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THE  JOURNAL 

OF  THE  HON. 

HENRY  EDWARD  FOX 

(afterwards  fourth  and 
last  Lord  Holland) 


C.  R.  Leslie  finxit 


HON.  HENRY   EDWARD    FOX 

(afterwards  fourth  Lord  HolUnd) 


^  THE   JOURNAL 

OF  THE  HON. 

HENRY  EDWARD  FOX 

(afterwards  fourth  and  last  Lord  Holland) 
1818-1830 


EDITED  BY 

THE   EARL   OF   ILCHESTER 


THORNTON   BUTTERWORTH  LIMITED 
15       BEDFORD      STREET,      LONDON,     W.C.2 


First  Published  1923 


536 


-ADE   AND   PRINTED  IN  GWAT    BRITAIN 


To  MY  MOTHER, 

WHOSE     ASSISTANCE     HAS     BEEN 

OF  THE  GREATEST  VALUE   TO    ME 

IN  THE  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THESE 

PAGES. 


PREFATORY    NOTE 

The  daily  journal  of  the  life  of  Henry  Edward  Fox,  found 
among  the  manuscripts  preserved  at  Holland  House,  is  contained 
in  an  ample  series  of  volumes  of  varying  size  and  shape.  It  forms 
a  fairly  consecutive  narrative  of  his  life  from  1818  till  1830  ; 
and  subsequent  to  that  date  Fox  seems  on  several  occasions  to 
have  attempted  to  recommence  his  self-imposed  labours.  These 
later  efforts,  however,  can  only  be  described  as  fragmentary, 
and  are  of  very  unequal  interest. 

In  dealing  with  his  work,  therefore,  I  have  confined  myself 
to  the  more  substantial  portion  of  his  writings ;  but  even  in 
this  I  have  been  forced  to  make  very  drastic  excisions,  as  frequent 
gaps  in  the  dates  will  show.  To  the  traveller  in  Italy,  and  to 
the  student  of  the  various  phases  of  society  in  that  country  and 
in  the  neighbouring  island  of  Sicily  in  the  first  half  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century,  there  is  certainly  material  in  the  omissions 
which  could  be  considered  of  distinct  importance.  But  in 
deciding  the  difficult  problem  of  what  to  leave  out  and  what 
to  retain,  I  have  been  guided  by  what  seems  to  me  the  taste  of 
the  general  public,  whose  local  knowledge  would  be  insufficient 
to  excite  an  interest  in  such  matters ;  and  by  the  necessity  of 
keeping  the  size  of  the  book  within  reasonable  limits. 

The  text  has  never  been  altered  or  revised  with  any  view 
to  publication,  and  remains  exactly  as  first  written.  I  have 
found  little  to  change  in  this  respect,  nor  have  I  thought  fit  to 
alter  Fox's  spelling,  except  in  instances  where  his  variations 
from  the  more  usual  forms  are  transitional  or  unimportant.  His 
handwriting  is  often  minute  and,  though  on  the  whole  fairly 
easy  to  decipher,  it  presents  occasional  difficulties,  especially  in 
the  identification  of  the  vowels  in  certain  proper  names.  Such 
words,  where  I  have  found  myself  uncertain  of  their  exact  form, 
I  have  marked  (?).  Omissions  by  the  writer  himself  I  have 

7  ' 


8  Prefatory  Note 

indicated  -  -  ,  while  any  words  which  I  have  thought  should 
be  left  out  appear  as  ...  Abbreviations  remain  as  in  the 
manuscript.  The  illustrations  are  with  one  exception  taken 
from  pictures  at  Holland  House. 

ILCHESTER. 
August,  1923. 


INTRODUCTION 

Henry  Edward  Fox  was  the  third  and  youngest  son  of  Henry 
Richard,  third  Lord  Holland.  His  mother,  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  Richard  Vassall,  of  Jamaica,  had  married,  in  1786,  Sir  Godfrey 
Webster,  fourth  Baronet,  of  Battle  Abbey,  Sussex,  at  the  age  of 
fifteen.  The  union  proved  an  unhappy  one.  Sir  Godfrey  was 
a  man  of  violent  temper  and  morose  disposition.  To  escape  from 
the  alternating  moods  to  which  his  life  at  home  bore  frequent 
witness,  his  young  wife  constantly  exacted  lengthy  visits  to  the 
Continent,  an  existence  which  did  not  at  all  fall  in  with  her 
husband's  ideas  of  happiness.  It  was  in  Italy,  in  the  year  1794, 
that  Lady  Webster  first  met  Lord  Holland,  who  was  travelling 
with  Lord  Granville  Leveson-Gower,  Lord  Wycombe,  and  other 
young  men  of  his  own  age.  Acquaintance  grew  into  love,  and 
in  time  she  made  up  her  mind  to  break  away  from  her  spouse, 
whom  she  had  grown  to  loathe,  and  to  throw  in  her  lot  with 
her  new  friend.  They  travelled  home  from  Florence  together  in 
1796,  and  in  due  course  Sir  Godfrey  was  induced  by  monetary 
considerations  to  bring  a  divorce  ;  but  such  were  the  delays 
that  the  Bill,  which  was  in  those  days  necessary,  only  received 
the  final  sanction  of  Parliament  on  July  4,  1797. 

Three  days  later  Elizabeth's  marriage  to  Lord  Holland  took 
place.  In  the  meantime,  however,  a  son,  Charles  Richard,  had 
been  born,  who  was  necessarily  disqualified  from  succeeding  to  his 
father's  title.  A  second,  born  in  January,  1799,  died  in  infancy ; 
while  the  third,  the  writer  of  the  Journal  which  we  now  present 
to  the  public,  first  saw  light  in  March,  1802,  and  became  the 
direct  heir  to  the  succession.  Two  daughters,  Mary  Elizabeth, 
born  in  1806,  and  Georgina  Anne  (1809-19),  completed  the 
family. 

By  her  first  husband,  Lady  Holland,  as  we  shall  call  her  for 
the  future,  had  two  sons,  Godfrey  and  Henry,  and  a  daughter 

9 


io  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Harriet.  The  latter  married,  in  1816,  Hon.  Fleetwood  Broughton 
Pellew,  afterwards  Rear-Admiral  and  K.C.B.,  son  of  Edward, 
Viscount  Exmouth.  To  her  early  life  a  curious  story  is  attached, 
which  may  be  shortly  repeated.1  Her  mother,  determined  to 
cut  adrift  from  Sir  Godfrey,  and  still  uncertain  of  her  position 
anent  Lord  Holland,  feared  the  possibility  of  an  existence  alone 
and  in  retirement.  She  bethought  herself,  therefore,  of  a  plan 
to  keep  with  her  her  daughter,  then  two  years  old,  whatever  else 
might  befall.  A  mock  funeral  was  arranged,  for  Sir  Godfrey's 
benefit ;  and  the  girl  herself  was  sent  away  with  a  nurse  and 
concealed  on  the  Continent.  There  she  remained  until  Lady 
Holland,  in  1799,  smitten  by  qualms  of  conscience,  thought  fit 
to  disclose  her  trickery  and  restore  the  child  to  her  father. 

During  Sir  Godfrey's  lifetime  his  divorced  wife  found  little 
real  difficulty  in  obtaining  access  to  her  children ;  but  after  his 
death,  in  1800,  things  became  much  more  complicated.  She 
had  never  hit  it  off  with  the  Webster  family,  and  now  that  it 
was  in  their  power  to  thwart  and  annoy  her,  every  obstacle 
was  put  in  her  way.  Consequently,  although  the  boys,  and 
more  especially  the  younger,  Henry,  with  the  freedom  of  advanc- 
ing manhood,  were  able  to  visit  her  at  their  leisure,  Harriet 
never  knew  a  mother's  care.  More  even  than  that,  she  was 
taught  to  despise  and  dislike  her.  The  girl's  acquaintance  with 
her  stepbrothers  and  sisters  was  therefore  slight,  and  we  shall 
find  Henry  Fox  writing  in  1823,  that  he  did  not  even  know  her 
by  sight. 

Henry  Richard,  third  Lord  Holland,  was  born  in  1773.  His 
father  died  in  1774 ;  and  the  death  of  his  mother,  a  daughter 
of  John,  first  Earl  of  Upper  Ossory,  four  years  later  left  him 
and  his  sister  orphans.  Caroline  Fox,  who  was  nearly  six  years 
senior  to  him,  was  educated  and  brought  up  successively  by  her 
aunt,  Lady  Warwick,  by  her  great-aunt,  Gertrude,  Duchess  of 
Bedford,  and  by  her  mother's  sister,  Louisa,  second  wife  of 
William,  first  Marquess  of  Lansdowne.  Lady  Lansdowne's  death 
in  1789  made  no  difference  to  this  arrangement,  for  Caroline 
and  her  aunt,  Elizabeth  Vernon,  a  girl  of  approximately  her  own 
age,  took  up  their  abode  permanently  with  the  widower. 

1  The  full  details  are  given  in  The  Spanish  Journal  of  Elizabeth,  Lady 
Holland,  p.  viii. 


Introduction  n 

Caroline  was  a  serious  child.  She  loved  her  studies,  and  to 
such  as  her,  Bowood,  Lord  Lansdowne's  house  in  Wilts,  must 
have  proved  an  attractive  home.  Jeremy  Bentham  was  a 
constant  habitue*,  and  even,  we  are  told,  aspired  to  her  hand, 
but  was  refused.  Ingenhousz,  the  Dutch  physician,  Priestley, 
Dumont,  the  Swiss  professor,  were  all  inmates  of  that  hospitable 
mansion  for  long  periods,  and  a  list  of  guests  well  known  in  various 
walks  of  life  would  be  too  long  to  be  here  enumerated.  Small 
wonder,  therefore,  that  her  education  far  surpassed  the  learning 
of  the  ordinary  girl  of  that  period.  We  find  in  her  correspondence 
with  her  "  dear  little  brother  "  frequent  discussions  on  Latin 
authors,  and  advice  as  to  the  best  books  for  him  to  read.  But 
with  all  her  erudition  and  learning,  her  mind  remained  broad 
and  her  ideas  open  and  expansive.  There  was  nothing  narrow 
about  Caroline  Fox,  To  her  nephews  and  nieces  as  they  grew 
up,  she  was  just  "Aunty,"  a  companion  seemingly  of  their  own 
age,  to  whom  they  could  turn  for  counsel  and  assistance  in  the 
hour  of  need.  After  Lord  Lansdowne's  death  in  1805,  she  and 
Elizabeth  Vernon  lived  at  Little  Holland  House,  an  old  farm- 
house on  the  Holland  House  estate,  which  her  brother  had 
adapted  for  her  use :  and  shared  with  her  besides  a  small  house 
in  Hertford  Street. 

Miss  Vernon,  who  died  in  1830,  was  the  youngest  of  three 
sisters,  "  The  three  Vernons  "  of  Walpole's  verses,1  daughters  of 
Evelyn,  Dowager-Countess  of  Upper  Ossory  and  Richard  Vernon, 
of  Hilton,  co.  Stafford.  The  eldest,  whom  we  have  already 
mentioned,  Henrietta,  married  George,  second  Earl  of  Warwick  ; 
and  Caroline  became  the  wife  of  Robert  Percy  Smith,  better 
known  as  "  Bobus,"  the  elder  brother  of  Sydney  Smith — the 
"  Smith  of  Smith's  "  of  Macaulay. 

Lord  Holland  was  brought  up  by  his  uncle,  John,  second 
Earl  of  Upper  Ossory,  under  the  supervision  of  two  others  of 
similar  relation  to  him,  Charles  James  Fox  and  General  Richard 
Fitzpatrick.  The  first-named  died  in  1818,  and,  leaving  no 
legitimate  sons,  bequeathed  Ampthill,  his  house  and  property 
in  Bedfordshire,  to  his  nephew.  His  two  daughters,  Lady  Anne 
and  Lady  Gertrude  Fitzpatrick,  were  also  amply  provided  for, 
and  lived  together  at  Farming  Woods  in  Northamptonshire, 
1  H.  Walpole's  Works,  ed.  1798,  iv.  388. 


12          The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

another  of  their  father's  residences.  They  both  died  in  1842. 
Lord  Ossory  had  also  two  illegitimate  sons  and  a  daughter,  by 
a  certain  Mrs  Wilson.  The  boys  took  the  name  of  Fitzpatrick, 
and  the  eldest  was  in  due  course  created  Lord  Castletown.  Their 
sister,  Mary,  married  Vernon  Smith,  "  Bobus's "  eldest  son, 
later  created  Lord  Lyveden. 

Subsequent  to  their  marriage  the  Hollands,  when  in  England, 
lived  chiefly  at  Holland  House.  But  after  Charles  James  Fox's 
death  in  1806,  an  important  share  of  responsibility  for  the  welfare 
of  the  Whig  party  descended  upon  Holland's  shoulders,  and 
regular  attendance  in  the  House  of  Lords  as  time  went  on  became 
imperative.  Residence  in  Kensington,  therefore,  became  more 
difficult  for  him  in  the  session.  So,  year  by  year,  they  leased 
a  house  in  town,  either  in  Savile  Row,  Hertford  Street,  or  one 
in  Old  Burlington  Street  (now  incorporated  in  the  Burlington 
Hotel],  which  stood  next  that  of  his  cousin,  Lord  Ilchester.  By 
these  means,  Holland,  who  was  becoming  more  and  more  crippled 
by  the  ossification  of  his  leg  and  from  gout,  could  attend  to  his 
political  duties,  and  her  Ladyship  could  make  her  nightly  visits 
to  the  play,  one  of  her  chief  amusements. 

Their  eldest  son,  Charles  Richard,  entered  the  Navy  in  1809 
at  the  age  of  thirteen  ;  but  four  years  later  transferred  into  the 
sister  service,  and  in  due  course  rose  to  the  rank  of  General, 
having  held  the  post  of  Surveyor-General  to  the  Ordnance.  He 
married,  in  1824,  Mary  FitzClarence,  daughter  of  King  William 
IV  and  Mrs  Jordan  ;  and  secondly,  in  1865,  Katherine  M6berly. 
His  house  and  garden  in  Addison  Road  were  always  open  to  his 
friends.  He  became  a  recognized  authority  on  coins  and  medals, 
and  his  valuable  collection,  after  his  death,  was  purchased  by 
the  Berlin  Royal  Museum. 

Henry  Edward  was  born  in  1802.  Delicate  from  his  earliest 
hours,  he  suffered  from  a  slight  affection  of  the  hip,  which  through- 
out his  life  proved  a  serious  handicap ;  while  in  later  years  a 
hereditary  tendency  to  gout,  so  strong  in  those  generations, 
manifested  itself,  much  to  the  disadvantage  of  his  general  health. 
The  life  of  a  public  school  being  considered  too  strenuous  for 
him,  he  was  in  1811  placed  under  the  charge  of  the  Rev.  Philip 
Shuttleworth,  a  subsequent  Warden  of  New  College,  Oxford,  and 
Bishop  of  Chichester.  A  good  story  is  told  of  the  latter  and 


Introduction  13 

Lady  Holland,  when  he  had  recently  become  a  don  at  Oxford. 
Returning  one  day  to  see  her,  she  said  to  him,  "  Well,  Mr 
Shuttleworth,  Oxford  fare  seems  to  suit  you  well."  "  Oxford 
comforts,  you  mean,  ma'am,"  was  his  reply  !  Joseph  Blanco 
White  was  also  engaged  for  a  time  to  teach  Henry  Fox  ;  and 
later  he  was  sent  to  reside  with  his  father's  old  friend,  the  Rev. 
Matthew  Marsh,  rector  of  Winterslow,  near  Salisbury.  He 
matriculated  at  Christ  Church  in  1819,  and  during  his  stay  at 
Oxford  was  under  Shuttleworth's  special  care.  But  life  at  the 
University  had  as  little  attraction  for  him  as  had  politics  in  later 
years.  Not  that  he  was  inattentive  to  his  studies,  indeed  books 
which  appealed  to  him  he  devoured  with  avidity.  But  a  lack 
of  energy  was  ever  noticeable  and  at  times  drove  his  father  to 
despair.  Certainly  his  surroundings  at  Oxford  had  no  power 
to  interest  him  ;  and  he  welcomed  the  commencement  of  the 
vacation  with  all  the  excitement  of  a  schoolboy.  His  intimate 
circle  of  acquaintances  among  the  undergraduates  was  not 
large.  Henry  Greville,  the  younger  brother  of  Charles  Greville, 
himself  the  author  of  a  Journal  of  no  slight  interest ;  George 
Howard,  Lord  Morpeth's  son,  afterwards  seventh  Earl  of  Carlisle ; 
and  John  Wortley,  son  of  James  Stuart  Wortley,  created  Lord 
Wharncliffe,  were  among  his  greatest  friends. 

The  real  truth  was  that  up  to  that  time  life  at  home  had 
brought  him  but  little  in  contact  with  boys  of  his  own  age.  He 
had  been  reared  among  people  far  older  than  himself,  and  as  a 
result  attained  a  precocity  far  beyond  his  years.  The  proof  of 
this  is  apparent  in  the  pages  of  his  Journal,  which  he  commenced 
in  1818,  when  only  sixteen.  The  earlier  pages  open  disjointedly, 
a  chronicle  of  witty  remarks  and  a  register  of  the  interesting 
characters  who  took  his  fancy.  But  within  very  few  years  he 
had  developed  powers  of  expression,  which  might  easily  be 
taken  for  the  writing  of  one  double  his  age.  True,  in  the  course 
of  his  narrative  we  shall  find  that  his  likes  and  dislikes  were 
strongly  marked.  With  the  self-sufficiency  of  youth  his  enthu- 
siasm sometimes  got  the  better  of  him.  He  was  inclined  to 
jump  to  conclusions  in  summing  up  the  attributes  of  his  fellow- 
creatures,  but  when  sober  reflection  or  more  intimate  acquaint- 
ance caused  him  to  alter  his  opinion,  no  one  could  admit  his 
mistake  with  greater  frankness.  In  general  his  style  of  writing 


14  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

bears  a  close  resemblance  to  those  caustic  passages  and  critical 
dissertations  which  illuminate  his  mother's  own  Journal  of  her 
early  life. 

Fox's  tastes  were  not  the  tastes  of  the  ordinary  English  boy. 
Town  life  was  his  delight ;  the  country  he  frankly  abhorred. 
Debarred  by  his  physical  shortcomings  from  hard  exercise,  we 
have  no  record  that  he  ever  shot  or  fished.  He  rode  as  a  young 
man,  but  even  that  occupation  he  does  not  seem  to  have  kept  up 
in  later  life.  Horse  racing  did  not  appeal  to  him  at  all.  Nor 
was  he  a  gambler  in  the  family  sense  of  the  word,  though  in 
times  of  depression  on  more  than  one  occasion  he  seems  to  have 
sought  oblivion  at  the  gaming  tables. 

His  interests  were  centred  in  the  more  cultured  fields  of 
life.  The  drama  and  the  opera  appealed  strongly  to  his  senses. 
Even  as  a  boy  he  spoke  of  plays  and  players  with  critical  dis- 
cernment ;  and  he  rivalled  Lady  Holland  in  her  constant  attend- 
ance at  Co  vent  Garden  or  Drury  Lane.  Art  he  approached 
with  a  love  of  the  classical  and  the  revival  of  those  forms,  rather 
than  with  any  predilection  for  the  Renaissance.  He  took  an 
intelligent  interest  in  the  works  of  contemporary  artists  and 
sculptors,  and  as  the  early  friend  and  patron  of  Watts  he  may 
justly  lay  claim  to  a  prophetic  inspiration  for  true  merit  in  paint- 
ing. He  had  a  decided  penchant  for  porcelain,  especially  for 
the  output  of  the  continental  factories  ;  and  in  1839  his  mother 
congratulated  him  on  seeming  likely  to  become  a  book  collector. 
On  the  whole,  however,  his  tastes  were  on  broader  lines.  Nature 
appealed  to  him  more  than  the  work  of  man ;  and  when  the 
latter  was  in  question,  exterior  decoration  was  more  in  his  line 
than  furniture  of  the  interior.  This  perhaps  was  fortunate ; 
for  he  could  never  have  had  scope  to  gratify  a  passion  for  collect- 
ing. Financial  difficulties  beset  his  path  through  life.  The 
emancipation  of  slaves  in  the  West  Indies  had  so  adversely  affected 
Lady  Holland's  income  from  her  property  in  Jamaica,  that  she 
and  her  husband  were  forced  to  make  large  reductions  in  their 
mode  of  living.  From  £7,000  a  year  her  rents  had  sunk  to  be 
a  negligible  quantity  at  the  time  of  her  death.  Henry  Fox's 
allowance,  therefore,  was  always  slender,  and  his  wife's  fortune, 
when  he  came  to  marry,  was  not  large.  Life  on  modest  lines 
was  a  necessity,  and  when,  after  his  mother's  death,  he  conceived 


Introduction  15 

the  ambitious  plans  for  alterations  to  which  Holland  House 
and  its  grounds  bear  witness,  he  was  only  enabled  to  carry  them 
out  by  imposing  a  large  charge  on  the  property. 

To  Henry  Fox,  emancipated  from  his  humdrum  existence 
at  Oxford,  the  world  seemed  very  fair  when  he  took  his  first 
plunge  into  the  gay  vortex  of  society.  Impressionable  where 
girls  of  his  own  age  were  concerned,  he  flitted  inconsequently 
from  flower  to  flower.  First  he  was  in  love  with  one  fair  being, 
then  with  another ;  and  his  thoughts  turned  early  to  matrimony. 
But  although  the  successive  objects  of  his  affections  were  irre- 
proachable in  point  of  family,  for  various  reasons  they  never 
seemed  to  find  favour  in  his  parents'  eyes.  Sent  abroad  to 
escape  from  these  entanglements,  he  became  involved  in  others 
of  varying  seriousness.  Yet  in  one  only  of  these  attachments 
does  his  heart  seem  to  have  been  more  than  momentarily  affected  ; 
for  the  genuine  affliction  which  he  displayed  at  Lady  North- 
ampton's untimely  death  places  his  friendship  for  her  upon  a 
loftier  plane.  And  when  at  last,  at  the  age  of  thirty-one,  he 
succumbed  to  the  fascinations  of  Mary  Augusta  Coventry,  the 
nineteen-year-old  daughter  of  George  William,  eighth  Earl  of 
Coventry  and  his  second  wife,  Mary,  daughter  of  Aubrey,  sixth 
Duke  of  St  Albans,  he  was  free  to  lavish  on  her  a  whole-hearted 
devotion. 

Fickle  in  youth  where  his  heart  was  primarily  concerned, 
his  more  sober  friendships  had  the  genuine  ring.  His  affection 
for  older  women,  such  as  Lady  Jersey,  Lady  Cowper,  and  Lady 
Grey,  who  had  been  kind  to  him  in  his  boyhood,  remained  un- 
alterable and  unaffected  ;  but  a  critical  perception  of  the  faults 
of  his  intimates  tended  to  limit  him  in  his  choice.  And  so  it 
was  with  his  men  friends.  For  Edward  Cheney,  for  Howard, 
for  Townshend  and  Bob  Dundas,  for  Wortley,  and  later  in  life 
for  Watts,  his  attachment  continued  unchanged  ;  but  his  studied 
dislike  of  anything  savouring  of  dishonesty  or  sordidness  caused 
him  to  discard  those  who  proved  themselves  inferior  to  his  self- 
accepted  standard.  His  gentle  and  kindly  disposition,  combined 
with  a  geniality  of  manner  and  powers  of  conversation  worthy 
of  former  members  of  his  family,  brought  him  a  full  measure  of 
popularity.  He  shone  as  a  host,  and  invitations  to  his  social 
gatherings  were  much  in  request.  Yet  at  times  a  querulous 


1 6  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

spark  in  his  character  would  shine  out,  especially  in  his  dealings 
with  his  own  relations,  and  the  undercurrent  of  his  bitterness 
rose  perilously  near  to  the  surface. 

Politics,  much  to  his  father's  regret,  Fox  shunned  and 
abhorred.  The  recriminations  and  jealousies  of  the  Whigs 
struck  him  as  self-interested  and  unreal.  "  He  has  no  Whig 
feeling/'  wrote  Lord  John  Russell  in  1824.  His  leanings  were 
more  democratic,  and  he  approached  the  tenets  of  the  party 
with  which  his  family  was  so  closely  connected  with  the  spirit  of 
a  heretic,  although  unprepared  to  stake  his  existence  upon  any 
other.  The  methods  of  diplomacy  appealed  to  his  better  senses, 
and  seemed  to  him  founded  on  a  surer  basis.  The  profession 
also  attracted  him,  as  a  means  of  benefiting  his  pocket  and  of 
securing  a  sure  retreat  abroad  from  the  petty  squabbles  of  life 
with  his  parents.  He  was  obsessed  with  a  feeling  that  he  was 
misunderstood  at  home,  and  although  his  affection  for  his  father 
was  deep  and  lasting,  he  grew  more  and  more  to  resent  his 
mother's  imperious  domination.  The  latter's  treatment  of  his 
sister,  Mary,  previous  to  her  marriage  to  Thomas,  third  Lord 
Lilford  in  1830,  he  viewed  with  growing  indignation.  He  thought 
her  bullied  and  kept  in  unnecessary  subjection  to  her  mother's 
whims,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  powerless  to  mitigate  the  evil  or 
to  assist  her  in  any  way  increased  his  determination  to  remain 
abroad  and  avoid  an  open  breach,  which  he  feared  might  become 
unavoidable.  To  his  affection  for  Mary  Fox  we  shall  find 
constant  allusions.  Her  personal  attractions  were  only  rivalled  by 
the  beauty  of  her  character.  Deeply  religious,  though  a  member 
of  a  family  who  gave  little  heed  to  such  matters,  her  life  was  a 
pattern  to  all.  Indeed,  the  isolation  of  her  early  years,  often  alone 
with  her  governess  at  Holland  House,  may  have  proved  a  blessing 
in  disguise.  Her  aunt,  Miss  Fox,  was  living  close  at  hand,  and 
her  influence  and  advice  were  always  employed  to  the  best 
advantage. 

No  opening  that  Fox  could  have  chosen  would  have  been 
more  suited  to  his  talents  than  diplomacy.  As  Charge  d'Affaires 
at  Vienna  in  1835 — almost  his  first  post — in  the  absence  of  the 
Minister,  Sir  Frederick  Lamb,  he  earned  the  encomiums  of 
Metternich  ;  while  his  later  career  at  Frankfort,  and  in  Florence 
as  Minister  to  Tuscany,  notwithstanding  his  wife's  delicacy  and 


Introduction  17 

his  own  bad  health,  proved  uniformly  successful.  Diplomats 
in  those  days  were  dependent  on  the  ministry  in  power.  Their 
tenure  of  office  usually  coincided  with  that  of  the  government. 
But  when  the  second  Melbourne  Cabinet  fell  in  1841,  Holland, 
as  he  was  then,  having  succeeded  to  the  title  on  his  father's  death 
in  1840,  took  no  step  to  resign  and  waited  to  be  superseded. 
Ampthill  had  to  be  sold,  Holland  House  was  his  mother's  for 
life,  and  residence  in  England  under  such  circumstances  had 
no  attractions  for  him.  Luckily  the  summons  to  retire  never 
came.  Lord  Aberdeen  was  the  new  Foreign  Secretary,  and  in 
his  hands  Peel  left  the  management  of  the  office  and  its  policy. 
Aberdeen  had  always  been  a  friend  of  his  parents,  and  the  reason 
for  a  change  was  not  the  same  as  it  would  have  been  under  other 
circumstances.  Consequently  the  Hollands  stayed  on  in  Florence. 
They  lived  in  the  Casa  Feroni,  now  the  Palazzo  Amerighi,  and 
leased  as  well  Lorenzo  de  Medici's  famous  villa  at  Careggi.  There 
they  remained  another  five  years.  It  was  during  this  period, 
after  1843,  that  Watts  was  living  constantly  with  them.  Lady 
Coventry  died  in  October,  1845,  leaving  to  her  daughter  her 
apartment  in  the  Palazzo  Roccella  in  Naples.  A  month  later 
old  Lady  Holland  breathed  her  last.  The  relationship  between 
mother  and  son  had  been  put  to  a  severe  strain  during  the  last 
years  of  her  life,  owing  to  the  powers  which  were  left  to  her  under 
the  terms  of  her  husband's  will.  The  latter's  affairs,  however, 
proved  to  be  in  great  disorder  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  such 
was  the  want  of  ready  money,  that  the  necessity  for  the  sale 
of  certain  pictures  and  other  effects  may  well  have  been  more 
real  than  the  new  owner  of  the  title  was  willing  to  believe. 

With  the  later  years  of  the  Hollands'  life  we  are  here  but 
little  concerned.  Returning  to  England  in  1846,  he  two  years 
later  set  about  alterations  on  a  large  scale  to  the  house  and 
grounds  in  Kensington.  His  health,  however,  was  rapidly 
getting  worse.  Foreign  climes  still  retained  for  him  the  attrac- 
tion of  yore,  and  much  of  their  time  was  spent  in  Paris,  and  in 
Naples.  There  Holland  died  in  1859,  and  there  he  lies  buried 
in  the  chapel  erected  to  him  by  his  widow. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  conclude  this  short  survey  of  Henry 
Edward  Fox's  career  without  some  mention  of  Dr  John  Allen, 
whose  personality  is  so  indelibly  stamped  on  the  inner  life  of 

B 


1 8  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

the  Holland  family  throughout  the  first  forty  years  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century.  Born  in  1771,  he  passed  his  M.D.  degree  at 
Edinburgh  at  the  age  of  twenty.  In  1802  he  was  introduced 
by  Sydney  Smith  to  Lord  Holland,  who  was  searching  for  a 
doctor  to  accompany  him  and  his  family  to  Spain.  Henry 
Edward  had  been  born  a  few  months  before,  and  was  included 
in  the  party.  The  letter,  furnished  with  which  Allen  arrived 
from  Edinburgh,  is  characteristic  of  Sydney's  best  style  :— 

"  The  bearer  of  this  note  is  Mr  Allen,  of  whom  I  have  said  so  much 
already  that  it  is  superfluous  to  say  any  more.  That  he  is  a  sensible 
man  you  cannot  long  be  ignorant,  though  I  sincerely  hope  you  may  that 
he  is  a  very  skilful  physician. 

"  You  will  speedily  perceive  that  my  friend  Mr  Allen  (who  has  passed 
his  life  in  this  monastery  of  infidels)  has  not  acquired  that  species  of 
politeness  which  consists  in  attitudes  and  flexibilities,  but  he  is  civil, 
unaffected  and  good-natured.  What  to  compare  his  French  to,  I  know 
not.  I  never  heard  a  sound  so  dreadful." 

So  valuable  did  Allen's  general  knowledge  and  learning  prove 
to  Lord  Holland  that,  on  their  return  to  England,  he  was  requested 
to  combine  the  duties  of  librarian  at  Holland  House  with  those 
of  physician.  But  after  his  installation  in  1811  as  Warden  of 
Dulwich  College,  a  post  which  he  surrendered  in  exchange  for 
the  Mastership  in  1820,  his  definite  obligations  in  Kensington 
came  to  an  end.  He  remained,  however,  constantly  under  the 
Fox  roof,  except  for  his  short  periods  of  duty  elsewhere,  ready 
to  assist  his  patron  in  his  political  and  literary  researches,  and 
prepared  to  push  the  fortunes  of  the  Whig  party  with  the  aid  of 
his  facile  pen.  An  atheist  in  principle,  his  outspoken  views  on 
religion  could  not  but  have  influenced  those  who  were  continually 
in  his  company.  Discussions  on  those  subjects,  however,  were 
not  in  vogue  in  the  Holland  family,  at  least  when  company  was 
present.  But  it  is  impossible  not  to  connect  Henry  Fox's 
peculiar  views  on  such  matters  with  Allen's  doctrines.  Yet 
the  problems  of  religion  were  not  absent  from  the  former's 
thoughts.  The  Protestant  faith  clearly  did  not  attract  him, 
and  whatever  leanings  he  had  to  outward  forms  of  wor- 
ship were  strongly  in  favour  of  those  of  Catholicism.  Indeed 
he  was  received  into  that  Church  by  his  wife's  influence,  a 
few  hours  before  his  death.  But  the  young  man  never  looked 
on  Allen  as  a  persona  grata.  "  Narrow-minded  and  selfish,"  he 


Introduction  19 

calls  him  on  one  occasion,  "  prejudiced  and  very  very  sly."  He 
feared  his  influence  over  Lady  Holland,  who  as  time  went  on 
took  more  and  more  complete  charge  of  him.  "  Jack  Allen/' 
as  she,  and  she  alone,  called  him,  was  really  devoted  to  her  not- 
withstanding her  domineering  treatment,  and  was  always  at  her 
beck  and  call.  She  became  more  than  ever  dependent  on  him 
after  her  husband's  death,  and  the  loss  of  the  old  man  in  1843 
snapped  a  link  in  the  chain  of  her  life  which  she  was  powerless 
to  replace. 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PREFATORY  NOTE 7 

INTRODUCTION      .........  9 

CHAPTER        I    1818-1820 25 

CHAPTER      II    1821 58 

CHAPTER     III    1822 98 

CHAPTER     IV    1823 152 

CHAPTER       V    1824-1826 189 

CHAPTER     VI    1827 230 

CHAPTER    VII    1828 260 

CHAPTER  VIII    1829-1830 330 

INDEX          ..........  379 


21 


TABLE    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


The  reproductions  are  all  taken  from  pictures  and  engravings  at 
Holland  House. 


HON.  HENRY  EDWARD  Fox 

(afterwards  fourth  Lord  Holland) 


CHARLES  RICHARD  Fox 
(as  a  Midshipman) 

HENRY  LUTTRELL.     (1832)    . 

THE  THREE  MISSES  VERNONS 

(The  Countess  of  Warwick,  Mrs  "  Bobus 
Smith  and  Miss  Elizabeth  Vernon) 

HENRY  RICHARD,  THIRD  LORD,  AND 
LADY  HOLLAND,  IN  THE  LIBRARY 
AT  HOLLAND  HOUSE,  WITH  DR 
ALLEN  AND  WILLIAM  DOGGETT 

LADY  AFFLECK 

LADY  MARY  Fox         .... 
JEROME  BONAPARTE,  PRINCE  DE  MONT- 
FORT.     (1856)          . 
CHARLES  RICHARD  Fox.     (1836)    . 
EDWARD  CHENEY.     (1843) 
RIGHT  HON.  JOHN  HOOKHAM  FRERE 

HON.  MARY  ELIZABETH  Fox 
(afterwards  Lady  Lilford) 


C.  R.  Leslie    Frontispiece 

To  face 
page 

Sir  M.  A.  Shee        .       40 


A.  Mayer 
Elias  Martin  . 


66 
90 


From  a  Mezzotint  by 
S.  W.  Reynolds,  jr. , 
after  C.  R.  Leslie    126 
Madame  de  Tott       .     176 

G.  S.  Newton  .         .212 

.     246 

.     278 

•  304 

•  332 

•  358 


G.  F.  Watts  . 
C.  Landseer  . 
G.  F.  Watts  . 
Sir  M.  A .  Shee 
C.  R.  Leslie 


23 


CHAPTER  I 
1818-1820 

To  Ampthill,1  December  16,  for  a  few  days ;  the  weather 
excessively  cold — the  first  hard  frost  we  have  had.  Binda2  and 
the  girls  went  with  us.  Papa  went  to  Woburn  on  Thursday,  I7th, 
for  a  night,  to  meet  the  Duke  of  York  and  a  large  party.  On 
Friday  he  returned,  and  Ld  W.  Russell 3  and  his  son  came  to  stay 
with  us.  The  latter  is  at  Cambridge,  a  very  handsome  young 
man,  intended  for  the  Church.  On  the  igth  the  Dke  of  York 
and  a  large  party  came  over  to  a  dejeuner  a  la  fourchette,  and  to 
shoot  in  the  laurels  and  woods ;  they  shot  266  head  of  game. 
The  Dke  of  Y.  64  and  Ld  Huntley  42.  Old  Ld  Lynedoch  *  was 
of  the  party — a  wonderful  old  man  in  point  of  health  and 
strength ;  he  rides,  shoots,  hunts,  and  sits  up  all  night,  like  the 
youngest  man.  The  Duchess  5  came  with  the  party  to  see  Mama  ; 
she  was  in  high  health  and  spirits.  She  is  to  give  another  scion 
to  the  house  of  Russell  in  February.  On  Sunday  Lord  and  Lady 
Bessborough  came,  on  their  road  to  Althorp. 

We  left  A. P.  on  Monday  and  slept  at  Cashiobury,6  where  we 
found  Lady  Gordon,  Miss  Townsends,  Miss  Monsons,  Mr  Eden, 
Mr  King,  Mr  Berrington,  Mr  Grenfell.  Set  off  very  late  from 

1  Ampthill  Park,  in  Bedfordshire,  was  left  to  Lord  Holland  by  his 
uncle  and  guardian,  John,  second  and  last  Earl  of  Upper  Ossory,  at  his 
death  in  February  1818. 

2  Giuseppe  Binda,  a  native  of  Lucca,  and  a  lawyer  by  profession.     He 
lived  at  one  time  with  the  Hollands,  and  worked  for  them  in  various 
capacities. 

3  Lord  William  Russell  (1767-1840),  brother  of  John,  sixth  Duke  of 
Bedford.     The  young  man  here  mentioned  would  appear  to  be  his  youngest 
son,  William  (1800-84),  who  became  Accountant-General  of  the  Court  of 
Chancery. 

4  Thomas,  Lord  Lynedoch  (1748-1843). 

5  John,  Duke  of  Bedford's  second  wife,  Georgina,  daughter  of  Alex- 
ander, fourth  Duke  of  Gordon.     He  married  her  in  1803, 

6  Cassiobury,  Lord  Essex's  house,  near  Watford, 


26  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Cashiobury  on  Tuesday  morning ;  arrived  in  the  thickest  fog  I 
ever  was  out  in  at  Holland  House,  where  we  found  no  one.  On 
Wednesday  my  aunts  l  came  with  the  Smiths.  Sydney  z  and 
his  children  are  just  arrived  in  London.  My  aunts  staid  dinner. 
They  were  merely  passing  through  London  from  Bowood  to 
Ramsgate,  where  they  spend  the  Xmas  with  the  Warwicks. 
My  aunt  gave  me  a  very  satisfactory  account  of  the  poor 
Romillies,3  to  whom  she  paid  a  visit  of  a  week.  Heard  of  Lady 
Crewe's  death. 

Thursday,  24.  Poor  Sir  Philip  Francis  died  on  Tuesday  in 
S*  James'  Square.  He  was  dreadfully  ill  for  the  latter  years  of 
his  life  and  has  undergone  the  most  excruciating  operations.  He 
was  79,  proud  of  his  age,  and  extremely  gratified  in  surviving 
others.  His  death  has  excited  great  curiosity,  for  it  is  hoped, 
if  he  really  is  the  author  of  "  Junius,"  he  will  have  removed  all 
doubts  by  avowing  it.  His  manner  of  contradicting  the  report 
was  not  direct  and  certainly  implied  that  he  knew  who  the  author 
was.  He  said  to  my  mother,  after  she  had  told  him  that  the 
lawyers  believed  him  to  be  so,  "  Well,  Madam,  I  could  bring 
proofs  to  the  contrary  in  five  minutes."  And  upon  being  asked, 
I  believe,  by  Papa,  why  he  did  not  contradict  the  report  publickly, 
he  said,  "  If  they  choose  to  thrust  laurels  on  my  head,  why  there 
let  them  stick."  He  was  tall  and  lean,  his  features  were  good 
and  his  countenance  expressive  of  great  vivacity,  quickness  and 
even  madness  ;  his  voice  was  loud  and  his  manner  of  speaking 
in  private  (I  never  heard  him  in  public)  short  and  with  rather 
an  angry  tone.  He  was  as  violent  in  his  very  looks  and  actions 
as  he  was  in  the  workings  of  his  mind.  He  came  to  Holland 
House  a  month  or  two  before  he  died,  and  said,  "  I  perhaps 
shall  never  come  here  again.  I  came  to  take  my  leave  of  it,  and 
to  show  that  here  I  began,  here  I  end,"  alluding  to  the  intimacy 
between  his  father  and  old  Lord  Holland.4  There  was  that 

1  Lord  Holland's  sister,  Caroline  Fox  (1768-1845),  and  her  aunt,  Miss 
Elizabeth  Vernon. 

2  Rev.  Sydney  Smith  (1771-1845),  Vicar  of  Foston  in  Yorkshire,  and 
later  a  Canon  of  St  Paul's. 

3  Sir  Samuel  Romilly  committed  suicide  in  1818,  after  the  death  of 
his  wife,  leaving  six  sons  and  one  daughter. 

4  See  Henry  Fox,  First  Lord  Holland,  ii.  276.     Sir  Philip  himself  was 
indebted  to  Henry,  Lord  Holland,  for  his  start  in  life. 


1818-1820  27 

manliness  and  independent,  though  wild,  spirit  in  him  to  the  last, 
which  notwithstanding  its  faults  it  was  impossible  not  to  admire. 
He  has  written  memoirs,  that  is  to  say  violent  anathemas  against 
every  remarkable  man  of  his  day.  Ld  Thanet  says  that  no  one 
now  alive  will  ever  see  them,  for  they  are  such  attacks  upon 
people  now  living  that  they  can  not  be  published  till  all  that 
are  mentioned  are  dead.1 

To  dinner : — Mr  Brougham,  Mr  Whishaw,  Mr  Sydney 
Smith,  Mr  Allen,  Mr  Binda,  Henry.2  All  slept.  We  sat  in 
the  drawing-room  for  the  first  time  this  year.  The  pictures 
which  belonged  to  my  grandfather,  and  which  Ld  Ossory  restored 
to  Papa,  were  placed  there,  viz.,  the  Hogarth,  Sterne,  Garrick, 
Hope  nursing  love,  and  several  others  but  of  smaller  note.  Read 
in  the  course  of  to-day  a  good  deal  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh. 
Walter  Scott  is  made  a  baronet — the  first  poet  who  has 
had  that  foolish  honor  conferred  on  him  since  Sir  William 
Davenant. 

Friday,  25  December,  Xmas  day.  Thick  fog  all  morning; 
excessively  cold,  wretched  and  English.  At  dinner : — Mr 
Brougham,  Mr  Whishaw,  Mr  Sydney  Smith,  Mr  Allen,  Mr 
Binda,  Mr  Bonaiuti,  Henry.  All  slept.  Sydney  said  of  Ld 
Glenbervie's  conversation,  that  it  was  a  continued  paragraph 
without  stops  or  breaks. 

Sunday,  27.  Jekyll  and  Mr  Brougham  at  breakfast.  Ld 
Ellenborough  once  made  a  panegyric  upon  the  judges,  but  did 
it  so  awkwardly  that  —  -  said  to  him  when  he  had  concluded, 
"  Stick  to  obloquy,  Ned." 

Mrs  Smith  called  with  Leveson,3  Saba  and  Emily.  Jekyll 
said  of  the  winter  in  which  so  many  dowagers  died,  that  formerly 
the  lozenges  used  to  carry  off  the  coughs,  but  now  the  coughs 
carried  off  the  lozenges. 

Walked  with  Papa  a  mile  on  the  Bath  Walk  :     Plato,  Ld 

1  His  memoirs,  journals,  and  correspondence  were  published  by  Joseph 
Parkes  in  1867. 

2  Probably  Henry  Greville  (1801-72),  the  diarist,  younger  brother  of 
Charles  Greville,  and  son  of  Captain  Charles  Greville,  a  cousin  of  Lord 
Warwick. 

3  Leveson  Smith,  second  son  of  Robert  Percy  Smith,  better  known  as 
"  Bobus  "  (1770-1845),  Sydney  Smith's  elder  brother,  who  died  in  1827. 
Saba  and  Emily  were  daughters  of  Sydney  Smith. 


28  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Shaftesbury,  Locke  and  Paley,  their  separate  opinions  concurring 
in  many  points  at  dinner. 

Tuesday,  29  December.  Walked  a  mile  and  a  half  with  Papa. 
Ld  Stanhope  used  to  say  to  Papa  of  the  Opposition,  "  When  you 
are  strong  in  numbers,  be  weak  in  words ;  and  when  you  are 
weak  in  numbers,  be  as  strong  as  you  can  in  words." 

Bonaparte  called  the  Concordat,  "  La  vaccine  de  la  religion." 

Here  ends  1818,  a  year  which  has  passed  quicker  to  me  than 
any  that  has  gone  before  it,  and  I  am  ashamed  to  say  that  I 
am  at  the  end  of  it  nearly  where  I  was  at  its  beginning.  This 
year  has  been  distinguished  by  no  great  public  or  any  interesting 
private  event.  England  has  sustained  one  loss  in  the  course  of  it 
which  will  be  felt  for  a  long  time  by  his  publick  friends,  and  for 
ever  by  his  private  ones — Sir  Samuel  Romilly.  Such  tragic  catas- 
trophes are  not  in  our  days  common,  and  perhaps  no  time  can 
parallel  one  with  so  many  afflicting  circumstances.  His  prosperity, 
high  character,  the  height  of  his  ambition  just  attained,  the  cause 
of  his  grief,  the  dreadful  loss  of  his  understanding,  and  his  large 
family,  not  to  add  the  cruel  reproach  that  remains  upon  the 
minds  of  all  his  friends  that  all  was  not  done  for  him  and  that 
he  was  impelled  to  the  fatal  act  by  the  foolish  notion  that  some 
mistaken  friends  had  of  the  great  power  he  had  over  his  own 
understanding.  Of  his  character  I  say  nothing ;  that  is  too 
well  known  and  too  well  written  by  other  and  better  pens  than 
mine  to  need  any  comment  upon  it  here. 

Sunday,  January  3d,  1819.  Sir  Wm  Scott l  is  reported  to  have 
said  of  Sir  J.  Leach's  reversion  of  the  decision  in  the  Marlborough 
cause,  "  Varium  et  mutabile  semper,  Femina,"  as  he  is  always 
called  Mrs  Leach.  Sir  W.  Scott  and  all  the  friends  of  the 
Chancellor  hate  him  very  much,  for  the  same  reason  that  Kings 
dislike  and  envy  their  eldest  sons.  Sydney  in  high  force  and  very 
entertaining.  He  said  that  Rogers  spoilt  his  poem  on  Columbus 
by  allowing  Sharp  to  tinker  it  and  strike  out  word  by  word  and 
line  by  line.  Sir  W.  Grant  2  is  said  to  have  refused  the  Seals 
within  these  few  days. 

1  Sir  William  Scott  (1745-1836),  created  Lord  Stowell  in  1821.     Mari- 
time and  international  lawyer.     He  was  eldest  brother  of  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor, Eldon. 

2  Sir  William  G?ant  (1752-1832),  Master  of  the  Rolls,  1801-17, 


1818-1820  29 

Thursday,  Jan.  7.  Mr  Tierney  said  Sir  W.  Grant  looked  as 
if  cut  out  of  a  walnut  tree — a  very  just  description.  He  was 
so  much  affected  at  the  death  of  his  adopted  nephew  that  he 
remained  in  his  chair  for  many  hours  in  a  state  of  stupefaction. 
His  mother  is  still  alive.  Sterne  has  left  a  bad  name  behind 
him  in  Yorkshire.  Ld  Carlisle  told  Sydney  that  he  knew  the 
original  Dr  Slop  very  intimately — a  Mr  Goddard,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Castle  Howard.1 

Jan.  15.  Poor  Ld7  Ilchester's  death  was  quite  sudden.2  Her 
brothers  were  there  and  staid  from  shooting  till  Ld  Ilchester 
sent  to  say  all  was  as  well  as  possible,  that  she  was  safely  brought 
to  bed  and  doing  well.  They  went  out,  and  on  their  return  found 
the  corpse. 

She  was  not  handsome  but  remarkably  pleasing,  and  had  a 
delightful,  equal  flow  of  spirits,  with  never  failing  good-nature, 
very  clever  and  remarkably  well-informed,  though  not  pedantic. 
I  spent  three  days  with  them  two  months  ago,  and  they  seemed 
the  pattern  of  happiness  and  good  humour. 

Rogers  was  always  touchy  and  satirical  in  the  greatest  degree, 
but  formerly  he  confined  himself  to  the  minutiae  and  all  the 
slight  imperfections  of  people.  Latterly,  however,  he  has  attacked 
people  for  their  moral  character  and  feelings,  which  if  they  ever 
hear  (and  there  are  always  kind  friends  to  repeat)  will  never  be 
forgiven. 

Tuesday,  Jan.  19.  Mr  Knight 3  knew  and  hated  Johnson. 
He  said  he  eat  in  the  most  horrible  manner.  He  remembers 
Mrs  Siddons,  when  17  or  18,  acting  Juliet  in  a  provincial  theatre  ; 
she  was  handsome,  but  not  pretty.  Afterwards  she  left  the 

stage,  and  was  waiting-maid  to  Lady  Greathead.  When 

young  she  had  a  propensity  to  laugh  on  the  stage,  which  pre- 
vented her  succeeding  for  some  time. 

1  The  original  of  Dr  Slop  in  Tristram  Shandy  was  always  said  to  be 
Dr  John  Burton  (1710-71). 

1  Caroline  Leonora,  daughter  of  Lord  George  Murray,  Bishop  of  St 
David's,  married  Henry  Stephen,  third  Earl  of  Ilchester  (1787-1858)  in 
1812.  The  child  was  christened  Caroline  Margaret,  and  married  Sir  Edward 
Kerrison.  She  died  in  1895. 

8  Richard  Payne  Knight  (1750-1824),  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Society  of  Antiquaries  and  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Dilettanti 
Society.  He  bequeathed  his  unique  collection  of  coins  to  the  British 
Museum. 


30  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Rogers  has  shut  himself  up  in  the  strangest  manner  for  the 
accouchement  of  his  poem.  Still-born  it  will  be. 

Wednesday,  Jan.  20.  To  Holland  House.  Dined  early  with 
Wm  Ord. l  Mr  Ticknor, 2  an  American,  sensible  and  well  informed, 
has  been  to  Spain,  Italy  and  France,  is  now  on  his  way  to  Scotland, 
then  returns  to  Boston. 

Saturday,  Jan.  23.  To  Covent  Garden,  Guy  Mannering  and 
Harlequin  ;  Gina  3  with  us.  Papa  at  Fox  Club  made  two  or  three 
short  speeches.  Dke  of  Sussex  4  very  boring,  "  Memory  of  Sr  S. 
Romilly,  and  of  Mr  Whitbread."  Mr  Allen  at  Fox  Club. 

Sunday,  Jan.  24.  Another  Queen  is  dead.  Four  Queens  in 
two  months  !  The  old  Qn  of  Spain  5  is  also  gone.  She  died  in 
Italy.  Sydney  said  Ld  Stair  sitting  on  the  cushion  of  the  sofa 
was  like  an  old  crow  fixed  on  a  bit  of  carrion. 

I  took  a  long  walk  in  the  morning  with  Binda  and  Mrs  Fisher, 
the  BD  of  Sarum's  wife,  a  ridiculous  blue,  but  very  civil  to  me. 
Miss  Berry  in  the  evening ;  first  time  I  ever  saw  her — a  blue 
also.  To  dinner : — Ld  Caernarvon,  Ld  Digby,  Ld  Clare,  Mr 
Vernon,  Mr  Frere,  Admiral  Fleming,  Mr  Sydney  Smith,  Mrs 
Sydney  Smith,  Saba  Smith,  Mr  Allen,  Henry.  Rogers  in  the 
evening  from  Cashiobury,  where  he  went  for  retirement  and 
found  nineteen  guests,  who  came  there  for  the  same  purpose ; 
but  however  he  has  returned  with  a  better  skin  than  he  went. 

Monday,  Jan.  25.  To  Grandmama6  in  the  morning.  Rainy 
day.  Ld  Sfc  Helens  7  will  be  no  loser  by  the  loss  of  his  place, 

1  William  Ord  (1781-1855),  of  Whitfield  Hall,  for  many  years  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Commons.     He  married,  in  1803,  Mary,  daughter  of 
Rev.  J.  Scott. 

2  George  Ticknor  (1791-1871),  the  historian  of  Spanish  literature. 

3  Henry  Fox's  sister,  Georgina  Anne,  who  died  before  the  end  of  1819. 
She  was  born  in  1809. 

4  Augustus  Frederick,  Duke  of  Sussex  (1773-1843),  sixth  son  of  George 
III.     This  entry  is  interesting,  being  one  of  the  earliest  references  to  the 
"  Fox  Club,"  founded  to  do  honour  to  the  memory  of  Charles  James  Fox. 
Nothing  is  known  of  the  date  of  its  inception,  for  the  records  only  begin 
in  1829. 

6  Queen  Maria  Luisa,  wife  of  King  Charles  IV. 

6  Mary,   daughter  of  Thomas  Clark,  of  New  York,   Lady  Holland's 
mother.      After  the  death  of  her  first  husband,  Richard  Vassall,  in  1795, 
she  married  Sir  Gilbert  Affleck,  second  Baronet  (1740-1808).     She  died  in 

1835- 

7  Alleyne,  Lord  St  Helens  (1753-1839).      He  retired  from  diplomacy 
in  1803. 


1818-1820  31 

having  never  received  a  pension  for  it,  as  he  has  an  Ambassador's. 
Went  to  see  the  Chess-playing  Automaton  with  Mrs  Ord,  who 
is  always  good-natured  and  obliging — curious  but  long.  A  very 
bad  set  of  company,  among  them  a  vulgar,  quarrelling  Irishman. 

Little  Lewis x  has  left  a  very  odd  will  behind  him  :  his 
library  to  Wm  Lamb,  his  fortune  between  his  two  married  sisters. 
At  dinner  : — Ld  Lansdowne,  Ld  Morpeth,  Lady  G.  Morpeth,  Mr 
Grenville,  Mr  W.  Lamb,  Sir  J.  Mackintosh,  Mr  Denman,  Mr 
Fazakerley,  Mr  Smith,  Henry. 

Tuesday,  Jan.  26.  Sir  R.  Wilson2  made  his  maiden  speech 
(a  complete  failure,  though  his  friends  tried  to  gloss  it  over)  on 
finance — a  bad  subject  in  bad  hands.  Dined  with  Grandmama  ; 
played  at  chess.  Ld  Keith  is  by  degrees  becoming  placid  towards 
Mde  de  Flahault 3 ;  calls  her  Margaret  and  will  see  her  after  her 
couches,  as  he  is  now  afraid  of  agitating  her.  Young  Napoleon 
is  receiving  at  Vienna  a  good  but  completely  German  education. 
The  Emperor  is  said,  and  wishes  to  appear,  to  love  him  very  much ; 
he  will  one  day  or  the  other  be  a  good  tool. 

Wednesday,  Jan.  27.  To  Holland  House  in  the  morning. 
Foggy  and  bad  weather.  Rogers  very  much  out  of  temper  at 
meeting  Lady  Granville,  whom  he  hates.  Lady  Hastings  is 
very  foolish  about  Ld  Huntingdon's  title  4 ;  she  considers  it  as 
an  injury.  She  drove  down  to  the  House  of  Lords  to  enquire 
of  some  peer  what  was  to  be  done.  On  enquiring  at  the  door 
who  was  in  the  House,  they  told  her  nobody  but  the  Earl  of 

1  Matthew  Gregory,  commonly  known  as  "  Monk  "  Lewis  (1775-1818), 
author.     He  died  on  the  journey  home  from  the  West  Indies,  where  he 
went  on  more  than  one  occasion  to  insure  the  welfare  of  the  slaves  on  his 
properties. 

2  General  Sir  Robert  Wilson  (1777-1849),  entered  Parliament  as  mem- 
ber for  Southwark  in  1818. 

3  George  Keith,  fourth  son  of  Charles,  tenth  Lord  Elphinstone,  created 
Viscount  Keith  in  1797,  had  one  daughter,  Margaret,  by  his  first  wife, 
Jane  Mercer.     Her  marriage,  in  1817,  to  the  Count  de  Flahault,  a  former 
aide-de-camp  to  Napoleon,  had  so    infuriated    him,  that    he    broke  ofi 
all  connection  with  her  at  the  time,  and  almost  disinherited  her.     The 
fact  that  she  was  marrying  a  foreigner  was  especially  repugnant  to  him, 
and  her  husband's  French  title  kept  alive  his  rage. 

4  The  Earldom  of  Huntingdon  had  been  suspended  since  the  death 
of  the  tenth  Earl  in  1789,  when  the  Barony  of  Hastings  passed  to  the 
Rawdon-Hastings  family.     A  representative  of  the  younger  branch,  Hans 
Francis  Hastings,  claimed  the  Earldom  successfully  at  the  end  of  1818. 


32  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Huntingdon.  At  which  she  drove  back  furious.  Hallam  has  got 
by  his  book  £5,000,!  W.  Scott  since  he  began  his  novels  £28,000  ; 
it  seems  incredible. 

Papa  presented  a  petition  on  Criminal  Law ;  he  meant  to 
allude  to  poor  Sir  Samuel,  but  found  a  empty  house  and  so 
deferred  it  till  some  other  day.  Ld  Errol  is  dead.  Ld  Fife  is 
Ld  of  the  Bedchamber  and  wants  a  blue  ribband. 

Mr  Pitt  had  a  plan  to  alter  the  Criminal  Law  and  to  have 
death  only  for  great  crimes.  He  also  had  a  plan  to  separate  the 
Chancellorship  from  the  Speakership  of  the  H8e  of  LdB. 

Thursday,  Jan.  28.  Went  to  the  H8e  of  Commons.  Sir 
James  2  speaking.  Sat  close  by  the  Dke  of  Sussex.  His  obser- 
vations were  foolish  and  frequent.  The  Hse  was  up  ten  minutes 
after  I  went.  In  the  evening  to  Mr  Coleridge's  lectures.3  His 
voice  is  bad,  his  subject  trite,  and  his  manner  odious — an 
affectation  of  wit  and  of  genius,  neither  of  which  he  has  in  any 
degree. 

Jan.  31,  Sunday.  Lady  Sefton  is  dead.  The  wife  of  the 
Dke  of  Sussex  4  sent  the  other  day  for  Ld  Lauderdale,  as  she  said 
on  business.  After  talking  for  some  time  upon  little  unimportant 
family  concerns,  she  said,  "  I  wish  you  could  contrive  to  have 
the  monument  to  P8a  Charlotte  erected  opposite  my  windows." 
He  denied  being  able  to  have  influence  in  so  doing.  Then  she 
said,  "  I  must  introduce  my  daughter  to  you."  She  then  sent 
for  P"  Emma,  a  handsome,  gigantic  girl  between  17  and  18,  who, 
after  she  made  some  pretty  speeches,  left  the  room,  and  then 
the  mother  said,  "  Isn't  she  a  pretty,  delightful  girl  ?  Well 
now  you  have  a  great  deal  of  influence  with  Pce  Leopold  ;  what 
could  he  do  better  than  marry  so  lovely  a  creature  ?  " 

Feb.  ist,  Monday.  Drove  to  Holland  House  with  Mama, 
Punch  Greville.  Lady  Hastings  has  set  up  another  Lord 
Huntingdon  to  oppose  this  new  man,  who  is  certainly  the  elder 

1  The  State  of  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages. 

2  Sir  James  Mackintosh  (1765-1832). 

8  Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge  (1772-1834),  poet  and  philosopher.  The 
Dictionary  of  National  Biography  states  that  he  never  lectured  in  London 
after  the  early  months  of  1818. 

4  The  Duke  of  Sussex  married,  in  1793,  Augusta,  daughter  of  John 
Murray,  fourth  Earl  of  Dunmore.  The  marriage  was  annulled  in  1794 
as  contrary  to  the  provisions  of  the  Royal  Marriage  Act.  Lady  Augusta 
died  in  1830.  Her  daughter  was  known  as  Miss  d'Este. 


1818-1820  33 

branch.  Ld  Byron's  poem 1  has  been  withdrawn  by  his  friends, 
really  on  account  of  the  abuse  contained  in  it  of  his  wife,  and  not 
because  Mr  Murray  is  afraid  of  publishing  it  from  its  satire 
against  every  body,  which  is  the  plausible  reason. 

Feb.  5.  Lord  Byron  is  living  at  Venice  with  a  complete 
seraglio.  Mr  Ticknor,  the  American,  is  at  Woburn,  but  has 
offended  the  Duchess  by  his  rudeness  and  want  of  manners,  of 
which  he  gave  us  a  good  specimen  the  other  night. 

Feb.  9.  Lord  Castlereagh  gave  a  toast  at  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
"  Toute  la  belle  sexe  qui  plait  a  toute  la  monde  .  .  ." 

Feb.  10,  Wednesday.  Went  to  Miss  Berry's  in  the  evening 
with  Sir  James — a  very  agreable  party  rather  spoilt  by  that 
little  viper,  Lady  C.  Lamb,2  who  tried  all  she  could  to  catch 
my  eye,  which  I  studiously  avoided. 

Friday,  Feb.  19.  Sat  to  Mr  Jackson  for  my  picture.  Went 
to  Mr  Chantrey,  who  is  making  a  bust  of  Sir  S.  Romilly  from  the 
material  he  can  collect. 

Sunday,  28  Feb.  Called  on  Rogers.  Grattan  there  ;  told 
me  the  happiest  days  of  his  life  he  had  passed  with  Gen.  Fitz- 
patrick  and  Ld  Ossory.  Rogers  cross  and  out  of  humour.  At 
dinner  : — Duke  of  Bedford,  Ld  Wm  Russell,  Mr  Charles  Wynne, 
Mr  Robarts,  Mr  L.  Horner,  Sir  J.  Newport,  Mr  Abercromby, 
Mr  Allen,  Henry. 

Wednesday,  3d  March.  Great  riot  in  Covent  Garden.  G. 
Lamb  and  Mr  Macdonald  escaped  out  of  a  window  to  a  clergy- 
man's house  behind  the  Committee.  They  broke  Ld  Castlereagh's, 
Ld  Sefton's  and  Mr  Whishart's  windows,  and  asked  for  our  house, 
but  could  not  find  it.  At  dinner : — Ld  and  Ldy  Ebrington,  Ld  and 
Ldy  Lansdowne,  Lord  Nugent,  Mr  Baring,  Mr  Allen,  Henry. 

Sunday,  March  21.  Ld  Digby  moved  an  address  once  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  but  spoke  so  low  no  one  heard  him.  Somebody 
afterwards  asked  Ld  Bathurst  (who  had  been  seated  next  to  him) 
what  he  had  said.  Ld  Bathurst  answered,  "  He  was  not  sure  if 
he  was  at  liberty  to  repeat  it,  for  it  had  been  delivered  in  confidence 
to  him." 

1  Don  Juan. 

2  Lady  Caroline  Lamb  (1785-1828),  daughter  of  Frederick,  third  Earl 
of  Bessborough,  and  wife  of  Hon.  William  Lamb,  afterwards  Lord  Mel- 
bourne.    Lady  Holland  and  she  were  not  on  speaking  terms  at  this  time. 

C 


34  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Friday,  March  26.  Sir  W.  Scott  very  entertaining.  He  said 
Goldsmith  in  company  was  the  greatest  fool  and  least  conversible 
person  he  ever  saw  for  a  man  of  his  talents.  That  at  The  Club, 
to  which  he  belonged,  Johnson  awed  every  one ;  no  one  dared 
utter  in  his  presence.  Mr  Fox  was  always  silent,  for  fear  of 
having  his  conversation  put  down  in  a  book  by  one  of  Johnson's 
hangers-on  like  Boswell.  Johnson  was  very  much  pleased  with 
a  speech  he  heard  Mr  Fox  make  about  him  (Johnson).  He  used 
to  say  he  was  for  the  King  against  Fox,  but  for  Fox  against  Pitt. 

Lady  W.  Russell  says  of  the  Miss  Berrys,  that  that  they  are, 
"Berries  harsh  and  crude." 

The  Dke  of  Y.  and  Ld  Bathurst  called  on  the  P<*  to  tell  him 
the  news  of  Pfls  Charlotte's  death  in  the  middle  of  the  night. 
He  at  first  thought  it  was  about  the  Queen.  When  he  heard  it 
was  about  his  daughter,  he  struck  his  forehead,  and  said,  "  What 
is  to  be  done  for  the  poor  man,  great  Heaven  !  "  and  he  threw 
himself  back  in  the  bed.  This  I  heard  from  Rogers,  who  was  in 
Lord  Bathurst's  house  at  the  time. 

The  Dchesa  of  Gordon,  on  first  addressing  Pitt  after  a  long 
absence,  said,  "  Pray  Sir,  have  you  talked  as  much  nonsense 
as  ever  since  we  parted."  "  I  do  not  know,  Madam,  but  I 
certainly  have  not  heard  so  much !  " 

Sunday,  July  23d,  1820.  Breakfasted  late.  Staid  most  part 
of  the  morning  with  my  father,  who  has  the  gout  slightly  in  his 
ankle.  Drove  out  with  my  mother.  Talked  of  talent  thrown 
away — illustrated  by  the  Duke  of  Argyle,1  who  with  natural 
abilities  and  a  good  education  has  become  insignificant  from 
nonchalance  and  indolence.  Rode  to  Lady  Sarah  Bailey,  a  most 
amiable  and  inoffensive  fool :  surprised  to  find  that,  though  of 
so  weak  an  understanding,  from  confinement  to  the  house  and 
a  great  part  of  the  year  spent  in  the  country  she  has  been  obliged 
to  read  a  good  deal,  and  that,  though  she  has  no  judgment  to 
discriminate  nor  memory  to  retain,  she  is  far  from  an  ignorant 
woman.  Walked  with  Ashley  2  in  Kensington  Gardens,  very 
full.  I'm  glad  that  they  are  again  fashionable.  Ashley's 

1  George  William,  sixth  Duke  of  Argyll  (1766-1839). 

2  Anthony,  Lord  Ashley  (1801-85),  tne  celebrated  philanthropist,  who 
succeeded  his  father  in  1851  as  seventh  Earl  of  Shaftesbury. 


1818-1820  35 

character  seems  to  me  quite  unintelligible  and  can  only  be 
accounted  for  by  a  dash  of  madness.  From  having  a  dislike 
that  almost  amounted  to  hatred,  I  have  grown  insensibly  to 
admire  and  like  him.  Many  flirtations  going  on,  but  all  01  some 
standing.  Only  Ld  William  at  dinner.  The  Queen's  house  in 
Portman  Sfc  wretched  beyond  conception.  She,  when  she  received 
the  Bedford  address,  was  cold  to  Whitbread  and  did  not  speak  to 
him,  but  afterwards  said  that  she  was  too  much  affected  at  the 
memory  of  his  father  and  could  not  trust  her  voice.  My  father 
brought  back  Rogers  and  Tierney.  The  latter  had  been  dining 
at  the  Dke  of  Bedford's  with  a  party  of  young  fashionables. 
Ld  H.  had  been  to  the  Duke  of  Montrose's  to  meet  the  Chancellor 1 
and  a  ministerial  dinner,  which  was  not,  I  am  sure,  agreable  as 
he  had  expected,  but  very  dull.  Every  day  I  live  I  am  more  and 
more  persuaded  not  to  meddle  in  politicks  ;  they  separate  the 
best  friends,  they  destroy  all  social  intercourse.  And  why  ? 
Is  it  for  power  ?  Is  it  for  popularity  ?  How  unenviable  they 
are  separately  !  How  seldom  you  see  them  combined ;  and 
most  politicians  have  neither. 

Monday,  24  July.  Rogers  and  Mr  Tierney  at  breakfast. 
The  former  bored  at  a  political  conversation.  Rode  out  all 
morning.  Passed  by  the  Queen's  house,  before  which  a  very 
small  and  inoffensive  mob  was  collected.  Dined  at  the  Dke  of 
Bedford's  at  a  round  table  with  16  people.  Ld  Kinnaird  lively 
and  vehement.  We  went  with  Ly  G.  Morpeth  to  Vauxhall, 
one  of  the  prettiest  sights  I  ever  beheld — quite  like  fairy  land. 
The  ascension  of  Madame  Sequi  is  beautiful,  but  tremendous. 
The  Cowpers  and  Lady  Glengall  there.  Took  leave  of  George  2 
and  Ashley,  who  go  their  Scotch  journey  to-morrow. 

Tuesday,  25  July.  Rogers  amusing  at  breakfast.  Read  the 
famous  letter  to  the  King  in  Junius ;  the  strength  and  dignity 
of  the  style  is  very  fine.  Drove  out  with  my  mother  and  Rogers. 
Saw  the  party  of  the  D83  of  Bedford  pass  in  the  steam-boat  by 
Vauxhall  Bridge,  a  gay,  cheerful  sight.  Returned  to  dinner ; 
Binda  and  Allen  only.  Drove  out  to  fetch  Rogers  from  Lady 
Cook's,  and  my  father  from  The  Club,  where  he  had  a  pleasant 

1  Lord  Eldon. 

2  Hon.   George  William  Frederick  Howard   (1802-64),  eldest  son  of 
Lord  Morpeth,  whom  he  succeeded  as  seventh  Earl  of  Carlisle  in  1848. 


36  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

dinner — Canning,  Ld  Liverpool,  and  the  two  Sir  Williams — Grant 
and  Scott.  The  soldiers  are  discontented,  and  think  that  their 
allegiance  is  as  much  owed  the  Queen  as  the  King — rather  an 
awkward  fancy  to  take  just  now  !  She  has  signified  her  intention 
of  appearing  in  person  every  day  during  the  trial.  The  Duke 
of  Gordon  *•  is  going  to  marry  his  mistress,  who  is  about  to  give 
him  an  heir,  as  Ld  Huntley  has  no  children. 

Napoleon  has  got  a  large  bell  at  Sfc  Helena  by  which  he  collects 
his  labourers  for  the  garden,  which  he  regularly  rings  at  six 
o'clock  every  morning,  and  sometimes  joins  them  in  their  work. 

Thursday,  July  27.  Went  to  see  Sir  T.  Lawrence's  pictures 
at  Burlington  House.  His  favorite  is  the  Pope,  but  for  my  part 
I  would  rather  possess  the  Cardinal  Consalvi?  Met  there  the 
Duke  and  DC8S  of  Bedford  and  Ld  Gower.  Rode  out  in  the 
park  with  the  Ladies  Greville.  Lady  A.  Paget3  was  married 
to-day,  and  there  was  a  great  difficulty  about  the  licence,  as  she 
belonged  to  no  parish,  having  lately  changed  her  residence. 
General  Flahault  and  his  baby  came  from  Paris.  A  change  in 
government  and  Dynasty  expected  there  still  more  than  here. 
Abercromby  4  made  the  most  terrific  picture  of  the  present  state 
of  affairs  ;  however,  this  nation  has  weathered  so  many  serious 
storms  that  one  can  hardly  expect  so  bad  a  cause  can  raise  one. 
The  Queen,  in  the  presence  of  Brougham  and  the  rest  of  her 
counsel,  dispatched  messages  to  all  the  crowned  heads  in  Europe 
with  sealed  letters  personally  from  herself.  Lady  Ann  Hamilton 
is  to  be  present  with  the  thickest  veil  to  hide  her  blushes.  De 
Caze5  is  despised  in  Paris  and  has  a  cry  against  him  just  now. 
They  have  no  one  they  look  up  to,  but  all  join  in  hatred  of  what 
exists  at  present. 

1  Alexander,   fourth  Duke  of   Gordon    (1743-1827),   the   Duchess   of 
Bedford's  father.     In   1820   he   married   Mrs   Christie.     His    son,   Lord 
Huntly   (by  his  first  wife),   died  without  children,  and   the   Dukedom 
became  extinct. 

2  The  pictures  are  now  in  the  Royal  Collection  at  Windsor. 

3  Lady  Augusta  Paget,  daughter  of  Henry  William,  first  Marquess  of 
Anglesey,  married  Arthur  Chichester,  created  Baron  Templemore  in  1831. 

4  James  Abercromby   (1776-1858),  son  of  General  Sir  Ralph  Aber- 
cromby.    He  was  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  from  1835  till  1839, 
when  he  was  raised  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Dunfermline. 

5  Elie,  Due  de  Decazes  (1780-1846),  French  Ambassador  in  England, 
1820-21. 


1818-1820  37 

General  Flahault  was  with  Napoleon  on  the  morning  of  his 
abdication  at  Fontainebleau,  and  while  talking  of  it  he  was 
scribbling  on  a  scrap  of  paper.  When  he  went  out  of  the  room 
Flahault  looked,  and  found  written  in  every  direction,  "  Louis, 
par  la  grace  de  Dieu."  When  he  returned  in  the  Cent  Jours  he 
was  very  curious  to  know  all  the  Bourbons  had  said  and  done 
about  the  palaces,  and  what  alterations  they  had  made  or  planned. 

Burke,  when  the  cabal  at  Paris  called  "  The  Mountain  "  had 
just  begun,  was  speaking  in  the  House  and  some  of  Mr  Fox's 
most  violent  friends  were  coughing  and  making  a  good  deal  of 
noise.  The  Speaker  called  them  to  order.  "  No,  no,"  said  Mr 
Burke,  "  do  not  call  them  to  order,  let  them  have  their  liberty, 
the  Mountain  nymph,  Sweet  Liberty." 

Friday,  28  July.  Payne  Knight  came  to  breakfast,  positive 
as  usual ;  but  to  see  such  vigorous  flagitiousness  at  so  advanced 
a  period  of  life  is  rather  pleasing.  Drove  out  with  my  mother. 
Discontents  in  the  army  still  more  spoken  of.  It  is  said  that 
injudicious  friends  of  the  Dke  of  York  have  tried  to  increase  his 
alarming  popularity  with  the  military.  I  saw  Lady  W.  Russell,1 
who  sets  off  to-morrow  for  Scotland  with  her  husband — mother, 
child,  Terence,  Horace,  and  a  brood  of  puppies.  On  our  return 
found  my  father  returned.  Dr  Lushington 2  brought  a  civil 
message  from  the  Queen  to  my  mother,  talks  confidently  of  her 
success,  and  seems  in  spirits  rather  too  eager  with  noisy  good 
qualities  but  not  judgment.  At  dinner  : — Ld  A.  Hamilton,  Dr 
Lushington,  the  Flahaults,  Binda,  Mr  Whishaw,  Mr  F.  Foster. 

Saturday,  29  July.  Went  home  to  Little  Hd  House.3  The 
Duke  of  York,  when  at  the  Review  the  other  day,  was  heard  by 
the  people  to  refuse  having  any  soldiers  about  him,  upon  which 
he  was  hurraed,  and  they  cried,  "  Bravo  !  You  are  the  King 

1  Elizabeth  Anne,  only  child  of  Hon.  John  Rawdon,  married,  in  1817, 
Lord  George  William  Russell  (1790-1846),  second  son  of  John,  sixth  Duke 
of  Bedford,  by  his  first  wife,  Georgina,  daughter  of  George,  fourth  Vis- 
count Torrington.     She   died  in   1874.     Their  son  succeeded  as  ninth 
Duke  of  Bedford. 

2  Stephen  Lushington   (1782-1873),   Member  of  Parliament,   and  an 
ardent  supporter  of  the  Princess  of  Wales.     He  was  a  well-known  figure 
at  the  Bar. 

3  An  old  farm-house  in  the  grounds  of  Holland  House,  adapted  by 
Lord  Holland  to  supply  a  residence  for  his  sister,  Miss  Fox,  and  her  aunt, 
Miss  Vernon. 


38  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

for  us  !  "  He  was  greatly  annoyed  by  this  and  rode  off.  Went 
with  my  father  to  see  Dr  Parr.1  Found  him  in  his  night-cap 
without  a  wig,  very  animated  and  full,  as  he  called  it,  "  not  only 
of  life  but  hilarity."  He  laughed  at  Westminster  and  Eton  and 
at  Ch.  Church,  but  said  the  late  Dean  2  was  a  man  of  "  colossal 
virtues."  He  gave  an  account,  which  I  believe  not  to  be  true, 
of  his  silencing  Sir  W.  Scott  at  the  Archbishop  of  York's,  "  of  his 
pouring  his  hot  lava  upon  him."  He  did  not  mention  the  Queen, 
but  he  has  been  old  fool  enough  to  trot  up  from  his  retirement 
merely  to  pay  "  his  homage  to  his  slandered  and  persecuted  Queen." 

The  never  ending  subject  of  this  persecuted  Queen  discussed 
at  dinner ;  it  daily  grows  more  tedious  and  dull.  There  seems 
nothing  new  on  the  subject,  and  people  only  discuss  their  own 
conjectures  with  all  the  possibilities  that  may  arise.  Most 
people  believe  in  a  revolution,  and  in  great  slaughter  in  that  case. 
Brougham's  success  on  the  circuit  is  quite  wonderful ;  he  now 
means  to  apply  to  the  law  only.  At  dinner  : — Duke  of  Argyle, 
Ld  Morpeth,  Ld  Tavistock,  L<*  G.  Morpeth,  Mr  W.  Lamb,  Mr 
Tierney. 

Thursday,  iyth  August.  Sir  E.  Nagle  (an  Irishman),  when 
with  the  King  and  Lady  Conyngham  sailing  on  Virginia  Water, 
said  as  a  sort  of  echo  of  His  Majesty's  observation  on  the  beauty 
of  the  place  and  the  weather,  "  Yes,  it  is  indeed.  Well,  then, 
this  is  our  Lake  of  Como  !  "  The  King  laughed  very  much,  and 
poor  Sir  E.  was  wretched  when  he  discovered  the  great  impro- 
priety of  what  he  had  said. 

The  important  day.  My  father  and  the  Duke  went  at  9. 
We  drove  about  town  to  collect  news.  All  was  quiet,  and  the 
mob  seemed  good-humoured.  The  Duke  of  Wellington,  however, 
was  greatly  hissed.  Called  on  Lady  Jersey.3  Found  her  as 
usual  vehement,  and  anxious  that  the  recrimination  should  not 
be  stopped,  which  seems  odd  considering  her  husband's  family. 
The  Queen  first  took  her  place  by  the  Throne  and  then  went 
to  the  Bar.  When  the  Council  began,  she  slept  some  part  of  the 

1  Samuel  Parr  (1747-1825),  scholar,  schoolmaster,  and  divine. 

2  Rev.  Cyril  Jackson  (1746-1819),  who  retired  in  1809. 

3  Sarah    Sophia,   daughter    of    John,   tenth    Earl    of    Westmorland, 
married  George,  fifth  Earl  of  Jersey,  in  1804,  and  died  in  1867.    She  was 
always  a  strong  supporter  of  the  Tories. 


1818-1820  39 

time,  and  seemed  tired  and  bored.  The  Duke  made  an  unkind 
and  imprudent  speech  about  his  brother  of  Sussex,  which  every 
one  is  sorry  for.  Brougham  severe  on  the  former  in  his  speech, 
and  dwelt  more  on  it  than  was  necessary. 

On  the  Queen  asleep  in  the  House  (by  my  father) : 

"  No  proof  of  her  guilt  her  conduct  affords, 
She  sleeps  not  with  couriers,  she  sleeps  with  the  Lords." 

Friday,  18  August.  Went  to  the  House  with  my  father. 
Sir  Thomas  Tyrrhitt  gave  me  his  place,  where  I  heard  every 
word,  and  was  delighted  with  the  most  beautiful  and  artful 
oration  that  could  be  delivered  by  Denman.1  I  never  heard 
anything  finer.  The  Queen  sat  all  the  time  close  to  me.  She 
did  not  take  any  particular  notice  of  any  near,  except  a  fixed 
stare  for  a  minute  at  Ld  Conyngham.  She  laughed  very  much 
at  Brougham's  ludicrous  account  of  the  witnesses,  and  cried  at 
the  mention  of  her  daughter.  Denman's  speech  was  full  of 
feeling  and  tenderness,  and  the  end  really  sublime.  He  told  me 
that  after  his  speech  he  went  to  her  room  and  took  off  his  wig. 
She  came  in  by  surprize  upon  him,  and  he  apologised  ;  and  she 
with  quickness  said,  "  Put  it  on,  put  it  on.  If  I  let  you  have  it 
off,  they  will  say  it  is  an  unpardonable  condescension  "  (an  expres- 
sion that  had  been  often  used  in  the  previous  debate).  During 
Brougham's  speech  the  dinner-bell  for  the  witnesses  was  heard. 
He  stopped  short  with  great  affected  petulance,  "  Interrupted  by 
festivities,"  which  was  excellent  and  well  taken. 

Epigram  of  my  father's: 

"  In  the  business  which  calls  all  their  Lordships  to  town, 
They  will  all  be  knocked  up,  if  they  are  not  knocked  down. 
No  creature  will  gain  by  the  acts  of  the  House, 
But  peers,  eldest  sons,  law  advisers  and  grouse." 

Ld  Erskine  on  being  asked  his  opinion  of  Denman's  speech, 
said,  "  I  never  heard  a  finer  speech  than  Denman's  or  better 
delivered.  Being  the  son  of  Dr  Denman  no  one  can  doubt  of 
the  delivery ;  altho'  by  the  decision  of  their  Lordships  he  came 
long  before  his  time,  yet  God  knows  there  was  no  miscarriage." 

1  Thomas  Denman  (1779-1854),  gazetted  a  Baron  in  1834.  He  was 
Lord  Chief  Justice,  1832-50.  He  was  a  strong  supporter  of  Queen  Caro- 
line, and  was  appointed  her  Solicitor-General  in  1820.  He  was  son  of 
Thomas  Denman  (1733-1815),  a  well-known  physician. 


40  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

The  Queen  terribly  vulgar,  and  a  want  of  grace  about  her ;  not 
so  ugly  as  I  expected,  but  undignified.  Ld  Spencer  has  lost  his 
son  in  a  terrible  manner,  something  between  a  duel  and  an  affray. 
The  effect  of  Denman's  speech  on  the  House,  and  especially  on 
the  old  Tory  part,  was  wonderful. 

Saturday,  19  August.  After  a  debate  in  which  Ld  Liverpool 
made  an  admirable  speech,  the  Attorney-General1  opened  his 
case  lamentably.  I  did  not  go  to  the  House,  but  heard  that  it 
was  really  wretched.  A  violent  storm.  Drove  afterwards  to 
town  with  my  mother.  Miss  Eliza  FitzClarence's  marriage  to 
Ld  Errol  declared.  I  really  do  not  know  whether  I  am  glad  or 
sorry,  but  on  the  whole  I  think  it  fortunate,  though  I  fear  it  will 
cost  dear  Charles  a  pang.2  Took  a  walk  in  the  garden  with 
Rogers  and  Ld  Grey  3 — both  out  of  temper.  Amused  to  see  the 
different  manner  a  haughty,  high-minded,  fine-spirited,  manly 
man  shews  his  ill-temper,  from  that  of  a  little,  narrow-minded, 
inquisitive,  malignant,  observant  wit. 

Sunday,  20  August.  Drove  to  Richmond  to  see  Lady  Affleck. 
It  seems  odd  that  people  have  left  off  the  fashion  of  having 
villas  there.  I  think  it  more  beautiful  than  anything  of  the  sort 
in  any  part  of  the  world.  At  dinner  : — Ld  and  Lady  Cowper, 
Ld  and  Ld*  Tavistock,  Ld  Erskine,  Ld  A.  Hamilton,  Mr  Ellis,  Mr 
Fortescue,  Ld  Gower,  Ld  Lansdowne,  Duke  of  Bedford,  Ld  J. 
Russell,  Mr  Shuttleworth,  Mr  Rogers,  Ld  Essex.  The  last  six 
slept. 

Ld  Erskine4  quite  wonderful,  full  of  life,  vivacity  and  wit. 
He  told  some  anecdotes  of  his  early  life.  He  spoke  with  great 
warmth  of  affection  and  respect  for  Ld  Mansfield.  He  repeated 
a  magnificent  sentence  out  of  one  of  his  own  speeches  upon  Ld 
Strafford.  He  told  us  that  once  on  a  case  where  he  was  counsel 
one  witness,  an  old  woman,  swore  she  saw  Albion  Mills  written 
on  some  socks.  It  was  whispered  to  him  she  could  not  read. 
He  took  a  piece  of  paper  on  which  he  wrote  ....  and  asked 

1  Sir  Robert  Gifford. 

2  Elizabeth  FitzClarence,  one  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence's   daughters 
by   Mrs    Jordan,    married  William   George,    eighteenth  Earl  of  Enroll. 
Charles  Fox,  Henry's  elder  brother,  had  been  much  in  love  with  her,  but 
finally  married  her  sister  Mary  in  1824. 

8  Charles,  second  Earl  Grey  (1764-1845). 

4  Thomas,  first  Lord  Erskine  (1750-1823),  Lord  Chancellor,  1806-7. 


Sir  M.  A.  Shet  f>in.rit 


CHARLES   RICHARD   FOX 


1818-1820  41 

if  that  was  what  she  had  seen.  She  swore  it  was.  He  handed 
it  to  Justice  Heath,  who  would  not  show  it  the  jury,  but  told  them 
she  had  perjured  herself.  This  saved  his  client.  Amused  to 
see  how  cheap  Ellis  held  all  Ld  E.  said.  Such  is  the  odious  self- 
sufficiency  of  the  present  generation,  who,  having  neither  genius 
nor  sense  among  them  all,  though  they  most  likely  have  more 
erudition,  think  they  surpass  their  predecessors.  I  wish  Ellis 
a  longer  life  than  his  reputation,  which  is  now  in  the  last  stage 
of  a  consumption. 

Monday,  21  August.     Went  to  the  House  of  Lords,  where, 
after  hearing  the  conclusion  of  the  Attorney-General's  charges 
against  the  Queen,  ill-delivered  and  wretchedly  put  together,  I 
beheld  a  scene  that  I  shall  remember  for  life.     As  soon  as  he  had 
finished,  after  a  little  conversation  across  the  table,  the  Queen 
entered  the  House.     I  was  close  to  her  and  observed  every 
motion.     She  seemed  to  walk  with  a  more  decided  step  than  I 
had  seen  her.     Before  she  came  to  her  seat  she  curtsied  to  the 
peers,  she  sat  down,  she  bowed  to  Denman,  and  afterwards  to 
Brougham,  from  whom  she  received  a  cold  and  distant  acknow- 
ledgment.    I  observed  she  almost  trembled,  and  she  frequently 
clenched  her  hand  and  opened  it  as  a  person  under  great  emotion. 
The  witness  was  produced  at  the  Bar.     The  moment  her  eyes 
caught  him  she  sprang  up  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  advanced 
two  or  three  steps,  put  her  left  arm  a  kimbo,  and  threw  her  veil 
violently  back  with  her  right.     She  looked  at  him  steadily  for 
about  two  or  three  seconds  during  a  dead  silence  ;    she  then 
exclaimed  in  a  loud,  angry  tone,  "  Theodore  !  "  and  rushed  out 
of  the  House.     The  whole  was  the  affair  of  less  than  a  minute. 
The  consternation,  surprize,  and  even  alarm  it  produced  was 
wonderful.     Nothing  but  madness  can  account  for  it.     It  seems 
extraordinary,  but  she  contrived  to  make  that  puny,  dumpty 
figure  of  her's  appear  dignified.     That  it  was  a  prepared  scene 
I  am  persuaded.     She  had  been  to  the  House  on  Sunday  night 
to  alter  her  chair,  and  Sir  T.  Tyrrhitt  told  me  before  she  came 
that  she  was  only  coming  for  a  few  minutes.     Besides  the  frequent 
messages  to  and  fro  that  had  passed  between  her  and  her  counsel, 
and  the  displeased  manner  in  which  Brougham  returned  her  bow, 
make  me  certain,  who  stood  very  near,  that  she  had  planned  it, 
if  not  rehearsed  it,  and  that  it  was  not  either  violent  fear  or  anger 


42  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

at  the  moment  that  prompted  her,  but  that  she  intended  making 
a  coup-de-theatre.  Poor  maniac  !  The  effect  it  has  produced  is 
far  from  being  of  use  to  her.  Everyone  felt  disgusted  at  her 
impudence  and  convinced  of  her  guilt.  The  evidence  I  after- 
wards heard  is  certainly  not  strong  enough  to  convict  her  upon. 
The  only  material  point  is  the  going  together  into  the  bath.  How 
it  will  end,  God  knows  !  They  say  she  means  to  kill  herself. 
I  should  not  be  surprized.  A  woman  capable  of  what  she  has 
done  to-day  can  do  anything  violent  or  disgraceful.  How  the 
people  will  receive  this  remains  to  be  seen.  Our  great-grand- 
children will  see  it  in  operas,  tragedies,  or  melodramas,  though  it 
would  better  suit  &  farce.  However,  notwithstanding  the  ridicule 
of  it,  it  did  make  one  shudder. 

Tuesday,  22  August.  I  attended  the  House  of  Lords.  The 
examination,  by  Copley,  of  Theodore  continued,  and  afterwards 
cross-examined  by  Brougham.  The  Queen  came  into  the  House 
for  a  little  less  than  ten  minutes.  She  had  her  veil  up  during 
the  whole  of  the  time,  with  a  pencil  and  paper  in  her  hand.  I 
should  think  what  Brougham  got  out  of  the  witness  was  quite 
enough  to  throw  discredit  on  the  whole  of  his  evidence.  He 
contradicted  himself  on  very  material  points,  and  answered 
almost  all  Brougham's  questions  with,  "  Di  questo  non  mi 
ricordo,"  delivered  in  a  tone  and  manner  that  showed  he  was 
prepared  to  answer  all  the  question  and  did  'not  like  to  answer 
in  that  manner.  One  of  the  charges  as  to  the  indecent  exhibitions 
of  Mahomet  was  quite  destroyed.  Surprized  to  observe  the 
savage  spite  Rogers  has  against  the  Queen,  with  whom  he  was 
once  so  intimate.  It  must  be  from  the  usual  benevolence  of 
his  character  to  see  misfortunes  happen  to  those  he  is  personally 
acquainted  with,  or  else  she  must  have  offended  him  by  some 
neglect. 

Ld  J.  Russell  owned  at  dinner  to  having  written  a  very  clever 
little  book  called,  Essays  and  Sketches.  He  had  communicated 
with  no  one,  or  even  told  about  it  either  the  Duke  or  any  body 
else.  It  is  just  come  out. 

I  heard  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  Ld  Anglesea  both  hissed 
and  hooted  at  by  the  mob.  Such  is  the  reward  they  ought  and 
will  find,  even  from  those  whom  they  might  have  expected  to 
find  their  friends. 


1818-1820  43 

Wednesday,  23^  August.  Went  to  the  House.  The  Queen 
there  for  a  short  time.  More  mob  and  more  disposition  to  riot. 
The  evidence  not  in  her  favor,  though  the  scoundrel  Theodore 
is  nearly  undone.  Ld  Anglesea  made  a  speech  to  the  mob  that 
hissed  him.  Read  most  of  Ld  John's  Essays,  lively  and  full  of 
thought  and  observation. 

Thursday,  24  August.  Went  to  Ampthill  with  Mr  Shuttle- 
worth.1  Read  Ld  John's  book,  which  I  admired  very  much, 
though  I  thought  the  description  of  ancient  manners  affected 
and  many  parts  strained  and  forced  expression,  but  on  the  whole 
lively,  full  of  knowledge,  observation  and  wit,  but  too  cold  and 
parental  on  marriage  for  a  young  man.  Ampthill  in  beauty ; 
but  I  hate  the  country  and  feel  positive  aversion  for  green  fields 
and  bleating  flocks.  Staid  at  Ampthill  till  September  2. 

Wednesday,  13  September.  Rode  to  see  Lady  Sarah  Napier 2 
with  my  father.  Found  her  perfectly  clear-headed  and  cheerful ; 
her  language  very  well  chosen  and  her  quickness  and  wit  very 
remarkable  for  one  of  her  age  and  infirmities. 

Thursday,  14  September.  Rogers  particularly  agreable  both 
morning  and  evening,  though  it  is  impossible  not  to  feel  certain 
that  in  the  same  manner  he  abuses  his  absent  friends,  his  listeners 
will  share  the  same  fate  when  their  backs  are  turned.  He  has  a 
little  mind,  and  is  only  capable  of  little  thoughts,  little  feelings 
and  little  poems.  He  has  no  genius  and  no  elevation  of  mind, 
and  as  he  lives  on  conversation  he  knows  the  human  heart  well 
enough  to  find  that  no  topick  is  so  agreable  as  the  "  mal  de  son 
prochain."  He  envies  everything  that  acquires  any  celebrity, 
and  is  now  very  jealous  that  W.  Scott  should  be  so  much  talked 
of  and  read. 

Saturday,  16  Sept.  A  rival  wit  of  Madame  de  Stae'l,  when  she 
went  to  a  masquerade  as  a  statue  and  no  one  knew  her,  at  last 
said,  "  Ah  !  je  reconnais  le  '  pied-de-Stael.'  ' 

Went  to  Drury  Lane.     Kean  took  leave  before  his  departure 

1  Rev.  Philip  Nicholas  Shuttleworth  (1782-1842),  for  some  years  tutor 
to  Henry  Fox.     He  was  appointed  Warden  of  New  College,  Oxford,  in 
1822,  and  became  Bishop  of  Chichester  in  1840. 

2  Daughter  of  Charles,  second  Duke  of  Richmond,  Lady  Sarah  Lennox 
married  Sir  Charles  Bunbury,  from  whom  she  was  divorced.     In  1775  she 
married  Colonel  Hon.  George  Napier.     She  died  in  1826,  at  the  age  of  81, 
having  been  practically  blind  for  the  last  seventeen  years  of  her  life. 


44  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

for  America  ;  he  did  not  act  quite  his  best,  and  his  farewell  was 
bad.  Went  down  to  the  Green  Room.  Elliston  drunk  and 
tiresome. 

22d-24y*  September.  At  The  Grange,  a  very  handsome  house, 
formerly  with  a  fa$ade  designed  by  Inigo  Jones,  but  altered  by 
Mr  Drummond  to  a  copy  of  the  Parthenon.  The  effect  is  good, 
and  the  house  better  than  could  be  expected  ;  but  the  columns 
are  not  stone,  and  it  will  be  impossible  to  make  any  additions. 

Mr  Baring1  is  doing  what  only  men  whose  heads  are  not 
turned  by  great  riches  can  do.  He  makes  no  extraordinary 
display,  but  is  buying  up  everything  near  him,  and  will  in  time 
have  an  enormous  property.  He  has  ten  children.  She  is  a 
sensible  woman,  tho'  I  do  not  think  her  pleasant.  I  like  their 
eldest  son  very  much  ;  his  understanding  is  excellent,  and  if  he 
has  faults,  they  only  arise  from  modesty  and  shyness. 

Labouchere2  came  there  the  last  day  with  his  mother,  once 
a  flame  of  Rogers',  and  to  whom  he  pretends  he  was  not  unpleasing. 
Her  son  is  wonderfully  clever,  but  he  is  too  well  aware  of  it ;  and 
if  ever  a  person  has  the  misfortune  to  find  out  they  possess  a 
talent,  they  ought  to  keep  the  secret  with  all  the  art  they  are 
master  of  and  try  to  persuade  themselves  that  it  must  be  a 
mistake.  He  has  been  in  Ireland  :  he  seems  disappointed  with 
the  beauties  of  it.  He  had  just  heard  a  violent  enthusiast 
preaching.  One  of  his  phrases,  talking  of  the  rest  of  the  world, 
were  that  they  were,  "  defaulters  in  grace  and  bankrupts  in  the 
Gazette  of  heaven.''  How  commercial  to  deliver  before  Barings  !  !  ! 
Ld  Auckland  and  Ld  Caernarvon  were  there. 

Sunday,  8th  October.  Returned  to  H.H.  Rode  in  the  park. 
Peers  taking  their  weekly  exercise  looked  unhappy. 

The  whole  of  the  following  week  I  attended  the  House 
regularly,  with  the  exception  of  two  days  that  I  went  to  Richmond 
to  see  Lady  Affleck,  who  was  ill.  Dined  one  day  at  Lansdowne 

1  Alexander  Baring  (1774-1838),  the  owner  of  The  Grange,  created 
Baron  Ashburton  in  1835,  second  son  of  Sir  Francis  Baring,  first  Bart. 
He  married,  in  1798,  Anne  Louisa,  eldest  daughter  of  William  Bingham, 
of   Philadelphia.      Their  eldest    boy,    William    Bingham,  born  in  1799, 
succeeded  as  second  Lord  Ashburton. 

2  Henry   Labouchere    (1798-1869),    created    Lord   Taunton   in    1859. 
His    mother  was   Dorothy   Elizabeth,    third    daughter   of   Sir  Francis 
Baring. 


1818-1820  45 

House.  Met  Dke  and  D688  of  Somerset1  and  the  new  Bp  of  Bristol.2 
The  Dke  looks  like  an  idiot,  she  like  a  marine,  the  Bp  like  a  pleasing, 
unassuming,  little  tidy  man.  Brougham  and  Denman  came  for 
Saturday  and  Sunday,  both  in  high  spirits. 

Sunday,  10  December,  1820.  Henry  and  I  left  Salt  Hill  at 
about  ten  where  we  had  slept  the  night  before,  and  got  to  London 
at  half-past  twelve.  I  found  my  Lady  at  breakfast,  looking  ill 
and  worn  down,  but  in  spirits.  My  father  as  usual  the  best  of 
men  in  every  way.  Rogers  and  he  drove  out  together ;  I  staid 
at  home.  Denman  called.  He  had  been  to  the  Queen  whom  he 
found  in  spirits  and  well.  She  told  him  of  Lushington's 3  marriage, 
which  he  had  just  announced  to  her  as  a  secret.  D.  told  a  story 
that  Jockey  Bell  had  made  use  of  at  the  Bar  to  shew  the  folly 
of  common  sense  against  learning.  A  father  asks  his  son  what 
he  has  learnt  at  the  University.  The  son  says  that  he  hears 
the  world  goes  round  every  night.  "  Impossible  !  "  cries  the 
father,  "  or  my  duck-pond  would  be  empty  every  morning." 
This  brought  in  well  had  a  great  effect. 

A  lawyer  dinner  : — Mr  and  Mrs  Smith,  Mr  Bell,  Mr  Brougham 
Mr  Hallam,  Mr  B.  White,  Mr  Scarlett,  Mr  Whishaw.  Scarlett,4 
with  a  gold  snuff-box  of  which  he  was  evidently  proud.  Broug- 
ham managed  to  get  it,  and  sent  it  down  to  me  with  a  proposal 
of  changing  the  spelling.  His  crest  was  engraved  with  a  laurel 
wreath  and  this  inscription,  "  To  James  Scarlett  from  his  Lewes  " 
(or  by  Brougham's  intended  alteration,  "  Lewd)  female  friends." 
My  Lady  was  quite  determined  to  have  out  the  story  of  the 
duck-pond,  and  at  length  succeeded  by  a  great  deal  of  circum- 
locution. 

Little,  hideous  Funchal 5  came  in  the  evening,  and  told  too 


1  Edward  Adolphus,   eleventh  Duke  of  Somerset   (1775-1855).     His 
first  wife,  Charlotte,  daughter  of  Archibald,  ninth  Duke  of  Hamilton, 
died  in  1827. 

2  John  Kaye. 

3  Stephen  Lushington  (see  ante,  p.  37)  married  Sarah  Grace,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  William  Carr.     The  Dictionary  of  National  Biography  gives 
the  date  of  the  marriage  in  August,  1821. 

4  James  Scarlett  (1769-1844),  Chief  Baron  in  1834,  after  twice  holding 
the  post  of  Attorney-General.     He  was  created  Lord  Abinger  in  1835. 

5  Marquis  de  Funchal,  Portuguese  diplomatist,  for  over  forty  years  an 
intimate  friend  of  Lord  Holland.     He  died  in  1833. 


46  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

many  stories ;  though  some  were  good,  particularly  the  one 
about  his  presentation  to  the  Pope,  where  it  was  the  custom  for 
all  his  suite  to  retire  and  then  to  return  to  kiss  H.H.'s  toe.  During 
their  absence  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  had  taken  two  English- 
men who  might  perhaps  refuse,  and  that  would  bring  him  into 
a  terrible  scrape.  His  description  of  his  own  fears  when  they 
walked  in  in  a  line  was  very  good,  "  My  heart  was  so  little." 
But  at  last  to  his  great  surprize  and  pleasure  he  saw  both  his 
servants  kiss  the  Pope's  toe  with  more  devotion  than  all  the 
Catholic  Portuguese.  One  of  the  presents  the  Pope  has  made 
him  is  the  whole  body  of  a  martyr  found  in  terra  sancta.  He 
does  not  know  what  to  do  with  it.  Henry  Webster l  came  in  the 
evening,  looking  well  and  gay,  full  of  his  succes  in  Scotland  and 
his  fortunate  meeting  with  Miss  Bod.  in  London,  whose  love  is 
undiminished  and  whose  father  is  unrelenting.  So  that  what 
will  be  done,  God  knows  !  The  brother  is  dying.  Had  a  little 
tiff  with  my  Lady,  in  which  Rogers  had  the  impudence  to 
meddle. 

Monday,  n  December.  James  Moore  2  came  at  breakfast, 
and  found  my  pulse  at  58  and  my  tongue  discoloured.  Such  is 
the  force  of  imagination  among  les  medecins  !  Drove  out  with 
Papa  and  saw  the  Panorama.  Called  upon  Lady  Affleck,  and 
counted  Henry  W.'s  shoes  and  boots,  which  are  wonderful  in 
point  of  multitude.  Lady  A.  rather  low  at  having  no  legacy 
from  old  Lady  Clermont.  On  our  return  found  my  Lady  estab- 
lished with  all  the  usual  paraphernalia  receiving  the  same  dull 
round  of  dull  visitors.  Wrote  to  George  at  Hardwick  a  dull, 
detailed  letter.  We  were  quite  alone  at  dinner,  only  Ld  and  Ldy  H., 
Mr  A.3  and  myself.  I  went  before  dinner  was  over,  in  order  to 
take  Rogers  and  his  sister,  whom  I  found  at  dinner  with  Foscolo,4 
having  given  up  the  play.  However  they  at  last  determined  to 
go,  for  such  is  the  perverseness  of  my  character  that  I  always 

1  Lady  Holland's  second  son  by  her  first  marriage  with  Sir  Godfrey 
Webster.     He  was  born  in  1793,  and  died  in  1847.     His  marriage  with 
Grace  Boddington,  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Boddington,  M.P.  for  Tralee, 
did  not  take  place  until  1824. 

2  A  well-known  surgeon  (1763-1834),  brother  of  Sir  John  Moore. 

3  John  Allen. 

4  Ugo  Foscolo  (1778-1827),  Italian  writer  and  patriot,  who  came  to 
England  after  1815,  and  finally  died  in  poverty. 


1818-1820  47 

press  anything  that  is  very  disagreable  to  me  for  fear  of  allowing 
my  wishes  to  be  seen  ;  and  unfortunately  I  succeeded  in  making 
them  go.  Rogers  in  a  warm  discussion  with  Foscolo  about 
Dam's  History  of  Venice,  one  of  the  few  books  Rogers  has  ever 
read  and  one  that  he  consequently  admires  very  much.  His 
ignorance  on  the  commonest  subjects  is  every  minute  evident. 
He  only  knows  little  anecdotes  and  little  events,  which  gives  the 
air  of  knowing  a  great  deal  but  is  in  itself  of  very  little  importance. 
The  play  was  Lear,  with  a  new  man  of  the  name  of  Vandenhoff,1 
who  acted  the  old  King.  I  had  never  seen  the  play  before,  and 
was  very  much  delighted  with  the  magnificent  passages  and 
beautiful  images  with  which  it  is  replete.  Vandenhoff  is  nothing 
very  wonderful,  but  will  be  of  use,  and  is  better  than  Macready. 
Tom  Thumb  and  the  Rendezvous  were  farces.  Liston  2  when 
dying  addressed  the  audience,  which  was  irresistible  but  a  little 
overdone.  The  other  farce  was  excellent,  and  went  off  admirably 
with  the  excellent  acting  of  Emery,  Miss  Foote  and  Miss  Beaumont. 
In  the  Duke  of  York's  box  were  the  Misses  FitzClarence,  Sophy 
looking  in  high  spirits  at  having  one  sister  Countess,  and  another 
just  born  heir-presumptive  to  the  throne.3  Mary's  beauty  I 
admire  very  much,  but  she  looked  pale  and  very  ill.  I  met  her 
eyes  very  often.  Rogers  full  of  sneers  at  Sharp  4  for  calling 
Vandenhoff  a  good  level  actor. 

Tuesday,  12  December.  Rode  to  Holland  House  with  my 
father.5  On  our  return  met  Ward  6  walking  with  Ld  Archibald 
Hamilton.  General  Bligh,  generally  called  Skirmish  Bligh,  came 
up  to  speak  to  us  ;  he  betrays  his  madness  in  his  face  and  still 
more  in  his  conversation.  I  was  introduced  to  Ward,  who  hardly 
remembers  me  at  Rome.7  Dined  with  the  Ords ;  met  only 

1  John  M.  Vandenhoff  (1790-1861),  of  Dutch  descent,  though  born  in 
England.     Up  to  1820  he  had  acted  chiefly  in  the  West  of  England  and 
in  Liverpool. 

2  John  Liston  (1776  ?-i846). 

3  The  Duke  of  Clarence's  second  legitimate  daughter,  Princess  Eliza- 
beth, born  in  December,  1820,  died  the  following  March. 

4  Richard  Sharp  (1759-1835),  better  known  as  "  Conversation  Sharp." 
6  The  Hollands  in  1820  were  living  in  Savile  Row. 

6  Hon.  John  William  Ward  (1781-1833),  who  succeeded  his  father  as 
fourth  Viscount  Dudley  and  Ward  in  1823,  and  was  raised  to  an  Earldom 
four  years  later.     He  was  Foreign  Secretary,  1827-8. 

7  Henry  Fox  had  been  taken  to  Italy  by  his  parents  in  1814-15. 


48  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Foscolo  and  Ld  A.  Hamilton.1  The  former  descanted  a  good 
deal  on  English  manners  and  the  character  of  our  feelings,  &c.,  &c., 
with  more  acuteness  and  violence  than  judgment  or  temper. 
He  said,  "  La  vengeance  est  une  belle  passion  et  je  la  respecte 
beaucoup."  He  said  there  was  no  such  thing  as  unreturned  love, 
and  it  only  existed  in  the  fancy  of  poets  and  the  brains  of  young 
ladies.  Went  with  Mrs  Ord  to  Lady  Davy,2  where  we  found 
Lady  Holland  in  state  upon  the  sofa  and  the  ugly  Abercromby 
administering  her  spawny  flattery  in  more  than  usually  studied 
phraseology.  The  North  Pole  discoverers  had  failed,  and  no 
one  of  celebrity  was  there  but  Tomasini,  an  Italian  physician 
who  had  come  over  as  evidence  for  the  Queen.  Lady  Davy 
was  so  anxious  and  fidgetty  that  she  could  hardly  sit  still  or  find 
a  moment  to  scold  Sir  Humphry.  I  sat  by  her  and  Sharp. 
The  theatre  was  discussed,  and  exactly  the  same  things  said 
upon  that  old  subject  that  have  been  said  for  the  last  five  years. 
Sharp  gave  us  the  phrase  of  level  actor,  as  I  managed  to  bring  it 
out  with  no  little  ingenuity.  Ward  came  in  the  evening  and  sat 
by  Lady  Holland,  to  whom  he  solemnly  denied  any  knowledge 
or  participation  in  the  review  against  Luttrell.3  "  I  think  any 
body  justified  in  denying  as  strongly  as  he  chooses  an  anonymous 
publication,  but  really  upon  my  word  and  honor  I  have  had 
nothing  to  do  with  it:  I  can  assure  you  as  a  gentleman."  I 
believe  him,  as  though  ill-natured  he  would  not  be  so  to  Luttrell, 
for  whom  he  has  a  liking.  Lady  Davy  told  me  that  the  other  day 
at  Mr  Hallam's,  Lydia  White,4  on  entering  the  room,  started 
back  on  seeing  Rogers  and  Foscolo.  "  Good  God,  the  day  of 
judgment !  The  quick  and  the  dead  !  "  Either  from  this  or 
some  other  cause  Foscolo  took  offence,  and  even  began  a  most 
furious  attack  upon  her  to  her  face. 

1  Lord  Archibald  Hamilton  (1770-1827),  a  great  friend  of  Lord  Holland, 
and  for  many  years  member  for  Lanarkshire.     Youngest  son  of  Archi- 
bald, ninth  Duke  of  Hamilton. 

2  Jane  Kerr  (1780-1855),  who  after  the  death  of  her  first  husband,  Sir 
Shuckburgh  Apreece,  in  1807,  married  Sir  Humphry  Davy  (1778-1829), 
the  celebrated  scientist  and  natural  philosopher. 

8  Henry  Luttrell  (1765  ?-i85i),  natural  son  of  the  second  Earl  of 
Carhampton.  He  had  just  brought  out  Advice  to  Julia,  a  letter  in  rhyme, 
a  society  epic. 

4  The  "  Miss  Diddle  "  of  Byron's  Blues.  A  wealthy  Irishwoman,  whose 
dinners  and  entertainments  were  well  known.  She  died  in  1827,  after 
some  years  of  ill-health. 


1818-1820  49 

13  December.     Sir  H.  Halford  came  while  I  was  at  breakfast. 
He  felt  my  pulse,  shook  his  head,  wrote  a  prescription  and  looked 
important.     By  all  this  I  daresay  he  will  do  me  as  much  good  as 
if  I  had  swallowed  the  same  quantity  of  water.     What  a  humbug 
(or  as  Madame  de  Stael  called  it  a  hugbum)  it  all  is  !     Drove  out 
with  my  Lady,  who  told  me  all  Ward's  praise  of  Lady  Cowper 
and  abuse  of  that  venomous,   microscopic  satirist  Rogers,  in 
both  of  which  I  should  warmly  join.     A  very  odd  report  afloat 
of  Ld  Stewart 1  having  struck  Metternich  on  the  face  in  a  violent 
passion,  and  that  he  is  in  consequence  coming  home  immediately. 
Nobody  at  dinner  but  Denman,  Sharp,  C.  Ellis.     Went  almost 
immediately  after  dinner  to  Covent  Garden  to  see  The  Warlock 
of  the  Glen,  a  new  melodrama,  which  was  interesting  but  absurd, 
and  not  well  acted. 

My  mother  read  some  dispatches  which  Ld  Bathurst  had 
sent  her  from  Sfc  Helena.  They  shew  with  what  surveillance  the 
Emperor  is  guarded.  There  is  a  most  detailed  account  of  a  ride 
he  took,  his  first  since  he  has  been  at  Sfc  Helena.  He  rode  over 

early   to   breakfast  with  Sir ,  who  is  commanded   to  give 

an  account  of  all  that  passed,  which  he  does  even  with  the 
minutest  details  of  what  he  eat  and  did  not  eat.  The  Emperor 
took  the  children  by  the  nose  and  gave  them  liquorice  from  a 
tortoiseshell  box  he  had  in  his  pocket.  He  takes  men  by  the 
right  ear  ;  both  these  tricks  are  marks  of  great  favour.  I  can- 
not believe  much  in  the  wisdom  of  this  gentleman  he  visited, 
as  he  enters  into  the  most  ridiculous  minutiae  about  food  and 
marmalade,  &c.,  &c. 

14  December.     Rode  to  Holland  House  with  my  father.     No 
strangers  at  dinner.     The  story  of  Metternich  having  received 
a  blow  from  Ld  Stewart  is  believed  and  uncontradicted.     The 
conduct  of  Lady  Stewart  has,  they  say,  been  very  bad  indeed  ; 
quite  offensive  to  all  Germans  and  not  civil  to  the  English. 
Went  with  my  father  and  mother  to  see  Vandenhoff  in  Sir  Giles 

1  Charles  William,  Lord  Stewart,  afterwards  third  Marquess  of  London- 
derry (1778-1854),  half-brother  to  Lord  Castlereagh.  He  was  Envoy  at 
Troppau  in  1820,  and  at  Laybach  in  1821.  He  married,  in  1804,  Catharine, 
daughter  of  John,  third  Earl  of  Darnley,  who  died  in  1812.  He  married, 
secondly,  Frances  Anne,  only  daughter  of  Sir  Henry  Vane-Tempest,  in 
1819.  D 


50  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Overreach,  which  he  acted  worse  than  any  actor  I  ever  saw 
attempt  the  part,  without  dignity  or  fire  or  proper  conception 
of  the  part.  The  farce  was  The  Barber  of  Seville,  acted  very 
well  indeed  by  Fawcett.  Miss  Tree x  looks  pretty  and  sings  well. 

Friday,  15  December.  Rode  out  with  my  father,  but  returned 
in  a  few  minutes  driven  home  by  the  cold  East  wind.  Sir  H. 
Halford  called,  and  told  us  that  the  King  had  really  been  ill 
and  blooded  for  an  attack  of  inflammation.  He  says  he  will  not 
answer  for  the  safety  of  the  little  Princess  Elizabeth  for  six  weeks, 
her  proper  time  of  being  born.  Her  birth  was  brought  on  by 
the  hurry  and  fuss  of  Eliza  FitzClarence's  marriage  ;  as  the 
Duchess  is,  he  says,  a  poor  wishy  washy  thing. 

Left  nobody  dining  at  home,  and  went  to  dine  with  C.  Ellis,2 
where  I  met  Canning,  Ward,  Dr  Shooter,  Mr  Courtenay  and  his 
brother  Peregrine,3  Ld  Howard,4  and  another  whose  name  I 
could  not  find  out.  They  talked  of  Sir  James  Mackintosh. 
His  flattering  adversary  praised  him  greatly,  but  said  that  more 
than  once  he  had  found  him  quoting  history  in  a  manner  that 
startled  him  at  the  moment,  but  he  bowed  considering  from 
what  quarter  it  came.  However,  on  the  following  morning  he 
found  Sir  James'  quotation  to  be  either  a  wilful  or  mistaken 
vision.  Canning  sneered  at  the  Queen,  and  contended  with 
Ward  that  the  popular  feeling  was  deadened  about  her,  and  would 
be  so  still  more  before  Parliament  met.  Denman  was  talked  of. 
He  said,  "  Poor  man,  you  know  he  really  is  a  Queenite  ;  and 
Brougham  had  nearly  as  much  trouble  to  persuade  him  of  her 
guilt,  as  he  had  to  persuade  the  House  of  her  innocence."  He 
was  not  well  or  in  spirits ;  nor  was  his  jackal  very  talkative. 
Found  on  my  return  Sir  Robert  Wilson  and  Brougham.  The 
former  told  some  incredible  stories  of  his  battles  with  serpents 

1  Ann  Maria  Tree  (1801-62),    afterwards  Mrs  Bradshaw.     She  rose  to 
fame  at  Co  vent  Garden  after  1819. 

2  Charles  Rose  Ellis  (1771-1845),  created  Baron  Seaford  in  1826,  after 
many  years  of  parliamentary  life  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

3  Sons  of  Henry  Reginald   Courtenay,   Bishop   of   Exeter.     Thomas 
Peregrine  Courtenay  (1782-1841)  sat  in  the  House  of  Commons  as  member 
for  Totnes. 

4  Charles  Augustus,  sixth  Lord  Howard  de  Walden  (1799-1868),  son 
of  the  above-mentioned  Charles  Rose  Ellis,  succeeded  his  maternal  great- 
grandfather in  the  title  at  the  age  of  four.      He  became  second  Baron 
Seaford  on  his  father's  death  in  1845. 


1818-1820  51 

in  the  East.  He  insisted  upon  the  Queen  having  £68,000  a  year, 
and  talked  as  wildly  as  usual.  It  is  a  pity  that  Walter  Scott 
does  not  know  him,  for  with  a  tartan  and  claymore  he  would 
make  an  admirable  character  for  one  of  the  novels  ;  though  his 
wild,  enthusiastic,  romantic,  chivalrous  notions  would  be  con- 
sidered as  out  of  real  life  and  exaggerated.  There  is  something 
about  him,  especially  since  the  story  of  Lavalette,  that  makes  it 
impossible  to  see  and  hear  him  without  having  an  admiration 
for  his  high  spirit  and  enterprize,  and  at  the  same  time  great 
contempt  for  his  understanding  and  judgment.1  Read  some  of 
Matilde,  which  is  beautiful.  Received  this  morning  a  letter  from 
Sandford  2  with  a  little  sneer  at  me,  to  which  I  wrote  an  affec- 
tionate but  dignified  answer.  Wrote  also  to  George. 

16  December.  My  mother  made  me  offer  the  box  at  Covent 
G.  to  Mrs  Herbert,  and  the  instant  my  note  was  safely  gone 
she  gave  it  to  Sir  T.  Lawrence  !  !  Mrs  H.  accepted,  and  I  had 
to  call  and  explain.  Found  her  pretty,  but  as  stupid  as  Mrs 
Hall.  She  told  me  that  De  Caze  was  dying  to  joke  with  Ld 
Castlereagh  about  Ld  Stewart,  but  did  not  dare,  as  he  looked  so 
sulky  and  cross.  De  Caze  has  had  the  unprecedented  folly  to 
write  a  joking  conversation  of  Mr  Tierney's  about  Napoleon  to 
his  court.  It  has  been  repeated  to  the  Emperor  of  Russia, 
who  wants  to  have  Tierney  punished  for  it  and  when  told  it  was 
a  joke  said  that  such  subjects  were  not  to  be  joked  upon.  How 
liberal !  How  like  a  free-minded  sovereign  ! 

Drove  to  Hd  Hae  with  my  Lady,  who  told  me  all  the  misfor- 
tunes of  the  Jamaica  estate.3  I  hope  to  God  it  may  flourish, 
were  it  only  that  in  that  case  I  should  hear  nothing  of  it.  Keppel 
Craven  came  and  brought  Prince  Cimetelli,  the  Ambassador  from 


1  Sir  Robert  Wilson  assisted  La  Valette  to  escape  from  prison  and  took 
him  to  Mons .    His  participation  was  discovered  through  an  intercepted  letter 
to  Lord  Grey.     He  was  arrested,  and  with  two  other  Englishmen  was 
condemned  to  three  months'  imprisonment. 

2  Daniel  Keyte  Sandford  (1798-1838),  an  Oxford  friend  of  Henry  Fox, 
son  of  Daniel  Sandford,  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,     He  became  Professor  of 
Greek  at  Edinburgh,  was  knighted  in   1830,  and  sat  in  the  House  of 
Commons  for  Paisley,  1834-5. 

3  Lady  Holland  had  a  large  property  in  Jamaica,  which,  in  consequence 
of  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  and  of  changed  conditions  in  general, 
finally  failed  to  produce  any  revenue  at  all. 


52  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

the  new  Government  of  Naples,1  who  is  as  yet  uncertain  whether 
he  will  or  will  not  be  received  by  our  court.  He  devotes  his  time 
to  whist  and  mistresses,  and  never  before  now  knew  anything  of 
diplomacy.  George  says  in  his  letter  that  Lady  Jersey  writes 
letters  out  of  the  Psalms.  It  is  lucky  for  her  husband  and 
his  mother  that  Brougham  and  Denman  did  not  deal  in  the 
"  Revelations." 

Mr  Smith  2  has  been  with  an  Address  from  Lincoln  to  the 
Queen.  He  saw  her  before  she  had  received  all  the  rest,  and  was 
struck  with  her  good  looks,  dignity,  graciousness  and  good 
manner — far  from  being  hardened  or  triumphant,  and  yet  with 
no  mock  humility  and  affectation.  The  Loyal  Address  from 
Lincoln  has  quite  failed,  as  the  majority  for  the  amendment 
was  10  to  i.  However  they  contrived  to  knock  the  whole 
meeting  on  the  head  to  prevent  the  presentation  of  the  amended 
Address. 

Sunday,  17  December.  So  thick  a  fog  that  we  were  obliged 
to  have  candles  all  morning.  Mr  Calcraft  told  us  that  Young 3 
was  engaged  at  Covent  Garden  for  next  year  and  four  years 
afterwards.  When  Kemble  acted  Charles  Surface  he  asked 
Sheridan  his  opinion  of  his  performance.  "  Upon  my  word  I 
was  delighted  with  you.  I  only  wished  for  one  thing — that  you 
would  give  us  a  little  music  between  your  pauses." 

Whishaw4  in  the  evening,  with  Macdonnel  and  Labouchere. 
How  he  likes  protecting  and  being  a  minor  sort  of  Msecaenas. 

18  December.  Breakfasted  with  Henry  G.  and  little  Home. 
The  former  told  me  of  Lady  H.  Butler's  marriage  to  Ld  Belfast,5 
a  good  thing  for  him.  If  anybody  can  get  him  his  old,  or  work 

1  A  military  revolution  in  Naples  and  Sicily  took  place  in  July,  1820, 
against  the  Bourbon  King,  Ferdinand  I.     Though  he  had  granted  the 
Constitution  required  of  him,  he  fled  to  Austria,  and  with  the  help  of  that 
country,  and  backed  by  the  Congress  of  allied  powers  at  Laybach,  he 
re-established  himself  in  March,   1821. 

2  Bobus  Smith  was  at  this  time  Member  for  Lincoln. 
8  Charles  Mayne  Young  (1777-1856),  comedian. 

4  John  Whishaw  (1764  ?-i84o),  a  constant  visitor  at  Holland  House. 

5  George  Hamilton,  Earl  of  Belfast,  who  succeeded  his  father  as  third 
Marquess  of  Donegall  in  1844.     The  marriage  did  not  take  place  until 
two  years  later.     His  future  mother-in-law,  Lady  Glengall,  was  a  daughter 
of  James  Jefferies,  of  Blarney  Castle,    co.  Cork.     She  married  Richard, 
tenth  Lord  Glengall,  in  1793,  and  died  in  1836. 


1818-1820  53 

him  out  a  new,  title,  it  is  that  little  she-attorney  Lady  Glengall, 
though  they  say  she  hates  her  daughter  so  much  she  will  try 
no  more  when  once  she  is  off  her  hands.  Rode  to  Holland  House, 
and  on  my  return  found  my  poor  father  suffering  very  much. 
Sir  Henry  Halford  called  and  talked  a  great  deal  about  his  plan 
for  a  medical  college,  about  which  he  is  very  anxious.  He  told 
us  Sir  Gilbert  Blane 1  is  dying ;  he  was  nicknamed  for  his  excessive 
coldness,  Chilblain.  His  court  gossip  was  the  great  favor  of 
Sir  W.  Knighton  2  and  his  probability  of  succeeding  Bloomfield,3 
at  which  he  was  much  shocked.  Lady  Bessborough4  called, 
and  was  of  course  in  a  great  hurry,  and  of  course  left  her  bag  and 
pocket-handkerchief  and  smelling-bottle  in  the  three  separate  rooms 
in  the  house  she  went  into. 

At  dinner  : — Mr  Rogers,  Sir  W.  Scott,  Mrs  Tierney.  Sir 
William  was  amusing,  though  not  well.  He  made  a  part  of  a 
little  oration  on  Holland,  which  he  has  always  at  hand  and  has 
sometimes  delivered.  Mrs  Tierney5  out  of  spirits  at  the  bad 
account  of  her  horrid  daughter  from  Florence,  as  she  has  been 
dangerously  ill.  Rogers  took  leave  of  us  for  some  time  ;  he 
is  going  to  a  round  of  country-houses  to  find  matter  for  satire 
and  invective.  How  odious  ! 

Tuesday,  19  December.  Drove  out  to  bazaars,  &c.,  &c.,  to 
buy  things  for  Sfc  Helena  ;  found  the  shops  dull  and  empty. 
Went  to  Hd  Hse.  Henry  G.  called  to  take  leave  of  me,  as  he 
goes  tomorrow  to  Xchurch  for  a  few  days  and  thence  to  Cheshire. 
Dined  at  Charles  Ellis'.  Met  there  : — Mr  Hammond,  Mr  J. 
Ellis,  Mrs  J.  Ellis,  Ld  Howard,  Canning.  The  latter  was  agreable. 
He  talked  of  Canova  and  Chantrey  and  praised  both  amazingly ; 
said  that  he  would  rather  possess  Canova's  Magdalen,  Endymion, 

1  A  well-known  physician,  who  lived  until  1834. 

2  Sir    William    Knighton    (1776-1836),    originally    physician    to    the 
Prince,  but  helped  him  continually  in  business,  and  became  his  Private 
Secretary  and  Keeper  of  the  Privy  Purse  in  1822. 

3  Benjamin  Bloomfield   (1768-1846),  created  an  Irish  Baron  in  1825, 
sometime  chief  equerry  to  the  Prince,  and  appointed  Keeper  of  his  Privy 
Purse  in  1817. 

4  Henrietta,  daughter  of  John,  Earl  Spencer,  who  married  Frederick, 
third  Earl  of  Bessborough  (1758-1844),  in  1780.     She  died  in  November, 
1821. 

6  George  Tierney,  married  Miss  Miller,  of  Stapleton,  in  1789. 


54  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

and  some  other  I  forget,  than  all  other  works  of  art  he  ever  knew. 
He  said  he  was  surprized  that  the  Qn>B  counsel  did  not  get  more 
precedents  of  familiarity  and  levity  in  history,  and  attacked  the 
justness  of  Denman's  quotations. 

Wednesday,  20  December.  Rode  out  and  called  on  Lady 
Affleck.  Henry  W.  told  me  a  droll  story  of  Mrs  Abercromby x 
at  Naples  insisting  upon  being  dressed  at  a  fancy  ball  as  a  Virgin 
of  the  Sun.  Canning's  resignation  announced  in  the  Courier.2 
Miss  Fox  came  from  Bowood  and  dined  with  me  and  Papa, 
who  was  in  great  pain  from  his  gum-boil  and  ear-ache.  My 
Lady  and  Allen  dined  at  Mrs  Abercromby's.  She  gave  us  an 
account  of  Bowood,  where  Miss  Edgeworth,3  Hallam,4  the  Ords 
and  the  Fieldings 5  are  staying.  Miss  Edgeworth's  style  of  con- 
versation is  exceeding  flattery  and  praise  of  all  connected  with 
those  she  is  speaking  to,  which  she  carries  quite  to  a  painful 
pitch. 

Brougham  in  the  evening  as  agreable  as  usual,  very  amusing, 
but  malicious  about  Ld  Grey.  Miss  Vernon  came  for  an  instant. 
They  go,6  poor  wretches,  at  six  tomorrow,  to  perform  the  painful 
pleasure  they  have  vowed  for  life,  of  passing  the  Xmas  with  old 
Lady  Warwick,  who  is  at  Bognor  with  her  unweddable  daughters. 

Many  speculations  about  Canning's  retreat  from  office.  Those 
wise-acres  who  always  see  into  a  mill-stone,  like  my  Lady  and 
Tierney,  think  that  more  is  meant  than  meets  the  eye. 

21  December.  Rode  out.  A  beautiful  day.  Called  on  Lady 
Affleck.  Henry  Webster  unwell.  He  is  so  good-natured,  obliging 
and  affectionate,  that  I  almost  forget  his  folly  and  the  hardness 

1  Marianne,  daughter  of  Egerton  Leigh,  married  James  Abercromby 
(see  ante,  p.  36)  in  1802.     She  died  in  1874. 

2  Canning  left  Lord  Liverpool's  Government  in  January,   1821,  on 
account  of  their  attitude  towards  the  Queen.     He  had  held  the  post  of 
President  of  the  India  Board  since  1816. 

3  Maria  Edgeworth,  the  novelist  (1767-1849),  a  constant  visitor  at 
Bowood,  Henry,  third  Lord  Lansdowne's  house,  in  Wilts. 

4  Henry  Hallam  (1777-1859),  writer  of  valuable  historical  works. 

5  Elizabeth  Theresa,  eldest  daughter  of  Henry  Thomas,  second  Earl 
of  Ilchester,  married   Charles   Fielding,   subsequently   Rear-Admiral,  in 
1804,  after  the  death  of  her  first  husband,   William  Talbot,  of  Lacock 
Abbey.     She  died  in  1844. 

6  Miss  Vernon  and  Miss  Fox.     Lady  Warwick  was  Miss  Vernon's 
eldest  sister. 


1818-1820  55 

of  his  manner  and  like  him  very  much.  Wrote  to  poor  Henry 
at  Ch.  Ch.,  whose  solitude  I  pity  very  much.  That  is  one  of 
the  minor  misfortunes  of  life  that  /  can  never  put  up  with. 
Only  my  Lord  and  my  Lady  at  dinner.  Allen  at  Dulwich. 
Finished  the  Midnight  Wanderer,  a  bad  but  interesting  novel ; 
the  story  so  absurd  that  it  provokes  one.  Read  the  review  of 
Belzoni l  in  the  Quarterly,  which,  tho'  it  gives  a  false  impression 
of  the  book  and  author,  is  in  itself  very  instructive  and  amusing. 
Mrs  Abercromby  took  me  to  Mrs  Tighe's,2  where  I  found 
Lydia,  with  whom  I  had  a  long  conversation.  Were  she  not  so 
very  anxious  to  attract  notice,  her  conversation  would  be  good 
and  amusing.  Lady  Caroline  Lamb  came.  Her  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  me  for  some  time,  but  I  avoided  bowing  or  speaking. 
Ward  was  attacked  about  the  review  against  Luttrell  as  being 
the  author.  "  No  indeed,"  said  he,  "I  have  not  even  read  the 
book.  I  took  it  up,  but  saw  there  were  no  breaks,  no  divisions, 
that  it  must  be  read  straight  through — like  a  long  stage  of  19 
miles  without  mile-stones  or  halfway  houses.  I  like  mile-stones, 
or  even  half  mile-stones  as  on  the  King's  roads.  Now  look  ! 
How  much  more  considerate  Rogers  has  been  in  his  little  poem 
of  The  Columbiad — a  pretty  little  jewel  of  about  200  lines.  He 
has  divided  that  into  five  books,  with  contents  and  argument 
and  every  thing  but  an  explanation,  which  it  stands  most  in  need 
of."  Some  one  then  asked  him  about  Human  Life*  "  Oh  ! 
no,  no.  I  have  not  read  that;  I  stopped  at  The  Columbiad." 
Rogers's  character  was  then  discussed,  and  Ward  made  a  tirade 
against  him,  of  which  I  have  heard  parts  quoted,  and  was  I 
suppose  prepared  ;  but  certainly  it  was  very  clever,  very  eloquent 
and  very  just.  Rogers's  only  friend  in  the  room  was  Miss  Grattan, 
in  which  she  was  quite  right ;  for  if  there  are  any  people  he  is 
attached  to  and  considers  secured  from  the  poisonous  venom  of 
his  slanderous  tongue,  it  is  that  family.  He  had  a  great  venera- 

1  Giovanni  Battista  Belzoni  (1778-1823),  actor,  engineer,  and  traveller, 
writer  of  a  book  on  his  recent  discoveries  in  Egypt.     He  died  at  Benin, 
while  engaged  in  a  voyage  of  exploration.     A  native  of  Padua,  he  first 
came  to  England  in  1803. 

2  Marianne,  daughter  of  Daniel  Gahan,  of  Coolquil,  co.  Tipperary, 
married  William  Tighe  (1766-1816),  of  Woodstock,  co.  Kilkenny,  in  1793. 
She  died  in  1853.     She  wrote  a  once  popular  poem,  Psyche. 

3  Another  of  Rogers's  poems. 


56  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

tion  for  the  father,  and  a  sort  of  affection  (if  he  is  capable  of 
such  feeling)  for  the  children. 

On  my  return  found  Mrs  Lamb1  and  Lady  Bessborough. 
Lady  Davy  followed  me  from  Mrs  Tighe's. 

22  December.  At  dinner : — Count  and  Countess  Bourke, 
Prince  Cimetelli,  Ld  A.  Hamilton,  Dr  Holland,  Ld  Normanby. 
The  Prince  seemed  stupid.  His  wig  over  the  front  of  his  head  was 
very  ugly,  and  being  black  made  a  great  contrast  with  his  grey 
locks.  He  wanted  to  go  out  with  the  ladies.  Mrs  Brougham 
and  Lady  Davy  in  the  evening. 

23d  December.  Went  to  H.  H.  with  my  Lady.  Dined  at 
Harrington  House,  where  I  was  much  amused  with  the  empty 
folly  but  good  humour  of  the  whole  family.  The  dinner  and 
the  whole  establishment  quite  unlike  any  thing  else.  The  dinner 
was  not  plentiful,  but  was  good.  The  tea  was  what  abounded 
most,  but  to  my  surprize  was  not  good.  After  dinner  and  wine, 
for  dessert  was  not  put  upon  the  table,  we  went  to  the  drawing 
room,  where  we  found  two  square  tables  with  the  cloths  laid 
and  tea  things.  Ld  Petersham,  Ld  Stanhope,  his  son  and  Leicester 
and  Fitzroy  Stanhope.2  Ld  Stanhope  was  very  disagreable  and 
noisy,  full  of  pedantry  about  Germans  and  Germany  :  quite 
tiresome  on  the  subject.  He  had  a  beautiful  dog  and  a  very 
affected,  shortsighted  boy  with  him. 

Friday,  29  December.  Drove  to  Hd  H8e,  where  I  was  amused 
to  observe  how  innate  pride  is.  An  unfortunate  solitary  member 
of  the  steward's  room  is  left  there,  and  she  told  us  with  the 
pomposity  of  a  Somerset  or  a  Hamilton  that  she  would  sooner 
starve  than  disgrace  herself  by  eating  with  her  fellow-servants 
of  the  servants'  hall.  Mr  Davison,3  a  clever  little  man,  called 
upon  my  father  about  the  book  he  is  publishing  of  Ld  Walde- 

1  Caroline  St  Jules,  who  married  Hon.    George  Lamb    (1784-1834), 
son  of  Peniston,  first  Viscount  Melbourne,  in  1809. 

2  Charles,  third  Earl  of  Harrington  (1753-1829),  married  Jane,  daughter 
of  Sir  John  Fleming.     She  died  in  1824.     Charles,  Viscount  Petersham 
(1780-1851),  succeeded  his  father  as  fourth  Earl,  and  was  in  his  turn 
succeeded  by  his  third  brother,  Leicester  Stanhope  (1784-1862),  as  fifth 
Earl.     Fitzroy  Stanhope  was  their  fourth  brother. 

Philip  Henry,  fourth  Earl  Stanhope  (1781-1855),  represented  the  elder 
branch  of  the  family.  By  his  wife,  Catherine  Lucy,  daughter  of  Robert, 
first  Lord  Carrington,  he  had  two  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Philip  Henry, 
succeeded  him  in  the  titles.  3  Thomas  Davison,  printer, 


1818-1820  57 

grave's  and  Ld  Orford's  Memoirs.  He  told  us  he  had  two  more 
cantos  of  Don  Juan,  and  that  Ld  Byron  wrote  word  that  the 
5th  was  already  written. 

Read  with  my  father  the  3d  book  of  Ovid's  Metamorphosis. 
The  simplicity,  ease  and  grace  of  the  style,  with,  at  the  same  time, 
perfect  perspicuity  and  brevity,  is  quite  delightful.  The  stories 
of  Europa  and  of  Narcissus  are  not  surpassed  in  any  poet  ancient 
or  modern.  At  dinner  : — The  Duke  of  Argyll,  Ld  Aberdeen, 
Ld  A.  Hamilton,  G.  Anson,  Payne  Knight,  Shuttleworth.  Payne 
Knight  talked  at  dinner  as  much  as  the  enormous  food  he  devoured 
would  allow  him.  He  entirely  crushed  a  story  that  was  about 
to  be  told  as  a  recent  event,  by  saying,  "  Oh  !  that  is  very  old, 
a  thousand  years  and  more  ;  it  is  in  Lucian."  After  dinner  the 
Scotch  novels  were  discussed.  Ld  Aberdeen1  told  us  that  at 
a  large  party  Ld  Liverpool  in  a  fit  of  absence  had  asked  Walter 
Scott  across  the  table  which  of  them  he  liked  best,  which  puzzled 
the  poet  very  much.  After  long  consideration,  "  Why  according 
to  report  I  should  be  far  from  an  impartial  judge." 

Sunday,  last  of  1820.  At  dinner  : — D.  of  Leinster,  D.  of 
Argyll,  Ld  W.  Fitzgerald,  Mr  Belzoni,  Dr  Holland.  Belzoni 
after  dinner  gave  us  a  very  amusing  account  of  his  travels, 
and  explained  to  us  the  prints  and  what  his  fancy  and  belief 
about  them  is.  Ld  Thanet 2  came  in  the  evening  and  was  much 
pleased  with  th  is  most  wonderful  man  ;  but  what  surprized  us 
most  was  Ld  T.'s  great  knowledge  about  Egyptians  and  Copts 
and  all  the  different  tribes.  He  gave  us  an  account  of  Woburn, 
from  whence  he  is  just  come  and  delighted  with  all  there.  John 
Bull,  the  infamous  new  publication  against  all  ladies  who  have 
been  to  the  Queen,  was  discussed.3  Brougham,  who  came  in, 
said  that  whatever  means  were  taken  to  stop  him,  they  should 
not  be  such  as  to  bring  on  a  trial,  which  would  make  them  be 
bought. 

1  George,  fourth  Earl  of  Aberdeen  (1784-1860),  for  many  years  Presi- 
dent of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries.     He  held  the  Foreign  Office  and  other 
posts  under  Wellington  and  Peel,  and  was  Prime  Minister,  1852-5. 

2  Sackville,  ninth  Earl  of  Thanet  (1769-1825).     He  was  noted  for  his 
sarcastic  speeches  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  writing 
to  Lord  Holland,  spoke  of   him  as  "  un   homme  a  bile  as  well   as  un 
homme  habile." 

8  Lord  Holland  wrote  of  it  a  few  months  later  as  "A  dirty,  common 
sewer  of  libels." 


CHAPTER   II 
1821 

istjan.,  1821.  Dined  at  Harrington  House ;  neither  host  nor 
hostess  appeared  at  dinner.  Lady  Euston1  there ;  was,  as  usual, 
looking  beautiful,  though  her  mouth  is  rabbitty  ;  she  almost  fainted 
after  dinner  either  for  effect  or  illness,  but  I  think  the  latter. 
Ld  Petersham  came  in  in  the  middle  of  dinner,  as  if  he  had 
been  much  engaged.  Poor  man  !  He  has  nothing  to  do,  and 
spends  his  morning  in  snuff  and  tea  shops  and  his  evenings  at 
the  theatre,  and  yet  is  happy  and  contented.  We  dined  in  the 
drawing-room  and  sat  in  the  dining-room — such  is  the  oddity  of 
the  family.  John  Bull  talked  of ;  all  of  them  seemed  charmed 
at  the  abuse  of  Dchss  of  Bed.,  and  inclined  to  furnish  more 
materials.  There  was  the  most  extraordinary  little  man  there, 
an  Irishman  in  Ld  Harrington's  regiment,  who  was  the  butt  of 
the  whole  party  and  seems  to  have  held  that  office  time  out  of 
mind.  They  took  him  one  Sunday  down  to  Greenwich  and 
passed  off  Ld  Alvanley  for  Wilberforce,  which  for  some  time 
he  would  not  believe,  till  Ld  A.  refused  paying  the  bill  on  a 
Sunday  as  wicked.  "Ah!  then  indeed  that's  him,  niggardly 
and  religious !  " 

2d  Jan.  I  staid  at  home  all  day  and  read  Horace  Walpole's 
published  Correspondence,  which  is  one  of  the  most  amusing 
books  I  ever  read.  C.  Ellis  called  and  told  us  of  a  letter  of 
Canning's  to  his  constituents  at  Liverpool,  with  his  reasons  in 
eight  pages  for  resigning,  but  which  he  begs  may  not  be  made 
public.  How  absurd  to  write  in  confidence  to  the  town  of 
Liverpool !  Nobody  at  dinner.  Passed  the  whole  evening  quite 

1  Mary  Caroline,  daughter  of  Adm.  Hon.  Sir  George  Cranfield  Berkeley, 
married,  in  1812,  Henry,  Earl  of  Euston  (1790-1863),  who  succeeded  his 
father  as  fifth  Duke  of  Graf  ton  in  1844. 

58 


1821  59 

alone  all  reading  at  the  four  corners  of  the  room,  till  the  ill- 
starred  Cimetelli  came  and  bored  about  Naples,  which  is  going 
to  the  devil.  Berkeley  and  Keppel  Craven1  called  in  the 
morning.  The  former  is  from  Middleton,2  whose  fair  Countess 
has  turned  devote,  and  wants  to  prevent  the  Jockey  Club 
meeting  on  Mondays  as  it  occasions  so  much  travelling  on 
Sundays. 

3d  Jan.  Mary 3  came  from  Bo  wood  looking  in  beauty  and 
health.  She  is  overflowing  in  gratitude  to  Lady  Lansdowne,4 
and  is  not  yet  aware  that  excessive  warmth  and  empressement 
of  manner  disguises  the  coldest  heart  and  least  affectionate 
feelings.  Ld  G.  Somerset 5  called,  and  talked  affectedly  and 
bluishly  "  congeniality  of  souls."  Little  puppy  !  He  is  justly 
said  to  be  like  a  French  governess  who  has  learnt  several  books 
of  French  Memoirs  by  heart  and  translates  little  sentences  into 
English.  At  dinner  : — Duke  of  Argyll,  Ld  Thanet,  E.  Anson, 
Mrs  Tierney,  Mrs  Motteux,  Mr  Campbell.  Campbell6  sat  next 
to  me.  His  voice  is  sharp  and  querulous,  his  ideas  vulgarly 
conceited.  He  took  all  my  bread  and  all  my  glasses,  spilt  half 
his  dinner  into  my  lap,  and  then  fished  for  a  compliment  for  his 
New  Monthly  Magazine,  which  I  was  determined  he  should  not 
extract.  He  admired,  praised,  or  was  pleased  with  no  place, 
book,  or  person  that  was  mentioned  during  dinner,  except  an 
idea  of  his  own,  which  he  most  particularly  eulogized  and  from 
which,  he  says,  Ld  Byron  has  taken  the  notion  of  his  poem 
Darkness  :  something  abstruse  and  metaphysical  about  the  last 
man  in  the  universe  seeing  the  ships  go  on  the  sea  without 
sailors,  and  a  great  deal  more  of  it,  which  he  squeaked  into 
my  inattentive  ear,  loudly  complaining  of  Ld  B.'s  theft.  How 

1  Sons  of  William,  sixth  Baron  Craven,    and    Elizabeth,   daughter  of 
Augustus,  fourth  Earl  of  Berkeley.     She  married  the  Margrave  of  Branden- 
burg -Anspach  a  month  after  Lord  Craven's  death  in  1791.    Keppel  Craven 
was  a  constant  visitor  to  Italy,  and  died  in  Naples  in  1851. 

2  Lord  Jersey's  home  in  Oxfordshire. 

3  His  sister,  Hon.  Mary  Fox,  born  in  1806. 

4  Louisa  Emma,  youngest  daughter  of  Henry  Thomas,  second  Earl  of 
Ilchester,  married  Henry,  third  Marquess  of  Lansdowne,   in  1808.     She 
died  in  1851. 

5  Lord    Granville  Somerset   (1792-1848),  son  of  Henry  Charles,  sixth 
Duke  of  Beaufort. 

6  Thomas  Campbell   (1777-1844),  poet,  and  man  of  letters. 


60  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

odious  all  authors  are,  and  how  doubly  so  to  each  other! 
Tierney  gave  a  lively  and  witty  description  of  Ld  Essex's1 
alterations,  for  improvements  they  can  not  be  called,  at  Cassiobury. 
He  means  to  heat  the  library  by  steam.  The  machine  is  to  be 
regulated  night  and  day  underground  by  an  old  man  who  lives 
there  with  a  mackaw,  once  the  property  of  the  banished  Countess. 
How  he  wishes  the  mistress  of  it  were  underground  too  ! 

Monday,  8  Jan.  During  the  ensuing  week  I  went  for  two 
days  to  Woburn  with  my  father,  in  order  to  attend  the  Bedford- 
shire meeting.  We  went  to  breakfast  at  Amp  thill,  where  the 
Flahaults  received  us.2  Old  aunt  Mary,  as  they  call  her,  was 
there,  and  put  me  very  much  in  mind  of  Matthews's  Scotch 
woman.  The  Duke  spoke  first.  Nothing  could  be  better ;  he 
was  too  warm  about  Reform,  a  silly,  idle  phantom  which  many 
adore  because  they  do  not  understand.  Omne  ignotum  pro 
magnifico  est.  Wm  Whitbread  seconded.  My  father  followed, 
and  made  a  speech  full  of  moderation,  feeling  and  wit.  They 
luckily  had  two  men  who  opposed,  and  luckily  one  of  them  was 
heard.  My  father  answered  him,  and  praised  him  for  his  honesty, 
intrepidity  and  good  motives  ;  and  commented  very  much  upon 
the  assembly  having  allowed  him  to  speak,  in  order  to  show 
how  very  temperate  and  moderate  they  all  were.  Ld  John's3 
speech  was  short  and  full  of  point  and  neatness,  for  which  he 
is  always  remarkable. 

On  Sunday,  14,  I  dined  at  Lady  Davy's.  D.  De  Gaze  was 
there,  and  what  I  saw  of  him  I  rather  liked.  His  face  is  hand- 

1  George,  fifth  Earl  of  Essex  (1757-1839).     His  first  wife,  whom  he 
married  in  1786,  was  Sarah,  daughter  of  Henry  Bazett,  and  widow  of 
Edward   Stephenson.     She  died  in   1838.     Lord  Essex's  alterations  do 
not  seem  to  have  proved  a  complete  success  as  far  as  Lady  Holland  was 
concerned,  judging  from  a  letter  from  him  to  her,  dated  March  18,  1824 : 
"  I  trust  I  shall  not  hear  any  more  from  you  of  being  roasted,  stewed, 
boiled  and  fried  at  Cassiobury.     What  is  all  my  apparatus  of  steam-boilers, 
flues  and  grid-irons  ?     Has  the  effluvia  which  you  inhaled  for  hours  of 
the  perspiring  Tory  and  anti-catholic,  unclean,  unwashed  representative 
at  the  seat  of  Wortley  Montague  added  to  the  tortures  of  Castlereagh's 
English  and  hypocritical  falsehoods  ?  " 

2  Ampthill  was  at  this  time  lent  to  the  Flahaults.      "  Aunt  Mary  " 
would  seem  to  be  Lord  Keith's  eldest  sister,  who  never  married.     One  of 
the  comedian  Charles  Mathews'  best  impersonations  in  his  Trip  to  Paris, 
produced  in  1819,  was  that  of  a  Scotch  woman, 

3  Lord  John  Russell. 


1821  6i 

some,  though  he  is  too  fat  and  looks  rather  vulgar.  He  abused 
the  old  King  of  Naples,  and  he  is,  they  say,  a  great  friend  of  the 
new  Government  there.  Ward  dined  there  too  and  was  very 
pleasant  and  witty,  full  of  his  sneers  about  Reform  and  the  Whigs. 
Ld  Byron  writes  to  Murray  the  wildest  letters.  The  last  was  an 
abuse  of  Gaily  Knight.1  "  I  would  rather,"  says  he,  after  two 
pages  of  invective,  "  be  anything,  I  would  rather  be  a  Gaily  pot, 
a  Gaily  slave,  or  anything  than  a  Gaily  Knight." 

Lydia  White  in  the  evening.  "  My  poor  dear  friend,  Miss 
Godwin.  Heaven  knows  what  has  become  of  her  !  She  set 
out  for  the  continent  with  the  intention  of  getting  with  child 
by  a  man  of  genius.  When  she  found  access  to  Ld  Byron,  she 
said,  '  A  thousand  pardons  for  my  frequent  attempts  to  see  you, 
but  I  have  long  wished  to  behold  you,  tho'  I  have  not  the  honor 
of  being  personally  acquainted  ;  but  let  it  suffice  for  an  intro- 
duction to  say,  /  am  an  atheist.'  "  2 

Monday,  15.     Rogers  at  dinner,  returned  from  all  his  visits 
in  the  country.     Ld  Spencer,  at   Althorp,  has  put  up  a  picture 
of  Spenser,  the  poet,  with  this  line  out  of  his  works — 
"And  I  the  meanest  of  this  noble  race." 

It  is  put  up,  they  say,  to  shew  the  connection  between  them. 
"  Not  a  flattering  mode,"  said  Rogers,  "  I  daresay  if  he  was  alive 
they  would  take  no  notice  of  him  :  that  is  the  way — always. 
He  might  starve ;  for  the  noblest  of  the  noble  race  he  would 
not  care."  Notwithstanding  this  little  specimen  of  his  illhumour, 
the  dead-living  poet  was  in  very  good  temper,  and  was  very 
agreable  indeed. 

I  read  Kenilworth.  Nothing  W.  Scott  writes  can  be  bad 
(except  The  Monastery),  but  the  impression  it  leaves  is  quite 
horrible  and  disgusting,  for  the  manner  of  her  death  is  revolting 
to  all  feeling. 

1  Henry  Gaily  Knight  (1786-1846),  traveller  and  writer  on  architec- 
ture.    He   entered  Parliament  in  1824.      See  the  Works  of  Lord  Byron 
(ed.  Prothero),  v.  68. 

2  There  seems  to  be  some  confusion  in  these  remarks,   which  are 
apparently  to  be  attributed  to  Miss  Lydia  White.     Fox  seems  to  have 
taken  them  to  refer  to  William  Godwin's  daughter,  Mary,  who  married 
Shelley,  whereas  they  really  apply  to  his  step-daughter,  Jane  Clairmont, 
who  acted  much  in  the  way  related  above  (see  her  letters  to  Byron,  Works 
of  Lord  Byron,  iii.  427),  and  was  the  mother  of  "  Allegra."     Her  advances, 
however,  were  made  in  England  before  he  left  for  Italy. 


62  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

I  have  been  too  lazy  to  continue  this,  but  begin  again  (Heaven 
alone  knows  for  how  long)  the  day  I  left  Oxford  in  the  beginning 
of  April. 

At  Oxford.  Monday,  April  g.  Got  up  early  to  go  to  Collec- 
tions. Went  to  the  Sub-Dean's  table,  and  was  examined  by 
Short.  Old  Jekyll  and  his  son  came  into  Hall  to  be  entered. 
He  told  me  he  had  dined  two  days  before  at  Ld  Blessington's, 
and  met  my  father  and  the  D.  of  York,  seven  Opposition  peers 
and  no  mention  of  the  Army  Estimates.  Set  off  half  before  one, 
went  in  Mr  Stapleton's  carriage  with  Henry,  George,  Wortley 
and  Home.  I  went  outside  with  George  for  two  stages  between 
Henley  and  Salt  Hill.  The  view  beautiful  and  the  day  delicious. 
Wortley l  was  cross  and  indifferent,  and  in  his  most  disagreable 
of  humours.  Got  to  H.  H.  hours  before  dinner.  Found  my  Lady 
dressing  and  my  dear  little  Mary  looking  heavenly,  her  hair  grown 
and  of  a  beautiful  colour.  She  seemed  more  at  her  ease  than 
I  have  generally  seen  her  when  with  my  Lady.  At  dinner  we 
had  : — Ld  Grey,  Marsh,  Rogers,  Miss  Fox.  The  poet  was  out 
of  humour,  and  said  in  an  aside  to  my  Lady  that  he  was  du  trop 
and  not  wanted.  The  fact  is  he  hates  the  noble  Earl.  Mary 
appeared  after  dinner.  The  trip  is  now  openly  talked  of,  and 
as  certainly  to  take  place  at  the  end  of  this  month.2  Miss  Fox 
proper  about  Augusta  Greville's  marriage,3  pretending  that  she 
has  no  reason  to  be  happy  to  leave  her  family.  Among  and 
amongst  were  discussed  by  Rogers  and  Marsh  4 ;  the  latter  word 
the  poet  calls  an  innovation  and  not  to  be  found  often  in  Milton 
and  Shakespeare. 

April  10.  Got  up  very  early  to  see  Mary.  At  breakfast 
all  very  rural,  and  talked  of  nothing  but  violets,  primroses  and 
nightingales.  My  Lady  did  not  appear.  I  went  out  with  her 
in  the  whiskey.  She  told  me  that  her  opinion  of  Peel  is  not  great. 
She  heard  his  speech  on  the  Catholics.  Her  account  of  him  I 

1  John  Wortley  (1801-55),  son  of  James  Archibald  Stuart  Wortley, 
later  first  Baron  Wharncliffe.    He  succeeded  his  father  in  the  title  in  1845. 

2  The  Hollands'  projected  expedition  to  Paris. 

3  Miss  Fox's  cousin,  Lady  Augusta  Greville,  Lady  Warwick's  daughter, 
married  Heneage,  fifth  Earl  of  Aylesford,  a  fortnight  later. 

4  Rev.  Matthew  Marsh,  a  friend  of  the  Holland  and  Carlisle  families, 
and  at  one  time  tutor  to  Henry  Fox.     He  held  livings  in  Lord  Holland's 
gift,  and  died  in  1840. 


iSai  63 

should  think  very  correct  and  true — that  he  is  like  a  boy  brought 
up  at  a  small  academy,  who  has  been  considered  a  sort  of  prodigy 
with  great  assistance  in  private  from  the  master.  Went  with 
my  Lady  to  town  to  Lady  Affleck  ;  staid  ages  there.  The  Ladies 
Fitzpatrick1  came,  as  hateful  and  hideous  as  of  old,  stinking, 
spitting  and  howling,  as  they  have  done  for  the  last  forty  years. 
Ld  Petersham's  affair  is  patched  up  by  a  letter  of  Colonel  Palmer's 
in  the  Morning  Post,  which  says  as  little  in  as  many  words  as 
possible.2  Ld  P.,  when  he  has  any  intrigue  in  hand,  wears  spurs 
with  a  hat  upon  them,  the  emblem  of  silence  and  right.  His 
friends  and  family  knew  that  something  was  in  the  wind  by  seeing 
him  wearing  these  constantly  for  the  last  three  weeks.  Miss 
Vernon  shewed  me  a  bracelet  with  a  beautiful  emerald  set  in 
diamonds  that  she  has  bought  for  Augusta  Greville  ;  it  cost 
£100.  The  marriage  is  to  be  in  St  George's  and  to  take  place 
soon. 

At  dinner  : — Ld  and  Ly  Lansdowne,  F.  Ponsonby,  Rogers, 
Luttrell,  Marsh,  three  selves.  Went  to  the  Opera  with  F.  Pon- 
sonby,3 first  to  Ly  Cowper's 4  box,  where  Ly  O.  and  Ld  Melbourne 
were.  He  stood  before  us  the  whole  of  the  first  ballet,  and  we 
might  as  well  have  been  at  Jericho.  Henry  introduced  me  to 
his  mother,5  who  has  a  beautiful  expression  of  countenance  and 
must  have  been  beautiful.  I  do  not  admire  his  sister  ;  her  mouth 
spoils  her  face.  The  ballet  was  beautiful.  Noblet  is  by  far 
the  most  graceful  woman  I  ever  saw.  Standish  was  in  raptures. 
Her  price  is  £5,000.  Ld  Darlington  will  not  pay  so  high  a  second 

1  Lady  Anne  and  Lady  Gertrude  Fitzpatrick,  daughters  of  John,  second 
Earl  of  Upper  Ossory,  Henry  Fox's  great-uncle.      They  both  died  the 
same  year — 1842. 

2  Lady  Holland  wrote  on  April  3  :  "  Lord  Petersham's  amours  are 
not  so  innocent  as  have  been  supposed.  ...     I  hate  propagating  scandal, 
but  entre  nous  his  lordship  has  met  with  some  smart  chastisement  on  his 
slim,  pretty  figure." 

3  Second  son  of  Frederick,  third  Earl  of  Bessborough,  afterwards  a 
Major-General   and    K.C.B.    (1783-1837).     He   was   badly   wounded   at 
Waterloo. 

4  Amelia,  daughter  of  Peniston,   first  Viscount  Melbourne,  married, 
in  1805,  Peter  Leopold,  fifth  Earl  Cowper  (1778-1837).     After  his  death, 
she  married  Lord  Palmerston  in  1839,  and  died  in  1869. 

5  Lady  Charlotte  Greville,   daughter  of  William,  third  Duke  of  Port- 
land.    Her  daughter,  Harriet  Caroline  Greville,  married  Lord    Francis 
Leveson-Gower,  afterwards  first  Earl  of  Ellesmere. 


64          The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

time.  Ly  Worcester  was  in  ecstacies  at  the  D.  of  Wellington's 
goodnature  in  giving  her  an  apartment  in  Apsley  House,  which 
will  enable  her  to  live  in  town.1  The  D.  of  Devonshire  had 
Leopold  in  his  box  the  whole  night — rather  a  visitation  but 
very  goodnatured.  I  did  not  venture  there.  A  Prince  and  a 
deaf  man  were  too  repulsive.  L7  Castlereagh 2  was  with  a  golden 
tiara  like  a  Priestess  of  the  Sun ;  such  a  figure  I  never  beheld. 
Set  little  Home  down  and  got  home  at  two. 

April  ii.  At  breakfast  Allen  had  the  proof  sheets  of  his 
review  on  Ld  Redesdale 3 ;  one  sentence  is  illnatured  personally 
to  him.  It  is  rather  like  the  sentence  upon  Luttrell  in  the 
Quarterly.  Rogers  in  the  presence  of  the  latter,  with  his  usual 
goodnature,  praised  it  for  its  wit  and  style,  adding,  "  Very  like 
Ward,"  as  that  is  what  he  is  anxious  he  should  believe.  My  Lady 
ill  with  her  heart.  Ld  Londonderry  is  dead,  which  makes  Ld  C. 
be  returned  for  some  new  borough  and  so  delays  business  in  the 
House.4  A  flying  and  false  report  of  Bergami's  arrival.5  At 
dinner  : — D3se  and  D.  de  Frias,  D.  and  D"  of  Leinster,  Ld  and  Ly 
Jersey,  Prince  Cimetelli,  Mrs  Pollen,  L.  Stanhope,  Luttrell, 
Marsh.  Calcraft 6  is  staying  for  health,  but  does  not  dine  with 
us.  He  is  under  Verity  and  dines  in  the  middle  of  the  day.  I 
think  he  is  sensible  and  pleasant,  and  I  admire  his  good  works 
very  much,  especially  now  he  is  ill.  The  little  Frias 7  kicked  and 
spit  less  at  my  Lady  than  he  did  at  his  debut  here,  but  was  absurd  ; 
he  is  not  without  some  degree  of  sense.  He  called  the  Neapolitan 
revolution  in  an  aside  to  my  father,  leering  at  poor  Cimetelli, 

1  Lady  Worcester  was  the  Duke's  niece.     She  died  the  following  May. 

2  Emily  Anne,  daughter  of    John,  second  Earl  of  Buckinghamshire, 
married  Lord  Castlereagh  in  1794.     She  died  in  1829. 

3  A  pamphlet  on  the   "  Report  from  the  Lords  Commissioners  .  .  . 
touching  the  dignity  of  the  peer."     John  Freeman  Mitford  (1748-1830), 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  1801,  was  created  Lord  Redesdale 
in  1802.     Allen's  article  on  it  appeared  in  the  Edinburgh  Review. 

4  The  Londonderry  peerage  being  Irish,  Lord  Castlereagh  still  remained 
in  the  House  of  Commons  after  succeeding  to  the  titles,  and  sat  for  Oxford. 
He  had  previously  sat  for  co.  Down. 

5  As  witness  in  Queen  Caroline's  trial. 

'  John  Calcraft,  the  younger  (1765-1831),  at  this  time  M.P.  for  Ware- 
ham,  son  of  John  Calcraft  who  turned  against  his  benefactor,  Henry,  first 
Lord  Holland,  after  1762.  Granby  Calcraft  was  his  younger  brother. 

7  Duque  de  Frias  (1783-1851),  Spanish  Ambassador  in  London,  who 
married  Dona  Marianna  de  Silva,  daughter  of  the  Marques  de  Santa  Cruz. 


l82I  65 

"  Opera  Buff  a,  Opera  Buff  a."  His  wife  is  certainly  intelligent, 
and  were  she  not  the  image  of  Mde  Belloc,  I  should  think  her  good- 
looking.  She  was  in  black  velvet  with  magnificent  emerald 
earrings.  Her  Grace  of  Leinster 1  was  less  quizzical  than  is  usual 
for  one  of  that  family  ;  she  only  had  a  breastplate  of  bugles. 
The  Empress  Sarah 2  was  not  in  very  good  health,  but  was  not 
silent.  Ly  Bathurst3  went  to  Ly  Castlereagh  the  other  day 
with  her  usual  doucereux  manner,  Oh  !  dear,  she  was  so  unhappy  ; 
what  could  she  do.  "The  world  say  Ld  Fife4  was  to  marry  Ly 
G.  What  can  I  do  ?  "  "  Why,"  answered  the  corpulent 
Viscountess,  who  hates  her  like  poison  at  bottom,  "  the  world 
will  talk  ;  you  cannot  stop  them.  But  I  would  not  go  every 
opera  night  to  his  box."  Ly  B.  and  her  daughters  are  always 
there,  and  the  best  of  it  is  she  says  she  goes  in  order  to  show 
him  she  is  not  mean  enough  to  cut  him  when  he  is  turned  out. 
She  and  her  daughters  went  to  see  Noblet  in  the  Green-Room, 
much  to  her  annoyance.  They  were  not  commonly  civil  to 
her  ;  stared  with  all  their  eyes,  and  never  bowed,  curtsied  or 
spoke.  Ly  Jersey  was  horror-struck  at  the  impropriety  of  such 
a  proceeding,  and  I  think  justly  so. 

April  12.  Heard  of  Charles5  at  Bologna  on  the  3ist  of  last 
month  from  Mr  Bingham,  who  saw  him  there.  Vernon  came  ; 
he  says  Almack's  was  empty,  notwithstanding  all  the  rubbish 
Ly  Jersey  told  me  she  had  admitted.  The  D.  and  D8S  of  Clarence 
there,  and  Peel  danced  with  a  variety  of  people  and  will  soon  be 
the  fashion.  Heaven  forefend  !  Rode  to  town  ;  called  on  the 
Morpeths.6  Ld  M.  with  the  gout  in  his  knee  ;  she  fatigued  and 
with  cold.  Sneyd,  D.  of  D.  and  Ld  Clare  I  found  there.  At 

1  Charlotte  Augusta,  daughter  of  Charles,  third  Earl  of  Harrington, 
married  Augustus  Frederick,  third  Duke  of  Leinster  (1791-1874),  in  1818. 
She  died  in  1859. 

2  Lady  Jersey. 

3  Georgina,   sister   of   Charles,   fourth   Duke   of   Richmond,    married 
Henry,  third  Earl  Bathurst,  in  1789.     Her  daughter,  Louisa  Georgina, 
never  married. 

4  James,  fifth  Earl  of  Fife  (1776-1857)  never  married  again  after  his 
wife's  death  in  1805. 

5  Charles  Fox. 

8  George,  Viscount  Morpeth,  afterwards  sixth  Earl  of  Carlisle  (1773— 
1848).  He  succeeded  to  the  titles  on  his  father's  death  in  1825,  having 
married,  in  1801,  Georgina,  daughter  of  William,  fifth  Duke  of  Devonshire. 


66          The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

dinner -.—Gibson,  Standish,  G.  Fortescue,  Luttrell,  Marsh,  Cal- 
craft.  Rather  pleasant  after  dinner.  My  Lady  cheerful  and  in 
high  good  humour.  My  Lord  came  in  the  middle  of  dinner 
from  the  H.  of  L.  Grampound'again,  which  they  have  hopes  of.1 
Ld  Duncannon  went  up  to  the  D.  of  Norfolk  and  told  him  that 
he  and  many  others  had  ineffectually  canvassed  Ld  Lucan  for 
the  Catholicks,  but  if  he  would,  perhaps  Ld  L.  might  relent. 
How  awkward  he  must  have  felt  when  he  remembered  what  a 
mistake  he  had  made.2 

Friday,  April  13.  Rode  to  town,  and  in  the  park  with  R. 
Abercromby.3  No  news.  The  Queen  has  taken  the  salary  from 
young  Wilson,  and  says  she  will  pay  none  till  her  whole  household 
is  settled.  John  Bull  is,  /  hear,  worse  than  ever.  Mr.  Becher's 4 
speech  at  the  Theatrical  Fund  dinner  was  very  good  indeed, 
full  of  feeling  and  good  taste,  and  besides  beautifully  delivered. 
He  speaks  well,  I  believe,  in  Parliament.  Miss  Hallande  sang 
also,  and  showed  great  want  of  taste  but  a  magnificent  voice. 
Canning  called  at  H.  H.  with  C.  Ellis  while  I  was  out ;  a  sort  of 
farewell  visit  before  our  departure  ;  nothing  could  go  off  better 
than  it  did.  I  found  the  Vice-Chancellor 5  and  my  mother 
tete-a-tete  on  my  return.  He  is  to  a  degree  pleasant,  but  so 
judicial  and  so  precise  that  it  is  in  the  long  run  absurd  and 
fatiguing.  He  talked  of  the  Jerseys'  affairs,  which  are,  I  fear,  in 
a  terrible  state,  and  will  be  deplorable  if  they  lose  the  cause 
now  pending,  which  it  seems  to  me  he  not  only  thinks  but 
even  wishes  in  return  for  the  squibs  and  jokes  against  him. 

We  had  rather  a  motley  dinner  : — Ld  Thanet,  A.  Maitland, 

1  A  measure  carried  through  by  Lord  John  Russell  for  the  disenfran- 
chisement  of  the  Borough  of  Grampound. 

2  Richard,  second  Earl  of  Lucan,  had  married,  in   1794,  Elizabeth 
daughter  of  Henry,  last  Earl  of  Fauconberg,  the  divorced  wife  of  Bernard 
Edward  Howard,  who  succeeded  his  cousin  as  twelfth  Duke  of  Norfolk 
(1765-1842)  in  1815. 

8  Ralph  Abercromby  (1803-68),  who  succeeded  his  father,  James 
Abercromby,  as  second  and  last  Lord  Dunfermline  in  1858.  He  held  many 
diplomatic  posts. 

4  William  Wrixon  Becher  (1780-1850),  Member  of  Parliament.  Created 
a  Baronet  in  1831.  He  married  Elizabeth  O'Neill,  the  celebrated  actress, 
in  1819. 

6  Sir  John  Leach  (1760-1834),  Vice-Chancellor  from  1818  till  1827, 
when  he  was  appointed  Master  of  the  Rolls. 


A.  Mayer  pin. v  it 


HENRY    LUTTRELL 


i82i  67 

Mr  Chantrey  ;  slept,  Mr  Cranston,  Ly  Affleck,  G.  Fortescue, 
Ld  Morpeth,  Marsh,  Calcraft,  three  selves.  I  sat  next  to  Anthony 
M.,1  who  told  me  he  thought  all  Charles's  love  nonsense,  and  so 
far  from  being  a  cause  of  sorrow  he  thinks  the  young  lady's 
marriage  will  be  as  great  a  relief  as  it  is  an  escape.  However 
I  do  not  believe  all  that.  I  am  truly  glad  it  is  at  an  end  without 
any  blame  attaching  to  him.  We  had  an  architectural  conversa- 
tion after  dinner  about  the  Stroud  bridge,  which  is  certainly  the 
finest  in  the  world  ;  the  material  (Devonshire  granite)  of  the 
upper  part  is  bad  and  coarse.  Chantrey  told  us  that  he  has  an 
enormous  block  of  granite  coming  in  order  to  make  a  bust,  of 
what  or  of  whom  he  would  not  tell.  It  is  to  be  larger  than  the 
Memnon  in  the  Museum  :  in  fact  quite  collossal.  Calcraft  gave 
me  an  amusing  account  of  his  sejour  at  St  Giles'  (Ld  Shaftesbury) 
in  Dorsetshire,  where  they  all  are  so  shockingly  bullied  by  the 
Earl  (as  they  call  him).2  He  will  allow  no  one  to  go  upon  the 
great  staircase  but  the  girls  ;  and  when  they  found  Calcraft  had 
been  down  it  by  accident,  they  were  horrified  and  cautioned  him. 
Some  more  letters  from  Mr  Palmer  about  Ld  P. ;  a  duel  must  take 
place  now,  I  should  think,  inevitably.  The  bets  are  against  Ld 
Petersham  being  one  of  the  principals.  Mr  Cranston's  head  is 
by  far  the  most  remarkable  I  ever  saw.  He  looks  sickly,  and 
I  do  not  think  the  least  clever ;  he  has  no  eyebrows  or  eyelashes. 
Ld  Morpeth  was  very  uneasy  with  gout  in  the  knee,  and  seemed 
oppressed  and  ill. 

14  April.  Breakfasted  with  Mary  and  Ly  Affleck.  Amused 
at  the  latter's  jealousy  of  Miss  Fox ;  very  unjust,  but  natural 
and  pardonable.  Did  not  the  rebound  fall  on  poor  little  Mary 
I  should  be  diverted  at  it,  but  she  suffers  for  all  the  caprices  and 
tempers  of  LT  A.  and  doublefold.  Dear  girl,  she  grows  more 
lovely  daily,  and  her  sense,  discretion  and  strength  of  mind 
surprize  and  enchant  me  more  and  more  every  hour  I  see  her. 
My  Lady  ill  with  her  heart.  I  hope  it  is  bile,  but  I  begin  to  be 
rather  alarmed  about  it.  She  makes  herself  miserable,  and  takes 
fifty  fancies  into  her  head.  Rode  to  town,  chiefly  with  Ralph. 
Went  with  Sir  H.  Halford  to  the  Opera.  I  thought  he  never 

1  Hon.  Anthony  Maitland  (1785-1863),  second  son  of  James,  eighth 
Earl  of  Lauderdale.     He  succeeded  his  brother  as  tenth  Earl  in  1860. 

2  Cropley  Ashley,  sixth  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  (1768-1851). 


68  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

would  have  done  repeating  Latin  epitaphs.  Determined  to  hurt 
his  courtly  ears  by  talking  very  Queenish  language.  Chiefly  with 
Lady  Jersey,  who  was  not  in  her  usual  spirits,  but  always  kind, 
affectionate  and  pleasant.  How  envious  the  world  is  to  hate 
and  abuse  so  amiable  and  so  warm-hearted  a  person.  Went  to 
Ly  Charlotte  Greville  ;  found  the  Butcher l  there.  He  has  behaved 
with  great  kindness  to  Ly  Worcester  ;  and  if  from  no  other  real 
intentions,  I  shall  like  him  for  it.  My  mind  I  shall  then  believe 
to  be  unprejudiced  and  candid,  when  I  can  allow  myself  to  admire 
for  any  virtue,  public  or  private,  the  bloody  instrument  which  has 
overthrown  the  child  of  liberty,  the  glory  of  France  and  the  hero 
of  our  own  times,  to  restore  the  vile  dulness  of  legitimate  fools 
and  bigotted  priests.  I  never  was  shyer  and  stupider  ;  dreadful 
crowd  and  squeeze.  Took  Home  home,  and  returned  at  two. 
Tancredi,  the  new  woman,  failed. 

17  April.  Drove  to  town  with  my  Lady  ;  called  on  Mde  de 
Flahault,  whose  lying-in  approaches  fast.  She  does  not  wish  for 
a  son,  for  fear  Ld  Keith  should  fix  all  on  him  and  leave  her  and 
the  daughters  to  fish  for  themselves.  We  were  there  when  the 
servants  by  mistake  refused  Ld  and  Ly  K.,  whom  she  has  been 
anxiously  expecting  for  six  days.  We  were  very  much  provoked 
and  annoyed. 

Only  Mr  Calcraft,  Ly  Georgina  and  Allen  at  dinner.  My 
Lord  at  the  House.  When  the  carriage  went  for  him  at  twelve 
I  went  with  it.  Came  just  at  the  end  of  Ld  Lansdowne  ;  heard 
the  Doctor,  Ld  Ashburton,  Ld  Somers.2  The  division  was 
agitating.  The  Contents  who  went  below  the  Bar,  looked  double 
the  number.  But  we  were  beat  by  59.  Shocking  !  The  Kg  used 
his  influence.  In  the  Commons,  Hobhouse  made  a  violent  attack 
on  Canning.  The  latter  came  to  the  Lords  when  I  was  there, 
seemed  abstracted  and  thoughtful — either  writing  a  challenge  or  a 
speech.  I  hope  the  latter.  Sneyd  told  me  that  last  night  during 
the  D.  of  Sussex's  speech  he  heard  one  man  say  to  another, 
"  H.R.H.  is  deep  in  the  Councils  of  Trent."  "  I  wish,"  said  his 
friend,  "  it  were  the  river."  The  House  crowded  with  women  : 

1  The  Duke  of  Wellington. 

2  The  debate  on  the  second  reading  of  the  Bill  for  the  removal  of 
Catholic  disabilities,  which,  on  the  motion  of  Mr  Plunkett,  had  already 
passed  the  Commons.     By  "  the  Doctor  "  Lord  Sidmouth  is  meant. 


1821  69 

D88  of  Richmond,  Ladies  Blessington,  Mansfield,  Arundel,  G. 
Fane  and  Miss  Seymour,  who  looked  beautiful,  which  I  never 
thought  her  before.  Not  over  till  half -past  three.  Got  home 
and  supped  with  my  Lord,  broad  daylight.  Talked  of  deep 
subjects  and  found  concurrence  of  belief  or  rather  of  non-belief. 
My  Lady  heard  from  Charles,  Milan,  3d  April. 

Saturday,  21  April.  Rode  to  town ;  saw  only  Ly  Affleck. 
Sir  C.  Grey l  was  just  going  to  his  appointment  in  India  when  his 
brother  came  down  to  Portsmouth,  told  him  that  Miss  Jervoise 
of  £60,000  had  changed  her  mind  and  would  marry  him  and  go. 
He  lost  his  passage,  paid  £1,000,  and  is  only  waiting  for  her  to 
be  of  age.  Very  romantic  and  extraordinary  for  such  a  fright. 
Had  a  long  letter  from  Henry  from  Woburn,  where  there  \\ere 
eight  women  at  dinner  and  none  ugly.  Brougham  and  D.  of 
Wellington  will  meet,  rather  oil  and  vinegar,  but  Brougham  will 
no  doubt  conform.  Were  he  to  meet  Solomon,  he  would  soon 
humbug  him.  His  talents  are  wonderful. 

Sir  James,  Ly  and  Miss  Mackintosh,  Ld  Spencer,  Stair,  A. 
Hamilton,  Mrs  Tierney,  De  Ros,  Abercrombies.  Never  saw 
Wm  de  Ros 2  before  ;  his  manners  are  very  pleasing,  the  image  of 
his  father.  He  does  not  seem  the  least  affected,  and  spoke  very 
naturally  about  his  degree  ;  he  is  very  handsome,  and  something 
like  F.  Leveson.  Ly  Mack. 3  was  a  great  gig — hat  and  feathers, 
plaited  cord,  and  very  quizzical  indeed.  She  loves  Mrs  Jeffrey, 
and  was  affected  at  Sandford's  testimonials.  How  easily  are  her 
passions  excited  !  Ld  Petersham  and  Mr  Webster  fought  this 
morning  at  Kingston,  interchanged  harmless  shots,  and  then  were 
reconciled.  They  have  taken  their  time  to  make  up  their  minds. 
Heard  from  Charles,  16  April,  Paris,  lingering  and  dawdling. 
Provoking  boy,  he  will  get  into  her  Ladyship's  black  books  even 
before  arriving. 

1  Charles    Edward    Grey    (1785-1865),    knighted   in    1820.     He   held 
several  Judgeships  in  India,  and  was  subsequently  Governor  of  Barbados, 
and  of  Jamaica.     His  wife  was  daughter  of  Sir  S.  C.  Jervoise,  later  Governor 
of  Jamaica. 

2  Hon.  William  Lennox  Lascelles  de  Ros  (1797-1 874),  son  of  Charlotte, 
Baroness  de  Ros  and  Lord  Henry  Fitzgerald.     He  succeeded  his  elder 
brother  as  twenty-third  Baron  in  1839. 

3  Catharine,  daughter  of  John  Allen,  of  Cresselly,  who  became  Sir 
James's  second  wife  in  1798. 


7o  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Thursday,  3d  May.  Took  leave  of  Mary,  Henry  W.  and 
Charles  ;  a  more  disagreable  leave-taking  than  ever,  on  account 
of  Charles'  short  stay  with  us.1  Mary  looked  beautiful,  seemed 
in  spirits,  and  said  she  should  like  to  meet  us.  I  hope  she  will. 
Set  off  at  a  little  after  two.  Mr  Luttrell  came  in  deep  mourning 
for  his  father.2  Henry  W.  rode  by  our  carriage  to  Grosvenor  Place. 

Saturday,  5  May.  Sailed  in  the  Pce  Leopold,  Capt.  Rogers, 
at  a  J  past  eleven.  Had  most  beautiful  calm  weather  ;  only  four 
hours  and  a  quarter.  Ld  Anson 3  followed  us  close.  Found  Ly 
Gwydyr,  who  is  waiting  for  our  packet ;  she  left  Paris  on  Sunday. 
The  Russians  are  to  be  at  Turin  in  June  ;  they  are  in  numbers 
140,000.  The  D8se  de  Berri 4  has  recovered  her  spirits,  and  is 
going  about  to  amuse  herself  in  every  direction.  She  rides  hard 
and  a  great  deal,  much  to  the  alarm  and  annoyance  of  her  ladies, 
who  are  obliged  to  follow  as  close  as  they  can. 

May  22,  St  Germain.  Fazakerley  and  Mons.  Gallois  and 
Ld  H.  Fitzgerald  came  over  from  Paris  to  dine  with  us.  We  had 
letters  from  England.  London  seems  to  have  had  a  terrible  gloom 
thrown  over  it  by  poor  Ly  Worcester's  death.  The  King  is  going 
to  dine  at  Devonshire  House,  and  Lansdowne  House  is  talked  of. 
Sir  C.  Stuart 5  came  to  us  late  in  the  evening,  after  one  of  his  own 
dinners,  and  went  back — very  gallant  of  him.  The  Queen  has 
been  to  Drury  Lane,  and  the  Coronation  is  talked  of  as  certain. 
The  Duchesse  de  Berri  vowed  during  her  grossesse,  if  her  child  was 
a  male  one,  to  carry  a  silver  figure  to  the  Virgin  at  Soissons  of  its 
weight  when  it  should  be  six  months  old.  She  has  set  off  on  that 
expedition,  but,  unlike  pilgrims  of  old,  she  waited  till  the  roads 
were  mended  and  posts  newly  established. 

1  Charles  Fox  had  returned  a  week  before  from  military  duty  in  Malta 
and  the  Ionian  Islands. 

2  Henry  Luttrell's  father,  Henry,  second  Earl  of  Carhampton,  had  just 
died. 

8  Thomas  William,  second  Viscount  Anson  (1795-1854),  created  Earl 
of  Lichfield  in  1831. 

4  Caroline  (1798-1870),  daughter  of  Francis  I,   King  of  Naples,  who 
married  the  Due  de  Berri,  second  son  of  Charles  X,  in  1816.     He  was 
assassinated  at  Paris  in  1820. 

5  Sir  Charles  Stuart  (1779-1845),  grandson  of  John,  third  Earl  of  Bute, 
British  Ambassador  in  Paris  1815-30.     He  was  created  Lord  Stuart  de 
Rothesay  in  1828,  and  married,  in  1816,  Elizabeth  Margaret,  daughter  of 
Philip,  third  Earl  of  Hardwicke. 


i8ai  71 

Wednesday,  23d  May.  We  passed  by  Marly  through  beautiful 
country  and  got  to  the  Hotel  du  Grand  Reservoir  at  Versailles, 
where  Ld  Essex,  Mr  Vaughan  and  Mr  Scott  came  over  to  see  us, 
but  could  not  dine  because  they  were  going  to  see  Mlle  Mars  in 
two  pieces.  How  tantalizing  !  !  ! 

Till  Tuesday  the  5  of  June  we  staid  in  the  Hotel  de  Castille 
(in  Paris),  and  went  every  night  to  the  theatre.  Mlle  Mars  and 
MUe  Duchesnois  delightful. 

Monday,  4th,  we  dined  at  Sir  Charles  Stuart's,  after  receiving 
a  melancholy  post  from  England  with  nothing  but  deaths: 
Ld  Stair,  Mr  Eden  and  one  of  Ld  Bath's  sons.  The  only  good 
news,  that  George  Howard  has  gained  both  prizes  at  Oxford,  at 
which  I  am  most  excessively  delighted,  as  I  am  sure  it  will  give 
him  and  all  his  family  such  real  and  undisguised  pleasure.  We 
met  at  Sir  Charles's,  the  Staffords,  Bessboroughs,  Ponsonby, 
Lda  Beresford,  Thanet,  Essex,  &c.,  &c.  I  got  between  Ldfl  Bess, 
and  Beresford,1  very  dull !  !  !  Magnificent  dinner  and  plate. 
Went  with  Ld  Thanet  in  the  evening  to  see  MIle  Mars  in  the 
Heureuse  Rencontre.  A  new  petite  piece  we  saw  came  out  two 
nights  before.  We  went  in  the  Due  d'Orleans'  box,  which  is  the 
largest  but  too  far  off  and  quite  painful  from  the  light. 

5  June.  We  moved  to  Mde  Crauford's.2  Milord  had  the  gout 
very  severely  in  his  hand  and  went  to  bed  immediately. 

8  June.  La  Fayette,  Gallois,  Standish,  Mr  Scott  at  dinner. 
Letters  from  England.  The  King  by  some  is  said  to  be  worse  ; 
by  others,  well.  Ld  Cawdor  dead.  Received  a  delightful  letter 
from  George,  elated  and  enchanted  at  his  great  and  brilliant 
success.  Ld  Lauderdale  has  £5,000  left  him  by  Ld  Stair.  Went 
to  Mde  de  Coigny's,3  up  two  pair  of  stairs,  small  room  and  slightly 
lighted.  Mlle  Lastenaye  was  there ;  the  upper  part  of  her  face 
is  very  pretty,  but  the  mouth  is  foolish.  They  were  all  sitting 
round  a  table,  working  and  greatly  amused  at  the  childish 
practical  jokes  of  a  jeune  fat  there.  A  son  of  Ld  Lucan's  was 

1  William  Carr  Beresford  (1768-1854),  created  Lord  Beresford  for  his 
services  in  the  Peninsular  War,  and  raised  to  a  Viscountcy  in  1823. 

2  A  house  they  had  taken  for  two  months. 

3  Louise  Marthe  de  Conflans  d'Armentidres,  wife  of  Fra^ois  Marie 
Casimir,  Marquis  de  Coigny.     She  was  well  known  as  a  wit  in  French 
society,  and  died  in  1832,  at  the  age  of  74. 


72  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

there,  with  none  of  the  beauty  of  his  family.  Mde  de  Coigny 
herself  is  delightful,  so  witty  and  so  cheerful,  that  when  it  is 
possible  to  hear  and  understand  her  it  greatly  rewards  one  of 
the  trouble. 

Saturday,  June  9.  Nobody  at  dinner.  Went  with  my  Lady 
to  the  Varietes. 

Mde  Rumford l  in  the  evening.  The  D88e  d' Orleans  is  dying  of 
a  cancer,  caused  by  a  book  falling  upon  her  breast  as  she  was 
taking  it  down.2  The  Staff ords  dined  there  the  other  day  ;  she 
was  too  ill  to  appear  at  table,  and  all  the  doors  and  windows  were 
left  open,  for  she  cannot  bear  the  least  heat.  She  is  enormously 
rich,  but  lives  in  the  poorest  house  out  of  sentiment  to  her 
intendant,  who  was  her  lover  and  died  there.  For  his  sake  she 
quarrelled  with  all  her  family.  One  day  when  he  was  ill  she 
ordered  her  daughter,  M1Ie  d' Or  leans,  to  go  to  his  bedroom  and 
read  to  him,  which  the  Princess  refused  to  do  ;  and  on  that 
account  they  separated. 

Mde  d'Orsay,3  daughter  of  Me  Crauford  and  the  old  King  of 
Wurtemburg,  was  violently  abusing  all  the  Bonaparte  family 
as  mean  and  of  low  birth.  Pauline's4  hand  was  talked  of. 
She  said  its  beauty  was  overpraised,  "  though  I  must  say  her 
foot  is  very  beautiful."  "  Yes,"  whispered  a  bystander  to 
Ld  Thanet,  "  she  well  knows  that,  for,  with  all  her  pride,  she 
has  often  washed  both  those  feet  when  she  was  Pauline's  dame 
d'honneur."  Milord's  gout  was  very  bad. 

June  12.  Ld  Thanet,  Talleyrand  and  Montrond  at  dinner. 
Talleyrand  spoke  very  readily  and  openly  about  Napoleon.  He 
evidently  was  very  anxious  to  talk  on  the  subject,  which  surprized 
me  very  much,  considering  all  that  had  passed  between  him  and 
my  mother  on  the  subject.  He  gave  a  most  dramatic  account 
of  the  Council  of  ten  of  his  ministers  assembled  round  a  table 
in  the  palace,  whose  advice  he  asked  one  by  one  about  his  divorce 

1  Count  Rumf ord's  second  wife,  Marie  Anne  Pierret  Paulze,  whom  he 
married  in  1805,  and  from  whom  he  separated  four  years  later.     She  was 
previously  the  widow  of  Lavoisier. 

2  Louise  Marie  Adelaide  de  Bourbon,  daughter  of  the  Due  de  Penthievre, 
wife  of  Philippe  Egalite,  Due  d 'Orleans. 

3  Mother  of  Count  Alfred  d'Orsay,  and  wife  of  Count  Albert  d'Orsay, 
one  of  Napoleon's  generals. 

4  Pauline,  Princesse  Borghese  (1780-1825),  Napoleon's  sister. 


i8ai  73 

and  marriage,  whether  with  an  Austrian  or  Russian  Arch-duchess. 
Josephine  was  in  the  next  room,  and  every  one  was  afraid  of 
giving  their  opinion  about  the  divorce.  He  described  with  great 
wit  the  manner  they  artfully  evaded  giving  any  direct  answer. 
While  he  was  talking,  Mr  Scott  came  and  brought  the  report  of 
the  Emperor's  death,  which,  to  his  credit  be  it  said,  seemed  to 
shock  the  iniquitous  old  traitor  very  much.  However  he  might 
be  acting  to  please  Miladi,  which  he  seems  very  anxious  to  do. 
I  went  to  Ly  Bessborough's  and  saw  Mde  Recamier,  who  is  still 
very  pretty  and  looks  young. 

13  June.  Ld  John  Russell,  Harry  Fox,1  Luttrell,  and  little 
Moore 2  and  Denon,  at  dinner.  Went  to  Gerard 3  with  Ly  Davy ; 
met  there  Ducis,  who  married  Talma's  sister  (a  great  beauty) 
and  translated  Hamlet,  which  I  had  the  misfortune  to  see  in  1817. 
Gerard  has  painted  a  full-length  of  Corinne  intended  for  Prussia  ; 
but  the  King  has  given  it  to  Mde  Recamier,  much  to  the  artist's 
annoyance. 

15  June.  Mde  de  Coigny,  Ld  Thanet,  Johnny,  Mr  Scott  at 
dinner.  Went  to  Ly  Stafford's  and  Mde  Rumford's.  Saw  at  the 
latter  the  family  of  Beauveau  ;  the  daughter,  Mde  de  la  Grange, 
is  very  handsome.  Mr  Scott  was  terrible  and  staid  eternally. 
Letters  from  England  in  the  morning.  Ly  Liverpool  dead  ;  Ly 
L.  Conolly  dying.4  Canning  bellicose :  correspondence  with 
Burdett.  The  latter's  letter  is  bad  and  yields  too  easily.5 

June  1 8.  Letters  from  England.  Account  of  the  Kg  and 
Qn'9  parties  on  the  same  evening.  Miladi  and  I  dined  at  Mde 
Rumford's.  Met  there  D.  and  D8S  Dalberg,  M.  and  Mde  Durazzo, 

1  Henry  Stephen  Fox  (1791-1846),  son  of  General  Henry  Edward  Fox, 
Charles  James  Fox's  younger  brother.    He  adopted  the  diplomatic  career 
and  was  at  this  time  an  attache  in  Paris.     He  was  often  known  by  his 
intimates  as  "  Black  Fox."     Minister  to  the  United  States  1835-43. 

2  Thomas  Moore,  the  poet.    Moore  notes  in  his  Diary  that  Holland  was 
absent  from  dinner  owing  to  gout,  and  that  Denon's  presence  was  a  gene, 
"one  foreigner  always  playing  the  deuce  with  a  dinner-party." 

3  Fran9ois  Pascal  Gerard  (1770-1837),  a  well-known  French   painter. 
The  picture  is  now  in  the  Lyons  Museum. 

4  Henry  Fox's  great-great-aunt,  daughter  of  Charles,  second  Duke  of 
Richmond,  and  born  in  1743.     Widow  of  Thomas  Conolly,  of  Castletown. 

5  "  The  Courier  to-night  publishes  a  correspondence  between  Canning 
and  Burdett ;  the  latter  comes  shabbily  off,  for  he  denies  a  meaning  which 
his  words  have,  if  they  have  any."     (Croker  Papers,  i.  192.) 


74  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

D.  de  Broglie,  Count  Mole,  D.  de  Choiseul.  I  was  extremely 
delighted  with  the  beauty,  pretty  manners,  simplicity  and 
agreable  conversation  of  Mde  Durazzo.1  Little  Johnny  Russell 
has  made  an  excellent  choice.  I  never  saw  a  woman  more 
calculated  to  captivate  one  than  she  is.  Without  the  slightest 
affectation,  she  evidently  shows  great  talent  and  a  good  deal  of 
knowledge.  She  came  back  with  us  to  Milord.  We  found  La 
Valette 2  with  him.  Poor  man,  he  seems  quite  broken  down  by 
misfortune.  His  wife  is  mad,  and  entirely  in  consequence  of  her 
heroick  conduct ;  she  thinks  everyone  she  sees  belongs  to  the 
police,  and  hardly  knows  Mm  now.  He  has  had  very  bad  health 
himself.  He  is  very  grateful  to  all  that  have  been  of  use  to  him, 
and  says  he  owes  two  visits,  one  to  England  to  thank  Wilson  and 
Hutchinson,  and  one  to  Bavaria  to  express  his  gratitude  to  those 
who  have  been  kind  to  him.  M.  Durazzo  is  a  little,  sulky, 
disagreable  man.  Mde  Dalberg  is  not  pretty,  nor  has  she  pleasing 
manners.  She  is  pert  and  flippant ;  her  teeth  are  fine,  but  she  is 
too  fair.  Her  husband 3  is  a  clever  man,  but  a  great  projector  and 
speculator  and  spends  his  fortune  in  following  up  his  theories  and 
plans. 

21  June.     Mole 4  is  a  sensible,  but  rather  a  silent,  melancholy 
man  ;   he  makes  no  mystery  of  his  extreme  sorrow  at  being  out 
of  office,  and  talks  of  the  many  times  he  has  been  in  with  heartfelt 
regret.     We  went  to  Mde  de  Bourke's,5  and  met  there  Suchet, 
D.  d'Albufera.     He  is  like  Ld  Anglesea,  has  a  rabbit  mouth,  and 
looks  as  silly  as  the  D.  of  Wellington  ;  but  though  report  says  he 
is  a  bad,  he  is  believed  to  be  a  clever,  man. 

22  June.     Found  letters  from  England.     No  news  except  a 
quarrel  between  the  D.  of  Devonshire  and  Ly  Jersey  about  meeting 


1  The  Durazzos  lived  in  Genoa. 

2  Antoine  Marie  Chamans,  Comte  de  La  Valette  (1769-1833),  Aide-de- 
Camp  to  Napoleon.     He  avoided  execution  in  1815  by  escaping  from  prison 
in  his  wife's  clothes.     He  was  pardoned  in  1821  and  allowed  to  return  to 
France. 

3  Emmerich  Joseph,  Due  de  Dalberg  (1773-1833),  of  German  descent, 
but  naturalized  a  Frenchman  in  1809. 

4  Louis  Mathieu,  Comte  de  Mole  (1780-1855),  Minister  of  Justice  in 
1813,  and  held  high  office  under  Louis  Philippe. 

5  Edmond,  Comte  de  Bourke  (1761-1821),  was  Danish  Minister  in  Paris 
1820-1. 


i82i  75 

the  Kg  at  D.H.,  where  both  seem  to  have  acted  without  judgment.1 
27  June.  Went  to  the  Louvre  with  Miladi,  who  was  very 
struck  with  Poussin's  Deluge  ;  and  indeed  it  is  one  of  the  finest 
things  there.  The  admirable  copies  made  by  modern  artists  are 
very  striking  ;  and  it  seems  their  taste  has  been  greatly  improved 
by  the  Italian  pictures.  We  dined  at  Talleyrand's,  25  at  dinner. 
A  large  square  table,  the  best  dinner  I  ever  eat  : — Daru,  Sfc 
Aulaires,  Plaisances,  Dalbergs,  Durazzos,  Cuvier,  Gerard,  Mon- 
trond,  D886  Dino,  Alvanley,  John  R.,  Lambton,  to  whom  I  sat 
next.  Mde  Durazzo  came  a  great  deal  too  late  ;  she  looked  very 
handsome.  DMe  D.2  is  the  wife  of  Talleyrand's  nephew,  but  lives 
with  T.  in  a  very  conjugal  manner.  I  went  with  Lambton 3  to 
the  Varietes  and  saw  La  femme  peureuse  and  Les  bonnes  d'enfants. 
The  former  was  new,  and  not  well  received. 

Saturday,  30  June.  Talleyrand  called  just  before  dinner,  and 
was  uncommonly  pleasant  and  witty.  His  civility  to  my  mother 
surpasses  any  thing  I  ever  saw.  He  seems  most  amazingly 

1  Lord  Lauderdale  wrote  to  Lady  Holland  on  June  17  :    "  The  King's 
dinner  at  the  Duke  of  Devonshire's  has  made  a  great  deal  of  noise.     Lady 
Jersey  had  been  invited  to  the  party  in  the  evening,  and  I  believe  the  Duke 
had  taken  a  little  fright :   however,  it  was  all  settled  that  she  was  to  go 
on  the  Wednesday,  when  on  Thursday  morning  the  newspapers,  announcing 
her  having  been  at  the  Queen's  the  night  before,  again  raised  alarm  in 
his  Grace.     I  believe  he  saw  Jersey  and  asked  if  it  was  true.     Jersey  told 
him  it  certainly  was,  but  if  he  did  not  wish  to  have  Lady  J.  at  his  house, 
he  had  only  to  say  so.     He  said  he  would  write  to  her.     Accordingly  she 
received  a  letter,  in  which  I  believe  he  mentioned  that  he  felt  he  had  rather 
exceeded  the  bounds  prescribed  to  him,  not  to  ask  anybody  who  had  not 
been  at  Court,  when  he  invited  her,  and  concluded  a  number  of  half- 
expressed  ideas  by  saying  he  trusted  she  would  see  the  propriety  of  putting 
her  staying  away  on  the  ground  of  her  own  sense  of  etiquette,  rather  than 
on  any  objection  on  his  part.     To  that  her  Ladyship  replied,  that  she 
would  do  no  such  thing,  because,  so  far  from  having  felt  any  real  objection, 
she  had  told  the  Duke  of  Wellington  and  others  that  she  was  going,  and 
that  she  would  certainly  assign  the  real  reason — which  was  that  he  did 
not  wish  to  receive  her"  (see  also  Croker,  i.  194). 

2  Dorothee,  Duchesse  de  Dino  (1792-1862),  daughter  of  Pierre,  Due  de 
Courland,   married  to  Alexandre  Edmond  de  Perigord,   Due  de  Dino, 
Talleyrand's  nephew. 

3  John  George  Lambton  (1792-1840),  M.P.  for  Durham  County  till 
1828,  when  he  was  raised  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Durham.     He  received 
an  Earldom  in  1833.     His  first  wife,  Harriet  Cholmondeley,  died  in  1815, 
and  he  married,  in  the  following  year,  Louisa  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Charles, 
second  Earl  Grey. 


j6  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

anxious  to  be  in  her  good  graces.  He  feels  now  very  much  his 
own  misconduct,  and  regrets  the  loss  of  all  his  former  friends  who 
despise  and  cut  him.  He  never  ceases  to  talk  of  the  Emperor 
when  he  is  with  us,  and  the  descriptions  he  gives  of  him  are  very 
dramatic.  Gallois,  Ld  Thanet,  Faz.  and  John  to  dinner.  Went 
to  the  Italiens  with  Ld  T.  and  Miladi,  II  Barbiere  de  Seviglia. 

Sunday,  July  i.  Went  to  see  Soult's  pictures  ;  he  showed 
them  to  us  himself.  The  finest  are  Murillo's,  particularly  The 
Birth  of  the  Virgin,  The  Ascension  of  the  Virgin  and  The  Return 
of  the  Prodigal  Son.  His  countenance  is  pleasing  and  good 
humoured. 

July  2d.  Dined  at  Me  Rumford's.  Miladi  did  not  come  till 
the  end  of  dinner  owing  to  a  violent  thunderstorm.  Met  there 
the  D88e  Dino,  M.  de  Stael,  M.  Latin,  &c.,  &c.  :  rather  dull.  The 
DSSC  Dino  is  wonderfully  clever,  and  full  of  wit  and  talent. 

July  5.  Only  Ld  Thanet,  John  and  Gallois1  to  dinner.  I 
went  to  see  Phedre  acted  very  ill  by  the  doubleurs.  Les  Folies 
amoureuses  followed  and  was  lively  enough.  On  my  return  I  was 
told  of  the  official  account  of  the  Emperor's  death  at  S*  Helena. 
Good  God !  what  a  melancholy  end  to  so  illustrious  a  life. 
England  will  now  open  her  eyes  and  will  see  the  shame,  disgrace 
and  atrocity  of  his  imprisonment.  She  will  perhaps  feel  how 
her  faith  and  hospitality  will  be  recorded  to  posterity  ;  and  the 
paltry  gratification  of  having  embittered  and  shortened  the  latter 
days  of  the  greatest  man  this  world  ever  produced  will  be  a  poor 
recompense  for  the  national  disgrace  and  dishonour. 

July  6.  The  fatal  news  of  last  night  is  confirmed  with  more 
details.  It  is  said  he  died  very  devout  and  surrounded  by  priests. 
That  such  an  understanding  should  break  down  to  such  a  degree 
is  very  melancholy  but  not  surprizing.  The  last  eight  years  of 
his  life  were  enough  to  drive  any  body  quite  mad.  To  accustom 
myself  to  think  of  him,  who  occupied  so  much  of  my  thoughts 
and  all  my  political  affections — to  think  of  him  as  dead,  as 
annihilated,  is  almost  impossible.  Now  I  care  for  nothing. 
Bourbons,  Republics,  Whigs,  Tories,  Reformers,  it  is  all  indif- 
ferent ;  I  do  not  care  who  wins  or  who  loses.  I  only  hope  that 

1  Jean  Antoine  Gallois  (1761-1828).  Retired  from  politics  after 
1814,  having  taken  a  leading  part  in  the  early  years  of  the  cen- 
tury. 


1821  77 

his  enemies  may  lose  the  little  fame  they  have  gained,  and  may 
be  sacrificed  without  mercy  as  an  atonement  to  his  ashes. 

10  July,  Tuesday.  Moore,  Fazakerley,  Mr  Irving,  Luttrell. 
The  former  showed  me  some  of  Ld  Byron's  Journal  in  1813-14. 
It  is  witty  and  ill-natured.  I  am  mentioned  with  good  nature  : 
he  used  to  be  very  kind  to  me  at  that  time.  Went  with  John  to 
Ly  de  Ros  and  met  Ly  Alborough  there,  noisy  and  witty.  After- 
wards to  the  D88  Dino.  They  were  all  talking  ante-Queenite 
language  there. 

Friday,  July  13.  Heard  of  Napoleon's  kind  and  considerate 
recollection  of  my  mother,  with  which  she  was  quite  overcome.1 
The  conduct  of  both  my  father  and  mother  upon  that  subject 
has  been  perfect,  and  I  feel  as  proud  of  it  as  if  it  had  been  of  more 
use.  The  meanness,  shabbiness  and  harshness  of  the  Government 
exceeds  the  power  of  belief  ;  it  is  infamous  and  makes  one  shudder 
to  think  that  such  wretches  should  form  part  of  the  civilized 
society  in  Europe.  Their  cruelty  and  petty  vengeance  is  only 
suited  to  barbarians.  Their  object  is  now  accomplished.  He, 
who  ten  years  ago  made  them  tremble  and  crouch,  has  by 
treachery  and  misfortune  fallen  into  their  hands.  They  have  cut 
him  off  from  every  family  and  social  tie,  they  have  chained  him 
upon  an  unhealthy  rock,  and  have  allowed  him  to  breathe  his 
last  without  a  friend  or  consoler  near  him  :  and  they  think  all 
this  will  be  admired  and  approved  of.  May  the  curses  of  an 
angry  Heaven  fall  upon  them,  and  may  they  pay  doubly  and 
trebly  the  sorrows  of  his  breast.  The  man  who  has  had  the  noble 
office  of  gaoler,  tormentor  and  executioner  has  written  to  my 
mother,  announcing  to  her  the  present  of  the  box  and  of  the 
Emperor's  own  handwriting,  as  has  Ld  Bathurst,  whose  wit  I  have 
no  doubt  is  greatly  employed  on  the  subject.  The  effect  the 
details  of  his  melancholy  death  have  had  here  is  wonderful. 

14  July.  Eight  people  are  supposed  to  know  about  the 

Emperor's  fortune.  came  to  him  in  the  Cent  Jours  at 

Malmaison  and  gave  him  two  pieces  of  advice.  One  to  trust  to 
his  bank  (?)  for  money,  and  arrangements  were  made  with  him 

1  The  reference  is  to  the  snuff-box  now  in  the  British  Museum.  It  was 
found  after  Napoleon's  death  to  contain  a  paper  on  which  were  the  words, 
written  in  his  own  handwriting  :  "  L'Empereur  Napoleon  a  Lady  Holland 
temoignage  de  satisfaction  et  d'estime." 


78  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

in  consequence  ;  and  (alas  !  why  did  he  not  follow  that  too  ?) 
never  to  trust  himself  to  the  English,  that  he  would  only  meet 
with  the  most  unlimited  cruelty,  and  that  whatever  the  people 
might  be,  the  Government  were  only  capable  of  revenge  and 
malignity  and  quite  destitute  of  any  generosity  or  elevation. 
Ld  Belgrave  came  in  the  evening  as  hideous  and  stupid  as  ever.1 
Ly  E.  is  by  way  of  admiring  nothing  here,  and  says  there  is  no 
solidity  !  She  looks  in  vain  for  brick  and  wooden  houses,  and 
finds  only  stone,  poor  woman.  Ld  Thanet  has  lost  terribly, 
upwards  of  £10,000  ;  it  really  is  a  great  pity  that  he  should  throw 
away  his  time  and  fortune  so  sillily. 

Tuesday,  17  July.  Sir  Charles  Stuart  (who  is  the  very  best 
authority  and  who  is  truth  itself)  says  he  knows  beyond  all  doubt 
that  that  old  hypocrite  the  King  proposed  in  Council  a  court 
mourning  for  Napoleon,  and  that  Monsieur  over-ruled  it.  Such 
absurd  affectation  of  magnanimity  seems  incredible  ;  it  could 
hardly  have  deceived  the  weakest  and  silliest  of  the  Emperor's 
friends.  However  I  am  glad  it  was  not  successful ;  some  might 
have  been  childish  enough  to  be  bit  by  it.  My  father  told  me  of 
Ld  Lauderdale's  2  acceptation  of  the  Green  Ribbon  with  sorrow 
and  surprize  \\\  I  was  not  the  least  surprized ;  he  is  baby 
enough  to  be  captivated  with  any  of  these  silly  distinctions. 

18  July.  Went  to  see  Denon's 3  cabinet.  He  has  some 
curious  and  some  beautiful  things,  but  too  many  Indian  and 
Chinese  barbarisms.  Ly  de  Ros  and  Miss  D.,  Mss  Humboldt, 
Dumont,  Greffulhe,  Vaughan,  Girardin.4  This  latter  is  the  little, 

1  Richard,   Viscount  Belgrave   (1795-1869),  succeeded  his  father  as 
second  Marquess  of  Westminster  in  1845.     He  married,  in  1819,  Elizabeth 
Mary,  daughter  of  George  Granville,  Marquess  of  Stafford,  afterwards  first 
Duke  of  Sutherland. 

2  James,  eighth  Earl  of  Lauderdale  (1759-1839),  an  early  Whig  friend 
of  Lord  Holland,  who  had  drifted  by  degrees  into  Tory  sentiments  on 
many  of  the  political  questions  of  the  day.     His  correspondence  with  both 
the  Hollands,  however,  continued  up  to  the  last  day  of  his  life. 

3  Dominique  Vivant,    Baron   Denon    (1747-1825),   French  engraver, 
author,  and  diplomat.     He  took  no  part  in  politics  after  the  fall  of  the 
Empire. 

4  Louis  Stanislas  Xavier,  Comte  de  Girardin   (1762-1827),   pupil  of 
Rousseau,  and  sometime  President  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  after  the 
Revolution.     He  accompanied  Joseph  Bonaparte  to  Naples  and  Spain, 
and,  after  the  return  of  the  Bourbons,  became  a  member  of  the  Chambre, 
and  held  small  offices. 


1821  79 

impudent,  squinting  man  to  whom  Talleyrand,  when  he  was  out 
of  favor,  answered  as  follows.  M.  Girardin,  rather  impudently, 
"  Comment  vont  vos  affaires,  Monsieur  T.  ?  "  "  Comme  vous 
voyez,  Monsieur  G." 

In  the  course  of  the  fortnight,  Ld  Alvanley,  Dumont,1  Mon- 
trond,  Ld8  Clare,  Thanet,  Gallois,  Sneyd,  Ellis,  Rogers  (who  is 
lately  come,  more  than  ever  odious,  from  England),  B.  Craven, 
&c.,  &c.,  have  dined  here  several  times.  We  have  hardly  any 
news,  except  details  about  the  Coronation  and  the  illnatured 
stories  about  dear  Lady  Jersey  from  those  who  envy  her  fair 
fame  and  vainly  aspire  to  be  her  equals.  We  went  over  the 
Palais  Royal ;  it  is  far  from  an  enviable  habitation,  and  except 
some  few  pictures  there  is  nothing  valuable  in  it.  There  is  a 
famous  picture  of  the  battle  of  Jemmappes,  where  the  Due 2  is 
in  a  tricolor  cockade.  There  are  a  set  of  pictures  of  him  at  the 
various  parts  of  his  life,  which  are  very  curious  and  done  with 
excellent  taste.  One  day  we  saw  the  modern  pictures  at  the 
Luxembourg  ;  most  of  them  are  wretched.  Two  historic  ones 
of  David  have  some  merit — The  Battle  of  Thermopylae  and  The 
Sabines.  The  best  are  the  little  ones.  We  went  to  Gerard  one 
morning,  who  showed  me  his  famous  picture  of  Corinne.  A  few 
of  the  features  of  Made  de  Stae'l  are  to  be  traced,  but  of  course 
en  beau.  He  has  left  the  other  figures  unfinished  in  order  to 
make  her  more  prominent.  Miladi  and  I  went  one  morning  to 
see  Horace  Vernet's  atelier,  which  he  showed.  He  is  full  of 
genius,  and  there  is  great  merit  in  most  of  his  works. 

Friday,  10  August.  The  news  of  the  poor  little  Queen's 
death  came  by  telegraph.  Unfortunate  woman  ;  her  life  has 
been  a  wretched  one,  and  the  only  things  she  ever  really  enjoyed 
were  her  continental  amusements,  which  she  was  to  be  punished 
for.  The  manner  her  disgusting  enemies  talk  of  her  is  quite 
horrible.  Such  horrid  abuse  ought  not  to  be  vented  upon  her 
when  she  is  hardly  cold.  But  their  conduct  throughout  has  been 
so  barbarous  and  unmanly,  that  it  was  enough  to  make  one  as 
absurd  about  her  as  Alderman  Wood. 

1  Pierre  Etienne  Louis  Dumont  (1759-1829),  a  Swiss  Professor,  who 
was  a  constant  visitor  and  universal  favourite  with  the  inmates  of  Bowood 
and  Lansdowne  House.     He  returned  to  Switzerland  in  1814. 

2  Due  d 'Orleans,  afterwards  King  Louis  Philippe.     He  inhabited  the 
Palais  Royal  at  this  time. 


80  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Went  to  Brittanicus  and  Les  trois  Sultanes.  Talma  better 
than  I  ever  saw  him ;  his  first  appearance  in  it  is  magnificent. 
He  contrives  to  look  like  Nero.  On  our  return  came  La  Valette, 
who  gave  us  a  natural,  unaffected  account  of  the  first  ten  minutes 
of  his  escape,  with  great  feeling  and  not  the  least  appearance  of 
more  than  just  asperity  against  his  persecutors.  The  account 
he  gave  of  his  own  and  Labedoyere's  dungeon  made  one  quite 
shudder.  And  these  are  the  humane  and  Christian  rulers  of  this 
unfortunate  country  !  He  remained  after  his  escape  from  prison 
forty  days  in  Paris,  and  left  it  in  an  open  tilbury  with  Sir  R* 
Wilson,  which  carried  him  on  to  Compiegne.  I  went  for  a  short 
time  to  Me  Rumford's  :  dull  as  usual. 

Sunday,  12  August.  Went  to  see  Soult's  pictures,  with  a  large 
party.  Upon  the  whole  I  admire  most  Christ  Healing  the  Sick 
and  The  Prodigal  Son.  Cradock,1  Girardin  and  Gallois  at  dinner. 
The  beauty  of  the  former  I  admire  very  much  ;  I  am  sure  I 
should  like  him  very  much  were  I  to  see  a  good  deal  of  him. 
Girardin  in  the  evening  gave  a  very  lively  account  of  his  imprison- 
ment during  the  Revolution  and  how  useful  he  found  the  trade 
of  menuisier,  which  Jean  Jacques  had  taught  him.  The  account 
he  gave,  too,  of  his  treatment  by  the  Bourbons  and  by  Napoleon 
in  the  Hundred  Days  was  very  lively. 

Another  fortnight  of  indolence,  and  I  am  obliged  to  hurry  all 
that  happened  till  the  25th. 

Friday,  ijth,  we  went  to  Sommariva's  house,  and  saw  Canova's 
famous  Magdalen,  which  is  among  the  first  in  point  of  merit  of 
all  his  works.  The  attitude  is  natural  and  southern,  but  not 
graceful  and  makes  the  knees  appear  distorted.  Nothing  can  be 
in  worse  taste  and  worse  colouring  than  his  collection  of  French 
daubs.  In  the  evening  went  to  Cinna,  and  saw  Talma  in  it.  It 
is  impossible  to  remember  all  the  people  that  have  dined  here,  so 
I  shall  not  attempt  it.  Girardin  one  evening  gave  a  most  lively 
account  of  Napoleon's  visit  to  Ermenonville.  He  was  quite  out 
of  humour ;  everything  went  wrong.  The  next  day  out  shooting 
they  artfully  contrived  to  throw  game  in  his  way.  He  shot  a 
great  deal.  Josephine  at  dinner  betrayed  them,  which  made  him 

1  John  Hobart  Cradock,  or  Caradoc  (1799-1873),  soldier  and  diploma- 
tist. He  succeeded  his  father  as  second  Lord  Howden  in  1839.  See 
p.  227. 


i8ar  81 

very  angry.  Next  day  when  some  animal  came  in  his  way,  he 
threw  down  his  gun  and  declared  he  would  not  have  any  more 
"  de  ces  enfantillages-la." 

Saturday,  25  August.  When  the  news  of  Napoleon's  death 
came,  before  the  King  had  been  informed  of  it  by  his  Ministers, 
Sir  E.  Nagle,  anxious  to  communicate  the  welcome  tidings,  said 
to  him,  "  Sir,  your  bitterest  enemy  is  dead."  "  Is  she,  by  God  !  " 
said  the  tender  husband. 

26  August.  Went  with  Mole  to  Mad.  de  Vaude'mont's  *  at 
Surenes  to  see  Une  visite  a  Bedlam  and  another  little  vaudeville 
acted,  of  which  I  have  forgotten  the  name.  A  Mad.  Orfilu  sang 
beautifully  ;  and  it  was  on  the  whole  very  well  got  up.  The 
whole  ended  with  some  very  complimentary  verses  to  the  hostess 
by  Greffulhe.  She  sat  attentive  to  her  own  applause  and  seemed 
delighted  with  it.  The  place  is  pretty  and  the  garden  seems  very 
well  laid  out.  I  was  much  shocked  at  the  adulation  and  respect 
shown  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  From  Frenchmen  it  must 
either  be  hypocrisy  or  meanness  ;  and  I  think  it  shews  bad  taste 
in  him  to  come  to  Paris,  where  he  needs  must  find  rudeness, 
coldness  or  constrained  civility.  A  report  is  about  of  young  Ney 
intending  insulting  him  at  the  opera.  I  hope  for  both  their  sakes 
it  is  false,  though  his  conduct  about  the  father  richly  deserves  it. 

8  September,  to  H.  House.     Found  Mary  looking  lovely. 

My  Lord  to  my  Lady  on  seeing  a  garden  full  of  dahlias  : — 

"  The  Dahlia  you  brought  to  our  isle 
Your  praises  for  ever  shall  speak, 
'Mid  gardens  as  sweet  as  your  smile 
And  in  colours  as  bright  as  your  cheek."2 

The  dull  monotony  of  life  at  Holland  House  in  the  month  of 
September,  after  the  gaiety  of  Paris,  takes  off  all  inclination  to 
continue  this  diary.  Nothing  but  disappointments  attended  me. 
Upon  arriving  Charles,  whom  I  had  some  slight  hopes  of  finding, 
was  gone  only  24  hours  before  we  arrived  and  detained  at  Plymouth 

1  Elise  Marie  Colette  de  Montmorency  Logny,  Princesse  de  Vaudemont 
(1763-1832).     Her  husband  died  in  1812. 

2  The  allusion  is  to  the  dahlia  seeds  brought  over  and  sown  at  Holland 
House  by  Lady  Holland  in  1804.     Lady  Bute  had  originally  introduced 
them  into  England  in  1789,  but  they  failed,  as  did  also  Lady  Holland's ; 
and  more  seeds  were  brought  over  in  1814. 


82  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

nearly  a  fortnight  by  contrary  wind  and  by  Ld  Charles  Somerset's 
unwillingness  to  sail.1 

Bertrand  and  Montholon  called  here  on  Monday  the  loth  to 
present  the  Emperor's  kind  legacy  to  my  mother.  It  was  ex- 
tremely gratifying  to  her  to  find  not  only  what  great  amusement 
but  what  great  use  her  presents  had  been  of.  He  always  opened 
the  cases  himself,  and  was  very  much  pleased  and  delighted  with 
many  things  in  them.  My  mother  had  had  great  difficulty  in 
making  people  send  something  in  her  case,  but  she  succeeded  with 
the  D.  of  Bedford,  and  was  commissioned  to  send  whatever  she 
liked.  A  book,  after  much  deliberation  was  thought  the  best, 
and  she  and  Allen  went  to  Payne's  to  choose  one.  Robertson's 2 
work  was  the  best  bound  and  the  handsomest,  and  was  fixed. 
When  the  Emperor  received  it,  he  puzzled  himself  to  find  out 
why  the  D.  of  Bedford  should  send  him  Robertson's  works. 
"  Cela  veut  dire  quelque  chose."  After  much  thinking,  he  said 
he  had  found  it  out.  "  It  is  advice.  Don't  yield,  don't  acknow- 
ledge, don't  recognise  the  right  the  English  have  to  imprison 
you,  or  else  like  Mary  Stuart  you  will  meet  with  her  fate."  It 
is  curious  to  see  how  from  mere  accidental  circumstances  such 
conclusions  are  drawn. 

Montholon  has  much  the  most  appearance  of  talent ;  he  has 
a  countenance  full  of  quickness  and  the  cleverest  eye  I  ever  beheld. 
Bertrand  is  not  the  least  handsome,  but  has  a  gentle  and  amiable 
expression.  His  feelings  must  be  of  a  different  sort — sorrow  at 
the  death  of  him  whose  fate  he  has  so  nobly  followed,  and  pleasure 
at  being  freed  from  the  barbarous  treatment  of  Sir  Hudson  and 
the  unhealthy  rock  of  Se  Helena.  The  account  he  and  Montholon 
give  of  Sir  Hudson  is  worse  even  than  what  has  before  been 
known.  His  persecution  lasted  to  the  last  moment,  and  even 
when  the  grave  had  destroyed  all  danger,  his  cruelty  still  followed 
his  ashes,  and  he  tried  all  he  could  to  gain  possession  of  his  papers 
and  his  books.  The  former,  however,  were  entirely  out  of  his 
power  ;  the  latter,  at  least  those  furnished  by  Government,  he 
did  seize,  though  full  of  the  Emperor's  notes  and  observations. 
The  books  my  mother  sent  out  he  had  the  impertinence  to  attempt 

1  Charles  Fox  sailed  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  on  the  Governor  Lord 
Charles  Somerset's  staff.     He  remained  there  a  year. 

2  William  Robertson,  the  historian. 


1821  83 

to  get ;  but  that  was  prevented.  No  harshness,  no  indignity 
was  omitted.  The  Emperor  saw  all  the  petty  attempts  made  to 
insult  him.  He  felt  them  acutely,  but  was  silent.  He  never 
pretended  to  understand  them.  Antomarchi  (his  physician) 
came  to  us  several  times.  The  account  he  gave  of  his  illness  is 
simple,  and  told  without  any  object.  He  despaired  from  the  first 
appearance  of  the  malady.  He  thinks  the  climate  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  origin  of  the  disease,  but  when  it  had  begun  it 
increased  and  brought  it  sooner  to  a  crisis.  Besides,  he  thinks 
mineral  waters  would  have  done  him  good  ;  but  he  seems  a  very 
ignorant  man  and  was  not  at  all  fit  to  send  out.  It  is  very 
gratifying  to  think  that  with  all  Sir  Hudson's  harsh  conduct  and 
overstrained  vigilance  he  never  knew  or  prevented  the  regular 
correspondence  between  Longwood  and  Paris  ;  and  at  least  fifty 
people  have  been  up  to  the  Emperor's  habitation,  and  had  in  one 
or  two  instances  interviews  with  the  Emperor  himself,  by  stealth 
and  at  night.  Both  Bertrand  and  Montholon  declare  that  his 
escape  could  easily  have  been  effected,  and  that  many  oppor- 
tunities occurred  and  were  proposed  to  him  ;  but  he  was  a  man 
never  to  attempt  anything  where  concealment  or  disguise  or 
bodily  exertion  was  required.  If  he  was  not  able  to  walk  on 
board  the  ship  with  hat  on  his  head  and  his  sword  at  his  side, 
he  would  take  no  measures  to  go. 

i$th.  Went  with  Milady  to  see  The  Coronation  at  Drury  Lane. 
Elliston's  imitation  of  the  King  is  said  to  be  very  like,  though 
vulgar. 

In  the  course  of  the  ensuing  ten  days  we  saw  very  few  people 
except  Ly  Affleck  and  the  Ladies. l  Madames  Montholon  2  and 
Bertrand  3  came  to  see  us  once  or  twice  ;  the  former  is  the  cleverest 
and  the  most  amiable.  Madame  Bertrand  is  ill  and  artful,  and 
her  conduct  in  persuading  the  Emperor  to  give  himself  up  to  the 
English  and  trust  to  English  generosity  has  given  me  such  a 
hatred  and  contempt  for  her,  that  I  feel  the  greatest  prejudice 

1  The  Ladies  Gertrude  and  Anne  Fitzpatrick. 

2  Albinie  Helene  de  Vassal.    It  is  said  that  she  had  two  divorced  hus- 
bands alive  when  she  married  Montholon. 

8  Fanny  Dillon,  who  married  Count  Bertrand,  was  a  niece  of  Charles, 
twelfth  Viscount  Dillon,  being  only  daughter  of  Hon.  Arthur  Dillon,  a 
Lieut. -General  in  the  French  service,  by  his  second  wife,  a  connection 
of  the  Empress  Josephine. 


84  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

against  her.  She  entirely  governs  her  husband,  and  made  his 
life  doubly  wretched  at  Sfc  Helena  by  her  complaints  and  longings 
for  Europe.  The  departure  of  Madame  Montholon  was  a  very 
great  loss  for  the  Emperor.  Her  sprightliness  and  gaiety  used 
to  amuse  him,  and  her  society  was  what  he  enjoyed  most.  Nothing 
but  her  child's  health  would  have  made  her  go.  It  died  in 
consequence  of  not  being  allowed  to  land  by  Ld  Bathurst,  and 
next  year  Ld  B.  has  the  audacity  to  talk  of  English  hospitality 
to  foreigners  !  !  ! 

Sir  Hudson  Lowe  called  on  my  mother,  a  degree  of  impudence 
one  should  hardly  have  expected ;  but  he  used  to  tell  the  Ber- 
trands  and  Montholons  that  all  she  did  for  the  Emperor  was 
done  in  consequence  of  her  attachment  to  him  (Sir  H.).  My 
mother  wrote  him  a  very  sensible  letter  saying  she  was  anxious 
to  avoid  an  interview  with  him,  as  expressions  might  escape 
her  which  it  would  be  better  to  restrain. 

Every  morning  since  my  return  from  Paris  I  have  got  up 
early  and  breakfasted  with  Mary,  and  have  in  general  devoted 
an  hour  or  two  afterwards  to  reading.  I  have  just  finished  Ld 
Bacon's  Life  of  Henry  the  Seventh,  a  very  entertaining  and  well- 
written  book.  We  went  for  a  few  days  to  Panshanger1  on 
Tuesday  the  25th  of  September,  and  staid  till  Saturday  the  29th. 
We  drove  over  to  see  Sir  James  Mackintosh  at  Mardocks,  but 
as  he  was  out  we  were  only  gratified  with  a  view  of  his  lamentable 
house.  Ld  John  Townshend,  Ld  Erskine,  G.  Lamb,  Ld  Duncannon, 
Mr  Irby,  Mr  Malthus,  were  backwards  and  forwards  several 
times.  Ld  E.  was  extremely  entertaining  in  the  account  he  gave 
of  being  introduced  to  the  Princess  of  Wales,  after  his  enquiry 
into  her  conduct  and  after  the  reprimand  he  gave  her.  John 
Russell  came  to  see  us  there  after  his  arrival  from  Paris.  Nothing 
could  be  pleasanter  than  Lady  Cowper,  and  I  liked  our  visit  there 
very  much  indeed. 

Bertrand  one  evening  that  he  came  gave  an  account,  with 
a  great  deal  of  wit  and  drollery,  of  the  expedition  to  Egypt  and 
the  astonishment  of  the  army,  who  expected  to  find  a  country 
far  superior  to  Italy  abounding  in  fruit  and  loaded  with  corn — 
in  fact  the  land  of  plenty.  The  dry  sands,  the  want  of  shade, 

1  Lord  Cowper 's  house  in  Hertfordshire. 


l82I  85 

of  water,  and  even  of  food,  almost  broke  their  spirits.  The  only 
amusement  they  had  was  laughing  at  the  squadron  of  scavanti, 
who  were  commanded  by  General  Caffarelli,  a  one-legged  chieftain. 
They  were  partly  the  cause  of  the  expedition,  from  the  excessive 
hopes  they  had  raised  by  their  exaggerated  descriptions  of  the 
country.  The  murder  of  Kleber  he  gave  us  a  detailed  account  of. 
Had  he  ever  shown  the  least  civility  or  common  respect  even  to 
the  priests,  he  would  have  been  apprized  of  the  plan  of  assas- 
sination. Napoleon  always  treated  them  with  the  most  marked 
respect  and  deference,  and  when  there  was  a  conspiracy  on  foot 
against  him  they  came  to  put  him  on  his  guard  and  gave  the 
names  of  the  assassins.  Bertrand  himself  was  only  a  colonel. 
Napoleon  gave  him  his  promotion  a  day  or  two  before  he  set 
off  for  France.  Bertrand  was  wounded  and  could  not  go  with 
him.  He  saw  him  embark  and  the  ship  set  sail.  It  was  actually 
under  weigh,  when  he  saw  a  thin  little  figure,  with  a  large  port- 
folio under  its  arm,  run  to  the  pier,  "  Arretez,  attendez,  je  suis 
Denon.  Je  suis  Denon,  arretez,  je  suis  Denon."  A  little  boat 
was  despatched,  and  Denon  was  taken  off.1 

October  the  8th.  Luttrell  came  to  stay.  Miss  Fox  and  Miss 
Vernon  went  the  following  day  to  Sidmouth.  I  never  knew 
Luttrell  more  agreable,  though  his  bad  temper,  notwithstanding 
all  his  endeavours  to  restrain  it,  will  sometimes  break  out.  It 
does  so  in  a  manly  and  a  just  manner,  and  he  is  spiteful  because 
he  is  angry  and  not  because  he  has  found  a  good  thing  to  say  on 
the  subject.  His  account  of  Rogers's  jealousy  at  Moore  and 
Byron  being  mentioned  in  Julia 2  is  very  good  indeed.  He  thinks 
everybody  when  they  have  written  ought  to  publish.  "If  it 
succeeds  they  are  pleased,  and  if  it  fails  they  please  their  friends." 
Shuttleworth  and  Blanco  3  came  to  stay  also.  The  latter  is  gone 
down  one  peg  in  his  mysterious  religious  creed,  while  I  am  sorry 
to  say  the  other  has  gone  up  one  ;  and  the  strong  contagion  of 
the  gown  has  been  caught  even  by  his  free  mind.  People  will 

1  Denon  had  accompanied  the  expedition  in  order  to  describe  the 
monuments  of  the  country. 

2  LuttrelTs  Advice  to  Julia,  which  he  published  in  1820. 

8  Joseph  Blanco  White  (1775-1841),  originally  a  priest  in  Spain,  and 
after  1810,  when  he  came  to  England,  a  writer  on  theological  subjects. 
He  qualified  as  an  English  clergyman,  and  from  1815  to  ?i8i7  acted  as 
tutor  to  Henry  Fox. 


86  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

thus  talk  themselves  into  belief  from  at  first  only  professing  it. 
Ld  Carlisle  has  sent  some  absurd  and  abominably  bad  verses  to 
Milady  about  the  snuff-box,  to  which  my  father's  answer  is  in- 
comparable in  a  witty,  good-humoured  but  argumentative  letter.1 

Went  down  with  Shuttleworth  to  Oxford  on  the  I7th  of 
October,  and  dined  at  New  College,  where  I  met  Jekyll  with  his 
son — a  large,  tiresome  party  which  gave  me  a  headache.  George 
came  in  a  day  or  two,  and  Henry  from  Paris  on  the  23d. 

Nothing  ever  happens  at  Oxford  worth  remembering,  so  I  shall 
not  attempt  to  keep  any  sort  of  journal ;  but  if  anything  out  of 
the  usual  routine  happens,  I  shall  write  it  down. 

Miss  Fox  and  Miss  Vernon  slept  in  Oxford  on  their  way  to 
Weston  from  Devonshire  on  the  eighth  of  November,  and  break- 
fasted with  me  the  next  morning.  On  the  loth,  I  went  with 
Henry  to  Cirencester  for  two  nights.  The  house  is  very  comfort- 
able inside,  and  though  ill-situated,  far  from  ugly  ;  the  park,  of 
which  I  saw  little,  is,  I  believe,  fine.  Ld  and  Lady  G.  Bathurst 
were  in  town ;  I  was  very  sorry  for  the  absence  of  the  latter. 
Lady  Bathurst  is  pleasant  and  her  conversation  is  sometimes 
lively,  but  she  gives  me  the  idea  of  the  falsest  woman  ever  born. 

Worcester's  marriage  seemed  considered  certain. 2  He  has 
a  daily  correspondence  with  Lady  Jane,  and  is  going  to  Beau- 
desert  ;  in  fact  Henry  tells  me  he  knows  he  proposed  three  weeks 
after  Lady  W.'s  death,  and  she  to  clinch  the  matter  wanted  him 


1  Lord    Carlisle's    verses    are     printed    in     Princess    Liechtenstein's 
Holland  House,  vol.  ii.  156,  as  well  as  contemporaneously  in  John  Bull.   Lord 
Holland's  letter  is  too  long  to  be  transcribed  here,  but  his  lines  on  the 
subject  may  be  quoted  : — 

"  For  this  her  snuff-box  to  resign, 

A  pretty  thought  enough, 
Alas  1    my  Lord,  for  verse  of  thine 
Who'd  give  a  pinch  of  snuff." 

2  Henry,  Earl  of  Worcester  (1792-1853),  who  succeeded  his  father  as 
seventh  Duke  of  Beaufort  in  1835,  married,  in  1814,  Georgina  Frederica, 
daughter  of  Hon.  Henry  Fitzroy.     She  died  in  May,  1821  ;  and  in  June, 
1822,  Lord  Worcester  married  his  first  wife's  half-sister,  Emily  Frances 
Smith  ;  their  mother,  Anne,  daughter  of  Garret,  first  Earl  of  Mornington, 
having  married  Hon.   Henry  Fitzroy  in    1790,  and  secondly,  in   1799, 
Charles  Culling  Smith. 

Lady  Jane  Paget,  Lord  Anglesey's  daughter,  here  mentioned,  married 
Francis  Nathaniel,  second  Marquess  Conyngham,  in  1824.  Her  sister, 
Caroline,  had  married  Charles,  afterwards  fifth  Duke  of  Richmond,  in  1817. 


i82i  87 

to  speak  to  her  father,  but  he  would  not.  George  Fortescue1 
was  very  ill,  labouring  under  his  old  bilious  complaint ;  but 
nothing  can  be  more  agreable  than  he  is.  He  was  at  Cheltenham  ; 
but  came  over  to  C.  because  a  cold  prevented  his  drinking  the 
waters.  He  told  me  Madame  Durazzo's  history,  which  I  never 
knew  before.  He  does  not  believe  in  any  of  her  intrigues,  and 
less  than  all  with  Johnny.  She  was  mad  for  a  long  time,  and 
devotion  was  one  line  it  took,  which  I  observed  at  Paris  had  not 
even  yet  left  her.  Emily  Smith  is  like  Lady  Worcester,  but  it 
is  a  very  disagreable  likeness.  Worcester  and  she  pass  a  great 
deal  of  their  time  talking  of  her  poor  little  sister,  and  he  seems 
to  be  extremely  fond  of  her.  Since  Ly  W.'s  death  it  is  supposed 
he  has  for  the  first  time  discovered  what  was  the  talk  of  the 
world. 

We  returned  on  Monday  the  I2th  in  time  to  hear  Miss 
Stephens 2  at  the  concert.  Next  day  I  dined  with  the  Marlows, 
where  I  met  Miss  Wykeham,  the  illustrious  love  of  the  D.  of  Clar- 
ence. She  is  vulgar  and  dull;  her  manners  are  proud  and  by 
way  of  being  condescending,  but  not  so  turbulent  as  I  expected. 
The  concert  was  better  than  the  other,  and  Miss  Stephens  sang 
Auld  Robin  Gray.  On  Thursday  the  I4th,  I  went  with  George 
and  Henry  to  Heythrop,  where  we  met  the  Bathursts  and  the 
family  :  dull  of  course,  but  enlivened  by  charades  which  the  B/s 
acted  with  success.  Lady  G.  Lennox3  looked  pretty  and  lady- 
like. I  like  her  very  much.  Bonaiuti4  came  down  for  three 
nights  to  see  Oxford,  so  I  had  to  escort  him  and  lionize  him, 
which  was  tiresome.  On  Saturday  i6th  I  dined  at  the  Deanery 
and  met  Ld  and  Ly  Abingdon 5 ;  it  was  duller  than  ever.  Ld 
A.'s  singing  relieved  it  a  little,  as  he  has  a  fine  voice  and,  I  believe, 

1  George    Matthew    Fortescue    (1791-1877),    owner   of    Boconnoc    in 
Cornwall,  and  of  Dropmore  ;  second  son  of  Hugh,  first  Earl  Fortescue. 

2  Catherine  Stephens  (1794-1882),  the  celebrated  actress  and  singer, 
who  married  George,  fifth  Earl  of  Essex,  in  1838,  the  year  before  his  death. 

3  Third  daughter  of  Charles,  fourth  Duke  of  Richmond.     She  married 
William,  Lord  de  Ros,  in  1824,  and  died  in  1891. 

4  An  Italian  architect,  extensively  employed  by  the  Hollands  from 
the  early  years  of  the  century  on  repairs  at  Holland  House  and  on  other 
business  relating  to  the  property. 

6  Montagu,  fifth  Earl  of  Abingdon  (1784-1854).  His  first  wife,  whom 
he  married  in  1807,  was  Emily,  daughter  of  General  Hon.  Thomas  Gage, 
She  died  in  1838. 


88  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

is  an  admirable  musician.  Ly  A.  is  Ld  Gage's  sister  and  looks 
like  a  respectable  housekeeper. 

I  dined  on  the  2oth  at  Blenheim,  where  I  was  very  much 
amused  with  the  Duke,1  and  surprized  at  the  splendor  of  the 
establishment.  The  party  were  chiefly  (with  the  exception  of 
some  hungry  curates)  Oxonians.  The  dinner  was  good  and 
rather  pleasant.  The  house  ill-lighted  ;  and  all  the  servants,  I 
believe,  bailiffs.  I  went  with  Vernon.2  I  was  astonished  at  the 
invitation,  for  I  never  had  seen  him  in  my  life.  He  is  pleasant, 
but  looks  exactly  like  a  great  West  India  property  overseer. 

A  week  before  I  left  Oxford  I  was  very  much  shocked  at  the 
news  of  poor  Lady  Bessborough's  death  at  Florence,  from  violent 
inflammation  increased  by  the  cold  of  the  Apennines.  Poor 
woman,  whatever  faults  she  might  have,  she  was  a  warm-hearted 
person  and  an  excellent  mother,  who  did  not  deserve  such  an 
infliction  as  Lady  Caroline,  of  whom  she  said  in  one  of  her  last 
letters,  "  She  makes  the  joy  and  torment  of  my  life.  I  am  neither 
happy  with  nor  without  her/' 

Friday,  December  7.  After  George  and  Home  had  finished 
their  Collections  and  I  had  taken  a  mournful  leave  of  John 
Wortley,  who  is  in  all  probability  to  be  examined  on  Monday, 
we  all  three3  set  off  for  London.  The  journey  was  cold  and 
tiresome  from  the  slowness  of  the  drivers  and  heaviness  of  the 
roads.  We  left  Oxford  at  12  and  got  to  Burlington  Street  at 
about  8.  The  dinner  was  over,  and  we  were  obliged  to  give  up 
all  thoughts  of  the  Exile.  Ld  Howard  had  dined  and  was  still 
staying.  Binda  also,  who  is  going  on  Wednesday  to  Madrid 
with  some  more  promising  expectations  than  usual.  My  Lady 
was  in  good  health,  beauty  and  temper  ;  very  kind  and  agreable. 
Brougham  came  in  the  evening,  full  of  jokes  about  Ld  Wellesley's 
appointment4  and  Mrs  Wilmot's  independence. 

Dec.  8.  My  Lady  went  to  Hd  He  with  his  Lordship.  George 
and  I  walked  about.  I  went  to  see  Ly  Affleck  and  staid  there 
some  time.  Ly  Perth  she  thinks  dying  ;  but  all  the  old  ladies 
kill  each  other  whenever  there  is  the  slightest  ailment.  Called 

1  George,  fifth  Duke  of  Marlborough  (1766-1840). 

2  Robert  Vernon  Smith   (1800-73),   eldest  son  of   "  Bobus  "  Smith. 
He  was  raised  to  the  peerage  as  Baron  Lyveden  in  1859. 

3  Miss  Fox,  George  Howard  and  himself. 

4  As  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  which  post  he  held  until  1828. 


l82I  89 

on  Mrs  Ord,  who  gave  us  an  account  of  her  terrible  domestic 
robbery  by  a  man  of  the  name  of  lago,  which  makes  her  called 
Desdemona.  Ly  Ossulstone1  is  going  to  Paris  with  Sir  Robert 
Wilson,  and  is  much  alarmed  at  what  people  at  Paris  will  say 
to  her  travelling  with  him.  She  is  terribly  annoyed  at  it  having 
already  given  offence  there,  by  adding  her  name  on  the  Due  de 
Grammont's  cards  of  invitation  at  his  great  Coronation  ball. 
We  dined  at  half-past  five,  only  Binda,  and  went  early  to  Covent 
Garden  to  see  the  dullest  of  dull  plays — The  two  gentlemen  of 
Verona  and  The  two  pages  of  Frederick  the  Great.  Miss  Tree's 
acting  and  singing  approaches  perfection.  Sophy  Fitzclarence, 
Lady  Westmeath  and  Henry  G.  in  the  D.  of  York's  box.  From 
Miss  F.'s  awkward  looks  I  guessed  Henry  had  said  something 
about  Mrs  Jordan  when  Mrs  Chatterley  was  acting,  and  I 
proved  right.  Nothing  could  be  duller  than  both  play  and  farce. 
I  was  bored  to  death.  My  Lady  very  active  to  try  to  make 
George  break  his  word  to  Wortley  and  stay  here  instead  of  going 
to  Ch.  Ch.,  but  he  properly  remained  firm.  My  Lady  was  not 
pleased  at  being  resisted.  My  Lord  read  some  of  Sir  C.  H. 
Williams'  unpublished  poems  which  are  admirable. 

The  town  is  said  to  be  swarming  with  Ld  Byron's  poems, 
Cain  (which  is  mysteriously  stopped),  The  Irish  Advent,  (sic) 
A  Vision,  three  or  four  plays,  and  his  memoirs,  which  Murray  has 
bought  of  Moore  and  will  of  course  creep  out  before  his  death. 
Walter  Scott  says  that  Cain  is  one  of  the  finest  things  in  English. 
Henry  called  on  my  Lady  to-day  !  !  !  She  was  pleased  with  his 
visit,  and  is,  I  hope,  to  be  assuaged.  To  do  her  justice,  I  think 
she  stood  very  right  about  him  at  first,  though  she  has  a  prejudice 
against  him  from  perpetually  talking  at  him.  The  D.  of  Devon, 
arrived  to-day  from  Paris. 

Sunday,  Dec.  9.  At  dinner  : — The  Ords,  Ossulstones,  Broug- 
ham, G.  E.  Dawson,  H.  Webster,  Mr  Scarlett.  The  dinner  was 
not  good  at  all ;  and  when  the  ladies  went,  poor-rates,  taxes, 
fundholders,  interest,  land-tax,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.,  were  discussed  at 
great  length.  The  evening  was  pleasant.  Lady  Morley  with 
her  odious  husband  was  more  agreable  than  ever.2  She  gave  a 

1  Armandine   Sophie,   daughter  of  Antoine,   Due   de   Gramont,   who 
married  Charles  Augustus,  Lord  Ossulston,  in  1806.     The  latter  succeeded 
his  father  as  fifth  Earl  of  Tankerville  in  1822. 

2  Frances,  daughter  of  Thomas  Talbot  of  Gonville,  Norfolk,  second 
wife  of  John,  first  Earl  of  Morley  (1772-1840),  whom  she  married  in  1809. 


go  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

most  lively  and  tempting  account  of  Bowood  and  Cirencester, 
which  made  me  regret  them  very  much  indeed.  She  has  been 
on  what  she  calls  a  joking  expedition.  Miss  Edgeworth  was 
liked  at  Bowood  by  the  hosts  and  by  the  Bathursts,  who  now 
are  enjoying  her  society  at  Cirencester  and  think  she  discusses 
too  much.  Punch  Greville  x  came  from  a  dinner  at  Ld  Foley's 
rather  elevated.  He  goes  tomorrow  to  Brighton  to  swear  in 
some  of  the  new  people.  The  D.  of  York  has  hurt  his  arm,  which 
is  to  break  up  the  Woburn  party.  Fernan  Nunez  2  has  had  a 
fit,  and  was  thought  past  all  hope,  but  is  recovering.  The  D.  of 
Devon,  came  with  a  most  extraordinary  cashmere  apparel,  some- 
thing between  a  waistcoat  and  a  neckcloth.  My  Lady  attacked 
him  very  much  about  a  danseuse  at  the  Grand  Opera  at  Paris, 
who  is  supposed  to  have  captivated  him  at  last.  Sir  Robert 
Wilson  and  Lambton  came.  Ly  O.  is  to  go  under  their  protection 
to  Paris  on  Sunday  next.  Lady  Elizabeth  3  is  to  go,  which  delights 
me.  They  all  arrived  last  night  and  left  Lady  Grey  better. 

Tuesday,  Dec.  n.  Drove  to  H.  H.,  and  found  Mary  just 
arrived.  Poor  dear  little  girl,  she  has  tormented  her  heart  out 
about  one  of  her  front  teeth,  upon  which  she  imagines  a  spot. 
Miss  Vernon  treats  her  alarm  with  philosophic  scorn,  which  of 
course  increases  it.  On  my  return  I  saw  Henry  for  a  few  minutes, 
and  called  at  Mrs  Smith's,4  where  my  aunts  are  staying.  Kerry 5 
came  there,  and  is  as  noisy  and  riotous  as  usual.  Nobody  at 
dinner  but  Clifford6  and  Allen.  My  Lord  dined  at  The  Club. 
Ld  Wellesley  always  calls  Mr  Goulbourn  "  My  Secretary," 7  and 

1  Charles   Greville   (1794-1865),   Clerk  of  the   Council   1821-59,   and 
writer  of  the  well-known  diary. 

2  (1778-1821),  Spanish  Ambassador  in  London,  1814,  and  Plenipoten- 
tiary in  Paris  until  1820.    He  continued  to  live  there  until  his  death,  which 
resulted  from  a  fall  from  his  horse. 

3  Lady  Elizabeth  Grey,  Lord  Grey's  second  daughter,  who  married 
John  Bulteel  in  1826.     Her  eldest  sister,  Louisa,  was  second  wife  of  John 
George  Lambton,  created,  in  1833,  Earl  of  Durham. 

4  Mrs  "  Bobus  "  Smith. 

5  William  Thomas,  Earl  of  Kerry (i 8 1 1-36),  Lord  Lansdowne's  eldest  son. 

6  Augustus  William  James  Clifford  (1788-1877),  Captain  in  the  Navy  ; 
and  Usher  of  the  Black  Rod  1832-77.     Knighted  1830,  and  created  a 
baronet  1838. 

7  On  Lord  Wellesley's  appointment  in  December  to  Ireland  as  Lord- 
Lieutenant,  Henry    Goulburn    (1784-1856)    accompanied  him  as  Chief 
Secretary. 


Eii'tix  Martin  pinxit 


THE  THREE   MISSES  VERNON 


1821  91 

says  he  approves  of  Mr  Grant's  recall,  as  "he  took  too  much 
upon  himself  and  did  not  sufficiently  attend  to  the  orders  of  his 
Ld  Lieutenant."  The  Queen  was  certainly  lightheaded  for  five 
hours  before  her  death  and  talked  incessantly.  Bergami's  name 
was  never  mentioned,  but  some  former  admirers  were  ;  and  the 
name  of  Victorine,  who  is,  they  say,  indubitably  her  child,  was 
frequently  and  earnestly  talked  of.  Poor  Ly  Bessborough's 
funeral  is  soon  expected.  Wm  Ponsonby  comes  with  it,  and 
Duncannon  means  to  attend.  Ly  Caroline  is,  or  affects  to  be, 
very  much  overcome,  as  is  also  Ld  Granville.  Wrote  to  George. 

Thursday,  Dec.  13.  Took  leave  of  poor  little  Binda,  which 
very  painful.  I  sincerely  hope  he  may  prosper,  and  would  do 
a  great  deal  indeed  to  be  of  any  service  to  him.  My  Lady  and  I 
went  to  see  Lawrence's  pictures,  particularly  a  most  beautiful 
one  of  Lady  Conyngham.  I  was  very  much  struck  indeed  with 
one  of  Ld  Liverpool,  which  is  a  triumph  of  art  to  throw  any  noble 
expression  into  such  an  ignoble  face  ;  it  is  very  fine  indeed.  We 
then  went  to  see  for  my  Lord  at  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  where 
he  has  been  kept  as  witness  all  day  long  on  a  very  discreditable 
business  of  San  Carlos's,  which  he  is  anxious  to  hush  up.  Took 
Luttrell,  and  went  to  dine  at  Kent  House  with  the  Morleys. 
She  as  usual  delightfully  agreable  ;  he  dull  and  pompous.  Went 
to  the  Olympic  and  saw  some  very  stupid  farces  and  melodramas, 
very  vulgar  and  devoid  of  wit ;  one  gentleman  betted  his  breeches, 
and  the  whole  was  in  a  similar  strain.  On  my  return,  I  found 
my  Lady  gone  to  the  play  ;  she  came  home  and  brought  Tierney, 
who  was  very  pleasant  indeed.  They  talked  of  Peel  and  the  D. 
of  York  connection,  which  strengthens  every  day  and  will  be  of 
importance  after  this  King's  death.  Ld  Wellesley  has  had  an 
interview  of  four  hours  with  Ld  Grenville,  which  the  latter  declares 
to  have  been  most  satisfactory  and  to  have  renewed  all  his  old 
friendship  with  Ld  W. 

Classics  were  one  of  our  topicks  at  dinner.  Luttrell  told  me 
two  or  three  good  answers  I  had  never  heard  before.  One  man 
was  asked  who  was  our  ghostly  enemy.  He  answered,  "  The 
French."  Another  was,  "  Who  is  the  mediator  between  God 
and  man  ?  "  "  The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury." 

Friday,  Dec.  14.  Saw  Henry ;  and  then  rode  to  Hd  H8e, 
where  I  spent  most  of  the  morning.  My  aunts,  Leveson  and 


92  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Ly  Affleck  came  there.  Mrs.  Dillon 1  is  a  pleasing  woman  and  has 
excellent  manners.  Mary  looking  quite  heavenly.  Came  home 
with  Lady  Affleck  to  a  family  dinner ;  only  my  Lord,  my  Lady 
and  Allen.  We  went  early  to  Drury  Lane  to  see  Jane  Shore. 
Kean  acted  Hastings  more  perfectly  than  anything  I  ever  saw, 
and  the  debutante  was  very  good  indeed  and  in  the  last  act 
showed  great  knowledge  of  the  part  and  power  of  voice.2  I 
went  up  to  Kean's  room  at  the  top  of  the  house  to  see  him  and 
beg  him  to  be  thanked  by  my  Lady,  who  was  as  much  pleased  as 
the  rest  of  us.  He  says  the  young  lady  has  never  acted  anywhere 
before,  and  she  had  not  even  rehearsed  with  him,  nor  did  he  ever 
see  her  till  she  came  on  the  stage  itself.  She  is  a  pupil  of  Mr 
Foot's.  Her  voice  is  powerful  and  fine-toned  ;  her  figure  fine 
and  her  action  graceful.  I  hope  she  will  do.  Her  success  was 
very  great.  Mr  and  Mrs  Ord,  Ly  A.  and  Hy  Webster  were  in 
our  box.  Mrs  Tighe  came  after  our  return  and  Brougham,  who 
was  extremely  agreable  and  in  his  best  and  pleasantest  humour. 
After  all,  there  is  nobody  in  the  world  can  be  so  pleasant  as  he 
can  sometimes  and  vice  versa.  He  is  very  tranquil  just  now, 
and  has  nothing  to  irritate  or  provoke  him  except  the  loss  of 
his  silk  gown.3 

Monday,  17  Dec.  Received  a  melancholy,  sentimental  letter 
from  L.  Peel,4  which  I  answered  properly.  Mary  returned  to 
Hd  Hse  with  Lady  Affleck,  after  a  very  satisfactory  interview 
with  Mr  Hutchins.  My  Lady  was  by  way  of  being  confidential, 
and  told  me  Montholon  had  come  over  without  a  passport  and 
in  disguise  to  settle  some  business  of  Napoleon's  will.  She  (my 
Lady)  is  mentioned  in  it,  which  must  at  once  silence  the  base 
insinuations  that  some  of  his  gaolers  are  too  happy  to  drop  but 
not  bold  enough  to  state.  He  has  left  £900,000,000  sterling  (sic), 
the  bulk  of  it  to  his  son.  Some  to  Drouot,  Lavalette,  those 

1  Mary  Fox's  new  companion  and  governess. 

2  This  was  the  only  occasion  on  which  Kean  acted  in  Jane  Shore. 
The  debutante  was  Miss  Edmiston.     (Genest 's  History  of  the  English  Stage.} 

3  Because  of  his  support  of  Queen  Caroline,  Brougham's  silk  gown  was 
taken  from  him  owing  to  the  King's  animosity,  and  was  not  restored  to 
him    until    1827.     Notwithstanding    this    persecution    he    made    £7,000 
one  year. 

4  Laurence  Peel  (i 801-88),  sixth  son  of  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  younger 
brother  of  the  statesman. 


1821  93 

wounded  at  Waterloo,  the  towns  in  France  destroyed  or  im- 
poverished by  the  Prussians  and  other  invaders,  and  of  course  to 
Montholon  and  Bertrand.  There  is  some  ill  temper  shewn  in  the 
will.  My  Lady  is  kindly  and  honorably  mentioned. 

The  D88  of  Bedford  has  got  a  son — three  weeks  before  its  time. 

At  dinner  : — Ld  and  Ly  Morley,  Ld  and  Ly  Cowper,  F.  Lamb, 
Luttrell,  G.  Calcraft.  The  latter  absurd  and  dandified,  but 
approved  of  sufficiently.  In  the  evening  Luttrell  read  some  of 
the  notes  and  prefaces  to  Ld  B.'s  three  new  tragedies,  lively  and 
witty  though  very  severe.  The  dinner  and  evening  was  pleasant. 
Punch  came.  The  riches  of  the  Phillips'  were  talked  of,  and  Lady 
Morley  said,  "  Oh  !  it  is  past  Baring  \  " 

Thursday,  20  Dec.  Called  on  Lady  Affleck  and  Mrs  Ord. 
The  latter  not  well,  but  going  tomorrow  to  Bowood.  At  dinner  : — 
Brougham,  G.  Lamb,  Adair,  John  Russell,  Dundas,  Heneage.  It 
was  pleasant.  George  Lamb,  although  always  vulgar  and  noisy, 
is  certainly  entertaining  and  has  some  share  of  humour.  He 
talked  a  great  deal  about  the  theatre,  upon  which  he  at  present 
raves.  A  new  light !  !  Welsh  !  !  !  tragedy,  as  he  calls  it,  is 
coming  out  with  Kean  and  Miss  Edmiston.  In  the  evening  came 
Lds  Aberdeen  and  Ossulstone,  Miss  Fox  and  Miss  Vernon.  The 
first  was  sarcastic  and  contemptuous  about  Ld  Wellesley,  and 
was  as  usual  cold,  haughty  and  disagreable.  The  second  is 
properly  indignant  with  that  ill-tempered,  spoiled  child  Lambton, 
for  having  taken  Ly  O.  and  his  two  other  ladies  over  to  Calais 
on  a  stormy  day  in  an  open  boat !  !  !  His  insolence  to  every  body 
and  his  tyranny  in  his  own  family  are  insufferable  and  makes  one 
feel  very  much  for  poor  Lady  Louisa.  His  temper  and  selfishness 
pass  all  credited  or  permitted  bounds. 

After  dinner  we  all  read  the  proof  sheets  of  Ld  Byron's  Vision 
of  Judgment,  which  is  very  good  and  is  meant  as  a  satire  upon 
Southey's  apotheosis  of  G.  III.1  It  is  much  on  the  same  plan, 
and  only  makes  H.M.'s  trial  in  heaven  more  lively  and  more 
readable.  There  are  some  excellent  touches  in  it,  and  it  ends 
with  these  two  lines — 

"And  when  the  tumult  dwindled  to  a  calm, 
I  left  him  practising  the  hundredth  psalm." 

Saturday,  22  Dec.     Received  a  letter  from  George  announcing 

1  Written  under  that  title. 


94  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

the  marriage  of  Georgiana  Howard  and  Agar  Ellis.1  I  am  most 
sincerely  glad  and  greatly  surprized.  She  is  a  pretty,  amiable, 
pleasing  girl ;  but  I  never  should  have  thought  his  fantastical 
notions  would  have  been  satisfied  with  anything  so  simple  and 
so  devoid  of  pretensions.  Rode  to  Holland  House.  Mary 
delighted  and  surprized  at  the  marriage,  and  talked  with  great 
naivete  about  it.  Oh  !  I  wish  to  see  her  established  happily  and 
greatly  in  the  world.  But  I  know  perfection  would  not  satisfy 
me,  for  I  never  saw  a  man  worthy  of  such  a  high-minded,  noble 
girl.  Dined  at  Punch's,  and  met,  three  female  Bathursts,  Ly  G. 
Lennox,  H.  de  Ros,  G.  Dawson,2  Henry — very  pleasant,  but  like 
a  fool  I  left  the  dinner  at  dessert  to  go  to  the  Stanhopes'  box  at 
D.L.  to  see  the  dullest,  stupidest  thing  ever  acted — Giovanni  in 
Ireland,  and  Monsieur  Tonson.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  dullness 
of  the  play  or  the  emptiness  of  my  companions — a  whole  train 
of  Stanhopes,  who  have  nothing  but  their  good-nature  to  redeem 
them.  Le  mieux  est  Vennemi  du  bien  is  a  narrow-minded  but 
true  proverb. 

Lady  Bathurst  asked  me  to  go  to  Me  de  Lieven's  with  her  on 
Sunday  next.  I  thought  it  odd,  after  having  sent  word  to  my 
father  and  mother  that  she  did  not  dare  to  ask  them  or  dine  with 
them,  so  I  consented  conditionally  that  she  should  apprize  her 
of  my  coming,  which  she  said  she  had  !  !  !  !  ! 3 

Received  a  letter  from  Wortley  in  high  spirits. 

Sunday,  Dec.  23.  Drove  to  H.H.  with  my  Lady  and  rode 
back  late.  At  dinner  : — Mrs  Tighe,  Henry  G.,  Messrs  Rice, 
Campbell,  Adair,  Col.  Macdonald,  Dr  Holland  and  John.  Mr 
Rice,4 1  never  saw  before,  a  more  conceited,  chattering,  provoking 
little  elf  I  never  beheld.  I  longed  to  box  his  ears  the  whole  time 
and  try  to  silence  him.  His  manner  of  speaking  is  like  an  affected 
fine  lady  on  the  stage.  Campbell  has  been  my  aversion  since  I 
could  discriminate.  Henry  wrote  me  a  note  just  before  dinner 
to  tell  me  that  Me  de  Lieven  would  not  have  me  !  !  !  I  am  not 

1  George  James  Welbore  Ellis  (1797-1833),  eldest  son  of  Henry  Welbore, 
second  Viscount  Clifden.     He  was  created  Lord  Dover  in  1831. 

2  George  Dawson,  of  Castledawson,  Member  for  Londonderry. 

3  Princess  Lieven  had  broken  off  her  friendly  relations  with  the  Hollands, 
after  a  reference  to  the  Czar  in  a  speech  of  Holland's  in  the  previous  July, 
which  she  considered   personal  and  insulting. 

4  Thomas  Spring-Rice  (1790-1866),  created  Lord  Monteagle  in  1839. 


i82i  95 

surprized,  but  sorry  for  one  reason.  Ly  B.  wants  to  see  me  to 
explain,  and  is  annoyed  at  it.  No  explanation  can  make  me 
believe  that  what  she  told  me  yesterday  was  true.  They  were 
all  in  alarm  I  should  tell  my  Lady  or  rather  Lady  Jersey.  Poor 
Lady  J.  !  She  is  always  held  up  in  terror  em  as  a  sort  of  scourge. 
Henry  was  bored  to  death,  as  well  he  might  be.  The  dullest 
party  we  have  had  since  I  came  to  town.  Sir  B.  Bloomfield  and 
Sir  M.  Tierney  are  disgraced,  and  Ld  F.  Conyngham  is,  it  is  said, 
to  have  the  former's  place.  In  the  evening  came  Ld  and  Ly 
Normanby,1  Miss  Fox,  Miss  Vernon,  G.  Lamb,  Ld  Albemarle,  and 
the  hideous  Ly  Mary  Keppel,  to  whom  I  made  a  vow  I  would  not 
talk  and  kept  it,  though  both  my  aunts  and  my  Lady  tried  all 
to  prevent  my  silence.  The  stage  and  acting  was  discussed.  Miss 
O'Neill2  of  course  talked  of.  Ld  Normanby  grew  quite  warm 
and  red,  when  George  Lamb  with  his  usual  coarseness  attacked 
her  beauty  and  her  acting.  Ly  N.  seemed  annoyed,  and  twice 
tried  in  vain  to  turn  the  conversation.  We  had  it  all — her  face, 
figure,  hair,  character,  marriage,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.  Luttrell  in  the 
latter  end  of  the  evening  from  Madame  de  Lieven's. 

Monday,  Dec.  24.  Received  the  class  paper  from  Oxford. 
Poor  Wortley  !  only  one  class.  Exactly  the  same  fate  as  that 
fool  Charles  Ross  and  that  mass  of  dullness  Harrington.  Passed 
most  of  the  morning  with  Henry.  Called  on  the  Bathursts. 
Ly  Georgiana  Lennox  looked  pretty  and  was  very  well  dressed. 
Ly  B.  herself  has  grown  deaf,  and  it  is  distressing  to  see  such  a 
sudden  alteration.  Nothing  can  be  kinder  than  all  are  to  me. 
Not  a  word  about  the  Lieven  party.  A  white  fib  is  always  best 
passed  over  in  silence. 

Friday,  Dec.  28.  Dined  at  Punch's  ;  met  Ld,  Ladies  G.  and  E. 
Bathurst,  Ly  B.,  Ly  G.  Lennox,  G.  Dawson,  G.  Anson,  H.  de  Ros, 
Alvanley,  Henry,  and  the  host.  Alvanley 3  by  several  complicated 
arrangements  with  his  uncle  has  at  last  brought  his  affairs  into  a 

1  Constant ine  Henry,  Viscount  Normanby  (1797-1863),  who  succeeded 
his  father  as  second  Earl  of  Mulgrave  in  1831,  and  was  created  Marquess 
of  Normanby  in  1838.  He  married,  in  1818,  Maria,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Henry,  first  Lord  Ravensworth.  She  died  in  1882. 

*  Eliza  O'Neill  (1791-1872),  the  celebrated  actress,  who  married 
William  Becher  in  1819  (see  ante,  p.  66).  She  retired  from  the  stage  after 
her  marriage. 

3  William,  second  Baron  Alvanley  (1789-1849). 


96  The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

prosperous  condition.  He  is  in  the  highest  spirits,  and  is  con- 
sidered more  than  ever  agreable,  in  greater  favor  than  ever  with 
Ldfl  Foley  and  Worcester,  whose  fortunes  he  has  entirely  destroyed 
and  whose  days  he  has  embittered  ;  but  if  people  like  to  be 
ruined  and  made  miserable,  it  is  their  own  affair,  and  they  may 
take  which  way  they  like  best. 

Ld  B.  told  a  very  good  story  of  Mr  Fox.  When  Ld  Auckland 
(then  Mr  Eden)  deserted  Opposition  for  a  foreign  mission  he 
thought  himself  called  upon  to  explain  to  Mr  Fox,  and  had  a  long 
interview  for  the  purpose.  At  the  end  of  it,  Mr  F.,  who  had 
never  spoken,  turned  round  and  said  good-humouredly,  "  Have 
you  seen  The  Romp  ?  "  which  at  that  time  was  in  the  height  of 
fashion.  This  was  a  propos  of  a  story  of  Me  de  Lieven  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle,  which  my  Lady  told  me  yesterday.  The  'Austrian 

found  her  in  a  room  before  many  people,  and  exclaimed, 

"  Ah  !  Vous  avez  le  nez  rouge."  "  Oui,  Monsieur,"  she  coolly 
replied,  "  je  ne  le  sais  que  trop,  mais  ce  sont  des  choses  qui  ne 
se  disent  pas."  Ly  G.  Lennox  had  a  face-ache  and  wore  a  cap  ; 
she  looked  pretty,  but  in  pain.  Henry  de  Ros l  told  me  a  great 
deal  about  old  Ogilvy,  whom  they  all  hate.  Came  home  ;  found 
the  Vice-Chan,  and  Mrs  Tighe.  My  Lord  has  got  dear  Charles's 
exchange  at  last  for  £350,  so  we  may  perhaps  have  him  back  in 
spring.  I  am  more  than  delighted. 

Saturday,  Dec.  29.  Got  a  letter  from  Wortley  not  at  all 
pleased  with  Agar  Ellis's  marriage,  as  he  has  not  a  good  opinion 
of  him.  I  went  to  see  Lydia  White.  She  is  not  devoid  of  talent, 
but  is  so  anxious  to  say  what  is  clever  that  she  sacrifices  at  every 
sentence  a  friend  or  foe  or  most  likely  both.  Like  Mrs  Candour 
her  defence  of  her  friends  is  her  chief  means  of  laying  open  all 
their  faults.  She  told  me  some  very  droll  stories  of  Lady  Davy 
before  her  marriage  to  Sir  Humphrey,2  and  the  account  of  the 
courtship.  He  proposed  ;  she  refused  ;  he  proposed  again  ;  she 
refused  again  ;  he  vowed  he  would  either  marry  her  or  leave  her 
for  ever.  He  went  to  Ireland ;  she  fell  dangerously  ill ;  his 
agitation  was  great,  he  said,  "  he  could  live  in  the  world  without 

1  Henry  William,   afterwards  twenty-second   Baron  de   Ros    (1793- 
1839),  eldest  son  of  Charlotte,  Baroness  de  Ros  and    Lord  Henry  Fitz- 
gerald.    His  grandmother,  Emily,  Duchess  of  Leinster,  married  William 
Ogilvie  after  her  first  husband's  death. 

2  See  ante,  p.  48. 


1821  97 

Mrs  Aprice,  but  could  not  after  her  death."  He  returned  to 
England  ;  she  asked  him  to  dinner.  He  answered,  "  You  know 
the  conditions."  The  invitation  was  repeated.  She  was  L7  Davy 
in  a  few  days. 

Sunday,  30  Dec.  To  my  sorrow  and  dismay  we  went  to 
Holland  House  for  change  of  air  \  \  \  Colder  than  ice,  and  we  all 
caught  violent  coughs,  colds  and  catarrhs.  The  evening  passed 
in  frigid  dullness  as  might  be  expected. 

Monday,  31  Dec.  Breakfasted  with  Mary.  Walked  a  good 
deal  in  the  grounds  with  her.  I  had  a  letter  from  Mrs  Ord  from 
Bowood.  As  little  effect  as  usual  in  her  epistolary  effusions. 
The  whole  subject  of  the  country  are  the  floods  in  every  direction, 
which  seem  terrible  and  are  great  food  for  the  newspapers.  Rode 
to  town.  Saw  Henry,  who  goes  tomorrow' ;  it  will  make  town 
very  dull  to  me.  He  wanted  me  to  stay  and  dine  with  the 
Bathursts,  which  like  a  fool  I  did  not.  Lady  Jersey  fainted 
away  at  a  ball  of  Ly  Charlemont's.  Rode  a  little  with  Dundas  in 
the  park.  Came  home  to  H.H.  Tonight  is  the  last  day  of  our 
endurance  vile  here.  I  shall  be  delighted  to  return  to  old  smoky  ; 
ruralties  and  frost  don't  agree.  In  all  weathers  the  country  is 
an  infliction,  but  in  winter,  oh  !  Four  selves  at  dinner.  After- 
wards read  Mde  de  Sevigne'.  Report  in  the  Courier  of  the  Kg  of 
France  being  ill,  something  in  his  understanding.  Allen  anxious 
to  make  out  that  it  is  a  trick  of  the  Ultra  Ministry.  He  seems 
to  have  wandered  in  his  conversation  while  in  council. 

Here  ends  the  old  year,  which  like  all  its  predecessors  has  been 
full  of  good  and  evil,  but  the  former  has  on  the  whole  pre- 
dominated. May  its  successor  be  no  worse  ;  but  I  have  fore- 
bodings of  ill  I  do  not  like  to  think  of.  The  great  political 
events  have  been,  the  loss  of  the  Catholic  Bill,  Napoleon's  death, 
the  Queen's  death,  the  accession  of  the  Grenvilles  to  the  ministers, 
and  the  appointment  of  Ld  Wellesley.  Nothing  has  happened 
remarkable  in  the  course  of  the  year  in  my  family,  except  the 
expedition  to  Paris  and  the  legacy  of  the  snuff-box  to  my  mother. 
The  pleasure  the  latter  gave  me  is  not  to  be  told  ;  it  reflects  as 
much  credit  on  both  sides  as  they  mutually  deserve. 

"It  is  twice  blest, 
It  blesscth  him  that  gives  and  him  that  takes." 


CHAPTER  III 
1822 

Tuesday,  January  i,  1822.  There  are  great  hopes  (but  they 
are  to  be  concealed)  that  Worcester  will  be  off  from  Ly  Jane.  He 
is  very  much  in  love  with  Emily  Smith,  and  a  marriage  can  be 
contrived  by  instituting  a  suit  against  themselves,  which  may  last 
during  their  respective  lives,  and  which  is  often  done  and  winked 
at.  Her  family  (the  Argyles1)  I  suspect  are  against  it,  and  it  is 
ardently  hoped  that  it  will  be  broken  off,  which  after  all  is  the 
best  thing  for  both  parties.  I  hope  poor  Georgy  Lennox  will  not 
be  unfortunate  enough  to  be  his  wife.  Fifty  things  would  make 
Emily  Smith  much  the  best  choice. 

Jan.  2,  Wednesday.  At  dinner  : — Ld  Aberdeen,  M.  de  Souza, 
Dr  Holland,  Dundas,  G.  Beauclerk,  Sir  J.  Newport.  The  dinner 
was  not  pleasant ;  political  economy  and  bullion  were  discussed 
at  terrible  length.  Ld  A.  never  opens  his  mouth  but  to  contradict 
sarcastically  and  insolently,  and  contributes  nothing  to  society  ; 
and  yet  has  the  reputation  of  being  pleasant !  G.  Beauclerk 2  is 
forward,  vain  and  puppyish  ;  extremely  occupied  with  his  beauty 
and  proud  of  his  talents.  Dundas,3  from  his  perfect  simplicity 
and  freedom  from  affectation,  was  a  striking  contrast  and  was 
highly  approved  of  even  by  Allen  !  !  !  I  went  afterwards  to 
Savile  Row  to  see  Miss  F.  and  V.,  who  are  just  come  from  Rich- 

1  Lady  Jane  Paget's  mother,  Caroline  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  George, 
fourth  Earl  of  Jersey,  after  her  divorce  from  Lord  Anglesey  in  1810,  married 
George  William,  sixth  Duke  of  Argyll.     See  also  ante,  p.  86. 

2  George    Robert  Beauclerk  (1803-71),  third  son  of  Charles    George 
Beauclerk  and  Emily  Charlotte  Ogilvie,  daughter  of  Emily,  Duchess  of 
Leinster. 

3  Robert,  afterwards  fourth  Viscount  Dundas  (1803-86),  who  succeeded 
his  brother  in  the  title  in  1876. 

98 


1822  99 

mond.  Found  Vernon  and  Leveson  l ;  the  latter  much  improved, 
the  former  oh  ! 

Thursday,  Jan.  3.  At  dinner  : — Shuttleworth,  Vernon.  The 
unauthorized  and  unbounded  conceit  of  the  latter  is  quite 
insufferable  and  provokes  me,  who  have  real,  sincere  gratitude 
for  his  kindness  to  me  when  I  most  needed  it  two  years  ago,  but 
nothing  else  could  make  me  tolerate  him.  Leveson  and  the 
Ladies  in  the  evening.  He  is  grown  quite  placid  and  amiable, 
and  I  feel  I  have  done  him  great  injustice  in  seeing  only  his  faults. 

Saturday,  Jan.  5.  At  dinner  : — Ld  Gwydyr,  Ld  A.  Hamilton, 
Ld  F.  L.  Gower,  Brougham,  Wm  Rose,  J.  Jekyll,  L.  Smith.  A 
great  mixture,  and  not  a  very  pleasant  party.  Gower 2  was 
pleasant  and  liked.  He  is  the  same  he  used  to  be,  but  not  so 
handsome.  Wm  Rose 3  was  very  pleasant  indeed.  He  has  a  great 
deal  of  dry  humour,  but  it  is  very  uncertain,  and  one  never  is 
sure  when  he  begins  whether  he  is  not  going  to  tell  the  flattest  or 
the  drollest  story.  He  luckily  was  not  flat  nor  was  he  offensively 
indecent,  which  he  generally  takes  the  opportunity  of  being  when 
there  are  many  ladies  in  the  room. 

Sunday,  Jan.  6.  Got  up  early  and  went  to  breakfast  with 
friends  of  Shuttleworth's,  a  Mr  and  Mrs  Williams  ;  he  is  a  New 
College  man  and  reckoned  a  wit.  I  can't  say  more  against  him ; 
no  infliction  can  be  greater  than  one  of  their  wits.  I  went 
afterwards  with  Shut,  to  Bloomsbury  Chapel  to  hear  the  famous 
Mr  Dan.  Wilson.4  It  was  all  bombast  repetition.  Good  works 
he  held  very  cheap,  and  gave  about,  fifty  descriptions  of  the  New 
Zion,  exactly  with  the  same  thoughts  but  differently  expressed 
each  time  ;  and  that,  with  a  few  theatrical  attitudes  and  varia- 
tions of  voice  learnt  of  Kean,  was  the  amount  of  his  whole  sermon. 
Upon  the  whole  it  was  trash,  and  not  worth  undergoing  that  most 
tedious  morning  service  to  hear. 

14  Jan.     Mary  was  brought  mysteriously  to  town  and  went 

1  Leveson  Smith,  "  Bobus  "  Smith's  youngest  son,  who  died  in  1827. 

2  Lord  Francis  Leveson-Gower  (1800-57),  created  Earl  of  Ellesmere  in 
1846,  second  son  of  George  Granville,  second  Marquess  of  Stafford  and  first 
Duke  of  Sutherland. 

3  William  Stewart  Rose  (1775-1843),  son  of  George  Rose.     He  was  for 
many  years  a  clerk  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  wrote  some  good  verses. 

4  Daniel  Wilson  (1778-1858),  evangelical  preacher,  afterwards  Bishop 
of  Calcutta. 


ioo         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

with  Lady  Affleck  to  the  play,  but  all  secretly  and  by  stealth  ! 
How  absurd  and  illnatured  !  Only  four  selves  at  dinner. 

15  January.  Drove  out  with  Lady  A.  and  Mary  in  the  park. 
Received  a  very  pleasant  letter  from  Wortley,  quite  affectionate. 
I  hope  he  does  like  me,  for  I  am  so  sincerely  fond  of  him  that  I 
really  deserve  it.  I  wrote  to  Miss  Fox  and  Ly  Jersey.  Lady 
Affleck  talks  so  terribly  indecently  before  poor  Mary  that  it  quite 
shocks  me  ;  and  if  she  was  not  of  the  most  pure,  delicate  mind, 
it  might  really  be  of  serious  injury  to  her.  But  she  has  such  a 
horror  of  anything  the  least  indecent  and  wrong  for  her  to  know, 
that  she  never  would  investigate  or  try  to  find  out ;  for  Lady  A. 
is  always  willing  to  give  the  most  detailed  explanations. 

Jan.  19.  Letters  from  Henry  and  Miss  Fox.  Ld  Albemarle 
is  going  to  marry  Miss  Charlotte  Hunloke ;  and  Fazakerley l  has 
written  to  my  Lady  from  Nice  to  announce  his  marriage  to  one 
of  Miss  Montagus — neither  of  them  good  matches  in  any  way. 
Faz.'s  is  not  to  be  for  seven  months ;  he  comes  in  March  to 
England.  Went  with  the  Tierneys  to  the  Opera  ;  always  the 
same.  The  Spanish  protegee  of  Ld  Fife  made  her  debut :  very 
pretty  and  dances  well.  I  was  chiefly  with  the  Bathursts. 
Ly  G.  L.  looked  very  pretty  indeed  in  a  turban.  Ly  Heathcote 
opposite  in  pink ;  such  a  sight !  Came  home  and  sat  up  with 
my  Lord  till  late.  I  rode  to  Hd  H86  in  the  morning,  and  had  new 
proofs  of  dearest  Mary's  warm  heart  and  strong  sense  of  justice. 
Dear,  dear  girl !  How  I  love  her  ! 

Jan.  21.  Went  with  R.  Dundas  to  Oxford.  Stopped  to  see 
Mary,  and  got  to  the  hated  place  at  a  little  after  five. 

Sunday,  Jan.  27.  Letters  from  Miss  Fox  and  my  Lady. 
Ld  Stowell  dined  in  Burlington  Street  the  other  day  and  was 
pleasant.  He  talked  of  the  ladies'  statue  to  commemorate  the 
victory  of  the  Allies  over  France.2  A  difficulty  had  arisen,  and 
the  artists  had  submitted  to  the  female  subscribers  whether  this 
immense  colossal  figure  should  preserve  its  antique  nudity  or  be 

1  John  Nicholas  Fazakerley,   who  was  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Commons,   1812-37. 

2  The  Achilles  statue  in  Hyde  Park,  which  was  put  up  in  honour  of 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  by  the  ladies  at  a  cost  of  £10,000.     It  was  cast 
from  cannon  taken  from  the  French,  and  was  the  work  of  Westmacott. 

[Sir  William  Scott  (see  ante,  p.  28)  had  recently  been  created  Lord 
Stowell.] 


l822  101 

garnished  with  a  fig-leaf.  It  was  carried  for  the  leaf  by  a  majority  ; 
the  names  of  the  minority  have  not  transpired. 

The  dullness  of  Oxford  soon  stopped  this  journal ;  nothing 
happened  worth  relating.  We  had  two  concerts.  The  second  was 
pleasant,  though  disgraced  by  the  inebriety  of  Newborough  and 
Granby  Calcraft.  On  Monday,  Feb.  i8th,  we  acted  The  Orphan 
in  Muir's  room,  before  an  audience  of  55.  I  was  Monimia  in  a 
black  velvet  gown,  George  Howard  Poly  dor  e,  E.  Vernon  Acasto, 
L.  Peel  Castalio,  G.  Calcraft  Chamant.  I  acted  less  ill  than  I 
expected  and  met  with  great  applause.  Next  day  I  was  extremely 
shocked  to  hear  of  poor  Henry  Somerset's  death  at  Heythrop.  A 
neglected  cold  that  ended  in  a  brain-fever  was  the  cause  of  it.  On 
Wednesday  night  Henry  and  I  determined  to  go  to  town  next 
day,  and  off  we  set  next  morning. 

Feb.  21.  Went  to  town  with  Henry.  Arrived  at  a  little 
before  seven  ;  found  my  Lady  just  dressed  and  dinner  ready- 
most  auspicious  moment.  Afterwards  to  Drury  Lane  to  see 
Kean's  Richard  II,  a  dull  play  ;  but  he  acted  admirably.  The 
talk  of  the  town  is  Mr  Coke's  marriage  to  Lady  Ann  Keppel, 
which  takes  place  on  Monday.1  Forty-nine  years  between  their 
ages,  just  her  father's  age  ;  she  will  become  a  great-grandmother 
and  her  own  father's  aunt  on  Monday  next.  It  is  quite  revolting, 
and  nothing  but  madness  (which  I  believe  is  the  reason)  or  interest 
could  make  her  consent.  They  say  she  is  in  love,  which  is  greatly 
in  support  of  my  theory.  My  father's  joke  is  much  admired 
that  nothing  but  horses  and  Grenvilles  keep  their  prices  ;  though 
not  so  good  as  that  they  have  been  taken,  like  goods  at  the  Custom 
House,  by  weight  and  not  ad  valorem  ;  and  that  we  have  had  a 
Sheffield  and  are  now  to  have  a  Birmingham  Duke  of  Buckingham. 

Feb.  22.  Drove  to  Hd  Hse  with  my  Lady,  where  I  found  Mary 
and  Miss  Mackintosh,  the  former  in  beauty  and  spirits  and  about 
to  act  before  my  aunt  a  scene  out  of  Iphigenie  tonight.  The 
latter  is  pleasant  and  clever,  though  with  vulgar  manners ;  and 
like  her  mother,  she  is  brusque  and  not  ladylike.  Called  on 

1  Thomas  William  Coke  (1752-1842),  created  Earl  of  Leicester  in  1837. 
He  had  three  daughters  by  his  first  wife,  Jane  Button,  sister  of  the  first 
Lord  Sherborne.  She  died  in  1800.  Four  sons  and  a  daughter  were 
born  of  his  second  marriage.  Lady  Anne  was  daughter  of  William  Charles, 
fourth  Earl  of  Albemarle.  After  Lord  Leicester's  death  she  married 
Edward  Ellicc  in  1843,  but  died  eight  months  later. 


102         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Ly  Bathurst,  and  found  Ly  C.,  Miss  and  H.  Greville  there  :  Ly 
G.  Lennox  in  blue.  It  was  pleasant,  though  I  was  sorry  to  see 
Ly  B.  so  unwell.  Miss  Greville  *  is,  I  think,  quite  pretty,  save  and 
except  her  mouth  ;  her  figure  beautiful,  and  she  has  very  pretty 
manners.  Afterwards  I  went  to  17  Grey,  whom  I  found  better 
than  I  expected.  Ly  Elizabeth  delightful  and  cheerful.  She 
does  not  seem  to  have  seen  all  she  ought  at  Paris,  and  went 
only  once  to  MUe  Mars.  Tierney  and  B.  Frere  2  in  the  evening  ; 
the  former  was  very  pleasant  indeed. 

Feb.  23.  Went  to  see  Ly  Affleck,  who  was  ill ;  afterwards 
to  Mrs  Tighe,  who  is  in  tribulation  about  the  manner  old  Coutts 
is  expected  to  leave  his  money  entirely  in  Mrs  Coutts's  power.3 
Afterwards  to  Ld  Morpeth's,  where  I  saw  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom. She  looks  in  beauty,  he  thin  and  ill.  It  takes  place  on 
Tuesday  the  5th.  Went  with  my  father  to  Ly  Spencer,4  rather 
formidable  :  there  is  nobody  I  dread  so  much.  She  was  gracious 
and  clever,  full  of  her  own  jokes  that  she  had  just  made  to  Mr 
Coke  about  the  madness  of  the  season,  &c.,  &c.  Nothing  else 
is  talked  of.  She  is  noisy  and  vulgar ;  her  laugh  is  hearty  and 
not  disagreable.  Old  Sir  A.  Macdonald 5  came  in  while  we  were 
there  ;  he  is  nearly  blind.  I  called  with  Miss  Vernon  in  the 
morning  upon  Ly  Warwick  and  her  scarecrow  daughters,  who 
looked  hideous. 

I  went  to  Ly  Morley,  and  was  struck  with  Miss  Villiers' 6 
cleverness  in  a  dispute  about  vulgar  relations  with  Ld  Clanwilliam. 
Ly  G.  looked  so  pretty,  and  was  very  amiable. 

Sunday,  Feb.  24.     I  went  to  H.  H.  with  my  Lady  ;  returned 

1  Miss  Harriet  Catherine    Greville    married    Lord    Francis    Leveson- 
Gower  later  in  the  year. 

2  Bartholomew  Frere  (1778-1851),  diplomatist.     Younger  brother  of 
Hookham  Frere. 

3  Thomas  Coutts  (1735-1822),  banker,  who  married  Harriet  Mellon, 
the  celebrated  actress,  in  1815. 

4  Lavinia,  daughter  of  Charles,  first  Earl  of  Lucan,  married  George 
John,  second  Earl  Spencer,  in  1781. 

5  Sir    Archibald    Macdonald   (1747-1826),   Judge.     He    was    made    a 
baronet  in  1813. 

6  Maria  Theresa  Villiers,  daughter  of  Hon.  George  Villiers  (1759-1827) 
and  Theresa,  daughter  of  first  Lord  Boringdon,  and  sister  of  Lord  Morley. 
She  married   Henry  Thomas  Lister  in    1830  ;   and,  secondly,    in    1844, 
Sir  George  Cornewall  Lewis.     She  died   in  1865. 


l822  103 

on  my  Lord's  horse.  Walked  with  Lawrence  in  the  Park,  and 
met  the  Ladies  Bathurst,  but  not  G.  Lennox.  Old  Coutts  died 
this  morning.  His  will  is  on  half  a  sheet  of  paper  and  gives 
everything  in  the  world  to  Mrs  Coutts  without  any  sort  of  restric- 
tion. This  is  too  much.  They  call  old  Coke's  marriage,  the 
wedding  of  an  old  fool  and  a  young  knave.  John  Bull  attacks 
them  violently  to-day,  and  says  he  always  was  fond  of  hus- 
bandry. 

Feb.  25.  Went  with  my  Lady  all  over  Westminster  Abbey, 
and  was  rather  disappointed  except  in  some  of  the  tombs.  I 
had  never  been  there  before,  and  was  shocked  at  the  dirt  and 
gloominess  of  it.  Ly  Orford's  tomb,  I  think,  beautiful ;  the  grace 
of  the  statue  is  striking,  but  rather  heathenish  for  a  Xtian 
temple.  It  was  cold.  At  dinner  : — Ld  A.  Hill,  L.  Peel,  R.  Aber- 
cromby,  Luttrell.  Lawrence  was  less  formal  than  before,  and 
looked  quite  handsome.  We  went  soon  after  dinner  to  Lansdowne 
House.  The  great  room  not  opened  ;  it  was  pleasant.  I  was 
with  the  Bs.,  G.  and  Ly  Euston  all  evening;  she  looked  lovely, 
quite  transcendent.  Miss  Sparrow  not  so  ugly  as  I  had  imagined 
to  myself.  Ly  Morley  with  Miss  Villiers,  to  whom  I  introduced 
myself ;  she  seems  clever  and  agreable.  I  was  very  much 
pleased  to-night  by  one  or  two  little  things  which  tickled  my 
vanity.  How  foolish  it  is  to  let  vanity  ever  be  pleased  ;  but 
no  philosopher  can  withstand,  so  I  shall  not  try.  Wrote  to 
Henry  W.  at  Paris. 

Feb.  27.  Went  to  Miss  Fox  and  afterwards  to  Ly  Affleck, 
where  I  witnessed  a  scene  between  her  and  Miss  Vernon  about 
Mary,  whom  my  Lady  at  last  has  allowed  to  dance  at  Lansdowne 
House.  Mary  looked  very  pretty,  and  was  delighted  to  be  out 
of  the  dismal  walls  of  Hd  H8e.  Went  over  to  Holland  House, 
where  I  got  some  violets  as  an  admirable  excuse  for  going  to 
Stanhope  Street.  Nothing  could  be  more  goodnatured  than 
Ly  G.  Bathurst,  who  let  me  in  for  a  moment  as  Ly  B.  is  out  of 
town.  Dined  tete-a-tete  with  my  Lady,  who  is  become  calm 
again.  She  was  gracious  and  talked  a  great  deal  about  Mary 
and  the  subject,  upon  which  I  did  not,  however,  say  one  word, 
as  I  mean  to  have  all  in  black  and  white  on  that  head.  Ly 
Ossulstone  came  and  told  us  all  about  her  passage.  Went  then 
to  Mrs  Tighe's,  dull !  dull !  dull !  bored  to  death  by  Mrs 


104         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Herbert,  not  much  pleased  with  either  of  the  Miss  Berrys.  Ly  C. 
Wortley  there.  Home  early. 

Feb.  28.  Breakfasted  with  L.  Peel  at  his  lodgings,  and  set 
off  at  about  10,  with  a  screaming  grey  parrot,  for  Oxford.  We 
stopped  at  Windsor  and  saw  the  Castle  all  through.  I  never 
was  more  undeceived.  I  had  always  thought  it  was  handsome ; 
the  rooms  are  by  no  means  fine  and  there  is  hardly  a  picture, 
except  the  famous  one  of  The  Misers  by  the  Blacksmith  of 
Antwerp,  that  has  any  merit.  We  stopped  at  Napiers'  at  Ewelme 
to  deliver  the  parrot,  and  arrived  in  Oxford  just  in  time  for  the 
second  act  of  Campanese's  concert.  She  sang  beautifully,  but 
I  had  too  bad  a  headache  to  enjoy  anything. 

Feb.  zq-March  9.  George  went  to  town  for  Georgina  Howard's 
marriage,  which  took  place  on  the  seventh,  when  also  I  arrived 
at  the  advanced  age  of  20.  M.  Alexandre,  the  ventriloquist, 
performed  in  Ingestrie's  room  and  amused  me  very  much.  He 
is  a  gentlemanlike  man  and  is  pleasant,  though  a  liar  and  boaster. 
No  news.  F.  Seymour  is  to  marry  Ly  M.  Gordon  at  last,  and  Wm 
Lock  is  talked  of  for  one  of  the  Ladies  Beauclerk.  I  was  elected 
of  the  Travellers'  Club.  I  staid  in  most  part  of  the  time,  living 
only  with  Henry,  Bob  and  Lawrence.  I  read  Miss  Aikin's 
James  the  ist,  and  first  volume  is  very  amusing  indeed. 

From  the  loth  to  the  2ist  nothing  happened  remarkable. 
I  had  a  sharp  correspondence  with  my  Lord  about  my  leaving 
Oxford.  I  wrote  a  hot,  inconsiderate  letter,  which,  besides  being 
wrong,  was  foolish :  but  I  must  support  whatever  I  have  done. 
I  afterwards  wrote  an  affectionate  and  conciliatory,  but  not  a 
conceding,  one.  The  great  thing  is  never  to  own  oneself  wrong, 
for  that  is  a  subject  nobody  will  discredit.  I  dined  once  or  twice 
with  Shuttleworth,  and  one  day  met  Ellice  there,  who  was  very 
pleasant  indeed.  Rouge  et  noir  has  been  raging  violently. 
George  has  lost  a  good  deal.  Leveson  and  Strangways  1  won 
mints.  London  news  scanty.  Worcester  has  written  to  break 
off  his  marriage  to  Ly  Jane  Paget ;  they  take  it  in  the  dignified 
line.  Ld  Anglesea  calls  it  a  release.  Ld  Kinnoul2  proposed  to 
Ly  Louisa  Lennox,  who  refused  him  on  account  of  his  character 

1  Probably   Hon.    John   George   Charles   Fox-Strangways    (1803-59), 
youngest  son  of  Henry  Thomas,  second  Earl  of  Ilchester. 
3  Thomas  Robert,  tenth  Earl  of  Kinnoull  (1785-1866). 


l822  105 

and  age  ;  she  had  only  seen  him  as  an  Opera  acquaintance. 
Miss  Villiers  was  talking  about  the  beauty  of  Mr  and  Ly  Jane 
Peel.  Some  one  observed  that  Ly  Jane  was  the  handsomest  of 
the  two  :  "No  wonder,  for  the  proverb  says  the  peel  is  the  worst 
of  the  pear  (pair)."  When  Ly  Londonderry  embarked  for  Ireland 
and  was  rather  tipsy,  somebody  said  she  would  have  a  long 
passage.  "  No,  no,"  said  Miss  V.,  "  for  she  was  half-seas  over 
when  the  packet  sailed."  Bloomfield  has  lost  his  place  at  last, 
and  of  course  Ld  F.  Conyngham  will  ultimately  have  it. 

March  21.  After  breakfasting  with  Ingestrie,  I  went  up  to 
Collections  with  the  4th  book  of  Tacitus  ;  the  whole  set  very 
cross.  Staid  with  Lawrence,  who  leaves  Oxford  for  good,  alas  ! 
Henry  did  not  get  out  till  late,  so  we  were  not  off  till  half-past  12. 
Got  to  Burlington  Street  at  a  little  after  eight.  Found  Ld  Grey, 
John  Russell,  Sir  J.  Mackintosh,  just  finishing  dinner  ;  went 
with  them  to  Matthews,  who  was  very  amusing,  and  then  to 
Lady  Essex's  assembly  with  my  Lord.  Nothing  but  old  people. 
Had  a  few  minutes  with  Ly  G.  and  Caroline  Howard,  who  was 
in  great  good  looks.  They  are  fresh  from  the  Pavilion.  They 
liked  it.  The  King  took  Ly  G.  and  la  Marquise  out  to  dinner, 
and  shook  hands  frequently  with  them  while  it  was  going  on — 
Ly  C.  with  a  profusion  of  jewels,  and  a  peacock's  tail  in  jewels 
in  her  head.  No  news.  Sir  H.  Englefield  is  dead. 

Sunday,  March  24.  Rode  in  the  park,  and  walked  with 
Archibald  Home.  Called  on  Lydia  White,  who  is  swollen  to  a 
terrible  degree  and  talks  of  her  death  with  sangfroid  and  philo- 
sophy. She  was  clever  and  as  usual  spiteful.  My  Lady  gave 
me  a  message  to  Mrs  Ord  about  Amp  thill,  which  I  delivered. 
I  am  delighted  that  she  has  made  up  her  mind  to  go  there  for 
my  Lord's  sake,  certainly  not  for  my  own  ;  we  are  to  go  Easter 
Monday.  Dined  at  Cleveland  House.  Sat  between  Francis 
Leveson  and  Tom  Grenville.  Ly  Stafford  in  great  good  looks. 
Met  there  D88  of  Leeds,  Baron  Fagel,  Mr  and  Ly  C.  Wynne, 
Newborough,  P.  Knight,  Ld  Gower,  Mrs  Leigh  (Ld  Byron's  sister). 
Tom  G.  told  the  story  of  H.  Eliot  saying,  "  If  he  was  to  shut  his 
eyes  and  open  his  ears  he  should  believe  this  country  was  quite 
ruined.  If,  on  the  contrary,  he  opened  his  eyes  and  shut  his  ears, 
he  should  think  it  the  most  prosperous  one  in  the  world."  Francis 
Leveson  was  very  pleasant  and  conversible,  nor  di  he  shew  any 


io6         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

of  his  faults.  He  seemed  quite  amiable.  Returned  home  to  a 
dull  party.  Ly  Albemarle  came,  whom  I  never  saw  before, 
Lawrence  and  Home.  My  Lady  shewed  the  box  to  the  former — 
a  great  mark  of  favor. 

Tuesday,  March  26.  Called  on  Lady  Jersey,  who  told  me 
volumes  of  French  news.  I  dined  at  Payne  Knight's,  and  met 
there  Ld  Aberdeen,  Ld  Morpeth,  Mr  Wm  Bankes,  Mr  Combe, 
Cimetelli.  Something  was  talked  of  as  a  recent  invention  by 
Knight,  "  quite  latterly,  quite  modern."  "  When  about  ?  " 
asked  somebody.  "  Oh  !  lately,  since  Crcesus ;  Homer  knew 
nothing  of  it,"  answered  the  Pagan.  Afterwards  Wm  Bankes  x 
was  pleasant ;  his  voice  is  tiresome.  He  seems  full  of  knowledge 
of  all  sorts. 

March  27.  Rode  with  Dundas  in  the  park.  Late  with  Mary 
in  Hertford  Street.  Dined  with  the  Ords.  Met,  Ld  Harley, 
Lydia  White,  Allen,  R.  Abercromby.  With  Lydia  I  went  to 
Mrs  Tighe's,  where  there  was,  as  usual,  a  blue  party.  I  was 
introduced  to  Miss  Edgeworth,  who  is  collecting  materials  for 
some  new  novel  among  the  gaieties  of  London.  Ly  Sophia 
Fitzgerald  took  me  to  Almack's,  which  was  looking  beautiful  and 
there  was  a  very  pretty  ball.  D8S  of  Richmond  and  Ly  Louisa, 
who  is  very  pleasing.  Miss  Canning's  voice  is  very  bad  and 
spoils  her  agreableness.  Lucy  Lock  flirted  all  night  with  Upton  ; 
Lucy  Fitzgerald  told  me  something  else,  however,  is  in  the  wind. 
Ld  Anglesea  in  going  out  fell  down,  and  Ly  Jane  Paget  screamed 
violently,  which  alarmed  the  room.  Ly  G.  Morpeth  took  me 
home. 

Thursday,  March  28.  Called  on  the  D8S  of  R.,  and  staid 
nearly  two  hours  with  her  and  G.L.,  whose  manner  in  one  respect 
did  not  please  me,  and  I  am  sorry  to  say  verified  what  I  had  heard. 
She  has  had  letters  from  the  Bathursts  from  Brighton,  in  raptures 
with  all  there.  Her  mother's  soreness  about  Ly  Conyngham  is 
great  fun.  She  is  frantic  about  it.  Poor  Lady  Jersey  does  talk 
and  write  most  foolishly  about  the  Buckingham  Dukedom,  and  is 
laughed  at  for  it  by  her  enemies  most  justly.  I  hate  her  to  do 
what  is  ridiculous,  as  there  is  no  fine  lady  I  love  so  much.  The 
D.  of  Buck,  has  given  up  his  second  course  from  economy  and 

1  William  John  Bankes,  the  traveller,  who  died  in  1855.  He  sat  for 
many  years  in  the  House  of  Commons. 


l822  107 

as  an  example,  which  is,  the  wise  ones  say,  the  most  foolish  thing, 
and  defeats  his  very  object.  I  afterwards  called  on  Mrs  Herbert, 
who  was  duller  than  usual :  and  then  walked  with  George  in  the 
park,  where  we  met  Harriet  Howard,1  who  is  very  much  admired 
for  her  age  and  will  be  a  remarkable  girl.  We  moved  tutti  quanti 
to  Holland  House  for  good.  Only  our  four  selves  to  dinner,  and 
in  bed  by  12.  Ld  Rancliffe  2  heard  so  much  from  his  servants, 
that  he  set  four  police  officers  to  watch  his  wife.  They  traced  her 
to  a  house  in  Rue  de  la  Pepiniere  and  told  him.  A  scene  ensued, 
and  after  she  had  begged  for  a  provision  of  £500  a  year,  he  sent 
her  to  her  mother's,  and  is  coming  over  to  England  and  means 
to  divorce  her.  Nobody  pities  her. 

Friday,  March  29.  I  begun  reading  with  my  Lord  Adam 
Smith's  Theory  of  Moral  Sentiments,  which  seems  an  admirable 
and  even  an  amusing  book.  Mr  Canning  called  on  my  Lord 
to  announce  his  intention  of  a  motion  about  the  Catholic  Peers, 
which  he  means  to  give  notice  of  to-night.3  The  other  side  are 
not  pleased  ;  nor  has  it,  I  think,  a  good  appearance,  coming 
directly  after  his  Indian  appointment.  However  it  will  be  rather 
a  fine  finale  if  he  succeeds  in  his  attempt,  and  gives  him  an 
opportunity  for  great  display. 

I  rode  to  Ly  G.  Morpeth,  where  I  found  Francis  Leveson, 
remarkably  pleasant  and  full  of  mimicry  and  wit  about  Matthews. 
The  only  news  seems  to  be  a  duel  that  has  taken  place  in  Fif  eshire 
between  Sir  A.  Boswell  (the  biographer's  son)  and  a  Mr  Stewart,4 
about  a  vile  paper  called  The  Beacon.  The  former  was  killed, 
and  Mr  S.  has  passed  through  town  on  his  way  to  Calais.  Ld 

1  Afterwards  second  Duchess  of  Sutherland. 

2  George   Augustus,    second   and   last   Baron    Rancliffe    (1785-1850), 
married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  George,  sixth  Earl  of  Granard. 

3  To  ask  for  leave  to  bring  in  a  Bill  to  admit  Roman  Catholic  peers 
to  the  rights  of  sitting  and  voting  in  the  House  of  Lords. 

4  James  Stuart  (1775-1849),  Writer  to  the  Signet,  a  keen  Whig  politician. 
He  was  assailed  by  two  Scotch  papers,  the  Beacon  and  the  Glasgow  Sentinel, 
in  articles  which  reflected  on  his  family  and  on  his  personal  courage. 
Having  traced  the  articles  to  Sir  Alexander  Boswell,  Stuart  called  him 
out.     Sir  Alexander  fell  in  the  duel.     Stuart  was  tried  for  murder,  and  the 
prosecution  alleged  a  premeditated  scheme  of  forcing  the  deceased  to 
mortal  combat.     Lord  Rosslyn  and  Mr  Douglas  were  respectively  seconds 
for  Stuart  and  Boswell.     The  Jury  acquitted  the  prisoner  without  leaving 
the  box. 


io8         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Rosslyn  will  be  obliged  to  fly,  they  say,  as  he  was  Mr  S.'s  second, 
and  Ly  Janet l  will  have  to  play  Antigone.  I  called  with  George 
on  Ly  Spencer,  where  I  got  in  the  wrong  box  about  this  duel, 
which  I  called  shocking.  She  is  furious,  and  wants  to  be  attacked 
in  John  Bull  that  she  may  send  Jackson  and  the  famous  boxers 
to  lick  the  publisher  till  he  gives  up  the  name.  Sir  A.  Boswell 
one  can  hardly  pity,  as  he  is  both  a  libeller  and  a  coward.  The 
libel  was  in  his  own  hand,  and  he  declined  the  duel. 

Canning  did  give  notice,  and  Plunkett 2  made  a  very  bad 
figure  and  lost  more  credit  with  the  House  than  any  one  ever  did 
in  so  short  a  time.  Nobody  cheered,  nobody  supported  him. 
If  he  had  even  been  taken  unawares  there  would  have  been  more 
excuse,  but  he  had  had  notice  of  it  from  Canning  and  plenty  of 
time  to  prepare.  Canning  does  not  seem  elated  with  the  prospects 
of  India,  where  he  means  to  take  his  wife  and  daughter  after 
having  had  many  doubts  and  consultations. 

Saturday,  March  30.  Rode  to  town,  and  spent  the  day 
chiefly  with  Ly  Affleck,  Ly  Jersey  and  Mrs  Ord.  Ly  Jersey  had 
of  course  her  leve*e,  but  was  in  spirits  and  very  delightful.  I 
dined  at  the  Abercrombys,  and  met  there  Ld  and  Ly  King,  Mr  and 
Ly  S.  Macdonald,  Mrs  Lamb,  Calcraft,  Fazakerley,  John  Russell. 
It  was  not  pleasant :  much  too  political  for  me.  Plunkett's 
conduct  discussed  at  length  and  generally  condemned.  The  only 
person  he  is  said  to  have  consulted  was  Ld  Londonderry  about 
the  Catholicks,  which  they  say  was  like  a  dentist  consulting  his 
patient  when  the  tooth  should  be  drawn.  Of  course  the  answer 
was  to  defer  it.  I  went  to  the  Opera  with  John,  and  as  I  went 
late  had  only  time  to  go  to  Ly  Jersey,  the  Greys,  Grevilles  and 
Lennoxes.  The  ballet  was  Cendrillon.  Me  R.  Vestris  debuted. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  green-eyed  monster,  it  would  have  been 
a  pleasant  Opera  ;  but  I  was  annoyed  and  angry,  so  much  so 
as  not  to  go  to  the  door  as  usual,  but  left  them  in  the  lobby.  I 
was  very  foolish  and  angry  with  myself.  Worcester's  letters  to 
Ly  Jane  are  the  most  amatory  ever  seen.  He  tells  her  not  to 

1  Lady  Janet  St  Clair  Erskine,  only  daughter  of  James  St  Clair  Erskine, 
second  Earl  of  Rosslyn  (1762-1837). 

2  William  Conyngham  Plunket   (1764-1854),  created  Baron  Plunket 
and  Chief  Justice  of  the  Irish  Common  Pleas  in  1827  :  an  ardent  supporter 
of  the  Catholic  claims. 


l822  109 

mind  his  apparent  coldness,  that  he  loves  her  and  her  only  ;  and 
that  he  only  lives  for  her,  to  whom  he  is  devoted.  All  this  he 
ends  by  signing  himself  her  affectionate  husband.  I  am  very  sorry 
he  has  committed  himself  so  foolishly.  My  Lord  and  my  Lady 
had  been  to  Co  vent  Garden.  I  staid  with  them  till  late.  M.  S* 
Aulaire  is  dead  at  Paris  ;  he  was  a  clever  and  an  amiable  man.1 

Sunday,  March  31.  Rode  to  town,  and  walked  about  with 
George  till  I  dressed  at  Ly  Affleck's.  Then  to  dinner  at  Lydia 
White's,  where  I  met  three  Miss  Edgeworths,  Mr  and  Mrs  Ord, 
Milman,  Dr  Holland,  Sir  H.  Davy,  Mr  Moore.  I  sat  next  to 
the  Miss  Edgeworth.  She  was  pleasant,  though  rather  prtcieuse 
and  interrupting  any  conversation  she  hears  going  on  to  find  out 
what  it  is  about.  She  has  the  manner  of  a  clever,  inquisitive 
person  who  wants  to  acquire  all  the  knowledge  and  all  the  facts 
she  can.  They  pass  their  days  in  sight-seeing  and  their  evenings 
in  every  society  they  can  get  to.  She  carries  her  want  of  affecta- 
tion to  the  point  of  becoming  affected.  She  had  been  to  the 
Foundling  Hospital  to  hear  the  children,  and  told  rather  a  good 
bull  of  an  Irish  lady  who  said,  "  Oh  !  what  a  pity  !  Here  am  I 
getting  older  and  older  every  day  !  Now  I  went  to  the  F.  Hospital, 
and  there  the  children  were  singing  away  just  as  young  as  they 
were  20  years  ago." 

After  dinner  we  found  Mrs  Siddons  in  the  drawing-room. 
She  talked  most  openly  and  sometimes,  to  my  surprize,  quite 
wittily  about  the  stage  and  her  own  feelings.  She  gave  an 
account  of  the  first  time  she  had  acted  Lady  Macbeth — for  a 
fortnight  she  had  thought  of  nothing  else,  she  had  hardly  slept, 
and  had  studied  her  part  with  the  greatest  diligence.  The 
evening  came,  she  was  dressing,  and  she  heard  a  tap  at  her  door 
and  an  entreaty  to  be  admitted.  It  was  Sheridan.  She  refused 
for  some  time ;  but  he  was  so  importunate  she  was  forced  to 
admit  him.  He  came  to  beg  that  she  would  not  think  of  putting 
the  candle  on  the  table  in  the  last  scene.  She  said  she  must ; 
he  expostulated,  and  told  her  it  would  damn  her  for  ever.  She 
said  it  was  too  late,  and  would  not  alter  her  intentions.  Burke 
and  Sir  Joshua  were  in  the  house  and  had  betted  about  it.  She 
did  it,  and  the  success  was  wonderful ;  it  had  never  been  done 

1  Joseph,  Comte  de  St  Aulaire  (1743-1822),  French  general  and 
emigre. 


no         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

before.  Mrs  Pritchard  had  always  kept  it  in  her  hand.  Sheridan 
came  after  the  play  and  thanked  her.  She  said,  with  great 
feeling,  that  it  was  a  melancholy  thought  for  her  that  poets, 
sculptors,  painters,  &c.,  &c.,  could  all  leave  a  monument  behind 
them  to  posterity  to  judge  of  their  merits,  but  to  her  it  was 
impossible.  Her  fame  might  survive,  but  how  justly  it  was 
acquired  could  never  be  known.  She  talked  with  affection  of  the 
stage,  and  said  she  could  not  see  a  play  now  without  feeling  a 
pang  to  see  how  all  was  fallen.  She  said  Constance  was  one  of 
the  parts  she  found  most  difficult ;  because  all  that  roused  her, 
all  her  misfortunes,  happened  behind  the  scenes,  and  she  had  not 
the  opportunity  to  show  the  gradual  rise  of  them,  but  had  to 
come  on  with  all  her  fury  and  agitation  already  roused.  She 
says  she  often  has  sat  with  the  door  of  the  dressing-room  open, 
to  hear  the  play  and  keep  her  mind  fixed  upon  it  with  deeper 
attention.  She  says  nobody  was  an  honester  actress  than  herself, 
because  even  though  she  hated  the  play  she  always  acted  her 
best  and  did  as  much  justice  as  she  could.  The  character  of 
Hamlet  was  discussed.  She  gave  her  notion  of  his  pretended 
madness  at  length  becoming  real,  and  supported  it  by  saying 
that  she  herself,  especially  in  Isabella,  had  become  quite  strange 
from  acting  madness,  and  had  no  doubt  that  if  long  continued 
would  produce  positive  insanity.  She  seems  to  know  every  line 
of  Shakespeare  by  heart,  and  enters  into  the  spirit  of  it  wonder- 
fully. All  her  parts  used  to  affect  her,  and  Jane  de  Montford 
quite  overcame  her  and  agitated  the  audience  too  much.  In 
talking  of  the  stage  and  plays  she  very  often  recited  a  few  lines 
with  great  energy  and  made  me  remember  her  glorious  days. 
From  Jane  Shore  she  repeated  two  speeches  from  the  great  scene, 
which  used  to  be  spoiled  by  the  coming  in  of  second  price,1  for 
it  is  in  the  first  scene  of  the  fourth  act. 

April  i.  Staid  at  home  all  morning  with  my  Lady,  who  was 
ill  and  only  just  got  up  in  time  to  dress  for  Charles  Ellis's  dinner, 
where  we  met  Ld  and  Ly  G.  Morpeth,  Caroline  Howard,  John 
Wortley,  Canning,  besides  the  two  sons  ;  the  latter  2  is  a  bore. 
I  sat  next  to  him,  with  Canning  on  the  other  side,  who  was  very 

1  Those  who  came  in  at  half-price  in  the  middle  of  the  play. 

2  Charles  Ellis's  youngest  son,  Augustus  Frederick  (1800-41)  joined  the 
6oth,  and  was  for  a  time  Member  of  Parliament. 


l822  III 

agreable  indeed.  After  dinner,  while  standing  by  the  fire,  a 
sudden  giddiness  came  over  me  and  I  almost  fainted,  but  was 
taken  out  of  the  room  and  most  tenderly  watched  by  dear  Wortley, 
who  was  as  kind  as  possible.  I  went  home  with  Allen,  and  was 
soon  better.  It  was  caused,  I  think,  by  eating  mushrooms  or 
something  that  disagreed  with  me. 

Saturday,  April  6.  Old  Knight  at  breakfast  was  pleasant, 
though  beastly.  Mrs  Windham  *  is  dead  at  Florence.  We  went 
to  Cassiobury,  where  I  was  so  oppressed  by  a  violent  cold  that 
I  did  not  go  to  dinner.  To  my  Lord's  great  surprize,  Sir  John 
Newport,2  who  was  there,  took  him  aside  and  made  a  formal 
proposal  for  my  aunt's3  hand,  of  which  my  Lord  of  course  in- 
stantly wrote  her  word.  Of  her  answer,  I  have  no  doubt. 

April  9.  The  Ords  and  John  Calcraft  came.  George  came 
on  the  following  Friday.  The  weather  was  bad  most  part  of  the 
time.  Received  several  letters  from  Henry  and  my  aunt.  No 
news.  D88  of  Clarence  miscarried  of  twin  boys.  My  aunt's  answer 
was  as  I  expected,  and  was  admirably  written  with  good  taste 
and  excellent  feeling.  We  played  at  whist  two  evenings,  and  the 
others  were  passed  in  playing  with  the  kitten,  country  diversions ! ! 

Monday,  15.  Woburn.  Arbuthnots,  Ords  and  Faz.  went.  Mrs 
A.4  is  the  most  indefatigable  questioner  I  ever  saw ;  she  asked 
me  sixteen  running.  In  the  evening  we  had  tableaux  :  the  chil- 
dren first  and  then  the  D88,  Ly  Morley  and  Eliza  Russell.  The 
D88  artfully  prevented  Miss  Villiers,  whom  she  hates.  I  was 
a  spectre  with  little  Ld  Boringdon.  I  have  been  reading  Ly 
Charlotte  Berry's  5  novel  called  Conduct  is  Fate  ;  some  is  interest- 
ing and  some  thoughts  pretty,  but  on  the  whole  it  is  bad  and 
commonplace,  but  not  so  much  so  as  the  world  choose  to  say. 

1  Frances  Mary  Harford,  natural  daughter  of  Frederick,  Lord  Balti- 
more, who  married  Hon.  William  Frederick  Wyndham  in  1784.     She  was 
for  many  years  an  intimate  friend  of  Lady  Holland,  and  kept  up  a  constant 
correspondence  with  her  and  Lord  Holland. 

2  Sir  John  Newport  (1756-1843),  banker,  and  M.P.  for  Waterford,  1803- 
32.     He  was  created  a  baronet  in  1789. 

3  Miss  Fox. 

4  Harriet,  daughter  of  Hon.  Henry  Fane,  married  Charles  Arbuthnot 
(1767-1850).     She  died  in  1834.     Both  she  and  her  husband  were  intimate 
friends  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington. 

5  Lady  Charlotte  Bury   (1775-1861),  author  of  a  Diary  of  the  Times  of 
George  IV. 


112         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

17  April.  Left  Woburn  ;  George  with  us.  My  Lady  waited 
at  Hemel  Hempstead  nearly  half  an  hour  for  a  thunderstorm 
which  never  came.  The  road  was  wretched,  the  day  worse. 
When  we  stopped  to  leave  George  in  Park  Street,  I,  to  my  Lady's 
great  surprize  and  indignation,  went  to  dine  with  U  Affleck  and 
then  to  Almack's,  which  was  full  but  not  very  gay.  Lennoxes 
(not  G.)  there,  Locks,  Mrs  Herbert,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 

Sunday,  21  April.  Rode  with  Lawrence  in  several  heavy 
showers.  At  dinner  : — Cowpers,  H.  Greville,  Bingham,  Ld  Gower, 
Ld  Clanwilliam,  Ld  Lauderdale,  Morpeths,  Miss  Howard,  George, 
and  Moore.  The  last  five  slept.  The  evening  was  agreable. 
Caroline1  is  a  very  pleasing  and  well-mannered  girl,  and  it  is 
quite  impossible  to  see  much  of  her  and  not  like  her.  Mary  looked 
very  well,  and  was  permitted  to  stay  up  till  late.  Bingham's 
voice  is  terribly  against  him,  nor  is  what  he  says  at  all  good  or 
amusing.  Henry  looked  very  ill.  My  Lady  grows  to  like  him 
very  much,  and  I  should  not  be  surprized  if  he  ended  by  being 
an  actual  favorite. 

My  Lord  has  given  the  statue  of  Bacchus  that  was  at  Ampthill 
to  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  with  the  following  verses.  The  Latin 
are  good  : — 

"  Saepe  tua  niniium  quern  sum  veneratus  in  aula 
Ecce  Deus,  nostrae  pignus  amicitiae." 

"The  honest  God  of  wine  and  joy, 
Who  rules  o'er  Woburn  cheer, 
Whom  I,  perhaps  too  long  a  boy, 
Invoked  so  often  here ; 
To  thank  you  for  your  bright  champagne 
I  now  in  person  send, 
Hoping  he  may  for  aie  remain 
The  offering  of  a  friend." 

22  April.  Rode  to  town,  and  only  called  on  Miss  Fox  and 
Ly  Affleck.  Henry  I  met  in  the  park,  who  told  me  that  a  droll 
scene  took  place  at  Me  de  Lieven's  about  Francis  Leveson. 
Ly  Stafford  z  was  there  and  watched  him  like  a  cat.  When 
he  saw  her,  he  did  not  speak  a  word  to  Miss  Greville ;  but  the 

1  Hon.  Caroline  Georgina  Howard,  eldest  daughter  of  the  Morpeths. 
She  married  Rt.  Hon.  William  Lascelles  in  1823. 

2  Elizabeth,   Countess  of  Sutherland  in  her  own  right   (1765-1839), 
Francis  Leveson's  mother.     She  had  married,  in  1785,  George  Granville, 
Earl  Gower  (1758-1833)^110  succeeded  his  father  in  1803  as  second  Marquess 
of  Stafford,  and  was  created  Duke  of  Sutherland  in  the  year  of  his  death. 


l822  113 

moment  she  was  gone  he  begun  in  the  most  marked  way.  She 
does  not  like  him  much,  and  carries  to  a  fault  the  fear  of  being 
supposed  to  encourage  any  great  match. 

23d  April.  Mackintosh,  who  arrived  late  after  last  night's 
debate,  gave  an  account  of  Plunkett's  speech,  which  seems  to 
have  been  magnificent.  He  says  he  would  rather  be  six  days 
under  the  lash  of  Brougham  or  the  ridicule  of  Canning  than  ten 
minutes  under  Plunkett's  invective.  It  was  against  a  Mr  Ellis, 
who  ventured  to  maintain  that  all  the  disturbances  in  Ireland 
were  in  consequence  of  a  Popish  plot.  I  rode  to  town,  and  went 
with  Lawrence  to  St  James's  Park  to  see  the  people  go  to  the 
birthday  Drawing-room.  Afterwards  with  Henry  to  the  Bath- 
ursts,  where  the  young  ladies  came  in  their  court  dresses  and 
looked  very  well.  Afterwards  to  Miss  Vernon,  where  I  found 
Dow.  Warwick  and  her  daughter  in  their  court  dresses,  and  also 
Mrs  and  Miss  Hall,  who  seemed  duller  than  ever.  I  dressed  at 
Lady  Affleck's,  and  dined  with  the  Ladies  Fitzpatrick,  where 
we  were  only  four.  The  carriage  came  early,  and  I  went  with 
Miss  Fox  to  the  Opera.  Pietro  I'Eremito,  altered  from  II  Mose, 
and  longer  than  the  captivity  in  Egypt  itself.  The  Opera  was 
not  over  till  past  twelve.  Paul  and  Noblet  made  their  debuts 
in  the  ballet.  "  Strange  coincidence,"  said  Ly  Morley,  "  Peter 
in  the  Opera  and  Paul  in  the  ballet."  The  house  looked  beautiful 
when  they  sang,  "  God  save  the  King,"  for  almost  every  box 
had  several  plumes.  Mrs  Ellis  looked  beautiful.  I  was  chiefly 
with  the  Bathursts  and  G.  Lx.,  who  looked  very  well  in  her  plume. 
Lawrence  introduced  me  to  Mrs  Dawson.  Returned  to  Hd 
H86,  alas  !  alas  ! 

24  April.  My  Lady  crosser  than  for  some  time  back  and 
blacker  than  thunder,  which  makes  me  regret  going  less.  George 
came  to  breakfast  and  then  we  set  off  for  Oxford.  Our  journey 
was  rapid  ;  had  I  been  in  a  hurry  we  should  have  gone  slow. 
We  arrived  much  earlier  than  was  pleasant.  The  place  looked 
more  odious  than  ever. 

Staid  at  Oxford  till  Tuesday,  30  April.  No  event  of  any  sort. 
Rouge  et  noir  every  night,  which  I  did  not  attend,  but  which 
destroyed  all  social  intercourse.  Sydney  Smith  was  at  New 
College,  and  I  dined  there  three  days  running  to  meet  him. 
He  was  delightful  and  gayer  than  ever.  No  London  news  except 

H 


H4         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Miss  Hamilton's  marriage  to  the  Due  de  Coigny  being  announced, 
and  F.  Leveson  dangling  after  Miss  Greville.  On  29,  Monday, 
there  was  a  dull  concert.  Miss  Tree,  who  sang,  "  Mary,  I  believed 
thee  true,"  beautifully,  had  only  wretched  songs  given  her  ; 
and  it  was  very  flat. 

30  April.  I  left  Oxford  with  George  and  Ashley  at  a  little 
after  seven  and  arrived  at  H.  H.  by  two,  where  I  found  every- 
thing in  confusion  from  the  approaching  debate.1  We  eat  a 
hasty  dinner,  and,  after  stopping  to  disappoint  poor  Ly  G.  Morpeth 
about  taking  her,  we  got  to  the  Hse  of  Commons.  Canning  even 
surpassed  my  expectations,  highly  raised  as  they  were,  and 
perfectly  convinced  me  of  the  justice  and  expediency  of  the 
measure.  Peel  was  followed  by  a  tedious  harangue  of  Ld  Nugent's, 
which  was  not  listened  to.  Peel's  speech  was  good  in  some  parts. 
His  manner  is  odious,  and  it  is  impossible  not  to  hate  him. 
Francis  Leveson  made  his  maiden  speech  ;  it  was  a  strange  per- 
formance, full  of  fancy  and  metaphor,  but  not  at  all  k-propos, 
nor  do  I  think  very  successful.  Canning's  reply  was  the  speech 
of  the  night  and  quite  beautiful.  I  never  was  more  delighted. 
During  the  division  I  went  up  to  the  ventilator,2  where  were  Ly 
Binning,  Ly  J.  Blackford,  Ly  Holland,  Miss  and  Mrs  Canning 
and  Lady  Surrey.  It  was  too  anxious.  The  D.  of  Norfolk  was 
in  the  greatest  agitation.  At  one  time  when  we  heard  our  enemies 
were  244  our  hopes  were  very  slight ;  nor  was  it  for  more 
than  half  an  hour  that  the  delightful  paper  was  read,  Ayes  249, 
Noes  244,  majority  5.  We  got  home  at  about  three. 

ist  of  May.  Rode  to  town,  saw  my  aunts  and  Lady  Affleck 
and  went  about  with  Lawrence.  Delighted  and  rather  surprized 
to  find  that  there  is  a  great  disposition  both  with  my  Lord 
and  my  Lady  to  let  me  leave  Christ  Church.  A  trip  to  Scot- 
land with  Allen  was  proposed,  to  which  of  course  I  eagerly  con- 
curred, as  he  goes  at  the  end  of  next  week,  and  as  it  must  put 
an  end  to  my  University  vegetation.  At  dinner  : — Ld  Aberdeen, 
Dr  Holland,  Wortley,  Ld  John  Russell,  Sydney  Smith,  Blanco, 
Sir  J.  Mackintosh,  J.  Murray.  Nothing  could  exceed  Sydney's 
wit  and  liveliness ;  he  made  Blanco  ill  from  laughing. 

2d  May.     Moore  and  Washington  Irving  came  to  breakfast. 

1  Canning's  motion.     See  ante,  p.  107. 

2  A  circular  ventilator  in  the  roof  was  then  the  only  Ladies  Gallery. 


l822  115 

The  D.  of  Bedford  afterwards  came  to  ease  my  father's  mind 
about  a  duel  he  had  this  morning  at  seven  o'clock  with  the 
D.  of  Buckingham,  about  some  foolish,  hot  phrases  at  Bedford. 
It  took  place  in  Kensington  Gardens.  They  fired  at  the  same 
moment,  Buckingham  missed  and  Bedford  fired  in  the  air.  Ld 
Lynedoch  and  Sir  W.  W.  Wynne  were  the  seconds.  I  went 
with  my  Lady  to  Buckingham  House  to  see  the  Library.1  His 
Majesty  it  is  said  means  to  sell.  There  are  very  valuable  Caxtons, 
and  a  curious  Indian  book  full  of  illuminations — quite  beautiful. 
We  went  to  call  on  the  D88  of  Bedford,  who  was  still  very  much 
flurried,  but  yet  talked  very  sensibly  and  with  great  feeling.  The 
correspondence  began  a  week  ago.  She  knew  nothing  about  it, 
nor  had  the  slightest  suspicion  that  anything  unpleasant  was 
going  on.  Last  night  they  settled  he  should  breakfast  at  Holland 
House,  so  she  was  not  surprized  at  his  going  early  out.  After 
Almack's  he  sent  for  her  and  Eliza  Russell,  under  pretence 
of  seeing  their  dresses,  kissed  them  both  and  wished  them  good- 
night. He  had  had  this  on  his  mind  so  long,  and  only  Ld  Jersey 
and  Ld  Lynedoch  were  his  confidants.  He  betrayed  no  sort  of 
uneasiness  ;  and  Ly  Morley  said  she  sat  next  him  on  Wednesday 
at  dinner  and  never  knew  him  so  full  of  conversation.  While 
the  seconds  were  measuring  the  ground  the  principals  had  a 
long  conversation,  and  the  D.  of  B-m  asked  the  other  Duke 
whether  his  Duchess  knew  anything  about  it,  at  which  people 
are  furious,  as  it  was  unfeeling.  It  certainly  was  ill-judged  and 
thoughtless. 

3d  May.  Went  to  the  private  view  of  Somerset  House, 
where  there  are  some  beautiful  pictures.2  Wilkie  and  Lawrence 
are  the  most  remarkable.  Lr  Conyngham  was  very  gracious  to 
me,  and  made  me  go  to  look  at  H.M.  bust  by  Chantrey,  which 
is  a  chef  d'ceuvre.  There  are  two  beautiful  statues  by  West- 
macott.  I  rode  home  with  Lawrence,  and  at  dinner  were,  Ld 
Rosslyn,  Ld  Lynedoch,  Blanco,  Sydney,  John  Russell.  The 
making  the  two  seconds  meet  each  other  was  rather  absurd. 

4  May.     Heard  of  the  death  of  the  eldest  Miss  Calcraft. 

1  Now  the  King's  Library  at  the  British  Museum,  presented  by  George 
IV  in  1823. 

2  The  Royal  Academy  held  their  exhibitions  at  Somerset  House  from 
1780  till  1838. 


n6         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

The  Duchess  of  Kent  and  her  two  children x  came  to  walk  in 
the  garden.  Our  future  Queen  is  a  pretty  child.  Ashley  came 
for  me  at  about  two.  We  had  a  very  pleasant  journey,  and  I 
got  from  his  conversation  a  much  better  opinion  of  his  heart 
than  I  ever  had  before.  His  understanding  is  so  warped  by  the 
most  violent  prejudices,  that  he  appears  quite  ridiculous  when- 
ever he  finds  an  opportunity  to  vent  them.  We  arrived  at 
Oxford  at  about  half-past  eight,  and  I  passed  the  two  following 
days  in  all  the  confusion  of  packing  and  departing.  I  felt  every 
now  and  then  a  pang  at  leaving  a  place  where  I  have  made  some 
of  my  best  friends,  and  where  I  have  at  times  been  very  happy. 
I  did  not  expect  to  have  regretted  it  in  the  least,  but  when  I 
saw  how  unfeignedly  sorry  both  George  and  Henry  were,  I  could 
not  help  feeling  so  for  a  few  minutes.  There  has  been  an  explana- 
tion between  F.  Leveson  and  Ly  Charlotte  Greville  ;  the  girl  is 
still  unmoved,  but  I  cannot  believe  she  will  refuse  him.  Henry 
was  in  a  great  fidget  and  came  up  to  town  with  me,  partly  for 
that,  and  partly  to  see  Verity,  as  he  is  far  from  well. 

7  May.  Left  Oxford  for  ever.  Arrived  at  H.  H.  at  dinner- 
time. Found  Sir  J.  Mackintosh,  Miss  Mackintosh,  Ords,  John 
Russell,  Ld  Gower.  Henry  Webster,  fresh  from  Paris,  having 
crossed  in  an  open  boat  from  Boulogne,  came  in  the  evening. 
The  Primate  of  Ireland  is  dead,  in  consequence  of  swallowing  a 
bottle  of  laudanum,  which  was  administered  by  mistake  by  his 
wife  who  nursed  and  loved  him  more  than  anything  else  in  the 
world.  They  say  she  will  not  survive  him  long. 

Wednesday,  8  May.  Went  with  my  Lady  to  see  Ly  G.  Morpeth 
and  the  young  branches  of  the  family.  Afterwards  to  Ly  Affleck, 
who  was  crosser  than  ever  I  saw  her.  At  dinner  : — John  Russell, 
Sir  J.  and  Miss  Mackintosh.  I  went  to  Almack's  ;  it  was  pleasant, 
though  there  was  a  great  deal  of  squabbling  about  tickets,  on 
which  subject  the  patronesses  have  taken  it  into  their  heads  to 
be  severe.  L*  Jersey  was  quite  besieged  as  I  marched  up  the 
room  with  her.  F.  Leveson  and  Miss  Greville  seem  to  be  prosper- 
ing ;  and  I  hope  it  will  do  and  that  the  young  lady  will  learn 
reason  and  behave  as  she  ought  in  duty  to  herself  and  her  family. 
Her  coolness,  not  amounting  to  aversion,  though,  is  surprizing, 

1  The  Duchess  of  Kent  had  a  daughter,  Anne  Feodorowna  Augusta 
(1807-72)  by  her  former  husband,  Emich  Charles,  Prince  of  Leiningen. 


l822  117 

and  she  says  she  does  not  wish  to  be  married  at  all,  which  is 
absurd,  for  she  cannot  expect  to  live  on  with  all  the  luxury  she 
now  has  on  her  small  fortune.  The  room  was  thin  and  it  ended 
early.  Lawrence  came  to  H.  H.  door  with  me  with  his  usual 
good-nature. 

Thursday,  May  9.  Called  on  I/  C.  Greville,  where  I  found  the 
illustrious  Francis  courting  and  apparently  not  in  vain ;  they 
seemed  delighted  with  it.  Henry  rather  better.  I  rode  with 
Bathursts  and  G.  L-x  in  the  park  till  late.  Horrid  day.  At 
dinner  only,  Sir  James  and  Miss  Mackintosh,  John  Russell.  My 
Lord  called  in  the  morning  to  be  introduced  to  the  D88  of  Kent, 
with  whom  and  with  the  child  he  was  very  much  pleased  as  she 
has  no  form  or  pomp  of  Royalty  about  her.  H.  Webster  in 
the  evening. 

On  May  14,  Henry  Fox  and  Allen  set  out  for  Scotland.  They 
stopped  to  eat  salmon  at  Berwick,  "to  gratify  Allen's  Scotch 
tastes,"  and  stayed  a  night  with  the  Lauderdales  at  Dunbar. 

Saturday,  18  May.  Edinburgh.  Sandford,  who  was  all 
civility,  got  me  lodgings  in  Princes  Street  next  his  own.  I  dined 
with  Mr  Thomson,1  and  met  only  his  family  and  Allen's  mother, 
Mrs  Cleghorn,  who  is  too  ugly  to  go  about  but  seems  a  hard- 
headed  woman.  It  was  rather  dull.  They  talk  very  broad 
Scotch,  indeed  all  the  ladies  seem  as  free-thinking  as  the  gentle- 
men. Allen  lives  with  the  Thomsons. 

19  May.  Called  on  a  variety  of  Whigs  with  Allen,  who 
engaged  me  for  the  whole  of  next  week.  I  went  with  Mr  Pillans  2 
to  hear  Chalmers, 3  who  preached  one  of  his  most  highfl own  sermons 
on  the  love  of  this  world  compared  to  the  love  of  the  next.  His 
voice  is  positively  bad,  his  Scotch  broad  and  vulgar,  and  his 
doctrines  absurd  and  sometimes  odious  ;  but  yet  it  is  impossible 
to  let  one's  attention  flag  for  one  moment,  or  not  to  feel  deeply 

1  John  Thomson  (1765-1846),  Scotch  doctor  and  surgeon,  the  author 
of  several  medical  works.     He  married  his  second  wife,  Margaret,  daughter 
of  John  Millar,  in  1806. 

2  James  Pillans  (1778-1864),  Rector  of  Edinburgh  High  School,  and 
Professor  at  Edinburgh  University,  1820-63. 

3  Thomas   Chalmers  (1780-1847),  lecturer  in  the  Scotch  Universities, 
and  largely  instrumental  in  the  formation  of  the  Free  Church. 


1 1 8         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

interested  and  occasionally  elevated  in  the  scenes  he  draws 
from  his  rich  and  luxuriant  fancy.  It  lasted  for  a  very  long 
time,  but  I  was  not  the  least  tired,  and,  high  as  my  expectations 
were  raised,  I  was  not  the  least  disappointed. 

We  (Allen,  Sandford  and  his  elder  brother)  went  to  dine  with 
Jeffrey  1  at  his  little  villa,  Craig  Crook.  We  met  the  Messre 
Cockburn,  J.  Murray,  &c.,  &c.  The  party  was  very  agreable, 
and  Jeffrey  would  be  a  remarkably  pleasant  man,  if  he  was  less 
afraid  of  speaking  Scotch  and  did  not  mince  his  words  in  such  an 
absurd  way.  His  information  is  very  great  and  his  observations 
excellent.  Mrs  Jeffrey  is  a  poor  creature  and  not  worth  crossing 
the  Atlantic  for ;  she  seems  good-natured  and  inoffensive,  but 
has  St  Vitus'  Dance  and  is  very  silly.  Sandford  sat  up  with 
me  till  very  late,  and  we  talked  about  his  review  and  his  prospects. 
He  was  very  open  and  very  agreable,  and  I  feel  I  cannot  help 
liking  him  very  much  indeed,  though  I  am  far  from  thinking  that 
he  cares  the  least  for  me.  I  wish  I  did  ! 

20  May.     Letter    from    Henry    announcing    F.    Leveson's 
marriage  to  his  sister  as  settled.     I  am  heartily  glad  for  both 
parties,  and  wish  them  all  the  happiness  they  have  good  reason 
to  expect.     I  went  for  a  few  minutes  to  hear  a  trial,  which  was 
a  dullish  one,  and  its  only  merit  was  that  Colborn 2  spoke,  which 
I  was  very  anxious  to  hear.     His  manner  is  peculiar  and  im- 
pressive.    I  dined  with  a  large  Whig  party  at  John  Thomson's, 
and   then  went  to  see  Mrs  H.  Siddons3  act  Ly  Racket,   who, 
except  Mlle  Mars,  is  the  prettiest  actress  in  Europe.     It  was 
preceded  by  a  stupid  play  about  Magna  Charta.     I  went  with 
Sandford  and  his  brother,  who  is  a  clever  little  barrister  and 
agreable,  but  not  so  much  so  as  Sandford,  whom  I  like  more 
every  hour,  and  whose  character  stands  very  high  just  now 
from  his  admirable  conduct  at  Glasgow. 

21  May.    Went  with  Allen  and  Sandford  to  see  the  Advocates' 
and    the   Writers   of  the  Signet  Library,  two  very  handsome 

1  Francis  Jeffrey  (1773-1850),  Scottish  judge,  and  editor  of  the  Edin- 
burgh Review,  1803-29.  His  wife,  whom  he  followed  to  America  in  1813, 
in  order  to  marry,  was  Charlotte,  daughter  of  Charles  Wilkes. 

3  Probably  Henry  Thomas  Cockburn  (1779-1854),  Scottish  judge. 
Previously  a  celebrated  pleader  and  writer. 

8  Harriet  Siddons  (1783-1844),  daughter  of  Charles  Murray,  and  wife 
of  Henry  Siddons,  Mrs.  Siddons 's  son. 


l822  Iig 

rooms  and  with  some  very  valuable  books.  We  dined  at  Mr 
Craig's,  the  father-in-law  of  George  Napier,1  and  I  sat  between 
Mrs  Craig,  who  seems  very  foolish,  and  rather  a  cleverish  Miss 
Napier.  Sandford  and  his  brother  called  for  me,  and  we  went 
to  a  large  assembly  of  Ly  Morton's2  in  the  hotel  I  lived  in  in 
1816.  It  was  hot  and  dull.  I  was  introduced  to  John  Douglas, 
who  was  Sir  A.  Boswell's  second,  and  whose  conduct  has  been 
admirable.  Ly  Morton  is  rather  pretty  ;  she  is  daughter  to  a 
Devonshire  Buller.  Ld  M.  is  an  old  courtier,  and  will  never 
inflame  the  Thames. 

22  May.  Sandford  and  I  went  with  Ly  Morton  to  the  General 
Assembly,  where  Chalmers  spoke  for  a  few  minutes  only  about 
the  theological  education  of  the  students.  Many  clergymen 
spoke,  and  I  was  struck  with  their  fluency  and  acuteness.  Dined 
with  John  Clark,  a  very  large  party  and  a  tolerably  good  dinner. 
I  drank  too  much  claret  and  left  them  early.  I  went  for  a  moment 
to  the  play,  and  heard  Mrs  Bartley's  last  screams  as  Ly  Randolph. 

Thursday,  23d  May.  I  received  letters  from  my  Lady  and 
Henry  G.  The  former  is  very  sore  about  Francis  Leveson's 
marriage.  The  only  news  is  the  D.  de  Richelieu's  death,  the  talk 
of  the  Chancellor  retiring  and  Plunkett  succeeding,  and  Bingham 
Baring's  marriage  to  one  of  Ly  Sandwich's  daughters.  Henry 
writes  in  raptures  at  his  sister's  match,  but  cannot  help  feeling 
very  nervous.  I  went  to  the  G1  Assembly  again.  The  ladies 
chattered  a  great  deal.  Jeffrey  and  Cockburn  spoke  on  different 
sides,  about  the  right  a  Papist  has  to  present  or  cause  others  to 
present  a  living.  Cockburn  spoke  best,  but  had  all  the  law  against 
him.  Dined  at  Ld  Gillies,  and  sat  next  to  Sir  G.  Warrender. 
I  thought  the  party  would  never  have  broken  up,  so  I  went  to 
the  play  and  saw  The  Jew  and  the  Doctor,  which  rather  amused  me. 

25  May.  Short  letter  from  my  Lord.  No  news.  I  went  to 
the  courts,  where  Jeffrey  introduced  me  to  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
which  is  what  I  have  been  most  anxious  for  since  I  left  London. 
I  then  went  to  Lady  Morton's  with  Sandford,  where  I  again 

1  George  Thomas  Napier  (1784-1855),  General  and  K.C.B.,  second  son 
of  Hon.  George  and  Lady  Sarah  Napier.     His  first  wife,  who  died  in  1819, 
was  a  daughter  of  John  Craig,  of  Glasgow. 

2  Susan  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Sir  Francis  Buller,  Bart.,  married,  in 
1814,  George,  sixteenth  Earl  of  Morton  (1761-1827). 


120         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

found  Sir  Walter  looking  over  the  Morton  manuscripts — some  of 
the  autographs  of  Mary  Qn  of  Scots,  John  Knox,  George  Douglass 
and  Lady  Lochleven.  Sir  Walter  took  great  pains  and  particular 
interest  in  decyphering  the  Order  in  Council  for  Mary's  imprison- 
ment in  Lochleven  Castle.  His  conversation  was  very  good 
indeed,  and  he  told  several  stories  of  auld  lang  syne  with  great 
humour  and  point,  especially  one  of  roasting  a  monk,  which 
resembles  so  strongly  the  similar  attempt  upon  the  Jew  in  Ivanhoe 
that  it  was  difficult  to  restrain  saying  so.  His  head  is  full  of 
expression,  and  his  voice  pleasant  and  engaging.  I  then  walked 
round  the  Calton  Hill  with  Sandford.  He  was  delightfully 
agreable  and  entertaining.  We  dined  at  L.  Horner's,1  which 
was  dull.  Allen  after  dinner  talked  of  three  great  men,  Moses, 
Mahomet  and  Jesus  Christ,  and  scouted  the  idea  of  the  latter 
being  more  than  man.  I  never  knew  Allen  give  his  free  opinions 
such  vent  as  he  does  here,  where  he  thinks  they  are  heard  with 
pleasure  and  certainly  where  he  acquired  them. 

Sunday,  26  May.  I  went  for  my  sins  to  evening  church, 
and  heard  a  discourse  about  the  Holy  Ghost  enough  to  make  me 
hate  him  for  life.  Dull  dinner  at  John  Murray's.2 

June  6.  Several  letters.  F.  Leveson  to  be  married  on  the 
14  or  15.  Lady  Stafford's  line  is  to  be  delighted.  My  Lady 
dined  there  and  thought  her  very  pleasant.  She  looks  forward 
to  the  fertility  of  the  bride.  George  gives  me  a  cut  about  religion. 
L.  Peel  in  love  with  Jane  Lennox.  Alvanley  said  to  Sir  J.  Copley, 
"  I  hear  Lady  Cork  steals  your  wax  and  paper."  "  Yes,"  said 
Sir  J.,  "  when  she  is  at  Sprotborough  wax  and  paper  cease  to 
be  stationary." 

Allen  and  I  set  off  very  early  and  arrived  at  Kinneil,  which 
is  a  few  miles  from  Linlithgow,  hours  before  dinner.  Mr  Pillans 
was  with  us.  He  is  a  sensible  man,  but  sees  everything  with 
the  eye  of  a  schoolmaster,  and  wishes  the  Cortes  to  divide  Spain 
in  some  way  or  other  that  will  be  more  convenient  to  teach. 
Young  Mr  Gibson  also  came  down.  He  has  unfortunately  been 
to  Greece,  and  went  with  an  inquisitive  mind  and  has  returned 
with  a  narrating  tongue. 

1  Leonard  Homer  (1785-1864),  brother  of  Francis  Horner. 

2  (1778-1843),  the  well-known  publisher,  and  originator  of  the  Quar- 
terly Review. 


l822  121 

Mr  Stewart l  is  a  melancholy  instance  of  the  mind  outliving 
the  body.  He  is  terribly  feeble  and  at  times  very  inarticulate, 
with  his  reason  and  memory  perfect,  and  quite  aware  of  his  own 
situation.  His  spirits  are  very  low,  and  his  consciousness  of  the 
distressing  state  he  is  in  very  evident.  Mrs  Stewart  is  Cran- 
stoun's  sister,  and  is  a  sensible  woman,  as  is  also  the  daughter. 
Both  are  (and  I  fear  not  unjustly)  very  much  alarmed  at  Mr 
Stewart's  illness.  His  manner  is  still  calm  and  pleasant,  but  to 
see  the  breaking  up  of  a  superior  understanding  is  a  painful  sight, 
and  reminds  one  too  forcibly  what  poor  things  we  are  and  what 
a  short  time  we  have  to  enjoy  the  world  and  its  blessings.  The 
evening  was  pleasant ;  we  had  ghost-stories,  when  Mr  Gibson 
would  allow  us  to  hear  of  anything  occidental.  His  knowledge 
is  so  correct  and  so  minute  that  he  had  better  publish  at  once. 
Had  Providence  not  so  often  cruelly  interfered  during  his  various 
perils  by  land  and  sea,  we  should  have  been  spared  the  bore  of 
many  of  his  narrations  and  descriptions.  The  house  of  Kinneil 
is  the  property  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  and  is  one  of  the  oldest 
possessions  of  that  family  ;  part  of  it  is  not  inhabited.  It  is 
large  and  rambling,  and  is  not  an  ugly  building  though  irregular 
and  odd. 

Edinburgh.  Friday,  June  7.  I  dined  with  Sir  Walter  Scott. 
Allen  could  not  go,  and  was  only  half  sorry  to  have  an  excuse. 
Lady  Scott 2  is  nearly  an  idiot,  with  great  marks  of  her  love  for 
the  bottle  in  her  face.  Her  only  other  affection  seems  to  be  for 
a  horrid,  ugly  dog,  that  bites  everybody  but  her.  She  was  a 
Jersey  or  Guernsey  woman,  and  talks  broken  English.  He 
always  calls  her  "  Mama."  The  party  was  small.  Captain  Adam 
Ferguson,3  Miss  Macdonald,  Mr  Sharpe,  Miss  Scott,  and  a  little 
nephew  of  Sir  Walter's.  After  dinner  we  had  several  tunes  on 

1  Dugald  Stewart  (1753-1828),  philosopher  and  professor  at  Edinburgh 
University.      Mrs  Stewart  died  in   1838.     Their  daughter,   Maria,   died 
unmarried  in  1846.     To  his  teaching  and  influence  was  due  the  origin 
of  that  remarkable  literary  coterie  at   Edinburgh,   comprising   Jeffrey, 
Brougham,  Allen,  Homer  and  Sydney  Smith,  the  outcome  of  which  was 
the  Edinburgh  Review. 

2  Charlotte  Mary  Carpenter,  daughter  of  a  French  refugee.     She  married 
Sir  Walter  in  1797,  and  died  in  1826. 

3  Probably  Sir  Adam  Ferguson    (1771-1855),   son  of  the   Edinburgh 
Professor  of  Philosophy   of    the    same    name.     Keeper    of    Regalia    of 
Scotland,   1818;  knighted  1822. 


122         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

the  bag-pipes,  which  seemed  to  enchant  the  poet.  Mrs  Lockhart, 
who  came  after  dinner,  sang,  sometimes  with  and  sometimes 
without  the  accompaniment  on  the  harp,  a  variety  of  wild  Scotch 
melodies,  which  are  beautiful  and  very  extraordinary,  "  Johnny 
Cope/'  "  Charlie  is  my  darling,"  "  The  Braes  of  Killicrankie," 
and  many  others.  Her  voice  is  deep  and  suits  it  very  well. 
Sir  Walter  joins  in  the  choruses  with  enthusiasm.  He  told  me 
several  stories  of  his  own  family,  and  showed  me  a  pistol  which 
Dundee  wore  at  Killicrankie  when  he  received  his  mortal  wound. 
We  then  went  down  to  supper,  where  from  stories  of  robbers, 
murders  and  banditti  we  got  to  ghosts  and  visions.  Sir  Walter 
told  me  the  story  of  himself  and  Captain  Ferguson,  when  rather 
tipsy,  having  both  of  them  the  same  impression  that  a  third 
person  came  and  sat  with  them  at  table,  and  upon  enquiring 
they  found  it  impossible  ;  but  yet  the  chair  and  the  glass  half- 
filled  was  still  there,  and  they  both  agreed  about  his  appearance. 
They  evidently  both  believe  it  was  supernatural,  though  they 
laugh  and  try  to  account  for  it.  He  told  a  variety  of  ghost- 
stories,  and  Captain  Ferguson  told  a  story  of  an  attack  made 
upon  his  room  by  some  banditti  in  Portugal  that  made  one 
shudder.  Sir  Walter  of  course  did  not  touch  on  political  subjects 
the  least  except  about  the  existing  Jacobitism  in  Scotland, 
which  he  says  still  lives  to  a  wonderful  degree,  and  that  it  still 
would  be  unsafe  for  Me  d' Albany  l  to  come  here  and  would  make 
the  greatest  impression  in  Edinburgh.  He  openly  owns  his  own 
Jacobite  feelings,  and  tried  but  lamely  to  defend  the  infamous 
sale  of  Charles  the  First  by  the  Scotch  army.  Mr  Sharpe2  is 
a  very  clever  man,  and  remarkable  for  his  drawings  and  carica- 
tures. His  voice  is  tedious,  his  manner  boring.  I  did  not  get 
home  till  2. 

June  8.  Went  out  to  dine  at  Jeffrey's  villa,  called  Craig 
Crook.  Ld  Kinneder,3  a  new  judge,  and  several  people  there, 
L.  Homers,  Mr,  Mrs,  Miss  Young  ;  rather  pleasant  and  delightful 
weather.  London  news  scanty.  Fazakerley  is  married ;  Ly 

1  Louise  de  Stolberg,  Comtesse  d' Albany  (1753-1824),  the  widow  of 
Prince  Charles  Edward. 

2  Charles  Kirkpatrick  Sharpe  (1781  ?-i85i),  antiquary  and  artist. 

3  William  Erskine  (1769-1822),  raised  to  the  Scotch  bench  the  year  of 
his  death  as  Lord  Kinneder. 


l822  123 

Davy  blooming  ;  and  Mackintosh  in  great  spirits  at  his  success. 
June  10.  The  eventful  day  of  Stewart's  trial.1  Just  before 
going  with  Mr  Ferguson  to  hear  it,  I  received  a  letter  from 
Sandford  wanting  me  to  go  down  to  him  immediately  and  to  be 
his  second  when  opposed  to  Hare.2  I  sent  his  letter  to  Allen 
and  went  for  an  hour  or  two  to  the  trial,  but  was  too  anxious 
with  my  own  thoughts  to  enjoy  Cockburn's  beautiful  speech. 
I  had  a  long  conversation  with  Allen,  who  dissuaded  me  from 
going  down,  which  I  had  determined  to  do,  though  quite  aware 
how  unfit  I  am  both  from  my  inexperience  and  my  excessive 
nervousness.  I  wrote  a  letter  to  Sandford  to  that  effect,  but  am 
far  from  satisfied  that  I  did  right,  except  that  I  am  sure  I  acted 
prudently  for  him.  It  made  me  very  unhappy,  and  I  was  glad 
to  return  to  the  court  and  try  to  engage  my  mind  on  a  different 
subject.  The  trial  was  very  long  and  some  of  it  very  dull  indeed. 
Ld  Rosslyn  and  John  Douglas  were  the  chief  witnesses,  and  they 
both  gave  their  evidence  with  the  greatest  perspicuity  and 
precision.  In  fact,  all  were  so  much  in  favor  of  Stewart  that 
no  doubt  could  be  entertained  of  the  verdict,  which  was  not 
given  till  four  in  the  morning.  I  sat  it  out  and  was  rather  tired. 
Jeffrey's  speech  was  less  good  than  I  expected,  but  Cockburn's 
was  admirable.  Mr  Stewart  was  very  much  affected,  and  was 
two  or  three  times  in  tears.  His  conduct  has  been  admirable, 
and  he  has  gained  a  great  deal  by  the  investigation.  Nothing 
could  be  more  convincing  than  the  testimonies  to  the  benevolence 
and  gentleness  of  his  character.  The  summing  up  of  Justice 
Clarke  was  very  much  in  his  favor,  and  gave  a  severe  cut  at  the 
personalities  of  the  newspapers,  which  are  now  so  perpetual  in 
Scotland  and  have  produced  so  much  bloodshed  and  ill-will. 
I  was  allowed  to  sit  on  the  bench  between  Ld  Rosslyn  and  Ld 
Belhaven.  On  the  whole  it  was  very  interesting,  though  the 
proving  the  handwriting  was  dull.  The  tutor  tried  to  throw 
discredit  on  its  being  Sir  A.'s  hand,  but  was  terribly  browbeaten 
by  John  Murray.  I  got  a  letter  in  the  morning  from  Lawrence 
announcing  his  engagement  to  Jane  Lennox  \  How  odd  \  She  is 
not  pretty,  nor  with  any  great  attraction  but  extreme  good- 
nature. My  correspondence  with  Sandford  agitated  me  a  good 

1  See  ante,  p.  107. 

2  Owing  to  a  pamphlet  which  Sandford  had  written. 


124         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

deal,  and  at  half-past  four  I  went  to  bed,  dissatisfied  with  myself 
and  with  the  world,  to  pass  a  sleepless,  feverish  night. 

June  12.  Allen  persuaded  Sandford  to  send  for  Jeffrey  and 
to  consult  with  him,  which  he  did.  I  staid  all  day  at  home  with 
S.,  as  he  does  not  venture  to  appear,  for  fear  of  giving  his  family 
suspicions  of  what  is  the  case.  I  cannot  help  hoping  that  all 
may  yet  be  arranged.  Dined  at  John  Murray's.  Met  James 
Brougham,  L7  E.  Hope  Vere,  Mr  Grahame.  I  was  not  well,  and 
went  with  Sandford  to  walk  on  the  Calton  Hill.  Hare's  letter 
is  to  ask  an  explanation  of  a  sentence  in  the  pamphlet,  to  which 
Sandford's  answer  is  only  to  refer  him  to  the  passage. 

June  13.  Called  with  Allen  on  old  Erskine  of  Mar,1  who 
is  82  and  grandson  to  LT  Mar,  who  was  17  M.  W.  Montague's 
sister,  to  whom  she  behaved  so  infamously.  He  is  a  fine  old  man, 
and  rather  pleasant  when  he  does  not  talk  about  charities  and 
mechanics.  I  dined  at  home  with  Sandford  and  his  brother 
Erskine,  who  is  pleasant  and  quick.  Allen  called,  and  I  made 
him  delay  our  going  on  account  of  my  headache  at  least  for 
some  hours  tomorrow. 

June  14.  Sandford  had  a  letter  from  Hare,  saying  he  (Sand- 
ford)  is  the  author  of  the  pamphlet,  and  evidently  thinking  or 
rather  wishing  the  challenge  to  originate  with  him.  What 
Sandford's  answer  was  to  be  could  not  be  settled  without  Jeffrey, 
for  whom  we  waited  some  time,  but  in  vain ;  so  at  half-past  one 
we  left  Edinburgh  and  slept  that  night  at  Cornhill. 

Sunday,  June  16.  Breakfasted  at  North  Allerton.  At  York 
found  a  very  kind  letter  from  Sandford  with  a  copy  of  his  answer 
to  Hare,  which  is  proper  and  to  a  degree  explanatory.  The 
cowardly  creature  will,  I  have  no  doubt,  remain  silent.  I  hope 
he  will.  We  went  on  to  Sydney's,  where  we  dined  and  slept.2 
Mrs  Sydney  is  a  delightful  person  in  her  own  house  and  educates 

1  John  Francis  Erskine,  son  of  Lady  Frances  Erskine  and  her  cousin, 
James  Erskine.     He  succeeded  to  the  estates  of  Mar  in   Alloa  on  his 
mother's  death  in  1776,  and  by  Act  of  Parliament  in  1824  was  restored  to 
the  title  of  Earl  of  Mar,  which  had  been  taken  from  his  grandfather,  the 
twenty-seventh   Earl,  for   his  hand  in  the  rebellion  of  1715.     Lord  Mar 
died  in  1825. 

2  At  Foston,  Sydney  Smith's  parish  near  York.     Sydney  Smith  married 
Amelia,  daughter  of  John  Pybus,  in  1800.     Of  their  daughters,  the  eldest, 
Saba    (1802-66),    married    Sir   Henry   Holland ;     and    Emily    (1807-74) 
married  Nathaniel  Hibbert. 


l822  125 

her  children  admirably.  Sydney  was  brilliant  as  usual.  I 
thought  Emily  very  much  improved  and  grown  pretty.  Mrs 
Sydney,  though  justly,  abuses  Bobus  and  Mrs  Smith  imprudently. 
I  found  letters  from  my  Lady,  Lawrence  and  Henry  G.  Law- 
rence's marriage  is  deferred.  Sir  Robert  thinks  him  too  young. 
The  Dke  of  York's  equipage  was  seized  while  he  was  at  the  levee. 
I  cannot  pity  anybody  who  is  so  absurdly  prejudiced  against 
the  Catholics. 

June  19.  The  last  day  of  my  trip,  which  has  been  very 
pleasant  indeed.  Allen  has  been  all  kindness,  and  it  is  not 
possible  to  see  so  much  without  being  fond  of  him.  As  to  his 
talents  they  are  very  great,  and  his  knowledge  quite  wonderful. 
What  Madame  de  Stael  says  of  the  German,  Miiller,  applies  so 
well  to  him,  that  I  cannot  resist  writing  it  down : — "  C'^tait  un 
homme  d'un  savoir  inou'i,  et  ses  facultes  en  ce  genre  faisoient 
vraiment  peur.  On  ne  conceit  pas  comment  la  tete  d'un  homme 
a  pu  contenir  ainsi  un  monde  de  faits  et  de  dates.  Les  six  mille 
ans  a  nous  connus  etoient  parfaitement  ranges  dans  sa  m^moire, 
et  ses  etudes  avoient  ete  si  profondes  qu'elles  etoient  vives  comme 
des  souvenirs." 

It  is  provoking,  however,  to  see  so  sensible  and  such  a  kind- 
hearted  man  so  bigotted  to  his  opinions,  and  so  narrow-minded 
and  intolerant  about  those  of  the  other  faction.  It  is  that 
extreme  violence,  that  bitter  inveteracy,  that  makes  me  always 
suspect  the  real  honesty  of  politics,  and  makes  me  feel  such  an 
unwillingness  to  enter  what  seems  to  me  to  be  no  longer  anything 
but  a  theatre  of  personal  hostility  and  disgraceful  struggles  for 
office.  Allen  is  far  from  a  candid  man.  Many  of  his  opinions 
are  merely  adopted  from  my  mother,  and  he  states  them  as 
acknowledged  facts.  He  has  sometimes  too  ingenious  a  view  of 
some  subject,  and  refines  too  far  to  bring  out  some  general  maxim : 
which  is  very  absurd,  but  is  one  of  his  greatest  hobbies.  He  has 
no  wit,  no  imagination,  no  playfulness,  and  his  gaiety  is  coarseness. 
His  violence  about  Kings  and  priests  is  almost  childish,  and 
does  his  cause  more  harm  than  good.  He  is  fond  of  prejudice, 
and  when  he  has  none  of  his  own  he  adopts  the  prejudices  of 
others,  and  has  seized  with  warmth  and  often  totally  unsupported 
by  facts  the  likes  and  dislikes  my  Lady  has  taught  him  to  feel. 
His  conversation  is  very  delightful  when  one  either  wishes  to 


126        The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

learn  the  history  of  the  world  or  to  hear  his  own  violent  opinions, 
but  out  of  the  subjects  of  religion,  politics  and  history  he  has 
little  powers  or  little  inclination  to  talk.  Great  and  accurate  as 
his  knowledge  is,  I  cannot  help  always  thinking  that  with  the 
extreme  violent  opinions  he  maintains,  it  requires  more  candour 
than  I  think  he  possesses  to  relate  facts  that  even  remotely  touch 
on  political  or  religious  subjects,  without  giving  a  shade  of  par- 
tiality to  the  picture  that  must  partly  destroy  the  fidelity  of  it.1 

We  left  Welwyn  at  10  and  got  to  H.  H.  by  2.  Found  all  at 
home,  and  I  went  out  with  my  Lady  to  see  Lady  Lansdowne. 
Ld  L.  has  a  decided  fit  of  the  gout — it  is  his  first.  My  Lord  went 
to  the  House  about  the  Marriage  Act.  Ld  Hertford  dead. 
Francis  Leveson  is  married  ;  both  parties  disliking  each  other 
very  much  indeed — not  a  happy  beginning.  At  dinner : — Ld 
Morpeth,  John  Russell.  My  Lord  and  Mackintosh  came  in  the 
evening.  Plunkett  has  quite  fallen  this  year,  and  has  behaved 
most  shabbily  in  a  true  Hibernian  manner.  Everybody  gives 
him  up. 

Thursday,  20  June.  Called  on  Ly  Bathurst,  and  found  there 
Ly  Conyngham  and  her  daughter,  and  the  inconsolable,  happy 
Lady  Charlotte  Greville.  The  Kf  means  to  go  to  Scotland  and 
not  abroad.  I  went  to  Lawrence  Peel.  Found  him  in  the  most 
tearing  spirits  at  the  marriage,  which  after  all  is  settled  and  is 
to  take  place  on  the  nth  of  July.  Sir  Robert  is  to  give  him 
£1,000  down  and  settle  £800  a  year  on  her  ;  and  they  will  have 
£2,000  a  year,  and  he  is  to  continue  in  the  office.  Yesterday 
there  was  a  great  party  at  the  D88  of  Richmond's,  where  the  two 
families  were  introduced  to  each  other.  Such  a  set  as  the  Peels 
was  never  seen,  hideous  and  vulgar.  Poor  Lawrence  !  I  am 
very  sorry  for  him  ;  she  is  too  old  and  too  ugly.  At  dinner  :— 
Lady  Ann  and  G.  Fitzpatrick,  Ld  Essex,  Mr  Calcraft,  John  Russell, 
Mackintosh.  Rogers  came  in  the  evening.  Mary  Wilson  2  with 
Mary  and  Miss  Mackintosh.  She  is  a  pretty  girl  and  never  looked 
handsomer.  The  plot  to  make  her  marry  Vernon  is  now  evident, 
and  I  am  surprized  to  find  my  aunts  and  Ly  Lansdowne  are  in  it. 

21  June.     Rode  out  all  morning.     At  dinner  only  Miss  Fox, 

1  Compare  Charles  Greville's  character  of  Allen,  written  at  the  time 
of  his  death  in  1843.     Greville's  Journal  of  Reign  of  Queen  Victoria,  ii.  153. 

2  Illegitimate  daughter  of  John,  second  Earl  of  Upper  Ossory. 


l822  127 

Rogers.  My  Lord  at  the  H8e  of  Lords,  at  the  Catholic  debate, 
where  he  made  a  very  good  speech,  but  where  the  division  was 
bad,  the  majority  being  42. l  Sir  James  came  home  at  2,  and 
gave  an  admirable  account  of  all  that  happened.  Rogers,  who 
had  the  conversation  quite  to  himself,  was  more  brilliant  than  I 
ever  heard  him — very  ill-natured  but  witty,  though  satisfied  at 
having  such  listeners  and  such  silence. 

22  June.  Called  on  Mrs  Herbert.  Ly  Harrowby  was  found 
at  Mrs  Fitzherbert's  breakfast  kissing  Ed  Montague  in  one  of 
the  alleys  by  P88  Esterhazy  ;  it  has  produced  a  scene.  I  rode 
with  G.  L-x,  who  looked  very  nice  and  was  amiable.  Lawrence 
shewed  her  my  letter  all  about  herself,  very  imprudent ;  but  it 
has  made  us  better  friends.  Park  full  and  pretty.  Mary  went 
to  the  Opera  with  Ly  Lansdowne.  Mama  and  I  dined  tete-a-tete, 
and  went  there  too.  Mary  looked  beautiful.  I  was  chiefly  with 
the  L-xs  in  the  Fife  box.  They  are  delighted  with  Lawrence, 
but  not  with  the  family.  I  never  saw  anybody  so  attentive  as 
he  is.  Home  late  ;  found  Brougham.  My  Lord  had  been  to  a 
Fox  dinner  at  Greenwich. 

Sunday,  23  June.  Walked  in  Kensington  Gardens  with  G. 
L-x,  who  gave  me  an  account  of  her  squabble  with  Ld  Worcester, 
which  was  a  hot  one  ;  all  about  the  reports  of  her  trying  to  marry 
him,  which  were  industriously  circulated.  L7  F.  L.-Gower  has 
written  to  say  that  she  supposes  she  ought  to  say  she  is  the 
happiest  woman  in  the  world,  but  that  would  be  false.  She  is, 
however,  happier  than  she  expected  to  be. 

June  25.  Rode  all  morning  with  G.  L-x.  I  like  her  more  and 
more  every  day.  Her  age  and  her  family  distract  me.  Vernon 
failed  me  at  dinner  at  the  Travellers',  so  I  had  a  wretched  dinner 
at  the  Cafe*  Royal  with  Archd  Home,  and  then  to  the  Opera, 
where  I  was  chiefly  with  the  Greys  and  G.  L-x.  The  debate  in  the 
Commons  was  on  the  Ld  Advocate  ;  his  majority  was  of  course 
great,  but  his  character  ruined.2  Henry  G.  cold  as  ice  to  me. 

1  The  second  reading  of  the  Catholic  Bill. 

2  The  accusations  brought  by  James  Abercromby   against  the  Lord 
Advocate  and  other  Scottish  law  officers  were  in  reality  a  sequel  to  the 
Stuart-Boswell  duel  and  the  subsequent  trial,  referred  to  previously.     He 
moved  for  a  Committee  to  enquire  into  their  conduct  with  regard  to  the 
public  press,  and  into  the  recent  trial  of  Mr   Borthwick.     He  alleged  that 
the  Lord  Advocate  and  his   deputy,   Mr  Hope,   had  supported  certain 


128         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Heaven  knows  why  !  Lawrence  takes  but  slightly  to  the 
Bathursts  ;  some  old  fancy  about  his  brother.  His  family  are 
terribly  vulgar.  The  D88  is  quite  delighted  with  Sir  Robert. 

Thursday,  June  27.  Letters  from  Charles,  who  is  650  miles 
up  the  country  from  Cape  Town.  He  gives  a  lively  account  of 
his  journey  and  a  good  one  of  his  health,  but  talks  of  his  odious 
Indian  plan.  I  hope  to  God  he  will  not  go,  as  we  shall  not  see 
him  for  ages.  I  went  to  Mr  Greenwood's  great  breakfast  at 
Brompton.  Passed  all  the  time  with  G.  L-x,  whom  I  like  more 
and  more.  She  told  me  all  the  history  of  herself  and  Worcester, 
and  of  Emily  Smith's  black  conduct  in  poisoning  Ly  Jane  Paget's 
mind  against  her.  Lady  Errol  looked  heavenly.  Poor  Charles  ! 
To  have  seen  her  pretty  attentions  to  Ld  E.,  who  has  sprained 
his  ankle,  would  have  driven  him  wild.  The  garden  was  beautiful, 
and  I  never  saw  such  a  pretty  fete.  Returned  to  H.  H.,  but  not 
in  time  for  dinner,  where  were,  Ld  and  Ly  Granville,  Miss  Stewart, 
Ld  Lauderdale,  Bob  Dundas,  Mr  Knight.  Luttrell  and  Tierney 
in  the  evening.  I  went  with  Bob  to  Harrington  House,  where 
there  was  an  assembly.  Chiefly  with  G.  L-x  and  Ly  H.  Ashley,1 
who  is  beautiful  and  very  amusing.  Introduced  myself  to  Ly 
E.  Monck,  who  had  forgotten  me.  Lawrence  came  to  the  door 
of  H.  H.  with  me.  Nothing  can  exceed  his  good-nature.  He 
is  happy  beyond  measure  and  likes  his  future  wife  more  and  more 
every  day.  She  is  very  amiable,  and  I  most  sincerely  wish 
them  all  happiness. 

June  28.  Rode  to  town.  Called  on  Lady  Jersey  and  found 
Bennett  and  Duncannon  hot  on  all  political  subjects  ;  rather 
tiresome.  After  to  Lydia  White,  where  I  found  Mrs  Siddons 
looking  very  handsome.  Lydia  is  dying  fast,  but  has  great 
philosophy  and  bears  up  with  courage.  She  was  pleasant. 
Rode  with  the  Greys  and  Henry  G.  in  the  park.  At  dinner  :— 
Luttrell,  Knight.  Rogers  and  Mac.  and  John  Russell  in  the 
evening.  Very  pleasant.  Rogers  said  that  he  heard  the  only 
meaning  of  the  statue  in  the  park  in  honor  of  the  D.  of  Wellington 

scurrilous  papers  which  figured  in  Stuart's  trial,  and  had  illegally  detained 
Mr  Borthwick ;  for  the  latter  had  in  his  possession  certain  documents 
which  threw  strong  light  on  Stuart's  innocence  or  guilt.  The  matter  was 
made  a  party  question,  and  the  motion  was  defeated. 

1  Lady  Harriet  Ashley,  daughter  of  Cropley,  sixth  Earl  of  Shaftesbury. 
She  married  Rt.  Hon.  Henry  Lowry  Corry  in  1830. 


l822  129 

was  intellect  overcoming  brute-force.  "  Why,"  says  he,  "  brute- 
force  is  left  out  and  understood.  What  a  pity  intellect  is  not 
too,  for  that  would  have  saved  all  expense."  Scotch  novels 
discussed.  Rogers  almost  believes  W.  Scott's  brother  to  be  the 
author,  in  consequence  of  some  conversations  with  Mr  Irving. 

June  29.  Delightful  breakfast ;  Sir  James  very  agreable 
indeed.  Parr  at  the  Warwickshire  dinner  refused  to  drink 
Church  and  King.  "  Not,"  said  he,  "  because  I  would  not  drink 
both  in  their  real  meaning,  but  I  know  what  is  meant  here  by 
the  toast — Church  without  the  Gospel  and  King  above  the 
laws."  Drove  out  with  my  Lady,  and  then  called  on  the  DM 
of  Richmond  and  Lady  Affleck.  At  the  former  I  found  the  future 
couple.  My  Lady  told  me  as  a  great  secret,  that  Punch  Greville 
had  been  to  Ld  Lauderdale  as  Worcester's  friend  to  know  how  he 
might  in  safety  marry  Emily  Smith.  Ld  L.  knew  no  means  to 
evade  the  law,  but  asked  for  24  hours  to  consider. 

June  30.  Worcester  was  married  to  Emily  Smith  yesterday, 
and  went  off  this  morning  to  Ramsgate.  After  dinner  the  tedious 
subject  of  the  merits  of  the  Universities  was  discussed  at  fearful 
length.  Ld  Stowell  undertook  the  defence  of  Oxford  and  made 
a  studied  oration  about  Sir  C.  Wren.  Lds  Gower1  and  Howard 
are  both  on  the  point  of  proposing  to  Miss  Pointz 2 ;  the  latter 
will,  they  say,  do  it  first  and  is  the  most  favored  !  !  ! 

July  i.  My  aunts  had  a  little  fete  at  Little  Hd  House  to 
shew  the  Fantoccini3  to  the  assembled  children.  It  was  very 
pretty.  The  Ladies  Ashley,  who  were  there,  looked  lovely. 
My  Lady  went  down,  and  it  went  off  very  well.  The  Dke  of 
Bedford  has  been  and  still  is  dangerously  ill  in  Devonshire  with 
an  attack  in  his  head.  The  Morpeths  went  away.  Lady  G.  is 
again  with  child  !  !  !  At  dinner  : — Ld  Fitzwilliam,  Ld  Milton, 

1  George   Granville,    Earl   Gower    (1786-1861),    eldest  son  of   George 
Granville,  second  Marquess  of  Stafford  and  first  Duke  of  Sutherland.     He 
married  Lady  Harriet  Howard  in  May,  1823. 

2  William  Stephen  Poyntz   (1770-1840),   of  Midgham  and  Cowdray, 
married  Elizabeth  Mary,  daughter  of  Anthony,  seventh  Viscount  Montagu, 
in  1794.     Of  their  three  daughters,  Isabella,  the  youngest,  married  Brown- 
low,  second  Marquess  of  Exeter,  in  1824,  and  Elizabeth  Georgina  married 
Frederick,  fourth  Earl  Spencer  in  1830.     The  eldest  was  already  married 
to  Robert,  eighteenth  Lord  Clinton. 

3  Puppets. 

I 


130         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Ld  Grey,  Ld  Dundas.  Ld  Milton l  is  sensible,  but  his  manner  is 
disagreable  and  he  seems  to  think  everybody  must  be  acquainted 
with  all  his  actions  however  minute,  and  was  rather  offended 
at  being  asked  if  he  was  ever  in  Ireland.  "  To  be  sure.  Did  you 
not  know  that  ?  "  I  afterwards  went  to  Ly  S.  Heathcote's  ball, 
which  was  not  very  good,  for  want  of  men.  Chiefly  with  G.  L-x 
and  Ly  H.  Ashley.  Ly  Affleck  has  been  telling  a  long  history  to 
the  D88  of  Richmond  about  my  being  engaged  to  U  G.  Bathurst, 
all  founded  upon  finding  a  note  signed  G.B.  (which  was  from 
Lady  Bathurst)  in  my  room.  Took  leave  of  Wortley,  who  goes 
to  Ireland.  Home  at  4.  The  Tavistocks  and  Ld  John  went 
down  to  the  Duke. 

July  2.  The  news  from  Devonshire  not  at  all  good.  I  dread 
it's  ending  ill  very  much  indeed,  but  begin  to  despair.  I  drove 
out  all  morning  with  my  Lady,  who  is  very  low  and  agitated. 
O'Meara2  came  to  present  his  book  about  Napoleon,  which 
seems  very  interesting  indeed,  though  I  fear  imprudent.  Dined 
at  Lady  Jersey's  ;  met  Lys  Cowper,  Ossulstone,  Holland,  Me 
d'Orsay,  M.  Chateaubriand,  Brougham.  Lds  Holland,  Jersey, 
Erskine  and  Lansdowne  came  in  triumphant  from  the  Marriage 
Bill  in  the  middle  of  dinner.3  They  have  beat  the  Chancellor  over 
and  over  again,  and  Ld  Belfast  is  safe.4  I  never  saw  people 

1  Charles  William,  Viscount  Milton   (1786-1857),  who  succeeded  his 
father  as  fifth  Earl  Fitzwilliam  in  1833.     He  had  married,  in  1806,  Mary, 
daughter  of  Thomas,  first  Lord  Dundas. 

2  Barry  O'Meara  (1786-1836),  surgeon  to  Napoleon  in  St  Helena.     His 
book,  Napoleon   in   Exile,  denounced  Sir  Hudson  Lowe's  treatment   of 
the  captive.     Lord  Rosebery,  in  his  Napoleon  :  the  Last  Phase,  condemns 
the  book,  and  speaks  of  it  as  worthless. 

3  The  original  Marriage  Bill,  as  it  passed  the  House  of  Commons,  was 
calculated  to  amend  the  Act  of  1754  and  to  modify  certain  clauses  which 
nullified  all  marriages  of  minors.     The  Lords,  however,  took  the  matter 
much  further,  and  practically  did  away  with  the  nullity  altogether,  but 
complicated  matters  with  a  network  of  forms  and  documents.     In  this 
shape  the  Bill  passed,  after  strenuous  opposition  from  the  Government ; 
and  rather  than  lose  it  altogether,  the  Commons  acquiesced  in  the  altera- 
tions.    True  to  the  family  traditions,  Lord  Holland  gave  the  abolition  of 
nullity  in  the  case  of  minors  his  ardent  support,  following  in  the  footsteps 
of   his  grandfather,  who  had  so  strenuously  opposed   Lord   Chancellor 
Hardwicke's  Bill  in  1754. 

4  The  allusion  is  apparently  to  Lady  Harriet  Anne  Butler,  who  married 
Lord  Belfast  in  December,  1822.     Her  mother,  Emily,  daughter  of  James 
Jefferys,  married  Richard,  first  Earl  of  Glengall,when  he  was  barely  eighteen. 


l822  131 

happier ;  it  is  a  great  triumph  and  must  delight  every  one  with  any 
feeling.  Chateaubriand l  is  rather  pleasing ;  his  conversation 
is  good  and  his  manner  gentle.  Though  he  looks  contemptible 
and  little  there  is  a  great  expression  of  talent  in  his  face,  and 
on  the  whole  I  liked  him.  It  is  an  odd  thing  that  little  Ld  G. 
Somerset 2  is  going  to  marry  another  Emily  Smith,  daughter  of 
Ld  Carrington.  Worcester  has  sent  to  know  if  the  Duke  of  B. 
will  see  him.  I  went  to  a  child's  ball  at  Ly  Aylesford's.  Blanche 
Howard  dances  most  beautifully.  What  pleased  me  most  was 
the  raptures  with  which  the  Ladies  Ashley  talked  of  the  Marriage 
Bill.  It  is  in  them  good  taste,  good  feeling  and  good  sense. 
The  father  is  disgusting,  and  meaner  than  any  other  wretch  in 
the  world.  I  never  saw  anybody  so  happy  as  Ly  Charlotte  Ashley. 
I  came  home  with  the  ladies. 

July  3.  Accounts  far  from  good  of  the  D.  of  Bedford.  The 
first  symptoms  were  distortion  of  the  features  and  violent  pains 
in  the  head.  I  rode  with  the  Greys,  Ly  Morley  and  G.  L-x  in 
the  park  ;  then  dressed  at  Ly  Affleck's,  and  to  dinner  at  Lydia 
White's,  where  I  met  Ly  Cork,  Wm  Spencer,  Dr  and  Mrs  Somer- 
ville,  Mr  and  Miss  Boddington.  Not  so  pleasant  as  before. 
Mrs  Siddons  and  Ward  in  the  evening.  The  latter  in  better 
health  and  spirits.  He  gave  an  account  of  his  fall  at  Carrara, 
which  sounds  terrific.  I  went  with  him  to  Almack's.  It  was 
pleasant.  The  flirtation  between  Ld  Gower  and  Miss  Pointz 
continued  till  three  o'clock.  The  story  is  Ld  Howard  has  been 
refused,  and  that  Ld  Gower  will  meet  with  the  same  fate.  Bets 
are  offered  in  favor  of  Howard.  G.  L-x  there,  not  looking  so 
pretty,  but  very  amiable.  Wm  Lennox  3  is  pleasant — strange, 
wild  thing.  Mrs  H.  Baring 4  very  leste  in  her  conversation,  and 
told  me  some  of  the  grossest  equivoques  I  ever  heard.  H. 
Ashley  there,  quite  lovely.  Worcester  and  Miss  Pointz  are  the 

1  The  Vicomte  de  Chateaubriand  (1768-1848)  had  arrived  in  London 
in  April  as  French  Ambassador. 

2  Lord  Granville  Somerset  (1792-1848),  Lord  Worcester's  brother. 

3  Lord  William  Pitt  Lennox  (1799-1831),  son  of  Charles,  fourth  Duke 
of  Richmond. 

4  Maria    Matilda,    daughter    of   William   Bingham,    of    Philadelphia, 
married  Henry  Baring,  son  of  Sir  Francis  Baring,  but  divorced  him  early 
in  1822.     Her  sister  married  Henry  Baring's  brother,  Alexander,  created 
Lord  Ashburton. 


132         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

only  topicks,  quite  tiresome.  Rode  !  home  at  about  4  ;  fine 
morning. 

July  4.  Up  late.  Drove  with  my  Lady  all  over  London. 
The  accounts  rather  better  from  the  Duke,  but  nothing  to  exult 
at.  At  dinner  only  Ld  Gower,  who  came  when  it  was  nearly  over, 
but  love  was  his  excuse.  He  will  certainly  propose  and  not  be 
refused.  He  means  to  follow  the  lady  in  the  country.  I  went 
to  fetch  Mary  from  the  Greys',  where  she  had  dined.  Read  the 
first  volume  of  O'Meara's  book,  which  is  one  of  the  most  interesting 
I  ever  saw.  It  is  impossible  to  leave  it.  How  I  should  have 
gloried  in  sacrificing  my  liberty  and  comforts  to  have  been  of  the 
slightest  use  to  that  extraordinary  hero.  That  book  makes  one 
almost  ashamed  of  belonging  to  the  same  nation  as  Sir  Hudson 
Lowe  and  Lord  Bathurst.  Posterity  will  express  that  contempt 
and  hatred  for  them  which  many  now  feel  though  have  not  the 
courage  to  make  known.  I  am  prouder  and  prouder  every  day 
of  my  father  and  mother's  conduct  on  the  subject,  who  are  the 
only  people  that  have  dared  to  shew  the  noble  generosity  and 
compassion  they  have  felt.  O'Meara's  book  is  more  candid  than 
I  expected,  as  I  feared,  from  the  just  hatred  he  bears  Sir  Hudson, 
he  might  be  betrayed  into  blackening  his  conduct  in  instances 
he  did  not  deserve.  But  I  think  the  book  is  on  the  whole  very 
fair  and  much  more  impartial  than  could  be  expected  from  a 
person  who  has  suffered  such  treatment  and  been  witness  to  such 
tyranny. 

July  6.  Rode  with  G.  L-x  and  the  Greys  ;  the  branch  of  a 
tree  fell  nearly  on  us.  Afterwards  to  dinner  at  C.  Ellis'.  Met 
the  Agar  Ellis',  Granvilles,  Miss  Stewart,  Miss  and  George 
Howard,  Ld  Titchfield.1  The  latter  was  quite  insupportable  ; 
agriculture,  national  debt  and  the  chasse  of  Welbeck.  He  was 
long,  loud  and  slow.  We  sat  for  ages,  and  I  only  got  to  the 
Opera  in  time  to  see  Ly  Charlemont  in  Ly  Jersey's  box  and  to 
go  to  the  door  with  G.  L-x.  Ld  Alvanley  saw  a  hearse  stopping 
in  Sfc  James  Street  opposite  one  of  the  Hells.  He  went  up  and 
said  gravely  to  the  driver,  "  Pray,  Sir,  is  the  Devil  dead  ?  " 
Sir  James  Mac.  says  he  supposes  he  had  a  strong  reversionary 
interest.  Somebody  (Luttrell,  it  is  supposed)  said,  "  Look  at 

1  William  Henry,  Marquess  of  Titchfield,  eldest  son  of  William  Henry, 
fourth  Duke  of  Portland,  died  in  1824,  at  the  age  of  27. 


l822  133 

Lady  Stewart  !  Her  jewels  are  all  real ;  she  is  only  paste  !  " 
Excellent  news  of  the  D.  of  B. 

July  9.  The  accounts  of  the  D.  of  B.  good.  In  last  night's 
Courier  there  was  a  correspondence  between  Abercromby  and  a 
Mr  Menzies,  evidently  leading  to  a  duel ;  and  also  John  Hope 
has  published  an  abusive  pamphlet  attacking  him  for  expressions 
in  his  speech  in  the  House.  Abercromby's  friends  consulted  in 
the  morning  to  bring  on  the  breach  of  privilege  in  the  House 
to-night.1  My  Lady  and  I  drove  about  London,  and  found  that 
Abercromby  was  actually  gone.  This  alarmed  us,  and  I  went  to 
tell  Tierney  in  the  House  of  Commons.  At  dinner  : — Mr  and  Mrs 
Ellis,  Ld8  Gower,  Clare,  G.  and  Miss  Howard,  G.  Fortescue.  My 
Lord  and  Mackintosh  came  at  the  end  of  dinner.  Abercromby, 
John  Hope  and  Mr  Menzies  have  all  been  summoned  by  the 
House,  and  the  former  will  be  stopped  on  his  road.  Poor  Mrs  A. 
knew  all ;  he  had  informed  her  by  a  letter  which  Mr  Kennedy 
delivered.  Nothing  ever  was  more  bloody  than  these  Scotchmen 
are.  John  Hope  seems  to  be  a  perfect  ruffian :  Mr  Menzies 
only  a  bully.  Ld  Londonderry  and  the  ministers  behaved  well 
when  they  understood  what  was  the  real  object  of  Mr  Courtenay's 
motion. 

f<  The  ladies'  man,"  as  it  is  called,  was  put  up  to-day  in  the 
park  and  is  handsome,  though  he  looks  running  away  from  the 
foe.  They  have  overcome  all  difficulty  by  sawing  off  all 
obnoxious  parts  and  then  putting  a  fig-leaf.  A  man  in  the 
crowd  asked  Mr  Grenville,  "  Pray,  Sir,  who  is  Achilles  ?  " 

Wednesday,  July  10.  Rode  in  the  park,  Miss  V.  and  G.  L-x. 
Dined  at  Lady  Cork's.  In  the  evening  came  Lady  Westmeath,2 
a  lively,  pretty  little  vixen,  which  I  believe  she  is.  Lady  Cork 3 
is  entertaining,  but  in  such  a  constant  fidget  that  it  fatigues. 

1  This  was  the  outcome  of  the  debate  on  June  25,  Menzies  being  one 
of  the  counsel  employed  in  the  Borthwick  trial,  a  case  which  arose  out  of 
the  Boswell  duel.     He  and  Hope  were  summoned  from  Scotland  to  attend 
the  House  of  Commons  on  July  17,  when  after  a  long  debate  both  were 
dismissed. 

2  Emily  Anne  Bennet  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James,  first  Marquess  of 
Salisbury,  was  first  wife  of   George  Thomas  John,  eighth  Earl  and  first 
Marquess  of  Westmeath  (1785-1871),  whom  she  married  in  1812.     She  died 
in  1858. 

3  Isabella  Henrietta,  daughter  of  William  Poyntz,  of  Midgham,  Berks, 
married,  in  1795,  Edmund,  eighth  Earl  of  Cork  (1767-1856). 


134         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Her  house  is  pretty.  Went  to  Almack's.  The  Ashleys,  Miss 
Villiers  and  G.  L-x  I  was  chiefly  with.  Miss  Villiers  is  a  spirited, 
high-minded  girl,  with  strong  sense  and  a  good  deal  of  information. 
Her  manner  is  said  to  be  flippant,  but  not  justly  so  ;  she  has 
naturally  not  all  the  gaiety  she  assumes  and  that  is  her  greatest 
fault.  I  think  she  is  not  a  happy  person,  which  keeps  her  in  a 
constant  state  of  effort  to  those  with  whom  she  is  slightly 
acquainted,  but  the  more  I  see  of  her  the  more  I  like  her.  She 
has  a  warm  heart  and  a  sound  head. 

July  ii.  Ld  Grey  makes  histories  about  me  for  being  with 
the  Bathursts  and  Lennoxes,  and  says  I  live  with  the  Tories. 
He  is  in  a  terrible  humour,  and  vows  he  will  never  put  his  foot 
in  the  H.  of  Lords  again. 

July  12.  Rode,  and  met  G.  L-x  and  Apsley  going  to  Kew. 
I  joined  them  ;  the  party  was  pleasant.  Kew  is  not  the  least 
worth  seeing.  We  walked  to  the  Pagoda  and  back.  It  was  hot, 
and  I  rode  fast  home.  Ld  Burghersh1  is  odd  and  pleasant ; 
Ladies  C.  Powlett  and  G.  Fane,  beside  a  troop  of  men.  At 
dinner  : — D.  of  York,  Ld  and  Ly  Gwydyr,  Lady  G.  Morpeth, 
Lds  Foley,  Lauderdale,  Darlington,  G.  Cavendish,  Sir  H.  Taylor, 
George — dull  and  long.  H.R.H.  is  a  rapid  but  not  a  distinct 
talker.  I  have  not  a  notion  not  only  of  what  he  said,  but  even 
on  what  subjects  he  talked.  I  went  with  Ly  G.  to  Lady  Petre's 
ball,  which  was  pretty.  I  was  chiefly  with  Mrs  H.  Baring  and 
the  Ashleys.  The  latter  delighted  at  the  Marriage  Bill  being 
passed  tonight  with  a  majority  of  120  to  20  in  the  H.  of  Commons. 
The  accounts  better  of  the  D.  of  Bedford.  Abercromby  appeared 
in  his  place  in  the  House  and  was  addressed  by  the  Speaker,  but 
did  not  reply.  I  rode  home  at  4. 

July  17.  Did  not  go  out  all  day.  At  dinner,  only  H.  Webster. 
My  Lord  and  Mackintosh  came  late  from  the  House  of  Commons, 
where  Hope  has  come  off  with  flying  colours,  and  Peel  cheered, 
which  was  bad  taste  and  bad  feeling.  Allen  was  half  mad  when 
he  heard  it.  I  went  to  Almack's  with  Henry  W.  It  was  pleasant ; 
G.  L-x  and  Mrs  H.  Baring  I  was  chiefly  with.  Home  at  4.  Miss 
Sparrow  is  going  to  marry  Ld  Mandeville. 

1  John,  Lord  Burghersh  (1784-1859),  who  succeeded  his  father  as 
eleventh  Earl  of  Westmorland  in  1841.  Author  of  military  memoirs, 
and  was  employed  on  diplomatic  missions. 


l822  135 

July  1 8.  Called  on  Henry  G.  and  Lawrence  ;  the  former 
lame  and  ill.  My  Lady  and  my  Lord  dined  at  the  Greys',  where 
we  met  Lady  Ponsonby,  Tierney,  and  an  Irish  cousin  who  was 
a  bore.  With  the  Greys  I  went  to  Ly  Gwydyr,  and  there  I  had 
a  long  conversation  with  Miss  Canning,1  whose  manners  please 
me  more  and  more,  and  whose  situation  distracts  me.  She 
talked  with  great  feeling  about  India  and  the  tears  ran  down 
her  cheeks.  From  this  moment  I  vowed  to  try  all  my  influ- 
ence to  stop  her  going  and  determined  to  speak  about  it.  I 
never  felt  the  little  god's  darts  so  much.  Returned  in  a 
hack  early. 

July  19.  I  told  my  aunt  all  my  feelings  and  consulted  her. 
She  gave  me  the  advice  I  expected,  and  recommended  a  sacrifice 
of  my  affection  of  course.  I  drove  out  with  my  Lady  and  openly 
told  her.  She  spoke  kindly,  sensibly  and  most  affectionately — 
talked  of  age,  fortune,  &c.,  &c.,  &c. ;  discussed  the  pros  and  cons 
tenderly  and  wisely.  My  mind,  however,  is  made  up.  We  dined 
at  the  Granvilles'  and  met  Lds  Morpeth,  Clanwilliam,  Cowper, 
Mr  Huskisson,  Ly  Cowper,  Miss  Howard,  Miss  Stewart ;  it  was 
pleasant.  I  went  to  the  Greys  for  a  few  minutes  and  then  to 
the  D88  of  Argyll,  where  Miss  Canning  was  not.  I  staid  late 
and  was  cross  as  poison,  odious  to  myself  and  others.  Home 

at  3. 

Saturday,  July  20.  I  had  two  conversations  I  dreaded,  but 
which  were  both  more  favourable  than  I  expected — with  Miss 
Vernon  and  my  Lord.  The  latter  was  all  kindness  and  spoke 
with  a  consideration  that  touched  me.  I  dined  at  Lansdowne 
House,  and  met  Miss  Fox,  Miss  Vernon,  Mr  Macdonell,  C. 
Sheridan  and  Mr  Spring- Rice.  The  last  is  intolerable  ;  his  voice 
is  painful  and  his  conversation  terribly  precise.  Charles  Sheridan  2 
is  hideously  ugly  and  an  Ogle  completely  ;  he  has  nothing  of  his 
father  about  him.  I  thought  we  should  never  have  got  to  the 
Opera.  At  last  this  tedious  time  broke  up,  and  we  went.  The 
Greys  told  me  of  little,  stubborn  John  Russell's  marriage  to  Miss 

1  Harriet  Canning,   George  Canning's  daughter,   who  married   Ulick 
John,  fourteenth  Earl  and  afterwards  Marquess  of  Clanricarde,  in  1825. 
She  died  in  1876.     Her  father  had  been  nominated  Governor-General  of 
India  in  March,  but  withdrew  his  acceptance  in  September. 

2  Richard  Brinsley  Sheridan's  son  by  his  second  wife,  Miss  Ogle.     He 
died  in  1843. 


136         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Cowsmaker,  a  great  fortune  and  an  excellent  marriage.1  I  went 
to  Miss  Canning's  box  and  like  her  better  and  better.  Then  to 
G.  L-x,  whose  sister  was  married  this  morning  to  Lawrence.  I 
told  her  at  length  the  state  of  my  heart,  and  she  was  as  kind  as 
possible.  The  Cannings  took  me  home  to  the  lodge.  I  gave 
several  broad  hints,  nor  do  I  think  they  were  misunderstood — 
nous  verrons.  Ld  Londonderry  in  speaking  on  the  Marriage  Act 
said,  "  The  nullity  feature  was  buried  in  the  womb  of  futurity." 
Mr  Wetherall 2  spoke  last  night  in  the  H.  of  Commons,  and  used 
some  of  the  strangest  words  possible  in  a  long,  tiresome  speech. 
Somebody  said  to  the  Chancellor,  "  What  words  Wetherall  coins." 
"  Oh  !  "  said  he,  "I  should  not  mind  the  coinage,  if  it  was  not 
for  the  utterance." 

July  21.  Went  to  church  and  heard  Mr  Rennell 3  give  a  very 
long  and  a  very  tedious  sermon,  for  the  sake  of  seeing  H.  C. 
Afterwards  I  rode  to  Gloucester  Lodge 4  and  found  Ld  G.  Bentinck. 
I  staid  some  time.  She  is  very,  very  lively,  and  has  the  prettiest 
manners  I  ever  saw.  Canning  was  civil  to  me  and  all  went  off 
well.  I  then  rode  and  got  wet  in  the  park.  At  dinner  : — Mr 
and  Mrs  Lamb,  Whishaw,  Col.  Macdonald,  Ld  Lauderdale, 
M.  Sfc  Julien,  his  son,  H.  Webster,  Mr  Markham,  Mr  Tierney. 
I  was  low,  and  went  down  to  Little  H.  H.  where  I  found  all 
the  cousinhood.  My  Lord  avoided  any  conversation  which  I 
wished  for. 

July  22.  Called  on  Ly  G.  Morpeth,  because  I  saw  the  C-g 
carriage  stop  there.  H.  C.  looked  very  pretty  and  seemed  to 
observe  my  coming  there.  Then  I  called  at  the  D88  of  Richmond 
and  saw  G.  L-x,  who  was  very  goodnatured  indeed.  At  dinner : 
— Ld  and  Ly  Lansdowne,  Ld  and  Ly  Ossulstone,  Ld  Howard,  Mr 
Whishaw,  Mr  Byng,  V.  and  L.  Smith.  With  the  two  latter  I  went 
to  Mr  Petre's  ball,  where  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  H.  C.  ; 

1  John  Russell  (1796-1835),  Commander  R.N.,  son  of  Lord   William 
Russell.     His  wife,  Sophia,  daughter  of  Col.  George  Coussmaker,  succeeded 
to  the  Barony  of  De  Clifford  in  1833. 

2  Charles   Wetherall    (1770-1846),    Solicitor-General    1824,    Attorney- 
General  1826  and  1828.     Tory  Member  of  Parliament  for  many  years. 
Knighted  in  1824. 

3  Rev.  Thomas  Rennell  (1787-1824)  became  Vicar  of  Kensington  in 
1816. 

4  Canning's  house. 


l822  137 

she  seemed  to  like  me.  He  was  there  and  consulted  in  a  whisper, 
which  ended  in  his  asking  me  to  dinner ;  and  like  a  fool  I  refused 
because  of  the  Greys.  After  that  both  Mrs  and  Miss  Canning  were 
coldish  to  me,  which  made  me  wretched.  I  am  extremely  annoyed, 
as  they  think  me  flirting  without  any  real  intentions.  In  this  I 
will  convince  them  that  they  are  wrong.  G.  L-x  was  all  kind- 
ness. I  rode  home  at  a  little  after  four.  In  the  morning  my 
Lady  and  I  had  a  scene.  As  she  chose  to  sneer  at  me  and  be 
disagreable,  I  walked  out  of  the  room,  and  we  had  a  display 
of  affection  afterwards.  Took  leave  of  Miss  Villiers,  who  goes  to 
Spa  for  six  weeks. 

Tuesday,  23  July.  Staid  at  home  all  morning  and  avoided 
any  conversation  with  either  of  my  parents.  Dined  at  Lansdowne 
House.  Besides  the  hosts  only  Vernon  and  Leveson  Smith  at 
dinner.  We  went  to  the  Haymarket  and  saw  She  stoops  to  conquer 
admirably  acted.  Then  I  went  to  the  Opera  and  visited  only 
the  Greys,  Howards,  L-xs  and  H.  C.  I  proposed  myself  for 
dinner  on  Friday,  and  it  evidently  did  not  displease.  She  was 
very  gracious  and  I  was  happy.  Home  in  a  hack  at  two. 

24  July.     Only  Ld  Morpeth  and  the  two  ladies  at  dinner. 
Afterwards  I  had  two  long  conversations  with  my  Lord  and  my 
Lady,  begging  me  not  to  go  to  Almack's  and  speaking  most 
seriously.     I  notwithstanding  went,  and  there  I  was  convinced 

that  she  is  either  a  great  flirt  or  that .     I  returned  home, 

and  wrote  a  note  to  my  Lady  saying  I  was  to  dine  there.      Mr 
Broadhead   Brinxman   proposed   to    G.    L-x   and  was   refused 
immediately. 

25  July.     I  did  not  venture  to  get  up  till  near  2  o'clock,  for 
fear  of  having  any  conversation  with  my  Lord  or  my  Lady. 
However  I  found  a  long  letter  from  the  former,  which  was  so 
kindly  and  considerately  written  and  put  the  madness  of  my 
intentions  so  forcibly  that  I  determined  to  give  up  my  fondest 
wishes,  though  it  cost  me  a  great  deal.    We  went  to  dine  at 
Mrs  Darner's  at  Twickenham,  in  the  house  where  Queen   Ann 
was  born.     We  met  Ld  and  Ly  Cowper,  Wm  Lamb,  Luttrell, 
Ly  Davy.     The  situation  is  pretty,  and  had  I  been  in  spirits  I 
should  have  liked  the  drive,  which  was,  I  believe,  pleasant.     We 
slept  at  the  Star  and  Garter  at  Richmond.     I  sent  an  excuse  to 
MrsC. 


138         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

26  July.    We  came  home  in  a  violent  rain.     I  rode  in  the 
park  with  G.  L-x,  and  showed  her  my  father's  letter,  after  which 
she  told  me  I  should  be  behaving  shamefully  if  I  continued,  as 
it  was  so  very,  very  kind.     At  dinner  : — Ld,  17  E.  and  G.  Grey, 
Ld  and  Ly  Cowper,  Lds  Clanwilliam,  F.  Conyngham,  Ancram,  Mr 
Abercromby,  Ld  and  Ly  C.  Morpeth,  Caroline  Howard.     Nothing 
could  be  more  marked  than  Ld  Ancram x  and  Ly  Elizabeth.     My 
father  told  me  I  had  better  leave  town :  proposed  Spa  or  Scotland. 

27  July.     Rode  with  G.  L-x  and  dined  at  the  Bathursts', 
because  Canning  dined  at  Holland  House  and  I  feared  my  Lord 
had  spoken  ;  but  I  believe  he  has  not.     Met  at  dinner,  Ld  Apsley, 
Ly  Wm  and  G.  and  E.  Bathurst,  Ly  E.  Berkeley  and  her  son,  and 
G.  L-x.     Then  to  the  Opera,  where  I  did  not  speak  even  to  dear, 
dear  H.  C.     Took  leave  of  the  Greys  and  home  early.     Morpeths 
slept  at  H.  H. 

Sunday,  28  July.  The  day  so  wretched  that  K.  Gardens 
was  impossible  and  the  park  too,  so  I  staid  with  the  Howards. 
Harriet  H.  and  the  young  ones  came.  At  dinner : — The  Lord 
Chancellor 2 ! ! !  Lds  Aberdeen,  Lauderdale,  Grey,  Alvanley, 
Morpeth.  Mess.  J.  Russell,  Abercromby,  Serjeant  Lens,  Ly  G. 
Morpeth,  Miss  Howard.  It  was  pleasant.  The  Chancellor  was 
very  entertaining  about  the  Baga  (?)  de  secretis,  of  which  he  has 
the  key  ;  and  it  contains  all  the  indictments  of  former  times  in 
all  curious  cases.  Very  few  people  know  anything  of  it,  and 
only  three  people  have  access  to  it.  He  puts  me  in  mind  of  his 
brother,3  but  is  handsomer  and  less  affected. 

29  July.  The  Morpeths  went.  At  dinner,  only  Mr  Vane 
and  Henry  Webster,  Lady  Affleck.  My  Lord  in  the  H.  of  Lords, 
and  spoke  on  the  Alien  Act.  I  went  with  Henry  W.  to  Ly 
Gwydyr's,  which  reminded  me  of  the  last  time  I  was  there. 
H.  C.  was  there  for  a  few  minutes  only  ;  we  did  not  speak. 
G.  L-x  came,  and  we  talked  all  night.  Henry  W.  went  off  to 
Dublin.  I  settled  with  Ld  Ancram  to  go  with  him  to  Scotland 
next  week,  as  I  must  go  away.  V.  Smith  flirted  all  night  with 
Miss  Stewart ;  I  hope  something  may  come  of  it. 

1  John  William  Robert,  Earl  of  Ancram  (1794-1841),  who  succeeded 
his  father,  in  1824,  as  seventh  Marquess  of  Lothian.    He  married  Cecily, 
daughter  of  Charles,  second  Earl  Talbot,  in  1831. 

2  Lord  Eldon.  3  Lord  Stowell. 


1822  139 

30  July.     Rode  to  see  a  pigeon  match  at  the  Red  House  with 
G.  L-x  and  others.     Mr  H.  Baring's  shooting  quite  wonderful — 
the  amusement  barbarous.     I  went  to  the  Opera,  where  I  passed 
most  of  the  night  in  Mrs  Herbert's  box  looking  at  H.  C.,  and  then 
to  the  Fife  box  to  take  leave  of  G.  L-x,  &c.,  &c.,  who  go  to 
Cirencester. 

31  July.     I/  Affleck  took  me  to  Edgware  with  Mary.     From 
there  I  rode  to  the  Priory,  where  I  found  at  dinner,  Ld  and  17 
Aberdeen,  17  Binning,   Cimetelli,  Cariati,  Ward,  and  Mrs  Hay, 
besides  a  brother  of  Ld  A.'s  and  the  tutor.     Lady  Aberdeen1  is 
very  handsome,  especially  the  upper  part  of  her  face  :    and  is 
confined  by  illness  to  her  sofa,  from  whence  she  rarely  stirs.     Her 
profusion  of  hair  spoils  her  beauty  from  the  girlish  way  she 
dresses  it.     Ward  ill  and  low. 

August  3.  Ld  Ancram  in  the  morning,  to  settle  about  all  our 
journey.  I  like  him  very  much.  I  drove  out  with  my  Lady. 
At  dinner  : — Mr  Wm  Clarke,  Mr  O'Meara,  Rogers,  Mrs  Fox, 
Miss  Marston,  Miss  Fox,  Miss  Vernon,  Vernon  Smith.  Wm 
Clarke  was  very  amusing  about  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  told  stories 
of  coincidences  that  put  it  out  of  all  doubt  that  he  is  the  author 
of  the  novels.  We  had,  in  the  evening,  an  alarm  from  a  wild 
cat  that  got  into  the  library. 

August  6.  At  dinner : — D.  of  Argyll,  Lds  Clanwilliam, 
Morpeth,  Howard,  Wm  Lennox,  Cowpers,  Mr  Currey,  Rogers. 
I  went  with  Howard  to  the  Opera,  and  in  the  carriage  I  found 
to  my  surprize  he  knew  all  about  H.  C.  and  me.  He  gave  me 
great  comfort  and  advised  me  to  speak  at  the  Opera,  which  I 
did,  and  wished  good-bye  in  the  ante-room.  She  was  not  only 
kind,  but  seemed  affectionate,  and  Mrs  Canning  was  quite  warm. 
I  was  rather  overcome,  and  went  home  with  my  aunts. 

August  7.  Miserable  morning.  Took  leave  of  all  at  home, 
and  went  off  to  Hinchinbrook,  where  I  found  Ancram  and  his 
nephew,  little  Ld  Sandwich. 

August  8,  9.    We  set  off  at  eight  o'clock,  travelled  all  night, 

1  Lord  Aberdeen's  second  wife,  Harriet,  daughter  of  Hon.  John  Douglas, 
and  widow  of  James,  Viscount  Hamilton,  brother  of  Lord  Aberdeen's 
first  wife.  She  married  Lord  Aberdeen  in  1815,  and  died  in  1833.  James, 
first  Duke  of  Abercorn,  was  her  son  by  her  first  marriage.  The  Priory 
at  Stanmore  had  belonged  to  her  father-in-law,  Lord  Abercorn,  and  was 
held  in  trust  for  her  son. 


140         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

and  arrived  at  Newbattle  1  at  12  on  Friday.  Ancram  is  agreable, 
good-natured  and  well-informed.  I  hope  sincerely  he  will  marry 
Elizabeth  Grey.  He  talked  of  her  several  times  in  terms  of  the 
greatest  praise,  as  the  best  rider,  the  best  dancer,  &c.,  &c.,  and 
he  went  out  of  the  Tory  line  to  change  at  the  LamUon  Arms  at 
Chester-le-Street,  because  the  man  at  Durham  had  been  rude 
to  her.  This  looks  well ! 

August  10.  Drove  into  Edinburgh  with  Ancram.  The  whole 
town  in  a  state  of  wild  confusion.2  Found  Ld  Lauderdale  had 
got  me  a  room  in  his  lodgings,  and  was  very  kind  to  me.  I 
dined  at  Dr  Thomson's  ;  only  his  family.  After,  to  the  play 
with  Sandford.  Miss  Tree  sang  beautifully.  F.  Levesons  and 
Wiltons  opposite.  Ly  F.  looked  prettier  than  I  ever  saw  her. 
I  feel  very  miserable,  and  fear  that  I  have  not  strength  of  mind 
to  subdue  the  passion  I  feel  and  have  resolved  to  propose  at  once. 
If  I  am  refused,  which  is  probable,  I  am  only  where  I  was  before, 
except  that  I  shall  have  no  self-reproach. 

Sunday,  August  n.  Drove  with  Sandford  to  Craig  Crook  to 
see  Jeffrey,  who  is  in  a  state  of  alarm  lest  the  Kg  should  knight 
him.  Mrs  Jeffrey  is  half  distracted  at  the  notion.  Dined  at 
Dr  Thomson's,  tedious  and  dull. 

August  12.  Called  on  Lady  Breadalbane 3  with  Ld  L.,  in  whose 
apartments  at  Holyrood  I  am  to  live  tomorrow.  She  is  sensible 
and  seems  to  have  a  true  Scotch  understanding. 

August  13.  Drove  out  with  Sandford,  who  rather  jeers  at 
me  about  H.  C.,  and  I  was  fool  enough  to  tell  him.  Dined  with 
Ld  L.  and  his  son  the  Colonel  at  the  Royal  Exchange  Coffee 
House. 

August  14.  The  King  anchored  off  Leith,  but  would  not  land 
because  the  day  was  bad  and  he  was  tired.  I  dined  with  the 
Breadalbane  family  in  Holyrood  House,  only  a  family  party. 
L7  Glenorchy4  very  pretty  and  interesting.  He  is  manly  and 

1  Lord  Lothian's  house  near  Edinburgh. 

2  George  IV  arrived  in  state  at  Edinburgh  a  few  days  later. 

3  Mary,  daughter  of  David  Gavin.     She  married  John,  fourth  Earl, 
and  afterwards  Marquess  of  Breadalbane  (1762-1834),  in  1793. 

4  Eliza,  daughter  of  George  Baillie,  of  Jerviswood,  and  sister  of  George, 
tenth  Earl  of  Haddington,  married,  in  1821,  John,  Viscount  Glenorchy 
(1796-1862),  only  son  of  John,  fourth  Earl  of  Breadalbane.     She  died  in 
1861,  her  husband  having  succeeded  to  the  titles  in  1834. 


l822  141 

open.  In  the  morning  I  called  on  Duke  Hamilton,  who  was  in  a 
flannel  dressing-gown,  much  agitated  about  his  dress  and  his 
dignities,  having  received  no  specific  commands.  Mr  Sharpe, 
the  antiquarian  I  met  at  Sir  Walter's,  came  in,  and  they  discussed 
with  great  warmth  and  interest  the  merits  of  a  gauntlet  that  was 
just  come — whether  it  ought  to  be  so  long  or  not,  whether  it  was 
to  be  sewed  with  gold  thread,  &c.,  &c.,  &c.  I  went  to  the  play 
with  Sandford  and  saw  Rob  Roy  admirably  acted,  and  The  Spectre 
Bridegroom.  God  save  the  King  was  sung  with  rapture. 

August  15.  Letter  from  George  at  Wansford,  who  is  coming 
down  here,  which  will  be  delightful  for  me.  He  announces  Lord 
Londonderry's  sudden  death  from  gout  in  the  stomach.  His 
death,  however,  I  find  was  voluntary  and  effected  with  a  pen-knife. 
He  had  been  very  strange  for  some  days,  so  much  so  that  the 
Kg  observed  it  and  spoke  to  Ld  Liverpool.  I  went  to  Mr  Gibson's, 
from  whence  I  had  an  admirable  view  of  H.M.  entry  into  the  town. 
The  procession  was  brilliant ;  the  day  fine  ;  the  people  enchanted. 
Afterwards  I  saw  him  get  into  his  private  carriage  from  my  own 
windows  at  Holyrood.  My  room  is  next  his  private  staircase. 
I  hope  to  God  this  horrid  event  may  keep  Canning  in  England 
and  prevent  his  Indian  expedition.  If  it  does  !  !  ! 

August  16.  George  came.  We  went  a  large  party  to  see 
Rosslyn.  Gwydyrs,  F.  Leveson,  Mde  de  Noailles,  &c.,  &c.  We 
walked  for  ever  horrid  paths,  up  precipices.  George  and  I  dined 
with  the  F.  Levesons,  and  then  walked  all  over  the  town  to  look 
at  the  illuminations,  which  were  beautiful — quite  like  fairy-land. 
Ly  Elphinstone  was  with  us,  and  we  went  up  to  the  top  of  the 
Calton  Hill.  I  never  saw  anything  prettier.  Afterwards  to  Lady 
Gwydyr's.  Won  at  ecarte.  Lady  Jersey  has  got  a  girl. 

August  17.  Went  to  the  levee.  Ld  L.  presented  me.  H.M. 
was  gracious  and  spoke  a  good  deal.  Hot  and  full.  I  never 
saw  more  ridiculous  figures — grocers,  tailors  and  haberdashers 
were  among  them.  Dined  at  Sir  G.  Warrender's.1  Met  F. 
Levesons,  Flahault,  Ld  and  Mrs  Gillies,  Me  de  Noailles,2  who  is 

1  Sir  George  Warrender,  fourth  Baronet  (1782-1849).     He  succeeded 
his  father  in  1799,  and  married,  in  1810,  Anne  Evelyn,  daughter  of  George 
Evelyn,  third  Viscount  Falmouth.     Lady  Warrender  died  in  1871. 

2  Charlotte  Marie  Antoinette,    Vicomtesse  de  Noailles    (1792-1851), 
daughter  of  the  Prince  de  Poix,   and  widow  of  her  cousin,   Alfred,  who 
was  killed  in  Russia  in  1812. 


142         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

staying  with  Sir  George,  and  he  is  in  love  with  her.  She  laughs 
at  him,  and  is  not  very  susceptible  herself.  Sir  George's  house 
is  the  original  of  Brad  war  dine' s  in  Waver  ley.  He  has  made  it 
comfortable  and  pretty.  We  went  to  Lady  Belhaven's  in  the 
evening  and  had  ecarte.  I  like  both  the  F.  Levesons  the  more 
I  see  of  them.  Ancram  has  had  a  fall  from  his  horse,  was  bled, 
and  went  up  to  London  to  be  with  poor  Lady  Londonderry.1 
It  is  a  terrible  blow  to  him. 

August  19.  Called  on  Walter  Scott,  who  was  evidently  out 
of  humour  with  the  King,  and  who  is,  I  hear,  in  great  disgrace 
for  some  officiousness.  Dined  at  Ld  Gillies's  : — DM  of  Argyll, 
Belhavens,  Lauderdales  and  a  large  party.  The  dinner  good 
and  rather  agreable.  In  the  evening  to  Ly  Gwydyr's,  pleasant 
enough — ecarte*.  Home  late. 

August  20.  Went  to  the  Drawing-room  ;  chiefly  with  Lady 
Elphinstone.2  The  display  of  beauty  very  transcendent,  the 
dresses  pretty,  and  the  suite  of  rooms  much  the  best  in  any 
English  palace.  The  Kg  was  civil  to  me  and  spoke.  Despair  and 
nervousness  got  the  better  of  me,  and  I  sent  my  proposal  to 
Miss  Canning  under  cover  to  Howard.  God  only  knows  what 
will  be  the  result.  I  do  not  expect  a  positive  refusal,  but  cannot 
hope  and  flatter  myself  that  I  shall  be  accepted.  I  must  stay 
here  till  Monday  for  the  answer. 

Wednesday,  21  August.  Waited  all  morning  for  Sandford, 
who  never  came.  Dined  at  Sir  G.  Warrender's — large  party  : — 
Gwydyrs,  Ly  F.  Leveson,  D.  and  D88  of  Argyll,  D.  of  Hamilton, 
Ld  A.,  Flahault,  Ld  Rosslyn,  Ly  Janet.  In  the  morning  there 
came  an  express  from  Dunrobin  with  news  that  Ld  Stafford  had 
had  a  paralytic  stroke  and  was  alarmingly  ill.  F.  Leveson  set 
off  instantly  in  one  of  Kg's  steamboats,  and  people  observed  very 
much  on  Ly  F.  going  out.  After  all  one  cannot  expect  her  to 
care  ;  and  though  I  think  it  would  be  better  taste  to  stay  at 
home,  it  does  not  much  signify,  for,  as  Ly  Gwydyr  justly  and 
Scotchly  remarks,  all  the  property  is  entailed.  Home  late  ;  lost 
at  ecarte. 

1  Lady  Londonderry  was  Lord  Ancram's  aunt. 

2  Janet,  daughter  of  Cornelius  Elliot,  and  widow  of  Sir  John  Gibson 
Carmichael.     She  married  John,  twelfth  Lord  Elphinstone  (1764-1813), 
in  1806. 


l822  143 

22  August.  Went  to  a  house  of  Sir  G.  Warrender  close  to 
the  Castle  to  see  the  procession.  The  day  was  rainy  and  foggy, 
cold  and  damp.  D.  Hamilton  looked  very  well  indeed  with  the 
crown.  He,  or  the  regalia,  was  loudly  applauded — which  I 
did  not  make  out.  The  K*  went  up  to  the  top  of  the  Castle 
and  bowed,  rather  absurd  and  useless.  It  was,  on  the  whole,  a 
failure.  The  party  too  at  Sir  G.  were  more  numerous  than 
pleasant. 

.-1  ugust  23.  To-day  H.  C.  gets  my  letter  and  my  fate  will  be 
decided.  Heaven  only  knows  why,  but  I  passed  the  day  in 
tearing  spirits.  Went  with  Ly  Gwydyr  late  to  the  review  at 
Portobello  sands.  She  is  a  clever,  long-headed  woman,  with  an 
excess  of  goodnature  that  takes  the  line  of  being  a  great  flatterer 
and  of  a  very  impressive  manner  about  trifles.  The  review  was 
beautiful.  The  K.  rode  a  white  horse  he  bought  here.  It  went 
off  admirably.  Dined  with  Ly  F.  Leveson  ;  only  George  and  Mrs 
Dundas,  a  blunt,  sensible  woman  and  good-natured.  We  went 
to  the  Peers'  ball  at  nine.  The  K.  came  at  ten  and  staid  two 
hours.  I  never  saw  so  striking  a  sight.  All  ladies  in  plumes, 
and  everybody  in  full  dress.  D88  of  Argyll  looked  magnificent. 
Two  Miss  Maitlands  were  the  beauties,  and  Ly  Glenorchy  looked 
well.  Better  accounts  from  Dunrobin.  Reels  were  danced  for 
H.M.,  who  was  pleased.  I  was  chiefly  with  Ly  Elphinstone  and 
Ly  F.  The  former  is  amiable,  but  tedious  and  sticks  like  a  leech. 
The  latter  I  like  very  much,  though  she  has  great  faults  and  very 
provoking  ones — total  indifference  to  everything  about  her  and 
no  care  for  what  she  does  or  says.  I  made  acquaintance  with 
Ld  Enroll  whom  I  like.  She  is  not  here  ;  poverty  prevented  her 
coming.  He  is  beautiful. 

Monday,  August  26.  After  a  sleepless  night  got  my  letters, 
and  found  to  my  delight  that  Howard  did  not  deliver  my  letter, 
as  he  thought  it  could  do  no  good  and  might  do  harm.  His 
letter  was  kind  and  sensible,  but  evidently  not  wishing  for  my 
prosperity.  Walked  with  George  up  to  Nelson's  monument  and 
Holyrood  House.  Dined  at  the  Royal  Hotel  in  Ly  F.  Leveson's 
room,  and  then  saw  the  two  first  acts  of  Kean  in  Macbeth.  Then 
to  the  ball  given  by  Caledonian  Hunt  to  the  King,  the  counter- 
part of  the  Peers',  but  not  so  full.  Ld  Gower  arrived. 

August  27.     Ld  Gower  set  off  without  saying  a  word,  and  left 


144         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

17  F.  with  nobody  to  take  her  to  Dunrobin.  She  reminded  George 
of  his  rash  promise,  and  he  agreed  to  go.  I  dined  with  Ly  F., 
and  met  only  the  Wiltons  fresh  from  Dunrobin.  Ld  S/s 
attack  is  alarming.  Ly  F.  and  I  played  at  ecarte  till  one.  She 
goes  at  six.  My  Lady  writes  word  that  she  has  been  seriously 
ill. 

Sunday,  15  September.  Set  off  early,  got  to  Howick  at  5, 
and  found  the  delightful  news  I  expected  of  Canning's  being  in. 1 
I  was  enchanted,  but  not  surprized.  Nobody  but  the  family, 
whom  I  am  very  fond  of  indeed.  While  at  Howick  Me  de 
Noailles  and  M.  de  Saluces  2  were  with  us  for  the  first  two  days. 
She  is  sprightly  and  agreable,  with  all  the  gaiety  and  some  of 
the  imagination  of  her  country,  but  a  less  portion  of  beauty  than 
most.  However  I  liked  her.  Her  escort  was  a  most  piteous 
concern,  cross,  dull  and  learned,  disputing  about  every  trifle 
and  very  tenacious  of  his  own  opinions.  One  day  we  went  to 
Warkworth.  The  Castle  is  fine  and  the  Hermitage  very  curious. 
The  view  from  the  boat  is  beautiful.  I  rode  almost  every  day 
with  the  girls.  Nothing  can  be  pleasanter  than  Bessy — gay, 
goodhumoured,  clever  and  sweet-tempered  ;  if  I  had  a  heart 
at  my  disposal  I  should  have  lost  it  very  soon.  I  told  her  about 
H.  C.,  as  I  see  she  likes  me,  and  it  made  us  intimate. 

To  my  great  annoyance  H.  Greville  has  heard  all,  and  the 
gossiping  Copley  girls  have  been  talking  of  it  at  Doncaster.  We 
had  a  sharpish  correspondence,  in  which  he  assumed  a  haughty, 
and  I  an  affectionate  tone  :  both  false.  He  is  angry,  and  I  am 
furious,  for  I  feel  certain  he  has  and  will  propagate  it.  With 
a  thousand  merits  he  is  the  greatest  gossip  and  tittle-tattle 
I  ever  knew.  Mr  Petre's  horse  won  at  Doncaster,  but  he  was 
cheated  and  did  not  clear  a  sixpence.  The  D.  of  Wellington 
has  been  nearly  killed  by  the  aurist  Stephenson.  Clanwilliam  3 
is  to  have  a  foreign  mission,  perhaps  Berlin.  My  Lord  had  the 
gout  at  Bo  wood,  and  they  hurried  back  to  H.  H.  One  day 
passes  very  like  another,  punctual  breakfasts  and  dinners,  rides 

1  Canning  had  just  been  appointed  Foreign  Secretary. 

2  Count  Alexandre  de  Saluces  (1775-1851),  Piemontese  politician  and 
writer  on  military  subjects. 

3  Richard   Charles   Francis,   third   Earl   of  Clanwilliam    (1795-1879), 
diplomatist,  and  private  secretary  to  Lord  Castlereagh  for  several  years. 
He  was  Minister  at  Berlin  1823-7. 


l822  145 

and  whist  in  the  evening.  Charles  Grey  went  to  Ireland l ;  he 
was  a  great  loss.  He  is  clever,  and  agreable  from  his  high  boyish 
spirits.  Howick  has  a  bad  temper,  a  hideous  face,  and  a  moderate 
understanding — the  least  amiable  of  the  whole  family ;  even  the 
much  abused  Ly  Caroline  is  his  superior. 

I  had  a  letter  from  Charles  at  Cape  Town,  talking  of  coming 
home  immediately.  He  had  heard  of  his  exchange  and  meant 
to  go  in  the  first  conveyance.  My  aunts  are  at  Mr  Kennedy's 
in  Scotland,  and  partly  to  see  them,  but  chiefly  to  stay  with  dear 
Ly  Bess,  I  consented  to  stay  till  Lambton  races.  Poor  Mrs 
Lock's  daughter,  Me  de  Very,  has  been  killed  in  a  horrible  way  at 
Boulogne.  I  am  glad  I  did  not  know  her.  A  cart  that  was  run 
away  with  ran  over  her,  and  nearly  killed  poor  Mrs  M.  Greville 
too.  I  had  a  very  kind  letter  from  Wortley  telling  me  of  the  Don- 
caster  report,  which  was  that  I  had  proposed  and  been  refused. 
Bessy  also  told  me  that  Miss  Copley  had  told  Mrs  Taylor  she 
knew  it,  and  implied  that  her  knowledge  was  from  the  Cannings. 
In  consequence  of  this  I  wrote  to  Howard,  to  ask  if  previous  to 
returning  my  letter  he  had  consulted  any  of  the  C.  family.  His 
answer  was  that  he  had  not.  I  am  amused  at  the  specimen  of 
three  different  sort  of  friends  on  hearing  such  a  report.  H. 
Greville,  the  inquisitive,  writes  me  an  indignant  demanding 
letter  ;  the  cautious  G.  Howard  says  not  a  word  to  me ;  but  the 
sincere  and  kind  Wortley  apprizes  me  of  the  report,  without 
asking  any  sort  of  explanation  and  in  the  most  friendly  manner. 
It  is  at  such  moments  as  these  that  friends  are  to  be  judged. 

Shuttleworth  is  standing  for  the  Wardenship  of  New  College. 
I  hope  and  believe  he  has  a  good  chance.  Gen1  and  Mrs  Grey 2 
came  for  two  nights.  She  is  good-nature  and  ugliness  itself, 
with  a  vulgarish  manner  and  a  sweet  temper — happy  as  the  day 
is  long  and  only  wishing  to  see  others  happy  too.  Lady  Bath 3 

1  Second  son  of  Charles,  Earl  Grey,  born  in  1804.  He  became  a  General 
in  the  Army,  and  was  for  many  years  private  secretary  to  Queen  Victoria. 
He  died  in  1870.  Henry  George,  Lord  Howick  (1802-94),  a  distinguished 
statesman,  succeeded  his  father  in  1845  as  third  Earl  Grey.  In  1832  he 
married  Maria,  daughter  of  Sir  Joseph  Copley,  Bart.,  of  Sprotborough. 

*  Sir  Henry  George  Grey  (1766-1845),  second  son  of  Charles,  first  Earl 
Grey,  a  General  in  the  Army.  He  married,  in  1812,  Charlotte,  daughter 
of  Sir  Charles  des  Voeux,  who  died  in  1882. 

3  Isabella  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  George,  fourth  Viscount  Torrington, 
married,  in  1794,  Thomas,  second  Marquess  of  Bath  (1765-1837),  and  died 
in  1830. 


146         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

has  been  in  the  most  imminent  danger,  and  took  a  formal  leave 
of  all  her  family — inflammation  in  the  kidneys  ;  she  is  better. 
One  day  passes  just  like  another  ;  we  ride  every  day  after 
luncheon  and  the  post.  My  letters  with  Henry  G.  have  been 
very  sharp,  and  his  in  an  unkind,  harsh  tone.  Lady  Ponsonby  * 
and  her  son,  F.  Ponsonby,  came.  She  is  an  active  old  woman 
and  very  cheerful.  We  walked  one  delightful  night  down  to  the 
sea  and  saw  the  most  beautiful  moonlight.  I  have  tried,  and 
cannot  find  a  fault  in  Bessy.  Lady  Grey  talked  openly  to  me 
about  Ancram  ;  she  evidently  wishes  it  very  much  and  justly. 
He  is  almost  worthy  of  her,  I  believe,  and  that  is  saying  a  great, 
great  deal.  Shuttleworth  was  unanimously  elected  ;  he  will  do 
credit  to  his  situation.  I  am  most  sincerely  glad  of  it,  for  he 
requires  having  some  employment,  and  I  am  sure  he  will  acquit 
himself  most  nobly.  He  is  as  high-minded  and  liberal  as  possible, 
and  there  is  nobody  to  whom  I  feel  so  indebted. 

Monday,  14  October.  Ld  and  Ly  Grey  took  me  to  Lambton, 
where  we  found,  Normanbys,  Wyvills,  Lumleys,  Lds  Wm  Lennox, 
John  Bentinck,  Mess  Petre,  Buncombe,  Witham,  Cookson,  Mills, 
and  many  other  jockey  betting  people.  Ly  Normanby  sang  a 
good  deal,  particularly  one  Scotch  ballad  that  I  liked  very  much. 
Lambton  hates  music ;  when  he  came  in  she  stopped.  He 
flounced  out  of  the  room  and  slammed  the  door,  and  was  very 
cross.  I  sat  between  Ldies  G.  and  E.  Grey.  Twenty-three  at  dinner. 

15  October.  I  went  with  Ly  Normanby  and  Ly  E.  Grey  to 
Ravensworth.  It  is  a  fine  place,  and  when  finished  will  be  very 
handsome.  Ld  A.  Hill  with  a  bad  knee  is  there.  We  went  to 
the  top  of  the  house  to  see  him.  All  the  family  are  fools,  especially 
Lady  R.,  who  is  mad  into  the  bargain.2  Jane  is  very  pretty  and 
sings  like  an  angel.  Mrs  Liddell  and  her  mother  Ly  G.  Seymour, 
were  there.  We  walked  about  the  gardens.  Ld  R.  has  a  great 
deal  of  glass.  He  ordered  it  all  from  London  and  when  it  came 

1  Lady  Grey's  mother,  Louisa,  daughter  of  Richard,  third  Viscount 
Molesworth.     She    married    William    Brabazon    Ponsonby    (1744-1806), 
created  Baron  Ponsonby,  of  Imokilly,  in  1806.     She  remarried,  in  1823, 
William,  fourth  Earl  of  Fitzwilliam,  and  died  a  year  later.     Frederick 
Ponsonby,  her  youngest  son,  died  unmarried  in  1849. 

2  Thomas  Henry,  first  Baron  Ravensworth  (1775-1855),  married,  in 
1796,   Maria  Susannah,   daughter  of  John  Simpson.     Their  eldest  son, 
Henry  Thomas  Liddell  (1797-1878),  succeeded  his  father  and  was  raised 
to  an  Earldom  in  1874. 


l822  147 

found  it  was  made  at  Newcastle,  which  is  within  two  miles  of 
him.     I  like  the  girls  very  much  ;   they  are  good-nature  itself. 

16  October.     The  races  were  very  pretty.     The  Petre  Cup, 
which  that  animal  Petre  gave,  was  won  by  a  horse  called  "Tom 
Paine."    There  was  some  mistake  about  starting  ;  and  Ld  Wm 
Lennox  was  treated,  I  thought,  unjustly  and  unkindly.     I  like  him 
very,  very  much  indeed.     I  had  a  letter  from  Charles,  dated,  20  July. 
He  is  to  come  in  a  ship  called  John  Palmer  ;  it  makes  me  very  ner- 
vous indeed  to  hear  of  all  these  tremendous  gales.     The  dinner 
was  very  large  ;    a  ball  in  the  hall  afterwards,  the  Ravensworths, 
Ld  A.  Hill.     We  played  at  whist.     Mrs  Lumley  looks  very  pretty 
when  dancing,  but  powders  her  nose  and  paints  her  eyebrows. 

17  October.     One  of  the  farmers  was  thrown  off  his  horse  and, 
I  thought,  killed,  but  was  only  slightly  hurt.     Mrs  Lumley  makes 
desperate  love  to  Lambton,  but  I  do  not  think  there  is  anything 
in  that.     She  is  the  oddest  creature  I  ever  saw.     I  did  all  sorts  of 
nonsenses  after  dinner  for  Ly  Normanby,  whom  I  like  excessively. 
She  is  good-nature  itself.      Mr  Witham  got  drunk  and  burst 
into  my  room  at  night,  Buncombe  and  J.  Bentinck  following  ; 
it  was  a  stupid  practical  joke.     Muncaster  at  dinner. 

Friday,  18  October.  Letters  from  my  Lady  at  Panshangcr 
on  their  way  to  Ampthill,  where  they  want  me  to  come,  and 
press  extremely.  I  feel  very  low  about  a  thousand  things,  and 
am  delighted  to  be  in  a  bustle  where  I  am  obliged  to  think  of 
anything  but  the  odious  fears  and  alarms  that  will  obtrude 
themselves.  It  is  silly  to  be  unhappy  by  anticipation.  The 
Normanbys  won  a  great  deal.  A  very  quiet  dinner.  Afterwards 
Lambton  quarrelled  with  Mr  Wyvill  and  others  about  his  horses 
being  supposed  to  be  favored,  and  was  as  cross  as  possible.  The 
chief  amusement  was  slipping  shillings  down  Mrs  Lumley 's  back 
and  then  fishing  them  out.  This  made  Lambton  crosser.  He 
overheard  a  conversation  I  had  with  her,  for  which  I  shall  never 
be  forgiven.  He  looked  blacker  than  thunder  ever  after.  There 
was  a  ball  afterwards — Ravensworths'.  Miss  Ellison  is  rather 
pretty.  Petre  l  was  and  has  been  the  whole  time  the  butt  of  the 

1  Hon.  Robert  Edward  Petre  (1795-1843),  son  of  Robert  Edward,  ninth 
Baron  Petre  (1742-1801),  by  his  second  wife,  Juliana,  daughter  of  Henry 
Howard,  of  Glossop.  He  married,  in  1829,  Laura  Maria,  daughter  of  Lord 
Stafford. 


148         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

party.  Wm  Lambton 1  is  agreable,  though  blaze  with  everything 
and  everybody.  He  is  never  pleased,  and  bored  with  whatever 
is  going  on,  without  the  pleasure  even  of  hope,  for  he  does  not 
expect  to  like  anything  at  all.  He  praises  Ancram  very  much. 
Ld  Normanby  has  bought  Mr  Wyvill's  "  Kitten/'  and  I  fear  has 
been  cheated.  The  latter  is  a  rogue,  with  a  frank,  open  manner 
but  a  designing  countenance.  To  bed  at  3  ;  the  gas  smelt 
horribly. 

October  19.  Last  day  of  the  races.  "  Kitten  "  beat,  as  I 
expected.  Buncombe  won  the  Ladies'  Cup  which  was  very 
pretty.  Many  of  the  people  went.  We  still  dined  in  the  library. 

Sunday,  October  20.  Letter  from  Ampthill.  Ld  Amherst  is 
to  go  to  India.  The  day  was  wet,  and  all  morning  was  consumed 
in  making  nonsensical  verses  about  Petre  and  Mr  Witham's 
drunken  perambulations  of  the  house.  Wm  Lennox  distinguished 
himself  very  much  for  his  quickness  and  drollery.  John  Bentinck, 
Petre  and  the  Normanby s  went  to  Ravensworth.  We  dined  in 
the  dining-room.  I  had  a  letter  from  Howard  tracing  the  report 
to  Henry  Greville  \  \  \  This  is  impossible.  I  sent  H.  G.'s  letter 
from  Doncaster  to  him.  I  had  also  a  letter  from  Ancram  on  his 
road  north  ;  he  goes  first  to  Scotland  and  then  to  Howick. 

Sunday,  November  17.  Farming  Woods.*  The  Ladies  were 
very  good-natured  and  agreable.  They  talked  about  Mary 
Wilson's  marriage  as  a  thing  they  wished  and  promoted.  H. 
Webster,  like  a  fool,  proposed  or  at  least  did  as  much,  and  met 
with  the  rebuff  he  merited. 

November  18.  To  H.  Hse,  where  I  arrived  after  suffering 
agonies  from  tooth-ache  at  about  half -past  seven,  and  found  them 
at  dinner.  Rogers  and  Sir  James  Mackintosh  ;  Charles  gone  to 
dine  out.  A  kind  reception  I  met  with,  and  no  sort  of  allusion 
to  H.  C.  of  course.  Charles  came  at  night  and  we  talked  till  near 
morning.  He  is  as  delightfully  amusing  as  ever  and  full  of 
gaiety  and  good  humour.  Mary  looking  more  lovely  than  I  ever 
saw  her. 

November  20.  Went  to  town  with  my  Lady,  who  was  pleasant 
and  seems  in  good  humour.  Only  Bingham  additional  at  dinner. 

1  William    Henry    Lambton    (1793-1866),    J.    G.   Lambton's    second 
brother.     He  married  Henrietta,  daughter  of  Cuthbert  Ellison,  in  1824. 

2  The  residence  of  the  Ladies  Fitzpatrick  in  Northamptonshire. 


l822  149 

He  is  no  favorite  of  mine,  foolish,  chattering  and  only  good- 
looking.  Me  de  Souza  1  has  written  a  new  novel  called  Me  de 
Fargy,  which  is,  I  hear,  bad.  Two  women  she  had  manned  with 
her  own  character,  Sir  James  says.  He  is  in  good  spirits  now  and 
has  heard  of  his  daughter's  safety,  and  his  vanity  seems  tickled 
with  his  election  at  Glasgow  where  they  have  made  him  Ld 
Rector.  W.  Scott  was  his  opponent,  and  was  beat  hollow. 

November  21.  Rode  to  Fulham  and  saw  Lady  Jane  Peel. 
Lawrence  was  out.  It  is  a  nice  place,  and  they  are  as  happy  as 
the  day  is  long.  She  has  caught  some  of  his  sarcasm,  I  think, 
and  seems  clever.  I  then  went  and  had  a  long  coze  with  Ly  G. 
Bathurst,  who  was  very  amiable  and  entertaining.  At  dinner  : — 
C.  Ellis,  Ld  Howard  !  !  !  Byng,  Mr  and  Mrs  Lamb,  Rogers  and 
Mackintosh.  Charles  dined  and  slept  out.  I  dreaded  seeing 
Howard,  but  not  a  word  passed  between  us.  Soon  I  must  have 
a  long  talk  with  him.  I  saw  Lawrence  in  the  morning  and  found 
him  very  kind  and  pleasant. 

Nov.  28-30.  Staid  at  Middleton.  George  came  over  one 
day,  very  happy  and  satisfied  with  the  security  of  success.  Lady 
Jersey  very  agreable  one  evening  about  P8S  Charlotte,  and  told 
all  the  history  of  her  quarrels  and  Me  de  Flahault's.  It  is  very 
wonderful  how  correct  Lady  Jersey  always  is  and  what  a  memory 
she  has  ;  she  never  tells  what  is  not  true,  and  yet  talks  more 
than  anybody  in  England.  Mr  Bankes  is  returned  for  Cambridge 
and  Mr  Hill  is  to  be  H.  Secretary.  Ly  E.  Balfour's  child  burnt 
to  death  in  a  horrid  way  at  Dunbar. 

Old  Burlington  Street,  December  II.  O'Meara  in  the  morning. 
Bertrand's  shabby  letter  has  done  him  harm,  and  he  shewed  us 
the  still  shabbier  excuses  Bertrand  makes  for  it  in  private.  It  is 
extraordinary  that  after  devoting  his  life  to  Napoleon  in  the  way 
he  so  nobly  did,  he  should  now  barter  all  his  fame  for  a  petty 
legacy  ;  for  it  is  merely  to  get  the  will  ratified  that  he  has  con- 
tradicted hi  public  what  he  owns  to  be  true  in  private  and  what  he 
must  approve  of  if  he  really  has  any  attachment  for  the  Emperor's 
memory.  O'Meara's  letter  is  admirable,  and  nobody  can  doubt 

1  Adelaide  de  Filleul  (1761-1831),  who  married,  first,  the  Comte  de 
Flahault,  who  was  guillotined  in  the  French  Revolution  ;  and  secondly, 
in  1802,  Jose  Maria  de  Souza-Botelho,  for  many  years  Portuguese  Minister 
in  Paris. 


150         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

the  authenticity  of  the  book  that  knows  anything  about  him. 
Charles  off  early  to  F.  Woods.  Dined  at  Mrs  Tighe's.  Met  : — 
Lady  Sandwich,  Dr  and  Mrs  Holland,  Miss  Godfrey,  Ld  Meath 
and  a  gawky,  chattering  son,  Ward.  Pleasant  on  the  whole.  I 
sat  next  to  Lady  S.,1  who  is  an  agreable  woman.  Ld  Tankerville 
is  dead.  Lady  H.  Montague  in  the  evening,  not  so  monstrous 
as  I  expected. 

December  12.  A  letter  from  Lady  Grey  denying  the  slightest 
truth  in  the  story  of  Bessy's  marriage.2  I  am  very  sorry  indeed. 
Dined  with  my  Lord  and  my  Lady  alone,  and  went  to  see  The 
Huguenot  with  Lady  Affleck.  It  is  interesting  and  Macready 
acts  well.  Miss  Kelly  less  odious  than  usual. 

December  18.  Rode  and  joined  Ward,  who  was  very  pleasant 
indeed.  Ld  Wellesley  has  been  pelted  by  the  Orangemen  in  the 
theatre  at  Dublin.  Only  the  Abercrombys  at  dinner  besides  our 
four  selves.  We  went  to  see  Kean  and  Young  in  Othello  and 
lago  ;  nothing  can  be  finer  than  the  acting  of  the  former.  It 
quite  agitates  one.  I  never  knew  him  so  free  from  faults  as 
tonight  and  so  full  of  unstudied  beauties.  Bertrand  is  to  be 
employed  soon  by  the  French  Government !  !  !  Virtue  is  but  a 
name. 

December  20.  Called  only  on  Lady  Affleck  and  Lady  G.  The 
theatricals  at  Castle  Howard  went  off  very  well,  but  with  very 
little  pretension.  At  dinner  : — Ld  and  Ly  Cowper,  Lds  Morpeth, 
Gower,  F.  Conyngham,  Mr  Tierney,  Mr  Grenville.  Lady  C. 
makes  a  fool  of  herself  with  Francis  Conyngham.  The  Tanker- 
villes 3  in  the  evening.  Ld  T.  has  left  all  to  his  wife,  and  she  has 
behaved  most  handsomely  to  all  parties.  Punch  Greville  in  the 
evening.  He  has  a  shrewd  head  and  some  information,  not  an 
atom  of  feeling,  but  great  general  good-nature,  or  at  least  pretends 
to  have  it.  He  was  very  pleasant,  and  sat  till  late  talking  very 
agreably.  Ly  Carlisle  has  had  an  attack  again  of  her  paralytic 
seizure.  A  fire  broke  out  in  the  night  at  Long's  Hotel,  and  a 
great  deal  was  demolished. 

1  Louisa,  daughter  of  Armar,  first  Earl  of  Belmore,  married  George 
John,  sixth  Earl  of  Sandwich  (1773-1818),  in  1804.    Lady  Harriet  Montagu, 
their  eldest  daughter,  married  William,  second  Lord  Ashburton,  in  1823. 

2  To  Lord  Ancram. 

3  See  ante,  p.  89.     Lord  Ossulston  had  just  become  Lord  Tankerville. 


l822  151 

December  27.  At  dinner : — Ld  Granville,  Ld  and  Ly  G. 
Morpeth,  Mrs  Lamb,  Luttrell,  G.  Anson,  F.  Howard.  The  latter 
goes  to  India  tomorrow  ;  he  is  to  be  Ld  Amherst's  aide-de-camp. 
Jekyll  says  he  hears  Ld  Glenbervie  has  translated  a  dull  Italian 
poem,  and  that  everybody  compliments  him  on  the  fidelity  of  the 
translation.  Clanwilliam  is  to  go  to  Berlin.  Mr  Coke  has  got 
an  heir. 

December  30.  Walked  out  with  Leveson  to  the  park.  Nobody 
at  dinner.  Went  afterwards  to  the  play,  where  I  found  Mary, 
Mrs  Smith  and  Leveson.  Spoiled  child  !  Miss  Clara  Fisher's 
acting  was  inimitable.  My  Lady  better. 

December  31,  1822.  Ld  Gower,  Ld  and  Ly  G.  Morpeth,  Ld 
Clanwilliam  at  dinner.  The  latter  was  very  flippant  and  pert ; 
nor  do  I  see  where  his  merits  lie.  He  is  enchanted  at  going  to 
Berlin.  The  Francis  Levesons  are  come  to  town  ;  he  is  going 
with  Ld  F.  Somerset  on  a  special  mission  to  Madrid. 

Here  ends  1822,  which  has  been  an  eventful  year  to  me  but 
from  my  own  folly  and  impatience  has  only  placed  me  in  an 
awkward  and  not  in  an  advantageous  situation.  If  repentance 
can  do  any  good,  nobody  repents  more  than  I  do  my  own  rashness 
and  absurdity  at  Holyrood  House,  which  combined  with  my 
absurd  haste  on  the  igth  of  July  has  almost  ruined  my  wishes. 


CHAPTER  IV 
1823 

January  7,  1823.  I  had  a  letter  from  Sandford  about  Sir 
James  Mackintosh's  speech  at  Glasgow.1  He  says  : — "  The  speech 
was  brilliant  in  some  passages  and  very  Mackintoshian  in  all. 
The  spirit  just  and  philosophic,  the  expression  copious  and  refined, 
but  the  manner  nothing  better  than  the  parliamentary  see-saw 
and  sing-song.  The  chief  fault  was  length  and  a  total  miscon- 
ception of  the  audience.  He  never  seemed  to  recollect  that  the 
great  majority  of  his  hearers  were  almost  boys  and  could  not  be 
interested  in  long  details  and  historical  allusions.  But  on  the 
whole  it  was  well  received,  though  I  must  not  conceal  from  you 
that  disappointment  was  the  general  impression." 

January  8.  At  dinner  : — Ld  and  Ly  Granville,  Ld  Morpeth, 
Wm  Howard,  Rogers,  Charles.  Rogers  very  brilliant  in  the  even- 
ing. He  makes  an  expedition  of  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks  to 
several  country  houses,  and  comes  home  with  a  budget  of  little 
observations  on  their  manners,  habits  and  characters. 

January  u.  Took  a  cold  drive  with  my  Lord  to  Hd  House, 
and  dined  at  Mr  Boddington's.2  Met  Mr  and  Mrs  Scarlett, 
Lydia  White,  Sir  H.  Davy,  Ward,  Sharp,  Mr  Hallam,  and  the 
fair  Grace  Boddington.  When  Mrs  Scarlett  was  not  eating,  I 
heard  my  host  say,  "  Mrs  Scarlett,  you  don't  eat.  Won't  you 
play  with  a  bit  of  sweetbread  ?  "  Ward  was  pleasant,  but  para- 
doxical about  Shakespeare.  Hallam  is  an  odious  man  in  society, 
very  good  in  his  books,  I  believe. 

January  16.      When  Mr  Plunkett  went  to  congratulate  Ld 

1  His  address  to  the  University  as  Lord  Rector. 

2  Samuel  Boddington,   M.P.   for  Tralee.     His  daughter  and  heiress, 
Grace,  married   Henry  Fox's  half-brother,  Henry  Webster,  in   October, 
1824. 

152 


1823  153 

Wellesley  on  his  escape,1  the  Ld  Le  said,  "  I  hear  it  was  entirely 
done  by  Protestants.  Do  they  take  me  for  a  Papist  ?  "  "As 
to  that,"  replied  Mr  P.,  "I  don't  know,  but  your  Excellency 
certainly  behaved  like  a  Roman."  I  dined  tete-a-tete  with  Ly 
Affleck  and  played  at  cards  all  evening. 

January  20.  Called  on  the  Bathursts,  who  are  just  come  to 
town.  Lady  Jersey  has  been  very  near  making  mischief  between 
us,  but  in  vain.  I  dined  at  Mrs  Tighe's.  Met  Ords,  Ward,  Mr 
H.  Tighe,  Ld  James  Stuart,  Cornwall,  Wm  Ord,  Hallams.  Mr 
Hallam  is  one  of  the  most  disagreable  members  of  society  I 
ever  have  the  misfortune  to  meet.  Ward  was  pleasant,  and  so 
is  Cornwall,2  though  vulgar-minded. 

January  21.  Staid  at  home  all  day  reading  Peveril,  which 
is  just  come  out,  and  is  good  as  far  as  I  have  gone.  Nobody  at 
dinner  but  four  selves.  My  Lord  not  well  enough  to  come  to 
table.  Miss  Vernon  has  had  rather  a  serious  fall,  and  hurt  her 
head  a  good  deal.  Charles  and  I  went  to  the  Opera,  chiefly 
with  the  Bathursts  and  Peels.  G.  L-x  very  agreable,  but  not 
upon  Hd  H8e  subject.  Les  dures  verites  (if  verites  they  are) 
are  painful.  Henry  Greville  just  come  from  Welbeck  in  a  sweet 
humour. 

January  24.  Mr  Fox's  birthday.  I  went  with  Ld  Thanet  to 
the  Fox  dinner.  We  sat  for  ever  and  I  was  bored.  Ld  Erskine, 
Mr  Lens,  Mr  Scarlett,  Mr  Denison,  and  many  dirty,  violent 
little  black  people,  who  talked  about  taxes,  poverty,  funds,  war, 
peace,  the  wickedness  of  ministers  generally,  for  they  had  no 
particular  fact  or  person  in  view,  and  the  usual  prophecies  of 
ruin,  tyranny  and  revolution  which  wind  up  the  sentences  of 
speculative  politicians.  Good  dinner  at  Grillon's  Hotel. 

January  25.  At  dinner  only  our  four  selves,  Henry  Greville 
and  Poodle  Byng.  Allen  at  Dulwich.  Henry  and  my  Lady 
don't  suit.  She  is  very  civil  to  him,  and  he  barely  so  to  her. 
We  went  to  the  Opera,  chiefly  with  Lady  Gwydyr,  who  amused  me 
with  her  plans  for  a  junction  with  the  present  ministry.  Lord 
Grey  she  wants  to  send  for  Lady  Grey's  health  to  Italy ;  and 
then  she  thinks,  with  Canning,  Ld  Wellesley,  Ld  Lansdowne  and 

1  A  bottle  was  thrown  at  Lord  Wellesley 's  head  when  attending  the 
theatre  in  state. 

2  Described  by  Creevey  as  a  "London  flash"  (ii.  132). 


154         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

my  father,  with  the  backstairs  influence  of  Lady  Conyngham,  to 
make  a  sort  of  mixed  ministry  with  the  sacrifice  of  political 
opinions  and  attachments.  My  father,  I  am  sure,  will  never  do 
such  a  thing ;  and  though  I  never  like  answering  for  those  I  do 
not  know  much  of,  I  think  Ld  Lancdowne  knows  too  well  the 
worldly  advantage  of  reputation  to  sacrifice  his  opinions  for  the 
bare  power  he  might  get.  Lady  G.'s  political  feelings  are  all 
connected  with  the  court,  and  she  cares  for  nothing  but  power. 
She  is  a  pleasant  woman,  though  too  cautious  of  offending  those 
she  speaks  to,  but  equally  so  of  censuring  those  she  speaks  of. 
My  aunt  and  Mrs  Ord  brought  me  home. 

Sunday,  January  26.  At  home  all  day.  The  snow  and  frost 
have  lasted  for  more  than  a  week,  and  are  quite  intolerable. 
At  dinner : — Mr  and  Mrs  Abercromby,  Mr  Brougham,  Serjeant 
Lens,  Charles.  Mrs  A.  was  strangely  attired,  something  between 
Qn  Katherine  and  the  muslin  of  a  toilet-cover.  Many  jokes  are 
made  about  Vansittart's  title.1  They  talk  of  Ld  Cara^n,  Ld 
Woold  and  Coold,  which  is  the  way  he  pronounces  would  and 
could,  and  which  is  meant  as  a  parody  on  Say  and  Seyle.  The 
best,  however,  is  that  he  cannot  take  the  name  of  his  birthplace, 
Maidenhead. 

January  27.  At  dinner  : — Morleys,  Lds  Gower,  F.  Conyngham, 
Morpeth,  Wm  Ponsonby,  Mr  Rogers,  Mr  Heber.2  I  sat  by  the 
latter,  with  whom  I  had  a  good  deal  of  conversation.  He  is 
good-natured  and  has  acquired  a  good  deal  with  all  his  book- 
collecting  and  reading,  but  is  rather  in  the  Oxford  style  of  humbug, 
which  is  so  very  odious.  I  rather  like  him.  He  is  very  much 
given  to  drinking  and  eating,  which  his  friends  \  \  \  say  has 
deadened  his  understanding.  His  brother  has  accepted  the 
offered  Bishopric  of  Calcutta,  which  is  very  extraordinary,  as 
with  great  talents  and  very  good  interest  to  banish  himself 
voluntarily  for  a  station  which  is  not  even  brilliant  is  very 
wonderful ;  but  as  Canning  once  accepted  India,  who  can  be 
surprized.  Ld  Morley  is  to  move  the  Address. 

1  Nicholas    Vansittart    (1766-1851),    Chancellor  of    the    Exchequer, 
1812-23.     He  took  the  title  of  Baron  Bexley. 

2  Richard  Heber  (1773-1833),  book  collector  and  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Athenaeum  Club.     M.P.,   1821-6.     His  brother,   Reginald  Heber 
(1783-1826),  had  just  been  appointed  Bishop  of  Calcutta. 


1823  155 

January  28.  Charles,  after  a  variety  of  hesitations,  went 
off  with  Wm  Ponsonby  to  a  shooting-party  at  Wherstead.  Only 
Mr  Tierney  at  dinner.  I  went  to  the  Opera.  Chiefly  with  Lady 
Morley,  who  was  very  agreable  and  rattled  away  great  nonsense. 
Miss  Mellish,  the  heiress,  was  with  her  ;  she  is  a  pleasing  person 
with  very  good  manners  and  sensible  conversation.  Colonel 
Stewart,  son  of  the  Professor,  is  persecuting  her  in  the  most 
infamous  way.  Afterwards  to  the  Peels  in  Ld  Fife's  box.  Henry 
Greville  very  cold  to  me.1  Our  friendship  is  falling  fast  to 
pieces  ;  I  cannot  help  being  sorry  for  it,  though  he  has  behaved 
both  unkindly  and  ungenerously  towards  me.  I  loved  him  once 
very  much  indeed — a  great  deal  more  than  I  believe  he  merited  ; 
and  though  not  less  than  he  then  affected  for  me,  I  have  good 
reason  now  to  believe  much  more  than  he  ever  felt.  He  has 
some  merits,  which  his  vile  education  and  vile  Greville  temper 
and  selfishness  have  almost  destroyed.  His  code  of  morality 
has  no  restrictions,  but  from  the  qu'en  dim  t'on.  His  own  con- 
venience and  amusements  are  his  primary  objects,  and  if  he  can 
obtain  them  by  the  sacrifice  of  his  neighbours  they  are  sweeter 
and  more  acceptable  to  him.  He  has  a  better  understanding 
than  the  frivolity  of  his  occupations  and  conversation  lead 
people  to  expect — a  good  deal  of  quickness  and  some  drollery. 
His  uncertain  temper  and  total  disregard  of  secrecy  upon  every 
subject,  however  important,  have  by  degrees  separated  us  more 
and  more.  I  still  feel  for  him  great  regard  and  good  will,  but 
in  future  I  shall  never  be  weak  enough  to  trust  him  with  anything 
that  would  form  a  sentence  in  his  gossiping  dispatches.  I  wish 
the  mask  did  not  fall  off  the  faces  of  our  friends  one  by  one.  It 
is  very  painful  to  see  so  much  clearer  every  day  of  one's  life  ; 
and  I  fear  the  clearer  one  sees,  the  less  good  is  really  to  be  found. 
It  thawed  all  day,  God  be  praised  !  17  G.  Morpeth  brought  to 
bed  of  a  daughter  in  the  morning. 

February  i.  Old  Burlington  Street.  At  dinner  : — Lansdownes, 
Ld  Morpeth,  George,  Brougham,  Sir  J.  Mackintosh,  Abercromby. 
The  Scotch  novels  discussed  and  shamefully  abused  by  Brougham 
and  Abercromby,  one  from  envy,  the  other  from  party  feeling. 

1  Two  days  later  Fox  wrote  :  "I  found  out  from  G.  L — x  the  real 
cause  of  Henry's  coldness.  He  is  angry  with  me  very  justly.  He,  G. 
L — x  and  /  have  each  behaved  very,  very  ill.  Which  is  worst  I  don't  know." 


156         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Went  with  George  to  the  Opera,  dullish.  Bathursts  brought  me 
home  without  a  chaperon. 

Sunday,  Feb.  2.  At  home  all  day.  Ld  Grenville  has  had  a 
slight  paralytic  affection,  but  is  recovering.  At  dinner  : — Ords, 
Sir  Guy  and  Lady  Campbell,1  Ld  Bessborough,  Sir  James  Mac., 
Macdonell.  Sir  Guy  is  too  bad,  without  tolerable  manners.  I 
hear  he  is  honourable  and  warm-hearted,  vulgar,  passionate 
and  suspicious.  Poor  woman  !  What  a  lot !  A  great  many 
people  came  in  the  evening.  Great  curiosity  as  to  the  line  this 
country  is  to  take  about  Spain,  and  the  chances  for  and  against 
a  war.2 

Feb.  4.  Called  on  the  Dsa  of  Argyll  and  Lady  Normanby, 
whom  I  delight  in.  Parliament  meet.  The  Kg'8  Speech  was 
pacific  and  gives  great  hopes.  I  heard  Ld  Morley  move  the 
Address.  His  speech  was  dull  and  with  some  absurd  words, 
but  not  so  highly  ludicrous  as  was  wished  and  expected.  "  Your 
Lordships  being  advertanced  "  and  "  H.M.  having  taken  adver- 
tances,"  were  phrases  that  ran  through  his  speech.  By  my  own 
impatience  I  missed  hearing  Brougham's  speech,  which  all  who 
heard  it  thought  magnificent.  He  was  to  have  moved  an 
amendment  recommending  active  measures  for  Spain,  but  seeing 
that  such  a  warm  part  in  favor  of  the  Spaniards  was  taken  by 
ministers,  he  instantly  changed  his  plan  and  instead  of  a  vitu- 
perative, made  a  very  laudatory  speech.  I  dined  alone  at  the 
Travellers'  Club  after  a  bath  there,  and  went  to  the  Opera. 
No  news,  except  universal  praise  of  Brougham  and  some  lurking 
fears  of  hollow  professions  from  the  ministers.  Canning  is  never 
direct  and  open  in  his  way  of  proceeding,  and  there  is  such  a 

1  Sir  Guy  Campbell,  first  baronet,  so  created  in  1815,  a  Major-General. 
His  second  wife,  whom  he  married  in  1820,  was  Pamela,  daughter  of  Lord 
Edward  Fitzgerald  and  "  Pamela,"  his  wife.     Sir  Guy  died  in  1849. 

2  The  crisis  in  Spain  was  the  direct  outcome  of  the  Revolution  of  1820. 
The  new  constitution,  though  nominally  accepted  by  King  Ferdinand,  had 
left  him  a  puppet  in  the  hands  of  the  contending  political  parties.     The 
chief  powers  of  Europe,  through  the  Congress  of  Verona,  set  about  to  cham- 
pion his  cause,  England  being  the  only  country  which  did  not  break  off 
diplomatic  relations.     Early  in  1 823  the  French  invaded  Spain,  and  meeting 
with  little  opposition  from  the  Cortes,  who  retired  to  Cadiz,  re-established 
the  absolute  monarchy.     Ferdinand's  return  to  power  was  the  signal  for 
stern  measures  against  the  Liberals  ;  and  the  reign  of  terror  then  established 
lasted  until  his  death  in  1833. 


1823  157 

variety  of  plots  and  counterplots  that  it  is  difficult  to  know  his 
real  drift. 

Feb.  6.  The  D.  of  Bedford  came  to  town  to  be  blooded.  I 
fear  the  account  is  not  so  good.  Mary  is  delighted  with  Woburn, 
and  all  there  doat  on  her.  The  scene  of  Walter  Scott's  new 
novel  is  to  be  laid  in  France  at  the  time  of  Louis  XI ;  this  is  a 
profound  secret. 

26  Feb.  Paris.1  Called  on  a  variety  of  people.  Me  de 
Bourke  all  full  of  mysteries  and  suspicions.  Went  to  the 
Francais  to  see  (Edipe,  and  after  to  see  Bigotini  in  Nina,  both 
excellent.  Then  to  Me  de  Bourke 's,  where  I  found  Talleyrand, 
Mole  and  a  party  of  politicians,  with  Mrs  H.  Baring  in  the 
midst  of  them,  rather  deplacee.  War  seems  still  doubtful,  and 
all  parties  except  the  priests  wish  vehemently  against  it. 

28  Feb.  Went  to  see  Soult's  pictures,  which  are  quite  mag- 
nificent. Found  an  assembly  of  English,  Ladies  Lake,  Oxford, 
Rancliffe,  &c.,  &c.  Ly  A.  Harley  is  handsome  but  looks  like 
a  .  .  .  ;  her  mother  amounts  to  being  disgusting.2  Dined  at 
Sir  C.  Stuart's  ;  met  Belfasts,  Hopes,  Ld  Thanet,  F.  Lamb,  &c., 
&c.  It  was  pleasant.  Afterwards  to  Mde  de  Souza's,  who  is 
agreable,  though  her  flattery  is  so  gross  it  becomes  merely 
offensive.  Gallois  was  with  her.  Talleyrand  says,  "  //  n'y  a 
personne  pour  fair e  la  guerre  et  personne  pour  I'empecher." 

March  17.  Monday.  Nice.3  Got  our  English  letters  ;  not 
much  news.  Poor  Kemble  is  dead.  The  government  in  England 
mean  to  support  Ld  Wellesley,  which  I  am  sincerely  glad  of. 
Called  on  Fazakerley  and  his  little  wife,  who  is  a  pleasing  woman 
and  reminded  me  of  Mrs  Ord  and  Miss  Stewart.  Abercromby 
has  carried  a  motion  against  the  Orange  Lodges,  which  is  a 
great  triumph  and  a  blow  on  the  knuckles  to  Peel.  Wrote  to 
England. 

March  18.  Rode  out  with  the  Fazs.  to  M.  de  Chateauneuf's, 
from  which  the  view  is  very  beautiful.  The  tyranny,  suspicion 
and  espionage  of  this  government  surpass  all  bounds ;  the 

1  Henry  Fox  left  London  for  Paris  with  John  Wortley  on  February  22. 

2  Jane  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Rev.   James  Scott,   married  Edward, 
fifth  Earl  of  Oxford,  in  1794.     Her  third  daughter,  Lady  Anne  Harley, 
married  the  Cavaliere  San  Giorgio  in  1835. 

3  The  travellers  reached  Nice  on  March  16. 


158         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

revolution  has  made  things  worse.1  This  man  has  given  himself 
up  to  the  Austrian  interest,  and  the  whole  country  is  in  a  shocking 
state.  Called  on  Andreoni,  who  is  a  Milanese  nobleman,  formerly 
in  good  circumstances,  but  now  wretchedly  poor  and  quite  a 
martyr  to  the  gout.  He  has  been  in  all  parts  of  the  world  and 
knew  Washington  very  well.  He  is  an  extraordinary  man,  and 
sometimes  is  very  agreable  I  believe.  We  dined  with  Faz.,  in 
the  house  my  mother  describes  as  hers  when  she  was  here  years 
ago.  In  the  evening  came  Pahlen  (a  Russian),  who  is  very  agre- 
able and  seems  to  be  very  well  informed.  He  talks  English  as 
well  as  I  do.  The  Due  de  Valombrosa,  having  been  concerned 
in  the  revolution,  has  been  living  here  in  disgrace.  He  now  has 
leave  from  his  government  to  travel ;  with  the  exception  of 
France,  Spain  and  England  he  may  go  where  he  likes.  Lady 
Morgan's  book  has  done  incalculable  harm,  especially  to  those 
she  praises  for  having  liberal  opinions  ;  and  for  that  many  have 
been  banished,  imprisoned  or  watched.2 

Sunday,  23  March.  Rode  with  the  Grevilles  and  dined  with 
the  Blessingtons.3  D'Orsay  is  established  with  them  and,  she 
says,  is  to  marry  Ld  B.'s  daughter,  whom  he  has  never  seen  and 
who  is  only  13.  This,  I  suppose,  is  only  a  blind.  She  is  not  at 
all  pleasant,  very  vulgar  and  very  abusive ;  laughs  at  Lds  Grey 
and  Thanet,  especially  at  the  former,  for  making  love  to  her, 
which  she  says  would  be  ridiculous  to  any  woman  but  to  her  it 

1  Nice  was  still  under  the  Sardinian  Government  established  at  Turin. 
King  Victor  Emmanuel  (1759-1824)  had  preferred  to  abdicate  after  the 
military  revolution  of  1821,  and  Charles  Felix  (1765-1831),  his  brother, 
was  ruler  at  this  time,  and,  as  is  mentioned  above,  supported  the  Austrians. 

2  Her  book  on  Italy,  published  in  1821,  was  proscribed  by  the  King  of 
Sardinia,  the  Emperor  of  Austria  and  the  Pope. 

3  Charles    John    Gardiner,    second    Viscount   Mount  joy    (1782-1829), 
created  Earl  of  Blessington  in  1816.     By  his  first  wife,  Mary  Campbell, 
widow  of  Major  William  Brown,  whom  he  married  in  1812,  he  had  one 
daughter,  Harriet  Anne  Frances,  who  was  married  to  Count  Alfred  d'Orsay 
in  1827.     His    wife   having    died    in    1814,    Lord    Blessington    married, 
secondly,  in  1818,  Marguerite,  daughter  of  Edmund  Power.     Her  first 
husband  was  Captain  Maurice  Farmer    (d.  1817),  from  whom  she  had 
separated  immediately.     She  died  in  1849,  at  the  age  of  sixty. 

Count  Alfred  d'Orsay  (1801-52)  was  son  of  Count  Albert  d'Orsay,  one 
of  Napoleon's  generals  by  a  morganatic  daughter  of  the  King  of  Wurtem- 
berg  (see  ante,  p.  72).  His  sister  Ida  married  the  Due  de  Guiche,  after- 
wards Due  de  Gramont. 


1823  159 

was  insolent.  She  told  him,  "  Are  you  vain  enough  to  suppose 
that  if  I  was  inclined  to  play  the  fool  with  anybody,  you  would 
be  the  person  I  should  choose  ?  " 

March  28.  Genoa.  Good  Friday.  To  my  great  joy  I  found 
the  Wm  Russells 1  on  their  way  to  England.  She  gave  a  delightful 
account  of  Italy,  is  quite  miserable  at  going  home,  and  keeps 
no  bounds  about  the  D88  of  B.  We  went  to  see  S*  Lorenzo,  which 
is  the  cathedral  and  is  built  of  black  and  white  marble.  The 
service  was  very  fine.  Letters  from  England.  Sydney  got  a 
living  from  the  D.  of  D.2 

March  29.  We  dined  with  Mr  Hill,3  and  met  Sir  W.  W. 
Wynn  and  Ly  W.  I  called  on  Ld  Byron  in  the  morning,  but  he 
was  out.  He  lives  at  Albaro.  We  saw  also  the  Serra  Palace, 
famous  for  one  very  magnificent  room.  Napoleon  when  here 
lodged  in  the  palace  of  Andrea  Doria.  Nothing  can  be  more 
hated  than  the  Piedmontese  are  here.  By  the  revolution  they 
have  gained  nothing,  and  have  only  lost  a  mild,  amiable,  foolish 
sovereign  and  got  in  his  stead  a  suspicious,  clever  man,  who, 
rather  than  be  exposed  to  any  more  popular  convulsions,  would 
call  in  the  Austrians  to  assist  him  ;  which  his  brother  would 
never  have  thought  of,  having  a  good  Italian  hatred  for  those 
barbarians.  The  old  man  is  living  near  Turin  and  in  very  bad 
health.  All  the  liberals  and  all  the  discontented  join  in  their 
praises  of  him,  and  when  he  passed  through  here  he  was  treated 
with  great  enthusiasm.  The  trade  of  this  town  is  improving 
every  day,  but  the  nobility  are  going  completely  to  ruin.  Few 
of  them,  and  none  of  the  best,  reside  here. 

Lady  William  sailed  this  morning  for  Nice.  She  leaves 
Italy  with  a  heavy  heart.  She  told  me  several  very  good  Roman 
stories.  The  D88  of  Devonshire 4  gave  a  very  magnificent  diamond 
ring  to  the  physician  who  is  supposed  to  have  restored  Cardinal 

1  See  ante,  p.  37. 

2  At  Lord  Carlisle's  request,  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  gave  Sydney 
Smith  the  living  of  Londesborough.     It  was  within  a  drive  of  Foston,  and 
though  he  was  obliged  to  keep  a  curate  in  residence  there,  the  stipend  was 
a  welcome  addition  to  his  insufficient  income. 

8  William  Noel  Hill  (1773-1842),  who  succeeded  his  brother  as  third 
Lord  Berwick  in  1832.  British  envoy  to  the  Court  of  Sardinia,  1807-24. 

4  Elizabeth,  Duchess  of  Devonshire  (1758-1824),  who,  after  the  death 
of  her  second  husband,  William,  fifth  Duke  of  Devonshire,  in  1811,  resided 
for  many  years  in  Rome. 


160         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Consalvi  to  life.  Nobody  knew  what  was  his  complaint.  The 
DM  had  just  returned  from  Naples,  from  whence  she  had  written 
perpetual  letters  to  him  and  had  received  as  many  from  him. 
The  wits  said,  "  Qu'il  etait  malade  d'une  correspondence  rentree." 
M>  d' Albany  sent  for  a  young  German  physician  that  had 
attended  the  last  moments  of  her  old  friend,  Mrs  Windham,1 
who  had  made  tea  at  her  dull  parties  every  evening  for  22  years. 
It  so  happened  the  physician  had  never  seen  anybody  die,  and 
he  was  amazingly  shocked  at  witnessing  poor  Mrs  Windham 
expire.  Of  course  he  thought  Me  d'Albany  sent  for  him  to  know 
some  melancholy  particulars,  and  what  were  her  last  words, 
&c.,  &c.  But  what  was  his  horror,  when  she  said,  "  Vous  1'avez 
vu  mourir,  et  apres  sa  mort  meme.  Eh  bien,  dites-moi  done. 
Est-ce  qu'elle  portait  une  perruque  ?  " 

March  30,  Sunday.  We  dined  again  with  Mr  Hill  and  met 
Sir  W.  W.  Wynne.  Mr  Hill  is  a  great  rattle,  but  rather  amusing  ; 
and  it  diverts  one  to  watch  him  involving  one  parenthesis 
in  another  and  yet  always  returning  from  whence  he  started. 
Ever  since  we  have  been  here  it  has  been  des  jours-de-fete,  and 
nothing  can  be  prettier  than  to  see  the  streets  so  crowded.  The 
costume  of  the  Genoese  women,  who  are  generally  very  pretty, 
is  amazingly  becoming.  They  all  have  a  white  veil  over  their 
heads,  which,  contrasted  with  their  beautiful  black  hair  and  the 
bright  colours  of  the  other  parts  of  their  dress,  looks  remarkably 
well.  Most  of  them  have  a  profusion  of  gold  ornaments,  which 
are  generally  very  well  worked  and  look  extremely  rich.  I  saw 
here  several  oldish  women  of  the  lower  classes  with  their  hair 
dressed  and  powdered  in  the  fashion  of  the  ladies  of  London 
and  Paris  sixty  years  ago.  I  received  the  kindest  note  from 
Ld  Byron,  appointing  me  at  two  tomorrow,  and  written  in  the 
kindest  manner  possible. 

March  31.  Genoa.  Letters  from  England  ;  not  much  news. 
Better  hopes  of  Spain.  I  went  to  Ld  Byron's  at  two  o'clock. 
He  lives  at  a  very  pretty  villa  at  Albaro,  a  little  out  of  the  town.2 

1  See  ante,  p.  in, 

2  The  Casa  Saluzzo,  taken  for  Byron  by  Mrs  Shelley  ;    while  she  and 
the  Hunts  lived  close  at  hand  in  the   Casa  Negroto  (Works   of  Byron, 
ed.  Prothero,  vi.  120).     Byron's  description  of  Henry  Fox's  visit,  written 
to  Moore  two  days  later,  can  be  read  in  the  above  (vi.  178). 


1823  i6i 

To  my  great  dismay  the  family  of  Blessington  were  forcing  their 
way,  and  his  Lordship  had  already  gained  admittance.  I  found 
Ld  Byron  very  much  annoyed  at  their  impertinence  and  rather 
nervous.  He  received  me  most  kindly,  and  indeed  his  good- 
nature to  me  has  always  been  most  marked  and  flattering.  His 
figure  is  shorter  than  I  recollected,  probably  owing  to  my  having 
grown  so  much  since.  In  face  he  is  not  altered.  A  few  grey  locks 
scattered  among  his  beautiful  black  locks  are  all  that  announce 
the  approach  of  that  age  that  has  made  such  an  impression  on 
his  mind,  and  of  which  he  talks  so  much.  However,  he  is  only 
thirty-five,  and  if  he  was  fifty  he  could  not  consider  himself 
older.  D'Orsay  was  with  them,  and  to  my  surprize  I  found  that 
Ld  Byron  could  not,  or  would  not,  talk  French.  While  the  B.'s 
staid,  the  conversation  rather  flagged.  As  soon  as  they  were 
gone  he  talked  most  agreably  and  most  openly  on  every  subject. 
He  thinks  of  going  to  England,  and  his  desire  to  do  so  is  rather 
roused  by  perceiving  Douglas  Kinnaird  does  not  wish  it.  He 
was  sorry  not  to  converse  with  d'Orsay.  Having  lived  so  long 
out  of  the  world  it  was  rather  an  amusement  to  him  to  see  what 
sort  of  an  animal  a  dandy  of  the  present  day  is.  Rogers  he  talked 
of  in  terms  of  deep-rooted  dislike.  He  has  played  him  several 
very  scurvy  tricks,  and  if  he  does  any  more  he  will  publish  the 
most  severe  satire  he  has  written,  in  which  Rogers  is  not  spared. x 
Rogers,  when  in  Italy  last,  came  and  spent  some  time  with  him, 
to  observe  on  the  nakedness  of  the  land.  When  he  went  away  he 
said  it  was  great  hypocrisy  in  Ld  Byron  wearing  such  a  profusion 
of  crape  on  his  hat  for  17  Noel,2  when  the  real  fact  was,  he  had 
sent  the  hatter  the  hat  and  the  man  had  put  the  quantity  that 
is  usual  in  Italy.  He  talked  a  great  deal  about  Lady  Byron,  and 
asked  if  I  knew  anything  about  her  or  the  child.  He  said  it  was 
an  odd  fact,  and  perhaps  one  I  should  not  believe,  but  that  his 
recollection  of  her  face  is  so  imperfect  that  he  is  not  sure  he  should 
know  her  again.  The  child  he  means  to  leave  entirely  under  her 
guidance,  for  if  it  was  to  pass  a  month,  a  week  or  a  day  with  him 
alone,  whatever  it  might  do  wrong  afterwards  would  be  ascribed 

1  Compare  Byron  to  J.  Murray,  Feb.  20,  1818  (Works  of  Lord  Byron,  iv. 
202)  ;  and  Sept.  28,  1820  (v.  80),  where  he  calls  Rogers  "  the  double-faced 
fellow,"  and  speaks  of  "that  blackguard  Brougham." 

2  His  mother-in-law,  who  died  in  January,  1822. 

L 


1 62         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

to  that  unfortunate  time.  He  alluded  to  the  cause  of  their 
separation,  and  said  he  had  no  conception  what  it  was  for,  but 
that  the  world  would  one  day  know  he  supposed.  When  he  gave 
his  MS.  Memoirs  to  Moore  he  offered  Ly  Byron  to  read  them 
and  add  whatever  she  chose  in  the  shape  of  note  or  observation. 
She  wrote  back  that  she  declined  to  inspect  them.  His  letter 
and  hers  he  sent  copies  of  to  be  added  to  the  Memoirs.  With 
Brougham  also  he  is  very  angry  for  some  thing  he  has  said  about 
those  Memoirs,  and  he  means,  I  think,  to  have  a  slap  at  him. 
His  quarrel  with  Murray  seems  to  be  well  grounded.  There  are 
fifteen  cantos  of  Don  Juan  now  written  and  ten  are  in  England, 
but  either  D.  Kinnaird  x  or  the  booksellers  are  afraid  to  publish 
them.  When  he  was  at  Coppet  an  old  lady  of  seventy,  who  had 
written  several  English  novels  and  who  had  been  a  friend  of 
Ly  Noel's,  the  moment  she  heard  he  was  in  the  room  fainted  from 
horror.  He  wishes  he  had  never  published  Cain  ;  it  was  written 
in  great  haste,  and  some  of  it  he  thinks  very  bad.  Of  my  father 
and  mother  he  spoke  in  terms  of  the  warmest  gratitude,  and 
nothing  could  exceed  his  kindness  to  me.  During  the  Queen's 
business  he  was  very  much  pressed  to  come  over,  but  he  declined, 
because  he  said,  "  Vote  for  her  he  could  not,  vote  against  her 
he  would  not ;  and  indeed  in  cases  of  separation  he  did  not  think 
himself  a  fair  judge."  He  says  he  now  is  taking  to  be  fond  of 
money,  and  he  has  saved  £3,000.  His  projected  journey  to  Eng- 
land is  merely  to  conclude  a  lawsuit  which  requires  his  presence. 
Don  Juan  is  what  he  is  most  actively  employed  about  now,  and 
he  means  to  continue  it  till  it  bores  him.  At  Pisa  he  got  into 
a  squabble  with  the  police  about  a  man  that  had  insulted 
him,  and  that  one  of  his  servants  cut  at  and  wounded.  The 
government  took  it  up  and  vexed  him  by  a  thousand  petty  little 
tricks,  and  he  therefore  came  here.  During  the  revolution  he 
was  deeply  implicated  in  the  conspiracy,  and  had  he  been  dis- 
covered he  would  have  fared  very  ill.  He  was  only  suspected, 
and  a  hint  was  given  him  to  leave  the  Papal  States.  The  biogra- 
phical accounts  of  him  in  the  French  dictionaries  seem  to  be  the 
most  absurd  things  :  in  one,  they  say  he  drinks  out  of  the  polished 

1  Hon.  Douglas  James  William  Kinnaird  (1788-1830),  son  of  George, 
seventh  Baron  Kinnaird  ;  a  banker  and  intimate  friend  of  Byron  and 
Hobhouse. 


1823  163 

skull  of  one  of  his  mistresses,  and  in  another  that  he  lived  on  an 
island  like  a  savage  for  many  years.  The  tones  of  his  voice 
are  as  beautiful  as  ever,  and  I  am  not  surprized  at  any  woman 
falling  in  love  with  him.  Lady  C.  Lamb,  he  says,  has  the  power 
of  imitating  his  hand  to  an  alarming  perfection  and  still  possesses 
many  of  his  letters  which  she  may  alter  very  easily. 

Pisa.  April  4.  Pisa  is  a  very  pretty  town  but  inferior  to 
Florence,  which  from  its  Duomo,  its  quays,  its  bridges,  it  some- 
what resembles.  I  had  sent  my  card  to  Princesse  Borghese,1 
and  she  sent  me  word  she  hoped  to  see  me  at  half-past-seven. 
I  of  course  went  with  great  curiosity  and  punctuality.  I  found 
to  my  dismay  and  disappointment  that  she  was  about  to  give 
a  great  concert.  Pucini,2  the  celebrated  composer,  lives  in  her 
house,  and  is  a  sort  of  master  of  the  ceremonies.  When  I  arrived 
the  pianoforte  was  tuning,  the  candles  lighting,  the  Princess 
dressing.  Pisan  after  Pisan  came  in  and  seemed  enchanted  to 
see  each  other,  but  for  a  full  hour  and  a  half  no  Princess  appeared. 
At  last  she  came.  Her  manner  and  her  reception  could  not 
have  been  more  royal  if  Napoleon  was  still  upon  the  throne  he 
once  made  illustrious  by  possessing.  She  has  been  very  ill. 
Her  face  is  very  beautiful  but  angular.  The  expression  of  her 
countenance  is  very  vif  and  full  of  talent ;  her  voice,  oppressed 
as  she  was  by  a  cold,  is  very  harmonious,  and  I  was  far  from 
being  disappointed.  Her  manner  is  very  royal,  and  that  well- 
bred  indifference,  which  persons  in  such  exalted  situations  must 
assume  and  which  makes  them  while  engaged  in  one  conversation 
say  a  civil  word  in  another,  prevents  any  suivi  entretien.  She  was 
amazingly  civil  to  me,  and  talked  a  good  deal.  Now  and  then 
her  conversation  bordered  on  what  was  leste.  There  was  a  great 
deal  of  music  ;  Pucini 's  sister  sang  very  well ;  she  is  quite  a 
girl,  very  pretty,  and  destined  for  the  stage.  I  was  extremely 
shy,  and  nothing  but  the  veneration  I  have  for  her  wonderful 
brother  and  the  pride  I  feel  that  my  father  and  mother  have 
acted  such  a  distinguished  and  honorable  part  with  regard  to 
his  infamous  detention  and  treatment  at  St  Helena  could  have 
given  me  courage  to  go.  I  was  very  glad  however  I  did. 

1  Pauline  Bonaparte  was  at  this  time  living  separated  from  her  second 
husband,  Prince  Camillo  Borghese. 

2  Perhaps  Michele  Puccini,  father  of  Giacomo  Puccini. 


164         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

April  7.  Florence.  Of  course  our  first  attentions  were  paid 
to  the  Gallery  and  the  Venus  de  Medicis.  It  is  a  field  too  vast 
to  enter  upon  and  too  striking  to  be  forgotten  or  require  any 
memorandum.  In  the  evening  went  to  Me  d' Albany's.  She 
is  a  harsh,  hard,  clever,  unfeeling  woman,  very  shrewd,  very 
illnatured,  but  rather  entertaining.  She  has  had  two  remarkable 
men  for  her  husbands,  one  from  situation,  the  other  from  talents.1 
She  has  lived  in  remarkable  times  and  I  hope  she  will  leave 
some  memoirs.  They  would  be  interesting. 

April  8-15.  We  staid  at  Florence.  We  dined  several  times 
with  the  C.  Cavendishs,2  who  are  pleasant,  unaffected  people. 
We  dined  one  day  with  Ld  Burghersh  3  and  met  a  very  large 
party,  D.  of  Leeds,  Ld  and  Ly  Dillon,  Sir  P.  and  Ly  Gresley, 
Cavendishs,  Ellices,  and  a  '.lady  who  is  one  of  Lucien  Bonaparte's 
numerous  daughters,  Madame  Posse.  The  house  is  handsome 
and  the  dinner  was  splendid.  The  hostess  has  a  bad  manner 
and  seems  a  very  disagreable  woman.  I  sat  between  Ly  C. 
Cavendish  and  Mrs  Ellice  4 ;  the  latter  I  like  very  much  indeed. 
We  talked  on  the  most  agreable  subject — Bessy's  perfections. 

On  the  I4th  we  went  to  a  most  splendid  party  at  Prince 
Borghese.  Only  half  the  house  was  opened,  twenty-four  rooms. 
Beautiful  carpets,  furniture,  mirrors,  and  I  never  saw  anything 
that  approached  it  in  magnificence.  In  one  room  there  was  a 
fountain  beautifully  managed  with  a  lamp  burning  under  it, 
and  a  profusion  of  flowers. 

The  Boboli  gardens  have  been  my  favorite  walk.  The  view 
of  Florence  is  most  magnificent.  I  leave  these  southern  climes 
with  deep  regret.  Few  are  the  charms  that  England  offers  me. 
I  am  greatly  wanting  in  that  satisfied,  tranquil,  imperturbable 
conviction  that  England  is  far  superior  to  the  rest  of  the  world. 

1  She  lived  for  many  years  with  Alfieri,   but  never  married  him. 
Whether,  after  his  death,  she  married  Fabre,  the  painter,  is  uncertain. 

2  Hon.  Charles  Compton  Cavendish  (1793-1863),  fourth  son  of  George 
Augustus  Henry,  first  Earl  of  Burlington,  was  created  Baron  Chesham  in 
1858.     He  married,  in  1814,  Catherine  Susan,  daughter  of  George,  ninth 
Marquess  of  Huntly. 

3  See  ante,  p.  134.     His  wife  was  Priscilla  Anne,  daughter  of  William 
Welle sley  Pole,  fourth  Earl  of  Mornington. 

4  Edward  Ellice   (1781-1863),  for  many  years  Member  of  Parliament, 
married,  in  1809,  Lady  Hannah  Althea  Grey,  daughter  of  Charles,  first 
Earl  Grey,  and  widow  of  Captain  Bettesworth. 


1823  165 

The  whole  object  of  an  Englishman  when  once  ferried  over 
Pas  de  Calais  is  to  compare  every  thing  he  sees  to  the  diminu- 
tive objects  he  has  passed  his  existence  with,  and  to  make  a 
sort  of  perpetual  justification  of  his  own  superiority.  Most  of 
those  calculating  islanders  that  have  burst  like  the  Huns  and 
Goths  of  old  into  these  favored  countries,  only  look  at  the 
sublime  works  of  Nature  and  of  Art  that  abound  in  this  celebrated 
peninsula  to  discover  their  faults,  and  to  distort  facts  for  the  sake 
of  proving  them  either  over-rated  or  far  from  desirable  in  the 
northern  climes.  Some,  however,  tower  above  their  selfish 
criticism,  in  which  case  they  are  forced  to  envy  what  their 
bigotted  and  narrow-minded  patriotism  will  not  permit  them 
to  admire.  We  had  letters  from  England.  There  are  going  to 
be  theatricals  at  Chiswick,  and  Ld  Normanby  is  to  rant  through 
Sir  E.  Mortimer.  If  he  has  lungs  and  his  audience  patience,  it 
may  be  thought  agreable.  Sandford  is  going  to  be  married  to 
a  Miss  Channock.  I  am  very  glad  of  it.  Ly  C.  Lamb  has  written 
a  new  novel  assisted  by  Wm  Bankes  and  Godwin.1  Ld  Keith 
has  made  a  spiteful  will.  He  was  an  old  brute  and  no  good 
could  be  expected  from  him.  I  should  be  delighted  if  it  could 
be  set  aside  ;  the  triumph  of  the  living  over  the  conspiracies 
of  the  dead  always  please  me.  Nothing  proves  such  a  malignant 
bent  as  a  cruel  will.  To  be  a  tyrant  in  a  winding  sheet  is  impos- 
sible. Louis  XIV  himself  could  not  arrive  at  it.  The  petty 
quibbles  of  the  law  or  the  open  contempt  of  posterity  will  soon 
frustrate  the  intentions  of  the  proudest  aristocrat.  The  vulgar 
proverb  says,  "  A  living  dog  is  better  than  a  dead  lion." 

Thursday,  May  i.  Geneva.2  English  letters.  Mary  is  regu- 
larly out,  and  Vernon  Smith  has  obtained  the  consent  of  all 
parties  to  marry  Mary  Wilson.  These  events  make  me  feel 
very  old.  To  miss  seeing  her  debut  in  the  world  makes  me  rather 
unhappy,  which  even  the  glorious  view  of  the  Alps  and  all  the 
beauties  of  Swiss  and  Italian  scenery  can  hardly  be  sufficient 
substitutes.  Her  happiness  I  have  more  at  heart  than  any  event. 

I  went  to  call  on  the  D.  San  Carlos  and  on  Dumont.  The 
former  has  married  one  of  his  pretty  daughters  lately  ;  the  latter 
talks  of  going  to  England.  Ld  Byron  has  written  a  flattering 

1  Ada  Reis. 

2  Fox  turned  his  steps  homewards  on  April  18. 


1 66         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

letter  about  me  to  Moore.  My  vanity  is  tickled.  To  be  approved 
of  by  one  I  so  enthusiastically  (but  not  blindly)  admire  is  very 
pleasant.  Of  his  faults  he  has  his  share  like  his  neighbours, 
and  his  greatest,  in  my  opinion,  is  the  vanity  he  has  of  pretending 
they  are  greater  than  they  really  are  and  making  a  display  of 
what  the  rest  of  the  world  try  to  conceal.  He  describes  too  well 
the  delicate  and  .honorable  feelings  of  the  heart,  to  be  so  devoid 
of  them  as  half  Europe  believes. 

Monday,  19  May.  Paris.  On  arriving  at  Paris  we  had  to 
drive  about  in  search  of  apartments.  At  last  we  found  some  good 
ones,  though  terribly  noisy,  in  the  Hotel  Mirabeau.  I  found 
English  letters  ;  no  news.  I  waited  a  day  or  two  without  sending 
for  a  physician  ;  at  last  I  grew  so  much  worse  that  at  the  recom- 
mendation of  Lady  Wm  Russell  I  consulted  Dr  Maclaughlin. 
He  evidently  thought  seriously  of  my  illness.  I  had  a  sharp 
bilious  fever  and  was  very  ill.  I  never  was  in  actual  danger  or 
delirious.  I  wrote  word  home  of  my  illness.  Several  people 
came  to  see  me,  Me  de  Souza,  Bertrand,  Sir  C.  Stuart,  Me  de 
Bourke,  the  Wm  Russells,  Gallois,  &c.,  &c.  Me  de  Bourke 
offered  me  a  room  in  her  house  where  I  should  be  more  comfort- 
able than  in  an  hotel  garni.  I  met  with  great  kindness  from 
everybody.  Wortley  was  as  good  as  possible  to  me. 

The  accounts  of  my  illness  had  alarmed  my  mother  and  aunt 
so  much,  that  she  sent  my  father  and  Allen  first  and  arrived  at 
Paris  two  days  after  them,  on  the  4th  of  June,  to  my  infinite 
delight.  I  was  then  better,  though  too  weak  to  walk.  I  slept 
for  two  nights  at  Me  de  Bourke's,  and  then  moved  to  the  delightful 
apartments  my  parents  had  taken  in  the  Rue  Castiglione  at  the 
enormous  price  of  1,000  francs  a  week.  During  the  nine  days  we 
staid  I  saw  a  quantity  of  people,  and  spent  one  or  two  agreable 
evenings.  Me  de  Coigny  was  delightful. 

Lr  E.  Conyngham  has  consented  to  marry  the  idiot  Ld 
Burf ord. x  17  L.  Thynne  is  to  wed  Mr  Lascelles.  France  seems 
altered  since  I  was  last  here  to  stay ;  the  priests  and  Jesuits 
now  govern  the  country.  The  Kg  is  a  cypher.  Monsieur  and 
the  Jesuits  really  govern  ;  and  a  bigotted,  suspicious  government 

1  Lord  Burf  ord,  who  succeeded  his  father,  in  1825,  as  ninth  Duke  of 
St  Albans  married  Harriet  Mellon,  widow  of  Thomas  Coutts,  in  1827 ; 
and  Lady  Elizabeth  Conyngham  married  Lord  Huntly  in  1826. 


1823  167 

it  is.  Just  before  we  left  Paris  Me  de  Bourke,  Ly  Oxford  and  Mrs 
Hutchinson  were  ordered  to  leave  Paris  :  a  more  cruel,  arbitrary 
piece  of  tyranny  could  not  have  been  hit  upon  ;  to  Me  de  B.  it 
would  be  perfect  ruin. 

19  June.  Arrived  at  H.  House  very  early  with  my  father. 
We  found  the  Wm  Russells  already  established  there.  Ly  F. 
Leveson  has  got  twins  ;  Ly  Jane  Peel  a  son.  17  E.  Conyngham 
has  broken  off  her  marriage  very  wisely.1  Miss  Fox,  Miss 
Vernon,  the  Wm  Russells  and  Mary  !  !  !  dined  with  us. 

June  20-26.  During  this  whole  week,  except  going  with 
my  mother  to  the  play  on  Monday,  I  did  not  go  out  at  all  in  the 
evenings,  and  only  rode  once  or  twice  in  the  park,  where  I  met 
Henry  Greville,  who  on  seeing  me  drew  his  hat  over  his  eyes  ; 
so  that  our  great  friendship  is  probably  come  to  an  end — why 
and  wherefore  I  have  no  distinct  idea.  Varieties  of  people  dined 
with  us.  Vernon  Smith  was  to  have  been  married  on  the  24th, 
but  a  fall  from  his  horse  hurt  his  knee  and  chin  so  much  that  it 
was  necessary  to  defer  it.  The  Ladies  Fitzpatrick  are  in  such  a 
hurry  to  return  to  the  country  that  they  want  to  hasten  the 
ceremony  without  mercy  to  his  sufferings.  The  Dowager  Lady 
Cardigan  died  of  an  obstruction.  She  was  Miss  Vernon's  early 
friend,  and  her  death  affected  her  very  much. 

27  June.     Tankervilles,  Morpeths,  Granvilles,  Miss  Stewart, 
Caroline  Howard,  Mary,  at  dinner.     After  some  slight  attempt 
to  detain  me,  I  got  to  Lady  Ravensworth's,  which  was  a  concert. 
It  was  my  debut  in  London  society  since  my  return.     I  was 
rather  shocked  to  see  so  many  faces  that  once  were  beautiful 
so  much  destroyed  by  the  late  hours  and  endless  fatigue  of  a 
London  life.     The  party  was  pleasant,  though  rather  spoilt  by 
Royalties,  who  made  the  whole  party  stand.     I  came  home  at 
two.     Wm  Russells  staying. 

28  June.     I  went  with  Lady  Wm  Russell  and  Mary  to  a  break- 
fast at  Chiswick,2  which,  though  the  weather  was  too  rainy  to 
allow  any  gaiety  out  of  doors,  yet  succeeded  admirably.     I  have 
got  the  better  of  a  violent  prejudice  of  mine  and  grew  to  endure 

1  "  I  suppose  you  know  Ly  Elizabeth  Conyngham 's  marriage  with  Lord 
Burford  is  off.     He  became  so  unmannerly  and  cross  that  the  lady  sent 
him  a  letter  of  dismissal  last  Saturday  "  (Creevey  Papers,  ii.  73). 

2  The  Duke  of  Devonshire's  house. 


1 68         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Miss  Maria  Copley,1  who  certainly  is  pleasant  but  not  pretty. 
Me  la  Grange,  a  handsome,  fat  French  lady,  sister  of  the  little 
Prince  Edmond  de  Beauveau,  hurt  her  ankle  very  much  in 
waltzing  and  caused  great  interest.  Mary  was  well  dressed  and 
looked  pretty,  but  had  unprofitable  partners.  Lady  Gower's 
first  appearance  since  her  marriage. 

June  30.  Dined  tete-a-tete  with  Lady  Jersey,  whose  wonder- 
ful garrulity  does  not  bore  me.  I  have  such  an  affection  for  her 
and  feel  such  perfect  confidence  in  her  sincerity  that  I  like  what 
many  people  cannot  endure.  Me  de  Lieven  gave  a  ball  and,  to 
my  amazement,  asked  me.  After  her  insolence  to  me  last  year, 
my  going  would  be  meanness.  I  went  with  Lady  Jersey  to  see 
Kean  in  Richard  III ;  afterwards  to  the  Ladies  Fitzpatrick. 
Vernon  makes  too  much  love  in  public  to  be  real. 

July  i.  Only  Ly  Wm,  my  mother  and  me  at  dinner.  The 
former  gave  an  agreable  and  lively  account  of  her  winter  at  Rome. 
She  is  totally  unlike  anybody  else  I  know.  Her  expressions  are 
very  peculiar  and  well  chosen  ;  she  is  accused  by  many  of  coldness 
and  want  of  heart,  I  believe  unjustly.  She  is  certainly  fond  of 
William  and  of  her  delightful  child.  William  is  in  my  opinion 
by  far  the  most  amiable  of  the  Russells  ;  there  is  a  warmth  of 
heart  and  tenderness  of  manner  that  is  delightful,  nor  is  he  at 
all  deficient  in  understanding.  His  admiration  and  love  for 
her  is  as  just  and  great  as  it  ought  to  be. 

3  July.     Dined  at  Ld  Grey's.     Only  the  family  and  Lambton. 
Ly  Bess  is  at  Tunbridge,  alas  !     Went  in  the  evening  to  Lans- 
downe  House  where  Me  Renaudin  sang  in  the  gallery.     It  is  odd 
that  the  parties  at  Lansdowne  House  are  invariably  so  piteous  dull. 
Powdered  scientific  men,  who  neither  know  or  are  known  by 
five  people,  stand  either  in  doleful  silence  in  various  parts  of  the 
room,  or  else  fix  themselves  for  the  evening  upon  the  unfortunate 
solitary  friend  they  find  there.     It  was  very  stupid. 

4  July.     W1118,    Miss   Fox,    Miss  Vernon.     My   Lord   and   I 
went  early  to  the  Spanish  ball,2  which  surpassed  in  beauty  any 
fete  I  ever  saw.     There  were  exactly  enough  people  to  make  it 

1  Daughter   of   Sir    Joseph   Copley,    of   Sprotborough.     She   married 
Lord  Howick  (afterwards  third  Earl  Grey)  in  1832,  and  died  in  1879. 

2  A  fancy  ball  held  on  July  4  at  Covent  Garden  in  aid  of  the  Spanish 
patriots. 


1823  169 

pretty,  but  not  enough  to  give  much  to  the  Spaniards.  Wm 
Lascelles  *  began  speaking  seriously  to  Caroline  Howard  yesterday. 
Ld  Morpeth  and  Lady  G.  left  it  entirely  in  her  hands  to  decide. 
I  think  I  saw  the  moment  of  acceptance.  This  marriage  is  very 
far  from  being  a  splendid  one,  but  has  quite  as  much  chance  of 
happiness  as  either  of  her  sister's.  I  am  glad  that  one,  and  that 
my  favorite,  of  the  girls  should  make  a  match  not  wholly  and  solely 
for  the  love  of  lucre.  If  she  had  chosen  to  wait  she  might  have 
married  Ld  Dudley  and  Ward. 

5  July-  Dined  at  Ly  Jersey's.  A  large  party — Gwydyrs, 
L^  Thanet,  J.  Russell,  &c.,  &c.  Of  course  only  the  Spanish  ball 
talked  of.  Went  to  the  Opera.  G.  L-x  bores  me.  I  like 
Maria  Copley  very  much  indeed ;  she  pretends  to  like  me, 
perhaps  it  is  noble-minded  revenge  for  having  disliked  her. 

Sunday,  July  6.  Henry  Greville  and  I  have  had  a  corre- 
spondence. I  asked  him  my  offence,  which  he  told  me  was 
something  slighting  of  Ly  Normanby,  which  I  had  repeated  to 
her.  This  is  a  pretence  and  not  the  real  cause.  Whether  we 
are  friends  or  foes  I  don't  know.  At  dinner  : — Morleys,  Lda  G. 
Bentinck,  Digby,  J.  Russell,  Kensington,  Valletort,  Wortley  and 
Mr  Edwards,  Mary.  Ld  K.2  I  never  knew  before.  He  has  some 
fun  of  a  coarse,  vulgar  sort,  but  says  dry  things.  In  the  evening 
we  had  a  pleasant  little  coterie  at  the  end  of  the  library  quite 
apart  from  the  court  above.  Lady  Morley  amused  us  very  much. 
Ld  Valletort  is  good-humoured ;  Wortley  is  pleasant  in  a  quiet  way 
but  too  matter-of-fact.  Mr  H.  Lascelles  3  was  married  yesterday  to 
Lady  L.  Thynne,  and  to-day  Wm  Lascelles'  marriage  is  announced. 

July  7.  Dined  at  Lydia  White's.  Met  a  dull  party.  Mrs 
Tierney,  Wm  Spencer,  Mr  Harness,  Mr  and  Mrs  Mansfield. 
Mr  Harness  4  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  giving  a  set-down  to, 

1  William  Saunders  Sebright  Lascelles  (1798-1851),  third  son  of  Henry, 
second  Earl  of  Harewood.     Lady  Caroline  died  in  1881. 

2  William,  second  Lord  Kensington   (1777-1852),  son  of  the  former 
owner  of  Holland  House,  who  sold  it  to  Henry,  Lord  Holland. 

3  Henry  Lascelles  (1797-1857),  who  succeeded  his  father  as  third  Earl  of 
Harewood  in  1841,  his  eldest  brother,  Edward,  having  died  two  years  before. 

4  Rev.  William  Harness  (1790-1869).     He  held  several  livings  in  Lon- 
don, and  produced  an  edition  of  Shakespeare,  besides  other  works.     He  was 
an  early  friend  of  Byron  at  Harrow,   and  after  being  estranged  from 
him,  became  again  reconciled.     After  Byron  went  abroad  they  appear 
to  have  continued  to  correspond  (see  Works  of  Lord  Byron,  i.  177). 


170         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

when  he  was  describing  the  long  ringlets  Ld  Byron  wears  and 
which  he  depicted  with  as  much  accuracy  as  if  he  had  seen  them. 
He  decries  the  poet,  and  tries  by  his  conceited  gabble  to  injure 
his  fame.  Ld  Byron  need  not  fear  the  presumptuous  parson. 
Vernon  wrote  me  a  kind  letter  asking  me  to  the  wedding. 

July  8.  At  dinner : — the  Morpeths,  Gowers,  Wortley, 
Caroline  Howard,  Wm  Lascelles,  George,  and  several  others. 
Ly  Gower *  is  very  singular  ;  her  head  is  nearly  turned  with  the 
splendor  and  independence  of  her  new  situation.  Her  beauty 
I  do  not  much  admire,  and  her  talents  I  believe  to  be  over-rated, 
though  certainly  she  is  clever.  Her  sister's  approaching  marriage 
was  much  discussed.  My  Lady  (who  hates  a  love-match)  tried 
to  prove  the  lover  guilty  of  the  seven  deadly  sins.  Without 
equal  splendor,  or  indeed  without  affluence,  I  rather  think 
Caroline's  match  is  likely  to  be  happier  than  either  of  the  two 
worldly  ones  her  sisters  have  made. 

July  9.  A  large  party  : — Chabots,  Maitland,  his  brother,  S. 
Long,  Leveson  and  others.  I  went  to  Almack's  with  my  aunt 
and  sister  and  found  it  pleasanter  than  ever,  though  G.  L-x  bores 
and  pursues  me  direfully.  I  had  a  meeting  with  H.  C.,  and  except 
for  the  first  moment  there  was  no  awkwardness.  How  odd  ! 
Maria  Copley  is  very  agreable  and  I  liked  her  for  coming  openly 
to  an  explanation  with  me  for  the  violent,  intemperate  letters  I 
wrote  H.  Greville  last  year  about  her  when  I  was  angry,  and 
which  he,  like  a  true  friend,  showed  her  in  return.  It  was  very 
odd  that,  having  once  conquered  a  prejudice,  the  object  of  it 
becomes  more  amiable  and  agreable  than  it  otherwise  would  be 
considered.  There  is  an  innate  principle  of  justice  in  all  minds. 

July  10.  I  rode  all  day.  Dined  at  Ld  Dudley  and  Ward's  ; 
met  a  very  large  party.  My  end  of  the  table,  which  was  the 
pleasantest,  consisted  of  Wm  Bankes,  Ld  Lansdowne,  Sir  J. 
Mackintosh.  The  conversation  turned  on  dramatic  poetry,  which 
gave  Ward  and  Wm  Bankes  an  opportunity  of  expressing  their 
heresy  about  Shakespeare.  Ward  abuses  him  with  an  asperity 
and  violence  which  would  induce  a  stranger  to  believe  that  he 
had  suffered  some  actual  wrong  from  him.  Wm  Bankes  is 
unceasing ;  his  voice  is  painfully  unpleasant,  but  he  is  full  of 

1  Lady  Harriet  Howard,  daughter  of  George,  sixth  Earl  of  Carlisle, 
had  married  Lord  Gower  in  May. 


1823 

knowledge  and  originality.  I  was  glad  to  hear  justice  done  to 
the  beauties  of  Racine,  whose  praises  were  eloquently  recited  by 
Ward  and  Mackintosh.  The  prejudice  or  ignorance  of  most 
Englishmen  will  not  allow  them  to  admire  beauties  which  stand 
unrivalled. 

July  12.  Breakfast  at  Chiswick.  My  mother  went  and 
staid  all  day.  The  talk  of  the  day  is  Lord  Fitzwilliam's  x  extra- 
ordinary marriage  to  old  Lady  Ponsonby  ;  they  are  both  about 
75.  At  first  it  is  impossible  not  to  laugh,  but  on  second  thoughts 
it  seems  very  rational.  Two  people  long  acquainted  and  strongly 
attached,  one  wanting  society  and  the  other  fortune,  have  wisely 
determined  to  pass  the  remainder  of  their  days  together  and 
brave  the  ridicule  an  envious  and  ill-natured  world  may  try  to 
throw  upon  their  union.  The  breakfast  was  not  very  agreable 
either  to  me  or  Mary,  and  I  was  dreadfully  bored  long  before 
half-past  eleven,  at  which  hour  we  retired. 

July  15.  Went  early  with  my  aunts  to  Vernon's  wedding, 
which  took  place  in  S*  George's  Church.  Not  many  tears, 
except  from  the  Ladies  Fitz.,  who  sobbed  aloud.  Vernon  looked 
pale  and  in  pain  from  his  knee,  poor  fellow.  The  bride  was  too 
flushed.  Mr  Robinson  read  the  service  very  unaffectedly  and 
impressively  ;  it  is  dreadfully  solemn  !  The  wealthy  pair  set 
off  for  Sunning  Hill.  We  dined  at  the  Ladies  Fitzpatrick's  and 
met  all  the  family.  I  went  to  Carlton  House,  where  there  was 
a  child's  ball,  with  Lady  Gwydyr.  It  was  in  the  lower  rooms  and 
very  hot.  I  left  it  for  the  Opera,  where  I  spent  my  time  with 
Maria  Copley.  I  was  amused  how  civil  Me  de  Lieven  was  to 
me  when  she  saw  me  in  a  Royal  Palace.  I  like  L7  Augusta 
Hervey  very  much.  The  favorite  was  very  gracious  to  me. 
Lr  Grantham's  second  girl  is  transcendent.2 

17  July.  Rode  till  very  late  with  Miss  Villiers  in  the  park. 
She  is  not  only  clever  but  very  sensible  and  well-informed. 

1  William,  fourth  Earl  Fitzwilliam  (1748-1833).     See  ante,  p.  146. 

2  Thomas   Philip,   Lord   Grantham    (1781-1859),   who   succeeded   his 
maternal  aunt  in  1833  as  second  Earl  de  Grey,  married,  in  1805,  Henrietta, 
daughter  of  William,  first  Earl  of  Enniskillen.     They  had  two  daughters, 
the  youngest  of  whom,  Mary  Gertrude,  married  Henry  Vynerin  1832,  and 
died  in  1892.     The  eldest,  Anne  Florence,  became  subsequently  Baroness 
Lucas  in  her  own  right,  and  married  George  Augustus,  Lord  Fordwich, 
afterwards  sixth  Earl  Cowper,  in  1833. 


172         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Certainly  she  is  the  pleasantest  girl  in  London.  Maria  Copley 
deals  too  much  in  repartee  and  punning.  Miss  Villiers  can  talk 
more  calmly,  and  can  resist  twisting  all  that  is  said  to  her  into 
puns,  which  is  beyond  Maria's  fortitude.  I  was  too  late  for  my 
Lady's  early  dinner,  but  followed  her  to  the  Haymarket,  where 
I  saw  Sweethearts  and  Wives.  Liston  and  Terry  act  inimitably. 
Afterwards  to  the  Masquerade  Ball  given  by  the  dandies  in  the 
Argyll  Rooms.  On  the  whole  it  was  pretty,  and  some  characters 
well  sustained.  Lds  Alvanley,  Glengall  and  Arthur  Hill  were 
three  admirable  old  women  and  tormented  poor  little  M.  A. 
Taylor  1  delightfully.  Ld  Molyneux  was  a  French  postillion,  and 
acted  well  till  he  got  drunk.  Mary  was  in  her  Spanish  dress, 
under  Mrs  Lamb's  chaperonship.  Maria  Copley  was  not  there. 
Slept  at  Ly  Affleck's.  She  came  to-day. 

July  18.  Ld  Cowper  took  Luttrell  and  me  to  Dulwich,  where 
I  was  inflicted  by  a  dinner  of  32  people,  chiefly  artists.  I  sat 
between  M.  A.  Taylor,  who  was  more  absurdly  pompous  than 
ever,  and  Mr  Westall.  The  former  made  a  violent  and  abusive 
attack  on  Mr  Irving,  the  Scotch  preacher,  before  Wilkie,  his 
great  friend.  We  dined  in  the  gallery,  and  on  the  whole  it  was 
a  pretty  sight  but  deadly  dull.  Afterwards  to  a  ball  at  Devon- 
shire House,  where  I  found  my  Lady  in  state  acting  the  new 
and  ill-suited  part  of  chaperon.  The  newly  arrived  statue 
Endymion  was  exhibited,  much  to  the  real  or  affected  horror  of 
some  ladies.  It  was  Canova's  last  work,  and  he  expressed  his 
satisfaction  on  his  death-bed  that  it  was  finished ;  for  he  justly 
estimated  it  one  of  his  best  works.  Sitting  by  Lady  C.  Ashley 
and  seeing  a  pretty,  graceful  figure  standing  before  me,  I  asked 
who  it  was.  "  Don't  you  know  ?  It  is  Mrs  Pellew  2 :  it  is 
your  sister."  I  never  saw  her  before.  She  is  very  pretty  and 
graceful.  Her  conduct  has  not  been  at  all  right  towards  my 
mother  and  she  has  shown  narrow-minded  interest ;  but  I  do 
wish  she  would  come  forward  and  behave  properly.  Ld  John 
Thynne  is  supposed  to  have  proposed  to  Miss  Beresford  to-night. 

1  Michael  Angelo  Taylor  (1757-1834),  M.P.  for  Durham. 

2  Harriet  Webster,  Lady  Holland's  daughter  by  her  first  husband, 
Sir  Godfrey  Webster,  married,  in  1816,  Hon.  Fleet  wood  Broughton  Pellew, 
afterwards  Rear-Admiral  and  K.C.B.,  son  of  Edward,  Viscount  Exmouth. 
She  was  born  in  1794,  and  died  in  1849.     See  ante,  p.  10. 


1823  173 

The  world  are  curious  but  ignorant  as  to  the  answer.  Tired 
and  supperless  I  returned  with  my  Lady  to  Hd  House. 

Sunday,  July  20.  Walked  with  Theresa  Villiers  in  K.  Gardens. 
She  is  one  of  those  extraordinary  persons  who  joins  great  quick- 
ness and  drollery  to  a  sound  understanding.  Her  observations 
are  just  and  very  admirably  expressed.  I  dined  at  L.  Peel's, 
where  I  met  the  Bathursts,  Wortley,  George,  and  of  course  G.  L-x. 
The  party  was  pleasant ;  the  house  is  rather  good.  Sir  Robert 
Peel  has  bought  it,  and  gives  it  to  them.  Nothing  can  exceed 
their  felicity,  and  it  is  also  likely  to  last,  for  he  still  thinks  her 
lovely.  The  Duke  of  Bedford  came  to  his  villa  adjoining  H.  H. 

July  21.  Dined  with  my  aunts  at  Ly  Warwick's,  who  is  good- 
nature itself,  and  seems  to  live  happily  with  her  daughters  and 
to  be  a  very  happy  woman  now  her  boring  husband  is  no  more.1 
Afterwards  I  went  to  Lady  Gwydyr's,  where  there  was  a  dull 
ecarte  party.  Cards  should  be  confined  to  clubs  and  gaming- 
houses ;  they  are  dreadful,  and  victorious  foes  to  any  agreable 
conversation.  I  went  then  to  Lady  Bathurst's,  where  I  spent 
a  most  delightful  hour  with  Miss  Villiers,  whose  sprightly  con- 
versation delights  me  ;  she  is  so  far  superior  to  all  the  girls 
I  know  in  London  except  Maria  Copley,  and  I  think  she  is 
brilliant  with  less  effort  even  than  her.  With  Maria  Copley  I  also 
had  a  long  conversation.  She  is  amazingly  clever,  but  wants 
the  feminine  softness  Theresa  so  eminently  possesses ;  there  is 
harshness  in  her  manner  and  sometimes  malice  in  her  words,  and 
she  talks  too  much  never  to  allow  what  is  foolish  or  imprudent 
to  pass.  Theresa  boasts  of  being  circumspect  in  what  she  says 
and  does  to  a  degree  that  I  do  not  quite  like,  as  it  leads  one  to 
imagine  that  she  is  always  acting  a  part  and  that  rarely,  if  ever, 
you  can  get  to  the  bottom  of  her  true  feelings.  But  her  very 
boasting  of  it  makes  me  doubt  her  prudence,  as  it  must  be  the 
means  of  destroying  the  effects  she  intends  to  produce.  The 
truly  cautious  and  prudent  person  affects  the  most  open,  free- 
spoken  manners,  and  seems  to  act  from  chance  and  not  from 
intention.  Poor  Theresa  has  suffered  deeply,  and  has  never,  I 
believe,  had  her  natural  spirits  since  F.  Leveson's  cruel  treatment 
of  her.  The  Copleys  go  tomorrow,  which  is  a  great  loss  to  me 

1  Lord  Warwick  died  in  1816. 


174         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Ld  Sidmouth  x  is  about  to  marry  Ld  Stowell's  daughter — Mrs 
Townsend. 

July  23.  Dined  at  C.  Ellis'.  After  to  Almack's,  which  was 
thinnish  but  pleasant.  I  was  on  the  point  of  going  to  speak  to 
Mrs  Pellew,  who  looked  too  beautiful,  but  her  husband  carried 
her  off.  I  must  know  her  ;  she  has  such  an  amiable  countenance, 
and  yet  I  dread  going  to  speak  to  her  as  I  do  not  know  how  it 
might  be  taken.  Home  late. 

July  30.  Ld  Morpeth,  G.  Anson,  Wortley,  Wm  Russells,  Mr 
Tierney,  Ly  Affleck.  I  went  to  Almack's,  which  was  the  last 
this  year.  Very  thin  and  wretched.  Copleys  there,  and  Maria 
was  pleasant.  Mrs  Canning  and  I  are  great  friends.  She  is  a 
clever,  worldly-minded  woman ;  the  daughter,  I  fear,  is  a 
coquette,  rather  piqued  with  my  total  indifference  and  treating 
her  as  I  should  the  most  indifferent  acquaintance. 

Aug.  i.  D.  of  York,  Morpeths,  Caroline,  Wm  Russells,  L^ 
Alvanley,  Foley,  Col.  Armstrong,  A.  Upton,  Wm  Lascelles 
Abercromby.  H.R.H.  is  thinner  and  more  abstemious,  and 
thank  Heaven  he  did  not  sit  so  very  long  after  dinner,  which  is 
to  me  the  curse  of  English  society.  However,  I  cannot  help 
thinking  it  is  dying  away. 

Aug.  2.  Went  with  John  Bentinck,  Henry  Greville,  George 
Russell  to  Tunbridge.  We  found  the  Greys  cheerful  and  in  a 
comfortable  house.  I  was  delighted  to  see  Lady  Elizabeth  again. 
She  is  reckoned  out  of  spirits  but  I  did  not  think  so. 

The  Greys  are  a  delightful  family  and  when  intimately  known 
very  agreable,  but  so  many  having  lived  so  much  with  each 
other,  they  have  grown  so  dreadfully  afraid  of  the  criticism  of 
some  one  of  the  family  that  they  are  all  shy  of  talking  before 
each  other,  and  all  are  afraid  of  Ld  Grey  thinking  what  they  say 
silly.  Lady  Grey  is  better. 

Aug.  4.  Rode  to  Penshurst,  once  the  property  of  Sir  Philip 
Sydney.  Very  small  part  of  the  house  remains,  but  the  rooms 
are  very  handsome  and  there  are  some  curious  pictures.  The 
present  owners,  who  are  descended  from  the  Sydneys  by  a  Mrs 
Perry,  but  who  have  got  back  the  name  of  Sydney,  are  building 
up  the  house  according  to  the  old  plan  and  in  thirty  years  it 

1  Henry  Addington,  Viscount  Sidmouth  (1757-1844),  First  Lord  of 
the  Treasury,  1801-4.  His  first  wife  had  died  in  1811. 


1823  i75 

will  be  completely  finished.  It  is  deplorable  to  see  an  old  house 
falling  to  decay  ;  the  pictures  are  allowed  to  moulder  on  the 
walls. 

Aug.  5.  Returned  solo  to  London.  Dined  with  Lady  Affleck 
and  met  Miss  Haggerstone  and  her  niece,  who  is  a  pretty  girl. 
Afterwards  to  the  Opera.  London  is  rather  deserted.  I  have 
lost  all  my  great  friends  ;  George  and  Wortley  went  to  Yorkshire 
with  Wm  Lascelles,  and  the  Morpeths  went  to-day.  George  is 
altered,  but  not  improved.  Of  his  great  talents  I  never  had 
much  notion,  but  I  thought  that  with  his  wonderful  memory  and 
his  good  education  he  might  perhaps  make  a  figure.  I  now  doubt 
that.  He  is  grown  dreadfully  cautious,  and  is  so  afraid  of  the 
world  saying  harm  that  he  will  never  get  them  to  say  good.  He 
carries  his  caution  into  the  minute  details  of  life  to  a  degree  that 
provokes  one.  Wortley  has  plain  good  sense,  a  correct  taste, 
but  a  total  want  of  imagination.  His  desire  of  knowledge  and 
his  industry  in  procuring  it  is  very  great :  but  when  he  has  got 
it  it  produces  nothing,  for  he  is  so  straightforward  that  what  is 
not  matter  of  fact  appears  to  him  falsehood.  He  has  an  excellent 
heart  and  a  clear  understanding,  but  has  a  brusquerie  and  coldness 
of  manner  that  will  make  him  unpopular.  I  came  home  with 
Mary  and  my  aunts.  Theresa  there. 

Aug.  6.  Vice-Chancellor, *  Mr  Ducane,  Dr  Woolridge,2 
John  Russell,  Luttrell.  The  Vice  is  about  to  make  a  foreign 
excursion  and  means  to  visit  many  royalties,  of  which  honor  he 
boasted  amazingly.  My  mother  gave  him  a  severe  set-down. 

During  the  remainder  of  the  month  of  August  I  have  been 
too  idle  to  continue  this  diary.  Sydney  Smith,  the  Cowpers  and 
Luttrell  staid  a  week  or  ten  days  with  us  and  were  extremely 
pleasant.  Sydney  more  full  of  life  and  spirits  than  ever.  Lord 
Cowper  has  a  painfully  correct  memory  and  a  dreadful  voice. 
His  stories  are  sometimes  witty,  but  so  heavily  told  that  it  is 
impossible  to  attend.  I  dined  on  the  I4th  with  Ld  Dudley,  and 
met  Granvilles,  Miss  Stewart,  Cannings,  Wilmot,  G.  Bentinck, 
&c.,  &c.  It  was  a  very  agreable  dinner.  Miss  Stewart  was  full 
of  conversation  and  drollery.  The  following  day  I  dined  with 
Lady  Affleck,  and  went  with  Lady  Elphinstone  to  see  The  Miller's 

1  Sir  John  Leach. 

2  Probably  Dr  Woolryche,  an  eminent  physician. 


176         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Maid  at  the  Lyceum.  Miss  Kelly  acts  inimitably,  and  the  man 
that  supplies  poor  Emery's  part  is  not  bad.  Frankenstein  is  a 
disgusting  thing,  but  rather  interesting.  ]>  E.  knew  a  great  deal 
about  H.  C.  and  me.  It  is  odd  how  women  enjoy  making 
mischief  and  parting  friends.  What  she  told  me  about  G.  L-x 
was,  I  have  no  doubt,  true,  but  not  kind  to  repeat.  Women 
are  more  narrow-minded  certainly  than  men.  I  went  one  evening 
with  Mary  to  a  small  party  at  Lady  Granville's,1  which  was  dull 
because  Theresa  n'y  etait  pas.  I  dined  one  day  with  the  Duchess 
of  Bedford  and  met  the  Ebringtons.2  I  was  glad  to  see  her 
looking  better  ;  she  is  very  agreable.  Ld  Lynedoch  also  dined 
there.  He  is  just  returned  from  Paris,  where  his  old  friends 
almost  cut  him  because  he  subscribed  to  the  Spaniards ;  and 
there  was  some  consultation  whether  he  should  be  sent  away 
or  not,  but  Monsieur  saved  him.  I  went  to  the  Haymarket 
with  the  Ladies  and  the  V.  Smiths,  where  I  saw  for  a  third  time 
Sweethearts  and  Wives.  I  settled  there  to  go  with  H.  Greville 
to  Petre's,  by  which  I  shall  pass  some  time  in  the  house  with 
Theresa. 

On  Monday  the  25th  I  went  down  to  Sfc  Anne's 3  for  two  nights, 
where  I  found  only  Miss  Marston  and  Miss  Willoughby.  I  rode 
over  to  Sunning  Hill,  where  the  Smiths  have  lodged  themselves. 
On  Wednesday,  27th,  Leveson  and  I  rode  to  Hd  House,  and  found 
my  parents  just  gone  for  two  nights  to  Brighton.  Leveson  is 
grown  calmer  and  pleasanter.  He  has  good  impulses  and  great 
vivacity  and  talent,  but  wants  warm  feelings,  and  has  the  Smith 
vulgar  mind  which  pervades  all  the  family.  I  found  only  Ly 
Affleck,  Mary  and  Mr  Allen  at  H.  H8e.  On  Friday,  29th,  Ld 
and  Ly  Holland  returned,  delighted  with  their  expedition  and 
much  struck  with  the  gaiety  and  improvement  of  Brighton. 

My  last  week  at  Hd  House  was  dullish  and  tiresome  from  the 

1  Henrietta,  daughter  of  William,  fifth  Duke  of  Devonshire,  married, 
in  1809,  Lord  Granville  Leveson-Gower,  youngest  son  of  George  Granville, 
first  Marquess  of  Stafford.     He  was  raised  to  the  peerage  in   1815  as 
Viscount  Granville,  and  was  given  an  Earldom  in  1833.     He  was  British 
Ambassador  in  Paris  for  many  years. 

2  Hugh,  Viscount  Ebrington  (1783-1861),  who  suceeded  his  father  as 
second  Earl  Fortescue  in  1841,  married  Susan,  daughter  of  Dudley,  first 
Earl  of  Harrowby,  in  1817.     She  died  in  1827. 

3  St  Anne's  Hill,  Mrs  Charles  James  Fox's  house  near  Chertsey. 


de  Tutt  f>in.\~it 


LADY   AFFLECK 


1823  i77 

perpetual  battles  with  my  Lady  about  my  going.  We  lived 
down  stairs,  as  the  library  is  about  to  have  a  window  opened  on 
the  S.E.  and  the  windows  in  the  dining-room  are  repairing.  On 
the  6th  of  September  Henry  Greville  and  I  set  out  for  Yorkshire. 
We  slept  at  Witham  Common,  which  is  a  delightful  inn,  and  on 
the  following  day  we  got  to  Stapleton,  the  newly  purchased  house 
of  "  Petre  the  cretur."  The  interior  is  very  comfortable,  but  the 
whole  appearance  of  the  house  is  a  modern  ginger-bread  sort  of 
concern,  like  the  prints  in  Mr  Ackerman's  catch-penny  works. 
There  was  a  large  party  in  the  house,  of  whom  the  chief  people 
were  : — Villiers',  G.  Vernons,  Milbanks,  Waddingtons,  Lambton, 
Normanby,  Wilton,  Wm  Ashley,  Stanley,  C.  Villiers,  Lady  Petre 
and  her  two  daughters,  besides  a  variety  of  betting  racing  people. 
On  the  whole  the  week  I  spent  there  was  agreable,  though  the 
gaiety  of  the  races  was  dreadfully  damped  by  the  fatal  fall  of 
poor  Trevor1  while  riding  a  race.  He  ran  against  a  post  and 
was  pitched  upon  his  head.  He  lingered  about  a  week  without 
the  least  appearance  of  returning  sense.  His  father,  Ld  Dun- 
gannon,  came  down  just  in  time  to  see  him  die,  leaving  his  wife 
in  a  very  alarming  state  of  health.  This  dreadful  blow  will  most 
probably  destroy  her. 

Of  Theresa  I  can  say  no  more  ;  my  laudatory  epithets  are 
all  too  weak.  She  is  one  of  the  cleverest  and  at  the  same  time 
most  sensible  women  I  ever  met  with.  I  never  saw  so  much  of 
Charles  Villiers  before.2  He  is  clever  and  agreable,  very  sarcastic, 
and  not  blessed  with  an  even  temper  I  should  think  ;  but  I  like 
him  very  much.  He  is  not  overburdened  by  the  prejudices  of 
the  world,  and  treats  some  subjects  with  the  consideration  they 
deserve.  Mrs  Lumley  came  over  once  or  twice  to  the  races. 
She  still  seemed  following  her  favorite  occupation,  flirting. 
Henry  Greville  and  I  got  on  well  when  tete-a-tete,  but  before 
people  he  always  takes  the  opportunity  of  saying  the  most  painful 
and  disagreable  thing  to  me.  In  fact  I  am  sorry  to  find  the  sad 
truth,  that  if  a  friendship  like  that  I  felt  for  him  does  meet  with 
a  check,  it  is  a  fatal  one. 

1  Hon.  Charles  Henry  Trevor  (1801-23),  second  son  of  Arthur,  second 
Viscount  Dungannon   (1763-1837),  and  Charlotte,  daughter  of  Charles, 
first  Lord  Southampton.     His  mother  died  in  1828. 

2  Charles  Pelham  Villiers   (1802-98),  Miss  Theresa  Villiers'  brother, 
M.P.  for  Wolverhampton,  1835-98. 

M 


178         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Of  created  bores  Lady  Petre l  is  the  Phoenix,  with  no  under- 
standing, an  enquiring  mind  about  trifles,  an  incessant  tongue 
and  a  stentorian  voice.  What  could  be  sent  on  earth  as  a  greater 
scourge  to  the  exquisites  I  Her  son  is  harmless  and  very  good- 
natured,  but  quite  a  fool  and  very  dirty.  His  house  and  station 
will,  however,  procure  him  a  wife,  when  experience  has  taught 
him  not  to  seek  for  one  among  those  whose  beauty  or  whose 
talents  require  a  better  bidder. 

On  Monday,  the  I5th,  I  went  over  to  Doncaster  to  see  the 
races.  The  Sfc  Leger  was  twice  run  for,  as  the  first  was  declared 
a  false  start,  to  the  ruin  of  many  spectators.  I  went  afterwards 
to  Cantley,  where  I  found  Lambton,  Milbankes,  Powletts,  Mr 
Ellice.  In  the  evening  to  the  ball,  which  was  not  very  pleasant. 

The  races  lasted  three  days.  The  whole  of  the  time  I  passed 
at  Cantley7  which  was  rather  dull.  We  went  every  day  to  the 
stand.  On  the  second  day  Mrs  Taylor  and  Lady  Londonderry 2 
had  a  scene,  and  were  reconciled,  which  must  have  been  very 
gratifying  to  both  parties.  The  races  are  very  pretty,  and  nothing 
can  look  more  animated  than  the  whole  race-course  covered  with 
anxious  spectators. 

Mrs  Taylor  is  a  dull  woman,  and  one  cannot  laugh  laugh  all 
day  long  at  Michael.  Lady  C.  Powlett 3  is  pleasant,  but  so  very 
conceited  and  occupied  with  what  she  thinks  good  looks  that  it 
provokes  one.  I  went  to  two  balls  with  Lady  Augusta  Milbank.* 
She  is  not  overburdened  with  sense,  but  has  an  inexhaustible 
fund  of  good  humour  to  make  up  for  her  other  deficiencies.  She 
is  a  horse  and  dog  woman,  and  has  barely  an  idea  that  is  not 
connected  with  racing  and  hunting. 

On  Saturday,  the  20th,  I  went  to  Sprotborough,  where  I  found 
the  Villiers,  Pointzs,  G.  Bentinck,  H.  Greville,  C.  Villiers,  Irby, 

1  See  ante,  p.   147. 

2  Frances  Anne,  second  wife  of   Charles  William,    third  Marquess  of 
Londonderry  (1778-1854),  daughter  and  sole  heiress  of  Sir  Henry  Vane- 
Tempest,  whose  only  sister  married  Michael  Angelo  Taylor. 

8  Caroline,  daughter  of  William,  first  Earl  of  Lonsdale,  married,  in  1815, 
William  John  Frederick  Powlett  (1792-1864),  who  succeeded  his  brother 
as  third  Duke  of  Cleveland  a  few  months  before  his  death.  She  died  in 
1883,  aged  91. 

4  Augusta  Henrietta,  daughter  of  William  Harry,  third  Earl  of  Dar- 
lington, subsequently  created  Duke  of  Cleveland,  married  Mark  Milbank 
(1795-1881)  in  1817.  She  died  in  1874. 


1823  i79 

and  my  hosts.1  The  Pointz*  family  are  dull  but  worthy,  all  of 
them  devotionally  mad  and  quite  enthusiasts  about  religion. 
He  is  a  most  amiable  man/and  it  is  impossible  not  to  respect  and 
admire  him  for  his  benevolence  and  fortitude.  Mrs  Pointz  is  a 
good  sort  of  a  body,  like  a  valuable  housekeeper.  One  daughter 
is  frightful,  and  the  other  brilliantly  handsome  ;  both,  however, 
seem  to  be  extremely  dull,  nor  can  I  think  the  beauty  so  devoid 
of  affectation  as  she  is  reckoned  by  her  friends.  Sir  Joseph  is 
very  agreable  ;  his  sarcasms  are  biting,  and  he  gives  great  effect 
to  his  jokes  by  never  joining  in  the  laugh.  Maria  Copley  is  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  girls  I  ever  met  with,  full  of  talent,  full 
of  knowledge,  and  quite  free  from  pretension.  To  me  (but  then 
I  have  ceased  to  be  an  impartial  judge),  she  is  not  so  pleasant  as 
Theresa  Villiers,  because  there  is  more  effort,  though  on  the  whole 
I  think  she  is  certainly  a  more  remarkable  woman.  Poor  girl ! 
I  fear  she  will  not  live  long.  Her  chest  is  very  weak,  and  she 
never  sleeps  for  more  than  two  hours  in  the  night.  Miss  Copley  3 
is  also  clever  and  very  well  informed,  but  extremely  lengthy  and 
explanatory,  and,  what  I  mind  still  more  in  a  woman,  full  of 
cant,  slang  words  and  phrases.  The  house  is  in  the  old  French 
style,  with  gardens  and  terraces  laid  out  in  the  most  formal  way. 
It  is  very  handsome,  and  the  drawing-room  is  one  of  the  pleasantest 
rooms  I  ever  saw  in  a  country-house.  On  Sunday  evening  we 
played  at  crambo,  as  it  was  thought  the  only  game  godly  enough 
for  the  Pointzs.  I  came  to  York  with  C.  Villiers  on  Monday 
the  22d  and  lodged  at  Sydney  Smith's,  where  I  found  all  his 
family  and  a  Mr  Stanley,4  brother  to  Sir  John,  who  wrote  a  very 
clever  account  of  the  Manchester  massacre  and  who  seems  an 
intelligent,  agreable  man. 

For  such  a  long  time  have  I  discontinued  writing  this  diary, 
which  after  this  would  have  been  little  more  than  detailing 
various  hopes  and  fears,  expectations  and  suspicions,  that  I 

1  Sir  Joseph  Copley,  third  Bart.  (1769-1838),  married  Cecil,  daughter 
of  Hon.  and  Rev.  George  Hamilton,  the  divorced  wife  of  John  James, 
first  Marquess  of  Abercorn.     She  died  in   1819. 

2  See  ante,  p.  129. 

8  Elizabeth  Mary,  whom  Creevey  speaks  of  as  "  Coppy  "  (ii.  306). 
She  died,  unmarried,  in  1887. 

4  Rev.  Edward  Stanley  (1779-1849),  afterwards  Bishop  of  Norwich. 
Sir  John  Stanley  was  made  Lord  Stanley  of  Alderley  in  1839. 


180         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

despair  of  doing  more  than  making  a  hasty  retrospect.  At  York 
I  remained  till  the  27th.  Amusement  was  to  be  taken  there  in 
such  vast  quantities  at  a  time,  and  the  length  both  of  the  music 
in  the  Minster  and  the  concert-room  was  so  fatiguing,  that  I  was 
hardly  pleased  with  it  at  the  time,  though  very  glad  to  have  seen 
such  a  splendid  sight.  Nothing  could  surpass  the  magnificence  of 
the  Minster,  and  the  whole  was  admirably  conducted.  Brougham 
suddenly  arrived  during  The  Messiah,  and  Sydney  said,  "  He 
appeared  as  counsel  on  the  other  side." 

On  the  27th  I  went  with  C.  Villiers  to  Newby.  Perhaps  the 
time  I  spent  there  was  the  happiest  of  my  existence,  getting  more 
and  more  acquainted  and  admiring  more  and  more  every  instant 
I  saw.  The  good-nature  and  kindness  of  Lady  Grantham  to  me 
I  can  never  forget  ;  and  though  I  think  her  certainly  a  fool  and 
now  and  then  (but  I  believe  unintentionally)  a  mischievous  one, 
I  shall  never  cease  to  be  grateful  for  her  goodness  towards  me 
as  long  as  I  live.  She  is  the  most  imprudent  of  people  in  her 
conversation,  and  so  proud  of  shewing  she  is  worthy  of  her 
friends'  confidence,  that  she  cannot  help  betraying  it.  Her 
eldest  daughter  is  a  disagreable  girl,  and  says  many  rude  things 
for  fear  of  being  tempted  to  flirt.  She  is  rather  handsome — like 
F.  Leveson  and  the  picture  by  Bronzino  in  the  Palazzo  Pitti  of 
Judith.  The  second  girl  is  quite  beautiful  and  of  delightful, 
modest  manners  ;  I  seldom  saw  a  face  that  captivated  me  more. 
Ld  Grantham  is  good-nature  itself,  not  at  all  agreable,  but  I 
believe  might  be  if  less  silent.  His  occupations  are  chiefly 
mechanical.  He  has  brought  a  little  theatre  of  his  to  a  wonderful 
state  of  perfection,  and  one  evening  we  had  the  representation  of 
a  Harlequin  farce. 

The  company  at  Newby  were  Villiers'  (3),  Agar  Ellis',  H. 
Greville,  W.  Ashley,  G.  Fortescue,  Lascelles,  and  for  the  two 
last  evenings,  the  Jerseys,  from  Scotland.  I  grew  to  know  more 
and  like  better  Charles  Villiers.  He  is  full  of  drollery,  and  has 
a  very  good  understanding,  though  perhaps  inclined  to  take  too 
dark  a  view  of  the  world,  which  the  foolish  attempt  of  some 
people  to  make  it  all  couleur  de  rose  does  tempt  one.  All  extremes 
are  false,  and  to  think  mankind  all  bad  is  as  silly  as  to  suppose 
them  all  good  ;  which  some  people  do,  and  others  affect  to  do, 
in  order  to  gain  the  character  of  philanthropists,  when  in  reality 


1823  i8i 

they  deserve  only  that  of  fools  I  grew  to  know  better  and  like  less. 
W.  Lascelles — he  is  a  puppy,  thinking  of  very  little  but  his  own 
superiority  over  all  his  neighbours.  He  is  jealous  already  of  her, 
but  I  should  think  with  little  cause  ;  her  face  will  be  a  good 
protection  to  her  virtue  had  she  no  other. 

On  Sundays  Ld  G.  used  to  assemble  the  servants  and  his 
guests  and  read  to  them  an  evening  prayer.  This  cant  is  to  me 
very  disagreable,  but  what  I  thought  more  ludicrous  was  finding 
every  bed-room  provided  with  Bible  and  Prayer-book.  Lady  G. 
cry  devout,  and  one  of  her  ludicrous  questions  to  me  was 
concerning  my  religious  tenets,  upon  which  head  she  had  some 
doubts  that  prevented  her  from  divining  my  character  instantly, 
in  the  way  she  usually  does  that  of  all  her  friends  !  !  !  George 
Fortescue  I  always  liked  since  I  first  knew  him  ;  he  has  a  good 
deal  of  affectation,  but  I  do  not  mind  that  much  if  he  is  otherwise 
agreable.  Wm  Ashley1  is  a  warm-hearted,  good,  affectionate 
person  ;  his  abilities  are  over-rated,  I  think,  and  it  seems  to  me 
that  he  is  very  inferior  to  Ashley,  but  many  people  who  know 
both  think  otherwise.  Henry  Greville  and  I  get  on  better,  and 
I  believe  that  he  does  like  me  as  much  as  Grevilles  like  anything 
that  does  not  bring  them  some  tangible  advantage.  Lady 
Jersey  came  very  unwell  indeed  from  Scotland  ;  she  is  with  child, 
but  a  miscarriage  is  expected  as  she  strained  herself.  The 
Morpeths  have  given  up  going  to  Italy  ;  George  goes  alone. 
H.  Greville  goes  with  the  F.  Levesons. 

I  arrived  in  London  at  the  D.  of  Bedford's  in  Sfc  James' 
Square,  where  my  parents  were  living  on  account  of  the  repairs 
at  Hd  H8e,  on  the  evening  of  the  loth.  George  Howard,  either 
owing  to  my  increased  fastidiousness  or  to  (what  I  believe  it  to 
be)  alteration  in  his  manner,  is  become  much  less  agreable  to  me. 
Indeed  he  seems  to  me  to  be  much  altered  since  I  came  back  to 
England,  grown  duller,  more  cautious,  and  less  abandon  and  nature 
about  him,  which  after  all  was  what  made  him  pleasant.  Ever 
since  my  absence  my  Lady's  letters  have  been  in  a  sort  of  perpetual 
reproachful,  sneering  tone,  and  on  my  return  I  was  not  surprized 
to  find  the  same  manner  towards  me.  However  I  have  never 
taken  the  least  notice,  and  have  allowed  all  her  gibes  and  sarcasms 

1  Hon.  William  Ashley  (1803-1877),  second  son  of  Cropley,  sixth 
Earl  of  Shaftesbury. 


1 82         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

upon  subjects  she  must  think  painful  to  me  to  pass  by  quite 
apparently  unheeded  :  and  owing  to  that  apparent  indifference 
I  attribute  her  subsequent  silence. 

John  Wortley's  conduct  towards  me  and is  droll.  He 

certainly  is  very  much  tyris,  but  for  some  reason,  which  he  calls 
his  youth,  he  will  not  take  a  decided  step  and  "  since  'tis  hard  to 
combat  learns  to  fly."  From  Newby  I  wrote  him  a  long  letter 
urging  him  for  both  their  sakes,  partly  for  the  purpose  of  seeing 
what  were  his  intentions,  and  partly  because  I  really  believe  for 
her  happiness  it  would  be  best.  His  answer  was  strange,  denying 
any  notion  of  the  sort,  yet  evidently  wishing  me  to  leave  Newby 
and  not  to  be  with  her.  She,  I  think,  would  soon  like  him.  His 
solid  good  qualities  joined  to  his  talents,  which,  though  not 
brilliant  and  showy  are  very  valuable,  would  weigh  with  her  a 
great  deal.  Of  me  she  has  formed,  I  fear,  too  true  an  estimate. 
She  thinks  me  possessed  of  good  impulses  and  quick  apprehension, 
but  without  principles  to  guide  the  one  or  perseverance  to  improve 
the  other.  If  I  ever  was  to  become  her  husband,  I  should  be  a 
better  and  a  wiser  man — God  knows  a  happier  one  ! 

It  has  seldom  been  my  fate  to  pass  twelve  days  more 
thoroughly  uncomfortably  than  I  did  those  in  London.  The 
F.  Levesons  and  George  went  off  to  Italy,  not  at  the  same  time, 
but  almost.  My  chief  amusement  was  going  to  the  play,  but 
as  they  were  very  bad,  that  was  not  a  very  great  diversion.  Mary 
for  most  part  of  the  time  was  at  Lady  Affleck's,  and  I  used  to  see 
a  great  deal  of  her.  She  improves  daily  in  beauty  and  in  under- 
standing. No  brother  can  love  his  sister  more  than  I  do  her  and 
feel  more  anxious  as  to  her  sort  in  the  world. 

The  Granvilles  went  down  to  Saltram.  The  total  destruction 
of  Spanish  liberty  and  the  re-establishment  of  Ferdinand,  with  all 
his  feelings  of  revengeful  tyranny,  has  taken  place,  as  one  might 
have  expected  from  the  beginning.1  Strange  to  say,  the  Due 
d'Angouleme  has  behaved  with  moderation,  and,  what  is  still 
more  surprizing,  with  sense,  and  tries  his  utmost  to  make  Ferdi- 
nand revoke  his  bloody  edicts. 

1  The  French  attack  on  the  Spanish  Constitutionalists  commenced  by 
the  passage  of  the  frontier  in  April  by  the  Due  d'Angouleme,  nephew  of 
Louis  XVIII.  The  Spaniards  retired  before  him  to  Cadiz,  taking  King 
Ferdinand  with  them,  but  were  obliged  to  set  him  at  liberty  on  October  I, 


1823  183 

I  went  down  for  two  nights  with  my  father  to  Wiltshire,  as 
he  wanted  to  see  his  property.  The  first  night  we  slept  at 
Swindon,  the  next  at  Wotton  Bassett.  Seeing  farmers  and 
live  stock  is,  I  have  no  doubt,  interesting  to  those  who  understand 
anything  about  farming  and  the  country,  but  to  me,  farther  than 
the  delightful  society  of  my  dear  father,  which  always  is  one  of 
the  greatest  pleasures  I  can  have,  it  was  extremely  dull. 

On  the  23d  October  we  went  to  Sfc  Ann's  and  staid  there  two 
nights.  Miss  Fox  and  the  Smiths  with  Mary  came  over  to  see 
us.  Late  as  it  was  in  the  year,  the  place  was  still  in  beauty. 
There  was  nobody  at  Sfc  Ann's  but  Miss  Marston  and  Miss  Wil- 
loughby.  The  latter  is  but  little  removed  from  an  idiot,  and 
besides  is  jealous  and  suspicious. 

On  Saturday  the  25th  we  went  to  Petworth.  To  this  extra- 
ordinary place  I  have  not  been  for  several  years,  and  it  struck 
me  as  more  remarkable  this  time  than  it  ever  did  before.  No 
order,  no  method,  no  improvement  or  alteration,  has  been 
established  since  it  first  belonged  to  Ld  Egremont.  The  want  of 
comforts,  of  regularity,  and  still  more  the  total  absence  of 
cleanliness,  made  it,  splendid  and  beautiful  as  it  is,  far  from 
being  agreable.  Society  too  seems  as  little  attended  to  as 
anything  else.  People  of  all  descriptions,  without  any  connection 
or  acquaintance  with  each  other,  are  gathered  together  and  huddled 
up  at  the  dinner  table,  which  is  the  only  point  of  reunion  during 
the  whole  day.  The  inmates  when  we  were  there  chiefly  consisted 
of  the  various  branches,  legitimates  and  illegitimates,  of  his 
family  :  his  three  daughters  and  their  three  husbands,  Lady 
Burrell,  Mrs  G.  FitzClarence,  Mrs  King ;  two  of  his  sons,  G. 
Wyndham 1  and  H.  Wyndham,  the  former  of  whom  has  married 
a  very  pretty  and  pleasing  woman,  daughter  of  a  neighbouring 
clergyman.  The  latter  from  compulsion  has  married  a  daughter 
of  Ld  Charles  Somerset's,  the  greatest  monster  ever  beheld — 
more  like  Swift's  description  of  a  female  Yahoo  than  anything 
human.  Lady  Burrell  is  a  charming  woman,  with  very  pretty 

1  George  Wyndham  (1787-1869),  the  eldest  son  of  this  illegitimate 
family  of  George  O'Brien,  third  Earl  of  Egremont  (1751-1837),  was  created 
Baron  Leconfield  in  1859.  His  wife,  whom  he  married  in  1815,  was  Mary 
Fanny,  daughter  of  Rev.  William  Blunt,  of  Crabbet.  His  next  brother, 
Henry  (1790-1860),  became  JCQ,P.  antf  General, 


184         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

unassuming  manners,  and  with  some  drollery  about  her  when  her 
shyness  wears  off ;  she  is  by  far  the  best  of  the  three.  Mrs  FC.1 
seems  a  poor,  sickly,  discontented,  fault-finding  woman,  with  the 
airs  and  graces  of  a  beauty  still  remaining  when  the  actual  claims 
to  such  a  character  are  gone  by.  Mrs  King  is  only  just  married 
to  a  sickly,  dullish  man,  a  great  deal  older  than  herself,  with 
whom  she  seems  to  be  still  in  love.  Besides  these  illegitimates, 
we  had  Captain  Wyndham,2  who  will,  at  the  death  of  his  uncles 
and  father,  become  Ld  Egremont.  He  seems  a  coarse,  vulgar, 
uneducated,  stupid  man,  married  to  a  good-looking  woman  who 
has  no  children,  daughter  of  Dr  Roberts,  of  Eton.3  Petworth 
and  most  part  of  the  estates  are  unsettled,  and  Ld  E.  may  leave 
them  to  whoever  he  likes  best.  What  heart-burnings  and 
jealousies  there  must  exist !  Nobody  knows  what  is  his  intention, 
and  he  is  such  a  restless,  unsettled  man  that  I  should  not  be 
surprized  if  he  changed  his  mind  thirty  times  in  the  24  hours. 

The  George  Lambs,  Westmacott  and  M.  Vaudreuil,4  who  is 
one  of  Polignac's  attache's  and  is  a  clever,  agreable,  lively  little 
man,  were  also  in  the  house.  G.  Lamb  from  intemperance  laid 
himself  up  with  the  gout.  Westmacott  came  down  to  see  where 
a  bas-relief  of  his  should  be  placed,  which  he  has  just  completed. 
He  is  a  pompous,  conceited  little  man,  and  very  much  occupied 
with  his  own  fame.  He  gave  himself  great  airs  and  offended 
Ld  E.,  who,  from  his  great  deference  for  whatever  is  Greek,  called 
him  Westmacotteles.  His  bas-relief  is  taken  from  an  ode  in  Horace, 
and  some  of  it  is  well  executed  ;  but  on  the  whole  I  think  it  stiff 
and  affected.  The  sleeping  child  is  too  like  an  infant  Hercules  ; 
the  figure  of  Venus  is  a  portrait,  but  he  is  bound  to  secrecy  as 
to  the  original's  name.  It  is  the  mistress  of  some  man  about  in 
society. 

George  FitzClarence  is  so  extremely  goodhumoured,  and  seems 

1  George  FitzClarence,  her  husband,  was  created  Earl  of  Munster  in 
1831. 

2  George  Francis  Wyndham  (1786-1845),  only  son  of  Hon.  William 
Frederick  Wyndham  and  Lady  Holland's  old  friend,  Mrs  Wyndham  (see 
ante,  p.  in).     He  succeeded  as  fourth  Earl  in  1837,  and  on  his  death  the 
Egremont  peerage  became  extinct. 

3  Vice -Provost  of  Eton. 

4  Vicomte  Alfred  de  Vaudreuil  (1799-1834),  a  Secretary  at  the  French 
Embassy. 


1823  185 

in  such  perpetual  good  spirits  that  it  is  impossible  to  dislike  him. 
He  spoke  of  Charles  with  such  warmth  of  affection,  that  had  he 
no  other  recommendation  I  should  have  liked  him  for  that.  He 
has  a  sort  of  quickness  about  him  that  perhaps  does  not  amount 
to  cleverness,  but  is  not  far  from  it.  He  is  writing  a  book  upon 
military  history  and  reads  a  great  deal  for  the  purpose  ;  but  it 
is  such  a  vast  field  to  enter  upon  and  he  writes  in  such  a  rambling 
manner,  that  there  is  great  doubt  if  he  will  ever  bring  it  to  a 
conclusion.  I  rode  with  him  and  Vaudreuil  to  Cowdray.  We 
met  the  Pointzs  at  their  park  gate  and  rode  with  them.  The 
beauty  was  looking  very  well.  They  are  a  dull  family,  and  their 
conversation  consists  only  of  a  sort  of  praise  of  their  Creator  by 
extolling  all  his  creatures  far  beyond  their  deserts,  a  sort  of 
exaggerated  optimism  that  alas  !  produces  a  very  different  effect 
upon  their  hearers.  The  park  at  Cowdray  is  very  fine  and  full 
of  splendid  trees,  especially  Spanish  chestnuts. 

Ld  Egremont  himself  is  very  agreable,  but  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  catch  him  for  a  moment,  for  he  passes  his  life  in  eternal 
locomotion  from  one  room  to  another  without  sitting  for  an 
instant.  There  are  few  people  who  might  have  made  a  greater 
figure  in  the  world  than  he  might,  but  like  many  others  he  has 
preferred  a  life  of  enjoyment  to  one  of  celebrity,  and  has  done 
very  little  in  politicks.  His  understanding  is  very  good,  and  his 
turn  for  sarcasm  and  satire  is  unrivalled.  If  he  cares  much  for 
the  ridiculous  pride  of  family  and  aristocracy,  the  state  his  family 
is  now  in  must  annoy  him  a  good  deal ;  but  I  should  think  he 
was  above  caring  for  those  farcical  distinctions,  though  one  never 
can  know.  Like  beauty,  most  people  who  possess  rank  and  great 
family  set  a  value  upon  it  much  higher  than  sometimes  their 
understandings  and  opinions  would  lead  one  to  suppose  ;  and 
those  who  have  it  not  envy  and  decry  it,  for  in  the  amiable  breast 
of  man  divine  distinction  seldom  fails  of  producing  vanity  in  its 
possessors  and  envy  in  its  beholders. 

We  went  over  for  two  nights  to  Ld  R.  Spencer's,1  Woolbeding, 
which  is  in  the  greatest  contrast  to  Petworth  in  every  way. 
Small,  comfortable,  and  quite  luxurious,  from  the  perpetual 
attentions  of  its  owners  to  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  their 

1  Third  son  of  Charles  Spencer,  third  Duke  of  Maryborough,  He  died 
in  1831. 


1 86         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

guests  and  of  themselves.  We  found  nobody  there  but  Mr  and 
Mrs  G.  Ponsonby  and  Luttrell.  The  latter  was  very  agreable, 
and  so  exquisite  was  the  eating  and  the  whole  fa9on  de  vivre 
that  he  was  in  perfect  good  humour,  and  during  a  long  walk  I 
took  with  him  not  one  tart  expression  escaped  him.  The  fault 
of  the  house  is  the  excessive  violence  of  their  politicks.  It  is, 
I  suppose,  want  of  energy  in  my  character,  at  least  I  am  always 
told  so,  but  to  me  such  party  violence  and  such  bigoted  opinions 
are  quite  incomprehensible.  I  hate  seeing  them  entertained  by 
those  whom  I  am  anxious  to  follow  and  with  whom  I  agree  on 
minor  points.  It  always  makes  me  distrust  and  doubt  both  their 
integrity  and  their  understanding,  and  for  a  moment  makes  me  sup- 
pose those  that  differ  from  them  must  be  right.  It  always  consoles 
me  when  I  find  bigotry  and  violence  as  great  on  the  other  side. 

We  went  back  to  Petworth  for  two  days,  and  arrived  at 
Brighton  on  the  first  of  November.  For  the  first  three  nights 
we  slept  in  that  wretched  place,  the  York  Hotel,  and  dined  almost 
every  day  with  Lady  Affleck,  who  brought  Mary  from  Sfc  Ann's. 
Our  life  at  Brighton  was  just  what  all  lives  must  be  in  a  watering- 
place.  Some  agreable  people  were  there,  and  latterly  when 
Charles  and  Henry  Webster  came  it  was  more  agreable  :— 
Bedfords,  Vernons,  Cowpers,  Ponsonbys,  Duncannons,  Hopes, 
Kings,  Aberdeens.  Our  house  was  pleasantly  situated  immedi- 
ately opposite  the  Chain  Pier,  which  was  twice  the  scene  of 
gaieties.  One  night  upon  its'  being  publickly  opened  there  were 
fireworks,  and  afterwards,  in  honor  of  King's  arrival,  illuminated. 
It  is  a  delightful  walk,  and  a  great  ornament  and  convenience  to 
the  place.  Nothing  very  particular  occurred  in  the  world  except 
that  Ld  Granville  was  appointed  to  The  Hague  as  Ambassador, 
and  that  all  London  has  been  occupied  with  the  murder  of 
Mr  Weare  in  Hertfordshire — one  of  the  most  barbarous  ever 
known  ;  and  the  publicity  of  it  and  of  all  the  proceedings  has 
been  so  great  that  they  thought  it  but  fair  to  the  prisoners  to 
put  off  the  trial,  as  they  had  been  so  much  prejudged. 

I   grew  better  acquainted    here  with   Mrs  Hope,1  who  is 

1  Thomas  Hope  (1770  ?-i83i),  the  collector  of  the  Deepdene  marbles 
and  statuary,  and  author  of  several  works,  married,  in  1806,  Louisa, 
youngest  daughter  of  William,  Lord  Decies,  Archbishop  of  Tuam. 
the  French  artist,  caricatured  them  as  Beauty  and  the  Beast, 


1823  187 

uncommonly  pretty  and  very  good  natured,  with  some  of  the 
drollery  and  none  of  the  vulgarity  of  her  country.  Her  niece, 
Miss  Sewell,  was  staying  with  her,  a  pretty  good-natured  girl, 
who  made  her  debut  in  London  this  year  with  her.  Mr  Hope 
has  a  foolish  manner  and  a  very  disagreable  voice,  and  says  silly 
little  nothings  that  make  people  almost  disbelieve  his  having 
written  Anastasius.  He  has  a  talent  for  drawing  and  has  good l 
taste,  but  certainly  nothing  appears  to  make  one  think  him  at 
all  equal  to  such  a  book  as  I  believe  that  to  be.  The  Duke  of 
Bedford  came  very  often,  and  seems  to  be  no  better  or  no  worse 
than  in  the  summer  ;  he  rides  even  in  cold  and  enjoys  himself  a 
good  deal.  She  is  unremitting  in  her  attentions  and  incessant 
in  her  alarm.  Why  I  cannot  tell,  but  she  and  I  do  not  suit. 
She  never  liked  me  from  a  child,  and  all  her  conversation  is  a 
sort  of  banter  that  bores  and  distances  me.  However,  we  are 
by  way  of  being  fond  of  each  other,  and  are  coldly  affectionate 
and  civilly  intimate.  She  never  said  or  did  an  unkind  thing  to 
me,  and  I  reproach  myself  more  than  her  with  our  want  of 
cordiality,  but  there  is  something  about  her  which  freezes  and 
dullifies  me. 

Brighton  got  much  more  agreable  to  me  latterly  when  I  got 
to  be  a  great  deal  acquainted  with  Mrs  Hope,  at  whose  house  I 
chiefly  lived. 

My  father  and  I  dined  one  day  at  the  Pavilion.  Nothing 
could  be  more  civil  than  the  King  was  to  him,  and  the  whole 
conversation  after  dinner  was  meant  to  be  gracious  to  him, 
praising  Holland  House,  General  Fitzpatrick  ;  and  even  what  he 
did  not  address  to  him  was  meant  as  implied  civility.  To  Ld 
Aberdeen  he  was  almost  rude.  17  Aberdeen  fainted  from  the 
heat  and  looked  quite  lovely.  Nothing  could  surpass  the 
excellence  of  the  dinner  and  the  splendour  of  the  whole  establish- 
ment. The  King  after  dinner  talked  about  Junius,  which  he 
believes  to  have  been  written  by  Sir  Philip  Francis,  and  gave  some 
strong  corroborations  of  that  suspicion.  The  rooms  are  splendid, 
and  when  lighted  up  look  like  the  palaces  of  Fairies  or  Genii. 
After  dinner  the  King  played  at  e'carte'  with  the  favorite  and 
17  Cowper,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  company  remained  in  the 

1  A  further  acquaintance  with  him  has  made  me  scratch  out  the  epithet ; 
its  place  may  be  supplied  by  the  word  "  peculiar,"  H.E.F. 


1 88         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

outer  room.  Afterwards  there  were  several  evening  parties  and 
a  child's  ball,  to  which  I  went.  The  music  is  so  loud  and  the 
heat  so  overpowering,  that  they  generally  gave  me  a  headache. 
Charles  met  Ly(  Errol  for  the  first  time  one  evening  there.  My 
father  and  mother  went  away  on  Xmas  Day,  but  Charles  and  I 
staid  on  some  time  longer.  Charles,  however,  got  tired  and  left 
me. 

One  evening  I  was  suddenly  sent  for  to  the  Pavilion.  My 
dismay  was  not  small  at  finding  myself  ushered  into  a  room 
where  the  K.  and  Rossini  were  alone.  I  found  that  I  was  the 
only  person  honored  with  an  invitation  to  hear  this  great  com- 
poser's performances.  A  more  unworthy  object  than  I  am  could 
not  have  been  selected.  H.M.  was  not  much  pleased  with  his 
manner,  which  was  careless  and  indifferent  to  all  the  civilities 
shown  him.  The  K.  himself  made  a  fool  of  himself  by  joining 
in  the  choruses  and  the  Halelujah  Anthem,  stamping  his  foot 
and  overpowering  all  with  the  loudness  of  his  Royal  voice. 


CHAPTER  V 
1824-1826 

On  the  first  of  January,  1824,  after  dining  with  Mrs  Hope  I 
went  to  the  childs'  ball,  which  was  very  pretty.  The  following 
day  Moseley  *  and  I  went  up  to  town  together. 

Little  when  I  took  leave  of  Mrs  Hope  that  morning  did  we 
either  of  us  expect  the  painful  anxiety  and  suspense  that  awaited 
both  of  us.  We  had  not  driven  from  the  door  an  hour,  before  her 
son  was  brought  back  having  broken  his  thigh  from  a  fall  from 
his  horse.  He  suffered  most  acutely.  Soon  after  I  got  home 
Mary  was  taken  ill,  and  for  several  days  was  in  a  state  of  great 
danger.  I  could  bear  many  blows  and  many  misfortunes  in  the 
world  with  tolerable  fortitude,  but  that  is  the  only  one  for  which 
I  could  feel  no  consolation.  She  is  so  amiable,  so  sensible,  so 
clever,  with  such  an  admirable  understanding  and  such  a  perfect 
heart,  that  she  is  the  pride  and  pleasure  of  my  existence.  About 
her  happiness  I  am  much,  much  more  sollicitous  than  about  my 
own,  and  she  is  the  only  thing  on  earth  for  whom  I  would  make 
any  sacrifice.  Her  illness  was  brought  on  by  bile  and  the  alarm 
was  for  her  chest.  Such  a  week  I  would  not  endure  again  for 
worlds.  It  shewed  me  one  thing,  however,  which  I  have  long 
suspected  but  which  female  perverseness  has  contrived  to  keep 
concealed,  that  her  amiable  disposition  and  noble  character  have 
made  the  impression  they  ought  upon  my  mother's  heart.  She 
felt  very  deeply  and  was  excessively  agitated  with  apprehension. 
Her  love  for  Mary  is  sincere  and  great  as  it  ought  to  be  :  indeed, 
loving  only  as  she  does  with  the  head  and  not  the  heart  it  could 
not  fail  to  be  so,  for  she  is  perfect. 

On  January  22d  I  went  to  Brighton  and  staid  a  month,  till 
the  22d  of  February,  dining  almost  every  day  with  Mrs  Hope, 

1  J.  G.  Moseley.     He  died  in  1831. 
189 


190         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

sometimes  with  Ly  Sandwich,  Ly  Barbara,  Mrs  Fitzherbert 
or  Mrs  Fox.  Moseley  joined  me  during  the  last  week,  and  we 
lived  in  the  same  house.  I  like  him  amazingly.  I  returned  to 
Hd  Hse  on  the  22*  of  Feb.,  a  very,  very  happy  month. 

Six  months  have  I  discontinued  keeping  this  diary,  not  for 
want  of  topicks,  but  because  my  indolence  prevented  me.  It 
prevents  my  doing  many  better,  many  worthier,  and  more  useful 
things,  and  will  for  ever  prevent  my  doing  any  good  in  the  world — 
or  at  least  what  the  world  call  good,  which  merely  is  being  the 
subject  of  the  day,  the  admiration  of  a  few,  and  the  hate  of  many. 
Whatever  may  happen  to  me,  thank  God,  I  cannot  be  the  victim 
of  disappointed  ambition,  for  I  have  not  a  spark  thereof.  In 
the  course  of  the  unrecorded  six  months  so  many  events  took 
place  that  I  shall  not  attempt  to  write  them  down.  Charles 
was  married  by  Shuttleworth  to  Mary  FitzClarence  on  the  iQth 
of  June,  and  on  the  following  28th,  after  staying  one  day  more 
to  see  George  Howard  after  his  return,  I  set  off  for  Paris. 

Arrived  at  Paris  on  the  3ist.  To  the  Hotel  de  Castille,  where 
I  passed  a  month  far  from  disagreably,  feeling  it  a  relief  to  escape 
the  perpetual  histories  and  remonstrances  of  which  I  became  the 
unfortunate  subject.  At  Paris  I  became  acquainted  more  with 
Charles  Wortley,1  very  unlike  his  brother  (who,  soit  dit  en  passant, 
has  not  been  heard  of  since  he  set  off  on  his  wild  expedition  to 
America).  I  like  at  Paris  the  perfect  independence  of  the  life 
and  the  total  want  of  the  petty  malice  which  harasses  one  in 
London.  I  lived  a  great  deal  at  the  theatres,  which  however 
were  not  very  good,  as  the  best  actors  and  actresses  are  absent, 
not  did  Mlle  Mars  act  at  all  till  the  evening  before  I  left  Paris. 
I  dined  several  times  with  Me  Rumford,  the  widow  of  Lavoisier 
and  of  Count  Rumford,  more  remarkable  for  his  chimneys  than 
his  honesty,  and  who  behaved  shamefully  to  her.  Her  house  is 
pretty  and  in  an  agr cable  situation  with  a  fine  garden.  She 
has  a  dinner  every  Monday  and  a  party  every  Friday  ;  some  of 
the  most  remarkable  and  agreable  people  in  Paris  form  her  society 
— Mole,  D.  Dalberg,  D.  Choiseul,  Cuvier,  Pasquier,  Gallois, 
etc.,  etc. 

Early  during  the  time  I  was  at  Paris  I  went  to  see  La  Fayette, 

1  Charles  James  Stuart  Wortley  (1802-44),  second  son  of  James,  first 
Lord  Wharncliffe. 


1824-1826  igi 

who  was  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  for  America l ;  he  was 
naturally  nervous.  It  is  rather  exalted  Quixotism,  but  shews 
his  real  love  of  liberty  and  that  he  thinks  such  a  sacrifice  as  one 
of  his  remaining  years  worthy  to  that  people  who  have  successfully 
established  and  have  maintained  their  freedom.  His  son  goes 
with  him,  but  he  leaves  a  large  family  of  children  and  grand- 
children to  whom  he  is  warmly  attached.  I  don't  know  whether 
to  admire  or  blame  the  romance  of  his  enterprize. 

From  Madame  de  Vaudreuil,2  in  consequence  of  her  son's 
recommendation,  I  met  with  unabating  civility.  She  is  a  little 
bustling  woman,  once  a  beauty  and  still  with  beauty  tricks. 
She  was  an  emigre  and  possesses  all  the  feelings  of  one  :  she  talks 
of  England  with  affection  and  of  France  with  hate.  It  makes 
me  detest  still  more  the  whole  of  our  Continental  policy,  when  I 
see  the  wretched,  rotten  dynasties  we  have  restored  and  the 
narrow-minded,  violent  people  we  have  thrust  back  into  the 
country  that  wisely  expelled  them. 

At  present  politicks  are  not  in  a  very  interesting  situation. 
The  Kg  of  F.  cannot  live  long  ;  his  legs  are  in  a  state  approaching 
putrescence,  and  he  is  shrivelled  and  decaying  rapidly.  He  wears 
tin  boots  to  prevent  the  issue  from  running  over  into  the  room ; 
he  stinks  most  horribly  I  hear.  When  he  dies  the  Ultras  will 
make  another  struggle,  but  just  now  Villele 3  seems  to  have  power 
over  Monsieur  as  much  as  over  any  one.  He  himself  has  been 
most  intemperate,  and  has  been  convicted  in  the  Chambers  of 
a  wilful  lie  which  he  could  not  deny.  The  great  object  at  present 
is  to  change  the  law  of  succession  and  get  one  passed  to  enable 
primogeniture  ;  but  I  hear  even  if  it  was,  the  object  would  not 
be  accomplished,  for  my  informant  assured  me  that  in  the  whole 
range  of  his  acquaintance  he  knew  no  instance  of  a  father 
leaving  the  additional  division  to  any  of  his  children,  but  that 

1  In  response  to  repeated  invitations  to  revisit  the  country  which  he 
had  not  seen  for  forty  years. 

2  Madame  de  Vaudreuil  was  mother  of  Alfred  de  Vaudreuil,  and  widow 
of  Jean  Louis,  Vicomte  de  Vaudreuil. 

3  Jean  Baptiste,  Comte  de  Villele  (1773-1854)  became  President  of  the 
Council  in  1821,  and  Finance  Minister.     Never  popular,  the  reactionary 
measures  of  Charles  X  precipitated  his  downfall.     He  was  Minister  of  the 
Interior  in  1827,  but  being  defeated  in  the  elections,  retired,  and  took  no 
part  in  politics  after  1830. 


192         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

the  feeling  is  always  to  leave  them  all  alike,  which,  after  all  is 
rational,  instead  of  that  absurd  pride  which  induces  our  English 
nobility  always  to  sacrifice  their  younger  children  to  the  unjust, 
pompous  notion  of  making  a  family.  The  Chamber  of  Peers  is 
full  of  beggars.  When  a  Minister  wants  a  majority  upon  some 
question  he  creates  15  or  30  new  ones  ;  this  makes  it  almost  a 
popular  as  well  as  a  most  populous  assembly.  The  deputies  are 
always  in  the  power  of  the  Minister  of  the  day,  and  the  elections 
are  most  unfairly  managed  in  favour  of  government,  and  their 
authority  is  despised  and  ridiculed  throughout  all  France. 

One  day  at  Paris  I  dined  with  the  Duke  Decazes,  who  has 
now  sunk  into  total  insignificance.  I  met  there  Sir  Charles 
Stuart,  Lally  Tollendal,  Daru,  Picard,  Villemain.  It  was  quite 
a  literary  dinner.  M.  Villemain1  is  the  dirtiest  looking  little 
animal  I  ever  beheld,  quite  like  a  caricature  of  a  starved  author. 
Starve  he  will  not,  for  he  has  taken  the  winning  side.  The 
dinner  was  numerous  and  costly,  but  not  either  agreable  or  good. 
She  is  painfully  ugly,  and  seems  always  about  to  bite  her  own 
nose. 

With  Lady  Smith  and  her  daughters  I  got  much  acquainted, 
and  went  with  them  to  Montmorency  and  Malmaison.  The 
former  is  a  beautiful  wood,  and  was  very  pretty  and  gay  the  day 
we  went,  as  a  fete  was  going  on  at  Enghien,  which  is  close  by. 
Rousseau  lived  in  a  small  cottage  which  we  were  shewn.  Mal- 
maison is  a  melancholy  sight.  To  see  the  rooms,  in  which  ten 
years  ago  all  that  was  powerful  and  remarkable  dictated  the  fate 
of  Europe,  now  deserted,  and  to  think  that  those  few  years  have 
swept  away  almost  all  its  illustrious  inhabitants,  makes  one 
reflect  on  the  vanity  of  human  greatness  and  how  transitory  is 
the  splendor  on  this  unaccountable  ball.  The  house  itself  is 
not  very  splendid,  but  prettily  furnished  and  very  comfortable. 
The  gardens  are  pretty  and  were  once  remarkable  for  the  collection 
of  plants  Josephine  had  collected.  Eugene's  children  are  about 
to  sell  it ;  and  they  say  Rothschild  will  buy  it.  I  am  sorry  they 
part  with  it ;  but  bad  as  Rothschild  is,  he  is  not  a  Bourbon, 
and  there  will  still  be  one  spot  in  France  of  Napoleon's  grandeur 
unpolluted  by  fleurs-de-lis.  The  K.  of  Bavaria  had  Eugene's 

1  Abel  Francis  Villemain  (1790-1870),  author  and  politician.  A 
member  of  the  Academic  and  a  Peer  of  France. 


1824-1826  193 

body  taken  up  and  examined,  and  evident  marks  of  vegetable 
poison  were  found  by  all  the  physicians.  His  death  caused 
transport  in  the  Tuileries. 

Since  I  left  England  no  event  has  occurred  except  poor  Lord 
Byron's  funeral.  Now  there  remains  not  one  single  man  of 
real  genius  in  Europe.  Walter  Scott  has  much  observation  and 
great  powers  of  research  and  some  eloquence  of  description,  but 
nothing  like  the  strength  of  original  thought  and  of  brilliant  wit 
Ld  Byron  so  pre-eminently  possessed.  I  regret  him  both  publickly 
and  privately.  In  Greece  he  was  doing  good  ;  and  in  England 
the  lively  poignancy  of  his  wit  and  the  daring  boldness  of  his 
works  served  as  a  check,  and  certainly  as  an  alarm,  to  that  spirit 
of  bigotry  and  priestcraft  which  makes  Englishmen  adopt  that 
stiff,  dull,  puritanical  hypocrisy  which  they  deck  with  the  name 
of  Religion.  Laws  and  Religion  are  necessary  evils  to  keep  society 
together,  but  any  enthusiasm  about  either  ends  in  oppression  and 
bigotry  and  generally  in  the  infringement  of  every  social  law. 

One  day  I  went  with  Mr  Adair  to  Neuilly  to  see  the  D.  of 
Orleans  and  his  sister  x ;  they  walked  us  over  the  garden  and 
house  which  are  very  pretty.  Mlle  d'Orleans  is  agreable,  and 
unlike  royalties  in  general  puts  one  quite  at  ease.  The  Due  is 
like  any  body  else,  as  he  has  lived  so  much  as  a  private  gentleman, 
and  once  kept  a  school  in  Switzerland  to  support  himself,  of 
which  he  is  wisely  not  at  all  ashamed.  Mr  Shuttleworth,  his  wife,2 
her  sister  a  Miss  Welsh,  and  a  friend,  Miss  Sitwell,  arrived  at 
Paris  on  their  way  to  Switzerland,  where  I  intend  to  join  them, 
though  I  am  rather  dismayed  at  finding  Madame  is  so  pious.  I 
hate  piety.  If  I  believe  it  insincere,  it  lowers,  nay  it  destroys, 
my  opinion  of  their  hearts  ;  if  sincere,  I  can  have  no  opinion  of 
their  heads.  The  gross  absurdities,  contradictions  and  difficulties, 
that  must  be  swallowed  to  believe  the  Xtian  faith,  seem  to  me 
to  stare  one  so  in  the  face  that  it  only  requires  one  glance  to  see 
how  ill  put  together  it  all  is.  But  without  piety,  alias  cant, 
nothing  will  succeed  in  England. 

On  July  3  ist  Charles  Villiers  arrived  from  England.     I  dined 

1  Afterwards    King    Louis    Philippe ;    his    sister   is    best    known    as 
Madame  Adelaide. 

2  Dr   Shuttleworth    married,   in    1823,   Emma    Martha,   daughter  of 
George  Welch. 

N 


194         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

that  day  with  General  Bertrand  and  met  Denon,  Turenne,  Capt. 
Usher,  etc.,  etc.  He  lives  in  the  house  Napoleon  inhabited  before 
his  greatness  and  where  he  married  Josephine.  Me  Bertrand 
must  have  been  handsome ;  her  daughter  is  very  beautiful, 
something  like  Lady  Jersey. 

August  5.  At  Chamouny  we  slept  at  the  Hotel  de  Londres. 
Clean  and  comfortable.  Mrs  Shuttleworth  is  prim,  precise  and 
very  dull,  eclipsed  in  the  latter,  however,  by  her  sister.  Miss 
Sitwell  verges  upon  old  maidism,  is  very  thin,  very  active,  very 
observant,  very  impatient,  but  has  life  and  spirit  in  her,  which 
my  country-women  want  so  much.  Mrs  Shut.,  if  she  had  a  few 
inches  added  to  her  height,  the  least  knowledge  how  to  dress 
and  hold  herself,  besides  learning  to  walk  as  if  there  was  no  moral 
turpitude  in  putting  one  foot  before  the  other,  might  then  become 
a  tolerably  pretty  woman.  Her  eyes  are  good  and  her  bosom 
fine.  Shut,  seems  very  fond  and  very  happy,  and  as  she  is  his 
wife  and  not  mine,  it  is  all  very  well  as  it  is.  There  is  a  provoking 
propriety  about  her  that  would  drive  me  wild.  He  is  one  of 
those  happy  people  who  scarcely  ever  see,  and  if  they  see,  are 
not  affected  by  the  minutiae  of  manner  and  social  intercourse. 
A  refined  delicacy  and  fastidiousness  on  those  little  indescribables 
is  almost  a  positive  misfortune,  and  I  try  (malgre  moi)  to  overcome 
and  destroy  it ;  but  then  if  I  ever  meet  with  anybody  capable 
of  entering  and  feeling  those  same  nothings,  it  gives  me  so  much 
pleasure  that  it  almost  rewards  me  for  the  frequent  disappoint- 
ments and  jars  I  meet  with.  I  can  live  with  and  be  even 
attached  to  people  of  the  most  different  opinions  from  my  own 
or  from  each  other,  but  I  can  really  never  feel  real  affection  for 
a  bigotted  or  vulgar-minded  person. 

Sunday,  Aug.  15.  My  society  at  Interlaken  consisted  of 
Fazs.,  two  Grahams  and  Mr  Ainoldi,  a  good-natured,  well- 
informed,  tranquil,  phlegmatic  !  !  !  Sicilian.  Mrs  F.  I  like  pro- 
digiously ;  she  is  lively,  good-humoured,  quick,  observant  and 
sensible.  I  am  very  glad  Faz.,  who  deserves  all  the  good 
possible,  has  been  so  fortunate  to  find  such  an  amiable,  pleasing 
little  woman.  We  live  very  happily  and  easily.  Get  up  early, 
dine  at  4,  and  go  to  bed  after  some  ecarte  at  half-past  9  or 
10.  Bad  weather,  however,  greatly  destroys  our  felicity,  and  a 
shower  of  rain  produces  positive  winter  without  any  means  of 


1824-1826  195 

warming  oneself.  Nothing  but  stoves,  and  cold  is  preferable 
to  suffocation. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  22.  Lausanne.1  Louis  XVIII  is  dead  !  !  ! 
Went  to  see  Dumont  at  his  country-house,  called  "  Les  Philo- 
sophies," a  little  out  of  the  town.  The  weather  deplorable. 
Arrived  at  Lausanne  about  9  o'clock  quite  wet  and  wretched. 
Went  to  Faz.,  where  I  found  Lady  Gordon2  and  Mrs  Lewis. 
Ld  Ellenborough  is  to  marry  a  Miss  Digby  ;  Ly  C.  Ashley,  Mr 
Lister.  I  shall  be  curious  to  see  if  the  King's  death  makes 
any  difference  at  Paris.  I  suppose  not,  as  he  has  been  morally 
dead  for  some  time.  He  died  with  great  fortitude  and  parade, 
which  was  well-judged.  The  French  like  all  to  be  selon  les  regies. 

At  Lausanne  I  remained  till  the  29th,  passing  my  time  much 
as  I  did  before,  only  the  weather  was  so  very  bad  that  it  was 
impossible  to  go  out  much.  I  had  some  letters  from  home.  My 
mother  has  not  been  well,  and  increases  her  illness  by  refusing 
to  submit  to  discipline  and  by  her  unauthorised  alarms.  My 
father  writes  to  me  about  Parliament.  I  am  sorry  to  see  his  heart 
so  bent  upon  my  entering  into  politicks,  for  which  I  have  neither 
talents  nor  disposition.  Everybody  knows  their  own  character 
and  understanding  best,  and  I  feel  sure  I  am  not  fitted  either  by 
nature  or  by  education  for  a  scene  of  contest  and  discussion. 
If,  however,  I  felt  any  eagerness  or  strong  opinion  upon  any 
subject  I  should  not  allow  my  vanity  or  fear  of  failure  to  overcome 
my  opinions  ;  but  to  be  exposed  to  the  reproach  and  contempt 
of  half  England  for  not  supporting  the  fame  of, my  name  and 
family  on  a  stage  I  am  unwilling  to  appear  on,  and  to  which  I 
have  rather  a  repugnance,  is  still  more  hopeless.  But  with  a 
wise  and  kind  and  affectionate  father,  I  feel  I  should  be  wretched 
and  unworthy  of  his  tenderness  if  I  were  not  to  yield  to  whatever 
may  be  his  wishes  and  try  to  fulfil  his  intentions,  or  at  least 
allow  him  an  opportunity  of  discovering  his  mistake  by  my  own 
failure  and  disgrace  :  though,  for  my  own  part,  I  would  much 
rather  have  people  lament  over  what  I  might  have  done  than 
deplore  that  I  failed  in  my  attempts.  Omne  ignotum  pro 

1  Fox  and  the  Fazakerleys  arrived  at  Lausanne  on  September  3. 

*  Caroline,  daughter  of  Sir  George  Cornewall,  Bart.,  of  Moccas  Court, 
married,  in  1810,  Sir  William  Duff-Gordon,  second  Bart.  (1772-1823). 
She  died  in  1875. 


196         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

magnifico  est,  and  it  is  only  by  not  displaying  the  extent  of 
my  talents  and  understanding  that  I  can  get  anybody  to  believe 
in  their  excellence.  I  only  possess  a  little  quickness,  which 
enables  me  to  disguise  my  ignorance  and  to  make  the  most  of 
the  little  I  do  know.  I  have  no  steadiness,  perseverance  or 
application ;  I  seize  results  and  have  not  patience  for  details. 
This  succeeds  well  enough  in  conversation ;  but  in  Parliament 
more  depth  and  solidity  is  required,  which  I  could  only  acquire 
by  application  and  industry — efforts  I  am  not  capable  of  making 
except  for  something  that  deeply  interests  me,  which  Mr  Hume's 
Economy,  Ld  John  Russell's  Reform,  or  Mr  Wortley's  Game-laws, 
do  not  in  the  least.  I  can  conceive  questions  arising  in  which 
I  willingly  and  earnestly  should  engage — the  liberty  of  some 
continental  country,  the  justice  or  injustice  of  some  future  war ; 
but  in  this  piping  time  of  peace  I  can  not  work  myself  up  to  the 
proper  state  of  factious,  peevish  discontent,  which  I  ought  to 
cherish  to  become  a  worthy  member  of  the  Opposition  benches. 

Monday,  Nov.  i.  Arrived  at  Rome  about  4.  Found  the  Fazs. 
and  Lady  Davy.  I  staid  about  a  week  in  the  Hotel  de  1'Europe 
and  then  took  a  lodging.  I  dined  alternately  with  Fazs.,  Lady 
Gordon  and  Lady  Davy.  I  went  one  day  to  see  Louis  Bonaparte, 1 
who  is  dull  and  ugly  ;  and  another  to  see  Jerome, 2  who  is  quick, 
empty,  foolish  and  vain,  but  with  some  of  his  brother's  features. 
He  keeps  up  a  foolish  form,  a  royal  state,  and  will  not  go  out 
where  he  is  not  received  as  a  king.  As  to  keeping  a  regular 
journal  of  the  sights,  I  feel  it  would  be  impossible,  and  therefore 
shall  only  write  down  what  particularly  strikes  me. 

Torwaldsen's  3  studio  greatly  disappointed  me,  except  a  group 
he  is  making  to  be  placed  within  the  pediment  of  a  portico  of  a 

1  Louis   Bonaparte    (1778-1846),   ex- King   of   Holland  ;     husband   of 
Hortense  Beauharnais,  from  whom  he  soon  separated.     He  was  known  after 
the  Restoration  as   the  Comte  de  St  Leu,  from  the  Duchy  of  that  name 
which  had  been  granted  to  his  wife. 

2  Jerome  Bonaparte  (1784-1860),  Napoleon's   youngest   brother.     He 
married  when  a  sailor  on  the  American  station,  in  1803,  Miss  Eliza  Patter- 
son ;  and  four  years  later,  as  his  brother  insisted  on  annulling  this  marriage, 
Princess  Catherine  of  Wurtemburg,  having  been  created  in  the  meanwhile 
King  of  Westphalia.     In  1816,  being  banished  from  France,  his  father-in- 
law  gave  him  the  title  of  Comte  de  Montfort.     He  lived  in  Rome  from 
1822  till  1831,  the  year  of  his  wife's  death. 

3  Albert  Bertel  Thorwaldsen  (1770-1844),  the  Danish  sculptor. 


1824-1826  197 

church  in  Denmark.  The  subject  is  Si  John  preaching  in  the 
wilderness.  The  listening  figures  are  beautiful ;  his  female 
figures  want  grace  and  length  of  leg.  All  has  an  unfinished 
appearance.  There  is  Mercury  and  an  Amorino  that  struck  me 
as  more  graceful  than  the  generality.  His  bust  of  Consalvi1  is 
beautiful  and  full  of  expression.  Consalvi's  head  was,  I  should 
think,  well  calculated  for  a  bust  or  picture.  Lawrence  and 
Torwaldsen  have  both  made  him  their  chef  d'ceuvres.  A  statue 
of  G1  Potocky  struck  me  as  very  good.  Canova's  studio  contains, 
besides  casts  from  all  his  famous  completed  statues,  a  cast  of  a 
group  of  the  Pietd  which  he  intended  for  the  church  near  Venice. 

Nov.  19.  Dined  with  Lady  Davy ;  met,  in  addition  to 
Percys 2  and  Lady  Gordon,  the  two  Miss  Monsons  and  Dr 
Jenks.  Two  old  maids,  who  never  speak  and  who  only  sit  in  a 
state  of  perpetual  watchfulness  for  the  mistakes,  faults  or 
absurdities  of  others,  do  not  contribute  much  to  society.  Dr 
Jenks  is  a  sensible,  unassuming,  agreable,  well-informed  man. 
The  dinner  was  pleasant.  Ld  H.3  and  the  Ladies  Ryder  in  the 
evening.  He  had  been  to  the  Pope  4  in  the  morning  with  the 
Hanoverian  Minister,  who  wrote  him  an  absurd  letter  of  directions 
what  to  do — to  make  a  Spanish  genuflexion,  to  take  off  his  gloves 
at  a  certain  distance,  etc.,  etc.  He  was  pleased  with  H.  H.'s 
manner,  which  is  gentle  and  sensible.  The  daughters  are  both 
quick.  Ly  Georgina  sensible,  hard-headed,  severe,  vain,  and 
spoiled  by  the  admiration  of  all  the  many  that  worship.  Ly 
Mary  is  chattering,  tiresome,  bother-headed,  but  good-natured 
and  treated  too  cavalierly  by  her  family.  I  had  a  lesson  of  Santi 
in  the  morning. 

Nov.  20.  Went  with  Percy  to  Torwaldsen's  studio.  Percy 
is  a  coxcomb,  made  more  so  by  frequenting,  admiring  and 

1  Cardinal  Ercole  Consalvi  (1757-1824). 

2  Hon.  Charles  Percy   (1794-1870),   youngest  son  of  Algernon,   first 
Earl   of   Beverley.     He   married   Anne    Caroline    Greatheed,    heiress   of 
Guyscliff,  Warwick. 

8  Dudley,  first  Earl  of  Harrowby  (1762-1847)  married,  in  1795,  Susan, 
daughter  of  George  Granville,  first  Marquess  of  Stafford,  and  had  three 
sons  and  five  daughters.  He  was  Lord  President  of  the  Council,  1812-27. 
Lady  Harrowby  died  in  1838.  The  two  daughters  with  them  in  Rome 
were  Lady  Georgina  Elizabeth,  who  married  John  Wortley  ;  and  Lady 
Mary,  who  married  Admiral  Edward  Saurin. 

4  Pope  Leo  XII  (1824-29). 


198         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

imitating  Agar  Ellis  and  Sneyd  and  the  set  of  pedantic  fribbles. 
Whenever  anything  really  his  own  does  break  out,  it  is  more 
sensible  and  agreable  and  even  sometimes  clever  than  one  could 
at  all  attend  from  his  finnicky,  affected  manner  and  labored 
far-fetched  language,  which  fatigues  me  terribly. 

Ld  Harrowby  would  be  a  more  agreable  man,  if  nature  had 
benevolently  given  him  a  larger  mouth.  His  knowledge  is  great, 
his  quickness  lively,  and  his  opinions  just  and  moderate.  His 
articulation  is  too  rapid  and  precise,  and  his  temper  is  peevish. 

Sunday,  21  Nov.  Lady  Davy  came  to  breakfast  with  me  and 
was  agreable  and  lively.  Told  me  proofs  of  Sir  James  Mackin- 
tosh's selfishness  and  cunning  combined,  which  was  not  much  to 
his  credit. 

Dined  with  Percy.  Met  Lady  Davy,  Faz.,  Lady  Gordon. 
Ld  H.  and  his  daughters  in  the  evening,  which  was  agreable. 
Ly  G.  has  sense  and  quickness,  but  wants  softness — a  great 
deficiency  in  a  woman,  if  not  the  very  greatest.  Ld  Harrowby 
very  pleasant. 

Nov.  22.  A  day's  repose  from  sights.  Walked  about  the 
town.  English  letters ;  no  news.  "  Lady  Caroline  Lamb  is 
busy  with  Hobhouse  about  publishing  Ld  Byron's  letters  ;  she 
is  determined  to  shew  the  world  how  well  he  loved  her.  Hob- 
house  says,  in  justification  of  Ld  B.,  he  will,  in  that  case  publish 
hers,  but  advises  very  sensibly  to  burn  the  whole  correspondence. 
It  is  pleasant  for  Wm  Lamb  to  have  the  degree  and  extent  of 
Ld  Byron's  love  for  his  wife  discussed  by  the  public."  Dined 
alone  with  the  Fazs.  Sandon1  and  Percys  in  the  evening.  The 
former  agreable  and  always  amiable.  He  gives  me  the  notion 
of  being  a  most  excellent  right-headed,  right-hearted  man ; 
all  I  regret  is  his  marriage,  which  makes  him  the  slave  of  Lady 
Bute's  unpardonable,  unreasonable  selfishness.  He  deserves  a 
better  fate. 

Nov.  24.  Horrid  rainy  day.  Only  went  to  see  Madame 
Mere.2  Her  house  is  fine  and  well  furnished.  She  looks  clever  : 
has  sharp,  small  dark  eyes,  very  like  the  face  Canova  has  given 

1  Dudley,  Viscount  Sandon  (1798-1882),  who  succeeded  his  father 
as  second  Earl  of  Harrowby  in  1847.  He  had  married,  in  September, 
Frances,  daughter  of  John,  first  Marquess  of  Bute. 

*  Letizia  Bonaparte  (1750-1836),  Napoleon's  mother. 


1824-1826  199 

her  in  his  statue  of  her.  Her  figure  is  small  and  shrivelled. 
She  received  me  with  civility  and  indeed  cordiality  :  spoke  of 
Napoleon  with  affection  and  emotion.  Her  French  is  bad,  and 
she  speaks  it  with  considerable  difficulty.  Her  health  is  very 
bad  and  they  think  her  dying.  Dined  with  Faz. 

Nov.  26.  Began  Greek  with  Santi,  who  is  an  uncommonly 
clever,  agreable  little  man  and  has  the  pleasantest  way  of  teach- 
ing and  imparting  his  knowledge.  Took  a  short  ride  with  Faz. 
Dined  with  Ld  Kinnaird  l ;  met  Ly  Davy,  Lady  Gordon,  Madame 
Martinetti,  M.  Blanco  and  M.  Kosoffkowsky.  The  latter  is 
Madame  Martinetti's  cavaliere  ;  he  is  clever,  malin,  an  excellent 
mimick,  and  not  very  merciful  to  man  or  woman.  She  is  hand- 
some, good-humoured,  gentle,  blue,  who  has  the  good  taste  to 
conceal  her  blueism  and  knowledge  and  only  to  look  pretty  and 
good-humoured.  M.  Blanco  is  a  Neapolitan  exile,  who  has  lived 
much  at  Paris,  and  has  caught  the  manner  of  delivering  out 
bon  mots  as  if  they  were  dicta  and  looking  round  the  circle  for 
applause,  which  indeed  they  deserve  but  do  not  obtain,  from  the 
insolence  of  his  imperious  and  delighted  solicitation.  He  quoted 
one  of  Me  de  Stael's  sayings  that  struck  me  as  very  happy  and 
very  just.  Speaking  of  liberty  and  happiness  in  Italy,  she  said, 
"  On  y  prend  les  souvenirs  pour  des  esperances."  It  is  the  history 
of  this  country  in  a  few  words.  The  dinner  went  off  agreably. 
The  host  was  too  ill  even  to  be  cross  or  snappish.  I  am  sorry 
I  cannot  at  all  like  him,  as  he  is  civil  and  even  obliging  to  me, 
but  he  never  is  lively  till  on  the  verge  of  being  bitter,  savage 
and  painfully  ill-natured  or  rude.  His  curiosity  is  undaunted, 
and  the  only  courage  he  possesses  is  that  of  attacking.  I  suspect 
him  to  be  very  deficient  in  all  other,  moral  and  physical. 

I  afterwards  went  to  Lady  Comp ton's.2  She  is  a  gigantic, 
well-informed,  hard-headed,  blue  Scotchwoman.  Mrs  Dodwell 
and  Mrs  Bryant  struck  me  as  great  beauties.  I  was  presented 
to  the  former,  whose  manner  is  pretty  and  engaging.  After  I 
went  to  Mrs  Percy,  where  I  found  the  Ryders.  Talked  to  Lady 

1  Charles,  eighth  Baron  Kinnaird  (1780-1826). 

2  Margaret,  daughter  of  Major-General  Douglas  Clephane,  of  Torloisk. 
She  married,  in  1815,  Spencer  Joshua  Alwyne,  Earl  Compton  (1790-1851), 
who  succeeded  his  father  as  second  Marquess  of  Northampton  in  1828, 
Lady  Compton  died  in  1830, 


200         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

G.  about  Theresa  ;  she  knows  intimately  and  of  course  admires 
her.  Besides  I  think  she  gives  her  credit  for  all  the  real  sound 
sense,  right  feeling  and  elevation  of  character  she  possesses  under 
the  gaiety  and  levity  of  her  manner.  God  only  knows  if  she 
ever  will  be  mine.  If  loving  can  make  me  worthy  of  her,  she 
ought. 

Sunday,  28  Nov.  I  dined  with  Jerome.  Met  Lady  Davy, 
M.  and  Me  Martinetti,  M.  Kahl  (?)  (Minister  from  Wurtemberg). 
The  Princess  is  very  agreable,  very  unaffected,  and  gives  me  the 
notion  of  being  a  sensible,  judicious,  truth-speaking  person. 
Her  conduct  with  regard  to  her  husband's  family  has  been 
perfect.  She  considers  herself  entirely  one  of  them,  espouses 
their  cause,  and  talks  with  gratitude  and  affection  of  the  Emperor. 
She  told  me  some  very  interesting  and  I  should  think  true  traits 
of  his  good-nature  to  Marie  Louise,  and  of  the  extreme  ease 
and  perfect  familiarity  in  which  they  lived.  She  was  not  the 
least  afraid  or  shy  of  him,  and  used  to  play  little  tricks  and 
have  little  jokes  that  might  almost  weary  and  annoy  from  their 
perpetual  repetition  and  childish  nonsense.  Once  on  a  journey 
in  the  South  of  France,  in  which  she  used  to  travel  in  the  carriage 
with  them,  her  amusement  was  to  unbutton  the  loops  and  destroy 
the  shape  of  his  hat,  so  that  when  called  upon  to  bow  to  the 
people  or  deputations  that  frequently  stopped  his  carriage,  he 
appeared  with  a  large  shapeless  piece  of  beaver.  Not  satisfied 
with  doing  it  once  or  twice  she  amused  herself  so  perpetually, 
quite  enough  to  bore  him.  Since  the  first  moment  of  his  first 
abdication,  she  took  her  line  immediately,  and  never  wished 
or  thought  or  inquired  or  cared  the  least  for  him.  She  is  a 
heartless,  indifferent,  calculating,  cunning,  heavy  woman,  with 
more  understanding  than  she  is  given  credit  for.  The  P88  told 
me  how  many  vexations  and  annoyances  they  had  all  suffered 
while  in  Germany,  and  how  difficultly  they  had  obtained  permis- 
sion to  come  here. 

Jerome  after  dinner  showed  us  the  hilt  Napoleon  left  him. 
Its  story  is  interesting.  The  town  of  Florence  presented  it  to 
Francis  I  (the  work  of  it,  which  is  very  fine,  being  by  Benvenuto 
Cellini).  When  he  was  taken  by  Charles  V  he  gave  it  up,  and 
that  Emperor  deposited  it  at  Madrid,  where  it  remained  till 
another  and  a  greater  Emperor  took  Madrid,  when  instead  of 


1824-1826  201 

keys  they  presented  him  with  this  sword.  The  blade  he  took  off 
when  obliged  to  conceal  it,  and  now  has  left  it  to  his  brother. 
Jerome  is  a  coxcomb,  empty,  vain,  and  far  from  being  agreable. 
I  like  her  very  much.  Afterwards  I  went  to  Ld  Kinnaird's,  where 
I  found  a  party. 

Dec.  2.  Dined  with  Lady  Bute,1  whom  I  have  long  had 
curiosity  to  see.  Her  voice  is  tiresome  and  heavy,  her  conversa- 
tion, as  far  as  I  could  judge,  flat  and  coaxing,  which  when  a 
woman  is  no  longer  pretty  instantly  becomes  tedious.  Her  whole 
manner  and  habits  of  life  are  different  from  others.  She  cannot 
eat,  go  in  a  carriage,  remain  without  exercise,  or  take  it  in  the 
same  way  as  other  people  ;  and  her  whole  conduct  seems  calcu- 
lated more  for  the  purpose  of  putting  others  to  inconvenience 
than  for  that  of  affording  herself  amusement.  Yet  she  has  more 
influence  over  others  than  anybody,  and  repays  all  their  real 
sacrifices  and  inconveniences  by  a  few  soothing  words  and  insidious 
flattery.  It  is  a  happy  art  and  more  successful  than  any  other, 
as  people  become  most  willing  victims.  Her  daughter  has  most 
perfect  regular  beauty,  but  no  grace  or  figure  ;  her  mouth  when 
open  is  hideous. 

Dec.  3.  Rode  with  Townshend  2  (Ld  Sydney's  son)  to  the 
Villa  Madama.  He  is  an  amiable,  good-natured  youth,  not 
likely  to  inflame  either  Thames  or  Tyber.  Dined  with  Faz. ; 
Ld  Harrowby  agreable. 

It  is  dull  and  useless  to  write  up  a  journal  after  the  events 
are  passed.  I  have  let  it  go  for  sixteen  days,  and  shall  not 
attempt  to  give  any  regular  account  of  them.  One  day  I  went 
with  Ld  Harrowby  and  a  large  party  to  see  the  Vatican  by  torch- 
light, and  was  not  much  pleased.  Some  statues,  especially 
those  that  are  confused,  gain  a  great  deal.  The  Laocoon,  the 
Nile,  &c.,  &c.,  and  the  architecture,  are  seen  to  great  advantage 
with  a  strong  moving  light.  Another  day  I  dined  with  the  Ld 
President.  Lady  Davy  shewed  great  cleverness  and  eloquence, 

1  Frances,  daughter  of  Thomas  Coutts,  second  wife  of  John,  first  Mar- 
quess of  Bute.     She  married  in  1800,  and  died  in  1832,  leaving  a  son,  Lord 
Dudley  Stuart  (1803-54),  and  a  daughter,  Frances,  who  married  Lord 
Sandon. 

2  Hon.  John  Robert  Townshend  (1803-90),  afterwards  third  Viscount 
and  first  Earl  Sydney,  only  son  of  John  Thomas,  second  Viscount  Sydney 
(1764-1831),  by  his  second  wife. 


202         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

and  made  an  unwilling  conquest  of  the  whole  family,  till  then 
strongly  prejudiced  against  her.  Moseley  arrived  from  Florence 
and  shared  my  lodging.  His  affectation  and  insolent  shyness  in 
society  irritates  and  provokes  me,  because  I  like  him  enough  to 
be  irritated  and  provoked.  The  following  day  we  dined  at  Ly 
D/s,  and  Kosoffkowsky  was  transcendently  agreable.  His  talents 
consist  in  excellent  mimicry  and  very  great  information. 

Thursday,  Dec.  30.  Dined  with  Lady  Davy  to  meet  the 
Guiccioli,1  Lord  Byron's  mistress.  She  is  coarse,  and  far  from 
being,  to  my  taste,  the  least  attractive.  Her  hair  is  nearly  red, 
her  figure  squat,  and  her  eyes  have  no  expression  but  what  with 
study  and  affectation  she  contrives  to  throw  into  them.  Her 
manner  of  articulating  English  is  agreable,  and  those  who  know 
her  say  she  is  no  fool,  although  she  looks  so.  The  Martinetti, 
who  was  there  also,  is  a  fine  contrast. 

On  the  night  of  the  I3th  January,  1825,  I  set  off  with  Town- 
shend  for  Naples.  We  went  without  stopping.  The  weather 
was  lovely,  and  I  greatly  enjoyed  the  sensible  change  of  climate 
after  Terracina.  We  arrived  late  on  Friday  night ;  found 
the  Percys  and  Lady  Duff,  who  had  set  off  before  us,  only 
just  come  and  vilely  lodged  in  the  Vittoria.  We  got  into  a 
wretched  inn,  the  Crocelle  ;  staid  there  a  week,  then  to  the 
Villa  di  Napoli,  where  I  and  Townshend  took  apartments  for  a 
month.  I  delight  in  him,  so  natural,  unaffected,  good-humoured 
and  not  at  all  deficient.  We  lived  a  great  deal  (indeed  too  much) 
with  the  Percys  and  Lady  Duff.2  Percy  and  I  do  not  suit.  High, 
refined,  aristocratic,  discontented,  fastidious,  he  is  devoid  of 
any  real  character.  Sometimes  it  is  Clare,  sometimes  it  is  Sneyd, 
sometimes  it  is  Ellis,  he  imitates,  and  if  anything  does  break 
out  that  is  his  own,  it  is  perhaps  a  little  narrow-minded  selfishness. 
She  is  good-nature  itself,  admires  him,  and  adopts  many  of  his 
opinions  and  expressions  without  feeling  the  one  or  understanding 
the  other.  During  the  first  ten  days  I  was  at  Naples  I  saw 
little  else  but  Percys  and  Lady  Gordon.  We  went  together  to 
Pompeii,  where  much  has  been  discovered  since  I  saw  it  in  1815. 

1  Teresa,  daughter  of  Ruggiero  Gamba,  of  Ravenna,  born  about  1800 
and  died  in  1873,  third  wife  of  Count  Guiccioli,  whom  she  married  in  1818, 
See  Works  of  Lord  Byron  (ed.  Prothero),  iv.  289,  etc, 

2  Lady  Dufi  Gordon, 


1824-1826  203 

I  soon  got  acquainted  with  Sir  W.  Drummond,  Margravine 
of  Anspach,  Archbishop  of  Tarento,  and  dined  with  each.  The 
old  Archbishop1  is  a  fine  reverent  figure,  very  agreable,  very 
liberal,  literary  and  connoisseur  in  arts.  He  dines  at  half -past 
three  ;  his  dinner  is  excellent,  though  I  hate  the  Russian  custom 
of  nothing  appearing  but  the  dessert  and  being  served  from  the 
side  table.  I  met  there  Sir  W.  Cell,  Marchese  Monte  Catena  (?) 
(Chamberlain  to  the  D.  of  Lucca),  Cavaliere  Tocco,  and  the  young 
man  that  lives  with  the  Archbishop  and  is  a  sort  of  Papal  nephew. 
Sir  W.  Cell 2  is  a  martyr  to  the  gout.  He  is  caustic,  droll,  and 
full  of  valetudinarian  spleen.  His  vagaries  about  diet  and 
medicine  are  ludicrous. 

My  life  at  Naples  is  not  so  much  to  my  taste  as  it  was  at 
Rome ;  besides  I  have  minor  inconveniences.  I  hate  being 
without  a  servant,  or  rather  using  the  servant  of  another,  lest 
they  should  be  inconvenienced  by  it  and  think  me  de  trop. 
Townshend  is  so  undisguised  that  I  should  in  a  moment  know. 

Neapolitan  society  is  for  the  moment  entirely  stopped  in 
consequence  of  the  King's  death3  and  the  mourning.  Many  of 
the  Neapolitan  men  I  have  seen,  such  as  Prince  Petralla,  Juliano, 
Letitia  and  others,  have  an  anglomanie  about  their  horses, 
carriages  and  dress,  and  mean  to  be  very  idiomatic  in  talking 
the  language  by  the  frequent  use  of  "  damme,  damned  "  and 
"  God  dam."  Politicks  I  know  nothing  of,  Heaven  be  praised  ! 
This  King  seems  inclined  to  be  moderate  and  to  recall  the  exiles  ; 
all  his  edicts  are  mild  and  paternal.  He  hates  the  Austrians, 
and  is  disposed  to  listen  to  English  counsellors  in  preference  to 
German.  A  new  King  is  always  popular,  and  therefore  how 
justly  he  is  so  cannot  be  easily  determined. 

I  am  very  glad  to  have  seen  the  Margravine  of  Anspach.4 


1  Monsignor  Caprecelatro. 

2  Sir  William  Cell  (1777-1836),  traveller  and  archaeologist.     He  was  at 
one  time  Chamberlain  to  Queen  Caroline,  and  lived  in  Italy  subsequent  to 
1820. 

3  Ferdinand  IV  (1751-1825),  who  in  1816,  after  Murat's  deposition, 
assumed  the  title  of  Ferdinand  I  of  the  Two  Sicilies.     He  was  succeeded 
by  his  son,  Francis  I  (1777-1830). 

4  Elizabeth  (1750-1828),  daughter  of  Augustus,  fourth  Earl  of  Berkeley. 
She  married,  first,  William,  sixth  Lord  Craven  ;    and,  secondly,  in  1791, 
the  Margrave  of  Brandenburg- Anspach, 


204         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

She  is  one,  comme  il  y  en  a  peu,  born  thoroughly  bad  and  corrupt. 
It  is  never  agreable  to  me  to  hear  profligacy  and  bestiality  from 
the  mouth  of  any  woman.  Even  if  young  and  pretty  it  repels 
instead  of  exciting  me  ;  but  from  an  old,  wild  harridan,  with 
her  face  painted  white  and  red  and  eyebrows  greasy  with  dye, 
it  is  revolting  and  painful.  I  think  I  never  saw  any  woman  so 
entirely  corrupt,  and  with  such  a  prurient  imagination.  The 
open  shamelessness  with  which  she  talks  of  her  own  and  her 
family's  faux  pas  is  rather  droll,  because  it  is  so  unusual.  When 
a  woman  is  completely  depraved  and  when  no  longer  alive  to 
any  shame,  how  much  more  disgusting  and  how  much  worse  they 
are  than  men  in  the  same  situation.  They  are  so  proud  of  what 
they  suppose  proves  the  strength  of  their  understanding  that 
they  trumpet  about  their  own  iniquities  with  great  satisfaction. 

The  Blessingtons  live  at  Villa  Gallo,  which  is  above  the  town 
and  commands  a  splendid  view.  The  whole  family  bore  me  to 
extinction.  My  Lady  has  taken  to  be  learned,  and  collects  relics 
of  literary  value — Voltaire's  pin,  Ld  Byron's  watch-chain,  and 
many  more  valuables  of  the  same  sort.  She  writes  on  life  and 
manners.  I  wish  she  would  acquire  some  of  the  latter  before  she 
criticises.  Her  whole  notion  of  shewing  her  judgment  is  by 
violent  and  almost  Billingsgate  censure.  She  forces  herself  into 
the  correspondence  or  acquaintance  of  all  who  have  (unhappily 
for  them)  acquired  any  sort  of  fame.  She  has  a  little  Irish 
quickness  and  fun,  and  a  little  more  brogue  ;  but  that  is  all. 
The  most  tiresome  thing  is,  that  she  never  stops  on  any  subject 
when  once  she  begins,  and  tells  one  the  same  thing  thirty  times 
over  which  if  only  said  once  would  be  good  enough.  D'Orsay 
does  not  want  for  the  quickness  a  Frenchman  often  has,  and 
expresses  himself  well  and  with  that  grace  peculiar  to  his  country- 
men ;  but  he  is  a  coxcomb,  and  the  ridicules  of  the  family  to 
which  he  has  attached  himself  are  taking  quick  root  and  have 
already  affected  his  exterior. 

Sir  W.  Drummond x  is  agreable  and  very  good-natured.  His 
house  is  magnificently  mounted  and  his  dinners  excellent.  He 

1  Sir  William  Drummond  (1770  ?-i828),  a  member  of  the  Drummond 
family  of  Logie-Almond,  he  held  diplomatic  posts  in  Naples  and  elsewhere 
until  1809,  when  he  retired  into  private  life.  He  was  responsible  for 
several  learned  and  scientific  publications. 


1824-1826  205 

hates  the  Bible,  but  has  more  spite  against  the  Old  than  the  New 
Testament.  His  wife  is  the  image  of  old  Qn  Charlotte,  and  nearly 
an  idiot.  The  Opera-house  I  do  not  admire  so  much  as  that  of 
Milan  ;  the  ornaments  are  cumbrous,  and  silver  does  not  light 
up  well.  None  of  the  good  singers  are  here,  and  the  ballet  is 
tedious. 

On  the  5th  of  March  the  King  made  his  public  entry.  He  was 
very  coldly  received  and  the  procession  itself  was  poor.  The 
following  day  he  went  with  all  his  family  in  state  to  the  Opera. 
The  whole  house  was  illuminated,  and  the  effect  was  very  fine 
indeed.  There  was  a  ludicrous  exhibition  of  the  Royal  Family 
at  the  end  of  a  dull  cantata  d'occasion. 

On  the  1 5th  of  March  the  Fazakerleys  arrived  from  Rome 
and  took  the  Palazzo  Esterhazy.  The  news  from  England  only 
contains  news  of  marriages — Emily  Bathurst  and  Fred  Ponsonby, 
H.  Canning  to  Clanricarde,  L.  Lennox  to  W.  Tighe,  and  his 
affected  brother  Dan  to  Miss  Crofton.  Ld  Thanet  is  dead. 
Canning  has  made  a  brilliant  display  in  Pfc,  and  has  gained  well- 
earned  laurels  for  his  recognition  of  the  S.  American  States. 
There  were  parties  at  Figuelmonts'  (who  were  uncommonly  civil 
to  me),  Stackelbergs',  Lushingtons',  Kellers',  to  which  I  went ; 
and  two  pretty  assemblies  at  the  Accademia. 

On  the  24th  I  went  with  Fazs.,  Ly  Duff,  Townshend,  and 
Sandon  and  D.  Stuart1  to  Pompeii.  The  two  latter  are  come 
for  48  hours  only,  and  to  negotiate  for  the  steam-boat  for  Ly 

Bute.  The  latter  told  me  of  his  success  with  the  G ,  and 

his  embarras  about  the  other.  His  manner,  his  feelings,  his 
disposition,  delight  me,  and  I  feel  quite  an  affection  for  him. 

On  Sunday,  the  27th  of  March,  at  half -past  9  I  embarked  with 
Buckley  and  West  and  Frederick  Spencer  on  board  the  Sybille. 
The  day  was  rainy  and  the  wind  was  high,  which  made  me  very 
sick,  nor  was  it  till  the  middle  of  the  following  day  that  I  was 
well  enough  to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  sailing.  We  doubled 
Marittimo,  a  small  island  off  the  western  point  of  Sicily.  I  sat 
on  deck  till  night ;  the  sea  was  calm  and  delicious  and  the  moon- 
light lovely.  The  whole  of  the  following  day  I  sat  on  deck  and 
en  joy  edit  very  much.  We  were  close  to  Gozo  before  sunset  and 

1  Lord  Dudley  Stuart  (1803-1854),  only  son  of  John,  first  Marquess  of 
Bute,  by  his  second  wife,  Frances  Coutts. 


206         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

might  have  reached  Malta  that  night,  but  Pechell1  preferred 
coming  into  port  by  daylight,  so  we  waited  till  Wednesday 
morning.  The  day  was  delicious  and  truly  southern  ;  the  port 
and  town  are  beautiful  and  totally  unlike  anything  I  ever  saw 
before.  The  buildings  are  in  excellent  taste  and  of  a  very  pretty 
and  soft  stone,  which  is  easily  worked,  and  almost  every  house 
has  a  balustrade  at  the  top  and  several  small  balconies.  Charles 2 
came  in  a  boat,  and  I  went  with  him  to  his  pretty  house  a  little 
out  of  the  town. 

I  lived  completely  with  Charles,  and  used  to  ride  almost 
every  day.  Once  we  went  to  Sfc  Antonio,  which  is  the  country 
house  belonging  to  the  Governor ;  it  has  a  fine  garden,  and  is 
pretty  but  ill-situated,  being  the  lowest  point  in  the  whole  island. 
I  dined  twice  with  Lord  Hastings 3 ;  he  is  dreadfully  silent  but 
very  good-natured.  He  received  while  I  was  at  Malta  the  news 
of  his  failure  in  the  India  House,  by  which  he  appeared  sadly 
broken  and  hurt.  His  family  are  extremely  attached  to  him. 
Lady  Hastings  is  reckoned  cold  and  proud,  but  I  saw  nothing 
thereof.  Lady  Flora  is  very  agreable  and  I  believe  well-informed. 

I  dined  with  Frere 4  and  saw  a  good  deal  of  him.  He  is  very 
clever  and  droll,  but  grown  sottish,  dirty  and  indolent.  Lady 
Errol  is  a  nasty,  coarse  woman.  There  is  a  little  red-headed, 
good-natured,  flirting  niece  of  hers,  Miss  Blake,  who  lives  with 
them ;  also  a  Greek  child,  who  saw  its  parents  butchered  before 
her  eyes ;  and  old  Miss  Frere.  The  whole  establishment  is  com- 
fortless and  strange.  One  day  I  dined  with  the  Admiral  and 
Lady  Neale,5  a  large  party  of  35  people.  The  dinner  never  ended, 

1  Sir  Samuel  John  Brooke  Pechell  (1785-1849),  third  Baronet,  Captain 
of  the  Sybille,  afterwards  a  Lord  of  the  Admiralty  and  Rear-Admiral . 

2  Charles  Fox  was  aide-de-camp  to  the  Governor,  Lord  Hastings. 

8  Francis,  second  Earl  of  Moira,  and  first  Marquess  of  Hastings  (1754- 
1826),  the  celebrated  soldier  and  statesman.  He  was  appointed  Governor 
of  Malta  in  1824,  and  died  at  sea  two  years  later.  His  wife,  whom  he 
married  in  1804,  was  Flora,  Countess  of  Loudoun  in  her  own  right.  After 
the  publication  of  his  Indian  papers  by  order  of  the  General  Court  of  Proprie- 
tors of  the  East  India  Company,  a  qualified  censure  was  passed  upon  him. 

4  John  Hookham  Frere  (1769-1846),  well  known  as  a  diplomatist  and 
an  author,  lived  in  Malta  almost  entirely  after  1818.  He  married,  in 
1812,  Elizabeth  Jemima,  Dowager  Countess  of  Enroll,  and  daughter  of 
Joseph  Blake. 

6  Sir  Harry  Burrard  Neale,  second  Baronet  (1765-1840),  Commander-m- 
Chief  in  the  Mediterranean,  1823-6. 


1824-1826  207 

and  was  like  all  those  dinners  dull  and  hot.  The  first  time  I 
dined  with  Lord  Hastings  I  went  with  him  and  his  family  after- 
wards to  a  large  state  box  in  the  centre  of  the  small  theatre  to 
see  The  Midnight  Horn  and  X  Y  Z  very  ill  acted  by  officers  of  the 
85th  for  some  charity.  Ld  Hastings  is  going  home  immediately 
in  a  transport  in  order  to  get  his  character  cleared.  It  is  a 
cruel  thing  to  see  such  an  honorable,  worthy  man  suffer  under 
such  an  unmerited  stain. 

Sailed  on  Saturday  the  gth  for  Corfu  in  the  Sybille.  Besides 
myself,  Mr  F.  Ross  and  Mr  Wilkinson  were  passengers. 

On  the  1 6th,  we  had  a  very  grand  view  of  Corfu  and  the 
Albanian  coast.  We  came  by  the  northern  passage  and  landed 
on  the  evening  of  the  I7th.  Sir  Frederick  x  was  very  civil  to 
me  and  lodged  me  at  the  palace.  I  was  taken  up  to  Lady  Adam's 
soiree  immediately,  and  found  the  room  full  of  her  Greek  friends 
and  relations.  She  is  handsome  but  sickly,  and  makes  ugly  faces  ; 
she  has  a  vile  temper  and  her  countenance  betrays  it.  She 
has  a  false  look  of  Ly  Mount  Charles.  I  staid  till  the  24th, 
during  which  time  I  dined  three  times  at  the  palace,  twice  with 
the  32d,  and  once  with  Lord  Guildford.2  The  latter  has  estab- 
lished a  University  here,  which  I  have  no  doubt  will  do  good 
and  improve  the  system  of  education  but  at  present  is  only 
ridiculous,  as  the  costume  is  absurd,  and  he  himself  a  most 
ludicrous  figure,  with  a  velvet  bandeau  round  his  head  and  an 
embroidered  owl  in  the  centre.  I  heard  some  Greek  music  at 
his  house  that  is  very  pretty  and  wild.  He  is  collecting  a  library 
for  the  University,  and  has  already  some  very  valuable  manu- 
scripts, especially  on  Papal  and  Venetian  politicks.  He  lives 
in  a  tumble-down  room  in  the  old  tumble-down  palace  in  the 
citadel,  with  no  comforts  or  European  luxuries.  His  manner  is 
so  peculiar  and  his  conversation  so  agreable  that  I  liked  him 
extremely.  I  used  to  ride  with  Pechell  and  ^Granby  Calcraft ; 
the  latter  is  not  much  improved  since  I  knew  him  at  Christ 
Church.  The  only  people  I  made  acquaintance  with  were 

1  General  Sir  Frederick  Adam,  K.C.B.  (1781-1851),  Lord  High  Com- 
missioner of  the  Ionian  Isles.     The  islands  had  been  placed  under  the 
protection  of  Great  Britain  by  the  Treaty  of  1815. 

2  Frederick,  fifth  Earl  of  Guilford  (1766-1827),  third  son  of  the  Prime 
Minister,  Lord  North.     He  succeeded  his  brother  in  the  titles  in  1817,  and 
never  married. 


208         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Schomberg  Kerr,1  Ld  S.  Osborne,  and  John  Maitland.  The  former 
I  like,  as  he  reminds  me  of  Ancram.  I  rode  to  Potamo  and  to 
the  one  gun  battery.  The  night  before  I  went  there  was  a  great 
ball,  as  it  was  S1  George's  day,  at  the  palace,  where  there  was 
not  much  display  of  beauty  among  the  600  present — one  very 
beautiful  woman  in  the  Greek  costume  of  Sfc  Maura. 

We  sailed  on  the  evening  of  the  24th,  taking  Col.  (Charles) 
Napier  2  to  his  residency  at  Cephalonia.  He  is  a  very  superior 
man,  full  of  talent  and  great  spirit  of  enterprize  and  originality. 
His  conversation  is  amusing  and  his  knowledge  extensive.  He 
has  a  good  deal  of  twist  about  him  and  false  notions  of  indepen- 
dence, but  he  is  a  fine  character  and  is  doing  a  vast  deal  of  good 
in  his  island,  not  only  by  making  showy  roads  and  good  buildings 
but  by  improving  the  husbandry,  fertility  and  salubrity  of  the 
island.  We  sailed  into  the  port  of  Argostoli  at  daybreak  on  the 
27th.  I  took  a  long  ride  to  the  village  Ld  Byron  lived  in  while 
here,  and  which  is  prettily  situated  on  the  S.W.  coast.3  The 
road  all  round  the  port  of  Argostoli  is  barren  and  rocky,  every- 
where else  it  is  better.  On  the  28th  I  set  off  with  Pechell  to  make 
a  tour  in  the  island. 

We  anchored  off  the  town  of  Patras  on  Tuesday  evening, 
the  3d  of  May.  The  following  morning  we  landed  at  the  town  of 
Patras,  being  upon  honor  not  to  communicate  or  contaminate 
ourselves  by  touching  any  infectious  article.  Patras  is  at  present 
in  the  hands  of  the  Turks,  who  are,  however,  besieged  by  the 
Greeks,  but  with  very  little  energy.4  The  whole  war  seems 
predatory  and  straggling.  We  went  up  to  the  town  through 
most  miserably  narrow  streets,  full  of  the  most  wretched-looking 

1  Lord  Schomberg  Robert  Ker  (1795-1825),  Captain  3rd  Regiment, 
second  son  of  William,  sixth  Marquess  of  Lothian. 

2  Sir  Charles  James  Napier   (1782-1853),  eldest  son  of  Lady  Sarah 
Napier,    by   her   second   husband,     Hon.    George    Napier.     Resident   at 
Cephalonia,  1822-30.     Served  throughout  the  Peninsular  War,  and  greatly 
distinguished  himself  in  India,   1841-50. 

3  Metaxata.     Byron  arrived  there  in  September,  1823  (see   Works  of 
Lord  Byron,  vi.  238). 

4  A  revolt  had  broken  out  in  Greece  against  the  Turkish  Empire   in 
1820,  and  dragged  on  year  after  year  notwithstanding  massacres  and  blood- 
shed on  the  part  of  the  Sultan.     The  latter  asked  for  the  assistance  of  the 
Pasha  of  Egypt  in  1825,  who  sent  his  own  son  Ibrahim  to  invade  the  Morea. 
His  advance  was  only  checked  by  the  intervention  of  the  Great  Powers. 


1824-1826  209 

inhabitants,  filthy  and  stinking,  animals  killed  in  the  middle 
of  the  streets,  and  the  blood  and  entrails  running  about  the 
thresholds  of  the  houses.  We  found  one  or  two  men  who  talked 
a  little  Italian,  and  one  of  them  conducted  us  to  the  palace  or 
rather  hovel  of  Achmet  Pasha.  He  kept  us  waiting  a  consider- 
able time  in  rather  a  pretty  room,  open  on  three  sides  with 
windows,  under  which  were  low  forms  or  seats  covered  with 
cushions.  I  had  several  views,  when  the  door  of  his  interior 
room  opened,  into  the  apartment  where  he  was  dressing,  and  I 
saw  there  two  or  three  boys  dressed  out  in  gay  colors.  Our 
interpreter  was  called  Hadji,  having  been  to  Mecca.  The  Pasha 
at  length  appeared.  He  is  a  very  good-looking,  clean,  agreable, 
gentlemanlike  sort  of  man,  with  a  courteous  manner  and  an 
agreable  smile.  His  dress  was  splendid  and  clean,  which  was 
in  the  latter  respect  a  great  contrast  to  all  those  of  his  subjects. 
They  were  all  annoyed  at  our  coming  so  early,  as  very  few  of 
them  were  up,  it  being  the  season  of  Ramazan,  during  which 
moon  they  fast  as  long  as  the  sun  is  up  and  revel  at  night. 

We  left  the  town  and  went  in  our  boat  to  the  Castle  of  Patras, 
which  is  opposite  the  Castle  of  Roumelia  and  commands  the 
entrance  of  the  gulf.  Here  we  were  taken  by  the  French,  English 
and  Ionian  consul,  united  in  the  person  of  a  Frenchman,  who 
seems  a  great  rogue,  to  see  Usoff  Pasha.  He  is  a  greater  man, 
having  three  instead  of  two  tails,  as  our  first  friend  only  had. 
He  received  us  with  more  parade  and  in  a  rather  better  place, 
being  himself  on  a  raised  platform,  with  his  son  by  his  side  and  his 
court  all  round  him,  while  we  were  in  a  low  dip  like  the  orchestra 
of  a  theatre.  He  is  a  gloomy,  dull-looking  man,  with  a  counte- 
nance at  once  expressive  of  his  national  ferocity  and  indolence. 
He  made  Pechell  and  Churchill  presents  of  a  cow  apiece,  which 
is  the  first  recorded  instance  of  his  generosity.  We  walked  round 
the  walls  previous  to  embarking  and  saw  some  ill-pointed,  ill- 
managed  pieces  of  good  artillery. 

Wednesday,  May  u.  Anchored  off  Missolonghi,  which  the 
Turks  are  actively  !  !  !  besieging.  Weazel  joined  us. 

May  12.  We  were  anchored  at  nearly  six  miles  from  Misso- 
longhi, whither  we  went  early  in  a  boat ;  even  for  a  boat  the 
steerage  is  difficult,  as  the  water  is  so  very  shallow.  The  stink, 
fog,  vapour,  and  bad  air  arising  from  it  render  this  place  pesti- 


2io         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

lential.  On  landing  the  first  thing  I  was  shown  was  the  house 
where  Ld  Byron  lived  and  died.  His  loss  is  a  terrible  one  for 
Greece  and  a  sad  one  for  the  rest  of  Europe.  A  man  of  genius 
and  wit  that  can  and  will  withstand  the  tide  of  cant  and  hypocrisy 
that  at  present  runs  so  high,  especially  in  England,  is  the  greatest 
loss  possible  and  can  never  be  sufficiently  deplored.  I  admired 
and  liked  him  publickly  and  privately.  We  had  an  interview 
with  the  Governor,  who  received  us  just  as  the  Pashas  had  done, 
with  all  the  Eastern  honors  and  squatted  also  on  low  forms. 
Several  foreigners  are  here.  Two  we  got  most  acquainted  with, 
one  a  Swiss  surveyor,  the  other  an  American  adventurer  of  the 
name  of  Miller  ;  they  both  have  assumed  the  Grecian  costume, 
and  have  partly  acquired  the  language.  The  Swiss  is  the  editor 
of  the  paper.  We  walked  round  the  walls  with  them  and  from 
our  hats  being  seen  by  the  Turks  brought  us  some  shots,  one  of 
which  whizzed  very  near  me,  and  a  shell  fell  within  30  yards. 
I  was  amused  in  the  midst  of  all  this  to  see  six  or  seven  men 
dancing  the  wild  Albanian  dance  to  an  old  drum  and  bagpipe 
under  the  wall,  while  shots  were  flying  over  their  heads.  There 
are  quantities  of  people  in  the  town  and  no  dearth  of  provisions. 
We  saw  shiploads  of  women  and  children  going  to  Kalamos  and 
others  working  at  the  ditch  ;  they  seem  in  very  good  spirits 
and  not  at  all  alarmed.  We  sailed  that  day  and  anchored  at 
Zante  at  daybreak. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  Monday,  16  May,  we  found  ourselves 
in  the  midst  of  the  Egyptian  fleet  of  58  sail  blockading  Navarin. 
It  blew  a  violent  gale  of  wind,  and  I  was  wretched  at  Pechell's 
decision  not  to  go  into  the  harbour  of  Navarin,  opposite  to  which 
we  were  lying. 

17  May.  In  the  evening  Pechell  decided  to  sail  in  and  see 
the  real  state  of  the  place.  We  found  the  Greeks  had  capitulated, 
but  not  evacuated  the  citadel,  and  were  waiting  for  some  Austrian 
and  French  vessels  to  carry  them  off.  At  night  a  Greek  escaped 
and  swam  all  the  way  to  our  ship,  which  was  anchored  nearly 
two  miles  off.  Through  his  means  we  find  ourselves  in  quarantine, 
which  is  very  provoking.  Opposite  Navarin  lies  a  long  island 
anciently  called  Sphacteria,  where  the  Spartans  made  a  brave 
defence  that  ought  to  have  excited  emulation  among  their 
representatives. 


1824-1826  2II 

1 8  May.  We  landed  and  went  up  to  Ibrahim  Pasha's l 
camp,  which  is  on  the  heights  above  Navarin.  We  had  a  long 
interview  with  him.  He  received  us  in  his  tent,  reclining  on 
black  velvet  cushions  and  eating  his  dinner,  previous  and  sub- 
sequent to  which  he  washed  his  hands,  mouth  and  beard.  A 
French  colonel,  who  was  aide-de-camp  to  Marshal  Ney  but  is  now 
a  renegade  and  in  the  Egyptian  service,  dined  or  rather  picked 
out  of  the  same  greasy,  uninviting  dishes  that  were  brought 
before  them  upon  a  little  moveable  table.  Ibrahim  is  fat  and 
short,  marked  with  smallpox,  large  blue  eyes,  and  a  pleasant  smile. 
The  Egyptians  are  a  tall,  thin,  bony,  dark  race  of  men,  unlike 
the  Turks,  and  with  very  ugly  features  extremely  like  their 
monsters  and  sphinxes.  They  are  almost  all  dressed  in  tight 
dark  red  and  armed  with  European  arms,  many  with  English 
muskets  and  bayonets.  This  is  Ibrahim's  first  exploit.  He 
means  to  conquer  all  the  Morea  and  then,  they  say,  appropriate 
it.  He  is  son  of  the  Egyptian  Ali  Pasha  and  inherits  some  of 
his  ambition.  He  has  several  Italians  and  other  Europeans 
about  him.  The  Frenchman  was  our  interpreter  and  seems 
high  in  favor. 

I  arrived  at  Naples  early  on  June  i6th.  I  staid  there  a  week. 
Dined  several  times  with  the  Blessingtons,  and  one  day  took  a 
long  and  lovely  ride  with  them  ;  once  with  the  Margravine,  and 
twice  with  Ly  Mary  Deerhurst,2  whom  I  like.  I  met  there  Sr 
Wm  Gell,  who  always  diverts  me  with  his  sarcasm  and  philosophic 
determination  to  take  the  whole  world  as  a  lively  comedy.  He 
cares  very  little  for  anybody,  and  is  never  unhappy  but  from  his 
frequent  and  severe  twinges  of  gouty  pains.  On  the  24th  I 
dined  with  Ly  Mary  and,  after  going  to  take  leave  at  Villa  Gallo, 
set  off  for  Rome  where  I  arrived  in  21  hours.  It  was  not  without 
a  pang  I  left  the  gay  and  lovely  Naples.  It  is  unfortunate  to 
love  as  I  do  countries  in  which  I  am  by  duty  destined  not  to  pass 
my  life,  but  where  I  foresee  I  shall  chiefly  live.  Nothing  could 
be  gayer  or  more  distracting  than  the  scene  as  I  left  Naples. 

1  (1789-1848),  son  of  Mohammed  Ali,  the  ruler  of  Egypt. 

2  Lady  Mary  Deerhurst,  Fox's  future  mother-in-law.     She  was  daughter 
of  Aubrey,  sixth  Duke  of  St.  Albans,  and  married,  as  his  second  wife,  in 
1811,  George  William,  Viscount  Deerhurst  (1784-1843),  who  succeeded  his 
father  as  eighth  Earl  of  Coventry  in  1831.     Lady  Coventry  died  in  1843. 


212         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

It  was  the  feast  of  S*  John.  The  heat  of  the  day  was  just  over  ; 
and  the  whole  Toledo  and  Chiaia  were  completely  full  of  carriages 
and  pedestrians  in  the  brightest  attire  and  enjoying  the  blessing 
of  their  glorious  sun  and  sky.  Rome  was  a  sad  contrast.  I  felt 
gloomy  on  arriving,  and  sadly  disappointed  to  find  Dudley 
Stuart  gone  to  Naples  by  sea.  I  found  a  curious  letter  from  him, 
which  both  amused  and  annoyed  me.  Apsley,1  of  all  human 
beings  to  find  himself  in  the  metropolis  of  antiquity,  of  classical 
recollections  and  fine  arts,  was  my  chief  acquaintance  besides 
C.  Beauclerk ;  the  latter  I  like  extremely.  Apsley  is  good- 
humoured  but  dull,  and  more  so  just  now  because  broken-hearted 
about  Miss  Forrester,  who  has  shamefully  jilted  him.  I  dined 
once  with  Laval,2  who  made  me  unfortunately  a  prominent 
person  at  a  large  round  table,  in  a  foreign  language  to  tell  him 
my  opinions  on  Grecian  politicks.  His  questions  were  very 
confused  and  so  were  my  answers.  At  the  beginning  of  dinner 
he  announced  me  as  un  homme  d' esprit ;  at  the  end  of  it  I  have 
no  doubt  he  thought  me  a  bete. 

Letters,  heat,  and  the  horrors  that  await  me  in  my  native 
land,  made  me,  after  much  hesitation,  decide  upon  returning 
for  the  summer  to  Naples  and  giving  up  the  hot  and  odious 
journey  I  had  intended  to  pursue.  I  took  little  Santi  with  me. 
We  set  off  on  the  evening  of  Wednesday,  the  6th  of  July,  and 
arrived  on  Thursday  at  the  Gran  Bretagna  after  22  hours' 
journey.  We  had  vile  weather,  and  violent  rain  and  thunder 
at  Mola  di  Gaeta,  which  however  cooled  the  air  and  made  the 
journey  pleasanter.  I  was  delighted  to  find  myself  again  in  this 
lovely  place,  and  I  was  greatly  rewarded  by  finding  my  brother 
and  Mary  in  two  days  afterwards  anchored  in  the  port  on  board 
the  Medina  from  Malta.  They  were  kept  four  days  in  quarantine, 
during  which  time  I  fixed  my  abode  at  Mergellina  almost  next 
door  to  Lady  Bute,  whose  merits  I  begin  to  perceive  and  whom 
I  could  not  help  liking  for  Dudley's  sake.  I  like  him  more  and 
more  every  time  I  see  him.  Indeed  my  retrograde  motions 
were  greatly  in  consequence  of  the  certainty  of  his  society.  I 

1  Henry  George,  Viscount  Apsley  (1790-1866),  eldest  son  of  Henry, 
third  Earl  Bathurst,  whom  he  succeeded  in  1834. 

2  Adrien,  Prince  de  Laval  Montmorency  (1768-1837),  French  Ambassa- 
dor in  Rome. 


G.  S   Newton  pinxit 


LADY    MARY   FOX 


1824-1826  213 

dined  once  with  Lady  Compton,  who  would  be  a  more  agr cable  if 
she  was  a  less  pedantic  woman.  Charles  and  Mary  landed  on 
the  I3th  ;  we  went  to  the  Studii  and  drove  over  the  town.  The 
following  day  we  went  to  Pompeii,  and  on  our  return  were  over- 
taken by  a  torrent  that  came  suddenly  down  from  Vesuvius 
upon  Torre  del  Greco,  where  we  were  taking  refuge  during  one  of 
the  most  violent  thunderstorms  I  ever  remember  seeing.  Pompeii 
will,  I  trust,  one  day  or  other  be  completely  discovered.  Since 
I  saw  it  in  March  they  have  found  some  very  beautiful  and 
curious  things,  especially  one  picture  of  Iphigenia's  Sacrifice, 
where  the  figures  are  too  long  and  thin  but  the  design  and 
coloring  is  very  good  indeed.  Agamemnon  is  sitting  as  described 
in  the  famous  picture  of  Timanthus  (of  which  this  may  be  a 
copy)  with  his  face  covered. 

Tuesday,  19  July.  Dined  at  Lady  Mary's.  Met  only  the 
little  flippant  Dr  Quin.1  Ly  Mary  is  good-humoured  and  rather 
clever,  and  certainly  very  quick  when  the  conversation  borders 
on  anything  that  will  admit  of  a  double  entendre.  Went  in  the 
boat  with  Ly  Bute  till  12  o'clock. 

20  July.  Dined  with  Mr  Hill.  Diplomatic  dinner,  Figuel- 
mont.  Mr  Hill  diverts  me,  but  I  have  a  low  opinion  of  his  under- 
standing, which  has  got  muddled  and  legitimated  by  his  long 
sepulture  in  the  Sardinian  court,  where  by  dint  of  hearing,  he 
has  at  last  adopted,  opinions  unworthy  of  an  Englishman  or 
indeed  of  any  man  of  sense.  Afterwards  to  L7  Mary.  Letitia, 
Hogwitz,2  Gell,  Quin,  &c.  Her  attack  on  the  former  was  droll 
and  successful,  as  he  was  afraid  of  her.  She  has  little  to  recom- 
mend her  beyond  extreme  good-nature  ;  her  conversation  is  not 
clever,  nor  does  she  enjoy  any  conversation  that  does  not  border 
upon  veiled  indecency. 

July  21.  Went  to  see  Dudley,  who  had  been  unwell.  Dined 
with  Lady  Mary.  Met  only  Letitia  and  Pepe,  brother  to  the 
General  of  that  name.  In  the  Villa  Reale  afterwards  met  the 
Guiccioli  fresh  from  Rome,  full  of  sentiment  and  absurdity. 

1  Frederick  Hervey  Foster  Quin  (1799-1878),  founder  of  the  British 
Homoeopathic  Society.     Having  taken  the  M.D.  degree  at  Edinburgh, 
he  went  out  to  Rome  in  1820  as  physician  to  the  Duchess  of  Devonshire, 
and  after  1821  set  up  in  Naples.     He  returned  to  England  in  1826. 

2  Christian  Heinrich  Karl  Haugwitz  (1752-1831),  Prussian  statesman. 
He  lived  in  Italy  after  1820. 


214         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Amused  at  her  coming  here ;  she  is  in  search  of  an  adventure, 
and  wants  to  fix  herself  upon  some  handsome  and  illustrious  man. 
I  returned  to  17  Mary.  Found  only  the  Baron  and  thought 
myself  du  trop  ;  at  least  I  am  sure  he  was  of  my  opinion. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem  after  having  written  the  above 
paragraph,  I  find  myself  now,  on  the  gth  of  August,  when  taking 
up  my  pen  to  continue  this  diary,  to  have  to  record  that  though 
neither  handsome  nor  illustrious  I  am  strange  to  say  become  the 
object  of  T.  G.'s  affection. 

On  the  2ist  of  July,  on  the  very  day  on  which  ceases  the  regular 
and  dull  diary  I  had  intended  to  keep,  my  friend  became  a  father 
at  Rome.1  I  was  for  a  long  time  more  occupied  with  his  thoughts 
and  interests  than  my  own.  One  night  early  in  August  we  rode 
all  round  the  heights  of  Vomero  and  Capo  de  Monte  for  more  than 
seven  hours.  He  had  no  disguise  with  me  and  told  me  his  whole 
life.  He  is  a  most  amiable,  noble,  fine-spirited  character,  and 
I  quite  love  him.  What  I  wish  most  in  the  world  can  never  be  ; 
the  obstacles  are  too  numerous  and  insurmountable.  He  is 
deeply  attached  to  Ch.  and  no  wonder. 

In  the  meanwhile  my  life  passed  agreably,  delightfully  even. 
I  dined  and  flirted  every  day  with  Ly  Mary,  made  the  pompous 
Baron  jealous,  used  to  go  on  the  water  with  Ly  B.  and  Dudley, 
and  take  moonlight  sentimental  walks  with  T.  G.  I  observed 
Teresa  rather  sought  than  shrunk  from  proffered  civilities,  but 
I  was  not  prepared  for  the  extreme  facility  of  the  conquest, 
which  (such  is  the  perverseness  of  one's  nature)  scarcely  gave 
me  pleasure.  She  is  too  gross  and  too  carnal. 

As  Ld  Byron  says,  there  is  nothing  like  the  moon  for  mis- 
chief. It  was  on  Sunday  evening  the  7th  of  August  that  she 
listened  and  consented  at  her  balcony  as  we  were  gazing  at 
chaste  Dian's  beams.  Sentiment  or  caprice  would  not  permit 

1  Lord  Dudley  Stuart  had  for  some  time  been  carrying  on  a  liaison 
with  Christine  Alexandrine  Egypte,  daughter  of  Lucien  Bonaparte, 
Prince  de  Canino,  by  his  first  wife,  Christine  Boyer.  Her  marriage  to 
Arved,  Comte  de  Posse,  a  Swede,  had  been  an  obstacle  to  their  union,  but 
this,  after  much  difficulty,  was  overcome,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  course 
of  the  Journal,  and  she  was  able  to  marry  Lord  Dudley  in  1826.  The  birth 
of  this  child,  Paul  Amadeus  Francis  Coutts  Stuart,  who  died  in  1889,  was 
kept  a  complete  secret  at  the  time,  being  only  known  to  Lady  Bute,  to 
Henry  Fox,  and  to  the  lady's  sister,  Princess  Gabrielli. 


1824-1826  215 

her  to  yield  then,  but  appointed  me  the  next  night,  and 
received  me  as  those  females  receive  one,  who  make  such 
occupations  not  their  pleasure  but  their  trade.  Her  senti- 
ment is  ridiculous,  especially  to  me,  knowing  as  I  do  all  her 
history  within  these  few  months.  She  tries  and  believes  she 
is  in  love  for  a  short  time,  but  it  is  alarming  when  she  talks 
and  expects  a  constancy  of  five  years.  She  has  a  pretty  voice, 
pretty  eyes,  white  skin,  and  strong,  not  to  say  turbulent,  pas- 
sions. She  has  no  other  attraction.  Her  manners  are  bad 
and  her  sentiment  affected.  She  is  an  instance  of  those  who 
live  with  clever  people  thinking  it  their  duty  to  be  clever 
too.  Her  letters,  however,  are  well  expressed  and  good.  We 
had  several  agreable  evenings  together,  especially  one  night  we 
went  to  Nisida  and  landed  in  my  little  favorite  bay.  It  was  a 
beautiful  night  and  the  moon  was  splendid  ;  besides  the  heavens 
were  brightly  illuminated  by  summer  lightnings.  I  grew  to 
like  her  better  as  I  knew  more  of  her. 

August  passed  delightfully.  I  dined  almost  every  day  with 
Lady  Mary  ;  now  and  then  with  the  Blessingtons  or  the  Margra- 
vine, spent  every  evening  with  Teresa,  and  all  that  was  disagreable 
was  that  I  saw  less  of  Dudley  Stuart,  Lady  Bute  having  gone  up 
to  Villa  Moralis  (?)  for  the  health  of  the  baby.  I  dispatched 
Buccini  x  to  meet  my  parents,  who  are,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  going 
to  winter  at  Paris.  My  life  had  much  sameness  in  it,  but  from 
the  beauty  of  my  view,  the  charm  of  the  weather,  and  the  delight 
I  take  in  Dudley's  society,  I  found  it  very  agreable.  Besides 
Teresa  occupied  and  to  a  degree  amused  me,  though  I  felt  rather 
ashamed  of  affecting  sentiment  I  did  not  feel  and  of  professing 
unalterable  attachment.  On  the  isth  of  Sept.  she  dispatched 
her  brother  to  Aversa,  and  we  set  off  for  Sorrento  where  we 
passed  several  days  rather  agreably.  The  place  is  lovely,  the  Villa 

-  is  quite  heavenly.  My  stay  there  was  on  the  whole  agreable. 
Lady  Bute  and  Dudley  came  back  to  Mergellina.  I  grow  fonder 
and  fonder  of  him  every  time  I  see  him.  They  left  Naples  on 
Sunday  the  25th  Sept.  for  Ischia.  Their  loss  was  terrible  to  me, 
though  I  could  not  wish  him  to  stay.  I  grew  to  know  more 
and  like  infinitely  better  Ly  Compton.  She  has  a  good  deal  of 
sound  sense  and  a  wonderful  deal  of  information — full  of  Scotch 

1  Fox's  servant. 


2i 6         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

superstitions  and  prejudices,  for  which  I  like  her  the  better. 
With  T.  G.  I  had  various  quarrels  and  hysterics  :  she  is  jealous 
and  exigeante  and  troublesome.  Poor  Ld  Byron  !  I  do  not 
wonder  at  his  going  to  Greece.  She  has  no  delicacy,  no 
hypocrisy  even  of  modesty,  which  faute  of  the  reality  is  at  least 
better  than  the  total  absence  of  all  such  feeling,  She  is  a  woman 
of  very  strong  passions,  and  imagines  that  she  has  very  strong 
sentiment — but  vast  is  the  difference. 

My  life  was  much  the  same  till  the  middle  of  October.  I 
had  many  quarrels  with  Teresa,  who  is  exigeante  and  suspicious, 
and  who  expected  me  entirely  to  give  up  society  for  her  sake, 
which  does  not  at  all  suit  my  character  or  inclinations,  especially 
as  she  does  not  the  least  answer  as  a  companion,  having  hardly 
any  power  of  conversation.  Society  is  necessary  for  me.  I  am 
sorry  to  own  it,  as  I  once  thought  and  always  wished  otherwise. 
The  best,  indeed  the  only  real  very  good  point  about  her,  is  her 
sincerity.  She  is  very  true  spoken,  and  though  her  sentiment  is 
in  reality  assumed,  she  believes  it  to  be  real.  After  several 
quarrels  and  reconciliations  she  left  Naples  on  Saturday,  the 
I5th  of  October.  I  was  to  have  followed  in  a  few  days.  How- 
ever, the  next  day,  as  I  was  riding  up  to  Villa  Gallo,  my  horse 
fell  and  bruised  my  ankle  very  seriously. 

I  was  laid  up  at  Villa  Gallo.  Nothing  could  surpass  the 
good-nature  I  met  with,  and  I  got  on  terms  of  intimacy  that 
never  otherwise  would  have  taken  place.  Of  d'Orsay  I  grew  very 
fond.  He  has  a  thousand  merits,  many  talents  and  a  very  warm 
heart.  He  is  very  agreable,  and  very  superior  to  the  idea  I 
first  formed  of  him  from  his  dandy  exterior.  The  more  I  saw  of 
him  the  better  I  liked  him.  He  has  great  frankness,  generosity 
and  sincerity.  The  kindness  of  my  hostess  towards  me  and  the 
extreme  partiality  she  either  feels  or  professes  for  me  prevent 
my  saying  anything  in  disparagement  of  the  beauty,  talents  and 
good  qualities  which  far  better  judges  than  I  am  see  and  admire 
in  her.  Though  perhaps  I  am  either  blind  or  stubborn,  I  cannot 
be  ungrateful  or  ever  forget  her  hospitality  and  attentions  to 
me.  For  d'Orsay,  however,  I  entertain  warmer  feelings,  and 
fully  return  the  affection  he  professes  and  which  I  am  therefore 
persuaded  he  feels  for  me.  It  rather  hurt  me,  as  I  felt  myself 
acting  with  duplicity  (although  I  never  made  any  sort  of  profes- 


1824-1826  217 

sions),  but  it  hurt  me  not  to  be  able  to  like  Ly  Blessington  as  I 
should  wish  to  like  her  ;  but  she  has  exactly  the  defects  that  suit 
least  with  my  character  and  that  cross  all  my  prejudices  and 
wound  all  my  little  peculiarities  of  opinion  and  disposition. 
I  have  already  given  my  opinion  of  her  and  d'Orsay,  and  have 
sometimes  thought  that  I  ought  to  correct  it  in  consequence  of 
the  subsequent  kindness  I  have  met  with  ;  but  I  have  determined 
not.  It  is  a  lesson  not  to  judge  too  hastily  or  too  severely. 
First  impressions  are  sometimes  wrong,  and  as  it  is  my  art 
always  to  see  the  worst  first,  I  should  have  very  often  to  cancel. 
The  ridicules  and  defects  I  there  point  out  struck  me  at  the 
time.  I  saw  but  them,  and  did  not  wait  to  discover  that  under 
Alfred's  dandy  exterior  there  beat  a  warm  and  generous  heart ; 
or  could  I  foresee  that  I  ever  should  have  occasion  to  feel  so 
much  gratitude  towards  Ly  B.  as  I  at  present  do. 

I  staid  till  December  the  4th,  wholly  and  solely  on  d'Orsay's 
account  ;  my  disenchanter  to  Ly  Blessington  increasing  every 
day.  On  the  4th  I  went  down  to  the  town  of  Naples,  and  lodged 
next  to  the  Gran  Bretagna  in  a  strange  rambling  apartment, 
where  I  remained  a  week,  dining  every  day  almost  with  17  Mary 
and  sight-seeing  with  Seymour  Bathurst,1  who  came  chemin 
faisant  to  Corfu.  He  is  lively,  good-natured,  and  though  he 
has  some  family  defects  is  very  amiable. 

Naples  I  leave  with  regret,  but  it  is  only  the  scenery  and 
the  recollections  I  have  connected  with  it  that  I  regret.  I 
know  very  few  people,  and  the  few  I  do  know  are  mere  acquain- 
tances ;  but  the  summer  I  have  passed  here  has  been  the  happiest 
I  ever  have  or  most  likely  ever  shall  pass.  My  friendship  for 
Dudley  Stuart  has  consolidated  itself  into  one  that  nothing  can 
ever  alter.  I  feel  for  him  more  and  more  affection  and  an  interest 
that,  were  he  my  brother,  would  be  extraordinary.  With  17 
Compton  also  I  formed  a  friendship  that  is  very  agreable,  and 
I  hope  will  be  very  lasting.  She  has  an  excellent  understanding, 
wonderful  knowledge,  and  a  kind,  warm  heart,  but  she  has 
twists  and  fancies.  I  hope  never  to  offend  or  wound  any  of  these 
twists,  as  I  really  value  her  friendship  even  more  highly  than 
her  society — agreable,  lively  and  instructive  as  I  think  it,  because 

1  Hon.  Thomas  Seymour  Bathurst  (1793-1834),  third  son  of  Henry, 
third  Earl  Bathurst  ;  a  soldier  by  profession. 


2i 8         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

I  am  convinced  she  is  sincere  and  affectionate — two  great  and 
rare  qualities. 

My  friendship  with  Alfred  is  a  warm  one,  but  quite  different 
from  any  I  feel  or  ever  have  felt  for  anybody  else.  I  admire 
some  of  his  qualities  and  talents,  and  think  he  is  by  nature  good- 
hearted  and  full  of  many  estimable  feelings  and  impulses  ;  but 
vanity,  vanity  with  a  good  deal  of  false  exaggerated  pride, 
have  so  disfigured  his  character  that  they  have  turned  his  merits 
almost  into  defects.  Besides,  the  fatal  liaison  with  such  a  woman 
as  Ly  Blessington  is  calculated  to  do  him  a  terrible  deal  of  harm, 
living  as  he  does  the  solitary  life  of  an  idol  incensed  by  flattery 
all  day  long. 

The  next  day,  Dec.  13,  was  damp  and  rainy,  and  I  arrived 
at  2  o'clock  at  Rome.  Found  the  inns  full,  and  went  to  Boschello 
Gellio,  which  Sir  Wm  in  the  most  friendly  way  has  lent  me. 
I  found  Rome  rather  triste  at  first,  but  soon  got  to  like  it  as 
much  as  ever.  I  dined  almost  every  day  at  first  with  the  Comp- 
tons.  I  found  M.  and  Me  Sfc  Aulaire,1  the  Dawsons,  Mrs  Herbert, 
Ly  Vincent,  17  Paul,  ]>  Bute,  established. 

I  shall  in  future  resume  my  old  habits  and  keep  a  regular 
journal,  as  I  know  recollections  of  this  period  of  my  life  will  be 
most  agreable  to  me  hereafter  when  in  the  gloom  and  misery  of 
England.  I  found  Dudley  very  happy,  as  indeed  he  ought  to 
be,  having  broken  through  all  that  made  him  wretched.  I 
went  to  see  Me  la  P886  and  Paul  one  morning.  I  like  her 
extremely  ;  she  seems  really  to  love  him. 

22  Dec.  Drove  out  to  Westmacott,  who  is  doing  Miss 
Bathurst's  tomb.2  Mrs  B.  wished  to  have  her  figure  flying  up 
to  Heaven  and  Mr  B.  seated  on  a  cloud  to  receive  her.  She 
added  in  a  postscript  that  Mr  B.  resembled  the  Antinous.  I 
dined  at  Torlonia's  at  4  o'clock,  met  M.  Kerbeyheller,  formerly 
Austrian  Minister  here.  He  is  said  to  be  92  and  resembles 
Potier 3  in  Le  ci-devant  jeune  homme.  From  thence  I  went  to 


1  (1778-1854),  French  Ambassador  in  Rome  in  1831,  and  subsequently 
in  Vienna  and  London,  son  of  Count  Joseph  St  Aulaire.     See  ante,  p.  109. 

2  Phillida,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Call,  married  Benjamin  Bathurst,  a 
diplomatist.     Her   husband    completely   disappeared   in    1809,    and   her 
daughter  Rosa  was  subsequently  drowned  in  the  Tiber. 

3  Charles  Potier   (1775-1838),   French  actor. 


1824-1826  2ig 

T.  G.,  with  whom  I  have  had  a  most  violent  quarrel.  Afterwards 
I  went  to  Torlonia's  assembly,  which  was  crowded  and  dull.1 
The  D8B  of  Lucca  2  is  really  lovely  ;  just  what  a  P88  should  be. 
In  the  morning  I  had  a  letter  from  Charles  which  made  me 
both  laugh  and  feel  angry,  as  he  has  the  art  of  always  saying 
everything  in  the  most  disagreable  manner  ;  and  another  ridicu- 
lous letter  from  Cell  full  of  his  nonsense,  but  to  my  surprize 
showing  more  courage  than  I  thought  he  possessed  in  abusing 
that  horrid  old  wretch  the  Abbe  Campbell. 

23  Dec.  Horrid  day.  Drove  to  Sfc  Peter's,  where  all  the 
preparations  are  making  for  the  ceremony  of  closing  the  Holy 
Door  tomorrow.  I  was  much  struck  with  the  picturesque  and 
even  graceful  appearance  of  some  groups  of  pilgrims.  The 
whole  church  was  full.  It  is  quite  astonishing  to  see  the  hosts 
of  them  that  arrive  every  day.  There  is  certainly  something 
very  imposing  and  awful  in  the  Catholick  religion.3  I  was 
surprized  to  find  myself  kneeling  at  one  of  the  altars  to  the 
mock  representation  of  an  enthusiast  or  an  impostor  that  was 
crucified  1800  years  ago  ;  and  though  no  one  more  heartily 
despises  the  mummeries  and  contradictions  of  the  Xtian  reli- 
gion than  myself,  yet  I  feel  its  ceremonies  and  its  churches 
inspire  me  with  an  idea  of  a  Divine  Presence  and  of  an 
immediate  connexion  with  the  Benevolent  and  Omnipotent 
Being  that  has  placed  us  here,  which  elevates  my  thoughts, 
makes  me  reflect  on  my  own  insignificance,  on  the  transitory 
enjoyments  of  this  world,  and  on  the  possibility  (shall  I  say 
hope  or  fear  ?)  of  another  existence.  There  is  something  cold 

1  Giovanni  Torlonia,  Duca  de  Bracciano,  the  well-known  banker,  who 
died  in  1829. 

2  Maria  Theresa,  daughter  of  Victor  Emmanuel  I,  King  of  Sardinia, 
married,  in  1820,  Prince  Charles  of  Parma,  who  after  his  mother  the  Queen 
of  Etruria's  death  in  1824,  succeeded  to  the  Duchy  of  Lucca. 

3  It  may  be  interesting  to  compare  Charles  Greville's  remarks  on 
Allen's  religious  beliefs  (Journal  of  Queen   Victoria's  Reign,  ii.  153)  with 
the  succeeding  paragraph  of  the  Journal.     "  Though  not,  I  think,  feeling 
quite  certain  on  the  point,  he  was  inclined  to  believe  that  the  history 
of  Jesus  Christ  was  altogether  fabulous  or  mythical,  and  that  no  such 
man  had  ever  existed.     He  told  me  that  he  could  not  get  over  the  total 
silence  of  Josephus  as  to  the  existence  and  history  of  Christ."     Fox's 
doubts  sprang  from  a  different  base  ;  but  the  very  fact  that  he  hesitated 
to  accept  the  fundamental  principle  of  the  Christian  religion  shows  to 
what  an  extent  Allen's  scepticism  had  caught  hold  of  his  imagination. 


220         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

and  even  ridiculous  to  me  in  the  Protestant  worship.  I  never 
felt  but  more  strengthened  against  faith  from  every  one  of  the 
few  visits  I  have  made  to  English  churches.  On  the  contrary 
I  find  the  Catholic  service  involved  in  a  mystery  and  solemnity 
that  hides  the  want  of  solidity  of  its  foundation  and  leaves  the 
imagination  at  work. 

I  went  all  over  the  statue  part  of  the  Vatican,  admired  very 
much  the  Philosopher  in  the  Braccio  room,  which  is  worthy  of 
being  a  pendant  to  ihe  Aristides  at  Naples.  Went  to  see  T.  G. ; 
found  her  still  in  bed  but  better.  Dined  with  L7  Bute,  only 
the  family.  Sandon  is  amiable  and  agreable.  L7  Bute's  manner 
is  peculiar  and  at  last  wins  one.  I  feel  myself  growing  to  like 
her  better  than  I  did  before. 

To  keep  a  regular  journal  I  have  found  quite  impossible. 
My  life  has  been  too  much  occupied  to  allow  even  the  time  to 
write.  I  had  a  regular  fit  of  the  gout,  which  kept  me  some  days 
in  bed  and  prevented  my  enjoying  society,  but  otherwise  all 
the  time  of  my  sejour  at  Rome  has  been  delightful.  It  is  one 
of  those  epochs  of  my  life,  upon  which  I  shall  look  back  with  so 
much  pleasure  as  to  be  almost  painful.  I  never  can  be  so  happy 
again. 

Six  months  have  elapsed  since  I  have  ceased  keeping  this 
diary,  and  I  now  take  up  my  pen  to  give  a  rapid  sketch  of  a  time 
that  has  been  productive  of  so  many  important  events  in  my 
life.  I  remained  at  Rome  till  the  20th  of  February,  living  chiefly 
with  the  Comptons  and  Dawsons  at  dinner  and  in  the  evening, 
passing  the  day  with  Dudley,  and  the  nights  with  T.  G.  I 
went  much  to  Pce  Montfort's,  and  there  saw  Me  de  Survilliers 
and  her  daughter.1  The  latter  is  clever  and  agreable,  but  dread- 
fully ugly  and  a  little  malicious.  She  took  a  fancy  to  me,  and 
I  received  to  my  surprize  a  sort  of  formal  proposal  through  the 
means  of  that  foolish  beauty,  Mrs  Bryant.  My  friendship  for 
Ly  Compton  increased  every  day.  She  either  believed,  or  pretended 
to  believe,  that  I  only  liked  her  for  her  sister's  sake,  which  was 

1  Joseph  Bonaparte  took  the  name  of  Comte  de  Survilliers  after 
Waterloo.  His  wife  was  Marie  Julie  Clary  (1777-1845),  sister  to  Madame 
Bernadotte.  They  had  two  daughters,  both  of  whom  married  Bonapartes 
(see  p.  323). 


1824-1826  221 

quite  an  error.  I  like  her  much  better  than  her  sister,  to  whose 
merits  I  am  quite  blind. 

The  Carnival  was  gay,  and  I  was  much  diverted  at  Torlonia's 
and  Mrs  Stanley's  ball.  Luttrell  came  on  his  way  to  Naples  and 
was  very  agreable.  Dawson  too  I  like  extremely  ;  he  is  rather 
too  scandalous,  but  otherwise  I  think  him  very  agreable,  and  I 
am  sure  he  has  a  good  heart.  All  that  damped  my  pleasure 
were  the  letters  I  got  from  home,  or  at  least  from  Paris.  I  am 
doomed  never  to  be  happy  with  my  family.  As  matters  stand 
it  is  impossible.  Those  letters,  and  17  Compton's  error,  and  the 
advances  of  the  little  ugly  P88,  and  feeling  bored  with  my  liaison, 
determined  me  to  quit  Rome,  which  after  much  regret  I  did 
and  have  not  had  a  happy  day  since.  I  feel  I  behaved  rather 
ill  to  T.  G.;  but  I  do  not  think  she  will  suffer  more  than  a  little 
momentary  vexation  and  mortification.  I  had  strange  scenes 
with  -  —  (sic)  in  the  Villa  Albani  and  Quirinal  Gardens. 
She  is  a  strange  woman,  but  I  like  her  prodigiously.  I  think  the 
strength  of  her  imagination  runs  away  with  everything  else. 
She  knows  a  great  deal,  but  does  not  know  the  world.  She  never 
will  believe  people  to  be  made  up  of  good  and  bad  qualities  ; 
she  deems  every  one  an  angel  or  a  devil,  and  imputes  motives 
bad  or  good  to  actions  and  words  that  are  in  themselves  really 
only  accidental  or  indifferent. 

Just  before  I  was  making  preparations  for  quitting  Rome  on 
the  following  day,  I  got  a  letter  from  my  father  desiring  me,  if 
I  could,  to  see  the  P06  of  the  Peace l  before  I  went.  Glad  of  any 
excuse  to  protract  my  stay  and  glad  of  an  opportunity  of  so 
easily  doing  anything  my  father  wished,  and  also  not  sorry  to  see 
a  man  who  merely  on  account  of  his  good  looks  had  so  long 
swayed  the  destinies  of  a  great  empire,  I  had  an  interview  with 
him  on  the  morning  of  the  day  I  left  Rome.  He  received  me  very 
civilly.  He  has  lost  all  he  ever  had  of  good  looks,  and  his  appear- 
ance is  now  vulgar  and  mean.  He  talks  French  very  ill  and 
with  great  difficulty.  His  vanity  seems  exuberant.  In  the 

1  Manuel  de  Godoy,  Duke  of  Alcudia  (1767-1851),  called  "  Prince  of 
the  Peace, "  from  his  hand  in  settling  peace  with  France  in  1795.  Favourite 
of  Charles  IV  and  the  Queen  of  Spain,  whom  he  followed  to  Rome,  where 
he  remained  from  1808  until  their  deaths.  He  then  removed  to  Paris, 
quite  ruined  in  circumstances. 


222         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

short  time  I  was  with  him  he  could  not  give  it  full  vent,  but 
however  he  told  me  that  Napoleon  had  confessed  to  him  that  he 
was  the  only  man  he  had  ever  feared  or  thought  able  to  compete 
with  him.  Perhaps  Napoleon  did  say  so,  but  it  required  all  the 
vanity  of  a  Spaniard  to  believe  he  spoke  sincerely. 

I  went  one  day  with  Sandon  and  Dudley  to  see  Italinsky, 
the  Russian  Ambassador.1  He  was  very  agreable.  He  sits 
under  a  picture  of  my  mother,  with  whom  he  was  desperately 
smitten  some  years  ago  and  to  whom  he  continues  so  faithful 
that  he  has  had  the  picture  travel  with  him  to  all  his  various 
missions,  Constantinople,  &c.,  &c.  He  is  very  learned  in  Oriental 
languages  and  literature. 

One,  indeed  the  greatest,  pleasure  I  had  at  Rome  was  living 
so  much  in  the  society  of  Dudley,  and  having  it  in  my  power  to 
be  useful  to  him  in  fifty  little  ways.  It  is  impossible  to  say  what 
I  feel  for  him.  I  hardly  know  the  sacrifice  I  would  not  make 
to  contribute  the  least  to  his  welfare.  I  am  confident  too  that 
his  affection  for  me  is  as  lasting  as  it  is  strong.  He  is  the  only 
person  I  know  to  whom  I  can  talk  quite  openly  upon  every 
sub j  ect .  He  understands  me  and  shares  in  my  j  oys  or  my  sorrows. 
His  attachment  to  Christine  is  likely  to  make  the  happiness  of 
his  life,  and  though  I  have  sometimes  doubted  whether  she  is 
really  worthy  of  such  devotion,  I  begin  to  be  convinced  she  is, 
and  that  she  values  him  as  he  ought  to  be  valued. 

My  life  at  Rome  was  extremely  pleasant,  and  I  never  can  look 
back  to  any  other  part  of  my  existence  with  more,  or  indeed  so 
much,  satisfaction.  There  was  quite  enough  society  to  make  it 
agreable  to  me  without  its  being  a  labour  or  fatigue,  and  there  were 
many  people  with  whom  I  was  very  intimate — Dudley,  Comptons, 
Dawsons.  The  parties  and  balls  at  Laval's  and  Torlonia's  were 
large,  and  frequent  enough  to  make  one  live  always  in  the  same 
round  of  people,  and,  from  the  few  English  worth  knowing,  we 

1  Italinski,  then  Secretary  of  Legation  at  Naples,  had  been  an  ardent 
admirer  of  Lady  Holland,  when  still  the  wife  of  Sir  Godfrey  Webster. 
He  was  born  in  1740.  The  picture  in  question,  painted  for  him  by  Robert 
Fagan,  an  amateur  portrait  painter  and  later  British  Consul-General  for 
Sicily  and  the  Ionian  Isles,  is  now  at  Holland  House.  Henry  Fox  was 
able  to  buy  it  for  his  father  in  Rome  in  1828,  from  Prince  Gargarin,  who 
succeeded  Italinski  as  Russian  envoy  in  1827,  to  whom  it  had  passed  after 
the  latter 's  death  in  that  year. 


1824-1826  223 

saw  more  of  the  foreigners  and  natives  than  we  otherwise  should. 
Lady  Compton  was  amazingly  kind  to  me,  and  tried  all  she  could 
to  alleviate  my  sufferings,  which  both  bodily  and  mental  were 
very  great.  Those  strange  attacks  at  my  heart  are  very  likely 
of  no  consequence,  but  are  so  painful  and  so  frightful  that  it 
is  impossible  not  to  feel  great  alarm  at  the  time,  and  the  uncer- 
tainty of  all  medical  knowledge  makes  me  distrust  all  the  conso- 
lation doctors  are  so  willing  to  give  and  of  course  are  charitable 
enough  to  bestow,  when  they  know  if  they  told  the  truth  no 
caution  of  the  patient  could  save  him  from  an  impending  death. 

Just  before  I  left  Rome  I  wrote  a  letter  to  Mrs  Villiers  to  put 
an  end  to  all  future  correspondence,  and  to  break  off  completely 
with  her  daughter.,  because,  as  I  began  to  see  a  prospect  of  my 
return  to  England,  I  was  willing  to  go  there  unshackled  and  free, 
that  I  might  ascertain  whether  Theresa  really  cared  for  me  or 
not,  and  that  I  might  ascertain  this  from  herself  and  not  from  her 
mother.  I  wrote  this  from  Rome,  in  order  that  she  should  not 
imagine  I  did  it  in  consequence  of  my  family  having  exacted  it 
on  my  arrival  at  Paris,  and  also  I  did  it  that  I  might  have  some 
opportunity  of  seeing  how  Mrs  V.  and  her  daughter  would  take 
such  a  step  of  mine.  At  last  I  left  Rome.  I  felt  I  was  going  to 
annoyance  and  sorrow,  and  my  presentiment  was  not  wrong. 

On  Monday  the  6th  of  March  I  arrived  at  Paris  at  2  o'clock, 
and  saw  all  my  family,  who  were  established  in  the  Rue  la 
Grange  Bateliere,  No.  i,  in  a  dark,  dirty,  dull  house.  I  had  not 
been  ten  minutes  in  the  house  before  I  was  told  that  I  was  a 
member  of  the  Hse  of  Commons — bongre,  malgre. x  I  was  surprized 
and  annoyed.  I  seldom  passed  any  time  more  disagreably  than 
I  did  the  first  month  at  Paris,  falling  back  into  all  my  childish 
habits  of  subjection  and  dependence.  The  little  intrigues  and 
plots  that  always  have  and  must  go  on  in  absolute  government, 
and  all  the  annoyance  of  being  restored  to  these  after  nearly 

1  During  the  latter  months  of  1825  Holland  had  written  to  his  son  on 
more  than  one  occasion  urging  him  to  enter  some  profession  rather  than 
to  remain  idle  for  ever.  Henry  agreed,  but  announced  his  decided  prefer- 
ence for  a  diplomatic  career,  and  showed  no  enthusiasm  for  the  political 
one  which  his  father  hinted  that  he  would  like  him  to  adopt.  A  seat, 
however,  fell  vacant  at  Horsham,  a  pocket  borough  belonging  to  the  Duke 
of  Norfolk.  The  latter  offered  it  to  Holland,  who  accepted  it  without 
waiting  for  his  son's  consent. 


224         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

two  years'  freedom,  besides  hearing  all  the  old  prejudices  and 
prevarications  only  strengthened  by  time  and  indulgence,  made 
me  very  melancholy.  My  sister,  too,  in  whose  society  I  used  to 
take  so  much  pleasure,  was  not  as  I  left  her.  Success  and 
admiration  had  not  turned  her  head,  but  had  made  her  feel  less 
the  besoin  of  a  friend,  and  her  understanding  has  been  narrowed 
and  prejudiced  by  the  perpetual  repetition  of  the  same  assertions 
from  those  she  ought  and  must  respect.  Her  mind  is  not  so 
improved  as  it  bid  fair  to  be,  and  I  feel  annoyed  and  hurt  at  the 
disappointment  which  I  own  I  did  not  expect.  However  she 
still  has  a  kind  and  affectionate  heart  and  loves  me  tenderly, 
but  she  does  not  understand  me  as  I  thought  she  did,  and  takes 
the  cruel  line  of  supposing  that  when  I  feel  differently  from  her 
and  my  family  that  I  am  insincere  and  affected.  My  situation 
with  them  was  painful,  and  I  felt  no  pleasure  in  the  society  of  any- 
one else  at  Paris,  Ly  Grantham  and  Townshend  not  excepted. 
The  former  has  no  sense  ;  the  latter  not  a  grain  of  feeling.  My 
aunts  were  my  chief  comforts.  There  are  few  people  so  kind  as 
Miss  Fox  ;  her  heart  is  perfect,  her  understanding  admirable, 
and  her  affections  so  strong  that  they  become  enthusiasms.  Her 
judgment  is  sometimes  defective,  because  she  has  more  heart 
than  head  and  tries  to  believe  what  she  wishes,  which  makes 
her  blind  to  the  faults  of  those  she  loves  and  makes  her  attribute 
even  their  bad  actions  to  good  or  mistaken  motives.  Though 
Miss  Vernon  is  full  of  prejudice,  her  understanding  is  so  good 
naturally  that  it  breaks  through  those  prejudices,  and  in  spite 
of  herself  she  cannot  help  seeing  the  truth. 

My  mother  collected  about  her  some  of  the  most  agreable 
people  in  Paris,  and  made  her  house  (as  she  always  does)  agreable 
to  herself  ;  but  I  thought  it  tiresome  and  formal.  The  restraint 
she  imposes  upon  her  own  family  by  the  caprice  of  her  temper, 
and  the  fretfulness  and  contempt  she  shews  at  the  slightest 
difference  of  opinion,  drives  me  to  silence  in  society  when  she  is 
present ;  and  the  exclusiveness  of  the  topicks  she  allows  to  be 
discussed  before  her  makes  it  altogether  very  dull  and  subject 
to  eternal  repetitions.  My  father  soon  fell  ill  with  the  gout, 
and  so  did  I ;  and  I  then  was  tormented  with  a  boil  on  my 
neck  and  seldom  endured  more  pain.  What  chiefly  interested 
me  were  dear  Dudley's  and  Lady  Compton's  letters.  All  I 


1824-1826  225 

liked  at  Paris  were  the  theatres.  Mlle  Mars  acted  often  and  well. 
Talma  in  Charles  VI  was  admirable,  and  the  little  theatres  are 
always  droll.  I  don't  know  why,  but  the  selfishness,  vanity  and 
frivolity,  mixed  with  falsehood  and  affectation,  of  refined  society 
disgusted  me  more  than  I  thought  possible.  It  struck  me  more 
than  ever,  as  I  have  so  long  lived  out  of  it  and  with  people  so 
totally  unlike  any  of  its  component  parts.  Dudley  is  simplicity 
and  truth  itself,  and  17  Compton,  whatever  her  defects  may  be, 
cannot  be  called  either  false  or  frivolous.  I  am  getting  sadly 
misanthropical,  and  I  hope,  when  once  I  have  carried  the  great 
object  of  my  life,  that  I  shall  be  able  to  retire  from  the  world 
and  live  completely  in  the  society  of  a  few  people  whose  minds  are 
more  elevated  and  whose  hearts  are  less  artificial  than  those  of  the 
generality  of  what  is  called  the  world,  either  in  Paris  or  London. 

The  Bedfords,  Granthams,  Stanleys,  Sneyd,  Townshend  and 
Granvilles,  were  the  English  of  whom  I  saw  most,  besides  those 
who  happened  to  pass  through  Paris,  as  the  Dawsons,  Ld  Normanby, 
and  Pauls.  Paris  was  beginning  to  break  up,  at  least  as  to  gaieties. 
I  went  to  few  French  houses,  except  Me  Juste  de  Noailles', 
Girardin's,  Talleyrand's.  My  brother  came  without  his  wife  for 
a  month  to  Paris,  and  was  very  amiable  and  agreable,  though  for 
his  own  sake  I  regretted  his  coming,  as  he  has  no  more  prudence 
or  foresight  than  a  boy  of  18.  Sydney  Smith  came  for  a  fort- 
night. He  had  never  been  before,  and  was  delighted  and  sur- 
prized with  the  people  and  the  place.  He  was  very  witty  and 
amusing,  and  though  not  master  enough  of  the  language  to  give 
full  vent  to  all  his  pleasantry,  he  talked  it  sufficiently  to  enjoy 
conversation  and  to  be  a  prominent  person. 

I  went  with  my  mother  one  day  to  see  Vincennes,  where 
there  is  but  little  to  see  except  the  spot  where  the  Due  d'Enghien 
was  shot,  and  a  frightful  monument  they  have  erected  to  his 
memory.  Another  day  we  went  to  Versailles,  and  walked 
through  the  apartments  of  gloomy  magnificence  in  which  there 
is  nothing  to  see.  It  is  melancholy  to  see  the  apartments  of  the 
late  Queen,  where  she  must  have  passed  such  dreadful  hours  of 
alarm  and  suspense.  It  is  often  called  false  philosophy,  when 
one  expresses  more  pity  for  a  person  who  from  an  elevated 
situation  has  fallen  into  misfortune  than  for  one  who  was  not 
so  high  in  rank  and  in  station ;  yet  it  seems  to  me  but  fair  and 

p 


226         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

natural,  as  their  loss  is  greater  and  in  general  less  probable. 
However  thoughtless  and  full  of  vanity  Marie  Antoinette  may 
have  been,  it  is  impossible  not  to  feel  the  greatest  pity  for  her 
subsequent  misfortunes,  though  she  certainly  in  some  degree 
brought  them  on  herself. 

Politicks  now  are  at  a  standstill  almost.  The  priests  and 
Jesuits  are  making  rapid  strides  towards  gaining  all  the  power 
they  had  before  the  Revolution,  and  they  are  greatly  aided  by 
the  passive  superstition  and  bigotry  of  Charles  X.  It  is  extra- 
ordinary to  hear  how  in  all  circles,  even  in  those  of  the  court 
and  among  those  naturally  disposed  to  be  royalists,  the  King 
is  talked  of  with  contempt  and  indifference  and  as  a  complete 
cypher  in  the  hands  of  the  priests  that  surround  him.  The 
country  is  prosperous  and  rich,  and  both  capable  and  anxious 
to  undertake  some  war  in  order  to  try  to  recover  some  portion 
at  least  of  their  tarnished  glory.  I  went  on  Sunday  evening 
to  Villele's  reception  in  the  handsome  establishment  for  the 
ministers  in  the  Rue  de  Rivoli.  It  was  a  curious  spectacle,  and 
resembled  the  theatrical  exhibitions  of  court  baseness  and  intrigue. 
Villele  is  a  thin,  melancholy,  mean-looking  man ;  he  talks  through 
his  nose  and  in  a  plaintive  tone.  Perhaps  he  has  talent,  but  he 
has  no  appearance  of  it  in  his  exterior. 

My  father  at  last  insisted  upon  my  going  to  England,  though 
both  he  and  my  mother  were  anxious  not  to  let  me  go  there ; 
but  the  clamour  his  friends  made  about  my  absence  from  Parlia- 
ment and  the  perfect  indifference  I  shewed,  made  him  very 
desirous  that  I  should  at  least  take  my  seat.  On  Tuesday, 
therefore,  the  23d,  I  set  off.  It  is  now  nearly  two  years  since  I 
left  England,  and  though  I  am  far  from  professing  a  Joseph-like 
constancy  to  Theresa  Villiers,  my  affections  towards  her  are  the 
same.  I  feel  she  is  the  person  most  calculated  to  make  me  happy. 
There  are,  however,  great  obstacles  to  our  marriage.  Her 
family,  I  own,  I  do  not  like  as  I  should  wish  to  love  the  family 
of  my  wife.  Her  mother  is  a  woman  of  a  good  deal  of  talent, 
but  she  is  not  a  person  in  whose  sincerity  I  have  much  reliance, 
and  during  the  whole  of  the  time  I  have  been  abroad  my  corre- 
spondence with  her  has  not  contributed  to  make  me  feel  more 
confidence  in  her  than  I  did  before.  I  never  could  quite  ascertain 
her  feelings  towards  me,  whether  she  did  or  did  not  care  about  me. 


1824-1826  227 

I  do  not  think  she  liked  anyone  else  better,  but  I  do  not  think 
she  was  personally  fond  of  me,  or  if  indeed  she  was  more  than 
indifferent  she  concealed  it  too  well. 

For  the  first  two  days  I  was  in  London  I  only  saw  her  for 
an  instant  at  the  Opera-house.  I  determined  not  to  call,  as  I 
wished  to  see  her  and  not  her  mother.  On  the  third  day  I  was 
taken  ill,  and  remained  confined  to  Hertford  Street,  and  then  to 
my  room  at  Hd  H86,  for  eighteen  days,  during  which  time  Dudley 
and  his  wife  !  !  !  arrived  from  Florence.  His  happiness  gave  me 
great  pleasure  but  some  anxiety.  However  I  think  he  is  so  deeply 
attached  that  it  is  likely  to  last,  though  there  are  many  dangers 
to  incur. 

On  Friday,  the  i6th  June,  I  went  to  a  party  at  Lady  Tanker- 
ville's,  where  notwithstanding  the  disapproving  looks  of  my 
parents  I  had  a  little  conversation  with  her.  On  the  2ist  I 
met  her  at  Almack's,  and  the  following  day  I  went  to  a  party 
at  her  mother's,  where  we  came  to  an  explanation.  The  next 
day  I  went  to  a  ball  at  Mrs  Ross's,  which  was  delightful,  but  on 
my  return  I  found  a  letter  from  my  father,  which  I  answered1 ; 
and  then  after  a  week  of  misery  and  annoyance,  in  which, 
however,  I  had  some  very  happy  hours  with  her,  and  in  which 
dear  Dudley  proved  himself  a  real  and  affectionate  friend,  it 
was  all  arranged  for  me  to  leave  England  a  second  time,  which 
after  much  negotiation  was  settled. 

I  took  leave  of  Theresa  on  the  3d  of  July,  and  slept  that  night 
at  Rochester.  God  knows  how  this  business  will  end.  I  should 
have  no  doubt,  if  I  were  convinced  she  really  loved  me,  but  I 
have  sad  doubts  ;  and  even  her  strong  professions  of  loving  me 
make  me  doubt  still  more.  I  passed  one  endless  day  with 
Charles  at  Dover,  and  did  not  get  to  Paris  till  the  7th.  I  staid 
there  three  weeks  in  the  Hotel  d'Artois,  dining  almost  every  day 
with  the  Granvilles,2  where  the  Carlisles  were  staying,  and 
going  to  some  theatre  or  other.  Clanwilliam  was  my  greatest 
friend,  and  I  grew  to  like  him  extremely,  as  I  did  Cradock  3 

1  These  letters  do  not  appear  in  the  correspondence  between  Lord 
Holland  and  his  son,  and  may  therefore  have  been  destroyed. 

2  Lord  Granville  was  British  Ambassador  in  Paris,  1824-27. 

3  See  ante,  p.  80.     He  was  on  the  Embassy  staff  in  Paris  at  this  time. 
Henry  Fox,  writing  to  his  mother  in  the  previous  December,  said  of  him  : 
"  Tell  me  of  Cradock.     Do  you  like  him  ?     I  am  sure  I  should  not,  from 


228         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

also,  though  I  had  determined  not.  He  is  so  civil  and  so  obliging 
that  he  wins  even  his  foes.  I  staid  at  Paris  to  have  my  picture 
done  and  to  receive  hers  from  England,  in  both  of  which  I  was 
very  fortunate.  Mlle  Sontag  1  and  "  the  Monster  "  were  the  rage 
at  Paris.  For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I  indulged  a  latent  passion 
I  have  for  play,  and  which  I  have  always  hitherto  restrained. 
But  my  lonely  and  melancholy  situation  at  Paris  drove  me  to 
it,  and  had  I  staid  there  I  have  no  doubt  I  should  have  continued. 
But  I  left  Paris  on  the  ist  of  August,  and  arrived  at  Lausanne 
after  a  broiling  journey  of  three  days  and  two  nights  on  Friday 
the  4th  at  10  o'clock. 

I  staid  at  Lausanne  till  the  28th  of  September,  keeping 
house  with  Denison  and  Labouchere,  and  dining  almost  every 
day  at  Lady  Bute's.  I  made  several  expeditions  to  Vevey  to 
see  Ly  Westmorland,2  and  to  Geneva.  Nothing  very  remarkable 
occurred  during  the  whole  time.  The  correspondence  I  had  with 
England  was  very  disagreable  in  every  way  :  but  most  of  all  her 
letters,  which  were  far  from  driving  away  all  the  suspicions  they 
had  created.  The  mother  wrote  a  letter  just  like  herself,  which 
strengthened  my  intention  of  going  to  Venice  and  Rome.  I 
like  Denison  very  much  and  Labouchere  very  well.  I  stopped 
two  days  at  Milan,  which  I  chiefly  spent  with  Lady  Westmorland, 
who  was  agitating  her  own  mind  and  that  of  all  the  constituted 
authorities  most  unnecessarily  about  lascia  passares  (sic),  which 

all  I  hear  of  his  extreme  affectation  and  vanity  about  women.  I  have  heard 
much  praise  and  much  abuse  of  him,  and  am  curious  to  be  acquainted 
with  him.  Tell  me  what  you  think.  His  satire  against  you  gave  me  a 
bad  impression  of  him  ;  it  is  violent,  malicious  and  quite  unmerited,  as 
you  never  could  have  offended  him.  However,  I  believe  he  heartily  re- 
pented, and  was  much  annoyed  and  ashamed  of  Lord  Dudley  (J.  W.  Ward), 
who  went  about  shewing  and  praising  it  as  the  best  thing  of  the  day, 
merely  because  Rogers  writhed  under  it.  I  rather  hope  you  are  not  fond 
of  him  or  great  friends  with  him,  as  Ld  Dudley  told  him  you  would  be. 
'  There  is  no  passport  so  sure  to  L7  Holland's  heart  as  having  abused  her,' 
said  he." 

1  Fox  wrote  to  Miss    Fox    on  July  24  :     "  MUe  Sontag,  the    Berlin 
singer,  is  reckoned,  and  certainly  is,  very  like  Theresa  Villiers,  but  she  is  a 
dull  likeness  of  a  lively  face.     She  sings  wonderfully,  is  only  eighteen,  and 
has  the  most  graceful  and  ladylike  manners  I  ever  saw,  quite  without  effort 
or  acting." 

2  Jane,  daughter  of  R.  H.  Saunders,  M.D.,  and  second  wife  of  John, 
tenth  Earl  of  Westmorland,  whom   she    married  in  1800.     She  died  in 
1857. 


1824-1826 

she  demanded  as  a  right,  considering  herself  too  great  a  personage 
to  sanction  with  her  example  the  usual  bribes  bestowed  on 
all  douaniers  throughout  the  Continent. 

LT  W.'s  character  would  take  pages  to  illustrate.  I  have 
seen  much  of  her  lately  ;  and  her  wonderful  talents  and  brilliant 
conversation  make  it  impossible  for  me  not  to  have  pleasure  in 
her  society,  notwithstanding  the  very  extraordinary  absurdities 
of  her  conduct.  She  is  perhaps  not  mad,  but  no  body  ever 
approached  so  near  it  with  so  much  reason.  She  has  fine  and 
generous  impulses,  which  are  almost  always  either  perverted  or 
entirely  overwhelmed  by  the  exuberant  vanity,  violent  temper, 
suspicious  distrust,  or  ungovernable  annoyance,  that  obscure 
the  better  feelings  of  her  heart.  It  is  the  same  with  her  head. 
Sometimes  she  has  very  just  views  of  people's  characters  and 
actions,  but  when  they  in  any  way  can  be  made  to  have  the 
slightest  reference  to  her,  or  when  she  is  the  least  blinded  by 
one  of  her  vague  suspicions,  she  instantly  forgets  all  her  former 
observations,  and  only  sees  them  as  her  enemies  or  her  friends' 
enemy,  or  her  enemy's  friend  :  for  she  divides  the  world  into  two 
classes — her  friends  and  her  enemies,  which  supply  in  her  vocabu- 
lary the  words,  good  and  bad.  Her  way  of  life  is  most  extra- 
ordinary and  eccentric.  She  entirely  forgets  hours  and  time, 
nor  has  she  any  mercy  on  the  time  of  others.  The  inconsistencies 
in  her  character  are  endless  ;  and  one  might  draw  it  up  in 
perpetual  antithesis.  She  has  the  greatest  kindness  and  is 
capable  of  the  greatest  sacrifice  for  those  she  at  the  time  is  inter- 
ested about :  yet  she  has  no  feeling  or  permanent  affection  for 
any  one,  not  even  her  children.  She  has  the  nicest  observation 
and  sees  the  minutest  trait  of  character,  yet  she  mistakes 
most  of  the  people  she  knows  and  imputes  false  notions  to  their 
actions. 


CHAPTER  VI 
1827 

At  this  point  Fox's  journal  comes  to  an  abrupt  conclusion  ; 
and  as  no  volume  can  be  found  dealing  with  the  end  of  1826 
or  the  early  part  of  1827,  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that 
he  did  not  resume  his  daily  chronicle  for  over  a  year.  It  will 
be  desirable,  therefore,  to  fill  in  the  gap  by  shortly  narrating  the 
incidents  of  that  period. 

The  letter  from  his  father,  of  which  Fox  speaks  on  p.  227, 
evidently  raised  strong  objections  to  the  young  man's  marriage 
to  Miss  Villiers ;  and  it  was  decided,  as  we  have  seen,  that  he 
should  again  go  abroad.  This  he  did  in  a  very  despondent 
frame  of  mind.  He  still,  it  is  true,  retained  a  hope,  as  he  wrote 
to  his  aunt,  Miss  Fox,  to  whom  he  was  accustomed  to  pour  out 
the  secrets  of  his  heart,  that  his  parents'  desire  to  see  him  estab- 
lished in  politics  might  overcome  their  reluctance  to  the  match. 
All  hope  was  not  lost,  he  said,  till  his  father  called  for  his  retire- 
ment from  Parliament.  Nor  was  he  mistaken.  His  refusal  to 
return  home  without  the  Hollands'  consent  to  his  marriage, 
and  their  fears  of  the  effect  on  his  health  of  a  prolonged  stay  in 
Italy,  had  their  effect.  By  November  they  gave  a  most  reluc- 
tant acquiescence,  reiterating  in  plain  language  the  innumerable 
difficulties  which  Henry  would  have  to  face  if  he  persisted. 
What  may  have  been  the  nature  of  his  correspondence  with  the 
young  lady  at  this  time  we  do  not  know.  That  doubts  existed 
in  his  mind  as  to  the  degree  of  warmth  of  her  affection  we  have 
already  seen.  In  any  case,  in  December,  he  made  up  his  mind 
to  break  off  the  match.  He  was  then  living  in  Rome,  and  at 
the  New  Year,  without  any  previous  communication  on  the 
subject  to  his  father,  he  wrote  to  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  resigning 
his  borough  of  Horsham,  for  which  he  had  never  taken  his  seat. 
Two  months  later  the  Hollands  received  a  further  surprise.  A 

230 


1827  231 

letter  arrived  asking  their  consent  to  his  engagement  to  a  young 
Polish  lady,  Mlle  Natalie  Potocka,  with  whom  he  had  been  only 
acquainted  a  few  weeks.  The  new  object  of  his  affections  lived 
with  her  mother,  Me  de  Wonsovicz,  who  had  divorced  or  been 
divorced  from  her  first  husband,  Count  Alexandre  Potocki. 
Mle  Natalie  was  all  that  was  charming  and  delightful  and,  as 
there  was  no  objection  on  the  score  of  high  birth,  the  Hollands 
raised  none.  But  the  young  lady  fell  ill,  was  long  in  making 
up  her  mind,  and  finally  in  August  at  Genoa  definitely  refused 
to  accept  Henry  as  her  husband. 

The  Journal  recommences  on  October  i,  1827,  a^  Leghorn. 
Fox  was  passing  through  en  route  for  Elba.  He  was  accom- 
panied by  Edward  Cheney  (1803-84),  second  son  of  General 
Robert  Cheney  and  Harriet,  daughter  of  Ralph  Carr,  of  Dunston 
Hill,  co.  Durham.  The  chance  meeting  of  the  two  men  in  Genoa 
shortly  before  laid  the  foundations  of  a  lifelong  friendship.  The 
Cheneys  hailed  from  Shropshire,  and  Edward  succeeded  to  the 
family  property,  Badger  Hall,  on  the  death  of  his  elder  brother 
Henry  in  1866.  Their  father  would  appear  to  have  been 
already  dead,  and  the  whole  family  were  living  in  Italy  at  this 
time. 


October  3, 1827.  Porto  Ferraio,  Elba.  Seeing  this  island  makes 
me  feel  more  convinced  of  Napoleon's  admirable  judgment 
in  selecting  a  spot  so  well  calculated  for  the  fulfilment  of  his 
designs.  But  it  seems  extraordinary  that  men  calling  themselves 
statesmen  should  for  an  instant  suppose  that  he  would  not  profit 
by  all  the  vast  advantages  the  position  of  this  island  afforded 
him.  Supposing,  however,  he  had  been  both  willing  and  per- 
mitted to  remain,  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  retirement  more  agreable 
and  even  luxurious  than  this  island  would  soon  have  become, 
had  he  had  time  and  money  to  realize  the  plans  he  had  formed 
for  its  improvement.  The  sailors  who  brought  us  over  were 
Elbans  and  warm  Napoleonists.  He  seems  while  here  to  have 
courted  popularity  very  assiduously.  He  gave  public  balls,  and 
attended  them  himself  with  all  his  family.  Perhaps  he  thought 
it  a  good  apprenticeship  for  acting  the  republican  sovereign  he 
was  hereafter  to  be  in  France. 


232         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Thursday,  Oct.  4.  We  went  out  to  see  Napoleon's  house  and 
to  walk  about  the  town.  The  house  is  small  and  inconvenient. 
All  the  furniture  which  he  used  there  is  gone — hardly  a  vestige 
remains  of  anything  that  was  there  in  his  time.  The  apart- 
ments he  occupied  are  on  the  ground-floor,  small  and  low.  Above 
stairs  there  is  one  handsome  room,  in  which  he  used  to  receive 
his  court  and  of  which  he  made  use  on  all  occasions  of  representa- 
tion. Rarely,  I  should  think,  would  such  occasions  necessarily 
occur.  The  suite  adjoining  the  great  room  was  allotted  to 
Pauline.  In  the  garden  he  passed  most  part  of  his  day,  watch- 
ing with  the  telescope  for  the  arrival  of  every  ship.  The  Stella 
fortress  contains  the  house  in  which  G1  Drouot  lived.  The  other 
fortress  is  only  to  be  seen  by  means  of  a  special  permission  from 
the  Gfc.  Near  it  is  a  building,  which  was  once  a  church,  till 
desecrated  by  the  French  and  subsequently  turned  into  a  theatre 
by  Napoleon  during  his  reign  in  the  island. 

There  is  no  inscription  or  memorial  of  Napoleon's  romantic 
residence  here  throughout  the  island.  The  only  one  he  erected 
was  over  the  gate  of  La  Stella,  where  he  placed  his  bust  with  an 
inscription,  but  the  ludicrous  and  ill-judged  envy  of  the  Tuscan 
Gfc  on  their  return,  instantly  removed  it — why  I  cannot  conceive. 
His  having  been  Emperor  of  this  island  is  no  way  a  stain  upon 
them,  further  than  his  not  being  a  legitimate  sovereign  and 
having  acquired  a  crown  by  talent  and  military  prowess  instead 
of  quietly  obtaining  it  by  descent.  The  house  where  Madame 
Mere  lived  is  near  Napoleon's  ;  it  is  small  and  low. 

Sunday,  Oct.  7.  In  the  middle  of  the  day  I  sallied  forth  on 
a  tumble-down  pony  to  see  Napoleon's  country  house  at  San 
Martino.  The  road,  as  far  as  one  can  go  upon  the  high  road 
that  leads  to  Rio,  is  tolerably  good.  After  one  turns  off,  it  has 
been  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  rains  and  never  repaired.  The 
country  is  not  pretty,  and  the  road  generally  either  traverses  or 
edges  a  salt  marsh.  My  guide  showed  me  a  rock  on  the  side  of 
the  road  soon  after  leaving  the  Rio  road,  upon  which  for  two 
days  following  the  Emperor,  when  taking  his  daily  ride  to  S. 
Martino,  observed  a  beggar  standing,  who  by  his  appearance  he 
rightly  judged  to  be  a  foreigner.  Each  time  he  gave  him  a 
five-franc  piece.  On  the  third  day  he  ordered  his  instant  arresta- 
tion.  There  were  found  two  pistols  concealed  in  his  sleeves  and 


1827  233 

several  long  knives  about  him.  He  was  accused  and  instantly 
owned  his  intention  of  assassinating  Napoleon,  and  of  having 
been  sent  from  Corsica  for  that  purpose.  He  was,  it  is  supposed, 
shot  at  S.  Martino,  for  he  never  was  heard  of  or  seen  afterwards. 
Lorenzini  (a  clever  surgeon  who  attends  Edward)  told  me  this 
story  with  exactly  the  same  details,  but  with  much  greater 
caution,  as  he  previously  watched  the  little  boy  of  the  inn  out 
of  the  room  before  he  could  venture  to  pronounce  the  awful  name 
of  Napoleon.  Lorenzini  is  a  skilful  surgeon  and  a  well-educated 
man.  He  was  here  at  the  time  of  Napoleon's  Gfc  and  attended 
Me  Bertrand  in  her  confinement.  He  told  me  a  story  of  her 
despair  for  the  death  of  her  infant,  by  an  accidental  mistake  in 
administering  laudanum  instead  of  the  intended  medicine.  My 
guide  gave  me  an  account  of  Napoleon's  landing  here  from  France. 
Crowds  were  on  the  beach.  The  Emperor  himself  in  a  small 
boat  rowed  about  the  harbour,  in  doubt  where  first  to  land  to 
avoid  the  press  of  the  crowd.  At  length  he  made  to  a  place 
that  seemed  less  peopled  than  any  other.  Some  of  the  zealous 
brought  from  the  church  the  canopy  usually  held  over  the  priest 
when  carrying  the  Host.  Napoleon  would  not  land  till  they  had 
taken  this  back  to  the  church,  and  when  he  had  disembarked, 
he  walked  straight  to  the  cathedral  to  offer  up  a  prayer  for  his 
safe  arrival — perhaps  also  one  for  his  speedy  departure. 

There  is  nothing  to  see  in  the  country  house,  which  is  miserably 
small  and  contains  no  one  good  room.  Except  for  two  marble 
chimney-pieces,  some  few  fresco  paintings  in  one  room  of  Egyptian 
antiquities  and  scampering  Mamelukes,  and  the  busts  of  the  Pss 
of  Piombino  and  her  husband,1  there  does  not  remain  a  vestige 
of  its  former  inhabitant.  The  view  from  it  is  pretty,  and  with 
a  little  care  and  much  planting  the  immediate  neighbourhood 
might  be  rendered  cheerful. 

Oct.  1 6.  Marciano.  We  wished  to  go  to  the  Hermitage  on 
the  side  of  the  mountain,  where  Napoleon  passed  fifteen  days 
with  a  lady  and  child,  who  landed  mysteriously  at  Marciano  to 
see  him  and  whom  the  people  here  believed  to  be  the  Empress, 

1  Maria  Anna  Eliza  Bonaparte  (1777-1820),  Napoleon's  eldest  sister, 
who  married  Felix  Pascal  Baciocchi,  an  infantry  Captain.  Napoleon  gave 
her  the  principality  of  Piombino  and  Lucca,  and  in  1809  made  her  Grand 
Duchess  of  Tuscany. 


234         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

unacquainted  as  they  were  with  the  perfect  indifference  and 
heartless  neglect  she  took  every  occasion  to  display  towards  him 
the  moment  he  was  approached  by  calamity. 

Monday,  October  22.  Florence.  We  lodged  at  the  Pelicoro, 
all  other  inns  being  full.  I  found  a  heap  of  letters,  but  no  news. 
After  dinner  I  went  to  see  the  Normanbys  but  found  them  out : 
and  then  to  the  Blessingtons,  who  have  passed  the  summer  here. 
Their  house  is  prettily  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Arno  next 
to  Sneedreffs.  The  hostess  was  as  usual  very  Irish  and  very 
censorious,  vulgar  beyond  measure,  and  speaking  the  vilest 
French  with  her  native  intrepidity.  Valdes,  a  South  American 
Spaniard,  who  has  been  sent  away  by  the  police  of  Paris  for 
dabbling  in  politicks  and  writing  in  the  papers,  was  there.  He 
is  very  handsome. 

October  23.  We  lounged  about  the  town,  which  is  full  of  the 
annual  flight  of  English  that  renders  the  place  odious.  I  dined 
with  the  Blessingtons.  Ld  B.  got  quite  drunk,  and  said  rude 
things  to  me  about  Hd  Hse,  which  I  did  not  answer,  because  the 
correction  of  a  drunkard  in  his  own  house  seems  to  me  impossible 
for  one  of  his  guests  to  undertake ;  and  when  not  drunk  he  is 
below  contempt. 

Oct.  24.  I  made  several  morning  calls.  One  on  Me  Survilliers 
(wife  of  Joseph  Bonaparte),  whose  house  I  had  great  difficulty 
in  finding,  but  at  last  was  directed  to  the  house  adjoining  a 
well-known  louer  de  chevaux.  What  a  fall  for  the  Majesty  of 
Naples  and  of  Spain  to  be  only  discovered  by  her  neighbourhood 
to  a  saddler  !  I  was  sorry  not  to  find  her  at  home.  She  is  one 
of  the  most  refined  and  ladylike  of  that  dynasty.  She  shews  no 
absurd  love  for  maintaining  the  forms  of  a  station  she  once 
held,  now  that  the  real  advantages  are  lost.  I  dined  with  the 
Normanbys.  He  is  only  just  arrived  from  England  in  13  days. 
He  seems  to  know  but  little  of  the  state  of  parties  there,  but 
brought  me  a  long,  detailed  letter  from  my  father  that  puts  me 
au  fait.  I  met  there  the  Lamb  tons  on  their  way  to  Paris.  He 
gave  me  a  droll  account  of  Lady  Westmorland  asking  her  maid, 
in  order  to  ascertain  who  had  called  in  her  absence,  whether  the 
visitor  was  like  a  fine  Murillo.  "  When  the  maid  said  he  was, 
I  felt  sure  it  only  could  be  Lamb  ton  that  had  called  upon  me." 
Ld  Dudley  is  making  love  to  Lady  Lyndhurst,  a  proof  they  say 


1827  235 

he  wishes  to  put  a  Ward  in  Chancery.  Ly  Normanby  told  me 
this  across  the  dinner-table. 

The  house  the  Normanbys  have  is  the  Palazzo  San  Clemente. 
It  is  very  delightful,  with  a  summer  and  a  winter  suite.  They 
are  now  living  in  the  latter,  in  the  same  rooms  the  Chevalier  Sfc 
George  occupied.  The  gossip  of  Florence  is  the  death  of  Hayter 
the  painter's  mistress,  whom  however  he  always  called  Mrs 
Hayter  and  had  presented  as  his  wife.  She  had  lived  with  him 
twelve  years  and  was  much  attached.  His  conduct  to  her  was 
very  cruel,  and  he  latterly  had  threatened  to  send  her  to  England 
by  steam  from  Leghorn.  She  took  an  ounce  of  arsenic,  but  ten 
minutes  after  repented  and  thought  by  swallowing  castor-oil  to 
counteract  its  effects,  but  that  only  confirmed  the  inevitable 
necessity  of  her  death.  Lambton  was  in  good  humour,  and  seems 
satisfied  with  his  English  prospects.  He  talked  very  bigly  about 
the  extreme  importance  of  his  return  to  London,  as  if  upon  that 
depended  the  stability  of  the  present  Gfc.  In  the  morning  Edward 
and  I  went  to  see  the  Annunziata,  where  in  the  cloister  over  a 
door- way  is  the  famous  Andrea  del  Sarto.  It  is  much  injured 
since  last  year.  We  went  also  to  Bartolini's  studio  and  met 
there  the  Blessingtons.  We  looked  over  his  busts,  some  of 
which  are  like,  and  then  went  to  a  shed  in  the  garden  of  the 
Swedish  Minister,  near  the  Porta  Sta  Croce,  where  is  the  statue 
of  Napoleon  which  was  intended  for  the  square  at  Leghorn.  It 
is  by  Bartolini  also,  and  is  nearly  as  ill-conceived  as  it  is  badly 
executed,  if  that  is  possible.  Sometimes  the  casts  he  makes  are 
like,  but  his  execution  in  marble  is  ever  vile — stiff  and  wooden. 
Nothing  can  be  more  deplorable  than  his  attempts  at  statues. 

Oct.  25.  Lambton  came  to  see  me  in  the  morning  to  fish  out 
the  contents  of  my  father's  letter.  Politicians'  mysteries  seem 
to  me  so  absurd  that  I  gratified  his  curiosity,  only  skipping  those 
parts  I  was  particularly  desired  not  to  repeat.  We  dined  at 
Ld  Blessington's.  Met  Ld  Caledon  and  M.  de  la  Martine  (?)  The 
former  looks  and  seems  very  heavy.  The  latter  is  a  poet,  a 
dandy  and  a  diplomat,  in  about  the  3d  or  4th  classes  of  each  depart- 
ment. I  sat  next  to  him  at  dinner.  He  abused  Me  de  Cottin's 
Matilde  and  Me  de  StaeTs  Delphine.  The  dinner  was  dull.  The 
hostess,  d'Orsay,  and  even  that  besotted  idiot  Ld  B.,  recounted 
as  usual  the  universal  flattery  and  admiration  with  which  they 


236         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

were  hourly  dosed,  and  scrupled  not  to  assure  us  how  well  they 
deserved  what  they  did  receive  and  more  to  boot. 

Oct.  29.  Pelago.  Before  setting  off  I  received  a  letter  from 
my  mother  in  which  she  betrays  the  real  state  of  the  Gov*,1  by 
saying  that  the  Whigs  are  not  in  power,  are  looked  upon  with 
suspicion,  and  have  little  or  no  patronage.  F.  Lamb2  is  returned 
from  Spain,  hating  one  half  of  the  world  and  wishing  the  other 
half  dead.  When  a  culprit  was  the  other  day  reprieved,  Alvanley 
said  in  a  whisper,  "  How  shall  we  break  it  to  Frederick  ?  " 
Before  leaving  Florence  I  met  poor  Lady  L.  Lambton  in  the 
streets.  She  is  very  much  annoyed  at  the  state  of  her  husband's 
health,  and  fears  it  will  be  necessary  to  return  to  Naples,  much  as 
she  wishes  and  as  he  thinks  it  important  that  he  should  be  in 
England.  He  thinks  completely  upon  politicks  ;  it  is  the  subject 
that  entirely  engrosses  him.  He  told  me  the  other  day  a  story 
of  the  King  that  shows  his  desire,  not  only  to  exercise  all  the  power 
he  has,  but  to  encroach  where  he  has  not.  The  D.  of  Devonshire, 
among  the  very  small  pieces  of  patronage  to  which  the  Chamber- 
lainship  entitles  him,  has  the  right  of  disposing  of  apartments  at 
Hampton  Court.  Soon  after  his  appointment  the  best  there 
became  vacant,  and  before  he  could  offer  them  to  Mrs  Lamb 
H.M.  had  given  them  to  Mrs  Boehm,  on  condition  she  would 
renounce  the  £200  a  year  he  gave  her  some  years  before.  Lambton 
when  last  in  England  was  invited  from  Ascot  Races  to  the 
Cottage.  There  he  saw  Ld  Dudley,  who  spoke  slightingly  of  the 
great  office  he  holds  and  professed  his  willingness  and  even 
anxiety  to  give  it  up.3  The  King  was  very  angry  at  some  scheme 
of  his  own  for  alterations  at  Windsor  being  thwarted  by  Ld 
Carlisle  in  his  capacity  of  Ranger  of  the  Woods  and  Forests,  but 
not  daring  before  Canning  to  shew  his  ill-humour  or  the  cause 
of  it,  he  vented  in  a  most  childish  way  his  whole  Royal  indignation 
against  the  leader  of  the  band  and  Sir  Andrew  Borrard  (?)  Can- 
ning, however,  by  a  little  well-timed  pleasantry  soon  contrived  to 

1  The  Goderich  Administration,  formed  in  September. 

2  Hon.  Sir  Frederick  James  Lamb  (1782-1853),  son  of  first  Viscount 
Melbourne,   a  distinguished  diplomatist.     He  had   been  Ambassador  in 
Madrid,  1825-7.     He  was  created  Viscount  Beauvale  1839,  and  succeeded 
as  third  and  last  Viscount  Melbourne  in  1848. 

3  Lord  Dudley  was  Foreign  Secretary  in  the  Canning  and  Goderich 
Governments. 


1827  237 

restore  him  to  good-humour,  and  seemed  to  be  a  perfect  master 
of  the  art  of  governing  and  the  still  harder  art  with  monarchs 
of  pleasing  and  amusing  him. 

M&reh  5.  We1  arrived  in  Rome  about  4.  I  got  a  sad  little 
hole  in  the  Europa — new  rooms  with  wet  walls  and  smoky 
chimneys.  Edward  went  to  his  mother's,  Palazzo  Sciarra,  where 
I  dined.  I  received  several  letters,  one  from  Me  Wonsowicz, 
which  seemed  an  enigma  and  perhaps  was  intended  for  one. 
After  dinner  I  went  to  Lady  Mary 2 ;  found  only  Count  Putbus, 
a  Prussian  admirer  of  hers,  whose  sole  merit  is  being  gentlemanlike 
and  unobtrusive.  Also  little  red-faced  Roshkelli,  who  is  an  empty 
little  dandy.  From  thence  I  went  to  Lady  Westmorland.  She 
I  found  in  a  pink  bonnet,  fur  cloak,  and  numberless  costly  shawls, 
haranguing  her  servant  at  the  foot  of  the  steps  of  her  palace 
(Rospigliosi) .  She  was  glad  to  see  me  and  kind  to  me  as  she 
almost  always  is.  I  was  amused,  however,  at  the  conversation 
beginning  as  if  I  had  only  left  her  an  hour  before,  about  the 
respective  merits  of  Dr  Jenks  and  Dr  Peebles  and  the  truth  or 
falsehood  of  the  Masque  de  fer.  Her  conversation  was,  as  it 
ever  is,  brilliant — full  of  clever  and  sometimes  even  sensible 
observations  and  illustrations,  but  without  method  or  consistency. 
Politicks  is  the  subject  on  which  she  is  now  engrossed  ;  her 
speculations  are  wild  and  fantastic,  but  her  illustrations  of 
character  and  individuals  are  amusing.  Talking  of  the  hideous 
Miss  Ingram' s  (?)  marriage  to  Mr  Colyar  3  and  his  love  for  her, 
it  put  her  in  mind  of  what  Qn  Caroline  once  said  to  her,  "  Ah  ! 
my  dear  Madam,  when  vonce  you  can  fix  a  crooked  pin  into 
your  dress  it  is  sure  never  to  tomble  out,  and  when  vonce  an  ogli 
voman  get  a  lover,  she  is  sure  she  will  never  to  lose  him." 

Nov.  7.  In  the  morning  I  drove  out  with  Edward  Cheney  ; 
we  made  some  visits,  and  among  the  rest  one  to  Hortense,  D8fle 
de  Sfc  Leu.4  She  received  us  in  the  little  boudoir  at  the  lodge  of 

1  Fox  and  Edward  Cheney. 

2  Lady  Mary  Deerhurst. 

8  A  Roman  Catholic  gentleman,  who  resided  for  many  years  in  Rome. 

4  Hortense  de  Beauharnais  (1783-1837),  daughter  of  the  Empress 
Josephine  by  her  first  husband.  She  was  married  to  Louis  Bonaparte 
in  1802,  but  was  seldom  on  good  terms  with  him.  They  became  King  and 
Queen  of  Holland  in  1806,  and  after  her  husband's  abdication  in  1810,  she 
lived  in  France  at  St  Leu.  At  the  Restoration  Louis  XVIII  gave  her  the 


238         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Villa  Paulina  where  she  lived  last  year.  She  is  looking  thinner 
but  well.  Her  manners  are  easy  and  almost  familiar ;  she 
assumes  no  royalty  airs  and  is  very  prevenante  to  visitors.  Her 
manner  reminds  me  always  of  Mlle  Mars,  but  not  in  her  pleasantest 
moments.  Her  articulation  is  rapid,  and  her  conversation  usually 
frivolous  and  upon  frivolous  subjects.  She  talks  of  her  plays, 
her  romances,  her  drawings,  and  dilates  much  on  the  charms  of 
her  own  house,  her  own  society,  and  her  various  talents.  I  was 
surprized  at  a  little  vulgar,  parvenue  pride  about  her  in  enumerat- 
ing the  number  of  German  princes  that  had  been  to  see  her,  as 
I  thought  she  had  lived  too  much  and  too  sadly  in  the  midst  of 
real  splendour  to  care  for  the  false  glitter  of  a  few  royal  names. 

Nov.  8.  Thursday.  I  moved  to  my  new  house,  119  Corso. 
Received  a  short  letter  from  Charles  from  Farming  Woods. 
Drove  to  Sfc  Peter's  alone.  Walked  about  in  the  church,  which 
I  found  full  of  gaping  English.  One  declared  to  his  neighbour 
that  after  all  Guerchino  was  the  only  colorist  among  the  Italian 
painters  :  and  another  thought  or  followed  Vasi  in  being  dis- 
appointed at  the  size  of  the  building.  From  thence  I  drove  with 
Edward  Cheney  on  the  old  road  to  La  Storta,  and  then  dined  with 
Mrs  Cheney,  where  I  met  only  M.  Griffi,  a  red-faced,  dull  Italian. 
In  the  evening  Edward  and  I  went  to  see  first  the  Blessingtons 
and  then  Lady  Mary  Deerhurst.  The  former  are  discontented 
with  their  house,  and  are  very  proud  of  having  taken  two  floors 
in  the  Palazzo  Negroni,  which  act  of  magnificence  they  think 
likely  to  strike  the  hearers  dumb  with  awe.  Lady  Mary's  was 
dull,  though  the  conversation  was  noisy  and  somewhat  leste. 

Nov.  9.  After  dinner  Edward  and  I  called  on  Mrs  Clephane 
and  her  daughter,  who  are  awaiting  Lady  Compton's  arrival  in 
her  house.  Mrs  Clephane  is  simple,  hearty  and  sincere  in  her 
manner.  Her  pronunciation  is  a  little  Scotch,  but  her  language 
is  well  chosen  and  her  observations  just.  She  told  me  one  or 
two  stories  a  propos  of  Walter  Scott  with  spirit  and  humour. 
The  story  of  Ravenswood  happened  in  the  Dalrymple  family. 

Duchy  of  that  name  and  an  allowance,  but  for  receiving  Napoleon  at  her 
house  after  his  second  abdication  she  was  turned  out  of  France.  She  then 
took  up  her  quarters  at  Arenenburg  in  Switzerland,  but  often  passed  her 
time  in  Bavaria  and  Italy.  Her  eldest  son  died  at  the  age  of  four,  and  her 
third,  born  in  1808,  became  the  Emperor  Napoleon  III. 


1827  239 

The  lover's  name  was  Rutherford.  On  the  wedding  night  screams 
were  heard  from  the  bed-room.  The  bridegroom  was  found 
nearly  strangled,  with  his  shirt  torn  and  weltering  on  the  ground 
in  blood.  The  bride  was  sitting  up  in  bed  raving  mad  and  died 
in  a  few  hours.  The  bridegroom  recovered,  but  never  would 
reveal  what  happened.  It  is  supposed  Rutherford  was  the 
aggressor,  as  he  had  vowed  vengeance  on  being  refused,  and  the 
window  of  the  bedroom  was  open.  Scott's  mother  was  a 
Rutherford,  and  he  got  the  other  version  of  the  story. 

Another  tale  she  told  of  a  man  riding  off  from  his  wife  in 
the  middle  of  the  day,  saying  he  should  return  at  night.  Return, 
however,  he  did  not  that  night,  nor  next  day,  nor  for  days, 
months,  years.  His  wife  put  herself  in  weeds,  and  all  his  children 
mourned  for  him.  Twenty-five  years  afterwards,  when  all  the 
family  were  established  at  night  round  the  fire  on  Xmas  eve, 
the  widow  started  on  hearing  a  knock  at  the  outer  gate,  and 
exclaimed,  "  That  is  my  husband's  knock  !  "  They  all  rushed 
to  the  door,  and  there  they  found  him  extended  on  the  ground, 
weltering  in  his  blood  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  he  expired  without 
speaking.  His  horse  (the  same  on  which  he  rode  away  twenty- 
five  years  before)  was  standing  by  his  side,  but  any  further 
explanation  of  his  mysterious  absence  was  never  heard. 

Mrs  Clephane  talked  very  rationally  about  Lady  Byron, 
giving  her  credit  for  her  judicious  silence  ever  since  attacks  have 
been  levelled  at  her.  Blameable  as  her  silence  with  regard  to 
her  husband's  conduct  was  at  first,  since  malignant  attacks  have 
been  made  upon  her,  the  silence  she  has  preserved  is  feminine 
and  dignified.  I  am  no  admirer  of  her's,  and  I  believe  her  to  be 
a  very  ordinary  woman,  full  of  bigoted  stiffness  and  a  great 
mixture  of  intolerable  pride  and  blue-stocking  pretension,  but 
yet  I  admire  the  silence  she  has  preserved  and  the  strict  retire- 
ment in  which  she  has  lived. 

Nov.  n,  Sunday.  Lady  West,  cannot  bear  my  liking  the 
Cheneys,  and  wrote  me  a  note  of  four  pages  to  upbraid  me  for 
leaving  last  night.  I  answered  her  civilly  and  shortly. 

Nov.  12.  Lady  Westmorland,  not  content  with  her  letter  of 
yesterday  morning,  sent  me  one  of  fourteen  pages,  ill  reasoned 
but  with  clever  passages.  I  answered  it  drily,  severely,  and 
perhaps  even  rather  harshly,  as  she  had  taken  the  opportunity 


240         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

of  abusing  most  violently  all  the  people  for  whom  I  have  the 
greatest  affection — Dudley,  Ly  Compton,  E.  C.,  etc.,  etc.  I 
drove  out  with  E.  C.  in  the  cabriolet ;  we  went  to  the  Villa 
Borghese,  the  Ponte  Molle  and  the  Pincio.  On  the  latter  I  met 
Jerome,  and  he  spoke  to  me  for  an  instant ;  he  is  looking  younger 
than  last  year.  Lady  Westmorland  called  for  me  exactly  at  5 
to  go  to  Sir  Wm  Drummond's  invalid  dinner.  She  preserved  a 
strict  silence  about  our  correspondence,  and  talked  cheerfully 
and  good-humouredly  on  indifferent  subjects.  The  idiot  Lady 
Drummond  she  tried  to  alarm  about  Sir  Wm'8  health. 

Sir  Wm  is  wonderfully  recovered,  though  his  illness  has  reduced 
his  already  thin  face  and  entirely  removed  his  color.  He  is 
grown  like  Voltaire — a  likeness  that  flatters  him  a  good  deal. 
We  dined  in  a  small  room  in  the  entresol  at  the  Europa.  Our 
party  consisted  of  Dodwell,1  Mills,2  Dr  Watson,  Ly  West.,  and 
Sir  Wm  and  Ly  D.  The  two  first  are  always  particularly  odious, 
but  yet  the  conversation  was  lively  owing  to  Ly  West.,  who  kept 
it  for  ever  alive.  Greece  was  talked  about,  and  I  was  amused 
to  hear  Dodwell,  who,  as  long  as  the  Greeks  were  unsuccessful, 
was  uniform  in  abusing  them,  now  that  they  have  gained  an 
important  victory,3  sings  forth  their  praise  and  transfers  his 
censure  to  the  conquered  Turks.  During  dinner  I  insidiously 
mentioned  Vathek,  in  order  to  give  Sir  Wm  an  opportunity  of 
remarking  that  it  was  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  Beckford  could 
write  French — an  accomplishment  he  thinks  no  foreigner  but 
himself  has  ever  been  able  to  attain. 

After  dinner  I  talked  with  him,  or  rather  made  him  talk,  on 
the  origin  of  languages.  He  does  not  believe  much  in  the  extreme 
antiquity  of  Indian  languages  or  buildings.  Sanscrit,  he  thinks, 
was  never  a  spoken  language,  but  a  sort  of  conventional  cypher. 
I  was  struck  very  much  by  one  thing  he  said,  and  perhaps  even 
more  to  hear  it  from  him,  that  in  all  the  researches  into  the 
remote  antiquity  of  nations  there  always  was  a  period  where 
tradition  stopped  ;  that  that  period  was  generally  about  the 
same  in  all  countries,  and  that  he  cannot  doubt  some  great 

1  Edward  Dodwell  (1762-1832),  archaeologist,  and  collector  of  Greek 
vases  and  statuary.     He  lived  in  Italy  after  1806. 

2  Sir  Charles  Mills,  of  the  well-known  Villa  Mills,  on  the  Palatine  Hill. 

3  The  battle  of  Navarino  on  October  20. 


1827  241 

revolution  of  nature  was  the  cause — why  not  a  flood  ?  When 
Sir  Wm  went  to  bed,  which  he  does  at  8,  I  went  with  Lady  West, 
to  the  Valle,  where  Most  was  acted.  I  visited  Hortense  and  the 
D"*  Torlonia. 

Nov.  13.  I  dined  with  Lady  Mary  and  met  M.  Visconti,1 

Putbus  and  M.  ,  attached  to  the  Austrian  Legation.  The 

former  is  a  young  antiquarian,  who  wishes  to  be  thought  witty 
and  sprightly.  His  manners  are  forward  ;  he  is  dully  flippant, 
and  at  his  ease  before  it  is  well-bred  to  be  so.  He  told  us  about 
Campo  Morto,  a  pestilential  place  between  the  sea  and  Velletri, 
which  is  permitted  as  a  refuge  for  those  culprits  that  prefer  dying 
there  of  the  fever  to  perishing  under  the  more  speedy  justice  of 
the  executioner.  This  institution  is  less  wise  than  the  ancient 
one  at  the  I^ago  di  Nemi,  where  the  priest  of  a  temple  (I  believe 
to  Hecate)  was  obliged  to  be  a  homicide,  and  could  only  be 
installed  subsequent  to  the  murder  of  his  predecessor.  Thus 
without  interfering,  murderers  and  ruffians  were  made  to  destroy 
each  other.  I  went  in  the  evening  to  Mrs  Clephane,  who  was 
agreable  ;  her  view  of  people's  characters  is  quick  and  just. 
She  described  some  very  admirably. 

Nov.  16.  I  dined  with  Mrs  Cheney,  and  met  some  of  her 
family  that  are  just  arrived — humdrum  sort  of  people.  After 
dinner  I  went  to  the  Blessingtons,  who  are  now  established  at 
the  Palazzo  Negroni,  where  I  found  a  whist-party.  D'Orsay  took 
me  aside  to  ask  me  to  be  a  witness  to  his  marriage,2  which  is  to 
be  hurried  up  immediately.  I  was  much  distressed  and  could 
not  refuse,  much  as  I  lament  and  disapprove  of  the  proceeding, 
which  seems  to  me  one  of  the  most  disgraceful  and  unfeeling 
things  ever  committed.  I  own  I  always  hoped  that  something 
would  occur  to  prevent  it.  I  made  an  evasive  answer  to  d'Orsay's 
request,  determined  either  openly  to  refuse  or  quietly  to  avoid 
compliance. 

Nov.  17.  In  the  morning  I  was  annoyed  with  Alfred's  request, 
and  at  last  I  thought  the  most  manly  and  proper  manner  was 
frankly  to  speak  the  truth,  and  to  tell  him  I  considered  his 

1  Born  in  Rome  early  in  the  century,  Visconti  became  Chief  Commis- 
sioner of  antiquities  there  in  1856. 

2  To  Lady  Harriet  Gardiner,  Lord  Blessington's  daughter  by  his  first 
wife. 


242         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

marriage  as  ill-calculated  to  advance  his  happiness  or  his  credit, 
and  that  I  begged  to  decline  being  present.  I  put  it  entirely 
upon  my  regard  for  him,  as  I  did  not  choose  to  say  the  real  truth 
or  how  abominably  I  thought  he  was  sacrificing  the  happiness  of 
a  poor  child  to  his  own  convenience,  or  rather  to  the  indulgence 
of  his  passion  for  Ly  B. 

I  went  out  with  Edward  Cheney.  We  drove  to  the  Porte 
Molle  by  the  Porta  Angelica.  Previous  to  going  out  I  went  to 
his  room,  and  sat  with  him  and  his  brother.1  The  latter  I  do 
not  like  ;  he  has  a  bad  temper,  a  bad  constitution,  and  a  great 
desire  to  be  fine  and  fastidious,  with  much  natural  vulgarity. 
I  suppose  he  is  clever,  but  his  attempts  at  being  refined  and 
fastidious  make  him  more  ridiculous  than  agreable,  as  he  is  totally 
unauthorized  by  face,  figure,  fashion  or  fortune,  to  give  himself 
airs  that  are  scarcely  supportable  to  those  that  have  some  of 
those  claims  to  be  affected.  I  dined  at  5  with  Sir  Wm  Drummond. 
There  was  nobody  but  his  wife,  his  nephew  George  Stewart,  and 
Dr  Watson.  Sir  Wm  was  amusing.  He  talked  of  Fox  and  Pitt. 
The  former  he  scarcely  knew ;  the  latter  he  knew  well.  In 
conversation  he  was,  Sir  Wm  says,  rarely  brilliant.  In  latter 
days,  when  Canning  lived  much  with  him,  he  attempted  to 
imitate  Canning's  puns  and  wit,  but  he  mistook  his  line  and  the 
jokes  he  made  were  usually  abominably  bad.  Once  Sir  Wm 
heard  him  turn  upon  C.  Yorke  with  great  vehemence  and  entirely 
crush  him  in  a  little  oration  of  20  minutes,  in  which  he  so  trampled 
upon  him  and  held  him  up  to  such  ridicule,  that  Wm  Dundas, 
one  of  the  most  servile  of  the  many  servile  hangers-on,  whispered 
to  Sir  Wm,  "  Well,  this  really  is  too  much  in  his  own  house  !  " 

From  Sir  Wm's  dinner  I  went  to  Lady  Westmorland's  party 
with  E.  Cheney.  We  arrived  centuries  before  the  time.  People 
at  last  came,  and  I  found  it  woefully  dull.  Lady  W.  tried  to 
make  people  waltz,  but  could  not  succeed,  she  said,  in  consequence 
of  France  having  got  a  Constitution  and  liberal  opinions  occupying 
the  minds  of  the  youth  instead  of  dancing  employing  their  feet. 
On  my  return  I  found  a  very  kind  note  from  Alfred,  not  the  least 
angry  with  me ;  but  his  attempts  at  reasoning  on  the  subject 
are  quite  childish,  and  he  only  makes  bad  worse  by  professing  his 
connection  with  Lady  B.,  his  indifference  to  the  hapless  bride, 
1  His  elder  brother,  Henry  Cheney. 


1827  243 

and  the  many  advantages  of  fortune,  &c.,  &c.,  he  hopes  to 
acquire. 

Nov.  18.  Sunday.  E.  Cheney  came  to  breakfast  with  me. 
The  day  was  most  delicious,  and  we  drove  almost  to  Frascati ; 
but  I  was  obliged  to  hasten  to  dine  with  the  Braccianos l  at  4. 
It  was  a  great  dinner  : — Orsinis,  Piombino,  Ly  Drummond,  and 
Sir  F.  and  Lady  Hankey.  Sr  F.  is  going  to  England  from  Malta, 
where  he  is  second-in-command.  He  is  clever  ;  but  noisy,  vulgar, 
narrow-minded  and  hard-hearted.  He  lamented  the  victory  at 
Navarino  and  rejoiced  in  Ld  Guilford's  death.  Nothing  could 
better  portray  his  character.  He  was  ever  the  creature  of 
Sir  T.  Maitland,2  and  has  worthily  followed  his  footsteps.  His 
wife  is  a  Greek.  She  is  dreadfully  fat,  and  being  now  with  child 
looks  fatter,  but  she  is  lovely ;  her  eyes,  her  teeth,  her  complexion, 
are  the  finest  I  ever  saw  almost.  The  latter  I  never  saw  rivalled 
but  by  my  mother  many  years  ago.  I  then  went  to  Lady 
Compton's,  who  is  just  returned  from  England.  She  is  looking 
very  well  and  is  happy,  which  gives  me  the  greatest  pleasure. 
The  savages  at  Paris  have  made  a  great  impression  there  ;  they 
were  taken  to  be  shown  to  the  Enfans  de  France.  The  children 
had  previously  been  informed  that  they  were  in  the  habit  of 
eating  little  children  ;  and  at  their  sight  Mademoiselle  screamed, 
but  the  D.  de  Bordeaux  was  more  scientific,  and  calmly  turning 
round  to  a  courtier,  said,  "  Donnez  lui  Louis,"  (meaning  one  of 
his  playmates),  "  voyons  s'il  le  mangera."  This  is  the  best  proof 
I  have  heard  of  his  very  doubtful  legitimacy. 

Nov.  19.  Edward  came  to  see  me,  and  we  walked  about  the 
streets  till  about  4.  I  then  went  to  Lady  C.,  where  I  passed  two 
agreable  hours  talking  over  our  correspondence,  etc.,  etc.  I  dined 
with  the  Blessingtons.  Met  only  Mills.  Ly  B.  thought  it 
distinguished  to  confess  aloud,  or  rather  to  profess  without 
provocation,  her  total  unbelief  in  Christianity,  to  which  Mills 
gave  his  simpering  acquiescence.  I  am  sorry  to  see  that  they 
have  made  poor  Lady  Harriet  (who  was  before  well  educated) 
listen  with  childish  pleasure  to  the  heartless  doctrines  and  selfish 
ribaldry  of  her  worthless  mother-in-law.  I  staid  till  late,  as 

1  Giovanni  Torlonia  (see  ante,  p.  219). 

2  High  Commissioner  of  the  Ionian  Isles  and  Commander-in-Chief  in 
the  Mediterranean  from  1815  until  the  date  of  his  death  in  1824. 


244         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

d'Orsay  was  gone  to  Fascalda's  ball,  and  Ly  B.  did  not  like  being 
left  alone.  At  length  I  got  away,  and  went  to  pass  an  hour 
with  Lady  C. 

Nov.  20.  I  went  to  E.  Cheney,  and  we  read  Gibbon  together. 
Afterwards  we  drove  out  for  a  short  time,  as  I  dined  early  at 
Sir  W.  Drummond's.  When  I  came  there  Sir  W.  was  waiting 
for  Ly  Westmorland  with  an  impatience  unbecoming  a  philosopher, 
and  on  her  not  arriving  and  his  impetuously  walking  and  making 
his  guests  follow  to  the  dining-room,  his  indignation  was  greatly 
heightened  by  finding  no  dinner  ready.  We  sat  down  to  dinner 
before  Ly  W.  arrived,  as  she  was  detained  by  having  to  fetch 
the  little  learned  Santi.  Ld  Seymour,1  son  of  the  D.  of  Somerset, 
was  one  of  the  guests.  He  seems  a  simple,  unaffected,  sensible 
young  man;  I  was  rather  prepossessed  by  his  manners.  He 
seemed  too  to  have  a  desire  of  improving  his  knowledge,  and 
listened  with  interest  to  the  learned  conversation  Lady  W. 
insisted  upon  starting  very  malgre  both  the  learned  men.  She 
wished  to  prove  that  Hebrew  now  spoken  in  the  different  nations 
among  the  dispersed  Jews  was  still  the  same  as  the  ancient 
Hebrew,  and  that  all  Jews  would  understand  each  other.  Sir  W. 
called  both  her  and  me  ignorant  and  only  asking  ignorant 
questions  (we  both  professed  to  do  so),  and  insisted  that  the 
written  Hebrew  and  the  spoken  Hebrew  were  distinct  languages. 
"  No,  no/'  said  Ly  W.,  "  that  I  can  not  believe.  No  language 
can  exist  without  utterance  and  pronunciation  ;  it  is  like  the 
affected  enthusiasts  for  music  that  say  reading  new  music  conveys 
to  them  the  same  pleasure  as  hearing  it  performed.  That  little 
goose,  Severn,2  the  painter,  says  some  man  painted  a  picture  to 
the  sound  of  music."  "  A  man  might  as  well  say/'  replied 
Dodwell,  "  that  he  could  dance  to  the  taste  of  a  beefsteak." 
Happy  was  Sir  Wm  and  happy  was  Santi  to  have  an  end  put  to 
the  learned  conversation,  in  which  they  both  feared  to  commit 
themselves,  by  this  piece  of  happy  nonsense.  Sir  Wm  Drum- 

1  Edward  Adolphus,  Lord  Seymour  (1804-85),  eldest  son  of  Edward 
Adolphus,  eleventh  Duke  of  Somerset,  whom  he  succeeded  in  the  titles  in 

1855- 

2  Joseph  Severn  (1793-1879).     He  accompanied  Keats  to  Italy,  and 
remained  working  there  for  many  years  after  his  companion's  death.     He 
returned  to  England  in  1841,    but  twenty   years   later   became   British 
Consul  in  Rome  (1860-72),  and  died  there. 


1827  245 

mond's  knowledge,  I  suspect,  consists  in  discanting  on  the 
ignorance  of  others.  He  says  everybody  is  mistaken  and  wrong, 
but  he  never  supplies  the  facts  he  tries  to  destroy  by  any  theories 
of  his  own,  and  his  science  seems  only  to  be  founded  on  the 
mistakes  and  ignorance  of  others. 

After  dinner  came  in  the  Due  de  Melfort,1  who  is  the  head  of 
the  house  of  Drummond  and  a  Monsignore.  He  looks  respectable 
and  venerable.  Sir  Wm,  I  thought,  dwelt  with  greater  pleasure 
on  the  antiquity  of  his  family  than  on  the  extent  of  his  learning, 
when  talking  to  the  profound  scholar  but  obscurely-born  Santi. 
This  little  man  is  very  wonderful  for  his  prodigious  instruction ; 
he  is  quite  self-taught,  and  has  the  extraordinary  merit  of  having 

at  the  age  of made  himself  one  of  the  best  scholars  in  his 

country,  checked  as  he  has  been  by  obscurity,  poverty  and,  what 
perhaps  is  a  still  more  dangerous  foe  in  this  country,  prejudice. 
He  is  now  Hebrew  professor,  but  is  also  well  versed  in  Latin, 
Greek,  Arabic  and  Syrian.  He  has  studied  the  antiquities  with 
attention,  and  he  joins  two  characters  that  so  rarely  are  found 
together,  that  of  the  antiquary  and  the  man  of  genius.  I  went 
for  half  an  hour  to  Laval's  with  Ld  Seymour,  and  then  to  Lady 
Compton's. 

November  22.  Received  letters  from  Mrs  Fazakerley,  Town- 
shend  and  my  aunt.  I  dined  at  Sir  Wm  Drummond's,  and  met 
Ly  Westmorland,  Due  de  Laval,  Lord  Seymour,  Lord  Stormont, 
Gen1  Ramsay.  Ly  W.  did  all  she  could  to  make  a  general 
conversation.  She  first  tried  politicks  ;  Sir  Wm  said  three  or 
four  very  gauche  things  to  Laval  upon  the  inferiority  of  the 
French  to  the  English  navy  and  the  wonder  of  seeing  our  fleets 
united.  She  then  tried  genealogies,  and  offended  Laval  by 
blaming  French  or  English  striving  for  the  honor  of  foreign  titles, 
a  propos  of  the  D.  of  Hamilton  anxious  to  assert  his  right  to  the 
Dukedom  of  Chatelherault,  but  quite  forgetting  that  Laval 
himself  is  a  Spanish  Grandee.  She  then  tried  etymology,  but 
she  offended  Sir  Wm  by  her  contempt  for  his  remote  and  uncer- 
tain etymologies,  and  perhaps  displeased  him  by  mentioning  her 
own  clever  one  of  "  brown  study  "  from  Sfc  Bruno,  the  founder  of 

1  Charles  Edward  Drummond,  fifth  Due  de  Melfort  and  Comte  de 
Lussan,  who  died  in  1840,  domestic  prelate  to  the  Pope.  He  claimed  the 
Earldom  of  Perth,  but  failed  to  establish  his  title. 


246        The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

the  meditative  Carthusians.  Lady  W.  first  sparred  with  Laval 
and  then  with  Sir  Wm.  The  former  she  is  angry  with  for  telling 
her  a  story  she  chose  to  think  improper,  of  some  men  bathing 
in  a  river  seeing  on  the  high  road  a  lady  thrown  from  her  horse. 
One  of  the  gentlemen  rushed  from  the  water  to  extricate  her  from 
danger,  and  when  she  was  recovered,  the  first  thing  he  said  to 
her  was,  "  Pardonnez-moi,  Madame,  de  n'avoir  pas  des  gants."  I 
went  with  Lady  W.  for  an  hour  to  her  house,  and  then  went  to 
Lady  Compton's. 

Nov.  24.  I  dined  at  Mrs  Cheney's  ;  met  Ld  Seymour,  Ly 
Westmorland,  Mr  Hope  and  the  family.  It  was  rather  dull, 
though  Ly  W.  talked  a  good  deal  and  sometimes  well.  From 
thence  I  went  to  make  my  first  visit  to  the  Prince  and  Princesse 
de  Montfort  since  my  return.  I  found  them  more  gracious  than 
I  had  any  right  to  expect.  I  asked  their  opinion  of  De  Bausset's 
Memoir  es.1  They  both  believe  all  he  says,  and  praise  him  very 
much.  All  they  doubt  is  the  story  of  Marie  Louise  at  Blois  still 
thinking  of  joining  Napoleon  at  Fontainebleau.  Perhaps,  how- 
ever, it  is  true ;  and  only  they  are  blinded  by  the  subsequent 
misconduct  and  heartlessness  of  the  Empress.  A  woman  so  weak 
as  she  seems  to  be  may  have  been  guilty  of  frequent  vacillations, 
and  de  Bausset  may  have  seen  her  during  one  of  them  in  favour 
of  her  duty.  Jerome  told  me  he  knew  beyond  any  doubt  the 
details  of  M.  Neipperg's  first  success  with  Marie  Louise  ;  that  it 
is  totally  false  she  had  ever  seen  him  before  her  marriage  ;  that 
he  was  introduced  by  Schwarzenberg  to  her  at  Paris  ;  that  they 
hardly  saw  each  other  ;  and  that  it  was  only  at  the  Congress  of 
Vienna  that  her  mother-in-law  by  the  assistance  of  her  confessor ! ! ! 
contrived  to  ease  her  conscience  and  forced  her  to  yield  to 
Neipperg,  which  she  did  at  first  unwillingly,  by  actually  being 
shut  up  in  the  room  with  him. 

Nov.  26.  From  England  I  received  two  long  letters  from  my 
father,  very  amiable,  but  about  politicks — rather  rigmaroles. 
Though  actually  snowing,  I  went  to  E.  Cheney  and  read  Gibbon. 
I  wrote  to  my  father.  Me  Wonsowicz  also  has  written  me  a 
humbugging  sort  of  letter,  which  I  shall  answer,  but  not  tell  of. 
I  much  repent  of  having  talked  so  openly  to  those  more  imprudent 
and  less  interested  than  myself.  I  dined  with  Lady  W.  tete-a-tete, 
1  MJmoires  de  I'Interieur  du  Palais  Imperial,  1805-14. 


G.  F.  IV'ntts  //w.r/V 

JEROME    IJONAPARTE,  PRINCE   DE    MONTFORT 


1827  247 

and  went  to  Torlonia's  ball — full  of  English  and  very    dull. 

Nov.  28.  With  Mauri  I  began  Ariosto.  E.  Cheney  came  to 
me.  Alfred  d'Orsay  and  Ld  Seymour  visited  me.  I  drove  for 
half  an  hour  with  Lady  Compton,  and  dined  at  Ly  Mary's,  where 
I  met  Petre,  Ward,  Dodwell  and  Putbus.  Yesterday  the  thermo- 
meter was  at  4  below  zero.  Dodwell  remembers  snow  lying  for 
eight  days  in  the  streets  of  Rome  during  the  severe  winter  of  the 
famous  Russian  campaign.  To-night  there  is  a  great  ball  at  the 
Doria  Palace  for  the  bride,  the  D88e  d'Arsoli,  who  is  a  sort  of 
demi-royalty  of  the  house  of  Carignan.1  I  did  not  feel  well 
enough  to  encounter  the  bitter  cold  of  the  passages  and  staircases. 

Thursday,  Nov.  29.  I  called  on  Howick,  who  is  ill.  He  thinks 
the  Ministry  will  go  out  on  account  of  the  victory — a  strange 
reason  to  fall,  but  a  glorious  one.  His  wish  was  father  to  the 
thought.  The  elder  Cheney  took  me  to  dinner  at  the  Comptons. 
Milord  disputatious  about  trifles  beyond  precedent ;  rather  dull. 
Then  to  Lady  Westmorland's.  I  found  to  my  surprize  a  great 
party  for  the  bride  ;  Miss  d'Este  and  Ly  C.  Powlett.  The  former 
is  handsome,  the  latter  clever  ;  and  both  have  the  pretension  of 
having  pretty  feet.  Ly  W.,  to  give  full  scope  to  the  pretension, 
forced  people  rather  unwillingly  to  dance  ;  broke  up  all  conversa- 
tion and  spoilt  her  party,  which  otherwise  might  have  been 
pleasant.  I  wrote  in  the  morning  a  cold,  indifferent  letter  to 
Me  Wonsowicz. 

Sunday,  Dec.  2.  After  being  annoyed  by  some  notes,  I  went 
to  E.  C.,  where  instead  of  reading  with  him,  I  sat  for  some  hours 
for  my  picture  to  his  mother.  We  then  drove  together  to  Sfc 
Peter's  by  the  Porta  Angelica.  He  told  me  that  when  the  present 
Pope  was  Cardinal  Vicario,  being  very  anxious  to  break  the 
liaison  between  the  P88  D  .  .  .  and  Cardinal  B  .  .  .,  he  took 
occasion,  when  about  to  administer  the  wafer  at  one  of  the 
fashionable  churches  in  the  Corso,  to  make  a  most  solemn 
invitation,  concluding  by  a  sort  of  prayer,  that  should  any  of 
those  about  to  take  be  leading  an  unholy  or  immoral  life  he  hoped 
their  hearts  might  be  smitten  or  his  ignorance  enlightened.  He 
then  proceeded  in  the  ceremony,  but  at  the  moment  when  he 
came  to  place  the  wafer  in  P88  D  .  .  .'s  mouth  she  was  seized  with 
a  shudder  and  allowed  the  holy  bread  to  fall  upon  the  ground. 
1  Eldest  son  of  Prince  Massimo  (see  p.  291). 


248         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

She  was  seized  with  convulsions,  shed  torrents  of  tears,  and  was 
obliged  to  be  carried  out  of  the  church.  I  walked  till  late  in 
Sfc  Peter's,  where  I  met  Lady  Compton  and  her  sister,  with  whom 
I  went  home.  I  dined  with  Lady  Mary  ;  met  only  Ward,  E. 
Cheney,  and  passed  the  evening  at  Lady  C.,  where  was  only  H. 
Cheney  and  his  brother. 

Thursday,  Dec.  6.  I  dined  tete-a-tete  with  Lady  Compton, 
Ld  C.  being  gone  to  G1  Ramsay's  to  dine.  From  thence  I  went 
to  Torlonia's,  where  I  met  Lady  Westmorland.  She  was  looking 
ill,  but  there  is  something  so  ladylike  in  her  manner  and  so 
winning  in  her  voice  and  in  the  appearance  of  kindness  she  shows, 
that  steeled  as  I  was  against  her  from  a  variety  of  ill-natured 
things  she  said  about  me,  I  could  not  feel  animosity  against  one 
so  winning  and  so  clever.  Her  tongue  is  most  censorious  even 
against  those  she  pretends  to  love,  and  there  is  nothing  she  will 
not  say  and  do  to  provoke  those  she  likes,  if  they  displease  her 
in  the  slightest  thing.  Miss  d'Este  looked  handsome  ;  she  is 
lively  and  amiable.  I  staid  till  every  one  was  gone  with  Lady 
West,  and  Miss  d'Este.1  It  had  been  full  of  the  very  ugliest, 
most  vulgar  country-town  set  of  English  I  ever  saw. 

Saturday,  Dec.  8.  With  the  Cheneys  I  went  to  see  Torwaldsen, 
in  his  own  house.  He  has  some  tolerable  modern  pictures — a 
beautiful  sketch  of  Cardinal  Consalvi  by  Lawrence,  and  some 
spirited  drawings  in  water-colour  by  a  German  of  the  name  of 
Koch,  who  died  early.  They  are  taken  from  Dante,  and  are 
full  of  imagination  and  genius.  Torwaldsen  himself  has  a  fine 
face  and  a  good  expression  ;  he  is  heavy  in  conversation,  but  not 
petulant  and  sarcastic  like  most  of  the  fraternity  of  artists.  He 
has  made  a  small  collection  of  Etruscan  vases,  some  of  them  very 
beautiful. 

I  drove  about  with  E.  Cheney  to  the  Borghese.  It  was  a  cold, 
sunless  day,  and  we  returned  home  early.  I  wrote  to  my  aunt, 
and  went  to  dine  with  Lady  Westmorland.  The  company  very 
numerous,  but  very  ill  sorted.  Lady  M.  Deerhurst,  Mrs  Dennis, 
Jenks,  Miss  Daniel,  Colyar,  Capt.  Roberts 2  (the  proprietor  of  a 

1  Augusta  Emma,  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Sussex  and  Lady  Augusta 
Murray.     She  married  Thomas,  first  Lord  Truro  in  1845. 

2  Captain  Daniel  Roberts,  R.N.,  who  bought  the  wreck  of  the  Ariel, 
from  which  Shelley  was  drowned,  and  re-rigged  her.     (Works  of  Lord  Byron, 
vi.  120.) 


1827  249 

yacht,  who  has  been  much  in  the  Mediterranean  and  with  Ld 
Byron),  Severn,  Eastlake,  Gibson,  and  several  others  even  of  lesser 
note  or  likelihood.  The  dinner  was  very  long.  Conversation 
did  not  thrive,  though  Ly  W.  tried  to  make  it  general,  but  it 
would  not  do.  I  escaped  early  to  Ly  Compton,  and  from  thence 
went  with  her  to  Hortense ;  there  was  a  dance.  Hortense 
gracious  with  her  very  lively  manner,  and  very  agreable.  She 
has  the  art,  which  is  almost  always  confined  to  those  of  her 
nation,  of  making  those  she  speaks  to  pleased  with  what  they 
themselves  have  said.  She  told  me  about  Marechale  Ney,1  whom 
she  regards  as  a  sort  of  sister.  She  made  her  marriage,  and  has 
ever  kept  up  habits  of  the  greatest  friendship  with  them  all. 
Her  son  is  about  to  marry  Lafitte's  daughter,  the  greatest  heiress 
in  France.  What  he  looks  forward  to  is  being  one  day  or  other 
created  a  peer,  but  it  must  be  dreadful  for  him,  if  ever  he  does 
sit  in  that  Chamber,  to  reflect  that  the  whole  House  unanimously 
condemned  his  father  to  death.  It  was  with  the  sister  of  Me  Ney 
that  Hortense  had  been  educated  by  Me  Campan  (their  aunt), 
and  it  was  she  who  fell  before  Hortense's  eyes  into  an  eddy  at 
some  baths  in  Savoy.  She  was  instantly  dashed  to  pieces,  and 
only  some  broken  bones  and  blood  came  up  to  the  surface  for  a 
moment.  Hortense  spoke  of  it  with  great  agitation  and  with 
tears  in  her  eyes.  I  was  astonished  to  find  she  could  feel  so  much, 
for  she  gives  me  the  notion  of  a  very  frivolous  person,  who  regards 
sentiment  and  affection  merely  as  far  as  they  suit  a  romance  or 
a  play.  Perhaps  it  is  unjust  to  blame  her  for  being  happy,  but 
it  always  appears  to  me  the  effect  of  her  frivolity  and  indifference 
and  not  of  philosophy.  Philosophy  would  teach  her  to  be  calm 
and  resigned,  but  could  not  render  her  joyous. 

I  received  a  letter  from  Wortley.  He  says  very  cleverly, 
"  that  the  present  Ministry  in  England  resemble  a  ring  of  toad- 
stools that  often  mark  where  the  great  oak  fell."  Their  condition 
in  Pfc  to  be,  "that  in  the  Upper  House  they  have  plenty  of  leaders 
but  lack  votes,  in  the  Lower  they  have  votes  enough  but  lack 
leaders."  The  whole  of  his  letter  is  much  better  expressed  and 
fuller  of  clever  thoughts  than  his  letters  used  to  be.  Perhaps 
his  marriage,2  which  I  have  always  hitherto  lamented,  has  served 

1  Mile  Aiguie. 

2  He  had  married  Lady  Georgina  Ryder  (see  ante,  p.  197)  in  December, 
1825. 


250         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

to  nerve  and  excite  him,  for  that  is  all  he  wants.     He  has  very 
fair  abilities  but  great  indolence  and  constitutional  indifference. 

Sunday,  Dec.  9.  I  drove  with  Lady  Westmorland,  first,  to 
visit  Ld  F.  Bentinck l  who  is,  poor  man,  dying  ;  and  then  on  the 
road  out  of  the  Porta  Pia.  She  harangued  on  Dr  Peebles  and 
Dr  Jenks,  and  showed  me  a  very  violent,  foolish  letter  she  has 
written  to  Lady  F.  Bentinck,  which  is  almost  a  challenge.  She 
is  wild  and  tiresome  upon  the  subject,  especially  as  it  is  one  that 
does  not  give  scope  to  her  strange  wit  and  quick  perception  of 
character.  I  dined  at  Lady  Compton's,  and  met  only  Mrs 
Clephane.  She  told  a  story  of  Lord  Ferrers,  he  that  deservedly 
ended  at  the  gallows,  maltreating  his  wife  so  dreadfully,  that  in 
despair  she  wrote  to  her  brother,  Sir  Wm  Meredith,  to  come  and 
protect  her,  which  he  did.  He  was  introduced  into  the  room, 
where  he  found  Ld  Ferrers,  who  instantly  said  to  him,  "  I  will 
go  and  try  to  persuade  Ly  F.  to  come  and  see  you/'  He  went 
upstairs  with  a  pistol  and  a  brandy  bottle,  and  lest  he  should 
use  the  former,  which  he  threatened,  she  was  obliged  to  swallow 
the  contents  of  the  latter.  Allowing  the  potion  some  time  to 
operate,  he  returned  to  Sir  Wm  and  said  he  had  found  her  in  a 
state  unfit  to  appear  at  dinner,  but  that  he  was  determined  she 
should  come  down.  When  at  dinner  he  sent  three  or  four  messages 
and  at  last  insisted,  apparently  to  please  Sir  Wm,  upon  her  being 
conducted  into  the  dining-room.  She  was  brought  down  half- 
dressed  and  completely  intoxicated.  "  There  is  your  sister,  Sir 
Wm  ;  she  is  always  thus."  The  disgusted  brother  left  the  house 
that  night,  resolved  never  to  meddle  in  her  favor  another  time. 

From  Lady  Compton's  I  went  to  the  Blessingtons.  They  are 
just  returned  from  Naples,  where  they  have  triumphantly 
effected  the  nefarious  marriage  of  poor  Lady  H.  Gardiner.  They 
are  proud  of  what  they  have  done  and  expected  me  to  congratulate 
and  approve.  I  behaved  as  civilly  as  I  could,  feeling  as  I  do  the 
strongest  detestation  and  contempt  for  Lady  B.,  and  great 
sorrow  at  d'Orsay's  weakness  and  folly  in  being  humbugged 
and  blinded  by  the  machinations  of  that  b  .  .  .  I  like  him 
notwithstanding  all  his  ridicules,  and  I  must  ever  lament  his 

1  Major-General  Lord  Frederick  Bentinck  (1781-1828),  who  died  in 
the  following  February.  He  married,  in  1820,  Mary,  daughter  of  William, 
first  Earl  of  Lonsdale,  and  left  an  only  son. 


1827  251 

infatuation  for  her  having  made  him  guilty  of  one  of  the  most 
disgraceful  and  odious  proceedings  I  ever  heard  of. 

Tuesday,  Dec.  n.  After  writing  to  my  father,  Sr  Wm  Cell, 
Sir  G.  Talbot  and  Mr  Barry,  and  receiving  a  strange  unmeaning 
letter  from  Me  W.  from  Warsaw  in  answer  to  my  Florentine 
epistle,  I  went  to  E.  Cheney,  and  read  Gibbon  with  him.  I 
drove  with  him  to  see  Severn's  studio.  He  has  painted  a  new 
picture  of  a  supposed  scene  in  the  Villa  d'Este,  with  some  very 
pretty  figures,  and  has  not  spoilt  the  lovely  scenery  of  that 
charming  place.  He  showed  it  to  us  himself,  which  is  always 
painful,  as  it  forbids  criticism,  at  least  sincere  criticism.  He  has 
made  a  sketch  of  Lady  Westmorland's  idea  of  a  picture  represent- 
ing David  Rizzio's  murder.  There  is  some  talent,  but  many 
dreadful  faults.  The  D88  of  Argyll,  who  sees  Darnley  when  the 
Queen  does  not,  is  an  ungraceful,  awkward,  ill-conceived  figure. 

We  drove  on  the  Pincio,  met  no  one,  and  returned  early  to 
dine  with  Hortense.  She  had  only  Edward  and  myself  as  guests. 
Her  son  and  her  new  lady-in-waiting  completed  the  quintette. 
She  never  ceased  talking  from  the  moment  we  arrived  till  we 
left  the  house.  First,  she  gave  us  a  detailed  account  of  her 
different  houses  :  she  spoke  of  Holland  and  of  Amsterdam  with 
almost  horror.  It  was  there  she  lost  her  child,  and  her  own  health 
was  so  bad  that  she  was  quite  green.  The  people  who  flocked 
round  her  carriage  to  see  their  new  Queen  on  her  road  to  Amster- 
dam, she  used  frequently  to  hear  saying,  "  Elle  est  mourante, 
die  ne  vivra  par  deux  jours."  In  this  melancholy  state  she 
arrived  at  Amsterdam,  and  was  lodged  in  the  Hotel-de-Ville, 
in  which,  though  there  is  one  fine  room,  all  the  others  are  detest- 
able. The  apartments  allotted  to  her  were  those  of  Justice,  and 
round  the  cornice  were  ornaments  of  skulls  and  cross-bones  in 
marble.  She  seems  to  regard  every  recollection  of  the  place 
with  more  than  dislike — positive  horror. 

At  dinner  we  talked  of  Me  de  Stael.  She  never  saw  her  but 
once,  when  she  came  to  intercede  with  her  to  get  the  sentence  of 
exile  rescinded.  She  thinks  the  character  of  M.  de  Vernon  is  a 
faithful  portrait  of  Talleyrand,  whom  she  does  not  think  born 
wicked,  but  who  has  become  so  by  the  wickedness  of  the  world 
and  the  times  in  which  he  has  lived.  With  ambition,  indolence 
and  a  total  want  of  principle,  he  has  only  taken  advantage  of  the 


252         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

storms  that  have  arisen,  but  has  not  been  the  schemer  or  director 
of  them.  Me  de  Stael,  when  in  Switzerland,  asked  Hortense's 
eldest  son,  then  a  boy  of  ten  years  old,  if  it  was  true  that  Napoleon 
every  day  made  him  repeat  the  fable  of,  "  La  raison  du  plus  fort 
est  la  meilleure."  It  was  true  he  repeated  all  in  rotation,  but 
not  that  in  particular,  every  morning  to  his  uncle.  Napoleon 
is  said  to  have  asked  Me  de  Stael,  "  Depuis  quand,  Madame, 
est-ce-que  les  femmes  se  melent  de  la  politique  ?  "  "  Depuis 
qu'on  leur  coupe  les  tetes,  Sire."  After  dinner  she  showed  us 
her  bed  and  dressing-room  filled  with  her  itinerant  imperial 
finery,  which  she  contrives  to  keep  clean  and  smart.  She  and 
her  lady  read  a  proverb  which  I  thought  dull,  but  which  had 
some  merit  though  too  long.  Afterwards  she  talked  on  history 
more  sensibly  and  profoundly  than  I  thought  her  capable  of 
doing.  She  then  gave  me  an  account  of  the  E.  of  Russia's  civility 
to  her  and  her  mother  on  the  first  taking  of  Paris  ;  how  he 
obtained  for  her  the  Duche  de  Sfc  Leu,  which  was  accorded  by 
Louis  XVIII ;  and  also  she  told  us  of  her  visit  to  the  King  to 
thank  him.  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  it  would  have  been 
better  taste  to  have  only  written  her  thanks,  and  not  personally 
to  have  paid  her  court  to  the  enemy  of  her  family.  She  remained 
at  Paris  during  the  whole  time  of  the  first  Restoration.  The  Kg 
was  very  gracious.  She  staid  an  hour  with  him,  and  he  seems 
to  have  flattered  and  to  have  received  flattery.  I  went  to  Laval's 
dull  party.  Came  home  early,  cross  and  with  a  cold. 

Dec.  12.  With  Mauri  I  began  reading  Macchiavelli's  Principe, 
with  which  I  was  delighted.  Mauri  tells  me  the  title  of  "  Magni- 
fico,"  which  formerly  was  one  of  the  noblest  appellations,  is  at 
present  only  given  to  the  Jews  to  avoid  bestowing  upon  them  the 
word  "  Signore."  Not  only  is  it  used  in  conversation,  but  in 
all  law  papers  and  official  transactions. 

Thursday,  Dec.  13.  Edward  Cheney  came  to  read  with  me. 
We  read  a  little,  but  he  was  seized  by  a  slight  return  of  fever, 
and  was  far  from  well.  I  took  him  home,  and  then  drove  to 
Ly  Compton's,  where  I  staid  till  6  o'clock.  At  that  hour  I  went 
to  dine  tete-a-tete  with  Ly  Westmorland.  We  dined  upstairs 
in  the  small  rooms.  P88  Lancelloti  with  her  mammoth  husband 
paid  Ly  W.  a  visit.  She  is  daughter  to  Pce  Massimo,  clever, 
well-informed,  but  ugly  and  rather  tart.  I  went  to  E.  Cheney, 


1827  253 

where  I  passed  the  evening.  He  was  rather  better.  Mr  Hoppner, 
the  consul  at  Venice,  son  to  the  painter  and  himself  an  artist, 
hung  his  room  with  some  sea-pieces  of  his  own  painting.  An 
Englishman,  looking  at  them,  asked  by  whom  they  were  done. 
"  By  me,  Sir."  "By  you,  indeed  !  See  what  a  poor  judge  of 
painting  I  am,  I  thought  them  very  good." 

Dec.  14.  Read  with  Mauri.  Sat  with  E.  Cheney  for  an  hour, 
and  then  to  Lady  Compton's,  who  consulted  me  about  a  dinner 
for  Lady  Mary.  Dined  at  the  Blessingtons,  met  Valdes  and 
Dodwell.  Now  that  they  have  accomplished  the  infamous 
marriage,  they  turn  the  poor  child  into  ridicule  for  supposed 
stupidity.  The  wickedness  of  the  whole  proceeding  disgusts  me 
more  and  more,  and  makes  me  rejoice  that  my  name  cannot  be 
coupled  with  it  in  any  way.  Went  for  an  hour  to  E.  Cheney, 
who  was  alone  and  not  well.  Then  to  Lady  Compton's  party, 
where  she  not  only  made  her  guests  dance  but  gave  them  food, 
which  they  liked  amazingly. 

Saturday,  Dec.  15.  I  went  early  to  see  poor  Edward  C.,  whom 
I  found  suffering  under  a  sharp  attack  of  fever.  I  staid  some 
time  with  him  and  his  family,  and  then  went  to  Lady  Compton, 
with  whom  I  drove  out — a  dowager  drive  to  Sfc  Peter's.  I  dined 
with  her.  Her  sister  Anna  Jane  the  only  guest.  She  is,  I  believe, 
learned,  and  clever  at  poetry  ;  her  conversation  is  not  remarkable 
nor  are  her  manners  good. 

Dec.  19.  Mauri  came  to  me ;  with  him  I  read  Macchiavelli 
and  Ariosto.  He  told  me  of  the  favoritism  of  a  builder, 
Famonati,  with  the  present  Pope,  formed  when  the  latter,  being 
Cardinal,  was  ordered  to  the  baths  of  Acqua  Santa,  where  the 
former  had  built  some  houses,  in  one  of  which  he  lodged  the 
Cardinal  and  paid  him  great  court,  judging  from  his  bad  state  of 
health  that  he  would  most  likely  be  elected  Pope.  The  Cardinal 
borrowed  money  of  the  builder,  and  though  the  latter  was 
imprudent  enough  to  sue  him  in  the  Roman  courts  for  payment, 
their  friendship  still  continued,  and  he  now  governs  the  Pope 
completely  and  obliges  the  Pope  to  give  him  lucrative  employ- 
ments. The  acts  and  laws  passed  by  His  Holiness  are  most 
trivial,  and  offensive  to  the  people.  He  has  ordered  all  priests 
and  all  those  employed  under  Gfc  to  wear  Roman  manufactured 
cloth,  which  is  very  coarse  and  very  bad.  He  has  tried  to  establish 


254         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

game  laws,  and  is  most  active  and  severe  in  discovering  and 
punishing  any  illicit  connexions  between  men  and  women.  On 
the  discovery  of  an  intrigue  between  a  painter's  wife  and  one  of 
his  guardia  nobile,  he  corrected  the  decision  of  the  court  con- 
demning the  woman  to  seven  years  confinement  in  a  nunnery 
and  the  man  to  two  months  in  a  convent,  and  converted  his 
officer's  punishment  into  seven  years  confinement  in  the  castle 
of  St  Angelo,  thus  abusing  the  privilege  of  sovereigns  to  aggravate 
and  not  to  soften  the  severity  of  their  courts. 

Dec.  21.  I  drove  out  at  2  with  Lady  Mary  Deerhurst,  not- 
withstanding the  bitter  cold,  to  see  some  Dresden  china  with 
her,  for  which  the  proprietor  asked  too  much  for  either  of  us  to 
give.  I  was  too  poor  and  she  too  stingy.  We  then  went  to  the 
Palazzo  Giraud,  in  Trastevere,  the  former  palace  of  the  English 
embassy.  Its  last  tenant  in  that  capacity  was  Cardinal  Wolsey  ; 
it  is  now  bought  by  Torlonia,  and  in  its  splendid  suite  he  keeps 
a  sort  of  magazine  of  china,  pictures  and  valuables  which  he 
means  to  sell.  I  dined  at  Mrs  Cheney's,  and  there  I  spent  the 
evening  with  E.  Cheney,  who  is  better  and  who  has  been  out 
to-day. 

Dec.  22.  No  letters.  I  wrote  to  Charles,  Wortley  and  Ly  H. 
Cold  day.  Sat  with  E.  Cheney  all  morning.  Dined  at  5  at  Sir 
Wm  Drummond's.  Met  Mills,  two  Dallas's,  and  the  inmates. 
Ly  Drummond  was  more  than  usually  tiresome  in  her  eternal 
comparisons  between  Rome  and  Naples,  ever  to  the  disadvantage 
of  the  former.  Sir  Wm  lost  his  temper  and  silenced  her  ;  making 
a  solemn  sort  of  appeal  to  beg  her  to  be  silent,  which  she  treated 
with  contempt  and  giggled  on  the  same  follies  for  half  an  hour 
more.  Sir  Wm  was  not  agr cable  or  well ;  and  the  evening  was 
dull.  I  went  from  thence  to  Pce  de  Montfort's,  where  I  only  found 
the  P8S.  We  had  a  very  long  conversation  about  the  injustice 
done  to  them  with  regard  to  their  country  house  at  Fermo,  to 
which  they  are  not  allowed  to  return,  since  the  K8  of  Naples  has 
made  a  representation  to  the  Pope  that  he  cannot  with  safety 
allow  a  Bonaparte  so  near  his  frontier.  All  the  acts  necessary  to 
the  purchase  passed  through  the  Papal  Gfc.  She  is  not  as  near 
the  frontier  at  Fermo  as  at  Albano,  and  now  they  wish  to  sell 
property  they  are  not  permitted  to  enjoy,  of  course  they  find  no 
purchasers,  and  neither  the  Ke  of  Naples  or  the  Pope  will  buy 


1827  255 

of  them  what  they  force  them  to  sell.  She  talked  of  Maria 
Louisa,  whose  conduct  she  thinks  even  worse  towards  her  hus- 
band, as  she  says  she  is  far  from  being  the  weak,  foolish  woman 
she  is  usually  called,  but  is  cold,  unfeeling,  selfish  and  full  of  low 
cunning.  Emperor  Alexander  she  praised  very  much.  She  tried 
to  exculpate  him  of  falsehood  towards  Napoleon,  and  she  says, 
though  he  changed  his  opinion  in  less  than  ten  days,  that  she 
believes  he  really  thought  the  restoration  of  the  Bourbons  was 
for  the  happiness  of  France.  To  her  he  talked  at  Laybach  with 
pretended  affection  for  Napoleon,  said  he  had  made  applications 
to  England  for  his  return  to  Europe,  and  added,  "  Ah  !  mon 
Dieu,  si  on  pourrait  le  tirer  de  ces  griff es-la  "  !  Alexander  was, 
I  believe,  the  falsest  of  his  false  countrymen,  and  always  made  it 
a  rule  to  talk  the  language  most  agreable  to  his  hearers  without 
the  slightest  regard  to  truth.  She  told  me  at  length  of  Napoleon's 
refusal  by  the  D89  of  Oldenburg.  Alexander  had  had  con- 
versations with  Napoleon  on  the  subject  at  Erfurt,  and  told 
him  the  difficulties  lay  with  his  mother,  the  Empress,  but  that 
he  would  do  every  thing  he  could  to  promote  Napoleon's  views. 
The  Grand  D88,  immediately  on  the  arrival  of  the  proposal,  at 
the  instigation  of  the  Empress,  engaged  herself  to  the  D.  of  O., 
for  whom  she  had  no  affection  ;  but  only  did  so  as  the  easiest 
way  of  answering  Napoleon's  offer.  The  day  the  refusal  came 
Napoleon  began  negotiating  with  Vienna,  and  never  forgave  the 
Russian  court  the  insult  to  which  he  had  been  exposed  by  the 
treachery  of  Alexander,  who  had  on  his  return  to  Russia  entirely 
concurred  with  his  mother's  conduct,  forgetful  of  his  Erfurt 
promises.  I  passed  the  evening  with  E.  Cheney  till  12. 

Sunday,  Dec.  23.  With  E.  Cheney  and  Lady  Compton  I 
took  a  drive  towards  Albano.  I  dined  at  Torlonia's,  where  I 
went  with  Lady  M.  Deerhurst.  The  dinner  was  tedious  ;  our 
guests  were,  Cardinal  Vidoni,1  Laval,  Gargarin,  Chabots,  L*  M. 
Ross,2  Orsinis,  Piombino,  P88e  Sta  Croce.  When  we  sat  down  to 


1  Cardinal  Pietro  Vidoni  (1759-1830).    "  A  fat,  very  noisy,  disgustingly 
voracious    Prince   of  the   Church.  ...     He   resembles   an   exaggerated, 
colossal    Roger   Wilbraham,  but  the  force    of   his  voice    I    never  heard 
rivalled,  much  less  equalled."      (H.  Fox  to  Hon.  Caroline  Fox.) 

2  Lady  Mary  Ross  and  Lady  Isabella  de  Rohan  Chabot  were  daughters 
of  William  Robert,  second  Duke  of  Leinster,  and  sisters  of  the  third  Duke. 


256         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

dinner,  Lady  Mary  Deerhurst,  in  the  most  vulgar  housemaid 
manner,  began  talking  across  five  or  six  people  to  me  to  abuse 
Ly  Isabella  Chabot's  looks  and  manner.  I  was  quite  distressed, 
but  happily  Vidoni's  voice  soon  drowned  everything  else,  and 
though  he  eat  more  and  slower  than  all  the  rest  of  the  company, 
his  overpowering  voice  was  not  quiet  for  an  instant.  He  and 
Laval  had  a  contest  of  what  they  meant  for  wit  across  the  table 
about  the  ceremonies  tomorrow  and  the  fasting  of  the  Pope.1 
Vidoni,  who  cannot  speak  tolerable  French,  said,  "  II  faut  que 
il  Pape  soil  jeune  pour  sept  heures  demain." 

I  passed  the  evening  with  E.  Cheney,  after  going  for  half  an 
hour  to  Lady  Compton.  Lady  Stewart,  Sir  Wm  Drummond's 
sister,  writes  word  to  Mrs  Clephane  that,  as  she  feels  the  time 
approach  for  her  to  be  removed  from  this  world,  and  as  her 
memory  is  rather  failing,  she  is  employed  in  making  out  a  list 
of  all  the  friends  she  has  survived,  that  when  in  heaven  she  may 
remember  to  notice  them.  A  visiting  list  for  heaven  is  a  charming 
idea,  and  might  reconcile  Almack's  patronesses  to  the  certainty 
of  death. 

Wednesday,  Dec.  26.  After  reading  some  Macchiavelli  and  the 
3d  canto  of  Ariosto  with  Mauri,  I  went  to  E.  Cheney,  and  drove 
out  with  him  and  Lady  Compton  to  Cecilia  Metella's  tomb. 
There  was  too  much  wind  to  allow  time  to  walk.  Lady  C.  told 
a  story  of  two  young  cavalry  officers  being  both  ill  of  the  ague, 
but  the  younger  one  who  was  nearer  convalescence  and  more 
full  of  military  ardor,  diverted  himself  with  practising  the  sword 
exercise,  which  he  expected  his  brother,  who  was  sitting  shivering 
by  the  fire,  to  admire.  "  Is  it  not  right  ?  Have  I  not  done  it 
well,  brother  ?  "  "  Yes,  by  those  two  first  strokes  you  cut  off 
his  ears,  and  by  the  last  his  head,"  grumbled  the  invalid.  "  Whose 

Lady  Isabella  had  married  Louis  William  de  Rohan-Chabot,  Viscomte  de 
Chabot  in  1809,  and  died  in  1868.  Henry  Fox  wrote  to  Miss  Fox  on 
Christmas  Day  : — "  You  are  right,  dear  little  Aunty.  Lady  Isabella  is 
a  nasty,  sarcastic,  find-faulty,  niggling,  illnatured  little  thing,  very  unlike 
Lady  Kinnaird  in  amiability  or  Lady  Foley  in  beauty.  I  thought  at 
Paris  it  was  rather  an  unjust  prejudice  of  yours,  but  since  she  came  here 
I  have  discovered  things  that  quite  justify  your  strong  dislike." 

1  "  Laval,  notwithstanding  being  more  than  half-blind,  a  little  deaf, 
and  quite  inarticulate  from  stuttering,  wishes  to  pass  for  a  wit,  and,  what 
is  even  more  extraordinary,  does  sometimes  contrive  to  stammer  out  a 
sentence  that  will  bear  being  repeated."  (Ibid.) 


1827  257 

ears  ?     Whose   head  ?     The    enemy's  ?  "     "  No,    no,    my    dear 
brother,  your  horse,  your  horse. " 

27  Dec.     I  went  to  Edward  C.  for  a  minute,  and  then  followed 
Lady  Compton's  carriage,  in  which  he  drove  with  her  to  the 
Coliseum  and  afterwards  to  the  Villa  Borghese.     In  the  latter 
we  found  a  spot  sheltered  from  the  cold  tramontanas  and  exposed 
to  the  full  power  of  a  baking  sun.     I  walked  with  them  for  about 
an  hour,  and  then  came  home  so  famished  that  I  eat  voraciously 
off  a  scraggy  bone  and  drank  some  strong  ale.     I  was  therefore 
half  tipsy  when  I  went  to  Lady  Compton's  great  dinner,  and  I 
completed  my  misfortunes  there  by  eating  nothing  and  drinking 
every  wine  I  was  offered.     I  sat  between  Lady  M.  Deerhurst  and 
Miss  Cheney.     The  dinner  was  for  the  former  to  get  acquainted 
with  Lady  Mary  Ross,  which  was  effected,  notwithstanding  all 
the  squabbles  on  Sunday  at  Torlonia's  dinner.     I  was  tipsy  all 
the  evening,  and  went  early  to  bed,  after  going  to  see  both  the 
Cheneys,  who  are  ill.     I  wrote  to  Dundas  and  Mary,  both  short, 
dullish  letters  :   I  received  none. 

28  Dec.     In  the  morning  I  was  unwell  and  did  not  leave  the 
house,  though  the  day  was  bright  and  fine.     Lady  Compton 
and  Edward  Cheney  came  to  see  me.     The  latter  was  not  well 
or  in  spirits.     I  dined  at  Lady  Mary's,  a  dull,  vulgar,  noisy  party. 
Gortchakoff l  is  very  impertinent  and  meddling,  and  affects  an 
Anglomania.     Mortier  2  is  the  only  one  of  the  many  attaches 
whose   conversation   is   at    all   gentlemanlike   and   sensible.     I 
escaped  early,  and  passed  the  evening  with  Cheney. 

Saturday,  29  Dec.  I  dined  at  the  Cheneys'.  I  thought  H> 
Cheney  more  than  usually  egoistical  and  disagreable  ;  so  unlike 
his  brother.  I  went  to  Lady  Westmorland's  ball,  which  was 
very  splendid  and  well  arranged.  I  was  presented  to  my  lovely 
cousin,  Mrs  Napier,3  who  struck  me  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
women  I  ever  saw.  Lady  Mary  Deerhurst  commissioned  me 

1  Prince  Alexander  Gortchakoff  (1798-1883),  diplomat.     Secretary  of 
Legation  in  London,    1824-30.      He  was  Charge  <T Affaires  in  Florence 
in  1830. 

2  Probably  Charles   Henri   Edouard   Mortier  (1797-1864),   nephew  of 
Marshal  Mortier,  Due  de  Trevise.     He  was  a  diplomat  and  later  in  life 
Chamberlain  to  Jerome. 

3  Caroline  Bennett,  who  married  Henry  Edward  Napier,  youngest  son 
of  Lady  Sarah  Napier.     She  died  of  English  cholera  in  Florence  in  1836. 


258         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

to  carry  an  amicable  message  to  M.  Chabot,  to  whom  she  has 
behaved  with  foolish  violence  of  temper,  and  who  is  naturally 
very  much  surprized  and  incensed  at  spiteful  language  addressed 
to  him  before  strangers. 

Dec.  30.  With  E.  Cheney  I  spent  the  early  part  of  the 
morning,  till  Ly  Compton  came  to  take  me  out  driving.  I 
dined  at  Mrs  Cheney's.  Met  only  Lady  Compton,  who  told  a 
pretty  story  of  a  lamp  which  is  every  night  at  eight  o'clock 
lighted  at  a  small  window  adjoining  to  the  Chiesa  di  San  Marco 
at  Venice.  It  is  lighted  at  the  expense  of  the  descendants  of 
a  judge  in  the  I4th  century,  who  discovered,  by  the  confession 
of  the  real  culprit  many  years  afterwards,  that  he  had  wrongfully 
condemned  a  baker  to  death  for  the  murder  of  a  nobleman ; 
his  body  being  found  under  the  spot  where  burns  the  light  with  a 
dagger  sticking  in  his  heart,  which  corresponded  to  an  ornamental 
silver  sheath  sold  by  the  baker  the  following  day.  The  judge 
left  a  portion  of  his  fortune  to  found  this  light  and  to  pay  for 
a  daily  mass  for  the  soul  of  the  innocent  who  was  condemned, 
and  for  those  who  unjustly  condemn  unwittingly.  I  staid  till 
late  with  Edward,  who  was  unwell. 

Dec.  31.  From  home  I  received  some  agreable  letters. 
They  all  seem  well  and  in  spirits.  I  passed  the  morning  with 
Edward  C.,  and  dined  there.  No  guest  but  myself.  Late  in  the 
evening  I  went  to  Mrs  Clephane's,  where  I  went  to  begin  the 
year.  She  was  very  hearty  and  hospitable.  She  told  a  story 
of  Hume,  which  struck  me  as  curious.  Lady  Hardwicke x  (who 
is  here)  was  a  child  of  about  three  or  four  years  old  when  he 
was  visiting  at  her  mother's,  and  had  conceived  a  sort  of  childish 
horror  for  a  man  her  nursery  maids  had  told  her  was  wicked 
and  an  atheist.  She  never  would  go  near  or  play  with  him. 
One  day,  however,  being  alone  in  the  room  with  him,  after 
resisting  his  attempts  to  play  with  her  and  to  make  her  sit  on 
his  knee,  she  frankly  told  him  he  was  a  wicked  man  and  an 
atheist  and  that  she  would  not  approach  one  she  hated.  "  Oh  ! 
my  little  girl,  you  ought  not  to  be  so  violent  or  to  hate  me.  You 
ought  to  pray  for  me."  Upon  which  the  little  girl  fell  upon 
her  knees  and  clasping  her  hands,  said,  "  Oh  God  I  Oh  God ! 

1  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James,  fifth  Earl  of  Balcarres,  married,  in 
1782,  Philip,  third  Earl  of  Hardwicke  (1757-1834). 


1827  259 

Convince  him  that  thou  art."    The  simplicity  of  the  child  and  of 
the  prayer  struck  Hume  very  forcibly. 

After  staying  till  past  12  at  Mrs  Clephane's,  I  drove  with 
Lady  C.  to  look  at  St  Peter's  by  moonlight,  which  was 
lovely. 


CHAPTER  VII 
1828 

January  3,  1828.  Rome.  Thursday.  I  received  a  letter 
from  my  aunt  from  London,  which  is  in  a  state  of  ferment  at  Ld 
Goderich's  retirement.  All  parties  are  intriguing  for  place,  and 
bidding  high  for  it  by  giving  the  Kg  more  and  more  power 
and  patronage.  I  drove  with  Lady  Westmorland  to  the  Villa 
Borghese,  where  we  walked  together  ;  she  was  very  brilliant 
upon  religion  and  some  details  of  the  state  of  society  here  just 
now.  Lady  Howard  has  offended  her,  because  when  she  talked 
enthusiastically  in  favor  of  the  Catholic  religion,  she  leant  across 
two  people  to  say,  "  So  I  see  the  Pope  has  made  a  conquest  of 
you."  Vulgar,  foolish  woman  !  How  can  anyone  suppose  that 
without  respecting  the  root,  the  branch  can  ever  flourish  !  Does 
not  the  Lutheran,  the  Calvinist  and  all  the  sects,  spring  from  the 
Catholic  ?  What  reliance  can  I  have  in  the  truth  of  Xtianity 
if  the  main  source  is  impure  ? 

I  dined  at  Mrs  Cheney's  ;  met  a  large,  dull  dinner  of  English 
mixed  with  Italians.  Mme  Moranda  was  a  famous  beauty  in 
her  day,  and  still  has  the  remains  of  having  been  so.  She  is 
a  Genoese  by  birth  and  aunt  to  Me  Durazzo.  I  sat  between 
Mr  Gaskell  and  Mr  Petre.  The  latter  was  rather  agreable,  as 
he  is  full  of  information,  though  cursed  with  a  bad  manner  and 
a  total  incapacity  of  talking  upon  trifles  and  indifferent  subjects. 
He  told  me  a  good  deal  about  the  Popes  of  former  and  of  latter 
days.  He  seems  to  have  studied  their  history  with  diligence  and 
research.  I  went  down  to  Edward  as  soon  as  dinner  was  over, 
and  found  sitting  with  him  Lady  Compton,  proud  of  having 
come  up  the  back  staircase,  which  gives  to  her  action  an  appear- 
ance of  her  much-loved  mystery.  She  staid  a  short  time,  and 
then  went  to  Mrs  Colyar's. 

260 


1828  a6i 

January  14,  Monday.  After  receiving  a  long,  disagreable 
letter  from  my  mother  about  my  residence  in  Italy,  I  went  to 
the  Villa  Borghese  to  walk  with  T.  G.  She  was  amiable  and 
agreable.  I  then  went  to  Edward  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  to 
Lady  Westmorland,  whom  I  found  in  all  the  paraphernalia  of 
her  toilette  for  the  Austrian  Embassadress's  reception  tonight, 
which  is  not  put  off  as  was  expected  on  account  of  poor  Me  de 
Celle's  death  yesterday.  She  long  has  been  in  a  hopeless  state, 
but  such  is  the  self-deception  of  those  pulmonic  maladies,  that 
when  the  day  before  yesterday  it  was  found  necessary  to  prepare 
her  for  the  ceremonies  required  by  the  Catholic  Church  at  the 
death-beds  of  the  pious,  she  was  quite  surprized  and  agitated. 
Ly  West,  was  brilliant  and  agreable,  though  she  has  a  thousand 
faults  and  though  she  occasionally  betrays  the  vulgarity  of  her 
feelings,  I  never  saw  a  manner  so  ladylike  or  a  power  of  conver- 
sation so  invariably  brilliant  and  agreable.  I  cannot  dislike  her 
as  much  as  my  reason  tells  me  I  ought  to  do,  or  as  the  harsh, 
bitter  things  she  not  only  says  to,  but  of  me,  would  warrant. 
I  dined  at  Lady  Compton's.  Then,  after  five  minutes  with  E.  C., 
I  passed  the  evening  with  T.  G. 

January  15.  With  Lady  C.  I  started  at  ten  for  Frascati, 
where  we  went  to  choose  a  house  for  her  family  for  the  summer. 
The  Villa  Piccolomini  seemed  to  suit  the  best.  Going  home  I 
met  Funchal  with  two  running  footmen,  a  custom  a  hundred 
years  ago  universal,  but  which  I  never  saw  practised  but  here. 

January  17.  I  went  early  to  E.  C.  I  received  a  letter  from 
my  father,  telling  me  he  had  accepted  an  unpaid  attacheship 
to  The  Hague  for  me.1  His  letter  talks  of  the  Government 
as  tottering. 

January  21.  My  drawing-master  came  for  the  second  time. 
I  got  letters  from  home  accepting  Petersburg.  They  may  accept 
what  they  choose  for  me,  but  I  will  only  go  to  Naples  or  Florence, 

1  Lord  Holland,  it  seems,  had  suggested  St  Petersburg  as  an  alternative 
to  The  Hague  ;  and  in  this  the  Foreign  Secretary,  Lord  Dudley,  acquiesced. 
Henry  disliked,  however,  the  idea  of  a  Northern  post,  and  before  anything 
was  settled,  the  fall  of  the  Government  put  a  stop  to  any  immediate 
question  of  employment.  As  Wellington  was  now  in  office,  Lord  Holland 
was  no  longer  anxious  to  ask  favours,  even  though  Lord  Dudley  remained 
on  at  the  Foreign  Office  for  some  months,  and  was  succeeded  by  Lord  Aber- 
deen, another  personal  friend  of  the  family. 


262         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

unless  I  am  paid  to  do  so  by  some  very  great  favor.  I  went  to 
Hortense  to  sit  for  my  picture.  She  was  very  amusing  :  told 
me  stories  of  her  own  life,  and  said  that  if  my  father  came  into 
office  she  would  try  to  make  England  and  Russia  demand  of 
France  the  ratification  of  the  separate  treaty  made  in  her  favor 
at  the  first  return  of  Louis  XVIII,  for  the  sake  of  her  children, 
who  have  now  no  existence.  She  says  the  riches  of  the  B. 
family  are  exaggerated.  That  Madame  Mere  has  only  £3,000 
a  year,  and  saves,  because  she  spends  but  half  of  it ;  but  that  all 
the  others  are  very,  very  poor,  and  live  by  selling  jewels  and  bits 
of  old  finery  they  have  saved  in  the  wreck,  but  which  cannot 
last  long.  She  wants  to  secure  something  for  her  sons,  and  that, 
she  says,  is  all  that  embitters  her  life  ;  otherwise  she  is  happier 
than  she  ever  was  before.  "  Ce  ne  sont  pas  des  couronnes  que 
je  regrette.  On  ne  sait  pas  le  malheur  des  grandeurs  pour 
ceux  qui  n'ont  pas  d'ambition  et  qui  cherchent  seulement  le 
bonheur."  Jerome  and  his  wife  came  in  during  my  sitting  and 
talked  politicks  till  I  feared  they  would  quarrel.  He  abused 
and  she  defended  Villele,  who  is  just  turned  out.  I  dined  at 
Ly  C.'s  with  H.  Cheney,  and  found  it  dull.  She  was  cross.  The 
evening  I  spent  with  E.  C. 

January  22,  Tuesday.  I  went  to  Hortense  to  sit  for  my 
portrait,  which  she  is  doing  very  ill.  She  told  me  of  the  jealousy 
of  all  the  Bonapartes  against  every  one  of  the  name  of  Beauharnais. 
She  told  me  she  had  written  her  Memoirs  from  the  hour  of  her 
earliest  recollection,  that  she  told  everything  just  as  it  happened 
and  as  it  struck  her ;  therefore  it  could  not  appear  for  many 
years.  She  wrote  it  all  in  Switzerland  after  the  bouleversement, 
and  having  written  it  was  a  relief  to  her  mind,  which  was  before 
oppressed  with  recollections  so  painful.  Sometimes  she  used 
to  write  for  eight  hours  a  day.  I  walked  a  little  with  E.  C., 
and  dined  at  Torlonia's  at  5.  I  found  a  dull  party.  The  D88 
ill  and  unable  to  appear  ;  the  Dke  scolded  all  the  servants ; 
the  dinner  was  bad  and  very  salt.  Torwaldsen  and  Putbus, 
besides  the  family.  I  went  for  an  instant  to  T.  G.,  who  was 
dressing  for  the  Austrian  ball.  Then  I  went  to  the  Cheneys, 
whom  I  found  also  going  there,  I  staid  with  E.  C.  till  late.  I 
wrote  to  my  father  and  Charles. 

January   23.     In   the   morning   I   went   with   Mrs   Cheney, 


1828  263 

Edward  and  Gibson,1  first  to  the  latter's  studio,  and  then  to 
the  Vatican.  At  the  former  I  saw  the  casts  of  his  best  statues. 
The  Paris  struck  me  as  very  beautiful,  but  neither  the  Mars  nor 
the  Nymph  carried  away  by  the  Zephyrs  pleased  me  very  much. 
He  is  extremely  simple,  and  does  not  betray  in  his  conversation 
any  of  the  petty  jealousies  and  ridiculous  vanity  so  usual  among 
those  of  his  profession.  We  went  over  the  Vatican  rather  rapidly, 
as  Edward  was  not  well  enough  to  loiter.  I  dined  at  Ly  Compton's, 
where  I  met  no  one.  I  went  to  Laval's  ball,  which  was  brilliant. 
The  D886  d'Istrie  (Bessiere's  daughter-in-law)  is  a  great  beauty 
and  just  arrived. 

January  24.  I  sat  to  Hortense  for  my  picture.  She  began 
reading  to  me  her  Memoirs,  which  are  simply  and  agreably 
written  ;  but  evidently  she  has  fallen  into  the  mistake  of  most 
memoir  writers,  that  the  readers  are  more  interested  about  the 
merits  of  the  author  than  in  the  mere  narration  of  the  events 
they  have  witnessed.  The  reader  ought  to  guess  the  character 
of  the  writer  and  not  be  told  it.  The  moment  the  author  tries 
to  describe  himself,  it  is  impossible  not  to  distrust  him  or  to  seek 
for  contradictions  to  his  assertions.  She  excused  herself  with 
warmth  for  my  insinuation  that  she  was  in  her  heart  attached 
to  the  Ancien  Regime,  and  that  education,  birth  and  early 
impressions  had  influenced  her  whole  conduct  even  when  carried 
away  by  the  most  opposite  interests.  She  combated  all  I  said, 
but  I  am  still  convinced  I  was  not  wrong.  The  execution  of  her 
father,  the  education  under  Me  Campan,  and  the  disgusting 
atrocities  of  those  who  assumed  the  mask  of  liberty  to  commit 
every  outrage,  was  sufficient  to  impress  on  the  mind  of  a  young 
person  feelings  diametrically  opposite  to  those  her  future  destiny 
obliged  her  to  profess.  Napoleon  she  talks  of  with  admiration, 
but  with  nothing  that  approaches  love  or  even  regard.  Whether 
she  does  this  from  system,  to  silence  the  scandalous  reports  afloat 
against  her,  or  from  resentment  for  his  conduct  to  her  mother 
and  subsequently  to  her  in  the  Hundred  Days,  or  whether  really 
from  never  having  felt  for  him  more  than  respect  and  terror,  I 
cannot  judge ;  but  she  is  one  of  the  very  few  people  who  have 

1  John  Gibson  (1790-1866).  He  lived  for  a  number  of  years  in  Rome, 
receiving  instruction  from  Canova  and  Thorwaldsen.  He  became  R.A. 
in  1838. 


264         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward   Fox 

seen  much  of  him  that  I  have  heard  talk  of  him  without  owning 
that,  besides  an  admiration  for  his  talents,  it  was  impossible  to 
leave  him  untouched  by  the  extreme  fascination  of  his  manners 
and  conversation.  Many  stories  were  propagated  of  Hortense's 
love  for  the  Ancien  Regime,  even  during  Napoleon's  splendor. 
The  emigres  rentres  were  anxious  to  prove  it,  as  many  eagerly 
solicited  her  hand  and  wished  for  some  excuse  to  colour  such 
meanness.  One  story,  quite  false,  however,  was  told  and  much 
believed,  of  Napoleon  (when  Emperor)  having  asked  her  if  he 
was  handsome  and  what  dress  would  become  him  best.  She 
was  reported  to  have  answered,  "  Le  baton  de  Connetable  vous  ira 
a  merveille."  Napoleon,  she  says,  was  not  a  man  to  bear  such 
a  joke  even  if  she  had  been  disposed  to  make  it ;  but  that  she 
never  should  have  dared  to  say  so,  and  that  in  her  conversa- 
tions with  him  they  never  spoke  on  anything  that  approached 
a  political  discussion. 

I  dined  at  Mr  Hallam's.  Met  Mr  and  Mrs  Gaskell,  Sir  Shaw 
Stewart,  Ld  Seymour  and  Mr  Hope.  Stories  are  current  of  the 
D.  of  W.  having  the  formation  of  a  ministry.  It  does  not  seem 
improbable.  I  had  a  letter  from  Lady  Grey  and  one  from  my 
aunt.  I  wrote  to  nobody.  I  went  for  ten  minutes  toTorlonia's ; 
then  passed  the  evening  with  E.  C.  Home  late  and  tired. 

January  25.  I  sat  to  Hortense,  who  read  me  some  more  of 
her  Memoirs,  which  are  very  amusing.  The  manner  in  which 
Napoleon  first  became  acquainted  with  Josephine  is  interesting 
and  curious.  Eugene  Beauharnais,  then  a  boy,  went  to  Bonaparte 
to  refuse  compliance  with  the  general  order  that  no  arms  should 
be  kept  in  private  houses,  and  declared  that  he  would  willingly 
resign  his  life  sooner  than  his  father's  sword.  Napoleon  was 
pleased,  and,  struck  by  his  courage  and  determination,  granted 
his  request  and  visited  his  mother.  Some  of  the  conversations 
described  between  Napoleon  and  Josephine  well  describe  the 
private  life  of  the  Emperor. 

January  29.  I  sat  to  Hortense  for  my  portrait.  She  did 
not  read  the  Memoirs  to  me,  but  was  very  agreable.  She  told 
me  of  Napoleon's  having  encouraged  the  idea  that  her  eldest 
son  was  by  him,  as  meaning  to  make  him  his  heir  ;  he  thought 
it  would  make  it  popular  with  the  army.  She  says  Napoleon 
always  doubted  his  own  powers  of  begetting  a  child,  and  that 


1828  265 

he  confided  his  fear  to  his  sister  Caroline,  who  (obliging  lady) 
procured  for  him  a  jeune  personne,  who  soon  became  with  child, 
but  as  Napoleon  discovered  Murat  had  visited  her  he  would  not 
believe  the  child  was  his.  When,  in  1809,  in  Poland,  he  had 
an  intrigue  with  a  lady  who  was  really  in  love  with  him.  She 
came  to  him  afterwards  to  Vienna  and  lived  quite  secluded.  It 
was  her  grossesse  that  satisfied  him  of  his  own  power,  and  made 
him  resolve  to  divorce  Josephine  and  marry  for  the  sake  of 
forming  a  dynasty.1 

I  drove  about  the  town  alone.  At  half-past  5,  when  it  was 
quite  dark,  I  went  with  Ly  C.  to  St  Peter's.  We  were  alone  in 
the  church,  to  which  we  gained  admittance  with  some  difficulty. 
It  was  very  imposing  and  grand.  The  only  lights  were  the 
glimmering  tapers  round  the  shrine  ;  and  this  vast  pile  looked 
gloomy  and  awful,  which,  as  the  light  streams  in  unobscured  by 
painted  glass  from  so  many  windows,  it  never  does  by  daylight. 
I  dined  at  Mrs  Cheney's,  and  went  to  Laval's  costume-ball,  where 
I  staid  till  nearly  2.  The  Blessingtons  there  gorgeously  dressed 
as  Turks  ;  Ly  B.,  however,  looked  like  one  of  her  profession. 

Jan.  30,  Wednesday.  I  sat  to  Hortense  for  my  portrait. 
She  read  to  me  a  good  deal  of  her  Memoirs,  which  were  very 
interesting  as  they  were  about  her  marriage.  She  is  anxious  not 
to  censure  her  husband's  conduct,  which  arose,  she  says,  from  the 
unhappy  natural  disposition  he  has  to  doubt  everybody  and 
everything,  and  from  his  suspicious  mistrust  even  of  those  he 
likes.  She  gives  him  credit  for  some  very  essential  good  qualities, 
and  says  his  turn  of  mind  makes  him  more  miserable  than  it 
is  possible  to  conceive  and  entirely  prevents  his  knowing  what 
love  or  friendship  mean.  I  drove  out  alone.  D'Orsay  joined 
me  in  the  Villa  Borghese  and  rode  by  the  side  of  my  gig.  It 
was  a  charming  day.  I  afterwards  went  to  a  sale  of  books  in 
the  Corso,  where  I  bought  some  books  that  I  did  not  want  but 
which  seemed  cheap.  I  dined  at  the  Blessingtons'  and  passed 
the  evening  with  Ed  Cheney. 

Jan.  31.  Wrote  to  Charles  and  Mary.  I  sat  to  Hortense, 
who  read  to  me  some  more  of  her  Memoirs.  She  read  to  me  the 
account  I  was  anxious  to  hear  of  the  birth  of  her  first  child. 

1  The  reference  is  to  the  birth  of  Alexandre  Florian,  Count  Walewski, 
French  Ambassador  in  England,  1851-4. 


266         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

According  to  the  narration  she  knew  nothing  of  the  scandalous 
reports  against  her  till  long  afterwards.  Napoleon  encouraged 
them,  she  says,  from  vanity  and  from  political  reasons. 

Saturday,  February  2.  In  the  morning  I  walked  out  alone. 
I  called  on  Miss  Monson,  whom  I  found  at  home  owing  to  illness. 
She  was  agreable  and  ladylike.  Her  gossipings  and  old-maidisms 
have  always  given  me  a  prejudice  against  her,  but  I  was  rather 
won  by  the  softness  of  her  manner.  I  then  drove  and  walked 
with  Lady  Westmorland  in  the  Villa  Borghese.  She  is  in  a 
great  state  of  indignation  at  Laval's  receiving  Lady  Blessington. 
Her  language  on  the  subject  is  more  vehement  than  proper, 
and  Laval  is  the  object  of  her  actual  contempt.  She  is  very 
proud  of  an  answer  of  her's  to  him,  when  he  said  (speaking  of 
Lady  Mary  Lindsay  Crawford,  who  invites  all  the  great  people 
in  the  town  to  dinner  without  any  previous  acquaintance), 
"  Elle  nous  traite  comme  la  Providence  ;  elle  nous  donne  a 
manger  sans  nous  connaitre."  "  Pardonnez  moi,  Monseigneur," 
she  replied,  "  ce  que  vous  dites  n'est  pas  juste.  Peutetre  vous  ne 
connaissez  pas  la  Providence,  mais  la  Providence  vous  connait." 
I  dressed  at  E.  Cheney's  and  dined  at  Lady  Compton's,  where 
after  dinner  I  was  seized  with  most  violent  convulsions  and  sick- 
nesses. I  slept  on  the  sofa  in  her  drawing-room,  and  was  not 
quiet  till  4  o'clock. 

Feb.  3.  Edward  Cheney,  who  was  present  during  all  my 
illness  yesterday,  insisted  also  upon  staying  and  passed  the  night 
on  another  sofa.  His  affection  and  friendship  for  me  is  daily, 
and  indeed  hourly,  dearer  and  dearer  to  me,  and  I  have  in  that 
one  of  the  greatest  comforts  of  my  existence.  My  day  was, 
like  that  of  all  invalids,  passed  in  a  state  of  languid  cheerfulness, 
which  is  most  fatiguing  when  every  one  is  striving  to  be  kind 
and  agreable  and  one  feels  neither  strength  nor  inclination  to 
appear  amused.  I  always  feel  so  guilty  of  ingratitude  and  also 
fear  so  much  of  either  awakening  unnecessary  alarms  or  falling 
under  the  imputation  of  affectation,  if  I  protect  myself  from 
being  amused  under  the  pretence  of  illness,  that  I  always  yield 
with  as  much  patience  as  I  can. 

Thursday,  Feb.  7.  I  dined  alone  and  went  in  the  evening 
with  Edward  to  Lady  C.'s,  where  I  found  Mrs  Colyar.  Ly  West, 
is  very  busy  in  making  war  upon  Laval  for  receiving  Ly  Blessing- 


1828  267 

ton.  She  wants  the  English  ladies  to  refuse  going  to  his  house  in 
a  body.  I  afterwards  went  to  Ly  Blessington's,  where  I  found  Mrs 
Dodwell,  Mortier,  Cap*  d'Este,  Esterhazy,  Valdes.  The  conver- 
sation was  frivolous  and  vulgar.  Ly  B.  had  the  good  taste  to 
tell  with  indignation  the  story  of  a  Mrs  Fletcher  at  Florence 
forcing  her  way  into  society,  in  the  same  manner  she  is  doing 
here — quite  a  counterpart  to  her  own  adventures.  The  polite- 
ness of  her  guests  could  hardly  prevent  them  from  laughter. 

Feb.  8.  I  called  on  the  Miss  Monsons  and  then  drove  with 
Ly  West,  to  the  Arco  Scuro,  where  she  lectured  me  upon  the 
impropriety  of  going  to  the  Casa  Blessington.  Laval,  she  says, 
has  invited  Ly  B.  to  his  parties  to  degrade  the  English  nobility 
and  bring  about  a  revolution  in  England,  in  order  that  a  similar 
misfortune  may  not  occur  in  France.  It  seems  a  strange  way 
to  prevent  it.  She  quite  raved,  and  talked  frantic  nonsense. 

Feb.  9.  Today  is  the  first  day  of  the  Carnival.  I  dined 
at  Ly  C.'s  and  went  to  a  ball  at  the  Prince  de  Montfort's.  His 
house  is  certainly  the  best  mounted  and  most  princely  looking 
establishment  at  Rome.  His  manners  are  agreable,  and  his  wife 
does  the  honors  with  great  good-humour  and  dignity.  Hortense 
was  there,  bedizened  with  tinsel  flowers  and  jewels,  dancing 
with  grace  but  too  much  gaiety  and  childishness  for  a  fallen 
Queen,  already  somewhat  passee,  and  with  much  to  make  her 
graver  and  more  sober  in  her  amusements.  Home  at  12. 

Feb.  10.  Ld  F.  Bentinck  died  this  morning,  after  lingering 
for  a  week  subsequent  to  an  attack  so  violent  that  for  some  time 
he  was  thought  actually  dead.  I  dined  at  Mrs  Cheney's,  where  I 
met  Gaetani,  D.  of  Caserta  and  Mr  Scott.  The  former  is  clever 
but  sarcastic  and  malicious,  which  always  makes  me  hesitate 
to  believe  in  talent,  since  a  reputation  for  wit  is  in  the  power  of 
every  fool  who  chooses  to  be  spiteful. 

Monday,  Feb.  n.  In  the  morning  I  went  masked  with  T.  G. 
in  the  Corso  and  pelted  sugar-plums. 

Friday,  Feb.  15.  Edward  dined  with  me  tete-a-tete  and  we 
went  to  Ly  C.'s  masquerade  dressed  as  children,  and  then  in 
dominos.  First  I,  then  Edward,  attacked  Ly  Sandwich  in  Ly 
Westmorland's  voice  and  puzzled  her  extremely.  Ly  W.  was 
there  herself  fresh  from  Palo,  where  she  has  been  in  solitude  for 
a  week.  She  stayed  till  2  in  the  morning  talking  and  eating, 


268         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

both  of  which  she  did  in  excess,  having  lived  for  a  week  in  silence 
and  24  hours  without  food.  Home  late.  Hortense  was  there  in 
domino. 

Feb.  16.  I  went  dressed  as  an  old  woman  to  Hortense's 
ball,  which  was  very  pretty.  Ly  Blessington  uninvited,  though 
Hortense  had  foolishly  granted  permission  for  two  unknown 
masks  to  come,  had  the  effrontery  to  force  herself  upon  the 
society.  I  hate  harshness  to  a  woman  for  such  venial  misde- 
meanours, but  if  ever  there  was  an  occasion  to  be  harsh,  it  is 
upon  a  woman  of  Ly  Blessington's  trade,  who,  having  persuaded 
a  drivelling  drunkard  to  marry  her,  dishonours  him  and  makes 
the  future  misery  of  his  young  daughter  by  sacrificing  her  at 
15  years  old  to  a  worthless  adventurer,  whom,  as  the  husband 
of  this  poor  child,  she  may  contrive  to  keep  in  the  house  on 
the  score  of  relationship.  It  is  one  of  the  basest  and  most 
barbarous  transactions  I  ever  knew. 

Sunday,  Feb.  17.  I  got  up  very  late  as  I  was  tired  to  death, 
and  drove  with  Ly  C.  to  Cecilia  Metella.  She  was  not  in  an  agreable 
vein,  but  was  acting  a  part  all  the  way.  I  hate  insincerity  and 
affectation,  and  am  always  provoked  when  I  find  it  in  the  actions 
of  those  I  esteem  and  value.  I  dined  with  T.  G.  She  was 
agreable  and  looked  very  well.  She  has  many  defects,  and 
every  minute  betrays  the  defect  of  a  decent  education,  but  she 
has  many  merits.  Her  frankness  and  sincerity  are  unparalleled 
among  all  the  women  I  have  ever  known,  and  her  affectation 
(for  affected  she  is,  and  perhaps  the  only  Italian  that  is  so)  arises 
from  trying  in  society  to  assume  manners  that  sit  well  on  others, 
but  to  obtain  which  she  has  never  had  opportunities,  or  during 
her  connection  with  Ld  B.  the  least  desire.  She  is  clever,  and 
has  read  more  than  I  could  have  believed.  I  was  surprized  at 
her  knowing  so  much  of  Hamlet  by  heart.  I  went  for  an  instant 
to  Ly  Mary's  supper,  but  escaped  with  Edward  when  the  company 
sat  down.  To  bed  at  12. 

Feb.  18.  Letters  in  the  morning  from  my  mother  and  aunt. 
The  former  still  pretends  to  suppose  that  I  shall  avail  myself  of 
the  offer  for  Sfc  Petersburg,  though  she  well  knows  how  unlikely 
I  am  to  think  of  doing  so.  I  went  masked  with  Ed  Cheney  to 
Mrs  Barton's  ;  she  is  a  handsome,  dashing  Catholic  widow  looking 
out  for  a  husband.  I  had  some  fun  there  with  Del  Cirque  (?), 


1828  269 

Miss  Dixon,  and  Moncenigo,  who  is  just  arrived  from  Naples. 
With  Ly  C.  and  Edward  I  went  to  Hortense's  to  see  the  horses 
run.  She  was,  as  she  always  is,  very  good-natured,  but  sadly 
annoyed  at  Ly  Blessington's  impertinence  the  day  before  yesterday. 
We  dined  at  Ly  C.'s.  I  dressed  there  as  a  cat  for  Mrs  Stanley's 
ball.  It  was  hot  and  dull,  and  too  full.  I  never  succeeded  in 
seeing  the  tableaux,  which,  being  regulated  by  Ly  W.,  succeeded 
admirably  they  say.  I  went  to  Ly  C.  to  change  my  dress  and 
returned  to  the  ball  in  a  domino.  I  came  home  at  i.  Edward 
imitated  Ly  Blessington  in  a  domino  like  that  she  wore  on 
Saturday,  and  teazed  Ly  Sandwich.  This  succeeded  to  admira- 
tion and  deceived  the  bystanders.  He  much  provoked  Ly  S., 
though  she  was  rather  pleased  by  Ly  B.  singling  her  out  as  the 
object  of  attack. 

Feb.  19.  The  Comptons,  Clephanes,  Lady  M.  Deerhurst,  Mrs 
Jenks,  Miss  Daniel,  Colyars,  Petre,  Garlies,  Seymour,  Hope, 
John  Gale  and  Cheneys,  spent  the  whole  day  with  me  to  see  the 
pelting  and  the  moccoletti.  The  latter  is  the  most  beautiful 
illumination  in  the  world,  formed  by  every  one  holding  a  light 
in  their  hands  through  the  whole  Corso.  The  effect  is  beautiful. 
My  visitors  went,  after  having  eat  a  dinner  that  called  itself  a 
breakfast,  and  I  went  to  bed  at  9  o'clock  dead  tired.  Carnival 
over. 

Saturday,  23  Feb.  I  went  to  Edward,  to  whom  I  gave  a  Bac- 
chus which  struck  me  as  good  at  Vescovali's,  since  I  discovered 
it  to  be  his  birthday.  I  dined  at  Sir  Michael  Shaw-Stewart's 
and  met  a  large  party.  Laval  was  very  proud  of  saying  that  Mr 
Brougham  spoke  for  seven  hours  in  the  H8e  of  Commons  for  the 
same  reason  Pascal  gave  for  a  long  discourse — that  he  had  not 
had  time  to  shorten  it.  Politicks  in  England  seem  in  great 
confusion,  and  it  is  perfectly  impossible  to  know  what  side  any- 
body even  pretends  to  support.  Gortchakoff  told  me  that  he 
was  at  Troppau  when  the  news  of  my  father's  violent  philippic 
reached  Alexander's  ears,1  and  that  he  thought  a  message  con- 

1  Lord  Holland's  attack  on  the  Czar  in  a  speech  in  July,  1821,  caused 
Princess  Lieven,  the  Russian  Ambassadress,  to  discontinue  her  visits  to 
Holland  House.  (See  ante,  p.  94.)  Holland  declined  to  modify  his  words  at 
the  suggestion  of  Lord  William  Russell,  who  wrote  a  fortnight  later  that  he 
was  looked  upon  on  the  Continent,  "  as  a  leveller,  sanguinary,  monarch- 
dethroning  savage." 


270         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

veyed  to  him  from  George  IV  was  clever.  The  Kg  lamented 
that  any  subject  of  his  should  have  censured  H.I.M.  so  strongly, 
and  the  more  so  did  he  regret  that  it  was  an  individual  who 
had  been  particularly  honoured  by  civilities  from  H.M.,  while 
he  was  in  England.  The  Regent  never  forgave  Alexander's 
popularity  while  in  London,  or  the  attentions  he  paid  to  the 
Liberal  party,  whose  opinions  he  pretended  at  that  time  to  hold. 
Gortchakoff  is  clever,  but  is  a  puppy  and  spoiled  by  fashionable 
fine  ladies  in  London,  whose  jargon  he  talks.  I  went  in  the 
evening  to  Lady  C.  and  slept  there. 

Feb.  24.  A  most  violent  storm  of  hail  and  thunder  during 
the  night,  which  made  the  bright  sunshine  in  the  morning  doubly 
refreshing.  I  went  down  to  Montignori  and  bargained  for  his 
villa,  which  at  last  I  obtained  for  80  scudi  for  3  months,  begin- 
ning from  tomorrow.1  I  drove  with  Edward  and  his  brother  to 
look  at  it.  The  day  was  delicious  and  very  mild.  I  dined  at 
Lady  Sandwich's.  Miss  d'Este,  next  to  whom  I  sat,  talked  with 
feeling  of  Lady  C.  Stopford.  She  seemed  to  feel  deeply  her 
dreadful  state,  and  yet  to  make  no  parade  or  ostentatious  display 
of  affectionate  anxiety.  I  was  surprized  that  such  a  hackneyed 
rouged  London  miss  should  feel  at  all,  and  still  more  surprized 
that  she  did  not  make  all  the  company  aware  of  the  softness  of 
her  heart  or  the  tenderness  of  her  disposition.  To  Ly  C.'s  after- 
wards. Dull  evening.  Edward  came.  Ly  C.  theatrical. 

Feb.  26.  In  the  morning  I  called  upon  Hortense,  who  would 
not  receive  me,  as  she  was  in  bed  with  a  crise  nerveuse  owing  to 
300  consecutive  sneezes  in  the  course  of  the  night.  I  passed  the 
morning  with  Ed  Cheney  ;  dressed  at  my  house  and  dined  at 
Mrs  Cheney's,  where  I  met  Lady  Compton,  Sir  Wm  Gell,  Gaetani, 
Garlies,  Mr  and  Mrs  Colyar.  The  dinner  was  agreable.  After 
dinner  I  went  with  Edward  for  a  few  minutes  to  the  Blessingtons, 
where  I  found  a  Dr  Moon  (?),  who  is  just  come  from  Egypt,  and 
was  dressed  up  in  a  rich  Bedouin  Arab  costume,  but  which  went 
very  ill  with  his  coarse  northern  features.  Lady  B.  told  me 
(she  said  for  my  consolation)  that  he  had  attended  the  last 
moments  of  Mr  Salt,  the  Consul,  who  had  suffered  from  attacks 
similar  to  mine,  which  had  baffled  the  skill  of  all  doctors  ;  but 
that  after  his  death  an  examination  took  place,  and  it  was 
1  It  was  situated  between  the  Porta  Pia  and  the  Porta  San  Lorenzo. 


1828  271 

discovered  that  his  spleen  had  diminished  to  an  incredibly  small 
size.  We  returned  to  Mrs  Cheney's  and  found  the  same  party 
there. 

Saturday,  March  i.  Received  a  less  cross  letter  from  my 
mother,  and  another  agreable  one  from  my  aunt,  full  of  politicks. 
It  still  seems  doubtful  if  the  D.  of  Wellington  will  be  able  to 
keep  the  Gfc  together  as  it  is  now.  I  went  to  Hortense,  whom  I 
found  recovered.  She  talked  a  little  sentiment  to  me  previous 
to  resuming  the  lecture  of  her  Memoirs,  which  was  rather  necessary, 
since  they  left  off  at  the  critical  moment  where  she  announced 
to  the  reader  her  having  to  combat  with  the  passion  of  love,  of 
which  contest  she  means  to  give  a  faithful  recital.  Effectively 

there  is  a  detailed  account  of  her  affection  for  M.  de ,  which  I 

conclude  of  course  is  Flahault ;  their  first  interviews  ;  Caroline's 
jealousy  of  her  and  her  determination  to  carry  him  off,  in  which 
for  a  time  she  appears  to  have  partly  succeeded.  There  is  also 
a  detailed  account  of  Napoleon's  love  for  Me  de  Neuchatel,  and 
of  Josephine's  distress.  When  Hortense  reproached  the  Emperor 
for  his  conduct  to  her  mother,  he  was  at  first  angry,  but  at  last 
convinced,  and  said,  "  Eh  bien,  je  vois  que  quoique  je  suis  bien 
grand  dans  les  grandes  choses,  je  suis  bien  petit  dans  les  petites." 
Nothing  could  be  truer  of  his  character  ;  and  there  never  existed 
a  character  more  marked  by  transcendent  qualities  and  petty 
meannesses.  When  the  Pope  came  to  Paris  the  enthusiasm  for 
him  was  so  great,  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  believe  that 
in  the  same  town  so  short  a  time  before  all  religion  had  been 
abolished  by  law.  Crowds  flocked  to  him  when  he  was  lodged 
in  the  Pavillion  de  Flore  in  the  Thuilleries.  No  one  refused  to 
prostrate  themselves  as  he  passed,  except  one  young  man  ;  upon 
seeing  which  the  Pope  stopped,  and  said  to  him,  "  Croyez-moi, 
jeune  homme,  la  benediction  d'un  vieillard  ne  peut  jamais  nuire." 
The  young  man  was  ashamed  of  his  resistance,  and  sank  upon 
his  knees  to  solicit  what  three  minutes  before  he  despised.  Her 
second  son  was  christened  by  the  Pope — a  favor  not  accorded  to 
any  others  of  the  family,  which  of  course  produced  much  jealousy 
and  division  between  her  and  the  others.  Louis'  conduct 
towards  her  was  that  of  a  man  whose  understanding  is  not  quite 
right.  His  jealousy  was  enough  to  inspire  a  woman  with  the 
wish  to  deserve  it,  and  whether  she  deserved  it  or  not,  his  behaviour 


272         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

was  not  likely  either  to  win  her  affection  or  intimidate  her  from 
seeking  for  tenderness  from  some  other  man  as  he  showed  her 
none. 

Monday,  March  3.  Mr  Calcott, l  who  is  just  come  from  Naples, 
called  upon  me ;  he  gave  a  melancholy  account  of  the  weather 
and  gaiety  there  during  the  Carnival.  Mr  Uwins  2  during  the 
Carnival  drove  out  with  his  family.  A  little  girl  who  was  in 
the  carriage  threw  a  nosegay  into  the  royal  carriage  ;  they  were 
immediately  arrested  and  taken  to  prison.  It  required  a  great 
deal  of  interest  and  difficulty  to  obtain  permission  for  their 
liberation.  However  the  name  of  Acton  still  retains  enough 
interest  at  court  to  carry  through  such  a  mighty  regulation 
successfully. 

4  March.  With  Edward  I  took  a  delicious  drive.  He  sat 
with  me  a  little,  and  then  I  sallied  out  again  to  enjoy  this  heavenly 
day  on  the  Monte  Pincio,  where  I  was  joined  by  Sir  Michael 
Shaw-Stewart 3  and  my  Lady.  They  both  have  a  little  sort  of 
Birmingham  talent,  but  are  striving  to  be  fashionable  and  give 
themselves  airs.  I  dined  at  Mrs  Cheney's.  Met  a  large  party 
of  English,  Comptons,  Monkhouses,  Lady  Orkney  and  her  niece, 
Miss  Hoare.  It  was  dull  and  very  long,  as  all  great  dinners 
must  ever  be.  I  went  for  a  few  minutes  to  Laval's,  which  was 
not  full  or  gay.  Me  de  Meron  is  returned  and  wears  the  same 
juvenile  attire.  I  slept  for  the  first  time  at  my  villa  ;  it  is 
extremely  pretty  and  not,  as  I  feared,  cold. 

Thursday,  6  March.  No  letters,  thank  God  !  I  passed  the 
morning  with  Edward,  and  dressed  and  dined  there.  I  met  the 
Comptons,  Mr  Eastlake  and  Mr  and  Mrs  Calcott ;  the  latter  I 
was  curious  to  hear  talk,  but  unfortunately  she  was  ill  and  too 
oppressed  to  display.  She  is  the  Mrs  Graham  who  has  published 
books  on  India  and  America.  Her  works  I  have  not  read  ;  but 
I  believe  they  are  unfeminine  and  abusive.  I  went  after  dinner 

1  Augustus  Wall  Callcott  (1779-1844),  painter,  and  R.A.  in  1810.     He 
married,  in  1828,  Maria  Dundas  (1785-1842).     She  was  previously  married 
to  Captain  Thomas  Graham,  R.N.,  and  was  the  author  of  various  books 
of  travel  and  history. 

2  Thomas  Uwins  (1782-1857),  the  painter  ;    later  Royal  Academician 
and  Keeper  of  the  National  Gallery. 

3  Sir  Michael  Shaw-Stewart,  sixth  Baronet  (1788-1836),  married  Eliza 
Mary,  daughter  of  Robert  Farquhar,  in  1819. 


1828  273 

to  Lady  Westmorland's,  where  I  was  obliged  to  act  in  one  of  the 
tableaux.  The  subject  was  the  5'°  Cecilia  of  Rafael,  at  Bologna. 
Miss  Daniel  was  the  Saint,  and  looked  beautiful  in  her  dress. 
Being  a  performer  myself  I  was  quite  unable  to  judge  of  the 
effect,  but  I  should  think  it  was  on  the  whole  good.  The  scene 
behind  the  scenes  was  dreadfully  tedious,  and  a  sad  exhibition 
of  vanity  and  ill-humour.  I  was  greatly  tired,  but  went  to  make 
a  painful  visit  at  12  o'clock,  which  did  not  on  the  whole  answer 
very  well.  Hail  and  snow  fell  at  night. 

March  7.  Today  is  my  birthday  ;  I  am  26.  I  was  delighted 
in  the  morning  by  presents  and  a  most  affectionate  note  from 
dear  Edward.  His  friendship  for  me  and  his  manner  of  show- 
ing it  on  great  and  small  occasions  are  among  the  few  treasures 
that  make  me  forget  the  other  annoyances  and  distresses  I 
have  retrospectively  and  prospectively  to  struggle  with.  Lady 
Compton  sent  me  also  a  nosegay  and  a  Madonna.  She  insisted 
upon  my  going  with  her  to  a  church,  so  we  went  together  to 
S1  Peter's.  It  was  during  vespers  ;  we  did  not  enter  the  chapel, 
but  heard  the  music  from  a  distance.  The  effect  is  very  good. 
The  church  was  full.  It  is  the  proof,  I  fear,  of  a  little  mind 
to  have  the  feeling  of  religion  more  exalted  by  witnessing  the 
magnificent  results  of  human  devotion,  instead  of  adoring 
the  Almighty  at  the  sight  of  his  own  works  only  ;  but  I  own 
I  feel  the  influence  of  solemnity  and  pomp  so  strongly,  that  I 
cannot  conceive  any  abstract  religion,  from  whence  all  external 
demonstrations  are  expunged,  being  sincere  or  lively.  I  dined 
at  Ly  Compton 's  with  Edward.  In  the  evening  we  went  to 
Hortense.  She  talked,  as  she  always  does  before  strangers,  of 
her  Swiss  villa  and  was  tiresome  about  it,  the  Gde  D88e  de  Baden 
and  the  Lake  of  Constance. 

March  8.  I  drove  out  to  the  Borghese  garden  where  I  met 
T.  G.,  and  with  her  I  went  to  Sfc  Peter's.  She  disgusts  me  with 
her  total  want  of  delicacy  of  manner  or  feeling,  but  her  heart  is 
good,  and  her  talents  very  superior  to  what  I  first  supposed  them 
to  be.  The  last  two  years  she  has  passed  in  the  world  have  done 
her  good  and  rendered  her  more  like  other  people.  I  received  a 
letter  in  the  morning  from  my  aunt  and  one  from  my  mother. 
The  latter  tells  me  that  the  D.  of  Wn  is  said  to  have  excused 
himself  for  allowing  Huskisson  to  remain  in  the  Cabinet,  when 

s 


274         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

reproached  for  doing  so  by  some  rank  Tory,  "  Oh  !  he  is  a 
very  good  bridge  for  rats  to  run  over."  I  cannot  help  thinking 
this  has  been  said  for  him  ;  for  it  seems  to  me  too  witty  for 
His  Grace.  I  dined  with  the  Cheneys,  and  in  the  evening  went 
for  a  very  short  time  to  Funchal's  assembly,  which  was  not 
full  enough  to  warm  the  rooms.  A  bitter  cold,  windy  day — 
tramontana. 

Sunday,  March  9.  Several  visitors  came  to  see  my  villa, 
Comptons,  Clephanes,  Cheneys,  Calcotts,  Mrs  Dalton,  Miss 
Swinburne,  Lady  Westmorland.  Though  it  was  a  cold  day  and 
very  windy,  it  went  off  better  than  I  expected.  I  drove  after- 
wards with  \j  W.  to  a  villa  on  the  road  to  Civita  Vecchia,  which 
she  thinks  of  taking.  She  talked  much  on  the  Catholic  religion, 
to  which  she  is  daily  becoming  more  and  more  converted.  How- 
ever she  says,  "  God  must  manifest  himself  more  plainly.  I 
cannot  fight  his  battle  any  more.  There  must  be  another 
Incarnation.  I  have  said,  *  God  manifest  yourself.'  I  have  done 
all  I  can  do  for  the  cause  of  virtue ;  God  must  complete  the  work." 
We  talked  about  confession.  She  told  me  of  an  event  here 
three  months  ago,  of  which  I  had  never  heard  the  least  report, 
and  which  is,  I  believe,  very  carefully  concealed.  The  Confessor 
of  the  old  Queen  of  Spain  x  was  seized  with  all  his  papers  in  the 
middle  of  the  night,  sent  down  guarded  to  Civita  Vecchia,  and 
there  shipped  into  a  Spanish  vessel  that  had  been  waiting  for 
that  express  purpose  above  a  month.  It  is  supposed  he  is 
accused  of  having  revealed  some  of  her  Majesty's  confessions, 
and  that  Ferdinand  has  demanded  of  the  Pope  the  punishment 
of  such  an  enormous  crime  instead  of  leaving  him  to  the  tardy 
justice  of  the  Roman  ecclesiastical  court,  which  the  Pope  has 
been  weak  enough  to  permit. 

I  dined  at  Funchal's,  where  I  arrived  after  the  numerous 
company  had  sat  down  to  dinner.  I  got  a  place  between  a  little, 
black,  pert,  giggling  Italian  and  a  very  pretty  English  woman, 
Mrs  Lockhart.  The  former  giggled  and  chattered  with  underbred 
freedom  about  the  company  and  their  merits  and  defects,  nor 
was  it  till  the  middle  of  dinner  I  found  him  out  to  be  Funchal's 
body  violin-player,  without  whom  he  cannot  make  the  smallest 

1  Queen  Maria  Luisa  Theresa,  wife  of  Charles  IV.  She  died  in 
1819. 


1828  275 

journey  ;  for  he  says  the  harmony  this  man  alone  can  produce 
upon  the  fiddle  is  the  only  means  he  has  of  soothing  a  weak 
digestion.  Mrs  Lockhart  is  pretty,  but  too  thin  ;  her  profile 
is  something  like  that  of  the  D88  of  Hamilton. 

March  10.  From  dinner  I  went  with  Mrs  Colyar  to  be  pre- 
sented to  Lady  Elinor  Butler.1  She  has  no  remains  of  beauty, 
and  talks  with  a  strong  Irish  brogue ;  her  melancholy  position 
has  obliged  her  to  read  a  great  deal,  and  she  seems  well  in- 
formed and  is  lively. 

Tuesday,  March  n.  I  dined  with  Edward  at  Lady  Mary's. 
We  met  Petre,  Dodwell,  Putbus,  Mills  and  Mr  Hobhouse.  The 
conversation  was  filthy  at  dinner,  enough  to  be  disgusting. 
Lady  Mary's  mind  has  been  rendered  sadly  gross  by  the  horrid 
company  in  which  she  has  been  ever  accustomed  to  live  ;  and 
the  want  of  either  ladylike  manners  or  ladylike  feelings  prevents 
her  from  checking  this  sort  of  language.  Edward  and  I  went 
for  a  short  time  to  Lady  Compton's,  but  hearing  Lady  W.  was 
coming  we  escaped. 

March  12.  I  walked  down  to  the  Corso  with  Lady  C.,  passing 
thro'  the  Colonna  gardens  and  by  the  P.  di  Spagna.  I  went  to 
Hortense,  who  read  to  me  some  of  her  Memoirs.  There  is  a 
curious  account  of  Napoleon  sending  for  Louis  and  her  to  demand 
their  eldest  child  for  the  kingdom  of  Italy,  which  Louis  positively 
refused,  declaring  he  never  would  permit  his  child  to  be  made 
greater  than  he  was  himself.  Napoleon  flew  into  a  violent  rage  : 
vowed  that  his  family  did  everything  to  counteract  and  impede 
his  and  their  own  aggrandizement,  that  he  conquered  Europe 
with  more  facility  than  he  could  surmount  their  domestic  feuds, 
and  that  if  the  whole  fabric  he  was  trying  to  construct  fell  to 
pieces,  it  would  be  more  owing  to  their  childish  etiquettes,  which 
prevented  a  general  system  of  union,  than  to  the  efforts  of  their 
enemies.  He  dismissed  them  both,  without,  however,  having 
extorted  from  Louis  the  consent  he  desired  ;  and  Eugene  was 
made  King  of  Italy  instead.  There  was  also  much  about  the 
attachment  for  M.  de  -  — ,  and  his  generous  conduct  in  avoid- 
ing everything  to  compromise  or  distress  her.  Her  visit  to 

1  Youngest  daughter  of  John,  seventeenth  Earl  of  Ormonde.  She 
married,  in  1808,  Viscount  Lismore,  a  marriage  which  was  dissolved  in 
1826.  She  died  at  Sorrento  in  1859. 


2j6         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Boulogne  during  the  time  the  flotilla  was  preparing  against 
England  is  very  well  described,  and  she  says  she  could  not  look 
at  that  ocean,  "  qui  pourra  bientot  engloutir  I' elite  des  deux  plus 
grandes  nations  de  I' Europe  sans  emotion."  I  dined  with  T.  G. 
tete-a-tete.  She  was  by  way  of  being  playful  and  infantine. 
The  evening  I  passed  with  E.  Cheney,  who  seemed  suffering  very 
much. 

March  13.  I  received  letters  from  home  that  distressed  me. 
I  cannot  bear  the  idea  of  returning  to  England,  but  I  cannot 
divest  myself  of  all  reproach  in  remaining  so  long  away  from 
those  I  do  so  tenderly  love  as  I  do  my  mother  and  family.  I 
staid  with  E.  Cheney  all  morning.  I  dined  with  his  mother, 
and  met  only  M.  Griffi  and  a  little  Welsh  Augustin  monk — simple 
and  cheerful  as  all  recluses  are.  I  went  to  Hortense's  ball  and 
concert,  for  such  it  was  alternatively.  In  the  great  room  hangs 
a  fine  specimen  of  Gobelin  tapestry  framed  as  a  picture.  It 
represents  Napoleon  on  horseback.  It  is  so  admirably  executed, 
that  till  to-day  I  never  discovered  it  to  be  tapestry.  On  my  return 
to  my  villa  I  found  two  letters  that  agitated  me  very  much; 
one  from  Me  Wonsowicz,  the  other  from  her  daughter.  r<  Votre 
cceur  est  peut-£tre  change,  mais  vous  saurez  apprecier  Tattache- 
ment  qui  dicte  ces  paroles  en  depit  de  tous  les  obstacles.  Vous 
me  punissez  cruellement  par  votre  long  silence  de  vous  avoir 
cause  un  instant  de  peine.  Ne  me  trahissez  pas  ;  on  ignore 
ma  demarche.  Si  vous  £tes  heureux,  oubliez-moi." 

How  often  must  I  hope,  despair,  resent,  regret, 
Conceal,  disdain  ;    do  all  things  but  forget. 

Sunday,  March  16.  Happily  the  day  was  fine,  as  I  had 
invited  several  people.  I  was  sadly  annoyed,  however,  by  the 
unexpected  and  unrequested  visit  T.  G.  made  me.  I  dreaded 
her  having  the  rudeness  to  remain,  but  fortunately  I  scared  her 
away  in  time.  Edward  came  to  me  first,  and  walked  about  with 
me  till  my  visitors  arrived.  The  first  was  Me  de  Meron,  looking 
wonderfully  well  and  of  course  admirably  dressed.  The  Dallas' 
Lady  M.  Ross,  Ly  I.  Chabot,  and  others  came  before  Hortense 
arrived.  She  was  extremely  amiable  and  gracious  to  all  my 
guests,  and  behaved  so  tenderly  and  kindly  to  poor  Mrs  Barfield 
that  I  did  not  regret  at  all  her  unexpected  visit.  The  Comptons 


1828  277 

and  Cheneys  came  late,  and  my  party  lasted  longer  than  I 
expected. 

March  17.  Edward  and  I  went  over  to  Frascati.  We 
returned  by  Grotta  Ferrata  and  dined  at  Hortense's,  where  we 
only  met  M.  and  Madame  Dufresne.  She  is  a  handsome  woman 
with  dark  eyes.  He  seems  well-informed  and  intelligent.  The 
conversation  turned  upon  pronunciation.  Hortense  attacked  the 
Paris  vulgarity  of  pronouncing  the  words  meilleur,  tailleur, 
meyeur,  tayeur,  to  which  M.  D.  pleaded  guilty.  Her  establishment 
is  very  small  and  simple  ;  there  is  nothing  to  denote  splendour, 
past  or  present,  but  it  is  well  mounted  and  good.  After  dinner 
we  went  to  Prince  Louis' x  bedroom,  a  handsome  square  room 
full  of  pictures  and  books.  It  is  adjoining  to  the  great  room, 
and  is  nearly  as  handsome.  He  is  an  amiable,  good-humoured 
young  man,  but  his  ugliness  and  the  peculiarity  of  his  position, 
which  prevents  his  mixing  in  general  society  and  gives  him 
manners  that  from  awkwardness  are  not  liant,  prevent  the  first 
impression  being  agreable.  In  the  evening  to  Ly  M.  Ross's  ball, 
Sfc  Patrick's  day. 

Wednesday,  March  19.  Breakfasted  with  Edward.  We 
walked  to  the  Capuchin  convent  to  see  the  famous  Guido.  We 
gained  admittance  to  the  cloisters,  and  were  allowed  to  find  our 
way  alone  about  the  church.  We  scrambled  over  a  railing  and 
drew  the  curtain  that  conceals  the  picture.  It  is  a  very  celebrated 
one,  representing  S.  Michael  treading  on  the  Devil's  head.  I 
never  admired  it.  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence  had  the  absurdity  to 
say  it  was  the  finest  picture  in  Rome.  It  was  a  similar  affectation 
made  Ld  Byron  profess  an  exaggerated  admiration  for  Pope. 
The  figure  is  clad  in  blue  armour,  a  red  mantle  is  flowing  behind, 
and  one  arm  is  uplifted  to  strike.  The  expression  of  the  head  is 
fine.  The  fair  hair  blown  from  the  forehead  by  the  wind  is 
finely  painted,  but  on  the  whole  I  thought  it  cold  and  unpleasing. 
The  Sacristan  arrived  and  gave  us  a  most  violent  scolding  for 
having  wandered  about  alone.  His  manners  were  cross  and  almost 
brutal.  The  monks  of  this  convent  are  famous  for  their  violence. 
Last  summer  they  had  a  great  conflict  in  presence  of  a  Capuchin 
Cardinal,  in  consequence  of  some  proposed  additional  scarcity 

1  Hortense's  third  son,  Charles  Louis  Napoleon  (1808-73),  afterwards 
Emperor  Napoleon  III. 


278         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

in  their  diet,  and  a  positive  battle  ensued.  The  military  were 
called  from  the  windows  of  the  refectory  to  surround  the  convent ; 
violent  screams  were  heard.  Some  say  five  or  six  killed,  but 
many  were  wounded  and  more  exiled  the  following  day.  The 
story  has  of  course  been  hushed  up  as  much  as  possible,  and 
therefore  many  have  been  the  exaggerations  ;  but  I  believe  a 
serious  conflict  took  place. 

We  then  went  to  the  Sciarra,  where  we  found  Hortense 
sitting  to  Mrs  Cheney  for  her  portrait.  She  insists  upon  having 
a  crown  upon  her  head  and  her  hair  frizzed,  which  will  not 
become  her  half  so  much  as  a  large  hat  or  bonnet,  but  vanity, 
vanity,  blinds  her  to  this  certain  truth.  I  drove  with  her  to  Mr 
Mills,  and  walked  about  his  lovely  garden  with  her.  He  himself 
was  out,  which  made  it  ten  times  more  agreable.  We  then 
walked  to  the  Coliseum  and  looked  at  the  unmeaning  scavo 
they  are  making  about  it.  From  thence  we  drove  to  the  Borghese, 
where  we  walked  with  T.  G.  for  above  an  hour.  Hortense  is 
very  amiable  and  puts  every  one  at  their  ease.  The  extreme 
good-nature  and  facility  of  her  character  make  one  forgive  her 
frivolities  and  childish  love  of  praise  and  admiration,  which  at 
first  provoked  one  to  discover  in  a  mind  capable  of  so  much 
reflexion  and  with  so  good  a  heart.  She  is  one  of  the  very 
few  extremely  vain  people  I  know  that  like  to  feed  and  not  to 
wound  the  vanities  of  their  neighbours.  I  bathed,  and  dined  at 
Ly  Compton's  with  Edward.  To  Lady  Mary's  in  the  evening. 
Mrs  Dodwell  was  there  looking  lovely.  That  little  duck-legged 
Dutchman,  Tropignies,  was  trying,  but  quite  in  vain,  to  make 
Mortier  jealous.  Slept  in  Corso. 

Thursday,  March  20.  In  the  morning  I  received  two  amiable 
letters — one  from  Mary,  another  from  Charles  ;  both  of  which 
I  answered.  I  spent  the  morning  at  Palazzo  Sciarra,  where 
Hortense  was  sitting  for  her  portrait  to  Mrs  Cheney.  She  was 
agreable  and  lively.  She  told  a  curious  story  of  her  grandfather, 
the  Marquis  de  Beauharnais,  who  fell  in  love  in  America  with  her 
mother's  aunt.  Both  parties  were  married ;  but  they  vowed 
eternal  love,  and  for  fifty  years  they  lived  together  like  husband 
and  wife,  except  not  residing  in  the  same  house  or  bearing  the 
same  name.  At  length  at  70  she  was  released  by  the  death  of 
her  husband,  and  they  married.  It  was  this  marriage  that  brought 


C.  LaiuUeer 


CHARLES    RICHARD    FOX 


1828  279 

about  Josephine's  marriage  to  the  son.  However  they  did  not 
live  long  together  ;  the  Marquis  died,  and  she  was  again  left  a 
widow.  At  the  age  of  75  or  76  she  thought  proper  to  take  another 
husband — a  man  of  40,  who  had  served  against  the  Republic  in 
the  Chouan  wars.  She  excused  herself  by  telling  Hortense  that 
for  50  years  she  had  nursed  her  grandfather,  and  in  her  old  age 
she  felt  herself  the  necessity  of  being  taken  care  of  and  kindly 
treated.  Her  third  husband  behaved  very  well  to  her,  and  is 
now  alive,  Maire  of  some  provincial  town,  pensioned  by  the 
Bonaparte  family  from  his  connection  with  them  and  rewarded 
by  the  Bourbons  for  his  services  in  the  Vendee  war. 

I  walked  about  with  H.  Cheney.  We  went  to  Tadolini's 
studio,  where  I  saw  the  bust  of  M.  Wonsowicz  and  the  bas-relief 
of  their  child's  tomb.  The  idea  of  the  latter  is  very  pretty,  but 
the  execution  is  not  good.  There  is  a  cast  of  a  Ganymede  he 
did  for  the  D.  of  Devonshire  that  struck  me  as  pretty,  and  a 
very  stumpy,  lumpy,  vulgar  Theseus  and  Ariadne  he  is  doing  for 
Mrs  Beaumont,  who  was  he  told  me  parente  del  Re  d'Inghilterra. 
I  dined  at  Mrs  Cheney's  ;  no  one  but  Miss  C.  and  Mr  Scott.  In 
the  evening  I  went  to  Lady  E.  Butler.  She  is  clever  and  amusing 
— a  little  too  Irish  to  please  me,  but  yet  agreable.  From  thence 
I  went  to  Hortense's,  where  there  was  a  small  party.  They 
played  at  Magical  Music.  A  task  is  imposed  upon  some  one 
while  he  or  she  are  out  of  the  room,  and  by  the  increased  loudness 
or  the  lowness  of  the  notes,  he  is  led  to  discover  what  is  required 
of  him.  Cortoni,  one  of  the  finest  bass  voices  in  Italy,  sang. 
I  staid  a  short  time,  and  went  away  with  Ly  C.,  who  was  suffer- 
ing from  tooth-ache.  I  received  letters  from  my  father  and 
Auguste  Potocki,  inviting  me  to  Vienna  in  August. 

March  21.  Lady  Elinor  Butler  came  to  see  me  at  my  villa, 
and  with  her  I  took  a  drive  by  S*  John  Lateran  to  the  Corso. 
Her  conversation  is  lively,  but,  as  must  be  in  the  case  of  a  woman 
so  situated,  very  egoistical.  She  is  extremely  Irish,  not  only, 
I  suspect,  in  her  accent  but  in  her  character  ;  much  flattery, 
much  apparent  openness,  a  great  deal  of  vanity,  and  extreme 
touchiness.  I  went  to  Edward,  and  with  him  I  drove  to  Ly 
Westmorland.  She  was  in  her  dressing-gown,  her  hair  about  her 
neck,  and  sadly  harassed  and  broken.  Three  days  ago  she 
received  a  most  horrible,  libellous  letter  from  d'Orsay,  threatening 


280         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

if  not  to  murder,  to  insult  and  outrage  her,  and  alluding  to  all 
the  disgusting,  malicious  reports  calumny  has,  at  various  times, 
propagated  about  her.  Much  as  she  deserves  some  punishment 
for  her  interference  in  everybody's  business,  I  cannot  but  feel 
most  deeply  her  being  exposed  to  a  similar  insult  from  such  a 
beast  as  d'Orsay.  The  letter,  of  which  she  did  not  shew  me  the 
copy  she  has  preserved,  but  out  of  which  she  repeated  some 
sentences,  is  the  most  infamous  ever  penned.  She  gave  it  last 
night  to  Laval,  and  said,  "  Cela  appartient,  Monsieur,  a  la  France 
et  pas  a  moi."  He  is  weak  and  bad,  nor  will  he  insist,  as  he  should 
do,  upon  d'Orsay  being  trundled  out  of  the  Papal  States.  I 
want  her  to  apply  directly  to  the  Pope.  I  dined  at  Lady  Mary's, 
met  as  usual  a  party  of  men,  Sir  Charles  Wentworth,  Mortier. 
In  the  evening  to  Lady  Compton's,  where  Ly  West,  came  broken 
and  oppressed  by  this  infamous  outrage.  I  cannot  bear  to  see 
her  so.  Nervous  and  irritable  as  she  is,  a  blow  of  this  sort  may 
drive  her  mad  or  even  kill  her.  I  slept  in  the  Corso. 

March  22.  At  nine  o'clock  I  set  off  with  Edward  for  Frascati. 
We  waited  some  time  at  the  Port  a  S.  Giovanni  for  Hortense  and 
T.  G.  The  day  was  very  delicious,  but  too  windy.  A  violent 
sirocco  blew  from  the  South  and  covered  us  all  the  way  with 
dust.  Hortense  drove  in  a  light  caleche  with  four  horses  ;  she 
arrived  some  time  before  us.  We  found  her  and  Me  Boudain 
Dufresne  at  the  Villa  Moncari.  In  the  gallery  there  is  a  very 
fine  bust  of  Gk  sculpture  ;  they  call  it  a  genius.  The  house  is 
gaudily  fitted  in  modern  taste.  We  mounted  on  asses  here  to 
go  to  the  Villa  Belvedere.  The  ladies  screamed  and  made 
difficulties  about  the  saddles,  and  were  alarmed  at  being  for  a 
moment  left  alone.  We  walked  over  the  whole  of  this  splendid 
Royal  Villa,  one  of  the  finest  in  Italy.  On  the  second  story 
there  is  a  very  pretty  small  theatre.  It  was  decided  that  we 
were  first  to  eat  and  then  make  our  expedition  to  Tusculum. 
Hortense  was  determined  to  be  very  rural,  and  notwithstanding 
the  high  wind  and  the  strong  sun  she  would  have  us  eat  out  of 
doors.  It  was  with  some  difficulty  I  persuaded  her  to  have  a 
table.  M.  Schnez  (?)  the  painter  and  M.  Boudain  Dufresne 
arrived  just  as  the  spot  had  been  selected  and  the  table  laid. 
Hortense  had  brought  a  very  greasy  pie  and  some  wine  with  her. 
However,  what  she  did  bring  was  soon  disposed  of,  and  the 


1828  281 

champagne  had  the  good  effect  of  enlivening  the  party.  Every 
one  before  was  trying  to  be  witty  and  cheerful,  but  no  one  felt 
so,  and  the  gaiety  was  quite  forced. 

Sunday,  March  23.  In  the  morning  Mrs  Dodwell,  the  Cheneys, 
the  Comptons,  Lady  Mary  Deerhurst,  Mortier,  Petre,  came  to 
breakfast  at  my  villa.  The  weather  was  tolerably  fine  and  it 
went  off  pretty  well.  Afterwards  I  drove  with  Edward  in  my 
gig  to  the  Villa  Borghese,  and  dressed  and  dined  at  the  Sciarra. 
I  met  the  Comptons,  Sir  Wm  Cell,  Miss  Clephane,  Miss  Swinburne. 
The  conversation  was  rather  flat.  I  went  in  the  evening  to  Lady 
Elinor  Butler.  She  was  alone  ;  we  sat  up  till  12.  Her  conversa- 
tion is  completely  about  herself  ;  she  complains  of  the  misfortunes 
of  her  life  and  narrates  with  emotion  the  shameful  conduct  of 
Mr  Bingham  with  regard  to  her,  who  in  a  cold,  unfeeling  manner 
positively  refused  to  marry  her  when  he  thought  she  only  was 
to  have  £500  a  year.  She  told  me  with  much  Irish  drollery  of 
the  various  applications  for  money  she  receives.  Valdes*  conduct 
towards  her  was  mercenary,  and  he  contrived  to  get  out  of  her 
£700.  A  thousand  scudi  were  paid  to  him  on  the  spot,  and  he 
himself  carried  them  out  of  her  house  under  his  cloak  at  night. 
How  chivalrous  !  Monsignore  Foscolo  (brother  to  the  poet) 
asked  her  for  £2,000,  which  she  refused,  though  he  modestly 
said  she  might  pay  it  by  instalments.  At  length  he  came  down 
to  200,  to  which  he  seemed  to  consider  himself  entitled,  because 
he  has  invited  her  and  been  what  he  calls  of  service  to 
her.  Lord  Blessington  describes  to  her  the  extreme  chastity  of 
each  member  of  his  family.  Ly  B.  has  a  spine  complaint,  which 
prevents  him  from  exercising  his  matrimonial  duties.  D'  Or  say 
has  not  and  will  not  consummate  his  marriage,  and  he  himself 
does  not  think  le  jeu  vaut  la  chandelle  to  make  any  search  among 
dirty  Italian  women. 

March  14.  In  the  morning  I  had  a  head-ache,  and  remained 
in  bed.  I  sent  to  Edward  to  come  to  me,  and  got  letters  from 
England,  my  mother,  Mrs  Faz.,  my  aunt  and  Charles.  Lady 
Westmorland  burst  for  an  instant  into  my  bedroom  ;  this  dreadful 
libel  has  quite  unsettled  her  very  unsettled  understanding.  She 
was  dressed  in  deep  mourning  ;  the  expression  of  her  face  was 
haggard  and  careworn,  but  wearing  the  most  ghastly  mad  smile. 
She  did  not  stay  three  minutes.  All  she  said  was  rhapsody  about 


282         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

the  Divine  interference  in  her  behalf,  which  she  says  has  manifested 
itself,  supported  her  spirits,  and  dictated  her  letters.  She  then 
abruptly  interrupted  herself,  and  said,  "  For  18  years  have  I 
suffered  persecution,  for  18  years  have  I  been  reviled,  ridiculed 
and  libelled.  Who  am  I  to  thank  for  this  ?  Lord  Westmorland. 
Had  he  a  grain  of  feeling,  a  spark  of  honor,  or  a  single  Xtian 
thought,  what  remorse  would  he  now  feel  to  see  to  what  insults 
he  has  exposed  the  woman  that  bears  his  name ; "  and,  "  Oh  God ! " 
said  she,  falling  on  her  knees  by  my  bedside  and  praying  earnestly, 
"  may  he  feel  it,  as  he  should,  bitterly  in  this  world,  but  spare  him, 
spare  him  from  remorse  and  sorrow  in  the  next."  She  then 
suddenly  sprang  from  her  knees,  and  talked  on  indifferent  subjects, 
with  the  mock  composure  of  a  maniac,  for  a  minute  before  she 
rushed  back  again  lest  our  being  together  should  be  spied  upon 
by  emissaries  from  Casa  Blessington.  Her  whole  apparition  was 
dreadful  and  alarming,  and  I  cannot  help  feeling  extreme  anxiety 
about  her. 

A  few  minutes  after  she  left  me,  Lady  Compton  came  to  ask 
me  to  set  off  with  them  at  n  to  night  for  Naples  to  see  the 
eruption,  which  they  say  has  already  begun.  I  consented. 
Five  minutes  after  T.  G.  arrived.  We  had  sad  scenes  about  my 
departure,  and  this  will  probably  put  an  end  to  a  liaison  which 
bores  me  and  does  not  satisfy  her.  She  requires  such  exclusive 
devotion,  that  I  have  neither  time  nor  love  enough  to  bestow 
upon  her.  I  dined  with  Mrs  Barfield  ;  nobody  but  her  sister. 
D'Orsay  has  shown  copies  of  his  libel  right  and  left.  I  went  to 
Lady  Elinor  for  half  an  hour  ;  our  separation  was  more  tender 
than  I  wished  or  expected.  I  left  dear  Edward  at  Lady  West's 
door  and  went  to  Ly  Compton's.  This  is  the  first  time  I  have 
been  separated  from  him  since  Genoa,  and  I  feel  the  pang  of 
separation  very  deeply.  We  were  off  at  n  in  Mrs  Clephane's 
carriage.  Three  of  us,  one  being  Lady  C.,  quite  filled  the  chaise. 
The  weather  was  dreadful ;  it  rained,  thundered,  lightened, 
hailed  before  we  reached  Albano  ;  the  road  was  full  of  others 
rushing  down  for  the  same  object.  We  had  a  courier  and  out- 
stripped them.  We  reached  Terracina  at  about  10  o'clock  in 
the  morning. 

March  26.  Naples.  It  was  not  till  late  that  I  got  up  to 
see  how  very  fruitless  our  expedition  is  likely  to  prove.  Vesuvius 


1828  283 

seems  as  I  left  it  in  July.  On  Saturday  last  it  sent  up  a  great 
deal  of  smoke,  and  there  was  a  sort  of  internal  eruption  in  the 
crater.  We  met  But  era,  Mr  Anderson  and  Mr  Stapleton.  But  era 
talked  to  us  of  Sicily.  Ly  C.  prided  herself  upon  concealing  the 
chance  of  my  going,  lest  he  should  draw  unholy  conclusions. 
She  is  not  aware  how  very  safe  her  figure  renders  her  character, 
and  how  very  unwilling  people  are  to  believe  that  she  inspires 
or  feels  the  tender  passion.  They  give  her  credit  for  being 
content  with  receiving  what  she  merits,  a  very  warm  friendship, 
from  one  to  whom  she  has  been  invariably  kind.  Butera  says 
he  has  been  offered  the  Vice-royalty  of  Sicily,  which  he  has  refused 
on  the  score  of  health,  being  unable  to  pass  the  summer  in  such 
a  climate,  and  residence  being  positively  necessary.  He  was  a 
German  adventurer  of  the  name  of  Wilding,  and  though  no  beauty 
yet  he  so  contrived  to  enamour  Psse  Butera,  that  sooner  than  not 
be  gratified  unlawfully  (which  she  went  on  her  knees  in  vain  to 
sue)  she  at  length  consented  to  acquire  a  lawful  right  to  him, 
and  by  marrying  him  made  him  one  of  the  richest  and  most 
powerful  subjects  in  Naples. 

Thursday,  March  27.  I  went  with  Lady  C.  to  the  end  of 
the  Strada  Nuova.  Every  time  I  come  to  Naples  I  admire  and 
enjoy  it  more.  We  dined  at  6.  A  Marchese  Medici  (a  Milanese, 
descended,  he  says,  from  the  Medici,  tho'  thro'  bastards)  came 
and  bored  us  a  good  deal.  He  talked  of  the  Pope  and  of  the 
Pasquinade  made  on  his  election  : — 

II  nostro  Leone 
E  un  Limone 
As  pro  du  dentro 
Giallo  du  fuori. 

I  went  with  Lady  C.  for  an  hour  to  the  Archbishop  of  Tarento. 
He  was  sitting  as  usual  surrounded  by  his  cats.  He  is  85,  but 
with  all  his  faculties,  and  full  of  benevolence  and  affection.  I 
never  saw  anybody  of  his  age  preserve  so  lively  an  interest  about 
the  passing  events  of  the  day  and  shew  such  powers  of  fresh 
enjoyment.  Instead  of  harping  like  other  old  people  upon  the 
superiority  of  all  sublunary  things  sixty  years  ago,  and  sometimes 
even  upon  the  deterioration  of  sun,  moon  and  stars,  he  appears 
pleased  with  a  rattle,  tickled  with  a  straw,  and  even  delighted  to 


284         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

see  old  friends  though  anxious  also  to  acquire  new  ones.  His 
old  age  always  makes  me  in  love  with  life,  if  one  could  hope  to 
reach  it  as  he  has  done  without  thinking  existence  a  burden 
to  the  bystanders  and  finding  it  a  suffering  to  oneself.  He  is 
beloved  by  all  that  know  or  serve  him,  and  the  mildness  of 
his  countenance  is  not  belied  by  any  selfish  meanness  of  his 
heart. 

March  29.  With  Lady  C.  I  drove,  as  the  day  was  bright,  to 
Pozzuoli,  to  see  the  Cavaliere  Monticelli  (the  learned  mineralogist) . l 
He  goes  there  for  change  of  air  whenever  it  is  the  least  cold  at 
Naples,  as  the  climate  is  so  much  milder  than  in  the  Bay  of  Naples 
itself.  He  says  the  mountain  is  at  present  tranquillized  and  that 
for  some  time  there  will  be  no  eruption,  as  the  wells  have  not 
dried  and  the  shower  of  white  ashes,  which  is  the  usual  conclusion 
of  all  eruptions,  has  fallen.  He  is  an  old  man,  very  ugly,  but  with 
rather  an  agreable  countenance,  and  he  speaks  much  better 
Italian  than  the  generality  of  Neapolitans.  I  got  letters  from 
Ly  E.  B.  and  Edward.  The  latter  was  a  great  pleasure  to  me. 
I  do  so  tenderly  love  him,  that,  feeling  as  I  do  quite  renovated  in 
health  by  coming  here,  I  pant  to  return  to  him.  I  eat,  drink, 
sleep,  and  feel  in  a  state  of  positive  enjoyment  as  to  physical 
existence  ever  since  I  arrived,  but  I  do  so  feel  the  void  of  my 
second  self's  society,  to  which  I  have  been  accustomed  daily 
and  almost  hourly  for  so  many  months,  that  I  cannot  take  any 
interest  or  feel  any  pleasure  in  all  around  me,  though  this  is 
the  place  on  earth  in  which  I  am  most  capable  of  being  happy. 
I  dined  at  home  and  passed  the  evening  with  the  Comptons. 

Sunday,  March  30.  I  went  to  see  la  Baronne  de  Delmar, 
once  the  beautiful,  the  fashionable,  the  adored  Emily  Rumbold, 2 
and  now  married  to  a  morbid  Jew,  who  is  enormously  rich  and 
who  has  married  her  for  the  purpose  of  having  an  ornamental 
nurse.  I  have  not  seen  her  for  two  years,  since  her  mother's 
death  and  her  own  marriage.  She  was  overcome  at  seeing  me. 
A  more  striking  picture  of  splendid  misery  I  never  beheld. 

1  (1759-1846) .   Italian  savant.     He  was  a  special  authority  on  Vesuvius 
and  its  eruptions. 

2  (1790-1861).     Youngest  daughter  of  Sir  George  Rumbold,  second 
Baronet.  She  married  Ferdinand,  Baron  de  Delmar.    Her  mother,  two  years 
after  Sir  George's  death  in  1807,  married  Admiral  Sir  Sidney  Smith,  and 
died  in  1826. 


1828  285 

Living  in  the  finest  house  in  the  loveliest  town  on  earth,  sur- 
rounded by  all  that  luxury  can  devise,  she  seems  wretched,  dis- 
contented and  almost  broken-hearted.  She  feels  her  marriage 
to  have  been  humiliating,  and  is  ashamed  of  herself  and  her 
husband.  I  did  not  see  him  ;  nor  did  she  even  mention  his 
name. 

I  dined  at  the  Archbishop's.  I  met  a  large  party  of  English, 
which  I  regretted,  as  it  prevents  the  old  man  from  being  at  his 
ease  and  talking  freely  on  all  subjects — Hallam,  Millingen,  Dr 
Nott.1  The  priggish  pedantry  of  the  latter  exceeded  all  I  ever 
beheld.  He  is  like  a  character  in  a  novel,  but  too  absurd  for 
real  life.  Matthias  2  was  discussed  at  dinner,  his  knowledge  of 
Italian  and  his  probable  age.  As  to  the  former,  what  the 
Arcbp  said,  is,  I  believe,  most  true,  that  it  was  a  language  he  had 
only  acquired  sul  (?),  and  that  he  could  not  converse  in  it 
or  indeed  understand  others  when  they  spoke  it.  Millingen  3 
talked  of  the  statue  called,  he  thinks  improperly,  Aristides.*  He 
supposes  it  to  be  the  statue  of  a  sophist,  from  all  the  antiquarians 
know  about  the  dress  of  the  Gk  orators  ;  the  drapery  of  this 
statue  does  not  at  all  'agree  with  what  they  know  or  think 
they  know  at  least.  After  dinner  I  drove  by  Capo  di  Monte 
to  the  Toledo.  With  Ly  Compton  I  drove  upon  the  Strada 
Nuova.  She  was,  or  thought  she  was,  sentimental,  and  I  was 
frozen.  The  moon  was  quite  clouded  and  the  March  wind 
keen. 

March  31.  Letters  from  T.  G.,  E.  B.,  Edward.  By  the 
latter  I  find  he  has  been  ill  though  he  does  not  say  so.  I  long 

1  George  Frederick  Nott  (1767-1841),  divine  and  author.     He  lived 
much  in  Italy  after  receiving  severe  injuries  from  an  accident,  in  1817, 
when  superintending  the  restoration  of  Winchester  Cathedral. 

2  Thomas  James  Mathias  (1754  ?-i835),  said  to  be  the  best  English 
scholar  in  Italian  since  Milton.     Sometime  treasurer  to  Queen  Charlotte, 
and  librarian  at  Buckingham  House. 

3  James  Millingen   (1774-1845),  archaeologist.     Originally  a  banker's 
clerk,  he  resided  in  Italy  for  many  years  before  his  death. 

4  Fox  had  previously  written  of  this  statue,  which  he  had  seen  in  the 
Studii :     "  Aristides,  at  least  the  statue  so  called,  is  as  fresh  as  the  day  it 
was  finished.     Few  statues  I  have  seen  give  me  pleasure  equal  to  that  one. 
I  know  no  head  fuller  of  poetry  and  expression.     He  seems  on  the  point 
of  making  an  oration  and  his  mind  is  full  of  the  subject  ;    nor  does  the 
expression  of  his  face  lead  one  to  imagine  he  finds  any  pleasure  in  saying 
what  he  intends." 


286         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

to  return.  The  Comptons  went  to  Pompeii.  I  drove  about  the 
shops  and  found  everything  wonderfully  dear.  I  took  a  sea-bath 
before  dinner.  This  is  the  first  fine  day  we  have  had.  The 
mountain  puffed  out  more  smoke  than  I  ever  saw  come  from  it 
before  ;  and  I  now  almost  fear  an  eruption,  or  the  threats  of 
one,  retarding  my  return  to  Edward.  We  all  dined  at  home, 
and  I  took  another  chilling,  sentimental  moonlight  drive  with 
Ly  C.  to  Capo  di  Monte. 

April  2.  We  did  not  arrive  at  Albano  till  some  time  after 
dark,  and  as  I  there  found  dear  Edward  I  renounced  all  ideas 
of  pushing  on  to  Rome,  but  slept  there.  The  Comptons  went  on 
to  Rome.  I  passed  a  most  agreable  evening  with  Edward. 
Lady  Sandwich  is  gone.  Her  indignation  against  the  Blessing- 
tons  broke  out  to  Edward  in  strong  language  before  she  left 
Rome.  "  If  things  were  called  by  their  right  names  no  one  would 
support  Ly  B.  and  d'Orsay.  If  she  was  called  the  w.  .  .  .  and 
he  the  bully  nobody  would  solicit  their  acquaintance."  Ld  B. 
the  other  day  wanted  to  be  very  civil  to  the  O  Negroni,  who  lives 
below  him,  and  before  a  large  company,  in  a  loud  voice,  he  said, 
"  Ego  non  fo  bruto  sopra  voi."  Finding  he  was  not  understood, 
he  tried  a  second  time,  and  when  that  was  equally  unsuccessful, 
he  turned  round  and  exclaimed,  "  Damn  the  fool,  he  don't 
understand  Italian." 

April  3.  Rome.  Mrs  Anderson,  a  cheery,  strapping  sort  of 
woman,  fainted  away  the  other  day  at  court  at  Naples,  and  her 
husband  assured  the  Kg  and  Qn  that  it  was  of  no  consequence, 
"  C'est  seulement  que  ma  femme  est  si  etroite."  Home  to  bed 
in  the  Corso  early.  Sir  Wm  Drummond  died  last  Saturday. 
We  heard  of  his  death  yesterday  at  Velletri. 

Friday,  April  4.  The  first  thing  in  the  morning  I  went  to 
Lady  Westmorland's,  who  read  to  me  at  length  all  the  correspon- 
dence that  passed  between  Laval  and  her  previous  to  the  reception 
of  the  libel,  and  the  long  letter  she  has  since  concocted  to  Laval 
to  answer  it.  I  was  much  surprized  at  the  mildness,  temper  and 
dignity  of  her  first  letters,  and  at  finding  upon  what  very  high 
grounds  she  stands  at  present.  Her  long  letter  is  in  some  parts 
quite  beautiful,  and  in  all  very  clever,  though  too  full  of  God  and 
the  Devil.  She  has  become  quite  calm  and  rational,  and  seems 
so  well  pleased  at  the  excellence  of  her  letter  that  she  almost 


1828  287 

forgets  the  necessity  of  punishing  the  other.  I  went  to  Ly 
Elinor  Butler  and  drove  with  her  for  an  hour.  I  dined  late  at 
Lady  Compton's,  she  having  gone  to  the  Miserere.  In  the  evening 
Edward  and  I  went  to  Lady  West.'s,  with  whom  we  staid  till 
2  o'clock.  She  read  over  again  the  whole  correspondence.  She 
was  brilliant  and  clever,  talked  much  of  her  quarrel  with  Ld  W., 
which  she  described  admirably,  and  almost  avowed  her  Catholi- 
cism. Her  conduct  has  been  very  prudent  and  very  judicious 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  business. 

April  5.  In  the  morning  I  visited  Lord  Arundel,1  to  consult 
with  him  as  to  proper  measures  to  be  taken  against  d'Orsay. 
His  conversation  and  manner  pleased  me  very  much.  The  manner 
in  which  Ly  West,  has  sent  her  long  letter  to  Laval  is  curious. 
She  gave  it  to  Bp  Baines2  to  give  to  Laval's  confessor,  which  he 
has  done  ;  and  the  confessor  seems  to  have  had  some  effect  on 
the  Ambassador's  mind.  Lord  Arundel  feels  as  few  among  the 
English  here,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  do  feel,  but  as  all  ought,  and  is 
very  desirous  something  should  be  done  to  protect  Ly  W.  from 
the  insults  of  a  ruffian.  I  went  to  E.  C.,  and  with  him  drove  to 
the  Villa  Paulina,3  near  the  Porta  Pia,  in  the  gardens  of  which 
we  loitered  about  to  enjoy  the  heavenly  day. 

We  walked  to  Ly  West.  ;  she  took  us  into  her  garden,  at  the 
end  of  which  is  the  pavilion  containing  the  famous  Aurora  by 
Guido.  We  walked  about  talking  to  her  upon  this  unfortunate 
business,  and  upon  the  unfeeling  meanness  all  the  English  have 
shewn,  not  only  in  shrinking  from  supporting  her,  but  in  their 
desire  to  prove  that  she  has  brought  the  insult  upon  herself. 
She  took  Edward  and  me  down  to  the  Sciarra,  where  I  dressed 
and  dined.  At  dinner  : — Ly  Compton,  Sir  Wm  Cell,  Selwyns, 
Garlies,  Dent,  Dallas.  The  subject  of  the  libel  was  studiously 
avoided  by  Sir  Wm  and  the  young  men,  as  they  were  anxious  not 
to  express  opinions  of  which  they  have,  I  suppose,  enough  feeling 
left  to  know  they  should  be  ashamed.  I  went  with  Ly  C.  to 

1  John  Everard,  tenth  Lord  Arundell  of  Wardour  (1785-1834),  son  of 
the  ninth  Baron,  who  died  in  1817.     He  married  Mary  Anne,  daughter  of 
George,  first  Marquess  of  Buckingham. 

2  Peter  Augustine  Baines  (1786-1843),  Roman-Catholic  bishop.      He 
was  touring  on  the  Continent  for  his  health,  and  was  often  in  Rome  between 
1827  and  1829. 

3  Now  the  Villa  Bonaparte,  opposite  to  the  British  Embassy. 


288         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Hortense.  I  found  Cottenot,1  the  handsome  French  artist  who 
used  last  year  to  do  the  honors  of  her  house,  returned  from 
Naples.  His  manner  is  very  affected  and  ridiculous,  which  is 
at  present  heightened  by  a  studious  imitation  of  d'Orsay  in  his 
square-cut  coat  and  his  shirt-sleeves  doubled  back  over  the  coat 
half-way  towards  the  elbow.  Hortense  made  him  sing  the  song 
in  Figaro,  which  he  does  very  well ;  his  voice  is  very  fine  and  his 
ear  very  just.  Out  of  civility  Hortense^  pressed  Ly  C.  to  sing, 
to  which  request  I  was  sorry  she  so  quickly  complied.  Home 
late. 

Sunday,  April  6.  I  left  my  villa  very  early  for  fear  of  another 
visit  from  Ly  E.  B.,  and  in  case  she  came  I  left  a  note  which  must 
for  ever  finish  all  like  love  between  us.  I  breakfasted  with  the 
Comptons,  and  went  with  them  in  a  broiling  sun  to  the  Piazza 
di  S.  Pietro  to  see  the  Benediction.  We  remained  in  the  carriage 
near  the  obelisk.  The  Blessingtons'  carriage  was  not  far  from 
ours.  The  family  tried  to  catch  my  eye  and  bow,  but  I  carefully 
avoided  their  recognition.  This  coup  d'oeil  is  most  imposing. 
The  appearance  of  the  Pope  carried  in  a  chair  to  the  centre 
window  over  the  Portico  produced  an  instant  silence  among  the 
assembled  multitude  below.  A  few  prayers  were  sung  by  the 
attendant  priests  ;  and  the  Pope,  lifting  up  one  hand,  blessed 
the  people  in  making  the  sign  of  the  Cross  to  the  right,  to  the  left, 
and  then  before  him.  A  single  trumpet  blew  a  shrill,  but  joyous 
blast ;  and  afterwards  more  prayers  were  chanted  by  the  priests 
for  about  a  minute,  till  the  Pope,  rising  slowly  from  his  chair 
and  lifting  up  both  his  arms  to  Heaven,  implored  a  benediction 
upon  the  Christian  world.  At  that  instant  the  music  struck 
up  from  several  military  bands  in  the  Piazza,  the  cannon  of  Sfc 
Angelo  fired,  and  the  effect  was  most  imposing.  The  beauty 
and  warmth  of  the  day  added  much  to  the  gaiety  and  splendor 
of  the  scene.  On  returning  to  the  Sciarra  Ed  found  a  note  from 
Ly  W.,  begging  him  to  go  and  take  me  with  him  out  of  town  ;  as 
by  Ly  C.'s  absurd  alarms  about  me,  which  she  has  communicated 
to  all  with  whom  she  has  conversed,  I  shall  be  the  person  marked 
out  for  the  indignation  of  d'Orsay.  I  consented  to  go  to  pacify 
her,  and  as  of  course  in  such  a  case  and  with  such  a  bullying, 

1  Perhaps  Emile  Cottenet,  actor  and  dramatic  author,  who  died  in 
1833- 


1828  289 

unworthy  antagonist,  I  feel  most  desirous  to  avoid  anything 
that  will  render  a  duel  necessary.  I  went  to  Ly  Compton  and 
reproached  her  with  her  imprudence,  which  she  denies  and  which 
I  believe  must  have  been  involuntary  and  not  intentional. 

April  7.  At  ii  o'clock  I  received  from  d'Orsay  the  following 
note,  with  a  snuff-box  I  gave  him  at  Florence  last  October  : — 

"  Je  vous  renvoye  votre  souvenir,  car  je  ne  veux  rien  garder 
qui  puisse  pour  un  instant  me  rappeler  votre  ingrate  et  fausse 
personne. 

ALFRED  D'ORSAY." 

It  took  me  some  time  to  decide  what  I  should  answer,  anxious 
as  I  am  to  avoid  a  duel  both  for  my  own  sake  and  for  Lady 
Westmorland's — a  duel  being  the  only  thing  to  restore  d'Orsay 's 
character  to  the  level  of  a  gentleman,  and  being,  I  have  no  doubt, 
his  object  in  writing  to  me.  At  length  I  wrote  as  follows  : — 

"  Je  suis  bien  aise  que  vous  m'avez  renvoye  souvenir  dont  la 
vue,  je  le  crois  bien,  doit  vous  £tre  penible.  Vous  savez  bien 
que  je  n'ai  ete  ni  faux,  ni  ingrat.  La  reconnaissance  que  je 
vous  doit  pour  vos  bontes  passees  me  fait  vivement  regretter 
votre  conduite  actuelle,  et  ma  sincerite  me  fait  exprimer  ces 
regrets. 

HENRY  EDWARD  Fox." 

T.  G.  came  after  Edward  had  been  with  me  an  hour.  We 
had  a  reconciliation.  I  dined  with  Ly  C.  at  5  o'clock.  I  called 
for  Edward,  and  took  him  with  me  to  join  the  Comptons  at  the 
Pzzo  Salviati,  where  they  had  taken  a  window  in  an  entresol  to 
see  the  girandola,  which  was  put  off  last  night  in  consequence 
of  the  Qn  of  Sardinia's  arrival  to-day.  The  effect  of  the  reflexion 
of  the  fireworks  in  the  river  was  very  beautiful,  and  I  think  this 
is  by  far  the  best  spot  to  see  them  from  in  Rome.  The  white 
light  of  the  Roman  candles  upon  the  volumes  of  smoke  was  very 
picturesque.  We  went  from  the  Salviati  to  Ly  West.,  where  we 
found  Kestner,  the  Hanoverian  Minister,  trying  fruitlessly  to 
give  utterance  to  his  confused  and  silly  ideas  either  in  French 
or  English,  though  equally  incapable  of  speaking  either  intelligibly. 


290         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

His  intentions  are  good,  but  his  mind  is  contracted  and  his  manner 
of  expressing  himself  so  imperfect  and  confused,  that  it  is  nearly 
impossible  to  comprehend  the  platitudes  he  wishes  to  convey  to 
his  auditors.  Lady  W.  treated  him  with  great  contempt,  which 
he  rather  deserved  for  the  timidity  of  his  counsels,  fearing  only 
Laval's  indignation  at  his  being  one  of  Ly  W.'s  champions. 

When  Kestner  was  gone  I  told  Ly  W.  of  d'Orsay's  note  to 
me.  There  is  scarcely  any  other  woman  on  earth  to  whom  such 
a  secret  could  be  confided  with  safety.  She,  however,  acted,  as 
I  was  sure  she  would,  with  courage  and  sense.  She  felt  that  till 
the  paper  putting  him  below  the  level  of  a  gentleman,  in  conse- 
quence of  his  letter  to  her,  was  signed  by  all  the  most  distinguished 
people  here,  my  refusing  to  fight  him  would  be  impossible. 
That  even  if  it  were  signed,  I  should  not  be  justified  in  so  doing, 
and  that  the  only  way  to  prevent  d'Orsay  recovering  his  character 
by  a  duel  is  to  keep  out  of  town,  where  he  may  find  occasion  to 
provoke  me  to  the  necessity  of  challenging  him.  She  was  pleased 
at  my  confidence  in  her,  and  not  sorry  at  the  prospect  of  une 
affaire  d'honneur,  though  chagrined  and  distressed  at  d'Orsay, 
whom  she  justly  thinks  below  the  par  of  a  gentleman,  being 
likely  to  retrieve  his  character.  Home  late  to  bed.  M.  Sfc  Priest 
shot  himself  yesterday  at  the  Gran'  Bretagna  from  debt. 

April  8.  At  nine  o'clock  I  went  for  five  minutes  to  Ly  W., 
who  trembles  whenever  I  am  out  of  her  sight.  I  found  her 
dressed  out  in  a  blue  silk  ball-dress  and  looking  rayonnante. 
She  had  received  a  letter  from  Bp  Baines  saying  his  interview 
with  the  Pope  was  to  take  place  to-day.  She  was  in  great  spirits 
and  very  lively.  I  took  up  E.  C.  at  the  Sciarra  and  we  went 
out  to  Fiumicino. 

Thursday,  April  10.  Fiumicino.  Before  reaching  Porto  we 
were  met  by  Henry  Cheney,  who  brought  us  a  letter  from  Ly 
Westmorland : — 

"  April  10,  Thursday. 
"  My  dear  Children, 

The  night  before  last  at  half  past  ten  the  Governor  of  Rome 
waited  upon  the  French  Ambassador,  and  informed  His  Excellency 
that  it  was  the  wish  of  His  Holiness  that  Count  d'Orsay  should 
quit  Rome.  The  Ambassador  declined  conveying  the  information, 


1828  291 

as  not  having  authority  as  Ambassador  or  influence  as  an  indi- 
vidual. The  Governor  added  that  the  correspondence  was  in  his 
possession,  and  that  the  opinion  of  His  Holiness  and  himself 
was  to  be  seen  by  the  promptitude  of  their  measures.  This 
scene  took  place  in  public.  I  understand  the  Governor  is  a  very 
energetic  and  determined  man,  and  I  suppose  there  is  no  doubt, 
therefore,  that  the  measure  will  be  executed  immediately.  The 
Ambassador  talks  with  execration  of  the  letter  and  with  applause 
of  me.  He  congratulated  himself  that  the  door  of  Palazzo 
Negroni  had  been  shut  in  his  face  a  few  evenings  ago.  Think 
of  having  such  a  letter  in  his  possession,  and  then  waiting  to 
be  turned  out  of  the  house  of  the  writer." 

I  was  diverted  at  the  formal  diplomatic  phraseology  of  her 
communication.  The  intelligence  it  conveys  does  give  me  most 
sincere  pleasure,  not  only  for  the  immediate  gratification  of  Ly 
Westmorland  (in  which  I  own  I  rejoice,  after  the  shameful 
insult  she  has  sustained),  but  it  also  gives  me  great  satisfaction 
to  see  that  such  a  gross  and  disgusting  infamy,  as  that  which  is 
daily  exhibited  and  loudly  professed  by  the  whole  Casa  Bless- 
ington,  does  still  meet  with  some  censure  in  the  world,  and  is 
not  permitted  to  walk  boldly  about, 

'  Lords  of  the  street  and  terrors  of  the  way.' 

April  18. l  We  left  Cervetri  at  half  past  2,  and  passing  through 
the  dismalest  part  of  the  dismal  Campagna  we  got  to  Rome  only 
at  9.  We  dined  at  Mrs  Cheney's  on  raw  cutlets  (their  dinner 
being  over),  and  then  paid  a  visit  to  Lady  Westmorland,  with 
whom  we  found  P8se  Massimo,  her  husband,  her  son  the  Pce 
Arsoli,  and  his  beautiful  wife.2  She  is  a  sort  of  half -royalty  of 
the  Sardinian  family  ;  her  features  and  complexion  are  extremely 

1  Fox  still  remained  away  and  made  expeditions  to  Ostia  and  Civita 
Vecchia.      Occasional   messages   were   received   from   Rome   giving  him 
information  of  what   was   going  on.     On  the   I2th  a  letter  from  Lady 
Westmorland  told  of  delay  in  the  message  to  d'Orsay  and  of  her  sus- 
picions   of    Laval   and    Lord  Hardwicke  ;    while  the  news  on  the  I5th 
was  that  a  report  was  afloat   (probably,  she  said,  circulated  by  d'Orsay 
and    Lady   Blessington)    that   Laval  had  seen  the  Pope    and   that   the 
order  of  expulsion  was  rescinded. 

2  Camillo  Vittorio,   Prince   d' Arsoli    (1803-73),   eldest  son  of  Prince 
Massimo,  married,  in  1827,  Maria  Gabriella,  Princesse  de  Savoie-Carignan. 


292         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

beautiful,  her  figure  is  not  good.  She  is  much  too  thin.  After 
they  were  gone  Lady  W.  began  upon  all  her  woes.  D'Orsay 
seems  likely  to  remain — at  least  if  he  has  received  a  hint  from 
the  Gfc  to  leave  the  town  (as  I  suspect  he  has),  he  will  comply 
with  it  in  a  manner  to  obviate  the  public  disgrace  of  being  sent 
out.  I  went  to  bed  at  one  o'clock,  dead-tired  and  ill. 

April  19.  I  awoke  very  unwell  and  sent  for  Jenks.  Lady 
Westmorland  came  to  me  at  n,  and  staid  an  hour  or  two  ranting 
over  her  own  misfortunes  and  over  the  conduct  of  Lds  Hardwick 
and  Caledon.  I  strongly  advised  her  (perhaps  somewhat  selfishly) 
to  write  (and  to  put  in  effect  what  she  writes)  to  Laval  and  the 
Papal  Gfc  a  letter  declaring  her  intention  of  leaving  the  town  in 
case  d'  Or  say  is  not  sent  away.  She  went  home  to  do  so.  Jenks 
ordered  me  to  stay  at  home,  so  I  sent  an  excuse  to  Ly  Westmor- 
land. Edward  came  and  sat  with  me  all  morning.  Lady  West, 
came  a  second  time  and  gave  me  a  bad  headache.  In  the 
evening  Lady  Compton  and  her  mother  came  ;  the  former  was 
also  ill.  Edward  staid  with  me  till  late. 

Sunday,  April  20.  Edward  came  to  me  early  to  pass  the  day. 
Ly  Compton  came  after  church,  and  I  had  a  visit  from  Wrio 
Russell,1  who  is  just  arrived  from  London  with  Wm  Hope 
(Tommy  Hope's  son).  Wrio  is  extremely  improved,  though  still 
somewhat  frivolous  and  childish  in  his  turn  of  thought.  He 
told  strange  stories  of  Mrs  Norton  (Tom  Sheridan's  daughter), 
who  gives  herself  airs  of  eccentricity  and  is  much  admired  in 
London  for  them.  To  John  Talbot,  who  came  up  to  speak  to 
her  for  the  second  time  in  his  life,  she  said,  "  Jack,  Jack,  for 
shame  !  We  must  not  be  too  familiar  in  public."  She  told 
her  astonished  husband  before  a  roomful  of  people  at  Chester- 
field House,  that  before  her  marriage  she  had  been  in  love  with 
Ld  C.  and  that  he  still  possessed  her  picture.  The  whole  of  it 
was  a  fiction  ;  but  such  allusions  are  both  dangerous  and  indecent 
for  so  young  a  woman.  Her  oddity  makes  her  at  present  the 
fashion  ;  and  people  admire  her  prodigiously.  I  was  very  unwell 
and  dined  at  home. 

April  21.     Jenks  found  me  better.    The  Blessingtons  go  on 

1  Lord  Wriothesley  Russell  (1804-86),  fourth  son  of  John,  sixth  Duke 
of  Bedford,  and  eldest  son  by  his  second  wife.  He  later  took  orders,  and 
became  a  Canon  of  Windsor. 


1828  293 

Sunday  to  Bracciano,  which  will  prevent  the  Comptons  passing 
the  week  they  intended  there.  It  is  said,  and  God  grant  it  may 
be  true,  that  the  B.'s  leave  Rome  for  Venice  on  the  3d  of  May. 
They  are  pests  in  a  town  and  produce  quarrels  wherever  they  go  ; 
though  of  all  the  many  histories  they  have  caused  in  the  various 
towns  where  they  have  resided,  this  last  seems  to  be  the  most 
flagrant  and  detestable. 

April  22.  Ly  Westmorland  showed  me  her  fresh  letter  to 
Laval ;  it  is  clever  and  to  the  purpose.  She  was  most  extremely 
unreasonable  and  quarrelsome,  and  during  the  four  or  five  mortal 
hours  we  were  with  her  she  tried  to  quarrel  with  each  of  us 
thirty  times  about  nothing — especially  with  Edward,  because 
he  would  not  say  he  was  convinced  that  d'Orsay  and  the 
Secretaries  of  the  French  Embassy  are  in  league  against  her. 
I  dined  at  Lady  Compton's  :  nobody  but  Ld  and  Ly  C.  Before 
dinner  I  had  a  scene  with  my  Lady,  which  she  meant  to  be  tragical, 
but  which  seemed  to  me  even  more  than  farcical.  We  went  to 
the  Teatro  Valle. 

Wednesday,  April  23.  In  the  morning  I  bought  two  strong 
white  horses  for  my  carriage,  and  I  took  a  short  drive  to  try  them. 
I  then  went  in  my  cabriolet  for  Edward,  with  him  I  drove  on  the 
Naples  road,  and  then  to  the  Villa  Borghese,  where  I  succeeded 
in  meeting  d'Orsay.  He  looked  one  way,  I  another.  Edward, 
who  was  with  me,  bowed,  which  seemed  to  please  and  surprize 
him.  Edward  said  he  looked  extremely  distressed  and  pale  at 
meeting  an  old  friend  he  has  insulted  for  speaking  with  indigna- 
tion of  the  outrage  he  has  lately  been  guilty  of.  I  dressed  at 
the  Sciarra  and  went  with  the  Cheneys  to  dine  at  Ly  Compton's, 
where  I  met  a  tribe  of  Clephanes.  The  dinner  was  tedious 
beyond  calculation  and  the  evening  very  dull.  Lady  Mary 
Ross  and  the  Colyars  came.  Ly  C.  was  acting  assumed  spirits. 
It  is  a  pity  she  will  never  be  content  to  be  natural  and  without 
emotions.  I  went  to  Ly  West.,  where  I  found  a  young  Captain 
Carpenter.  She  kept  me  till  2  o'clock,  asking  me  to  suggest 
advice  and  to  foresee  what  would  be  said  against  her  on  the 
publication  of  the  papers,  as  if  I  was  myself  entertaining  similar 
opinions.  She  is  by  far  the  most  unreasonable  person  to  deal 
with  I  ever  saw,  and  renders  it  a  most  hopeless  and  thankless 
office  to  attempt  in  any  way  to  assist  her.  I  pity  her  less  than 


294         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

I  should  any  other  woman  in  a  similar  situation,  for  her  mind 
is  so  constituted  that  she  enjoys  a  tracasserie ;  and  though  I 
think  the  grossness  of  the  libel  at  first  shocked  and  wounded  her, 
she  now  feels  great  pleasure  in  the  occupation  of  writing  so  much, 
and  in  having  an  opportunity  of  quarrelling  with  more  than 
two-thirds  of  the  society,  and  in  abusing  everybody  else,  and  in 
extolling  her  own  angelic  conduct,  as  she  calls  it,  to  the  few  victims 
she  can  obtain  as  audience.  One  of  those  victims  from  hence- 
forward I  shall  ever  cease  to  be.  Her  conduct  towards  me  in 
abusing  me  for  leaving  the  town  (which  was  done  at  her  own 
entreaty)  is  so  base,  that  from  this  time  I  shall  cease  to  consider 
myself  as  her  friend. 

April  25.  I  went  to  see  Lady  Westmorland,  who  received 
me  in  her  bedroom.  She  was  in  bed  ;  Gen1  Eustace  sitting  by 
her.  She  is  resolved  (thank  God)  to  go  on  Monday  to  Florence 
with  him.  Her  violence,  and  her  total  want  of  affection  and 
consideration  for  others,  makes  me  feel  more  and  more  callous 
to  her  misfortunes,  especially  that  now  I  find  she  has  been 
abusing  Ed  Cheney  and  myself  as  cowards  for  deserting  her  and 
going  to  the  country,  when  she  herself  was  the  instigator,  nay 
entreater  of  our  departure.  She  is  a  dangerous  woman,  thinks 
only  of  herself,  and  is  both  mischievous  and  false  to  her  best 
friends.  One  of  that  number  she  has  for  ever  lost.  Justice  is 
on  her  side  in  this  business,  and  I  will  go  on  as  I  have  begun  in 
trying  all  I  can  to  get  her  redress  ;  but  everything  like  personal 
regard  or  esteem  is  for  ever  destroyed. 

29  April.  I  dined  at  the  Sciarra.  Mrs  Cheney  and  her 
daughter  with  Gaetani  to  the  play.  I  left  Edward  early  and 
drove  to  the  Coliseum,  where  I  was  amused  at  overhearing  in 
a  strong  Irish  accent  the  tender  words,  "  Vi  amero  sempre" 
from  the  dark  part  of  the  Colonnades.  A  few  minutes  afterwards 
I  saw  a  strange,  ill-dressed  woman  walking  with  Ludovico  Santi 
cross  in  the  full  light  of  the  moon,  and  I  recognised  Ly  E.  B. 
This  entirely  removes  any  compunction  I  might  have  felt  for 
conduct  that  some  would  deem  harsh.  Ly  Blessington,  Miss 
Power,  d'Orsay  and  Paul  Esterhazy  arrived  and  stalked  about 
soon  after  I  came.  The  hallos  and  clapping  of  hands  and  shouts 
of  vulgar  laughter  that  they  made  rendered  this  enchanting 
spot  detestable.  I  remained,  however,  till  the  lovers  and  the 


1828  295 

rioters  were  gone,  and  enjoyed  a  full  hour  amidst  these  grand 
ruins  while  the  moon  was  casting  long  shadows  and  bright  light 
upon  its  overgrown  masonry. 

30  April.  P20  Sciarra.  H.  Cheney  went  to-day  to  Naples. 
I  went  early  to  Edward.  We  drove  to  the  Capitol  and  saw  the 
statues.  The  collection  of  busts  is  not  very  good.  There  is, 
however,  one  of  Nerva  which  is  exceedingly  fine ;  the  mouth  is 
quite  wonderful  for  the  expression  and  life  it  portrays.  We 
walked  over  Mills'  garden,  and  sat  among  his  bowers  of  roses  ; 
the  profusion  of  them  is  very  beautiful,  but  there  are  too  many 
littlenesses  and  prettinesses  for  such  a  spot  as  the  classical  and 
splendid  one  on  which  he  lives.  Shrubberies  suit  Highgate  and 
Hampstead,  but  appear  contemptible  in  the  palace  of  the  Caesars. 
Dined  at  the  Sciarra.  In  the  evening  to  Hortense.  T.  G.  there. 
Gortchacoff  making  love,  and  acting  or  feeling  jealous.  Hortense 
was  too  musical  to  be  agreable.  Her  romances  never  ended. 
She  sang  all  the  time  with  Nicky  Esterhazy,  whose  voice  is  good 
but  wants  expression.  Ed  and  I  went  to  the  Coliseum.  I  slept 
at  the  Sciarra. 

May  3.  We  arrived  late  at  the  Sciarra  from  Frascati  as  I 
went  for  a  few  minutes  to  my  villa  and  to  some  shops,  only  just 
in  time  to  dress  for  Hortense's  dinner  at  half  past  6.  We  did 
not  arrive  till  7.  We  found  only  Hortense  and  M1Ie  Rabie  (her 
lady-in-waiting,  whose  manners  are  nearly  as  vulgar  and  noisy 
as  her  face  is  ugly  and  wizened).  Hortense  was  almost  in  tears 
when  we  came  into  the  room  at  the  departure  of  her  son.  At 
first  I  concluded  from  her  extreme  agitation  that  some  misfortune 
had  obliged  his  sudden  journey,  or  that  his  absence  would  probably 
be  very  long  ;  but  she  told  us  to  my  surprize  that  he  was  only 
gone  to  Florence,  where  she  will  find  him  at  the  end  of  the  month. 
Her  distress  was  not  the  least  affected ;  on  the  contrary  she 
was  ashamed  of  it,  and  tried  all  she  could  to  repress  her  tears, 
which  again  burst  forth  at  dinner.  It  is  the  first  time  in  her  life 
that  she  has  ever  been  separated  from  him  for  so  long  a  time. 
He  is  now  gone  on  horseback  and  alone.  She  had  been  in  the 
morning  as  far  as  Baccano  to  accompany  him,  and  was  much 
tired  with  her  expedition.  After  dinner,  however,  she  became 
more  cheerful,  and  talked  more  brilliantly  than  I  have  ever  heard 
her.  She  told  us  that  in  1802  she  was  much  liee  with  the  D88  of 


296         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Bedford  (then  Ly  G.  Gordon),1  that  her  brother  Eugene  had  been 
in  love  with  her,  and  that,  as  great  objections  were  urged  on  both 
sides  to  their  marriage,  she  became  the  first  promoter  of  her 
marriage  with  the  D.  of  Bedford.  The  first  thing  she  did  which 
melted  the  D/s  heart  towards  her,  steeled  as  it  was  by  prejudice, 
was  seeing  her  at  dinner  burst  into  tears,  when  she  beheld  waiting 
behind  his  chair  the  same  servant  that  had  attended  his  brother, 
to  whom  she  was,  or  said  she  was,  once  engaged.  Hortense 
talked  much  and  very  favorably  of  the  E.  of  Russia,  Alexander. 
She  said,  however,  that  he  was  extremely  mefiant,  and  if  once 
his  suspicion  was  roused  it  never  could  again  be  overcome.  She 
excused  that  defect,  by  describing  with  much  pleasantry  the 
falsehood  of  the  nation  with  which  he  had  always  had  to  deal. 
Napoleon,  she  said,  judged  on  the  contrary  so  harshly  of  mankind 
in  general,  that  he  felt  scarcely  any  indignation  or  resentment 
at  the  treachery  of  individuals  under  him.  No  one  forgave  so 
easily,  and  as  he  only  counted  on  the  fidelity  of  those  he  employed 
as  long  as  it  was  their  interest  to  remain  true,  he  was  seldom 
astonished,  and  even  after  repeated  proofs  of  unworthiness  still 
placed  confidence  where  he  thought  from  sordid  motives  he  might 
command  obedience.  It  was  only  upon  the  nobler  qualities  he 
did  not  count — enthusiasm  and  self  devotion  always  surprized 
him. 

She  talked  much  of  the  Royal  Family  of  France.  Of  the 
very  fine  and  easy  part  the  Dauphine  might  have  played  on  the 
Restoration,  had  not  misfortune  so  soured  her  temper  that  she 
was  always  the  most  unforgiving  of  the  family.  Her  maxim  has 
ever  been,  "  Tout  ce  qui  n'est  pas  ami  est  ennemi,  et  il  faut 
1'ecraser."  Never  at  her  solicitation  has  a  single  pardon  or 
remission  of  punishment  been  accorded.  Hortense  speaks  of 
the  Bourbons  with  great  respect,  and  always  of  Marie  Antoinette 
with  much  interest,  owing,  I  conclude,  to  her  education  under 
Me  Campan.  The  latter,  she  said,  had  formerly  shewn  her  the 
Memoirs  which  were  published  some  years  ago,  and  had  consulted 
her  as  to  the  propriety  of  acknowledging  her  suspicions  as  to 
the  Queen's  attachment  to  M.  de  Fersen.  Hortense  was  then 

1  John,  sixth  Duke  of  Bedford's  second  wife,  whom  he  married  in  1803. 
She  had  been  engaged  to  be  married  to  his  brother  Francis,  fifth  Duke  of 
Bedford,  who  died  in  1802. 


1828  297 

young  and  knew  not  the  world.  She  therefore  strongly  advised 
her  to  state  her  real  opinion,  thinking  that  by  owning  one  weakness 
the  denial  of  all  the  atrocities  against  that  unfortunate  woman 
would  be  more  readily  believed,  Now,  she  says,  having  seen 
more  of  the  injustice  of  the  world,  she  thinks  Me  Campan  was 
right  in  not  following  her  advice.  Whatever  is  admitted  against 
a  friend  is  always  imagined  by  the  public  as  a  faint  acknowledg- 
ment of  other  delinquencies  that  are  left  untold.  M.  de  Fersen 
was  the  only  man  for  whom,  Me  Campan  thought,  the  Queen 
had  ever  forgotten  her  duties.  It  was  love  at  first  sight.  She 
was  so  struck  at  seeing  him,  that  she  quite  started  and  caused 
all  the  ladies  who  were  walking  behind  to  halt.  He  acted  as 
coachman  for  the  Royal  family  in  the  flight  to  Varennes,  and 
confided  the  secret  of  the  escape  to  Me  Crauford,  who  was  then 
living  with  him  as  his  mistress.  He  escaped  from  Varennes  to 
Bruxelles,  and  was  so  afraid  even  there  of  betraying  his  interest 
about  the  Bourbons,  that  on  the  very  night  the  news  arrived  of 
the  Queen's  execution  he  appeared  at  the  theatre,  much  to  the 
disgust  of  the  emigres  and  of  all  those  who  knew  the  footing  he 
had  been  upon  in  the  Palace.  Afterwards  he  returned  to  his 
native  country,  Sweden,  and  was  torn  to  pieces  at  Stockholm  by 
the  mob  during  a  popular  tumult. 

Wednesday,  7  of  May.  Pzo  Sciarra.  We  drove  to  the  Coliseum, 
and  in  the  evening  visited  Lady  Mary  Deerhurst.  We  found 
there  Mr  Terrick  Hamilton,  and  heard  the  welcome  news  of 
Laval's  recall.  I  am  very  sorry  it  happens  so  soon,  as  even  Ly 
Westmorland's  mad  vanity  will  be  unable  to  persuade  herself, 
much  less  others,  that  her  application  to  the  French  court  has 
caused  his  disgrace.  The  reason  of  his  recall  is  not  known  ; 
but  I  conclude  it  is  in  consequence  of  the  change  of  ministers 
much  more  than  in  compliance  with  Me  Esterhazy's  complaints 
against  him  addressed  to  her  cousin  the  Dauphine,  for  her  pride 
is  being  the  supposed  natural  child  of  the  Emperor  Joseph  from 
the  frailty  of  her  mother.  This  pretension,  however,  is  they  say 
groundless  ;  though  there  certainly  is  a  sort  of  resemblance 
between  her  and  the  Dauphine  to  justify  the  suspicion. 

Friday,  9  of  May.  I  dined  with  L?  Mary  D.,  where  I  met 
Cell,  Ly  Compton,  Mr  Hamilton,  Gortchacoff.  The  Embassy 
deny  Laval's  being  recalled  ;  but  it  is,  however,  the  case,  and 


298         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

the  event  seems  to  give  universal  satisfaction.  I  went  to  T.  G. 
She  gave  me  a  fresh  proof  of  Lady  Blessington's  malice.  In 
order  to  distress  her,  and  also  perhaps  in  hopes  of  making  us 
quarrel,  she  told  T.  G.  of  Ld  Byron,  in  1823,  having  said  to  me  at 
Genoa  that  one  of  his  reasons  for  going  to  Greece  was  to  get  rid 
of  her  and  her  family — which  he  meant,  I  conclude,  by  saying  he 
wished  to  cut  cables  in  Italy  and  go  either  to  Greece  or  England 
in  order  to  regain  his  liberty.  Of  course  I  denied  it,  tho'  it  is 
true.  At  the  Sciarra  I  passed  the  evening.  Lady  Compton 
came  there  and  acted  dignified  distress,  for  no  earthly  reason  I 
could  discover — some  grievance,  I  believe,  at  my  shewing  no 
inclination  to  breakfast  with  them  at  9  o'clock  at  Frascati. 

May  10.  I  received  a  letter  from  my  mother  and  one  from 
Mary.  In  the  former  there  is  a  clever  character  of  Ly  Westmor- 
land, though  somewhat  too  severe,  as  it  does  not  do  justice  to 
her  extreme  brilliancy  or  her  wonderful  quickness  in  seeing  the 
defects  of  all  those  with  whom  she  has  to  deal.  Ly  Compton 
wrote  me  a  foolish  note,  desiring  I  would  bring  about  Count 
Roberti's  marriage  with  Miss  Wilbraham  "  suddenly "  and 
"  silently."  What  stuff !  And  why  should  either  she  or  I 
meddle  with  affairs  in  which  we  are  so  totally  uninterested ; 
but  she  carries  the  spirit  of  interfering  in  other  people's  affairs 
to  a  point  unexampled  off  the  stage. 

May  12.  Albano.  We  returned  by  3  o'clock  to  dinner  at 
Rome.  I  drove  in  my  gig  to  Albano  to  join  T.  G.  The  horse 
was  lame  and  I  went  extremely  slow.  I  met  a  quantity  of 
carriages  and  people  on  horseback  and  on  foot  returning  from 
the  fete  which  took  place  yesterday.  The  evening  was  lovely. 
I  did  not  arrive  till  7.  The  houses  were  all  illuminated  in  the 
principal  street,  which  was  so  thronged  that  I  had  great  difficulty 
in  making  my  way.  Fireworks  were  going  off  in  all  directions 
and  several  fire-balloons  were  sent  up,  which  had  a  very  pretty 
effect,  and,  as  there  was  no  wind  to  extinguish  them,  they 
remained  hung  high  in  air  for  a  long  time,  till  the  light  gradually 
diminished  to  such  a  speck,  that  it  was  only  from  their  yellow 
terrestrial  light  that  they  were  to  be  distinguished  from  the  stars 
which  were  shining  forth  most  brightly.  I  walked  with  T.  G. 
in  the  garden.  The  heat  of  this  spring  quite  perplexes  the  phil- 
osophers, who  wish  to  account  for  it  by  the  gradual  approach 


1828  299 

of  the  comet,  which  is,  they  say,  to  destroy  the  earth  in  1832. 
A  book  written  by  a  priest,  to  prove  that  such  an  event  would 
fulfil  the  prophecies  in  the  Old  Testament,  was  brought  to  the 
Pope  for  the  necessary  permission  for  its  publication.  He  wrote 
on  its  back,  "  Licenza  per  stampare  lo  nel  1833."  Hortense 
has  allowed  Ly  Blessington  to  make  her  a  present  of  an  Indian 
shawl.  Of  course  she  wished  to  acquit  the  debt,  and  sent  Ly 
B.  a  ring,  once  the  property  of  the  Empress  Josephine.  Visits 
and  mutual  :flattery  ensued.  I  am  not  surprized,  though  I  own 
I  am  sorry,  that  vice,  because  wealthy,  should  always  be  so 
triumphant.  I  passed  the  evening  with  T.  G.  The  earthquake 
was  felt  here  yesterday  very  sensibly. 

Saturday,  May  17.  I  set  off  early  in  the  morning  for  Rome, 
where  I  arrived  at  half  past  12.  I  sat  to  Mr  Williams,  who  nearly 
finished  my  portrait.  The  day  was  hot  and  oppressive,  and 
occasionally  very  rainy.  I  went  to  T.  G.  She  leaves  Rome  next 
week  for  Ravenna.  I  dined  at  Hortense's.  No  one  but  herself 
and  Mlle  Rabie.  She  was  agreable.  Laval  is  named,  they  say, 
to  Vienna,  and  Chateaubriand  is  to  come  here.  Polignac  was 
mentioned  as  probable.  Hortense  hoped  he  might  not  come, 
for  he  had  shewn  no  civility  to  her  and  her  mother  at  the  return 
of  the  Bourbons  in  1814,  though  it  was  entirely  to  the  intercession 
of  Josephine  that  he  owed  his  life.  M.  de  la  Riviere  (tho'  at 
that  time  aide-de-camp  to  the  Comte  d'Artois,  and  though  he 
owed  much  less  to  the  Empress)  instantly  went  to  Malmaison. 
Jules  de  Polignac  was  condemned  for  his  participation  in  a  plot 
to  assassinate  Napoleon,  and  his  pardon  was  most  unwillingly 
accorded  to  the  cries  and  importunities  of  Josephine.  After 
dinner  Hortense  took  me  to  Madame  Mere's.  Her  house  is  very 
handsome,  and  we  passed  thro'  several  rooms  richly  carpeted, 
finely  furnished,  and,  what  astonished  me  most  from  her  reported 
avarice,  most  brilliantly  lighted.  Hortense  had  brought  with 
her  to  my  great  sorrow  the  foolish  drama  of  Valerie  to  read  to 
her  belle-mere.  I  should  have  liked  much  better  to  hear  the  old 
lady  talk.  Hortense  assured  me  that  she  liked  very  much  to 
have  plays  read  aloud  to  her  ;  but  I  own  she  did  not  seem  at 
all  pleased  at  the  idea  or  amused  at  the  lecture,  though  she  bore 
it  with  more  fortitude  than  her  doctor  or  her  equerry.  The 
former  is  deaf  and  does  not  understand  French,  so  he  talked 


300         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

greatly  and  loudly  to  the  equerry,  who,  under  the  double  influ- 
ence of  the  doctor's  conversation  and  the  maudlin  sentiment 
of  Valerie,  fell  fast  asleep.  Cardinal  Fesch 1  was  announced 
towards  the  middle  of  the  2d  act,  but  did  not  prevent  Hortense 
from  continuing  her  play,  tho'  the  encouragement  she  met  with 
was  very  small.  Fesch  soon  slept  also,  and  the  denouement 
arrived  just  in  time  to  prevent  Madame  from  following  his 
example.  The  Psse  de  Canino 2  was  announced.  She  is  a  fat, 
rather  vulgar-looking  woman  of  about  50,  but  with  remains  of 
most  splendid  beauty.  The  upper  part  of  her  face  is  very  fine 
indeed.  Her  beauty  was,  they  say,  quite  sufficient  to  justify 
the  sacrifices  of  ambition  that  ambitious  man,  her  husband, 
made  for  it.  Madame  Mere  is  very  small,  her  face  is  long,  her 
nose  thin  and  long,  her  eyes  are  small  but  very  bright  and 
intelligent,  her  smile  extremely  sweet  and  playful.  She  expresses 
herself  with  great  difficulty  in  French,  and  with  a  very  strong 
vicious  Italian  accent.  Her  voice  is  rather  agreable  ;  but  the 
only  thing  that  struck  me  about  her  as  very  peculiar  is  her  smile, 
which,  for  so  old  a  woman,  who  never  could  have  had  much 
beauty,  appears  extremely  engaging.  I  went  with  Hortense  to 
the  play,  a  dull  German  drama.  Hortense  talked  of  her  wish  to 
go  to  England.  I  pressed  her  to  go  this  summer.  She  objected 
on  account  of  the  difficulties  about  passports.  "  II  faut  prier  le 
Roi  des  Pays  Bas  de  me  laisser  traverser  mes  etats."  She  talks 
of  doing  it  in  1829.  Letters  from  Dudley  and  my  aunt. 

May  28.  Wednesday,  Rome.  Gianto  Condi  called  upon  me 
with  an  enormous  packet  from  Lady  Westmorland,  which  I  sent 
back  unopened,  with  the  following  letter  : — 

"  The  volume  you  have  written  to  Hv  Fox,  as  you  describe 
the  enclosed  to  be,  he  has  the  honour  to  return  to  your  Ladyship, 
being  resolved  to  decline  for  ever  any  future  communication  with 
you.  The  letters  upon  your  affairs,  which  he  had  destined  to 
go  by  Captain  Carpenter,  are  entirely  at  your  Ladyship's  disposal, 
either  to  send  to  England  or  to  return  to  him,  as  may  best  suit 

1  Cardinal  Joseph  Fesch  (1763-1839),  Madame  Mere's  brother.     Ap- 
pointed Archbishop  of  Lyons  and  later  Ambassador  in  Rome  by  Napoleon, 
he  returned  to  the  latter  place  after  the  Restoration. 

2  Lucien   Bonaparte's   second   wife,   Alexandrine   de   Bleschamp,  the 
divorced  wife  of  M.  Jouberthon.     Lucien  married  her  in  1802. 


1828  301 

you ;  your  language  and  conduct  about  him  having  completely 
cancelled  anything  that  could  bear  the  names  of  gratitude  or 
friendship." 

Her  conduct  to  me  has  been  so  base,  her  abuse  of  me  and  my 
family  so  universal,  that  I  feel  the  greatest  resentment  and  shall 
for  ever  decline  having  any  further  correspondence  or  interviews 
with  her.  She  is  false  and  incapable  of  any  feeling.  She  has 
only  the  charm  of  being  very  fascinating  and  agreable  in  conver- 
sation ;  but  her  want  of  sincerity,  generosity  or  affection,  joined 
to  her  exuberant  vanity  and  heartless  selfishness,  render  her 
not  only  a  dangerous  acquaintance  but  a  most  dreadful  friend, 
as  from  her  restless  spirit  of  interference  she  will  always  meddle 
in  the  affairs  of  her  neighbours. 

Thursday,  June  5.  Rome,  P20  Sciarra.  Ld  and  Ly  Compton, 
Mrs  Clephane,  Wrio  Russell  and  Garlies  dined  with  us.  Ly  C. 
says  that  her  father-in-law1  is  at  the  point  of  death  at  Dresden. 
She  expects  to  hear  of  his  death  next  post.  She  has  not  told  her 
husband  as  yet.  At  dinner  Mrs  Clephane  told  us  a  pasquinade 
I  never  before  heard,  made  against  the  present  Pope  2  at  his 
elevation : — 

Non  e  Pio — non  e  Clemente 
Ma  vecchio  Leone  senza  dente. 

It  is  very  clever. 

June  7,  1828.  Villa  Muti.  The  Arundels  dined  with  us  by 
invitation.  I  sat  between  Ly  Compton  and  Ly  Arundel,  and  was 
surprized  in  the  middle  of  dinner  by  hearing  from  the  former 
that  as  she  went  into  the  dining-room  she  had  got  letters  from 
Dresden  announcing  Ld  Northampton's  death,  which  she  had  not 
told  any  one.  As  soon  as  dinner  was  over  she  shewed  them  to 
me.  One  was  from  Ly  N.,  the  other  from  Ly  E.  Compton.  The 
former  was  written  half  an  hour  after  her  husband  had  breathed 
his  last — a  husband  who  had  been  most  kindly  attached  to  her 
for  forty  years.  It  was  dry  and  cold,  full  of  the  plans  she  had 
formed  for  the  future,  and  announcing  the  event  just  in  the 
language  of  a  newspaper.  In  a  postscript  she  adds,  "  This 
letter  I  shall  direct  to  Earl  Compton,  in  future  to  the  Marquis 

1  Charles,   first    Marquess    of   Northampton    (1760-1828).      His   wife 
was  a  daughter  of  Joshua  Smith  of  Erie  Stoke  Park,  Wilts. 

2  Leo  XII. 


302         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward   Fox 

of  Northampton."  If  she  shewed  little  feeling  at  the  death  of 
her  husband,  certainly  her  daughter-in-law  and  her  family  have 
copied  her  example.  The  dinner  and  evening  passed  as  usual. 
Every  one  knew  the  event,  tho',  as  it  was  not  told  Ld  Compton, 
no  one  was  supposed  to  know  ;  so  exhibitions  of  grief  were  not 
expected.  The  Arundels  staid  and  chatted. 

Sunday,  June  8.  Villa  Muti.  After  several  consultations 
with  L*  C.,  she  decided  to  tell  the  fatal  news  to  her  husband. 
He  was,  she  says,  much  affected. 

Monday,  June  9.  I  passed  all  morning  reading  Gibbon  with 
Edward.  Lady  Northampton  proposed  a  plan  of  my  going  with 
them  to  England  next  week,  for  her  husband  has  very  properly 
decided  that  to  please  his  mother  and  do  his  business  such  a 
journey  is  perfectly  necessary.  I  acceded  to  it  for  a  short  time, 
but  when  I  saw  the  effect  even  the  prospect  of  losing  me  had 
upon  dear  Edward  I  soon  relinquished  the  idea,  determined  that 
if  we  are  to  separate  I  will  not  at  least  hasten  the  evil  day  or 
give  either  of  us  an  hour  of  unnecessary  pain.  We  dined  as 
usual  at  the  Villa  Malatesta,  Ld  Northampton  being  anxious  as 
soon  as  possible  to  resume  his  former  habits.  He  looks  thinner 
and  paler  than  usual.  I  believe,  poor  man,  he  has  suffered  as 
much  as  he  is  capable  of  suffering. 

Monday,  June  16.  Rome.  I  reached  Rome  at  about  12. 
It  was  very  hot.  The  Clephanes  and  Northamptons  dined  with 
us  at  half  past  4.  They  go  tomorrow  at  5.  Leavetakings  are 
always  sad.  After  dinner  Dudley  l  came  ;  he  looks  pale  and 
low.  I  drove  with  him  by  the  Ponte  Molle  to  the  Pzo  Gabrielli, 
where  I  waited  while  he  dressed  for  a  visit  to  Madame  Mere, 
she  being  particular  as  to  breeches  and  silk  stockings.  He  is 
sadly  worried  by  the  whole  family,  who  want  a  second  marriage 
for  conscience  sake.  If  they  yield  to  this  it  will  ruin  the  first 
and  prevent  the  child  being  legitimated.  He  has  given  Count 
Posse*  £5,000  to  submit  to  the  examination  of  the  doctors.  None 
of  his  family  or  of  hers  have  the  least  assisted  him,  beyond  £600 
which  his  mother  gave  him.  The  law  proceedings,  etc.,  etc., 
have  sadly  pinched  him.  I  took  leave  of  Ly  N.  at  her  house  at 
about  n,  and  went  to  bed  tired  and  sleepy  at  the  Sciarra.  Dudley 
is  the  same  as  ever,  as  amiable  and  as  unaffected. 

1  Lord  Dudley  Stuart.     His  wife's  sister  was  Princess  Gabrielli. 


1828  3°3 

Tuesday,  June  17.  Rome,  P.  Sciarra.  Edward  and  I  staid 
at  home  all  morning  writing  and  reading.  Dudley  dined  with 
us.  He  talked  more  openly  than  I  expected  from  him  in  the 
presence  of  a  person  he  knows  so  slightly  as  Ed  Cheney.  Ly 
Westmorland,  tho'  abuse  of  him  and  of  every  member  of  his 
wife's  family  is  one  of  her  favorite  topics,  sought  them  both  at 
Florence  and  in  every  way  flattered  and  caressed  them.  They 
say  she  returns  immediately  to  Rome.  In  the  evening  I  drove 
with  Edward  by  the  Coliseum  and  the  Porta  Sfc  Sebastian  home, 
and  then  with  Dudley  I  went  to  the  Pce  de  Mont  fort.  I  expected 
a  cold  reception,  as  I  have  behaved  so  shamefully  ill  in  never 
going  near  them  since  Carnival  time.  However,  they  were  very 
civil,  and  the  Princess  very  droll  and  good-humoured.  Poor 
Dudley  is  sadly  tormented  by  all  his  wife's  family,  who  will 
not  receive  her  unless  she  is  married  a  second  time — a  measure 
that  might  quite  bastardize  the  child  in  England.  I  am  rather 
diverted  at  the  scruples  of  Madame  Mere,  who  does  not  the  least 
object  to  receiving  the  P8se  de  Montfort,  tho'  Jerome  was  only 
divorced  from  his  first  wife  by  an  arbitrary  act  of  his  brother's, 
and  his  children,  by  the  law  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  must  be 
bastards.  Conscience  is  of  all  commodities  the  most  pliant, 
and  seems  only  made  against  those  who  have  not  power  to  silence 
the  scruples  of  their  neighbours. 

Let  greatness  own  her  and  she's  mean  no  more, 
Tis  but  the  fall  degrades  her  to  a  w  .... 

June  19-22.  Villa  Muti,  Frascati.  Our  life  at  the  Villa 
Muti  is  so  monotonous  that  nothing  occurs  to  write  down.  We 
get  up  early,  read  all  morning  Gibbon's  History,  dine  at  three, 
drive  every  evening  to  Mondragone  and  Grotta  Ferrata,  and  in 
the  evening  I  write  (Pread)  Ed  Indian  journal,  while  Mrs  Clephane 
tells  long  stories  of  Scotch  legendary  lore  or  lays  down  some 
oracular  platitude. 

Lord  Arundel  and  Mr  Colyar  dined  here  on  Friday.  They 
kept  a  strict  fast,  as  both  are  very  devout.  Lady  Westmorland 
is  in  Rome,  where  I  suspect  she  will  not  stay  long  as  she  has  no 
audience,  all  her  former  friends  being  resolved,  like  myself,  to 
avoid  all  communication  with  such  a  dangerous,  contemptible 
woman,  but  whose  conversation  and  talents  are  so  fascinating 


304         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

that  when  with  her  it  is  impossible  to  feel  anything  but  admira- 
tion at  her  brilliancy  and  pity  for  her  misfortunes.  Madame 
Muti  has  given  Lady  Bottle,  as  she  calls  Lady  Elinor,  leave  to 
let  her  rooms  below  us  to  Lord  A.,  and  he  came  for  the  purpose 
of  seeing  them. 

Monday,  23  June.  Expedition  to  Rome.  We  set  off  at  7. 
On  arriving  we  bathed  and  breakfasted,  and  then  called  on  Sir 
W.  Cell.  He  is  just  returned  from  Corneto,  Viterbo  and  Cervetri, 
where  he  has  been  antiquitizing  with  Dodwell.  He  told  us  of 
nothing  but  the  dull  buffooneries  of  his  companion  in  telling 
lies  and  absurdities  to  the  anxious  cicerones  they  dealt  with. 
It  is  odd  that  Cell  should  be  so  childish  and  frivolous.  His  wit 
seems  to  me  every  time  I  see  him  to  deteriorate.  Gaetani  dined 
with  us,  or  rather  sat  by  while  we  dined.  He  is  clever  and 
well-informed — singularly  the  latter  for  an  Italian  nobleman. 
His  countenance  is  sinister  and  disagreable,  his  voice  nasal  and 
drawling,  his  manners  shy  and  unpleasant ;  besides  I  think  his 
conversation  too  constantly  bantering  to  be  really  agreable. 
Edward  received  a  thick  letter  from  Ly  Westmorland  before 
leaving  Rome,  full  of  rhapsody  and  violence.  He  has  hitherto 
avoided  seeing  her,  in  which  he  is  right ;  for  she  would  only 
convince  him  of  the  cruel  treatment  she  has  met  with  and  make 
him  sorry  for  not  being  her  champion.  We  got  to  the  Villa 
Muti  late. 

28  June.  Rome.  In  the  morning  we  looked  over  our  extra- 
vagant accounts.  Gaetani,  Ed  and  I  went  to  Rome  after  dinner. 
We  drove  to  the  Piazza  of  Sfc  Peter's  to  see  the  illuminations  ; 
it  is  too  near  to  see  the  effect  with  advantage.  The  smell  of 
grease  too  is  offensive.  I  went  to  the  Montforts.  I  disturbed 
a  tete-a-t£te  between  the  ex-King  and  Queen,  but  I  believe  they 
were  far  from  disliking  an  interruption.  She  talked  a  great  deal 
to  me  of  her  mother-in-law,  the  Dow.  Qn  of  Wurtemburg  (P88 
Royal  of  England).1  She  praised  her  excessively  for  many 
great  and  important  merits,  but  owned  she  was  too  great  a 
gossip  and  that  it  was  not  safe  to  repeat  after  her,  by  which  I 
suppose  she  means  Her  Majesty  is  a  great  liar — a  fact  I  can 

1  Charlotte  Augusta  Matilda  (1766-1828),  eldest  daughter  of  George  III, 
Frederick  I,  King  of  Wurtemburg's  second  wife.  The  Comtesse  de  Mont- 
ford  was  the  daughter  of  his  first  marriage.  He  died  in  1816. 


G.  F.  Watts  fiin.vit 


HOWARD   CHKNEY 


1828  305 

easily  believe  considering  how  much  the  vice  is  known  in  her 
family.  She  told  me  much  of  the  abandoned  life  of  the  P88 
Tour  et  Taxis  1  (sister  of  the  late  Qn  of  Prussia),  how  she  followed 
her  lovers  about  Europe  and  how  one  of  these  amorous  journies 
had  brought  her  to  the  court  of  Westphalia  after  the  Bavarian 
Minister.  Not  content  with  living  publicly  with  him  at  Hesse 
Cassell  when  he  followed  Jerome  to  the  wars,  she  always  kept 
behind  Head-quarters  a  few  miles  and  he  every  night  rode  back 
to  sleep  with  her.  Love  brought  on,  however,  a  violent  fever, 
and  after  several  days  of  severe  illness  during  which  she  sat  on 
one  side  of  the  sick-bed  and  his  wife  on  the  other,  he  expired  in 
her  arms.  When  the  Queen  of  P.  went  to  remonstrate  with 
Napoleon  on  the  heavy  contributions  laid  on  Prussia,  she  had  the 
bad  taste  to  go  covered  with  jewels  and  dressed  most  magnifi- 
cently. He  said  she  looked  quite  a  Queen  on  the  stage,  and 
thought  the  costume  ill-chosen  for  a  suppliant  Queen  who  is 
praying  for  the  relief  of  her  people.  He  upbraided  her  for 
advising  the  war,  and  told  her  she  must  have  foreseen  the 
inequality  of  the  struggle  for  such  a  small  nation  as  Prussia 
against  the  whole  power  of  France.  "  Pardonnez,  Sire,  c'est 
1'ombre  de  Frederic  qui  nous  a  aveugle."  He  was  struck  with 
the  grace  and  good  taste  of  the  reply,  and  repeated  it  several 
times  afterwards. 

The  Austrian  Ambassador  sent  a  message  to  the  Due  d'Istrie 
and  the  Marquis  de  Dalmatie,2  while  they  were  here,  by  Laval, 
that  he  hoped,  tho'  he  could  not  allow  them  to  be  announced  at 
his  house  by  those  names,  they  would  still  come  to  him.  Of 
course  on  these  terms  they  declined.  When  they  left  Rome 
they  wished  to  go  to  Venice.  Unless  they  would  drop  their 
titles  passports  were  refused  ;  they,  of  course,  refused  to  do  so. 
Lutzow  wrote  to  his  Government  for  an  written  approbation  of 
his  conduct,  in  order  that  he  might  shew  it  to  the  two  French 
nobles,  as  a  proof  that  he  was  only  obeying  orders  and  not  acting 
from  any  private  pique.  He  got  the  certificate  he  wished  for, 
concluding  with  these  words  : — 

1  Theresa,    daughter   of   the    Grand-Duke    Charles    of   Mecklenburg- 
Strelitz,  married,  in  1789,  Prince  Charles  de  la  Tour  et  Taxis. 

2  The  first,  son  of  Marshal  Bessieres  ;   the  second,  Napoleon  Hector 
Soult  (1801-57), son  of  the  Marshal,  whom  he  succeeded  as  Due  de  Dalmatie. 


306         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

"  Nevertheless  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  titles  exist, 
and  those  individuals  have  as  much  right  to  them  as  Marie 
Louise  is  Empress  of  France  and  young  Napoleon,  King  of 
Rome." 

The  Montforts  draw  conclusions  from  this  declaration  of 
Austria  most  improbable  and  absurd.  Austria  can  never  hope 
to  make  young  Napoleon  K.  of  France,  tho'  perhaps  sooner  than 
totally  lose  Italy  in  some  future  revolution  they  might  place  the 
iron  crown  of  Lombardy  on  his  head. 

Sunday,  29  June,  1828.  P.  Sciarra.  S*  Peter's  Day.  We 
went  in  the  morning  to  Sfc  Peter's.  The  crowd  was  very  great. 
We  saw  nothing  of  the  ceremony,  and  heard  only  the  music 
from  a  distance.  A  richly  liveried  servant,  whom  I  recognized 
as  Lady  Westmorland's  coachman  (the  representative  of  one  of 
the  Wise  men  of  the  East  last  year  in  her  tableaux),  made  us 
hasten  to  avoid  the  dangerous  neighbourhood  of  his  mistress. 
The  Miss  Clephanes  dined  with  us.  Their  mother  was  headachy 
and  staid  at  home.  We  went  in  the  evening  to  the  Torlonias 
to  see  the  fireworks  at  the  Castle  of  Sfc  Angelo.  There  was  not 
a  breath  of  air  to  carry  off  the  volumes  of  smoke  emitted  by  the 
cannons  and  fireworks.  The  whole  beauty  of  the  spectacle  was 
lost.  While  we  were  waiting  for  the  carriage,  to  go  away,  Lady 
Westmorland's  drove  up.  It  was  by  means  of  a  disgraceful 
concealment  behind  a  double  row  of  giggling  laquais  that  we 
avoided  the  dreaded  rencontre. 

Villa  Muti.  July  7.  The  Arundels  came  on  a  visit.  The 
Colyars  moved  to  our  spare-room.  Lady  A.  sang  in  the  evening, 
with  affectation  and  not  with  voice  enough  to  authorize  such 
affectation. 

July  8.  We  lighted  up  our  garden  for  the  Arundels ;  the 
effect  is  pretty.  Lady  Arundel  has  much  of  the  contemptuous 
manner  of  her  most  odious  tribe,  the  Grenvilles.  She  is  soured 
by  want  of  children  and  by  the  cruel  position  of  her  husband 
(a  Catholic  Peer)  in  England.  He  is  very  amiable,  but  a  bore 
from  long  pointless  stories  told  with  much  hesitation  and  in  a 
heavy  tone  of  voice,  generally  about  connexions  of  his  own  or 
other  noble  families  in  old  or  modern  times.  However,  these 
confused  tales  of  genealogical  history  may  sometimes  chance  to 
be  more  interesting  than  the  same  details  of  Mrs  Clephane's 


1828  3°7 

Scotch  neighbours,  with  which  she  indulges  us  on  all  occasions 
and  apropos  of  every  topic  of  conversation.  Lady  Arundel 
shews  good  breeding  and  exemplary  patience  in  listening  to 
these  tedious  tales. 

I  drove  with  Mrs  Colyar.  She  affects  to  be  young,  and 
puts  on  playful  innocence  without  appearing  to  remember  her 
extreme  plainness,  her  being  middle-aged,  and  married.  She 
made  a  great  deal  of  fuss  about  driving  out  with  me  alone, 
which  would  have  been  ridiculous  in  a  girl  of  many  years  her 
junior. 

July  9.  One  day  passes  like  another.  We  read  Gibbon  all 
morning. 

July  10.  We  left  Frascati  at  6  and  arrived  at  8  at  the 
Europa.  The  day  was  hot,  and  much  better  at  Rome  than  it 
has  been  lately  at  Frascati.  We  bathed  before  dinner.  Gaetani 
dined  with  us.  The  fights  begin  about  6  o'clock  in  the  Mauso- 
leum of  Augustus.  Some  remains  of  tesselated  brick- work  are 
perceptible  outside  and  the  ancient  design  is  visible  in  its  circular 
form.  Within,  it  has  been  newly  arranged  and  white-washed, 
and  a  Latin  inscription  boasting  of  the  innocent  amusement  now 
carried  on  upon  the  ashes  of  the  Caesars.  It  is  open  at  the  top, 
and  the  upper  divisions  are  divided  into  boxes  and  galleries. 
The  first  animal  sent  into  the  arena  was  a  buffalo  ;  he  made 
some  play  and  often  attacked  some  fantastic  figures  hung  across 
the  theatre.  A  bull  succeeded  him,  poor  and  thin,  which  by 
pursuing  and  galling  him  they  tried  in  vain  to  rouse  to  ferocity. 
One  man  allowed  himself  to  be  taken  between  his  horns  and 
dragged  about.  He  pretended  to  be  much  hurt  in  order  to  excite 
sympathy,  and  was  carried  off,  but  soon  re-appeared  to  receive 
applause  and  to  join  with  redoubled  vigor  in  the  sport.  A 
figure  of  a  woman  with  hooped  petticoats  made  of  paper  was 
placed  to  be  butted  at  by  the  bull,  and  birds  from  within  made 
their  escape.  Their  flight  was  impeded  by  the  inhuman  specta- 
tors, who  try  to  catch  and  succeeded  in  worrying,  frightening 
and  wounding  the  poor  little  things  till  they  can  no  longer  fly. 
With  broken  legs  and  wings  they  were  thrown  into  the  air  to 
excite  the  laughter  and  applause  of  the  barbarous  audience. 
Other  and  better  bulls  followed,  baited  by  dogs,  but  as  only  one 
at  a  time  was  allowed  to  be  set  at  the  bull,  the  dog  was  always 


308         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

vanquished — few  had  courage  to  bear  being  tossed  a  third  time. 
We  got  home  at  ten.  I  sprained  my  ankle  as  I  got  out  of  the 
carriage. 

Villa  Muti.  Sunday,  13  July.  Gell  came  for  a  night,  unwell 
and  out  of  spirits.  After  every  one  went  to  bed  except  Ed  and 
myself,  he  told  us  amusing  stories  of  Dr  Parr,  by  whom  he  was 
educated  and  whom  he  justly  described  as  a  ridiculous,  fantastic 
mountebank,  mad  with  vanity  and  imposed  upon  by  the  grossest 
and  most  apparent  deceptions.  A  friend  much  in  the  habit  of 
playing  on  his  credulity  wrote  him  a  letter,  as  from  an  Irish 
Bishop,  filled  with  exaggerated  compliments  and  requesting  an 
interview  to  make  his  acquaintance.  The  proposal  was  joyfully 
accepted,  and  the  supposed  prelate,  dressed  in  Parr's  own 
canonicals,  was  received  with  demonstrations  of  high  respect. 
Mutual  praise  and  flattery  was  interchanged.  The  impostor 
turned  the  conversation  upon  the  French  Revolution,  which  was 
then  at  its  height.  He  deplored  its  effects,  and  dwelt  on  the 
opinions  he  knew  to  be  most  offensive  to  Parr.  He  threw 
him,  as  he  wished,  into  a  passion,  and  then  affected  similar 
wrath  in  saying,  "  I  wish  I  could  decimate  those  rascals."  To 
which  the  angry  Doctor  replied,  "  Spoken  very  like  a  Bishop, 
my  Lord,  but  very  unlike  a  Christian."  The  Bishop  threw 
off  his  disguise  and  begged  Parr's  pardon,  which  perhaps  was 
easier  to  obtain  since  he  felt  conscious  of  having  made  a  very 
good  and  spirited  reply  to  the  bigoted  cruelty  of  his  supposed 
antagonist. 

Gell  betrayed  a  most  wonderful  piece  of  ignorance  with 
respect  to  the  Queen's  trial.  Tho'  attached  to  her  for  many 
years  as  one  of  her  gentlemen-in-waiting,  tho'  in  England  at  the 
time  as  a  witness,  he  steadfastly  denied  the  whole  trial  being 
caused  by  her  unwillingness  to  drop  her  title  of  Queen.  Gell 
speaks  of  no  one  with  gratitude  or  kindness.  Tho'  unable  to 
deny  a  thousand  benefits  from  her,  he  invariably  mentions  the 
Queen  with  derision  and  contempt.  He  denies  her  liberality, 
and  told  a  story  of  her  meanness  and  ingratitude  towards  Torlonia, 
tho'  they  gave  her  money  in  the  hour  of  need  without  bond  and 
when  she  had  no  credit. 

July  18.  Rome.  I  drove  over  very  early.  While  in  the 
bath  Dudley  came  to  see  me.  He  had  been  riding  all  night 


1828  3°9 

between  Albano,  Frascati  and  Rome  with  Charles  Bonaparte.1 
He  was  going  to  see  the  Pope.  He  was  in  mad  spirits,  the  sort 
of  fever  that  is  acquired  by  fatigue.  I  staid  at  home  reading 
Columbus  all  morning.  Dudley  came  to  dine  with  me  at  5. 
His  interview  with  the  Pope  was  very  satisfactory.  H.H. 
praised  the  Stuarts,  canvassed  Dudley  for  the  Catholic  Question, 
expressed  the  hope  that  the  child  was  educated  in  the  true  faith, 
and  told  him  the  examination  of  his  affairs  had  been  sent  to 
the  Inquisition  (the  most  rapid  and  secret  tribunal  on  earth), 
and  that  he  hoped  all  would  be  smooth.  He  stood  leaning  on 
the  library  table  during  the  whole  audience,  spoke  in  Italian, 
and  expressed  himself  well.  After  dinner  I  drove  about  the  town 
with  Dudley  buying  gifts  for  his  child  and  wife  till  eleven,  when 
I  left  him  at  Ly  Westmorland's  door.  To  bed  late. 

July  19.  Returned  to  Villa  Muti,  where  my  life  passed  as 
monotonously  as  usual. 

August  i,  Palestrina.  In  the  morning  I  received  letters — one 
from  Lady  Northampton  that  annoyed  me  extremely.  My 
family  have  been  acting,  as  they  usually  do,  with  absurdity  and 
violence  ;  but  their  conduct  to  Lady  N.  seems  to  exceed  the 
accustomed  measure  of  their  fantastic  interference.  It  is 
painful  to  see  them  expose  themselves  thus  to  strangers.  We 
wrote  letters.  Edward  answered  the  packet  he  has  received  from 
Lady  West.,  without,  however,  attempting  to  read  the  48  pages 
of  scurrility.  I  took  no  notice  of  the  note  she  has  written  to  me. 

Monday,  August  4.  Villa  Muti.  We  left  Rome  very  early 
and  reached  Frascati  at  about  8  o'clock.  In  the  evening  the 
Arundels  and  Colyars  came  from  Albano  to  stay  a  few  days  with 
us.  They  are  acquisitions,  on  the  whole,  as  they  prevent  the 
eternal  egoistical  turn  the  Clephanes  give  to  conversation. 
Scotland,  Mull,  Walter  Scott,  are  the  only  topics  upon  which 
Mrs  Clephane  can  bear  to  speak,  and  then  only  to  be  narrative, 
for  on  such  sacred  subjects  not  only  criticism  but  observation  is 
forbidden.  Lord  Arundel  has  nothing  but  extreme  good  humour 
and  a  total  absence  of  affectation  to  recommend  him.  He  is 
extremely  bigoted  and  has  no  talents.  He  does  not  disguise 

1  Charles  Lucien  Bonaparte,  Prince  of  Musignano  (1803-57),  eldest  son 
of  Lucien  Bonaparte,  by  his  second  marriage :  a  distinguished  naturalist, 
He  married  his  cousin,  Zenaide,  daughter  of  Joseph  Bonaparte, 


310         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

his  dislike  and  contempt  for  his  fat  brother-in-law,  the  D.  of 
Buckingham,  of  whose  meanness  he  seems  quite  aware,  tho',  as 
is  sometimes  the  case,  it  is  wedded  to  the  greatest  and  most 
expensive  ostentation.  His  affairs  are  now  in  such  a  state  that 
he  left  England  to  avoid  his  creditors,  and  even  at  his  departure 
they  pursued  his  yacht  down  the  river  in  order  to  seize  it.  Some 
years  ago  when  Ld  A.  was  poorer  (even  than  he  is  now),  as  it  was 
before  his  father's  death,  the  Duke  pressed  them  very  much  to 
pass  a  few  months  with  him  at  Paris,  to  which  they  somewhat 
unwillingly  consented.  At  the  end  of  their  residence  Ld,  or  as 
he  was  then,  Mr  Arundel  found  to  his  great  dismay  that  the 
Duke  intended  him  to  pay  half  the  house  accounts,  which,  in 
consequence  of  the  large  dinners  his  Grace  had  given,  were  much 
more  considerable  than  he  could  well  afford. 

It  is  melancholy  to  see  a  man  so  amiable  as  Lord  Arundel, 
so  well  calculated  for  a  domestic  country  gentleman's  life  in 
England,  entirely  thrown  out  of  all  the  occupations  that  would 
suit  his  talents  and  character  owing  to  an  unfortunate  difference 
in  his  creed.  The  education  he  has  received  has  tended  to 
narrow  his  mind  and  confine  his  ideas.  The  other  evening  he 
told  me  with  some  complacency  that  Wiltshire  men  despised 
and  never  visited  their  Dorsetshire  neighbours,  who  were  less 
aristocratic.  In  talking  to  him  sometimes  I  cannot  help  thinking 
that  if  the  old  joke  be  true  about  the  Western  counties  in  Eng- 
land, he  ought  to  come  from  one  much  farther  to  the  westward 
than  even  Wiltshire.  Lady  Arundel  is  well-bred  and  tolerably 
well-informed.  Her  temper,  I  suspect,  by  nature  is  very  violent, 
and  she  has  many  very  bitter  feelings,  especially  towards  her  own 
family.  Of  the  Orange  violence  of  her  nephew,  Lord  Chandos,1 
which  he  has  inherited  from  his  mother,  who  was  brought  up 
with  a  horror  for  the  religion  of  her  mother,  the  old  Duchess  of 
Chandos,  Lady  A.  can  hardly  speak  without  temper.  His 
conduct  towards  her  and  Ld  A.  is  not  calculated  to  conciliate 
their  good  will.  He  never  speaks  to  them ;  and  one  day  at 

1  Richard  Plantagenet  (1797-1861),  afterwards  second  Duke  of 
Buckingham,  who  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John,  Marquess  of  Breadal- 
bane  in  1819.  His  mother,  Lady  Anne  Eliza  Brydges,  only  child  of  James, 
third  and  last  Duke  of  Chandos,  by  his  second  wife,  Anne  Eliza  Gamon, 
married  Richard,  first  Duke  of  Buckingham  in  1796. 


1828  311 

dinner  his  wife,  seeing  his  brow  clouded  because  she  was  laughing 
and  joking,  begged  Lord  A.  not  to  speak  to  her,  "  as  Chandos 
was  looking."  The  mean  tergiversation  of  the  Duke  was  first 
effected  by  the  offer  of  the  Garter  :  an  offer,  Ld  A.  says,  he  did 
not  at  all  expect,  and  which  he  took  some  hours  to  think  about 
accepting  or  refusing.  Sir  B.  Bloomfield  came  to  make  the 
proposal  while  he  and  Ld  A.  were  tete-a-tete  at  dinner.  They 
went  into  an  adjoining  apartment.  The  Duke,  when  he  returned 
from  the  conference,  asked  Ld  A.'s  advice.  The  advice  he  gave 
was  not  taken,  and  His  Grace  soon  went  over  to  Ministers  with 
the  rest  of  the  Grenvilles.  Even  on  the  Catholic  Question  Ld 
A.  thinks  he  would  have  changed  his  opinion,  or  at  least  his 
vote,  had  it  not  been  for  the  artful  manner  in  which  some  of 
the  Whigs  contrived  to  have  Resolutions  drawn  up  in  his  house 
and  called  them  the  Buckingham  House  Resolutions,  which,  by 
flattering  his  vanity  in  appearing  to  place  him  at  the  head  of 
some  sort  of  party,  prevents  what  Lord  Arundel  terms  "  his 
utter  perdition,"  i.e.,  his  voting  against  the  Catholic  claims.  Lady 
Arundel  is  a  harsh  woman  to  all  those  of  her  sex  who  from 
weakness  or  folly  have  yielded  to  temptation.  She  speaks  of 
them  with  cruelty  and  of  almost  every  one  slightingly.  She 
is  fond  of  gossip  and  ill-natured  jokes,  like  all  her  family.  The 
want  of  children,  her  change  of  religion,  the  persecution  of  her 
and  her  husband's  faith  in  England,  their  poverty,  and  a  variety 
of  disappointments  and  annoyances,  have  contributed  to  sour 
her  temper,  naturally  not  very  sweet ;  while  upon  him  the  effect 
has  been  to  check  all  the  natural  good-humour  of  his  character, 
and  to  render  him  more  narrow-minded  and  contracted  than  he 
otherwise  would  have  been. 

Saturday,  August  9.  Expedition  to  Rome.  After  dinner  we 
drove  to  the  Pzza  Navona,  half  of  which  is  inundated  every 
Saturday  and  Sunday  during  August  for  the  diversion  of  the 
people,  who  drive  about  in  the  foul  water,  which  was  deep  enough 
to  cover  the  boxes  of  our  wheels  when  we  joined  the  crowd  of 
carts  and  fiacres  that  were  splashing  about.  It  is  not  at  all  a 
fashionable  resort,  and  the  politer  part  of  the  town  are  in  future 
to  have  the  Pza  del  Popolo  inundated  in  the  same  manner  for 
their  aristocratic  exclusiveness. 

August  15.     We  got  letters  from  Rome,     My  family  teaze 


312         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

me  sadly  to  return.  No  stone  they  leave  unturned,  threats, 
taunts,  reproaches,  and  now  they  wish  to  make  me  believe  my 
father  dying.  It  is  my  mother's  system  never  to  spare  the  feel- 
ings of  others  in  any  way,  and  as  long  as  she  is  successful  in  her 
ultimate  views,  she  cares  little  for  the  means.  I  feel  more  and 
more  resolved  to  remain  away,  as  I  am  sure  that  after  all  that  is 
past  we  could  not  meet  as  friends. 

August  19.  Hotel  de  Paris.  After  paying  heavy  accounts 
and  dining  with  the  Clephanes  and  taking  leave  of  them  all,  we 
set  off  for  Rome.  We  took  a  caffe  at  the  Cafe  Ruspoli,  in  its 
pretty  garden  full  of  orange-trees.  The  pleasure,  however,  of 
going  there  is  entirely  spoilt  to  me  by  the  obtrusive  presence  of 
the  little,  deformed  dwarf  Bajoccho,  who  always  haunts  this 
place,  and  has  made,  I  daresay,  a  prodigious  fortune.  Lady 
Westmorland  the  winter  before  last  made  him  act  the  dwarf  in 
Vandyke's  picture  of  Charles  the  ist,  which  she  got  up  at  the 
Negroni.  She  took  him  in  her  carriage,  and  had  great  difficulty 
to  prevent  his  looking  out  of  window.  When  she  dressed  him, 
she  was  heard  often  to  say  with  vehemence  behind  the  scenes, 
"  Miss  Montgomery  rouge  Bajoccho,  and  then  throw  away  the 
rouge-pot."  We  went  for  a  few  minutes  to  the  theatre  of 
marionettes  in  the  Pzo  Fiano.  The  puppets  are  well  managed, 
and  the  delusion  is  so  well  sustained,  that  it  was  quite  aston- 
ishing to  see  the  Brobdinag  appearance  of  a  human  hand 
which  came  forward  from  the  coulisse  and  looked  horribly 
monstrous. 

August  20.  Ronciglione.  We  got  up  very  late.  I  went  out. 
On  my  return  I  found  Gaetani,  who  staid  with  us  while  we  dined. 
We  set  off  at  4.  Gaetani  (who  has,  they  say,  an  evil  eye)  put  us 
into  the  carriage.  The  evening  was  not  hot.  At  Baccano  we 
did  not  arrive  till  sunset.  A  wood  on  the  brow  of  the  hill 
opposite  the  post-house  was  on  fire  and  had  a  fine  effect.  It 
was  dark  before  we  reached  Montenazi ;  the  moon  was  up,  but 
gave  little  light.  About  a  mile  after  passing  the  column  where 
the  roads  by  Siena  and  Perugia  divide,  as  we  were  going  down 
hill,  two  men  rushed  down  from  the  bank  which  rose  high  to 
our  right,  and  after  saying  a  word  to  the  postilh'on,  one  fired. 
Another  came  from  the  bushes  behind  us  ;  the  postillion  screamed, 
and  showed  or  felt  apprehension,  He  affected  to  be  wounded, 


1828  3*3 

and  instantly  got  off  his  horse.  One  of  the  robbers  came  to  the 
carriage  door,  and  told  us  to  get  out  and  lie  down  faccia  in  terra. 
We  obeyed,  being  without  any  arms  or  means  of  defence.  He 
then  began  to  rifle  us,  and  took  Edward's  watch  and  keys.  I 
had  fortunately  buttoned  my  coat  and  he  did  not  see  mine  ; 
nor  could  he  feel  them,  as  I  contrived  to  prevent  him.  He  went 
to  the  carriage,  but  was  so  ignorant  that  he  did  not  know  how  to 
proceed  to  plunder,  and  was  forced  to  have  recourse  to  us  to 
assist  him.  I  went  round  to  the  carriage,  got  off  my  watch  and 
keys,  and  hid  them  under  a  cushion.  He  made  Edward  open  the 
dressing-box,  from  whence  we  gave  him  money — scudi,  42  only. 
The  silver  things  he  found  and  looked  at,  but  when  we  told  him 
they  were  false  and  easily  recognisable,  he  believed  us  and  left 
them.  Edward  pleaded  for  his  seals  and  rings.  The  robber, 
who  had  never  shown  any  disposition  to  be  ferocious,  was  hesitat- 
ing to  return  them,  when  one  of  his  companions,  who  had  both 
remained  at  the  horses'  heads,  fired  as  a  signal  to  be  off.  Joining 
his  companions,  they  all  three  escaped  to  the  left.  The  postillion 
slowly  remounted  his  horse,  and  we  proceeded  to  Ronciglione. 
Edward  behaved  thro 'out  with  the  greatest  calmness  and  tran- 
quillity, bitterly  annoyed  as  he  was  to  lose  his  watch,  and  especially 
his  seals,  for  most  of  them  were  very  precious  to  him.  I  was 
dreadfully  alarmed  at  first  when  they  made  me  lie  down  faccia 
in  terra,  for  I  thought  they  meant  to  beat  or  strip  us  ;  but  when 
I  found  the  robber  so  mild  and  so  very  ignorant  I  quite  regained 
my  presence  of  mind.  On  reaching  Ronciglione  we  sent  for  the 
Governor  immediately,  and  gave  an  account  of  the  whole 
transaction  to  him  and  to  the  police.  We  found  in  the  inn  two 
Englishmen  and  a  Camaidoli  monk  with  a  fine  beard  at  supper. 
They  were  travelling  towards  Rome,  and  had  stopped  on  the 
news  of  the  robberies  lately  committed  about  here.  One  of  our 
countrymen  was  young  and  almost  childish,  the  other  old  and 
with  a  walnut,  weather-beaten  face.  The  former,  instead  of 
being  curious  to  hear  the  details  of  what  had  just  happened  to 
us,  indulged  us  with  a  very  detailed  account  of  his  own  specula- 
tions and  possible  feats  of  valour  on  a  similar  occasion.  His 
own  mind  was  made  up.  He  travelled  with  pistols,  and  felt 
great  security  in  the  society  of  the  walnut-faced  gentleman,  who 
was,  he  told  me,  a  "  military  man/'  skilled  therefore  ip,  the  use 


314         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

of  firearms.  However  he  seemed  rather  ashamed  of  his  brave 
companion,  for  he  assured  me  he  was  no  friend  but  only  a  stray 
acquaintance  he  had  made  on  the  road  from  Florence.  After 
writing  letters  for  Novi  to  take  to  Rome,  making  our  depositions, 
and  being  pitied  and  congratulated  by  half  the  town  of  Ronci- 
glione,  we  went  to  bed,  but  not  to  rest  for  long.  In  the  middle 
of  the  night  we  were  disturbed  by  the  entrance  of  some  one  into 
our  room — I  hoped  the  bearer  of  some  intelligence  about  Edward's 
watch,  perhaps  the  watch  itself ;  but  to  my  great  vexation,  and 
rather  to  my  indignation,  it  was  merely  a  noisy,  obtrusive 
Englishman  come  to  interrogate  us  with  regard  to  what  had 
passed,  as  he  was  about  to  travel  the  same  road.  He  laughed 
and  giggled  and  detailed  his  own  intentions  and  speculations 
with  great  assurance.  I  replied  very  dryly  to  his  questions, 
and  I  hope  in  no  way  calmed  his  bodily  fears,  which  could  be 
his  only  excuse  for  such  an  unwarrantable  intrusion.  Novi  went 
off  to  Rome  at  about  midnight. 

August  21.  Ronciglione.  Camillo  arrived  safely  with  my 
horses  in  the  middle  of  the  night.  I  feared  he  might  also  have 
been  attacked.  We  got  up  late.  The  morning  was  spent  in 
trying  to  open  Edward's  dressing-box,  which,  tho'  he  had  given 
the  key  to  the  robber,  he  had  thoughtlessly  locked  again.  By 
one  of  those  fortunate  accidents  that  sometimes  occur,  the 
master  of  the  house  possessed  a  Bramah  key,  left  here  by  some 
luckless  traveller,  which  almost  fitted  it,  and  with  a  little  filing 
by  the  locksmith  we  at  length  succeeded  in  turning  the  lock. 
Edward  was  examined  at  great  length  by  the  police.  They  asked 
him  foolish,  useless,  irrelevant  questions,  and  seemed  aware  of 
their  own  insufficiency,  for  they  told  us  that  they  after  all  only 
wrote,  that  they  could  not  act,  that  all  the  Carabinieri  were  in 
league  with  the  thieves,  and  gave  us  no  hopes  of  recovering  our 
lost  goods.  At  three  we  started  in  my  carriage  for  Caprarola. 
I  did  not  wish  to  be  late,  for  on  this  very  road  a  few  days  ago 
there  was  a  carriage  stopped,  and  a  repetition  of  last  night's 
scene  was  not  desirable. 

Sept.  3.  Florence,  Wednesday.  Pisa  we  left  at  12  o'clock, 
and  arrived  at  the  Pelicoro  at  sunset.  Dudley,  I  was  sadly 
vexed  to  find,  had  left  Florence  two  days  ago.  Lady  Dudley 
lives  in  this  inn  on  the  same  floor,  I  went  immediately  to  see 


1828  3*5 

her.  She  was  extremely  amiable  to  me  and  showed  me  her 
child,  to  which  she  feels  more  and  more  attached  as  she  perceives 
the  want  of  kindness  Dudley's  family  betray  towards  it.  Such 
was  their  unfeeling  conduct  that  they  once  proposed  to  her  to 
leave  it  at  Rome,  fix  a  sum  of  money  on  it,  but  abstain  from 
seeing  it  or  from  superintending  its  education.  These  are  the  sort 
of  generous,  conscientious  projects  the  strictly  moral  people  are 
often  capable  of  supporting.  The  child  is  healthy  and  strong 
but  not  handsome.  I  went  to  see  T.  G.,  who  is  at  her  aunt's, 
the  Marchesa  Sacrati.  The  latter  was  holding  her  conversazione 
upstairs.  Lady  Dudley  was  there.  I  waited  till  she  was  gone, 
and  saw  T.  G.  in  private  for  a  few  minutes.  She  looks  thinner 
and  better  than  when  she  left  Rome,  talks  much  of  Lucca  Baths 
and  Mrs  Patterson,  who  has  vowed  her  an  eternal  friendship 
and  makes  her  the  most  exaggerated  professions  of  love  and 
regard.  Our  robbery  has  put  us  much  in  vogue,  and  all  Florence 
are  anxious  to  see  us. 

Sept.  4.  Florence.  It  rained  all  day,  as  it  always  does  when 
I  come  here.  We  dined  with  Lady  Dudley.  Her  manners  are 
very  good  ;  her  conversation  easy  and  lively.  We  met  Mrs 
Patterson,  Jerome  Bonaparte's  first  wife — before  God  his  only 
wife,  for  the  P88  de  Montfort  can  by  strict  people  only  be  regarded 
as  a  concubine.  Napoleon's  will  alone  dissolved  a  marriage  that 
displeased  him,  without  even  the  forms  of  any  ecclesiastical 
sanction.  Mrs  P.  is  an  American.  Her  manners  are  so  vulgar 
and  her  conversation  so  malicious,  so  indecent,  and  so  profligate, 
that  even  her  very  pretty  features  do  not  make  one  excuse  such 
want  of  delicacy  or  feminine  feeling  in  a  woman.  Lady  D. 
behaved  admirably,  without  the  slightest  absurd  prudery  or 
any  improper  encouragement  to  her  aunt's  malice  or  grossness. 
Ly  Westmorland,  when  here,  received  Lady  D.  in  a  circle  of 
strangers  and  instantly  said,  "  Aimez-vous  Bonaparte  ?  "  Lady 
Dudley  acknowledged  her  affection,  admiration,  and  vanity  for 
the  near  relationship  she  had  with  so  great  a  man,  and  when 
Ly  W.  had  the  bad  taste  and  want  of  feeling  to  tell  her  all  her 
sisters  did  not  show  her  feelings,  she  remained  silent ;  but  soon 
took  occasion  to  praise  Mrs  Coutts,  a  person  supposed  to  be  most 
violently  prejudiced  against  Napoleon,  for  the  delicacy  she  had 
always  shewn  to  her  on  the  subject,  and  for  her  civility  in  sending 


316         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

out  of  the  room  and  ordering  the  instant  conflagration  of  a  book 
of  caricatures  against  the  Bonaparte  family.  This  was  done  at 
Lady  Dudley's  request,  who  seeing  the  book  open  before  strangers, 
assured  her  hostess  that  she  felt  convinced  its  appearance  was 
quite  accidental,  but  she  begged  its  removal.  We  went  for  a 
few  minutes  to  the  Marchesa  Sacrati's.  She  is  a  bluestocking, 
nearly  100  years  old,  who  still  receives  the  flattery  and,  some 
say,  even  more  substantial  admiration  from  the  literary  wits  of 
the  day.  She  was  in  her  bedgown  and  nightcap,  surrounded  by 
several  old  men,  who  were  laughing  at  her  jokes  and  waiting 
for  her  nightly  whist-table,  which  only  begins  at  midnight.  A 
single  lamp,  shaded  from  her  eyes,  was  all  the  light  in  this  dismal, 
comfortless  conversazione.  The  ex-King  of  Holland,  Louis,  was 
on  her  right  hand.  He  is  very  ugly  and  coarse  in  his  exterior  ; 
his  manners  are  rude  and  ungracious,  his  voice  sonorous  and 
agreable.  He  made  much  love  to  T.  G.  Notwithstanding  his 
ugliness  he  imagines  himself  often  the  victim  of  a  belle  passion. 
Some  years  ago  the  Grand-Duchess  was  the  object  he  persecuted 
for  a  week.  He  will  not  see  Lady  Dudley,  partly  from  the  basest 
feelings  of  submission  to  Madame  Mere's  bigotry,  and  partly 
because  he  feels  offended  at  her  want  of  confidence  in  him  during 
her  marriage  with  Count  Posse.  Madame  Sacrati  has  been  a 
beauty  in  her  youth  ;  now  she  is  only  a  wit  and  writes  dull 
tragedies.  She  went  to  England  as  a  witness  for  the  Queen, 
and  is  so  liberal  that  the  Roman  Government  thought  her 
attractions  dangerous,  and  without  actually  sending  her  away 
made  her  life  at  Rome  so  irksome  that  she  left  the  town.  We 
went  to  the  Goldoni  Theatre  to  Lady  Dudley's  box,  where  we 
were  joined  by  her  and  Mrs  Patterson.  The  latter  gabbled  and 
abused  her  neighbours,  and  above  all  poor  T.  G.,  so  loudly  and 
so  perpetually  that  it  was  impossible  to  listen  to  Vestris'  good 
acting  in  the  Originate.  I  went  afterwards  to  T.  G.,  who  thought 
it  necessary  to  faint  and  attempt  a  flood  of  tears  on  the  sofa, 
because  the  Marchesa  might  hear  my  carriage  and  it  might  awake 
some  "  sospetto."  But  the  tears  would  not  flow,  and  as  I 
showed  but  little  interest  at  this  theatrical  exhibition,  she  dried 
her  eyes. 

September  5,  Friday.    We  dined  with  Lady  Dudley.     In  the 
evening  we  stopped  to  take  Mrs  Patterson  with  u§  to  Lady 


1828  317 

Ashburnham's  1  villa,  where  Lady  Dudley  had  promised  to 
present  us.  Mrs  P.  talked  even  more  strongly  than  yesterday, 
and  just  as  we  reached  Lady  A.'s  door  her  language  had  entirely 
lost  the  usual  veil  of  decency  in  which  ladies  judiciously  cloathe 
their  improper  ideas.  She  told  us  that  Ld  Dudley  (the  Earl,  of 
course)  was  impuissant.  She  afterwards  made  an  apology  to  us 
for  using  such  a  word,  because  we  are  English  and  easily  shocked, 
and  then  another  to  Lady  Dudley,  because  of  M.  de  Posse's 
similar  misfortune.  The  site  of  Lady  A.'s  villa  is  very  pretty  ; 
its  view  of  Florence  and  the  Val  d'Arno  quite  lovely.  I  have 
seldom  seen  such  a  happy  combination  of  Italian  splendour  and 
English  comfort  as  she  has  contrived  to  render  this  spacious 
house.2  We  found  them  all  sitting  on  delicious  English  sofas 
under  a  handsome  portico,  before  a  fine  garden  full  of  orange- 
trees.  Lady  A.  is  a  tall,  rather  dashing-looking  woman,  who 
still  means  to  inspire  youthful  desires,  notwithstanding  the  tribe 
of  grown-up  young  ladies  at  her  elbow  to  betray  the  secret  of 
her  being  far  advanced  in  life.  She  meant  to  be  very  civil. 
Her  conversation  does  not  appear  agreable  or  are  her  manners 
at  all  winning.  Mrs  P.  and  she  abused  the  society  at  Florence 
with  all  the  malevolence,  but  without  even  the  hypocrisy  and 
certainly  without  the  wit,  of  the  famous  scene  in  The  School  for 
Scandal.  Lady  A.  is  Lord  Beverley's  daughter.  Her  husband, 
who  is  a  virtuoso  and  a  sort  of  Maecenas,  is  at  present  in  England. 
Poverty  makes  them  reside  here,  and  they  contrive  to  live  in 
this  magnificent  and  luxurious  economy  with  an  enormous 
family  upon  2,000  a  year  ! 

Sept.  7.  Sunday.  At  two  o'clock  I  went  to  dine  with  the 
Comte  de  Sfc  Leu3  at  his  villa  out  of  the  Porta  San  Gallo.  His 
villa  is  prettily  situated,  but  not  well  laid  out  or  furnished  with 
any  taste.  Prints  in  miserable  frames  hang  round  the  papered 

1  Lady  Charlotte  Percy,  sister  of  George,   Earl  of  Beverley  and  after- 
wards  fifth  Duke   of  Northumberland,   married   George,   third   Earl  of 
Ashburnham  (1760-1830)  as  his  second  wife  in  1795. 

2  "  She  lives  at  a  villa  about  three  miles  out  of  the  town.     It  is  a  true 
Italian  villa,  terraces,  porticoes,  fine  broad  staircases,  statues,  busts,  grand 
rooms  with  vaulted  ceilings  and  handsomely  proportioned.     The  interior 
is  full  of  English  furniture — chairs,  tables,  sofas,  bookcases,  etc.,  etc." 
(Hon.  H.  E.  Fox  to  Hon.  Caroline  Fox,  September  6,  1828.) 

3  Louis  Bonaparte. 


3  1 8         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

walls  ;  and  all  the  chairs  and  tables  have  a  scanty,  fragile 
appearance  resembling  those  in  a  small  French  inn.  He  is  very 
infirm.  He  can  hardly  walk,  and  one  arm  is  quite  paralysed. 
Madame  Sacrati,  T.  G.,  her  brother,  and  some  Abbe  toads,  for 
whom  Louis  rang  the  bell,  formed  the  party.  Louis  talked  to 
me  of  Lady  Dudley,  whom  he  does  not  receive.  This  led  him  to 
speak  of  marriage,  which  he  called  a  lottery  ;  and  spoke  of  his 
own  share  as  no  prize,  but  instantly  changed  the  conversation 
lest  I  should  dwell  upon  it.  I  went  in  the  evening  with  Lady 
Dudley  to  Mrs  Irvine's  very  dull  party.  A  beautiful  French 
woman  married  to  a  Swede  (M.  de  Roston)  was  there.  She  is 
very  lovely,  but  cannot  succeed  in  getting  received  here  because 
she  is  not  well  known  ;  and  in  this  town  every  unknown  person 
is  suspected,  since  now  it  is  the  universal  refuge  for  all  the 
scum  of  the  earth.  They  come  hither  with  damaged  fortunes 
or  reputations  to  attempt  the  restoration  of  either  or  both. 

Sept.  8.  A  festa.  No  Gallery  open.  We  drove  about  the 
town  and  dined  with  Lady  Dudley.  In  the  evening  she  took  us 
to  Mr  G.  Baring's  1  villa.  He  is  brother  to  Alexander  Baring, 
and  is  of  course  like  the  rest  of  the  family  extremely  rich.  This 
villa  he  has  bought,  and  a  great  rivalry  exists  between  him  and 
the  Ashburnham  family.  Mrs  Baring  is  a  gigantic,  large-boned 
woman,  with  grown-up  children  born  in  every  capital  in  Europe, 
and  about  to  give  her  husband  a  seventeenth  or  eighteenth  pledge. 
The  girls  are  tall,  rawboned,  vulgar  misses,  very  underbred  and 
unladylike  in  their  conversation  and  manners,  without  any  beauty 
to  recommend  them  beyond  the  beaute  de  diable  and  the  usual 
freshness  of  all  English  girls.  Mr  Baring  only  appeared  on  the 
terrace,  with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth,  which  he  hardly  removed  to 
speak  to  Lady  Dudley.  Afterwards  aware  that  his  appearance 
could  in  no  way  add  to  the  agremens  of  the  dull  evening,  he  very 
wisely  retired  to  his  private  rest  on  undisturbed  potations.  We 
were  all  dragged  into  the  dining-room  to  sit  round  a  tea-table, 
where  the  young  ladies  did  not  preside  but  filled  the  offices 
nature  had  intended  for  them,  cutting  bread  and  butter, 
opening  bottles  of  soda-water  and  ginger  beer,  and  by  their 
dexterity  and  flippancy  strongly  reminded  me  of  an  English 

1  George  Baring  (1781-1854),  youngest  son  of  Sir  Francis  Baring.  He 
married,  in  1806,  Harriet,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Hadley  D'Oyly,  Bart. 


1828  319 

barmaid.  By  such  unladylike  occupations  they  may  long  continue 
to  stoop,  but  the  part  appears  too  natural  to  them  for  conquest 
to  ensue.  Prince  Butera  is  staying  in  the  house.  It  suffices 
to  judge  of  the  whole  family,  when  he  is  their  beau  ideal  as  a 
man,  and  Mrs  Patterson  is  the  object  of  Miss  Baring's  admiration 
and  imitation. 

Mrs  P.  was  there  ;  with  her  I  walked  upon  the  terrace  for  some 
time.  Though  extremely  vulgar  in  her  manners  and  thoughts, 
the  extreme  profligacy  of  her  opinions  and  the  indecency  of  her 
expressions  form  an  amusing  contrast  to  the  insipid  attempts  at 
gentility  of  the  Barings.  She  owned  to  me  that  she  was  extremely 
in  love  with  Jerome  at  the  time  of  her  marriage  ;  that  he  admired 
her  with  rapture,  and  gave  her  many,  many  daily  proofs  of  the 
warmth  of  his  affection.  Upon  his  second  marriage  he  wished 
her  very  much  to  form  a  member  of  the  select  seraglio  he  had 
formed,  but  she  sent  him  word  that  his  kingdom  of  Westphalia 
was  too  small  for  two  Queens.  He  then  asked  her  if  he  could  in 
any  way  please  her,  and  she  had  the  selfish  Yankee  calculation 
(for  she  owns  her  request  was  only  dictated  with  a  view  to  her 
son's  interests,  and  not  the  least  from  any  feeling  of  regard  for 
the  King  of  Westphalia)  to  desire  him  to  beget  no  heirs  upon  his 
Royal  spouse — a  demand  with  which  he  complied  till  the  hour 
of  his  fall ;  and  nine  months  from  that  very  day  the  Psse  was 
for  the  first  time  delivered.  Mrs  P.  is  malicious  enough  to  say 
(I  must  believe  unjustly)  that  before  her  marriage  she  had  been 
brought  to  bed,  and  when  she  found  her  husband  did  not  assert 
his  rights  she  complained  to  Napoleon,  who  obliged  his  brother 
to  consummate,  but  could  not  prevent  him  from  taking  precau- 
tions sufficient  to  make  Mrs  Patterson  secure  of  remaining  the 
mother  of  his  future  legitimate  heir.  I  cannot  easily  imagine 
any  woman  becoming  more  shameless  than  to  arrive  at  owning 
conduct  so  heartless  and  so  profligate  without  a  blush.  Mrs 
Baring  showed  us  a  tolerably  good  portrait  by  Hayter  of  himself, 
destined  for  the  Gallery  here.1  She  still  patronizes  him,  even 

1  I  have  heard  since  that  Hayter 's  picture  is  likely  to  remain  in  Mrs 
Baring's  possession,  for  the  Italian  artists  are  not  likely  to  claim  the 
picture  of  a  man  they  never  liked,  and  who  they  imagine  has  accused  them 
of  an  attempt  to  poison  him.  He  is  half  mad,  and  always  believes  in 
combinations  and  conspiracies  against  him  by  his  foes.  H.E.F.  See 
ante,  p.  235. 


320         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

after  the  dreadful  poisoning  scene  of  last  year,  in  which  he 
betrayed  such  a  total  want  of  feeling  as  to  disgust  all  his 
best  friends. 

Sept.  13.  I  received  a  letter  from  Dudley  giving  me  the 
welcome  tidings  of  the  brigands  who  attacked  us  being  captured. 
The  details  I  hope  to  have  soon  from  Chiaveri,  and  I  trust  the 
hands  of  the  police  will  not  prove  more  retentive  than  those  of 
the  robbers — especially  as  Edward's  watch  seems  to  have  led 
to  the  discovery  of  the  culprits.  We  dined  with  Lady  Dudley. 
In  the  evening  we  went  to  Me  Sacrati's  doleful  conversazione. 
The  old  lady  was  lively  and  amusing.  She  seems  to  have  been 
most  struck  in  England  with  the  beauty  of  the  adventuresses 
who  swarm  in  the  London  theatres.  We  passed  the  evening 
with  Lady  Dudley,  who  was  extremely  agreable  and  amusing. 
The  day  has  been  dreadfully  hot — a  damp,  oppressive  Sirocco. 

Sept.  16.  I  staid  at  home  all  morning,  writing  letters.  Lady 
Dudley  told  us  at  dinner  of  a  Jew  family  at  Ancona,  whose 
misfortunes  P88  Gabrielli  has  in  vain  tried  to  mitigate.  The 
daughter  of  one  of  that  persecuted  tribe  was  about  to  be  married 
to  a  young  man  of  her  own  persuasion  and  the  object  of  her 
affections,  when  a  few  days  before  the  ceremony  her  nurse,  who 
was  unfortunately  a  Catholic,  died,  and  on  her  death -bed  revealed 
that  she  had  in  the  infancy  of  this  poor  girl  secretly  baptized 
her.  The  priests  instantly  claimed  her  as  their  victim,  prevented 
her  marriage,  tore  her  away  from  her  parents,  and  put  her  into 
a  convent,  where,  however,  she  refused  to  comply  with  any  of 
the  ceremonies  or  devotional  acts  required  of  her.  Discipline  was 
in  vain  exercised  to  extort  submission,  but  starvation  and  confine- 
ment soon  unsettled  her  reason  and  she  became  perfectly  frantic. 
Her  father  went  to  Rome  in  hopes  of  obtaining  redress,  or  at 
least  of  effecting  his  daughter's  release.  Instead  of  succeeding 
in  his  wishes,  the  Inquisition,  dreading  the  scandal  of  this 
nefarious  proceeding,  instantly  threw  him  into  a  dungeon,  where, 
notwithstanding  all  the  influences  exerted  by  P88  Gabrielli  and 
others,  he  still  remains. 

We  went  to  the  Cocomero  again.  The  play  was  by  Goldoni— 
I'Avocato  Veneziano.  To-morrow,  the  lyth,  Lady  Dudley's 
cause  is  to  be  finally  decided  by  the  Inquisition  at  Rome.  There 
was  much  in  the  play  to  remind  one  of  the  circumstances  of  her 


1828  321 

own  lawsuit.  Louis  Bonaparte  was  within  two  boxes  of  us. 
He  turned  round  towards  our  box,  and  upon  seeing  Lady  Dudley 
looked  mournfully  serious.  When  she  first  came,  she  called  upon 
him,  for  formerly  he  had  shown  her  so  much  kindness  that  she 
thinks  his  present  coldness  towards  her  does  not  cancel  former 
benefits.  At  his  door  he  sent  down  word  he  would  himself  call 
upon  her,  and  the  next  day  he  left  at  the  door  of  the  inn  a  note 
for  her,  directed  to  Donna  Christina  Bonaparte.  It  is  very  strange 
that  her  own  relations  should  be  the  first  to  insult  and  degrade 
her,  but  they  have  from  the  first  behaved  to  her  with  invariable 
perverseness.  Her  sister,  Mrs  Wyse,1  by  her  account  seems  to 
be  nearly  mad.  She  affects  to  resemble  her  uncle  Napoleon,  to 
whose  features  hers  have  no  likeness  ;  but  she  tries  to  obtain  her 
object  by  frowns  and  crossing  her  arms  and  adopting  his  tricks — 
cutting  up  tables  with  a  pen-knife  and  other  peculiarities  which 
only  render  her  vacancy  and  absurdity  more  apparent. 

Lady  Dudley  says  at  the  time  she  was  at  Stockholm,  Prince 
Oscar  had  rendered  mustachios  the  fashion  ;  but  all  the  nobility 
not  having  them  naturally  as  dark  as  he  had,  many  were  reduced 
to  use  a  blackening  powder,  which,  like  rouge,  comes  off  at  the 
least  touch.  She  was  once  calling  upon  an  Italian  lady  married 
to  a  Swede,  and  found  her  upper  lip  so  treacherously  smeared 
that  she  took  her  to  look  at  it  in  the  glass.  The  lady  could 
not  deny  the  suspicion  being  just,  but  accounted  for  it  by  a  forced 
embrace  being  obtained  on  her  jour  de  fete  (which  it  happened 
to  be).  Lady  Dudley  says  the  story  was  repeated  in  society, 
but  not  by  her.  It  was  only  known  by  the  lady's  own  report, 
who  was  quite  determined  to  give  her  own  version  of  it  before 
any  other  should  be  current,  for  she  probably  did  not  calculate 
on  Lady  Dudley's  discretion. 

Wednesday,  Sept.  17.  In  the  morning  we  went  to  the  Gallery, 
where  I  was  much  diverted  to  see  old  George  Byng  2  screaming 
out  to  the  custodes  and  young  artists,  who  were  following  him 
about,  his  absurd,  conceited,  vapid  remarks,  couched  in  the  most 

1  Laetitia,  eldest  daughter  of  Lucien's  second  marriage,  with  Alexandrine 
de  Bleschamp.    Lady  Dudley  Stuart  and  Princesse  Gabrielli  were  daughters 
of  his  first  wife,  Christine  Boyer,  who  died  in  1800. 

2  George  Byng,  of  Wrotham  Park  (1764-1847),  Member  for  Middlesex 
for  fifty-six  years. 

X 


322         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

miserable  bastard  jargon  intended  either  for  French  or  Italian 
but  resembling  one  quite  as  much  as  the  other.  We  went  to 
the  Camaldoli  convent.  It  is  situated  on  the  pinnacle  of  a  small 
hill  that  rises  from  a  valley  to  the  south  of  Florence.  It  is  very 
extensive  and  surrounded  by  high  walls.  Each  monk  having  a 
separate  house  consisting  of  several  rooms  gives  this  mass  of 
buildings  at  a  distance  the  appearance  of  a  small  fortified  town. 
The  object  of  our  visit  was  partly  to  see  the  Padre  Fortunate,  a 
friend  of  Edward's.  He  in  his  youth  followed  the  "  cattivo 
mestiere  "  of  "  cavaliere  servente,"  but  an  accident  he  met  with 
changed  his  course  of  life  and  made  him  renounce  the  vanities 
of  the  world.  He  was  run  over  by  a  carriage  in  the  streets  of 
Florence,  and  during  the  long  confinement  this  accident  occasioned 
he  was  much  soured  by  the  infidelity  of  his  mistress.  He  has 
taught  himself  English,  which  he  reads  and  talks  but  with 
difficulty  understands  when  spoken  to  him.  His  house  or  cell 
is  very  well  furnished.  He  possesses  a  little  library,  chiefly 
of  English  books,  and  the  walls  of  his  rooms  are  ornamented 
with  prints  and  drawings.  Four  small  rooms,  a  very  little 
garden  and  a  pretty  terrace,  compose  his  house. 

We  dined  at  seven  with  Lady  Dudley,  who  was  very  amusing 
in  the  accounts  of  her  family's  domestic  disputes  and  jealousies 
respecting  precedence.  Madame  Mere  has  been  obliged  to  re- 
nounce (not  very  unwillingly  I  suspect)  the  family  dinners  she 
occasionally  used  to  give.  Every  one  expected  the  honour  of  a 
fauteuil — a  distinction  she  had  reserved  for  her  two  King  sons, 
Louis  and  Jerome,  without  according  it  even  to  la  Reine  Catherine 
or  la  Reine  Julie  (Joseph's  wife).  Lucien  thought  on  one  occasion 
his  wife  was  slighted,  and  he  made  Lady  Dudley  (who  is  now 
very  slight,  and  was  then  much  younger  and  smaller)  drag  after 
her  a  heavy  arm-chair  much  bigger  than  herself  and  which 
seemed  for  years  to  have  remained  attached  to  the  wall,  in  order 
to  calm  the  offended  dignity  of  Me  la  Princesse  de  Canino. 
Me  Survilliers,  tho'  a  sensible  and  amiable  woman,  is  not  free 
from  these  absurdities,  and  her  daughter  is  even  more  dazzled 
with  her  prodigious  rank  as  Infanta  of  Spain.  When  Lady 
Dudley  drove  with  them  in  the  Cascine  here  the  other  day,  they 
both  jumped  into  the  carriage  before  her,  and  without  being 
asked  sat  in  the  front  seats  of  their  own  caleche  and  made 


1828  323 

Lady  Dudley  go  backwards.  Dudley  prevented  very  naturally 
any  future  exhibitions  of  this  incivility. 

Sept.  18.  We  went  with  Lady  Dudley  to  dine  with  Lady 
Ashburnham.  The  dinner  was  deadly  dull  and  very  long.  The 
young  ladies  were  not  allowed  to  speak.  The  Agar  Ellis' x  were 
there,  fresh  from  England.  She  is  grown  duller  and  uglier  than 
she  was  some  years  ago.  Agar  instead  of  improving,  as  it  always 
used  to  be  said  he  would,  appears  to  me  to  have  grown  even  more 
affected  and  insufferable  than  of  yore. 

Sept.  20.  Dudley  arrived  in  the  night.  He  came  to  see  me 
early  in  the  morning, 

Biond'era,  e  bella,  e  di  gentil  aspetto. 

His  business  at  Rome  has  terminated  happily.  The  Inquisition 
have  approved  of  all  the  Swedish  sentences,  and  now  they  only 
wait  for  some  dispensation,  which  is  merely  a  matter  of  form. 
Another  robbery  has  been  committed  on  the  spot  where  we 
were  attacked.  They  stopped  a  Roman  courier  and  took  400 
crowns  from  him.  It  is  quite  madness,  for  instant  arrestation 
will  as  usual  ensue. 

Sept.  22.  Lady  Dudley's  brother,  Charles  Bonaparte,  Prince 
of  Musignano,  called  upon  us.  He  speaks  English  with  fluency, 
having  lived  so  long  in  England  and  America.  His  face  is 
handsome  and  intelligent,  his  figure,  for  so  young  a  man,  prepos- 
terously fat.  He  seems  good-natured,  but  has  no  refinement 
of  manners. 

Tuesday,  Sept.  23.  We  dined  with  the  Dudleys  as  usual  and 
met  her  brother.  After  dinner  we  drove  on  the  Bologna  road 
and  met  the  Northamptons  two  miles  from  the  gate.  We  passed 
the  evening  with  them,  and  I  walked  out  afterwards  smoking 
with  Dudley  till  nearly  2  o'clock.  He  talked  much  of  his  affairs, 
which  seem  drawing  to  a  happy  conclusion. 

Sept.  25.  In  the  evening  to  M>  Survilliers'  ;  she  is  Joseph 
Bonaparte's  wife.  One  daughter  has  married  the  Prince  de 
Musignano,  the  other  Prince  Napoleon,  Louis'  son.2  Her  sister, 

1  See  ante,  p.  94. 

2  Charles  Napoleon  Bonaparte  (1804-31),  eldest  surviving  son  of  Louis 
Bonaparte  and  Hortense,  married  Princess  Charlotte  Bonaparte  (1802-39), 
second  daughter  of  Joseph. 


324         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Me  de  Villeneuve,  a  sleepy,  dull  old  lady,  and  an  ugly  daughter 
are  living  with  her.  All  the  above-named  personages  were  there. 
It  was  very  dull.  My  old  friend,  the  little  Psse  Charlotte,  is 
improved  in  looks  and  is  as  quick  and  satirical  as  usual.  Her 
husband  is  not  so  handsome  as  I  expected.  He  is  even  like  his 
mother,  though  quite  devoid  of  her  grace  of  manner  and  esprit 
de  conversation.  He  is  looked  upon  with  jealousy  at  Rome,  as 
they  suspect  him  of  being  a  Carbonaro,  and  he  is  not  able  to 
return  there.  He  lives  here  with  his  father  and  they  are  on 
tolerable  good  terms,  though  the  latter  is  still  trying  to  prove 
him  a  bastard  and  defraud  him  of  his  inheritance.  The  other 
daughter  of  M>  Survilliers  is  as  fat  as  her  husband,  and  looks 
stupid  with  obesity. 

Sept.  26,  Friday.  I  drove  with  Edward  in  the  morning  to 
Borelli's  studio,  where  Edward  went  to  have  a  cast  made  of  his 
hand.  In  the  shop  of  this  third-rate  artist  is  exhibited  a  cast 
of  Lady  Caroline  Powlett's  leg.  It  is  taken  from  the  upper  part 
of  the  thigh,  and  having  been  unpaid  for  by  her  and  by  her 
brother-in-law,  who  thought  proper,  from  prudery  I  suppose,  to 
break  it  in  two,  it  now  lies  exposed  to  all  the  jests  and  sarcasms 
of  her  travelling  countrymen  or  of  the  astonished  natives.  The 
latter  must  find  it  difficult  to  reconcile  the  boasted  virtue  and 
purity  of  our  manners  at  home  with  the  extreme  abandon  and 
freedom  English  ladies  so  frequently  betray  on  this  side  the 
Alps.  After  driving  in  the  Cascine  I  met  Lady  Westmorland, 
who  has  been  in  the  town  two  days.  I  bowed,  but  we  did  not 
speak.  With  pleasure  I  think  that  all  intercourse  between  us 
has  for  ever  ceased.  We  dined  with  Dudley  and  went  to  the 
Cocomero. 

Sept.  27.  It  was  as  usual  a  long  time  before  we  could  get 
the  servants  to  pack  up  and  be  in  readiness.1  We  did  not 
start  till  ii.  I  took  leave  of  Dudley  with  less  regret,  as  I  expect 
so  soon  to  see  him  at  Rome.  The  kindness  he  and  his  wife  have 
shewn  us  has  added  much  to  the  charms  of  our  very  agreable 
residence  here.  The  more  I  see  of  him,  the  more  I  feel  attached 
and  interested  in  his  welfare.  His  conduct  towards  his  wife  has 
been  most  noble,  and  for  her  he  has  made  the  most  amazing 
sacrifices ;  nor  do  I  think  he  has  done  unwisely,  for  she  feels 

1  For  an  expedition  to  Perugia  and  Assisi. 


1828  325 

deeply  all  her  obligations  to  him  and  is  warmly  attached  to 
him.  She  is  very  clever,  and  her  conversation  and  conduct 
have  captivated  him  completely.  She  has  sought  to  win  his 
mother's  goodwill,  and  if  she  has  failed  (which  I  suspect  she  has), 
it  has  been  owing  more  to  those  about  Lady  Bute,  who  are  desirous 
to  increase  any  disposition  there  may  exist  to  dislike  each  other, 
than  from  any  faults  on  Lady  Dudley's  side.  Mortlock  (Dudley's 
tutor)  has  acquired  such  an  ascendancy  over  Lady  Bute's  mind, 
that  he  can  make  her  act  and  feel  just  as  he  pleases.  Her  letters 
to  Dudley  seem  to  be  anything  but  sensible,  or  likely  to  produce 
what  she  pretends  to  desire,  a  happy  residence  together  inEngland. 
She  is  for  ever  harping  upon  Lady  G.  North,1  upon  her  health  and 
merits,  and  throws  out  taunts  and  sneers  upon  Italy  and  foreigners 
that  must  wound  where  they  are  meant  to  strike.  Mortlock  is 
so  intimate,  and  puts  himself  so  much  upon  an  equality  with 
Lady  Bute  as  to  call  her  in  private  by  the  very  injurious  and 
disrespectful  nickname  of  "  Goat."  This  distresses  Dudley,  and 
Ly  D.  told  me  he  could  not  bear  any  allusion  to  the  parasite's 
insolence. 

Villa  Muti.  Oct.  7.  The  beauty  of  this  charming  villa 
makes  me  very  anxious  to  have  a  long  lease  of  it,  and  convinced 
as  I  feel  of  not  being  able  to  live  anywhere  but  in  Italy,  I  therefore 
began  a  negotiation  with  Me  Muti  to  take  it  for  three  years.  In 
the  evening  I  drove  with  Ly  Northampton  on  the  Roman  road. 

Oct.  8.  Edward  went  to  Rome.  I  staid  at  Frascati  writ- 
ing letters  all  morning.  Me  Muti  at  last  will  listen  to  my  terms. 
150  piastres  a  year  for  3  years.  It  is  very  delightful  to  avoid 
all  the  packing  and  trouble  I  expected. 

Oct.  9,  Thursday.  The  Clephanes  set  off  in  a  most  tremen- 
dously heavily-laden  chariot,  with  an  imperial  two  feet  deep, 
just  before  we  went  to  Rome.  At  Rome  I  drove  about  with 
Edward  to  shops  and  to  Gibson's  studio,  where  I  admired  some 
of  his  statues.  He  is  a  very  good  artist,  tho'  he  attempts  being 
too  classical — the  fault  of  them  all.  Edward  will  be  obliged  to 
go  to  Viterbo  for  the  recovery  of  his  watch  and  seals.  Of  course 
I  shall  go  with  him.  We  dined  with  the  Arundels  ;  met  the 

1  Her  niece,  Lady  Georgina  North,  daughter  of  her  sister,  Susan  Coutts, 
who  was  second  wife  of  George  Augustus,  third  Earl  of  Guilford.  Lady 
Georgina  died  in  1835. 


326         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Colyars.  The  dinner  was  plain  and  rather  good.  The  house 
they  have  got  is  comfortable,  but  not  at  all  handsome.  We  did 
not  leave  Rome  till  dark.  On  our  arrival  at  Frascati  we  found  the 
family  at  dinner,  and  to  my  surprize  the  three  Clephanes  also. 
The  voiturier's  horses  had  at  the  very  first  ascent  absolutely 
refused  to  draw  up  the  vast  vehicle,  and  after  many  ineffectual 
beatings  and  shoutings,  they  resolved  to  return. 

Rome.  Saturday,  Oct.  n.  After  packing  up  the  books,  &c., 
which  are  to  go  next  week  by  sea  to  Palermo,1  I  went  with 
Edward  to  Rome.  We  went  to  the  Opera.  David2  sang  in 
Zelmina  :  his  voice  is  beautiful,  but  the  affectation  of  his  attitudes 
and  grimaces  make  him  very  insufferable.  He  is,  however, 
followed  by  a  Russian  Princess,  Me  Samniloff,  who  takes  a  box 
near  the  stage  in  order  to  catch  every  glimpse  of  him,  and  who, 
not  content  with  this  public  display  of  her  affection,  regularly 
attends  the  rehearsals.  The  other  day  at  one  of  them  David 
kept  the  actors  waiting.  She  turned  to  an  actor  and  begged 
him  to  call  the  absentee.  "  Scusi,  Signora,  faccio  Figaro  la 
sera,  ma  la  mattina  no." 

Rome.  Wednesday,  October  15.  We  called  on  the  Dudley 
Stuarts  ;  they  are  lodged  in  the  Pzo  Gabrielli,  in  the  secondo 
piano.  The  windows  of  their  apartment  command  a  very  fine 
view  of  Sfc  Peter's  and  the  town.  Lady  Dudley  is  puzzled  whether 
to  stay  at  Rome  or  return  to  England.  The  relations  of  both 
families  teaze  her  extremely,  especially  on  religious  subjects.  In 
England  they  wish  to  make  her  turn  Protestant,  and  here  want 
her  Catholicism  to  be  more  active  and  to  see  her  convert  Dudley 
to  their  own  tenets.  The  persecution  she  has  even  already 
undergone  on  this  subject  is  so  tormenting  as  to  render  her 
less  disinclined  to  the  idea  of  living  with  Lady  Bute  for  some 
months. 

We  drove  to  see  the  Sistine  Chapel,  after  having  so  lately 
seen  Luca  Signer elli's  frescoes  at  Orvieto,  from  which  M.  Angelo 
certainly  has  stolen,  or  rather  has  improved  some  ideas.  The 
light  shone  strongly  upon  The  Last  Judgment ;  and  I  never  was 

1  For  their  contemplated  journey  to  Sicily. 

2  Giovanni  David   (1789-1851),  a  moderate  singer  in  comparison  to 
his  father,  Giacomo  David,  though  he  contrived  to  create  a  great  reputation 
for  himself. 


1828  327 

more  struck  with  this  wonderful  effort  of  human  genius.  We 
went  also  to  see  the  frescoes  by  Domenichino  and  Guido  in  S. 
Gregorio  Magno.  The  former  is  much  the  finest.  One  child, 
turning  from  the  martyrdom  with  horror  and  yet  casting  a 
fearful  look  behind,  is  full  of  expression  and  feeling.  We  gave 
a  dinner  to  Lady  Northampton,  and  invited  Colyars,  Arundels 
and  Griffi.  The  D.  Stuarts  came  in  the  evening  ;  and  Lady 
Arundel  had  the  vulgar  ill-nature  to  look  as  black  and  as  cross 
as  she  could  when  Lady  Northampton  presented  her  to  Ly  Dudley. 
We  passed  a  pleasant  evening  till  very  late  with  the  Dudleys 
and  U  N. 

Oct.  16.  We  drove  out  early  making  farewell  visits.  We 
dined  at  Villa  Gabrielli  upon  Dudley's  invitation.  The  house  is 
modern,  and  simply  furnished  without  the  least  luxe  or  parade. 
The  view  it  commands  is  one  of  the  finest,  and  perhaps  the  most 
panoramic,  within  the  walls  of  Rome.  The  garden  is  well  kept, 
and  tho'  the  P06  Gabrielli  is  one  of  the  meanest  of  that  mean  race 
of  human  beings — Roman  Princes,  his  avarice  certainly  is  not 
betrayed  to  his  visitors.  Our  dinner  was  good  and  plentiful ; 
there  was  no  form  or  restraint  and  every  one  seemed  gay  and 
pleased.  Our  party  consisted  of  Dudleys,  Cardinal  Riario, 
Trentamare — an  improvisatore  who  made  complimentary  verses 
during  dinner  upon  each  of  the  guests  between  the  courses,  the 
Confessor,  who  rules  the  house  and  who  has  made  the  poor, 
good-natured  Princess  find  consolation  dans  la  haute  devotion 
since  Government  has  deprived  her  of  her  admirer,  Monsignor 
Marini.  It  is  natural  that  married  as  she  is  she  should  seek  for 
some  object  to  love,  and  her  affections  have  already  been  often 
placed  upon  children  that  have  died  away ;  so  that  religion  alone 
remains  to  support  her  thro'  a  life  which  nothing  but  her  good 
temper  and  happy  disposition  renders  less  deplorable  than  could 
be  supposed.  Her  husband  is  tyrannical,  stingy,  and  during  the 
French  reign  was  convicted  of  a  capital  crime  and  was  under 
sentence  of  death  for  some  time.  The  old  Prince  hastened  to 
Paris,  obtained  his  son's  pardon  by  kneeling  at  the  K.  of  Rome's 
cradle  when  Napoleon  made  his  first  visit  to  the  child,  and  on 
his  return  to  Italy  released  the  Prince  Prassede  from  prison  ; 
but  never  spoke  to  him  again,  and  from  the  harshness  of  his 
conduct  greatly  contributed  to  render  brutal  the  already  bad 


328         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

disposition  of  his  ill-conducted  son.  Since  his  father's  death  and 
since  his  marriage  with  the  Princess  his  character  has  improved, 
and  he  shows  some  human  tenderness  and  feeling  in  his  passionate 
love  for  his  offspring.  The  maternal  duties  are  punctually 
fulfilled,  and  during  dinner  the  Princess  bared  her  breast  and 
suckled  her  last-born  girl.  After  dinner  the  children  and  the 
Cardinal,  who  is  very  jolly  and  lively,  played  at  hide  and  seek  ; 
and  tho'  perhaps  in  an  Italian  party  of  this  sort  there  is  some 
want  of  refinement,  there  is  much  gaiety  and  unbounded  good- 
humour.  Edward  returned  to  Villa  Muti  alone.  I  passed  the 
evening  with  Lady  N. 

Oct.  22.  Naples.  We  reached  Naples  at  about  5  o'clock, 
and  lodged  at  the  Crocelle,  where  we  lodged  in  a  noisy  little 
room  on  the  ground  floor.  We  dined  with  the  Northamptons 
and  Clephanes,  and  went  in  the  evening  to  Lady  Mary's  pretty 
house.  We  found  the  hostess  and  Gell  nodding  at  each  other 
in  indigestive  sleep.  Her  existence  is  entirely  animal,  and  as 
little  suited  to  intellectual  amusement  as  that  of  a  dormouse. 
Her  house  is  pretty,  and  as  she  dreads  a  day  without  company 
she  contrives,  by  giving  dinners  and  allowing  her  drawing-room 
the  freedom  of  conversation  only  known  at  club  houses,  to 
collect  stray  people  about  her  and  to  avoid  living  in  complete 
solitude. 

Oct.  23.  Naples.  The  whole  morning  I  devoted  to  house 
seeking  and  in  vain.  All  I  saw  were  dear,  dirty  and  incon- 
venient. The  proprietor  of  the  Esterhazy  Palace  offered  me  as  a 
great  favor  four  rooms  on  the  third  story  for  25  scudi  a  week,  upon 
condition  of  removing  in  24  hours  should  he  find  a  higher  bidder. 
The  new  house  built  by  the  young  Due  S*  Teodoro  in  Chiaia  is 
frightful,  but  only  surpassed  in  hideousness  by  the  vulgar, 
staring,  ill-placed  dwelling  erected  for  Sir  Ferdinand  Acton. 
We  dined  with  Lady  Mary  ;  met  only  Terrick  Hamilton,  the 
translator  of  a  dull  Oriental  romance  called  Antar.  He  is 
sarcastic,  and  his  conversation  shines  at  Lady  Mary's  house  as 
witty  and  diverting,  in  contrast  to  the  insipid  stuff  usually  talked 
by  her  daily  visitors.  Lady  Mary  is  ill  and  cross.  The  weather 
has  been  too  hot ;  and  her  servants  have  left  her  and  disturbed 
the  whole  menage.  She  told  me  at  dinner  many  family  details 
descriptive  of  the  Coventry  family.  She  abused  them  all. 


1828  329 

Lady  Coventry 1  sets  up  for  a  moral  character,  and  affects  great 
propriety  in  the  midst  of  this  profligate  family.  She  often  says 
that  her  love  of  decency  is  so  great  that  she  never  could  have 
married  any  man  who  possessed  the  faculty  of  seeing  her  charms, 
and  therefore  is  particularly  fortunate  in  her  blind  husband. 

1  Peggy,  daughter  of  Sir  Abraham  Pitches,  second  wife  of  George 
William,  seventh  Earl  of  Coventry  (1758-1831),  whom  she  married  in 
1783.  Lord  Coventry  had  become  blind. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
1829-1830 

Fox  and  Cheney  left  Naples  for  Messina  on  November  15, 
accompanied  by  the  whole  Northampton  party.  Their  stay  in 
Sicily  was  prolonged  to  a  period  of  seven  months,  but  during 
that  time  Fox  and  his  inseparable  friend  crossed  to  Malta  and 
spent  several  weeks  with  John  Hookham  Frere  and  Sir  Frederick 
Ponsonby,  the  Governor  of  the  island.  We  have  retained  several 
entries  relative  to  their  stay  there,  but  have  omitted  the  whole 
of  their  experiences  in  Sicily,  where  the  time  was  chiefly  spent 
in  Palermo.  The  whole  party  returned  to  Naples  in  June,  1829. 

April  20,  Monday.  Valetta.  Malta.  We  dined  with  Frere 
at  7  o'clock.  His  wife  Lady  Erroll  (nata  Blake)  is,  or  thinks 
herself,  too  ill  to  appear  at  table.  Our  party  consisted  only  of 
Frere,  Miss  Frere  his  sister,  and  a  pretty  niece,  Miss  Jane.  The 
dinner  was  dull.  Frere  and  his  sister  were  both  extremely  deaf  ; 
both  speak  very  low  and  inarticulately,  and  I  should  think  it  is 
many  years  since  they  have  interchanged  any  ideas.  There  is 
a  strong  echo  in  the  dining-room,  and  both  eat  a  good  deal  and 
very  slowly.  After  dinner  we  found  Lady  Erroll  in  the  drawing- 
room.  It  was  in  an  evil,  and  I  believe  in  an  unwary,  hour  that 
Frere  married  her.  She  is  an  Irishwoman  of  the  worst  sort, 
tho'  in  her  youth  she  must  have  possessed  one  of  the  most 
fascinating  charms  of  her  countrywomen — beauty  :  and  indeed 
is  not  totally  devoid  of  another  with  which  they  are  usually 
blessed — a  sort  of  lively  drollery,  which  is  nearer  wit  than  humour 
but  scarcely  deserves  the  name  of  either.  The  flow  of  her  chatter 
(for  conversation  it  cannot  be  called)  never  ceases.  Her  topicks 
are  usually  frivolous  and  uninteresting,  her  brogue  is  vulgar  and 
offensive,  her  manner  coarse  and  unladylike.  Confined  as  she 
is  by  sickness  to  her  house  and  almost  to  her  couch,  in  this  very 

330 


1829-1830  331 

narrow  circle  of  society  few  are  the  occasions  which  present 
themselves  to  afford  even  a  text  for  her  incessant  harangues. 
However,  she  is  ingenious  enough  always  to  discover  some  pretext 
for  garrulity,  and  when  she  has  exhausted  all  she  can  possibly 
say  makes  no  scruple  in  recapitulating  over  and  over  again  all 
she  has  said  before.  She  has  some  Irish  fun,  however,  and  now 
and  then  tells  a  story  with  some  drollery  in  the  course  of  her 
eternal  chatter.  Rogers,  she  said,  was  much  in  love  with  her 
sister,  Mrs  Cadogan,  and  old  Lady  Elgin  congratulated  Lady 
Enroll  on  the  approaching  marriage.  "  It  will  be  so  agreable 
for  her,  dear  Lady  Enroll.  Mr  Rogers  will  read  '  The  Pleasures 
of  Memory  '  to  her  all  day  long/' 

Frere  is  in  better  health  and  spirits  than  when  I  last  saw 
him.  Obliged  to  reside  in  this  African  climate  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  Lady  ErroH's  precarious  life,  he  is  cut  off  from  all  his 
former  pursuits  and  engagements,  and  suffers  sadly  from  ennui. 
Early  friendship  and  a  sincere  hatred  of  the  Jacobinical  opinions 
against  which  Mr  Canning  levelled,  in  his  youth,  all  the  shafts 
of  his  brilliant  wit,  threw  Frere  among  the  ranks  of  that  great 
man's  followers  ;  though  the  contracted  views  of  his  political 
creed  made  him,  I  suspect,  disapprove  very  much  of  his  principal's 
return  to  liberal  opinions  at  the  close  of  his  career.  Frere  is  of 
a  small  Norfolk  family,  of  the  antiquity  of  which  he  feels  the 
most  childish  pride  worthy  of  Mrs  Clephane  and  not  of  a  man  of 
his  great  acquirements  and  humorous  singularity.  He  is  one  of 
the  best  Greek  scholars  in  England,  and  has  long  been  employed 
in  a  very  clever  translation  of  Aristophanes,  to  which  I  fear  he 
has  sacrificed  all  intention  of  finishing  his  original,  whimsical 
poem,  The  Father  of  the  Beppos  and  Don  Juans.  He  launched 
forth  against  Gibbon  this  evening.  He  will  not  allow  it  to  be  a 
standard  book.  He  says  it  is  too  full  of  the  spirit  of  the  times, 
of  the  philosophical  cant  of  the  day.  That  no  book  can  be  good, 
which,  instead  of  displaying  the  mind  and  opinions  of  the  author, 
merely  betrays  the  author's  mind  to  have  been  warped  and  swayed 
by  the  prejudices  of  the  times.  He  contrasted  Clarendon  and 
Gibbon.  The  former  he  called  a  great  statesman  retiring  from 
a  world  he  knew  and  scorned  to  narrate  events  he  had  witnessed. 
The  other,  he  said,  was  "  a  fantastic  old  fop  poking  himself  into 
fashion."  Frere  showed  me  some  of  his  Greek  medals,  which  are 


332         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

extremely  beautiful.  The  greater  part  of  them  he  has  deposited 
with  his  bank  in  London.  A  strange  pleasure  some  collectors  have, 
to  possess  and  yet  never  to  see  the  beautiful  objects  in  the  pur- 
suit of  which  they  are  willing  to  sacrifice  so  much  time  and  money. 

April  21.  We  are  very  comfortably  lodged,  enjoying  a  view 
as  nearly  pretty  as  anything  in  this  barren,  arid  island  can  be. 
Lord  Byron's  description  of  it  is  incomparable.  It  is  just  a 
"  little  military  hothouse."  We  walked  a  little  about  the  town, 
but  found  all  the  shops  shut.  This  week  I  believe  it  to  be  nearly 
impossible  to  get  anything  done  in  the  town.  The  piety  of  the 
natives  is  of  course  much  increased  by  the  dominion  of  hereticks. 
We  have,  however,  respected  and  protected  their  religion  on 
every  occasion  possible,  and  three  years  ago  a  private  and  an 
officer  were  severely  punished  for  refusing  to  treat  the  Host  with 
the  usual  military  honors  ;  they  were  actuated  in  their  refusal 
by  fanatical  Calvinistic  opinions. 

At  twelve  o'clock  Frere  called  for  us.  I  went  with  him  in 
a  calessa,  his  sister  and  niece  following  in  another,  and  Edward 
alone  in  a  third.  A  calessa  is  a  strange  conveyance  and  not 
very  comfortable  ;  it  is  the  body  of  a  small  chariot,  in  shape 
like  a  sedan-chair,  placed  upon  two  gigantic  wheels,  and  drawn 
by  one  small  horse  or  mule.  The  driver  runs  by  the  side  of  the 
animal,  and  sometimes,  but  seldom,  sits  for  a  few  minutes  on  the 
shaft.  The  motion  is  uneasy.  The  pace,  however,  is  very  rapid. 
These  men,  who  are  extremely  able-bodied  and  well-made,  will 
sometimes  run  for  16  or  18  miles  without  repose.  Frere  was 
amusing  and  in  spirits.  We  talked  of  Shakespeare.  He  told  me 
that  he  had  lately  discovered  who  Shakespeare  had  in  his  head 
when  he  wrote  the  character  of  Falconbridge.  That  in  his  time 
Sir  John  Perrot  was  exhibiting  at  court  and  in  his  government 
in  Ireland  exactly  the  same  turbulent,  free-spoken  sort  of  wit, 
and  that  he  was  known  to  be  a  bastard  of  Henry  the  Sth's. 
This  is  one  among  a  thousand  of  Frere's  whimsical  discoveries, 
which  generally  are  the  result  of  much  desultory  reading  and  of 
a  humorous  fancy,  and  tho'  often,  as  perhaps  in  the  present 
instance,  merely  the  creation  of  his  own  lively  imagination  and 
easily  dispelled  before  the  graver  criticism  of  some  learned  com- 
mentator or  pedantic  chronologist,  are  invariably  lively  and 
receive  additional  force  from  his  good-humoured,  childish  attach- 


Sir  M.  A.  Shee  pinxit 


RIGHT   HON.  JOHN   HOOKHAM   FRERE 


1829-1830  333 

ment  to  his  own  theories  and  speculations.  We  talked  of 
Memoirs.  I  asked  him  if  Canning  had  left  any.  He  told  me 
not,  and  said  he  thought  him  a  most  unlikely  person  to  have 
kept  a  diary.  Frere  lamented  much  that  he  had  not  done  so 
himself  when  in  an  official  capacity,  as  these  pieces  of  auto- 
biography are  not  only  so  interesting  but  so  useful  to  posterity. 
He  blamed  Sir  Wm  Drummond  for  continuing  to  study  when  in 
a  responsible  situation,  and  added,  "  When  I  was  in  Spain  I 
never  opened  a  single  book  or  continued  any  of  my  favorite 
pursuits."  I  am  sorry  he  told  me  this.  Liking  Frere  as  I  do, 
I  should  wish  to  think  the  many  and  fatal  blunders  he  made  at 
that  time  were  the  result  of  over-application  to  classical  and 
desultory  reading  and  an  inattention  (highly  culpable  but  yet 
rather  excusable  in  such  a  man)  to  the  duties  of  his  office  and  to 
the  interests  of  his  country.  He  repeated  to  me  some  of  his 
translations  of  Aristophanes  and  some  of  his  original  poem,  with 
which,  however,  he  is  quite  out  of  conceit ;  the  English  public  have 
so  ill  understood  and  so  ill  received  it.  Lord  Byron's  poems,  writ- 
ten in  the  same  metre,  have  completely  eclipsed  the  very  little 
popularity  it  was  likely  to  obtain.  He  felt  perhaps  a  little  of  the 
jalousie  de  metier,  when  he  told  me  with  much  dry  humour  that 
when  last  in  London  his  shoemaker  had  complained  that  his  Lord- 
ship had  done  a  great  deal  of  harm  to  the  young  men  of  the  day. 
April  24.  Frere's  very  bigoted,  narrow-minded  opinions 
contrast  very  oddly  with  the  line  of  politicks  into  which  his 
connexion  with  Canning  has  thrown  him.  In  his  heart  he  is 
sorry  for  the  passing  of  the  Catholic  Question,  though  he  has 
voted  for  it  for  so  many  years.  The  only  speeches  he  admires 
are  those  that  have  been  made  against  it.  The  only  consequence 
he  sees  in  it,  is  the  necessity  for  supporting  and  maintaining 
the  Church  of  England  and  for  keeping  down  the  Catholics  as 
much  as  possible.  I  know  no  one  more  disposed  to  be  illiberal 
than  Frere,  tho'  he  is  one  of  the  best-hearted,  most  generous 
of  human  beings.  I  talked  about  the  liberty  of  the  press — of 
its  occasional  evils,  but  of  its  inestimable  value.  I  said  how  much 
it  would  puzzle  a  legislator  for  a  new  state  in  a  turbulent  state 
like  that  of  Greece  to  restrain  its  inevitable  licence.  Frere 
suggested  that  no  one  should  be  at  liberty  to  write  anonymously, 
that  it  seemed  to  him  the  only  just  restraint  which  could  be  put 


334         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

upon  it.  The  idea  is,  I  think,  just,  and  I  wish  that,  or  anything 
else,  could  be  done  to  prevent  the  daily  atrocities  one  sees  in 
the  English  journals.  It  is  the  scourge  of  England.  I  dined 
with  Frere.  E.  C.  was  invited  to  dine  at  the  85th  Mess.  There 
were  no  strangers.  Lady  Erroll  bored  as  usual  in  the  evening. 
Frere  slept  aloud  !  ! !  And  I  got  off  as  early  as  I  could. 

April  25.  Gozo.  The  house  in  which  the  General *  lives  is 
extremely  small.  He  and  Lady  Emily  received  me  very  kindly. 
They  are  living  in  great  retirement,  and  have  carried  with  them 
none  of  the  luxuries  and  very  few  of  the  comforts  of  life.  They 
have  only  one  servant,  a  Greek.  The  dinner  was  very  unpre- 
tending and  simple.  We  sat  some  time  in  the  drawing-room,  the 
General  smoking  all  the  time.  He  is  one  of  the  simplest,  most 
manly,  unaffected  men  I  know,  with  very  good  sterling  sense,  a 
sweet  temper,  and  with  the  manners  and  experience  of  a  man 
that  has  seen  much  of  the  world  and  has  profited  by  what  he  has 
seen.  The  extreme,  patient  good-humour  with  which  he  sub- 
mitted to  all  his  sufferings  during  the  battle  of  Waterloo  and  in 
his  very  slow  recovery  afterwards,  are  said  to  have  been  the 
means  of  carrying  him  thro'.  The  slightest  irritability  would 
have  proved  fatal  for  many  days  or  even  weeks.  Since  that  day 
he  has  been  unable  to  use  the  fingers  of  his  right  hand  and  now 
writes  with  his  left ;  but  he  contrives  with  singular  ingenuity  to 
wield  a  racket  or  indeed  to  clench  anything  with  it.  Lady  Emily 
is  just  as  she  was  before  her  marriage,  very  good-humoured,  but 
with  a  silly  giggling  manner,  which  often  offends,  tho'  only  meant 
to  do  so  occasionally.  The  child  is  the  image  of  Lady  Caroline 
Lamb,  and  bids  fair,  I  think,  to  be  as  spoiled  and  as  wilful. 

The  General  told  me  that  Lord  Hastings  died  in  such  debt  in 
Malta,  that  all  the  furniture  in  the  Palace  was  seized  when  he 
arrived.  To  his  cook  alone  he  owed  £500.  His  property  was 
sold  after  his  death  to  satisfy  these  demands. 

April  26.  Sunday.  We  breakfasted  with  Lady  Emily.  The 
General,  who  had  been  up  for  hours,  remained  smoking  in  the 
veranda.  After  breakfast  he  came  and  talked  with  us.  He  has 
acquired  by  his  rapid  rise  no  humbug  and  pomp  of  office,  but  is 

1  Major-General  Hon.  Sir  Frederick  Ponsonby  (see  ante,  p.  63)  was 
Governor  of  Malta  from  1826  till  1835.  He  married,  in  1825,  Emily 
Charlotte,  youngest  daughter  of  Henry,  third  Earl  Bathurst.  She  died 
in  1877.  He  was  severely  wounded  at  Waterloo. 


1829-1830  335 

just  as  free  and  open  as  I  remember  him  fifteen  years  ago. 

April  27.  Valetta.  We  breakfasted  with  Lady  Emily,  the 
General  having  gone  out  shooting  very  early.  He  is  one  of  the 
keenest  sportsmen  I  know,  and  at  this  season  of  migration  the 
flight  of  quails  upon  this  island  is  sometimes  prodigious.  Lady 
Emily  complains  sadly  of  the  cruel  manner  in  which  poor  Frere's 
benevolence  is  imposed  upon  by  all  those  who  get  about  him. 
There  is  a  Mr  Gatt,  of  whom  Frere  rents  his  house  at  the  Pieta, 
who  is  a  great  rogue,  and  besides  extorting  money  from  him 
under  various  pretences,  is  always  making  him  apply  to  the 
General  for  some  place  or  other,  and  often  Frere  coaxes  Lady 
Emily  to  get  him  invited  to  the  balls  and  parties  at  the  Palace, 
though  she  seldom  can  do  so  with  the  Gen1'8  permission.  Once 
Frere  came  out  to  the  Ponsonbys  in  the  middle  of  a  very  hot 
summer's  day  to  the  country  house,  in  order  to  petition  for  the 
place  of  a  dying  man  for  Gatt.  It  was  refused,  and  every  time 
he  meets  with  a  refusal  Frere  pays  the  amount  of  the  salary  to 
satisfy  the  greedy  Gatt.  Once  the  General  did  offer  him  a  small 
place,  but  Gatt  judged  rightly  to  refuse  it,  as  he  finds  Frere's 
generosity  so  much  more  profitable. 

May  5.  Frere  was  entertaining.  He  told  me  two  epigrams  : 
the  last  he  owned  was  his  ;  the  first  I  believe  is  too.  The  town 
of  Exeter  does  not  enjoy  a  very  good  reputation,  chiefly  owing, 
I  believe,  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Lord  Courtenay's  place, 
Powderham.  A  traveller  passing  thro'  observed  opposite  the  inn 
window  the  Fire  Insurance  Office  kept  by  a  man  called  Lot.  He 
wrote  on  the  pane  : — 

"  Here  are  two  securities 
That  the  men  of  Exeter  have  got 
Against  the  punishment  of  their  impurities, 
The  Insurance  Office  and  the  righteous  Lot." 

The  other  was  on  Lord  Carrington's  1  door  in  Whitehall,  at  the 
house  he  bought  of  Ld  Stafford  : — 

"  Tom  Smith  lives  here, 
Who  is  made  a  peer, 
And  takes  the  pen  from  behind  his  ear." 

Palace.     Valetta.    May   8.    We   drove   to   Sfc  Antonio   and 
walked  about  the  gardens,  which  are  now  full  of  every  brilliant 
flower — oleander,  geranium,  passion-flower,  roses,  &c.,  &c.     The 
1  Robert  Smith  (1752-1838),  created  Lord  Carrington  in  1796. 


336         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

pepper-tree  is  trained  against  a  high  wall  near  the  entrance  and 
falls  most  gracefully.  We  dined  with  Nugent.1  Met  only 
the  Freres  and  Eaton.  The  dinner  was,  as  usually,  excellent. 
Our  host  dilated  much  upon  every  dish,  especially  upon 
some  foie-gras,  of  which  he  gave  us  the  account  from  the 
Almanac  des  gourmands  with  great  emphasis  and  animation. 
We  talked  of  novels,  La  nouvelle  Heloise,  Delphine  and  others  ; 
the  details  were  growing  so  very  particular  that  old  Frere  told  his 
niece  to  retire,  tho'  Mrs  Nugent  did  not  shew  any  disposition  to 
move.  On  their  retreat  he  indulged  himself  in  some  wine  and 
much  indecent  conversation,  and  then  launched  forth  into  all 
his  usual  bigotry  upon  political  and  religious  subjects.  Nugent 
talked  sensibly  and  expressed  himself  often  with  justness.  His 
opinions  appear  to  be  those  of  a  liberal  man  who  knows  the  world 
and  justly  values  the  intolerance  of  his  neighbours.  Frere  at 
dinner  defended  torture.  I  was  not  the  least  surprized  ;  but  his 
niece  who  sat  next  to  me  was,  and  whispered  that  every  day  she 
lived,  even  with  the  most  benevolent  people,  she  felt  more  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  of  what  has  been  often  said,  that  no  one  is  fit 
to  be  an  absolute  sovereign.  Frere's  intolerance,  bigotry  and 
love  of  aristocracy  is  quite  childish,  and  in  arguing  with  him  I 
was  perhaps  betrayed  into  too  much  personality  by  glancing  at 
his  unfitness  for  the  governorship  of  an  island  (which  he  solicited 
from  Canning  and  was  of  course  refused)  and  the  vegetating 
insignificance  of  old  families.  He  tried  to  enrage  me  by  alluding 
to  the  novelty  of  my  own  name  ;  but  it  was  not  a  topic  likely  to 
vex  me,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  did  it  was  neither  ingenious 
nor  lively.  E.G.  reasoned  every  side  in  the  space  of  five  minutes — 
for  the  Church  and  against  the  Church,  for  the  admirable  clear- 
ness of  the  doctrines  we  profess,  and  then  against  the  Articles  to 
which  we  are  bound  to  subscribe,  and  against  the  catechism 

1  "  May  3.  We  called  on  Nugent.  He  is  settled  here  in  a  small  situa- 
tion and  has  married  a  daughter  of  Mrs  Whitmore.  He  is  LuttrelTs 
half-brother,  and  it  is  unfortunate  for  him  that  he  apes  to  be  as  witty 
as  the  former.  His  conversation  is  tedious  from  his  efforts  at  wit  and 
pleasantry.  He  has  lived  much  in  good  company,  and  knows  all  the  tittle- 
tattle  of  London  for  the  last  forty  years.  His  introduction  into  society 
of  course  was  the  consequence  of  his  brother's  agreable  conversation,  and 
he  repaid  Luttrell  in  a  much  more  substantial  manner  by  generously 
dividing  his  fortune  with  him,  when  the  latter  was  deserted  and  neglected 
by  his  barbarous  father,  Lord  Carhampton." 


1829-1830  337 

which  is  to  expound  those  Articles.  Our  political,  bawdy  and 
religious  discussions  kept  us  till  very  late  in  the  dining-room. 
We  only  staid  a  few  minutes  after  coffee. 

Frere  at  dinner  owned  his  alarm  at  Mr  Pitt,  who  seemed 
inclined  to  do  too  much.  He  said  that  had  it  not  been  for  the 
F.  Revolution,  which  prevented  his  attempting  any  innovation, 
he  knows  Pitt  had  a  plan  of  buying  the  tithes  and  paying  the 
clergy  a  regular  stipend  from  the  Treasury,  which  would  in  a 
great  measure  have  relieved  the  landholders  from  a  most  odious 
tax  and  have  rendered  the  churchmen  a  little  less  vexatious  and 
grasping.  Perhaps  even  Pitt  had  some  notion  of  equalizing 
the  Bishops  and  preventing  translations.  All  these  innovations 
Frere  deprecates,  as  he  says  the  Church  of  England,  as  it  stands, 
appears  to  him  faultless. 

June  ij.1  Naples.  We  were  not  admitted  to  the  Studii, 
because  the  K.  and  Q.  of  Sardinia  had  just  visited  them.  The 
reason  seemed  to  me  a  strange  one.  We  dined  with  Monsignore 
Caprecelatro,  formerly  Archbishop  of  Tarento.  I  found  him,  as 
he  ever  is,  friendly  and  amiable,  lively  in  his  conversation,  and 
full  of  his  usual  vigour  and  freshness  of  intellect.  His  figure 
appeared  a  little  sunk,  and  I  cannot  help  fearing  his  health  is  not 
so  robust  as  it  was.  We  met  at  his  house  a  Principino  Santa 
Severino.  Prince  Cariati  sat  with  us  while  we  dined.  Our  fare 
was  excellent  and  the  dinner  passed  most  agreably.  After 
dinner  I  went  to  Serrazoro's  terrace,  where  I  met  T.  G.  by  appoint- 
ment. Events  have  occurred  since  we  met,  which,  she  says,  must 
put  a  barrier  to  the  extent  of  our  intimacy,  tho'  she  can  love  only 
me.  There  was  much  sentiment  displayed  in  the  choice  of 
Serrazoro's  terrace  for  this  very  painful  and  extraordinary  con- 
versation. It  was  here  that,  in  1825,  our  first  amatory  conver- 
sation took  place,  and  tonight  we  each  pretended  to  be  taking 
an  eternal  farewell.  I  joined  E.  C.  at  the  Casino  del  Re,  and 
passed  the  evening  hearing  all  the  low  gossip  of  Rome,  which 
Ly  N.  has  heard  from  the  second-rate  sort  of  society  in  which 
she  has  been  revelling  there.  The  night  was  almost  cold.  Rain 
fell  in  the  morning  and  the  air  was  very  chilly  all  day. 

1  Fox  and  Edward  Cheney  had  reached  Naples  on  the  previous  day, 
on  their  return  from  Sicily. 

Y 


3  3  8         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

June  18.  I  got  up  very  late.  We  dined  with  ]>  Northampton. 
The  death  of  their  cook  has  been  a  good  event  for  them  ; 
they  could  not  find  a  worse  and  some  of  the  dishes  are  now  eat- 
able. I  met  my  cousin  Harry  Fox  (called  here  Black  Fox)  and 
Sir  Wm  Gell,  the  latter  in  admirable  looks,  but  does  not  seem  to 
have  got  more  than  one  new  story  since  November.  Ly  West- 
morland's chasseur  has  left  her  and,  when  much  pressed  to  assign 
the  reason  for  doing  so,  said  that  her  ladyship  used  to  take  him 
into  fields  full  of  wild  buffaloes  at  midnight,  and  that  he  could 
no  longer  bear  it.  We  went  to  the  Opera. 

June  20.  I  got  up  very  late.  We  dined  en  famille  with  the 
Northamptons.  I  visited  T.  G.  at  8  o'clock.  When  I  had  been 
with  her  about  ten  minutes,  five  rings  at  the  bell  announced  a 
visitor  about  to  climb  to  her  fifth  story.  Gallant  women  do  well 
to  live  up  so  high  where  this  is  the  custom.  Ld  Fitzharris l  came 
into  the  room  ;  he  looked  daggers  at  us  both.  However  he  soon 
tamed  his  anger,  and  we  all  three  fell  into  conversation.  I  flat- 
tered him  on  his  beauty,  his  talents,  and  the  distress  that  was 
felt  at  Palermo  on  account  of  his  declining  to  go  into  society,  so 
that  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  I  coaxed  him  into  good  humour. 
Very  late  to  bed. 

June  22.  I  dressed  in  a  great  hurry,  as  Princess  Butera  sent 
to  say  she  would  receive  me  before  12  o'clock,  and  I  was  anxious 
to  thank  her  in  person  for  the  obliging  letter  she  wrote  about  my 
lodging  in  the  Butera  Palace.  She  lives  in  a  small  apartment  at 
Pizzofalcone.  She  received  us  in  a  room  so  darkened  that  I 
could  not  see  her  as  well  as  I  wished.  She  is  extremely  tall,  has 
been  fat,  and  is  still  en  bon  point.  The  upper  part  of  her  face  is 
very  beautiful  even  now ;  tho'  she  is  65,  her  skin  is  white  as 
snow  and  the  expression  of  her  eyes  very  pleasing.  She  spoke 
of  Sicily  with  the  feelings  one  might  expect.  Remembering  what 
has  been  and  seeing  what  is,  she  owned  she  could  not  bear  to 
visit  it.  The  English,  she  says,  she  individually  loves  and  owes 
much  to  them,  but  their  betrayal  of  her  country  she  dwelt  upon 
with  much  asperity.  I  was  sorry  she  chose  to  carry  on  the  con- 
versation in  French,  which  she  speaks  but  imperfectly  and  cannot 
express  herself  with  great  facility.  Her  manner  is  dignified  and 
ladylike  ;  her  voice  is  harsh  and  more  like  an  Italian's  than  a 

1  James  Howard,  Viscount  FitzHarris  (1807-89),  who  succeeded  his 
father,  in  1841,  as  third  Earl  of  Malmesbury. 


1829-1830  339 

Sicilian's.  E.  C.  dined  at  Mergellina 1  early.  I  staid  at  home'all 
morning  and  dined  at  half-past  six  with  Lady  Drummond.  She 
lives  in  the  great  apartment  above  Monsignore  Caprecelatro. 
Her  guests  were  as  usual  ill-chosen,  and  her  party  dull : — Ld 
Fitzharris,  Catrofiano,  a  handsome  Russian  giant,  Ld  A.  Hill,  and 
her  two  nephews.  I  sat  by  Ld  Fitzharris.  He  is  an  affected 
young  man,  very  handsome,  and  extremely  flattered  by  having 
obtained  success  with  T.  G. — a  triumph  he  seems  to  suppose 
hitherto  unheard  of.  He  is  not  the  least  clever,  and  too  much 
occupied  with  his  own  looks  and  manners  to  be  agreable.  Tom 
Stewart  is  dreadfully  distressed  at  his  wearing  no  neckcloth,  and 
appealed  to  me  whether  the  young  Lord  could  really  be  in  his 
senses.  I  assured  him  I  thought  him  quite  sane  and  very  judi- 
cious to  shew  off  a  fine  throat,  and  that  every  one  who  had  a  fine 
throat  to  display  would  do  well  to  follow  Fitzharris's  example. 
I  took  Fitzharris  to  the  old  Archbishop,  who  was  playing  at 
scoppa.  I  only  staid  there  a  few  minutes.  On  my  return  I  went 
with  E.  C.  to  the  Northamptons,  where  as  usual  I  passed  a  dull 
evening.  Sir  H.  Davy  is  dead  at  Geneva.  E.  C.  had  a  slight 
attack  of  fever  and  we  went  home  early. 

June  23.  I  called  on  Fitzharris.  I  found  him  slightly 
clothed  reading  T.  G.'s  copy  of  Glenarvon,2  of  which  the  history  is 
droll.  Lady  C.  Lamb  gave  it  to  Henry  Webster.  He  gave  it  to 
Me  Martinetti.  She  sent  it  to  Lord  Byron.  T.  G.  became  pos- 
sessed of  it  at  his  death,  and  now  it  has  been  read  by  each  of  her 
admirers.  Ld  Fitzharris  does  not  improve  on  acquaintance.  He 
is  dull  and  affected.  T.  G.  says  his  temper  is  very  bad,  and 
notwithstanding  all  his  exquisite  refinement  I  do  not  think  his 
manners  are  at  all  good.  We  dined  at  Mergellina  at  4,  to  meet 
M.  and  Me  Ribonpierre,3  Princess  Wolkonsky,  M.,  Me  and  some 
MUea  Foss  (the  Prussian  Minister,  to  whom  the  hostess  is  paying 
great  court  for  the  sake  of  her  future  hopeful  brother-in-law, 
Baron  Normorn),  Baron  Dashberg,  old  Selvazzi,  &c.,  &c.  I  sat 
between  Me  Foss  and  the  Psse  Wolkonsky.  The  former  is  vulgar 
and  inquisitive  ;  the  latter  clever  and  rather  agreable.  She  has 
been  much  about,  and  talks  sensibly  about  what  she  has  seen. 
Last  year  she  was  in  England,  and  she  told  me  when  she  met  the 

1  At  Lady  Northampton's. 

2  Lady  Caroline  Lamb's  well-known  novel. 

3  Russian  Ambassador  to  the  Porte. 


340         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Grande  Duchesse  Helene  here  she  quite  astonished  her  by  re- 
peating the  abuse  j£  P88  Lieven  had  lavished  upon  Canning, 
for  the  Grande  D88e  had  not  had  any  communication  with  the 
Ambassadress  since  the  Minister's  death,  and  then  her  language 
was,  as  might  be  expected,  very  different. 

June  24.  I  called  with  E.  C.  on  M.  Ribonpierre.  We  found 
him  tMe-a-te'te  with  Madame.  He  is  a  middle-aged  man,  with  a 
very  French  manner  and  an  agreable,  unaffected  delivery.  He 
spoke  of  his  colleagues  at  Constantinople.  Mr  Stratford  Canning 
he  praised,  but  could  not  resist  rather  ridiculing  the  stiffness  of 
his  manners  and  his  love  of  etiquette  and  overstrained  decorum 
and  exaggerated  discretion.  He  evidently  dislikes  him,  tho'  he 
esteems  his  character.  When  the  news  came  of  the  battle  of 
Navarin,  M.  Ribonpierre's  family  were  living  on  the  shore  of  the 
Black  Sea  in  a  villa  only  accessible  by  sea  and  about  20  miles 
distant  from  the  capital.  He  described  in  very  strong  and,  I 
believe,  in  true  colors  his  excessive  alarm  for  their  safety.  They 
accuse  him  of  not  possessing  much  personal  courage,  or  of  stand- 
ing very  well  the  test  to  which  it  was  put.  On  the  day  the  battle 
was  fought  he  was  occupied  in  attending  the  Sultan  at  a  review 
of  his  troops,  newly  drilled  according  to  the  European  methods, 
which  was  got  up  partly  to  intimidate  the  whole  Corps  Diplo- 
matique and  to  strike  awe  into  his  breast  in  particular.  He  says 
it  was  a  beautiful  sight,  but  not  one  calculated  to  inspire  much 
apprehension,  for  the  Sultan  has  only  succeeded  in  teaching  his 
troops  the  marching  and  countermarching,  which  can  be  learnt 
from  a  subaltern  ;  but  that  of  the  evolutions  and  discipline  to 
bring  whole  divisions  into  action,  they  remain  perfectly  ignorant. 
He  praised  extremely  the  talents  of  the  Sultan.1  The  whole 
system  of  reform  which  he  is  now  gradually  introducing  into 
Turkey,  he  learnt  from  his  cousin,  Selim,  during  six  months  of 
captivity  which  they  shared  before  the  latter's  death  after  his 
dethronement.  He  at  that  time  developed  to  Mahmoud  (then 
quite  a  young  man)  how  he  saw  this  revolution  might  be  effected. 
When,  many  years  afterwards,  Mahmoud  mounted  the  throne, 

1  Mahmoud  II,  Sultan  from  1808  till  1838.  Selim  III,  who  had  reigned 
from  1789,  was  deposed  in  1807  and  put  to  death.  His  successor,  Mustapha 
IV,  Mahmoud 's  brother,  was  a  puppet  in  the  hands  of  the  Janissaries, 
and  was  removed  from  the  throne  by  a  counter-revolution  in  1808. 


1829-1830  341 

he  began  taking  measures  to  establish  what  Selim  had  attempted 
but  failed  in  doing.  Possessed  as  he  was  of  all  the  secrets  Selim 
had  unfolded  to  him,  and  master  of  many  curious  facts  which 
he  could  only  have  obtained  from  one  of  such  experience,  he 
was  aware  of  the  advantages  he  had,  and  has  turned  them  to 
account.  Ribonpierre  says  his  whole  knowledge  was  acquired 
from  Selim.  His  education  had  previously  been  much  neglected 
in  the  Seraglio  where  he  was  brought  up,  and  even  now  he  is 
grossly  ignorant :  but  his  natural  ability  is  considerable. 

Laval  Montmorency  has  just  refused  the  portfolio  of  F. 
Affairs  at  Paris.  He  justly  estimates  his  own  abilities.  M. 
Ribonpierre  told  me  that  many  years  ago,  when  Laval  was 
travelling  with  his  tutor  in  Italy,  they  saw  two  pictures  in  a 
gallery  said  in  the  guide-book  to  be  painted  par  des  contem- 
porains.  Laval  in  a  moment  of  absence  asked  his  tutor  what 
the  word  contemporains  meant.  The  man  explained,  and  said, 
"  Pour  exemple,  vous  et  moi  nous  sommes  des  contemporains." 
"  Bah  !  Bah  !  "  replied  Laval,  "  que  voulez-vous  dire,  nous  ne 
savons  pas  dessiner  ni  Tun  ni  I'autre."  These  foolish  mistakes 
have  sometimes  passed  for  wit  and  given  him  a  very  unmerited 
reputation  for  saying  bons  mots. 

June  25.  We  dined  with  the  Archbishop.  Our  guests  were  :— 
Mrs  Dodwell,  Cell,  Visconti,  Pce  Santa  Severino,  Marchese 
Malaspina,  Giraud,  and  a  Professor  of  Oriental  languages,  who 
puzzled  Gell  by  talking  modern  Greek.  I  sat  by  Mrs  Dodwell,1 
who  is  in  excessive  beauty  and  very  tearing  spirits  at  the  acces- 
sion of  fortune  she  has  got  by  the  death  of  her  father-in-law. 
She  gave  a  deplorable  account  of  the  society  this  year  at  Rome, 
and  abused  with  great  cordiality  all  the  English  ladies  who  gave 
themselves  airs  there.  She  is  very  clever.  Totally  uneducated 
and  born  of  very  vulgar  parents,  she  has  acquired  considerable 
information  and  a  manner  far  superior  to  most  of  her  country- 
women, formed  entirely  on  the  model  of  a  French  petite  maitresse. 
She  speaks  French  with  a  fluency  and  correctness  very  rarely 
attainable  by  any  Italian,  and  tho'  the  objects  of  her  imitation 
have  not  been  very  well  selected,  she  certainly  has  succeeded  in 
copying  them  most  faithfully.  It  was  late  before  we  sat  down  to 

1  Dodwell's  wife,  more  than  thirty  years  his  junior,  was  a  daughter  of 
Count  Giraud. 


The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

dinner.  The  dinner  lasted  long,  and  we  took  a  very  short  even- 
ing drive  before  going  to  drink  tea  at  Mergellina,  where  we  found 
Sir  W.  Cell.  Unfortunately  before  the  old  lady  and  Wilmira  he 
began  most  unconsciously  abusing  and  ridiculing  M.  and  Me 
Foss,  the  Prussian  Minister.  It  was  a  most  untoward  subject, 
for  the  old  lady  is  just  beginning  to  become  more  reconciled  to 
the  idea  of  Wilmira's  marriage  with  Baron  Normorn,  because'she 
imagines  he  is  greatly  related  and  that  these  very  Foss'  are 
most  illustrious  in  point  of  rank  and  birth.  Unwittingly  it  was 
upon  their  rank  and  birth  that  Gell  fell  foul.  He  called  Me  Foss 
(the  worthy  Baron's  aunt)  an  old  housekeeper  or  laundress,  and 
said  that  she  was  something  very  low  indeed  in  her  own  country. 
The  old  lady  was  annoyed.  Wilmira  turned  white  and  scarlet 
alternately,  and  Ly  N.  behaved,  as  she  always  does,  very  foolishly, 
and  in  a  manner  to  render  the  conversation  much  more  dis- 
tressing to  her  mother  and  sister,  instead  of  contriving  to  change 
the  topics.  I  could  not  help,  however,  being  diverted.  It  was 
a  scene  such  as  one  reads  in  Miss  Burney's  novels  but  scarcely 
ever  has  the  luck  to  witness.  I  felt,  however,  for  poor  Wilmira, 
who  must  have  been  sadly  vexed  to  hear  the  very  things  said 
against  her  admirer  that  would  have  more  effect  in  poisoning 
Mrs  Clephane's  mind  against  him,  than  if  Gell  had  accused  him 
and  all  his  family  of  breaking  the  Decalogue  daily.  We  drove 
after  tea  to  Santa  Lucia.  There  we  saw  several  supper-tables 
spread  out  in  the  streets  and  jolly  parties  feasting  at  them.  I 
was  hungry,  and  the  scene  was  so  gay  and  tempting  that  we 
ordered  a  table  and  remained  a  whole  hour  supping  there,  while 
a  musician  played  and  sung  to  me  some  of  the  gayest  Neapolitan 
airs.  I  seldom  passed  a  more  agreable  evening.  In  this 
heavenly  climate,  in  the  society  of  one  I  love  so  much  as  I  do 
E.  C.,  and  so  well  and  happy  as  I  feel,  that  even  the  idea  of 
going  speedily  to  England  did  not  make  me  sad. 

June  26.  My  carriage  is  free  from  the  Dogana.  We  shall 
start  on  Sunday.  We  staid  at  home  all  morning.  M.  Ribon- 
pierre  called  upon  us  ;  he  sat  some  time.  He  has  a  great  horror 
of  the  Turks — they  massacred  his  father,  and  he  seems  to  have 
apprehended  the  same  fate  almost  all  the  time  he  was  at  Con- 
stantinople. The  Turks,  he  says,  drink  wine  much  in  private, 
and  that  it  is  astonishing  the  quantity  some  of  them  will  drink 


1829-1830  343 

without  betraying  any  symptoms  of  inebriety — not  only  quantity 
but  vast  variety  they  will  take  with  impunity.  The  present 
Sultan  is  not  a  bigot,  but  yet  very  decorous  in  the  outward  forms 
of  religion.  A  Turk  of  rank  once  came  to  a  fete  given  by  his 
predecessor  at  Constantinople.  The  F.  Ambassador  was  present 
and  joined  the  dance.  The  Turk  observed  to  one  of  the  Russian 
attaches  that  the  fete  must  have  cost  the  Ambassador  a  vast 
sum.  The  Russian  said  that  all  parties  were  expensive,  but  why 
did  he  imagine  this  one  to  be  unusually  so  ?  "  Because,"  he  said, 
"  it  must  have  been  for  a  very  considerable  sum  of  money  that 
your  master  could  engage  the  F.  Ambassador  to  dance  for  his 
amusement." 

June  27.  I  went  in  the  morning  to  take  leave  of  T.  G.  We 
took  a  tender  leave.  I  shall  always  feel  excessive  interest  and 
regard  for  T.  G.,  and  I  think  she  has  shewn  much  generosity  and 
nobleness  of  character  in  many  occasions.  Certainly  her  conduct 
to  me  has  always  been  most  admirable,  considering  my  very  un- 
pardonable neglect  of  her  ;  nor  can  I  the  least  blame  her  for  taking 
a  fresh  lover  when  I  had  deserted  her  in  the  manner  I  had  done. 

I  drove  with  E.  C.  to  the  terra-cotta  manufacture,  where  I 
bought  some  porcelain  plates  and  earthenware  dishes  for  Fras- 
cati.  The  prices  are  rather  high  I  think,  but  the  objects  are  very 
beautiful.  We  dined  at  half-past  5  at  M.  Ribonpierre's.  We 
met  Lady  N.,  various  Russian  attaches,  and  Countess  Samniloff, 
Me  Ribonpierre's  niece,  who  is  following  the  singer  David  about 
Europe  in  the  most  open  and  least  reputable  manner  possible. 
She  is  young,  but  has  no  other  beauty  ;  her  features  are  large 
and  coarse,  her  skin  dark  brown  and  dirty,  her  figure  bad,  her 
voice  harsh,  and  her  manners  certainly  not  genteel  and  indeed 
scarcely  decent.  Her  dress  was  in  the  extremity  of  fashion, 
sleeves  wider  and  fuller  than  any  I  have  yet  seen  ;  but  the  whole 
of  it  seemed  contrived  to  shew  more  of  her  skinny  person  than 
it  is  usual  to  shew  in  a  drawing-room.  The  dinner  was  not  very 
good.  The  house  is  well  mounted  and  well  served.  We  passed 
the  evening  at  Mergellina  and  took  leave  of  the  family,  as  we  go 
tomorrow.  The  bill  of  the  Gran  Bretagna  is  enormous  ;  the 
house  very  ill-served  and  very  bad.  I  shall  never  return  to  it. 

Rome.  June  29.  St.  Peter's  Day.  Mrs  Colyar  described  the 
society  at  Rome  this  winter  as  extremely  bad  and  sadly  quarrel- 


344         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

some.  One  of  the  French  Cardinals  (le  Prince  de  Croy),  who 
came  for  the  Conclave,  was  a  ridiculous  little  chatterbox.  Lady 
Arundel  assured  Mrs  Colyar  that  the  antiquity  of  his  family 
surpassed  all  belief,  and  told  her  that  it  was  a  current  story  in 
France  that  the  Almighty  said  to  Noah,  "  Que  faites-vous  avec 
ce  sac-la  ?  "  Noah  replied,  "  Mon  Seigneur,  je  sauve  le  Prince 
de  Croy."  The  Almighty  was  satisfied  and  only  said,  "  Ah  ! 
vous  faites  tres  bien."  The  evening  was  fine  and  cloudless,  and 
the  air  was  freshened  by  the  rain.  I  walked  a  little  about  the 
town. 

June  30.  We  drove  to  the  Forum  and  Coliseum.  Since  my 
absence  much  has  been  done  to  excavate  and  level  this  inter- 
esting spot.  The  earth  all  about  Constantine's  Arch  has  been 
cleared  away,  and  now  they  are  busy  in  excavating  the  Temple 
of  Venus  and  Roma.  When  the  whole  project  is  carried  into 
effect  it  will  greatly  improve  the  general  appearance  of  the  place, 
but  at  present  of  course  the  heaps  of  rubbish  and  piles  of  stones 
encumber  the  ground  and  spoil  the  effect.  Rome  is  in  full 
beauty.  The  verdure,  in  consequence  of  the  backward  and 
rainy  summer,  is  in  brilliant  freshness.  The  air  is  cool,  and  the 
sky  of  that  dark,  deep  blue  only  seen  in  this  season  and  in  these 
latitudes.  It  requires  a  strong  sense  of  duty  to  enable  me  to 
leave  these  scenes,  in  which  I  am  so  happy,  for  cloudy  skies  and 
for  the  angry  discussions  which  I  expect  in  England.  Every 
day  I  pass  brings  me  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  dreaded  hour  of 
arrival. 

I  called  on  Prince  and  Princess  Montfort.  I  found  the  PBB 
alone.  She  was  very  gracious  and  amiable,  as  I  have  invariably 
found  her.  She  has  no  wit  or  brilliancy  in  conversation,  but  has 
good  humour  and  good  sense,  which  upon  the  long  run  are  more 
necessary  for  social  intercourse.  Jerome  came  in  soon  after- 
wards. They  both  joined  in  well-merited  and,  I  believe,  sincere 
praise  of  Dudley.  Lady  Shrewsbury  sent  Chatillon  (who  by  the 
by  lived  for  fourteen  years  on  Lucien  Bonaparte's  bounty)  to 
psse  de  Montfort,  to  tell  her  that  she  could  not  come  to  her  house 
if  she  met  Lady  Dudley  there.  The  P*86  answered  with  spirit 
that  she  was  very  sorry  to  have  to  make  her  choice  between  an 
old  friend  and  a  niece,  but  that  she  could  not  hesitate  for  a 
moment  upon  which  of  the  two  she  should  shut  her  doors,  and 


1829-1830  345 

that  for  the  future  Lady  S.  could  not  expect  to  cross  her  thres- 
hold. I  went  to  Mrs  Colyar,  where  I  met  Me  Bevilacqua,  a  very 
pretty  Ferrarese  married  to  a  miserable-looking  Venetian,  whom 
she  persuades  to  come  every  year  to  Rome  to  superintend  the 
modern  works  of  art,  while  she  is  installed  as  the  favourite  of 
K.  Jerome. 

Mrs  Colyar  told  me  details  of  Lady  Arundel's  rudeness  and 
ingratitude  towards  her  and  her  husband,  that  quite  astonished 
even  from  such  a  very  unamiable  character.  On  the  evening  of 
Chateaubriand's  first  party,  Lady  Westmorland,  Lady  Arundel 
and  Mrs  Colyar  were  the  only  English  ladies  invited.  Cardinals, 
Roman  Princesses,  and  some  German  Royalties,  formed  the  rest 
of  the  assembly.  Mrs  Colyar  knew  no  one.  Lady  W.  would  not 
speak  to  her.  When  a  chair  became  vacant  she  crossed  the  room 
to  sit  by  Lady  Arundel,  who  received  her  by  saying,  "  This  is  not 
the  moment,  Mrs  Colyar,  to  make  a  move.  You  had  better  re- 
turn to  your  place."  Soon  after  Lady  Arundel's  introduction  to 
Lady  D.  Stuart  at  my  dinner  in  October  last,  they  met  at  a 
party,  and  Lady  Dudley,  after  some  conversation  had  passed  in 
which  she  thought  they  had  interchanged  civilities,  said,  "  J'ai 
eu  1'honneur  de  passer  chez  vous  ce  matin  :  j'y  ai  laisse  une 
carte."  Lady  A.  jumped  up,  and  darting  a  look  at  Lady  Dudley, 
said  before  bystanders,  "  Je  ne  recois  jamais  chez  moi  des  femmes 
comme  vous."  This  story  Ly  Shrewsbury  told  the  P88e  de 
Montfort  as  a  proof  of  Lady  Arundel's  decision  and  propriety  of 
conduct.  What  can  be  thought  of  society,  if  such  Billingsgate 
language  and  manners  are  to  be  tolerated. 

July  i.  I  went  with  E.  C.  to  Gibson's  studio,  where  I  saw  but 
little  to  admire.  After  dinner  I  called  on  Bunsen,1  who  lives  in 
the  Palazzo  Caffarelli.  My  object  was  to  find  if  I  could  secure 
this  apartment  now  he  leaves  it  for  a  house  on  the  Quirinal.  I 
was  too  late.  Chateaubriand  has  taken  it  for  six  years,  and  pays 
for  it  without  furniture  only  400  scudi  a  year.  It  would  suit 
E.  C.  and  me  most  admirably.  The  views  it  commands  are  unique 
—there  is  nothing  so  fine  in  Europe.  The  rooms  themselves  are 
not  very  good  or  at  all  spacious.  Bunsen  is  a  hard-headed, 

1  Christian  Karl  Josias  Bunsen  (1791-1868),  diplomat,  archaeologist  and 
theologian.  He  was  appointed  Prussian  resident  Minister  in  Rome  in 
1827  ;  and  was  Ambassador  in  London,  1842-54. 


346         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

sensible  man.  He  has  in  his  house  at  present  a  very  beautiful 
torso  of  Greek  workmanship,  which  he  has  just  bought  for  the 
K.  of  Prussia.  He  only  paid  500  scudi  for  it,  and  it  is  well  worth 
3,000.  He  has  some  pretty  vases  and  objects  of  antiquity  of  his 
own.  He  shewed  me  a  very  beautiful  ivory  figure  of  Christ 
bound  in  the  Temple,  which  had  belonged  to  Frederick  the 
Great  and  was  given  to  him  by  the  Pce  of  Prussia  :  it  is  evidently 
of  Italian  execution,  and  has  been  done  in  the  best  days  under 
Michael  Angelo  or  Benvenuto.  He  told  me  he  was  much  pleased 
that  de  Gregorio  had  not  been  elected,  that  he  was  not  a  trust- 
worthy man  and  had  always  been  a  time-server.  The  present 
Pope *  he  praised,  and  he  says  that  he  already  is  said  to  repent 
the  appointment  of  Cardinal  Albani 2  to  the  Secretaryship. 

When  Chateaubriand  took  leave  of  His  Holiness  he  thanked 
him  for  the  civil  speeches  and  kind  expressions  with  which  the 
Pope  loaded  him,  and  then  added  that  above  all  he  had  one  deep 
obligation  to  him.  Pius  VIII  asked  him  what  he  meant.  He 
replied,  "  His  Holiness'  appointment  of  Cardinal  Albani  to  the 
Ministry,  that  had  prevented  his  being  named  Premier  by  Charles 
X — a  situation  much  too  arduous  and  difficult  for  him  to  accept 
willingly,  but  which  he  should  not  think  himself  entitled  to 
decline."  He  is  gone  to  Paris  for  the  purpose  of  intriguing  for 
office,  and  merely  pretends  to  seek  for  retirement  and  tranquillity 
at  Rome  in  hopes  of  disguising  his  real  views  from  public  obser- 
vation. He  has  taken  this  house  without  any  intention,  or  at 
least  any  wish,  to  inhabit  it.  However,  should  his  intrigues  fail, 
perhaps  he  may  be  forced  to  seek  for  unwished  tranquillity  in 
this  lovely  situation.  We  passed  the  evening  with  the  Colyars. 

The  present  Pope  was  very  nearly  obtaining  the  tiara  at  the 
Conclave  which  preceded  Leo's  election.  Cardinal  Fesch  at  the 
head  of  a  small  party  was  only  required  to  secede,  and  then  the 
election  would  be  complete.  He  consented  to  do  so,  provided 
Castiglione  would  certainly  name  some  other  than  Consalvi  as 
Secretary  of  State.  Vidoni  promised  to  ascertain  this  before  the 
meeting  of  the  Conclave  on  the  following  morning.  He  called 

1  Pope  Leo  XII  (della  Genga)  had  died  early  in  the  year,  and  Pius  VIII 
(Frangois  Xavier  Castiglione)  had  been  elected  in  his  place,     The  latter 
died  the  following  year. 

2  Cardinal  Giuseppe  Albani  (1750-1834). 


1829-1830  347 

upon  Castiglione  in  his  cell,  congratulated  him  on  the  certainty 
of  his  election,  told  him  that  he  had  hastened  to  pay  his  respects 
to  the  future  Sovereign,  and  then  talked  on  indifferent  subjects. 
Just  as  he  was  leaving  the  room,  he  carelessly  asked  what  he 
thought  of  doing  when  he  became  Pontiff.  The  thoughtless 
Cardinal  replied  that  the  State  was  going  on  so  well  that  he 
should  not  be  disposed  to  make  any  alteration.  Vidoni  took  his 
leave  with  much  assumed  veneration  and  regard,  hastened  to 
betray  the  intentions  of  Castiglione,  and  next  day  he  had  scarcely 
a  vote.  Delia  Genga  was  fixed  up  on  account  of  his  personal 
hatred  to  Consalvi,  and  also  for  the  very  precarious  state  of  his 
health. 

Since  the  elevation  of  Pius  VIII  to  the  throne  he  has  become 
invisible.  The  first  day  of  his  election  he  wept  on  the  balcony. 
Pasquin  said,  "  II  bambino  a  pianto  e  poi  dormito."  He  assumed 
the  name  of  Pius  in  regard  for  Pius  VII,  who  bestowed  the  hat 
upon  him  chiefly  on  account  of  the  following  story.  When 
Bishop  of  Mont  alto,  he  refused  to  promulgate  the  edict  made 
by  the  French  against  the  Pope's  temporal  power.  He  was  ex- 
pelled from  his  bishopric,  and  reduced  to  such  poverty  that  he 
walked  to  Milan.  Near  the  gates  of  Milan  a  peasant,  struck  by 
his  appearance,  took  compassion  upon  him  and  begged  him  to 
mount  the  ass  he  was  riding.  The  bishop  refused  for  some  time 
but  at  length  was  prevailed  upon  when  the  man  assured  him  he 
did  not  expect  any  remuneration,  for  the  poor  priest  was  unable 
to  afford  any.  He  entered  Milan  in  this  manner,  and  was  long 
maintained  by  the  charity  of  his  friends.  Pius  VII  was  told  this 
story  on  his  way  to  France,  and,  struck  with  his  piety  and  for- 
titude, resolved  to  reward  him  with  a  hat  if  ever  he  should  have 
it  in  his  power.  Pius  VII  was  one  of  the  few  sovereigns  of 
modern  times  who  had  pleasure  in  bestowing  honor  upon  merit, 
and  Castiglione  was  one  of  the  first  Cardinals  he  made. 

July  2.  Villa  Muti,  Frascati.  With  E.  C.  I  went  to  see 
Severn's  studio.  He  is  rather  a  pretty  artist,  but  a  most  pro- 
voking little  cox-comb — cursed  with  a  false  idea  of  having  been 
born  a  natural  genius,  and  for  ever  detailing  the  singular  traits 
and  peculiarities  of  his  own  extraordinary  temper  and  character. 
He  told  us  a  great  deal  of  Lady  W.'s  violent  and  unladylike 
conduct  towards  him.  She  even  had  the  cruelty,  after  his 


348         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

marriage,  to  write  a  letter  to  him  by  which  she  hoped  to  make 
him  suspect  the  purity  of  his  wife's  conduct  previous  to  her 
marriage.  I  dined  with  Prince  Montfort.  I  met  there,  beside 
his  Princess  and  his  lord  and  lady-in-waiting,  M.  and  Me  Bevi- 
lacqua,  M.  Kuhl  (the  Wurtemberg  Minister).  The  King  and 
Queen  walked  out  of  the  room  before  their  guests.  They  were 
helped  first,  and  I  thought  the  royal  etiquettes  seemed  to  be 
observed  with  more  punctuality  than  usual.  I  sat  next  to  Her 
Majesty.  She  told  me  that  she  had  formerly  been  betrothed  to 
the  D.  of  Cambridge,  but  that  she  herself,  tho'  a  girl,  had  broken 
the  marriage,  from  the  horror  she  conceived  of  all  our  Royal 
Family,  especially  the  old  Queen,  from  the  accounts  given  her 
by  her  mother-in-law,  the  Princess  Royal,  who  hated,  and 
apparently  with  reason,  her  whole  family.  M.  Kiihl  is  just 
returned  from  England.  The  only  thing  which  he  seems  really 
to  have  admired  is  the  Penitentiary  at  Vauxhall  Bridge. 

July  6.  Bunsen  told  some  droll  stories  of  Chateaubriand. 
He  cries  aloud  now  for  war,  that  France  may  regain  her  geogra- 
phical limits.  This  he  said  to  M.  de  Celles,1  who  replied  that 
he  did  not  dread  being  vis-a-vis  to  France  ;  that  in  case  she  in- 
vaded Flanders  the  allies  would  invade  her  territory,  that  there 
would  be  an  internal  revolution  and  a  subversion  of  the  present 
dynasty.  "  Eh  !  bien  done/'  answered  the  ultra,  "  nous  avons 
d'autres." 

July  10.  We  drove  from  Frascati  after  dinner  into  Rome. 
At  the  post  I  found  a  letter  from  my  aunt  announcing  to  me  the 
possibility  of  my  sister's  marriage  to  Lord  Lilford.2  I  was 
excessively  astonished,  but  I  hardly  know  enough  of  the  young 
man  to  be  either  glad  or  sorry.  The  news  makes  me  very  impa- 
tient to  reach  London.  We  called  on  the  Colyars. 

July  ii.  We  went  to  see  the  Prince  of  Canino's  3  vases  from 
Corneto.  These  however  are  only  the  refuse  of  the  collection. 
The  best  are  still  at  Musignano.  He  is  quite  wild  upon  the  subject, 
and  is  convinced  that  the  spot  he  is  excavating  is  the  place  from 

1  Antoine  Charles,   Comte  de  Visher  de  Celles   (1769-1841),   Dutch 
Minister  to  the  Vatican. 

2  Thomas  Atherton,  third  Lord  Lilford   (1801-61),  son  of  Thomas, 
second  Baron.     He  married  Mary  Fox  in  May,  1830, 

3  Lucien  Bonaparte, 


1829-1830  349 

whence  sprung  all  the  arts  and  all  the  good  taste  of  Greece.  His 
theories  are  very  romantic  and  absurd.  Unwillingly  he  grants 
that  his  vases  were  made  subsequent  to  the  deluge.  This  is 
the  usual  fault  of  all  antiquarians,  and  renders  them  the  ridicu- 
lous, extravagant  set  of  pedants  they  are,  instead  of  making 
their  researches  at  all  valuable.  The  vases  I  saw  are  kept  in  a 
very  dark,  low  room  in  the  Palazzo  Valentini ;  they  are  very 
large,  but  most  of  them  have  been  broken  and  are  extremely 
ill  put  together.  Some  of  the  designs  are  good,  but  some  are  so 
far  superior  to  those  of  the  Sicilian  and  Neapolitan  vases,  as 
entirely  to  eclipse  them.  We  were  shewn  them  by  the  Chevalier 
Boyer  (Lucien's  Vice-Principe)  and  a  German  professor,  who 
seemed  very  anxious  to  make  me  think  him  very  profound.  He 
did  not  succeed  ;  for  ignorant  as  I  am,  I  know  enough  to  perceive 
that  he  was  talking  nonsense  upon  a  subject  of  which  he  knows 
nothing.  One  of  the  great  points  of  dispute  is  whether  the  vases 
were  made  upon  the  spot,  or  whether  they  all  came  from  Greece. 
I  wonder  reasonable  men  can  discuss  a  point  which  seems  so  self 
evident.  It  is  preposterous  to  imagine  that  such  thousands  of 
this  brittle  ware  could  in  those  days  have  been  transported  such 
a  distance  with  impunity.  Besides,  there  seems  no  reason  to 
believe  that  they  were  considered  of  much  value. 

We  drove  to  the  Villa  Borghese  and  upon  the  Monte  Pincio, 
where  we  met  Lady  Westmorland.  She  started  on  seeing  me, 
and  dispatched  the  chasseur  across  the  green  to  stop  the  carriage 
and  inquire  after  my  health.  I  thanked  her  for  the  message 
and  drove  on. 

Sunday,  July  12.  I  went  to  Malatesta  with  Edward  to  settle 
with  him  respecting  the  apartment  he  has  to  let.  We  agreed 
to  take  it ;  as  much  as  we  dared  do,  considering  the  old  proverb — 
"  Homme  propose,  Dieu  dispose."  But  I  cannot  help  both 
hoping  and  thinking  that  we  shall  occupy  it  next  winter. 

Sunday,  July  19.  Bologna.  The  inn  (S.  Marco)  is  very  good 
and  reasonable.  With  some  difficulty  I  got  the  old  laquais  de 
place  who  served  Mr  Fox  some  35  years  ago,  and  whom  I  have 
always  employed  when  I  come  here.  I  drove  with  E.  C.  to  the 
Montagnola — a  pretty  promenade  on  the  ramparts.  On  account 
of  the  f6te  to-day  the  place  was  very  much  crowded  both  with 
carriages  and  pedestrians.  The  scene  was  very  brilliant,  many 


350         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

gay  equipages,  many  pretty  faces,  and  a  fine,  clear  Italian  setting 
sun  shedding  his  golden  lustre  upon  them  all  thro'  the  fine  trees 
which  are  planted  on  the  exterior  of  the  walk.  From  there  we 
went  to  see  Me  Martinetti.1  Every  time  I  see  her  the  perfection 
of  her  beauty  strikes  me  more  and  more.  She  has  the  most 
faultless  face  I  ever  saw  except  Lady  Charlemont,  and  the 
Martinetti  is  ten  times  more  beautiful.  I  wish  extremely  I 
was  not  obliged  to  hasten  to  England  so  speedily.  The  society, 
the  theatre,  the  interest  of  this  town,  make  me  very  anxious  to 
pass  a  week  or  a  fortnight  here  some  time  or  other.  I  know 
very  few  towns  in  Europe  that  have  so  many  attractions  ;  tho' 
under  the  Papal  tyranny  this  place  appears  flourishing,  rich  and 
full  of  activity. 

July  27.*  I  found  at  Coire  a  letter  from  Prince  Louis 
Bonaparte,  telling  me  in  very  pretty  English  that  his  mother 
can  receive  us  at  Arenenberg,  so  that  thither  to-morrow  we 
shall  wend  our  course.3  Our  inn  here  is  small  but  clean  and 
comfortable.  The  posting  in  Switzerland,  which  has  only  lately 
been  established,  is  still  in  its  infancy  and  very  badly  regulated 
and  worse  served.  Every  inn-keeper  tries  to  make  the  passenger 
a  victim  to  his  schemes  of  private  exaction.  If  the  Swiss  had 
only  talent  or  quickness,  of  which  God  knows  they  are  quite 
free,  they  would  be  the  greatest  rogues  in  Europe,  instead  of 
enjoying  a  very  ill-founded  reputation  for  honesty. 

July  28.  Chateau  cT  Arenenberg.  At  Constance  where  we 
arrived  at  4  o'clock,  we  found  Prince  Louis  just  returning  in 
his  carriage  to  Arenenberg.  We  dressed  in  the  inn  and  soon 
followed  him.  Hortense's  house  is  situated  on  the  little  lake, 
and  is  approached  by  rather  a  steep  ascent.  We  arrived  just 
as  the  party  had  sat  down  to  dinner.  Hortense,  MIle  Rabie  her 
lady-in-waiting,  Me  Damaire  (?)  (a  lady  of  doubtful  reputation 
now  living  in  the  neighbouring  pension  of  Wolfsberg),  M.  Fontin 
(a  noisy,  second-rate  sort  of  wit),  M.  Veillard  (a  stern,  savant 
republican),  M.  Gomont  (a  handsome  young  Frenchman,  nephew 
to  the  Marechale  Ney).  The  dinner  was  excellent.  The  house  is 

1  Wife  of  Giovanni  Battista  Martinetti  (1764-1829),  the  official  archi- 
tect of  Bologna.    See  ante,  p.  199. 

2  Fox  had  crossed  the  Alps  into  Switzerland  by  the  Splugen  Pass. 

3  Arenenberg   was    Hortense   Beauharnais'   permanent   residence   at 
this  time. 


1829-1830  351 

prettily  fitted  up,  and  commands  an  extensive  and  rather  pretty 
view.  I  walked  after  dinner  with  Hortense  on  her  terrace. 
She  could  talk  only  of  her  niece's  marriage  with  the  E.  of  Brazil.1 
She  is  flattered  by  the  splendour  of  the  alliance,  but  apprehensive 
on  account  of  the  Emperor's  bad  character.  However,  she  finds 
consolation  in  his  having  had  five  children  by  his  late  wife,  who 
was  a  monster  of  ugliness.  "  Cela  au  moins  montre  du  courage." 
She  is  going  to  meet  her  niece  at  Ulm  after  the  ceremony,  for 
the  K.  of  Bavaria  has  shown  her  no  civility  since  the  late  King's 
death.  M.  Fontin  sang  some  songs  from  II  Pirata,  with  an 
odious  French  accent  and  with  all  the  pretension  of  a  fine  singer. 
He  also  sang  some  little  French  songs  rather  drolly.  I  gave 
Hortense  an  Albanian  shawl,  with  which  she  was  apparently 
much  pleased.  Me  Damaire  retired  to  Wolfsberg  at  eleven  and 
our  party  broke  up.  We  sleep,  as  do  all  other  male  visitors 
and  Prince  Louis,  in  a  detached  house,  very  well  but  modestly 
fitted  up. 

July  29.  In  the  morning  it  did  not  rain.  I  walked  with  E.  C. 
and  Hortense  in  the  garden.  She  shewed  us  her  improvements, 
her  walks,  her  buildings,  and  all  she  has  done  for  the  place,  which 
seems  when  she  first  bought  it  to  have  been  nothing  beyond  a 
farm-house.  She  has  laid  it  all  out  with  considerable  taste. 
On  the  hill  below  the  house  there  grows  a  small  wood  of  very 
fine  trees.  Among  these  she  has  made  some  pretty  walks,  but 
we  found  it  too  damp  to  venture  among  them.  At  12  o'clock 
we  were  summoned  to  a  very  substantial  dinner,  which  calls 
itself  breakfast.  Afterwards  Hortense  walked  us  all  over  her 
house,  even  to  the  garrets.  The  house  is  very  small,  but  is  so 
well  distributed  that  it  holds  many  guests  if  required,  and  is 
very  prettily  furnished.  In  Hortense's  boudoir  adjoining  her 
very  gorgeous  little  bedroom,  she  keeps  a  cabinet  of  curiosities 
and  souvenirs  : — Josephine's  shoes,  Eugene's  orders,  hair  of  Mr 
Cowper,  etc.,  etc.  There  is  nothing  that  is  the  least  interesting, 
except  a  most  beautifully  worked  gold  reliquary,  said  to  be  taken 
from  Charlemagne's  tomb  at  Aix-la  Chappelle  when  opened  by 
the  French,  and  presented  by  Napoleon  to  Josephine.  It  looks 
much  too  modern  to  be  genuine.  Beside  there  is  a  cachemire 

1  Pedro  I  of  Brazil,  who  abdicated,  in  1831,  in  favour  of  his  son  of  six 
years  old,  married  Amelie,  daughter  of  Eugene  Beauharnais,  in  1829. 


352         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

scarf  worn  by  Napoleon  during  all  the  campaign  in  Egypt  and 
given  by  him  to  Hortense. 

After  dinner  we  talked  of  Bourrienne's  Memoirs,  which  were 
lying  on  her  table.  She  told  me  that  he  was  dismissed  from 
Napoleon's  service  on  account  of  peculation  ;  that  his  book  is 
full  of  lies,  and  that  all  he  says  of  her  correspondence  with  Duroc 
thro'  him  is  false.  That  it  is  extraordinary  he  should  invent  such 
foolish  stories;  when  he  might  have  related  the  truth,  which  would 
have  been  equally,  or  indeed  far  more  interesting.  Bourrienne 
was  employed  by  Napoleon  to  persuade  her  to  consent  to  marry 
Louis,  a  marriage  she  greatly  disliked  on  account  of  Louis' 
character  and  language  respecting  women,  and  not  on  account  of 
a  previous  attachment  to  Duroc.  This  book  seems  written  to 
feast  the  current  appetite  which  rages  in  London  and  Paris  for 
scandal  and  indecency.  After  dinner  came  Mr  and  Mrs  Webber 
from  the  pension  of  Wolfsberg,  together  with  their  hostess, 
Madame  Perquin,  who  has  now  set  up  this  pension  in  great  hopes 
of  Hortense's  protection.  She  is  a  fat,  vulgar  woman.  The  two 
English  people  looked  awed  and  were  very  shy  and  silent.  We 
did  not  retire  till  12  o'clock. 

July  30.  Rain,  incessant  rain,  prevented  any  attempt  at 
going  out.  Another  Englishwoman  and  her  sister  came  to 
breakfast,  Mrs  Simpson  and  Miss  Bull.  The  former  is  pretty 
and  a  widow  ;  she  also  is  an  inmate  of  the  pension,  which  is  full 
of  women  and  scantily  supplied  with  men.  Our  existence  here 
is  extremely  pleasant.  I  wish  very  much  I  was  not  so  impatient 
to  reach  England,  that  I  might  stay  a  few  days  more.  Hortense 
is  invariably  amiable  and  good-natured,  besides  being  very  often 
extremely  pleasant.  She  always  speaks  on  the  side  of  exalted 
virtue  and  high  sentiment,  and  never  talks  in  favour  of  what  is 
mean  or  shabby.  M.  Veillard  is  the  apostle  of  a  new,  fantastic 
system  of  perfectionability  preached  by  M.  Sfc  Simon,  lately  dead. 
He  thinks  posterity  will  say  there  have  been  three  great  men, 
Aristotle,  Jesus  Christ,  Sfc  Simon.  The  system  he  upholds  is 
exaggerated  and  perhaps  absurd,  but  it  is  one  calculated  to  make 
men  try  to  improve  their  characters  and  dispositions,  and  there- 
fore is  not  to  be  thoroughly  despised.  After  dinner  Goment, 
Fontin,  Prince  Louis,  and  MUe  Rabid  acted  a  charade.  The 
word  was  Me  Perquin's  maiden-name  Coche-lait  and  served  as 


1829-1830  353 

the  excuse  for  a  droll  scene,  well  performed  by  all  the  actors, 
of  the  absurdities  within  the  walls  of  the  pension.  Mrs  Stewart, 
Me  Perquin  and  Me  Damaire  have  all  the  same  mania  of  pretending 
intimacy  with  dukes,  princes,  and  sovereigns  who  they  have  just 
seen.  M.  Gomont  set  off  for  Milan  at  midnight — happy  man  ! 

July  31.  Hortense  shewed  me  to-day  a  diamond  necklace  she 
has  for  sale  ;  it  was  valued  at  £30,000,  but  she  is  willing  to  sell 
it  for  20,000  or  even  16,000.  This  necklace  was  presented  by  the 
Cisalpine  Republic  to  Josephine,  who  added  several  of  the  finest 
diamonds  she  could  collect,  and  wore  it  at  her  Coronation.  It 
is  horridly  set ;  indeed  many  of  the  stones  are  loose.  Hortense 
sent  it  to  England  at  the  King's  Coronation  in  hopes  he  would 
buy  it,  but  H.M.  preferred  hiring  jewels  to  acquiring  them  by 
purchase.  The  diamonds  are  extremely  large  and  very  brilliant. 
Demidoff  offered  her  a  pension  for  them,  but  his  offer  was  far 
below  her  prices.  In  the  evening  Hortense  told  me  that  Maria 
Louisa  had  not  been  so  much  to  blame  in  her  apparent  indifference 
towards  her  husband,  against  whom  Neipperg  had  succeeded  in 
poisoning  her  very  weak  and  pliant  mind,  by  inventing  tales  of 
his  profligacy  and  depravity,  which  she  was  foolish  enough  to 
believe,  or  hypocrite  to  pretend  to  believe,  as  it  well  suited  with 
her  interest.  We  parted  late,  after  Hortense  had  seen  all 
Edward's  Indian  drawings.  We  sat  by  the  fire  all  day. 

August  i.  After  a  very  gracious  leave-taking  we  left  Arenen- 
berg  after  breakfast.  I  look  back  to  my  sejour  there  with  great 
pleasure.  The  freedom  and  ease  of  the  mode  of  life  is  very 
delightful.  I  never  was  at  any  country  house  where  there  was 
less  gene  or  more  liberty — indeed  almost  too  much.  Hortense 
is  so  good-humoured  that  she  allows  vulgar,  noisy  animals,  like 
M.  Fontin,  to  make  themselves  too  much  at  home  in  her  drawing- 
room  and  to  scream,  shout,  hum  and  gabble,  with  not  as  much 
decorum  as  one  could  wish. 

Paris.  Aug.  12.  Mr  Adair1  came  to  call  upon  me.  The 
new  Administration  here  which  the  King  has  just  formed,  with 
Polignac  at  the  head  of  it,  is  most  unpopular.  The  newspapers, 
the  pamphlets,  the  shops,  teem  with  abuse  and  satire  against  the 
Vendean  Emigre  whom  the  K.  has  at  last  ventured  to  nominate. 

1  Sir  Robert  Adair  (1763-1855),  diplomatist.  A  close  friend  of  Charles 
James  Fox  and  the  Holland  family.  He  was  employed  at  Vienna  in  1806. 

Z 


354         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Adair  told  me  that  Bourrienne's  Memoirs  are  not  entirely  dis- 
credited, tho'  he  is  a  man  of  such  very  bad  character  that  of 
course  what  he  says  is  not  much  to  be  relied  upon.  Adair,  when 

at  Vienna  as   Minister,   received  a  complaint  from ,  who 

then  ruled  the  Austrian  Cabinet,  complaining  that  the  English 
Ministers  had  betrayed  in  the  H.  of  Commons  the  circumstance 
of  a  quarter's  subsidy  from  England  having  been  paid  at  Hamburg, 
and  that  Bourrienne,  who  was  French  Minister  there,  being  thus 
apprized  of  it  had  seized  and  confiscated  the  money.  The  sum 
was  considerable.  Adair  is  anxious  to  see  whether  he  will 
acknowledge  the  fact,  or  whether  he  applied  the  money  to  his 
own  purposes.  From  the  avarice  and  dishonesty  of  his  character 
it  is  most  probable  that  the  Austrian  money  never  was  paid 
into  the  French  exchequer. 

Aug.  13.  I  called  on  Mrs  Graham  and  Me  de  Souza.  At 
the  house  of  the  former  I  met  Pozzo  di  Borgo,  *  who  is  said  to  be 
her  lover  and  to  pay  for  the  expenses  of  her  house.  He  talked 
in  praise  of  the  present  Ministry,  but  I  believe  no  one  can  believe 
his  praises  to  be  sincere.  Me  de  Souza  is  living  in  an  entresol 
nearly  opposite  her  old  admirer,  Talleyrand.  She  spoke  of  her 
husband's,  her  protegee's  and  her  lover's  death,  with  all  the 
indifference  one  might  expect  from  the  writer  of  sentimental 
novels.  M.  de  Souza  told  her  that  when  the  late  K.  of  Portugal 
was  in  the  agonies  of  death,  the  idea  of  eternal  damnation 
haunted  his  mind  most  fiercely  ;  not,  as  I  believe  might  have 
been  naturally  supposed  by  the  bystanders,  for  any  crimes  of 
his  own  committing,  but  for  the  education  he  had  given  his  sons, 
by  which,  as  he  justly  observed,  he  had  rendered  the  lives  of 
his  unborn  subjects  miserable. 

Sunday,  Nov.  29,  1829.  30  Old  Steyne,  Brighton.  I  was 
called  a  little  after  seven  and  got  up  immediately.  The  morning 
was  foggy,  damp  and  cold.  I  left  London  before  9  and  stopped 
to  hear  how  Miss  Vernon2  had  passed  the  night  at  Little  Holland 

1  Pozzo  di  Borgo  (1764-1842),  Russian  Ambassador  in  Paris,  1814-34, 
and  in  London,  1834—39.   "A  Corsican  by  birth,  he  served  the  English 
during  their  occupation  of  the  island,  and  being  always  antagonistic  to 
Napoleon    subsequently  took  service  under  the  Czar,  who  made  him  a 
General  in  1814. 

2  His  great-aunt  (see  ante,  p.  u). 


1829-1830  355 

House.  I  was  happy  to  find  that  the  new  medicine  and  a  blister 
had  in  some  measure  relieved  her  and  given  her  a  few  hours'  sleep. 
I  cannot,  however,  help  apprehending  that  all  ultimate  hopes  of 
her  recovery  must  be  very  faint.  My  journey  was  rapid  and  had 
no  other  merit.  The  country  (indeed  like  almost  all  the  country 
in  this  island)  is  tame  and  uninteresting ;  perpetual  small  country- 
houses  with  their  mean  trimness  and  Lilliput  ostentation.  There 
are  few  of  those  worst  of  all  sights  on  this  road — a  vast  green 
field,  dotted  with  trees,  surrounded  by  a  wall,  and  damped  by 
a  variety  of  swampy  ponds,  which  call  themselves  country  seats. 

I  arrived  at  half  past  2.  My  mother  was  on  the  pier.  I 
sat  with  my  father,  who  was,  as  he  always  is,  very  lively.  He 
talked  of  the  Grenvilles,  and  tho'  he  admitted  all  the  faults  which 
make  them  so  unpopular  in  the  world,  he  praised  them  for  many 
merits,  especially  Tom  Grenville  for  his  disinterested  generosity 
about  Lord  Carysfort's  guardianship.  I  took  a  bath  before  dinner. 
Our  guests  were,  The  Lord  Chancellor,1  Lady  Lyndhurst,  Duke  of 
Devonshire,  Sir  James  Mackintosh,  Mr  Whishaw,  four  selves.  I 
never  had  met  the  Chancellor  before  ;  he  is  agreable  in  his  manner 
and  voice,  and  his  language  is  choice  and  elegant.  After  dinner 
we  talked  of  Napoleon  and  Bourrienne's  Memoires.  Sir  James 
said  that  the  conversation  there  given  between  the  Emperor 
and  Auguste  de  Stael  (at  that  time  only  17  years  old),  is  quite 
correct.  That  he  has  seen  Auguste 's  letter  to  his  mother,  detailing 
it  just  as  it  is  told  in  Bourrienne.  He  went  to  meet  Napoleon 
on  his  return  from  Italy,  in  order  to  solicit  for  his  mother  to  be 
allowed  to  go  nearer  Paris — but  in  vain.  The  D.  of  D.  is  grown 
more  absurd  in  his  costume,  more  obtuse  in  hearing,  and  much 
duller  than  he  used  to  be.  I  had  a  curious  conversation  after 
coffee,  in  which  I  dissipated  the  ill-grounded  apprehensions  of 

.  Edward  Romilly  and  Sir  James  Macdonald  came  after 

tea.  The  room  was  hot  and  the  evening  fatiguing.  It  is  very 
painful  to  see  and  be  in  the  room  with  someone  one  wishes 
excessively  to  speak  to,  without  the  possibility  of  doing  so  without 
becoming  the  gaze  of  the  whole  party.  I  went  to  bed  at  12. 

30  November.     At  breakfast  Sir  James  Mackintosh  came  over 

1  Lord  Lyndhurst  (1772-1863).  His  first  wife,  whom  he  married  in 
1819,  was  Sarah,  daughter  of  Charles  Brumsden  and  widow  of  Colonel 
Charles  Thomas.  She  died  in  1834. 


356         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

from  the  Albion.  My  father  talked  of  Lord  Chancellors.  Lord 
Erskine  was  told  a  few  years  before  his  death  a  story  of  some 
shipwrecked  sailors,  and  the  narrator,  to  conclude  the  account, 
added,  "  And  for  two  months  those  unhappy  men  entirely  lived 
upon  seals."  "  Aye,"  said  Lord  E.,  "  and  very  good  living  too 
they  are,  if  one  could  continue  to  keep  them."  My  mother  went 
out  on  the  pier,  and  I  read  to  my  father  Lady  Northampton's 
poem.  He  likes  it  extremely.  I  went  out  for  a  few  minutes 
and  then  returned  to  write  some  foreign  letters.  I  dined  at 
Lord  Dudley's,  where  I  met,  The  Lord  Chancellor,  Lady  Lynd- 
hurst,  Lord  and  Lady  Cowper,  Mr  and  Lady  Mary  Stanley,  Mr 
John  Warrender,  Mr  Ford,  Mr  Brooke  Greville.  I  sat  next  to 
Lady  Cowper  and  Lady  Lyndhurst.  Lord  Dudley  was  less 
absent  and  abstracted  than  usual.  Conversation  was  more 
general  and  subject  to  fewer  pauses  than  it  has  been  on  the  former 
occasions  I  have  dined  at  his  house.  Again  the  topic  after  dinner 
was  the  Chancellorship  and  the  former  predecessors  of  Lord  L. 
The  characters  of  Lord  Thurlow,  Lord  Erskine  and  Lord 
Loughboro'  were  discussed.  Lord  Cowper,  whose  voice  is  so 
tiresome  that  tho'  what  he  says  is  often  good  yet  he  is  always 
reckoned  a  bore,  told  several  stories  of  Lord  Thurlow,  none  of 
which  he  had  been  a  witness.  One  was  that  once  Lord  Stanhope 1 
had  been  making  one  of  his  most  wild  speeches  on  a  hot  mid- 
summer day  during  a  violent  debate,  Lord  T.,  with  great  solemnity 
rose  after  he  had  concluded,  and  walking  from  the  Woolsack  to 
the  middle  of  the  House,  only  said,  "  My  Lords,  it  is  needless  I 
should  remind  your  Lordships  that  the  Dog  Star  rages."  After 
dinner  I  slipped  off  to  Mrs  Cheney,  whom  I  found  alone,  and  then 
came  home,  where  the  Cowpers,  Stanleys,  etc.,  had  preceded  me. 
I  had,  after  strangers  had  gone,  a  warm  discussion  with  my 
parents  about  Lady  Jersey's  conduct  to  me  and  my  resentment. 
They  have  both  become  callous  to  the  feelings  of  resentment. 
How  true  it  is  that  excess  of  refinement  appears  to  abolish  the 
great  vices  but  only  undermines  the  great  virtues. 

December  ist.  A  bright  day.  After  my  shower-bath  I  went 
with  Mary  to  Mrs  Cheney  for  the  former  to  sit.  Mrs  Cheney 
has  made  two  drawings  of  her  ;  one  is  bad,  the  other  tolerable. 

1  Charles,  third  Earl  Stanhope  (1753-1816),  a  strenuous  supporter  of 
the  French  Revolution. 


1829-1830  357 

I  called  on  Lady  Lyndhurst,  and  then  joined  her  husband  on  the 
Chain  Pier.  He  is  agr cable,  but  his  language  before  his  wife  is 
distressingly  coarse  ;  he  encourages  and  indeed  forces  her  to 
talk  as  coarsely  as  himself.  At  dinner  we  had,  Mr  and  Mrs 
Baring,  Mr  Whishaw,  Sir  James  Mackintosh,  General  Upton,  Mr 
Thomas  Buncombe.  After  dinner  Mackintosh  sang  the  praises  of 
his  countryman,  Buchanan.1  My  father  said  he  thought  his 
bon  mot  about  James  the  ist  one  of  the  best  ever  made.  Some 
complained  to  Buchanan  that  he  had  made  a  pedant  of  his 
pupil.  "  A  pedant  !  "  he  replied,  "  if  you  knew  him  as  well  as 
I  do,  you  would  admire  me  for  having  made  anything  of  him." 
As  soon  as  dinner  was  over  Mary  and  I  went  to  join  Lady  Jersey 
at  the  dancing-school  ball  at  the  Ship  Inn.  The  room  was  very 
full  and  intolerably  hot,  and  so  ill-managed  that  I  never  contrived 
to  sit  down  the  whole  evening.  I  stood  by  Lady  H.  Baring,2 
who  is  lively  and  clever,  but  unfeeling  and  loud.  Her  husband 
to-day  has  had  a  bad  fall,  which  has  shattered  his  teeth  and 
obliges  him  to  go  to-morrow  to  London.  She  talked  of  it  with 
great  levity,  and  did  not  for  a  moment  appear  to  think  that  her 
presence  by  his  couch  was  more  natural  and  proper  than  in  a 
ball-room.  The  children  seemed  to  dance  prettily,  but  I  could 
scarcely  see  them  from  the  thickness  of  the  crowd.  The  Chancellor 
talked,  and  seemed  rather  to  canvass  Lady  Harriet  for  support 
to  the  G*.  He  feels,  I  believe,  his  situation  very  precarious. 
The  D.  of  Cumberland  has  vowed  his  fall.  Every  day  the 
influence  of  the  D.  increases  at  Windsor,  and  there  are  three 
powerful  law-lords  in  opposition  against  him,  Eldon,  Tenterden 
and  Wynford.  The  character,  however,  of  the  latter  (Best)  is, 
if  possible,  lower  than  his  own. 

Wednesday,  December  2.  A  cold,  raw  day.  I  got  up  late  and 
took  no  bath.  I  called  on  Lady  Webster  3  and  Miss  Monson. 
The  former  is  a  fine,  open-hearted,  cheerful  woman,  perfectly 
good-humoured  and  devoid  of  any  affectation.  She  has  remains 
of  very  extraordinary  beauty  and  is  still  very  handsome.  I 
then  went  to  Lady  L.  The  Chancellor  is  gone.  Before  he 

1  George  Buchanan,  the  historian  (1506-82). 

2  Daughter  of  George,  sixth  Earl  of  Sandwich.      She  married  William 
Bingham  Baring,  subsequently  second  Lord  Ash  burton  in  1823. 

3  Charlotte,  daughter  of  Robert  Adamson,  married,  in  1814,  Sir  Godfrey 
Webster  (1789-1836),  Fox's  half-brother. 


358         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

went  she  received  another  anonymous  letter  from  London, 
threatening  to  expose  her  to  him,  and  accusing  her  of  an  embrace 
with  me  on  the  steps  leading  to  the  Chain  Pier  on  Saturday  last, 
on  which  day  I  was  in  London  and  she  was  in  her  bed.  This 
takes  off  any  apprehension  we  might  feel,  for  it  proves  the 
ignorance  of  our  enemies.  Great  God !  What  a  dreadful 
country  this  is  to  live  in,  and  how  much  better  for  the  peace  of 
society  and  for  the  agremens  of  life  is  the  despotism  of  one  man 
to  the  inquisitive  tyranny  and  insolent  exactions  of  a  whole  nation. 
She  very  wisely  instantly  showed  the  letter  to  her  husband,  at 
the  same  time  showing  The  Age  with  a  paragraph  about  her  and 
Cradock,  and  desired  him  to  direct  her  future  conduct,  which  he 
has  done  in  advising  her  to  continue  exactly  as  if  she  had  never 
received  such  letters  and  not  to  allow  the  avarice  of  blackguards 
to  harass  and  torment  her. 

I  dined  at  home.  My  father  dined  at  Lady  Petre's  to  meet 
the  D.  of  Norfolk.  My  mother,  Allen,  Mary,  were  the  only  guests 
besides  myself.  Mr  Allen  talked  of  confession,  of  its  advantages 
and  disadvantages.  My  mother  told  us  the  story  of  a  priest  in 
Ireland  being  so  miserable  at  having  been  the  depository  of 
secret  murder  from  a  woman  who  had  allowed  her  son  (Mac- 
laughlin)  to  be  executed,  tho'  perfectly  innocent,  for  the  crime 
she  had  perpetrated,  that  he  revealed  the  confession  to  a  Catholic 
lady  near  Dublin.  She  pressed  the  surgeon,  Crampton,  to  come 
down  to  see  her  poor  confessor,  for  his  mental  distress  had  already 
so  affected  his  body  as  to  threaten  his  life.  Crampton  refused, 
on  the  score  of  being  unable  to  minister  to  a  mind  diseased ;  upon 
which  the  lady  came  to  Dublin  and  told  him  the  facts,  adding 
that  the  priest  felt  still  greater  compunction  from  having 
unburthened  his  mind  to  her,  justly  observing  that  he  did  no 
good,  but  only  added  another  culprit  by  the  violation  of  a  most 
sacred  oath.  The  young  man  had  been  hanged  upon  the  evidence 
of  a  soldier  who  looked  in  at  the  cottage  window  and  saw  him 
place  his  father-in-law's  corpse  upon  the  bed,  wash  some  blood 
off  the  floor  and  off  his  own  hands,  and  busy  himself  to  conceal 
all  appearance  of  violence.  This  he  did  only  in  hopes  of  screening 
his  mother  after  her  admission  of  the  murder,  and  when  accused 
would  offer  no  defence,  but  maintained  his  innocence.  The  day 
before  his  execution  he  had  a  private  interview  with  his  mother, 


C.  R.  Leslie  fiiuxit 


HON.  MARY   ELIZABETH    FOX 

(afterwards  Lady  Lilford) 


1829-1830  359 

and  was  heard  to  say  as  she  left  the  prison,  "  May  God  forgive 
you,  my  mother."  Allen  believes  that  Lambertini's  Bull,  which 
is  so  severe  against  any  confessor  seducing  his  female  penitent, 
or  against  any  one  privy  to  such  a  crime  and  concealing  it,  has 
had  great  effect  in  correcting  the  morals  of  the  clergy. 

After  dinner  Mr  Kenney *  (the  author  of  many  comedies  and 
farces)  came  and  chatted  very  agreably.  He  is  like  the  starved 
apothecary  in  Romeo  and  Juliet.  I  went  for  two  hours  to  the 
Brighton  Almack's,  rather  a  scanty  ball.  Ly  L.  in  low  spirits. 
She  had  dined  tete-a-tete  with  the  D.  of  D.,  and  he  had  used  the 
privilege,  or  Gibbon  would  say  abused  the  privilege,  of  a  kind 
friend  to  tell  her  every  disagreable  truth  and  naming  every 
painful  possibility.  I  came  home  at  12. 

December  3.  I  staid  at  home  all  morning  till  4  o'clock.  I 
then  called  at  Lady  Aldboro's.2  She  was  in  close  conversation 
with  Mr  Eld,  the  M.  of  the  Ceremonies,  about  a  house  here.  She 
intends  passing  every  autumn  and  winter  in  this  place.  She  was 
lively,  tho'  less  gross  than  usual.  I  then  called  on  Lady  L. 
She  is  in  low  spirits  at  the  eternal  lectures  and  good  advice  she 
receives  from  her  family  and  friends.  She  talked  rationally  to 
me  about  poverty,  and  having  known  what  it  is,  has  resolved  to 
let  no  momentary  fancy  expose  herself  to  it  again.  We  had  at 
dinner,  The  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Sfc  Albans,  Lady  Mary  Beauclerk, 
Mr  and  Lady  Mary  Stanley,  Mr  Fazakerley,  four  selves  and  Allen. 

The  Duke  3  is  a  sad  spectacle  ;  but  yet  he  seems  partly  to 
understand  what  is  said  to  him,  at  least  the  sense  of  what  he  has 
heard  an  hour  ago  sometimes  flashes  across  his  mind.  The  Dss, 
tho'  vulgar  and  purseproud,  does  not  want  for  a  sort  of  frank 
goodhumour  and  hearty  gaiety,  which  alone  makes  her  sufferable. 
She  also  talks  much,  and  better  than  on  any  other  subject, 
about  the  stage,  about  her  friends  in  early  life,  and  even  about 
her  own  acting.  She  was  anxious  to  take  Miss  Burdett  to  the 

1  James  Kenney  (1780-1849),  dramatist.     A  friend  of  Lamb  and  Rogers. 

2  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Rev.  Frederick  Hamilton.     She  married  John, 
third  Earl  of  Aldborough  in  1777,  and  died  in  1845. 

3  William  Aubrey  de  Vere,  ninth  Duke  of  St  Albans  (1801-49)  succeeded 
his  father  in  the  titles  in  1825.     He  married,  in  1827,  Harriet  Mellon,  widow 
of  Thomas  Coutts.     After  her  death  in  1837,  the  Duke  married  Elizabeth 
Catherine,  daughter  of  General  Joseph  Gubbins.     Lady  Mary  Beauclerk 
was  his  youngest  sister. 


360         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward   Fox 

ball  at  the  D.  of  Devonshire's  tonight,  and  wrote  a  note  and 
bustled  about  in  a  way  a  thoroughly  selfish  person  would  not 
have  done.  We  had  at  dinner  a  swan,  which  the  Chancellor  gave 
my  mother;  and  she  was  much  pleased  with  any  curiosity  or 
rarity  being  preserved  for  her.  It  is  like  a  very  good  goose,  and 
the  sauce  piquante  makes  it  very  palatable,  tho'  its  appearance  is 
black  and  not  inviting.  I  went  to  the  D.  of  Devonshire's  little 
ball  at  Kemp  Town.  The  house  is  pretty  and  well  furnished. 
There  was  much  galloping  and  waltzing.  Lady  H.  Baring  told 
me  much  of  Lady  Jersey's  ill-nature  about  me  and  Lady  L.,  and 
of  her  abuse  of  the  husband.  Lady  H.  is  an  unfeeling  wretch. 
When  some  one  lamented  to  her  the  accident  Mr  Baring  had  met 
with,  she  said,  "  Ah  !  nothing  could  have  happened  which  would 
have  disgusted  me  more.''  She  is  clever  but  malicious,  and 
her  laugh  makes  her  odious. 

Dec.  4.  A  wretchedly  gloomy  day.  This  climate  makes  me 
miserable  ;  I  feel  daily  more  and  more  its  pernicious  influence  on 
the  spirits.  What  a  deplorable  country  it  is  to  exist  in  for  those 
who  do  not  feel  strong  ambition  and  who  have  not  vast  wealth. 
Those  are  the  only  two  inducements  which  could  compensate 
in  my  opinion  for  the  many  annoyances  and  miseries  to  which 
I  feel  daily  subjected  from  the  society  and  the  climate.  Indeed 
I  think,  bad  as  the  climate  is,  it  is  the  least  evil  in  the  island. 

I  called  on  Lady  L.  where  I  met  Ld  Dudley.  She  has  not  yet 
received  another  letter  from  Amadeus,  but  expects  one.  I 
dined  at  the  Barings  : — Mr,  Mrs  and  Miss  Baring,  Mr  and  Mrs 
Mildmay,  Ly  A.  M.  Elliot,  Ly  H.  Baring,  Comte  de  Mornay,1 
Capt  Mildmay  and  F.  Baring.  I  sat  next  Ly  H.,  who  was  amusing, 
but  her  war  with  Francis  Baring  and  Mornay  became  almost 
too  serious  ;  she  became  annoyed  and  Mrs  B.  stopped  the  conver- 
sation. I  went  to  Mr  Mitford's,2  where  there  was  much  singing, 
flirting  and  excessive  toadying.  Mrs  Bradshaw3  sang  beautifully, 
without  any  affectation,  and  kept  down  her  voice  not  to  excel 
as  much  as  she  of  course  could  that  of  Ly  Georgiana  Mitford. 
Mitford  perceived  his  audience  had  no  taste  for  Italian  music, 

1  Comte  Charles  de  Mornay  (1803-78),  a  peer  of  France  and  at  one  time 
Ambassador  to  Sweden. 

2  Henry  Reveley  Mitford  (1804-83)  married  Georgina  Jemima,  daughter 
of  George,  third  Earl  of  Ashburnham,  in  1828. 

3  Born  Ann  Maria  Tree.     See  ante,  p.  50. 


1829-1830  361 

and  made  Mrs  B.  sing  what  is  called  simple  \  \  \  English  airs. 
The  quavers,  shakes,  &c.,  &c.,  met  with  the  usual  applause 
national  music  finds  out.  We  had  a  supper,  and  it  was  very  gay. 
Mornay  sang  with  great  good-nature  the  "  Passage  de  Mont  Sfc 
Bernard,"  "  Te  souviens  tu."  I  did  not  come  home  till  past  one. 
Dec.  5.  I  took  my  shower-bath  before  breakfast.  In  the 
morning  I  walked  for  a  long  time  on  the  Chain  Pier  by  the  side 
of  my  mother's  hand-chair,  and  was  rather  tired.  I  called  on 
the  D88  of  Sk  Albans  ;  she  was  at  luncheon,  but  sent  the  Duke 
to  entertain  me.  He  is  nearly  an  idiot.  I  asked  him  if  he  had 
been  riding.  "  Yes,  yes,  yes,  I  have.  Yes,  I  have.  I  believe 
all  over  Lord  Chichester's  park.  Ld  C.  accompanied  me,  shewed 
me  all  his  park  and  his  white  horse.  Indeed  I  should  pronounce 
Ld  C.  to  be  the  most  intelligent  man  I  know."  I  soon  escaped 
from  this  lively  tete-a-tete,  and  called  on  Ly  L.,  who  was  not  well 
and  not  in  good  humour.  Earl  Dudley  came  while  I  was  there 
and  talked  less  abstractedly  than  usual.  At  dinner  we  had,  Lord 
and  Lady  Cowper,  Mr  John  Warrender,  Captain  Usher.1  The 
latter  is  a  very  worthy  but  heavy  man  ;  he  behaved  admirably 
about  Napoleon,  and  has  been  in  disgrace  ever  since  at  the 
Admiralty  for  displaying  the  honourable  feelings  of  a  gentleman 
to  a  great  man  in  adversity.  After  dinner  they  talked  of 
Caraccioli 2  (the  Neapolitan  minister  in  England  early  in  George 
Ill's  reign)  and  of  his  bon  mots.  "  Comment  done  peut-on 
vivre  dans  un  pays  ou  il  n'y  a  rien  de  poli  que  1'acier,  et  rien  de 
mur  que  des  pommes  cuites  :  une  nation  qui  a  mille  religions 
et  ou  il  n'y  a  qu'une  sauce  ?  "  The  King  called  his  attention 
to  our  dogs  and  horses,  to  the  expense  at  which  we  kept  them, 
to  the  fat,  flourishing  state  in  which  they  were,  and  "  tout  cela 
pour  le  luxe."  "  Eh  bien  !  done  et  a  Naples,  Sire,  nous  avons 
les  moines.  Us  sont  tres  gras,  tres  gras,  et  ils  content  cent  fois 
davantage.  Et  tout  cela,  c'est  entierement  pour  le  luxe.  Ils  ne 
font  rien  :  ils  ne  servent  a  rien."  Three  weeks  after  this  speech 
in  England  it  was  faithfully  reported  at  Naples  and  was  not  much 
calculated  to  please  a  bigot  court. 

1  Thomas  Ussher   (1779-1848),   who  took  Napoleon  from  Frejus  to 
Elba  in  1814.     Knighted  in  1831. 

2  Domenico    Caraccioli.     After    his    appointment    in    England    was 
finished  he  took  the  same  post  in  France  in  1771. 


362         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

I  went  to  Lady  Mildmay's,  where  Mr  Mitford  and  Mrs 
Bradshaw  sang  and  Miss  Mildmay  screamed.  I  talked  all  evening 
to  Ly  H.  Baring,  and  Lady  L.  would  not  answer  me  when  I  spoke, 
which  was  observed  by  the  whole  room.  I  came  home  with 
Mornay,  who  is  lively  and  good-humoured — a  little  mauvais 
ton  perhaps. 

Dec.  7.  I  took  my  bath.  All  the  house  sossopra  for  to- 
morrow's departure.  I  called  on  Mrs  Faz. — the  second  time  I 
have  seen  her  since  her  lying-in,  after  passing  the  morning  at 
Mrs  Cheney's,  where  Lady  L.  was  sitting  for  her  picture.  The 
news  of  the  day  is  Miss  Tollemache's  elopement  with  W.  Locke. 
She  went  off  while  her  family  were  at  morning  church  yesterday 
and  got  four  hours'  start  before  she  was  even  missed.  She  sent 
back  the  postillion  from  Hickstead  with  an  unfeeling  note  to  her 
sister,  telling  her  the  cruelty  of  her  family  had  driven  her  to  this 
step,  and  to  inform  her  mother  as  she  thought  best.  Mrs  Beau- 
clerk  called  before  dinner  to  take  leave.  She  was  rather  droll 
about  her  marriage  with  Mr  B.  and  their  perfect  unfitness  for 
each  other.  At  dinner,  the  Mildmays,  the  Russell  boys,  Alexander 
and  Cosmo,  Sir  M.  Tierney  and  others.  In  the  evening  I  went  to 
Ly  L.,  where  I  played  at  ecarte. 

Dec.  8.  By  contrivance  I  managed  to  pass  the  whole  morning 
again  with  Ly  L.  at  Mrs  Cheney's,  and  again  visited  Mrs  Faz. 
I  dined  at  Sir  M.  Stewart's.  The  dinner  was  tedious,  but  very 
good.  Lady  L.  there.  Afterwards  to  Lady  Sheppard's  and  then 
home.  My  mother  very  unwell  and  out  of  spirits.  Lady  L. 
came  to  take  leave  of  them. 

Wednesday,  Dec.  9.  32  Marine  Parade.  This  little  nutshell, 
in  which  I  am  now  living,  I  took  yesterday.  If  all  the  winds  of 
heaven  did  not  blow  into  it  I  should  like  it  very  well.  It  nearly 
faces  the  Chain  Pier  ;  my  window  (tho'  it  cannot  shut)  is  of  the 
finest  plate-glass  and  receives  the  sun  whenever  it  chooses  to  shine. 
I  walked  Mary  up  to  look  at  my  future  habitation  ;  on  her  way 
she  managed  to  drop  her  watch.  We  called  on  the  Tierneys, 
and  there  she  wrote  a  description  of  it  and  offered  a  reward. 
It  was  found  for  the  2  guineas  before  9  o'clock.  My  family  set 
off  their  wretched  progress  to  Crawley  at  about  one. 

I  called  on  Lady  E.  Dickens,  and  there  found  the  Dowager 
Lady  Northampton  just  returned  from  Switzerland.  She  seems 


1829-1830  363 

a  good-humoured  old  lady,  very  like  a  housekeeper.  I  dined 
with  the  D98  of  Sfc  Albans.  I  went  too  early,  and  had  a  tete-a-tete 
with  the  Duke.  I  tried  various  topics,  upon  none  could  I  get 
him  to  talk.  At  last  I  said,  "  What  news  is  there  of  the  E. 
Nicholas  to-day?  "  "  Nicholas,"  said  he,  "  who  is  Nicholas?  " 
I  explained  I  meant  the  E.  of  Russia.  '  Yes,  yes,  yes,  yes,  I 
know  now.  Yes,  yes,  his  brother  was  deposed,  was  he  not  ?  " 
I  told  him  he  was  right,  and  that  such  things  often  happen  in 
Russia.  "  Ah  !  yes,  yes,  in  Russia,  they  do — very  true  ;  but 
not  in  England,  do  they  ?  "  The  company  was  numerous,  the 
dinner  endless.  Besides,  we  had  as  hors  d'ceuvres  good  old 
English  dishes,  liver  and  bacon,  Irish  stew,  rump  steaks,  of  each 
of  which  Sir  F.  Burdett  partook  largely.  The  plate  was  hand- 
some but  quite  cold  ;  the  soup  was  frozen  and  the  champagne 
hot.  Lord  Dudley,  sitting  away  from  the  fire  and  not  near  Mrs 
Beauclerk,  was  bitterly  cross.  It  lasted  nearly  three  hours. 
I  went  upstairs  and  found  a  great  assembly,  dancing  meditated, 
singing  going  on. 

Dec.  10.  The  morning  I  passed  with  Ly  L.  at  Lady  Sheppard's. 
Ld  Dudley  came  in,  and  gave  a  humorous  account  of  our  dinner 
yesterday  and  of  Allen's  politics — of  the  furious,  stern  Roman 
Jacobin,  who  only  cares  for  the  equal  distribution  of  the  things 
of  this  world,  who  deprecates  all  the  luxuries  and  advantages  of 
royalty  and  aristocracy,  living  pampered  with  every  comfort 
and  indulgence  that  rank  and  wealth  can  obtain  in  the  most 
luxurious  manner,  and  being  the  last  man  willing  to  forego  any 
of  these  enjoyments.  I  passed  the  afternoon  with  Ly  L.  at  her 
house  and  never  passed  a  pleasant er  time.  I  dined  at  Ld  Dud- 
ley's, where  I  met  L.  L.,  John  Warrender,  Lady  Sheppard,  Miss 
Rannington,  Mr  Seymour.  It  was  an  agreable  dinner  and  all 
went  off  well.  I  then  went  to  wish  L.  L.  good-bye.  I  found  the 
wind  changed.  I  had  a  dreadful  and  unprovoked  scene,  and 
parted  very  uncomfortably. 

Dec.  ii.  I  felt  unwell.  Melancholy  accounts  of  Miss  Vernon. 
I  fear  the  worst.  The  day  was  boisterous  ;  however  I  took  my 
bath,  but  still  felt  uncomfortable  and  low  spirited.  I  got  a 
kind  note  from  Ly  L.  vowing  to  be  back  on  Monday.  Nous 
verrons.  I  called  on  Mrs  Cheney,  wrote  several  letters,  and  dined 
at  Mr  Stanley's. 


364         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Dec.  12.  Worse  accounts  of  Miss  Vernon.  Dudley  sends 
me  a  letter  of  M>  Murat's  about  her  claim,  but  I  should  say 
from  that  that  England  can  do  little  or  nothing  in  her  service. 
I  took  my  bath  as  usual.  I  walked  about  with  Lady  Webster. 
We  went  to  see  Mrs  Cheney's  drawings.  I  dined  with  Mr  and 
Ly  E.  Dickins,  where  I  met,  Dow.  Lady  Northampton,  old 
Miss  Emma  Smith,  Mr  Spencer  Smith,  Miss  Smith,  Lady 
Webster,  Cap*  Percival,  Count  Mornay.  It  was  deadly  dull. 
After  dinner  I  talked  much  to  Mornay,  who,  tho'  rather  too 
communicative  about  his  successes,  is  very  amiable  and  amus- 
ing. It  is  very  odd  why  all  English  people  should  be  so  affected 
and  ever  striving  at  what  they  are  not.  Foreigners  with  many 
faults  never  wish  to  appear  different  from  what  nature  and  habit 
have  made  them,  and  I  believe  that  is  the  real  secret  of  their 
being  so  much  pleasant er  than  we  are.  I  went  for  ten  minutes 
to  a  ball  at  the  D88  of  Sfc  Albans',  which  was  dreadfully  stupid. 

Sunday,  Dec.  13.  I  walked  for  a  long  time  on  the  esplanade 
on  the  West  Cliff  with  Mrs  Cheney,  and  dined  with  the  Fazakerleys 
—Mrs  F.'s  first  appearance  at  the  dinner  table.  I  took  Lady 
Webster  to  Lady  Aldboro's,  where  we  staid  till  one  o'clock. 
Three  hours  of  double  entendre  is  fatiguing.  However  she 
generally  spares  one  any  trouble  in  discovering  the  hidden 
meaning  of  her  words,  for  she  makes  them  plain  enough. 

Dec.  15.  I  dined  with  Lord  Dudley.  A  stupid  dinner  : — 
Sir  M.  and  Lady  S.  Stewart,  Mr  and  Lady  M.  Stanley,  Sir  M.  and 
Lady  Tierney,  Mr  Irving,  Mr  Seymour,  Mrs  Beauclerk.  Before 
dinner,  while  I  was  by  the  chimney,  Ld  D.  approached  it  with  a 
letter  he  was  folding  in  his  hand  and  seizing  the  poker  began 
violently  to  stir  the  fire,  watching  it  all  the  time,  "  Fool,  fool,  or 
a  great  scoundrel,  a  very  great  scoundrel,  a  very  great  scoundrel, 
scoundrel,  scoundrel."  It  is  rather  distressing  to  witness  such 
scenes,  and  takes  off  any  of  the  abandon  there  ought  to  be  in 
society.  Mrs  Beauclerk  as  usual  did  the  honours,  pressing  people 
to  eat,  and  making  herself  quite  at  home.  I  went  to  the  D88  of  Sfc 
Albans'  ball  late,  stupid  enough.  The  D88'  great  body  covered 
with  white  satin,  and  blonde,  and  surmounted  by  a  large  hat  and 
feathers,  burst  in  among  the  waltzers  as  12  struck,  exclaiming, 
"  Stop,  stop,  supper  is  ready.  Ladies  and  gentlemen  stand  not 
on  the  order  of  your  going,  but  go  at  once  (Shakespeare)."  She 


1829-1830  365 

loves  an  occasion  to  allude  to  her  former  calling  in  life,  and  for 
ever  speaks  of  actors  and  acting.  This  arises  from  her  natural 
good  feelings  and  from  inordinate  vanity,  which  together  over- 
come her  dreadful  taste. 

Dec.  17.  Worse  accounts  from  Little  Hd  House.  I  fear  it 
cannot  last  long.  I  got,  however,  a  letter  from  ]>  L.  saying  she 
should  come  to-day  ;  the  welcome  news  made  me  quite  joyous. 
I  walked  all  morning  with  H>  Cheney,  who  arrived  yesterday. 
Ly  L.  is  always  true  to  her  word,  and  at  half  past  5  arrived  jaded 
and  pale.  I  was  in  transports.  I  was  obliged  soon  to  go  to 
dine  with  Sir  M.  Stewart.  It  was  woefully  dull.  I  like  Mornay 
better  every  time  I  see  him.  I  escaped  to  L.  L.,  and  then  went 
to  Lady  Downshire's.  I  found  every  one  gone  or  going,  and  only 
had  time  to  make  my  bow  and  be  presented. 

Dec.  18.  Sad  news  from  Miss  Vernon — scarcely  any  hopes.1 
A  dreadful  day,  rain,  snow  and  sleet  with  a  high  wind.  I  dread 
our  visit  to  Bowood  very  much. 

March  20,  1830. 2  Via  de  due  Macelli,  Rome.  The  most 
lovely  day  I  have  yet  seen  since  my  return  to  Italy  ;  very  mild 
and  most  beautifully  clear.  I  passed  my  morning  in  arranging 
my  new  apartment  and  in  paying  debts.  I  called  on  Cheney 
and  walked  about  with  him  in  his  small  garden,  which  however 
makes  his  house  very  pleasant.  I  dined  with  Lord  Haddington,3 
where  I  met  Ly  H.  Galway,4  Miss  Galway,  Bligh,  Gascoigne,  Mr 
and  Mrs  Bosanquet,  Miss  Cumming,  Cheney.  The  dinner  was  bad, 
the  table  crowded.  I  sat  between  L^  H.  and  her  daughter.  With- 
out being  clever  they  are  all  conversible  people,  and  from  having 
lived  so  long  abroad  and  with  foreigners  have  none  of  the  stiff- 
ness and  formality  of  Englishwomen.  The  Bosanquet s  and  her 
sister,  Miss  Cumming,  are  vulgar  beyond  permission.  Related 
to  some  Russian  princes  they  can  not  admire  or  think  of  any 
other  country  with  pleasure  and  approbation,  and  Miss  C. 

1  She  died  in  January. 

2  Fox  left  England  early  in  February  and  the  journal  only  recom- 
mences on  this  date. 

3  Thomas,  ninth    Earl   of   Haddington    (1780-1858).     His   wife   was 
Maria,  daughter  of  George,  seventh  Earl  of  Macclesfield. 

1  I  larriet,  only  daughter  of  Valentine,  first  Earl  of  Dunraven,  married 
Sir  William  Payne-Gallwey  in  1804. 


366         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

declared  the  Campania,  as  she  called  it,  of  Rome  far  inferior  in 
beauty  to  the  Hyperborean  deserts  of  Scythia  !  !  ! 

We  had  much  laughing  with  Lady  Haddington  at  dinner 
for  the  very  severe  things  she  said  to  Sir  Joseph  Copley  at  Morier's 
dinner  on  Thursday.  She  denies  it  was  intended,  but  I  sat 
opposite  to  her  and  saw  the  additional  savage  look  she  threw 
into  her  sour  face.  Sir  Joseph  was  decrying  the  virtues  of 
Cardinal  Weld  J  before  he  took  orders,  and  said  he  only  led  the 
usual  life  of  English  country  gentlemen — that  he  was  not  better 
than  his  neighbours.  He  broke  Mrs  Weld's  heart,  poor  thing. 
He  was  a  tyrant  to  his  wife.  "  Dear  me,  Sir  Joseph,"  exclaimed 
Ly  Haddington,  "  do  you  think  that  an  indispensable  occupation 
of  an  English  country  gentleman  ?  "  Sir  Joseph  coloured  very 
deeply  and  never  spoke  gaily  again  the  whole  evening.  He, 
like  all  those  wits  by  profession,  is  very  easily  headed.  He 
deserved  this  and  much  more  from  Lady  Haddington.  She  has 
been  his  perpetual  laughing-stock  and  butt  ever  since  her  arrival 
at  Rome.  To-day  he  set  off  for  England.  Certainly  he  is  a 
great  loss,  especially  as  he  takes  with  him  his  charming  daughter, 
Maria,  who  joins  to  her  talents  and  acquirements  a  perfect  free- 
dom from  affectation  or  pedantry  and  a  good  taste  and  refined 
tact  scarcely  to  be  met  with  elsewhere.  She  is  sufficiently 
good-looking  to  be  pleasing,  without  any  positive  beauty. 
Her  sister  is  prosy,  argumentative  and  ugly,  but  good  and  not 
envious  of  her  younger  sister's  decided  superiority.  I  talked  to 
Lord  Haddington  of  Lady  Canning.  He  is  not  surprized  at  her 
writing  a  clever  pamphlet  or  exhibiting  talent  in  any  way.  She 
has  not  quarrelled  with  him  as  she  has  done  with  almost  all  her 
husband's  friends.  I  went  after  dinner  to  Hortense's,  where 
there  was  a  soiree  dansante.  The  Queen  was  in  a  tight  pink 
satin  high  gown  with  black  trimmings.  She  is  fond  of  money 
and  very  stingy,  but  must  spend  vast  sums  on  her  toilette.  I 
scarcely  ever  saw  her  twice  in  the  same  dress.  I  talked  to 
Gaetani,  but  got  off  as  soon  as  I  could.  Hortense  threw  out 

1  Thomas  Weld  (1773-1837),  of  Lulworth,  Dorset,  who  married,  in 
1796,  Lucy  Bridget,  daughter  of  Thomas  Clifford,  of  Tixall.  After  his 
wife's  death,  and  the  marriage  of  their  only  daughter  to  Hugh  Charles 
Clifford  in  1818,  he  entered  the  Church  and  made  over  the  properties  to 
his  brother.  He  was  made  Cardinal  in  1830.  His  daughter  died  the 
following  year. 


1829-1830  367 

many  hints  to  me  to  invite  her  to  Frascati ;  it  must  soon  be  done. 

Sunday,  March  21.  I  drove  with  Edward^Cheney  to  see  Lord 
Northampton  in  his  new  house  (the  Villa  Negroni).  I  have  not 
been  in  it  since  it  was  inhabited  by  Lady  Westmorland.  Then  it 
looked  noble,  elegant,  and  in  every  room  there  was  some  appear- 
ance of  the  good  taste  of  its  owner.  Now  it  is  far  different.  In 
every  room  reigns  the  same  shabby,  slovenly  air  for  which  the 
Marchioness'  old  house  was  so  remarkable.  The  noisy,  riotous, 
ill-conditioned  servants  playing  and  romping  in  the  garden  and 
staircase  out  of  livery  ;  plates  and  dishes,  dirty  napkins,  left  on 
the  landing-place,  with  a  long  list  of  &c.,  &c.,  &c.  We  found  there 
the  old  lady  and  her  two  daughters.  Ld  N.  is  very  proud  of  the 
little  antiquities  he  has  scraped  up  at  Corneto  during  his  trip 
there  a  fortnight  ago,  some  of  which  he  shewed  us.  I  eat  some 
luncheon  with  Miss  Macdougall  and  Lady  Marianne,  which 
simple  occurrence  roused  the  unextinguishable  Clephane  laugh. 
I  own  I  could  not  see  sufficient  cause  to  provoke  such  shouts  from 
Miss  Wilmira.  Ld  N.  shewed  me  the  great  room,  the  proportions 
of  which  are  very  fine.  But  they  will  soon  disfigure  it  with  their 
invariable  bad  taste.  From  thence  we  went  to  see  Don  Carlo 
Bonaparte,  Principe  di  Musignano,1  at  the  Villa  Paulina.  We 
found  him  in  h:s  garden  in  an  attitude  very  like  his  illustrious 
uncle.  This,  however,  is  natural,  and  not  the  effect  of  study  and 
imitation,  as  it  is  with  some  of  his  relations.  He  received  me 
with  his  usual  brusque  American  manner,  and  said  his  wife  was 
out  and  he  was  on  the  point  of  setting  off  to  ride.  We  only  staid 
three  or  four  minutes — time  enough  only  to  admire  two  splendid 
eagles  which  are  chained  in  his  garden.  They  are  from  the 
Apennines.  He  says  (but  he  is  dangerous  to  repeat  after,  for 
his  facts  are  often  only  founded  on  his  vivid  imagination)  that 
he  has  starved  them  sometimes  for  a  week  in  order  to  make 
them  pounce  on  animals,  and  that  they  destroyed  for  him  some 
wild  cats  he  had  in  the  garden ;  but  that  it  is  dreadfully  cruel, 
for  they  kill  their  victims  slowly. 

I  dined  with  Lady  Mary 2 — a  large  dinner.     Our  little  hostess 

was  not  in  very  good  humour  with  any  one,  especially  with  Gell. 

The  dinner  was  dull.     I  slipped  off  to  the  Montforts.     It  is  very 

difficult  at  Lady  Mary's  to  contrive  an  escape,  for  she  invariably 

1  See  ante,  p.  309.  2  Lady  Mary  Deerhurst. 


368         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

calls  back  the  delinquents  when  they  have  got  into  the  first  ante- 
room. I  found  the  Princess  in  great  humour.  Her  nephew  and 
her  cousin,  both  Princes  of  Wurtemberg,  had  just  arrived  from 
Naples.  They  both  shew  her  every  attention  in  their  power,  and 
she  is  very  much  alive  to  any  civility,  being  so  much  accustomed 
to  find  the  contrary  from  all  sovereigns  or  princes  in  reward  for 
her  noble  conduct  in  refusing  to  desert  and  divorce  her  husband 
when  his  misfortunes  began.  Jerome  came  in  soon  afterwards, 
kissed  his  legitimate  relations  on  each  cheek,  addressed  a  gracious 
word  to  each  of  the  circle,  and  then  proceeded  to  play  at  ecart£ 
with  his  royal  cousin.  I  went  for  a  few  minutes  to  T.  G. 

March  22.  I  drove  about  alone  to  various  shops.  Took  a 
warm  bath  and  dined  at  the  widow  Dalton's.  Countess  Blucher, 
Sir  W.  Gell,  Mr  Southill,  Colyars,  two  Maxwells,  E.  Cheney, 
formed  our  party.  Countess  Bliicher  is  a  daughter  of  the  late 

Sir Dallas,  Chief  Justice  of  Bombay,  and  has  married  that 

old  barbarian  Bliicher 's  grandson.  She  had  a  large  fortune, 
and  has  rather  a  pretty  face  and  pretty  manners,  but  is  not  very 
clever  or  agreable.  The  widow  is  good-nature  itself,  and  enjoys 
nothing  so  much  as  being  attacked  about  her  lovers  and  her 
admirers,  one  of  whom  (Mr  Rookwood  Gage,  an  old  man)  came 
in  after  dinner.  It  is  said  that  once  at  dinner  he  was  pouring 
soft  nonsense  into  the  widow's  ear,  and  she  replied,  "  Talk  if 
you  like,  Mr  Gage,  of  truffles,  but  not  of  love."  I  went  to  see 
T.  G.,  whom  I  found  making  a  hideous  toilette  to  go  to  the 
Austrian  Ambassador's.  I  then  went  to  Hortense,  where  I 
only  found  the  Duchesse  de  Frioul *  and  Cottenot.  I  asked 
Hortense  to  come  to  me  at  Frascati  to  breakfast  next  week, 
which  she  graciously  accepted.  The  D8se  de  F.  has  the  remains 
of  beauty  ;  she  has  been  extremely  unfortunate,  and  her  voice 
and  manner  bear  the  appearance  of  one  broken  down  in  health 
and  spirits.  The  conversation  turned  on  religion.  Hortense 
said  that  Protestants  were  capable  de  conversion.  Cottenot  and 
I  both  said  that  Catholics  must  be  and  have  been  so,  or  there 
would  be  no  Protestant  religion  at  all.  I  went  early  to  bed. 

March  23.     Villa  Muti.     Tho'  I  got  up  early  and  strove  hard 

1  Apparently  Duroc's  daughter,  who,  after  her  father's  death,  was 
allowed  by  Napoleon  to  succeed  to  his  Dukedom.  The  Dictionnaire 
Universelle,  however,  speaks  of  her  death  as  having  occurred  in  1829. 


1829-1830  3^9 

to  set  off  in  good  time,  it  was  past  one  before  I  could  make  us 
really  start  for  the  Villa  Belvedere,  where  we  were  to  join  a 
picnic  party  of  Lady  Dallas'  and  Mrs  Dalton's  compounding. 
I  called  on  Colyar,  who  had  just  returned  from  the  exhibition 
opened  to-day  of  the  works  of  modern  artists,  to  which  he  is  a 
subscriber.  By  subscribing  6  piastres  one  is  entitled  to  a  share  in 
a  lottery  and  has  the  chance  of  gaining  one  of  the  pictures.  The 
Cardinal  Galiffi  has  objected  to  some  works  of  art  as  indecent ; 
among  the  rest  to  Severn's  little  Ariel.  Colyar,  like  a  true  bigot, 
defended  such  a  prerogative,  and  said  he  had  himself  voted  that 
the  Cardinal  should  have  the  power  of  excluding  what  he  chose. 
A  statue  too,  by  Wyatt,  of  a  girl,  has  been  covered  up  as  not  fit 
for  public  gaze.  How  absurd  anywhere,  but  how  doubly  absurd 
at  Rome,  where  there  is  not  a  gallery  or  a  palace  that  does  not 
contain  a  hundred  statues  and  pictures  more  naked  than  these. 
We  did  not  reach  the  Villa  Belvedere  till  long  past  4,  and  found 
the  party  had  nearly  finished  their  greasy  meal.  Such  a  party  ! 
and  such  food  !  I  scarcely  ever  beheld.  Lady  Dallas  and  a 
tribe  of  unmarried  daughters,  Countess  Bliicher  being  the  only 
one  among  them  at  all  presentable  ;  Mr  Percy  (he  of  Berne) 
being  the  great  man  and  the  respectful  adorer  of  Me  Bliicher. 
Nothing  could  be  so  comfortless,  so  joyless,  as  the  repast,  or 
so  fatiguing  as  the  delay  afterwards,  while  the  servants  wrere 
swallowing  the  bottles  of  champagne  provided  for  us,  but  which 
they  were  determined  we  should  not  enjoy.  Mr  Percy  and  Lady 
Dallas  had  each  carriages  and  four  of  their  own  with  liveried 
postillions,  so  that  they  made  up  in  ostentation  what  was  wanting 
in  gaiety  and  good  management.  We  saw  them  drive  off  and 
we  went  to  my  villa  on  foot,  with  infinite  delight  to  be  so  nicely 
housed  and  free  from  such  dull  company.  Mrs  Dalton  even  was 
clamorous  at  the  want  of  gaiety  of  the  party,  and  complained 
she  had  not  had  enough  champagne,  and  that  the  servants  had 
cheated  us. 

March  24.  Villa  Muti.  Every  time  I  come  here  I  enjoy 
this  possession  more  and  more.  The  morning  is  quite  delicious. 
I  know  no  view  so  lovely  as  that  I  enjoy  from  my  windows  and 
little  garden.  The  whole  morning  I  devoted  to  arranging  my 
books  and  furniture. 

March  25.     The  Prince  Musignano  came  on  his  Arabian  horse 

AA 


37°         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

at  8  o'clock  this  morning  under  my  window.  He  was  arrived  to 
dine  with  Me  Muti  and  see  the  fair  of  Grotta  Ferrata.  He  told 
me  he  had  ridden  from  Porta  Pia  in  half  an  hour  !  !  !  He  is 
famous  for  such  assertions.  I  went  with  E.  C.  to  the  fair.  We 
found  there  Hamilton  with  his  mother  and  sister.  The  scene 
was  very  gay  and  pretty,  extremely  crowded — the  people  in 
brilliant  colours,  and  perfect  order  and  tranquillity.  The 
commodities  most  esteemed  are  the  horses  from  the  Abruzzi, 
besides  cattle,  horses,  asses,  &c.,  &c.  Lady  Mary,  Miss  Coventry  * 
and  her  cavalieri,  who  were  the  two  Maxwells  and  H.  Ingram, 
arrived  soon  after  my  return  :  Lady  Mary  and  her  daughter 
riding  astraddle  to  court  the  censure  and  malice  of  the  world. 
I  am  surprized  at  her  folly.  She  is  now  alarmed  lest  in  conse- 
quence of  the  paragraphs  about  her  in  the  papers,  Lord  D. 
should  make  this  exhibition  of  his  daughter  an  excuse  for  taking 
the  girl  from  her,  if  the  Chancery  Court  will  permit  him,  which 
considering  his  character  I  should  deem  unlikely.  The  dinner 
was  dull  and  went  off  heavily  at  first.  Lady  Mary,  however, 
was  pleased.  I  took  her  thro'  the  Malatesta  apartment,  which 
if  she  comes  here  after  Easter  I  mean  to  get  for  her  to  inhabit 
with  her  large  party  of  riding  friends.  They  all  went  back  at 
about  five,  leaving  Cheney,  Hamilton  and  myself  to  pass  the 
evening  together. 

March  26.  In  the  morning  I  rode  on  an  ass,  accompanied 
by  Hamilton,  to  the  Capuchin  convent.  My  friend,  the  Irish 
monk,  Fra  Giovanni  Maria,  alias  George  Brenan,  as  he  styles 
himself,  came  and  chatted  with  us.  He  is  only  23,  fresh  from 
Cork,  and  has  all  the  spirits  and  eagerness,  for  which  his  country- 
men are  remarkable,  as  yet  untamed  by  his  monastic  life.  His 
frankness  and  simplicity  of  manner  is  very  amusing.  The  tales 
he  tells  of  his  convent  would  get  him  into  dreadful  scrapes  with 
the  authorities,  if  his  imprudence  were  known.  The  other  day 
an  event  occurred  which  amused  him  extremely,  but  which  he 
begged  us  not  to  repeat.  The  Superior  of  the  convent,  it  seems, 
is  a  simple,  benevolent  man,  but  very  conscientious  and  honorable. 
A  well-dressed,  handsome-looking  young  man  came  up  a  few 
days  ago,  and  requested  an  interview  with  the  Superior.  To 
him  he  related  under  the  seal  of  confession  a  romantic  tale  of 

1  Hon.  Mary  Augusta  Coventry  (1814-89),  Henry  Fox's  future  wife. 


1829-1830  371 

distress  and  poverty,  concluding  by  a  request  for  the  loan  of  a 
few  crowns  to  enable  him  to  pay  his  immediate  debts  at  Frascati, 
and  that  in  a  short  time  he  should  be  repaid.  The  Superior 
hesitated.  The  young  man  gave  him  a  fine  brilliant-looking  ring 
as  a  pledge.  The  Superior  assured  him  none  of  the  monks 
possessed  any  money,  that  it  was  contrary  to  their  vow,  and  that 
he  could  only  relieve  him  from  the  general  fund,  for  which  he 
is  responsible  to  the  head  of  the  Order  (Cardinal  Micora).  How- 
ever, so  urgent  was  the  young  man's  distress  and  so  fair  were 
his  promises,  that  the  Superior  gave  him  twelve  crowns.  From 
that  moment  the  young  gentleman  has  never  appeared  ;  the  ring 
is  a  false  brilliant ;  and  the  poor  Superior  lives  in  dread  of  the 
wrath  of  Cardinal  Micora,  one  of  the  most  severe  and  bigoted 
members  of  the  Apostolic  Chamber.  On  our  return  to  the  Villa 
Muti  we  found  Mr  and  Mrs  Morier  1  arrived.  The  latter  had 
been  all  over  Frascati  with  E.  Cheney.  She  is,  I  believe,  a  clever 
woman,  but  painfully  shy  and  silent  in  mixed  company.  Morier's 
conversation  is  sensible  and  totally  unaffected,  but  neither  in 
wit  nor  eloquence  makes  one  judge  him  capable  of  having  written 
that  delightful  book,  Hadji  Baba. 

Sunday,  March  28.  Villa  Muti.  I  arranged  with  Me 
Guiccioli  about  her  coming  over  to  Frascati,  and  I  set  off  in  the 
morning.  I  waited  several  hours  for  her  arrival.  Her  heavy 
carriage,  her  heavy  brother  and  her  own  substantial  person, 
fatiguing,  I  conclude,  her  rats  of  horses.  At  length  she  came. 
We  rode  up  the  cross  road  I  am  repairing  on  asses.  Her  obser- 
vations on  the  whole  neighbourhood  and  upon  the  place  itself 
were  insipid  and  inspired  by  the  worst  taste.  She  is  a  sad 
goose.  We  supped,  and  soon  dispersed  to  bed. 

March  29.  A  deadly  dull  day.  To  have  to  make  love  without 
feeling  a  particle  is  sad  work,  and  sad  and  serious  did  I  find  it. 
March  30.  Villa  Muti.  It  was  not  regret  I  felt  when  my 
visitors  told  me  they  were  to  be  off  by  9  this  morning,  or  when 
at  12  I  heard  the  wheels  of  their  hideous  blue  tub  drive  off. 
She  wishes,  poor  soul,  to  inspire  a  romantic,  devoted  passion, 
but  has  failed  in  all  her  attempts  to  do  so. 

1  James  Justinian  Morier  (1780  (?)-i849),  traveller,  diplomatist  and 
writer.  Son  of  Isaac  Morier,  Consul-General  of  the  Levant  Company. 
He  married  Harriet,  daughter  of  William  Fulke  Greville. 


372         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

March  31.  Before  I  was  dressed,  arrived  Hamilton,  E. 
Cheney  and  Charles  Greville,  who  is  just  come  from  England. 
I  left  Cheney  and  Greville  to  do  the  honours  to  the  others,  and 
with  Hamilton  I  walked  to  meet  Hortense  at  the  Bracciano. 
She  did  not  come  till  late,  as  she  had  been  previously  to  breakfast 
at  the  Falconieri  with  the  Montforts.  We  dined  in  the  boschetto. 
My  party  consisted  of  Hortense,  Mlle  Rabie,  Lady  Sandwich, 
Lady  C.  Montague,  Prince  Louis,  Fordwich,  Hamilton,  Greville, 
Lord  Lovaine.  Hortense  and  her  party  were  not  hungry.  Lady 
S.  was  a  little  out  of  humour  at  there  being  a  greater  person  than 
herself  present.  The  sun  was  in  our  eyes,  and  the  party,  being 
chiefly  English,  gabbled  in  their  own  tongue  and  left  me  the 
whole  French  conversation  to  make  to  the  Queen.  Greville  is 
delighted  with  all  he  has  seen  in  Italy,  and  has  left  all  his 
London  fopperies  on  the  only  side  of  the  water  on  which  they 
are  admired.  The  party  went  off  about  sunset,  leaving  only 
Hamilton. 

Twenty-four  days  have  now  elapsed  since  I  wrote  in  this 
book.  My  impressions  of  this  miserable  month,  however,  are 
much  too  painful  and  too  vividly  impressed  upon  my  mind  to 
make  me  anxious  to  note  them  down.  On  my  return  to  Rome 
I  was  soon  apprized  of  the  sad  loss  I  had  sustained.  Lady 
Northampton  expired  at  five  o'clock  in  her  mother's  arms. 
Tho'  weak  and  evidently  too  slowly  recovering  from  her  prema- 
ture delivery,  nothing  had  occurred  to  alarm  her  family.  Lord 
N.  was  gone  to  a  scavo  at  Corneto  and  poor  Miss  Clephane  to  a 
party  to  Veii.  She  has  been  for  five  years  my  best  and  dearest 
friend,  and  tho'  but  too  often,  and  alas  very  lately,  we  had 
been  on  bad  terms,  yet  she  was  the  being  upon  earth  of  whose 
regard  and  friendship  I  felt  surest.  It  is  a  shocking  blow  to 
me,  and  one  upon  which  I  cannot  dwell.  The  following  morning, 
before  the  return  of  Lord  N.,  who  had  been  sent  for  express,  I 
saw  the  wretched  family  and  was  allowed  to  take  a  last  look  of 
her  beautiful  features,  then  coldly  fixed  for  ever.  The  agony  I 
suffered  it  is  impossible  to  describe,  but  I  felt  the  greatest  comfort 
in  having  knelt  and  prayed  by  her  bedside.  The  poor  old  lady 
shewed  great  fortitude.  As  long  as  Lord  N.  and  the  Clephanes 
remained  I  passed  most  of  my  time  with  them,  dining  at  home 
or  with  the  Colyars.  It  was  a  dreadful  month,  all  recollections 


1829-1830  373 

of  which  I  wish  to  dismiss  if  possible.  The  miserable  family 
set  off  on  the  26th  of  April  for  England. 

Two  days  before,  I  got  a  letter  from  Mary,  announcing  her 
intended  marriage  to  Ld  Lilford,  an  event  that  gives  me  heartfelt 
pleasure.  I  shall  recommence  this  diary  on  the  ist  of  May. 

Saturday,  May  i,  1830.  I  got  my  letters  at  the  post.  The 
Kg  is  apparently  dying.  My  sister  does  not  tell  me  when  she  is 
likely  to  be  married,  but  presses  me  to  come  for  the  ceremony, 
which  I  shall  not  think  of  doing  till  I  am  better  informed  upon 
the  subject.  I  returned  at  3  and  dined  te'te-a-te'te  at  home  with 
E.  C.  We  then  drove  to  di  Rienzi's  house,  of  which  he  made  a 
drawing,  and  to  the  Villa  Borghese.  Then  we  made  a  visit  of 
duty  to  the  Palazzo  Gabrielli,  which  was  less  dull  than  usual, 
for  none  of  the  Princess's  vulgar,  squinting  English  friends  were 
there,  so  we  had  a  little  chat  with  her  only.  She  is  lively,  and 
so  good  and  mild  that  her  conversation,  without  being  brilliant, 
is  agreable  from  her  natural  good-breeding  and  extreme  good- 
nature. She  never  abuses  or  says  a  harsh  word  of  anyone. 
Both  Madame  Mere  and  Cardinal  Fesch  have  been,  and  the  former 
still  is,  in  a  very  dangerous  state,  having  broken  a  little  bone 
in  her  hip.  The  Cardinal  is  better,  but  the  surgeons  declare  his 
disease  a  very  alarming  one — ulcers  and  abscesses  which  form  in 
the  interior  and  may  prove  fatal  any  day.  I  took  E.  C.  to  the 
door  of  Lady  Sandwich's,  and  went  myself  to  T.  G.,  where  I 
passed  the  evening. 

May  7.  A  picnic  to  Veii.  Gell,  Mills,  Dorlac,  Hamilton, 
Catel,  Ly  Mary,  Miss  Coventry,  E.  Cheney  and  myself.  The 
day  was  very  hot.  Gell  made  us  ride  many  miles,  which  Lady 
Mary  walked.  Some  of  the  views  of  the  ravines  are  very 
picturesque.  Gell  took  us  up  to  what  he  and  other  antiquarians 
pronounce  to  be  the  citadel.  Mills  was  very  cross  at  bumping 
so  long  on  a  donkey.  His  humour  broke  out  while  I  was  spelling 
an  inscription  at  the  citadel  for  Gell.  "  Ah,  Torquitia  Prisca,  a 
good  old  Roman  name,"  said  Gell,  "we  shall  find  out  more 

about  her.  Go  on,  what  letters  follow  that  name  V.  M " 

Mills  whispered  to  me,  H-U-M-B-U-G  :  We  then  rode  to  see  a 
very  curious  natural  bridge  called  Ponte  Soda.  The  way  was 
bad,  the  sun  was  hot,  we  often  lost  the  path,  and  Gell,  who  was 
our  only  guide,  did  not  seem  to  recollect  at  all  which  way  we  ought 


374         The  Journal  of  Henry   Edward  Fox 

to  go.  Mills  lost  patience  and  temper.  After  we  had  seen  it, 
on  coming  back  towards  the  Isola  Farnese  (for  that  is  the  modern 
name  of  Veii),  Gell  pointed  to  another  bridge,  and  said  to  Mills, 
"  When  you  were  last  here,  that  is  the  place  you  took  for  Ponte 
Soda."  "  Oh  yes,"  replied  Mills,  "  I  certainly  believed  it  to  be 
so,  because  you  told  me  so  ;  it  was  in  the  days  of  our  mutual 
ignorance."  We  came  home  in  tolerable  time,  and  passed  the 
evening  at  Lady  Mary's. 

May  8.  Breakfasted  with  Mills :  only  Gell  and  Cheney 
besides  myself.  They  both  snapped  at  each  other,  but  Mills 
was  quite  the  aggressor.  They  evidently  have  a  strong  dislike 
one  for  the  other,  under  the  pretence  of  great  regard.  Dined  at 
Lady  Mary's.  A  farewell  dinner  to  Ly  Charlotte  Hamilton  and 
Dorlac,  who  all  go  off  to-morrow  for  the  Pyrenees.  Hamilton 
hurries  to  England,  in  hopes  the  D.  of  Clarence  will  remember 
him  should  he  come  to  the  throne. 

Sunday,  May  30.  Villa  Muti.  E.  C.  was  ill.  With  Lady 
Sandwich  I  drove  to  the  Villa  Falconieri  to  call  on  Cardinal 
Weld.  The  beautiful  suite  of  rooms  they  have  contrived  to 
render  comfortless  and  to  prevent  the  free  circulation  of  air,  so 
that  they  are  intensely  hot.  Mrs  Clifford  received.  The  C1 
is  at  Rome.  She  is  his  daughter,  and  he  has  much  scandalized 
the  bigoted  Catholics  (English,  I  believe,  and  not  Romans)  by 
having  been  seen  driving  about  with  her  in  his  carriage.  Still 
more  did  he  shock  the  pious,  by  protecting  his  little  grand- 
daughter from  a  shower  of  rain  with  the  red  umbrella  always 
carried  behind  Cardinals'  carriages  in  case  they  should  meet  the 
Host ;  and  then  it  is  used  to  cover  them  while  holding  the  Holy 
Chalice  in  their  hands,  but  upon  no  other  occasion. 

June  21.  Rome.  In  the  morning  I  wrote  to  Me  Murat x 
expressing  my  hopes  that  I  might  be  permitted  to  call  upon  her 
before  she  went,  and  begging  her  to  appoint  a  time.  The  reply 
I  received  was  a  wish  to  see  me  at  3  o'clock.  Of  course  I  was 
punctual.  Hortense's  apartment  in  the  Palazzo  Ruspoli,  which 
she  has  lent  her  during  her  visit  to  Rome,  I  found  all  sossopra. 
The  dinner  was  just  over  and  the  faquini  were  taking  away  the 

1  Caroline  Marie  Murat  (1782-1839),  Napoleon's  third  sister.  She  lived 
at  Trieste,  after  her  husband's  removal  from  the  throne  of  Naples,  under 
the  name  of  Comtesse  de  Lipona.  She  died  in  Florence.  She  had 
obtained  permission  to  come  to  Rome  to  see  her  mother, 


1829-1830  375 

dinner  things  from  a  room  full  of  half-packed  trunks,  boxes, 
waste  paper,  and  in  fact  in  perfect  disorder.  I  was  kept  waiting 
a  short  time  talking  to  the  black,  skinny,  grinning  dame-de- 
compagnie,  before  Me  Murat  appeared.  I  was  much  struck  with 
the  great  remains  of  beauty  she  still  possesses.  She  is  stout,  and 
her  figure  is  not  good,  but  rather  thick  and  stumpy ;  however, 
notwithstanding  that,  she  is  very  graceful  and  dignified  in  her 
motions.  Her  complexion,  which  I  had  heard  was  blotched  and 
bad,  was  very  clear  and  her  features  are  regular  and  small.  Her 
mouth  has  a  very  peculiar  expression  of  firmness  and  decision, 
which  when  it  relaxes  into  a  smile  is  uncommonly  pretty  and 
playful.  She  reminded  me  of  the  D8S  of  Bedford,  tho'  her  person  is 
smaller  and  more  delicate.  Her  voice  is  very  sweet.  She  speaks 
French  with  a  very  strong  Italian  accent,  but  with  great  fluency. 
When  I  saw  her  first  she  was  extremely  agitated,  having 
received  an  intimation  that  the  ten  days  first  accorded  her  were 
to  be  limited  to  eight,  and  that  she  must  depart  to-morrow. 
She  had  sent  to  appeal,  and  had  protested  that  having  come  to 
Rome  to  fulfil  a  sacred  duty  towards  her  mother,  probably  on 
her  death-bed,  that  she  would  yield  to  force  alone  and  not  go 
into  her  carriage  till  the  military  came  to  order  her  to  do  so. 
Since  she  has  been  at  Rome  there  have  been  no  less  than  twelve 
meetings  of  the  Corps  Diplomatique,  and  several  reams  of  paper 
have  been  filled.  She  told  me,  what  I  own  I  did  not  credit  till 
afterwards  it  was  confirmed  by  Gargarin,  that  Lord  Stuart  de 
Rothesay  x  (who  the  other  day  refused  to  interfere  in  her  behalf 
about  some  lawsuit,  because  he  said  he  was  not  authorized  to 
do  so  by  his  employers)  took  upon  his  own  responsibility,  without 
having  time  to  communicate  with  London,  to  sign  a  protest 
against  her  being  permitted  to  remain  at  Rome.  How  com- 
pletely we  are  become  the  instruments  of  these  rotten  old 
dynasties  !  !  !  She  was  expecting  a  reply  to  her  last  application, 
and  had  given  her  son-in-law,  Rasponi,  and  Vannutelli  rendezvous 
at  the  Coliseum,  whither  she  begged  me  to  accompany  her,  if 
I  did  not  fear  being  seen  in  her  carriage.  Of  course  I  went  with 
her,  tho'  I  had  some  apprehension  that  I  might,  in  consequence, 
be  refused  a  passport  to  Naples.  She  had  never  seen  any  of 
the  many  interesting  sights  here,  as  in  all  the  journies  she  made 
1  British  Ambassador  in  Paris, 


376         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

thro'  Rome,  "  ceux  qui  m'accompagnaient  "  travelled  so  fast 
that  she  scarcely  ever  remained  more  than  two  or  three  hours 
in  the  town. 

She  speaks  with  much  agitation  at  the  persecution  of  the 
Allies  towards  her,  and  said  she  almost  regrets  having  come,  as 
now  when  she  is  torn  away  from  her  mother  she  must  make  up 
her  mind  to  never  meeting  again  on  this  side  the  grave.  How- 
ever her  vanity  is  considerably  flattered  by  the  importance  all 
the  foreign  courts  seem  to  attach  to  her  movements,  and  the 
persecuting  distinction  they  shew  her  in  contrast  to  the  other 
members  of  the  Bonaparte  family.  All  ideas  of  being  still  an 
object  of  admiration  to  men  she  has  not  relinquished,  and  she 
owned  to  me  that  had  it  not  been  for  her  love  for  Christine, 
"  elle  aura  volontiers  fait  tourner  la  t6te  a  ce  cher  Dudley." 
She  has  much  dignity,  and  yet  nothing  repulsive  in  her  manner  or 
the  least  etiquettical.  We  walked  about  the  Coliseum  for  half 
an  hour,  while  her  black  skeleton  dame-de-compagnie  struggled 
to  the  summit.  At  length  Vannutelli  and  Rasponi  returned  with 
the  ultimate  reply  of  the  Cardinal's  Secretary,  that  they  would 
grant  to-morrow,  but  that  on  the  following  day  she  must  leave 
Rome.  She  turned  very  pale,  her  voice  quivered  from  agitation. 
"  Eh  bien,  je  partirai  quand  on  viendra  me  chasser.  Une  insulte 
de  plus  ou  une  insulte  de  moins  ne  leur  coutera  rien."  We 
drove  by  the  Temple  of  Vesta  to  her  mother's.  She  was  too 
absorbed  to  look  much  about  her.  I  left  her  at  her  mother's 
door,  and  went  home  where  I  tried  by  remaining  very  quiet  to 
undo  the  harm  walking  about  and  coming  to  Rome  has  done  me. 

I  staid  at  Naples  till  the  I3th  of  September,  making  only  two 
very  dull  excursions  for  a  few  nights  to  Castellamare  to  please 
E.  C.,  who  wanted  to  see  the  Moriers.  H.  de  Ros  lent  me  his  house 
there.  My  life  was  very  monotonous  and  not  one  much  worthy, 
I  am  sorry  to  say,  of  record,  tho'  far  from  disagreable.  I  dined 
almost  every  day  with  Lady  Mary,  sometimes  with  the  good  old 
Archbishop,  twice  or  thrice  with  Mr  Hill  at  the  Villa  Belvedere. 
I  used  to  sit  up  very  late  gambling  deeper  than  I  ought,  and  then 
walk  about  the  town  till  daylight.  I  bathed  in  the  sea  daily 
during  the  hot  weather  and  learnt  a  little  to  swim.  The  wonderful 
events  in  France  during  the  last  days  of  July  absorbed  all  my 


1829-1830  377 

thoughts,1  and  turned  me  into  a  complete  quidnunc.  It  was 
diverting  to  see  their  effect  upon  many  of  the  society  at  Naples. 

I  saw  much  of  H.  de  Ros  *  and  H.  Fox.  They  both  are 
agreable  :  the  latter  much  the  cleverest,  but  really  as  selfish  as 
he  professes.  The  former  has  no  feeling  whatever  :  all  sensation 
is  so  dead  that  I  suspect,  to  reverse  17  Blessington's  observation 
on  Gell,  "  he  has  not  feeling  enough  to  feel  animal  pleasure/' 
E.  C.  was  much  bit  by  his  civil  manner  and  sarcastic  conversation, 
but  I  suspect  discovered  that  all  friendship  with  him  must  be 
hollow.  E.  C.  was  ill  almost  all  the  time  we  staid  at  Naples, 
and  his  temper  was  soured  by  perpetual  suffering.  I  resolved 
for  many  reasons,  and  especially  for  the  continuance  of  our 
friendship,  to  separate  for  some  time.  He  affects  more  misan- 
thropy than  he  has,  but  his  bad  health  and  a  natural  disposition 
to  be  discontented  is  the  cause  of  his  extreme  tartness  and 
consequent  unpleasantness.  Tho'  I  have  a  very  strong  affection 
for  him,  I  began  to  discover  that  he  is  very  difficile  a  vivre. 
Perhaps  the  bitter  regrets  I  feel,  that  I  should  have  allowed  his 
ill-judged  but  well-intended  advice  ever  to  regulate  my  conduct 
towards  one  who  is  now  no  more,  renders  me  unjust  towards 
him ;  as  I  feel  his  interference  and  absurd  notions  have  rendered 
me  at  times  unkind  and  harsh  to  one  that  really  loved  me  and  to 
whom  I  can  now  never  atone. 

This  year  has  been  a  severe  one  to  me.  I  have  lost  by  death 
the  person  on  earth  who  cared  most  for  me,  and  by  a  concatena- 
tion of  circumstances  I  feel  that  my  friendship  for  E.  C.  can  never 
again  be  what  it  once  was.  He  has  a  good  heart  and  is  very 
clever,  but  is  the  worst  counsellor  I  ever  knew.  In  every  instance 
in  which  I  have  been  guided  by  his  judgment — and  I  regret  to 
say  they  are  numerous  both  in  great  and  in  small  occasions  of 
life,  I  have  not  ceased  to  lament  that  I  did  not  follow  my  own 
wishes  and  opinions.  He  dragged  me  into  that  silly  business 
about  d'Orsay.  He  made  me  quarrel  with  Ly  Westmorland. 
He  alas  !  divided  Ly  Northampton  and  me.  And  for  him  I 
have  been  on  the  point  of  sacrificing  other  and  dearer  ties.  But 

1  The  revolution  against  Charles  X.  and  the  proclamation  of  Loui 
Philippe  as  King. 

2  Henry  William  de  Ros  (1793-1839),    who  succeeded  his  mother  in 
1831  as  twenty-second  Baron  de  Ros.     See  ante,  p.  96. 


378         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 

Time,  which  is  the  severest  master,  has  taught  me  my  folly, 
and  I  shall  no  longer  act  so  weakly.  Remorse  is  a  cruel  visitor, 
but  her  visits  are  beneficial.  I  look  back  upon  life  with  much 
repentance.  Not  for  the  ambitious  objects  I  have  slighted,  for 
had  I  attained  them  I  should  not  be  happier,  and  had  I  failed 
in  the  attempt,  which  is  more  likely,  I  should  have  been  mortified 
and  miserable.  But  I  have  cruelly  and  wantonly  played  with 
the  feelings  of  others,  I  have  never  believed  anyone  attached 
to  me,  and  I  have  on  that  account,  and  on  that  account  only, 
and  not  from  the  fickleness  of  which  I  am  accused,  determined 
not  to  be  myself  attached.  My  conduct  towards  Miss  V., 
MUe  P.,  and  Ly  N.  leave  me  much  to  regret — especially  the 
two  last  instances.  In  the  former  there  was  much  scheming 
and  duplicity. 

Enough  of  the  past.  I  think  sufficiently  thereon  without 
recording  my  thoughts  in  this  book,  in  which  I  only  want  to 
preserve  dates  and  facts  that  may  escape  my  memory.  These 
sad  recollections  are  too  firmly  rooted  there  to  require  any 
record  of  them. 


INDEX 


N.B.     The  figures  in  italics  give  the  note  references  to  individuals,  etc.,  mentioned. 


Abercromby,  James,  36,  69,  133-4 
Abercromby,  Mrs,  54-5,  69,  133,  153,  157 
Abercromby,  Ralph,  66-7 

Aberdeen,  George,  4th  Earl  of,  17,  57,  98,  187 
Aberdeen,  Harriet,  Countess  of,  139,  187 
Abingdon,  Montagu,  5th  Earl  and   Countess   of, 

£7-8 

Achilles  Statue  in  Hyde  Park,  100,  128,  133 
Achmet,  Pasha,  209 
Adair,  Sir  Robert,  193,  35J~4 
Adam,  Sir  Frederick,  207 
Affleck,  Lady,  30,  40,  44,  46,  54,  63,  67,  69,  83,  88, 

92-3,  100,  102-3,  IO9>  IT3»  I:C4>  JI6,  129-30, 

139,  150,  153,  175,  182,  186 
Albani,  Cardinal,  346 
Albany,  Comtesse  d',  122,  160,  164 
Albemarle,  Lord  and  Lady,  100,  106 
Aldborough,  Lady,  559,  364 
Alexander  I.,  252,  255,  269-70,  296 
Allen,  Dr  John,  77-19,  27,  30,  33,  35,  46,  54-5, 

64,  68,  90,  98,  in,  117-8,  120-1,  123-5,  134, 

153,  166,  358-9 

Alvanley,  William,  2nd  Baron,  58,  95, 120,  132,  236 
Amherst,  William,  ist  Earl,  148,  151 
Ancram,  John,  Earl  of,  138-9,  140,  142,  148 
Anglesey,  Henry,  ist  Marquess  of,  42-3,  74,  98, 

104,  1 06 

Angouleme,  Due  d',  182 
Anson,  Lord,  70 

Apsley,  Henry  G.,  Viscount,  134,  212 
Argyll,  George,  6th  Duke  of,  34,  38,  57,  59,  98 
Argyll,  Duchess  of,  135,  156 
Arsoli,  Prince  d'  and  Princesse,  247,  291-2 
Arundell,  John  E.,  loth  Lord,  287,  306,  309-11, 

325 

Arundell,  Lady,  69,  287,  306-7,  310-11,  327,  344-5 
Ashburnham,  Lady,  317,  323 
Ashley,  Anthony,  Lord  (7th  Earl  of  Shaftesbury), 

34-5,  116,  131 
Ashley,  Hon.  William,  181 
Ashley,  Ladies,  129-31,  134,  172 
Auckland,  Lord,  196 
Aylesford,  Lady,  62,  131 

Bailey,  Lady  Sarah,  34 

Baines,  Bishop,  290 

Bankes,  William  J.,  106,  149,  165,  170 

Baring,  Alexander  (ist  Lord  Ashburton),  44,  318 

Baring,  George  and  Mrs,  318-9 

Baring,  Henry,  139 

Baring,  Mrs  Henry,  131,  134,  157 

Baring,  Lady  Harriet,  557,  360,  362 

Bath,  Lady,  145 

Bathurst,  Henry,  3rd  Earl,  33-4,  49,  65,  77,  84, 

86-7,  100,  106,  128,  132, 153 
Bathurst,  Lady,  65,  86,  87,  94-6,  102-3,  IQ6,  113, 

126,  128,  130,  149,  173 
Bathurst,  Hon.  Thomas  S.,  217 
Beauclerk,  George,  98,  212 
Beauclerk,  Mrs,  362-4 
Beauharnais,  Eugene,  296 
Beauharnais,  Hortense  de,  Comtesse  de  St  Leu, 

237,  241,  249,  251-2,  262-71,  273,   275-80, 

288,  295-7,  299-300,  350-3,   366,  368,   372, 

Becher,  William  W.,  66,  95 
Beckford,  William,  240 


Bedford,  Georgina,  Duchess  of,  25,  35-6,  58,  93, 

295 
Bedford,  John,  6th  Duke  of,  25,  33,  35-6,  40,  57, 

82,  115,  129,  131-4,  157,  173,  181,  187,  296 
Belfast,  George,  Earl  of  (3rd  Marquess  of  Donegall), 

52,  130 

Belgrave,  Richard,  Viscount,  78 

Bell,  "  Jockey,"  45 

Belzoni,  Giovanni  B.,  55,  57 

Bentinck,  Lord  F.,  and  Lady,  250,  267 

Beresford,  William,  Viscount,  71 

Bergami,  64,  91 

Berri,  Duchesse  de,  70 

Berry,  Miss,  30,  33,  34,  104 

Bertrand,  Comte  and  Comtesse,  82,  83-5,  93,  149- 

50,  194,  233 
Bessborough,  Frederick,  3rd  Earl  of,  and  Lady,  25, 

53,  5.6,  71,  73,  88,  91 

Binda,  Giuseppe,  25,  27,  30,  35,  37,  88-9,  91 

Bingham,  Mr,  65,  112,  149,  281 

Blake,  Miss,  206,  330-2 

Blane,  Sir  Gilbert,  53 

Blessington,  Charles,  ist  Earl  of,  and  Lady,  62,  69, 
158,  161,  204,  211,  215,  217-8,  234-5,  238, 
241-2,  244,  250,  265-9,  270,  281,  286,  288, 
292-4,  298-9,  377 

Bligh,  General,  47 

Bloomfield,  Sir  Benjamin,  53,  95,  105,  311 

Blucher,  Countess,  368-9 

Boddington,  Samuel,  152 

Bonaparte,  Caroline.    See  Murat 

Bonaparte,  Charles  Lucien,  Prince  de  Musignano, 
509,  323,  367,  369 

Bonaparte,  Charles  Napoleon,  323 

Bonaparte,  Princess  Charlotte,  325-4 

Bonaparte,  Eliza,  Princesse  de  Piombino,  233 

Bonaparte,  Jerome,  Comte  de  Montfort  and  Com- 
tesse, 196,  200,  220,  240,  246,  254,  262,  267, 
303,  304,  306,  315,  319,  322,  344-5,  348,  367-8, 
372 

Bonaparte,  Joseph,  Comte  de  SurvUliers,  ex-King 
of  Spain,  220,  323 

Bonaparte,  Letizia  ("  Madame  Mere "),  795-9, 
232,  262,  271,  299-300,  302-3,  316,  322,  373 

Bonaparte,  Louis,  ex-King  of  Holland,  Comte  de 
St  Leu,  196,  316-7,  321-2,  350-2 

Bonaparte,  Lucien,  Prince  de  Canino,  300,  322, 
344,  348-9 

Bonaparte,  Napoleon.    See  Napoleon 

Bonaparte,  Pauline,  Princesse  Borghese,  72,  163 

Bordeaux,  D.  de,  243 

Boswell,  Sir  Alexander,  707-8,  123 

Bourke,  Comte  de  and  Comtesse,  74,  157,  166-7 

Bourrienne's  Memoirs,  352,  354-5 

Bradshaw,  Mrs,  actress,  50,  89,  140,  360-2 

Brandenburg- Anspach,  Margravine  of,  203-4,  211, 

215 

Breadalbane,  Mary,  Marchioness  of,  740 
Brougham,  Henry,  Lord,  27,  36,  38-9,  41-2,  45, 

5°,  52,  54,  57,  69,  88,  92,  127,  156,  162,  180, 

269 

Brougham,  Mrs,  56 
Buchanan,  George,  and  James  I.,  357 
Buckingham,  Richard,  ist  Duke  of,  106,  115,  370- 

ii 

Bunsen,  C.  K.  J.,  345~6,  348 
Burdett,  Sir  Francis,  73,  363 


379 


380          The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 


Burdett,  Miss,  359 

Burghersh,  John,  Lord  and  Lady,  134,  164 

Burke,  Edmund,  37,  109 

Bute,  Frances,  Marchioness  of,  198,  aoi,  205,  212, 

215,  220,  325-6 

Butera,  Prince  and  Princess,  283,  319,  338 
Butler,  Lady  Elinor,  275,  279,  281-2,  284-5,  287-8, 

294,  304 

Byng,  George,  321-2 
Byron,  Lady,  161,  239 
Byron,  Lord,  33,  57,  59,  61,  77, 89,  93,  159, 160-6, 

170,  193,  198,  202,  210,  214,  216,  277,  298, 

339 

Callcott,  Augustus  and  Mrs,  272 

Calcraft,  Granby,  64,  101,  207 

Calcraft,  John,  52,  64,  66-8 

Cambridge,  Adolphus,  Duke  of,  348 

Campan,  Madame  de,  249,  296-7 

Campbell,  Thomas,  59 

Canino,  Princesse  de,  300,  322 

Canning,  George,  36,  50,  53-4,  58,  66,  68,  73,  107-8, 
114,  138,  141,  144,  153-4,  J56,  242,  331,  333, 
336,  340 

Canning,  Miss  Harriet  (Lady  Clanricarde),  106, 
•TJ5-40,  142-5,  i48,  I7o,  174,  176 

Canning,  Mrs,  137,  139,  174,  205,  366 

Canning,  Stratford,  340 

Canova,  53,  80,  172 

Caprecelatro,  Monsignore,  203,  283,  285,  337 

Caraccioli,  Domenico,  361 

Carlisle,  Lady,  150 

Caroline,  Queen,  35-43,  45,  50-2,  54,  66,  70,  79,  81, 
91,  97,  308 

Carrington,  Robert,  ist  Lord,  131,  335 

Castiglione,  Cardinal.     See  Pius  VIII. 

Celles,  M.  de,  348 

Chabot,  Lady  Isabella,  255-6 

Chalmers,  Thomas,  ^17-9 

Chandos,  Richard,  Lord  (2nd  Duke  of  Bucking- 
ham), 310-11 

Chan  trey,  Francis,  33,  53,  67 

Charlemont,  Lady,  97,  350 

Charles  X.,  226,  252,  346,  353 

Charlotte,  Princess,  32,  34,  149,  324 

Chateaubriand,  Vicomte  de,  131,  345-6,  348 

Chatillon,  344 

Cheney,  Edward,  15,  231,  237-8  ;  240,  242-4,  246- 
8,  251-4,  256-8,  260-4,  266,  268-79,  281-2, 
284-95,  302-4,  309,  313-4,  320,  322,  324-6, 
328,  330,  332,  336-7,  339-40,  342,  345,  347, 
349,  35i,  353,  365,  367,  370-3,  376-7 

Cheney,  Henry,  242,  248,  257,  279,  290,  295,  365 

Cheney,  Mrs,  231,  254,  258,  262,  265,  267,  271,  276, 
278,  294,  356,  362,  364 

Cimetelli,  Prince,  51-2,  56,  59,  64 

Clairmont,  Jane,  61 

Clanwilliam,  Richard,  3rd  Earl  of,  102,  144,  151, 
227 

Clarence,  William,  Duke  of,  and  Duchess,  47,  65, 
87,  in,  374 

Clephane,  Mrs,  238-9,  241,  258-9,  282,  303,  306, 
309,  312,  325-6,  33i,  367 

Clifford,  Augustus  W.  J.,  go 

Club,  The,  34-5,  90 

Cockburn,  Henry  Thomas,  118-9,  "3 

Coigny,  D.  de,  114 

Coigny,  Madame  de,  71-2,  166 

Coke,  Lady  Ann,  101 

Coke,  Thomas  W.,  101-3,  151 

Coleridge,  Samuel  Taylor,  32 

Colyar,  Mr  and  Mrs,  237,  307,  309,  326,  343-5, 
348,  369 

Compton,  Countess  (Lady  Northampton),  799, 
213,  215-8,  220-1,  223-5,  238,  240,  243-50, 
253,255-60,265-6,268-70,  273,  275-6,  279-80, 
282-9,  292-3,  298,  301-2,  309,  325,  327-8, 
338,  372,  377-8 

Compton,  Spencer,  Earl,  2nd  Marquess  of  Nor- 
thampton, J9p,  248,  302,  323,  367,  377 

Concordat,  and  Napoleon,  28 

Conolly,  Louisa,  Lady,  73 

Consalvi,  Cardinal,  36,  160,  J97,  248,  346 

Conyngham,  Lady,  38,  91,  106, 115,  126,  154,  166-7 


Conyngham,  Lord  Francis,  39,  95,  105 

Copley,  Sir  J.,  42,  120,  779,  366 

Copley,  Misses,  144-5,  169-74,  179 

Cork,  Lady,  133 

Courtenay,  Thomas  Peregrine,  50 

Coussmaker,  Miss,  136 

Coutts,  Thomas,  102-3.    See  St  Albans 

Coventry,   Mary  Augusta  (afterwards  4th  Lady 

Holland),  15,  370,  373 
Coventry,  Lady.    See  Deerhurst 
Cowper,  Peter,  sth  Earl,  and  Lady,  15,  49,  63,  84, 

172,  175,  187,  356 
Cradock,  John  H.,  80,  227-8,  358 
Cranston,  Mr,  67 
Crauford,  Me,  71 
Crawford,  Lady  Mary,  266 
Croy,  Prince  de,  344 

Dalberg,  D.  de,  73-4 

Dallas,  Lady,  368-9 

Dalton,  Mrs,  268,  368-9 

Darlington,  Lord,  63 

David,  Giovanni,  singer,  326,  343 

Davison,  Thomas,  56-7 

Davy,  Sir  Humphry  and  Lady,  48,  56,  60,  73,  96-7, 

123,  196,  198,  201-2,  339 
Decazes,  Elie,  D.  de,  36,  51,  60-1 
Deerhurst,  Lady  Mary  (Lady  Coventry),  211,  213- 

5,  217,  237-8,  248,  253-7,  275,  278,  280,  297, 

328-9,  367,  370,  373,  376 
Denman,  Thomas,  ist  Lord,  31,  59-41,  45,  49-50, 

52,  54 

Denon,  Baron,  73,  78,  85 

De  Ros,  Henry  W.,  22nd  Lord,  96,  376-7 

De  Ros,  William,  23rd  Lord,  69,  87 

Devonshire,  William,  6th  Duke  of,  64-5,  74,  89-90, 

159,  236,  355,  359-6o 
Devonshire,  Elizabeth,  Duchess  of,  159 
Digby,  Lord,  30,  33 
Dino,  Duchesse  de,  75-7 
Dodwell,  Edward  and  Mrs,  199,  240,  244,  247,  267, 

278,  304,  341 
Douglas,  John,  119,  132 
Drouot,  General,  92,  232 
Drummond,  Sir  William  and  Lady,  203,  204-5,  240, 

242,  244-6,  254,  286,  333 
Duchesnois,  Mile,  actress,  71 
Ducis,  73 
Dudley  and  Ward,  John  William,  Viscount  (Earl 

of  Dudley),  47-50,  55,  61,  64,  131,  139,  150, 

152-3,  170,  234,  236,  317,  361,  363 
Dumont,  Etienne,  n,  79,  195 
Duncannon,  John  William,  Lord,  66,  91,  128 
Dungannon,  Lord,  777 
Dundas,  Hon.   Robert  (4th  Viscount),   15,  97-5, 

100,  104,  106,  128,  257 
Durazzo,  Me,  73-4,  87 
Durham,  Earl  of.     See  Lambton 

Ebrington,  Hugh,  Viscount,  and  Lady,  176 

Edgeworth,  Maria,  54,  go,  106,  109 

Edmiston,  Miss,  92 

Egremont,  3rd  Earl  of,  183-5 

Ellenborough,  Lord,  27,  195 

Ellice,  Edward,  104 

Ellis,   Charles  Rose  (afterwards  Baron  Seaford), 

50,  58,  66 
Ellis,  George  (ist  Lord  Dover)  and  Mrs,  40-1,  49, 

53,  58,  66,  94,  96,  104,  no,  112-3,  323 
Elphinstone,  Lady,  142-3,  175-6 

Erroll,  William,  i8th  Earl  of,  40,  143 

Enroll,  Lady,  40,  47,  50,  128,  188,  206,  330-1,  334 

Erskine,  Lady  Janet,  108 

Erskine,  John  F.,  124 

Erskine,  Thomas,  ist  Lord,  39,  40-1,  84,  130,  356 

Essex,  George,  sth  Earl  of,  40,  60,  71 

Essex,  Sarah,  Lady,  do,  105 

Este,  Miss  d',  32,  247-5,  270 

Esterhazy,  Paul,  294 

Esterhazy,  Princesse,  127,  297 

Euston,  Lady,  58,  103 

Fawcett,  John,  actor,  50 


Index 


Fazakerley,  John  N.  and  Mrs,  100, 122,  157-^,  *94~ 
6,  201,  205,  362,  364 

Ferdinand  IV.,  Naples,  203 

Ferguson,  Captain  Adam,  121-3 

Ferrers,  Lord  and  Lady,  250 

Fersen,  Count,  296-7 

Fesch,  Cardinal,  300,  346,  373 

Fielding,  Lady  Elizabeth,  54 

Fife,  fames,  sth  Earl  of,  32,  65,  100 

FitzClarence,  Elizabeth.     See  Erroll 

FitzClarence,  George  (Earl  of  Munster),  and  Mrs, 
183, 184-5 

FitzClarence,  Mary.     See  Fox,  Mrs  Charles  R. 

Fitzgerald,  Lord  Henry,  70 

FitzHarris,  James,  Viscount,  338-9 

Fitzherbert,  Mrs,  127 

Fitzpatrick,  Ladies  Anne  and  Gertrude,  n,  63,  83, 
113,  148,  167-8 

Fitzpatrick,  General  Hon.  Richard,  n,  33,  187 

Fkzwilliam,  William,  4th  Earl  of,  171 

Flahault,  Count  de,  31,  36-7,  60 

Flahault,  Madame  de  (Lady  Keith),  31,  68,  149, 
271 

Fortescue,  George,  87,  181 

Foscolo,  Ugo,  46-8 

Foss,  M.  and  Me,  339,  342 

Fox,  Hon.  Caroline,  jo-u,  16,  26,  54,  62,  67,  85-6, 
98,  100,  103,  111-3,  J83,  224,  264 

Fox,  Charles  James,  n,  12,  34,  37,  96 

Fox,  Mrs  Charles  James,  176,  183,  189 

Fox,  Charles  Richard,  12,  40,  65,  69-70,  81,  96, 
128,  145,  147,  149-50,  153,  190,  205-6,  212-3, 
225,  227,  238,  265,  278 

Fox,  Mrs  Charles  Richard,  12,  40,  47,  190,  212 

Fox,  Hon.  Georgina  Anne,  9,  30,  68 

Fox,  Hon.  Henry  Edward  (4th  Lord  Holland), 
acting,  lor  ;  at  Edinburgh,  117  ;  elected  to 
Travellers'  Club,  104  ;  hates  the  country,  43, 
97.  l83  ;  Journal,  in  Brighton,  187-90,  354-65  ; 
in  Italy,  159-66,  196-223,  231-330,  337~54, 
365-78  ;  in  Malta,  206-7,  330-7  ;  in  Paris,  etc., 
70-81,  157-8,  166,  190-6,  223-6 ;  in  Scotland, 
117-24,  140-4;  leaves  Oxford,  104,  116; 
M.P.,  223,  230;  opinions  on  England's  treat- 
ment of  Napoleon,  76-8  ;  on  authors,  60  ;  on 
bigotry  and  hypocrisy  of  Englishmen,  83,  164- 
5,  171,  193,  210,  364  ;  on  Byron,  160-6  ;  on 
cards,  173  ;  on  Catholic  religion,  219-20  ;  on 
politics,  35,  186,  195-6  ;  on  talents,  44  ;  on 
self-sufficiency,  41 ;  robbed  by  highwaymen, 
312-3  ;  portraits,  33,  262-5 

Fox,  Henry  Stephen,  73,  338,  377 

Fox,  Hon.  Mary  Elizabeth  (afterwards  Lady  Lil- 
ford),  9,  16,  59,  62,  67,  70,  81,  84,  90,  92,  94, 
97i  99.  IOO>  IOI»  IO3i  IQ6,  112,  126-7,  I39.  14%> 
151,  I57.  165,  175,  182-3,  186,  189,  192, 212-3, 
224,  257,  265,  278,  298,  348,  356-7,  362,  373 
Fox  Club,  jo,  34,  153 
Fox-Strangways,  Hon.  John  G.  C.,  104 
Francis,  Sir  Philip,  26-7,  187 
Frere,  Bartholomew,  102 
Frere,  John  Hookham,  30,  206,  330-7 
Frias,  D.  de,  64 
Frioul,  Duchesse  de,  368 
Funchal,  Marquis  de,  43-6,  261,  274 

Gabrielli,  Princesse,  520,  327 

Gaetani,  267,  304,  312,  366 

Galiffi,  Cardinal,  369 

Gallois,  M.,  70-1,  76,  157 

Cell,  Sir  William,  205,  211,  218-9,  a87,  3°4,  3°8, 

328,  342,  367,  373-4,  377 
George  IV.,  38,  68,  70,  73,  75,  81,  91,  105,  115, 

140-3,  156,  186-8,  236,  260,  270,  361 
Gerard,  Francois,  painter,  73,  79 
Gibson,  John,  sculptor,  66,  120-1,  263,  325 
Gifford,  Sir  Robert,  40-1 

Girardin,  Louis  Stanislas,  Comte  de,  7^-80,  225 
Glenbervie,  Lord,  27,  151 
Glengall,  Lady,  53 
Glenorchy,    Lord   and   Lady    (2nd   Marquess   of 

Breadalbane),  140,  143 
Goderich,  Viscount,  260 
Godoy,  Manuel  de,  Duke  of  Alcudia,  227-2 


Goldsmith,  Oliver,  34 

Gordon,  Alexander,  4th  Duke  of,  and  Duchess,  34, 

36 

Gordon,  Lady  Duff,  196,  198,  202,  205,  296 
Gortchakoff,  Prince  Alexander,  257,  269-70,  295 
Goulburn,  Henry,  go 
Gower,  George,  Earl  Gower  and  Countess,  36,  129, 

131,  143,  168,  170 
Graham,  Mrs,  194,  354 
Grampound,  Borough  of,  66 
Grant,  Sir  William,  28-g,  36 
Grantham,  Lord  and  Lady,  777,  180-1,  224 
Granville,  George,  Viscount  and  Lady,  176,  182, 

186, 227 

Grattan,  Henry,  33 
Grattan,  Miss,  55 
Grenville,  Lord,  91,  156 
Grenville,  Thomas,  31,  355 
Greville,  Charles,  13,  32,  90,  95,  129,  150 
Greville,  Lady  Charlotte,  68,  116,  126 
Greville,  Henry,  13,  27,  30-2,  45,  52-3,  55,  63,  69, 

86,  89,  91,  95,  97,  loo-i,  104-5,  "2-3,  116-9, 

127-8,   135,   144-6,   148,   150,   153,   155,   167, 

169,  170,  176-7,  181 
Grey,  Charles,  2nd  Earl,  40,  54,  62,  134,  146,  153, 

158,  174 

Grey,  Lady,  15,  90,  102,  146,  150,  174,  264 
Grey,  Charles,  General  and  Mrs,  145 
Grey,  Sir  Charles  Edward,  69 
Grey,  Sir  Henry,  145 
Grey,  Lady  Elizabeth,  go,  144-6,  150 
Guiccioli,  Countess  (also  appears  as  "  T.  G."),  202, 

213-6,  219-21,  223,  261,  267-8,  273,  276,  278, 

280,  282,  285,  289,  295,  298-9,  315-6,  318, 

337-9,  343,  ?68,  371,  373 
Guilford,  Frederick,  sth  Earl  of,  207,  243 
Gwydyr,  Lady,  70,  135,  138,  142-3,  153,  171 

Haddington,  Thomas,  9th  Earl  of,  and  Lady,  565-6 

Halford,  Sir  H.,  49-50,  53,  67-8 

Hallam,  Henry,  32,  45,  48,  54,  152-3 

Hallande,  Miss,  singer,  66 

Hamilton,  Lady  Anne,  36 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  loth  Duke  of,  141,  143,  245 

Hamilton,  Lord  Archibald,  37,  47-8,  56-7,  69 

Hamilton,  Terrick,  328 

Hankey,  Sir  F.,  243 

Hardwicke,  Philip,  3rd  Earl  of,  and  Lady,  25$,  292 

Harness,  Rev.  Wm.,  769-70 


Harrington,_Charles,  3rd  jiarl  of,  56,  58,  65 
797-8,  201 


Harrowby,  Dudley,  ist  Earl  of,  and  Lady,   127, 


Hastings,  Francis,  ist  Marquess  of,  and  Lady,  J7-2, 
206-7,  334 

Hayter,  George,  painter,  235,  319 

Heber,  Richard,  754 

Herbert,  Mrs,  51,  127,  139 

Hill,  Lord  A.,  146-7 

Hill,  William,  759-60,  376 

Hobhouse,  John,  68,  198 

Holland,  Elizabeth,  3rd  Lady,  and  dispatches  on 
Napoleon,  49  ;  legacy  from  Napoleon,  77,  86  ; 
and  Sir  Hudson  Lowe,  84 ;  temper,  113 ; 
scene  with  H.  E.  Fox,  137  ;  other  references, 
10,  12-14,  17,  19,  26,  34-5,  37,  45-9,  5i,  54, 
56,  62-9,  72-3,  75-9,  81,  83,  86,  88-93,  96, 
100,  103,  no,  112-4,  116,  119,  132,  135,  144, 
148,  151,  153,  158,  163,  166,  170-3,  175-7,  lolj 
189,  195,  224-7,  235,  26r,  271,  298,  312,  354-6 

Holland,  Henry,  ist  Lord,  26 

Holland,  Henry  Richard,  3rd  Lord,  9-12,  14,  17-8, 
25,  26,  30,  32,  34-9,  45-8,  53-4,  60,  62,  66, 
68-72,  81,  89,  91,  105,  in-12,  114-15,  117, 
129,  135,  137-8,  152-3,  163,  166,  176,  183,  195, 
221,  223-4,  226,  235,  246,  269,  312,  356 

Home,  Archibald,  105,  127 

Hope,  John,  133-4 

Hope,  Thomas  and  Mrs,  186-7,  189 

Homer,  Leonard,  720 

Howard,  Ladies,  105,  131,  169 

Howard,  Hon.  George  W.  F.  (7th  Earl  of  Carlisle), 
13,  15,  35,  46,  7i,  106-7,  181,  190 

Howard  de  Walden,  Charles  Augustus,  6th  Lord, 
50,  88,  129,  131,  139,  145,  148-9 


382         The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 


Howick,  Henry  George,  Lord  (3rd  Earl  Grey),  145, 

247 

Hume,  David,  258 
Huntingdon,  Earl  of,  31-2 
Huntly,  George,  Marquess  of,  25,  36 
Huskisson,  William,  273 

Ibrahim  Pasha,  211 

Ilchester,  Caroline,  Countess  of,  29 

Ilchester,  Henry  Stephen,  3rd  Earl  of,  12,  29 

Irving,  Mr,  129,  172 

Italinski,  222 

Jackson,  Rev.  Cyril,  38 

James  I.,  Buchanan  on,  357 

Jeffrey,  Francis  and  Mrs,  69,  118-9,  123-4,  I4° 

Jekyll,  Joseph,  27,  62,  86,  151 

Jenks,  Dr,  237,  250,  292 

Jersey,  George,  5th  Earl  of,  64,  66,  115,  130 

Jersey,  Lady,  15,  38,  52,  65-6,  68,  74,  79,  95,  97, 

100,  106,   108,  no,  128,  141,  149,  153,  168, 

181,  194,  356-7,  360 
John  Bull,  57-8,  66,  103,  108 
Johnson,  Samuel,  29,  34 
Josephine,  Empress,  73,  80,  192,  233,  264-5,  271, 

299,  35i,  353 
"  Junius  "  Letters,  26,  35,  187 

Kean,  Edward,  43,  92,  101,  142,  150,  168 

Keith,  George,  Viscount,  31,  68,  165 

Kelly,  Miss,  150,  176 

Kemble,  John  Philip,  52,  157 

Kenney,  James,  dramatist,  359 

Kent,  Duchess  of,  116 

Ker,  Lord  Schomberg,  208 

Kerry,  William,  Earl  of,  90 

Kestner,  289-90 

Kinnaird,  Charles,  8th  Baron,  35,  799 

Kinnaird,  Hon.  Douglas  J.  W.,  161-2 

Kinneder,  William  Erskine,  Lord,  122 

Kinnoull,  Thomas  R.,  loth  Earl,  104 

Kleber,  General,  85 

Knight,  Henry  Gaily,  61 

Knight,  Richard  Payne,  29,  37,  57,  106 

Knighton,  Sir  William,  53 

Labouchere,  Henry,  44,  52 

La  Fayette,  71,  190-1 

Lamb,  Lady  Caroline,  33,  55,  163,  165,  198,  334, 

Lamb,  Hon.  Sir  Frederick,  16,  236 

Lamb,  Hon.  George  and  Mrs,  56,  93,  95 

Lamb,  Hon.  William  (Lord  Melbourne),   31,   38, 

63,  198 

Lambton,  John  G.  (afterwards  ist  Earl  of  Dur- 
ham) and  Lady  L.,  75,  90,  93,  146-7,  234-5 
Lambton,  William  H.,  148 
Lansdowne,  Louisa,  Lady,  59,  126-7 
Lansdowne,  Henry,  3rd  Marquess  of  and  Lady,  31, 

33,  40,  59,  68,  126-7,  130,  153-4 
Lascelles,  Henry  (3rd  Earl  of  Harewood),  169 
Lascelles,  Hon.  William  S.  S.  and  Lady  Caroline, 

112,  166,  769,  175,  181 
La  Tour  et  Taxis,  Princesse  de,  305 
Lauderdale,  James,  8th  Earl  of,  32,  71,  78,  117, 

129,  140 
Laval-Montmorency,  Adrien,  Prince  de,  212,  245-6, 

252,  263,  265-7,  269,  272,  280,  286-7,  290, 

292-3,  297,  299,  341 
La  Valette,  Comte  de,  51,  74,  80,  92 
Lawrence,  Sir  Thomas,  36,  115 
Leach,  Sir  John,  28,  66,  175 
Leinster,  Augustus,  3rd  Duke  of,  and  Duchess,  57, 

64,65 
Lennox,  Lady  Georgiana,  87,  95-6,  98,  100,  127-9, 

131-4,  136-9,  153,  169-70,  176 
Lennox,  Lady  Louisa,  104,  113 
Lennox,  Lord  William,  131,  147-8 
Leo  XII.,  797,  254,  260,  271,  288,  290-1,  301,  309, 

Leopold,  Prince  of  Saxe  Coburg,  64 

Leveson-Gower,  Lord  Francis  (ist  Earl  of  Elles- 
mere),  69,  99,  105-7,  112,  114,  118-20,  126, 
140,  142,  151,  167,  173,  176,  181-2 


Leveson-Gower,  Lady  F.,  xoa,  112, 116-7, 127, 140, 

142-4 

Lewis,  Matthew  Gregory,  31 
Lieven,  Princess,  94-6,  112,  168,  171,  340 
Lilford,  Lady.     See  Fox,  Hon.  Mary  Elizabeth 
Lilford,  Thomas,  3rd  Lord,  348,  373 
Listen,  John,  actor,  47,  172 
Liverpool,  Robert,  2nd  Earl  of,  and  Lady,  36,  40, 

57,  73,  9i,  I4i 
Lockhart,  Mrs,  122 
Londonderry,  Charles,  3rd  Marquess  of  (Lord 

Stewart),  49,  51,  108,  133 
Londonderry,  Frances  Anne,  Lady,  49,  ij8 
Londonderry,  Robert,  2nd  Marquess  of,  and  Lady, 

33,  51,  64-5,  105,  106,  136,  141-2 
Loughborough,  Lord,  356 
Louis  XVIII.,  191,  195,  262 
Lowe,  Sir  Hudson,  82-4,  132 
Lucan,  Richard,  2nd  Earl  of,  66,  71 
Lucca,  Duchess  of,  279 
Lumley,  Mrs,  147,  177 
Lushington,  Stephen,  37,  45 
Luttrell,  Henry,  48,  55,  64,  66,  70,  85,  91,  95,  132, 

172,  175,  186,  221 

Lyndhurst,  Sarah,  Lady,  234,  555,  357-63,  365 
Lyndhurst,  Lord,  555,  357 
Lynedoch,  Thomas,  Lord,  25,  115,  176 

Macdonald,  Sir  Archibald,  702 

MacKintosh,  Sir  James,  Lady,  and  Miss,  31-2,  50, 

69,  84,  101,  113,  123,  126-8,  132,  134,  149,  152, 

171,  198,  355,  357 
Macready,  Wm.  C.,  47,  150 
Mahmoud  II.,  340-1 
Maitland,  Hon.  Anthony  (afterwards  loth  Earl  of 

Lauderdale),  66-7 
Maitland,  Sir  T.,  243 
Manners-Sutton,  Charles,  37 
Mansfield,  William,  ist  Earl  of,  40 
Maria  Luisa,  Queen  of  Spain,  30 
Marie  Antoinette,  Queen,  225-6,  296-7 
Marie  Louise,  Empress,  246,  255,  353 
Marlborough,  George,  5th  Duke  of,  88 
Mars,  Mile,  actress,  71,  102,  190,  225,  238 
Marsh,  Rev.  Matthew,  13,  62-7 
Martinetti,  M.  and  Me,  199,  202,  339,  550 
Mathews,  Charles,  comedian,  60,  105,  107 
Mathias,  Thomas  J.,  2*5 
Melfort,  Charles,  D.  de,  245 
Metternich,  Prince,  49,  51 
Milbank,  Lady  Augusta,  77^ 
Millingen,  James,  2*5 
Mills,  Sir  Charles,  240,  243,  373-4 
Milton,  Charles,  Viscount  (sth  Earl  Fitzwilliam), 

730 

Mitford,  Hon.  Henry  R.,  and  Lady  Georgina,  360, 

362 

Mole,  Comte  de,  74,  81,  157 
Monson,  Miss,  25,  266-7,  357 
Montholon,  M.  and  Me  de,  82,  83-4,  92-3 
Monticelli,  Cavaliere,  284 
Moore,  James,  surgeon,  46 
Moore,  Thomas,  73,  89,  114,  162 
Morgan,  Lady,  75$ 
Morier,  Jame's  J.,  377,  376 
Morley,  John,  ist  Earl  of  and  Lady,  £9-91,  102-3, 

113,  115,  154-6,  169 

Mornay,  Comte  Charles  de,  360-2,  364-5 
Morpeth,  George,  Viscount  (6th  Earl  of  Carlisle), 

31,  38,  65,  67,  102,  129,  138,  175,  181 
Morpeth,  Lady  G.,  31,  65,  106-7,  114,  136,  155 
Mortier,  Charles  Henri,  237 
Morton,  Lady,  779 
Moseley,  J.  G.,  7*9-90,  202 
Muller,  125 
Murat,  Prince,  265 
Murat,  Princesse  (Caroline  Marie  Bonaparte),  364, 

374-6 

Murray,  Lady  Augusta,  32 
Murray,  John,  33,  61,  89,  118,  720,  123-4,  162 

Nagle,  Sir  E.,  38,  81 

Napier,  Sir  Charles  James,  208 

Napier,  Mrs  Henry,  257 


Index 


Napier,  Lady  Sarah,  43 

Napoleon  I.,  as  a  shot,  80;  Fox  on  England's  treat- 
ment of,  76-8  ;  gift  from  Duke  of  Bedford,  82  ; 
legacy  to  Lady  Holland,  82  ;  morning  of  his 
abdication,  37 ;  Sir  Hudson  Lowe's  treatment 
of,  82-3 ;  will,  92  ;  28,  36-7,  49,  51,  72-3, 

76,    78,    83-5,    97,    159,    163-4,    192,    200,    222, 

231-5,  246,  255,  263-6,  271,  275,  296,  299, 
305, 315, 319, 321, 327, 351-5 

Napoleon  1 1.,  31 

Napoleon  III.,  Emperor,  277,  351,  372 

Neipperg,  Count,  246,  353 

Newport,  Sir  John,  777 

Ney,  Me,  249 

NoaUles,  Charlotte,  Vicomtesse  de,  141-2,  144 

Noblet,  actress,  63,  65 

Norfolk,  Bernard,  i2th  Duke  of,  66,  114,  230 

Normanby,  Constantine  Henry,  Viscount  and  Lady, 

95,  146-7,  148,  156,  165,  169,  235 
North,  Lady  Georgina,  325 
Northampton,  Charles,  ist  Marquess  of,  and  Lady, 

307-2 

Northampton,  2nd  Lord  and  Lady.     See  Compton 
Norton,  Hon.  Mrs,  292 
Nott,  George  F.,  2<?5 

Nugent  (half-brother  of  Henry  Luttrell),  336 
Nunez,  Fernan,  90 

Ogilvy,  William,  96 

Oldenburg,  Duchess  of,  255 

O'Meara,  Barry  E.,  730,  132,  149 

O'Neill,  Elizabeth,  actress,  66,  95 

Ord,  Mr  and  Mrs,  30-1,  47-8,  54,  89,  92-3,  97,  105- 

6,  153 

Orleans,  Louis  Philippe,  Due  d',  71,  79,  193 
Orleans,  Louise,  Duchesse  d',  72 
Orsay,  Count  Alfred  d',  75*,  161,  204,  216-8,  235, 

241-2,  244,  247,  250,  265,  279-82,  286-94,  377 
Orsay,  Comtesse  Albert,  d',  72 
Orsay,  Lady  Harriet  d',  247,  243,  250 
Ossulston,  Charles  Augustus,  Lord  and  Lady  (sth 

Earl  of  Tankerville),  #9-90,  93,  103,  150 
Oxford,  Lady,  167 

Paget,  Lady  Augusta,  36 

Paget,  Lady  Jane,  86,  98,  104,  106,  108-9,  128 

Parr,  Dr  Samuel,  38,  308 

Patterson,  Mrs  (wife  of  Jer6me  Bonaparte),  796, 

315-7,  3J9 

Pechell,  Sir  Samuel,  206-10 
Pedro  I.,  357 

Peel,  Lady  Jane,  105,  120,  123,  149,  167 
Peel,  Laurence,  92,  103-4, 112,  120,  123-8,  149 
Peel,  Sir  Robert,  17,  62-3,  65,  91,  114,  126,  128, 

134,  157 

Pellew,  Hon.  Fleetwood  and  Mrs,  10,  772,  174 
Percy,  Hon.  Charles  and  Mrs,  797,  202,  369 
Petersham,  Charles,  Viscount,  56,  58,  63,  67,  69 
Petre,  Lady,  134,  178 
Petre,  Hon.  R  .  E.,  144,  747-8 
Pillans,  James,  777,  120 
Pitt,  William,  32,  34,  337 
Pius  VII.,  347 
Pius  VIII.,  346-7 

Plunket,  Baron,  68,  108,  113,  119,  126,  152 
Pointz,  Misses,  729,  131,  179 
Ponsonby,  General  Hon.   Sir  F.,   and  Lady,    63, 

146,  330,  334-5 

Ponsonby,  Louisa,  Lady,  746,  171 
Ponsonby,  Hon.  Wm.,  91,  155 
Posse,  Count  de,  302,  316-7 
Potocka,  Mile  Natalie,  231,  276,  378 
Potocki,  Count  Alexandre,  231 
Powlett,  Lady  Caroline,  134,  77.?,  247,  324 
Pozzo  di  Borgo,  354 
Prichard,  Mrs,  no 
Puccini,  763 
Putbus,  Count,  237,  247 

Quin,  Dr,  273 

Rancliffe,  George,  Lord,  and  Lady,  707 
Ravensworth,  Thomas  H., : 
167 


I.,  ist  Lord,  and  Lady, 


Recamier,  Me,  73 

Redesdale,  John,  ist  Lord,  64 

Rennell,  Rev.  Thomas,  736 

Reynolds,  Sir  Joshua,  109 

Ribonpierre,  M.,  339-42 

Richmond,  Duchess  of,  69,  106,  129-30,  136 

Rogers,  28-35,  40,  42-9,  53,  55,  61-4,  85,  126-8, 

161,  331 

Romilly,  Sir  Samuel,  26,  28,  30,  32-3 
Rose,  William  Stewart,  99 
Roshkelli,  237 
Ross,  Lady  Mary,  255-6 
Rossini,  composer,  188 
Rosslyn,  Lord,  108,  123 
Rumbold,  Emily,  284 
Rumford,  Me,  72-3,  76,  80,  190 
Russell,  Lord  George  William,  and  Lady,  34,  37, 

159,  166-8 

Russell,  Lord  John,  16,  40,  42-3,  60,  74,  84 
Russell,  John,  135-6 
Russell,  Lord  William,  25,  33,  269 
Russell,  Lord  Wriothesley,  292 


Sacrati,  Marchesa,  315-6,  318,  320' 

St  Albans,  Duchess  of,  702-3,  315,  361,  363-4 

St  Albans,  gih  Duke  of,  766-7,  359,  361,  363 

St  Aulaire,  Joseph,  Comte  de,  709 

St  Aulaire,  Comte  de  (son),  218 

St  Helens,  Lord  and  Lady,  30 

Saluces,  Count  A.  de,  144 

Samlinoff,  Me,  326,  343 

Sandford,  Daniel  Keyte,  57,  69, 117-8, 123-4,  I4°t 

152,  165 
Sandon,  Dudley,  Viscount  (2nd  Earl  of  Harrowby), 

198,  205,  220,  222 
Sandwich,  John,  7th  Earl  of,  139 
Sandwich,  Mary,  Countess  of,  267,  269-70,  286, 

372-4 

Scarlett,  James,  45 
Scott,  Sir  Walter,  27,  32,  43,  51,  57,  61,  89,  119- 

22,  129,  139,  141-2,  155,  157,  193,  238-9 
Scott,  Lady,  727 
Scott,  Sir  William  (Lord  Stowell),  28,  34,  36,  38,  53, 

100,  129,  149 

Severn,  Joseph,  painter,  244,  251,  347 
Seymour,  Lord  (i2th  Duke  of  Somerset),  244-5, 

247 

Shaftesbury,  Cropley  Ashley,  6th  Earl  of,  67 
Sharp,  Richard,  28,  47-9 
Sharpe,  Charles  Kirkpatrick,  722,  141 
Shaw-Stewart,  Sir  Michael,  269,  272 
Sheridan,  Charles,  735 
Sheridan,  Richard  B.,  52,  109-10 
Shrewsbury,  Lady,  344-5 
Shuttleworth,  Rev.  Philip,  Bishop  of  Chichester,  and 

Mrs,  12-13,  40,  43,  57,  86,  104,  145-6,  793-4 
Siddons,  Mrs,  29,  109-10,  128,  131 
Sidmouth,  Henry,  ist  Viscount,  68,  174 
"  Slop,  Dr,"  original  of,  29 
Smith,  Emily  (Lady  Worcester),  86-7,  98, 125,  128- 

9,  131 

Smith,  Leveson,  27,  91,  99,  104,  151 
Smith,  Robert  Percy,  and  Mrs,  n,  27,  52,  90,  125, 

197-8 
Smith,   Robert  Vernon  (ist  Lord  Lyveden),   12, 

88,  127,  138,  165,  167-8,  171 
Smith,  Mrs  Robert  Vernon,  726,  128,  146,  165,  171 
Smith,  Saba,  27,  30 
Smith,  Rev.  Sydney  and  Mrs,  n,  18,  26-31,  114, 

724-5,  159,  175,  179,  225 
Somerset,  Edward  A.,  nth  Duke  of,  and  Duchess, 

Somerset,  Lord  Charles,  82,  183 

Somerset,  Lord  Granville,  59,  131 

Sontag,  Mile,  228 

Soult,  Marshal,  76,  80 

Souza,  Me  de,  749,  157,  354 

Spencer,  Lord,  40,  61,  69 

Spencer,  Lavinia,  Countess,  102,  108 

Spencer,  Lord  Robert,  7*5 

Spenser,  Edmund,  poet,  61 

Spring- Rice,  Thomas  (ist  Lord  Monteagle),  94,  135 

Stael,  Auguste  de,  355 


384          The  Journal  of  Henry  Edward  Fox 


Sta6l,  Madame  de,  43,  49,  79,  125,  235,  251-2 
Stafford,  George,  Marquess  of  and  Lady  (ist  Duke 

of  Sutherland),  73,  112,  120,  142 
Stair,  Lord,  30,  69,  71 
Stanhope,  Charles,  3rd  Earl  of,  356 
Stanhope,  Hon.  Fitzroy,  56 
Stanhope,  Hon.  Leicester  (4th  Earl  of  Harrington), 

56 

Stanhope,  Philip  Henry,  4th  Earl  of,  28,  56 
Stanley,  Edward  (Bishop  of  Norwich),  179 
Stephens,  Catherine,  actress  (Countess  of  Essex), 

87 

Sterne,  Laurence,  29 
Stewart,  Dugald  and  Mrs,  121 
Stowell,  Lord.     See  Scott,  Sir  William 
Stuart,  Sir  Charles,  70-1,  78,  375 
Stuart,  Lord  Dudley,  205,  212-5,  2x4-5,  217-8,  222, 

224-5,  227,  302-3,  308-9,  314-8,  320-1,  323-7, 

344,  356,  360,  364 
Stuart,  Lady  Dudley,  214,  227,  314-8,  320-3,  325- 

7,  344-5 

Stuart,  James,  107,  123 
Survilliers,  Madame  de,  220,  234,  322-4 
Sussex,  Augustus  Frederick,  Duke  of,  30,  32,  39, 

68 

Talleyrand,  Prince,  72-3,  75-6,  79,  157,  225,  251, 

354 

Talma,  actor,  73,  80,  225 

Taylor,  Michael  Angelo,  and  Mrs,  145,  172,  178 
Thanet,  Lord,  27,  57,  59,  66,  71-2,  76,  78,  158,  205 
Theodore,  41-3 
Thomson,  Dr  John,  117 
Thorwaldsen,  sculptor,  196-7,  248 
Thurlow,  Lord  Chancellor,  356 
Ticknor,  George,  30,  33 
Tierney,  Right  Hon.  George  and  Mrs,  29,  35,  38, 

5i,  53-4,  59-6o,  69,  100,  102,  133,  362 
Tierney,  Sir  M.,  95 
Tighe,  Mrs,  55-6,  92,  102-3,  106,  153 
Titchfield,  William  Henry,  Marquess  of,  132 
Torlonia,  Giovanni,  and  Me,  219,  221,    241,    243, 

248,  255,  264,  306,  308 
Townshend,  Hon.  John  R.  (3rd  Viscount  Sydney), 

15,  201-2,  205,  224 
Tree,  Miss.    See  Bradshaw,  Mrs 
Tyrrhitt,  Sir  Thomas,  39,  41 

Upper  Ossory,  John,  2nd  Earl  of,  10-12,  27,  33, 

63 

Usoff,  Pasha,  209 
Ussher,  Captain  Thomas,  361 
Uwins,  Thomas,  painter,  272 

Valombrosa,  D.  de,  158 
Vandenhoff,  John  M.,  actor,  47,  49 
Vansittart,  Nicholas,  154 
Vaudemont,  Elise,  Princesse  de,  81 
Vaudreuil,  Me  de,  191 
Vaudreuil,  Vicomte  Alfred  de,  184, 191 


Vernon,  Miss  Elizabeth,  10-11,  26,  37,  54,63,85-6, 
90,  98,  102-3,  "3,  133,  135,  153,  224,  354, 
363-5 

Vestris,  Me,  108,  316 

Victoria,  Princess,  116 

Vidoni,  Cardinal,  255-6,  346-7 

Villele,  Comte  de,  191,  226,  262 

Villemain,  A.  F.,  192 

Villeneuve,  Me  de,  324 

Villiers,  Charles,  177,  179-80,  193 

Villiers,  Miss  Theresa,  702-3,  105,  in,  134,  137, 
171-3,  175-7,  200,  223,  226-8,  230,  378 

Walewski,  Count,  265 

Ward,  Hon.  John  W.    See  Dudley 

Warrender,  Sir  George,  141-3 

Warwick,  Henrietta,  Countess  of,  10-11,  26,  54, 

102 

Webster,  Charlotte,  Lady,  357,  364 
Webster,  Henry,  and  Mrs,  9-10,  46,  54,  70,  92,  103, 

116-7,  134,  138,  148,  752,  186,  339 
Weld,  Thomas,  Cardinal,  366,  374 
Wellington,  Duke  of,  38,  42,  64,  68-9,  74-5,  81, 

88-91, 97, 128,  144,  150,  153, 157,  264,  271,  273 
Westmacott,  Richard,  184,  218 
Westmeath,  Lady,  133 
Westmorland,  Jane,  Countess  of,  22^-9,  234,  237, 

239-42,  244-52,  257,  260-1,  266-7,  269,  273-5, 

279-81,   286-94,   297-8,    300-1,    303-4,    306, 

309,  312,  315,  324,  338,  345,  347,  349,  367,  377 
Westmorland,  John,  loth  Earl  of,  282,  287 
Wetherall,  Charles,  136 
Whishaw,  John,  27,  37,  45,  52 
Whitbread,  William,  30,  35,  60 
White,  Joseph  Blanco,  13,  #5,  114 
White,  Lydia,  48,  55,  61,  96,  105-6,  128,  169 
Wilberforce,  William,  58 
Wilkie,  David,  painter,  115,  172 
Wilson,  Rev.  Daniel  (Bishop  of  Calcutta),  99 
Wilson,  Miss  Mary.     See  Smith,  Vernon 
Wilson,  Sir  Robert,  31,  50-1,  80,  89-90 
Wood,  Alderman,  79 
Worcester,  Henry,  Earl  of  (7th  Duke  of  Beaufort), 

86,  96,  98,  104,  108,  127-9,  I3I 
Wortley,  Charles  J.  S.,  190 
Wortley,  John  (2nd  Lord  Wharncliffe),  and  Lady 

G.,  13,  15,  62,  88-9,  94-6,  100,  in,  130,  145, 

166,  169,  175,  182,  197,  249 
Wurtemburg,     Queen     of,     Charlotte     Augusta 

Matilda,  304,  348 
Wykeham,  Miss,  87 
Wyndham,  Captain  G.  F.  (4th  Earl  of  Egremont), 

in,  184 

Wyndham,  Mrs,  in,  160 
Wynne,  Sir  W.  W.,  115 
Wyse,  Mrs,  321 

York,  Frederick,  Duke  of,  25,  34,  37-8,  62,  90-1, 

125 

Yorke,  Hon.  Charles,  242 
Young,  Charles  Mayne,  52,  150 


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