in the country. Tell Miss
Coke 2 I hope I have her pity in being obliged to breakfast
every morning at half-past eight. This is worse than
Dr. Eigby, and very disagreeable and unwholesome.
"I do not think .it likely that I shall have any-
thing new for Mr. Coke for some days, as the trial will
go regularly on; but I shall leave this open till five
1 Anne Margaret Coke, daughter of Mr. Coke of Holkham, wife
of Thomas, Viscount Anson, and grandmother of the present Earl of
Lichfield, died May 23, 1843.
2 Elizabeth Wilhelmina Coke, youngest daughter of Mr. Coke
married, in. 1822, John Spencer Stanhope of Cannon Hall, York-
shire, Esq.
x.] BROUGHAM AND LORD EXMOUTH. 229
to-morrow for the chance. I am anxious for an account
of the Norwich meeting."
" Half-past 5, Monday [August 21st].
" Just returned. When the first witness was called in,
the Queen stood up close to him. She threw her veil
completely back, held her body very backward, and placed
both her arms in her sides. In this posture, she stared
furiously at him for some seconds; there was a dead
silence, and she screamed out Theodore, in the most frantic
manner, and rushed violently out of the House. It
appeared to be a paroxysm of madness. The witness was
then examined, and there is left a strong case against her.
I think she is insane, for her manner to-day chilled my
blood. She appeared no more to-day, nor can we guess
what she will do to-morrow.
" I am ffoing to Holland House."
While Brougham was cross-examining this same Teodoro
Majocchi, he was interrupted by some Peer making a
remark. Looking in the direction whence the sound
proceeded, he fixed a withering glance on Lord Exmouth,
who had been previously examining witnesses against the
Queen with all the zeal of a counsel for the prosecution.
The expression of Brougham's face at this moment is
indescribable; his eyes flashed with real or pretended
fury, while his nose, to which nature had given such an
extraordinary motive power, seemed by its contortions to
sympathise with the resentment of its owner. The noble
and gallant Admiral claimed the protection of the House
from the insulting gaze of the learned counsel; but he
got no redress, and the cross-examination was resumed
amid a suppressed titter at the expense of the captor of
Algiers.
Throughout the trial it was the evident object of
230 FIFTY YEAES OF MY LIFE. [en.
Brougham to express by word, look, and gesture the
contempt he felt for the tribunal which was sitting in
judgment upon his client. He even made the interpreter
a medium for conveying the feeling. This man was a
teacher of Italian by name Nicolas Dorien Marchese di
Spineto. In all the examinations Brougham would insist
upon addressing him as " Marquis," implying that he held
him to be equal in social position with Peers bearing a
like title.
[Since the above paragraph appeared in print, I have
learned that the name of the interpreter at the Queen's
trial was not Dorien, but " Doria," that he was a member
of that illustrious house, that he was highly respected at
Cambridge, where he was a Professor of the Italian
language, and that his daughter is wife of Dr. Philpott,
Bishop of Worcester.]
WILLIAM CHAELES LOED ALBEMAELE TO LADY ANNE
KEPPEL.
, 1 Sunday, September 3rd.
"MY DEAKEST ANNE,
"We are still in uncertainty; perhaps to-morrow
may lead us to guess at the time of our release. I therefore
shall keep this open till the day is over. In the mean-
time, I think it likely the prosecution may finish about
the middle of the week, and we may adjourn for two
months. Let me know by return of post whether you
left the imperial belonging to the chaise at Lexham. If
you have, I can call for it on my way to Holkham, as it
1 Frognall, Kent, the seat of my mother's brother-in-law, and my
godfather, John Thomas, second Viscount Sydney.
x.] ADJOUKNMENT OF THE HOUSE. 231
will be scarcely out of the way. The moment I am released
I intend to go to Grey's * for one night, and then to Lex-
ham, 2 and from thence the following morning to Holkham.
I will just stop to tell my story, and then wish to hurry
home to see the remainder of my harvest, for it will
scarcely be over. Coulson 3 writes me word that he shall
never have done carting barley ; there are two barns filled
with wheat and twenty-two large wheat-stacks. The
wheat on the new land turns out less injured than we
expected. It was always right to get good out of evil
if possible; and this good will result from my present
attendance in the House of Lords, namely, that when
this forced attendance is over I will never again attend
voluntarily, at least whilst the present system prevails.
Tell Mr. Coke it is certain the House will pass the Bill,
but the Commons dare not"
" Half-past 5.
" Eeport says one or two days will finish the Prosecu-
tion. I think it is going much in favour of the Queen."
On Saturday, the 9th of September, the case for the
prosecution closed, and at the request of the Queen's
counsel the House adjourned to the 3rd of October. My
father passed the interval in Norfolk, and I returned
to the Duke of Sussex's, "Wellington House, Tonbridge
Wells."
On the morning of the 3rd of October the Duke's hack
set me down at the House of Lords, in time to hear
Brougham enter upon the Defence.
1 Earl Grey, afterwards Prime Minister.
3 Lexhani Hall, Norfolk, seat of Frederick Keppel, son. of the
Honourable and Eight Reverend Dr. Frederick Keppel, Bishop
of Exeter.
3 Lord Albemarle's bailiff.
232 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
The following day Lord Albemarle writes to Lady Anne
Keppel :
" Wednesday, October 4ih.
" I am writing this in the House of Lords, where Mr.
Brougham has just finished a very fine speech, and Mr.
"Williams is beginning to open the case of the Queen,
which will take up the remainder of the day ; the exami-
nation of witnesses cannot begin before to-morrow, so our
progress is not rapid. This will find you just arrived at
Holkham ; as to saying anything of the time I am likely
to be detained, it is useless to guess. I am going do-day
to Holland House, where I shall stay till Sunday. I
return then to dine at Paddington. 1 George 2 came to
London yesterday to hear Brougham's speech, and is
to-day gone back to the Duke of Sussex. Sophia 3 con-
tinues still well."
Private letters which have since found their way into
print, bear record to the treatment which members of the
Government experienced from the populace. Lord Chan-
cellor Eldon, once the friend, now the bitter foe of Caroline
of Brunswick, was greeted even at his own country seat
with cries of " Queen for ever." When Castlereagh and
Sidmouth walked arm-in-arm together to Westminster
amidst the execrations of the mob, the former exclaimed,
" Here go two of the most popular men in England." To
this trio unpopularity was familiar, and they submitted to
1 Dowager Lady de Clifford's villa at Westbourne Green, Pad-
dington.
3 The writer of these Memoirs.
3 My sister, wife of Mr. James Macdonald, M.P. for Calne, son of
the Right Honourable Sir Archibald Macdonald, Chief Baron of the
Exchequer, by Louisa, eldest daughter of the first Marquis of
Stafford.
x.] LORD ALBEMARLE TO LADY ANNE KEPPEL. 233
it with more or less philosophy. Not so Lord Liverpool,
who had hitherto been treated with singular forbearance ;
but he too, at last, was doomed to take his share of the
popular odium. The effect it had upon him was visible
to every beholder. When he rose to address the House, it
was with all the timidity of a nervous young Peer making
his maiden speech. Nor could he have given utterance
to his words at all without the aid of large doses of ether,
the odour of which reached the nostrils of us who were
standing on the steps of the throne.
WILLIAM CHARLES LORD ALBEMARLE TO LADY ANNE
KEPPEL.
" Sunday Night, October 15th.
" I can begin my letter with the satisfactory news that
Sophia has got a very fine boy, 1 and that they are both
perfectly well. This event happened at half-past seven
this evening. I have made use of my holiday, and have
seen Lady Andover in- good health, and also Lady Anson
looking in my opinion and to my infinite satisfaction
remarkably well. I have this instant got a very kind
note from her in return for one I wrote announcing
Sophia's happy state.
" I must wait till five to-morrow before I can say any-
thing about the Queen. I have been so much occupied
this day with matters which interested me so much more,
that I have not once thought of the Queen, nor of Mr.
Coke's friend His Majesty. 2
1 The boy to whom my sister gave birth is the present Sir
Archibald Keppel Macdonald, of Woolmer Park, Hants, Bart.
2 Before George Prince of Wales became Regent, he was a frequent
guest at Holkham.
234 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
" To-morrow I must buckle to again. I went yesterday
to dine with Wilbraham, 1 and had a pleasant day.
" I feel very proud in being a grandfather, and your
consequence is increased by becoming an aunt ; we shall
have Uncle John and Aunt Caroline talked of at Christ-
mas. George is come up for a day, but he is so fond of
the Duke of Sussex that he returns to him to-morrow.
Grandmamma De Clifford goes to-morrow to Bath, rather,.
I hope, to prevent an illness, than on account of an actual
one. She complains of feeling ill, but she looks better
than I have seen her.
" God bless you both. Ever, my dearest Anne,
" Your affectionate father,
" ALBEMAKLE."
" Five o'Clock, Monday, October 16th.
"We have had a very dull day nothing material..
Sophia and child quite well."
FKOM THE SAME TO THE SAME.
" Thursday, October 26th.
" We can now guess when, but not how, our business*
will end. In ten days it must be decided.
" I think the second reading will be carried, and if it is,.
I fear rioting is unavoidable in London.
" Prince Leopold has just returned from calling at
Brandenburg House.
"Lady Fitzwilliam is going to the Queen as soon as*
the Solicitor-General has finished.
" Jf the Lords decide against the Queen, I shall go to
pay my respects to her, being convinced of her innocence.
1 Roger Wilbraham, Esq., of 11, Stratton Street, Piccadilly, of.
whom I shall presently again have occasion to speak.
x.] THE KING'S SOLICITOR-GENERAL. 235
If she is acquitted by the Lords, I shall not go, being
determined to go to no Court. I have heard enough in
forty-two days to be determined not to trouble myself
about kings or queens."
On the evening of the 6th of November the House
divided on the second reading. Contents 123, non-
contents, 95, majority 28. With the second reading of
the Bill the judicial part of the proceedings was brought
to a close, and the gentlemen of the long robe retired
from the scene. To speak of the four principal per-
formers in this drama, the palm of oratory would, I
suppose, be awarded to Brougham; yet to my mind the
eloquence of my honoured friend Thomas Demuan was
scarcely less effective than that of his gifted leader. His
noble cast of features, the honest expression of his coun-
tenance, the deep-toned melody of his voice, the happy
choice of his language, his dignified irony, his consistent
political conduct, and his irreproachable private character,
all these, together with the belief that he was firmly
convinced of the innocence of his client, combined to
produce a most favourable impression upon his hearers.
It was greatly to the disadvantage of Sir Eobert Gilford,
the King's Attorney-General, that he had to follow such a
speaker, for he lacked the external graces which rendered
the addresses of his professional adversary so attractive-
Sir Eobert was a red-faced little man, wanting in dignity
both in manner and appearance ; his language seemed ill-
chosen, his voice was painfully shrill, and an incorrect ear
caused him to place the accent mostly on the wrong word.
Although a much better speaker than his principal, Sir
John Singleton Copley, the Solicitor-General, could not
bear a comparison with either Broughan or Denman. He
had a disagreeable expression of countenance a sort of
scowl, which, however, wore away as he advanced in years.
236 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
His manner had not the naturalness of his opponents, it
was too theatrical, and his style of speaking suggested to
me the spouting manner which schoolboys acquire by
reciting hexameter verses.
A quarter of a century later it was my delight to listen
to the finished orations of Lord Lyndhurst, but I could
hardly persuade myself that the " Nestor of the House of
Lords " was the same person whom I had heard plead at
its bar for a verdict against Queen Caroline.
Perhaps I may have been influenced by my political
prejudices in forming so low an estimate of Copley's
oratorical powers, but I shared with my party the feeling
of dislike with which he was then regarded by them. He
was a recent deserter from the Liberal camp. His conver-
sion had been sudden. Before he became a Court lawyer
he was what would be called a " Eadical " a word in-
grafted upon the English language that same year; he
was also a Bonapartist of the ultra type : his theory was
that nations could not be happy unless all the then
existing thrones were overturned.
When the news reached London that Napoleon had
escaped from Elba, Copley is said to have been walking
in the streets, and to have thrown up his hat in the air
exclaiming, " Now is Europe free ! "
On Tuesday, the 7th of November, my father writes to
my sister Anne :
" I am afraid to reckon the day of my liberation : but
it cannot be very distant.
" The instant the attendance is over I shall set off for
Holkham, where I am anxious enough to see you all again.
Not one moment's voluntary attendance will I give for
either of the persons engaged in this wretched squabble.
And I look, though not with much confidence, to a release
on Friday night or Saturday. It has just come into my
x.] LORD HOLLAND ON THE " CALL OF THE HOUSE." 237
head to ask whether you recollected to write to Miss
Rawlins. 1 If you have not written, you should write now.
I thought of the battue 2 yesterday ; and was glad the day
was so fine. To-day and to-morrow we have holidays,
and this relaxation is useful, for I am nearly done up. The
want of air and exercise for such a length of time affects
me a great deal, and particularly my spirits ; and I find
upon comparing notes with others that they are also so
affected. I never was engaged in any business so irksome,
in which I felt so little interest, and which so fatigued
and disgusted me."
People used at this time to speculate how many
sickly or elderly Peers would owe their death to the
Pains and Penalties Bill. I remember hearing some
verses which I attributed to Lord Erskine, but which I
see, from an article in the World, are from the pen of
Lord Holland :
" In this terrible matter which brings us to town,
"We shall all be knocked up if we are not knocked down ;
None surely will gain by this " Call of the House,"
Save eldest sons, witnesses, lawyers, and grouse."
WILLIAM CHAELES LOED ALBEMAELE TO LADY ANNE
KEPPEL.
" November 8th.
"We drag on slowly, but the end cannot be far off.
We have got through Committee to-day to-morrow will
be the Eeport, and the Bill will pass on Friday. I shall
therefore set off on Saturday morning ; but as the journey
1 My sister's governess.
2 The Holkham battues began the second week in November, and
continued to the last day of the shooting season.
238 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH
at this time of the year is too long for a day, I can only
promise to reach Holkham by dinner-time on Sunday.
" Tell Mr. Coke the Opposition have this day played off
a manoeuvre against the Bill which may possibly defeat it
altogether. Eight or nine Bishops and two or three other
Lords have declared that they could not vote for the Bill
if the Divorce clause continued in. The Archbishop of
York moved that it should be left out; those most in-
veterate against the Queen were for retaining it. The
Opposition in a body joined the latter party, and with
their force have carried the Divorce clause, voting for it
with a view to make the Bill as odious as possible. If
there is honesty in a Bishop, ten or twelve who voted for
the second reading with an implied promise from Lord
Liverpool that the Divorce clause shall be left out, must
now vote against the third reading, as the Divorce clause
is retained ; and thus the majority will be reduced to five
or six. But I have no faith in such honesty."
The sequel showed that my father had not formed too
harsh a judgment of the Episcopal bench. Although
several Bishops had publicly declared that they had
scruples, on religious grounds, in voting for the Divorce
clause, yet, when the matter came to a division, ten out of
thirteen of them voted for the third reading of the Bill
Divorce clause included.
Dr. Vernon, Archbishop of York, who had opposed the
Bill in all its stages, could only obtain the support of two
prelates, Dr. Eyder, Bishop of Gloucester, and Lord George
Beresford, Archbishop of Dublin.
The verdict thus given by the last-mentioned prelate
was not forgotten by the royal plaintiff in the suit. Two
years later, Lord Wellesley, the Viceroy of Ireland,
recommended Lord George Beresford as successor to the
then vacant archbishopric of Armagh. The nomination
x.] GEDRGME 17. AND THE PRIMACY OF IRELAND. 239
was approved by the Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool. In
a " MOST SECRET AND CONFIDENTIAL " letter to that noble-
man, George the Fourth sought to set aside the proposed
appointment. " I am too far advanced in life," writes His
Majesty, " not to give subjects of this description the most
serious and attentive consideration. It is, alas, but too
true, that policy is too often obliged to interfere with our
best intentions ; but I do think, where the head of the
Church is concerned, we ought alone to be influenced by
religious duty. Do not be surprised at this scrupulous
language, for I am quite sincere. I think you would do
well to inquire of the Archbishop of Canterbury, if no
English bishop on the bench can be found fitting and
suitable for such an important trust, and if not, if no
dignitary of the Church in this country can be selected
for that purpose (for you will remember that Dr. Howley
was most justly at once made Bishop of London). Let us
have piety and learning if possible. Besides, I do not
like, I cannot reconcile myself to have the Primacy of
Ireland filled by an Irishman; for let us not forget the
particular circumstances in which we are at present
placed. I have no confidence in Lord Wellesley's opinion
on this subject. I shall say no more, but I desire you to
give this your deliberate consideration." l
The Premier might perhaps have thought that he had
incurred quite enough odium by his late compliance with
the royal will without carrying his subserviency any
further. Be that as it may, he gave no heed to His
Majesty's pious remonstrance, and the only Irish prelate
who had the courage to oppose the Government Bill of
" Pains and Penalties " was translated to the Primacy of
Ireland.
1 D. C. Yonge's Life of the Earl of Liverpool, vol. iii. pp. 9, 10.
240 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [OH.
It is but fair to add that Canon Sumner, in his interesting
memoir of his father, the Bishop, cites this same letter
as evidence of George the Fourth's conscientiousness in
the distribution of ecclesiastical patronage. I cannot
attribute so laudable a motive to the royal writer, the
more especially when I bear in mind his vindictive
exclusion of Thomas Denman from the inner bar on
account of his honest advocacy of Queen Caroline's
cause.
Among the persons who acquired an unenviable
notoriety for their share in the proceedings against the
Queen was Sir John Leach, an equity lawyer of eminence,
previously distinguished for his zealous advocacy of
"Whig principles, but who had quitted the ranks of the
Opposition to become a confidential adviser of the then
Eegent. It was upon his suggestion that persons were
sent to Italy to collect evidence criminatory of the
Princess of Wales, with a view to procure a divorce for
his royal master. While the second "delicate inves-
tigation" was in progress Leach had the imprudence to
visit the country in which it was being carried on ; and as
he in the same year (1819) was appointed Vice-Chancellor,
the public were impressed with the belief that he had
personally suborned witnesses to give evidence against
the Princess, and that he had received the judicial
appointment as a reward for this special service.
The resemblance of Leach's name to that of a certain
animal used for medical purposes furnished a ready-made
pun for the squib-makers, and there was scarcely a
caricature relating to the trial in which was not to be seen
the black worm with a human head in a lawyer's wig.
Towards the close of the trial I went to Drury Lane
to see Edmund Kean in Othello. It was his farewell
performance prior to his departure for America, whither
he was about to proceed to fulfil a theatrical engagement.
x.] "OTHELLO" AND QUEEN CAROLINE. 241
Here was the first actor of Ms day, and in his masterpiece.
But this evening the audience had neither eyes nor ears
for their favourite. Their whole interest in the play was
concentrated in those passages which bore or appeared to
bear some analogy to the event which was absorbing the
public mind.
In the second scene of the fourth act Emilia informs
lago of the opprobrious epithets which Othello has been
heaping upon Desdemona. lago asks :
How conies this trick on him ]
DESDEMONA. Nay, heaven doth know.
EMILIA. I will be hanged if some eternal villain,
Some busy and insinuating rogue,
Some cogging cozening slave, to get some office,
Hath not devised this slander.
Hereupon there arose in the gallery yellings and hootings,
intermixed with cries of " Leach ! Leach ! " The uproar
continued some minutes. When silence was in some
degree restored, the actors resumed their parts.
IAGO. Fye, there's no such man ! it is impossible.
DESDEMONA. If any such there be, Heaven pardon him.
EMILIA. A halter pardon him, and hell gnaw his bones.
*****
The Moor's abused by some most villainous knave,
Some base notorious knave, some scurvy fellow.
Oh heaven, that such companions thou'dst unfold,
And put in every honest hand a whip
To lash the rascal naked through the world,
Even from the east to the west.
These words were followed by tremendous applause, by
the wavings of hats and handkerchiefs, and by other
tokens of approval of the sentiment implied. After
another long pause, the performance proceeded.
R
242 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [en.
DESDEMONA. (kneeling). Here I kneel.
If e'er my will did trespass 'gainst his love,
Either in discourse or actual deed ;
*****
Or that I do not yet, and ever did,
And ever will tho' he do shake me off
To beggarly divorcement love him dearly,
Comfort forswear me.
There are few educated men of the present day who do
not feel how ill Desdemona's protestations of fidelity and
affection would apply to the case of the Queen Consort ;
but the gallery thought otherwise ; they could only see in
Caroline of Brunswick the ill-treated but still innocent
and loving wife consequently there were loud cheers for
the Queen, and the applause was more vehement than
before.
In a Christmas pantomime of this year, one of the
scenes described the Fives Court of the King's Bench
Prison. Suddenly enters a barrister in a wig and gown,
carrying a "green bag." 1 His appearance produces an
immense excitement among the prisoners, who forthwith
toss him in a blanket, green bag and all. The gallery
viewed the spectacle with intense delight, and begged that
the rascal might have another toss.
On the 10th of November Lord Liverpool withdrew his
Bill of Pains and Penalties. This virtual defeat of the
Government was celebrated by illuminations and other
tokens of popular rejoicing throughout the length and
breadth of the land.
The Duke of Sussex went from Tonbridge Wells to pay
a visit of congratulation to the Queen at Brandenburg
House. On his return I accompanied his Koyal Highness
to a meeting at the "Wells." where such of the visitors
1 The evidence of the Milan Commision was laid before both
Houses of Parliament in a green bag.
x.] BETTY RADCLIFFE AND THE DUKE OF SUSSEX. 243
as disapproved of the Ministerial attempt to set aside the
law of the land endeavoured to get up an Address to the
Queen congratulating her upon her escape out of the
hands of her enemies. The Duke took a prominent part
in the proceedings, That same evening there was a ball
at the Assembly Eooms ; but at midnight the local
authorities, who were of the adverse faction, took away
our fiddlers, and the Master of the Ceremonies withdrew
his countenance from us by retiring. But we determined to
" Confound their politics,
And frustrate their knavish tricks ; "
we elected Mr. Douglas Kinnaird our provisional Master
of the Ceremonies, and under his tuition went through
the figures of the quadrille without instrumental music,
humming the tunes, as well as our laughter would enable
us to do so.
From Tonbridge Wells I went with the Duke of Sussex
to Battle Abbey, on a visit to Sir Godfrey Webster. At
the bottom of the hill on which the town of Battle is
built the horses were taken out of the carriage, and we
were dragged up to the Abbey by the populace amidst
cries of "The Queen and Sussex for ever!" We were
welcomed within the gates of the Abbey by a military
band and by a salvo of artillery. Here a large party
were assembled to meet the Duke, among whom were
Sir Francis Burdett and Mr. Hobhouse, the then radical
members for Westminster, and other advanced members
of the Liberal party.
Our next visit was to Newstead Abbey, which Colonel
Wildman had a few years before purchased of his friend
Lord Byron.
From Newstead we paid a third visit to Holkham. In
passing through Thetford I shook hands with my old
friend Betty Radcliffe. She was a violent anti-Queenite,
244 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
and desired rne to take a message to the Duke, condemning
the part he had taken in the trial. As the expressions she
used were of the homeliest description, I advised her to give
the Duke a piece of her mind in person. This she did,
without any circumlocution, much to his Eoyal Highness's
amusement
. On our return to town I accompanied the Duke of
Sussex to the "Beefsteak Club," of which "Sublime
Society " he was a member.
I was seated between Mr. Stephenson, secretary to the
Duke, and afterwards my brother-in-law, and Alderman
Wood ; the latter, one of the most prominent men of the
day for the advocacy of the Queen's cause both in and out
of Parliament.
As I did not know Mr. Wood by sight, I asked Stephen-
son the name of my next neighbour. Without answering
me, he rose, and, with much seriousness of manner, declared
it to be his painful duty to bring under the consideration
of the Club the extraordinary conduct of " Brother Wood,"
which had brought discredit upon the Sublime Society.
He then improvised some alleged disrespect to the Queen
whom he designated as the beloved Consort of her dear
lord, our highly popular and never-to-be-sufficiently-
venerated Sovereign and ended by moving that the
offending brother should be given in custody of the
:Sergeant-at-arms to receive sentence from the Recorder.
Anon appeared the cook, a solemn-looking man, dressed
in the white cap, jacket, and apron peculiar to his calling,
.and carrying, sword-fashion, a huge carving-knife. He
approached the Alderman, who immediately became his
prisoner.
The Recorder, named Richards, was solicitor to the
Duke of Sussex and brother of a then popular chemist
in St. James's Street.
After dwelling some time on the heinousness of the
x.] ALDERMAN WOOD AT THE BEEFSTEAK CLUB. 245
offence, the Eecorder put on his head the cap in which
Garrick used to play "Abel Drugger," and sentenced
"Brother Wood" to pass two hours of the following day
in the company of "Brother ," the most taciturn,
and at this time of day there is no harm in saying the
dullest man in the club.
The Alderman heard his sentence with a deep groan,
and declared that human malignity could not have devised
a heavier punishment.
CHAPTER XI.
Ordered out to India. Appointed Aide-de-camp to Lord Hastings.
My tetes-d-tete with the Governor-General. Calcutta Theatricals.
Jackal Hunting. An Indian Fever. A Cobra de Capello.
General Hardwick's Snakery. A Suttee. Lord Hastings em-
barks for Europe. I am appointed Aide-de-camp to the Governor-
General ad interim. Set out on my Overland Journey. Arrival
at Bombay. Captain Marryat. His Caricatures. My brother
Tom in a gale of wind. My brother Harry in another.
Marryat's prose improvisations.
[1821.] I HAD been so long absent from duty that I had
almost forgotten that I was a soldier. Towards the close
of 1820, however, I was reminded of the fact by the
receipt of a prosaic missive from the Horse Guards, in-
timating that Lieutenant Keppel of the 24th Regiment
was forthwith to proceed to Chatham, there to join a
detachment of his regiment under orders to proceed to join
the head-quarters stationed in Bengal. In obedience to this
command, I, on the 14th of January, 1821, marched with
the said detachment from Chatham to Northfleet, whence
I embarked on board the Lowther Castle, East Indiaman.
Half a century has not obliterated from my mind the
feeling of depression with which I stepped on deck. The
crew were getting in the live-stock. Such hallooing, bleat-
ing, cackling, grunting, and quacking, such a villainous
compound of bad smells ! All was noise, dirt, and
confusion. I was sitting shivering on a hen-coop in silent
despair when my friend Mr. Archibald Macdonald, who
had come to take leave of me, hearing that the ship would
H. XL] EMBARK FOR INDIA. 247
not be ready for sea for a couple of days, took me back
with him to town, to dine at the " Catch and Glee Club "
my last London gaiety for some years.
The next morning I took my place on the outside of one
of the Greenwich stages, which were then running twice a
day to and from London. The driver called my attention
to a little steamboat wending its way down the Thames.
It was the first I ever remember to have seen. There
were, I believe, few of these boats plying "between the
bridges," but it was thought a rash act for one of them to
venture so near to the river's mouth. " There's the things,"
said my jehu, " that will ruin us coachmen." Some years
later I travelled the same road, and I thought of the
prophetic remark of coachee. Steamers were indeed
running every hour during the day, but so also were
Gravesend stage-coaches.
As these "floating hotels," as Indiamen used to be'
called, were thoroughly well victualled, they had no
occasion to run into port for water or provisions ; conse-
quently we passengers could not look forward to breaking
the monotony of the voyage by an occasional trip on land.
I was debating how I should dispose of my abundant
spare time, when I stumbled on Sir William Jones's
Persian Grammar, which placed the language of which
it treats in so attractive a form that a knowledge of it
seemed to me to be 'an easy attainment. Accordingly I
devoted a part of each day to its study. In this manner
I picked up more Persian in the four months on board
the Lowiher Castle than I did Latin in the same number
of years at Westminster School under the heavy ferule of
Dr. Page.
With the knowledge of the language thus acquired on
shipboard I afterwards managed to make my way from
the Persian Gulf to the mouths of the Volga, without
experiencing the slightest inconvenience for the want of a
248 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
medium of communication with the various Mohammedan
nations through whose countries my road lay.
I will not ask my readers to share with me the tedious-
ness of a long sea- voyage ; suffice it to say, that exactly
four calendar months (May 23) after the Lowther Castle
weighed anchor in the Downs she dropped again in
Saugor Eoads.
The next day I landed at the City of Palaces, and
shortly after had an audience of the Marquis of Hastings,
Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of India, to
whom I brought letters from his niece, Lady William
Eussell, Mr. Coke of Holkham, Lord Lauderdale, and Lord
Holland. These served me in good stead, for there
happened to be a vacancy on his personal staff, to which
I was immediately appointed.
The following week I accompanied Lord Hastings to his
country seat at Barrackpore to take my turn of aide-de-
camp in waiting. We dined at four in the afternoon.
After dinner two phaetons, each drawn by four white
horses, came to the door. On one side were ranged seven
elephants gaudily caparisoned, especially the one destined
to carry the " Lord Sahib," which bore the title of Bahadur
(General), and had " a livery more guarded than its
fellows." On a word from the Mahout the Bahadur went
on all-fours to receive its load. A ladder was placed
against its side; Lord Hastings ascended, and bade me
seat myself beside him. My first ride was not altogether
agreeable. The equilateral movement of the animal in its
walk too much resembled that of a ship in a heavy swell.
I remember being struck with the beauty of an air-plant
which formed a succession of festoons over our heads.
The elephant was ordered to gather it for me. The
delicate manner in which it separated the tender parasite
from the tree with its trunk could not have been outdone-
by the most delicate of human fingers.
xr.] LOED HASTINGS ON SHAKESPEARE. 249
One evening, my attention was arrested by the behaviour
of the elephant that was to carry the Governor-General.
It would not stand still for a moment, but kept constantly
shaking the little ornamental bells of its howdah-cloth.
On inquiry, I found that the " Bahadur " being indisposed,
this animal supplied its place, and that its contortions
arose from the pleasure it felt at the gaudiness of its
apparel. When I approached the conceited beast it "was
making a noise with its trunk like the purring of a cat.
I used greatly to enjoy these elephantine rides. It was
gratifying to a youngster to be on terms of familiar
intercourse with a man who, as soldier, orator, or states-
man, had been before the world for nearly half a century.
On public occasions Lord Hastings was the most stately of
human beings ; you then saw only the haughty ruler over
a hundred and odd millions of fellow-creatures ; but
Ute-a-Ute in a howdah he was totally different, would talk
freely on all subjects, and make no secret of his disputes
with the East India Directors, who were everything in his
eyes but his " much approved and esteemed good masters."
But the subject that most interested me was his military
career. He flushed his maiden sword in 1773 at Bunker's
Hill, where as Francis Rawdon, a captain of Grenadiers,
he had two bullets through his cap. Two of his younger
brothers were also in the action. One of them, John, the
maternal grandfather of the present Duke of Bedford, left
a leg on the field of battle. Lord Hastings's last military
achievement was in 1817, when by strategically concen-
trating the armies of Bengal, Madras, and Bombay, on a
given spot on a given day, he annihilated the Pindarrees
and wholly subverted the power of the Mahrattas.
There was one subject in which the General and his
aide-de-camp took a common interest, we were both
enthusiastic admirers of Shakespeare. As we were
tolerably well up in our author, we used to recite to
250 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
each other our favourite passages, and occasionally with
such emphasis that I often wondered what the Mahout
must have thought of our seeming altercations.
Like Horace Walpole, Lord Hastings was a stout
apologist for Eichard the Third, and differed from the
view that his favourite bard has taken of his character.
He contended that Eichard was to be judged by the moral
standard of the age in which he lived, and not by ours ;
that his humanity was on a par with that of Edward the
Fourth, and that in his short reign of king he did much
to mitigate the tyrannical measures of his elder brother.
I was amused to hear him defend Eichard for cutting off
the head of his ancestor the Lord Hastings of that day,
he thought that self-preservation fully warranted the
deed.
Private theatricals formed one of the principal amuse-
ments in Calcutta in my day. I was not long in enlisting
in the corps. Our theatre, the " Chowringhee," was about
the size of the Haymarket. In point of scenery and
decoration, of everything in short that in theatrical
language goes by the name of "properties," it could vie
with a London playhouse. As for our actors, some of
them had grown grey and bald in the service, and would
have done no discredit to any boards.
I made my first appearance as Dick Dashall in Morton's
comedy of " The Way to Get Married." The part of
Tangent was in the hands of Mr. Alsop, a Calcutta
stipendiary magistrate, a son-in-law of Mrs. Jordan the
actress. He was our stage manager, and as much at home
in that calling as if he had never followed any other. He
was an excellent actor of all work, and wore with equal
grace the sock and the buskin.
Toby Allspice was personated by Horace Hayman
"Wilson, the first Oriental scholar of his day, known in
after times for his continuation of Mill's "History of
XL] CALCUTTA HUNT. 251
India" and as Boden Professor of Sanscrit in the University
at Oxford. In some characters he was without an equal.
Our performance took place on a Friday, in order to
secure the attendance of the Governor-General, who came
from Barrackpore on that day of the week to attend Council.
His Excellency always visited us in great state ; wore all
his decorations, not omitting the diamond star of the Garter
which the Prince Regent had taken off his own breast to
place upon his. He was attended by his whole staff of
aides-de-camp, secretaries, doctors, and interpreter, escorted
by his own body-guard of cavalry and received by an
infantry guard of honour at the theatre. At the door the
managers were in attendance to conduct his Excellency to
his box in the centre of the house, where chairs of state
were placed for his and Lady Hastings's reception.
On the Monday following a play-night the amateurs
met at the theatre to agree upon the next representation.
At my suggestion they formed themselves into the
"Calcutta Theatrical Beefsteak Club." The institution
was quite a success, and brought around us some of the
most agreeable men of the Presidency, whether residents
in the capital or birds of passage. We used to dine on
the stage. The cast of our next play was the first business
of the evening ; that disposed of, a pianoforte was placed
at the foot of the dinner-table and presided over by a
professional musician, and the rest of the evening was
passed in speechifying and in singing catches and glees.
In spite of the warnings of wiser and older heads, I
could not resist the temptations of the hunting-field.
The Calcutta Hunt was a thoroughly well-conducted
establishment. I used to think we made a splendid
appearance at the cover side. Two sons of Tippoo Sultan,
state prisoners of " John Company," always formed part
of our field. One of these " Mysore princes " I met a
year or two ago in a London assembly. Our sport was
252 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH..
uniformly good, and we never knew what it was to draw
blank. The scent was burning and the pace sometimes
killing. I prided myself on my stud. One of my
hunters, a hard-mouthed, self-willed animal, always in-
sisted upon being well up to the hounds, and acquired
for its rider the name of the " Flying Dutchman."
Few persons could indulge in this sport with impunity.
Soon after following to the grave a brother sportsman,
who landed at Calcutta the same day as I did, I was
myself laid low with what was called the pucka fever.
The staff-surgeon to whom I was consigned was nick-
named " Joe Manton," after the famous gunmaker, from
the supposed killing qualities of his prescriptions. By
God's good providence, I survived the disease and the
remedies, but for some time I was hovering between life
and death. One morning Lord Hastings paid me a visit,
which I rightly conjectured was intended as a last farewell.
The disorder was then at its crisis. My doctor had ordered
the external application of some strong acid, and Alsop,
my brother actor, took off his coat and waistcoat to carry
out the prescription. While so employed, a friend came to
the door, but immediately closed it after him. The inter-
val between death and interment in India is necessarily
brief. On the evening of the day on which Lord Hastings
paid me a visit a large party of my acquaintance met at
the burial-ground. They had been informed by the friend
who had peeped in at my door that " Keppel was dead,
for he had seen the undertaker washing the body."
One day that I was walking in the conservatory of the
Barrackpore Government House, I nearly trod on a cobra de
capello. It had wound itself into a circle so as to resemble
a coil of rope, and was so like in colour to the stone pave-
ment as not to be easily discernible. Attracted doubtless
by the moisture, which a serpent so delights in, it occupied
the damp spot from which a large flower-pot had lately
XL] A COBRA DE CAPELLO. 253
been removed. As I had no weapon at hand wherewith
to do it battle, I allowed it to escape. A few days after-
wards (June 17) a cowboy who had been bitten by a cobra
was brought to the Government House in the hope that
Dr. Sawers, the Governor-General's physician in attendance,
would cure him. The doctor gave him some Eau de Luce,
but the poor lad was past recovery, and died in about half
an hour. While living, his body was in a state of perfect
repose, the hands open, the palms upwards. There can
be no doubt that the asp which Cleopatra employed for
her own destruction was the cobra, which she selected
probably as the instrument most likely to procure an easy
death. Shakespeare makes her call it
" The pretty worm of Nilus,
That kills and pains not."
The clown who brings the serpent tells the queen that " his
biting is immortal, and that those who die of it do seldom
or never recover."
But Sawers contradicted, not what the clown said, but
what he intended to say. He, the doctor, once saved the
life of a soldier who had been bitten by a cobra. His
remedies were large doses of brandy, and keeping the
patient, while supported by two men, constantly walking
up and down the room, the poor fellow begging in vain to
be allowed to lie down and die.
The time when the cobra is most to be dreaded is in the
rainy season. It is then that the reptile, washed out of
its hole, wanders in search of a new home. A not in-
frequent place of refuge is a bath-room, into which it
effects an entrance by the aperture that is made for the
escape of the refuse water. Not less than three cobras had
been killed in the bath-room which I occupied.
My palanquin-bearers warned me against killing a cobra.
They told me that some of its relations would avenge its
254 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
death. They were not aware that Pliny tells a somewhat
similar story.
It is probable that the belief which the Hindoos share
with the Eoman naturalist respecting the revengeful spirit
of the cobra has allowed these reptiles to make such head
in India. It appears by a recent publication that in the
Presidency of Bengal alone no less than 11,416 persons
died of snake-bite in 1869.
The general in command of the Barrackpore district in
my time, an old gentleman of the name of Hard wick, was
passionately fond of cobras, of which he had a large
collection. His pets being of a truant disposition, would
frequently escape into the adjoining compounds, to the
no small annoyance and terror of his neighbours. I once
paid a visit to his snakery. I saw him seize a cobra by the
tail with his right hand, while he passed the body of the
animal rapidly through his left till he reached the hood.
He then forced open the serpent's mouth and showed the
poison-bag at the base of the fangs. When he let the
reptile go, so far from showing irritation at such rough
usage, it seemed rather gratified at having been chosen to
exhibit the idiosyncrasy of its species in its own person.
I forget the name of the author, but I have seen a
published account of General Hardwick's collection of
reptiles.
I find, from a note which I made of the occurrence, that
on the morning of the 14th of October, 1822, I witnessed
at a distance, at a village called Howrah, on the right
bank of the Ganges, the burning of a woman on the
funeral pile of her husband. As I was on the left or
Calcutta side of the river, I could hear nothing but the
sound of human voices and tamtams, and could see little
more than an assemblage of figures in white robes hovering
round the flames.
The pile was set on fire by the son of the widow, and
XL] A SUTTEE. 255-
she, in conformity with the practice prevalent in Bengal,
was made fast to the faggots by two bamboos placed across
her body.
On my return to the Government House, I had a long
conversation with Lord Hastings's Circar (native house-
steward), a wealthy Brahmin of high caste. I quoted the
opinions of Earn Mohun Eoy, who had written several
pamphlets against the concremation of widows, as being
contrary to the Vedas, or sacred writings of the Hindoos.
The Circar stoutly defended the practice. A few months
later he died. In his will he made ample provision for
his widow, and left express directions that she should not
ascend his funeral pile.
Suttee was abolished in India about six years after I left
the country, that is to say in 1829, under Lord William
Bentinck's administration. It continued, however, in
native states till 1847, when Lord Hardinge procured
from Hindoo princes and chiefs its abolition.
During the interval between 1829 and 1847 it was the
duty of British officers located in foreign states to be
present at any case of Suttee, so as to see that no
coercion was used, and to prevail upon the widow, if
possible, to forego her intention. My friend Sir Erskine
Perry has given me the following details of a Suttee,
communicated to him by Mr. Graver Lumsden, at which
that gentleman presided, in one of the small native states
of the Bombay Presidency :
" The widow in this case was a young beauty of very
good caste and means. The procession to the pyre was
most solemn and picturesque. She, dressed in her best,
and with all her jewels on, attended by servants carrying
presents, walked slowly round the pile of faggots ; and
with a heavenly smile on her countenance, and expressive
of happiness that could not be gainsaid, distributed her
gifts to all around. Then ascending the pile, and taking
256 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
her husband's head in her lap, she set fire to the funeral
pile, and expired without a groan, and with the self-
satisfaction of the most devoted martyr."
[1823.] On New Year's Day of this year Lord Hastings,
dissatisfied with his treatment by the East India Company,
threw up his high office, and embarked for Europe in
H.M.S. Jupiter. In the interval between his departure
and the arrival in India of his successor, the government
devolved provisionally on Mr. John Adam, the senior
member of Council, who kindly appointed me to the same
post that I had occupied in Lord Hastings's family.
Soon after the arrival of Lord Amherst, the Governor-
General appointed from home, I set out on my long-
projected Oriental journey. Commodore Grant was to
have given me a berth on board the frigate in which his
broad pennant was flying, but before I could avail myself
of his kindness the cholera broke out on board. It may
be worthy of remark that the disease confined its ravages
to midships, leaving the fore and after part of the vessel
wholly unassailed.
Early in November I took a passage in a merchantman
to Bombay. As the vessel came to an anchor in the
harbour of that island, Captain Gillespie, aide-de-camp to
the Hon. Mountstuart Elphinstone, the Governor, caine
alongside, and, in obedience to the orders of his chief,
carried me with him to Pareil, one of the Governor's
country seats, which became my head-quarters during
my stay.
It was worth a trip to Bombay if only to make
acquaintance with its Governor. I have the most pleasing
reminiscences of that accomplished scholar and very
agreeable companion. Mr. Elphinstone took a lively
interest in my projected journey, strongly urged me to
publish an account of my travels, and suggested several
hints which proved of much service to the inchoate author.
XT.] THE ARIADNE CLAWING OFF A LEE SHORE. 257
No person could have been better qualified to offer advice
on such a subject, for his " Account of the Kingdom of
Caubul" is, from the fidelity of its narrative and the
gracefulness of its diction, a model to writers of travels
through semi-barbarous countries.
In Bombay harbour I first made acquaintance with
Frederick Marryat, then in command of H.M.S. Lome.
He had not at that time written any of his charming
sea-novels, but he was not unknown to the public as a
caricaturist. Two of his productions long held their
place in the shop-windows.
One of these represented was " a lee lurch on board an
Indiaman." Some forty ladies and gentlemen are seated
at the cuddy dinner-table, which suddenly describes an
angle of 45 degrees ; the guests to leeward are frantically
grasping the table-cloth. A negro boy with a tureen of
boiling pea-soup is holding on by his heels ; you see at a
glance what must happen next.
The other is a very tolerable likeness of Marryat him-
self. He is in full uniform at the Court of a sort of " King
Coffee." His Majesty is sitting cross-legged, surrounded
by a body guard, at the top of whose spears are bleeding
heads. Three giggling negresses, grouped and attired as
the Graces usually are, occupy the foreground : they are
the three daughters of the cannibal king. The captain is
to choose which of them he will make his wife ; he has
his hand on his heart, and his look of embarrassment is
truly admirable.
The Lome at this time was more like a menagerie than
a man-of-war, and its captain by no means a bad show-
man. Of the manner in which he played this part I was
strongly reminded, when a year or two later I read the
account of Peter Simple among the wild beasts at Ports -
down Fair.
The sensational and graphic description of clawing off a
s
258 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
lee shore in the " King's Own " is by no means an exag-
gerated account of what actually happened to the Ariadne
frigate off the Deserta Islands on the 23rd of November,
1829, at which time Marryat was in command of her. My
brother Tom, who was one of his lieutenants, told me that
"all hands" had given themselves up for lost, that they
kicked off their shoes and stockings and rushed into the
rigging, there to await the expected catastrophe.
A similar adventure befell my brother the Admiral. He
was a midshipman on board the Tweed frigate at the time.
Off the Azores, his ship found herself in a heavy gale,
a dense fog, close hauled and with the island of Pico
under her lee. Suddenly there was a cry from the look-out
man of " Breakers ahead ! " In such a sea to tack was
impossible. It became necessary to " wear." This process
brought the Tweed in such fearful proximity to a ledge of
rock that destruction seemed inevitable. Harry was
stationed in the mizen-top. As did his younger brother in
a like dilemma, he cast off shoes and stockings. He
then " shinned up " to the topmast head. His idea was
that if, as he expected, the ship should go to pieces, the
higher he could mount aloft, the better would be his
chance of being hurled over the reef into smooth water to
leeward.
Twenty-eight gun ships were called, from their lack
of speed, " donkey frigates." The Tweed was a craft of this
class ; but though a dull sailer she was the handiest of sea
boats, and having been skilfully tackled, carried her crew
into the open sea, where in comparative safety she success-
fully rode out the remainder of the gale.
The next time that Marryat and I met after parting
company in the harbour of Bombay was the year following
in the Duke of Sussex's apartments in Kensington Palace.
In that short interval, although our routes lay in oppo-
site directions, we had each had some novel glimpses of
XL] MAEEYAT A CANDIDATE FOE PAELIAMENT. 259
Oriental life : I in my Overland Journey, he in Birmah, in
the war with which country he played a distinguished
part. Among other curiosities which he brought from a
spot then less known than the watersheds of the Nile now
are, was a Birmese slave boy, whom he made a present of
to the Duke of Sussex. His Eoyal Highness clothed the
lad in a fantastic dress, and he remained many years a
member of his establishment.
Before Marryat's inventive genius found a vent in sea
novels, it used to disport itself in the coinag eof wonderful
adventures purporting to have happened to himself. These
tales were within the verge of possibility, and that's all.
It was amusing to observe the puzzled faces of the Duke's
guests as they listened to these " voyages imaginaires,"
and the implicit credence which his Eoyal Highness, and
the rest of us who were in the secret, appeared to give to
them completed the mystification.
I hardly know whether I ought to quote the following
sample of the manner in which my friend occasionally
let loose the reins of his fancy. He was member of a
book-club in Kensington. At the annual sale the sub-
scribers voted him their auctioneer. Among the works
to be disposed of was a copy of my Overland Journey.
Marryat told his audience that he was personally ac-
quainted with its author, and then proceeded to improvise
such an amusing account of its supposed contents, that it
was knocked down to some bidder at three shillings above
the cost price.
In the election for the first Reformed Parliament
Marryat was a candidate for the Tower Hamlets, in the
Eadical interest. The party which he espoused were very
keen for the abolition of corporal punishment in the two
war professions. He was haranguing a numerous audi-
ence, when a man in the crowd called out, " Now, Marryat !
how about flogging ? "
s 2
260 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH. xi.
" I would abolish it in the army," was the reply.
"But in the navy?"
" Certainly not."
"Then, Captain, I don't trust myself on board your
ship."
" If you do, I shall turn the hands up and give you
a round dozen ! "
The rejoinder produced a laugh at the expense of the
querist. How many votes to the candidate is quite
another question.
CHAPTEE XII.
Preparations for my Overland Journey. My Fellow-Travellers.
Embark on board H.M.S. Alligator. Yard-arm Smith. Land
at Bussorah. Horse-racing in the Desert. Prepare for our Trip
up the Tigris. Our Arab Guard. Take leave of our Shipmates
Arab Black Mail. Our Voyage up the River. Koorna. Our
first Interview with the Desert Arabs. Partridge Shooting in
the. Desert. A Lion and Lioness. Arrive at Bagdad. Visit
to the ruins of Babylon. The Pasha of Bagdad. A residence
of Caliph Haroun al Raschid. Reflections thereupon. We
leave Bagdad. Are Waylaid. Arrive at Kermanshah. A
curious order of Knighthood. An Arab Outlaw. A Moolah.
A Royal Funeral. We prevent a Duel. The Moolah's opinion
of Duelling. An audience with the Prince Governor.
[1824.] AT the beginning of each year, Bombay used to be
the resort of travellers who wished, on returning to Europe,
to avoid the long sea- voyage round the Cape. What was
called the " Overland journey " comprised merely a two
days' trip across the Isthmus of Suez. My peregrinations
embraced a much wider field, and extended to countries
then but little known, and a portion of them even now
remaining untrodden by the traveller.
It was in the month of January, 1824, that Mr. Ker
Baillie Hamilton, Captain Hart of the 4th Light Dragoons,
and Dr. Lamb arrived from different parts of India, in the
island of Bombay, bent on a like expedition to my own.
They became my fellow-travellers, and Captain Alexander,
K.N., kindly helped us on our journey by giving us a
262 FIFTY YEAES OF MY LIFE. [CH.
passage to Bussorah in the Alligator frigate, of which he
had the command.
"On the 27th of January we weighed and sailed.
Before sunset the town of Bombay had disappeared from
view, and the high ghauts (mountains) which mark this
coast were all we could discern of Indian land."
Thus begins Keppel's " Overland Journey to England,"
in which the adventures of its author appear duly
chronicled.
To return to the Alligator, Her first lieutenant bore
the name of Smith not a very uncommon one, perhaps
but he, like many others of its gallant bearers, was
distinguished by a sobriquet which he had won in battle,
and by which he w r as popularly known in the Navy.
This prefix he obtained by his conduct in the famous
action between the Chesapeake and the Shannon in 1813.
The circumstances connected with that passage of arms
were worthy of the days of chivalry. A short time
previously Captain Broke wrote a very polite and even
Mattering letter to Captain Lawrence of the Chesapeake,
hoping that he would do him the honour to come out of
harbour and try his strength with him. The challenge
was promptly and courteously accepted, and the captain
of the Chesapeake sailed out of Boston amidst the cheers
of his countrymen, who prepared an entertainment in
anticipation of his victory. As the two ships came to
close quarters, Stevens, the boatswain of the Shannon,
who had served under Rodney and Nelson, lashed them
together. After some desperate fighting Broke succeeded
in gaining the quarter-deck of the enemy with about
sixty of his followers. At the same moment William
Smith entered the Chesapeake by the fore -yard- arm. The
Americans in the rigging fled at his approach on to the
deck. One of them, however, he caught by the waistband
of his trousers, and hove out of the top. The last who
xii.] THE IMAUM OF MUSCAT. 263
sought to make his escape was a hulking midshipman,
with huge boots like those of an English trawler; the
foretopmast back-stay had been shot away and trailed on
the forecastle. By this rope he slid down, but before he
could reach the deck Smith's feet were on his shoulders,
and in this fashion they came down together by the run.
The first use that Captain Broke made of his victory
was to stay the impetuosity of his men. While so
employed three American sailors attacked him from
behind. "Broke parried the pike of his first assailant
and wounded him in the face. Before he could recover
his guard, the second foe struck him with a cutlass on the
side of the head, and instantly on this the third American
drove home his comrade's weapon until a large part of
the skull was cloven entirely away, and the brain was laid
bare."
At the moment that Broke sank bleeding on the deck
Smith had reached the enemy's forecastle in the manner
already described. He hastened to raise his captain,
followed by the American midshipman, who expected
every moment to fall a victim to the fury of the
assailants ; and such would have been his fate if Broke,
the moment before 'he lost all consciousness, had not
touched his collar. So the life of the prisoner was saved,
and his English captor promoted to a lieutenancy.
I was not personally acquainted with Sir Philip Broke,
but I \ised to see him frequently at the levees of William
IV., where he was conspicuous for the black skull-cap
which he wore to conceal the handiwork of the three
Americans on his cranium. He fought the action in a
chimney-pot hat, which is to be seen in its cloven state at
Shrubland Park, the seat of his son, Admiral Sir George
Broke Middleton, Bart.
We had a most charming little Voyage up the Gulf,
visiting on our way the Imaum of Muscat, a sovereign
264 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
Arab prince, who very kindly lent us his stud to make an
excursion into the interior.
On the 21st of February we anchored off Bussorah, and
arrived in the, nick of time to see the new Governor, a
Pasha of two tails, make his triumphal entry into the
town. Two days after, Captain Alexander, the officers of
the frigate, and we travellers paid him a visit. We were
regaled in the usual Eastern fashion on sweatmeats, coffee,
pipes, sherbet, and rose-water. At last some chafing-
dishes, containing incense, were brought for perfuming our
beards a ceremony which was gravely performed by
every downy- cheeked midshipman of the Alligator.
"March 1st. We went this morning to a horse-race.
The spot selected was the great desert which commences
immediately outside the town. A circular furrow of two
miles marked the course, the stakes consisting of a small
subscription amongst our European party. Five candi-
dates started for the prize. A coarse loose shirt comprised
all the clothing of the Arab jockey, and the powerful
bit of the country the only equipment of the horse he
bestrode. Thus simply accoutred, at a signal given
the half- naked competitors set off at full speed, each
giving a shout to animate his steed. The prize was
adjudged to an Ethiopian slave. We had neither gay
equipages nor fair ladies to grace our sports, but what we
lost in splendour and beauty we gained in novelty, and
were indemnified for the absence of the bright smile of
woman by the animated sight of turbaned Turks, who
would gallop past us, jereed in hand, challenge each other
to the contest, and, spurred on by their favourite amuse-
ment, would, in the exhilarating air of the desert, lay
aside the gravity of the divan.
" Every youngster of the .Alligator had provided himself
with a half-broke Arabian. One of them, zealous for the
honour of his cloth, challenged me to ride a race with him.
xn.] COMMENCE OUE TRIP UP THE TIGRIS. 265
I accepted ; and, in his eagerness to get the weather-gauge
of the ' soldier officer,' he ran foul of a comrade, whom he
capsized as well as himself. The palm was consequently
adjudged to me, though my competitor swore that he
should certainly have won if 'the lubber had not come
athwart his hawse.' "
The next stage of our journey was to Bagdad. The
ordinary mode of proceeding thither by water was to
procure a passage in one of a fleet of boats which took
their departure at this season of the year, whenever their
numbers were sufficient to protect them from the attacks
of the lawless tribes of wandering Arabs which infested
the banks of the river. Our party, however, adopted an
unusual, but more expeditious course. We started alone,
and had a boat to ourselves. As a defence from the
riparian robbers, we engaged a guard of twenty men
belonging to the tribes through which we should have to
pass. As the voyage was mainly performed by tracking
up stream, and we wished to travel night and day, we
hired a double set of boatmen. Our whole establishment
was under the superintendence of Aboo Nazir, a good-
humoured drunken Arab, whose gratitude for a life thrice
spared by British influence we considered a sufficient
guarantee for his fidelity. To Aboo Nazir we paid before-
hand the amount of tribute which it was expected would
be levied upon us.
As soon as there was sufficient water in the canal our
boat was moored alongside the British factory. When the
gates opened it discovered to us our guard of Arabs, who,
armed with swords, shields, and muskets, scrambled on
board singing and dancing to the rude beating of the
tamtam, and presenting as wild an appearance as their
countrymen against whom they were to protect us.
At ten o'clock on the night of the 6th of March, we
quitted the frigate to go on board our boat. Our ship-
266 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
mates accompanied us to the gangway, gave us a loud
cheer, and bade us an affectionate farewell. We were
setting out on a journey supposed to be beset with
dangers, and one which had been undertaken by few
Europeans. The manner of our messmates showed un-
mistakably that they considered the parting might be a
final one. So indeed it proved to be, but not in the
manner anticipated. My fellow-travellers long survived
the journey, but within two years of their leave-taking,
Captain Alexander and five of his officers had fallen
victims to the Indian climate.
This trip up the Tigris was never attended by any
real danger, provided the claim to black mail was duly
satisfied. But inasmuch as every piastre that did not
find its way into the pocket of the sheikh of a tribe
remained in Aboo Nazir's, he let slip no opportunity of
shirking the contribution, and we, for the fun and excite-
ment sure to be caused by the pious fraud, winked at
what we used to call his " bilking the turnpike." Thus,
when an occasional slant of wind would enable us to
dispense with the tow-rope, we defiantly sailed past the
enemy, all hands mustered on deck for the occasion. We
travellers and our servants appeared in the after-part of
the boat, armed to the teeth, our guard on the forecastle
performed the sword-dance with more than usual energy,
while Aboo Nazir and our boatmen fired a volley of
derisive Arabic upon the angry and bamboozled children
of Ishmael.
On the 4th of March we arrived off Koorna, situated at
a narrow slip of land formed by the confluence of the
Euphrates and Tigris. Two miles above the town the
plantations of date-trees which had hitherto covered the
banks ceased, and the country on both sides was overflowed.
We landed in the afternoon on the west side to shoot.
The ground was very wet, and the state of the vegetation
xii.] OUR FIRST INTERVIEW WITH THE ARABS. 267
indicated little fertility. This desolate country, now
called II Jezeenah (the Island), has claims on our interest '
as the ancient Babylonia, and as the birthplace of Abraham.
It is by some held to be the site of paradise.
March 9th. Half an hour before sunset we arrived at a
village of wandering Arabs. One of them, a wild-looking
savage, ran towards us in a frantic manner, and, throwing
down his turban, demanded Buxis (a present). He was
made to replace his turban, but continued screaming as if
distracted. His noise and our appearance soon collected
a crowd of men, women, and children ; the greater number
had evidently never seen a European before.
When we reached the banks of the river we had to
wait for our boat, which was tracking round a headland.
As we were thus for a time in a state of durance, we stood
with our backs to the water to prevent an attack from the
rear. In the meantime crowds of the Nomads continued
to press forward. As their numbers were greatly superior
to ours, we tried by our manner to show as little distrust
of them as possible. Not so our guards, who, from being
of the same calling as these marauders, treated them with
less ceremony, and stood by us the whole time with their
guns loaded and cocked, their fingers on the triggers, and
the muzzles presented towards the crowd. Some of the
Arabs occasionally came forward to look at our fire-arms,
especially our double-barrelled guns, but, whenever they
attempted to touch them, they were repulsed by our guard,
who kept them at a distance. In the midst of this curious
interview, the sheikh, or chief of the village, a Venerable-
looking old man with a long white beard, came accompanied
by two others, who brought us a present of a sheep, for
which, according to custom, we gave double its value in
money. The sheikh's arrival, and our pecuniary acknow-
ledgment of his present, seemed an earnest of amity, as
the crowd, by his directions, retired to a small distajice
268 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
and formed themselves into a semicircle himself and his
two friends sitting about four yards in front.
The scene to us was of the most lively interest. Around
us, as far as the eye could reach, was a trackless desert,
and immediately in the foreground were the primitive
inhabitants, unchanged probably in dress, customs, or
language since the time of the " wild man," Ishmael,
their common ancestor.
"March l()th. We went out shooting in the desert and
had excellent sport. Hares, black partridges, and snipes
were in the greatest abundance. For my own share of
the game I laid claim to a brace of partridges, not a little
proud that nearly the first birds that ever fell to my gun
should have been killed in the Garden of Eden."
One of my newspaper critics who quoted this passage
of my narrative asked whether instead of partridges the
gallant Captain did not mean " birds of Paradise."
" At 2 P.M. we passed the residence of Sheikh Abdallah
Bin Ali, an Arab chief. As we were wending our way
over the desert tract, unmarked by human habitation, we
approached a boy tending cattle, who ran with all his
might to a small mound, so gradually elevated as to be
scarcely perceptible to us. In an instant, like the dragons'
teeth which Cadmus sowed, a large body of men armed
with spears appeared on the brow of the eminence, and
seemed to have grown out from the till then unpeopled
spot. The men set up a loud shout, in which they were
joined by women and children, who now made their
appearance. All with one accord rushed towards us
demanding the nature of our intentions, but once assured
of our peaceful disposition, their clamour ceased, and in
two minutes we were on the most friendly terms.
"At four o'clock we stopped at a patch of brushwood
jungle, where our boatmen and guard went on shore to
cut wood for fuel. In the midst of this employment, one
xii.] DAVOUD, PASHA OF BAGDAD. 269
of them disturbed a lion that was sleeping under a bush.
The fellow was greatly frightened, and communicated his
terror to his comrades, who hastened on board. The lion
stole away, and the trackers continued their work without
making any objection. Game of every description is
abundant throughout in this ancient kingdom of Nimrod,
that ' mighty hunter before the Lord.' The spot we were
now passing was quite living with animals flesh or fowl.
At every step the boatmen put up pelicans, swans, geese,
ducks, teal, and snipes; wild boars were seen galloping
about in all directions. A lioness strolled towards our
boat and stood staring at us for two or three seconds.
Mr. Hamilton and I both fired at her, but as we were
only loaded with small shot we did her no injury. The
noise of our guns made her turn quietly round, and she
trotted away as leisurely as she came."
On the 21st of March we landed at Bagdad, and became
the guests of Aga Sarkees, the British agent.
On the 24th of March we set out on our visit to the
ruins of Babylon. I do not here repeat the results of
that expedition, inasmuch as they are fully detailed in my
published narrative, and the substance of them is also
embodied in Keith's " Spirit of Prophecy," a work which
its venerable author has lived to see reach its fortieth
edition.
On our return from Babylon, we travellers paid our
respects to the Pasha of Bagdad, and went through the
same ceremonial of sweetmeats, pipes, and coffee, as had
been observed in our visit to his brother, the Governor of
Bussorah.
An extract from my " Overland Journey " will show the
stamp of man to whom, under Ottoman rule, despotic
power was delegated in the first quarter of this century.
"Davoud (David) Pasha is a Georgian by birth, and
was formerly a slave to the then Pasha of Bagdad. At
270 FIFTY YEAES OF MY LIFE. [CH.
an early age he abjured Christianity, and assumed the
character of a Mohammedan devotee. Seating himself at
the Palace gate, he acquired so large a sum by begging
that he became a candidate for the Pashalic. His proposals
to the Grand Signior were accepted and answered in the
usual manner an order for the execution of the ruling
Pasha. This being carried into immediate effect, the
mendicant slave passed quietly into the place of his old
master. He was not long in throwing off the mask of
ascetic. Convinced that a situation gained by blood ' by
blood must be maintained' he has been as ruthless as
any of those who had gone before him in the office. No
less than fifteen hundred persons had fallen victims to
his rapacity or ambition. He is a good-humoured-looking
man, apparently between forty and fifty years of age, and
of very prepossessing manners. During the interview, I
tried to discover in his fine countenance any lines of
remorse, for such a load of crime. I looked in vain and
remembering Byron's descriptive lines of the famous Ali
Pasha of Jannina, found it no less difficult
. ..." 'to trace
The deeds which lurk beneath and stamp him with disgrace.' "
During our stay in Bagdad, we were very anxious to
see anything that could remind us of Haroun al Raschid
of "Arabian Nights'" celebrity; but our researches were
far from satisfactory. A tumble-down house was shown
us as having once been the residence of the renowned
Caliph: there is nothing in its actual appearance worthy
of notice, except the judicious situation in which it is
built. The Tigris washes its wall, and from its lattices is
a fine view of the surrounding scenery.
On returning from this excursion, I made the following
entry in my Journal :
" Here it may not be irrelevant to offer a few remarks
xii.] LEAVE BAGDAD FOR KERMANSHAH. 271
on that disposition so observable in Eastern nations to
allow the works of antiquity to fade to decay. The Turk,
careless and indolent, dozes through his existence un-
mindful of the future. With us the actions of our
forefathers are associated with our own. One of the
motives which stimulates us to present exertions is the
recollection of our predecessors, and the hope of handing
down our own name to posterity. The Turk, from the
insecurity of property, and the frail hold by which he
clings to life, regards merely the present moment. To-
morrow, he may be dead, or he may be a beggar. To-day
is his existence. He knows that, like the mighty Davoud,
the slave may become the three-tailed bashaw, but he
also knows that the same sum which purchased the head
of his predecessor may be given for his own. He exercises
power while he may in extortion and oppression. Prodigal
of the life of others, careless of his own, he yields when
his turn comes with the indifference of a predestinarian,
and respectfully submits his neck to the bow-string
whenever the vicar of the Holy Prophet dooms him to
destruction."
Fifty-two years ago, when I penned the foregoing
paragraph, it was with a strong presentiment that the
Eastern potentate with whom I had lately been sipping
coffee would illustrate in his own person the appositeness
of my reflections. So it turned out in the sequel. Soon
after the narrative of this journey had passed through the
press, I heard that Davoud Pasha had died the same
death as that to which he had subjected his predecessor
in office.
We left Bagdad on the 8th of April en route to
Kermanshah, the capital of Coordistan. Two days later
we crossed from the Turkish into the Persian dominions.
This was by far the most dangerous part of our journey.
Armed with a firman or Persian passport, the English
272 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
traveller was almost as safe as in his own country, but
lacking it, he was virtually an outlaw, and could claim no
immunity from any attack that might be made upon him.
Although no actual harm befell our party, we were
several times waylaid on our journey to Kermanshah.
On one occasion, shoctly before daybreak, three men on
horseback the apparent leader of whom rode a black
horse came suddenly into the narrow mountain-pass
through which we were riding, and seemed to be watching
us. We thought their conduct somewhat suspicious in
this land of robbers, for they preceded us for several
miles, but at last they struck into the mountains and
disappeared. We heard of them afterwards from a young
Arab chieftain at Kermanshah, who informed us that
twenty Coords of the Calor tribe (one of the most
powerful of Coordistan) had followed us from Khanaki
for the express purpose of plundering our party; that
their gang consisted of twelve men on horseback and
eight on foot, armed with matchlocks. Their chief, who, he
told us, rode a black horse, exactly coincided in description
with the person whom we had seen. It seems that they
had received intelligence of our party being supposed to
consist of an ambassador and his suite travelling with
a large treasure. They, however, found us always so
much on our guard that they abandoned their purpose
of plunder as soon as we got near the mountain-pass of
Paee Takht (foot of the throne), where a military force
was stationed. It was near this place that Sir Robert
Ker Porter was attacked on his journey to Bagdad.
A day or two afterwards, our little camp was attacked
at Kisra Shereen. We had just made fast our tent doors
at night, and were going to sleep, when we heard several
shots fired in quick succession. Some robbers had descended
the hill, and had commenced unloosing the cords by which
our horses had been picketed to the ground, but being
XIL] OKDER OF THE FIGHTING LIONS. 273
fired upon, had fled. Shortly after, another gang, for the
same could hardly have got round in the time, came to
the opposite side and made a like attempt, but they also
were repulsed in like manner. We saw no more of the
fellows, though, as we afterwards heard, they formed part
of the Calor banditti.
On the 22nd of April, being the fourteenth day since
our departure from Bagdad, we arrived at Kermanshah,
the capital of Kurdistan. As we were descending a hill
three miles from the town, we saw, marshalled at a short
distance, a gaily caparisoned cavalcade, habited in the
Persian dress. It was easy to perceive that they had
assembled in compliment to us. We were speculating
who they could be for we looked in vain for the European
costume when one of the company with a long beard
saluted us in military fashion, and in the French language
welcomed us to Kermanshah. They turned out to be
European residents in the city, attended by their united
trains of servants and followers. Of these were Messrs.
Court and De Yeaux, two French officers to whom we had
letters, two Italians, and a Spaniard of the name of Oms.
Hassan Khan, one of the principal officers of the Prince-
Governor, came to tell us on the part of his Highness that
a house had been prepared for our reception. We yielded,
however, to the pressing invitation of Messrs. Court and
De Veaux and became their guests during their stay.
" These gentlemen and the Spanish officer, Senor Oms,
are all Khans (Lords) of Persia, and Knights of the Lion
and Sun, as well as of another order, the decoration of
which is a star, with the curious device of two lions
fighting for the Persian crown.
" Some years since the present King, Futteh Ali Shah,
in conformity with one of the most ancient laws of Persia,
assembled his sons for the purpose of nominating his suc-
cessor to the throne. Abbas Meerza, the King's second
T
274 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
son, was promised this high dignity. All the Princes
present bowed in token of obedience to the royal will,
with the exception of Mohammed Ali Meerza, the King's
eldest son, then Prince- Governor of Kermanshah. He
alone stood erect. Unawed by the presence of his father
and sovereign, he refused to acknowledge the decree.
' May God/ said he, ' preserve the King of Kings ; but if
my brother and myself should have the misfortune to
survive your Majesty ' (and he half unsheathed his sword
as he spoke) ' this shall decide the succession to the throne.'
On the return of the French officers from some successful
expedition against the Turks, they asked the Prince to
institute some order of knighthood as a reward for their
services. Mohammed Ali, bearing in his mind his oath of
enmity against his brother, founded the order with the
device of the fighting lions."
Happily for the cause of humanity and civilization the
King, Futteh Ali, outlived both his warlike sons, and con-
sequently this fratricidal war did not take place. In 1834,
the Shah's grandson, Mohammed, the son of Abbas Meerza,
succeeded to the throne, and at his death in 1848 his son
Nazr-ul-deen, the present Shah, our late illustrious visitor.
One day during our stay we found Messrs. Court and
De Veaux seated in the garden, in company with two
Arabs who had lately fled for protection from the Pasha
of Bagdad.
One of these was the young Arab chief to whom we
were indebted for our information respecting the Calor
banditti. A few months back this young man's father,
with only forty men, defended a fortress against Davoud
Pasha, but had ultimately been induced to surrender on a
solemn assurance of protection. In the interview that
followed the capitulation, the Pasha caused his prisoner's
head to be struck off and packed up in a parcel to adorn
one of the gates of Constantinople.
xn.] MOOLAH ALL 275
The other guest was one Moolah All, an Arab though
he wore the Persian dress, a man to whom murder and
every other crime had long been familiar. This man's
features bore none of the marks which romance readers
usually ascribe to those of a murderer. On the contrary,
his mild eye beamed with intelligence, and when he spoke,
his mouth lighted up with so pleasing a smile that the
diabolical matter of his speech was forgotten in the
attractive manner of his delivery. He was a man whose
conscience never troubled him with " air-drawn daggers : "
he had a substantial one in his girdle, ready for use as
inclination prompted.
" Not many weeks before we saw this Moolah, he was
one of the principal persons of Mendali, a Turkish town
near the frontier. In those days, he was the bosom friend
of Davoud Pasha and ' his best of cut-throats.' It waa
during this intimacy that he invited sixteen persons to
a feast, and placing a confidential agent between each
guest, caused every one of them to be put to death, him-
self giving the signal by plunging a dagger into the breast
of the person beside him. Such feats as these we may
find in the histories of savage countries. Among all bar-
barians, the virtue of hospitality, so vaunted, has rarely
withstood the excitement of avarice or revenge."
The friendship between the Moolah and the Pasha was
not of long duration. Each of these brethren in iniquity,
unable to take personal vengeance on the other, have been
exercising their spite on the kindred of their respective
foes. Seventy of the Moolah's relations have fallen victims
to the vindictiveness of the Pasha. In the meanwhile,
the Moolah has not been slow in retaliation. Leaving the
town of Mendali, attended by several of his tribe, he
sallied forth into the desert, and, to use his own expres-
sion, struck off. at every opportunity the head of every
wearer of a turban.
T 2
276 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
We one day asked the Moolah how he generally deprived
his enemies of life. " That," replied he, " is as I can
catch them. Some I have killed in battle, others I have
stabbed sleeping." Another time we had the curiosity to
examine his pistols, which were studded with red nails.
On inquiring the reason, he told us " that each nail was
to commemorate the death of some victim who had fallen
by that weapon."
April 27 'th. For two days guns had been fired at in-
tervals, preparatory to the removal of the body of the late
Prince-Governor of Kermanshah for interment at Meshed
Ali. On the morning appointed for the setting out of the
cortege, we put crape on our left arms and sword hilts, and
mounting our horses set out at an early hour to witness
the ceremony.
As our eagerness to be in time brought us out much
sooner than was necessary, we whiled away a couple of
hours in observing the various chatting parties, all dressed
in black : their merry faces somewhat oddly contrasted
with their mournful garb.
Anon there appeared a blind horseman attended by
a train of servants, one of whom held his horse's rein
by name, Hassan Khan to which was added the epithet
of Khoord (the blind).
In the brief interval of anarchy that had followed the
death of the late King, 1 this Khan became a competitor
for the crown, but being worsted, his eyes were put out by
his more successful rival
A sudden discharge of artillery, followed by loud shrieks,
announced to us that the Prince-Governor had left the
palace with the body of his father. We now took up our
station near the gates of the town, ready to fall in with the
procession.
1 Aga Mohammed Shah, assassinated in 1797.
xii.] FUNERAL OF A PKINCE-GOVERNOR. 277
Near this place, mounted on a handsome charger, was
the Prince-Governor's son Nasir Ali Meerza a pretty
boy, about five years old. His little Highness was attended
by a train of courtiers of his own age and size, who seemed
to be as well versed in the art of rendering homage as
their pigmy Lord was in receiving it. He appeared to
be quite indifferent to the noise and bustle around him,
and returned our salute with the easy air of one long
accustomed to receive a like mark of respect.
The procession moved slowly out of the town, led by
the artisans ; each craft having with it a black banner.
After them came two hundred Coordish soldiers who were
to escort the corpse to Meshed Ali. The escort was
preceded by a band of drums and fifes playing a variety
of airs principally English " Eule Britannia " among
others; and there were also several country-dance tunes.
After the military came the representatives of the Church;
a body of mounted Moolahs headed by their chief (Bashee),
a jolly, drunken-looking fellow, who with a voice amount-
ing to a scream recited verses from the Koran, in which
his followers joined, making the air resound with their
vociferous lamentations. Behind them was the corpse of
Mohammed Ali Meerza, borne by two mules in that sort
of covered litter called a tuchte rewaun.
At intervals, the cavalcade stopped, and each person
baring his breast, struck it so violently with his hand
that the flesh bore visible marks of the severity of the
discipline. At these times the shouts were redoubled,
and tears flowed copiously from every eye ; large groups of
women, veiled from head to foot, and huddled together
almost into shapeless heaps, were seated on each side of
the road, and were by no means the most silent of the
mourners.
We fell in with the French officers in rear of the troops ;
two or three chiefs were in the same line with us.
278 FIFTY YEARS OF MY LIFE. [CH.
After proceeding almost a mile, we quitted the proces-
sion, and, halting on one side, waited till the Prince gave
us the marukhus, or permission to depart. His eyes were
red with weeping. The funeral procession arrived at
Mahideeht near sunset, when His Highness ordered the
caravanserai to be cleared of its inmates, and taking with
him several boon companions, among others the Moolah
Bashee, he passed the night in drinking and smoking, deter-
mined apparently to keep his father's wake in true Irish
fashion. The following morning, the merry mourners
remounted their horses, and reached Kermanshah without
accident; though the Prince was so intoxicated that on
arriving at the palace gate he fell off his horse into the
arms of his attendants, and was by them conveyed to his
own apartment in a state of insensibility.
Our departure from Kermanshah was delayed by a
quarrel between our hosts, who determined to settle their
differences by a duel. We, however, undertook the office
of mediators, and after much difficulty succeeding in
bringing about a reconciliation.
The whole proceeding greatly puzzled our friend Moolah
Ali. " How foolish," said he, " it is for a man who wishes
to kill his enemy to expose his own life, when he can
accomplish his purpose with so much greater safety b 
