VA 
 
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 CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT 
 FUND GIVEN IN 189I BY 
 
 HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE 
 
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 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 3 1924 088 004 050 
 
THE 
 
 LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 THOMAS SLINGSBT DUNCOMBE. 
 
 VOLUME I. 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924088004050 
 
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THE 
 
 LIFE AND COERESPONDENCE 
 
 THOMAS SLINGSBY DOTCOMBE, 
 
 LATE M.P. FOR FINSBUEY. 
 
 EDITED BY HIS SON 
 
 THOMAS H. DUNCOMBE. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 HURST AND BLACKETT, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 13, GEEAT MAELBOEOUGH STEEET. 
 1868. 
 
 The right of Translation is resei'ved. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 SATILL, EDWAIIDS AND CO., PIUNTERS, CHAXDOS STKEET, 
 
 CO:-ENT GAIIDEN. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OF 
 
 THE PrCsT VOLUME. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 IN THE GUARDS. 
 
 The Duncombes — Charles, Earl of Feversham — His brother, 
 Thomas Duncombe, of Copgrove — His son, Thomas Slingsby 
 Duncombe — Patrician alliances — Sent to Harrow — His school 
 contemporaries — Eeceives a commission in the Coldstream 
 Guards — Ordered for foreign service — Embarks for Holland — 
 Diary of his First Campaign — The Hague — Delft — The Brill — 
 Helvoetsluys — Steenbergen — Old Castel — Dutch sport — 
 Bergen-op-Zoom — Quarters — West Wesel — Attack on the 
 French near Antwerp — Attack on a picquet — Under fire — 
 Eosendaal — Duck-shooting — Staebroeck — Dinner with General 
 Sir Thomas Graham — Out with the beagles — ^Dinner with 
 General Ferguson — Brussels — Antwerp — Dinner with General 
 Cooke — Flushing — Middleburg — Bergen-op-Zoom — Brussels — 
 Peace — Return of Ensign Duncombe to England — Military 
 promotion — Social persecution — The Coldstreams . pp. 1 — 26 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE BEAU MONDE. 
 
 Dancing — Fashionable assemblies — Etiquette— The Prince Regent 
 and his brothers — The Marchioness of He rtt'ord— The Duchess 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 of Canizzaro— Mrs. Boehm — Lady Cork — Mr. Duncombe and 
 the Ladies Patronesses at Almack's— Lady Jersey — Princess 
 Lieven — The Misses Berry — Mrs. Hope — Holland House and 
 Lady Holland — Tom Moore's snubbing — Pozzo di Borgo — 
 Lady Blessington makes Mr. Duncombe the hero of her novel, 
 " The Repealers" — Cause of the attentions shown him by Whig 
 ladies — The dandies, BrummeU, Lord Alvanley, Lord Petersham, 
 and Tom Eaikes — Mr. Beokford — Count D'Orsay under diffi- 
 culties — Nugee, the tailor — Studying appearances — Scan- 
 dalous mistake in the Court Circular — Letter from the Duke of 
 Beaufort—" Six Weeks at Long's." pp. 27—46 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CLUB LIFE. 
 
 The " Beef Steaks" and Captain Morris — High Play at the Clubs — 
 Duke of York — Marquis of Drogheda — Irish Improvidence — 
 Losses and Gains at Goosetree's — Brookes's — Mr. Duncombe a 
 member — Gambling at White's — Thomas Moore elected into 
 Brookes's — Sir Francis Burdett's Letter to the Committee, 
 complaining of O'Connell — Scene at the Club — Graham's Club 
 — Trial of Lord De Eoos for cheating at cards — Case of Mr. 
 Spurrier — Crockford's — Mr. Duncombe a member — The dis- 
 tinguished members of the Club — Losses of Lord Sefton — 
 Decline of Crockford's — Letter of Sir E. W. Graham — Mr. 
 Duncombe's losses — Withdravrs from the Club — Tom Eaikes — 
 His letters — Count D'Orsay — The Carlton — The Eeform— Mr. 
 Duncombe a member — M. Soyer pp. 47 — 67 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 POPULAR POLITICS. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe's ancestor and Francis Bacon — Sir Ronald Ferguson 
 — Thelwall, Home Tooke, and Dr. Parr — Distress in York- 
 
CONTENTS. Vn 
 
 sMre — Cry for ParKamentary Reform — Reformers in the House 
 of Commons — Henry Hunt — Report of Secret Committee of the 
 two Houses of Parliament — Manchester agitators — The Monster 
 Meeting at Peterloo — Bamford's book — Debate in Parliament — 
 Major Cartwright — Sir Francis Burdett — ^Lord Cochrane — 
 Henry Brougham — ^Bribery — Prosecution of Sir Manasseh 
 Lopez — Lord John Russell — Three Resolutions — The Cato- 
 street Conspiracy — Trial of Queen Cai-oline — Mr. Buncombe 
 unsuccessful as a Parliamentary candidate — Returned for 
 Hertford — Congratulatory Letter from Lord Essex — Mr. Dun- 
 combe in the House of Commons pp. 68 — 88 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE MAN OF FASHION. 
 
 Mr. Buncombe patronizes the Turf — Lord Alvanley transfers a 
 lost bet to him — Letter of the Buc de Richelieu — Count 
 Batthyany — Mr. Belme Radcliffe — Lord Henry Seymour — Fate 
 of Berkeley Craven — Squire Osbaldiston — Bispute with Mr. 
 Harmer referred to'Mr. Buncombe — Sir Harry Vane Tempest — 
 Bispute between Mr. Bond and the Earl of Chesterfield referred 
 to Mr. Buncombe and another — Bispute between Mr. Bond and 
 Mr. Buncombe referred to the Hon. Colonel Anson — Mr. Bun- 
 combe's equipage — Sobriquets : King Allen, The Golden Ball, 
 The Silent Hare, The Silver Ball, Kangaroo Cooke, Red 
 Herrings, Monk Lewis, Old Sarum, The Sultana, The Lady, 
 Penny Wise and Pound Foolish, Handsome Jack, The Governor 
 of Finland pp. 89—103 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MEMBER FOR HERTFORD. 
 
 Career of a young man of family — The Heir of Copgrove — Mr. 
 Buncombe adopts extreme Liberal opinions — Reform — The 
 
VUl CONTENTS. 
 
 Canning Ministry — Accession of "William IV. — Mr. Lambton 
 raised to the peerage as Lord Durham — Mr. Duncombe re- 
 elected — Letter from Lord Durham — Lord Grey's Ministry — 
 The Reform Bill — Letter of Lords Durham and Harrowby — 
 Political unions — Mr. Duncombe denounces Lord L3nQdhurst in 
 the House of Commons — The Eeform BiU passed — Letters from 
 Kt. Hon. Edward Ellice, Lord Melbourne, Lord Durham, and 
 Lady Gowper and Poodle Byng — Mr. Duncombe defeated at 
 Hertford — His prosecution by the Marquis of Salisbury — Letter 
 from Messrs. Joy, Q.C., and Creavy — Presentation piece of plate 
 to Mr. Duncombe — His reply — Letters of Lady Cowper, Poodle 
 Byng, Lord Durham, and Lord Melbourne . . pp. 104 — 134 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 DUELS. 
 
 Affairs of honour : political — Letter of Mr. Lambton to Mr. Dun- 
 combe respecting the former's duel with Colonel Beaumont — 
 Letter from Mr. William Locke to Mr. Duncombe respecting 
 his duel with Lord Kingston — Leonard M'Nally — Pitt and 
 Tierney — Howarth and Lord Barrymore — Letter of E. Lytton 
 Bulwer, Esq. (Lord Lytton), to Lord Glengall; — His Lordship's 
 reply — Note of acknowledgment from Lord Glengall — Lord 
 Glengall to Colonel Jones — Lord Glengall to Henry Lytton 
 Biilwer, Esq. — The Duie of Wellington and Lord Winchelsea — 
 Payne the gambler — Sir Francis Burdett and Mr. Paul — Mr. 
 Duncombe and Lord Stormont — Mr. Duncombe and Mr. Goul- 
 burn — Mr. Duncombe challenges the publisher of Fraser's 
 Magazine — Lords Allen and Worcester, his friends — The Hon. 
 Grantley Berkeley — Mr. O'Conncll insvilts Lord Alvanley — Mr. 
 Duncombe and Brookes's Club — Letters from Lord Alvanley — 
 Duel of Morgan O'Connell and Lord Alvanley — Mr. Disraeli 
 insults the O'Connells — Thomas Moore's opinion — Mr. Dun- 
 combe horsewhips the editor of the Age — Munro and Fawcett — 
 The survivor appeals to Mr. Duncombe — Duels abroad — Capt. 
 Hesse aud M. Leon pp. 135 151 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 DINNER-GIVERS AND DINERS-OUT. 
 
 English dinners — Introduction of French cooks — Colonel Beau- 
 mont's cook — Improvement — Sir James Bland Burgess — Sir 
 John Gerard — Lord Dudley— Mr. Twisleton Piennes — The 
 Duke of Devonshire — Lord Lichfield — Mr. Wilberforce — The 
 Hon. Pepper Arden — Lord Foley — Lord Sefton — Lord Brude- 
 nell — Lord Melbourne — Lord John Russell— Lord Albert 
 Conyngham — Earl of Wilton — Mr. Disraeli — Dog-cooks — The 
 real domestic institution — The Old School and the New — The 
 Dandies' /e^e — The Duke of Beaufort — Invitations — Aristocratic 
 dinner-givers pp. 152 — 171 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE GREEN-ROOM. 
 
 Patronage of the drama — The King's Theatre — Operatic favourites 
 — Dress — " Le Jambe de Vestris" — Danseuses — Lord Fife and 
 Mademoiselles Noblet and Mercandotti — Patent Theatres — 
 Fashionable loungers — Sir Lumley Skeffington — Lord Glengall 
 — Actors and actresses — Dramatic authors — Kenney's repartees 
 — Morton's application to Mr. Duncombe — Eeply from the Duke 
 
 of Devonshire — Mr. Oxberry appeals to him — Lord and 
 
 Madame Vestris — Mr. Alfred Bunn — Expenses of a pass-key — 
 Madame Vestris at the Olympic — Letter to Mr. Harris — 
 Letter from the Duke of Buccleuch — A younger son — Taking 
 the benefit of the Insolvent Act — Letters from Madame Vestris 
 — Account of her liabilities — Pressing applications for pecu- 
 niary assistance pp. 172 — 193 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE MEMBER FOR FINSBURY. 
 
 First election — At the head of the poll — Letter of Sir John Cam 
 Hobhouse — Changes in the Ministry — Their unpopularity — 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 Lord Durham out of office — Proposal for a demonstration in 
 his favour — ^Lettera from Mr. Grote and Lord Durham — The 
 King dismisses his Ministers — Second election for Pinsbury — 
 Again at the head of the poll — Letters of Lord Durham — 
 Another general election — Mr. Duncombe returned for the 
 third time — Doings at Southampton — Letter from Lord Durham 
 — He is appointed Governor-General of the Canadas — State of 
 that colony — Mr. Duncombe crosses the Atlantic — His opinion 
 on the Reform Bill — Amendment on the Address. 
 
 pp. 194—219 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 DISTINGUISHED TOREIGNERS. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe every foreigner's ambassador — The Duke de Kiche- 
 lieu — Prince Schwarzenberg — Count Batthyany — General 
 Count Montrond — Prince Talleyrand — Letter from the Duchess 
 de Dino — Talleyrand's dinners — Opinions respecting him — His 
 last moments — Prince Esterhazy — The Esterhazy jewels — Prince 
 Polignac — Confined in the fortress of Ham — His appeal to the 
 Chamber of Peers — Complaints of the severity of his imprison- 
 ment — Louis Philippe — Mr. Duncombe's representations to the 
 House of Commons — Letter of the Countess of TankerviUe — 
 Mr. Duncombe's reply — Letter of the Princess to Vicomte 
 Auchald — Correspondence of Mr. Duncombe with Sir Robert 
 Peel— Speech of Mr. Duncombe in the House of Commons — 
 Its effect — Letter of Comte de Peyronnet from Ham. 
 
 pp. 220—244 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 MR. duncombe's CANADIAN JOURNAL. 
 
 Embarks in the Gladiator — Dangerous position of the ship — Ar- 
 rival at New York — Albany — Troy House — Saratoga Springs — 
 Snakes — St. John's — Meets Lord Durham at Montreal — Quebec 
 
CONTENTS. xi 
 
 — Attends the review on the Plains of Abraham — Restive 
 horses — Anecdotes of Lord Gosford — Eegatta — Lord Gosford's 
 apartments — A steeple-chase — The Palls — Papineau — ^A mixed 
 jury — Public meeting — Arrival at Montreal — Hotel charges — 
 Kingston — Horsewhipping Brougham — Niagara — An exhibi- 
 tion — Buffalo — The Mormons — Escape of TheUer and Dodge — 
 Canadian justice — Dinner with Sir J. Macdonnell — On board 
 the Inconstant — Character of the colonists — Ship strikes — Fire 
 at sea — Plymouth Sound — Arrived in London — Drawing by 
 Lady Mary Lambton pp. 245 — 269 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF 
 KENT. 
 
 George the Third and Queen Charlotte — The Royal PamUy — The 
 Prince of Wales and Duke of York — Prince Edward sent to 
 Hanover under the control of a Governor — Removed to 
 Geneva — Mercenary spirit of his Governor — The Prince quits 
 Geneva and returns home — Anger of the King — He is sent to 
 Gibraltar — German despots in favour at Court — Insufficient al- 
 lowance — Debts — Prince Edward sent to North America — His 
 military services in the West Indies — Created Duke of Kent, 
 and receives a Parliamentary allowance — Appointed Governor 
 of Gibraltar — Drunkenness and debauchery in the garrison — 
 The Duke endeavours to enforce sobriety — Mutinous conduct of 
 the troops, supported by several of their officers — The mutiny 
 suppressed — The Duke recalled — His creditors left unpaid — 
 Gazetted a Field Marshal — Endeavours to liquidate his debts — 
 The Duke's blameless life — Leaves England for Brussels — The 
 Duke marries the Princess of Leiningen — Birth of the Princess 
 Victoria — Discussion in the House of Commons — Retires to Sid- 
 mouth — Narrow escape of the Princess — His death — Account 
 of it by the King of the Belgians — Mr. Di^ncombe honoured 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 with the friendsliip of the Duchess — Regrets for the Dulse's 
 death — Accession of Queen Victoria — Conduct of the Liberal 
 party, and of the Duchess — Mr. Duncombe a friendly visitor 
 to the Duchess PP- 270 — 285 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 AMONG THE CHARTISTS. 
 
 Mr. Dunoombe's indignation at the treatment of Lord Durham — 
 The Ladies of the Hoiisehold and Sir Robert Peel — Rise of Char- 
 tism — Lord Brougham — Mr. Tooke's attempt on Finsbury de- 
 feated — Death of Lord Durham — Mr. Duncombe's admira- 
 tion of his character — Eloquent description of this statesman in 
 Bulwer's " King Arthur" — Mr. Dvxncombe's amendment to the 
 Address— Letter from H. G. Ward, Esq., M.P. — Frost, WiUiams, 
 and Jones — Fair in Hyde Park — Letters from Marquis of Nor- 
 manby and Lord Dungarvon — Letter from Mr. Vernon Smith, 
 M.P. — Mr. Duncombe's speech on the Ways and Means — Pre- 
 sents a Petition — Discussion in the House of Commons — His 
 motion lost by the Speaker's vote — A new Tory Government — 
 Chartist leaders — Cooper — Peargus O'Connor — His letter — Mr. 
 George Julian Harney — Agitation in Edinburgh — Letter of Mr. 
 Blackie — " Devil's Dust" — Notice of Mr. Duncombe in Le 
 Courier de VEurope — The People's Petition for the Six Points — 
 Popularity no sinecure pp. 286 — 313 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 EXPOSURE OF SIR JAMES GRAHAM. 
 
 Mazzini and the member for Finsbury — Egotism — Apology for 
 Sir James Graham — Charge of opening Mr. Mazzini's and Mr. 
 Duncombe's letters — Indignation meeting — Letter of Mazzini 
 
CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 denouncing the Englisli Goyernment, and describing the viola- 
 tion of his correspondence — Parliamentary discussion — Com- 
 mittee of secresy — The report conveys a direct contradiction to 
 a statement made by Lord Aberdeen — Impression made on the 
 public mind by the disclosures — Mazzini dissatisfied — More 
 communications — Letters from Herr von Bismark and Signer 
 Mariotti — Kossuth's statement of the case — Sir James Graham 
 in Punch pp. 314 — 340 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PATRONAGE AND RESPONSIBILITY. 
 
 Mr. Buncombe's clients — Letter from Joseph Hume — Appealed to 
 by Prince Schwarzenberg — Letter from Lord Belfast — Major 
 Fancourt's account of the Court of Hanover — Letter from R. B. 
 Haydon — The Jlarquis Townshendon his Peerage Bill — Letters 
 of Madame Letitia Wise recommending Mademoiselle Jenny 
 Colon — Lord Belfast on the tenure of land in Ireland — The 
 Marquis of Clanricarde on the Diocese of Clogher — Mr. Dun- 
 combe's liberality — Noble conduct of Lord Durham — Debt to 
 Lord Chesterfield — Note from the Duke de Richelieu — Thymie 
 V. Glengall — Petition of Mr. Duncombe — Death of Mr Dun- 
 combe's father — Lord Goderich on the Public Health Bill — 
 The Sale of Public Libraries — Sale of Copgrove . pp. 341 — 361 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 COLLAPSE OF CHARTISM. 
 
 Conduct of Lord Abinger— Speech of Mr. Duncombe — National 
 Charter Association — Popular demonstrations in honour of the 
 member for Finsbury — Letter of Mr. Bernal Osborne, J\I.P.— 
 Smith O'Brien on the imprisonment of O'Connell — Discontent 
 in Finsbury— Feargus O'Connell — A new Reform Bill — Letter 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 of Sir John Cam Hobhouse, Bart. — Convict discipline— Loyal 
 letter from Feargus O'Connor— Letter of Mr. Wakley respecting 
 Mr. Buncombe's health — Public excitement in 1848 — Mr. Dun- 
 combe's caution to the masses — The Chartists defy the Govern- 
 ment — The Duke of Wellington's precautions — Preparations for 
 a struggle — Monster processions and monster meeting on the 
 10th of April — The Chartist leaders — Harmless conclusion of 
 the meeting — End of physical force demonstrations. 
 
 pp. 362—384 
 
THE 
 
 LIFE AND COERESPONDENCE 
 
 THOMAS SLINaSBY DUNCOMBE. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 IN THE GUARDS. 
 
 The Duncombes — Cbarles, Earl of Feversham — His brother, 
 Thomas Duncombe, of Copgrove — His son, Thomas Shngsby 
 Buncombe — Patrician alliances — Sent to Harrow — His school 
 contemporaries — Receives a commission in the Coldstream 
 Guards — Ordered for foreign service — Embarks for HoUand — 
 Diary of Ms First Campai<jn — The Hague — DeLft — The Brill — 
 Helvoetsluys — Steenbergen — Old Castel — Dutch sport — 
 Bergen-op-Zoom — Quarters — West Wesel — Attack on the 
 French near Antwerp — Attack on a picquet — Under fire — 
 Eosendaal — Duck-shooting — Staebroeok — Dinner with General 
 Sir Thomas Graham — Out with the beagles — Dinner with 
 General Ferguson — Brussels — Antwerp — Dinner with General 
 Cooke — Flushing — Middleburg — Bergen-op-Zoom — Brussels — 
 Peace — Eeturn of Ensign Duncombe to England — Military pro- 
 motion — Social persecution — The Coldstreams. 
 
 The Duncombes have contributed several of its mem- 
 bers to the landed gentry of England who were de- 
 scended from the family originally settled at Ivinghoe, 
 Buckinghamshire. One received the now extinct dis- 
 tinction of baronet, and was seated in Surrey ; another 
 lield an estate at Much Brickhill, in Buckinghamshire ; 
 
 VOL. I. B 
 
GENEALOGY. 
 
 this brancli has still its representative. In addition, 
 there was a Duncombe, of Drayton, in the same 
 county, whose eldest son was knighted, became Lord 
 Mayor of London in 1708, and died in 1715. Sir 
 Charles's younger brother, Anthony, left an only son 
 — elevated to the peerage in 1747, by the title of 
 Earl Feversham, Baron of Downton, Wilts — whose 
 daughter, Anne, married Jacob Earl of Eadnor, 
 but the Lord Mayor's younger sister, Mary, in- 
 herited his fortune. Her husband assumed his 
 name, and their daughter Mary married John, 
 Duke of Argyll and Grreenwich. The Earl leaving 
 no issue, the title became extinct, but it was renewed 
 in the person of his descendant, Charles, the eldest 
 son of Charles Slingsby Duncombe, Esq., of Duncombe 
 Park, Yorkshire. Lord Feversham's next brother, 
 Thomas, of Copgrove, in the same county, married, in 
 1795, Emma, eldest daughter of Dr. Hinchcliffe, 
 Bishop of Peterborough, whose eldest son, Thomas 
 Slingsby Duncombe, born in the following year, is the 
 subject of this memoir. 
 
 His immediate ancestors formed matrimonial alli- 
 ances with the Earls of Carlisle and Onslow. Lord 
 Feversham married Louisa, daughter of George, 
 Earl of Gralloway; one of his sons a daughter of 
 Charles, second Marquis of Queensberry ; another, 
 the eldest daughter of Lord Cawdor, and the youngest 
 daughter the Earl of Eldon. Members of the 
 elder branch of the family were similarly connected 
 with the Chandos, Kincardine, and Whitworth 
 peerages. It may readily be imagined from such 
 claims to lineage that the heir of Copgrove was 
 brought up with decided aristocratic inclinations, which 
 
HARROW BOYS. 3 
 
 were not likely to be lessened at Harrow, where 
 lie was sent for his education in the year 1808. 
 Associated with him at this celebrated institution 
 were generally the sons of noblemen and gentlemen, 
 many of them belonging to what were considered 
 " the governing families." Lord Byron had only 
 just left, and had been preceded by a few years by Lord 
 Palmerston ; therefore traditions respecting both were 
 fresh in the memory of their schoolfellows, some of whom 
 were preparing to enter the arena in which they were 
 then seeking distinction. Among young Duncombe's 
 contemporaries were several who subsequently became 
 competitors or supporters in the race he ran for dis- 
 tinction. The following is a list of the school, drawn 
 up by himself a few months before he left it : — 
 
 Hakrow School. 
 
 Monitors. — Lloyd, Gordon^ Strickland^ Grant, Graham^ Kott, 
 Hedley, Mr. Percival, Knatchbullj Edridge. 
 
 Upper Sixth Form. — Jobling, Sperling, Sowerby, Long. 
 
 Lower Sixth Form. — Piatt, Drury, Blake, Austin, Blackman, 
 Markland, Ramsden, Tanno. 
 
 Upper Fifth Form. — Long, Welsh, Torlesse, Pennant, Dun- 
 combe, Spencer, Searle, Townsend, Stint. *ew.,Ward, Gell, 
 Cubitt, Wheatley, Northiste, Gilbert, Gossip, Cooke, 
 
 major. 
 
 Lower Fifth Form. — Sowerby, Jun., Maclean, Thursby, 
 Thompson, sen., Hall, Wyndham, Windle, Lewis, sen., 
 Mr. Percival, ma., Berridge, Smith, Rycroft, James. 
 
 Upper Shell.— MiVoank, Thompson, jun.. Manners, ma.. 
 Cocker, sen., Windle, sen., Mr. Percival, mi.. Sparrow, 
 Cumberspeck, Leigh, Vivian, Yorke, ma., Johnson, 
 Gumston, sen., Taslet, Hutt(Jn, Church, Buller, Franks, 
 Mr. Phipps. 
 
 Under Shell.— Parkes, Chichester, Porter, Crooke, Crosbie, 
 
 B 2 
 
4 MR. BUNCOMBE AT HARROW. 
 
 Buckley, sen., Evans, Henderson, Parry, Tait, Burket, 
 Milbourne, Bosanquet, Quin, sen., Northcote, Jun., 
 Drummond, Callighan, Malcolm. 
 
 Upper Fourth Form.— Mr. Calthorpe, Cooke, mi., Nicholson, 
 Chandless, Lord Brudenell, Clutterbuck, Fairfield, 
 Cooke, mi., Murray, Lewis, jun., Koche, sen.. North, 
 Combe, Wimble, Jun., Rollock, Stapleton, sen., Munro, 
 sen., Percival, jun., Sturt, jun., Baillie, Kelsall, Dewing, 
 Talbot, Alcock, Hope. 
 
 Second remove of Fourth Form. — Buckley, jun., Hornby, 
 Lewin, Grimstone, jun., Patterson, Munro, jun., Yorke, 
 mi., Stapleton, ywra., Blackman, /wre., Phillips, Lawrence, 
 Brooke, Carr. 
 
 Last remove of Fourth Form. — Isherwood, Taylor, Mr. Per- 
 cival, mi., Gordon, jun., Causton, Pitzroy, Pritchard, 
 Gray, major, Boche, jun., Pearson, Preston, Harrington, 
 Mitchell, Stanley, Ellis, Maclean, _;"Mra. 
 
 Third Form. — Macdonald, St. Leger, Marjoribanks, Bowen, 
 Manners, mi.. Barker, Cocker, Cochel {town boy), Mr. 
 Dundas, sen., Layton. 
 
 Second remove of Third Form. — Piatt, minimus, Mr. Dundas, 
 jwi.. Wade. 
 
 Lower Third Form. — Webb, Shepherd, Campbell, Hamilton. 
 
 Unjjlaced. — Lord Charles Murray, Charnock, Sir George 
 Robinson, Coventry, Trevelyan, Gray, minimus. Midge- 
 ley, Daventry, Manners, minimus. Gray, minimus. Par- 
 tridge; and the town boys, Loosly, Page, Deer, Hill, 
 White and Knox. 
 
 In all, 175 — a small number compared to its strength 
 of late years. 
 
 Young Buncombe remained here till Christmas, 
 1811. A little before the term had expired, he was 
 gazetted an ensign in the regiment of Coldstream 
 Gruards. He was then only fifteen, and, elated by his 
 appointment, would not take the trouble to learn his 
 lessons. The head-master, however, insisted on his 
 
ENTERS THE COLDSTREAM GUARDS. 5 
 
 studjdng tliem as an imposition; and though the 
 new-born dignity of the officer in the Gruards, who 
 could not reconcile himself to being treated as a school- 
 boy, was, he fancied, lowered, he submitted. 
 
 He appears to have carried from Harrow a fair 
 share of classical attainments, though probably not 
 enough to have satisfied the great scholar who had 
 superintended the studies of the school, and probably 
 left behind him the influence of his politics. 
 
 With the other junior officers of the Household 
 Brigade, Mr. Duncombe entered upon a career in 
 which serious study was almost an impossibility. 
 Has enjoyment of the agremens of town life were, 
 however, soon disturbed by a summons from the 
 Horse Gruards to proceed with his regiment, which 
 had been ordered to embark for foreign service. As 
 the ensign has preserved a diary of his voyage and 
 subsequent adventures during his first campaign, 
 which possesses details of miHtary service quite un- 
 familiar to the subaltern of the present day, it is here 
 inserted : — 
 
 Diary of Ensign Duncombe. 
 
 1813. November 21 s^ — Marched at nine o'clock from 
 the Birdcage-walk to Greenwich, where we embarked on 
 board smacks for Harwich. I was on the rear-guard from 
 London to Greenwich^ and never were men more drunk 
 than the major part of the Coldstreams. 
 
 35/A. — On board the smack. 
 
 2Qth. — On board the smack ; sick. 
 
 %^th. — Arrived in Ouzely Bay^ twenty ndles below Har- 
 wich, and went on board the Dictator, Captain Croften, with 
 whom we dined. 
 
 28/A. — On board the Dictator; dined with the lieute- 
 nants, — a bad set, but a good dinner. 
 
6 A DUTCH DINNER. 
 
 29if^.— On board the Dictator. 2,0th.— ^ei sail for Holland. 
 
 December 1st. — On board the Dictator; bad wind. 
 
 2nd. — On board the Dictator ; do. 
 
 2>rd. — On board the Dictator. 
 
 Mh. — On board the Dictator ; a calm. 
 
 hth. — On board the Dictator, and anchored within six 
 miles of Schevelinge.* 
 
 Qth. — Landed at Schevelinge at eleven o'clock, and then 
 marched to the Hague, where we were most handsomely 
 received by all; was billeted upon a Mr. Mirandolej a 
 good house, and I had their state bed-room, without a 
 fire, — what a bore ! Dined at Lady Athlone's with Bentinck; 
 eat an enormous dinner, and was much pleased with the 
 HoUandois cooking ; plenty of hock, champagne, and claret ; 
 got all my baggage safe ; went to my billet ; supped with 
 my patron, and went to bed in state. John, my servant, 
 says he " never seed"" such people, that they would give him 
 anything they had, but could not make them understand, 
 as he could not speak Dutch. 
 
 1th. — Slept well, got up and went down to breakfast, 
 and found my patroness and daughters, who gave me some 
 thimble tea-cups of bad tea, and sweet plum biscuits ; then 
 went to parade at eleven, determining not to breakfast with 
 my patroness again; after parade went with Gooch to the 
 " Marechal de Turenne" hotel, and had some chocolate 
 and mutton-chops to make up for my bad dejeuner ; passed 
 the morning in looking about the place, and was much ■ 
 pleased by it ; dined with my patron, who gave me a pretty 
 fair dinner ; played three rubbers of whist with that party, 
 and won two of them ; then supped and went to bed. 
 
 8th. — Breakfast in my own bed-room, and then went to the 
 parade ; went and ordered some dinner at the Marechal de 
 Turenne; bought a horse; took a walk with Cayler, and 
 then dined with Walton, Shawe, Wigston, and Drummond at 
 the Marechal's ; tea ; went home to supper, and then to bed. 
 
 9th. — Breakfasted in my own room; went to the parade ; 
 
 * The orthography of the MS. is preserved. 
 
BAD BILLETS. 7 
 
 we took a march to Schevelinge and back ; took a ride with 
 Cayler and Poingdestre; dined with my patron; went to 
 see the bivouac of the Cossacks, a very curious sight ; went 
 to the comedie; saw given Le Retour du Prince d' Orange, 
 ou les Pecheurs de Scevelinge ; supped with my patron, and 
 went to bed. 
 
 \Oth. — Breakfast in my own room ; went to the parade ; 
 played a game at chess with my patron^s son ; saw sugar 
 made from mangel- worsel ; took a ride ; pretty well pleased 
 with my bargain; dined with my patron; a bad dinner; 
 nothing but fish, so that I suppose they were Roman Catho- 
 lics, and this was a fast- day, which did not suit me, so I 
 went with Gooch and Cayler, and got some good dinner 
 at the Marechal de Turenne's; returned home to supper, 
 and went to bed early, as we were to march the next morn- 
 ing to Delft. 
 
 Wth. — Marched at nine o'clock to Delft ; sorry to leave 
 the Hague; Gooch and I got a bad billet at a gin-shop, so 
 we had it changed for one of the best houses in the town, 
 and had a good dinner and supper with our patron, and a 
 good bed. 
 
 \2th. — Marched to Maynsluys; a very fine frosty day; 
 but a bad town and bad billet; dined; then went and 
 supped and smoked a pipe with Smith. 
 
 \Zth. — Marched to the Brill; had an uncommon wet 
 march, and unpleasant crossing the Maze (Maas) ; had a 
 tolerable billet ; but unfortunately the patroness had her 
 husband in the French service, as well as her son, so that of 
 course she was not very agreeable ; but we had a good dinner 
 and a good bed; Brill is a very strong fortified place. 
 
 \4ith, — Marched to Helvoetsluys ; a fine fi'osty day; and 
 a very strong place; went out to see if there was any 
 skating, but found none; the French had been here seven 
 days before us ; dined at the inn with Gooch ; had a good 
 dinner, and found some port wine ; went home to my billet 
 at a tallow-chandler's shop. 
 
 \^th. — Stayed at Helvoetsluys; a stupid place; wrote 
 to England; dined at the inn with Gooch, Powys, and 
 
8 CAMPAIGNING. 
 
 Eyre, and Smitli; went to bed at eight, intending to be 
 called at three in the morning. 
 
 IG^/i.— Got up at three o'clock, and got some tea, and 
 went on board a smack to go to Williamstadt, where we 
 arrived about two o'clock, after a very cold passage j marched 
 the company to the barracks ; got my billet ; had a room 
 with a fire and bed ; went and bought some beef and fish ; 
 boiled them both, and made a good dinner; wi'ote this; 
 went to bed. 
 
 I7th. — ilarched to Steenbergen; a very long march, 
 very dirty, and much rain. Crossed two ferries ; got to Steen- 
 bergen about three, on the rear-guard, and most of the old 
 men were knocked up ; got my billet at a tobacco shop ; 
 very civil people ; gave me a good dinner of beef-steaks ; 
 had some coffee ; went to bed on the ground, not having my 
 bed with me (as all the heavy baggage was ordered to be 
 left at Williamstadt) . 
 
 \8th. — Got up; had my breakfast > went to parade; we 
 halted here for one day; went out shooting with Walton 
 and Gooch; got one shot at partridges, but was driven 
 home by the rain ; read ; got my dinner (fried beef) ; Gooch 
 came and drank a bottle of wine with me; had some tea 
 and went to bed. 
 
 \9th. — We marched from Steenbergen, to make room for 
 the Thirty-third, to some farmhouses about two miles off; 
 our company had two good barns; Talbot and I got a good 
 dinner off two fowls, which we had just killed at an adjoin- 
 ing farmhouse, and eggs and bacon ; smoked a pipe ; Shaw 
 and Gooch came and sat with us; gave them some tea, and 
 went to bed with straw and sheets and greatcoats. 
 
 2Qth. — Remained here and got a good farmer's breakfast; 
 went with Talbot to Steenbergen to get provisions in a cart ; 
 brought home plenty of wine and meat ; had a good dinner ; 
 Shaw came to sit with us and smoke a pipe till bedtime. 
 
 2\st. — Got up; and at breakfast Bligh arrived with all 
 our heavy baggage, to our great delight ; went with him 
 and Talbot in a cart to Steenbergen for more provisions ; 
 had a good dinner ; and found our own beds a great comfort. 
 
FRENCH INFLUENCE. 9 
 
 22nd. — Had a famous breakfast upon veal kidneys ; went 
 shooting with Smith ; we never saw a head of game ; his 
 dog was worth nothing ; went home to dinner. Bligh dined 
 with us ; got a letter from England ; had a good dinner^ 
 then tea, and bedtime. 
 
 23rd. — Breakfast ; Mills called upon us ; went out with 
 him with my gun, hearing there was a covey of birds near 
 us ; a very bad day ; remained in the farmhouse ; and at 
 ten o'clock aU our baggage was taken away, as the French 
 were advancing ; and we were ordered to be ready to march 
 at a moment's warning. 
 
 24/A. — Got some boiled milk, and went to the village to 
 hear the news, but heard none, excepting that we were about 
 two miles from the French, and that the Coldstreams was 
 the advance, as all the other troops had moved off to Steen- 
 bergen and Williamstadt ; returned to my company, and 
 found Loftus with orders for our marching to another 
 farmhouse nearer Steenbergen ; got the company out. 
 Graham came by, and asked me where I was going, and 
 a few questions about where the villages were, &c. ; marched 
 to another farmhouse about a mile from Steenbergen, and 
 then got upon my horse to go there for provisions, and a 
 few dressing things for myself and Talbot ; got home about 
 five. We dressed our own dinner — hashed rabbit and fowl, 
 and boiled leg of mutton and turnips j Loftus and Mills 
 dined with us ; Talbot got a bed, I got a mattress, and 
 took the window curtains for sheets, and went to bed. 
 
 25th. — Slept well ; had a good breakfast upon the hashed 
 mutton and boiled milk ; took a walk to Mills's ; I had 
 some luncheon there ; we marched then to Steenbergen, 
 where I got my billet. It was refused at first ; but I sent 
 to the Burgomaster to know whether it was good. He said 
 it was, so I broke into the house with my servants, 
 licked the patrons for their impudence, and made them 
 give me a fire ; treating them a la Cossacque, as they were 
 very much against the Enghsh, and said they wished the 
 French back. I asked for a piece of bread, and the man 
 showed me a baker's-shop, upon which I reconnoitred his 
 
10 . SPOET IN HOLLAND. 
 
 kitchen — found some bread, cheese and butter, and 
 Geneva, which I made free with ; dined with Hawkins at 
 half-past six; there was Mills and Lake there; came 
 home and went to bed. One way of passing a Christmas- 
 day ! Got all our baggage back. 
 
 26ih.—'iia.d some breakfast, and foraged the patron's 
 kitchen for it ; I am on the main guard ; lunched with 
 Talbot and Mills ; walked on the ramparts with Cuyler ; 
 turned out the picquet to Graham [the general] , and hashed a 
 hare for dinner, with Cayler and Bentinck ; had a good 
 dinner — soup, fowls, and the hare ; went to my old patron, 
 and ordered my baggage to be packed up, and rowed him 
 for his principles; went home to Cayler's house, and sat 
 there all night, as I could not go to bed, being on the 
 guard. 
 
 27th. — At five o'clock turned out the guard to the 
 picquets coming in; we marched to Old Castel at ten 
 o'clock ; I was on the rear guard ; we left Steenbergen to 
 its fate, and the people very sulky ; we had a good march ; 
 arrived at Old Castel about four; found a room without 
 flue, but soon had the carpenter to make a chimney ; dined 
 with Loftus ; came home, and had my own bed down. 
 
 28th. — We remained at Old Castel; had the parade at 
 eleven ; tried a pointer, and bought it ; went riding, and 
 dined with Mills, Talbot, and Loftus. 
 
 29th. — Remained at Castel; breakfasted with Cayler; 
 went to the parade, and mounted the main guard ; dined 
 with Talbot and Mills ; and returned to the guard. 
 
 30th. — Was relieved by Powys ; went out shooting with 
 Mills ; found very few birds ; came home and dressed for 
 dinner; passed a pleasant evening, and went to bed. 
 
 31s/. — Went out shooting after breakfast with Mills ; 
 kUled a few birds, but too foggy to shoot ; so came home 
 and had a good dinner with Perceval, and Mills, and Talbot ; 
 we drank " the old year out and the new one in.'' 
 
 1814. January 1st. — Remained at Old Castel ; Loftus 
 and Mills went out shooting with me ; much pleased with 
 my pointer; exchanged my single-barrel gun for Mills' 
 
A GOOD BAG. 11 
 
 double ; we all got into the ditches^ and had famous fun ; 
 Mills and Talbot dined with me. 
 
 2nd. — Had a parade ; went out shooting with Perceval 
 and Gooch ; I killed four ducks, one dog and one cat, one 
 partridge — a good day ; dined with Cayler and Bentinck ; 
 we went and roused up the doctors about twelve, and they 
 turned out of bed ; we nearly got fired upon by the in- 
 habitants, as they were convinced we were the French. 
 
 3rd. — Mounted the main guard; had my breakfast; 
 turned out to Cooke and Mackenzie ; sat with Jack Talbot ; 
 went to dress for dinner; we dined by ourselves; went to 
 the main guard, where I laid down. 
 
 4ih. — At five o^clock went to breakfast with Bentinck 
 and Cayler, who were going to the Hague (commenced 
 acting as adjutant) ; went to Adams ; was relieved by 
 Powys on the main guard ; had my breakfast ; went to 
 Finart for pay, but did not find Jones ; heard the shocking 
 news from Spain,* and got a letter from England ; went to 
 the orderly-room, and gave out the orders ; dined at home 
 with Jack Talbot ; and went to bed. 
 
 5th. — Got up ; a rainy morning ; wrote to England, and 
 began a letter to White ; breakfasted ; gave out the orders ; 
 nothing but snow ; sat at home ; I dined with Perceval and 
 Bligh, and went home to bed. 
 
 6/A.— Had a parade ; went to Adams for orders ; went 
 to breakfast ; gave out the orders ; went to Pinart for pay 
 with Perceval ; got it ; coming home we found the ferry 
 overflooded ; obliged to go across in a small boat ; left the 
 cart and horse behind ; drove down the stream a long way ; 
 at last arrived ; waded through mud up to our knees ; found 
 a couple of cart horses saddled on the other side ; got upon 
 them ; and arrived at Old Castel to dinner at seven o'clock 
 with Adams ; and went to bed, and slept sound after the 
 fatigues of the day. 
 
 7th. — Had the parade ; went to breakfast ; went out shoot- 
 ing ; killed a leash of birds ; dined with Adams ; went to 
 bed ; just going in Adams sent for me ; the French had licked 
 
 * No disaster occurred at this period. 
 
12 SHOWING A PREFERENCE. 
 
 the Prussians near Breda ; went and doubled all the 
 picquets ; sent patrols ; and visited the outposts and 
 picquets at twelve and three ; did not go to bed ; the bat- 
 talion turned out at five ; I stayed till eight, but nothing 
 happened. 
 
 8t/t. — Had the parade at ten : got my breakfast ; we had 
 two courts-martial ; dined with Talbot ; and went early 
 to bed. 
 
 9th. — Bentinck returned ; gave up my adjutancy ; we 
 marched to Steenbergen ; had quarters with Mills and 
 Talbot ; and Hawkins, Jones, and Barret dined with us ; 
 and went to bed. 
 
 10th. — We marched to Wouw — a horrid bad place; 
 Talbot went to Tholen with the old men ; got quarters 
 with Cayler and Gooch, and dined with Bentinckj then 
 returned home. 
 
 llih. — Remained at Wouw; was on the main guard; 
 went to skate; rode with Cayler, and bought fowls; dined 
 with Cayler and Gooch. 
 
 12th. — Remained at Wouw ; had our brealdast ; went 
 and skated; called upon Mills; dined with Gooch; and 
 went to bed early. 
 
 13th. — Called up at three with orders for marching; we 
 got up and marched to Achterbrook, near Antwerp — a 
 miserable hole ; got quarters with Cayler by turning out 
 the Deputy-Deputy's Postmaster-General, who was in a 
 great rage ; but we soon convinced him, by vi et armis, that 
 His Majesty's Guards had a preference to quarters before 
 him ; had some dinner ; and went to bed at eight. 
 
 14ith. — Called up at three o'clock for a picquet on the 
 Antwerp road ; was relieved at nine by the Fifty-fourth ; 
 followed the battalion to Wouw; got my old billet; and 
 Taylor gave me the orders for marching the following 
 day to Steenbergen ; Cayler and Bentinck dined with 
 me. 
 
 l^th. — Marched at nine to Steenbergen; got my old 
 quarters; had my dinner; and went to bed early, not 
 sorry to have left that barbarian country. 
 
DUKE OF CLARENCE. 13 
 
 16th. — Remained at Steenbergen. ; took Cayler into my 
 quarters, as he was turned out of his; Lambert dined 
 with us. 
 
 1 7th. — Remained at Steenbergen ; went upon picquet 
 at Coveing. 
 
 18th. — Was relieved at four o'clock, and got home about 
 six ; dined with Lambert ; and not sorry to get to bed. 
 
 19^^. — Went to parade ; skated and wrote letters ; 
 Lambert, Bentinck, and Talbot dined with us ; did not 
 sit late. 
 
 20th. — Remained at Steenbergen ; was on the barrack 
 duty. 
 
 21*^. — Duke of Clarence arrived, and inspected us; was 
 sent on picquet towards Bergen-op-Zoom — a miserable 
 hovel ; was relieved pretty early the next morning. 
 
 22nd. — Was relieved by the First Guards, and went out 
 shooting ; Hawkins lent me his gun, but found no game ; 
 dined at home, and had a regular blow-up with the 
 mistress, who wanted to turn us out, but we barricaded the 
 house, and showed fight. The Burgomaster came ; he went 
 out quicker than he came in, and said he should speak to 
 the General. 
 
 23rd. — Slept without being disturbed by the patroness ; 
 had a parade ; went to church at one ; went and skated, 
 and wrote letters ; dined at home. 
 
 24<th. — We remained at Steenbergen, and carried on the 
 war with our patroness. 
 
 25th. — Remained at Steenbergen ; went out shooting ; 
 not much sport ; dined with Hesketh. 
 
 26th. — Went on picquet, and relieved the Third Regi- 
 ment ; nothing extraordinary there. 
 
 27th. — Was relieved by the First Guards; went and 
 skated ; dined with Dashwood. 
 
 2Sth. — Still at Steenbergen; we went out with Mills' 
 troop, and charged some woodcutters to great advantage ; 
 dined with Talbot. 
 
 • 29th.— A monstrous bad day ; no parade ; nothing but 
 snow; Loftus, Hesketh, Drummond, Perceval, and Cayler 
 
14 UNDEE FIRE. 
 
 dined with me at my new quarters, whicli I have changed 
 by turning men out and putting them in my deserted 
 house ; and we have much the best of the bargain. 
 
 30th. — Ordered to march ; went in a carriage with Per- 
 ceval to Esschen, and arrived about four o^clock j had pretty 
 good quarters with Mills and Perceval. 
 
 31*^. — Marched by daybreak to West Wesel ; I was on 
 the baggage guard ; arrived there about three ; a most 
 wretched and deserted villagej having been just romped by 
 the French ; got miserable quarters. 
 
 February 1st. — Marched to Westread, about four miles 
 from Antwerp ; a bad and wet march j arrived there about 
 three ; we got bad quarters. 
 
 2nd. — Marched at daybreak to attack the French at 
 Merxham, about a mile from Antwerp j the light division 
 attacked about eight o'' clocks and we supported ; and about 
 twelve we drove them from their village into the town, 
 taking a good many prisoners, and killing as many. I was 
 on a covering party immediately after we arrived, and the 
 rest began to erect batteries against Antwerp. They shelled 
 us a good dealj I was then detached with fifty men to a 
 post on the right of the village, to defend our right, and 
 there I found a snug house ; but the balls rattled about it 
 a good deal. 
 
 Srd. — Jones visited me in the morning, and we went 
 to attack an enemy's picquet in a wood, but we found there 
 was treble our number, so we returned without firing a 
 shot at them, though they kept up a brisk fire against us. 
 I was relieved about two o'clock by the Twenty-fifth, and 
 then marched to the cantonment, as we were fairly shelled 
 out of the village; had some dinner; went to the top of a 
 windmill to see the battering, which was very hot on both 
 sides ; and then laid down in my cloak pretty tired. 
 
 4th. — Went on picquet again under a very heavy fire ; 
 lost a few men ; laid down under the bank ; the firing 
 ceased towards night ; procured a cold chicken and some 
 brandy about nine, and got through the night pretty well, 
 but was excessively cold. 
 
PRIVILEGES OF THE GUARDS. 15 
 
 ^th. — Was relieved about seven in the morning; part of 
 our village on fire^ and some of our guns dismounted; 
 things going on very badly ; marched the men up to their 
 cantonment ; the batteries were opened again, but they said 
 to no use, as they never hurt the fleet. I was rather un- 
 well ; sent for the surgeon ; he seemed to think it was a 
 touch of the ague ; advised me to go to bed. As there 
 was none to be found, Adams sent me to Breschat, 
 to the baggage ; I relieved Cayler from that duty, and 
 he went up to the battalion ; got some tea, and went 
 to bed. 
 
 Qth. — Much better by my night's rest ; had a row with 
 some ofiicers of Engineers and the Trotters, who wanted my 
 quarters, but I told them they must burn the fleet first 
 before they should turn me out ; they went off' in the pouts, 
 saying, " that the Guards always got the best quarters, and 
 that nobody eared where they were." I told them I was 
 sure / did not ; Worrell arrived, and said, " that the bat- 
 talion was coming, and the siege was to be raised;" about 
 two o'clock Perceval, and Mills, and I, got our old quarters ; 
 and went to bed very early after the fatigues. 
 
 7 th. — Remained at Breschat ; Mills setoff' for England; 
 horrid stupid work. 
 
 Sth. — -Marched at five to Jundau ( Jerensdam); a monstrous 
 wet day ; got bad quarters with Perceval and Bentinck, and 
 the young one came. 
 
 Qth. — No parade ; rode over to Breda with Perceval, 
 Bentinck, and Lambert, in about an hour ; got some lun- 
 cheon, and made a few purchases ; saw the Saxon army ; a 
 dirty town. 
 
 10^^. — Marched at seven to Rosendaal ; a nasty foggy 
 day, and bad roads; got pretty good quarters to myself; 
 and dined with Perceval. 
 
 l\tfi_ — Parade; took a ride towards Bergen-op-Zoom; and 
 dined with Bentinck, Adams, and Park, &c. 
 
 I2th. — Remained at Rosendaal; rode over to Steen- 
 bergen ; water almost all the way ; saw Jack Talbot and 
 Loftus ; dined with Cayler. 
 
16 DUTCH SPOKT. 
 
 ISih. — Remained at Rosendaal; wrote some letters; 
 church; dined with Shaw. 
 
 14:th. — Rode over to Nipsen ; Adams, Bentinck, Perceval, 
 and Bligh dined with me. 
 
 15th. — On a general court-martial at Rosendaal, on two 
 men of the Third Guards ; dined with Perceval. 
 
 16th. — The court-martial continued at Rosendaal ; I was 
 not quite well, having a sore throat; dined with Walton, 
 our Acting Major. 
 
 17th. — Still at Rosendaal; the court-martial concluded. 
 
 18th. — Went over to Steenbergen ; dined with Talbot ; 
 and stayed there all night. 
 
 19th. — Returned to Rosendaal, and Jack Talbot came 
 back with me to stay a day ; we dined by ourselves ; got 
 rather beery, as usual. 
 
 20th. — Went to parade ; then to church ; we dined with 
 Perceval. 
 
 21s^.— Went back with Jack Talbot to Steenbergen, and 
 dined with him and Loftus, and then went to the ball; 
 capital fun ; the young lady shopkeepers aflbcted fine ; 
 waltzed with some ; and went to bed about one. 
 
 22nd. — Stayed at Steenbergen ; went shooting with 
 Loftus ; he killed three couple of ducks and I two ; very 
 fair sport ; I was well pleased with my new purchased gun ; 
 we dined with Loftus, and Perceval and Hesketh came. 
 
 23rd. — Retm-ned with Perceval to Rosendaal ; dined with 
 him ; and found my cook dead drunk. 
 
 24 th. — Went out duck shooting ; kUled a couple of 
 mallards ; the frost very severe. 
 
 25th. — Went out shooting with Cayler, but could get no 
 shots ; the ducks were too wild ; dined at home by myself — 
 something extraordinary — but I had refused two invitations. 
 26th. — Cooke inspected the Brigade ; I went out shoot- 
 ing ; only killed a teal ; and dined with Bentinck. 
 
 27ih. — Parade; wrote a letter home; went to church; 
 and dined at home. 
 
 28th. — We moved from Rosendaal to Nipsen ; pretty 
 good quarters. 
 
ACTING ADJUTANT. 17 
 
 March \st. — ]\Iarclied about one to Kalmont; a very 
 rainy day. 
 
 2nd. — Marched about two to Stabrock ; was on the 
 baggage guard ; the French had been here this morning ; 
 dined at home ; got a capital house with Perceval. 
 
 3rc?. — Remained at Stabrock ; took a ride ; dined at 
 home. 
 
 4>th. — Still at Stabrock ; went shooting ; up to our 
 necks in water, and killed nothing ; the ducks too wild. 
 
 bth. — At Stabrock; rode out; Adams, Hesketh, Count 
 Bentinck, and Barnet dined with us. 
 
 &th. — Got up early to see the working party go oflf to 
 .work at Fort Hendrick ; was Acting Adjutant for Bentinck, 
 as he had gone to the Barrosa dinner. 
 
 7th. — At Stabrock; rode up to Berendeith; dined with 
 Hawkins. 
 
 8/^. — Went on picquet at half-past three in the morning 
 at Fort Hendrick ; very bad fun ; stayed there all day and 
 night. 
 
 2th. — Not relieved ; heard that Bergen-op-Zoom had been 
 stormed with great loss.* 
 
 10th. — Not relieved; very tired. 
 
 Wth. — Not relieved ; took the Burgomaster of Lille's 
 papers ; was sick of the picquet, as we had not been to bed 
 or changed our clothes. 
 
 \2th. — Was relieved, to our great delight ; we marched 
 to Putte, and remained there aU night ; very happy to have 
 got into bed again. 
 
 l^th. — We joined the battalion at West Wesel, and fired 
 a/ew de joie for the news of the allies. t 
 
 I4,th. — At Wesel ; was Acting Adjutant, as Bentinck was 
 Acting Brigade Major, in the place of Stohert, wounded ; 
 very bad quarters here. 
 
 •[Zth. — At Wesel; Macdonell, our new Commanding 
 Officer, joined us ; and he dined with Perceval and me. 
 
 * Sir Thomas Graham was repulsed. 
 I Victories of Craone and Laon on the 7th and 9th. 
 
 VOL. I. C 
 
18 OUT WITH THE BEAGLES. 
 
 IQth. — West Wesel ; took a ride ; dined at home with 
 Perceval. 
 
 nth. — The Steenbergen detachment arrived ; Jack Talbot 
 dined with us. 
 
 \Sth. — Kode to Loenhout; a much better place than 
 this. 
 
 \9th. — At West Wesel ; went out shooting with Barnet, 
 but found nothing. 
 
 20th. — Perceval went to Brussels j wrote letters ; and 
 dined with Macdonell. 
 
 2\st. — Rode with Bentinck to Breschat to see the work 
 there ; never was there so poor a fortification ; came home, 
 and set off with Talbot to Calmhout to dine with Sir T. 
 Graham; we got there about seven. I was glad to find we were 
 in time^, as six was the dinner hour ; the roads were terribly 
 badj the dinner rather duU^ and Graham seemed low. We 
 came home about one in a spring waggon and four horses, 
 as we were afraid of going in the cart, being dark, and bad 
 roads ; we were nearly overturned in the waggon. We 
 knocked up a bos at the first house, and made him wade 
 tlirough the mud with a lantern j luckily we found our- 
 selves safe again at West Wesel. 
 
 22nd. — Went to parade, and then went out shooting with 
 three beagles j had a good run or two ; I shot only one 
 rabbit, a plover, and a pigeon ; dined at home alone ,• and 
 went to bed pretty early. 
 
 23rd.— At West Wesel. 
 
 24<A. — At West Wesel; sent for my portmanteau to 
 Williamstadt ; went out with the beagles ; had a short 
 run, but did not kill. 
 
 25th. — At West Wesel ; went out shooting with Berkeley 
 Drummond, but killed nothing ; dined at home. 
 
 26th. — Stayed at home nearly all the day; turned out 
 the battalion just before dinner-time, and marched up to 
 the chaussee, but found that it was a false alarm. N.B. The 
 greater part of the battalion was drunk. Dined at home. 
 
 27th. — At West Wesel ; a bad day ; dined with Hesketh ; 
 and wrote letters to England. 
 
GENERAL FERGUSON. 19 
 
 28;^. — Still at West Wesel, though it had been reported 
 that we were to have marched every day ; wrote official 
 letters to the Paymaster for Macdonell. 
 
 29th. — At West Wesel ; nothing extraordinary. 
 
 30/^. — In statu quo; went out with the beagles; had 
 not much sport, being a hot day. 
 
 31s^. — Went out with the beagles ; had a large field ; 
 Macdonell was out with us ; there was one or two bad 
 falls ; Perceval and party came home from Brussels ; I 
 dined with Jack Talbot and suite. 
 
 April 1st. — At West Wesel ; a very bad day ; had not 
 much sport with the beagles. 
 
 2nd. — More rain ; we fired a feu de joie for the news of 
 the allies ;* dined with Hawkins and Barnet. 
 
 ■ith. — At West Wesel ; rode over to the fort at Breschat, 
 to see Perceval. 
 
 12th. — We gave a dinner party to Adams, &c. 
 
 16^^. — Marched at six o^clock, to our great delight, to 
 West Maarle — a nice village ; dined with Adams. 
 
 17th. — Marched on to Lier — a good town, and was 
 billetted at a priest^s house, who bothered me with his too 
 great civility. 
 
 18/^. — At Lier ; rode out towards Antwerp. 
 
 19th. — Saw the lace maniifactory ; was introduced to 
 General Ferguson, and dined with him. 
 
 20th. — At Lier ; rode out and dined with the General. 
 
 21st. — At Lier — a very bad, rainy day ; played at 
 bilUardSj and dined with General Ferguson. 
 
 227id. — Eode down to see the Chateau de Buckhout, and 
 dined avec le General. 
 
 23rd. — Joined General Ferguson at the Chateau, and 
 like it very much.f 
 
 24,th. — Took a ride out with Boldero ; a large dinner party. 
 
 27th. — Sir T. Graham dined with us at the Chateau. 
 
 SQtfi. — Went to see the Guards fire the feu de Joie for the 
 opening of Antwerp. 
 
 * They had entered Paris. 
 + The General named him his aide-de-camp. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 BIGWIGS. 
 
 May \st. — Rode over to Brassels with Boldero — a very 
 good town ; dined at tlie Belle Vue with Trench, and went to 
 the play, which was miserably bad. 
 
 2nd. — Returned from Brussels to the Chateau, and 
 lunched at Malines with some of the Guards. 
 
 3,-(^. — Drove to Leir with Webster, and from thence into 
 Antwerp, without a passport, but got through without 
 much difl&culty ; had some luncheon ; saw the garrisons of 
 Bergen-op-Zoom, Batts, Lille, &c., march in, and returned 
 home to dinner. 
 
 4ith. — Rode to head-quarters, and dined with Ferguson 
 there — a very bad dinner. 
 
 5<A. — Went into Antwerp in state with Sir T. Graham,&c.; 
 rode round the ramparts, citadel, &c., and came home to 
 dinner. 
 
 Qth. — Rode out with Ferguson, and a large party at 
 dinner at home. Generals Halkett, Gibbs, &c. 
 
 7th. — Went with General Ferguson to dine at General 
 Cooke's, to meet the Austrian commissioner — a grand 
 dinner ; all the Bigwigs present. 
 
 Sth. — Drove Ferguson's German waggon with my two 
 Dutch horses, with Boldero, into Antwerp, and took Jones 
 home with us. 
 
 2th. — Rode with Ferguson to Antwerp ; saw a most 
 beautiful collection of pictures, and bought a few books 
 rather cheap. 
 
 IQth. — Dined at home, and went to the play at Antwerp. 
 
 Wth. — Stayed at Antwerp, and dined with General Cooke. 
 
 Vlth. — Rode home to Buchout, and dined there. 
 
 \&th. — Went to a ball at Antwerp, which was rather 
 
 gay- 
 
 2Qith. — Left Buchout, and went to Antwerp, and dined 
 with General Cooke. 
 
 21s;. — Set out at six o'clock by a Dutch schuyt tc 
 Flushing, where we arrived about five o'clock — a fair wind 
 and we saw Leivinsuch, an amazing strong fortress ; gol 
 good beds and dinner ; the party consisted of the General 
 Jones, Colonel Smith and his aide-de-camp, and me. 
 
FASHION AT BRUSSELS. 21 
 
 22nd. — Went round the ramparts and town — well worth 
 seeing, but a wet day; went to Middelburg, where we 
 dined and slept ; rather a good inn and town. 
 
 23rd. — Looked about the town ; went to Tarvere, but in 
 consequence of the weather and a gale of wind, we could 
 not put to sea, so returned to Middelburg, and looked into 
 all the curiosity shops. 
 
 24//<. — Still windbound at Middelburg, as it was blowing 
 a most boisterous gale. 
 
 25ih. — The weather had improved; we went to Tarvere, 
 where we embarked for Bergen-op-Zoom, and arrived there 
 about five o'clock ; got our dinner, and went to bed 
 early. 
 
 26th. — Walked round the town and ramparts; saw the 
 different places of attack, &c., well worth seeing ; went to 
 Antwerp in a coach and four, and dined with General 
 Cooke. 
 
 27th. — Set off to Brussels, and got in in time for dinner; 
 then went to the play. 
 
 28th. — Grot a pretty good billet, and went through the 
 regular routine of fashion here ; dinner at three ; Allee Verte 
 at five ; play at eight. 
 
 The historian of the Coldstream Guards gives the 
 following account of the campaign : — " While the 
 first battalion was engaged in driving the French out 
 of Spain, six companies of the second battalion of the 
 Coldstreams had embarked at Gfreenwich for Holland, 
 under Lieutenant-Colonel Adams, on the 24th of 
 November, 1813, and landed at Schevelling on the 
 sixth of December ; from which place they marched 
 to the Hague, and thence to Delft and Helvoetsluys. 
 On the 16th they embarked and sailed to William- 
 stadt, and went to Steenbergen, then moved into 
 cantonments near Bergen-op-Zoom, and returned to 
 Steenbergen on the 9th of January, where they were 
 
22 OFFICERS OF THE COLDSTREAMS. 
 
 inspected on tte 21st by liis Eoyal Higlmess the 
 Duke of Clarence. They passed tkrongli Esschen, 
 West Wesel, and continued their route through 
 Eosendale, Staebroeck to Santoliet for the purpose of 
 attacking the fortress of Bergen-op-Zoom." 
 
 After detailing the attack on this fortress, he adds : 
 " The six companies of the second battalion of the 
 Coldstreams were successively quartered at West- 
 Wesel, Mechlin, Lippelo, and Dendermonde. They 
 afterwards crossed the Scheldt, and took possession of 
 Antwerp. On the 3rd of August they moved to 
 Mechlin, and entered Brussels nest day. On the 
 2nd of September the colours and four companies 
 joined from England, completing the detachment to 
 ten companies."* 
 
 In the six companies there were two lieutenant- 
 colonels, L. E. Adams and H. Loftus, six captains, 
 W. S. Walton (acting adjutant), Thomas Bligh, 
 Charles Shawe, John Talbot, Gr. H. Perceval, and W. 
 G. Baynes ; and six Ensigns, J. Mills, T. S. Duncombe, 
 P. Eyre, T. Powys, H. Grooch, and A. Cayler ; with 
 Capt. C. A. P. Bentinck — and George Smith and 
 Septimus Worrell, Assistant Surgeons. 
 
 The young soldier remained at Brussels, enjoying 
 its gaieties with much zest. The campaign was over — 
 his General was elevated to the British peerage, with 
 the title of Lynedoch ; but, with this exception, the 
 march from Holland to Belgium had not been re- 
 markable for results. Ensign Duncombe had, how- 
 ever, learnt something of the art of war, and had had 
 the advantage of having been under fire. There 
 
 * " Origin and Services of the Coldstream Guards." By 
 Colonel Mackinnon, ii. 207. 
 
RETURN OF NAPOLEON. 23 
 
 seemed nothing more to do for the gallant Cold- 
 streams, and they returned home. Napoleon was at 
 Elba — Louis XVIII. at Paris — and there was a Con- 
 gress at Vienna, in which everything was to be settled 
 in the best possible manner for all concerned. Peace 
 was firmly established in Europe, and the Prince 
 Eegent giving splendid entertainments in London, in 
 honour of the Duke of Wellington, and decorating 
 every officer who had distinguished himself. Heroes 
 were never so plentiful in London society ; but there 
 seemed a probability of their being out of employment 
 for the rest of their lives. 
 
 To be sure there w^as a war going on between 
 Great Britain and the United States of America, both 
 by sea and land; but it soon terminated, and the 
 portion of the Household Brigade on foreign service 
 went back to their ordinary duty. 
 
 Suddenly the news burst upon the lovers of peace, 
 of the return of ISTapoleon to the Tuileries, and the 
 flight of Louis to the nearest place of safety. The 
 regiments of Gruards were at once on the qui vive ; 
 the Coldstreams held themselves in readiness for a 
 very different campaign to that of Holland; the 
 Congress of peace were employed in making declara- 
 tions of war; and England prepared for her final 
 struggle with her illustrious enemy. 
 
 The company to which Ensign Buncombe belonged 
 appears to have returned to England ; at any rate they 
 had no share in the glory obtained by their comrades 
 for their gallant defence of Hugoumont that con- 
 tributed materially to the grand victory of Waterloo. 
 The ensign obtained his lieutenancy on the 23rd of 
 K"ovember, 1815, and thenceforth ranked with captains 
 
24 SOCIAL PERSECUTION. 
 
 in regiments of the line. Captain Duncombe obtained 
 no higher promotion. 
 
 Since the disclosures created by Colonel Wardle's 
 motion for an inquiry into the conduct of the Duke 
 of York, military promotion had been arranged with 
 a little more decency. Mrs. Clarke had ceased to be 
 a medium for commissions for any one willing to 
 offer her a sufficient bribe ; and the Duke of York had 
 learnt, at no slight cost, to conduct the business of 
 the Horse Gruards with a proper regard both for the 
 interest and the respectability of the service. During 
 the time Captain Duncombe performed subaltern duty 
 with the Coldstreams, a commission in the British 
 army, that had gained a European fame under the 
 command of Wellington, was a distinction, to hold 
 which it was thought none but gentlemen by birth 
 ought to aspire. In some regiments this idea was 
 maintained so tenaciously, that when any person of 
 doubtful social rank contrived to become an ensign or 
 a cornet, he was sure of systematic persecution from 
 his more genteel brother officers. Practical jokes of 
 the most offensive nature were continually played 
 upon him ; he became the general butt, and not un- 
 frequently the general victim. 
 
 In one instance, as soon as it was discovered that 
 an ensign who had lately joined was the son of a 
 celebrated auctioneer, every day in the mess-room, 
 after dinner, there commenced a mock auction, in 
 which the peculiarities of the young man's parent 
 were imitated so closely, that there could be no 
 mistake about the intention of his comrades. The 
 persecution became intolerable, and he sold out. 
 
 In another, the offender against aristocratic notions 
 
MILITARY AFrECTATIONS. 25 
 
 was the heir of a wealthy wax-chandler. His brother 
 officers invariably mentioned him as "Count Dip." 
 This prejudica kept out of the service many young 
 men of talent and enterprise, Avho, however, found 
 a more promising field for their development in India. 
 In the military service of the East India Com- 
 pany some of them rose to the highest rank, and 
 eventually were raised to the peerage. Thus class 
 prejudices were fostered ; the officers of the regiments 
 of the line being regarded as the inferiors of the 
 officers of the same grade in the Gruards, the cavalry 
 looked down upon the infantry, and aU in the royal 
 service thought themselves above their equals in 
 India regiments. Dandyism and exclusiveness were 
 cultivated to an intolerable extent in the crack regi- 
 ments, particularly in the Tenth Hussars. Their pre- 
 tensions were brought upon the stage by Dr. Croly 
 in his comedy of Pride shall have a Fall — after which 
 the affectation became a little less obtrusive. 
 
 The officers of the Coldstream Gruards never com- 
 mitted themselves to such follies. Officered almost 
 exclusively by the sons of noblemen and gentlemen, 
 many of whom had entered it at the age of boyhood, 
 when most easily led astray by temptations close at 
 hand, glaring instances of puppyism and profligacy 
 were rare. This is the more to be commended as 
 the facilities afforded to a young officer off duty to 
 disgrace himself, were abundant. Moreover, what 
 was then known as "life in London" was a con- 
 glomeration of cockfighting, pugilism, licentious- 
 ness, and rowdyism, into which it was expected 
 that every young fellow of spirit ought to be 
 initiated. We find no trace of a taste for the preva- 
 
26 HOME SERVICE. 
 
 lent Tom-and-Jerry tomfoolery among Mr. Dun- 
 combe's papers. 
 
 He was not employed on foreign service after the 
 campaign of 1813-14. For the foUovping five years 
 he was obliged to content himself with garrison duty, 
 attendance at the Court, at the Opera, at inspections 
 and reviews. By this tim^e he had had enough of the 
 life of a soldier in time of peace. He left the regi- 
 ment on the 17th of November, 1819. 
 
27 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 THE BEAU MONDE. 
 
 Dancing — Fashionable assemblies — Etiquette — The Prince Regent 
 and his brothers — The Marchioness of Hertford — The Duchess 
 of Canizzaro — Mrs. Boehm — Lady Cork — Mr. Duncombe and 
 the Ladies Patronesses at Almack's — Lady Jersey — Princess 
 Lieven — The ^Misses Berry — Mrs. Hope — Holland House and 
 Lady Holland — Tom Moore's snubbing — Pozzo di Borgo — 
 Lady Blessington makes Mr. Duncombe the hero of her novel, 
 " The Repealers" — Cause of the attentions shown him by Whig 
 ladies — The dandies Brummell, Lord Alvanley, Lord Petersham, 
 and Tom Raikes — Mr. Beckford — Count D'Orsay under diffi- 
 culties — Nugee, the tailor — Studying appearances — Scan- 
 dalous mistake in the Court Circular — Letter from the Duke of 
 Beaufort — " Six Weeks at Long's." 
 
 At the period in which the youthful ensign of the 
 Guards entered the gay world balls were fi-equent, 
 but country dances and Scotch reels were the cus- 
 tomary saltatory performances — a little variety in the 
 way of hornpipes and minuets being occasionally 
 attempted. When the waltz was introduced it met 
 with a determined opposition. Lord Bpon wrote 
 his well-known poem on the subject, and other satires 
 equally bitter were levelled against the captivating 
 novelty; nevertheless, the handsome Grermans and 
 accomplished Frenchmen who had the e7itree to good 
 society in England were constantly seen whirling 
 with the prettiest women of rank, and their example 
 
28 THE PRINCE REGENT. 
 
 encouraged the younger members of the English 
 nobility, tiU the ball-room began to get filled with 
 couples enjoying the waltz, to the utter discomfiture 
 of all serious dowagers and strict cha^Jerones, 
 
 The fair leaders of fashion held "assemblies," to 
 which the elite of society were certain to be invited. 
 The etiquette when the Prince Eegent honoui-ed such 
 reunions was to allow a circle of the cr^me de la creme 
 to gather round him and the hostess. He would 
 arrive probably about midnight from a dinner, in 
 which his Eoyal Highness, being the lion of the 
 party, had evidently taken the lion's share of the 
 liquids. In this circle were commonly found the 
 Dukes of Cumberland, Clarence, and Cambridge, 
 sometimes the Dukes of York and Gloucester, with . 
 one two of the Prince's more distinguished political 
 friends. He often looked puffed and sallow, and 
 a half-tipsy struggle between gaiety and gravity 
 did not render his performance of royalty very 
 edifying. The royal brothers laughed, and the 
 entire circle were hilarious; but if the Prince became 
 solemn, the whole company were as sedate as mutes 
 at a funeral. 
 
 In this way the Prince Eegent was in the habit of 
 going from Lady Hertford's to Lady Derby's or Lady 
 Stafford's, to the Duke of Devonshire's, and to other 
 favourite places of resort ; favoured guests forming an 
 outer circle, intensely decorous, but ready to laugh 
 on the slightest provocation. 
 
 There was a Miss Johnstone, whose musical assem- 
 blies were well attended. She was subsequently much 
 better known as the Countess St. Antonio, more 
 recently as the Duchess Canizzaro; and Mr. Duncombe 
 
MARCHIONESS OF HERTFORD. 29 
 
 was partial to her society. Concerts, wlietlier with 
 amateurs or professionals, were sure to attract; 
 suppers generally followed, to which the livelier portion 
 of the company paid still greater attention. Break- 
 fasts, too, often drew together a fashionable chcle, 
 though the custom of going masked to them was on 
 the wane. In all these, ladies formed usually a 
 majority of the guests ; and the only object of these 
 associations of the sexes was to render them mutu- 
 ally agreeable. Other parties were made for the 
 advancement of poHtical purposes — such were those 
 held in the well-known mansion in Manchester 
 Square. The Marchioness of Hertford is described 
 as timid in character, while stately, formal, and insipid 
 in manner; her son. Lord Yarmouth, was coming 
 forward in" political life as a negotiator, and there 
 was, doubtless, a desire for government influence at 
 the bottom of her intimacy with the Prince. Her 
 fashionable friends did not trouble themselves much 
 about her reputed designs, though they gossiped on 
 the subject upon all favourable occasions. The great 
 house in Manchester Square had unrivalled attraction 
 as a place where the best company would be seen 
 by them, and, as a natural consequence, where they 
 could be seen by the best company. As long as the 
 Prince Eegent and his distinguished friends chose 
 to honour this place with their visits, it could be of 
 very little consideration to them what ideas Lady 
 Hertford might entertain for the advancement of her 
 
 family. 
 
 Among the ladies whose assemblies were most in 
 vogue was Mrs. Boehm, who enjoyed much fashion- 
 able celebrity ; the Prince Eegent and one or two of 
 
30 ALMACK S. 
 
 liis brothers were to be seen at her parties in 
 St. James's Square. In the same locality— the 
 Belgrave Square of that time— lived Viscountess 
 Castlereagh, whose reunions were attended by all the 
 rank and fashion, foreign and English, in favour at 
 the Foreign Office. Lady Cork, of Old Burlington 
 Street, was content with a more miscellaneous col- 
 lection of guests, and prided herself on attracting 
 celebrities, particularly those in the literary world. 
 She was a dowager of large experience, the second 
 wife of the seventh Earl of Cork, and a daughter of 
 the first Lord Galway. Lady Cork had always a 
 prodigious flow of Lish spirits, and had been the 
 patroness of Sydney Owenson (Lady Morgan), Maturin, 
 and Moore ; in short, of every person of talent that 
 could put forward a claim on her patriotism. She 
 survived till 1840. 
 
 The Assembly Booms, in King Street, St. James's, 
 were erected in 1765, then named in honour of the 
 proprietor of a well-known club in Pall Mall, and the 
 place has been called " Almack's" ever since. At first 
 it was arranged that ladies should nominate and elect 
 the gentlemen members, and gentlemen, ladies ; but, 
 after many changes during the next half century, it was 
 managed by ladies exclusively. When the young 
 Guardsman became a candidate for election, there were 
 so many advantages in his favour that the result was 
 soon decided. Captain Duncombe was one of the hand- 
 somest young men about town ; as well as one of the 
 best dressed ; and heir to a considerable landed estate. 
 He was already known personally to several of the 
 ladies patronesses, as mixing in the very highest 
 society, where he was regarded with general favour. 
 
LADT JERSEY. 31 
 
 So exclusive were the patronesses, Captain Gronow 
 asserts, that not more than two per cent, of the 
 officers of the Foot Guards gained admission to the 
 balls. If true, this affects materially the claims to 
 consideration of the noblemen and gentlemen who 
 officered those regiments ; amongst them were much 
 more than half-a-dozen desirable partis, the qualifi- 
 cation most regarded by the council of eight, who, 
 according to this authority, checked the advance of 
 so many Peninsular and Waterloo heroes. This 
 council consisted of Viscountess Castlereagh, wife of 
 the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, afterwards 
 Marquis of Londonderry ; Lady Cowper, subsequently 
 the wife and the widow of the lamented Viscount 
 Palmerston; Lady Seffcon, one of Mr. Buncombe's 
 most intimate friends j;, Mrs. Drummond Burrell, sub- 
 sequently Lady Willoughby de Eresby ; the Princess 
 Esterhazy; the Baroness Lieven; and the Countess 
 of Jersey — not the Prince of Wales's, but the fifth 
 Lord Jersey's Countess. 
 
 She was possessed of quite as much beauty as her 
 mother-in-law, and had the advantage of being about 
 twenty years younger. As she felt the inconvenience 
 of bearing the same name as this too celebrated name- 
 sake, she often neglected the invitations of the Prince 
 Eegent, much to his Eoyal Highness's annoyance. 
 Captain Gronow describes her bearing as "that of 
 a theatrical tragedy queen; whilst attempting the 
 sublime she frequently made herself simply ridiculous, 
 being inconceivably rude and in her manner often 
 ill-bred." 
 
 Lady Jersey at this period had been ten years a 
 wife, and was exemplary in her domestic relations. 
 
32 WHIG LADIES. 
 
 Her society was much courted, and as she inherited 
 the fortune of her maternal grandfather — Childs, the 
 hanker, — she was able to maintain a splendid hos- 
 pitality, both in her town-house and at Middleton 
 Park. Up to nearly the close of her life, which termi- 
 nated only a few months back, the Countess was 
 visited by the most distinguished of her contempo- 
 raries. 
 
 Mrs. Drummond Burrell entertained very fashion- 
 able company, royalty not unfrequently honouring 
 her assemblies, especially the Duchess of York, with 
 whom she was a favourite. Lady Cowper gave ecarie 
 parties ; but card playing was an attraction in some 
 of the best houses. Lady Jersey was more of a literary 
 and political turn of mind, and seemed desirous of 
 entertaining the leaders of tl^p Whigs ; indeed this 
 seemed the general ambition of the ladies of distin- 
 guished members of the Upper House of the same 
 party. They were zealous partisans, and exercised all 
 their social influence to gain recruits from amongst 
 young men of family. In this zeal, however, Lady 
 Jersey was far exceeded by some of her fair con- 
 temporaries, to whom we shall have to refer presently. 
 
 Baron Lieven, afterwards Prince, was ambassador 
 from the Court of St. Petersburg, and extremely 
 popular in English society during his stay in England. 
 The Baroness appeared to be anxious to share the 
 diplomatic fame of her lord. She had a distinguished 
 appearance, and was unusually accomplished, particu- 
 larly in music. The Prince of Wales, the Duke of 
 York, and many of the higher nobility cultivated her 
 acquaintance. She was one of the early patronesses 
 of Almack's, where she exercised her authority with a 
 
PRINCESS OF WALES. 33 
 
 degree of liarslmess that was much complained of. 
 She also played the part of an intriguante in politics, 
 but not to favour the Whigs. Liberal politics were 
 not held in any consideration in the Courts of Europe ; 
 in that of Eussia they were totally discouraged. The 
 Princess echoed the sentiments of the Czar, and 
 seemed to share those of the English Secretary of 
 State for Foreign Affairs. 
 
 Among the ladies who had no pretensions to poli- 
 tical influence were the sisters Berry, doubtless made 
 familiar to the reader by the admiration of Horace 
 Walpole, Earl of Orford. Lady Donegal, in a 
 letter to Thomas Moore, gives an amusing descrip- 
 tion of the manner in which they were made the 
 fashion : — " The Pantiles were put into an uproar 
 last Tuesday, by the arrival of the Princess of Wales 
 on a visit to the Berrys. She brought Lady C. 
 Campbell and Mrs. and Miss Eawdon with her, but 
 not a man did she bring, or could she get here for 
 love or money, except Sir Philip Erancis and old 
 Berry, who, egad ! likes the fun of gallanting her 
 about, and enjoyed himself more than the fair daugh- 
 ters did, who were in a grand fuss, and were forsaken 
 in their utmost need by beaux their former suppers 
 fed, and had to amuse her as well as they coidd with 
 the assistance of a few women that she did not care 
 about."* 
 
 Miss Godfrey is equally lively -.— " The Berrys 
 give parties nobody else does ; so they pick up all 
 the curiosities they can lay their hands upon."t 
 
 Mrs. Hope distinguished herself among the fashion- 
 
 * "Moore's Memoirs, &c.," viii. 119. f Ibid. 209. 
 
 VOL. 1. 
 
 I) 
 
34 HOLLAND HOUSE. 
 
 able ball-givers. Her husband was M.P. for Glou- 
 cester, and the son of the accomplished author of 
 " Anastasius," by Louisa, daughter of Lord Decies, 
 Archbishop of Tuam. The family had acquired wealth 
 as Amsterdam merchants, and had intermarried with 
 the Van Ylerdens and Van den Hoenens of that ex- 
 tremely mercantile city. Their representative now 
 aspired to a higher social position, and to the posses- 
 sors of Deepdene, Surrey, and Trenant Park, Cornwall, 
 a reputed millionaire, this was readily accorded. The 
 ladies of the aristocracy accepted Mrs. Hope's invita- 
 tions, and envied her her diamonds. Mr. Hope's next 
 brother, an officer of the 4th Dragoons, married a 
 daughter of General Eapp ; his youngest brother is 
 Mr. Beresford Hope, of Piccadilly. By an entry in 
 Mr. Duncombe's diary, we find that he attended one 
 of Mrs. Hope's balls in the midsummer of 1836, 
 during a week of heavy debating. 
 
 The head-quarters of the Whigs was Holland House, 
 where Lords Grey, Lansdowne, King, and Grenville, 
 Sir James Mackintosh, Tierney, Brougham, and other 
 leaders in both Houses of Parliament, frequently as- 
 sembled, with a sprinkling of literary men and artists, 
 Sydney Smith, Moore, Jeffrey, and Allen. Lady Holland 
 was professedly a patroness of intellectual merit, and 
 encouraged discussions affecting both church and 
 state. The dinners were extremely well served. Lord 
 Holland being an epicure both in his wines and diet. 
 He introduced, after the meal, the refinement of in- 
 censing his guests by means of a censer flung about 
 by a page. Lady Blessington %lso attempted to esta- 
 blish an equally attractive house of call for the 
 Opposition ; both ladies were afflicted with a ISTapo- 
 
LADY HOLLAND. 35 
 
 leon mania. The former expressed hers by sending 
 presents to the exiled Emperor, and requesting Moore 
 to write philosophical pathos about " the captive on 
 the rock ;" the latter was satisfied with befriending 
 the exiled nephew. 
 
 Lady Holland contrived to manage the conversation 
 with something more resembling despotism than the 
 liberalism she professed. She would not permit sub- 
 jects to be canvassed that were uninteresting to her, 
 and snubbed some of her guests who were not too 
 high to be thus put down. On one occasion, Thomas 
 Moore was recommending himself by a rather sen- 
 timental compliment, when she sharply exclaimed, 
 " None of your Irish blarney, Mr. Moore !" The 
 much-petted poet liked this brusquerie so little, that 
 he refrained from preserving it in his diary ; neverthe- 
 less, the snubbing was inflicted, and none knew better 
 than himself that her ladyship was quite capable of 
 repeating it upon the slightest approach to provoca- 
 tion. In truth, amiable as she was wont to be, 
 Lady Holland could render herself extremely dis- 
 agreeable upon little occasion — or on no occasion 
 at all. 
 
 She was an intense Whig, and extremely dogmatic 
 in her opinions, sometimes interposing in arguments in 
 a way that generally stopped the discussion. Although 
 indifferent to religion, she would have become a rank 
 papist if the Tories had held out against Catholic 
 Emancipation — -just as she was an ultra-Bonapartist 
 when the Grovernment had disposed of Napoleon. 
 Notwithstanding the general conviction of the return 
 of the Tories to power in 1837, Lady Holland is re- 
 ported to have said to Pozzo di Borgo, exultingly, 
 
 D 2 
 
36 LADY BLESSINGTON. 
 
 "Vous voyez, Monsieur I'Ambassadeur, que nous 
 vivons toujours." 
 
 "Oui, Madame," was the diplomatist's reply. 
 " Les petites santes durent quelque fois longtemps." 
 
 This lady had been the wife of Sir Godfrey Webster, 
 from whom she had eloped; and, when divorced, 
 married Lord Holland. His lordship died, after a 
 brief illness, in October, 1840, sincerely lamented by 
 a very large circle of friends. 
 
 Lady Blessington had commenced the manufacture 
 of novels. Her resources had been dwindling as her 
 extravagances increased ; and as her name was mar- 
 ketable, she looked to the circulating libraries to supply 
 the means of maintaining the great expenses of Grore 
 House. She wrote a novel called " The Eepealers," 
 and impressed Mr. Duncombe into her service as its 
 hero. He was invited to her gay parties at Ken- 
 sington, where all the men about town assembled, and 
 sunned themselves in her charms; and where, for 
 certain reasons, she was secure from the intrusion of 
 rivals. There Count D'Orsay, tied by the leg with 
 120,000/. of debt, was sure to welcome his " cher 
 Tomie." Nothing could be more pleasant than the 
 game of life played at Gore House, while it lasted : 
 and Mr. Duncombe came and sat for his portrait, 
 enjoying himself thoroughly, without being in the 
 slightest degree sensible of his coming distinction. 
 
 A modern historian has put forward an idea that 
 ought sufficiently to account for the frequent invita- 
 tions Mr. Duncombe received from the ladies of the 
 principal Whig leaders. " Incessant were the efforts 
 made by the Whig party in the intervals between the 
 close of the war and the passing of the Eeform Bill, 
 
DANDIES. 37 
 
 to recruit tlieir ranks with the most rising young 
 men, of whatever side, by their attractions ; and to the 
 success with which they were attended, the progressive 
 rise in the strength of the Liberal party in both 
 Houses of Parhament, during that period, is in no shght 
 degree to be ascribed. There are Helens and Armidas 
 in the political as well as in the military world ; and 
 the charms of genius, the smiles of beauty, by with- 
 drawing the most stalwart knights from their own 
 side in the conflict, have prolonged or decided many 
 other contests besides those around the walls of Troy 
 or the ramparts of Jerusalem." * j 
 
 The dandies of that day were as various in character 
 as in capacity ; they included persons of the highest 
 rank, as well as individuals whose pretensions to 
 gentle blood were more than equivocal. The Prince 
 Eegent was styled the first gentleman in Europe; 
 then came the Duke of Argyll (George William, 
 sixth Duke) ; and the Marquis of Worcester (Duke of 
 Beaufort) ; Lord Foley (the third baron) ; Lord 
 Alvanley (son of Pepper Arden, first baron) ; Henry 
 William Lord de Poos ; Bradshaw, who married Miss 
 Tree ; the Hon. Greorge Dawson Damer ; and Charles 
 Standish — these were A 1. Brummell, though with- 
 out family pretensions ; and Tom Eaikes, though a 
 member of the commercial community, contrived to 
 belong to the same set. The pavement in Bond- 
 street and in St. James's-street, and the bow window 
 of White's Club House, in the latter fashionable 
 thoroughfare, were their chief places of resort. 
 
 Many absurd statements have been published 
 
 * Alison's " History of Europe from 1815," i. 530. 
 
38 BEAU BRTJMMELL. 
 
 respecting Brummell ; and a book has been written 
 about him that on equally scanty knowledge of the 
 subject professes to give his life. He was not of 
 plebeian birth ; his father was well off, and held a 
 good position when Greorge was born, in 1777. After 
 a course of study at Eton, where he made influential 
 friends, a cornetcy was obtained for him in a crack 
 cavalry regiment ; where his elegant manners and 
 lively conversation, and handsome appearance, recom- 
 mended him to the colonel, who was the Prince of 
 Wales. The intimacy increased, till they became 
 almost inseparables at Carlton Palace, at the Pavilion, 
 on the race-course, and in the Park — in short, they 
 were always together. Mr. Brummell not only moved 
 in the best society, but his opinion in all matters of 
 taste, of dress, and of fashion, became its law with both 
 sexes. 
 
 The notoriously fickle disposition of the Prince 
 terminated this close friendship. 
 
 Mr. Brummell became a frequent visitor at 
 Watier's and Brookes's ; and, as regarded royalty, 
 contented himself with the society of the Duke and 
 Duchess of York, who were extremely partial to him. 
 At the club he commenced gambling, played high, 
 and at first won large sums ; but his luck changed, 
 till he shared the fate of many of his contemporaries. 
 He went to Calais to avoid his creditors, and main- 
 tained himself by the contributions of his friends. 
 Here he got also involved in pecuniary difficulties, 
 when the post of consul at Caen was given to him. At 
 Caen the same habits involved him in the same 
 embarrassments, till he found himself in a prison. 
 This miserable condition the once autocrat of the 
 
LORD ALVANLEY. 39 
 
 heau monde changed only for the much, more lament- 
 able one of a maniac. 
 
 Lord Alvanley was also something more than a 
 dandy, more than a lord among dandies. His hon 
 mots would have entitled him to rank as a lord 
 among wits. His associates were generally proverbial 
 for their plaisanteries ; nevertheless, they were not 
 precisely wits — beaux, though not beaux esprits. His 
 lordship's impromptu sayings were in great vogue 
 amongst them; consequently, he continued to enjoy 
 a large amount of social reputation. He had travelled 
 much, and was pretty well acquainted with the world, 
 great and little ; and his only affectation, the lisp — in 
 much favour among the dandies — did not lessen the 
 effect of his good nature. His round, somewhat jolly 
 expression of features, florid complexion, small nose, 
 dark eyes, and strong built figure, were easily re- 
 cognisable either when in the club, or going across 
 country. He prided himself on giving capital dinners ; 
 and Mr. Buncombe was frequently among the select 
 eight invited to enjoy them. 
 
 Lord Alvanley was in general request at country 
 houses, and, indeed, in town houses also ; for his 
 repartees were often extremely good. He was to be 
 found at dinners, balls, and private theatricals, helping 
 largely to increase the sociability of the party. Only 
 once was it known that he exhibited any reticence in 
 making himself agreeable ; but it was done in his 
 characteristic manner. Some friends were attempting 
 to get up IvanJioe, and aSked him to take the part of 
 Isaac. He declined, assuring them that lie never 
 in his life could do a Jew. There are scores of his 
 sayings still afloat in society equally amusing ; and 
 
40 liORD PETERSHAM. 
 
 his manner of delivering them invariably added to 
 their humour. This felicity of impromptu made him 
 invaluable as a guest, and accounts for his success in 
 society. 
 
 Lord Petersham, notoriously a connoisseur in dress, 
 in snuff, and in everything that assisted in making a 
 fashionable appearance, was also remarkable for a tall 
 and graceful figure, an affected manner, and a lis]3ing 
 accent. The tailor he employed found much profit 
 in his patronage, for he, like Brummell, D'Orsay, and 
 other male leaders of the heau monde, possessed, or 
 fancied he possessed, a sartorial genius. The over- 
 coat he invented still bears his name, though the 
 fashion has altered; but his equipage and liveries 
 retain their peculiar colour and shape — the designer, 
 however, has long ceased to require them. As a 
 descendant of tlie Chesterfield, his lordship possessed a 
 legitimate right to the dignity of arbiter elegantiarum. 
 If he did not inherit that great man's talent, with his 
 courtesy, he possessed more than his share of amiability. 
 His ruling passion would not have been content at a 
 last interview with saying, " Give DayroUes a chair :" 
 he would instantly have made a codicil to his will, and 
 left his visitor a legacy. 
 
 Tom Eaikes, though regarded by some of his 
 aristocratic friends as a plebeian, and sometimes treated 
 by them as a butt, had been educated at Eton, had 
 travelled extensively on the continent, and though 
 employed in mercantile affairs, was an accomplished 
 gentleman. He wrote and published " Letters from 
 St. Petersburg" and " Paris since 1830." Since his 
 decease on the 3rd of July, 1848, in his seventieth 
 year, there has been published "A Portion of the 
 
COUNT D ORSAY. 41 
 
 Journal of Thomas Eaikes, 1856," in four volumes, 
 ^Yl^icll contains abundant evidence of the estimation 
 in which he was held both at home and abroad by 
 the most eminent men of his time. 
 
 Other dandies, presently to be noticed, were equally 
 well known at the west-end of town, but there 
 was not one who was better dressed or made a more 
 attractive appearance than the young Guardsman, 
 occasionally seen in the company of the most dis- 
 tinguished of them — the most elegant of the fine 
 gentlemen of that day. 
 
 Alfred Count D'Orsay was in the hands of the Phi- 
 listines ! He gave the most conclusive evidence in his 
 own faultless appearance that he lived to please ; but 
 there existed many serious difficulties in the way of his 
 pleasing to live. .No one was better adapted socially 
 and physically to enjoy life, as every one will readily 
 testify who remembers the gay-hearted, handsome 
 Frenchman, in those extremely agreeable parties that 
 were held at Gore House as long as the ways and 
 means of its fair possessor lasted; but during the 
 later years of his reign as the heau ideal, he was very 
 much pushed — mobbed, we might say, by duns — and 
 the usual recourse under such circumstances to money- 
 lenders, was in his case attended with increased diflS- 
 culty in consequence of the increased risk in the 
 transaction. We print from his own pen an illustration 
 of the peril of borrowing : — 
 
 Saturday, February 12th, 1842. 
 
 My Dear Tommy, — I know that you have been to 
 
 C. Lewis, and that he told you that it was settled. It is 
 
 not so ; he expected that I would have signed the renewals 
 
 at 60 per cent, which he sent me, and which I declined. 
 
42 A VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCES. 
 
 Therefore if you have a moment to lose, have the kindness 
 to see him this morning, and persuade him of the impossi- 
 bility of my renewing at that rate ; say anything you like on 
 the subject, but that is the moral of the tale. You must 
 come and dine with us soon again. 
 
 Yours faithfully, D'Orsay. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe sympathised tliorouglily witii his 
 agreeable friend ; lie was not ignorant of the evils that 
 afflicted him, and could have brought forward many 
 sensible reasons for their mitigation or entire abolition. 
 He was even then a reformer, and could not avoid 
 noticing the necessity for a reformation in the law as 
 well as in the legislature ; indeed, it was not easy to see 
 the use of the franchise to a voter under lock and key, 
 and it could not but be intolerably tantalising to hear 
 of the privileges allowed to free and independent elec- 
 tors, when the elector could not stir beyond the sanc- 
 tuary of his own house without risk of being arrested 
 by a sheriff's officer. Mr. Duncombe therefore readily 
 lent his aid to those who desired to give the subject 
 the benefit of Parliamentary consideration. 
 
 Thursday, April 6tli, 1842. 
 
 My DEAR Tommy, — 1 see by the papers that Lord 
 Campbell and Mr. T. S. Duncombe received a petition 
 against the Imprisonment for Debt ! It is the moment to 
 immortalize yourself, and also the sweetest revenge against 
 all our gangs of Jews, if you succeed in carrying this 
 petition through. I have taken proper means to keep this 
 proposal alive in the Press. 
 
 When will you come to dine with us ? 
 
 Yours affectionately, D'Orsay. 
 
 The handsome Count, in the summer of 1842, was 
 still in the lamentable position of " a victim to circum- 
 
A FASHIONABLE TAILOR. 43 
 
 stances." The reference in the following brief note 
 to a luminous page in modern history probably was 
 to a schedule of his debts ; and an extremely dazzling 
 column it must have been. Gore House was very 
 gay, and the gay company that flocked to it could 
 not but add considerably to the liabilities of their 
 extravagant entertainers. The Irish Countess re- 
 mained brilliant, but her pen was not — and after the 
 attraction of her name had ceased, the worthlessness 
 of her writings became more and more obvious. 
 Mr. Duncombe was still one of her guests, appa- 
 rently one of the most esteemed ; and was quite as 
 much in the confidence of her son-in-law, whom he con- 
 soled and advised, and assisted to the best of his power. 
 
 6tli June, 1843. 
 
 My dear Tommy, — I send you this precious document ; 
 the only one I could obtain. It is a flaring-up page of 
 the History of the Nineteenth Century ! God is great, 
 and will be greater the day he will annihilate our per- 
 secutors. 
 
 En attendant, I am always 
 
 Your affectionate friend, D'Orsay. 
 
 Nugee was the fashionable English tailor; and 
 Moore gives an amusing account of his first interview 
 with him ; he, as he states, having been obliged to 
 have recourse to his skill in consequence of the bank- 
 ruptcy of the man who had previously made his clothes. 
 After promising to dress the poet better than ever he 
 had been dressed in his life, he added, " There's not 
 much of you, sir, and therefore my object must be to 
 make the most I can of you !" Moore declares that 
 he was quite " a jewel of a man." This was in the 
 midsummer of 1827. 
 
44 MR. BECKFORD. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe also employed Nugee for several 
 years ; and certainly the poet's jewel of a man set 
 him off to the best advantage. This, and his constant 
 association with the most elegant and accomplished 
 men of that epoch, gave an air of grace and refinement 
 to his appearance that contributed largely to his 
 social success. 
 
 One of the great celebrities of that day was Beck- 
 ford, the proprietor of Fonthill ; but so com- 
 pletely was he out of the pale of society, that no one 
 ventured on a visit of ceremony to the millionaire, 
 without incurring pubhc opprobrium. He possessed 
 considerable satu'ical talent, and wrote a couple of 
 fictions, "Agenia" and "The Elegant Enthusiast," 
 in ridicule of fashionable contemporary romance 
 writers ; besides his better known Eastern romance, 
 "Vathek." In the " Elegant Enthusiast" the climax 
 is created by all the characters dying of eating stewed 
 lampreys. Mr. Beckford's hobby was not dandyism, 
 but an ostentatious style of living, which made him 
 sacrifice a fortune in surrounding himself with 
 evidences of a luxurious taste — all, in the end, to be 
 sold by auction. 
 
 A novel called " Six Weeks at Long's," was 
 published as a quiz upon fashionable society. In 
 its pages figured Brummell, Lords Byron and Tar- 
 mouth, and other men about town. It was written 
 by " An Officer of the Gruards," and revised and 
 increased by Jerdan and Nugent. Although the 
 lieutenant of the Coldstreams was diUgently cul- 
 tivating a literary taste, there is no evidence in 
 existence to prove his authorship of the work. 
 
 In October, 1843, the fashionable world was 
 
SCANDALOUS MISTAKE. 45 
 
 startled by a paragraph published in the Morning 
 Chronicle, referring to a Prince of the Eoyal Family 
 and the daughter of an English duke, afterwards 
 married to the representative in this country of the 
 most influential of continental sovereigns. "With both 
 Mr. Duncombe was personally intimate ; and being 
 equally well known to the reputed proprietor of the 
 journal, Mr., afterwards Sir John, Easthope, he at once 
 attempted to stop the foolish comments it had excited. 
 It was then ascertained that the names of these dis- 
 tinguished persons had been placed in juxtaposition by 
 mistake. His good ofBces were thus recognised by 
 the Duke of Beaufort : — 
 
 Monday Night. 
 
 My dear Tommy, — Many thanks for your kindness. 
 After the matter has once been put straight by the 
 Morning Chronicle, to-morrow, I hope that it will drop 
 altogether, if the Court Circular will but insert the names 
 correctly. I have no doubt, though, that the mistake was 
 intentional on the part of the Court Circular, as they 
 always have the names given them by the royal servants of 
 the persons in attendance on their Royal Masters and 
 Mistresses. Again thanking you, believe me, my dear 
 Tommy, 
 
 Always yours faithfully, Beaufort. 
 
 " The Imprisonment Abolition Bill" did not pro- 
 ceed fast enough for the numerous waiters on Provi- 
 dence who were looking forward to it as a means of 
 enjoying a stroll in the Park on other days besides 
 Sundays. ISTo one was a greater advocate for the 
 Uberty of the subject than the accomplished gentle- 
 man whose note we are going to print ; but he found 
 that liberty extremely difficult to obtain. 
 
46 HENRY BROUGHAM. 
 
 Among the distinguished men who sympathised 
 with the Count was Mr. Henry Brougham. Like the 
 celebrated legal contemporary to whom he refers in 
 the reply printed below, he was a frequent visitor at 
 Gore House : — 
 
 MoN CHER Tommy, — I think that we ought to try to 
 ascertain how far the humbugging system can go. As 
 soon that I received your note this morning I wrote to 
 Broughamj and explained all the unfructuous attempts of 
 Mr. Hawes.* I enclose the first answer. Now, he has 
 just been here, after having had a long conversation with 
 Lyndhurst, who is decided to spur the Solicitor- General, 
 stating, as the Parliament will last until Thursday week, 
 there wiU be time enough to pass the BUI. See what you 
 can do with Mr. Hawes. I am sure that if he will strike 
 the iron now, when it is so hot, that we have still a chance. 
 Lyndhurst, I assure you, is very anxious about it, and 
 expressed it strongly to Brougham. 
 
 Do not be yet discouraged. 
 
 Yours affectionately, D^Obsay. 
 
 MoN CHER A., — Je suis coleri plutot que desesperL II 
 faut que je mette ordre ^ tout cela. 
 Je vais chez Lyndhurst dans Finstant. 
 
 H. B. 
 
 The preceding note seems to have been hurriedly 
 written. Mr. Brougham's powerful mind though 
 then engaged in the most important forensic, legisla- 
 tive, and literary labours, readily lent itself to the 
 assistance of his beau fr ere. It is a trait of amiability 
 that will do no discredit to the future Lord Chan- 
 cellor, popular statesman, and celebrated author. 
 
 * Member for Southwark. 
 
47 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 CLUB LIFE. 
 
 The " Beef Steaks" and Captain Morris — High Play at the Clubs — 
 Duke of York — Marquis of Drogheda — Irish Improvidence — 
 Losses and Gains at Goosetree's — Brookes's — Mr. Duncombe a 
 member — -Gambliiig at White's — Thomas Moore elected into 
 Brookes's — Sir Francis Burdett's Letter to the Committee, 
 complaining of O'Connell — Scene at the Club — Graham's Club 
 — Trial of Lord de Eoos for cheating at cards — Case of 
 ]Mr. Spurrier — Crockford's — Mr. Duncombe a member — The 
 distinguished members of the Club — Losses of Lord Sefton — 
 DecUne of Crockford's — Letter of Sir K. W. Graham — Mr. 
 Duncombe's losses — Withdraws from the Club — Tom Eaikes — 
 His letters — Count D'Orsay — The Carlton — The Eeform — Mr. 
 Duncombe a member — M. Soyer. 
 
 It had long been the fashion for young men of 
 family as soon as they commenced their career to 
 p-et their names down for admission into one of 
 the best clubs. There were several, but poHtics as 
 well as inclination influenced the choice. Indepen- 
 dently of the great Tory and ^Yhig reunions 
 there were clubs that seemed to exist only for 
 the promotion of conviviality, and to the patrons of 
 the drama the one known as " The Beef-Steak Club " 
 had peculiar attraction. The taste for the kind of 
 cookery which gave the association a name, was pecu- 
 liarly that of the old school of epicures ; but of this 
 school princes and dukes, statesmen and philosophers, 
 
48 THE BEEF-STEAK CLUB. 
 
 were content to belong, and were as proud of the 
 miniature silver gridiron appended to their button- 
 hole as the insignia of membership, as they were of 
 their stars or ribbons, titles or diplomas. 
 
 " The Beef-Steak Club " was enlivened by the wit 
 of George Colman and the songs of Captain Morris. 
 The former made the conversation amusing, while 
 the latter contributed to the harmony as well as to 
 the conviviality of the company. The Prince Regent 
 and the Duke of York joined their jovial meals, and 
 the first settled an income of 300/. a year upon the bard; 
 the Duke of Bedford, who was very frequently present, 
 and on whom the Captain had some claim, acknow- 
 ledged the obligation by granting him a life interest in 
 a small tenement on his estate. The meetings of the 
 club were more than sufficiently jovial, sobriety not 
 being encouraged by them, and every one feeling the 
 influence of Morris's Anacreontic " Ad Poculum :" — 
 
 " Come, thou soul-reviving cup, 
 Try thy healing art ; 
 Stir the fancy's visions up, 
 And Vfarm my wasted heart." 
 
 In many instances, if the heart benefited the head 
 suffered. 
 
 Captain Morris's efiusions have long been out of 
 date, though a collection was made of them a few 
 years back. They suited the time and the company for 
 whom they were written. Many were more Baccha- 
 nalian than Anacreontic ; such, for instance, as the 
 verse — 
 
 " Then what those think, who water drink, 
 Of those old rules of Horace, 
 I wont now show ; but this I know — 
 His rules do weR for Morris." 
 
CAPTAIN MORRIS. 49 
 
 The favourite of contemporary bucks ended with— 
 
 " In town let me live, then, in town let me die, 
 For in truth I can't relish the country — not I. 
 If one must have a villa in summer to dwell, 
 O give me the sweet shady side of Pall Mail !" 
 
 The author was born in 1745, and his life was 
 prolonged to July 11th, 1838, when he had attained 
 the age of 93. 
 
 The Whigs when in office took care of their literary 
 supporters to a moderate extent, — to an immoderate 
 extent in one instance at least; but they aboHshed 
 the 1000/. given by George IV. for the promo- 
 tion of the Society for the Encouragement of 
 Literature, and reduced by one-half the pension ac- 
 corded to Captain Morris. Lord Lonsdale, an ultra 
 Tory, immediately wrote a kind letter to the veteran 
 lyrist, insisting, as an old friend, on his right to make 
 "up the deficiency. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe, like every other gentleman at 
 large, paid a visit to these primitive epicures; but 
 when he commenced his career, a better taste was 
 ■coming in. He seems to have eaten his meal and 
 drank his punch without being particularly edified 
 by the symposia of the time-honoured institution. 
 He had already sought admission into clubs of a higher 
 status. 
 
 Discreditable gambling transactions in some of them 
 we're occasionally made public — few were worse than 
 the pillaging of Lord Beauchamp, a boy of sixteen, 
 by the Honourable Augustus Stanhope. On its dis- 
 covery the ofi'ender, an officer, was dismissed the 
 Kino-'s service. This occurred in the year 1816, and 
 the circumstance must have been well known to 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
50 DISTINGUISHED GAMBLERS. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe, nor could lie have been ignorant 
 that play was carried on at nearly all these places 
 to a fearful amount. It is scarcely possible to convey 
 an idea of the reckless spirit of gambling that then dis- 
 tinguished young and old ; but every person moving in 
 good society was expected to follow the pernicious 
 example set by persons of the highest rank. The 
 Duke of York was one of the most conspicuous of 
 these untiring tempters of fortune — and one of the 
 most unlucky. He rarely won, and constantly lost 
 large sums. 
 
 There were some men of fashion who could not live 
 without play. The Marquis of Drogheda ruined him- 
 self over and over again, till he was obliged to live 
 upon a small annuity paid quarterly. As soon as he 
 received his moiety he lost it at the gaming-table, and 
 afterwards had to live in the greatest privation till 
 quarter-day came again, when the allowance was dis- 
 sipated in tlie same way. His countrymen, the Earls 
 of Kingston and Blessington, were quite as extra- 
 vagant, though in a different direction. The former 
 drank himself into a madhouse, and the latter squan- 
 dered a princely fortune and died insolvent. In truth, 
 Irish improvidence had become proverbial long before 
 that type of the fine old Irish gentleman, the pro- 
 prietor of Castle Eackrent, had been introduced to 
 the public by Miss Edgeworth ; but English improvi- 
 dence had become equally glaring and equally ob- 
 noxious. 
 
 Mr. Thynne, having won only twelve thousand 
 guineas, is said to have retired in disgust from the 
 club where such poor pickings were to be obtained. 
 This was " Almack's," afterwards " Goosetrees' " 
 
HEAVY LOSSES. 51 
 
 in Pall Mall, of wliicli Mr. Wilberforce was a member. 
 Mr. Thynne did not retire till he bad won sufficient 
 to live handsomely for the remainder of his life, when 
 he gave up gambling. This was in the year 1772, 
 two years before another noble lord, a minor, had lost 
 11,000/. at one sitting, and then won it back again at 
 one chance. It was then no uncommon thing to see 
 10,000/. in gold on the table, in wooden bowls, before 
 the gamblers. 
 
 Brookes, a monej^-lender and wine merchant, suc- 
 ceeded Almack, and removed the club to a new house, 
 in St. James's-street, in 1778. The proprietor is 
 thus described by Tickell : — 
 
 " And know I've brought the best champagne from Brookes', 
 From Hberal Brookes, -whose speculative skill 
 Is lasting credit and a distant bill, 
 Wlio, versed in clubs, disdains a vulgar trade, 
 Exults to trust, and blushes to be paid." 
 
 The building of the mansion exhausted his funds, 
 and he gave up all connexion with it. The 
 same versifier in his " Lines from the Hon. Charles 
 Fox to the Hon. John Townshend, cruising," thus 
 describes the leading members : — 
 
 " See Gibbon tap his box — auspicious sign, 
 That classic compliment and evil combine ; 
 See Beauolerk's cheek a tinge of red surprise, 
 And friendship gives what cruel health denies. 
 Important Townshend, what can thee ivithstand ? 
 The lingering black-ball lags in Boothby's hand. 
 E'en Draper checks the sentimental sigh. 
 And Smith, without an oath, suspends the die." 
 
 The gambling encouraged here amongst the leading 
 Whio-s- was a complete mania, fortunes being lost 
 nightly, and enormous sums by Fox, George Selwyn, 
 
 E 2 
 
OZ ENORMOUS WINNINGS. 
 
 and their associates. The Prince of Wales and the 
 Duke of York were also losers to very large amounts. 
 The Duke of Devonshire, Lord Ashburton, Mr. 
 Wilberforce, Alderman Carter, the brewer, the Duke 
 of Qaeensberry, and Sheridan, were also members ; 
 nearly all had quitted the club before it was joined 
 by Mr. Duncombe. The taste for high play had not 
 left it ; indeed, the new race of Whig notables were 
 equally reckless with their predecessors. 
 
 Notwithstanding this dangerous attraction, every 
 young man of the principal Whig families got himself 
 balloted for, as a matter of course. If possessed of 
 an ample allowance, and known to be heir to a landed 
 estate, there could be no difficulty in his admission 
 when proj)erly proposed. Many of Mr. Duncombe's 
 friends were members, and his election was quickly 
 managed. 
 
 There is a tradition that Drummond, a member of 
 the banking firm of that name, lost one night, at 
 White's, to Beau Brummell the sum of 20,000/., at 
 whist. There is another tradition, perhaps equally 
 trustworthy, that General Scott, in the same place, at 
 the same game, won 200,000/. ; Lord Thanet wasted a 
 fortune of 50,000/. a year ; many others did the same. 
 Lord Eobert Spencer, brother to the second Duke of 
 Marlborough, won 100,000/ at Brookes's by joining 
 General Fitzpatrick in keeping a faro bank. Lord 
 Carlisle, Fox, George Selwyn, won and lost immense 
 sums at the same place. The spirit of speculation ran 
 very high, even after Mr. Duncombe had entered 
 upon the dangerous scene ; but though he be- 
 longed to both clubs, and to several others, he was 
 seldom at either. When he became better known 
 
white's and bkookes's. 53 
 
 in society, and had important claims upon his time, 
 his attendance at such places became less and less 
 frequent. 
 
 Lord Holland, in a note,* asserts his belief that 
 Mr. Pitt once was a partner in a faro bank at G-oose- 
 trees', and in the text states that he had been seen at 
 a gaming-table. It is not improbable that, like Mr. 
 Wilberforce, he tempted fortune for a short time. Fox 
 was a confirmed gambler, and usually played high. 
 
 No doubt it was the example of his seniors and 
 superiors that led Mr. Duncombe to play ; indeed, it 
 was scarcely possible for him to avoid doing so, the 
 practice was so general. Unfortunately the novice 
 had very little chance of success, for all the clubs 
 were haunted by men who were adepts in every game 
 of chance and skill. Notwithstanding that they had a 
 name, and sometimes a title, that ought to have been a 
 reHable testimony of respectability, they were habitual 
 gamblers, and as ready to victimize a friendas an enemy. 
 
 White's was a club in which gaming was carried 
 on to a frightful extent. There Lord Carlisle lost 
 10,000/. at a sitting, and the Duke of Bedford 
 32,000/., the bulk of which he won back. Sir John 
 Bland, of Kippax Park, and Lord Mountford, com- 
 mitted suicide, having dissipated their estates. Their 
 passion for betting was uncontrollable. 
 
 Brookes's was built by Holland, and White's, 
 when removed to the east side of St. James's-street, 
 by James Wyatt. The proprietorship passed from 
 Mackreth to Martindale, and, in 1812, to Eaggett, 
 who made considerable additions and improvements. 
 
 * " Memoirs of the Whig Party," ii. 32. 
 
54 SIR FRANCIS BURDETT. 
 
 It was very aristocratic in character, originally of Tory 
 politics, and gained much celebrity for the elegance and 
 luxury of its fetes. In the summer of 1814 the 
 members gave a ball in honour of the allied sovereigns, 
 and, a little later, a dinner to the Duke of Wellington. 
 Mr. Buncombe joined the club about this time. 
 
 In 1829, Thomas Moore was elected a member of 
 Brookes's, and Lord Essex immediately wrote him a 
 letter of congratulation ; but all the notice the poet 
 took of the distinction is to be found in an entry 
 under the date June 14 : " Went to Brookes's to pay 
 twenty-one guineas — a costly honour." A little 
 further on there is another entry : " On my way home 
 went into Brookes's, and was received with honours 
 by those there — G^eorge Ponsonby, Greneral Ferguson, 
 &c. &c. Ferguson assured me that if the whole club 
 could have been collected at my ballot they would 
 have admitted me by acclamation." This attention 
 appears to have reconciled him to the expense, and he 
 visited the place frequently when in town. 
 
 A remarkable sign of the times was a letter ad- 
 dressed by Sir Francis Burdett to the members of 
 Brookes's, asking whether the conduct of Mr. 
 O'Connell was such as could be sanctioned by any 
 assembly of English gentlemen. He referred to the 
 agitator's repeated insults, and as frequent backing 
 out of challenges, as well as to his negotiation with a 
 Jewish member of the club to sell him an Irish 
 borough, which, though passed over by a Committee 
 of Inquiry in the House of Commons, was regarded 
 by honourable men who had no interest in screening 
 the offender, as a very bad case. These offences. Sir 
 Francis maintained, rendered Mr. O'Connell unfit to 
 
Graham's. 55 
 
 associate with gentlemen, and therefore unfit to 
 remain a member of the club. At Brookes's, how- 
 ever, there were too many who looked upon " the big 
 beggarman" as very useful in keeping out the Tories, 
 and the letter of Sir Francis produced no effect there. 
 
 The scene that occurred at Brookes's after the result 
 of a trial of strength for the Speakership had been 
 ascertained, is described by Moore, who was present, in 
 a very animated manner. The Whigs were immensely 
 elated by the victory they owed to the Radicals, and 
 after the wildest exhibition of mutual gratification, sat 
 down to the number of thirty to dinner, with the victor, 
 Mr. Denison, in the chah, supported by the Duke of 
 Argyll and Lord Ducie, when they went to the ex- 
 treme of jollification. " Denison himself was huzzaed, 
 and hugged, and trailed about like a top, and the 
 whole group gave one as little notion of a party of 
 grave and mature legislators as can well be conceived."* 
 It is evident from subsequent entries that the poet's 
 opinion of the party did not improve. 
 
 In Graham's Club there was also a good deal of play, 
 and large sums were lost and won among the noblemen 
 and gentlemen who were its members. An unpleasant 
 rumour circulated in town in the winter of 1836, to 
 the efiect that a noble lord had been detected in 
 cheating by means of marked cards. The presumed 
 oflfender was well known in society as a skilful card- 
 player, but by those who had been most intimate with 
 him was considered incapable of any unfair practice. 
 He was abroad when the scandal was set afloat, but 
 returned -to England directly he heard of it, and 
 
 * " Memoirs," vii. 64. 
 
56 LORD DE EOOS. 
 
 having traced the accusation to its source, defied his 
 traducers. 
 
 Thus challenged, they had no alternative but to 
 support their allegation, and it took this shape : — 
 They accused Henry William Lord de Eoos of mark- 
 ing the edges of the court cards with his thumb-nail, 
 as well as of performing a certain trick by which he 
 unfairly secured an ace as the turn-up card. His 
 accusers were George Payne, who had formerly kept a 
 gaming-table ; Mr. Brook Greville, also a professional 
 gambler ; Lord Henry Bentinck, and Mr. J. Gumming. 
 Lord Hemy appears to have taken no very active part 
 in the proceedings ; the other three had lost money 
 in play with Lord de Eoos, and, as unsuccessful gam- 
 blers have done before and since, considered that they 
 had lost it unfairly. 
 
 Lord de Eoos, instead of prosecuting the four for a 
 libel, brought an action only against Gumming, which 
 permitted the others to come forward as witnesses 
 against him. The cause came on in the Gourt of 
 King's Bench before Lord Denman. The plaintiff's 
 witnesses were Lord "Wharncliffe, Lord Eobert Gros- 
 venor, the Earl of Clare, and Sir Gharles Dalbiac, who 
 had known and played with him from between twenty 
 to thirty years, as a very skilful but honourable 
 whist-player. The evidence of Mr, Lawrence, the 
 eminent surgeon,* proved that Lord de Eoos had long 
 suffered under a stiffness of the joints of the fingers, 
 that made holding a pack of cards difficult, and the per- 
 formance of theimputed trick of legerdemain impossible. 
 
 Tor the defence appeared the keeper of the house 
 and his son ; two or three gamblers who had lived by 
 
 * The late Sir William Lawrence, F.R.S., Serjeant- Surgeon to 
 tlie Queen. 
 
EXTRAVAGANT PLAY. 57 
 
 their winnings ; one acknowledged to have won 
 35,000/. in fifteen years. Mr. Baring Wall, one of 
 the witnesses, swore that he had never witnessed any- 
 thing improper in the play of Lord de Eoos, though he 
 had played with and against him many years ; another 
 witness, the Hon. Colonel Anson,had observed nothing 
 suspicious ; but the testimony of the others went to 
 prove that the aces and kings had been marked inside 
 their edges ; and one averred that he had seen Lord 
 de Eoos perform sauter le coupe a hundred times. The 
 whole case wore much the look of a combination 
 among a little coterie who lived by gambling to drive 
 from the field a player whose skill had diminished 
 their income ; nevertheless, the incidents sworn to by 
 some of them wore a suspicious significance, and a 
 verdict was given against Lord de Eoos ; which he 
 only survived a short time. 
 
 One of the most melancholy cases of ruin by gam- 
 bling was that of Mr. Spurrier, who was victimized at 
 Grraham's Ckib of everything he possessed, including 
 an estate that sold for 28,000/. The place had got a 
 bad reputation since Lord de Eoos's exposure; and 
 the parties who made a set at Spurrier lived by play. 
 Waltier's was at least equally bad ; Brookes's was in 
 higher repute, but since Lord Cholmondeley with 
 three associates had set up there a faro-bank and 
 ruined scores of men of fortune, extravagant play had 
 been the order of the day and night. Mr. Paul, who 
 had realized in the East Indies about 90,000/., was 
 drained of all. Lord Cholmondeley and his associates 
 were reported to have pocketed about a quarter of a 
 million apiece ; his daughter married Mr. Lambton. 
 He was in the habit of giving stately dinners in the 
 old style of heavy hospitality, but was niggardly with 
 
58 crockford's. 
 
 liis wines. General Scott was extremely fortunate — 
 and a daughter of his, with a large portion of his win- 
 nings, married Greorge Canning. 
 
 One of the most brilliant of modern clubs owed its 
 existence to an adventm-er, who commenced a singu- 
 larly unhazardous career in the tranquil occupation 
 Hamlet assigned to Polonius; but the profits on 
 salmon and turbot did not content him. He opened 
 a gambling-house with a coadjutor, with whose as- 
 sistance he attracted men of large fortune, who 
 lost enormous sums in the house.) Of these "the 
 Golden Ball " was one ; the Earl of Thanet and Lord 
 Granville were also victims. With two other players 
 they are said to have lost a hundred thousand pounds 
 in one day, which became the profits of the pro- 
 prietors of the establishment. This is only one instance 
 of the reckless spirit of gambling that prevailed in 
 society when Mr. Duncombe became one of its cele- 
 brities. He had also been elected into the new club. 
 
 The successful speculator secured the leases of two 
 or three houses in St. James's-street, threw the buildings 
 into one mansion, caused it to be rendered as much like 
 a palace as possible, furnished it in a very costly style, 
 and having secured the services of the most famous 
 French cook in England, opened it as the St. James's 
 Club. The magnificence of the style of living to be 
 enjoyed there caused it to be thronged by the most 
 distinguished peers and the richest commoners. If 
 the prudent Duke of Wellington could not resist its 
 fascination, it was not to be expected that young men 
 of fasliion, most remarkable for their avidity in going 
 to the other extreme, could keep aloof. If they had 
 money to lose they possessed a sufficient recom- 
 mendation; and recherche suppers, under the super- 
 
THE GREEN TABLE. 59 
 
 intendence of the renowned Tide, never failed to 
 bring together the representatives of the noblest and 
 wealthiest families in the kinedom. 
 
 Heroes, statesmen, dandies, and wits associated on 
 the most pleasant footing; and the delicacies provided 
 by the incomparable misinier having been done justice 
 to, including a liberal supply of wines of the rarest 
 quality, there was an adjournment to an apartment 
 expressly provided for the occasion. '■ In a particular 
 corner at a desk sat the well-known figure of the 
 ex-fishmonger, literally in the pursuit of custom; 
 whilst around a table, specially prepared for either 
 playing a great game or a little one, sat a group, 
 containing some of the most distinguished men of 
 their time in the world of fashion, of politics, and of 
 literature. Sir S. Vincent Cotton (Lord Combermere), 
 Lord Fitzroy Somerset (Eaglan), the Marquis of An- 
 glesey, Sir Hussey Yivian, Wilson Croker, Disraeli, 
 Horace Twiss, Copley (Lord Lyndhurst), Lords Seffcon, 
 Alvanley, and Chesterfield, George Anson, and George 
 Payne were pretty sure of being present, many of 
 them playing high ; whilst among the distinguished 
 foreigners might have been recognised the Princes 
 Esterhazy and Talleyrand, the Due de Palm ella, Count 
 Pozzo diBorgo, General Alava, and Count D'Orsay — 
 some of them equally reckless in the amount of the 
 sums they staked. 
 
 The first families in the kingdom were impoverished 
 by the attendance of their representatives at this green 
 table, and the heirs of large estates burthened with an 
 intolerable load of debt for the remainder of their lives. 
 It was this sequence of feasting and bad luck that caused 
 Theodore Hook, somewhat profanely, in reference, to 
 the proprietor, to repeat — "He filleth the hungry 
 
60 
 
 LORD SEFTON. 
 
 with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty 
 away." 
 
 Mr. Duncombe being one of the hahitms oii\x^ club, 
 and an influential member of the Committee, was 
 besieged with applications from friends anxious to 
 seek the same Eoad to Kuin. There are before us a 
 number of documents of this nature, proceeding not 
 only from persons already enjoying a high social posi- 
 tion, but from others to whom " a local habitation and 
 a name" in St. James's- street might be considered to 
 have been more covetable. Among the latter are several 
 who have subsequently become eminent as diplomatists, 
 statesmen, commanders, and the like, who might not 
 like to see in print these evidences of their desire to 
 patronise the enterprise of its flourishing Polonius. To 
 convey, however, some idea of the earnestness with 
 which the distinction was sought, we give an extract 
 from the note of a meritorious public servant whose 
 name we prefer withholding. 
 
 Old Palace Yard, February 16th, 1817. 
 
 I wish you to write to , who is one of the committee 
 
 at Crockford's, and ask him to use his interest in getting me 
 in when I am brought up. My name has been down for 
 some months. I was proposed by Bridgeman and seconded 
 by Greville ; but others tell me that unless one of the com- 
 mittee exerts himself it is of no use. Sir H.Vivian said he 
 would beg Lord Queensberry, and one or two more, to exert 
 themselves for me. I should not have thought of getting in, 
 but Bridgeman proposed it to me ; and, now I have once tried, 
 I of course should not like to be thrown over, and as I have 
 
 not the pleasure of being acquainted with I should be 
 
 much obliged if you would write to him. Sir W. Knighton 
 
 is loth, they say, in consequence of speech, which is 
 
 very much talked of and approved. 
 
 Among the great losers at Crockford's was William 
 
CLOSE OF CROCKFORD S CLUB. 61 
 
 Philip, second Earl of Sefton in the Irish and first 
 Baron Sefton in the English peerage. Captain 
 Grronow, in a series of anecdotes, has stated that he 
 was victimized to the extent of 200,000/., and that, 
 after his death in 1838, Crockford contrived to obtain 
 from his successor in the peerage the sum of 40,000/. 
 for a bill of exchange accepted by his father. An 
 article in the Edinburgh Bevieto affirms that at the 
 hazard bank superintended by the proprietor, four 
 noblemen, sitting from midnight till 7 a.m., lost 
 100,000/. a piece, and other noblemen and gentlemen 
 less sums. At this rate the duration of the club was 
 only a question of time ; the number of the members 
 left to be ruined grew " fine by degrees and beauti- 
 fully less " — the lame ducks waddled away, and very 
 few that could stand came afterwards to the decoy. 
 
 Whether the card losses of the members acted dis- 
 astrously on the subscriptions has not been ascer- 
 tained ; it is certain that the original ardour to get 
 admission greatly abated, and was succeeded by a 
 desire equally ardent to leave. Mr. Buncombe had 
 suffered severely by his connexion with the club, 
 but had too long been a member to regard with 
 indifference the symptoms of its dissolution which 
 now displayed themselves. It will be seen by the 
 accompanying note that its days were numbered : — 
 
 131, Park-street, December 24tli, 1845. 
 
 My dear DuNCOMBEj^It is all over with Crocky's, and 
 the place is to be closed on the 1st January ; aud it appears 
 there is no intention to form another club out of it. In 
 fact, it is such a motley set that there would be great diffi- 
 culty to do so. You cannot imagine the state of excitement 
 London has been in ; but all sides agree that Lord Grey 
 has acted very much the reverse of what he ought. The 
 
62 MR. BUNCOMBE VICTIMISED. 
 
 opinion is, that it [the Reform Bill] will not pass the Lords ; 
 and again, that Peel will qualify the measiu-e by taking off 
 many of the burthens on land, and so nullify some of his 
 present opponents. For myself, I think agriculture is doomed, 
 and many of us with it. Miladi is very near (alas !) her 
 confinement. I am sorry if you are out of favour with her, 
 as I am sure you acted the part of a friend towards her, as 
 far as my knowledge goes ; but women are droll compounds. 
 Bunn is going on flourishingly ; the house fills every night ; 
 both play and ballet are very good. I have got one of the 
 lower stage boxes (Bunn's own), and a very fine view of 
 everything on the stage. 
 
 Believe me, always sincerely yours, 
 
 R. W. Graham. 
 
 Luttrell wrote a poem called " Crockford House," 
 and submitted it to Lord Sefton, Henry de Eoos, and 
 P. Greville ; but it does not appear to have been pub- 
 lished. Sufficient information respecting the establish- 
 ment and its proprietor has been given by eye-wit- 
 nesses ; but of the incalculable mischief they did 
 " he best can paint it who has felt it most." Mr. 
 Buncombe was qualified to become an unrivalled artist 
 in delineating such scenes. We have seen the signature 
 of Crockford to a receipt for his play- debts and club- 
 debts ; butthis did not free him from obligations tosome 
 of his aristocratic associates, one of whom had contrived 
 to win of him a sum that, as a debt, was likely to be a 
 millstone round his neck for the rest of his existence. 
 He paid dearly for his experience of club-life; but 
 the lesson it taught was not lost upon him. He gave 
 up play, and withdrew from the establishment in 
 which it was permitted. 
 
 Among club-men few were better known than Tom 
 Eaikes, one of the illustrious coterie of dandies, and a 
 gossip of the first class. In society he could claim 
 
TOM KAIKES. 63 
 
 . . * . 
 
 intimacy with tlie Mgliest ; knew everybody's affairs, 
 however private ; and as he could render himself ex- 
 tremely agreeable, his company was in special request. 
 A publication, purporting to be his recollections, was 
 given to the public a few years back ; but the volumes 
 fail to convey a satisfactory idea of the pleasant com- 
 panion who was so popular with his contemporaries. 
 The following comuiunication from his pen is more 
 characteristic of " one of the Rakes of London," as he 
 was dehneated by a caricaturist : — 
 
 Wednesday. 
 
 My dear T. — Many ttanks for your invitation^ though 
 I fear for the moment I cannot come to Brighton^ as I 
 must act the family man. My daughter has a few dinner 
 invitations in view ; and as I do not like to be a bar to her 
 amusements by leaving her alone in solitude, I cannot well 
 get away. We both dined yesterday at Lady Glengall's ; 
 Foley, the King,* and the Master of the EoUs. Dick in 
 great force, and much fun. To-morrow we dine at Dudley's, 
 &c. ; in short, my friends are very kind to her, and qa me 
 fait grand plaisir. 
 
 I called at Fenton's yesterday at five o'clock, but only 
 saw the mater, as our H. was unfortunately gone up to 
 dress. She begged me to call again, as she knew H. would 
 be happy to see me. I shall probably look in this evening, 
 and if I hear anything will let yoa know. No remarks 
 have been made, except by Dick, who said last night that 
 the old one was going to live with Bland, and the young 
 one with you, as the devil would have it unluckily for 
 D'Orsay. The second volume of Moore's " Byron " is come 
 out, and generally talked of He alludes to a journal 
 written by Frenchf during his last stay in England, where 
 the society, and particularly the ladies, were very roughly 
 handled ; and as it was approved by the caustic Byron, it 
 will not tend very much to improve his reception here. 
 
 * Lord Allen. 
 
 + There was such a MS. written by the Count. " Old French" 
 was the sobriquet of General Montrond. 
 
64 CLUB GOSSIP. 
 
 The Frencli charge d'affaires, Count Montrondj left town 
 this morning on a visit to Mr. T. Duncombe; of Surrey. Old 
 Keate came to Crockford's on Monday nighty, and won 
 1400/. The following night he camej and lost 4300A ! 
 (Paid your money !) 
 
 I am very glad if my Russian trumpery gave you a 
 moment's amusement; it was written in a very slovenly 
 manner — not fit for the eye of any but a partial friend. 
 Its only recommendation is its tone. You can bring it 
 with you if you come up at the end of the week. 
 
 I hear Brighton is very stupid, and the Pavilion filled 
 with tag-rag of every description. You will have seen 
 some relation of mine in Regency-square, from whom I just 
 learn that my little wild niece (your friend at Newsell's) is 
 going to be married to a Captain Davidson — a sort of lurk- 
 ing moustache without any money. Cornme on ne fait pas 
 des soupes de inerite, et des fricassees de vertu, I am afraid 
 they will not find — 
 
 " The flame they are so rich in, 
 Light a fire in the kitchen." 
 
 It is always a bad thing to have too early information. 
 The rascally sols, are moving up, in spite of all we know 
 that ought to send them to the devil. 
 
 I beg leave to trouble you with the enclosed two o'clock 
 list. As to your capital information about Mexican, I 
 fear there is not much foundation for it, if you had it from 
 a certain quidnunc yclept Bonham. He told me the same 
 tale three months ago, when they were at 39. 
 
 There is no news here. I cannot but think that Lord 
 Grey will be unwilling to go as far as some of his exalted 
 comrades would wish ; and that in a short time, when he 
 can have provided for a few more poor relations, and done 
 two or three jobs for himself, that he will dymoke and retire. 
 The news from Ireland is very bad. Lord Stopford has been 
 sent for express to Wexford. King Allen is as furious as 
 Radical, and wants to hobble into Brookes's and lick him. It 
 would make a very nice pendant to the Rakes and the brooms. 
 
 I think I shall try to e^g him on. Adieu, mon cher. 
 Mille amities. . T. T. R. 
 
A GENERAL NEWSMAN. 65 
 
 Tom Eaikes was distinguishable by his tall, bulky- 
 figure and strongly-marked physiognomy. The small- 
 pox had left on it so many indentations, that on his 
 writing D'Orsay a humorous letter, the envelope 
 pressed with a wafer stamp, the Count declared that 
 the writer had sealed it with his nose. He was a 
 constant attendant at the clubs ; in truth, was as de- 
 termined a lounger as he was a gossip. He could be 
 seen in one hour in close confabulation with a leader 
 of the Tories — in the next, strolling leisurely along 
 St. James's-street, as if enjoying the confidence of as 
 eminent a Whig — and shortly afterwards stationary 
 in Pall Mall, as though absorbed in listening to the rank 
 republicanism of a very decided JRadical. Not that he 
 had any particular sympathy with liberal opinions, for 
 he had belonged all his life to a totally different 
 school ; but sought information from all quarters, and 
 desired to be general newsman wherever he went. 
 
 D'Orsay, though a dandy of the first class, was a 
 good deal more ; with a singularly handsome face and 
 figure were combined a refined intelligence and con- 
 versational powers of nearly the first order. He pos- 
 sessed considerable talent as a painter and modeller ; 
 and had he devoted himself to literature, might have 
 proved the Grammont of his age. Up to a certain period 
 of his career his society was much courted : moreover, 
 he was quite as perfect a model of manners as of dress. 
 His style perhaps was a trifle too showy ; neverthe- 
 less the matchless coat, with turned-back linen wrist- 
 bands, is far more worthy of imitation than the groom- 
 like jackets, theatrical knickerbockers and gaudy 
 stockings, that were some time since the rage. The 
 Count flourished at Crockford's for a season or two, 
 
 VOL. I. r 
 
66 CARLTON CLUB. 
 
 but was not in a position to play high, and the 
 manager knew the state of his finances too well to per- 
 mit his increasing the amount of his obligations to him. 
 
 The Carlton was started in 1832, under the 
 patronage of the Duke of Wellington, as a Tory club, 
 White's having become not sufficiently distinctive. 
 Lord Kensington's mansion was taken ; but the sub- 
 scriptions coming in plentifully, a magnificent struc- 
 ture was erected on its site, and it has ever since been 
 reported as the head-quarters of the genuine Tories. 
 A French cook was engaged who had been in the 
 service of the Due d'Escars when the latter was 
 premier maitre d'hotel to Louis XVIII. During a 
 dejeuner at the Tuileries, his majesty and his maitre 
 d'hotel enjoyed & p&te de saucisson with such zest, that 
 the Due died of indigestion, and the King had a narrow 
 escape of the same fate. They were both gourmands 
 of the first order, and the cuisinier exhausted his 
 talent in supplying them with tempting novelties. 
 There is no evidence that the fatal p&te was ever 
 served up to the members of the new club. 
 
 The Eeform Club was established by the Liberal 
 party, when the reform movement commenced in 
 earnest, about the year 1830. Having moved from 
 Grreat George-street, Westminster, and Grwydyr House, 
 Pall Mall, it was found necessary to locate it with 
 the principal establishments of the same nature. 
 Barry's design was approved of, and a magnificent 
 structure erected on the south side of Pall Mall, 
 rivalling its neighbour, the Carlton. Mr. Duncombe 
 was early elected into this great gathering of Whigs 
 and Eadicals, and there met all his parliamentary 
 friends and political intimates. Notwithstanding the 
 
REFORM CLUB. 67 
 
 democratic tendency of some, they appear to liave 
 soon got reconciled to the palatial luxury with which 
 they found themselves surrounded, and to the epi- 
 cureanism especially there established under the super- 
 intendence of Alexis Soyer, formerly chef de cuisine to 
 Lord Panmure. Banquets were given in compliment 
 to the Queen, to Ibrahim Pacha, to Lord Palmerston, 
 to Sir Charles Napier, in which he produced for the 
 occasion some novelty of high gastronomic merit. 
 The principal members of the Wliig Government 
 were members- — so were a little later the leaders of the 
 Chartists ; and when the aspect of afiairs promised a 
 collision in the House, a club dinner — especially 
 when there was a possibility of the Tories coming in — 
 readily disposed of all asperities. 
 
 Soyer was the most popular of modern cooks — 
 being in more general request even than the famous 
 Ude. To this his position in the Eeform Club was 
 mainly owing ; but his " Shilling Cookery Book," his 
 sauces, his mineral water, spread his fame from one 
 end of the kingdom to the other. Nevertheless, he 
 has not escaped the imputation of quackery, and the 
 things advertised in his name have lost their repute 
 since his death. His best productions were invented 
 for the Gore House banquets, during the first National 
 Exhibition in 1851. Alas, poor Gore House ! Its 
 fascinating tenants fled, and their place knew them no 
 more — that place of brilliant resort then for a time 
 descended to the humble position of a restaurant. 
 
 r 2 
 
68 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 POPULAR POLITICS. 
 
 Mr. Dimcombe's ancestor and Francis Bacon — Sir Eonald Ferguson 
 — Thehrall, Home Tooke, and Dr. Parr — Distress in York- 
 gliire — Cry for Parliamentary Eeform — Reformers in the House 
 of Commons — Henry Hunt — Report of Secret Committee of the 
 two Houses of Parliament — Manchester agitators — The Monster 
 Meeting at Peterloo — Bamford's book — Debate in Parhament — 
 Major Cart-svi-ight — Sir Francis Burdett — Lord Cochrane — 
 Henry Brougham — Bribery — Prosecution of Sir Manasseh 
 Lopez — Lord John Russell — Three Resolutions — The Cato- 
 street Conspiracy — Trial of Queen Caroline — Mr. Duncombe 
 unsuccessful as a Parhamentary candidate — Returned for 
 Hertford — Congratulatory Letter from Lord Essex — Mr. Dun- 
 combe in the House of Commons. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe's ancestors had filled responsible 
 situations in their connties, and some had distin- 
 guished themselves as legislators. In the reign of 
 Elizabeth a namesake of his, famous for his ad- 
 venturous motions, but rather a popular character,* 
 got up in the House to protest against a member who 
 was a law officer of the Crown, sitting amongst them. 
 The lawyer thus opposed was the illustrious Francis 
 Bacon. Mr. Thomas Duncombe moved, " Whether 
 the Attorney-Greneral might be elected, in respect 
 there was no precedent that such an officer of the 
 Crown could be chosen member of the House." The 
 
 * Lord Campbell's " Lives of the Chancellors," ii. 335. 
 
SIR RONALD FERGUSON. 69 
 
 members compromised the matter by deciding " That 
 Mr. Attorney-Greneral Bacon might remain in the 
 House for this Parliament, but never any Attorney- 
 General to serve in the Lower House in future." 
 
 Sir Eonald Ferguson, under whom Ensign Dun- 
 combe served, was not only a brave general officer, 
 but a consistent Liberal, avowing such principles 
 when it could only be done with risk. It is not at 
 all improbable that the young Gruardsman owed not 
 merely his first honorary step in his profession to 
 Sir Eonald, but his choice of a political career, for the 
 Greneral was as earnest a politician as he was a good 
 soldier. He was favourably known in town, in other 
 places besides the Horse Gruards ; and his late aide- 
 de-camp must have constantly met him in society, _ 
 fashionable as well as political. Before, however, his 
 opinions were formed, he seems to have reviewed the 
 career of the popular politicians of his age. 
 
 ThelwaE. was one of the reformers of the last cen- 
 tury, and the notoriety he acquired in consequence of 
 his having been committed to prison for high treason, 
 made him worthy of a place in Lady Cork's social 
 omnium gatherum. He subsequently became a teacher 
 of elocution, and thenceforth did not apparently take 
 any decided interest in political agitation. 
 
 Home Tooke was for some time a clergyman, and 
 attempted to become a barrister. Having been ex- 
 pelled from two public schools, there was a stigma 
 upon his name that all the ability he evinced in 
 " The Diversions of Purley" failed to remove. He 
 was a declared enemy to aristocrats, and an earnest 
 champion of reform in ParHament. As a patriotic 
 orator, he contrived to get into ParHament by means 
 
70 DK. PAER. 
 
 of its most notorious rotten borougli. Exceptions 
 were made to his sitting tliere, being disqualified as 
 a clergyman. The question was fiercely discussed, 
 but a compromise at last efiected. He was per- 
 mitted to retain his seat till the end of the session, 
 when all persons in holy orders were declared ineligi- 
 ble to a seat in that House. His career, however, 
 was far from being at an end, for his writings greatly 
 influenced the rising generation of politicians^ Mr. 
 Duncombe among the number. 
 
 Liberal scholarship was represented by Dr. Parr. 
 He had the reputation of being the best Grecian in 
 England ; but owing to intemperate habits and a 
 slovenly handwriting, society was little the better for 
 his erudition. He generally spoke so thick that no one 
 could understand what he said, and was so indifferent 
 a scribe that very rarely could any one make out what 
 he wrote. When his hearers became familiar with 
 his peculiar utterance, he proved a most amusing 
 companion, for he was as full of anecdote as of learn- 
 ing. He wrote Grreek verses against the Eegent ; and 
 if he had written them in English they would, in 
 MS., have been equally Greek to the English reader. 
 He might have talked atheism to half the bench of 
 bishops with a certainty that, owing to his defective 
 articulation, it would have as readily been accepted 
 as orthodox. As a former head-master of Harrow, 
 Mr. Duncombe could not help feeling an interest in 
 the politician as weU as the scholar. 
 
 The tremendous amount of social distress that 
 existed soon after the termination of the war, was 
 particularly felt in Yorkshire in 1816. Its numerous 
 manufactui-es were almost stagnant : bad weather had 
 
DISTRESS OF THE WORKING CLASSES. 71 
 
 destroyed tlie prospects of tlie farmers ; there was no 
 employment to be had, and poverty and misery pre- 
 vailed in what had hitherto been the busiest districts. 
 The working-men felt that such a state of suffering 
 was a wrong done to industry, and were easily led to 
 lay the blame on the wealthy. To them it was in- 
 tolerable that one class should indulge in every 
 luxury, while another was unable to procure daily 
 bread. The Grovernment and the aristocracy, there- 
 fore, were readily condemned as the authors of the 
 wrong ; and the most popular idea was a forcible dis- 
 gorging of the incalculable riches both had amassed 
 at the expense of the people. Mr. Duncombe must 
 have been aware of the existing distress in his own 
 county, and could not have been quite ignorant of the 
 proposed remedy. 
 
 That a Government should become unpopular be- 
 cause it turned a deaf ear to the agonies of the people, 
 whilst lavishing the public money in various direc- 
 tions, was a matter of course. Starving men could 
 not see the necessity of paying 35,000/. for the Elgin 
 marbles. When they wanted bread, to offer the 
 nation stones, even of such artistic value, seemed a 
 bitter mockery. They were of course the less recon- 
 ciled at the grants of 60,000/. for an outfit for the 
 Princess Charlotte on her marriage, and of 60,000/. a 
 year for the support of her establishment. Even the 
 additional grant of 200,000/. to the Duke of Welling- 
 ton (making a total of half a million) foimd no in- 
 dulgence from starving workmen. Hence arose the 
 animosity with which the popular leaders dwelt 
 upon this and similar apparent instances of the 
 indifierence of Parliament to the distresses of the 
 
72 COBBETT. 
 
 country, and the consequent cry for Parliamentary 
 Reform. 
 
 Hunt and Cobbett were stalwart fellows, each 
 standing more than six feet high, and in general ap- 
 pearance affected tbe jolly farmer. Both had fine 
 voices, and were fluent speakers, without any preten- 
 sions to eloquence. Cobbett was infinitely the 
 superior in intelligence. Hunt was recognised by his 
 white hat, blue coat, light waistcoat, kersey smalls, 
 and top-boots ; he possessed a fair complexion, rather 
 prepossessing features, light grey eyes, thin lips, and 
 wore his own hair. He was portly in person, with a 
 jovial expression of countenance, and dressed in the 
 style of his colleague, except that his linen seemed to 
 have been got up with more care. The editor of the 
 well-known "Eegister," then much patronized by 
 the leading "Whigs, and by all the Eadicals, might 
 have passed for a yeoman in comfortable circum- 
 stances. Both were in high repute as mob-orators, 
 and were ardent and uncompromising patriots. They 
 were, however, anything but disinterested, seek- 
 ing to turn their popularity to the most profitable 
 account. 
 
 In the House of Commons there were several in- 
 fluential speakers who had session after session ad- 
 vocated retrenchment in the public expenditure, and 
 had brought forward important measures that had a 
 similar beneficial purpose. Sir James Mackintosh, 
 Henry Brougham, and Joseph Hume were practical 
 legislators, who have left the impress of their genius 
 upon the statutes of the country. Wilberforce and 
 his supporters devoted themselves with the same 
 earnestness of purpose to the suppression of the slave 
 
ORATOE, HUNT. 73 
 
 trade and the extinction of colonial slavery. Burdett, 
 Byng, Whitbread, and their associates, did good 
 service in keeping popular subjects before the public 
 eye, and by endeavouring to restrain the disposition 
 of the executive for arbitrary and irresponsible govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The people, however, were not content with the exer- 
 tions of these their representatives : they wanted men of 
 a diflFerent stamp, who were as ready to lead as they were 
 to be led, and would make no secret of their desire to 
 overturn an unpopular government, and felt no scruple 
 as to the means by which it might be done. As the 
 ministers would do nothing for them, language more 
 and more intemperate was used at public meetings, 
 and conduct more and more violent followed, cul- 
 minating in the Spa-fields riot, in December, 1816, 
 which the civil and military power combined quelled, 
 after a gunsmith's shop had been plundered and the 
 owner murdered at his own door. 
 
 These events were canvassed in the newspapers, 
 and the Liberal press did not forget to mention the 
 suiferings and wrongs which were supposed to have 
 maddened the actors in them into outrage. Henry 
 Himt was the accepted leader of the discontented, and 
 his inflammatory orations were published and circu- 
 lated all over the country. He was the Eadical of his 
 age. The white hat he wore was regarded as almost 
 as significant as the republican bonnet rouge in the 
 Eeign of Terror. He endeavoured to trade on his 
 popularity by manufacturing patriotic blacking and 
 democratic herb tea and cofPee ; but either the boots 
 of his followers would not take a polish, or the nastiness 
 of his beverages prevented them becoming popular. 
 
74 MANCHESTER. 
 
 In 1817 a secret committee of the House of Lords 
 and the House of Commons that had been empowered 
 to inquire into an alleged wide-spread conspiracy to 
 overthrow law and order, presented their reports to 
 each branch of the legislature. These were said to 
 estabhsh the existence of a design in London, as well 
 as in several of the great cities, for a simultaneous in - 
 surrection. It was in vain that the popular members 
 of the House of Commons denounced the evidence as 
 well as the report. Measures of coercion were advo- 
 cated. Sir John Eomilly and Sir James Mackintosh 
 strove hard to alter the penalty of death to be en- 
 forced against all who remained at a public meeting 
 after the magistrates had called on it to disperse ; but 
 strove in vain. The bill for the suspension of the 
 Habeas Corpus Act was passed, as well as the measure 
 known as the Seditious Meetings Act. With these 
 additional powers the Government at once went to 
 work, and seized, tried, condemned, and executed 
 Brandreth, Turner, and Ludlow at Derby. Other 
 executions followed. 
 
 The spirit of the Radicals of Manchester may be 
 gathered from the fact that, in 1817, a considerable 
 body of them left their work to march upon London. 
 By the time they had reached Macclesfield, they had 
 thinned oflF nearly one-half. The greater number 
 went home the next morning ; about twenty reached 
 Leek, and six only passed Ashbourne Bridge. Who 
 was the last to give in has not been recorded. The 
 objects of the expedition, — to seize upon the govern- 
 ment and settle the National Debt, — were abandoned. 
 
 The mob orators in that part of the kingdom are 
 thus described by one who knew them well — they 
 
MOB ORATORS. 75 
 
 were generally ■working-men : — " He who produced 
 the greatest excitement, the loudest cheering, and the 
 most violent clappings, was the best orator, and was 
 sure to be engaged and well paid ; and in order to 
 produce these manifestations, the wildest and most 
 extravagant rodomontade would too often sufS.ce."* 
 
 From the same trustworthy authority we learn 
 that after the failure of their absurd expedition to the 
 metropolis, some of them entered into a conspiracy to 
 make a Moscow of Manchester. In short, the maddest 
 schemes were in contemplation — ^the offspring appa- 
 rently of the grossest ignorance — for it was a district 
 in which witchcraft was a general conviction, and 
 where the manners of the lower classes were as coarse 
 as their ideas. Notwithstanding this barbarism, there 
 was here and there a sensibility to nobler impressions, 
 in both men and women, which went far to redeem 
 the mass. They were the easy dupes of professed 
 reformers as well as of secret spies, and great numbers 
 committed acts which sent them to prison, or caused 
 them to be fugitives from their homes. Many of their 
 leaders finding that there was a hue and cry after 
 them, left the country. 
 
 The narrative of one of those who were taken to 
 London, and carried before the Privy Council, is well 
 worthy of perusal, as a faithful, though in some 
 respects exaggerated picture of the condition of the 
 working classes at this period. He was a weaver as 
 well as something of a poet of some repute among 
 his Manchester friends. He was not implicated in 
 any act of violence or secret plotting against Grovern- 
 
 * "Passages in the Life of a Kadioal," i. 34. 
 
76 PETERLOO. 
 
 ment. He declared to Lord Sidmoutli that lie was 
 a parliamentary reformer, and expressed Ms conviction 
 that sooner or later reform must be conceded. After 
 a brief detention he was liberated on his own bail.* 
 While subsequently referring to the desired political 
 measure, he frankly acknowledges " that the people 
 themselves wanted reforming — that they were ignorant 
 and corrupt."! 
 
 He returned to his own neighbourhood, and resisted 
 efforts made by Oliver the Spy to inveigle him into 
 treasonable proceedings. On the 16th of June Sir 
 Francis Burdett brought before the House of Com- 
 mons his motion relative to the conduct of this 
 Government agent; and on the 6th of November 
 three of the misguided Lancashire " reformers " were 
 executed for high treason. 
 
 Midnight drillings were known to be going on 
 nightly in the disturbed districts, and a monster 
 meeting was announced. The Government prohibited 
 such an assemblage, nevertheless it took place. The 
 yeomanry suddenly made their appearance and charged 
 the immense mass. In ten minutes not one was to 
 be seen in the field. Bamford had a narrow escape, 
 but was obhged to conceal himself. In his rambles 
 he met with persons whose disposition towards revolt 
 he thus describes : " Some had been grinding scythes, 
 others old hatchets, others screw-drivers, rusty swords, 
 pikes and wedge-nails,— anything which could be made 
 to cut or stab was pronounced fit for service." This 
 idea of retaliation, however, was soon abandoned. 
 
 Shortly afterwards Bamford was again taken into 
 
 * " Life of a Eadical," i. 147. t Ibid. i. 54. 
 
GRAND DEBATE. 77 
 
 custody, shouting " Hunt and Liberty." He and his 
 associates were subsequently tried. They were all 
 liberated on bail till they received sentence, when, 
 much apparently to his surprise, Bamford was pro- 
 nounced guilty as well as Hunt, who was chairman of 
 the meeting, and three others. Hunt was sent to 
 Hchester gaol for five years, and the others to Lincoln 
 gaol for one year. At the termination of his imprison- 
 ment Bamford went home ; he had become disgusted 
 with his leader, and employed himself in drawing up 
 his " Passages in the Life of a Eadical," which he first 
 published as a serial in a cheap form. It was sub- 
 sequently, 1844, republished in London in two 
 volumes. They came under the attention of Mr. Dun- 
 combe, whUe he was exerting himself to realize his own 
 ideas on parliamentary reform, and their disclosures ap- 
 pear to have made a powerful impression on his mind. 
 
 The debate on the proceedings at Manchester, 
 November, 1819, was a grand display of oratory on 
 both sides of the House. There was the usual ex- 
 aggeration between partisans and opponents, who look 
 at an event from different points of view; — the popular 
 aspect being a peaceable demonstration of the people 
 arbitrarily put an end to, when hundreds were ridden 
 down and sabred by an unprovoked attack from a 
 brutal soldiery ; the Gfovernment view — a disorderly 
 mob, prepared by midnight drillings, marching with 
 pockets full of stones, and with threatening and revo- 
 lutionary banners and symbols, to a forbidden meeting, 
 and then resisting the properly constituted authorities 
 in the exercise of their duty. 
 
 On this memorable occasion so much was well said 
 in attack and defence, as to astonish the more inex- 
 
78 DISTINGUISHED POLITICIANS. 
 
 perienced auditors. The first discussion is thus graphi- 
 cally described : — 
 
 " We have had a wonderful debate ; really it has 
 raised my idea of the capacity and ingenuity of the 
 human mind. All the leaders spoke, and almost all out- 
 did themselves ; but Burdett stands first : his speech was 
 absolutely the finest, and the clearest, and the fairest 
 display of masterly understanding that ever I heard ; 
 and with shame I ought to confess it, he did not 
 utter a sentence to which I could not agree. Canning 
 was second : if there be any difference between elo- 
 quence and sense, this was the difference between 
 him and Burdett. He was exquisitely elegant, and 
 kept the tide of reason and argument, irony, joke, 
 invective, and declamation flowing without abatement 
 for nearly three hours. Plunket was third : he took 
 hold of poor Mackintosh' s argument, and griped it to 
 death ; ingenious, subtle, yet clear and bold, and put- 
 ting with the most logical distinctness to the House 
 the errors of his antagonist. Next came Brougham — 
 and what do you think of a debate in which the 
 fourth man could keep alive the attention of the 
 House from three to five in the morning, after a twelve 
 hours delate ?"* 
 
 The writer of this description was a member of the 
 Opposition ; but, though warmly admirmg the speech 
 of Sir Francis Burdett, he, with all the moderate poli- 
 ticians in the House of Commons, voted with the 
 ministers. Mr. Buncombe was equally sensible of 
 the talent displayed in these expositions of popular 
 sentiment ; but unless prepared to accept Mr. Orator 
 
 * "Memoirs of Sir Fowell Buxton, Bart.," edited by his 
 son, p. 79. 
 
LIBERALS. 79 
 
 Hunt as President of a Eepublic, had lie been in Par- 
 liament he must also have supported the Government 
 at this crisis. 
 
 Major Cartvsrright remained one of the shining 
 lights of Liberalism, and, in 1819, the Honourable 
 Douglas Kinnaird got up a complimentary dinner at 
 "The Horns," Kennington, where he was styled 
 " the Father of Eeform." Scrope Davies, who had a 
 reputation for saying smart impertinences, considered 
 him better entitled to be called, " the Mother of Ee- 
 form," as he was indisputably an old woman. The 
 major wrote to Lord Holland, and exhibited his eru- 
 dition by translating a passage in Prynne, " breve 
 a parliamentaria" into short parliaments. There 
 were many novel ideas on Eeform — one was proposed 
 to Lord Holland, by which three millions annually 
 were to be raised by a general licence to vote for 
 members of parliament ; and a plan of a similar nature 
 had been suggested by Home Tooke. Major Cart- 
 wright was thin, tall, and pale, with a countenance 
 venerable as well as benignant. He wore a long 
 brovni frock coat, and his aged features were sur- 
 rounded by a brown wig. Sir Francis Burdett was 
 unmistakably patrician — his tall, thin figure^ his 
 sharp, proud features, and careful attention to dress, 
 looked out of place among more homely reformers. 
 Another high-bred Eadical of the time was Lord 
 Cochrane, then a young man, of tall figure, and un- 
 affected good-natured manner. He stooped a little, 
 and had the unmistakable swing of the sailor in his 
 
 walk. 
 
 All professed Liberal opinions, and all were Eadical 
 reformers. Henry Brougham was at one time quite 
 
80 RADICAL REFORMERS. 
 
 as mucli so as any of the above ; but in tlie year 
 1817, when such opinions were most rampant, his had 
 relapsed into Whiggery. His prospects of professional 
 advancement enticed him in that direction, and though 
 an advocate of liberal legislation, he refused to occupy 
 the same platform as the Hunts, the Cobbetts, the 
 Cartwrights, and the other popular orators. His 
 defection created considerable bitterness of feeling 
 among some of the ostensible " Friends of the People," 
 and it was more grieved over when the genius and 
 liberality of the man made themselves manifest in his 
 wonderful exertions for the abolition of the slave 
 trade, and for the general diffusion of intelligence. 
 
 There were even then earnest-minded men labouring 
 spiritedly for the amelioration of our severe and incon- 
 sistent criminal code. In this direction Mackintosh, 
 Eomilly, and Brougham had greatly distinguished 
 themselves as reformers of the hio^her and best class. 
 It was, however, Fowell Buxton who most forcibly 
 exposed the anomalies of the law that inflicted the 
 punishment of death. In one of his speeches in the 
 House of Commons he said, " Kill your father, or a 
 rabbit in a warren, the penalty is the same — destroy 
 three kingdoms, or a hop-bine, the penalty is the 
 same — meet a gipsy on the high-road, keep company 
 with him, or kill him, the penalty by law is the same."* 
 
 Here was urgent need of reform and of additional 
 reformers ; but the principal necessity was a change 
 in the system that had produced this, and obstinately 
 maintained this and a hundred other legislative evils ; 
 and Mr. Duncombe was willing to be a volunteer in 
 the service. 
 
 * "Hansard," May 23rd, 1821. 
 
CORRUPTION. 81 
 
 The Boronglimongers, as the proprietors of boroughs 
 were ignominiously called, used parliamentary influ- 
 ence exclusively for their own interests. The. govern- 
 ing families, Whigs as well as Tories, rivalled each 
 other in accumulating votes, and any political adven- 
 turer who chose to invest largely in such property 
 might depend on getting valuable favours from the 
 minister. Bribery to secure a seat was very general ; 
 it could not, however, always be done with impunity. 
 In 1819, the electors of Grrampound had shown them- 
 selves so notoriously corrupt, that an indictment was 
 preferred against a wealthy merchant. Sir Manasseh 
 Massey Lopez, created a baronet in 1 805, whose money 
 they had taken for their votes ; a trial took place at 
 Exeter, when he was found guilty, and sentenced to 
 a fine of 10,000/. and two years' imprisonment. 
 
 The fate of Sir Manasseh did not deter other aspi- 
 rants for senatorial honours, and on a close scrutiny 
 it might have been discovered that there were quite as 
 many Grrampounds as there were Lopezes. The chiefs 
 of party were as eager as ever to maintain and increase, 
 if possible, their political influence, which they were 
 always willing to barter to the Grovernment for a 
 consideration. They kept a sharp look out for' rising 
 young men, whom they assisted in getting into Parlia- 
 ment, on the well-understood condition that their 
 eloquence, their talent, their principles — if they had 
 any — were to be devoted to their service. 
 
 We do not believe that Mr. Duncombe's opinions 
 were at this period so advanced as they subsequently 
 became. It should be remembered that there was a 
 public reaction after the Queen's trial, when the 
 evidence of trustworthy witnesses could be read im- 
 
 VOL. I. GJ 
 
82 THREE RESOLUTIONS. 
 
 partially; and in the spring of 1820 was disclosed the 
 atrocious attempt to murder the members of the 
 Grovernment while at dinner. It was from his regi- 
 ment marched the small detachment that supported 
 the Bow-street officers in their surprise of the conspi- 
 rators at their rendezvous in Cato-street ; and it was 
 his most intimate friend and brother officer, Captain 
 Fitzclarence, who led the thirty soldiers into the 
 haunts of those desperate scoundrels.* In Mr. Dun- 
 combe's native county disafiection was widespread ; 
 but the presence of a large military force and the 
 activity of the resident magistrates, prevented a 
 threatened insurrection. 
 
 It was on the 9th of May, 1820, that Lord John 
 Eussell in the House of Commons brought forward 
 the three Eesolutions that formed the foundation of 
 subsequent reform legislation. Mr. Buncombe was 
 not then in Parliament ; but as it was proposed to 
 transfer the franchise from the rotten borough of 
 Grampound to his native countj^, he could not have 
 been indifferent to the discussion that took place in both 
 Houses. It was by the Upper House that Yorkshire 
 was named as the recipient of the forfeited franchise, 
 and though the Lower House had proposed to confer 
 it on the manufacturing town of Leeds, they acceded 
 to the amendment. The Eeform party was organiz- 
 ing itself for a more important demonstration. They 
 were content, in a session greatly disturbed by the 
 Queen Caroline agitation, to put on record in substan- 
 tive Eesolutions brought before Parliament, first, that 
 the people were dissatisfied with the existing repre- 
 sentation ; second, that boroughs convicted of corrup- 
 
 * Alison, "History of Europe from 1815," &c., ii. 426. 
 
QUEEN CAROLINE. 83 
 
 tion must be disfrancliised ; lastly, that the member 
 or members heretofore returned by* such boroughs 
 should be returned by unrepresented districts with a 
 large population. 
 
 The fate of Thistlewood and his gang was soon for- 
 gotten in the more absorbing interest of the trial of 
 Queen Caroline. The death of Q-eorge III. had ele- 
 vated the Prince Eegent to the throne, and, calcu- 
 lating on his unpopularity with the lower orders, her 
 Majesty had returned to England, and insisted on 
 sharing the royal dignity. As the King would not 
 consent to this, the Government endeavoured to esta- 
 blish her alleged immorality by a public trial. The 
 measure was extremely unpopular, both Whigs and 
 Radicals joining heartily in opposing it. Its failm-e 
 was a triumph to the Opposition ; but notwithstand- 
 ing the cordial support given to the Queen by 
 the people, it benefited her in no way. At her 
 death there was a popular demonstration in her 
 favour, and then her name shortly passed beyond the 
 influence of party politics. Opinions respecting her 
 had divided society into two hostile camps ; a few 
 military men supported her cause, but neither Mr. 
 Buncombe nor any of his brother officers appear to 
 have been of the number. 
 
 The most impartial judgment that has ever been 
 pronounced on her case, is a despatch sent by the 
 American ambassador to his own Government : — 
 
 " I add, that a large number of the peers who voted 
 against the bUl did not give their votes, as they 
 expressly stated, on any clear belief in the Queen's in- 
 nocence, but voted on the ground of the unconstitu- 
 tionality and inexpediency of the biU ; and I state 
 
 G 2 
 
84 CONTESTED ELECTIONS. 
 
 further, as a curious fact, that the parts of the evi- 
 dence which haAborne hardest against the Queen, and 
 on which those who supported the bill were driven in 
 the end to rely most, had come from witnesses called 
 and examined in her defence."* 
 
 Notwithstanding the strenuous advocacy of the 
 ablest of the Whig and Eadical leaders, this impression 
 seems to have been pretty generally adopted, when 
 party animosities had ceased to have any influence 
 on the subject; though Sir Francis Burdett puh- 
 licly declared that for their participation in the odious 
 trial, all the ministers deserved to be hanged. Both 
 the Grovernment and the King rose in public favour 
 from the period of the Queen's dea-th. Mr. Richard 
 Bush, the American minister, was a shrewd observer 
 of what was going on around him. He wrote : " The 
 Whigs have lost their strong ground, the Eeformers 
 having taken it from under them. They are a party 
 of leaders with no rank and file — accomplished men, 
 hut as aristocratic as the Tories."* 
 
 This seems to have heen the conviction of Mr. 
 Buncombe about this period or a little later, and he 
 began to take a more lively interest in politics. 
 He had become weary of the life of a subaltern 
 in a period of profound peace, and desired to enter into 
 the more exciting pursuits of a politician. Hence 
 arose his inclination lor a Parliamentary career. He 
 first stood a contest for Pontefract in 1821 ; took an 
 enormous deal of trouble in canvassing, and spent 
 much money in bribery ; but was unsuccessful. In 
 1823 he was again in the field as a Parliamentary 
 candidate, and ventured to contest a family borough 
 
 * Eush : " Eesidenoe at the Court of London," i. 341. 
 t Ibid. i. 362. 
 
MR. CANNING. 85 
 
 with its proprietor. Hertford possessed a consti- 
 tuency that was open to conviction on political points, 
 and a patron who was said to be open to convic- 
 tion on none. He again failed, after spending much 
 money. 
 
 At this period a contested election was not a busi- 
 ness for a timid spirit or for a poor man to embark in. 
 It was a saturnalia for the lower class of voters, as 
 well as for the non-voters, in which they generally 
 managed to do as they liked, engaging in the most 
 fearful outrages, or forming, combinations to set the 
 civil authorities at defiance in their way of supporting 
 the popular and destroying the chance of the unpo- 
 pular candidate. Whether at Westminster or Wey- 
 mouth, the mob were equally omnipotent — though 
 in one place in favour of a Liberal candidate, in the 
 other of a Tory. In the latter place, we learn from 
 undeniable authority how the affair was managed : — 
 
 " This is the sixth day of polling, and there is every 
 probability of six days more. The election is carried 
 on with the utmost violence, and at monstrous ex- 
 pense. It is said that spends 1500/. a day — his 
 
 party confess to 1000/. He has nine public-houses 
 open, and * * * the whole town is drunk."* 
 
 The melancholy death of Lord Londonderry in 
 August, 1822, made a vacancy in the Government, 
 which was filled by Mr. Canning. From this period 
 legislation began to assume a more Liberal aspect ; 
 and in the House of Commons, as well as in the 
 public press, the expression of Liberal opinions became 
 more decided. Mr. Canning's brief career as Prime 
 Minister, though productive of no great political ad- 
 
 * "Memoirs of Sir Powell Buxton," p. 160. 
 
86 JOSEPH HUME. 
 
 vantage to the people, permitted a more extensive 
 development of popular principles. Mr. Joseph Hume 
 renewed his attacks on the lavish expenditure of Go- 
 vernment, and many noblemen and gentlemen in and 
 out of Parliament were drawing public attention to 
 the necessity of legislative reform : the diffusion of 
 education among the masses, the diminution of 
 taxation, the abolition of slavery, and important 
 improvements in the poor laws, corn laws, game laws, 
 &c. &c., had numerous and powerful advocates. 
 
 During the year of the Canning ministry, sanguine 
 hopes were entertained of a course of liberal 
 legislation. Mr. Hume, in April, proposed to bring 
 before the House a bill for abolishing imprison- 
 ment for debt, which, as we stated in a preceding 
 chapter, was regarded with intense interest by many 
 persons moving in good society. 
 
 The general election of 1826 was a severe struggle 
 for the popular candidates, as the most strenuous 
 exertions were used in nearly all the constituencies to 
 get rid of them. Cobbett was defeated at Preston, 
 and Hunt in Somersetshire. One of the remarkable 
 events of the year was the prosecution of Edward 
 Gribbon Wakefield and some members of his family 
 for the abduction of a heiress, Ellen Turner, a young 
 lady of fifteen, whose father possessed property to the 
 amount of 5000/. a year. He was found guilty, and 
 sentenced to imprisonment in Newgate for three 
 years ; but he does not appear to have been mate- 
 rially affected by the verdict. He joined the Eeform 
 movement, and became one of its most active sup- 
 porters. 
 
 The republicanism of Whiggery could sometimes 
 
MR. BUNCOMBE EETTJRNED FOR HERTFORD. 87 
 
 be sufficiently clear. Such was Lord Holland's ap- 
 proval of tlie conduct of Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and 
 his readiness to defend Arthur O'Connor — such, too, 
 was the Duke of Bedford's toast, " The majesty of the 
 people ;" but these were merely demonstrations against 
 the Tory Government to obtain popularity. Mr. 
 Duncombe did not place much confidence in them. He 
 had, however, made up his mind to take the Opposi- 
 tion side in pohtics, notwithstanding the ultra-Toryism 
 in his family; and professing the most Liberal opinions, 
 he again came forward as a Parliamentary candidate. 
 Hertford was canvassed by him in opposition to Mr. 
 Henry Bulwer, who was then commencing his political 
 career. There were three claimants for the suffrages 
 of the electors ; the borough returned two, and the 
 fight was for the second place. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe, having bribed handsomely, secured 
 a majority. His exertions to emancipate the borough 
 met with warm approval from the pohtical opponents 
 of the Marquis of SaHsbury, among whom was 
 George fifth Earl of Essex, a landowner in the same 
 county. He professed a Hterary taste, and was a 
 Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, but was better 
 known as a musical connoisseur. He was for many 
 years an ardent admirer of the accomplished vocalist, 
 Miss Stephens, whose performances he attended with 
 marked assiduity till the death of Lady Essex, when 
 the sweetest of EngHsh ballad- singers became his 
 second countess. 
 
 Norfolk-street, June 16tli, 1826. 
 
 Allow me to congratulate you, whicli I do most cordially^ 
 upon your success. You have done a brave act in re- 
 leasing the town of Hertford from its shackles ; and I do 
 
88 SIR FOWELL BUXTON. 
 
 think that you will experience a grateful return for the same 
 from the voters. I wont say a word about Catholics till you 
 let me know that you have read over all the evidence given 
 before the committee of the House of Lords ; and when 
 the day of voting comes on that question, you must look at 
 the beauteous eyes of some fair Catholic, and exclaim, " By 
 those eyes and lips, I cannot vote against thy Faith." In 
 short, these are matters for future consideration. Now you 
 are a Hertfordshire squire, I hope you will come and see 
 me before the summer is over. I assure you I have been 
 most anxious for your success ; for entre nous you were not 
 well used at first, so my opinion is. 
 
 Yours very faithfully, Essex. 
 
 On entering tlie House of Commons, Mr. Duncombe 
 appears to have followed the miixims of another 
 popular member, who, however, moved in a totally 
 different sphere :• — ■ 
 
 "Vigour, energy, resolution, firmness of purpose, . 
 these carry the day. Is there one whom difficulties 
 dishearten, who bends to the storm? He will 
 do little. Is there one who loill conquer? That 
 kind of man never fails. Let it be jowr first study to 
 teach the world that you are not wood and straw — 
 some iron in you. Let men know that what you say 
 you wiU do, that your decision made is final — no 
 wavering; that once resolved, you are not to be 
 allured or intimidated. Acquire and maintain that 
 character."* 
 
 The new member chose to make himself familiar with 
 the ai-ena and the chief combatants before he entered 
 into the fight ; then he had to get acquainted with his 
 weapon, for he was not then the master of fence at 
 argument he afterwards became. 
 
 * " Memoirs of Sir Powell Buxton, Bart," p. 142. 
 
89 
 
 CHArTER V. 
 
 THE MAN OF FASHION. 
 
 ilr. Dimcombe patronizes the Turf — Lord Alvanley transfers a 
 lost bet to Mm — Letter of the Due de Eiohelien — Count 
 Batthyany — ^Ir. Delme Eadcliffe — Lord Henry Seymour — Fate 
 of Berkeley Craven — Squire Osbaldiston — Dispute with 
 Mr. Hamer referred to ]\Ir. Duncombe — Sir Harry Vane 
 Tempest — Dispute between IMr. Bond and the Earl of Chester- 
 field referred to Mr. Duncombe and another — Dispute between 
 Mr. Bond and IMr. Duncombe referred to the Hon. Colonel 
 Anson — Mr. Duncombe's equipage — Sobriquets : King AUen, 
 The Golden Ball, The Silent Hare, The Silver Ball, Kangaroo 
 Cooke, Eed Herrings, Monk Lewis, Old Sarum, The Siiltana, 
 The Lady, Penny Wise and Pound Foolish, Handsome Jack, 
 The Governor of Finland. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe, having quitted the Coldstream Guards 
 with the exception of his occasional appearance in 
 uniform as an oflScer of the Yorkshire Hussars, led 
 the life of a civilian. He was a good horseman, 
 and as a matter of course had a great admira- 
 tion for good horses. This led him to take a deep 
 interest in the great races, most of which he made it a 
 point to attend. He was one of the gentlemen 
 jockeys who were then wont to distinguish themselves 
 at Lambton races, where he established a warm friend- 
 ship with Mr. Lambton, afterwards Lord Durham, 
 and lived on the .most intimate terms with his family. 
 As a Yorkshireman, Doncaster naturally possessed his 
 
90 BETTING. 
 
 preference, but he was almost as frequently seen at 
 Goodwood, Ascot, and Epsom. He was on familiar 
 terms with the principal members of the Jockey 
 Club — indeed was well known to all the distinguished 
 supporters of the turf, foreign and English. It not 
 unfrequently happened that he was appealed to for 
 assistance by friends who had lost money on a race, as 
 in the following note : — 
 
 Dear Tommy, — I owe Miltown ISOl. Let me transfer 
 it to you. I will pay you after Ascot. 
 
 Yours, Al VAN LEY. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe was marked down as a victim by 
 the scoundrels permitted to infest the resorts of gen- 
 tlemen for the enjoyment of a national recreation. 
 They thought they had succeeded at Hampton races, 
 1827, when they contrived to make it appear that 
 he had lost 2400/. ; a stranger, who directed his letters 
 from the doubtful neighbourhood of Blackfriars'-road, 
 offering, with a wonderful show of disinterestedness, 
 to buy the supposed debt for 200/., he opened his eyes 
 to both the transactions. There is no evidence that 
 the gang got either the larger or the smaller sum. 
 
 Debts of honour were regarded as being invested 
 with a peculiar claim for payment ; but this did not 
 always secure their prompt discharge. Among men of 
 good social position, the creditor was rarely found 
 obdurate to an appeal for an extension of time, a 
 simple assurance of future payment, or frank ac- 
 knowledgment of the obligation, being all that was 
 required to complete the transaction. The fellow- 
 feeling that is said to make us wondrous kind, influ- 
 ences betting men of the first class more readily 
 
COUNT BATTHTANT. 91 
 
 than more saintly individuals of no class at all. Mr. 
 Buncombe was always ready to meet the slightest 
 expression of a wish on the part of any of his associ- 
 ates in the clubs or on the turf We select one from 
 numerous examples of the same nature, preserved 
 among his papers : — 
 
 MoN CHER DuNcoMBE, — Je vous remercic bien de me 
 permettre de ne vous payer les quatre cents trente livres 
 sterlings qui je vous dois que dans six mois. Mille amities. 
 
 Richelieu. 
 
 jSTewmarket, Octobre 28, 1828. 
 
 Count Batthyany, long familiar to English sports- 
 men as a patron of the turf, prided himself on giving 
 dinners of a refined character. His wines were the 
 choicest, his cook first-rate ; therefore he was sure 
 to collect around him the cream of English and 
 foreign society. Anglomania was not then so com- 
 mon on the continent as it has since become, but 
 among the few foreigners who had a passion for 
 English horse-racing, Count Batthyany took the lead. 
 He possessed horses and started them at the principal 
 meetings, betted largely on others as well as his own, 
 and cultivated the friendship of English gentlemen 
 fond of the same pursuit. Mr. Duncombe was his 
 guest ; they had long been intimate at the clubs and 
 other places of resort. 
 
 Delme Eadcliffe belonged to the circle of Mr. Dun- 
 combe's sporting friends. Like Coke of Holkham he 
 never varied in his costume, but chose to retain the 
 dress of his youth, the most characteristic features of 
 which were short boots with white tops, long breeches, 
 and a single-breasted coat. He had been one of the 
 habitues of Carlton Palace, was a first-rate gentleman 
 
93 LORD HENRY SEYMOUR. 
 
 jockey, and filled tlie post of equerry to William IV. 
 When amateur racing was going on at Lambton or 
 Groodwood, Mr. EadclifFe was sure to be one of tlie 
 competitors, with Fred. Lumley, Edward Petre, Mr. 
 Dunc'ombe, and otbers in tbe front rank as gentlemen 
 riders. It was as much, the recreation of a man of 
 fashion as hunting or shooting, and wben there was 
 much, speculation in borseflesb, or high betting, might 
 become more expensive than either. 
 
 Lord Henry Seymour was one of the most eminent 
 patrons of the turf in those days, running horses and 
 betting as largely as the majority of his aristocratic 
 contemporaries in the ring. He excelled in athletic 
 sports ; but cultivated his intellectual quite as much 
 as his physical powers. He was as liberal to artists 
 as to jockeys, and looked upon gaining a good paint- 
 ing as quite as desirable as winning a good race. He 
 lived much in France, where he founded a jockey 
 club, and established the taste for racing among the 
 nobility and gentry that has recently developed itself 
 into a passion quite as enthusiastic as that which has 
 so long flourished in this country. The recent suc- 
 cess of Trench horses, and the enormous sums won 
 by their owners, are likely to maintain the popularity 
 of the sport with Frenchmen. Lord Henry was one 
 of Mr. Buncombe's most intimate sporting friends. 
 
 The spirit of speculation on a race leads some men 
 to go far beyond their means of meeting their engage- 
 ments should they be unsuccessful. They back the 
 favourite or accept the odds to some extravagant 
 amount, with a very doubtful prospect of success. An 
 outsider comes in first, or the horse every betting 
 man would have refused to back rashes in a winner, 
 
GEORGE OSBALDISTON. 93 
 
 and they are totally ruined. Many fly to Boulogne, 
 or retrench and subsist in some out of the way place 
 celebrated for the cheapness of the living ; a few con- 
 trive to hang about with a tainted name, ignoring 
 their obligations, and sanguine of some lucky chance 
 occurring that will set them straight. But much too 
 often the ruined man becomes bankrupt in soul as 
 well as in purse, and takes the first convenient means 
 of hurrying out of the world. Such was the fate of 
 Berkeley Craven, in the Derby of 1836, when Lord 
 Jersey's " Middleton" came in a winner. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe was well known to most of the cele- 
 brated characters connected with the turf. That his 
 character must have been respected by them is evident 
 from their desire to secure him as an umpire when 
 disputes arose between two, which the cooler judg- 
 ment of a third party only could settle. Among 
 his sporting friends, with few he was more at home 
 than with that long-familiar figure in the ring — short 
 and awkward, shrivelled and shrunk, with round 
 shoulders and a limping walk, ill-clothed in a brown 
 frock-coat with velvet collar, loose grey trowsers, and 
 cloth boots, who was recognised as "the Squire," 
 from time almost immemorial the best cricket -player, 
 steeplechaser, master of foxhounds, and sportsman in 
 the three kingdoms — George Osbaldiston. 
 
 Some misunderstanding occurred early in the year 
 1839 between Mr. Osbaldiston and a Mr. Hamer, and 
 it was referred for decision to Mr. Duncombe; but 
 the parties could not agree as to the facts in dispute, 
 and the arbitrator declined entering upon the case till 
 they had done this. 
 
 The escapades of the Vane Tempests owe their 
 
94 SIR HARRY TEMPEST. 
 
 origin to their maternal grandfather, Sir Harry, who 
 was a celebrated character on the turf in the first 
 decade of the century. One Sunday he attracted 
 general attention in the Park by riding a race-horse 
 that a few days before had won the St. Leger. He is 
 said to have made a bet at Doncaster that he would 
 knock down the first man who entered the stand. As 
 may be supposed, he was partial to pugilism. He was 
 a fearless rider, a hard drinker, and a thorough sports- 
 man. As he was of a handsome, dashing appearance, 
 he captivated a wealthy Irish heiress, the Countess of 
 Antrim, just as their only daughter was captivated 
 by the heau sabreur Sir Charles Stewart, afterwards 
 Marquis of Londonderry, whose second wife she became. 
 
 With a Mr. Bond Mr. Buncombe was fated to be 
 brought into communication on a disputed debt of 
 honour; but not on his own account. It was in 
 August, 1840, that an action at law was pending 
 between the Earl of Chesterfield and Mr. Bond, when 
 both parties agreeing to refer the case to friendly ar- 
 bitration, Mr. Buncombe, Lord Lichfield, and Count 
 D'Orsay were named, and they were to meet at the 
 Junior St. James's Club-room for the purpose of set- 
 tling the disagreeable business. The particulars of 
 the dispute have not transpired, but it was most pro- 
 bably a play debt contracted at the club. 
 
 During Mr. Buncombe's connexion with the turf 
 he lost and won, like his friends, but had settled all 
 his betting accounts, as he believed ; nevertheless, in 
 June, 1850, this well-known betting man put forward a 
 claim upon him for a bet alleged to have been made 
 in 1842. Having no recollection of the transaction, 
 he suggested that the settlement should be left to arbi- 
 
COLONEL ANSON. 95 
 
 tration, and it was referred to tlie Hon. Colonel Anson. 
 The horse "Wellington," the alleged cause of the 
 dispute, had belonged to him the previous year. The 
 colonel, then suS'ering from an attack of the gout, 
 could not attend to the case ; but as soon as he was 
 able to move he had an interview with the claimant. 
 
 Hill-street, July 23rd, 1850. 
 
 IMy dear DuncombEj — I saw Bond yesterday at Tatter- 
 sall^s. He told me his story, and showed me his book — 
 that in which the bet was made — ^his comparing and his 
 settling books. It does not appear possible that he should 
 have invented this claim upon you ; and it is therefore 
 simply a matter of assertion between two parties. You 
 have no recollection of it, and consequently no memorandum 
 of it. In such cases there is no possibility of coming to a 
 decision as to who is right or wrong. It evidently arrives 
 from a mistake. I told him that I did not think you 
 would pay the bet^ as you entirely disavowed having any 
 transaction of the sort with him. He said that he was 
 more annoyed at the tone and manner of your refusal than 
 at the loss of the money. 
 
 So the matter rests ; and as far as I see^ so it must rest. 
 Ever yours truly, G. Anson. 
 
 Mr. Bond chose to affirm that the arbitrator had 
 given an award in his favour. The latter was appealed 
 
 to, and wrote : — 
 
 HiU-street, August 7tli, 1850. 
 
 My dear Duncombe, — Bond had no right to assume I 
 had given a decision in his favour. I told him that, when 
 statements were so opposed to each other, it was difficult to 
 say what ought to be done ; and that I could not believe 
 that either of them was wilfully incorrect. I felt that I 
 could not decide arbitrarily in such a case in favour of one 
 or the other ; but as you both expressed a wish that I should 
 be the arbitrator, I wiQ endeavour to do so fairly to both 
 parties. I therefore recommend that the sum in dispute 
 
96 MR. buncombe's equipage. 
 
 should be divided — that is, that you should pay half what 
 Mr. Bond claims — 25^. I hope this will settle the business. 
 Yours very truly, G. Anson. 
 
 T. S. Buncombe, Esq. 
 
 Both, parties agreed to this suggestion ; the money 
 was paid to Mr. Bond, and a receipt given. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe continued to take an interest in 
 racing matters till too great an invalid to venture 
 in tlie ring ; but he had long given up betting, 
 and confined his riding to a shooting pony. For 
 many years his taste in horses was made evident by 
 the animals harnessed to his handsome equipage. A 
 glance was sufficient to satisfy the connoisseur that it 
 belonged to a man of fashion. Few persons regarded 
 it with more interest than the principal West-end 
 tradespeople, for its stopping at their doors proved a 
 first-rate advertisement. Indeed, the ardour of this 
 class to secure his patronage looked like a return of 
 the Brummell influence. Mr. Duncombe was known 
 to be the constant associate of the most influential 
 men of their day — not only of the greatest celebrity 
 in the higher circles, but the leading spirits of 
 society, whether statesmen, sportsmen, patriots, or 
 speculators. Those whose notice was the foundation 
 of a fortune were sure to be found in his company. 
 
 Few men ever obtained so thorough a knowledge 
 of the fashionable world of both sexes, and he seems 
 to have studied their characteristics with genuine 
 interest. Many sought to distinguish themselves by 
 a peculiarity in dress, in speech, in something ; if not 
 marked out from the common herd, some sobriquet 
 was pretty sure to be given them which had the same 
 effect. Very singular were some of them ; but each 
 
KING ALLEN. 97 
 
 name was a sort of social Hall-mark, by whict their 
 owners were enabled to circulate in good society. 
 
 " King Allen" was Joshua "WiUiara, a viscount in 
 the Irish peerage, who succeeded his father in 1816, 
 after ha\Tng distinguished himself at Talavera when 
 serving under Wellington as a subaltern in the 
 Gruards. His ancestor, a Sir Joshua, had been Lord 
 Mayor of Dublin, and completed a mansion a few 
 miles from the city, at Millynaback, which was styled 
 " Allen's Court ;" but the young Guardsman appears 
 to have succeeded to nothing except a house in 
 Merrion-square. The Lord Mayor's fortune in busi- 
 ness had been dissipated in pleasure, in the way in 
 which the Coleraines and Blessingtons, and number- 
 less other examples of the same aristocracy, were 
 then rapidly diminishing theirs ; and the last of 
 his race, notwithstanding his regal pretensions, 
 found some difficulty in maintaining his position 
 as an Irish nobleman. Nevertheless, he dressed 
 so well as to merit the title of " King of the 
 Dandies," and during the season was sure to be found 
 at the clubs to which he belonged — White's and 
 Crockford's — where he contrived to find the means 
 for keeping up appearances. In this he succeeded, 
 flourishing in London between Bond-street and 
 St. James's-street among the best dressed of his con- 
 temporaries for more than a quarter of a century. He 
 became so habituated to town noise and bustle, that 
 he could not endure existence without them. It has 
 been stated that Lord Alvanley, aware of his predi- 
 lections, finding him moping miserably at a watering- 
 place, where the quietude rendered him sleepless, en- 
 gaged one man to drive a hackney-coach constantly 
 
 VOL. I. H 
 
98 THE GOLDEN BALL. 
 
 past his lodgings, and another to sing the hours in 
 the tones of a London watchman. It was attended 
 with the happiest effect : " King Allen" deluded him- 
 self into the belief that he was still in his own 
 dominions, and slept like a top. 
 
 Unfortunately, an empty exchequer had incon- 
 veniences that could not be endured for ever. Like 
 other monarchs in difficulty, he abdicated, and ex- 
 patriated himself. The tall, stout figure, in the 
 capital hat and admirable boots, was seen no more in 
 his old haunts. He was missed among the old 
 famihar faces. At last intelligence reached England 
 that " King Allen" had died at Gibraltar, in 1843, 
 when his viscountcy died with him. 
 
 " The Golden Ball" was an officer of the 7th Hussars, 
 to whom his uncle. Admiral Hughes, left a fortune esti- 
 mated at forty thousand pounds per annum. He added 
 the admiral's patronymic to his own, and commenced 
 living in a style corresponding with his income. As 
 he was handsome, well-bred, dressed well, and was 
 extremely good-natured, he readily gained access to 
 the most fashionable society and the best clubs. He 
 found no difficulty in spending his money. It was 
 lavished with such extravagance as to acquire for 
 him the sterling prefix by which he was afterwards 
 invariably known. 
 
 He did not find it so easy to spend his time. This 
 made him an habitual gambler ; but his craving 
 for excitement was so great, that he would join in 
 the most ordinary and the most eccentric games of 
 chance or skill, with heavy bets depending on the 
 result. Pitch and toss was had recourse to with 
 any one ; and he and Lord Harrington maintained a 
 
LORD FIFE. 99 
 
 contest at battledore and shuttlecock that lasted from 
 evening till dayliglit. 
 
 In these follies he lost a great deal of money ; at last 
 having resolved on going in for matrimony, he paid 
 his addresses to Lady Jane Paget, daughter of his 
 colonel — that heau sabreiir, the Marquis of Anglesey. 
 But after his acceptance. Lady Jane changed her 
 mind. Her example was followed by two ladies of 
 title to whom he transferred his affections ; and as if 
 fearing he might be ridiculed as a " Solicitor-General," 
 or an unsuccessful author of " Rejected Addresses," 
 he determined to look for a wife in another direction. 
 He gave up pitch and toss, he refrained from battle- 
 dore and shuttlecock, he absented himself from the 
 green-table, where he had already dissipated a large 
 portion of his income, and became a constant at- 
 tendant in Fops'-alley, and one of the privileged 
 loungers behind the scenes at the Italian Opera. 
 
 Early in the season of 1823, the premiere danseuse 
 was missing, and in a few days it became a subject of 
 club gossip that Lord Fife had parted with the fasci- 
 nating Mercandotti to " The Grolden Ball," who had 
 purchased Oatlands of the Duke of York, with the 
 intention of there commencing life as a Benedict. 
 It was presently ascertained that Lord Fife, the 
 manager of the lady, and Mr. Ebers, the manager of 
 the Opera, had been present at the marriage. Some 
 small jokes were perpetrated respecting the very ap- 
 propriate association of a danseuse with a ball, and 
 the happy pak were left to their own resources. 
 
 " The Silent Hare" was a distinguished scholar, re- 
 markable as an unlimited talker. As he was well 
 read and possessed a fine memory, his conversational 
 
 H 2 
 
100 SILVER BALL. 
 
 powers were rarely exercised without advantage to the 
 listener; but as he had a pecuhar utterance, that 
 made it difficult for the latter, however attentive, to 
 master his meaning, he was sometimes regarded as a 
 bore. Marvellous tales have been related of his 
 talent as a linguist, as well as of his astonishing 
 powers of memory ; while practical jokes of an astound- 
 ing description have also been attributed to him, the 
 worst of which was deceiving a priest at an Italian 
 confessional, by accumulating horrors tiU the worthy 
 man fled from the spot in terror of so diabolical a 
 penitent. If his speech was so inarticulate as has 
 been represented, the good father-confessor could not 
 have so readily understood his penitent. 
 
 " The Silver Ball" was a Mr. Haynes, who was 
 readily recognised by wearing a suit of a peculiar 
 verdant tint, which procured for him the additional 
 sobriquet of " Pea-green Haynes." He was a young 
 man of good fortune, and, like " the Grolden Ball," 
 sought consolation behind the scenes for the ill suc- 
 cess that followed his devotion to the fair sex before 
 them. He paid his addresses to the celebrated Miss 
 Foote ; and when he attempted to back out of his en- 
 gagements, on the 21st of November, 1824, she 
 brought an action against him for breach of promise. 
 The details of the trial excited considerable interest, 
 and the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, with 
 damages 3000/. 
 
 " Kangaroo Cooke" was an officer, with the rank of 
 Colonel. Whether his marsupial prefix originated in 
 his pouching propensities, or from a particularly 
 jumping way of getting on in the world, has not been 
 decided. As the brother of General Sir Greorgre 
 Cooke and of the Countess of Cardigan, he had ready 
 
LORD YAKMOUTH. 101 
 
 access to the best society, and the better to show his 
 pretensions for such association, dressed in the ex- 
 treme of the mode. Kangaroo Cooke was to be found 
 everywhere between the Horse Guards and the house 
 of "Weston the tailor, of Bond-street. He was aide-de- 
 camp to the Duke of York, and is reported to have 
 made visits on his own account to the house in the 
 King's Eoad, Chelsea, long inhabited by Mrs. Clarke. 
 His resemblance to the Australian quadruped was 
 never challenged, and he continued in his career as 
 Kangaroo Cooke as long as he lived. When dining 
 on board the flag-ship oiF Lisbon with Admiral Gralton, 
 he was much surprised by hearing an order, " Make 
 signal for the Kangaroo to get under weigh ;" but 
 his fears that this was a nautical form of dismissing 
 him were allayed, when informed by his next neigh- 
 bour at table that the Admiral was merely directing 
 the immediate sailing of one of the vessels of his 
 squadron. 
 
 " Red Herrings," this somewhat vulgar nickname 
 was fixed upon Lord Yarmouth, partly from the fish- 
 ing town whence he derived his title, partly from the 
 colour of his whiskers and hair. He was very inti- 
 mate with the Prince Eegent, and equally so with 
 Mr. Duncombe. 
 
 " Monk Lewis" was popular as a member of Parlia- 
 ment, as the author of " Tales of Wonder," and the 
 great sensational play of that day. The Castle Spectre. 
 He acquired his sobriquet from having written a 
 romance of doubtful morality called " The Monk." 
 He was a favourite of the Princess of Wales and the 
 ladies of her equivocal court. He was a good deal 
 quizzed, and very sharply handled in " The Pursuits 
 of Literature." 
 
102 MARCHIONESS OF SALISBURY. 
 
 " Old Sarum" was an appellation conferred on the 
 late dowager Marchioness of Salisbury, from her having 
 the proprietoi'ship of the rotten borough of that name. 
 This lady had been a distinguished horsewoman, con- 
 stantly going across country with the Quorn Hunt. 
 Her sky-blue habit and jockey-cap were equally 
 familiar to the field that attended the meet when 
 the Hatfield hounds threw off. Her ladyship also 
 drove four-in-hand with the same fearlessness she dis- 
 played in going over her fences. When at an ad- 
 vanced age, on the 2nd of December, 1835, she 
 called for an additional light — two wax candles not 
 affording her sufficient to write by. A short time 
 afterwards a conflagration broke out in the old man- 
 sion (Hatfield) and consumed the wing in which her 
 apartment was situated. The flames left scarcely a trace 
 of her. Lady Salisbury was completely one of the old 
 school, and kept up the stately customs in fashion in 
 her younger days to the end of her long career. 
 
 " The Sultana" was the title conferred by the court 
 upon the Marchioness of Hertford, Lord Yarmouth's 
 mother, as suggestive of her alleged position in the 
 affections of that grand Turk, George Prince of 
 Wales. 
 
 " The Lady" was the name by which the Marchioness 
 of Conyngham was mentioned by the officers of the 
 royal household, when she was living with the King 
 (George IV.) at the Cottage, near Windsor. The 
 happy pair amused themselves with fishing in Vir- 
 ginia Water, and driving in a pony-carriage about the 
 ornamental grounds. 
 
 Political nicknames were as common as fashionable 
 ones : a popular economical reformer and a chancellor 
 of exchequer somewhat notorious for profuse expend!- 
 
LORD SIDMOUTH. 103 
 
 ture were coupled together as Penny Wise and Pound 
 Foolish. Joseph Hume was a fellow labourer of Mr. 
 Buncombe in the vineyard of reform, and the thorns 
 he pulled up there he seemed always throwing in the 
 way of the treasury. Yansittart (Lord Bexley) suf- 
 fered from them most. Lord Sidmouth, " the 
 Doctor," son of Dr. Addington, contrived sometimes to 
 have his lines fall in pleasant places : for instance, he 
 secured the White Lodge in Eichmond Park as a 
 gratuitous residence; but occasionally came in for 
 favours he did not expect, for on one occasion paying a 
 visit to a prison during meal-time, and accepting the 
 place of honour, he was unpleasantly made aware of 
 the unpopularity of the governor by a shower of 
 penny loaves aimed at his head. The prisoners were 
 dissatisfied with this portion of their diet, and careless 
 of the distinguished visitor, made a simultaneous 
 demonstration of their displeasure. 
 
 " Handsome Jact" (Mr. Spalding) was long a 
 fashionable celebrity. 
 
 " The Governor of Finland" was a sobriquet applied 
 to General Edmund Phipps, third son of the first 
 Lord Mulgrave, because his right arm, from a stroke of 
 paralysis, hung by his side like the fin of a turtle. He 
 died at Yenice in the year 1837, aged seventy-seven. 
 
 We have by no means exhausted the catalogue ; 
 there yet remain Poodle Byng, Hat Yaughan, Fish 
 Crawford, and Elephant Buxton. The last was the 
 brewer and M.P. : he stood six feet four, and was 
 bulky as well as tall. In addition, there were " The 
 Castle Spectre," Mr. Elliot, the thin Irish secretary ; 
 and " Old Glory," Sir Francis Burdett. All were well 
 known to Mr. Duncombe, and many were his constant 
 associates in the fashionable world. 
 
104 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 MEMBER FOR HERTFORD. 
 
 Career of a young man of family — The Heir of Copgrove — Mr. Dun- 
 combe adopts extreme Liberal opinions — Eeform — The Canning 
 Ministry — Accession of WiUiam IV. — ^Mr. Lambton raised to 
 the peerage as Lord Durham — Mr. Duncombe reelected — 
 Letter from Lord Durham — Lord Grey's Ministry — The Ee- 
 form Bill — Letter of Lords Durham and Harrowby — Political 
 unions — Mr. Duncombe denounces Lord Lyadhurst in the 
 House of Commons — The Eeform BiU passed — Letters from 
 Et. Hon. Edward EUice, Lord Melbourne, Lord Durham, and 
 Lady Cowper and Poodle Byng — Mr. Duncombe defeated at 
 Hertford — His prosecution by the Marquis of Salisbury — Letter 
 from Messrs. Joy, Q.C., and Creavy — Presentation piece of plate 
 to Mr. Duncombe — His reply — Letters of Lady Cowper, Poodle 
 Byng, Lord Durham, and Lord Melbourne. 
 
 The career of a young man enjoying tlie advantages 
 of a good social position, commenced at this period 
 under much the same circumstances that would affect it 
 now. Society opened its arms to the possessor of a good 
 name and the inheritor of a good estate. Pater- 
 familiases and materfamiliases rivalled each other in 
 endeavouring to make things pleasant in their house- 
 holds for his particular delectation, especially if they 
 had grown-up daughters ; hospitable hosts invited 
 him to dinner ; fashionable matrons to balls ; political 
 leaders sought to secure him as a partisan ; debutantes 
 
THE HEIR OF COPGROVE. 105 
 
 of the season endeavoured to attract him as an 
 admirer; tradesmen thronged to his doorsteps for 
 his custom ; and his table was daily covered with 
 written applications for his patronage. 
 
 But this is only one phase of the estimation in 
 which young men like Mr. Buncombe were held. He 
 was expected to do as young men of family and for- 
 tune were reported to him as having invariably done : 
 he must undertake the employments, enjoy the re- 
 creations, exhibit the extravagances, and share in the 
 foUies of his class. He must be seen at Tattersall's 
 as well as at Almack's ; be more frequent in attendance 
 in the green-room of the theatre than at a levee in the 
 palace ; show as much readiness to enter into a 
 pigeon-match at Battersea Eed House as into a 
 flirtation in May Fair; distinguish himself in the 
 hunting-field as much as at the dinner-table; and 
 make as effective an appearance in the Park as in the 
 Senate ; in short, he must be everything — not by 
 turns, but all at once — sportsman, exquisite, gour- 
 mand, rake, senator, and at least a dozen other varia- 
 tions of the man of fashion; his changes of character 
 being often quicker than those attempted by certain 
 actors, who nightly undertake the perform|ince of an 
 entire dramatis personoe. 
 
 The heir of Copgrove found himself compelled to 
 follow the same course. There were soon as many 
 demands on his time as on his fortune ; and it became 
 as impossible to economize one as the other. He 
 must go in for dress, and, with Nugee's assistance, 
 became as perfect a dandy as Alvanley, Petersham, 
 Esterhazy, or Eaikes. Brummell had hecouxe passee, 
 and his " fat friend" had ceased seeking notoriety in 
 
106 PATRICIAN RADICALS. 
 
 that direction. He went in for equipage, and his 
 carriage became as familiar to the lounger in Bond- 
 street as the curricle of Komeo Coates had been a 
 few years before. He went in for horses, and with as 
 much spirit rode the best hack in the Park as he 
 backed the favourite at Newmarket. He went in for 
 politics, and was shortly a popular member, whose 
 smallest speech was considered worthy of reappearing 
 in the daily papers. His vote and interest were re- 
 quired as a patron of the drama; and he became 
 constant in his attendance on the nightly assemblies 
 of the principal performers, behind the scenes and 
 before. He went in for fashion, had the entree to the 
 most exclusive coteries in the neighbourhood of St. 
 James's-square, and opened accounts with all the 
 leading tradesmen of the West End. The men of 
 the clubs had claimed him, and he had become a 
 leading member of several. 
 
 In all these gratifications he associated with the 
 aristocracy of birth and wealth. Nothing, therefore, 
 could be less anticipated than his undertaking the ad- 
 vocacy of extreme Radical opinions in politics. But 
 it should be borne in mind that so far from standing 
 alone as a politician of this stamp, there were mem- 
 bers of the patrician class whose declared sentiments 
 were quite as advanced- — in particular, Lord Ebring- 
 ton, and his personal friend, the Hon. Mr. Lambton. 
 There may also have been some inducement in the 
 expectation of sooner gaining a position of high 
 imjjortance through the popularity of the principles 
 he now adopted. Apparently with such view, 
 he closely attached himself to the future Lord 
 Durham. 
 
POPULAR ORATORY. 107 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that, notwithstanding Mr. 
 Duncombe's co-operation with a section of pohticians 
 frequently in bitter hostility to the Whig as well as 
 to the Tory Government, he remained on very 
 friendly terms with several of the Whig leaders 
 while associating on the same terms of cordiality 
 with members of the opposite party. His confidential 
 correspondence will be found, therefore, singularly 
 varied, ranging from the exponents of absolute 
 government to the reddest of red republicans. I'liis 
 apparently arose from the benevolence of his disposi- 
 tion. He did not wait to be introduced if he saw a 
 worthy man sinking under the waves of adversity. 
 Without stopping to inquire into either his political 
 or religious creed, he pulled him out. He prepared 
 himself for a political career by reading the speeches 
 of the great orators who were pioneers in the work 
 of liberal legislation, copying passages that he par- 
 ticularly admired. Grattan, when advocating con- 
 cession, had asked, "Will you then go down the 
 stream of time, the Eoman Catholic sitting by your 
 side, unblessing and unblessed ; or will you take off 
 his chain, that he may take off yours ? Will you 
 give him freedom, that he may guard your liberty ?" 
 But Shell, in defending the Catholic Association, in- 
 dulged in one of those oratorical displays with which 
 Irish politicians carry away their hearers and them- 
 selves : 
 
 " An Irishman," he said, " may forget his country ; 
 a soldier may be dead to his honour ; a minister may 
 be blind to his interests ; but a nation cannot be 
 insensible to her rights. What, does he [the Duke 
 of Wellington] imagine that we, who have raised the 
 
108 REFOEM IN PARLIAMENT. 
 
 mind of Ireland np ; who have organized her priest- 
 hood, her aristocracy, and her people, and brought 
 our question, in all its dreadful urgencies, with seven 
 millions to uphold it, before him ; does he think that 
 we will play the part of political undertakers, and 
 bury our country and her great demands, in order to 
 accommodate ourselves to his aspirations ? Stop the 
 Catholic question ! Arrest the tide of public emo- 
 tion ! Bid seven millions hold ! Cry ' Halt !' to a 
 nation! Tell the torrent not to rush, and bid the 
 cataract to stand frozen in its fall I" 
 
 He added, after the cheering had subsided which 
 marked the conclusion of the last sentence, as if ad- 
 dressing the minister, " Wellington, there are three 
 counsellors whom it behoves you to consult, and they 
 are better advisers than any in your cabinet. The 
 first injustice ; and justice will tell you, you are bomid 
 to grant Catholic emancipation. The next is expe- 
 diency ; and expediency will tell you, you ouffJit to 
 grant Catholic emancipation. The last and chief is 
 necessity ; and necessity will tell you, you nmst eman- 
 cipate the Catholics of Ireland." 
 
 The Duke had suggested that the Catholic question 
 should be buried in oblivion for a time. 
 
 The idea of reform in the representation had already 
 taken different forms of expression, but the most popu- 
 lar, if not the most patriotic, was that stated to 
 Sheridan by one of his constituents. " Oh, sir, 
 things cannot go on in this way ; there must be a 
 reform. We poor electors are not paid properly at 
 all." Such ardent reformers invariably made as much 
 as they could of the franchise, and the experience of 
 bribery committees goes far towards proving that, 
 
GRATTAN. 109 
 
 wherever practicable, the sale of votes was systematic. 
 It has been affirmed that a considerable extension of 
 the suffrage must render such corruption more diffi- 
 cult ; but the extension would be in favour of those 
 to whom an additional source of income might be 
 found more attractive than a conscientious discharge 
 of a public duty. The introduction of the ballot was 
 said, also, to be certain to injure independent voting, 
 but it could be no security against taking bribes from 
 both candidates. 
 
 Another passage in one of Grattan's speeches Mr. 
 Buncombe greatly admired. It commences, "Self-legis- 
 lation is life, and has been fought for as for being. It 
 was that principle that called forth resistance to the 
 house of Stuart, and baptized with royalty the house 
 of Hanover, when the people stood sponsors for their 
 own allegiance to the liberty of the subject ; for 
 kings are but satellites, and your freedom is the 
 luminary that has called them to the skies. May 
 the House of Commons flourish,' but let the people 
 be the sole author of its existence, as they should 
 be the great object of its care ; and however it may 
 please the Almighty to dispose of princes or of par- 
 liaments, may the liberties of the people be im- 
 mortal !" 
 
 One of the first occasions on which the member 
 for Hertford created an impression on the House 
 of Commons was on the 31st of January, 1828, 
 during a debate on the naval victory of JSTavarino, 
 when he made an able defence of Sir Edward 
 Codrington, though, like the Duke of Wellington, 
 he regarded it as " an untoward event." His 
 prepossessing appearance, admirable delivery, con- 
 
110 MR. buncombe's first speeches. 
 
 ciliatory manner, and sound sense, produced a most 
 satisfactory effect. 
 
 Mr. Canning's G-overnment and liis promises in- 
 spired confidence in several of the leaders of tlie 
 Liberal party. Brougham, Burdett, Tierney, and Sir 
 E,. "Wilson at the commencement of the session took 
 their seats on the ministerial benches, and the politi- 
 cal world were on the tip-toe of expectation for the 
 changes that were about to take place. Unfortunately 
 these ideas were not to be realized so soon as had 
 been anticipated, for the Liberal jjremier died early in 
 August of the same year, and Lord Goderich suc- 
 ceeded him. In the new ministry Tierney was 
 gazetted Master of the Mint. He was brought in 
 with the Grenville party ; not one of the advanced 
 Liberals having been invited to accept office. But the 
 G-overnment soon proved itself too weak to last, and 
 in a few months was superseded by one under the 
 Duke of Wellington, of a totally different character, 
 and with as different a policy. 
 
 The second important occasion on which Mr. Dun- 
 combe addressed the House was in the session 1828, 
 and referred to the mysterious change in the adminis- 
 tration. He spoke at greater length and was evidently 
 more at his ease. Indeed he treated the Government 
 with so little consideration, and, what perhaps was 
 more important, was listened to with such marked 
 attention, that Sir Robert Peel was roused into 
 making a reply. The matter as well as manner of 
 the speech attracted general attention. Tories and 
 Whigs felt equally interested in the probable career 
 of a new Liberal speaker so well capable of holding 
 his own, and apparently so likely to loosen the hold 
 
LADY PALMEBSTON. Ill 
 
 of placemen present or prospective. The Eadicals 
 hailed him as a powerful ally, though some of them 
 seemed disposed to doubt that one so well dressed and 
 so well connected could be in earnest in his hostility 
 to the aristocracy. 
 
 The following note from the present Lady Palmer- 
 ston refers to his election for Hertford in 1829 : — 
 
 July 1st, 1829. 
 
 Thank you very mucli, dear Mr. Dunconibe. Lord C. 
 is not at home, but I will show him your letters to-night. 
 I think he will be of opinion that Fordwich should declare 
 himself directly, should your reports prove true. It seems 
 very odd that Byron should choose this moment for 
 vacating. I am going to Almack's, and hope I may meet 
 you there. 
 
 Yours very sincerely, E. Cowpeu. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington's administration, though 
 distinguished by conceding the Catholic claims, which 
 carried O'Connell into the House of Commons, and 
 several Catholic Peers to the Lords, did not seem in- 
 clined to favour legislative reform. The agitation, 
 therefore, broke out afresh ; and though a motion on 
 the subject, brought forward in the House by the 
 Marquis of Blandford, June 3rd, 1829, was negatived 
 by 491 to 118, and Parliament shortly afterwards 
 prorogued, the Reformers continued to gain ground. 
 In the following May new motions were made on the 
 subject by Lord John Eussell and Mr, O'Connell, but 
 the death of Greorge lY., on the 26th of June, 
 closed the session. At once political agitation became 
 more violent and more general than ever ; the dispo- 
 sition of William IV. was known to be Liberal, and 
 
112 LORD DURHAM. 
 
 Liberal candidates were returned for important con- 
 stituencies ; among them Hume for Middlesex, and 
 Brougham for Westmoreland. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe began to entertain hopes of political 
 advancement ; his friend, Mr. Lambton, had been 
 raised to the Peerage as Baron Durham in 1828, and 
 his social influence and great ability were considered 
 certain to obtain him a post in the next Whig cabinet. 
 Trustworthy evidence can be referred to to establish a 
 reputation for extreme political opinions in an early 
 stage of Lord Durham's career. He was one of the 
 original "friends of the people," and Sir Philip 
 Francis, when employed to draw up their programme, 
 asserted, that Mr. Lambton declined adding his signa- 
 ture on the plea that it would not be republican 
 enough for him. It was the ambition of those young 
 politicians, Lambton, Whitbread, and Tierney, that 
 compelled the Government to raise the alarm of revo- 
 lution.* 
 
 Mr. Duncombe had taken up the same opinions. In 
 short, it was impossible for two politicians to be more 
 completely in harmony, and their friendship of long 
 standing seemed strengthened by their union of sen- 
 timent. 
 
 In the general election of 1830, Mr. Duncombe 
 again contested Hertford in the Liberal interest, and 
 made a good fight. With revolutions following each 
 other in rapid succession on the continent, the exciting 
 nature of the daily intelligence was sure to produce 
 an effect on the public mind at such a period. Speakers 
 on the hustings could not always restrain themselves 
 
 * Lord Holland : " Memoirs of the Whig Party," i. 13. i < 
 
THE REFORM MINISTRY. 113 
 
 from making suggestive allusions ; and some politi- 
 cians, in their correspondence, did not attempt to 
 disguise their admiration. The ^aolitical atmosphere, 
 therefore, was unusually democratic, and candidates 
 found no surer road to popularity than the expression 
 of ultra- Liberal opinions. Mr. Duncombe increased 
 his popularity, and succeeded in securing his return. 
 The congratulations of his friends were as hearty as 
 they were general. Lord Durham writes : — 
 
 Lambton Castle, August 6th, 1830. 
 My dear Duncombe, — I was delighted to see you re- 
 turned ; but how came the cornet to bolt ? Another time I 
 hope you will bring in another. All has gone on well here. 
 Michael Taylor is returned triumphantly; and one of the 
 Londonderry opposition — Sir Gresley. What glorious 
 people the French are ! I fear the English have not one- 
 millionth part of their public spirit. 
 
 Ever yours, D. 
 
 The House of Commons of 1830 found the pre- 
 dominating Tory element diminishing. Croker was 
 ejected from Dublin University, and three members of 
 the family of Mr. Secretary Peel were equally unfor- 
 tunate ; in short, there was so large an access of 
 Liberal interest in the house, that in a few days the 
 Government^ finding themselves outvoted, gave in 
 their resignations. Then, in November, was organized 
 the first Eeform Ministry, under the leadership of Earl 
 Grrey. The composition of this Government, notwith- 
 standing its popularity, was singularly aristocratic ; 
 out of thirteen of its principal members eleven were 
 peers., or possessed courtesy honours ; a similar pre- 
 ponderance of titles prevailed in those who were not 
 in the Cabinet. Among them were several of Mr. 
 
 VOL. I. I 
 
114 THE KEFORM BILL. 
 
 Duncombe's personal friends. The most cordial, Lord 
 Durham, was appointed Lord Privy Seal, and Henry 
 Brougham became Lord Chancellor and Lord 
 Brougham and Vaux. The member for Hertford was, 
 of course, friendly to a Grovernment with such profes- 
 sions, and among the most conspicuous debaters 
 on their side of the House in support of the measure 
 for Parliamentary Eeform brought forward early in 
 the next year. The Opposition, however, proved too 
 strong for them, and the Parliament was dissolved on 
 the 22nd of April. A general election took place in 
 the ensuing month, and the result was a House of 
 Commons of a far more Liberal character than its pre- 
 decessors had been. Mr. Duncombe was again 
 returned. Immense was the excitement all over the 
 country, the Whigs vying with the Eadicals in the 
 freedom of their opinions. " The Bill, the whole 
 Bill, and nothing but the Bill !" was the rallying cry. 
 "When the new House assembled on the 14th of June, 
 Eeform was again the subject of lively discussion ; 
 but large majorities in favour of ministers attended 
 every reading of the Bill, and it passed in September 
 with one of 109. 
 
 In the previous month, during one of the debates, 
 some severe comments on the extreme opinions advo- 
 cated by Lord Durham, caused his friend to stand up 
 in his place in Parliament, and enter upon his defence ; 
 how effectually, may be seen in the following note : — 
 
 Norwood, Wednesday morning, August 10th, 1831. 
 
 My dear Duncombe, — Having very imperfectly heard 
 
 last night what occurred in the House of Commons, it was 
 
 not until I this morning read in the papers an account of 
 
 the debate, that I became sensible of the extent of my obli- 
 
SCENE IN THE LORDS. 115 
 
 gations to you. Your generous, . manly, and uncompro- 
 mising notice of the " base and unfounded calumnies " 
 directed against me by the Opposition in the House of 
 Commons, demands my warmest thanks. I have only to 
 hope that on a similar occasion you will oblige me by 
 stating that you are authorized by me distinctly to apply 
 the same observations to any member who may indulge in 
 charges or insinuations of the same nature as those you so 
 promptly repelled. I assure you again, that I feel the 
 deepest gratitude to you for your vindication of my cha- 
 racter, and am 
 
 Ever yours most truly, Durham. 
 
 The change that had taken place in April, 1831, 
 excited both the great parties equally. In the Com- 
 mons, the speech of Sir Eobert Peel was interrupted 
 by the sound of the cannon announcing the approval 
 of the King, every report eliciting a burst of cheer- 
 ing from one side, and of yells and groans from the 
 other. In the Lords, the scene was equally extrava- 
 gant. Lord Mansfield in his anger doubling up his 
 fist, elbowing Lord Shaftesbury into the chair, and 
 hooting Lord Brougham as he left the House. The 
 new ministry carried the country with them when 
 their programme was announced, but whatever claims 
 Lord Grrey or Lord Melbourne might have as leaders 
 of the movement, there can be no doubt that Lord 
 Durham was its directing spirit, and that the provi- 
 sions of the Eeform Bill were entirely his composition. 
 
 Moore, who ought to have known the Whigs well, 
 states of them, in July, 1831, "lam convinced that 
 there is just as much selfishness and as much low 
 party-spirit among them generally as among the 
 Tories, without any of that tact in concealing the 
 offensiveness of these qualities, which a more mel- 
 
 I 2 
 
116 SIR FRANCIS BURDETT. 
 
 lowed experience of -power and its sweets gives to 
 the Tories." 
 
 In the following year, at Lord Essex's, lie ventures 
 to add a statement that tlie cause of liberty had suf- 
 fered more than it gained by the Whigs being in power. 
 
 Thus early in his political career, Mr. Duncombe 
 found it necessary to obtain a considerable fund to 
 defray the expenses he had incurred. He had con- 
 sulted Lord Essex, but his reply does not appear 
 encouraging. It appears that the design was to 
 raise a subscription in the county. 
 
 Belgrave-square, November 22nd, 1831. 
 
 My dear Duncombe, — I am sorry to tell you that I 
 have tried "Watford, and it does not succeed ; but I am 
 more concerned to say that I have tried myself with as 
 little success. The fact is, I cannot feel disposed to give 
 the larger sum, and I do not think I ought to give one 
 much smaller. I fear the sum you have to raise will not he 
 practicable in a county like ours. Probably Lord Salisbury 
 will sit down with the loss of his money. With all my 
 heart. 
 
 Yours faithfully, Essex. 
 
 The political principles of Sir Francis Burdett had 
 recently undergone so decided a modification that his 
 Liberal friends began to entertain misgivings of his 
 sincerity as a reformer. To put his conduct beyond 
 a doubt, Mr. Duncombe, who had long been one of 
 his staunchest supporters, on the 3rd of May ad- 
 dressed to him a letter requiring an explicit declaration 
 of his sentiments. Getting no satisfactory answer, he 
 joined the committee for the election of Mr. Leader. 
 The prospects of the Liberals brightened so much 
 that Moore, during a visit to Lord Lansdowne, says, 
 
DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 117 
 
 " We both agreed that the next change would be in 
 the Radical direction." 
 
 Perhapsthereneverwas a moreexcitingscene enacted 
 in the lower House of Parliament, than when the 
 House was discussing the position of the new-formed 
 Tory Ministry and the extraordinary policy they had 
 announced. The King had prevailed on the Duke of 
 Wellington to endeavour to form a popular adminis- 
 tration with a popular measure, and the most intense 
 curiosity was excited to know who were to be his col- 
 leagues, and what was to be the measure his grace 
 intended to bring forward. It oozed out that the chief 
 members of the last Tory Grovernment were to hold the 
 principal places in this — that was a matter of course ; 
 but the world was startled by the announcement that 
 this Tory G-overnment intended to bring forward the 
 Eeform Bill, and use all their influence to get it 
 passed. This appeared to be an outrage in the eyes 
 of reformers of all grades, and a remarkable discussion 
 ensued. 
 
 There was a strong antagonistic feeling in the 
 House of Lords, but there was a moderate party who, 
 though scarcely in favour of the proposed measure, 
 were not its implacable enemies. They desired that 
 the country should have more time to reflect on the 
 nature of its provisions. Amongst this section the 
 following communication to Lord Jersey was privately 
 circulated : — 
 
 January 27th, 1832. 
 
 My deae Lord, — When last we parted I think we agreed 
 that we were each still at liberty to take our own line ; but 
 as you may be anxious to hear how I find matters on my 
 return to town, and how the question appears to me to 
 
11.8 LORD HAEROWBY. 
 
 standj I hasten to give you^ and as time presses, to urge 
 upon you, my principal reasons for thinking the Reform 
 Bill ought to be read a second time in the House of Lords. 
 The increasing majorities in the House of Commons, the 
 unabated desire for reform evinced at all public meetings, 
 and above all, my positive Itnoivledge that Lord Grey has 
 received carte blanche from the King to create peers at any 
 stage of the bill. 
 
 Now if peers are created before the second reading of the 
 bill, the Whigs become masters of the House of Lords, 
 and no amendment can be introduced with success, and 
 which Lord Grey might be justified in doing were we not 
 fully to convince him that the bill shall go into committee ; 
 but were they to be created during the progress of the bill, 
 so great would be the disgust felt against them I think he 
 dare hardly do it, and which is confirmed by the knowledge 
 we possess of the feelings of some members of the Cabinet, 
 as also the determination of a large body of the Commons, 
 to support our amendments ; and who admit they are driven 
 to vote for the whole bill noio, from the means that have 
 been taken out-of-doors to intimidate and misrepresent any 
 votes given in favour of amendments ; which they admit they 
 think would be most beneficial. 
 
 But supposing the bill was again rejected on the second 
 reading ; what is to happen ? Would ministers resign ? I 
 believe they would not ; but, by proroguing Parliament for 
 a week, they would take those steps which would enable 
 them to consummate their act of destruction. 
 
 But admitting they would resign ; what is to be done 
 with the present House of Commons (and I don^t think a 
 dissolution would mend it) ? Who is to carry on the 
 Government ? I am convinced no one can do it, unless he 
 is prepared to bring in a bill for reform, and which Peel 
 and the Duke of Wellington will not take the responsibility 
 of doing. Nor are we able now to propose a bill that can 
 meet the views of all parties ; for on investigating the feel- 
 ings of " moderate men" we find each has his own bill, and 
 the result is nothing but a general declaration in favour of 
 
REJECTION OF REFORM BILL. 119 
 
 reform. Therefore, I contend it is better to let the bill go 
 into committee ; there to be amended, and Us venom ex- 
 tracted. For instance, Schedule A must pass ; but great 
 parts of Schedules C and D must be omitted ; and also the 
 qualification raised. These alterations loe know would be 
 accepted by the Commons, and are congenial to the feelings 
 of a part of the Cabinet. 
 
 This once done, reform being once disposed of, the door 
 is again open to Peel and the Duke of Wellington, and 
 others of the Conservative party, to rescue the country and 
 its affairs from the hands of the Whigs, who are permitted 
 to direct them now merely from being instruments of re- 
 form, and Avho, you may be sure, are unsupported by any- 
 thing like the esteem or veneration of the country. 
 
 But peers once made, they are masters of the Lords, and 
 it w'lH be totally impossible for ancient influences ever to 
 regain their former weight. I am not sanguine enough to 
 believe, however much I may wish it, that these reasons 
 will have the same weight with you that they have with 
 myself — (I have just shown this letter to Lord Wharncliife, 
 who has been indefatigable in his exertions, and he desires 
 me to say he concurs in every syllable of it) ; — but what- 
 ever may be your decision, and painful as it will be to 
 us, it is necessary for ulterior purposes, that a portion of 
 the anti-reformers shoxild separate themselves from the 199. 
 1 hope you will bear in mind that such separation will be 
 but of short duration ; and therefore never can or wUl alter 
 or diminish that friendship, and I trust I may add that 
 esteem, which has so long subsisted between us. 
 
 &c. &c. &c., Harrowby. 
 
 The moderate party were not mucli influenced by 
 this document, for on the second reading of the Bill 
 in the House of Lords it was rejected by a majority 
 of 41. 
 
 The creation of a batch of peers was pressed upon 
 the Government early in 1882; but the Whigs hesi- 
 
1:20 THE TORIES. 
 
 tated. The aristocratic portion could not recon- 
 cile themselves to showing to the entire political 
 world, that — 
 
 " A breath can make them, as a breath has made ;" 
 
 but Mr. Duncombe and the other Eadical leaders were 
 urging them to advance with the times. Lord John 
 Manners had not then published his famous couplet, 
 in which he professed a desire to sacrifice everything 
 most worthy of preservation, so that England's old 
 nobility might be preserved. The Tories were not 
 permitted to have a voice in the matter, and the pre- 
 judices of the titled "Whigs were obliged to succumb 
 to the fear that- the Eadicals would supersede them in 
 the affections of the people. They threw out a bait 
 to the popular leaders, by appointing one of the 
 Members for "Westminster (Sir J. C. Hobhouse), 
 Secretary- at-"War, vice Sir Henry Parnell, dismissed. 
 The King when required refused to create the Peers, 
 and Ministers resigned. The commotion at Brookes's 
 was intense, especially among the displaced and the 
 disappointed. The speeches were very violent ; and 
 there was a Eadical meeting the next day in St. John's 
 Wood under increased excitement. The Duke of 
 Wellington found himself unable to form a Govern- 
 ment, and Lord Grrey insisted on the creation of 
 Peers. The dead-lock continued, till some of the 
 Tory Peers were induced to refrain from voting on 
 the last reading of the Eeform Bill. 
 
 Lord Althorp, after the Bill had been thrown 
 out in the House of Lords, May, 18:32, spent the 
 day in buying flowers, and the evening in study- 
 ing where they should be placed in his garden, writing 
 
POPULAR DEMONSTRATIONS. 121 
 
 directions, and drawing plans for his gardener. Then 
 he commenced oiling the lock of his gun, evidently 
 designing to retire into country life.* But he had to 
 defer these enjoyments ; the Grovernment resumed 
 office in a week, and he was forced to send away his 
 plants and put away his fowling piece. 
 
 Public excitement rose to fever heat when it was 
 announced that the Eeform Bill had been thrown out 
 of the Lords. The Peerage, especially the Bishops, 
 were generally abused. In Bristol and different 
 parts of the country serious riots took place, and 
 meetings were held that began to assume a more 
 democratic character. A Society called the London 
 Political Union had one at the Crown and Anchor, 
 Sir Francis Burdett in the chair ; but when an inten- 
 tion was expressed to open the association to delegates 
 from the working classes, the veteran reformer became 
 alarmed and withdrew from its direction. It was pro- 
 posed to have a more popular demonstration in White 
 Conduit House, Thomas Wakley in the chair, which 
 Mr. Duncombe promised to attend; but the pro- 
 gramme put forth attracted the attention of Lord 
 Melbourne, the Home Secretary, and the meeting 
 was prohibited as seditious. It did not take place ; 
 the Grovernment then followed up their advantage 
 by issuing proclamations declaring the illegality of 
 affiliated societies. 
 
 Although Mr. Duncombe was allying himself with 
 a party that threatened the most serious opposition to 
 the Grovernment — notwithstanding the liberality of its 
 declared intentions — nothing can be more easily estab- 
 
 * Lord Coqkburn's "Life of Lord Jeffrey," i. 332. 
 
122 MR. buncombe's strong language. 
 
 listed than the countenance he received from several 
 of its members. Possibly this vi^as to secure the 
 support of himself and his Eadical friends to the 
 Eeform Bill brought forward for the third time on the 
 12th of December; and the first and second readings 
 having been carried by considerable majorities, the 
 House was adjourned. 
 
 After the reassembling of Parliament in the follow- 
 ing spring, the progress of the Bill advanced a stage 
 or two ; but the public dissatisfaction grew daily more 
 violent, the London Political Union received an ac- 
 cession of 2000 members, and a great public meeting 
 took place at Manchester for the purpose of putting 
 pressure on the Ministers. They were at variance 
 among themselves and resigned. 
 
 An eye-witness gives an animated picture of the 
 House of Commons when the Grovernment was about 
 to change from Whig to Tory. At this moment 
 Mr. T. Buncombe announced to the House that Lord 
 Carnarvon had just stated in the House of Lords that 
 the new administration was formed, except in some 
 minor particulars. And now followed a scene of ex- 
 asperation, rage, and disappointment on the part of 
 the late ministry that almost baffles description. 
 Mr. Duncombe commenced with a furious diatribe 
 against Lord Lyndhurst. 
 
 We quote the passage : — " Where he (the Duke of 
 Wellington) had found ministers to fill his Cabinet 
 I know not ; but we all know who was the noble and 
 learned individual first employed to compound the 
 administration, and we now find that this administra- 
 tion is about to adopt the very Bill which it de- 
 nounced only a few hours ago as revolutionary. I 
 
THE BISHOPS. 123 
 
 must say tliat the formation of sucli an administration 
 could not have fallen into hands more worthy of the 
 task. I do not deny 'the noble lord's learning or 
 talents, but his whole life has been one continued 
 scene of political prostitution and apostacy."* 
 
 This, it must be admitted, was rather strong lan- 
 guage ; but the provocation appears to have justified 
 it in the eyes of the speaker. That a band of con- 
 sistent Eeformers should have battled for years with 
 a political party who opposed their measure inch by 
 inch, and now, when the latter saw that they must 
 surrender, undertaking to take it out of its supporters' 
 hands and bring it forward themselves, was particu- 
 larly aggravating. Mr. Buncombe's indignation was 
 poured out upon all who were likely to assist the 
 Government in their misappropriations. 
 
 " The angry orator," observes the same reporter of 
 the debate, " attacked the whole bench of bishops, 
 quoting from their lately delivered speeches strong 
 and solemn declarations of political faith by those 
 right reverend persons, garnished, as is their wont, 
 with sanctimonious appeals to the name and attributes 
 of the Divinity. He asked, very naturally, whether 
 the bishops were prepared to change and support the 
 new administration. ' Are they of a sudden,' he 
 demanded, ' to iling up their mitres and halloo for the 
 Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing but the Bill?' "f 
 
 The opposition to the Duke of Wellington in the 
 House was general, both with Whigs and Eadicals. 
 The great commander had certainly perpetrated a 
 manoeuvre for which both were totally unprepared ; 
 
 * "Mirror of Parliament," 1832. 
 t Eoebuck : " History of the Whig Ministry of 1830," ii. 316. 
 
124 FRIENDLY COMMUNICATIONS 
 
 and, Laving been taken by surprise, they felt annoyed 
 and humiliated. The press echoed the cry against 
 the Government, the opposition outside the House 
 presently exceeded the opposition in, and the King 
 found himself obliged to have recourse to the ejected 
 Whigs. But Lord Grrey would not again accept 
 office without a pledge from his Majesty that the bill 
 should be carried. Ministers resumed their functions, 
 everything went on as usual; and the Eeform Bill 
 passed through all its stages and received the Eoyal 
 assent on the 7th of June. 
 
 Another general election was now made necessary, 
 in which the provisions of the new measure had to be 
 carried out; and Mr. Duncombe was again in the 
 field as a popular candidate. His parliamentary 
 services were not likely to be overlooked ; but, know- 
 ing that a tremendous effort would be made to prevent 
 his return for Hertford, he sought the co-operation of 
 his Ministerial friends. For a time he had an intention 
 of contesting the City, and his address was prepared. 
 Lord Durham had been appointed British ambassador 
 to the court of the Czar, but did not sail for his desti- 
 nation till the 3rd of July. Friends equally influential 
 were, however, ready to assist him. He received from 
 the Treasury the following, written by the Secretary: — 
 
 My dear D., — I cannot tell you when I have been so much, 
 annoyed and disgusted as on opening your letter this morning 
 to Wood, in his absence. The nominations for the metropolis 
 are to take place to-morrow, so that it is too late to think 
 of the Borough or Lambeth, in either of which you would 
 have been quite safe ; and I know not how to advise you, 
 in the absence of all information here, except to start directly 
 from Hertford for Manchester, to find out Heywood, the 
 late member for Lancashire, who will tell you what is going 
 on in the new boroughs, and who was of opinion a week 
 
WITH THE REFORM GOVERNMENT. 125 
 
 ago that half-a-dozen good and known candidates might 
 be yet provided for in the district. You may rely upon my 
 getting up a little subscription here^, to assist any good 
 citizens who may take a fancy for you; and if you estab- 
 lish a committee anyiuhere, with (in your own opinion) a 
 good chance of success^ I will answer their demand for 500/. 
 I say this offhand, without communicating with any one 
 else ; but you are to consider me responsible for the fulfil- 
 ment of the engagement. 
 
 I am obliged to set off in the mail to-night. Write 
 either to Poodle Byng or Young, at the Home Office, if you 
 have any commands in time. 
 
 Yours ever, Edwd. Ellice. 
 
 Commiiiiications passed between Lords Melbourne 
 and Durham : — 
 
 I\Iy dear Durham, — I quite agree with you, but I do 
 not know what to do with Cowper. I do not know that 
 my speaking would do any good. But if Tom Dun- 
 combe wrote himself to Lady Cowper it might have some 
 effect ; perhaps he has already done so. Alston is such a sorry 
 blockhead, that it is impossible he can ever win an election. 
 Yours faithfully, Melbourne. 
 
 Monday, Four o'clock. 
 My dear Duncombe, — Lord Grey has just written most 
 strongly to Lord Cowper, and I trust effectually. 
 
 Ever yours, D. 
 
 Encouragement came from another source : — 
 
 o 
 
 December 8th, 1832. 
 Dear Tom, — East Surrey is said to be open to any Whig. 
 JoUiffe offered to support young George Byng. You might 
 be too strong for them. George had only 500Z. to spend, 
 and therefore declined, and has started to-night for Ireland. 
 Lord Anglesey says to him that he has three boroughs 
 which he might come in for — Downpatrick, Drogheda, and 
 some other which I forget. If you go on to Lancashire, 
 and dislike the aspect of affairs there, you might go on to 
 
126 OPPOSITION AT HERTFORD. 
 
 Dublin. Lord A. can be written to if you like it. !No 
 acrimony in Westminster or Marylebone. East Surrey 
 might be done for under iOOOZ. ; but I fear you would 
 be thought too much of. YourSj F. B.* 
 
 One of liis Hertford opponents thus addressed liim : 
 
 August 17th. 
 
 My dear Buncombe, — Many thanks for your letter of 
 the 13th, which reached me this morning. I shall be most 
 happy to accede to your proposition that no canvassing 
 should take place on our part till after the dissolution 
 appears officially in the Gazette. I will answer for Mahon ; 
 and I shall now therefore consider this point as settled. 
 I write this from the hills, where, I am sorry to say, the 
 birds are scarce. I hope you will have better luck in York- 
 shire. I write to Mahon. 
 
 Yours truly, Ingestre. 
 
 A little later Poodle Byng wrote encouragingly : 
 
 Cle. Court, December 9th, 1882. 
 
 Dear Tom, — You put me in spirits again. Stay and 
 beat them by all means ; for as the election with you is 
 so late, you could not follow EUice's advice, and go to 
 Lancashu'c with any prospect of being in time. I see no 
 reason why, if Ellice would produce the 500/. for a 
 distant, why he should not apply it to a nearer and a 
 more important victory. Of course you will not throw 
 it away if your chance is gone. Success attend you, my 
 dear Tom. I wish I had 500/. more to send you. Things 
 go well in Westminster. We have no news of any sort 
 to-day. Yours, F. B. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe's anticipations of unusual opposition 
 to his reelection at Hertford were realized. He had 
 represented the borough in three parliaments, but its 
 acknowledged patron employed every possible method 
 of withdrawing from him the support he had hitherto 
 * Frederick, commonly called " Poodle Byng." 
 
MARQUIS OF SALISBURY. 127 
 
 enjoyed; and succeeded so well, tliat the liitlierto 
 popular candidate was deprived of at least a third of 
 liis former votes. His failure drew down on the 
 Marquis very sharp attacks from the Liberal press. 
 The return was petitioned against ; and Mr. Dun- 
 combe published so stinging a declaration of the 
 unjustifiable practices to which his opponents had had 
 recourse, that he received a visit from a gentleman 
 who announced himself as the solicitor of the Marquis, 
 and threatened legal proceedings. The result of his 
 lordship's intentions of prosecuting him for a libel is 
 declared in the following communications from Mr. 
 Buncombe's counsel, and his learned friend : — 
 
 11, Great Queen-street, "Westminster, Sunday Morning. 
 
 My dear SiRj — I cannot return you Mr. Creevey's note 
 on the Salisbury case without expressing my gratification on 
 finding that a man of his astuteness has, upon further con- 
 sideration, advised you to adopt the course I had suggested 
 as the more prudent. I need not assure you that such sug- 
 gestion Teas dictated solely by a due regard for the best 
 interests of the client, without any solicitude to deprecate 
 " the animadversions " which a different line of proceeding 
 might have drawn upon the advocate. 
 
 Mr. Creevey naturally enough allows, in a legal matter, 
 some weight to the high authority of the great Michael 
 Angelo — that Aj'ax Flagellifer before whose rod all Chan- 
 cellors but the present are wont to tremble. 
 
 I ought to add my best acknowledgments of the very 
 kind and courteous approbation you have bestowed on the 
 manner in which the case has been hitherto conducted. If 
 the most anxious and zealous endeavours for its successful 
 termination could have merited such a flattering testimonial, 
 it would have put me less to the blush for its excess ; but 
 with whatever qualification it ought to be received, I accept 
 it very thankfully as a proof of your too favourable con- 
 struction of my humble services. 
 
128 BRIBERY. 
 
 By-the-byj you have of course heard of the monstrous 
 proceeding of an alteration — falsification — of the verdict, 
 although handed in in writing by the foreman, who dis- 
 tinctly declared, in presence of all the jury, that they 
 could and would give it in no other words than in those 
 upon the paper — those words having been agreed upon 
 after several hours' hard debate among them ? And this, 
 too, though the judge himself told me the next morning 
 that he thought he ought not to have received it. 
 Assuredly I should never have permitted it to be received 
 without the strongest protest had I not perceived at the 
 moment it was delivered that it was a verdict upon which 
 no judgment could properly be pronounced, as it was sub- 
 stantially equivalent to — Not guilty. 
 
 Believe me, very faithfully yours, H. H Joy. 
 
 Richmond, Tuesday, January 28th. 
 
 Dear Duncombe, — When talking over your case with 
 Mr. Taylor, he is decidedly against your stirring in your 
 case. The longer Lord Salisbury is in moving that you 
 be brought up for judgment, the more lenient the sentence 
 of the Court must naturally be, because the delay is itself 
 a proof of the prosecutor's sense of his own weak case. 
 Then as to your liberty being in the meantime invaded, 
 Taylor says it is impossible, or that if it were, the judges 
 would bail you instantly. Now although our Michael is 
 not an authority I would consult on many subjects, on legal 
 matters I think he is a good one. 
 
 I am yours very truly, Thos. Creevey. 
 
 The opponents of Mr. Duncombe at the last election 
 for Hertford were Lords Mahon and Ingestre ; but 
 they were returned at a cost, it is said, of not less 
 than 14,000/. The bribery was so barefaced, that, 
 when the particular case came before a Committee of 
 Inquiry on Mr. Duncombe's petition, both their 
 lordships were unseated. The cost to the popular 
 
MR. BUNCOMBES ELECTION EXPENSES. 129 
 
 candidate, during his contests with Lord Salisbury, 
 from first to last, has been computed at 40,000/. The 
 principal expenditure was created by the necessity of 
 finding homes for the Marquis's ejected tenants — as 
 his lordship only permitted them to hold their tene- 
 ments for a fortnight, that if they gave votes 
 contrary to his wishes, they might be the more easily 
 punished. 
 
 An exposure of bribery took place when a com- 
 mittee of inquiry in the House of Commons unseated 
 the sitting members for Grimsby in 1832. The 
 majority of the small boroughs were equally at the 
 disposal of the highest bidder, and members owed 
 their election solely to the ability of their purses to 
 answer the appeals of the free and independent 
 electors. The Reform Bill ought to have remedied 
 this abuse of the franchise, but did not ; nor will a 
 hundred measures of the kind do it, as long as money 
 can be made by the voter for affording assistance to 
 the candidate. All succeeding election committees 
 have only proved the sale of votes to be a matter of 
 course wherever there has been a buyer in the field ; 
 and there is every reason for believing that an exten- 
 sion of the franchise will produce a corresponding 
 extension of the abuse. 
 
 The value of a property, even in Scotland, that 
 possessed the franchise to a considerable extent, may 
 be gathered from the fact, that one producing 500/. 
 a year was sold for 15,000/. 
 
 The Hertford people had not done with their 
 member. The ladies of the borough subscribed for 
 and presented him with a handsome piece of plate. 
 It was forwarded to him in March, and he acknow- 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
] 30 TESTIMONIAL. 
 
 ledged the compliment in language tliat proved how 
 profoundly it was appreciated : — 
 
 13, Arlington-street, March 26th, 1833. 
 
 LadieSj — I hasten to acknowledge the receipt of your 
 splendid present, and to assure you that I shall ever prize 
 it, not merely on account of the beauty of the gift, or the 
 exquisite taste displayed in the workmanship, but as an 
 everlasting testimony of the feeling entertained towards me 
 at this moment by parties uncontrolled by the political cir- 
 cumstances of your borough representation ; and although 
 my connexion with the ancient borough of Hertford has 
 for the present ceased, this substantial and unexpected 
 mark of your good opinion has more than compensated for 
 the momentary disappointment I may have experienced, be- 
 cause while it records your approbation of my public con- 
 duct, it associates me in private life with the estimation of 
 the ladies of Hertford. With reference to the most appro- 
 priate motto, " L'uUima che si perde e la Speranza," distin- 
 guishing your gift, permit me to add that Hope can never 
 be lost which is founded on the esteem of the eight 
 hundred donors whose fair names I find inscribed on this 
 costly and elegant token of regard. 
 I have the honour to be, ladies. 
 
 Your most faithful and devoted servant, 
 
 Thomas S. Duncombe. 
 To Mrs. Henry Tisoe and 
 
 The Ladies' Committee, &c. &c. &c., Hertford. 
 
 There is little doubt that the treatment Mr. 
 Duncombe received from Lord Salisbury drove him 
 nearer and nearer to the other extreme of politics. 
 He declared war against Toryism, and threw himself 
 into the ranks of a set of politicians from whom 
 the Whigs generally kept aloof except when their 
 assistance was indispensable to their obtaining or 
 maintaining office. They were regarded with sus- 
 picion by both the great parties ; and in their news- 
 
HERTFORD. 131 
 
 papers were invariably mentioned as "Destructives." 
 They were, in fact, tlie pioneers of the regiment of 
 Eeform, and their services were not nnfrequently in 
 requisition to clear the way for the advance of their 
 less demonstrative comrades. 
 
 Although he had been defeated at Hertford, he still 
 maintained friendly relations with some of the more 
 influential of the Salisbury opposition. On one occa- 
 sion he went there to support the favourite candidate, 
 and received the following acknowledgments : — 
 
 Dimsdale Arms, Monday. 
 
 My dear Duncombe, — I am delighted you are coming. 
 I am preparing to receive you ia triumph with the band ; 
 so come by the Ware road, and we will receive you near 
 the jail at two o'clock. Yours, W. Cowper. 
 
 Salisbury-street, May 23rd, Seven o'clock. 
 
 My dear Duncombe, — I have only had part of your 
 letter. The post is going, but I cannot let it go without 
 from my heart congratulating you on the occasion which 
 you have so well and wisely seized to do great good at Hert- 
 ford. The people shall know it ; I hope the Government 
 will feel it. My regards to your host. Leicester excused 
 me, and I went to Denison's dinner at Dorking. 
 
 Always yours, J. Easthofe. 
 
 Fm just come to town. 
 
 Dear Duncombe, — I got the enclosed note yesterday, 
 which I send you. When you return it, send the numbers 
 of the division, &c., if they are known before post to- 
 morrow. Yours truly, B. Giles King. 
 
 George-street, Friday, May 24th, 1839. 
 
 Dear Mr. King, — I must rejoice with you as an old 
 friend at our Hertford success, and at the same time thank 
 
 K 2 
 
132 LADY COWPER. 
 
 you most sincerely for your exertions on William's behalf. 
 It would have been a great triumph to the Tories if they 
 could have beat him. How fortunate it was also that Mr. 
 Duncombe should have been -ndth you, and willing to give 
 us the advantage of his old popularity. It is very long 
 since we have met, and perhaps he may almost have forgot 
 my existence ; stUl I should be obliged to you, when you 
 do see him, to say how very much obliged to him I feel, 
 and how handsome I think it is of him to have come for- 
 ward so actively on this occasion, and done us so much real 
 service. 
 
 Believe me, yours very sincerely, E. Cowper.* 
 
 House of Commons, Monday, May 27tli, 1839. 
 
 My dear King, — ^When you see Lady Cow^Der, pray 
 thank her for the very kind manner in which she is pleased 
 to acknowledge my exertions during the late contest at Hert- 
 ford. I assTire you I sincerely rejoice that under your 
 hospitable roof I most unexpectedly had an opportunity of 
 promoting the success of a cause which has given so much 
 gratification not only to Lady Cowper, but, as it would 
 appear, to the public generally. As to the senseless cry of 
 inconsistency raised against me by the Tories and a few 
 Radicals for the part I took, I greatly prefer incurring that 
 charge to the more serious one of ingratitude towards 
 former friends, among whom, from the kindness evinced to 
 me during my connexion with Hertford, I used to have the 
 pleasure of including Lady Cowper and her family. 
 
 The election for Speaker is just over. Lefevre, 317 ; 
 Goulburn, 299. Yours ever, T. S. D. 
 
 The ambassador to the Autocrat of All the Eussias 
 did not neglect the friend he had left in England. 
 There could be no doubt that whatever interest he 
 felt in advancing the interests of his colleagues in 
 his present post, he was not insensible to the advantage 
 of advancing his own towards one of higher influence. 
 
 * Countess Cowper, afterwards Viscountess Palmerston. 
 
LORD DURHAM. 133 
 
 Mr. Duncombe possessed Ms confidence, and was sup- 
 posed to express his opinions ; and it is easy to see 
 that both awaited eventualities with a view to their 
 mutual support. Lord Durham was eager for all the 
 political news ; in return for which he despatched the 
 following note : — 
 
 St. Petersburg, August 29th, 1832. 
 
 My dear Duncombe, — I regret deeply not having the 
 pleasure of yoiu: society here, but I think you have adopted 
 the -wisest course on all accounts. We start southwards in 
 a week or ten days ; stop at Berlin and Brussels ; and hope 
 to be in England in six weeks at farthest. I hope the re- 
 gistration has only faUed in London ; if it has in the 
 country, this Parliament ought to meet again in October, 
 and pass a bill meeting the emergency of the case. I 
 earnestly hope that you will not be put at much expense at 
 Hertford. As for Spalding, I know nothing of him per- 
 sonally. I doubt his being an " out-and-outer ;" but of 
 course you will come to an understanding with him. Every- 
 thing goes on well here. I have been received, personally, 
 as I could wish, and have every reason to be satisfied with 
 the result of my diplomatic exertions. I cannot say that 
 it is an agreeable metier, but one must learn to turn one's 
 hand to everything in this life. Adieu, my dear D., and 
 believe me, Ever yours, D. 
 
 The following is conclusive evidence that he pos- 
 sessed influence at Court : — 
 
 WHtehaU, December 7t\ 1832. 
 
 My deae Duncombe, — Why do you write up that my 
 interest is against you ? Who is there with whom I have 
 the least influence ? Point him out, and I will have him 
 spoken to directly. I told you under the archway of the 
 Horse Guards that I would do anything in my power. 
 
 Yours faithfully, Melbourne. 
 
134 THE DUTCH AND BELGIANS. 
 
 The Parliament was not dissolved till the 3rd of 
 December. Lord Durham had returned to England 
 for a short stay a few days before ; and Mr. Dun- 
 combe having arranged to address the House on the 
 foreign policy of the country, particularly with re- 
 ference to the war between the Dutch and the 
 Belgians, the ambassador sent him the following 
 
 suggestions : — 
 
 Sudbrook Park, November 29th, 1832. 
 
 My dear Buncombe, — I send you some notes on the 
 Dutch question. Copy them, and return me the paper. If 
 there is a row on Saturday, and you are not well heard, 
 don't attempt to go into these particiilars ; they will only 
 be wasted. Speak generally. If England and France had 
 not interfered general war would have ensued. Tories aid 
 the Dutchmen merely that they may get into power again — 
 would league with the devil to do so ; Englishmen up to 
 their tricks ; know also that Tories hate the Belgian separa- 
 tion from Holland because it was effected by the people 
 rising against their oppressor, William of Holland ; that the 
 real cause of their hatred of Belgians, Antwerp of more 
 commercial advantage than Amsterdam — the Dutch would 
 close the Scheldt against English commerce. In short, you 
 may blow up the Dutchman as he blew himself up (Van 
 Speyk) . By-the-way, it is now known that he was beastly 
 drunk at the time. Adieu. 
 
 Ever yourSj D. 
 
135 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 DUELS. 
 
 Affairs of honom : political — Letter of Mr. Lambton to Mr. Dun- 
 oombe respecting the former's duel witli Colonel Beaumont — 
 Letter from Mr. William Locke to Mr. Dimcombe respecting 
 bis duel witb Lord Kingston — Leonard M'Nally — Pitt and 
 Tierney — Howartb and Lord Barrymore — ^Letter of E. Lytton 
 Bulwer, Esq. (Lord Lytton), to Lord Glengall — His Lordship's 
 reply — Note of acknowledgment from Lord Glengall — Lord 
 Glengall to Colonel Jones — Lord Glengall to Henry Lytton 
 Bulwer, Esq. — The Dvike of Wellington and Lord Winchelsea — 
 Payne tbe gambler — Sir Francis Burdett and Mr. Paul — Mr. 
 Buncombe and Lord Stormont — Mr. Buncombe and Mr. Goul- 
 burn — Mr. Buncombe challenges the publisher of Fraser's 
 Magazine — Lords Allen and Worcester, his friends — The Hon. 
 Grantley Berkeley — Mr. O'Connell insults Lord Alvanley — Mr. 
 Buncombe and Brookes's Club — Letters from Lord Alvanley — 
 Buel of Morgan O'Connell and Lord Alvanley — Mr. Bisraeli 
 insults the O'Connells — Thomas Moore's opinion — Mr. Bun- 
 combe horsewhips the editor of the Age — Munro and Fawcett — 
 The survivor appeals to Mr. Buncombe — Buels abroad — Capt. 
 Hesse and M. Leon. 
 
 In the early part of Mr. Duncombe's career duelling 
 was frequently had recourse to as the final appeal in 
 disputes. Grentlemen who quarrelled in the fashion- 
 able world were necessarily obliged to exchange 
 shots — rival politicians took to hair-triggers, and 
 family feuds were terminated with a pistol ball. A 
 preference shown by a young lady at a ball frequently 
 led to an exchange of cards preliminary to a hostile 
 
136 DUELS. 
 
 meeting ; and an impatient exclamation during a 
 game at whist imposed tlie heavy penalty of a bullet 
 through the body. Fatal results arose out of the 
 most trifling causes : two dogs snarling at each other 
 in the street set their masters firing at each other at 
 Chalk Farm; and in another melancholy case a 
 woman of light character contrived to make one gen- 
 tleman the destroyer of his friend. 
 
 In the year 1815 O'Connell called the municipal 
 authorities in Dublin " a beggarly corporation." Mr. 
 D'Esterre called him out for it, and was killed at the 
 first fire. Mr. Scott, in 1821, was shot, not for 
 writing an unfavourable critique, but for taking 
 ofience at one written by Mr. Lockhart ; Sir Alexan- 
 der Boswell, in the following year, suffered death in 
 the same way for publishing a political squib. The 
 same year the Dukes of Bedford and Buckingham, 
 after a political diflference, met at ten paces, and the 
 former fired in the air. A political dispute termi- 
 nated fatally in Dublin in the year 1826. 
 
 It was in this year that Colonel Beaumont, a 
 
 gentleman of high social position, ventured to make 
 
 some remarks during an election, that were considered 
 
 insulting by the Hon. Mr. Lambton ; friends were 
 
 called in and a meeting arranged. Mr. Lambton 
 
 thus records the result : — 
 
 Howick, Sunday. 
 
 Mr DEAK DuNcoMBE, — As jou wiU probably have seen 
 in tlie papers an account of Beaumont's behaviour to me 
 on the hustings on Priclay, you may like to hear that we 
 met yesterday^ exchanged shots, when the seconds inter- 
 feredj and the affair ended. It was a tedious business, in 
 consequence of the interference of the magistrates. The 
 first meeting was appointed for the same evening at nine. 
 
MR. WILLIAM LOCKE. 137 
 
 We were interrupted^ as also at four the next morning. 
 At last, after a long drive across the country, we met near 
 Bamborough Castle at four in the afternoon. General 
 Grey* was my second, and a Mr. Plunkett Beaumont's. 
 
 Ever yours. 
 
 Another " affair of honour," as these rencontres 
 were usually called, came off the following year. The 
 principals were Mr. William Locke, of Norbury, and 
 Greorge, third Earl of Kingston ; and the result was 
 equally harmless, as may be gathered from the follow- 
 ing hurried account of the transaction written by the 
 former : — 
 
 My dear Buncombe, — We exchanged shots, and he made 
 an ample apology, which BrudenellJ has signed on paper. 
 I was within an inch of his foot, and knocked the mud up 
 on his face. Nothing could have ended better, as my 
 letter was so strong that I never would have believed he 
 would have apologized. Brudenell managed it famously for 
 me. Good-bye. Yours ever, William L. 
 
 Twenty minutes past nine. We are just returned. 
 
 He also made an explanation about Kingston's apology 
 to De Burgh, and a very satisfactory one denying the 
 reports I had heard of his saying Kingston did not 
 apologize. 
 
 There is a curious story of Leonard M'lSTally, the 
 Irish barrister, author of " The Lass of Eichmond 
 HiU," "Charming Clarinda," and other popular songs 
 of the last century. He had been wounded in a duel, 
 which subsequently gave a limp to his walk. A man 
 with a similar infirmity pressed into the Court in 
 
 * Sir George Henry Grey. 
 •]• Afterwards Lord Pluaket. % Earl of Cardigan. 
 
138 PITT AND TIERNET. 
 
 Dublin and inquired of one of the barristers — " Did 
 you see M'Nally go this way ?" " By Jasus," was 
 the reply, "I never saw him go otherwise." His 
 mishap did not prevent him from answering another 
 challenge, when a friend, more Hibernico, advised him 
 to turn the other hip to his opponent, as a similar 
 wound there " might make all straight." 
 
 One of the most remarkable political duels occurred 
 on a Sunday : Pitt and Tierney were the principals. 
 Neither possessed the slightest knowledge of the 
 weapon placed in his hands. The former, on being 
 warned to be careful in handling it, as it was a hair- 
 trigger, held it up to the light, exclaiming that he 
 could not see the hair. The place of meeting was a 
 desolate heath, famous as the resort of highwaymen, 
 and not far from them hung in chains on a gibbet the 
 famous Jerry Abershawe. Mr. Pitt fired in the air, 
 and General Walpole, Tierney's second, is described 
 as leaping over the furze when he beheld the act. 
 The great statesman, however, could not be induced 
 to leave the ground till a thorough explanation had 
 been gone into, and his opponent had declared himself 
 satisfied.* 
 
 One of the most absurd of these conflicts resulted 
 from a quarrel between Mr. Howarth, M.P. for 
 Evesham, and Lord Barrymore (Cripplegate) over 
 their wine, during an interchange of tomfoolery. 
 They were then at Brighton in the race-week, the 
 place of meeting was the course, and the weapons 
 pistols. There both appeared the next morning with 
 their seconds, and the preliminaries were arranged, 
 
 * Lord Holland : " Memoirs of the Whig Party," p. 141. 
 
EDWARD LYTTON BULWER. 139 
 
 when Howarth gravely began to divest himself of 
 his clothing, to prevent any portion of it, he said, 
 being driven into a wound by a bullet. As he was a 
 punchy old fellow, his appearance in nothing but his 
 drawers and stockings was so ridiculous that all the 
 parties burst into a roar of laughter. The farce, 
 however, was permitted to proceed — each taking a 
 random shot — missing, of course. The honour of both 
 was declared by the jovial seconds to have been satis- 
 fied, and their rollicking principals went off the 
 ground, arm in arm, singing together Barrymore's 
 favourite song, with the refrain " Chip chow, cherry 
 chow, fol-de-riddle-i-do." 
 
 When Mr. Duncombe was first returned for Hert- 
 ford, during the after-dinner proceedings Lord Griengall 
 imprudently uttered some offensive observations re- 
 ferring to Mr. Henry Bulwer, one of the candidates. 
 The speech was reported in the local paper, and his 
 lordship shortly afterwards received a communication 
 from his brother Edward — since so deservedly cele- 
 brated as an author, an orator, and a statesman (the 
 present Lord Lytton). His letter was as follows : — 
 
 36, Hertford-street, Mayfair, 
 Four o'clock, Monday, August 28tli, 1830. 
 
 My LorDj — My brother^ Mr. Henry Bulwer, being at 
 this moment in Paris, I beg in his absence to inquire 
 whether the following passage in a speech ascribed to your 
 lordship, in the Herts Mercury, be correct, and whether I 
 am to understand, in order to report to my brother, that it 
 contains the spirit and bearing of your meaning. The pas- 
 sage is this : — " It is unfortunately a very common thing 
 for a candidate to buy, give, or perhaps [seU] votes at an 
 election, but it is really something new to buy or seU a 
 candidate. It is really so new a barter, that I cannot find 
 
140 LORD GLENGALL. 
 
 words sufficiently strong to express my astonishment." If 
 this passage be rightly reported, will you allow me yet 
 further to inquire whether your lordship was aware, at the 
 time of your speech, that Mr. Henry Bulwer had explicitly 
 declared that he had not received, nor should at any time 
 receive, any sum of money for resigning a contest at Hert- 
 ford ? As one so nearly connected with Mr. Henry 
 Bulwer as to be implicated in his honour, your lordship 
 will readily perceive the reason for my asking from your 
 courtesy the reply to those questions which, were he in 
 England, he would himself have the honour to make to 
 you. Your lordship's reply I shall lose no time in forward- 
 ing to my brother ; and with consideration, 
 
 I am, my lord, your lordship's obedient servant, 
 
 Edwaed Lytton Bulwer. 
 
 During an interview that took place between Mr. 
 Edward Bulwer and Lord Grlengall, his lordship denied 
 any intention of giving offence. It was suggested to 
 him to write an explanation in the local newspaper 
 that had published his speech. To this he objected, as 
 is apparent by his own note, the draft of which is in 
 the handwriting of Mr. Duncombe, who may, there- 
 fore, be supposed to have been his lordship's adviser. 
 His correspondent, as may be seen from the tenor of. 
 Lord Grlengall's note of acknowledgment, was far from 
 satisfied that his brother's honour had been sufficiently 
 
 vindicated. 
 
 September 1st, 1830- 
 
 Sir, — On reconsidering our conversation of this morning, 
 I do not perceive any of the objects you have in view would be 
 gained by my writing to the editor of the Hertford newspaper; 
 but I beg to assure you that I am the last person who would 
 wish intentionally to increase that distress under which you 
 say yourself and your family labour, in consequence of the 
 idea that exists at Hei'tford that your brother's expenses of 
 his canvass were reimbursed to him by Lord Salisbury on 
 
COLONEL JONES. 141 
 
 declining that contest. Therefore I have no hesitation in 
 stating to you that I was not aware of your brother's dis- 
 claimer of such reports when I made that speech the other 
 day at Hertford. 
 
 I have the honour to be, sir, yours obediently^ G. 
 
 To tills Mr. Edward Bulwer promptly replied : — 
 
 Bangor, September 2iid, 1830. 
 
 Mr. E. L. Bulwer presents his compliments to Lord 
 Grlengall, and has forwarded his lordship's letter to his 
 brother, who has already heard, through another channel, 
 of Lord Glengall's speech, and is on his way to England. 
 Under this circumstance — the more especially as the only 
 course ]Mr. E. Bulwer could recommend has not been 
 approved of by Lord Glengall, although IMr. Bulwer at the 
 time of that conversation referred to by Lord Glengall per- 
 fectly understood that it would be adopted by his lordship — 
 Mr. Bulwer feels that he must necessarily leave solely to 
 his brother's judgment all further interference in the matter. 
 On his own part only, j\lr. E. Bulwer begs to add, in answer 
 to an observation of Lord Glengall's, that mere electioneer- 
 ing reports do not occasion either to him or to his family 
 " the distress " to which his lordship is pleased to allude. 
 
 "A friend" was called in, who appeared in the 
 person of Colonel Jones, once well known as an advo- 
 cate of Liberal opinions. The Colonel took a decided 
 view of the case — his lordship had put himself in the 
 wrong and must make an apology. Lord GrlengaU 
 was now sensible of his error, and agreed to the pro- 
 position first suggested to him. He forwarded the 
 following letters suggested by the Colonel, and the 
 afiair terminated without England losing the ser^dces 
 of an Ambassador she could ill spare, or the world 
 a dramatist to which it is inappreciably indebted for 
 " The FoUies of Fashion." 
 
142 DUKE OF WELLINGTON. 
 
 Lord Glengall admits the proposition of Colonel Jones, 
 that in his speech at Hertford he was not justified in making 
 the allusions he did to what had passed at the late election, 
 and that he had no intention personally to offend Mr. 
 Bulwer ; and that his lordship does not object to write to 
 Mr. Bulwer the following letter, with his leave to publish 
 the same in the Hertford paper in which his lordship's 
 speech was published. G. 
 
 September 7th, 1830. 
 
 SiE, — In reply to your communication of yesterday rela- 
 tive to the speech as reported to have been made by me at 
 the dinner at Hertford, to celebrate Mr. Buncombe's return, 
 I beg to say that such report is not very accurate, and to 
 assure you I was not at all aware at the moment that any 
 public denial had been given by you to the statement made 
 of your having received any consideration from the Marquis 
 of Salisbury on your withdrawing from the contest, when I 
 alluded to it ; that neither in that observation, nor in any 
 part of my speech, did I mean to be personally offensive to 
 you ; and regretting that I should have occasioned you any 
 uneasiness on the subject, 
 
 I have the honour to be, sir, &c. 
 To H. L. Bulwer, Esq. 
 
 Enclosed to Colonel Jones, 7, Upper Gloucester-street, 
 Dorset-square. 
 
 A remarkable duel had just before taken place in 
 Battersea Fields on the 21st of March, 1829. The 
 Duke of Wellington, having heretofore opposed the 
 Catholic claims, when placed at the head of an 
 Administration thought proper to give them his 
 support. This provoked from a Tory of the old 
 school, the Earl of Winchelsea, a somewhat offensive 
 observation. The duke placed the affair in the hands 
 of a friend, and a hostile meeting was the result. The 
 duke fired his pistol ; the earl then exploded his in the 
 
LORD STOBMONT. 143 
 
 air, wliile his second produced a written apology for 
 the incautious and unwarrantable statement. There 
 were some curious features in this affair, — the duke 
 being obliged to send a Grovernment messenger with 
 the challenge, and it arrived at Lord Winchelsea's 
 country house as he was sitting down to dinner. 
 
 Payne, a witness against Lord de Eoos, was an in- 
 veterate gambler — one of the set who frequented 
 Watier's and Grraham's, and passed the small hours at 
 cards. Having thus been employed till five o'clock 
 in the morning, he had to hurry to Putney Heath to 
 fight a duel — and was then and there shot dead. 
 
 Sir Francis Burdett's duel with Mr. Paul, his 
 opponent in Westminster, was remarkable from the 
 fact that both were wounded; and there being but 
 one vehicle in attendance they had to be placed in it, 
 and conveyed to their homes. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe, on more than one public occasion, 
 had exhibited that fearlessness of spirit which in the 
 good old times invariably produced " an affair of 
 honour." During the hot discussion on the original 
 Eeform Bill (1831), he was one of the most prominent 
 in detecting the tricks that were played to save con- 
 demned boroughs. Aldborough, which possessed but 
 one elector — the Duke of Newcastle — would have 
 been transferred from Schedule A to Schedule B, had 
 he not exposed the job. He expressed such severe 
 strictures on the pretended constituency that Lord 
 Stormont, apparently to provoke a quarrel, declared 
 that Mr. Duncombe's brother was one of the electors, 
 and inquired if he was to be included in the general 
 charge of corruption applied to the borough. In- 
 stantly Mr. Duncombe answered, in such a style as 
 
144 MR. duncombe's manliness. 
 
 must have satisfied any one tliat his lordship would 
 be met more than half-way, if quarrelling was his 
 purpose. 
 
 But the nearest approach to a meeting was in 
 August of the same session, when Mr. Groulburn 
 brought an accusation against Lord Durham for inter- 
 fering in an election. Mr. Duncombe pronounced it 
 " a base and wicked calumny." There was a tremen- 
 dous call of " Chair !" and the Chairman administered 
 a mild remonstrance, saying that in Mr. Duncombe's 
 calmer and more sober moments he would not use 
 such terms. The latter answered undauntedly, "I 
 am quite calm and sober enough, and mean what I 
 say." Down upon him came Sir Robert Peel, Sir 
 Henry Hardinge, Sir Henry Inglis — down upon him 
 came tlie Parliamentary magnates from both sides of 
 the House, threatening, advising, and insisting on an 
 explanation ; but the bold Reformer heeded not the 
 menaces, cared not for the advice, and openly de- 
 clared that he had spoken the truth, and meant to 
 maintain it. His firmness conquered his opponents, 
 and Mr. Groulburn pocketed the affront. 
 
 The uncompromising political sentiments some- 
 times expressed by Mr. Duncombe were not jDermitted 
 to pass u.nchallenged. Though among the leaders of 
 the party to which he was most opposed he had warm 
 friends, some were necessarily bitter enemies. The 
 part he had taken in helping to deprive the pro- 
 prietors of certain boroughs of a valued portion of 
 their possessions, caused them to be bitterly hostile 
 to him : and they seem to have inspired one or two 
 obscure political writers with a desire to annoy him 
 with scurrilous attacks. No one was a greater adept 
 
CHALLENGES MR. FRASEU. 145 
 
 in this offensive scribbling tban Dr. Maginn, wlio was 
 equally clever and unprincipled. He was notorious for 
 depraved habits, and his pen seems to have been at 
 the service of any one who had a grudge to gratify or a 
 grievance to avenge. A monthly magazine had been 
 started, a feature of which was a caricature of any 
 person of celebrity, accompanied by a written libel in 
 the shape of a memoir. The portrait was drawn by 
 Mr. Maclise, and the memoir written by Dr. Maginn. 
 
 In one of the numbers of this periodical for 
 September, 1834, Mr. Dancombe found an effigy of 
 himself, with an equally offensive description. He at 
 once consulted with his friend. Lord Allen — the 
 " King Allen" already referred to — and the Irishman's 
 advice was of course to call out the publisher. On 
 this inspiration he wrote a letter, insisting on a com- 
 plete retractation or immediate satisfaction. Mr. 
 James Fraser was a bookseller in Eegent-street, and 
 no doubt felt greatly surprised when Lord Allen made 
 his errand known to him, and presented the letter. He 
 was an inoffensive, amiable man ; but forgot, while he 
 was striving to make a profit out of such anonymous 
 personalities, that he was rendering himself responsi- 
 ble for the offence they gave. Lord Allen drew 
 up a letter in which he gave the substance of his 
 interview, stating that Mr. Fraser refused to give up 
 the name of the author, and intended to bring the 
 affair before a magistrate. Mr. Duncombe, in conse- 
 quence, had to appear at Marlborough-street police 
 office, which he did in company with another friend, 
 the Marquis of Worcester, where he was bound over 
 to keep the peace ; after which Mr. Fraser wrote a 
 note to Mr. Duncombe, informing him that the 
 
 VOL. I. . L 
 
146 ];OE.D ALVANLEY AND o'cONNELL. 
 
 pages of his magazine were open to anything he 
 might forward in the shape of explanation or defence. 
 
 This was a way of advertising his periodical which 
 might and did cause unpleasant results. A similar 
 attack appeared on the Hon. Grantley Berkeley, which 
 brought on the publisher a severe horse-whipping. 
 It led to cross actions for assault and libel, that 
 Mr. I'raser found anything but profitable. The 
 last affair did some good, however, for it made the 
 libeller come forward, and a duel took place between 
 the Hon. Grantley Berkeley and Dr. Maginn. They 
 fired three times without result. After this the at- 
 tacks ceased. 
 
 During times of political excitement public speakers 
 are often incautious in the use of expressions of an 
 offensive nature against their opponents. Mr. Daniel 
 O'Connell was more reckless in this way than ought 
 to have been the case with a gentleman who, as he 
 said, had registered a vow that he would never again 
 be concerned in a duel, owing to the fatal termination 
 of the one in which he had been engaged with 
 D'Esterre. In one of his speeches he stigmatized 
 Lord Alvanley as "a bloated buffoon." It induced 
 his Lordship to write to Mr. O'Connell in a style that 
 could leave no doubt of his intentions. The expres- 
 sion complained of was not only an insult, but was 
 totally untrue. He received no answer. His lordship 
 had placed the affair in the hands of his friend, the 
 Hon. Colonel Dawson Damer, who wrote to the in- 
 suiter ; but with a like result. As both parties to the 
 quarrel belonged to Brookes's, several of the members 
 joined him in a requisition to the club to induce it to 
 take judicial cognizance of the transaction. There 
 
MORGAN O'CONNELL AND LORD ALVANLEY. 147 
 
 appears to have been some hesitation at first respect- 
 ing this, according to the accompanying notes of Lord 
 Alvanley : — 
 
 May 3rd, 1835. 
 
 Dear Buncombe^ — I can say how gratified I have been 
 at your gallant and friendly conduct. It is a pleasure in 
 these times to find a gentleman running true. Call here at 
 two or half-past. Yours^ Ay. 
 
 May 5th, 1835. 
 The affair grows complicated. A letter from Dan. 
 
 Dear Tommy,— They will not call the meeting. Call 
 when you come out. Yours, Ay. 
 
 The matter was pressed, and a requisition to the 
 Committee agreed upon. Mr. Duncombe's name is 
 fifth on the list, which contained the signatures ot 
 the Dukes of ]SI"orfolk and Argyll, Lords Seffcon, 
 Jersey, Tankerville, Stanley, Willoughby de Eresby, 
 Yilliers, and Lichfield, besides a dozen others. This 
 was dated May 2. The club appear to have taken to 
 the end of the month to consider the case, when half 
 a dozen of them issued a declaration declining to call 
 the proposed general meeting, on the ground that the 
 matter in dispute was a difference of a private nature. 
 
 Still Mr. O'Connell gave no sign; but his son 
 Morgan thought proper to take his father's place, and 
 Colonel Hodges was deputed to arrange a meeting. 
 It ought not to have been allowed. Colonel Damer 
 permitted his principal to meet Mr. O'Connell, jun., 
 in a field near the Kegent's Park, and when there pre- 
 sented a written protest against the proceeding. This, 
 of course, was not received; the ground was mea- 
 sured, and the pistols having been given, they were 
 directed to fire. Lord Alvanley misunderstood, and 
 
 L 2 
 
148 MR. DISRAELI. 
 
 did not discharge liis weapon. Thougli lie received 
 his opponent's fire, he was not permitted to return it. 
 The pistols were again given, and both fired without 
 effect. Colonel Darner then inquired whether Mr. 
 O'Connell was satisfied, and received a reply in the 
 negative ; whereupon he declared that if a third dis- 
 charge proved ineffective, he should walk his principal 
 off the ground. They both missed, and Lord Alvan- 
 ley was taken away by his second. 
 
 Mr. Daniel O'Connell then wrote a letter to Colonel 
 Damer, affecting to turn the challenge into ridicule, 
 and venturing to excuse his non-compliance with its 
 invitation partly on account of his known determi- 
 nation against the practice ; not forgetting to intimate 
 that he ought to treat the communication as a breach 
 of privilege. The concluding sentence, in which the 
 writer professed willingness to atone for anything un- 
 justifiably asserted by him, as well as the contemptu- 
 ous reference in the postscript to the "meridian" of 
 the London journals, were not likely to impress the 
 reader strongly in favour of his sincerity. At the 
 clubs the letter was sharply commented on, an Irish- 
 man's readiness to fight, when required or not, being a 
 club tradition, left there by Fighting Fitzgerald and 
 more than a dozen of his fire-eating compatriots. 
 
 What Sir Lucius O'Trigger might have styled " a 
 mighty pretty quarrel as it stood," rose out of this 
 duel ; for Mr. Disraeli, who had been equally abused 
 by O'Connell phe, wrote to O'Connell fils to know 
 whether he would be champion in his case ; but the 
 latter now chose to copy the parental reticence. He 
 denied the right he had himself established, but called 
 upon the writer to withdraw his communication. 
 
MR. BUNCOMBE WITH A HORSEWHIP, 149 
 
 This Mr. Disraeli not only declined, but published 
 the correspondence, with a letter addressed to the 
 iusulter of a character to provoke the entire gene- 
 ration of O'Connells. Neither father nor son re- 
 sponded. The conduct of Mr. Daniel O'Connell in 
 this quarrel did not escape animadversion. His 
 countryman and coreligionist, Moore, complains " ot 
 his having set the example of exempting the practice 
 of personal abuse from that responsibility to which 
 the code oi gentlemen had hitherto subjected it." The 
 poet expressed an equally decided opinion against 
 "the begging box" and the " mountebankism " of the 
 agitation. 
 
 There was not a more vicious publication than The 
 Age, Sunday newspaper. Its contemporary. The Satirist, 
 came, however, close up to it. Their specialite was 
 the publication of scandalous reports and insinuations, 
 and the higher the flight of the arrow the more poi- 
 soned was the barb. No one was too high or too pure 
 to escape being the target of such assailants, and ladies 
 seem to have had the preference. These publica- 
 tions were in the hands of individuals totally dead to 
 every sentiment of honour and good feeling, and they 
 encouraged the very scum of society in maintaining this 
 anonymous defamation. The editor of The Age ven- 
 tured to assail Mr. Duncombe in this cowardly way, 
 for which he was repaid by a severe horse-whipping 
 the first time they met, which happened to be on the 
 boards of Drury Lane Theatre.* This might have 
 ended in a terrific combat behind the scenes such as 
 was rarely excelled before them, for Captain Polhill 
 
 * He received the same chastisement from Charles Kemble, for 
 maligning his daughter. 
 
150 SPORTING DUELS. 
 
 went into a rage in consequence of the regular per ■ 
 fo-rraance having been stopped by the irregular one. 
 
 Among the duels that took place in the second 
 quarter of the present century, there was none more 
 painful than that between Lieutenant Munro and 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Fawcett. They were brothers-in- 
 law,and the superior sogrosslyinsulted his relative, that 
 as an oflBcer wearing the Queen's uniform the latter 
 felt compelled to call him out. They exchanged shots, 
 and the lieutenant-colonel was killed. A prosecution 
 followed, and the lieutenant was likely to be harshly 
 dealt with, when he addressed to Mr. Duncombe a 
 temperate statement of his case. This made so fa- 
 vourable an impression on him, that he brought the 
 subject before the attention of the House of Commons. 
 It appeared that several officers had concurred in the 
 opinion that Lieutenant Munro had no alternative but 
 to challenge the aggressor. More sympathy was ex- 
 cited for the survivor than for the victim, and Mr. 
 Duncombe did all in his power to serve him. 
 
 Englishmen while travelling on the continent or 
 residing in Eome or Italy, occasionally found it 
 necessary to maintain the national honour by having 
 recourse to the same institution. Signor Carletti, 
 a chamberlain of the Grrand Duke of Tuscany, was 
 horsewhipped in the streets of Florence by Mr. W. 
 Windham, our minister there, for having doubted 
 his assertion. A duel was the natural result. 
 
 Sporting men fall out occasionally, but rarely with 
 such a result as attended a remark made by M. 
 Manuel after a steeplechase won by M. Vaublanc 
 in the Vallee de Bievre, near Jouy. It was to the 
 effect that chance rather than skill had won the race. 
 M. Vaublanc challenged M. Manuel, and the next 
 
FRENCH DUELS. 151 
 
 morning ran him througli tte body. His son was 
 subsequently severely wounded in a contest with the 
 husband of Madame Cinti Damoreau, for equivocal 
 attentions to the fair vocalist, a few years later. In 
 the year 1834 there occurred a still more striking 
 illustration of French society. A matronly lady de- 
 sired to enter the marriage state a second time ; the 
 idea was opposed by her unmarried daughter, who 
 caused her own lover, among others, to circulate dis- 
 paraging statements respecting her intended father- 
 in-law. These reaching the ears of that gentleman, 
 he called out the offender, but received a severe wound, 
 and the slanderer danced with his fiancee at a ball the 
 same evening. The amiable young lady did this as a 
 public acknowledgment of his services, in endeavour- 
 ing to destroy the lover of her mamma. 
 
 Among the encounters of which the fashionable 
 world took most note, was one between General Moorfe 
 and a discarded lover of his daughter, who had lam- 
 pooned her in verse after his rejection. The offender 
 was a Yorkshire gentleman of good position. He was 
 instantly called to account, and literally received 
 poetical justice, for he was disabled by a severe bullet- 
 wound. This took place in the year 1832. In the same 
 year, and about the same time. Captain Hesse, well 
 known in society by his intimacy with Queen Caroline, 
 won in Paris a large sum of money from M. Leon, a 
 natural son of the Emperor Napoleon I. The latter, 
 smarting under his loss, made insulting allusions to 
 Captain Hesse's dexterity at play — a challenge ensued. 
 The remarkable feature in this affair was that a notary 
 was called in, and a legal acknowledgment given of 
 the sum the loser had not paid. The parties then 
 met with pistols, and Captain Hesse was killed. 
 
152 
 
 CHAPTEE VIII. 
 
 DINNEE-GIVERS AND DINEES-OUT. 
 
 English dinners — Introduction of French cooks — Colonel Beau- 
 mont's cook — Improvement — Sir James Bland Burgess — Sir 
 John Gerard — Lord Dudley — Mr. Twisleton Fiennes — The 
 Duke of Devonshire — Lord Lichfield — Mr. Wilberforce — The 
 Hon. Pepper Arden — Lord Foley — Lord Sefton — Lord BrudeneU 
 — Lord Melbourne — Lord John Russell — Lord Albert Conyng- 
 ham — Earl of Wilton — Mr. DisraeU — Dog-cooks — The real 
 domestic Institution — The Old School and the New — The 
 Dandies' fete — The Duke of Beaufort — Invitations — Aristocratic 
 dinner-givers. 
 
 English dinners, up to the occupation of Paris by 
 the Allies, bore the character they had maintained 
 from time immemorial. The table was really a most 
 hospitable board, and would have groaned under the 
 substantial welcome it offered the company gathered 
 round it, had not the mahogany of those days been a 
 resisting medium that contrasted strongly with the 
 veneer with which it has been superseded. No 
 Enghshman then was fastidious in his tastes ; in 
 truth he professed a national scorn of " kickshaws," 
 and detested " foreign messes." He regarded a baron 
 of beef as the noblest culinary object in creation, and 
 a saddle of mutton as diet worthy of demigods. With 
 marrow puddings, sweet-bread, chine, a neat's tongue, 
 poultry and game in season, pigeon-pie, plum-pudding, 
 and apple fritters, custards and blanc-mange, occa- 
 
FRENCH (X)OKERY. 158 
 
 sionally preceded by soup and fish — he contrived to 
 make a meal ; and if a guest could not be content with 
 his three courses out of such materials, he would be 
 thought very difl&cult to please — probably be bluntly 
 told that he might go farther and fare worse. 
 
 After some hundreds of English officers had en- 
 joyed living in Paris, they came home with a distaste 
 for English cookery. French cooks were imported 
 by dozens, and the dinner-tables of persons of fashion 
 invariably exhibited the latest achievements of the 
 Parisian cuisiniers. Unless he had had the advantage 
 of a trip to Paris, the guest was sure to be in entire 
 ignorance of what was before him when the cover was 
 removed. " The old familiar faces," in roast and boiled, 
 were entirely got rid of; the too solid flesh of the 
 favourite joints had melted into salmis and bechamels ; 
 the noble sirloin had shrunk into a fricassee; the 
 splendid haunch collapsed into a vol-au-vent. The 
 Briton's rich marrow pudding had been changed for 
 a tasteless omelette ; in short, the English had been 
 translated into French, and lost all trace of its 
 original meaning. 
 
 One great improvement has been effected in the 
 art of dining ; the moderation now general in drink- 
 ing. It was the custom for the guests to sit round 
 the table, after the departure of the ladies, and 
 empty glass after glass of fiery port, or bowl after 
 bowl of still more fiery punch, tiU one after another 
 they tumbled helpless under the table, and the host 
 was carried equally insensible, by his domestics, to his 
 bedroom. 
 
 In this way three or four bottles of wine were 
 swallowed by each of the company. It was a habit 
 
154 HEROES. 
 
 SO common amongst Mr. Buncombe's contemporaries 
 during his career in the Gruards, that a gentleman 
 striving to avoid the excess was regarded as a milk- 
 sop. The six-bottle men — for there were such — were 
 looked upon with admiration not unmixed with envy, 
 by the more moderate topers. The improved means 
 and better health of the present generation, are the 
 best testimony of the value of this change in the ser- 
 vice of the table. 
 
 The midsummer of 1814 was unusually gay in Lon- 
 don. This was caused by the visit of the Allied Sove- 
 reigns, whom the Prince Eegent, and indeed the leaders 
 of society in the metrojjolis, feted with the greatest 
 cordiality. The Duke of Devonshire arrayed his pretty 
 Chiswick villa in its highest attractions to do them 
 honour ; and White's Club, of which Mr. Duncombe 
 was a member, opened their large rooms to two thou- 
 sand five hundred guests, anxious to pay a mark of 
 respect to the Czar, the King of Prussia, and the 
 equally popular Bliicher. The young Ensign of the 
 Guards came in for an infinitesimal dose of the 
 homage given to the heroes of the campaign, and was 
 welcomed to dinners and balls in countless variety, 
 where he had to recount the particulars of his en- 
 counter with the French. 
 
 Sir James Bland Burgess, Bart., took high rank 
 among the givers of good dinners. Having once 
 served as secretary to William Pitt, he fancied he had 
 a prescriptive right to Grovernment patronage at his 
 well-served table. He was very often obliged to be 
 content with a subordinate like the Secretary for the 
 Admiralty ; but knowing the Et. Hon. John Wilson 
 Croker's taste for literature, was sure to invite to 
 
LORD DUDLEY. 155 
 
 meet Mm the most distinguislied authors then to be 
 found in London. Sir James was himself a man of 
 letters to a certain extent — preferring black-letter 
 generally ; for he participated in the taste for rare 
 editions of old books, then known as bibliomania. 
 His book-madness was tolerated by his guests out ot 
 respect for his merits as a host ; indeed some of them 
 would take the trouble to " cram" literary antiquities 
 as a preparation for one they liked a great deal better. 
 
 Among Mr. Duncombe's hospitable friends must be 
 named Sir John Grerard, Bart., of Gareswood Hall, 
 Lancashire, who had married in 1827 Monica, daugh- 
 ter of Thomas Strickland Standish, of Standish Hall, 
 a family with whom he was also very intimate. Here 
 too he met some of his Yorkshire neighbours when 
 they came to town. Lady Gerard's sister-in-law, Mrs. 
 Charles Standish, was a kinswoman of the Countess 
 de Genlis. The Frank Hall Standish who afterwards 
 devised his pictures to Louis Philippe, belonged to the 
 family of Standish, of Duxbury Park, Lancashire, and 
 Cocken Hall, Durham. These provincial celebrities 
 rarely afiected much fashionable refinement in their 
 style of dinner. The Yorkshire gentlemen in par- 
 ticular preferred the solid and nutritious, and their 
 affection for turbot and haunch was as genuine as 
 their devotion to Church and State. 
 
 John William Ward, Earl Dudley, was eminent 
 among the givers of good dinners. He possessed un- 
 usual ability, and held the ofBce of Foreign Secretary 
 in Lord Goderich's administration ; but as he was noto- 
 riously one of the most absent men in the King's 
 dominions, the appointment could not be considered a 
 judicious one. His pecuharities were muttering his own 
 
156 A RETORT UNCOURTEOUS. 
 
 thoughts loud enough to be heard by the person upon 
 whom they reflected, while absorbed in pinching the 
 bristles in his chin. This occasionally produced awk- 
 ward contretemps ; but his characteristics were too well 
 known to give ofience. Another of his peculiarities was 
 a double voice, one of which seemed to come from the 
 cellar, the other from the skies ; the basso and counter- 
 tenor changing so abruptly that some people imagined 
 Lord Dudley must be talking to Lord Ward. He 
 learned his speeches before delivery, which occasioned 
 Luttr ell's lines — 
 
 " In vain my affections the ladies are seeking ; 
 If I give up my heart, there's an end of my speaking." 
 
 Lord Dudley, however, could say clever things 
 when he liked, equal to anything of Luttrell's. For 
 instance, when a lady in Vienna observed, " What 
 wretchedly bad French you all speak in London !" he 
 retorted, " That is because we have not enjoyed the 
 advantage of having the French twice masters of our 
 capital." In other respects he was an extremely 
 agreeable host, and held in particular esteem by 
 gourmands. 
 
 Lord Dudley did not long hold the responsible post 
 he had undertaken ; his eccentricities became exag- 
 gerated into mania, and at last he was obliged to be 
 placed under restraint. He figures prominently in 
 one of Theodore Hook's novels, and was the corre- 
 spondent of the Bishop of LlandaiF, in a volume of 
 letters ;^blished by that prelate. 
 
 Lord Dudley possessed much higher recommenda- 
 tions than eccentricity. He was a sound classic, and 
 improved an excellent education by foreign travel. 
 
A GOOD MEMORY. 157 
 
 He had shown taste in many things besides giving 
 good dinners. Possessing a remarkably good memory, 
 and having mixed at home and abroad with the best 
 society, his conversation was pretty sure to be copi- 
 ously anecdotal. A satisfactory evidence of the excel- 
 lence of his memory he gave when presented to 
 Louis XVIII., at the Tuileries, before he came to 
 his title. The King had heard of his attainments, 
 and addressed him with a Latin quotation. Mr. 
 Ward was familiar with Yirgil, and continued the 
 passage. The King selected another excerpt, and 
 again it was continued. Immense was the astonish- 
 ment of the attendants when their sovereign again 
 addressed the stranger in, to them, a totally unknown 
 tongue, and the Englishman once more went on where 
 the King left off. Louis, evidently much gratified, 
 courteously exclaimed — " Monsieur, je vous cede la 
 palme." Mr. Ward bowed and withdrew. 
 
 Decidedly one of the greatest connoisseurs of gas- 
 tronomy then to be found in London, was William 
 Thomas Eardley Twisleton Eiennes, who, in 1844, 
 succeeded his father as Lord Saye and Sele. He was, 
 in truth, an epicure whose refinement in the enjoyment 
 of eating and drinking would have satisfied the 
 classical epicures. The invention of his cuisinier 
 scarcely satisfied his desires; with him dehcacies 
 must be rare and far-fetched, as well as enjoyable. 
 Leo X. is said to have gratified his favourites with 
 peacock sausages. Mr. Eiennes gave breakfasts to 
 his friends in which eggs of the golden pheasant were 
 dressed as an omelette. His guests at dinner were 
 treated with the same culinary research ; they were 
 sure of plats not to be found in the Almanack des 
 
158 DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE. 
 
 Gourmands; his invitations were, consequently, in 
 high favour with diners-out. 
 
 The Duke of Devonshire, though possessed of large 
 territorial property, and an income that could have 
 secured the highest state of social enjoyment, chose 
 to devote the bulk of his time to the monotonous 
 duties of a court official. He had intellectual tastes, 
 noble galleries, a fine library, and the most princely 
 residences in England; nevertheless, to serve the 
 cause of his party, he would patiently stand for hours 
 at the back of the King's chair, or perform some other 
 wearisome function. He was twice Lord Cham- 
 berlain, and once Ambassador to the King of the 
 Trench, under "Whig Governments. His grace is still 
 favourably remembered as the patron of Sir Joseph 
 Paxton, whom he originally employed as a gardener at 
 Chatsworth ; where a conservatory he erected sug- 
 gested the idea of the Crystal Palace, built by him 
 for the first great exhibition in Hyde Park. 
 
 The duke cultivated a taste for literary society — at 
 least he liked a soupcon of literature to flavour his 
 aristocratic assemblages. Moore was invited to 
 Chatsworth in the January of 1815; where, as he 
 himself states, he was the only "common rascal" 
 among "the Harrowbys, Jerseys, Boringdons, Leveson 
 Gowers, Morpeth s,Cowpers, and Kinnairds." His songs 
 were, as usual, in general request, but his politics 
 were ignored. In general, among ladies of fashion, 
 popular sentiments had gone out of favour. The 
 Dowager Marchioness of Donegal, writing to Moore, 
 after expressing her toleration of the Whiggism of 
 Lords Lansdowne and Grenville, adds : " As for Sir 
 P. Burdett in England, and Mr. B. and others I 
 
LORD LICHFIELD. 159 
 
 could name in Ireland, I have a horror of them, and 
 join heartily in the general feeling of contempt into 
 which they have fallen."* 
 
 The duke remaining a bachelor, was naturally the 
 observed of all female observers. Matrons with mar- 
 riageable daughters took especial care to look him up 
 whenever his grace appeared at Almack's, or any more 
 private ball ; but if he selected either of the beautiful 
 girls then sure to be presented to him as his partner, 
 nothing came of it. The duke preserved his celibacy 
 with the severity of an anchorite. He proved insensible 
 to unrivalled attractions and unsurpassed accomplish- 
 ments ; and throughout his honourable life remained 
 "In maiden meditation fancy free." He gave very 
 gay parties in Devonshire House — not quite so bril- 
 liant, perhaps, as those over which his beautiful 
 mother had presided, but attended invariably by the 
 most distinguished personages, foreign and English, 
 then in London. Mr. Duncombe was a frequent guest. 
 
 Lord Lichfield was another giver of dinner parties. 
 Mr. Duncombe was also intimate with his brother 
 Greorge,t the member of Parliament, Equerry to the 
 Duchess of Kent, and subsequently Groom of the 
 Bedchamber to Prince Albert. He rose to the rank 
 of Greneral, and received the decoration of G.C.B. 
 One of his daughters married E. Plumer Ward, Esq., 
 M.P., the author of "Tremaine;" and his eldest son, 
 the niece of Mungo Park, the African traveller. Lord 
 Lichfield's parties were pleasant reunions, made up 
 chiefly of accomplished men of the world, without 
 
 * " Moore's Diary and Letters," by Lord Jolm Russell, ii. 72. 
 •f See ante, p. 95. 
 
160 MR. WILBERFORCE. 
 
 reference to their politics : sportsmen and senators, 
 idlers about town, and busy public men, with appa- 
 rently half the world on their shoulders, found them- 
 selves equally at ease at his hospitable board. 
 
 The enjoyments of the table were not monopolized 
 by men of the world ; some of the saints chose to live 
 well in a material sense. The cellar and the kitchen 
 of a celebrated Member of Parliament were supplied 
 with the rarest wines and the most perfect hatterie de 
 cuisine that money could procure. He must have 
 entertained his anti-slavery friends in princely style. 
 Possibly some report of these indulgences may have 
 suggested to Sheridan the practical joke of telling the 
 watchman who found him in the streets incapable of 
 taking care of himself, and asked his name, that he was 
 Mr. Wilberforce ! All the elect of Clapham might have 
 been feasted at once — and handsomely feasted too — 
 with the assistance of the admirable culinary appara- 
 tus which this estimable gentleman had provided to 
 enable him to put unexceptionable dinners before his 
 unexceptionable guests at Grove House, Brompton. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe's fashionable friends in the country 
 were as ready to proffer their hospitality as those in 
 town. Invitations were frequent; among them, of much 
 later date, the autumn of 1841, was one from Lord 
 Cardigan, who had in the preceding February escaped 
 by a technicality from condemnation by his Peers for 
 his duel with Captain Tuckett. The bishops absented 
 themselves ; and the Duke of Cleveland, in giving his 
 verdict, said, " Not guilty legally, upon my honour." 
 We add the following from the brother of Lord 
 Alvanley, dated from the well-known seat of his 
 father-in-law, the Duke of Cleveland -. — 
 
LORD FOLEY. 161 
 
 Raby Castle, Darlington, August 25tli, 1841. 
 
 My dear TommYj — I have just \n*itten home to order 
 a buck to be killed, and a haunch to be sent directed to 
 " T. S. Buncombe, Esq., M.P., Albany, London," and it 
 ought to arrive by the maU train on Saturday morning. I 
 hope it will prove -worth your acceptance. We are all 
 anxiety to hear the Queen's speech, and then to know what 
 all you fine fellows say about it. I have been so queer in 
 the upper story that I have not fired my gun off once this 
 season. Meyrick is on the moors to-day with Millbank, 
 and to aU appearance will have a fine day. The harvest 
 in this part of the world will in all probability be later than 
 ever was known, but as yet the crops have suffered very 
 little. The partridges will have a fine time of it, as there 
 can be no shooting for a long time. Fare thee well, my 
 dear Tommy. 
 
 Yours very truly, B. Pepper Arden. 
 
 Among the dinner parties most frequently attended 
 by Mr. Duncombe were those of Lord Foley. He 
 was captain of the Band of Gentlemen Pensioners, and 
 Lord of the Bedcbamber to "William IV., and bad 
 married tbe sister of tbe Dnke of Leinster. His libe- 
 rality, and the prodigal hospitality he exercised, had 
 made retrenchment necessary in his later years. He 
 died, after only a week's illness, on the 16th of April, 
 1833, lamented by his numerous friends, and by no 
 one more sincerely than by Mr. Duncombe. The 
 sudden dropping out of the scene, of a convive who has 
 helped to render it pleasant, cannot but make a 
 serious impression on the survivor. However com- 
 pletely a man of pleasure he may seem, he is rarely 
 insensible to the sudden severance of social ties. 
 Lord Foley was much missed in the circle in which 
 he had moved. 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
162 LOED CARDIGAN. 
 
 Lord Sefton was a cordial supporter of the Whig 
 Goverument, and a warm friend of Mr. Duncombe. 
 He was a member of the Jockey Club when 
 William IV. invited the club to dinner, about the 
 period of the dead-lock between the Whigs and Tories 
 in the formation of a Ministry. Lord Sefton took 
 oiFence at the king's treatment of his political friends, 
 had his name removed from the list of members, and 
 then excused himself from attending the royal 
 banquet. In a day or two the Whigs were again in 
 power, and Lord Sefton was lamenting his precipi- 
 tancy. He attended with his family at the Queen's 
 ball, probably in the hope of being able to make his 
 peace with the good-natured monarch ; but the latter 
 had been made acquainted with his conduct, and 
 turned his back upon him as he approached. The 
 king had made Lord Sefton a peer, and subsequently 
 showed that he would not pass over his inconsiderate 
 jDroceeding. He gave excellent dinners. 
 
 Lord Brudenell (Earl of Cardigan) was also his 
 host, and gave dinners of special merit. This was 
 before his lordship had brought himself so promi- 
 nently into notice as he has since done. That serious 
 breach of discipline, " the black bottle," had not been 
 perpetrated; and though his younger sister had 
 married Lord Bingham (Earl of Lucan), the brothers- 
 in-law had not found such an opportunity for showing 
 that there was a difference between them as occurred 
 some years later at the famous charge of the Six 
 Hundred. Lord Brudenell entertained a warm regard 
 for the ex-Gruardsman, which, notwithstanding a marked 
 difference in politics, continued for many years. 
 
 Lord Melbourne was his host in August, 1836, and 
 
LORD JOHN RUSSELL. 163 
 
 few public men of that day were so well qualified to 
 achieve social popularity. At home his manner was 
 singularly winning, whenever it became essential to 
 him to win. His dinners were admirable, his com- 
 pany skilfully selected, and — no matter how the 
 Cabinet differed or the Opposition pressed — his spirits 
 were always high and his conversation brilliant. It 
 was only a few weeks before he had been obliged to 
 appear as defendant in a case of crim. con. .• but if it 
 had aifected him at all, it was as a source of congra- 
 tulation for his honne fortune. He was a brilliant 
 specimen of the man of the world — of the French 
 world rather than the English — but for the post he 
 soon afterwards filled, of principal adviser to a 
 3"outhfal queen, he wanted the most important quali- 
 fications. 
 
 Lord John Russell extended his hospitality to him 
 when Secretary of State, in 1836. There are indica- 
 tions in Mr. Buncombe's diaries that his lordship was 
 not a political favourite of his. He quotes Sydney 
 Smith's opinion of his readiness to accept official 
 duties of every kind, which his subsequent career 
 has confirmed. It is probable, however, that his lord- 
 ship's apparent incapability to adapt himself to the 
 superior administrative talent of some of his col- 
 leagues had more to do with this want of cordiality. 
 But without looking to such causes of difference, the 
 ardent reformer was too much committed to progres- 
 sive reform to endure patiently the sturdy attempts of 
 Lord John to stop the way ; nor could he be expected 
 to see without some irritation the efforts his lordship 
 was reported to have made to ignore the claims of Lord 
 Durham as the principal author of the Eeform BiU. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 MR. DISRAELI. 
 
 Lord Albert Conyngliam was also one of Mr. 
 Buncombe's intimate friends. He was tbe third son 
 of the first Marquis of Conynghani, who married 
 Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph Denison, Esq., "the 
 lady" familiar to the old courtiers as the last favourite 
 of George IV. Lord Albert was 3'oung and hand- 
 some, and enjoyed the reputation of having attracted 
 the notice of an illustrious personage. A career of 
 di^jlomacy opened to him when appointed Secretary 
 of Legation at Berlin ; and his marriage with a 
 daughter of Cecil, Lord Forester, in 1833, put a stop 
 to all on dits on the delicate subject. He gave good 
 dinners, when Mr. Duncombe was frequently his 
 guest. 
 
 Among the dinners to which he was invited were 
 those given by Thomas Egerton, Earl of Wilton. 
 Lord Wilton was more distinguished as an agreeable 
 host than as a zealous politician. He had an excel- 
 lent cook, but manifested no intention to apply his 
 talents to catch votes or secure power. His table was 
 as well attended as it was well served, and the diners- 
 out thought themselves fortunate when they found 
 themselves among the invited. 
 
 A more interesting acquaintance at this time was 
 Mr. Disraeli, with whom he dined several times about 
 the year 1840. As regards political opinions, ex- 
 tremes met ; but no doubt it was of more than ordi- 
 nary importance to both, to have this opportunity of 
 comparing notes on the Government. He dined 
 also frequently with the Duke of Beaufort, with 
 Lords Gardner, Powerscourt, A. Eitzclarence, Chiches- 
 ter, Poulett ; with Dennison, D'Orsay, G. Byng, 
 and Sir George Wombwell — a Yorkshire baronet, 
 
THE DINNER. 165 
 
 who acquired a reputaiion for the excellence of his 
 dinners. 
 
 When a good " dog cook" was disengaged, he was 
 sure of not long remaining unemployed. Mr. Drum- 
 mond Burrell, afterwards Lord Willoughby de Eresby, 
 had discharged his, when Lord Alvanley begged he 
 would retain him a month, that he might create a 
 vacancy and secure his services. His lordship, during 
 his travels in the East in 1839, enjoyed a meal which 
 he chronicled for the advantage of a brother gourmand 
 at home: — " Certain lambs' tails as big as muffins, and 
 heads as small as French rolls, broiled with Egyptian 
 onions, and an agro doles sauce of lemons and fresh 
 sugar-cane, are beyond praise." 
 
 If there is a " domestic institution" of paramount 
 importance it is the dinner ; for, regarded either from 
 a social or digestive point of view, it is supreme in its 
 operation as an aid to happiness and health. The 
 prime enjoyment of the day, and chief sustenance — 
 the domestic or friendly reunion — the interchange of 
 intelligence, of wit, and of amusing anecdote, it is 
 usually the event of the four-and-twenty hours with 
 the majority. 
 
 There are few persons holding any position in 
 society who do not appreciate it as a promoter of 
 power, charity, business, and pleasure. The statesman 
 by it seduces his opponents and strengthens his sup- 
 porters ; there is not an establishment of a beneficial 
 nature in the country that does not rely on its attrac- 
 tion as a sui'e means of support ; men in every de- 
 partment of commerce trust to it for maintaining a 
 good business connexion; and the individual in the 
 upper ranks who desires to live well, either as patron 
 
166 DINNERS Of THE OLD SCHOOL. 
 
 or client, must realize it by the number and excellence 
 of his prandial invitations. 
 
 But there are two classes specially interested in the 
 subject : dinner-givers and diners-out. In Mr. Dun- 
 combe's early career the former were usually men 
 either in the front rank of society, or who possessed 
 some peculiar Amphitryonic qualification : the latter, 
 when due selection was made, were the pleasant 
 fellows — the wits, the hon vivanis — or the guest whom 
 the host desired to honour while endeavouring to en- 
 tertain. Some circles consisted almost entirely of 
 gourmands, who shared the same tastes and inter- 
 changed a similar hospitality. This, before the con- 
 clusion of the war with the elder Bonaparte, was 
 peculiarly English; after the continent was thrown 
 open, peculiarly French ; and has been of late years 
 as peculiarly Eussian. "What will be its next nation- 
 ality heaven only knows. 
 
 The first, as we have already intimated, was solid 
 and simple : soup, fish, and joints, poultry, game, 
 and pastry, with vegetables and liquids a discretion. 
 Everything had a substantial aspect except the 
 wine : the soup, the cod's head and shoulders or 
 turbot, the haunch or sirloin, the fat capon and 
 tongue, and the pies, seemed to have been con- 
 structed to stand a siege from an army dying of 
 hunger; nevertheless, when well cooked, these ban- 
 quets of our grandfathers were by no means to be 
 despised, and the good fellowship that reigned around 
 it was as cordial as it was noisy. Such were the 
 dinners to which Fox, Sheridan, the Prince of Wales, 
 the Duke of York, the Dukes of Norfolk and Bedford, 
 and the other social magnates of that gross feeding 
 
FRENCH DISHES. 167 
 
 and drinking age sat down and contrived to do ample 
 justice. Now and then a Frencli dish was introduced ; 
 but John Bull's patriotism proved a stumbling-block 
 in the way of any approach to epicureanism ; and the 
 banquets at Carlton Palace and the Pavilion, and at 
 Devonshire House, bore a close resemblance to. those 
 at Gruildhall or the Hummums. 
 
 After the restoration of the Bourbons the homely 
 wits of onr hitherto home-keeping youths acquired a 
 continental polish, and they came home with a won- 
 derful culinary refinement, derived from familiarity 
 with the cookery of Paris, Brussels, Berlin, and 
 Vienna. The stomach of Young England, and a good 
 deal of Old^England, would not tolerate the "solidarity" 
 of the old dinner : the thick soup was superseded by a 
 light potage; the eternal cod's head and shoulders 
 with melted-butter gave way to samnon a la Regence, 
 sauce Genoise, or turbot, sauce Hollandaise et sauce 
 homard, sole au gratin, or any of a hundred different 
 ways of serving fish ; while the everlasting beef and 
 mutton were changed for selle d''agneau a la Baupliine, 
 ris de veau a la St. Cloud, with an endless variety of 
 other meats so totally transformed as not to be recog- 
 nised by untravelled eyes. The poultry, the game, 
 the pastry were reformed to the same extent ; and the 
 bill of fare became a carte that, according to its variety 
 and arrangement, testified to the refinement of the 
 giver of the feast. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe had innumerable opportunities of 
 indulging in these luxuries, as he was intimate with 
 many of the culinary reformers. With them the sub- 
 stantial three courses and a dessert was changed to a 
 succession of potages, releves, Jlancs, entrees, rotis, and 
 
168 CHANGES. 
 
 entremets. Mulligatawny was declai'ed obsolete, and 
 the reign of Julienne commenced. Carving, however, 
 was still retained, and the host and hostess set a good 
 example in dispensing the contents of the several 
 dishes to their gaests : but drinking wine with the 
 ladies of the party, a good relic of social gallantry, 
 dropped out of usage. 
 
 Then came another change, and the table was 
 spread for dessert : fruits and flowers made a feast for 
 the eye, while the servants handed out each dish 
 separately to every guest, and he had nothing to do 
 but eat and talk, taking care that the conversation 
 should be as light as the diet. Mr. Duncombe dined 
 a la Eusse as he had dined a la Franc^ais — with per- 
 fect content. He adapted his palate as easily as he 
 adapted his knife and fork to the alterations in the 
 cuisine; and was familiar with almost every change 
 of table to be found between Finsbury and Mayfair, 
 the popular member being obliged occasionally to 
 exhibit his amiability to enthusiastic supporters who 
 prided themselves on being as Radical at their meals 
 as in their politics ; but his appetite sympathized with 
 his principles, and if the leg of mutton was tender 
 and the port wine sound, he was not likely to complain. 
 
 Among the changes he witnessed was one in the 
 dinner-hour. Every one must remember the distich 
 of the epicurean Dr. Kitchener — 
 
 " Come at seven, 
 Go at eleven." 
 
 Mr. Buncombe's later experience as a diner-out 
 found the arrangement deferred to eight and half-past 
 eight. Then assembled the guests of Prince Ester- 
 
THE dandies' f£te. 169 
 
 Hazy, Prince Talleyrand, Duke of Beaufort, Lords 
 Dudley, Melbourne, Alvanley, Foley, Durham, Pem- 
 broke, Palmerston, Grlengall, Wilton, Belfast, Hertford, 
 Sir Greorge Warrender, Sir Greorge Wombwell, Sir E. 
 Ferguson, and scores of other friends, foreign and 
 English. 
 
 While treating of this subject we must not forget 
 the entertainments occasionally got up by members of 
 the beau vionde. Among the most successful was the 
 one given jointly at Boyle Farm, on the banks of the 
 Thames, then Lady de Eoos's. The expenses were 
 defrayed by a subscription of 500/. each from Lords 
 Alvanley, Castlereagh, Chesterfield, Eobert Grosvenor, 
 and Henry de Eoos ; and great taste was displayed in 
 the arrangements. Pavilions on the bank of the river ; 
 a large dinner-tent on the lawn, capable of holding 
 four hundred and fifty; and a select table for fifty laid 
 in the conservatory. Grondolas floated on the water, 
 containing the best singers of the Italian Opera ; and 
 in a boat Vestris and Fanny Ayton, the one singing 
 Italian the other English. There were illuminations 
 throughout the ornamental grounds, and character 
 quadrilles were danced by the beauties of the season. 
 This was long remembered as the Dandies' Fete. It 
 was in every way a great success. Of those who so 
 liberally got up the entertainment only one survives, 
 and he can scarcely be said to appreciate his existence. 
 
 In the autumn of 1843 Mr. Duncombe proceeded 
 to the West of England, where he was a guest at 
 Berkeley Castle and other mansions. He remained 
 a short time at the Eoyal Hotel, Clifton, with Lord 
 Foley and Lord Marcus Hill, Mr. a,nd Lady C. 
 Maxse, and C. Grrenfell, constant associates in town. 
 
170 SOCIAL ENGAGEMENTS. 
 
 Lady Caroline Maxse was tlie daughter of the last 
 Earl of Berkeley. Berkeley Castle and the estates 
 had been bequeathed by him to his eldest natural 
 son, Colonel Berkeley, whom the Whigs elevated to 
 an earldom. 
 
 While in this neighbourhood the following reached 
 him : — 
 
 Badminton, 19tli, Sunday. 
 
 My dear Tommy, — You recollect that you owe us a visit. 
 You promised to come to us last year^ but went into York- 
 shire instead. Make up for it by coming now. We shall 
 be charmed to see you ; and you shall hunt, or shoot, or 
 stay at borne, or do anytbing you like best. Pray come and 
 make us gay. I wish I bad known you were coming to 
 Bristol ; I should have tried to see you, and have laid violent 
 bands upon you. The Duchess desires to add her invitatior. 
 to mine, and her best remembrances at the same time. 
 Yours always, Beaufort. 
 
 Mr. Buncombe's company was courted by his aris- 
 tocratic friends with increased avidity. Among his 
 engagements for dinner for one year, we find them 
 coming from the Marquis of Hertford (he had mar- 
 ried Marie Fagniani, the protegee of the Duke of 
 Queensberry and Gleorge Selwyn, who had left her 
 their wealth) ; Sir E. Ferguson ; her Eoyal Highness 
 the Duchess of Kent; Lord A. Fitzclarence, son of 
 William IV. ; Lady Aldborough, an eccentric dowager 
 of singularly free and easy conversation ; Mr. Hope ; 
 Lady Ogle ; Lady E. Thynne ; Lady Canterbury, sister 
 of Lady Blessington; Lord Stanley; Lady Dundonald ; 
 Lord Auckland; Duke of Canizzaro; Lady Blessing- 
 ton ; Mrs. Fox, &c. &c. Besides their balls, dinners, 
 and concerts, he was constantly called upon to join 
 parties at Greenwich and Richmond, to preside at 
 
HEALTH. 17i 
 
 public dinners, cliarity-scliool anniversaries, to meet 
 deputations, to attend committees, and to show himself 
 at the various clubs of which he was a member. 
 
 Very few constitutions could have endured the wear 
 and tear of days of labour and nights of amusement, 
 till the end of the season left him at leisure to recruit 
 at Copgrove, or recreate himself with the splendid 
 hospitality of Badminton. His health finally gave way, 
 and for the last ten or twelve years of his life he rarely 
 accepted an invitation to parties of any kind. 
 
172 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 THE GREEN-ROOM. 
 
 Patronage of the drama — The King's Theatre — Operatic favourites 
 — Dress — "Le Jambe de Vestria" — Danseuses — Lord Fife and 
 Mademoiselles Noblet and Mercandotti — Patent Theatres — 
 Fashionable loungers — Sir Lumley Skeffington — Lord Glengall 
 — Actors and actresses — Dramatic authors — Kenney's repartees 
 — Morton's application to Mr. Duncombe — Reply from the Duke 
 
 of Devonshire — Mr. Oxberry appeals to him — Lord and 
 
 Madame Vestris — Mr. .Alfred Bunn — Expense of a pass-key — 
 Madame Vestris at the Olympic — Letter to Mr. Harris — 
 Letter from the Duke of Buccleuch — A younger son — Taking 
 the benefit of the Lisolvent Act — Letters from Madame Vestris 
 — Account of her liabilities — Pressing applications for pecu- 
 niary assistance. 
 
 It has already been intimated that, among the 
 requirements of a man of fashion, was a partiality for 
 dramatic performances. He was expected to give his 
 patronage to the theatre by subscribing liberally. 
 He took a box for the season, and his presence was 
 considered an invaluable recommendation. The 
 manager in grateful acknowledgment granted him 
 the privilege of going behind the scenes, where 
 he was pretty sure of making many pleasant ac- 
 quaintances. To all establishments there was a place 
 of rendezvous familiarly known as " the Green- 
 room;" and here the chief performers, in costume, 
 
CATALANI. 173 
 
 were to be found every evening wlien not before the 
 audience. 
 
 Mucb the same arrangement occurred at the Italian 
 Opera, to which Mr. Duncombe also subscribed, as a 
 member of a very select coterie. 
 
 " The King's Theatre," at the bottom of the Hay- 
 market, as the Italian Opera was called in the days of 
 "the Regency," was supported by the rank and 
 fashion of the metropolis. The principal vocalists 
 were Catalan!, Banti, Grassini, Billington, Pasta, 
 Naldi, and Ambrogetti. Respecting the former Cap- 
 tain Grronow tells one of his mythical anecdotes. 
 He states that she had been invited to Stowe, and 
 asked to sing. On quitting she charged the Marquis 
 of Buckingham 1700/. for the pleasure she had 
 afforded his guests. Of course, there is no reference 
 to this unprecedented extortion, in the voluminous 
 correspondence of his family, recently published by 
 the late Duke. 
 
 Madame Catalani was an accomplished musician, 
 and extremely fashionable for many seasons. Her 
 gains were considerable, but the terms for which she 
 gave her services were moderate compared with the 
 exactions of the prima donnas of half a century later. 
 Her Susannah, in Le Nozze di Figaro, was one of her 
 most attractive impersonations — never failing to fill 
 pit, boxes, and gallery. In Portagallo's Semiramide , 
 long since shelved with the majority of old lyrical 
 favourites, she was equally effective. In La Fresche- 
 tana and II Fanatico per la Mu'sica — favourable 
 examples of the opera buffa of that day — she was 
 quite as much admired. 
 
 The house was divided into boxes, pit, and gaUery. 
 
174 FULL DRESS. 
 
 There were no stalls, the area of the pit being divided 
 from the stage by the orchestra, which did not contain 
 much above half its present force. A passage led 
 from the entrance to the front seats, known as " Fops' 
 Alley," from the throng of dandies who resorted there, 
 partly to witness the performances, partly to see, and 
 be seen by, the ladies in the lower tiers. On the 
 stage, sunk considerably below its level, was a large 
 box on each side, called " The Omnibus Box." In 
 this Mr. Duncombe rented a seat for many successive 
 seasons. 
 
 There were strict regulations in force respecting 
 evening costume. Full dress in the days of the 
 Eegency consisted of a long-tailed coat with ruflHes at 
 the wrists ; white cravat, with stand-up shirt collar ; 
 small-clothes, with gold or diamond buckles ; silk 
 stockings, shoes, a waistcoat open, to show the shirt- 
 front or frill, and white kid gloves. A cocked hat, 
 called a cliapeau bras, because usually carried under 
 the arm, and a sword at the side, completed the 
 costume. The hair was always carefully dressed. 
 Thus attired every gentleman was obliged to present 
 himself, till trousers superseded breeches, and boots, 
 shoes. The round was adopted instead of the cocked 
 hat, and the sword abandoned to those who intended 
 to make it a weapon rather than an ornament. 
 
 The renters of the Omnibus Box enjoyed the privi- 
 lege of going behind the scenes, where, with a little 
 knowledge of Italian and French, they contrived to 
 become acquainted with the stars of the opera and 
 the ballet. It was not unusual for the dilettanti 
 amongst them to cultivate rather intimate relations 
 with the reigning " favorita." It passed for admira- 
 
MADAME VESTRIS. 175 
 
 tion of genius. The " protector" of the beautiful 
 cantatrice or danseuse was certain of exciting the envy 
 of his less fortunate associates, till tlie lady left him 
 for a more liberal admirer. 
 
 This was so expensive a luxury that only an opera- 
 goer with a handsome income could venture to 
 indulge in it ; but it was so fashionable that married 
 men, and even elderly men, were proud of the distinc- 
 tion. Highly respectable grandfathers established 
 themselves as patrons of the prima donna, while 
 grave and reverend seigniors competed with beardless 
 ensigns for the smiles of the coryphees. Occasionally 
 there was a spirited competition for the distinction. 
 This was particularly the case when the clever and 
 fascinating daughter of Bartolozzi, the engraver, 
 joined the Italian Opera company. Few actresses 
 enjoyed such celebrit}'. Later, when on the English 
 boards performing Don Giovanni, she was so much 
 the rage that a modeller made a capital speculation by 
 selling plaster casts of le jamhe de Vestris. 
 
 The grand tier of the opera — indeed, the boxes 
 generally — were in those days a most attractive exhi- 
 bition of female beauty ; the aristocracy usually car- 
 rying off the palm. Between the acts, and not un- 
 frequently during the performance, they absorbed 
 much of the attention of the exquisites below ; and, 
 when practicable, a move was made upstairs by those 
 who enjoyed the privilege of entree, where they 
 lounged a short time, lisped a few commonplaces, and 
 then made their way to the coulisses. Here they paid 
 their devotions at the favoured shrine, lingered till 
 the close of the baUet, then made the best of their 
 way to their club, where they supped and played at 
 
176 LORD FIFE. 
 
 macao, lansquenet, picquet, or wliist for an hour or 
 two, and finally called a chair, and were carried home 
 sometimes about as sober as usual, but often con- 
 siderably the worse for I.O.U.'s. 
 
 These fashionable patrons were remarkable for 
 their extravagance in this direction. Lord Fife, 
 though born in 1776, was, and had long been dis- 
 tinguished for his admiration of attractive ballet 
 dancers. Having gone through the Peninsular war 
 with decided gallantry, his lordship chose to exhibit 
 a gallantry equally decisive in a totally different field 
 of enterprise. He had been a widower since 1805, 
 and having been attracted during the occupation of 
 Paris by the charming danseuse. Mademoiselle ISToblet, 
 he declared himself an admirer quite regardless of 
 expense. Though this intimacy was carried on at 
 an enormous cost, over 60,000/., it continued tiU a 
 similar preference was excited for another figurante of 
 at least equal talent and beauty ; this was Mademoi- 
 selle Mercandotti, whose dancing at the King's 
 Theatre produced the most tremendous sensation re- 
 membered by the oldest frequenters of Pops' Alley. 
 She it was who subsequently fascinated Mr. Ball 
 Hughes. 
 
 Not unfi-equently royalty competed for the smiles 
 of the beautiful vocalist or the charming dancer ; but 
 with the exception of the King of Bavaria, who sub- 
 sequently became infatuated with Lola Montes, no 
 glaring scandal was the result. The Prince of Wales 
 preferred English vocalists (Mrs. Crouch) ; the Duke 
 of Sussex, Italian (Grrassini) ; the habitues of the 
 Italian opera had a choice of nationality, for the 
 prima donna of the season was of any country. The 
 
SIR LUMLET 5KEFF1NGT0N. 177 
 
 premiere danseuse, however, was almost invariably 
 French., till the arrival of the Elslers, who were 
 Grermans. The inmates of the Omnibus Box ought 
 to have been connoisseurs of both branches of art, 
 from the opportunities afforded them of studying the 
 individual merits of the most eminent artistes. 
 
 We must, however, be content here with the 
 merest reference to the subject; Mr. Buncombe's 
 papers affording no evidence that either before or 
 behind the scenes at " The King's Theatre" he was 
 more than a spectator.* The Green Eoom of one 
 or two of the English theatres had much more attrac- 
 tion for him ; for here, especially in what were styled 
 the patent theatres, he was in the habit of meeting 
 many of his own circle, men of the highest rank, and 
 of the first consideration in the world of fashion. 
 Some testified their appreciation of merit with ex- 
 traordinary liberality ; others came only as idlers ; a 
 few turned their privilege of admission to account by 
 becoming dramatic authors. 
 
 Among that generation of dandies was Sir Lumley 
 Skeflfington — a genuine Milesian, descended from 
 Awly OTarrell, King of Connereene, and no end of 
 kings and princes of Ireland. Their royalty collapsed 
 about the commencement of the last century into a 
 coUectorship of customs, and subsided into a baronetcy 
 before the beginning of the present, with Skefiing- 
 ton Hall, Leicestershire, as a residence. Sir Lumley 
 was tall and thin, and always a slave to the toilet. 
 He was constantly using perfumes and cosmetics, and 
 was so careful about his hair, that people imagined 
 
 * See Lumley's " Eeminiscences" for an account of the manage- 
 ment of this celebrated establishment. 
 
 VOL. I. N 
 
178 THE SPENCER. 
 
 that one of his royal ancestors must have been mar- 
 ried to the fishy female who is delineated in his 
 armorial bearings combing her tresses by the aid of 
 a hand-mirror. 
 
 Sir Lumley frequented the Green Eoom partly as a 
 man of fashion, partly as a dramatic author. He 
 wrote in 1805 The Sleeping Beauty, a spectacle 
 that had a great run at Drury Lane. He followed it 
 with the comedy of Maids and Bachelors, which 
 was not published. He was shown up by Gilray 
 and other caricaturists, and gained the further distinc- 
 tion of being mentioned by Lord Byron in his great 
 satire. The slimness of his figure was made more ap- 
 parent by his wearing the garment with which Dr. 
 Cantwell, in the Hj/pocrite, threatens to defeat the 
 heavenly aspirations of his revilers. 
 
 The poet says : — 
 
 " And sure great SkefEngton must claim our praise, 
 For skirtless coats and skeletons of plays 
 Eenowned alike."* 
 
 The Spencer was at one time as fashionable as the 
 Petersham, but lost favour except with old beaux, 
 faithful to the memories of their youth. Sir Lumley 
 was known everywhere by it, quite as generally as he 
 was known by his artificial complexion and super- 
 abundant perfumery. He professed immense admira- 
 tion for attractive actresses, to whom he continued to 
 pay tribute almost as long as he lived, by publishing 
 complimentary verses addressed to them in the news- 
 papers. 
 
 He hung about theatres and picture auctions, with 
 
 * " English Bards and Scotch Eeviewers." 
 
AN OLD BEAU. 179 
 
 fiilse hair and fictitious complexion, maintaining the 
 characteristics of a fashion that had been dead and 
 buried half a century, his limbs becoming thinner and 
 his back more bowed. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe was intimate with this descendant 
 of a royal race ; indeed. Sir Lumley was well known 
 to every man about town, and every woman too. They 
 met him in the Parks, in the fashionable thorough- 
 fares, at the clubs, in the Green Room, everywhere 
 where the aspirant for fashionable distinction ought 
 to be seen ; and as his birth dated from a few years after 
 the commencement of the reign of George III., he 
 must have had in his recollection an abundant source 
 of entertainment for the young Guardsman when he 
 entered upon his career. 
 
 Sir Lumley, like many of his fashionable contem- 
 poraries, was for some time an inmate of the King's 
 Bench prison, having far exhausted his resources. 
 After a few years' incarceration, he contrived to effect 
 an arrangement with his creditors, and attempted to 
 renew the intimacies he had enjoyed in the sunshine 
 of his fame and fortune. Many of his old friends, 
 however, would not recognise him, though he had got 
 himself up with tlie greatest possible care. The 
 claims of royalty and the SkeflEngton Hall estate were 
 now regarded as moonshine ; and those who knew 
 him best cut him most. It was this solemn fact 
 that caused Lord Alvanley to pronounce him a second 
 edition of The Sleeping Beauty, handsomely bound, 
 and illustrated by cuts. 
 
 He continued to be recognised by his black ringlets, 
 rouo-ed cheeks, and obsolete costume, and to be talked 
 of when seen as the once hel esprit, Haigle de la societe, 
 
 N 2 
 
180 "the follies of fashion. 
 
 till the infirmities of age brought the superannuated 
 beau nearer and nearer to the narrow house ; when, 
 in the year 1850, Sir Lumley St. Greorge Skefiington, 
 of Skeffington Hall, Leicestershire, Bart., was seen no 
 more. He died at the age of eighty -two. 
 
 Dick Butler was classed among the popular Irish 
 gentlemen who visited the English metropolis aboiitthe 
 termination of the Peninsular war. He was descended 
 from the Lord Caher who suffered for his devotion to 
 James II., though he subsequently succeeded in ob- 
 taining pardon. Mr. Butler's father was created Earl 
 of Grlengall in 1816, to which dignity he succeeded 
 three years later. As Lord Grlengall he was as 
 favourably known at the clubs as he had been as 
 Dick Butler; he was also a frequent visitor to the 
 Grreen Eoom, and eventually displayed his dramatic 
 predilections in the perpetration of a five-act comedy 
 that came out at the Haymarket Theatre, with the 
 title of T/ie Follies of Fashion. It was not considered 
 equal to the similar or rather dissimilar productions 
 of his celebrated countryman, Sheridan; nevertheless 
 for a time it attracted good houses. 
 
 In the Grreen Eoom the man of fashion made the 
 acquaintance of the great dramatic geniuses of that 
 highly histrionic age ; there were Kembles in those 
 days, and t/ie Kean, with Siddons, O'lSTeil, and other 
 actresses worthy to perform with them ; while in 
 genteel comedy and burletta there were clever men 
 and handsome women in abundance. The dramatic 
 world has not yet forgotten the merit of Irish John- 
 son, Liston, Power, Emery, Munden, Harley; of 
 Mrs. Grlover, Orger, Nesbitt, Mardyn, Humby, &c. &c. 
 
 Grreat as were these attractions to the fashionable 
 
JAMES KENNET. 181 
 
 lounger, there was another that was not without its 
 charm to men of sense. In those days sterling come- 
 dies were written, and their authors were frequently 
 to be found in the Green Eoom. Some of them were 
 clever conversationalists — most had pretensions to 
 wit; and the lively repartee and the quaint jest were 
 sure to be greatly relished by their fashionable visitors, 
 when the low comedian might have been voted slow, 
 and the slow tragedian a bore. Some even were 
 known to have turned from the sublimity of " Lady 
 Macbeth," or the brilliancy of " Lady Teazle," to enjoy 
 the gossip with which they were pretty sure to be 
 entertained by Colman, by Morton, or Eeynolds. 
 
 When some one*mentioned LuttreU's " Advice to 
 Julia," one of these chartered libertines gave his 
 opinion that the poem was a great deal too long, 
 and not half broad enough. This was Kenney, the 
 author of Maising the Wind, and a number of other 
 capital comedies and farces. He was a very little 
 man, with an extremely nervous manner; but his 
 blue eyes seemed to be always radiant with sly 
 humour. Some .of his sayings are far in advance of 
 what had passed for wit among the BrummeUs, 
 Selwyns, and their associates. Hearing of the decease 
 of a dhty scribbler, who assumed the appellation oi 
 " Anthony Pasquin," he averred that the fellow had 
 died of a cold caused by washing his face. This is as 
 good as Charles Lamb's remark to Elliston, with whom 
 he was playing at cards, " If dirt was trumps, what a 
 hand you would hold ;" or as Foote's to an equally 
 uncleanly clergyman who talked largely of farming, 
 " It's easy to see, sir, you keep your glebe in your 
 own hands." 
 
182 MORTON. 
 
 While the Canning Ministry were striving to es- 
 tablish themselves in the confidence of the country, 
 Mr. Duncombe received one of many applications of 
 the same nature that were constantly sent to him. 
 As a Member, no matter what were his politics, it was 
 believed that he had influence with the Government. 
 He was, therefore, appealed to to get all sorts of 
 places for all sorts of people. In several instances 
 he wrote to the minister in whose gift the required 
 situation was, and when the appointment was at- 
 tainable obtained it. In the present instance his 
 correspondent was a dramatist of established repu- 
 tation, the author of some of the best comedies of 
 that period. One of his sons has written several 
 popular farces, including Box and Cox. 
 
 15, Store-street, Bedford-square, Dec. 5th, 1832. 
 
 My dear Sie, — Your kind interference produced from 
 tlie Duke of Devonshire a letter which said : — " My letter 
 expressed my regret that the number of those persons to 
 whom promises have been given by me of appointments 
 under my patronage as Chamberlain, that my adding your 
 son^s name to the list^ which I have had the pleasure of 
 doing, gives only a distant prospect of my being able to 
 promote him." Though this communication holds out a 
 very distant hope for my son, yet as it is all the Lord 
 Chamberlain could with regard to previous promises under- 
 take, my obligation to his Grace is great, as also to you; 
 kind sir, for your zeal in the cause of 
 
 Your very obliged and obedient servant, 
 
 Thos. Morton. 
 
 15, Store-street, Bedford-square, Nov. 29tli, 1832. 
 
 Sir, — The kind wish you expressed to assist my efforts 
 in giving employment to an unprovided son wUl I hope 
 warrant my troubling you with the perusal of this letter. 
 
THE DUKE OP DEVONSHIRE. 183 
 
 The patience you exerted in the late theatrical investigation 
 ■would I doubt not convince you that not only there is a 
 theatrical world, but that the members of it are ill calcu- 
 lated for any other world. Dramatic writers (of which 
 tribe I am the most ancient operative) have so limited a 
 sphere of action as to shut them out from the actual busi- 
 ness of life and its busy members, and perhaps for this, 
 among other reasons, their claims or necessities have been 
 listened to by the good and powerful. The names of 
 Murphy, Cumberland, O^Keefe, Colman, Dibdin, and many 
 others, are among the valued file who have received places 
 or pensions ; but though the days of pensions are gone, yet 
 I hope the days are coming on when humble claims may 
 find advocates, and that the oldest contributors to the stock 
 of innocent and rational amusement may be successfidly 
 heard in behalf of a moral and educated son. I took the 
 liberty of addressing his Grace the Duke of Devonshire on 
 this, to me, important subject, but I believe I most igno- 
 rantly violated the unities of time and place in addressing 
 his Grace when he was seeking relaxation from the dis- 
 charge of official duties. Could you, kind sir, solicit his 
 Grace's attention to my anxious application, you would 
 essentially serve 
 
 Your most respectful and very obedient servant, 
 
 Thos. Morton. 
 
 3rd December. 
 
 My dear Sir, — Mr. i\Iorton wrote to me in September, 
 and I replied directly, but as he did not get my letter I 
 conclude it was mislaid at Chatsworth. I have written to 
 him this morning, and I am exceedingly obliged to you for 
 enabling me to make my apologies to him for the apparent 
 neglect. Most truly yours, Devonshire. 
 
 In a few years the British drama showed signs of 
 having fallen upon evil days. Fitzball became more 
 attractive than Shakspeare, and genteel comedy was 
 superseded by screaming farce. The managers relied 
 
184 DECLINE OF THE DRAMA. 
 
 for patronage on showy spectacles, in which, one or 
 more pretty women were put forward in splendid cos- 
 tumes. The Italian, and sometimes the German 
 opera, as well as a company of Trench comedians, 
 drew away many playgoers from the principal thea- 
 tres, when a beggarly account of empty boxes and 
 imperfectly filled pit and gallery forced the manager 
 to curtail the salaries of his company. Mr. Dun- 
 combe was regarded as a friend to the distressed 
 actor, as well as an active supporter of the best in- 
 terests of the English stage : and in this capacity was 
 appealed to by a meritorious artist whose talent in his 
 profession he had often admired : — 
 
 Lyceum, and English Opera. 
 
 Sib, — I beg to be excused for the liberty I am taking 
 witt you by tbus addressing you. Necessity obliges me. 
 I write not for myself personally, but as a member of a 
 profession now prostrate. I have written to Lord Mahon a 
 list of grievances, burdens we now labour under. We are 
 utterly unprotected by the law, and entirely ruined by the 
 foreign performers, who all come together in the London 
 season — cutting their own throats and ours also. May I 
 hope you will lend us your powerful voice should anything 
 be mooted next session for the relief of our miseries. With 
 the greatest respect, I beg to subscribe myself, 
 Your most obedient and humble servant, 
 
 W. H. OXBERRY. 
 
 Mr. Buncombe contributed liberally to theatrical 
 charities, forwarding handsome donations on benefit 
 nights ; he readily took the chair at public meetings, 
 and gave his aid and personal attendance for any 
 project that promised advantage to the profession. 
 As a friend of the drama, he suffered in the same way 
 that other wealthy frequenters of the Green Room have 
 ever done where the attraction was special and the 
 
THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE. ]85 
 
 demands it created difl&cult to satisfy. There was 
 one popular actress wlio had the reputation of ex- 
 hausting the resources of the wealthiest admirers. 
 The Dives at the commencement of their intercom-se 
 invariably became a Lazarus at its conclusion; at 
 least, she beggared him and then sought another 
 dupe. The catalogue of her victims is a remarkable 
 one, and includes men of high social position. "We 
 have only to do with a spendthrift of that time and a 
 long time after, whose name we suppress out of respect 
 to his noble family. 
 
 Mr. Buncombe's theatrical experience was dearly 
 purchased. When such men as Bunn were managers 
 of one of the patent theatres the patrons of the drama 
 were pretty sure of having to pay high for the privi- 
 leges he had it in his power to bestow. As lessee 
 of the two patent theatres, he made as much profit as 
 he could. Several of his communications to Mr. 
 Buncombe at this time are before us, but the revela- 
 tions they afford of theatrical management are any- 
 thing but edifying. As he has thought proper 
 publicly to record his experience as a manager, we 
 may be excused printing the more private revelations 
 with which he favoured his patrons. We, however, 
 cannot avoid drawing upon them for a little informa- 
 tion respecting Mr. Buncombe's contributions to his 
 treasury. He tells him that he has a box to let at 
 the rent of 420/. for the season, which rent has been 
 paid by Lord Carrington for it for twenty years ; and 
 another, lately vacated by her Majesty, that possesses 
 the advantage of having two ante-rooms. This, of 
 course, would be a trifle more. Each was capable of 
 containing eight persons. 
 
 As the fashionable patron was expected to be 
 
186 THE OLYMPIC THEATRE. 
 
 equally liberal at each, of the patent theatres, the 
 drama must have proved an expensive luxury. Mr. 
 Bunn strove to allure him by more than equivocal 
 recommendations of the advantages he was ready to 
 sell. The interests of the drama were never seriously 
 considered by him ; indeed, it is quite clear that he 
 thought of no interests but his own. It is not sur- 
 prising, therefore, that the noble establishment over 
 which he presided should then have suffered so much 
 degradation — that its career as a patent theatre ceased 
 soon after. Having injured the English form of en- 
 tertainment, the next step for the theatrical speculator 
 was to destroy the prospect of the Italian or lyrical 
 drama, by taking away as much as possible of the in- 
 sufficient support given to Her Majesty's Theatre, 
 and Covent Grarden was turned into a second Opera- 
 house. 
 
 The manager's benefit, and those of the favourite 
 actors and actresses, were so many powerful appeals 
 to Mr. Buncombe's liberality. If this formed the limit 
 of his disbursements for the pass-key that enabled 
 him to go behind the scenes and find his way to the 
 Green Eoom, he might consider himself fortunate. 
 Long, however, before this he had become aware that 
 dramatic patronage was a serious expense. 
 
 The Olympic Theatre was oj^ened under the 
 management of Madame Vestris. Oreat merit was 
 accorded to her for the manner in which she placed 
 her novelties on the stage, as well as for the selection 
 of her company. Her burlettas and genteel comedy 
 were represented with the most careful attention to 
 effect. She was supported by many men of fashionable 
 repute, her Green Eoom being the nightly resort of 
 
MADAME VESTRIS'S GAINS. 187 
 
 the Duke of Brunswick, who rented a box, Lord Ches- 
 terfield, Colonel Berkeley (Lord Fitzhardinge), Count 
 D'Orsay, Lord Harrington, and their friends. The 
 colonel's conduct to Miss Foote, who was a member 
 of her company, caused him to absent himself from 
 the theatre ; and Liston having, in one of his absurd 
 characters, worn 2, facsimile of the count's fashionable 
 coat, he also withdrew ; but there were always a suf- 
 ficient number of satellites to every theatrical " star." 
 Notwithstanding that the presiding deity was 
 passee, her shrine was still thronged. What the gains 
 of this lady were it is impossible to ascertain ; but it 
 is well known that her extravagance wasted what her 
 attractions and her talents acquired. In a memoran- 
 dum now before us we find Madame acknowledging 
 the receipt of the following sums from Mr. Harris : — 
 
 July 17th, 1833 
 
 Nov. 29th, „ 
 
 March 13th, 1834 
 
 15th, „ 
 
 April 23rd, „ 
 
 Sep. 15th, „ 
 
 Circumstances, however, occurred that made her leave 
 town hurriedly in company with a young nobleman 
 who was then heavily in Mr. Duncombe's debt — indeed, 
 was overwhelmed with pecuniary obligations They 
 appear to have both been in danger of arrest, and 
 endeavoured to conceal themselves in Devonshire. 
 The following note from him possesses some features 
 of interest : it indicates that raising the wind was still 
 possible ; but whether Mr. Harris had any confidence 
 in such representations the correspondence gives us 
 
 . . £3000 
 
 
 
 
 
 . . 989 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 . . 4140 
 
 
 
 
 
 . . 900 
 
 
 
 
 
 . . 200 
 
 
 
 
 
 . . 1050 
 
 
 
 
 
188 
 
 RAISING MONEY. 
 
 no means of judging. It is quite certain that both 
 the fugitives were intent on a quarrel with Mr. Bun- 
 combe ; but by the advice of judicious friends he re- 
 frained from taking any notice of their proceedings. 
 
 May 25tli. 
 
 My dear Harris, — I am glad to hear from you that 
 there is some chance. I have received my letters ; among 
 them many from our one-eyed friend. But yesterday I was 
 much surprised at receiving one (through Hartley of 
 course) dated the 21st instant, urging that, having written 
 several letters without getting any reply, he woidd he 
 obliged if I would send a positive answer, as it was keep- 
 ing himself and Barret in suspense, and preventing the 
 16,000^. from being employed. The money was quite ready 
 for me. The only thing he must do would be to apply 
 to the acting trustee, Mr. Astell. Now it strikes me that 
 if you could contrive to see him, or write to him if you 
 cannot, and say that I am willing to receive the money 
 (do not for God^s sake doubt me) on the securities of the 
 marriage settlement ; but unless he can and will do it with- 
 out any previous application ; for the moment it is done 
 he may give notice to the trustee, which will suit his pur- 
 pose equally as well, as it is of course to lay his claim before 
 I could raise any more upon it, and also without my pre- 
 sence, as Hartley can bring the deeds for me to sign, and 
 that I will of course insure my life as soon as I come to 
 town. I think if you were to go to him once again — offer 
 him another two hundred, and bribe Barret with whatever 
 may be necessary — we should succeed ; for they are 
 evidently very anxious to lend it to me, though, good souls, 
 their courage fails them. His direction, in case you have 
 forgotten it, is 14, Cross-key Square, Little Britain. What 
 can Tommy^s plan be ? All moonshine, I fear. I have 
 sent another letter for you to London, in case you should 
 be there. I have told her that I expect you in a day or 
 two. Pray do not forget about the dogs. When are you 
 likely to be in Exeter ? We shall be very glad when you 
 come ; and the more glad the sooner you do so, and the 
 
DUKE OP BUCCLEUCH. 189 
 
 longer you stay. She desires me to say that you promised 
 to write to her, which you have not done, yet she sends her 
 love. Yours ever. 
 
 Should you write to the One Eye, you can do it in my 
 name or not, as you choose ; but if you could see him it 
 would materially advance the matter. 
 
 One of the parties applied for assistance to a noble- 
 man whose character was as elevated as his rank. 
 That he answered the appeal promptly, may be seen 
 by his Grace's letter. The transaction, however, 
 seems to have been open to question ; at least this is 
 asserted in the communication that follows : — 
 
 17tli July, 1833, Wednesday, Half-past Three. 
 
 ]\Iy dear , — T have this moment seen INIr. Lumley, 
 
 and he has undertaken to arrange that the sum of 
 3500?. shall be forthcoming to-morrow. I believe that was 
 the sum yon mentioned to me. Of course you must take 
 care to have the bond consigned to you^ and the proper 
 receipt given for the money before you part with it to jouv 
 friend's creditor. Yours truly, Buccletjch. 
 
 A communication from Mr. Buncombe throws some 
 light on this unpleasant afiair : — 
 
 Wednesday Evening. 
 
 My dear H., — I did not write, because I had nothing par- 
 ticular to say, and I have been so dreadfully busy with the 
 political world lately that I have really had no time. I told 
 Fitzroy about E.'s visit to me. He thinks and believes that 
 you had the money^ or a great portion of it, out of which 
 
 robbed him. I told him I thought not, and that you 
 
 could produce the receipt of having paid it over to Vestris. 
 
 He said that would satisfy him. wrote and confessed 
 
 the fraud (I suppose seeing it could no longer be concealed), 
 and asked forgiveness ; said it was your act, and partly for 
 your benefit, but never said that I had no part of the 
 money. Send me, therefore, either a correct copy of the 
 
190 THE queen's bench. 
 
 receipt^ as the date is of no use without the amount; 
 and also a correct copy of the 3000/. that the Duke of 
 Buccleuch was swindled out of^ and I will set you right 
 in Errington^s opinion. It is really too bad that he could 
 not be satisfied with robbing his friends and relations, but 
 that he must also endeavour to blacken those to whom he 
 is under the greatest obtigations. But it wont do ; he will 
 fail in everything. A dissolution must take place if the 
 Tories go on with their mad scheme of fancying they can 
 govern the country. I shall win easily in Finsbury, though 
 everything will of course be done to prevent me. You will 
 perceivCj therefore, that I take the same view of politics as 
 
 yourself. will not be outlawed before January. My 
 
 answer goes in in about a fortnight. I have taken up and 
 
 arranged all the bills excepting two thousand. . will 
 
 have the satisfaction of having nearly ruined me, but I still 
 fancy there is some elasticity left in me yet ; and from one 
 end of the world to the other it shall be used to expose 
 
 him. As to his , I think the Yankees will be too 
 
 good judges to meddle with so cracked an old fire-ship. 
 
 Ever yours, T. S. D. 
 
 Write and send me the receipt. 
 
 The person thus refen-ed to subsequently wrote a 
 letter, dated "Queen's Bench, October 13th, 1837," 
 offering his " sincere expressions of regret for any 
 injury, trouble, or annoyance that I may have occasioned 
 yourself or friends," and stating the probability of his 
 taking the benefit of the Insolvent Act. Mr. Dun- 
 combe replied on the same day. Both letters were 
 published in the newspapers. There was a thorough 
 exposure of his lordship's affairs in consequence of his 
 going through the Insolvent Court, but nothing 
 transpired prejudicial to Mr. Buncombe, though he 
 suffered heavily in a pecuniary sense. 
 
 The two following letters bring the correspondence 
 
MADAJIE S DEBTS. 
 
 191 
 
 to a close. They are addressed to the same person, 
 and apparently give a trustworthy account of the 
 writer's position. The list she gives of her debts, in 
 tlie expectation of getting them paid for her, is highly 
 characteristic. Her subsequent marriage with a 
 popular comedian is well known. 
 
 London, September 9th. 
 
 Dear IMasteb, Devil, is ■nriting to you at this 
 
 mouient. He is staying here a close prisoner. I believe 
 
 he returns to Lady at Hastings on Sunday next. He 
 
 is quite unchanged, and perfectly happy where he is ; but 
 he still talks about cutting Richmond-terrace, &c. &c. . . . 
 I say all I can to induce him to have patience, but he will 
 hardly listen to me on that subject. 
 
 You ask me why I at first said I should want 600^'. or 
 700Z., and then mentioned 1000?. The fact is I mentioned 
 the first Slim without looking at my book, which I did 
 before I wrote again. The following is a list of all I 
 owe : — 
 
 Stodart £47 
 
 Nisbett 100 
 
 Pattison 146 
 
 .€293 
 
 Gattie and Pierce 
 Lauchnick 
 IMiller . 
 Hall . . 
 Angus 
 Walker . 
 Mortlock . 
 
 £87 
 9 
 60 
 88 
 20 
 24 
 60 
 
 £348 
 
 Howell and James 
 
 Gunter 
 
 jNIarie 
 
 Ramsay .... 
 
 Lear 
 
 Adams, due Jan., 1834 
 Ball next year . 
 
 £141 
 20 
 26 
 29 
 30 
 176 
 200 
 
 £622 
 
 Duthie's I have not yet got — he is out of town. The 
 amount of all, you will see, is 1313?., therefore nothing 
 under lOOOZ. would be of service to me. Adams and Ball 
 
192 PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 need not be paid until January ; that takes off 376^., and I 
 must have some money (and that soon) to go on with. I 
 give you my honour that I have at this moment only 
 between 30Z. and 40Z. in the worlds therefore my funds 
 must go before Saturday next. What is more, though you 
 intend to tell E. about the money, pray let me a little 
 into the secret, for fear that he should ask me some 
 question which I might find awkward to answer. What 
 do you think of the Age ? I intend to see Westmacott 
 to-morrow or next day, but money is of no use with 
 him, unless a very large sum, which I have not got to 
 give. I do not grumble at not playing at the Haymarket, 
 but I think it a pity, under existing circumstances, to lose 
 so much money. I thought you had too much friendship 
 for me to make me a cat's-paw for your revenge. I don't 
 half know you yet, and who does ? E. has only seen 
 Hooper twice for a short time after dinner, but the whole 
 conversation happened to be about the Olympic. They 
 shall not meet again. I fear your book of fate is a castle- 
 in-air on too high an eminence for me ever to reach. I 
 grow giddy with the thoughts of it. I was not born to so 
 much good luck. D. is at Hastings with Lady E. and 
 Miss M. What does your riddle mean in your letter to E. ? 
 It puzzles us both. Pray expound, learned Pundit ! Pray 
 write by return of post. All is going on well at the 
 
 Olympic. W accepts the terms of 61. per week, but 
 
 altogether I am not pleased with him. I wish you were 
 here, but it is of no use wishing. If I could leave town I 
 would go down to you ; I would give anything to have a 
 good long chat with you ; it would do me good. Do you 
 intend to come when Mr. S. is ready? Write! write! 
 write ! Yours sincerely, E. V. 
 
 Monday. 
 Dear Harms, — In the name of all that is mysterious, 
 what is become of you ! It is now nearly three weeks since 
 you wrote to me to say that you intended paying me a visit 
 in the course of a week or a fortnight. I think you might 
 have written a few lines to say when we were to see you. 
 
DIFFICULTIES. 193 
 
 Although Ton say that you do not receive any letters now, 
 I ■wiU run the risk of this reaching you somehow or other. 
 If I do not hear from you shortly, God only knows what I 
 am to doj or what will become of me. My cash is getting 
 very low ; I have only between 20^. and 30/. in the world. 
 My mother's quarter (50Z.) was due the first of this month, 
 my rent in Chesham-place was due the 25th of last month, 
 and 500Z, for the Olympic must be paid on the first of next 
 month. You clearly and uistinctly told me before I left 
 town that I was to have the money to pay all these. If 
 you had not done so, nothing under heaven would have in- 
 duced me to come into the country. I could have made 
 money enough to meet all these demands (and more, too,) 
 in the country theatres during the summer. I cannot even 
 stir from this place, which you know I must do before the 
 end of next month, untU I receive some money. Have you 
 sent him any since he met you at Collumpton, or do you 
 know if he has any ? If he has, for God's sake send him a 
 cover, and tell him to let me have some. Indeed your 
 silence is very unkind ; you surely might contrive to write 
 a few lines. Hooper* keeps writing to me for money, and 
 I have been obliged to tell him to use what he receives from 
 the French people, so that I shall find very little at Coutts's. 
 I have written to him to know how much there is there, 
 which I shall know in a few days. I fear I shall require 
 very nearly 1000?. before I can open the Olympic, that is 
 if I mean to keep out of debt, and I hope to God I shall 
 never get into difficulties again. I hope you will receive 
 this soon, and let me implore you to come here if it is only 
 for one day. I have several things to tell you, which, as 
 the destination of this is uncertain, I do not like to commit 
 to paper ; indeed, under any circumstances I must have some 
 conversation with you, and that soon. 
 
 Sincerely yours, E. V. 
 
 P.S. — Stanley and Erington have not yet paid their share 
 for the box, which is 100/. 
 
 * Stage-manager at the Olympic. 
 VOL. I. 
 
194 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 THE MEMBER FOR IINSBURY. 
 
 First election — At the head of the poll — Letter of Sir John Cam 
 Hobhouse — Changes in the jMinistry — Their unjjopularity — 
 Lord Durham out of ofSce — Proposal for a demonstration in 
 his favour — Letters from Mr. Grote and Lord Durham — The 
 King dismisses his Ministers — Second election for Finsbury — 
 Again at the head of the poU — Letters of Lord Durham — 
 Another general election — 'Mr. Duncombe returned for the 
 third time — Doings at Southampton — Letter from Lord Durham 
 — He is appointed Governor- General of the Canadas — State of 
 that colony — Mr. Duncombe crosses the Atlantic — His opinion 
 on the Eeform Bill — Amendment on the Address. 
 
 The degree of public attention Mr. Duncombe had 
 by this time drawn upon himself, made it necessary 
 that he should think of placing himself on a higher 
 pedestal than Hertford. He was invited to stand for 
 one of the metropolitan constituencies, and answered 
 the invitation with his customary earnestness. He 
 had earned the respect of men of high standing in the 
 political world, who felt an interest in his success. The 
 contested election for Finsbury proved the severest he 
 had ever entered upon, but he permitted nothing to 
 stand in the way of his success. A lavish expenditure 
 and the most energetic canvassing carriedhim through; 
 and in June, 1834, he was declared duly elected. At 
 the close of the poll the result was thus given — 
 Duncombe .... 2514 
 
 Pownall 1915 
 
 Wakley 695 
 
 Babbage .... 379 
 
SIE JOHN HOBHOUSE. 195 
 
 The first two were returned, Mr. Wakley, tlie editor 
 of The Lancet, a Eadical Eeformer, and Mr. Babbage, 
 a gentleman of high scientific attainments, having 
 been defeated by Mr. Pownall, known only as a 
 respectable magistrate. One of the members for 
 Westminster, even then high in the estimation of 
 both the literary and political world, and favourably 
 known to society as the friend of Lord Byron, wrote 
 the following testimonial : — 
 
 Bovildon Park, June 26th, 1834. 
 
 My dear !Methuen, — I see a paragraph in yesterday's 
 (Wednesday's) Times stating that I had declined the poll in 
 Finsbury in favour of Mr. Babbage. 
 
 Not so ; I never could decline what I never contemplated ; 
 and moreover, what I did decline was not in favour of Mr. 
 Babbage nor Mr. Anybody. The truth is some Hnsbury 
 gentlemen asked me whether I would consent to be put in 
 nomination for that borough. On coming to London I 
 found Mr. Babbage and Mr. Buncombe in the field, and I 
 wrote to the parties in question saying that I begged no 
 steps might be taken to bring me forward, for both the 
 gentlemen who, it appeared, were candidates, were my 
 friends, and I should not be induced to oppose either of- 
 them. 
 
 This was my answer, and I would thank you to teU. 
 Duncombe so, for he behaved in a very friendly way to me 
 in Westminster, and I certainly should not like him to 
 think I took any part against him in Finsbury. To Mr. 
 Babbage I am under personal obligations, but under the 
 circumstances of the case I shall not vote at all. 
 I have a vote, strange to say. I hope Mrs. Methuen 
 is well. 
 
 Very truly yours, John Hobhotjse. 
 
 Do you know anything of Lydiard Park and mansion ? 
 I see it is to be let. 
 
 3 
 
190 THE O'CONNELLS. 
 
 The opening of the first reformed parliament has 
 been described by an eye-witness — one of O'Connell's 
 sons* — who naturally strives to fill the foreground with 
 the Irish agitator's " Household Brigade." He met 
 for the first time Cobbett, returned for Oldham, of 
 whom he has very little to report. Attwood, the 
 member for Birmingham, whom he stigmatises as a 
 Brummagem Lafayette. He describes the first Oppo- 
 sition bench as filled by Attwood, Duncombe, Fielden, 
 Cobbett, and the principal English Liberals ; the 
 0' Conn ells occupied a considerable portion of the 
 second bench ; and the other Radicals were close at 
 hand. He nowhere seems inclined to recognise Mr. 
 Duncombe and his friends as labourers in the same vine- 
 yard ; indeed his own countryman Feargus O'Connor 
 is mentioned slightingly. The secret oozes out ; 
 Daniel O'Connell's motion for repeal was negatived 
 by 523 members, only 38 voting for it. 
 
 The reformed parliament commenced sitting on the 
 29th of January; but there were already signs of dis- 
 union among the Government. Their councils were 
 far from unanimous, and there seemed a disposition 
 in some of the ministers to cabal against their chief. 
 Lord Grrey was not qualified to maintain the position 
 of Premier, wanting both force of character and com- 
 prehensiveness of intelligence to guide the helm of 
 the State at so momentous a crisis. Some of his 
 coadjutors were impatient of his rule, and others dis- 
 satisfied with the manner in which he disposed of 
 his patronage. After professing intense horror of 
 the old political system, they could not reconcile 
 
 * " KeooUeotions, &c.," by John O'Connell, M.P., i. 5. 
 
CHANGE IN THE MINISTRY. 197 
 
 themselves to the evident drifting into it of the First 
 Lord of the Treasury in the disposal of places in 
 favoui' of his relations. Lord Durham writes : — 
 
 Tuesday, June 25th, 1833, on board Louisa, off Eyde. 
 
 My dear Duncombe, — I write to you as we are cruising 
 off Ryde, where we are going to visit Lord Spencer, and 
 thank you for your letter. Pray continue to let me know 
 what is going on. Yesterday we went out with our new 
 sail and four tons more ballast, as it was discovered that 
 some had been stolen last year. I had Corke on board, who 
 steered her. Her trim was quite a different thing. The 
 breeze was good, and we had a fair trial of her. She beat 
 the Arundel " in a canter" — ran past her as if she had been 
 anchored. I think we are now nearly right. Corke is 
 steering her again to-day ; he will not only be able to tell 
 me if her trim is as it was, but also to give us some hints 
 as to the management of cutter sails. 
 
 Don't expect me to talk politics — I am quite wretched 
 about the state of things. If no one I cared about was 
 involved in the disgrace which has befallen the Cabinet I 
 should not mind, but alas, Lord Grey is there. 
 
 The Dutchman went off the next morning in a heavy 
 squall from the N.W., which I trust had the effect of making 
 him disgorge all his manifold abominations. Adieu. 
 
 Ever yours, D. 
 
 A split in the Cabinet became evident in March by 
 the resignation of Lord Durham. He had dissented 
 so often from the opinions of his colleagues that he 
 gained for himself the appellation of "the dissenting 
 minister." Mr. EUice succeeded Charles Williams 
 Wynn as Secretary at War; Sir John Hobhouse 
 became Secretary for Ireland; the Earl of Eipon, 
 Lord Privy Seal ; and Mr. Stanley, Colonial Secretary. 
 But the change did not add to the popularity of the 
 Government. They were sinking so rapidly in the 
 
198 PUBLIC OPINION. 
 
 opinion of the large constituencies, that Sir John 
 Hobhouse felt himself obliged to resign both his post 
 as Secretary and his seat as member. In the first he 
 was succeeded by Mr. Littleton, in the latter by a 
 Radical, Colonel De Lacy Evans. 
 
 The current of public opinion was setting in too 
 strongly to be repressed. A meeting took place in 
 Coldbath- fields on the 18th of May, which the police 
 attempted to disperse, and one person was kiUed with 
 a dagger. At a coroner's inquest that followed, a 
 verdict of "justifiable homicide" was returned. A 
 large meeting was held near Birmingham on the 18th, 
 for the purpose of petitioning the King to dismiss the 
 ministers. 
 
 Another split in the Cabinet became evident in 
 June, and grew more conspicuous in July. This time 
 it was not patched without the removal of the Premier. 
 Lord Melbourne succeeded him — a far more popular 
 man, but without solid pretensions to statesmanship. 
 There were other important changes : Mr. Spring 
 Eice, Lord Auckland, Lord Carlisle, Mr. Abercrombie, 
 the Marquis of Conyngham, Mr. Poulett Thompson, 
 Mr. Francis Baring, and Mr. EUice, now filling the 
 posts of Colonial Secretary, First Lord of the Ad- 
 miralty, Lord Privy Seal, Master of the Mint, Post- 
 master-Greneral, President of the Board of Trade, and 
 Secretary of the Treasury, and Cabinet Minister. 
 
 These alterations in the Government did not satisfy 
 the Liberals ; many promises were given in both 
 Houses, and amendments of various kinds proposed, 
 but no decided attempt made to check the Con- 
 servative reaction that had begun to display itself 
 Parliament was prorogued on the 1 8th of August, amid 
 
LORD GREY. 199 
 
 a general belief tliat a more important cliange was 
 impending. 
 
 Lord Grrey was personally disliked by Queen Ade- 
 laide ; he bad caused tbe dismissal of her Lord Cham- 
 berlain, and though he subsequently reinstated Lord 
 Howe, neither the Queen nor her Lord Chamberlain 
 was to be conciliated. Her Majesty's sympathies 
 with the Tories became more conspicuous than before, 
 and Lord Howe declined the appointment, declaring 
 that he would accept no favour from the Minister. 
 The Earl of Denbigh received it. Lord Adolphus 
 Fitzclarence taking his post as Lord of the Bed- 
 chamber. 
 
 A public dinner was given to Lord Grey at Edin- 
 burgh on the 18th of September, when Lord Durham 
 bid high for popularity by avowing opinions in 
 favour of the ballot, household suffrage, and the 
 reform of all abuses. Lord Grey and Lord Brougham 
 expressed more moderate ideas. Mr. Duncombe had 
 some time advocated the views expressed by Lord 
 Durham, which were those of advanced Liberals. 
 They were familiar to the electors of Finsbury, as 
 well as to most of the popular constituencies; but 
 the Whigs professed a willingness to increase their 
 measure of reform only after prudent deliberation. 
 The Scottish Eadicals were delighted with the more 
 daring sentiments of the ex-Privy Seal ; and though 
 the ex-First Lord of the Treasury was the person 
 then and there to be honoured, the former apparently 
 received the greater share of applause. Glasgow, on 
 the 29 th of October, gave a public dinner to Lord 
 Durham, when the whole city united to offer him an 
 enthusiastic reception. As Lord Durham was out of 
 
200 POPULARITY. 
 
 office, it was suggested that a public dinner should be 
 given to him in London as a complimentary recog- 
 nition of his qualifications as a statesman, and his 
 high character as a friend of the people. Mr. Dun- 
 combe was requested to sound his lordship as to his 
 wishes on the subject; and it is evident from his 
 reply that he cared for such a demonstration only if 
 it could be made sufficiently general. 
 
 Lambton Castle, October IGtli, 1834. 
 
 My deab Duncombe, — I return you W.^s note. You 
 ask me what I wish ; I will tell you candidly. If the dinner 
 was really desired by the great mass of metropolitan elec- 
 tors, and would be not merely well but warmly supported, 
 and the attendance more than usual, I should like it much. 
 It would do great good to the cause of real Reform, and 
 it would be a gratifying compliment to me, who certainly 
 did them more good than any one ; and up to this hour I 
 have never received the slightest acknowledgment for my 
 exertions. Grote would be an excellent chairman. You 
 must take care not to be too prominent, or they will say, 
 from your intimate friendship with me, that the afPair was 
 got up from private and personal motives. But all must 
 depend on whether the thing is really and generally wished. 
 
 I met last summer, at Grote' s, Clay, the member for the 
 Tower ; he told me his constituents were very anxious to 
 meet me and express their gratitude, &c. &c. I told him I 
 should be very glad if a fitting opportunity occurred. They 
 might consult with him. I start from hence for Scotland 
 on the 24th, and shall be away a week or ten days. 
 
 Yours ever, D. 
 
 The Morning Chronicle ! How base ! — especially after 
 what Mr. Easthope said to me at your house. 
 
 As Lord Durham drew up the Eeform Bill, and 
 used all his influence to carry it through Par- 
 liament, such a distinction would have been natural 
 
MR. GROTE. 201 
 
 and appropriate. It does not appear, however, to 
 have been entertained as cordially as his lordship 
 desired. 
 
 As the Eeform Grovernnient was daily becoming 
 more unpopular with the masses, an attempt was 
 made to get the metropolitan members to join in a 
 declaration against their unsatisfactory policy. Mr. 
 Duncombe readily lent his assistance to the proposal, 
 and strove to obtain the names of other influential 
 members. Some did not wish to lose their chance of 
 ministerial patronage. On being written to, they 
 either gave no answer, or declared their dissent. Sir 
 Francis Burdett, Sir William Home, and jMr. Byng, 
 were among the former ; Serjeant Spankie, Sir S. 
 Whalley, Mr. Lyall, and Colonel Evans, among 
 the latter. The two following communications de- 
 scribe the nature of the proposed declaration. The 
 first is from the author of our best " History of 
 Greece." 
 
 Threadneedle-street, Nov. 20th, 1834. 
 
 Dear Sir, — The bearer of this note is my friend and 
 partner, Mr. Prescott, who will show you the copy of an 
 address^ such as we think will be useful ia the present 
 political emergency. It is intended to be signed by all the 
 metropolitan members who concur in the sentiments of it^ 
 and has been prepared^ with that view by Dr. Lushington, 
 j\Ir. Clay, and myself. I trust it will meet with your ap- 
 probation, and that you will be able with a safe con- 
 science to affix yoirr signature. Dr. Lushington, Mr. Clay, 
 and myself have undertaken the task of applying to all the 
 other metropolitan members. I have this morning seen 
 JNIr. Crawford^ who approves and will sign it. 
 
 I remain, dear sir^ yours truly, 
 
 Geo. Grote. 
 T. S. Duncombe, Esq., M.P. 
 
202 TOUT REACTION. 
 
 No. 62, Threadneedle-street, Nov. 21st, 1834. 
 
 Dear Sir^, — Since I saw you this morning some other of 
 the Liberal metropolitan members have agreed to sign the 
 paper I brought to you ; but Colonel Evans and Sir Samuel 
 Whalley take a different view of it^ and decline to give their 
 signatures. Under these circumstances Mr. Grote and Mr. 
 Clay have thought it best to delay the publication of the 
 paper until they can see Mr. Hume, and obtain his concur- 
 rence. Mr. Hume is^ I believe, at Brussels, or on his road 
 home, where he is daily expected to arrive. There is reason 
 to regret that the address, which has been prepared, cannot 
 at once be published; though, if it does not exhibit a 
 sufficient union among reformers, it had better not appear 
 at all. — I have the honour to remain, sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 W. G. Prescott. 
 
 T. S. Duncombe, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Manifestations of Tory reaction made themselves 
 more and more conspicuous, notwithstanding the out- 
 spoken sentiments of the Liberals. The fact was, 
 that the Reform Bill was being regarded as a sham, 
 none of its benefits having fallen to those to whom 
 they had been promised. The supporters of the new 
 Government were alleged to be just as greedy after 
 "the loaves and fishes" as the supporters of their 
 predecessors. Good things of all kinds were multi- 
 plied; excellent commissions ; most attractive offices; 
 situations to suit any capacity, or none at all ; but a 
 shoal of Greys and Eussells snapped them up ; and 
 the advocates of a more generous policy were elbowed 
 into the background. A crisis was approaching, 
 which made Mr. Duncombe's friend anxious to have 
 him nearer : — 
 
LORD DURHAM. 203 
 
 Lambton Castle, November 9tli, 1834. 
 
 My dear DuncombEj — What are your plans ? Are you 
 coining to the north ? If so, why not go with me to the 
 Newcastle dinner on the 19th? There will be no harm in 
 your making acquaintance with our northern Liberals. If 
 Finsbury should ever go wrong, a connexion in this part 
 of the world would be no bad " string to your bow." 
 
 If you remain in town a few days longer, wiU you be 
 kind enough to arrange a little matter for me ? I took a 
 cook, called ^lartin, chiefly on the recommendation of Mr. 
 Brook Greville (in a note to Stanley) ; he came on -trial, 
 was here a, fortnight, had a brain fever (which it seems he 
 had had twice before), and was obliged to be removed. I 
 have said that I would give him whatever you and his 
 patron, Mr. B. Greville, thought right. He has already 
 received 10^. 
 
 I have been terribly knocked up and unwell since my 
 Glasgow day; but am, I think, getting round again. Let 
 me hear from you. Ever yours, D. 
 
 L. C, November 20tli, 1834. 
 
 My deab, D., — Many thanks for gong and cook. 
 The dinner " came off" yesterday, and to perfection, as 
 well as the preliminaries with the burgesses and the work- 
 ing classes. You will see my answers to both, and that I 
 have, as well as at the dinner, " put the steam on." Nothing 
 can be better than the spirit here. Surely it must be the 
 same everywhere. The people cannot look quietly on 
 whilst the Dictator is preparing to crush them under his 
 iron heel. Can you be spared from town? If so, pray 
 come north. Ever yours, D. 
 
 The reason Lord Durham was not included in the 
 Whig Ministry of 1834 was publicly stated to be 
 imcompatibility of temper. The Grovernment organ, 
 the Globe, stated that " No member who has been in 
 
304 WILLIAM THE POUETH. 
 
 the Cabinet with Lord Durham is disposed to act with 
 him again." The odium of the exclusion fell on Lord 
 Brougham ; but there can be no doubt that the 
 Government were unanimous against his joining 
 them. It is quite as clear that they were con- 
 stantly bickering with each other; and they shortly 
 afterwards went to pieces through their own want of 
 cohesion. 
 
 The days of the Whigs were evidently num- 
 bered, though they retained their places for a 
 short time. The following story was circulated 
 at the clubs, as to the manner in which they 
 were disposed of. It is highly characteristic of 
 the Sailor King. His Majesty sent for Lord 
 Melbourne, while at Brighton ; and on the latter pro- 
 posing to proceed to business, the King, with his 
 customary lonhoimnie, exclaimed — " Come, come, we are 
 going to dinner — let's talk of business afterwards !" 
 
 Nothing loth, the ever agreeable First Lord accepted 
 the royal hospitality, and did justice to it, revolving 
 in his mind the propriety of making political hay 
 while the royal luminary shone. He did equal justice 
 to the nautical jokes and anecdotes, and was preparing 
 to profit by his opportunity, when the King bluffly 
 interrupted him — 
 
 " Fill your glass — it's dry talking !" 
 
 Lord Melbourne filled his glass, laughed at the 
 command, and drank the wine, fully apjDreciating its 
 excellence. There then followed more nautical jokes, 
 and more wine ; and the Prime Minister enjoyed both, 
 and was evidently in a disposition to enjoy everything 
 —the sweets of office for an interminable tenancy 
 included. 
 
MINISTERS DISMISSED. 205 
 
 The dinner had been cleared, the dessert placed on 
 the table, and the cheerfulness of his Majesty was only 
 exceeded by the cheerfulness of his Minister. There 
 could be no doubt at all that they were on the best 
 possible understanding. The Premier was thinking 
 on the main chance ; while the Sailor King, appro- 
 priately enough, seemed to be thinking only of the 
 main brace. So, fearful that he might lose his chance, 
 after indulging in a thorough burst of mirth at the 
 last contribution from the royal admiral's memory. 
 Lord Melbourne was about to commence a request, 
 when he was cut short by an abrupt change in the 
 King's manner and speech. 
 
 " By the way," said his Majesty, " Lord Althorp's 
 dead, I hear — so is the Government, of course ; when 
 the head's gone the body can't get on at all ; there- 
 fore there's no help for it — you must all resign." 
 Here, my lord," he added, as he took a letter 
 from his pocket, and handed it to the astonished 
 Prime Minister ; " here's a letter I've written to the 
 Duke of Wellington, directing him to form a Cabinet. 
 Be sure you give it him directly you arrive in 
 town." 
 
 Lord Melbourne took the proffered document and 
 his departure almost simultaneously in rather a hazy 
 state of mind — the anti-climax of the King's securing 
 him as a messenger to bear the tidings of his dismissal 
 to his successor, every now and then as he journeyed 
 to town, making him have recourse to a habit he had 
 of scratching his head, while uttering an involuntary 
 exclamation that did not sound like a blessing. 
 
 All the political world were expecting something, 
 but they did not expect the news circulated on the 
 
206 THE WHIGS. 
 
 15th of November. The King had dismissed the 
 Melbourne Cabinet, and sent for the Duke of Wel- 
 lington; after which, a special messenger had been 
 sent to bring home Sir Eobert Peel witli all possible 
 dispatch. It was evident that a Tory Government 
 " loomed in the distance." As soon as there could be 
 no mistake on this point. Sir Eobert Peel had been 
 announced as First Lord of the Treasury and Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer ; and a Ministry had been 
 arranged. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe issued a stirring address to the 
 electors of Finsbury, and at a public meeting made as 
 stirring a speech to his constituents, full of determi- 
 nation to withstand any attempt of the new Govern- 
 ment to undo the work of the Reform Bill. 
 
 The first Reform Parliament was dissolved on the 
 30th. 
 
 It was a critical state of affairs for the Whiffs. In 
 the summer of this year Lord John Eussell had written 
 to Moore — " If there is no hesitation or shrinking 
 among us at the helm, we shall still pass through the 
 straits in safety ; but if there is, I see no sea-mark 
 . which can afford hope to the country."* 
 
 The poet had predicted the end of the Government, 
 and states a few days later — "How rapidly and truly 
 they have confirmed all my worst predictions of them ! 
 But I cannot think they are yet out of the scrape. 
 I have always said they were like Mazeppa — tied fast 
 to the mad horse they had let loose, and must see its 
 course out." In November he adds — " To my noble 
 and right honourable friends, the Whigs, a most im- 
 portant event has happened — namely, their being 
 
 * Moore : " Memoirs," vii. 34. 
 
MR. BUNCOMBE RE-ELECTED. 207 
 
 suddenly turned out of office by his Majesty, after 
 four years of dominion, during whicli more has been 
 done to unsettle, not merely institutions, but prin- 
 ciples, than it will be in the power of many institu- 
 tions to repair. The curious part of the case is, that 
 in the process of converting the great mass of the 
 nation into Eadicals, they have most of them ti-ans- 
 formed themselves into Tories." 
 
 The year 1835 commenced with the most violent 
 electioneering struggle ever witnessed in England. 
 The Tories had appealed to the country, and it is 
 but justice to acknowledge that the result proved 
 they were justified in making the experiment. In 
 the counties they gained considerably, but in the 
 town constituencies were generally unsuccessful. 
 Finsbury went through a tremendous contest. Ser- 
 jeant Spankie and Henry, brother of Sir John 
 Hobhouse, having been put forward in the Whig in- 
 terest, Mr. Duncombe was associated with Mr. 
 Wakley. The election terminated on the 10th of 
 January, Mr. Duncombe being at the head of the poll 
 with 4497 votes ; Mr. Wakley came next, with 2359 ; 
 the learned Serjeant only polled 2332; and Mr. 
 Hobhouse resigned when he had obtained 1817. It 
 was a signal triumph for the Liberals, and they made 
 the most of it. 
 
 The second reformed Parliament, commencing its 
 sittings under anti-reform influences, was not likely 
 to effect much progress in liberal legislation. Care 
 was taken that the Grovernment should not retro- 
 grade ; and Whigs and Eadicals were determined to 
 put on pressure to make it advance in the right direc- 
 tion. The two great political parties prepared to 
 
208 LORD DURHAM AT ST. PETERSBURG. 
 
 renew the struggle, and a conflict of experimental 
 legislation soon took place on the subject of the Irish 
 Church. Ministers were found to be in a minority, 
 and on the 8th of April they resigned. On the 18th 
 another Melbourne government came into office. 
 Lord Durham's name was not among the appoint- 
 ments ; he had returned to St. Petersburg. Lord 
 Palmerston was Foreign Secretary, and Lord John 
 Eussell took the Home Office. It was unquestionably 
 a Whig Ministry j9Mr et simple, with nothing particu- 
 larly popular about it. The Radicals were not repre- 
 sented in it in any way. Nevertheless, the change 
 was so far assuring — it had taken the executive out 
 
 of hostile hands. 
 
 St. Petersburg, December 16th, 1835. 
 
 My dear Duncombe^— I was delighted to see your hand- 
 writing once more, and hope, when you are no longer 
 afraid of the severe weather, you will let me see you in 
 person as well as on paper. I do not find the cold as yet 
 disagreeable ; although it has been at one and two degrees 
 of Fahrenheit — once below zero, I believe. It is a sharp, 
 piercing, but bracing, dry cold — not like our damp, raw 
 cold — and one is so protected by furs and wadded great 
 coats, that the cold has some difficulty to find a spot in 
 one's body to disport itself on. 
 
 I have been very well received by the Emperor and the 
 grandees here, and have a very good house, warmed to a 
 perfection of which you have no notion in England ; a tem- 
 perature of 64 degrees is always kept up night and day — no 
 drafts of air — no burning faces and iced backs, as in some 
 of our drawing-rooms at home, &c. There are constantly 
 balls and parties going on ; but I don't go much out. I 
 neither dance nor play at whist ; and besides, I have been, 
 and still am, in the greatest anxiety and alarm about my 
 poor daughter,* who is very ill in Ireland. 
 
 * Lady Ponsonby ; she died very shortly after. 
 
TALL TALK. 209 
 
 Thanks for the " papery" wMch I have put in the fire. 
 I hope, when the summer comes^ you will be able to pay me 
 a visit. In seven or eight days you get here — by steam to 
 Hamburgh ; thence to Lubeck, and from thence by steam 
 here. You would be much amused and interested ; it is an 
 extraordinary country^ and little known. The palaces and 
 establishments splendid^ and the only court which is now 
 left in aQcient magnificence. 
 
 Yours ever; D. 
 
 Pray write to me regularly when you return to town. 
 
 The popularity enjoyed by William IV. and Queen 
 Adelaide prevented any dangerous development of 
 public Qpinion. O'Connell did as mucb as he could 
 in that way in Ireland by his repeal movements, but 
 as yet he had confined his agitation within the boun- 
 daries of the law. In England there were political 
 adventurers quite as ready to make capital out of 
 popular sentiments. Hunt and Cobbett had passed 
 out of the sphere of conflict, but there were plenty of 
 orators and writers ready to go further into the strife. 
 Some of these, however, were little to be trusted. In 
 popular constituencies "tall talk" became more and 
 more a matter of course, and occasionally in Parlia- 
 ment democratic sentiments would be avowed ; but 
 the speakers, like the stump Ciceros across the Atlan- 
 tic, were speaking for Bunkum. Our ambassador at 
 St. Petersburg looked anxiously for news of the move- 
 ments of politicians of this stamp : — 
 
 St. Petersburg, May 26th, 1836. 
 
 My DEAR DtJNCOMBEj — I See you have been presenting a 
 petition against me, from your constituents. Do they 
 know what monopoly means ? Why, exclusive privilege of 
 selling anything. Now, all Finsbury may go and open 
 
 VOL. I. P 
 
210 INVITATION TO ST. PETERSBtHlG. 
 
 mines and sell coals in the county of Durham. But the 
 secret is, these speculators want Parliament to give them an 
 advantage over private individuals, by being enabled to 
 force their way through other persons' lands whether they 
 will or not — an exclusive privilege denied to us. The 
 senseless, false cry of monopoly is always raised to cover 
 some city job. But enough of this. How are you, my 
 dear D. ? Shall you pay me a visit this summer ? It 
 would repay you the trouble. Ever yours, D. 
 
 If you know of a case of good dry champagne, pray send 
 it me through the Foreign Office also. 
 
 St. Petersburg, June 4tli, 1836. 
 
 My dear Doncombe, — I think there is no doubt of my 
 being here, at any rate, all the summer. I have just taken 
 a very nice villa, where we shall be very comfortable. You 
 will find, I hope, a good bed. Pray tell Ben. King that I 
 shall be most happy to see him if he accompanies you. 
 You should come out as soon as you can ; your constituents 
 wiU give you a leave, no doubt, for the remaining period of 
 the Session. The " collision" is probably over by this time, 
 and the remaining questions cannot be of such a nature as 
 to want one vote. There are really three unique sights 
 for the summer here : the fete at Peterhoff, the Russian 
 Versailles ; the naval review at Cronstadt ; and the great 
 review of the army, 40,000 men. 
 
 Mr. Conyngham, my agent at the Foreign Office, will 
 tell you all about the steam-packets by Hamburgh and 
 Lubeck ; on the eighth day you are here. I will give orders 
 to the messengers to look out for you. Adieu. 
 
 Yours ever, D. 
 
 Michaeloffsky, June 22nd, 1836. 
 
 My dear D., — Many thanks for the Sillery. I trust in 
 God you will assist in drinking it. You ask me when the 
 Peterhoff fete is — on the 13th of July. If I may judge 
 from the preparations, it will be one of the finest sights 
 imaginable. Waterworks finer than those of Versailles ! 
 
PUBLIC I'EELING. 211 
 
 Gardens witli trees high as those in Kensington Gardens, 
 illuminated by myriads of lamps to their very tops ! 
 Don^t forget to bring a uniform with you ; it is essential in 
 this country. The military mancEuvres begin in about 
 three weeks, and will be very fine — 30,000 men at least. 
 The scene of action is in the immediate neighbourhood of 
 this villa, which is close to Peterhoff, about fifteen miles from 
 Petersburg. Ever yours, D. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe could not be spared from his duties, 
 and therefore lost the enjoyments of the Eussian 
 capital. He had arduous vrork in hand. 
 
 Public feeling never ran so high as at contested 
 elections, but political animosities did not confine 
 themselves to such contests. The conflict raged then, 
 but whichever side achieved a triumph left a sense of 
 hatred, as well as of humiliation, for the defeated to 
 brood over. Class began to array itself against class, 
 and the masses were taught to rely upon numbers in 
 a conflict with the wealthy. " The greatest happi- 
 ness of the greatest number," the favourite idea of 
 Jeremy Bentham, was impressed upon the myriads 
 engaged in toil, and they were advised to combine for 
 the purpose of improving their social position. Tories 
 and AVhigs criminated and recriminated, and bribed 
 and bullied, with equal earnestness of purpose. 
 
 Another general election forced Mr. Duncombe to 
 
 go to the poll again. There were three candidates ; 
 
 but Mr. Wakley's supporters by giving him plumpers 
 
 placed him at the head of the poll. Wakley, 4967 ; 
 
 Duncombe, 4895. The defeated candidate was a 
 
 brother of the murdered minister, Spencer Perceval. 
 
 He came forward as a Conservative, and poUed 2670 
 
 votes. We add a sketch of what was taking place at 
 
 Southampton : — 
 
 p 2 
 
212 MR. WAKLEY. 
 
 Southampton, Sunday. 
 
 My dear DcncombEj — I think you managed gallantly 
 and most wisely, and I cordially congratulate you on the 
 result. 
 
 On Friday, win or lose here, I shall be at the Finsbury 
 hustings to poll. I must return here at night if I win, as 
 the return is made on Saturday. We have a bitter set of 
 devils here ; from their manner and temper it will not sur- 
 prise me if I am obliged to be at close quarters with some 
 one of them before I have done. One of the stupid 
 Honourables is digesting a public apology for a most stupid 
 lie ; he tries to shuffle, but now finds it cannot do, and has 
 consented publicly to eat his own words. Thank God, 
 there are some great blockheads here, and in their fury and 
 mismanagement I hope to gain a few points to help me on 
 to the winning post. 
 
 Yours always, J. Easthope. 
 
 After the first appearance of Mr. Wakley in the 
 House of Commons, some of the members appeared 
 inclined to be social with him, but he repelled their 
 good-natured advances. " In a little time," he said 
 to them, " you aristocrats wiU be swept out of this, 
 like chaff before a whirlwind." Mr. Wakley's whirl- 
 wind never came — his chaff did. 
 
 The House met on the 31st of January, and parties 
 seemed to be nearly balanced, but not, as of old, into 
 two distinct bodies. Each division was subdivided by 
 shades of opinion that kept them distinct ; each had 
 its mild, moderate, and extreme politicians. On the 
 Grovernment side they stood thus : — 
 
 Whigs 152 
 
 Liberals 100 
 
 Radicals 80 
 
 332 
 
MR. BUNCOMBE IN PARLIAMENT. 213 
 
 On the Opposition, tlius — 
 
 Ultra Tories , . 100 
 
 Moderate Tories 139 
 
 Liberal Conservatives .... 80 
 
 319 
 There was an absolute majority of thirteen only 
 when the entire Opposition should chance to be of one 
 mind ; but there were questions likely to be brought 
 forward by Grovernment for which their supporters 
 were known to have no mind at all ; and there were 
 others expected to be brought forward by some of 
 these nominal supporters which Ministers had a 
 mind only to defeat. The tact of Lord Melbourne 
 was favourably displayed in keeping such elements as 
 much as possible together, and when conflicting ex- 
 periments in legislation were attempted, by strength- 
 ening the administration with Opposition votes. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe, notwithstanding the numerous de- 
 mands upon his time in other directions, was always 
 in his place in the House of Commons for the despatch 
 of business, and never missed an opportunity of sup- 
 porting measures of practical utility. Whatever pro- 
 mised to advance civil and religious liberty was sure 
 of his hearty co-operation. He followed promptly 
 the boldest leaders; sometimes he himself took the 
 lead, of which a notable instance was afforded when 
 he submitted a resolution to the House on the 9th of 
 May against the practice of peers voting by proxy 
 when legislative measures were under their considera- 
 tion. His speech on the subject, which he had evi- 
 dently prepared with unusual care, was listened to 
 with attention by all parties in the assembly, and 
 
214 LOUD DURHAM IN ENGLAND. 
 
 replied to by his political opponents without acri- 
 mony. The motion was seconded by Sir William 
 Molesworth, supported by the votes of eighty- 
 one members, and rejected by a majority of only 
 forty-eight. 
 
 A list of ministerial appointments was published 
 after the accession of the Queen ; but it did not differ 
 materially from the Government as before constituted. 
 The new Parliament was opened on the 15th of 
 November. 
 
 Lord Durham had again returned to England. He 
 had not been quite at his ease at the head-quarters of 
 absolute power, and was desirous of making himself 
 useful at home. His name, however, did not appear 
 in the ministry ; but a promise of employment was 
 held out to him. Lord Melbourne wished to avoid 
 having him in Opposition, and kept him quiet till he 
 could find another opportunity of removing him to a 
 safe distance. He still corresponded confidentially 
 with the member for Finsbury : — 
 
 Lambton Castle, October 15tli, 1837. 
 
 My dear DuncombEj — I have not written to Easthope,* 
 as he is so much connected with the Foreign Office, for 
 communications, inspirations, &c. &c., that one feels re- 
 luctant to engage him in any line that might not exactly 
 tally with Government politics. What they are or will be 
 we don^t yet know. I hope for the best, as I have great 
 confidence in Melbourne's sound sense. Our dinner is the 
 day after to-morrow. Pray come here after you return, if 
 you can. Ellice and Pow. come here on the 19th ; the 
 Tankervilles on the 20th ; Frederick Fitzclarence about the 
 same time; Charles Grey and his pretty wife on the 33nd 
 
 * He was still proprietor of the Morning Chronicle. 
 
APPOINTED TO CANADA. 215 
 
 I shall give up my pheasants to their tender mercies. 
 About the 4th I shall set off for London, as I have to dine 
 with the Lord Mayor on the 9th. Yours ever, D. 
 
 A suitable appointment was found for Lord Dur- 
 ham in a portion of our North American colonies. 
 The Canadas had for some time been in a disturbed 
 state, and Lord Melbourne conferred on him the 
 office of Grovernor- General and High Commissioner 
 for the adjustment of the affairs of Upper and Lower 
 Canada. On the 14th of January, during a debate in 
 the House of Lords, the Governor-General elect stated 
 what principles should guide him in the discharge of 
 his arduous duties. Even the Duke of WeUington 
 would have listened with approval to so sensible a 
 programme, though Lord Brougham did not. His 
 lordship disapproved of the colonial policy of the 
 Government ; but then the Government had just ap- 
 pointed Lord Cottenham to be Lord Chancellor. 
 
 No one of his audience listened with more gratifi- 
 cation than the Prime Minister. If he had appointed 
 a revolutionist to the responsible task of putting down 
 a revolution, far removed from a sphere where his re- 
 maining might give trouble, he could not have felt 
 more content. 
 
 In the year 1837 Mr. Duncombe was going through 
 a course of political duty that carried him from an 
 entertainment given by the Licensed Victuallers to a 
 visit to Lambton Castle, from a jollification with the 
 Lumber Troopers to a dinner with Sir William Moles- 
 worth in Eaton-square, and from public banquets at 
 Finsbury and Lambeth to select parties at Greenwich 
 and Richmond. 
 
 In the following year he was much occupied during 
 
216 THE MELBOURNE MINISTRY. 
 
 the Parliamentary session ; but contrived to find time 
 to devote to fashionable entertainments given by Sir 
 Sir George Wombwell, Sir William Molesworth, Mr. 
 Easthope, Lords Belfast, Chichester, Durham, Wilton, 
 A. ritzclarence, de Eoos, and Hertford, the Duke of 
 Devonshire, Prince Esterhazy, and the Duke of 
 Sussex, Ladies Blessington and Duller, and Mrs. Eox. 
 Serious attempts were made in and out of Parlia- 
 ment during the session of 1838, till its prorogation on 
 the 16th August, to damage the reputation of Lord Dur- 
 ham, or cause him to get into difficulties. In the mean- 
 time Lord Melbourne's ministry kept losing ground. 
 Lord John Russell attempted many great measures 
 in the House of Commons ; but nothing of real ad- 
 vantage to the community came of any of them. The 
 idea generally entertained of the Government by the 
 English people, and of the Governor-General by his 
 friends in the mother country, is clearly though hu- 
 morously expressed in the annexed communication 
 from a well-known parliamentary agent. It fol- 
 lowed Mr. Duncombe after he had started to join his 
 friend across the Atlantic : — 
 
 Westminster, 16tli August, 1838. 
 
 My dear Duncombe, — I trust that you arrived safe and 
 sound, and as little disturbed in stomach as might be 
 reasonably expected of a landsman. Well, by the time this 
 reaches you, tidings will have found you of new rumpuses 
 about Canada : of the repeal of the Ordinances^ of a dirty 
 Brougham-Tory Act of Indemnity, &c. &c. It wiU go hard 
 with the proper pride of our lord ; but for character sake, 
 and to defeat the Machiavellians^ he must stay and work 
 out his commission. Return would be ruinous to his repu- 
 tation. The dirt thrown at what Sir F. Head would call 
 his moral appointments, and the informalities of the Ordi- 
 
THREATENED DISSOLUTION. 217 
 
 nances, make a mess curable only by his stay, and the con- 
 ception and bringing forth of a sound and practicable plan 
 of future colonial government — a representative system being 
 the base. So say we his old and real friends, for he has got a 
 number of false friends, worse than his declared enemies. 
 He can achieve the real object of his provincial governor- 
 ship, and that will bring aU right and place him on a 
 pedestal with the Liberals. It would be ruin, I write him, to 
 take umbrage and return — exactly accomphsh the object of his 
 opponents, which was to disgust, drive, and bring him home 
 with a raw between him and the Ministry. After all there 
 is nothing in the past but mere breezes of sessional conflict. 
 A month, and all the smoke and smut will pass away, both 
 here and in Canada. The Liberal lords, on the Indemnity 
 Bill in the Upper House, made a most sorry and despicable 
 figure. In the Commons INIinisters did better, and Lord 
 Johnnie stood up gallantly for Durham. 
 
 All Lord Durham's best judging friends — those who look 
 to his interest and future station — all agree and continue of 
 opinion that he should at Christmas, or by February at 
 latest, return with and defend his own plan. Faustus 
 Brougham will then meet his match, as he did at Edinburgh. 
 If Lord Durham stays as a mere governor of the Canadas, he 
 will be involved in all the petty warfare of next session of 
 parliament. His secondary acts will be the staple of attack 
 and factious discussion. But God only knows how the 
 Ministry, as constituted, can ride the storm of the next 
 session ! Never was there to a party a more degrading 
 session, and the Ministry has sorely fallen both in and out 
 of Parliament. It, in truth, now represents no party in or 
 out of Parliament. I believe Lord Melbourne is weU aware 
 of this, but greatly perplexed how to tinker the thing up ; 
 I don't believe the Government capable of repair. The nap 
 of the cloth is gone ; and the rents, to use Charles Buller's 
 private and confidential letter home, are horrifying. 
 
 K I had not been booked for a seven weeks' tour on the 
 Continent past revocation, I should have put myself on 
 board a United States packet and slipped over to you a 
 
218 MR. BUNCOMBE CROSSES THE ATLANTIC. 
 
 montli. But I should break up a party (and my honour) 
 if I abandoned my continental trip. Drop me a line ; and 
 I hope to hear from you that Lord Durham just treats the 
 recent events as he ought^ with contempt, and is pursuing 
 his course — the framing of a "scheme of government/^ to 
 use Commonwealth language. 
 
 Yours ever, Joseph Parkes. 
 
 Easthope is very well and very big. I drank tea with 
 him last night in Salisbury-street. There is nothing par- 
 ticularly new, Canada having absorbed every other consider- 
 ation. I write this in Price's office, waiting that impostor's 
 call, or you would not have had a line. 
 
 The appointment of Lord Durham induced Mr. 
 Duncombe to endeavour to join him in an unofficial, 
 if not in an official, capacity ; and during the session 
 of 1838 he made arrangements for the purpose of 
 being able to turn his back upon Einsbury for a 
 time. In the meantime the Grovernor-Greneral was 
 ably winning his way with the Canadians — the alarm- 
 ing rebellion gradually collapsed, and very shortly the 
 provinces were restored to their ordinary footing. 
 
 In July, Mr. Duncombe found himself ready for a 
 start. An account of his trip is given in a diary he 
 kept tiU he returned home. It will be found in an- 
 other chapter. 
 
 During the progress of the Reform Bill the member 
 for Finsbury had addressed the House wherever there 
 seemed an opening for supporting with effect its 
 Liberal provisions ; and after it became the law of 
 the land, he was still more earnest in endeavouring 
 to expand its principle. He maintained the views of 
 his political friends and supporters in regarding it 
 as merely a first instalment in the way of concessions 
 to the people, and essayed to liberalize its rate-paying 
 
HIS AMENDMENT ON THE ADDEESS. 219 
 
 clauses for the purpose of extending the suflFrage. In 
 all his motions and other speeches he was invariably 
 listened to attentively by both sides of the House, 
 for though his sentiments were far in advance of a 
 large majority of the members, there was nothing in 
 his manner of the overbearing rudeness or denuncia- 
 tory clap-trap of the demagogue. If truths divine 
 did not come mended from his tongue, startling an- 
 nouncements appear to have become tranquillized by 
 his addresses. 
 
 The Eeform BiU was regarded by the member for 
 Finsbury as a beginning only, and he was among the 
 first of the Liberal members who brought under the 
 notice of the Whig Government the necessity that 
 existed for their making another step in the same 
 direction. He pointed out to the nation its short- 
 comings, and pressed for a more liberal measure. 
 After the speech from the throne in 1839, he moved 
 an amendment on the address, " That the amendment 
 of the representative system enacted in 1832 is not 
 and cannot be a final measure, and that it is the duty 
 of the House to take immediate steps for its further 
 improvement." This was a question on which the 
 Whig and Tory parties were sure to unite, and they 
 did unite, as was made sufiiciently evident in the 
 division, the ayes having but 88, and the noes mus- 
 tering 426. Nothing daunted by this failure, he 
 maintained the agitation till pubhc opinion had en- 
 dorsed his views. 
 
220 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 DISTINGUISHED FOEEIGNERS. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe every foreigner's ambassador — The Duke de Eiche- 
 lieu — Prince Schwarzenburg — Count Batthyany — General 
 Count Montrond — Prince Talleyrand — Letter from the Duchess 
 de Dino — Talleyrand's dinners — Opinions respecting him — His 
 last moments — Prince Esterhazy — The Esterhazy jewels — Prince " 
 Polignac — Confined in the fortress of Ham — His appeal to the 
 Chamber of Peers — Complaints of the severity of his imprison- 
 ment — Louis PhiUppe — Mr. Duncombe's representations to the 
 House of Commons — Letter of the Countess of TankerviUe — 
 Mr. Duncombe's reply — Letter of the Princess to Vicomte 
 Auchald — Correspondence of Mr. Duncombe with Sir Eobert 
 Peel — Speech of Mr. Duncombe in the House of Commons — 
 Its effect — Letter of Comte de Peyronnet from Ham. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe appears to liave been regarded by 
 strangers with quite as much admiration as by his 
 compatriots, every man of rank or influence at his 
 own court who desired to be known here, seems to 
 have sought his society as if he considered him a 
 cosmopolitan ambassador. It is curious that just as 
 generally as he was in favour with men of all ranks at 
 home, was he a favourite with men of all ranks 
 abroad. The representatives of absolute rule, and 
 the apostles of freedom, were equally eager for his 
 friendship. He was as much at home with the most 
 aristocratic Frenchman as with the greatest democrat. 
 " Mon cher Tomie," was the friendly appellation of 
 
PRINCE TALLEYRAND. 231 
 
 the Parisian and Vienna beaux ; -while with the saga- 
 cious diplomatist of the Austrian empire, he was on 
 the same familiar terms. With ambassadors and 
 ministers he was hand and glove. 
 
 The Due de Eichelieu was an influential member of 
 the Government of Louis XVIII. In appearance he 
 was thin, handsome, gentlemanUke, possessed pleasing 
 features, with gray hair curling all over his head. 
 During the first republic and the empire he had been 
 in the service of Russia, was at the taking of Ismail, 
 and subsequently got appointed Grovernor of Odessa. 
 After the Eestoration he resided chiefly at Paris, and 
 survived till 1821. His son was a friend of Mr. 
 Duncombe, and while iu England, being fond of the 
 recreation of racing, they often met. Prince Schwar- 
 zenburg, who was high in the m.inisterial service of 
 the Emperor of Austria, seemed also proud of ranking 
 himself among the friends of " mon clier Tom." Count 
 Batthyany distinguished him with marks of the kindest 
 regard. They compared notes on thoroughbreds, and 
 made calculations on the chances of the favourite. 
 
 There were few houses in London that possessed 
 more attraction for the accomplished man of the 
 world than that of the French embassy when presided 
 over by the veteran diplomatist Prince Talleyrand. 
 The prince had been in the confidence of every French 
 Government since the era of the Eevolution, when he 
 first came to England as a negotiator. He had sur- 
 vived the first EepubKc, seen the Empire to its ter- 
 mination, beheld the restoration of the Bourbons, 
 witnessed the Hundred Days, the second return 
 and the second flight of the Bourbons, lived to 
 behold another revolution, and was now representing 
 
222 DUCHESS DE DINO. 
 
 the " King of the barricades," as Louis Philippe had 
 been styled. His conversation, when he chose 
 to be communicative, was therefore wonderfully 
 illustrative of memorable events and names, and as 
 it was often seasoned with biting wit or pun- 
 gent satire, was much relished by the cleverest men 
 in London society. 
 
 His salons were rendered more brilliant by the pre- 
 sence of his niece the Duchesse de Dino, a belle esprit, 
 charming and spirituelle. Nothing could be more 
 agreeable than the reunions of French and English 
 society over which this accomplished lady presided. 
 The dinners of the ambassador were equally attrac- 
 tive, and an invitation was regarded as a most accep- 
 table compliment. 
 
 Few persons who have had the honour of enjoying 
 the Prince's hospitality can forget the exquisite skiU 
 which the famous cook employed there displayed in 
 the production of the banquet : the most fastidious 
 taste was satisfied with the carte .- it proved in every 
 way worthy of representing the advanced gastronomy 
 of la belle France. Mr. Buncombe was frequently the 
 guest of the ambassador. The invitations reached him 
 in the following form : — Mardi. 
 
 M. de Talleyrand me charge. Monsieur, de vous dire 
 qu'en vous engageant k diner cliez lui aujourd'hui il 
 s'etait trompe de jour ; et que o'etait demain, Mereredi, le 
 jour ou il reunissait quelques-unes de ses amis ^ diner chez 
 lui. Cast, done, demain qu'il espere avoir le plaisir de vous 
 voir. Mille amities. j)EasE. ^-^ Ding. 
 
 During Talleyrand's second embassy to London, 
 his re23utation for saying bon mots caused almost every 
 word that dropped from his mouth to be circulated 
 
ta_lletrand's table. 223 
 
 among the clubs as social small change. At the 
 Conference, 1832, France was excluded from discus- 
 sing the question respecting the fortresses, with which 
 he, as ambassador, was discontented. When accused 
 of throwing obstacles in the way of a satisfactory treaty, 
 he exclaimed — " donnez-moi le traits, je le siffnerai." 
 Mr. Windham, who saw a great deal of Talleyrand 
 at the opening of his pohtical career, said — " He is a 
 two-edged knife : he cuts both ways. So dissolute, 
 so profligate an instrument augured ill for the morality 
 by which this regeneration of a government was to 
 be effected ; but then what was that system in which 
 this same profligate man was a bishop."* 
 
 The Bishop of Autun in his conduct did not show 
 more of the episcopal character than Eabelais in his 
 writings exhibited of the clerical. He was a creature 
 of the revolution, made of such ductile materials that 
 the pressure of expediency might mould him into any 
 shape. In his composition there seemed to be every- 
 thing on which he might rely, except religion — a re- 
 markable deficiency in a prelate ; but the bishop very 
 shortly disappeared behind the diplomatist, for which 
 role episcopal qualifications are not required. 
 
 Prince Talleyrand had in his household a culinary 
 organization of the most complete kind that could be 
 secured by a division of labour, for there were heads 
 of four departments : rotisseur, saucier, patissier, as 
 well as an officier for the dessert. He ate but once a 
 day, to secure himself an appetite, and tasted every 
 dish, taking wine after it to prepare his palate for the 
 next delicacy. This establishment was kept up re- 
 
 * Lord Holland : " Memoirs of the Whig Party," i. 17. 
 
224 Jeffrey's opinion of talleyrand. 
 
 gardless of expense, and the fortunate guest knew 
 that the greatest triumphs of French cookery would 
 be placed before him. 
 
 The host proved himself a good listener, often em- 
 barrassing strangers by his prolonged silence ; but to 
 old friends he could be communicative, with a strong 
 dash of sarcastic humour. He died on the 17th of 
 May, 1838. 
 
 Mr. C. C. Grenville, a shrewd observer of character, 
 and an accomplished member of the best society, 
 wrote of Talleyrand : — " He was one of the last of 
 that great school of politeness and social eminence 
 which is now nearly, if not quite, extinct ; and what- 
 ever he may have been in youth and middle age, his 
 declining years have ebbed away with admirable tran- 
 quillity, and in the constant exercise of many very 
 amiable qualities, as well as of a conservative wisdom 
 and moderation, becoming to himself and beneficent 
 to the world."* 
 
 Lord Jeffrey, equally reliable for his judgment of 
 men as well as of opinions, had an interview with 
 him at Holland House (February, 1832), and reports 
 of the ambassador as " more natural, plain, and rea- 
 sonable than I had expected: a great deal of the 
 repose of high breeding and old age, with a mild and 
 benevolent manner, and great calmness of S23eech, 
 rather than the sharp, caustic, cutting speech of a 
 practical utterer of hon mots!'\ 
 
 It was long the prayer of his nearest female rela- 
 tives that he would send for a priest and be recon- 
 ciled to the Church; but he evaded compliance till 
 
 * " Correspondence of Mr. Eaikes," &c., 83. 
 t Lord Cockburn's "Life of Lord Jeferey," i. 327. 
 
COUNT MONTROND. 225 
 
 the last moment, when he gave his consent. So edi- 
 fying was his conduct, it was reported that he died 
 in the odonr of sanctity. The Duchesse de Dino, 
 who had been so anxious on the subject, was charmed 
 with his edifying repentance and the respect he 
 showed for the priestly office and the symbol of re- 
 demption. Considering how little the ex-Bishop of 
 Autun was prepared for a better world, his self-pos- 
 session during the performance of the rite that 
 closed his long and varied career, surprised the spec- 
 tators, very much surprised his old friend and con- 
 fidant, Montrond. It was he who, when reproached 
 by a pious lady for maintaining a friendship for 
 Talleyrand, exclaimed — "How can I help liking 
 him, madam ? He is so wicked !" 
 
 Greneral Count Montrond was not an unfrequent 
 combination of diplomatist and gambler. He had 
 outlived the Eeign of Terror, was held in some favour 
 during the Empire, and got pensioned by " the 
 citizen king." He was singularly fortunate at cards, 
 and won money in England from everybody with 
 whom he played, particularly from the Duke of York, 
 Lord Sefton, and Lord Foley. He was frequent in 
 attendance at the clubs, where he was known as " Old 
 French." He passed for a wit, and his bald pate, 
 bright complexion, blue eyes, somewhat sly, demure 
 look, and corpulent figure, were sure to be recognised 
 wherever the laugh was loud and the play high. 
 Mr. Duncombe met him frequently, always in the 
 best society— at Prince Talleyrand's more than any- 
 where ; and it is to the niece of the French ambas- 
 sador, the celebrated Duchesse de Dino, that he refers 
 in the following note : — 
 
 VOL. I. Q 
 
226 Talleyrand's friend. 
 
 MoN CHER Tommy, — Madame de Dino ne pourra pas 
 aller k Brighton cette semaine. EUe me prie de vous re- 
 mercier, et de vous dire qu'elle est tres fache de ne pas 
 gouter le savoir-faire de ta bitch cook.* 
 
 Flahaut est arrive hier de Paris, et on dit par grave 
 chose. J'irai demain a Pontauger (Panshanger ?) et je re- 
 viendrai Jeudi en ville. Je vous previens le plutot que je 
 puis, afin de ne pas gener vos mouvemens. Mille amities. 
 
 C. MoNTROND. 
 
 Montrond is said to have been attacked witli epi- 
 leptic fits after dining with Prince Talleyrand. For 
 a few minutes the latter watched the writhings of his 
 guest, stretched at full length on the carpet, then ex- 
 claimed, with a sardonic smile, " C'est quil me parait 
 quil veut absolument descendre ." He however re- 
 covered, and presently returned to his avocation, won 
 more money, told more anecdotes, and was again the 
 leading star of all the dandies and wits about town. 
 The General had married the Duchesse de Fleury, 
 whose fortune in his hands did not last so long as her 
 beauty. He was much in society, both in Paris 
 and London, was very frequently to be seen with 
 Talleyrand, and was evidently one of the sources on 
 which the Ambassador relied for political information. 
 Louis Philippe is said to have granted him a pension 
 of 20,000 francs to sound his praises in the clubs. 
 
 Lord Alvanley has left a sad picture of the last 
 stage in the career of the impoverished Beau Brummell, 
 impoverished in wits as much as in pocket. He had 
 grown slovenly and dirty, that once paragon of ultra- 
 fine gentlemen ! His sense of honour was equally in 
 
 * The Count in the Bnghsh Clubs had become familiarized with 
 the term "dog-cook" — hence this characteristic and objectionable 
 application. 
 
PRINCE ESTERHAZY. 227 
 
 tlie dirt, for he victimized his best friends as long as he 
 was able to know his right hand from his left. Lord 
 Alvanley was one of the generous few who supported 
 him by a joint subscription. What a marked contrast 
 does his lordship give in his notice of the closing life 
 of Montrond ! " He is wonderful ; apoplexy and 
 gout do their worst, but cannot subdue his spirits 
 and esprit. He kiUed us with laughing at his stories 
 about M. de Talleyrand's death, which, though it 
 deeply affected him, has still its ludicrous side."* 
 
 Prince Esterhazy entertained a select party at 
 dinner on the 11th of February, 1837, of which 
 Mr. Duncombe was one, and although he dined with 
 Lord Sefton and Lord Melbourne in the same week, he 
 could not but give the preference to the cuisine of the 
 imperial ambassador. The Prince prided himself on 
 the munificent spirit with which he represented the 
 Emperor ; his establishment, therefore, was on a more 
 splendid scale than that of any of the ambassadors, and 
 his French cook the best that money could procure. 
 The carte was sure to be singularly recherche, and the 
 wines superb, the produce of his own vintage taking 
 a conspicuous place. The Hungarian wines had long 
 been known to connoisseurs ; nevertheless Imperial 
 Tokay was esceedingly rare, and never in such perfec- 
 tion as at the Ambassador's table. 
 
 In June the following year Mr. Duncombe was 
 invited to Prince Esterhazy's ball. The Esterhazy 
 jewels were then the wonder of Europe. The income 
 of the Prince was reported to amount to 400,000/., of 
 
 * " Correspondence of Mr. Eaikes with the Duke of Wel- 
 lington," &c., p. 86. 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 PRINCE POLIGNAC. 
 
 which he was obliged to invest 80,000/. annually in 
 the finest gems that came into the market. If this 
 be true the accumulation would become so enormous 
 there would be nothing extraordinary in the fact 
 that the Prince and Princess on state occasions made 
 a display valued at a million sterling. After half a 
 century this unparalleled exhibition of magnificence 
 has melted like a snow heap under a fervid sun. The 
 Esterhazys accumulated debts as well as diamonds to 
 so enormous an amount that the first swallowed the 
 family jewellery. The whole collection having been 
 brought to London, after astonishing half the Courts 
 of Europe, was catalogued and sold by auction. 
 
 Prince Polignac had fallen on evil times for despotic 
 ministers. In the year 1804 he got into trouble with 
 the French Government for having been mixed up in 
 the treason of Greorge Cadoudal, was condemned to 
 death, but, after enduring a confinement for four years 
 in the fortress of Vincennes, was liberated through 
 the influence of Josephine. At the Restoration he 
 came into ofiice in the reign of Charles X., whose ex- 
 periments on the patience of his subjects he has the 
 credit of having suggested. 
 
 The duchess was an Englishwoman, a widow, 
 Madame de Choiseul, nee Parkyns. When the 
 Bourbon king was cashiered, his ministers were im- 
 jjrisoned in the fortress of Ham, in Normandy, and 
 reports of the rigour of their confinement circulated 
 over Europe. At last they reached England, and 
 excited as much indignation as commiseration. The 
 Prince had made an appeal to the Chamber of Peers 
 — from which we quote a passage — entirely without 
 effect : — 
 
HIS APPEAL. 229 
 
 St. Lo, August 17tli, 1830. 
 
 I know not what steps the Chamber of Peers may take on 
 this subject-, or whether it will charge me with the lamentable 
 events of the two days, which I deplore more than any man, 
 and which, coming with the rapidity of the thunderbolt in 
 the midst of the tempest, made it impossible for human 
 strength or prudence to arrest. In those terrible moments 
 it was impossible to know to whom to listen, or to whom to 
 apply, and every man's efforts were required to defend his 
 own life. My only desire is, that I may be permitted to 
 retire to my own home, and there resume those peaceful 
 habits of private life which alone are suited to my taste, 
 and from which I was torn in spite of myself, as is well 
 known to all with whom I am acquainted. Enough of 
 vicissitudes have filled my days ; enough of reverses have 
 whitened my head in the course of the stormy life I have 
 led. I cannot in any degree be reproached with having in 
 the time of my prosperity preserved any vengeful recollec- 
 tions agaiust those who have used their power against me in 
 adversity. Indeed, in what a position should we all be 
 placed (surrounded as we are by those continual changes 
 presented by the age in which we live) if the political 
 opinions of those who are smitten by the tempest become 
 crimes in the eyes of others who have embraced a more 
 fortunate side of the question ! If I cannot obtain per- 
 mission to retire quietly to my home, I entreat to be 
 allowed to withdraw into a foreign country with my wife 
 and children. 
 
 Tlie complaints of the. prisoners' friends, who con- 
 trived to obtain authentic infprmation of their condition, 
 became more and more serious. Their confinement 
 was rendered so strict that their health had given way. 
 The prince was between fifty and sixty, and not in a 
 state to endure a rigorous imprisonment. One of the 
 captives was reported to be showing symptoms of in- 
 sanity, and the rest were becoming hopeless and 
 
230 MR. buncombe's humanity. 
 
 spiritless. The only gleam of light in their darkness 
 arose from the possibility of another reyolution, which 
 might open their prison doors. The " citizen king" 
 had been shot at ; he was therefore losing his prestige 
 as " king of the barricades." What was more pro- 
 voking, he was being laughed at; and caricatures 
 might possibly prove as effective as ordonnances in the 
 way of provocatives to a revolution. Louis Philippe 
 was engrossed with pecuniary cares for his family, and 
 his Ministers with anxieties for their own positions. 
 
 The Prince and his fellow-prisoners were permitted 
 few indulgences. The Princess, with their children 
 and domestic establishment, found lodgings in the 
 village, and was allowed access during the day till 
 the drum beat at five, when the citadel was closed. 
 Each captive was accommodated with a little room, 
 and permitted exercise in a small yard guarded by a 
 sentinel. All were jealously guarded, and only beheld 
 each other occasionally. 
 
 Among the memorable things done by Mr. Dun- 
 combe in the session of 1836, none did him so much 
 honour as his benevolent interposition in favour of 
 the incarcerated ministers of Charles X. He lost no 
 time in bringing their treatment under the considera- 
 tion of the House of Commons. The appeal was 
 listened to with marks of sympathy and respect, and 
 a grateful response from the Countess of Tankerville 
 speedily reached him. 
 
 Grosvenor-square, Sunday, February 28th. 
 
 Dear Mr. Duncombe, — I must write to you a few lines 
 to thank you for the kind feelings you expressed last Friday 
 night in the House of Commons in favour of my poor uncle, 
 Prince de Polignac. It gave me the greatest pleasure, and 
 I think may afford him some hopes of happier days. The 
 
LADT TANKERVILLE. 231 
 
 House, I am told, showed such right feelings upon the sub- 
 ject, that I hope your question will be followed up ; and if 
 I can be of any use in any way, you will always find me at 
 home till four, and I shall be delighted to express to your- 
 self my thanks. 
 
 Yours very truly, C. Tankerville. 
 
 He replied : — 
 
 Sunday, February 28th, 1836. 
 
 My deab Lady T., — It is a pleasure to me to learn, 
 which I do by your note, that my humble exertions (made 
 in concert with no one) on Friday evening should have 
 afforded at least one friend some satisfaction. I do assure 
 you that I feel so deeply for the situation of your unfor- 
 tunate relation, and the other State prisoners at Ham, that 
 it is not my intention to let the subject drop ; and if the 
 Government do not take up the question in earnest it is my 
 intention to take the voice of the House of Commons iipon 
 the subject; and from the kind and indulgent manner in 
 which the few observations that I made were received, I have 
 not the slightest doubt that a large majority would consent 
 to an address to the Crown in favour of my views. Should 
 anything favourable occur that I think you may like to 
 hear, I shall do myself the honour of calling and com- 
 municating to you in person, according to the kind invita- 
 tion contained in your note, which I have just had the 
 pleasure to receive. Yours faithfully, T. S. D. 
 
 The writer of the first note was Corisande, daughter 
 of the Due de Grammont. She had been married to 
 the earl since 1806. 
 
 The report of Mr. Duncombe's notice, published in 
 the newspapers, was read far and wide, and won him 
 golden opinions from all classes of his countrymen 
 and countrywomen. The Tories were averse to dis- 
 tinguished statesmen of high social rank being treated 
 like ordinary malefactors, and had no objection to 
 assist in bringing into contempt the popular govern- 
 
232 PRINCESS POLIGNAC. 
 
 ment that had made such a demonstration of its 
 liberality. The Whigs could not lose such an oppor- 
 tunity of professing enlightened humanity ; and the 
 Eadicals, though they entertained no feelings in 
 common with the agents of an absolute monarchy, 
 would not allow it to be thought that they encouraged 
 oppression. The most agreeable communication he 
 received on the subject was from the dungeon of the 
 
 unfortunates : — 
 
 Ham, March 4th, 1836. 
 
 Dear Sik, — Those alone who have experienced severe afflic- 
 tion can understand how more than consolatory, how gratify- 
 ing, it is to learn that friends still remain who are not indif- 
 ferent to our appalling misfortunes ! It was under these im- 
 pressions that I perused your generous and eloquent speech 
 in favour of the prisoners at Ham, and learnt the flattering 
 attention with which it was listened to by an enlightened 
 assembly. Receive^ sir, on this occasion my best acknow- 
 ledgments. They will, however, be inefficient when com- 
 pared with the secret satisfaction your own conscience must 
 afford you for having made a courageous effort in behalf of 
 those who linger in confinement. It is doubtless to the 
 remembrance of having in days of prosperity contributed on 
 various occasions to many philanthropic acts, both in behalf 
 of his own countrymen and of foreigners, that Prince 
 Polignac owes that serenity which has contributed to sup- 
 port him in adversity, and with which he now waits the 
 farther decrees of Providence. 
 
 Allow me to subscribe myself, dear sir, yours sincerely. 
 
 La Princessb de Polignac 
 
 T. Dunoombe, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Mr. Dunoombe sent the following reply : — 
 
 The Albany Court Yard, March 9th, 1836. 
 Dear Madam, — I beg to offer my acknowledgments for 
 your most obliging and flattering letter. Whatever may 
 be the differences subsisting in political opinions it must be 
 
THE CAPTIVES AT HAM. 233 
 
 impossible for any man who is sincere in those he himself 
 professes not to regret the suiferings of Prince de Polignac, 
 under a sentence pronounced certainly during the excite- 
 ment of popular feeling at a momentous crisis. Any inter- 
 ference of one nation in the internal transactions of another 
 must always be a matter of great delicacy, and I may 
 perhaps regard the occurrence as altogether fortuitous 
 which enabled me to indulge my own feelings in calling the 
 attention of the House of Commons to the mitigation of 
 the Prince de Polignac's misfortunes. In the due apprecia- 
 tion of my motives by that assembly, I rejoice to think 
 that I was not disappointed ; but I experience a further 
 and, if possible^ a higher satisfaction in the thought that 
 my humble endeavours to serve the cause of humanity are 
 so kindly appreciated by those most interested in their 
 success. I beg to assure you and the Prince de Polignac 
 that nothing would have grieved me more than that any 
 false or hasty step of mine should have excited the least 
 jealousy elsewhere which could by possibility prejudice or 
 retard the liberation of himself and colleagues. Impressed 
 therefore with the necessity of the utmost caution^ I shall 
 take no step without first ascertaining how far it may be 
 deemed prudent for his and their interests. I cannot help 
 flattering myself there exists in this country a feeling of 
 sympathy for their situation, which has only to be publicly 
 expressed and it must put to shame those who would con- 
 tinue an imprisonment which no enhghtened policy can 
 ever justify. I venture to enclose you a copy of the notice 
 of motion which it was my intention to have placed upon 
 the books of the House of Commons, but I shall not take 
 even this preliminary step while a hope remains that the 
 French Government may come forward and itself put an 
 end to those sufferings which I am confident every liberal- 
 minded man in every country must lament and condemn. 
 I have the honour to be, dear madam. 
 
 Your most obedient and faithful servant, 
 
 Thos. S. Buncombe. 
 The Princess de Polignac, &c. &c., 
 a Ham, France. 
 
234 GENUINE PHILANTHROPY. 
 
 Copy of Proposed Notice of Motion. 
 
 That an humble address be presented to His Majesty, 
 humbly to submit to His Majesty the propriety of His 
 Majesty using his good oflBces with his ally the King of the 
 French for the liberation of the Prince de Polignac, and of 
 Messieurs de Peyronnet, Chantelauze, and Guernon de 
 EanvHle. T. S. D. 
 
 The chivalrous action was the theme of general 
 admiration. It was well known that Mr. Duncombe 
 could have no selfish motive for moving in behalf of 
 persons who not only were personally unknown to 
 him, but whose political antecedents were entirely at 
 variance with his own principles. There never was a 
 greater proof that genuine philanthropy knows neither 
 creed nor party than in this case; and public men, 
 who had hitherto regarded him either as a mere man 
 of pleasure, or a dangerous democrat, now gave him 
 credit for being actuated by the noblest feelings of 
 human nature. 
 
 We add a communication written by the Princess 
 
 to a valued friend : — 
 
 March 20th, 1836. 
 
 My dear Vicomte, — The Prince is again, I am sorry to 
 say, suffering from gout, from which he has hardly been 
 totally free since the month of July ; he requests me to 
 thank you for your letter of the 12th inst., and for the 
 additional proof it gives us of your friendship, of which 
 be persuaded, however, we did not doubt. Pray do me the 
 favour to thank Mr. Duncombe for his obliging letter and 
 enclosure of proposed motion. I quite agree with him that 
 dissidence of opinion can never in any honest mind exclude 
 the exercise of benevolent and humane sentiments towards 
 those who suffer under appalling misfortunes. Prince 
 Polignac and I are very sensible of Mr. Duncombe's con- 
 siderate forbearance in suspending, at least for the present. 
 
STATE PRISONERS. 235 
 
 his motion. I imagine that before the Conservatives take 
 the initiative themselves, or join in the impulse so nobly 
 given by Mr. Duncombe, they will first ascertain whether 
 Sir R. Peel will personally support them ; if, on the con- 
 trary, he were to speak on the motion in the same terms 
 in which Lord Palmerston will probably answer, viz., the 
 impossibility for one Government to interfere with the in- 
 ternal affairs of another, and that thereupon a division of 
 the House should be unfavourable to us, it might unfor- 
 tunately be a pretext to continue our useless persecution 
 here. What might, on the contrary, be an immense assist- 
 ance to us would be if Lord Palmerston would encourage 
 Lord Granville to speak officiously (not officially) here, and 
 if Lord Palmerston and Lord J. Russell would at the same 
 time explain to General Sebastiani that the sympathy ex- 
 cited in England was so strong that it would be good 
 policy in France to prevent a further demonstration of it in 
 Parliament, by opening speedily, as an act of justice, the 
 doors of Ham, before it became one of necessity. This 
 explanation could also be made officiously; and I have no 
 doubt he would, as a matter of course, communicate the 
 conversation to his Government. If this language could be 
 held by Lord G. at Paris, and written then by General 
 Sebastiani to the Foreign Department here, I do think that 
 in order to escape further odium our long sufferings would 
 be put an end to. It is but too true that the health of all 
 the prisoners is more or less impaired — that of one of them, 
 I much fear, irreparably so. Imagine, my dear Vicomte, 
 that they have no means of exercise but on an elevated 
 rampart over stagnant water ; the walk is only eight feet 
 wide and thirty paces long, exposed to the wind in winter, 
 without any shelter from the sun in summer ; the only tree 
 within the precincts of the fortress is in the court, where 
 they are not allowed to seek the shadow of its beautiful 
 foliage, being literally barricaded on every side. During 
 the Empire, the Due de Polignac and his brother were 
 already here, but they were allowed the use of the court 
 and of the whole of the fortress, and at all hours, and were 
 guarded by fifty men in the town. Now there are five 
 
236 PRINCESS POLIGNAC. 
 
 hundred ! During the Restoration, the State prisoners had 
 leave to go into the town on their parole. Now they have 
 built a small prison in the fortress, where Prince P. and his 
 colleaa;ues have been confined almost au secret for the last 
 
 "-b^ 
 
 SIX 
 
 years 
 
 We received here not long since a pamphlet (a present 
 from its author), entitled " Reflections on the Trial of Prince 
 Polignac and his Colleagues, by Wm. Shee, Esq." The 
 Prince, who has read it with attention, tells me that the 
 legal points are admirably discussed in it, and that it is 
 impossible for any upright mind who has the smallest 
 notion of the law not to agree with the writer as to the 
 illegality of the trial in all its points, and of the condemna- 
 tion. There are some facts related by Mr. Shee not per- 
 fectly correct; but it is naturally difficult that he should 
 come precisely at the truth, as in the second page of his 
 pamphlet he cites them from a work {Proces des Ex-Min.) 
 which is only a prejudiced compilation of a variety of docu- 
 ments put together and published by one of the most 
 ardent enemies of the monarchy. The Prince and I rely 
 on you either to call yourself or have conveyed in some 
 sure way the expression of our sincere acknowledgments for 
 this kind effort in our favour, and to add how sensible we 
 are that he must have devoted a considerable time to this 
 humane intention, since the subject has been treated by 
 Mr. Shee so elaborately and judiciously. Mr. Shee resides 
 at Lincoln^s Inn, and is barrister-at-law. Pray remember 
 us most particularly and affectionately to Lady Essex and 
 the Vicomtesse, and believe me ever truly yours. 
 
 La Princesse de Polignac 
 
 To enable Mr. Duncombe to produce an effect 
 favourable to bis distinguished clients, it was impera- 
 tive tbat be should endeavour to secure the support of 
 the more influential members of the House. With 
 that object he forwarded copies of the correspondence, 
 with an explanatory letter, to Sir Eobert Peel. We 
 annex the communication and reply : — 
 
SIR ROBERT PEEL. 237 
 
 The Albany Court Yard, March 31st, 1836. 
 My dear SiRj — T beg to inclose the correspondence to 
 which I alluded yesterday when you were kind enough to 
 express an interest as to my intentions with regard to the 
 State prisoners at Ham. When I first mentioned the sub- 
 ject in the House of Commons, I did so without any com- 
 munication with them ; and the first that I received was the 
 Princess's letter of the 4th iust., which I take the liberty of 
 enclosing to you, as also a copy of my answer. The next 
 communication was by the Vicomte d'Auchald calling upon 
 me with the letter of the 20th inst. addressed to him ; when 
 after due consideration, and from other circumstances which 
 had come to his and my knowledge, we agreed that a public 
 notice of motion would be more likely than any private 
 application to stimulate the Secretary for Foreign Affairs 
 and others to what the Princess terms, in her second letter, 
 officious interference. I have reason to believe, if the 
 Government find you and your friends earnest in supporting 
 such motion, they wlU not deem it prudent to offer any 
 opposition, because they will know that in consequence of 
 the support that I am promised on their own side of the 
 House, all such opposition would prove ineffectual. Having 
 but one object in view, which is the Uberation of these un- 
 fortunate men, nothing will afford me greater pleasure than 
 to find that you approve of my efforts, excepting that you 
 could be induced to take the measure altogether out of my 
 inefficient hands, and carry it, as you might certainly do, 
 most triumphantly. Whatever countenance you may afford 
 cannot fail to be highly appreciated by the sufferers them- 
 selves, as well as by 
 
 Yours most faithfully, T. S. D. 
 
 WhitehaU, April 2iid, 1836. 
 My dear Sir, — I am much obliged to you for the trans- 
 mission of the enclosed correspondence. There are cer- 
 tainly objections of no small weight to the establishment of 
 a precedent for the interference of the House of Commons 
 in any manner whatever in respect to a judicial sentence 
 passed in a foreign country upon subjects of that country. 
 
238 MR. dxtncombe's appeal. 
 
 for alleged offences unconnected with international rela- 
 tions ; and I cannot but entertain some apprehensions that 
 the success, or I should rather say, the carrying of your 
 motion in the House of Commons^ might interpose new 
 difficulties, from feelings of national honour or jealousy, in 
 the way of the release of the Prince de Polignac and his 
 unfortunate companions in misfortune. I feel the deepest 
 interest in their fate ; and though I cannot now pledge my- 
 self to any particular parliamentary course^ for the rea- 
 sons stated at the commencement of my letter, yet I shall 
 cordially join you in the expression of sympathy for their 
 sufferings, and the earnest hope that the French Govern- 
 ment will without delay terminate their confinement. I 
 assure you with perfect sincerity that I think the objec- 
 tion to the Parliamentary proceeding would be practically 
 increased were I or any person of my political party to 
 originate the mention of the subject in the House of Com- 
 mons. The chances of success are improved by the very 
 circumstance that the suggestions in favour of mercy are 
 manifestly unbiassed by any party or political impressions in 
 behalf of the sufferers ; and every consideration^ therefore, 
 of public and private feeling combines to discourage me from 
 taking the question out of your hands. 
 
 Believe me^ my dear sir, very faithfully yours, 
 
 Robert Peel. 
 T. S. Duncombe, Esq., M.P. 
 
 The promised resolution was brouglit before a full 
 House on the 80th of May in a speech the happiest 
 Mr. Duncombe had ever delivered. It is impossible to 
 exaggerate the attention with which it was received. 
 The most cordial encouragement accompanied almost 
 every sentence ; and though the practical statesmen on 
 both sides the House were conscious that no action 
 could be attempted to forward its object, they foresaw 
 that the discussion and the sentiments that were likely 
 to be avowed, pronounced in the English Parliament, 
 must make an impression on the French Government. 
 
SPEECH RESPECTING THE HAM CAPTIVES. 239 
 
 The speecli is worth preserving in a memoir of his 
 pubHc life ; therefore we shall make no apology for 
 reprinting it from a trustworthy report : — 
 
 In rising to invite the House to concur in an address to 
 the throne^ having for its object " To beseech his Majesty 
 to use his good offices Trith his ally the King of the French, 
 for the liberation of Prince Polignac and other incarcerated 
 ministers of France/^ he said that he was too well aware of 
 the delicacy and the numerous difl&culties that surrounded 
 the question not to feel sensible how greatly he stood in 
 need of the indulgence of the House while he stated as 
 briefly as he was able the grounds upon which he thought 
 England might offer her mediation without offence, and 
 France might accept that mediation without compromising 
 either her dignity or her independence. (Hear.) When 
 the House looked back to the political career and the past 
 lives of these misguided men, he hoped that in advocating 
 their release he should stand acquitted of being actuated by 
 any party motive, or biassed by any political prejudices in 
 their favour. (Hear.) He stood there to recommend their 
 release on higher ground — ^he asked for it in the name of 
 even-handed justice and humanity, and in order that, if 
 their sufferings were only to terminate with their lives, it 
 might not be said hereafter that England by her silence 
 acquiesced in their capti^dty, or that no attempt was ever 
 made to relieve or mitigate their afflictions. The hon. 
 member said he might be asked (admitting this view of the 
 question to be correct) what right did we possess to inter- 
 fere with the domestic policy or the internal arrangements 
 of another country, or what precedents were there that 
 could be adduced in support of his proposition ? These were 
 the difficulties he knew he had to contend with — these were 
 the obstacles that he would be expected to overcome. With 
 regard to the right that we might have to interfere with the 
 internal pohcy of another country, he must say that he 
 thought such a question came rather too late ; it was true 
 non-intervention had been their precept, but how far it had 
 been their practice — (hear, hear, hear) — he might safely 
 
240 THE GLORIOUS DATS. 
 
 leave either to Spain to answer, France to illustrate, or 
 the house of Bourbon to acknowledge. 
 
 It was now nearly six years since the British public heard 
 with admiration and delight of the glories of July and 
 the triumphs of the barricades — when the citizens of Paris 
 rose almost as one man, and proclaimed that " the will of 
 the people" was the only legitimate title to the throne. The 
 successful struggle made by the French nation upon that 
 occasion caused an excitement here which he thought those 
 who witnessed it would not easily forget. They had then 
 seen the tricolour flag, not confined to the walls of Paris, 
 but triumphantly waving in our own streets among the fond 
 acclamations of the people ; and while addresses of con- 
 gratulation were sent over to the " citizen king," public sub- 
 scriptions were entered into to console and assist the rela- 
 tives and descendants of those who had fallen in the struggle. 
 In short, from that day England seemed to feel that the 
 liberties of France must thenceforth rest upon the same 
 foundation as their own. But when the excitement began 
 to subside, and the trial of the ministers to commence. 
 Englishmen began seriously to reflect upon what descrip- 
 tion of constitution that was which would make the servants 
 of a monarch deposed, of a power that had ceased to exist, 
 responsible to those who had profited by the change. They 
 had then to learn in what new charter this double responsi- 
 bility could be found, whereby a king could be superseded 
 and his ministers impeached. Many then began to suspect 
 that either the advantages of that eventful revolution had 
 been exaggerated, or the punishment of its authors was un- 
 generous and unjust. (Hear.) Howevei', the trial pro- 
 ceeded, and whether that trial had been a legal or illegal 
 one — whether the tribunal before which Prince Polignac was 
 arraigned had or had not been legally constituted — he 
 would not pretend to decide ; suffice it to say, that the 
 ministers of Charles the Tenth had been condemned^ and 
 were then in the dungeons of Ham, suflfering for having 
 only attempted that which their more fortunate successors 
 had been able to accomplish with a severity and a force 
 which he should leave to other and warmer admirers of 
 
CONDITION OF THE PRISONERS. ' 34] 
 
 this citizen king's reign to palliate and explain. (Hear, 
 hear.) 
 
 It was notorious that upon the first public occasion after 
 Louis Philippe had ascended the throne he declared that 
 "he wished his conduct to be judged by France, Europe, 
 and posterity." If in that declaration he was sincere it 
 afforded to England a favourable opportunity of communi- 
 cating to him and to our gallant neighbours the feelings of 
 sympathy and disappointment which pervaded this country 
 at the protracted incarceration of those now harmless in- 
 dividuals. For the credit of France he wished most sin- 
 cerely that she had listened to the counsel of a noble lord 
 upon this subject. He alluded to the speech of Lord Grey, 
 made by him in the other House of Parliament a short time 
 previous to the trial. That noble lord had said, " I am far 
 from wishing by any observations of mine to interfere un- 
 becomingly in the affairs of a neighbouring country, but I 
 believe I may say that there is not a friend of liberty in 
 Europe who would not feel gratified if he could see mercy 
 extended to criminals who may be thought by some least to 
 deserve it ; and that the revolution so nobly accomplished 
 might be freed from any proceedings which can have the 
 appearance of being dictated by motives and feelings of 
 vengeance." (Loud cheering.) 
 
 He would ask any man (let his politics be what they 
 might) to point out, unless vengeance were his object, what 
 was to be gained by this imprisonment ? What were the 
 dangers to be apprehended from an immediate and generous 
 remission of the sentence? For, if he had been correctly 
 informed, if liberty were restored to Polignae and his col- 
 leagues to-morrow, age, infirmity, and disease generated by 
 the pestilential climate of their prisons, had brought them 
 so close to the brink of the gi'ave, that all they could hope 
 for — all they desired — was to be permitted to conclude in 
 peace and charity, but in the enjoyment of liberty and of 
 the society of friends, those few remaining days that be- 
 longed to their ill-fated existence. (Hear, hear.) And here 
 the hon. member said he would wish to take the opportu- 
 
 VOL. I. R 
 
242 THE FORTRESS OF HAM. 
 
 nity of stating, that wlien he alluded to the subject on 
 a former evening he did so without any communication, 
 direct or indirect, with the prisoners themselves, and the 
 only communication that had since been made to him was 
 by a letter which he received shortly afterwards from the 
 Princess Polignac, expressive of the gratitude of the 
 prisoners at the kind manner in which the mention of their 
 misfortunes had been received by the enlightened assembly 
 he addressed. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe then read the letter of the Princess to him. 
 
 This letter was written, he added, by the Princess, Prince 
 Polignac, being sentenced to civil death, not having been 
 allowed to communicate with any one. The House was, no 
 doubt, well aware that the fortress of Ham was situated in the 
 most unhealthy part of France, in the midst of marshes and 
 morasses ; but to remain at large within the fortress seemed 
 to have been thought too lenient a punishment j for within 
 the fortress a small prison had been built, where these unfor- 
 tunate men were confined almost in secret, without any 
 means of exercise, excepting upon an elevated terrace, about 
 thirty paces in length, and surrounded by stagnant water. 
 At certain hours of the day a few persons were allowed to 
 see them, but at five o'clock they were committed to their 
 dungeons, where they dine alone, and after that hour, under 
 no circumstances of domestic affliction or of sickness, is any 
 friend or relation allowed to visit them to interrupt the cheer- 
 less solitude of their cells. He would ask if persecution like 
 this could be necessary to the ends of national justice ? Did 
 it not savour rather of revenge ? If so, surely the same 
 right and the same feelings that prompted us to congratu- 
 late our ally in 1830 might permit us to plead for mercy 
 in 1836, and to tell the French nation that we much fear 
 that in the eyes of posterity the lustre of their far-famed 
 revolution will be tarnished by such needless cruelty as this. 
 
 Before he sat down, the hon. member begged to observe 
 that there were precedents for this motion. Similar ad- 
 dresses had been moved in this House in 1794 and 1796, 
 by Mr. Fitzpatrick, for the liberation of General Lafayette 
 and other Frenchmen confined in the prisons of our ally 
 
MR. buncombe's motion. 243 
 
 the King of Prussia. He (Mr. Duncombe) had adopted the 
 form of that motion — a motion, too, which had been warmly 
 supported by all the leading Whigs of that day (as he hoped 
 his would be by those of the present time) ; that motion had 
 been supported by the present Earl Grey, by ^Ir. Whit- 
 bread, Mr. Wilberforce, Mr. Sheridan, and Mr. Fox; and 
 ^Ir. Fox, when speaking in support of it, said — " The cus- 
 toms of civilized nations presented no obstacle to our inter- 
 position. In the case, of Sir Charles Asgill, applications 
 were made by this country to a court with which we were 
 then at war. The good offices of the Queen of France were 
 solicited, granted, and proved effectual, and America, the 
 ally of France, yielded to an interposition on behalf of 
 humanity. What, therefore, was to prevent his Majesty 
 from using his good offices with his aUy in the cause of 
 humanity also ?" True it was that the motion of General 
 Fitzpatrick was not carried ; but why did it fail ? It failed 
 in consequence of the disturbed aspect that public affairs 
 were then assuming throughout Europe. War was kindling 
 in every quarter, and the principles of Lafayette were not 
 then quite so popular as they were at the present day, and 
 therefore an opportunity was gladly seized to control their 
 influence by the detention of his person. Now peace per- 
 vaded the continent, and were it not for the dungeons of 
 Ham little would be left to call to recollection the confusion 
 that was past. His motion also might fail, but he trusted 
 its failure would not, at all events, take place on this side of 
 the Channel, and that^ let what might become of Polignac and 
 his ill-fated companions, England might never be reproached 
 with havingbeheldwithindifference a persecution whichneither 
 justice, enlightened policy, nor humanity could approve. 
 
 The hon. gentleman, in conclusion, then moved the fol- 
 lowing address : — " Humbly to submit to his Majesty the 
 propriety of his Majesty using his good offices with his ally 
 the King of the French for the liberation of the Prince de 
 Polignac and Messrs. de Peyronnet, Chantelauze, and 
 Guernon de Ranville." (Loud cheers.)* 
 
 * Times Journal. 
 
 R 3 
 
244 COUNT PEYRONNET. 
 
 Among the speakers who took part in the debate, 
 Sir E. Inglis complimented him for the bold and 
 manly way in which the resolution had been brought 
 before the House. Lord Palmerston and Lord John 
 Russell deprecated any attempt of Parliament to 
 interfere in the domestic policy of a neighboiiring 
 nation ; yet intimated that the Government of Louis 
 Philippe were likely to do what was required without 
 any further expression of parliamentary opinion. 
 Other members took the same view of the subject, but 
 did not forget to do justice to the honourable member, 
 who had so ably brought it under their consideration. 
 Finally, in accordance with the sense of the House, 
 Mr. Duncombe withdrew his motion. 
 
 He received another communication from Ham : — 
 
 Ham, 7 Juin, 1836. 
 
 Monsieur, — Vous n'avez certes pas besoin de mes felici- 
 tations, ni de mes louanges ; il vous en vient assez de par- 
 tout ; aussi bien de votre Angleterre que de notre France. 
 D'ailleurs, qu'est-ce que cela vous apprend ? Vous le 
 savez, de reste, que vous avez bien fait : une ame comme 
 la votre se connait en bonnes actions. Mais les 
 louanges h part, j'ai besoin moi, monsieur, de vous re- 
 mercier, et je vous prie de souffrir qu.e je m'acquitte de ce 
 facile devoir. Je n^ai pas Fhonneur d'etre connu de vous, 
 monsieur, personnellement. D'autres, plus favorises, 
 devaient naturellement exciter en vous de plus promptes et 
 plus actives sympathies. Je ne vous en suis que plus 
 oblige, et votre demarche n'en est, quant k moi, que plus 
 genereuse, car elle est plus spontanee encore, et plus cer- 
 tainemeut provoque par la seul commiseration de malheur. 
 
 Agreez, done, monsieur, cette imparfaite expression de ma 
 gratitude, et croyez bien que je suis 
 
 Votre tres humble et tres devoue serviteur, 
 
 Cte. de Peykonnet. 
 
245 
 
 CHAPTEE XII. 
 
 MR. buncombe's CANADIAN JOURNAL. 
 
 Embarks in tlie Gladiator — Dangerous position of the sliip — Ar- 
 rival at New York — Albany — Troy House — Saratoga Springs — 
 Snakes — St. John's — Meets Lord Dui'liani at Montreal — Quebec 
 — Attends the review on the Plains of Abraham — Eestive 
 horses — Anecdote of Lord Gosford — Regatta — Lord Gosford's 
 apai-tments — A steeple-chase — The Falls — Papineau — ^A mLsed 
 jury — ^Pubhc meeting — Arrival at Montreal — Hotel charges — 
 Kingston — Horsewhipping Brougham — Niagara — An exhibi- 
 tion — Buffalo — The Mormons — Escape of Theller and Dodge — 
 Canadian justice — Dinner with Sir J. Macdonnell — On board 
 the Inconstant — Character of the colonists — Ship strikes — Fire 
 at sea — Plymouth Sound — Arrival in London — Drawing by 
 Lady Mary Lambton. 
 
 July 9th, 1838. — On Monday, the 9th, left town by the 
 Southampton railway coach, accompanied by Norman and 
 Easthope, who good-naturedly went to Portsmouth with me, 
 where we arrived about seven o'clock in the evening ; 
 dined, wrote some letters, and went to bed. 
 
 10th and 11th. — The Gladiator not arrived. Amused 
 ourselves as well as we could at the fair, which was then 
 going on ; went over the dockyards and the biscuit factory. 
 
 10th. — Easthope, and Norman on the 11th, returned to 
 town per mail. 
 
 12th. — The Gladiator arrived; went on board about two 
 o'clock, and weighed anchor about four ; fine evening ; we 
 soon lost sight of Portsmouth. After a long and tedious 
 voyage of thirty-four days we anchored at the quarantine 
 station, Staten Island, about seven o'clock p.m. on the 15th 
 of August. 
 
246 DANGEROUS SHOAL. 
 
 August 15th. — A beautiful evening; delighted with the 
 approach to the land and bay of New York ; the passage 
 was smooth. We saw numerous whales, but the only ad- 
 venture we had was on Sunday evening, the 12th, about five 
 o'clock, when we found ourselves in a calm, close on Nan- 
 tucket shoal. Dinner being over, and going as usual upon 
 deck, I found passengers (steerage) whispering and evidently 
 much alarmed. On inquiring the cause was told that the 
 current would carry us on the shoal, unless more wind 
 sprung up, and that nothing else could save the ship ; the 
 noise of the breakers on the rocks, a quarter of a mile off, 
 was tremendous, yet we were in water as smooth as a mill- 
 pond. The captain (Britton) evinced great anxiety, and was 
 himself heaving the lead every minute : we had at one time 
 not four fathoms of water. 
 
 This state of things lasted until about three o'clock in the 
 morning, when we got clear of the shoal. A little more 
 wind from the west enabled us to put about and retrace our 
 steps. We lost about forty or fifty miles by this mishap, 
 which I think was caused by the captain's anxiety to get in 
 before the Sheffield (Liverpool line), with whom we had kept 
 company three or four days, and could just beat her. Had 
 our wind not left us when it did, there is no doubt that we 
 should by our northerly course have got in twenty-four 
 hours sooner ; but as it turned out, she beat us by the same 
 number of hours, to the great mortification of Captain 
 Britton and crew. It is clear that we ought not to have 
 incui'red this danger; nevertheless, the coolness and the 
 dexterity of the captain were most conspicuous in extricat- 
 ing us from it. The steerage passengers were dreadfully 
 alarmed, women and children crying and bellowing most 
 pitiably. On our coming to Sandyhook a news-boat came 
 to us ; the proprietor having proposed taking any passengers 
 ashore from the quarantine ground, I left with two others, 
 and was rowed seven miles in roughish hot-water and a 
 leaking boat to the City, gaining a day by it. Tried to 
 get rooms at the Astor-house and the American; found 
 both hotels fuU, and went to Cowing's boarding-house, 5, 
 
NEW YORK. 247 
 
 IMurray-streetj Broadway^ a most comfortable house j Irish 
 waiters and chambermaids. 
 
 August IQth. — Was glad when I awoke to find myself 
 upon terra firma ; walked about Broadway ; was much 
 pleased with the City. Called at the British consul's office 
 for letters j found nonCj but was disgusted at the place 
 where Mr. Buchanan has thought proper to transact his 
 business on behalf of her Britannic jMajesty. It is the 
 dirtiest and worst house in New York that he could find ; in 
 it he has taken a small room on the ground-floor^ and great 
 complaints exist among the merchants as well as resident 
 Englishmen respecting his fees. It is supposed that they 
 produce above 2000Z. per annum. 
 
 Dined at the table d'hote ; about forty persons ; very 
 good dinner. Breakfasted in my own roorUj as the house 
 breakfast is at half-past seven, and the gong sounds at six 
 for people to get up. I had a good dinner ; violent thun- 
 der-storm all the evening. I went to the Franklin theatre 
 to see Jim Crow in London ; Rice's benefit ; very crowded 
 and hot, and he was rather complimentary than otherwise 
 to England ; returned to the hotel and went to bed ; wrote 
 six letters to England by Great Western. 
 
 Recognised by an old Hertford elector, who had settled 
 at New York as a tailor : M'Laren. Called upon Mr. P. 
 Astor with letter from EUice ; Pierpoint, to whom I also 
 was to be introduced, died a few days before of apoplexy. 
 Astor received me kindly, and invited me to call again upon 
 him on my return. 
 
 17th. — Got my baggage out of the ship, without being 
 examined or troubled by the custom-house. Dined at three 
 at the table d'hSte; sat between the two Brittons — the cap- 
 tain of the Gladiator and the captain of The Siddons. Took 
 a drive with Mr. Skenck, a merchant ; he showed me his 
 stores and took me round the best part of the town, 
 Washington-square, &c., returning by Bowery, which is the 
 part apparently devoted to the residences of the labouring 
 classes and mechanics. A railway is constructed for car- 
 riages with horses, for about three miles, when they put on 
 
248 ALBANY. 
 
 a locomotive to go to Haarlem. Went over the New Ex- 
 cliangej wliicti is rebuilding in consequence of the great fire. 
 It is a fine building ; is to cost half a million of dollars^ 
 which sum was raised among the merchants of the city in a 
 few hours. (Can the city of London say as much ? We 
 were obliged to levy a coal-tax for the purpose.) Fifty- 
 three acres of houses and property were destroyed by this 
 fire, but the ground is all now re-covered by a better 
 description of houses. In short, no expense appears too 
 great, or undertaking too arduous, for the Americans to 
 accomplish. 
 
 Went over the City-hall ; marble to the south and free- 
 stone to the north; their bridewell or sessions-house is also 
 very well arranged. Joined Captain Britton at seven at the 
 Astor House ; had some mint julep — excellent drink ; went 
 to the Park theatre, saw the Bedouin Arabs; went behind 
 the scenes ; the theatre is not large, but handsome — a little 
 larger than the Lyceum. Saw Mr. Povey, who seemed to 
 be the great man and factotum of the theatre ; had some 
 mint julep at the theatre ; returned to the hotel and went 
 to bed, much pleased with the city, the civility and hospi- 
 tality of the American citizens, and much amused by their 
 peculiarities. 
 
 18/A. — Called at five; went on board at seven the steam- 
 boat Albmiy, to Troy ; about four or five hundred persons 
 on board. Breakfast at half-past eight, and dinner at three, 
 both very good ; found my ci-devant compagnon de voyage, 
 Mr. Parsons, on board, with a connexion of his — a Captain 
 Livingston, going to Rhinbeek, some way up the Hudson, 
 where the latter has a villa. The beauties of the Hudson 
 far exceeded anything I ever imagined — the scenery so 
 beautiful : the high green mountains, and the rocky banks, 
 and the gentlemen's seats, look so cheerful and comfortable 
 one is induced to long to possess one, and become a citizen 
 of the republic. The Catskill mountains and Westpoint 
 struck me as the finest parts ; the State prison of Sing Sing 
 rather disappointed me as to its external appearance. 
 
 Nothing very remarkable among the passengers in the 
 
SARATOGA SPRINGS. 249 
 
 steamboat ; only two or three tolerably-looking womenj who 
 seemed well aware of their charms. Had my leg much 
 bruised and my ankle cut by the falling of one of the land- 
 ing planksj and which would certainly have broken my leg 
 had it fallen half an inch nearer to me. 
 
 At Albany you are put on board a smaller steamboat for 
 Troy, seven miles from Albany. When we arrived, about 
 eight o'clock, found the master of the hotel (Mr. Watson's, 
 Troy House), civil ; but the bed was so full of bugs that I 
 slept upon the sofa wrapped in my mackintosh. On my 
 telling him of my misery he could hardly believe it, as there 
 was a standing reward, he said, of two dollars for any bug 
 found in his beds ; and that a permanent boarder of his — 
 Mr. Vail, a member of Congress — had only just left the bed, 
 and he had never complained. I suppose an M.P. is better 
 
 eating than an M.C. James said that they had given 
 
 him an excellent and new bedroom. 
 
 19ihj Sunday. — Left Troy per railroad at one o'clock, 
 which commences opposite the hotel, for Saratoga Springs ; 
 at Balston you join the Albany and Schenectady trains j 
 obliged to wait about half an hour for their arrival ; while 
 waiting went into a large Presbyterian chapel ; I heard a 
 broad Scotch sermon; about a quarter before one we 
 arrived at Saratoga ; went to the United States Hotel ; 
 walked down to the Spring ; liked the taste of the water. 
 
 The village of Saratoga is small, and is merely a colony 
 of large hotels j saw no one that I knew ; dined at the 
 table d'hote of the United States Hotel ; about 260 people ; 
 some pretty women present; sat next to a Mr. Hopkinson, 
 of Philadelphia, who invited me to his house at Philadel- 
 phia; at three proceeded by stage to Coldwell, on Lake 
 George ; stayed half an houi* at Glens Falls, a pretty, wild 
 village; and arrived at the Lake Hotel, ColdweU, about 
 half-past eight ; a good inn ; supped ; and went to bed. 
 
 20th. — Breakfast at half-past six; went on board the 
 William Coldwell steamer at seven; the following is a cor- 
 rect copy of a notice posted on the cabin door of this 
 steamer : — 
 
250 LORD DURHAM AT MONTREAL. 
 
 " Snaix A. hawy ! ! ! ! 
 
 " Thare is thre livin live Rattil Snaix and wun beautyfull 
 blak Snaik tu be sean in a bocks on this bote aul livin 
 tugether for Sickspunts a site for groan foax and children 
 half prise. 
 
 " Please tu call on Old Dick. 
 
 "P.S. — This curis carry van of Livin Varmints was 
 ketcht on Blakk Mounting." 
 
 Landed aboiit a mile and a half from Alexander^ a village 
 on the estate of Ellice, so called after his father, Alexander 
 Ellice, in the township of Ticonderoga ; dined at 1 ; bad 
 inn ; pretty village ; had some conversation with Ellice's 
 agent, who complained of the manner in which the pro- 
 perty was neglected, and the tenants dissatisfied ; at two 
 we proceeded by stages to the ferry on Lake Champlain, 
 looking at the old ruins of the fort of Ticonderoga ; crossed 
 in the ferry-boat to Shoreham, where the Whitehall steamer 
 picked us up, viz., the Winouski, at four o'clock, and landed 
 us at St. Johns's at seven the next morning; Lake George 
 is most beautiful, but only portions of Lake Champlain are 
 worth seeing. 
 
 21st. — Breakfasted at St. John's at eight, and at nine 
 took the railroad to La Prairie, seventeen miles, from whence 
 a ferry-boat (steam) carried us across the St. Lawrence to 
 Montreal about eleven o'clock ; found Durham there for the 
 races, and the town crowded to excess ; got a room and 
 luncheon at ]Madame Movendie's Hotel ; dressed, and joined 
 Durham on the race-course, where I found him in all his 
 glory ; rode his horse back ; dressed at the hotel, and went 
 on board the John Bull steamer to dine and sleep ; went 
 with Ellice and the ladies to the theatre ; saw EUen Tree 
 in the Hunchback; returned to the John Bull and went 
 to bed. 
 
 22nd. — We were under weigh for Quebec at four o'clock, 
 and went the first forty-five miles in two hours and a half, 
 completing the whole 180 miles from Montreal to Quebec 
 in eleven hours. The St. Lawrence is not, in my opinion, 
 
THE COLDSTREAMS AT QUEBEC. 251 
 
 SO fine a river as the Hudson, either in scenery or expanse, 
 although it improves much in the former within the last ten 
 mUes of Quebec, which is beautifully situated on a high rock, 
 and is well described as the Gibraltar of the St. Lawrence. 
 Dined at six at the House of Assembly, where the Govern- 
 ment was established; about forty present — the General 
 Officer, Sir Colin Campbell, Macdonnell, &c., the Admiral 
 (Sir C. Paget), and the captains of the frigates stationed 
 here, also Sir C. Fitzroy, Governor of Prince Edward^s 
 Island J slept at the Globe ; devoured by bugs. 
 
 23rd. — I removed to the Staff House; weather very 
 hot — eighty-three ; rode about the town and on the Plains 
 of Abraham, race-course, &c. ; rode C. BuUer's hack; dined 
 at the Chateau ; and had good rooms and bed at the Staff 
 House, 13, St. Ursule-street, with DiUon, Ponsonby, Caven- 
 dish, and Clifford. 
 
 24!th. — Sir C. Campbell reviewed the brigade of Guards 
 on the Plains of Abraham ; Durham lent me " Ronald ;''■' 
 weather still very hot ; dined with the Coldstreams at the 
 Citadel; met C. Campbell, &c., and many old friends, all 
 very kind to me — Tollemache, Shaw, MacdonneU, Clive, 
 Barnard, &c. &c. ; played at whist ; supper ; and went to 
 bed rather late. 
 
 25th. — Rode about ; dined with the Grenadiers. 
 
 2Qth, Sunday. — Durham ill ; rode with C. Buller to 
 Lorette, an Indian village ; saw the beautiful Mdlle. Zitti ; 
 it was the fete of St. Louis, and the village was gay with 
 strange visitors, and dining going on ; dined at the Chateau 
 at seven. 
 
 27th. — Rode with Conroy to see the horses spurt for 
 handicapping on the race-course ; dined at the Chateau ; 
 Durham stUl ill ; introduced by Conroy to the Jones's, 
 Chamber-street, New York ; Miss Mary J. pretty. 
 
 2Sth. — Went with Conroy to give Mrs. and Miss Jones a 
 drive in his waggon ; stopped at the Staff House for cloaks ; 
 the horses restive, and out jumped the ladies ; Miss J. nearly 
 fainted; wine-and-water brought her to; walked her home; 
 explained to Mr. Jones the adventure; he said they were 
 
252 INDISCRIMINATE HAND-SHAKING. 
 
 fools for their pains, and ought to have sat still — well it was 
 no worse ! Got the horses to start after some time, and 
 gave Lord Alexander and Sir John Eustace a drive; the 
 horses restive again at a hUl, but with the assistance of 
 some soldiers I got them up ; Conroy not able to drive in 
 consequence of having his arm and hand much hurt in an 
 attack made upon him and Alexander, on going home the 
 night before, by some Canadians ; dined at the Chateau, and 
 went to bed early with a bad cold ; weather very change- 
 able, with rain, and the thermometer down from eighty-five 
 to fifty-five; Durham better, and dined at table. 
 
 29</i. — Fine weather, but cool; rode to Beaufort to see 
 a horse with Conroy belonging to Mr. Ryland ; dined at 
 the Chateau ; an American soiree given in the evening, at 
 which twenty-five Americans and the Joneses were present ; 
 took them down to the steamboat at eleven, and saw them 
 off for New York ; Durham again too unwell to appear. 
 
 ZOth. — Rain ; Conroy found Mary Jones's bracelet in the 
 waggon; gave it to me to take care of; bad cold; dined at 
 home with Ponsonby. 
 
 31.S/. — Rode with Conroy; tried horses; dined at the 
 Chateau ; Mr. C. told us an anecdote of Lord Gosford, who, 
 it appears, when he walked or rode out shook hands with 
 every one that he met. One day, walking with his A.D.C., 
 he met a well-dressed man, who took off his hat to him. 
 Lord G. immediately shook hands, and talked some time 
 with him ; upon leaving, he observed to his A.D.C., " I am 
 sure I know that man's face well." " Yes, my lord, no 
 doubt you do," replied the A.D.C., "^you see him every 
 morning on the parade ; he is the leader of the band." 
 
 I was also, by Mr. Campbell (who lives near the race- 
 course, a merchant), introduced to Mr. Porter, Meadow 
 Bank, opposite to La Chaudiere Bridge ; we shot over his 
 grounds ; we found Mr. Porter a moat liberal and en- 
 lightened man ; having resided here about thirteen years, 
 and having purchased a large tract of land, and built and 
 created a very nice place; he is highly pleased with the 
 present Government, thinks if emigration was encouraged 
 
MAGNETIZING. 253 
 
 from England^ or the union of the two Provinces the best 
 and cheapest cure for the present difficulties ; great con- 
 tempt for Papineau's courage. On his ground on the shore 
 of the St. Lawrence, there is a famous cave, where smug- 
 glers and pirates every night encamp and light fii'es : it was 
 here that Chambers, a desperate brigand, who plundered 
 churches, melted the plate that he stole. He was executed 
 about three or four years ago. 
 
 September 1st. — Breakfasted with J. Lysterj went out 
 shooting with him and Mr. Campbell; saw only one par- 
 tridge ; we killed an owl, nightingale, and snipe ; J. Lyster 
 shot a lynx ; dined at the Chateau ; went to sit with Dur- 
 ham ; still very ill. 
 
 2nd, Sididay. — Rainy morning ; rode with Conroy ; dined 
 •at the Chateau ; small party ; sat with Durham, who was 
 something better. 
 
 • Srd. — Fine weather ; races begun ; dined with the Cold- 
 streams ; went with Conroy and Abbott to the theatre ; 
 Durham too ill to appear. 
 
 4th. — Saw several officers' servants taken up by police 
 for tippling ; fine, hot day ; Diu-ham attended the races ; 
 rode with him home ; large party at the Chateau ; a mag- 
 netizing soirie at C. BuUer's ; Ashburnham tried me ; 
 failed; Wakefield, sen. and jun., produced sleep, real or 
 assumed, upon several women present j still sceptical ; 
 walked home with Daniels ; heard that Dillon and Bushe 
 were magnetized after we left. 
 
 5th. — Regatta; went on board the Racehorse (Captain 
 Crawford) ; luncheon ; ladies ; Durham came on board ; 
 took a cruise; saw the Falls of Montmorenci; returned 
 home about half-past five ; took a drive in Ponsonby's drag ; 
 dined at the Chateau ; the American soiree there ; the 
 Nichols and Smyths, of Washington-square, New York, were 
 present ; men running after them most absurdly ; went to 
 the theatre — nearly over; the Nichols and Smyths left by 
 steamer ; Conroy asked several persons to supper, but never 
 appeared himself; bed about three. 
 
 6th. — Weather much hotter again; walked about the 
 
264 MOOSE DEEE. 
 
 town with Durham ; saw Lord Gosford^s apartments — three 
 small rooms and bed-room, not larger than a good-sized 
 cabin; drove out with Lord and Lady D. on the St. Louis 
 road ; dined at the Chateau ; D. was to have gone to the 
 theatre, but was too unwell ; the ladies went ; Miss Tree in 
 the Hunchback ; gave Abbott, &c., supper; a late night. 
 (Abbott^s trick : three pieces of bread under three hats on 
 head.) 
 
 7ih. — Weather warm ; drove to Montmorenci with Lord 
 and Lady Durham and C. Buller ; saw the falls ; dined at 
 the Chateau. 
 
 8th. — Went out with Campbell and Lyster to shoot 
 snipes on the Isle of Orleans ; shot only a few ; crossed 
 the river, and came home in a charrette; dined with the 
 Grenadiers. 
 
 9th, Sunday. — Went to lunch on board the Racehorse ; 
 Miss Tree, &c. &c., there ; crossed over to Point Levy ; 
 visited the Indian wigwams ; dined at the Chateau ; went 
 to bed early. In the morning saw Dr. Douglas's specimens 
 of moose deer, two very fine ones, shot by himself last 
 year, seventeen hands and a half high ; saw also at Point 
 Levy, at an aubergiste's, a young moose deer, a sheep with 
 five horns, and a calf with three legs. 
 
 10;;^. — Here we find twenty English wharfs to one 
 Canadian merchant's, showing great want of commercial 
 enterprise among the upper as well as the lower classes 
 of Canadians ; called upon Durham ; rode in the afternoon 
 to the Coves; saw various wharfs, Campbell's, Gilmore's, &c. ; 
 and Holies Cove; dined at the Chateau; large Canadian 
 party. 
 
 11th. — Fine day; drove with Durham to Lorette; dined 
 at the Grenadier mess ; magnetism by Wakefield, Ashbm-ton, 
 and Co., at C. Buller's house ; Durham present ; and failure. 
 
 12th. — W. tried to magnetize an American lady, Mrs. 
 Southmayd, of Connecticut ; he failed ; upon which she asked 
 him (never having seen the eSect of magnetism), " what 
 effect he expected to produce ?" he replied, " somnolency." 
 After which, she gravely said in good Yankeeism, " Then, 
 
STEEPLECHASE. 255 
 
 sir, I guess you would fail, for I am always pretty con- 
 siderably wide awake — so much so, that Mr. Southmayd is 
 always complaining that he gets no sleep." Called upon 
 Durham ; agreed with him not to go to Niagara until after 
 the arrival of the Great Western; he proposed a trip next 
 week in the Medea, which had just returned from Halifax, 
 rode out with Conroy and Villiers across the country ; dined 
 at the Chateau ; Wakefield attempting magnetism on 
 American party ; I went to the play ; Clifton and brother 
 arrived. 
 
 \2>th. — Very rainy day ; dined at the Chateau ; supper at 
 Schlooft's. 
 
 lAth. — Rode with Villiers; dined at the Chateau j a com- 
 mand at the theatre ; all went ; Tree's last night ; supper 
 at Schlooft's. 
 
 \^th. — Rode with Daniell to choose the ground for 
 Monday's steeple-chase ; dined at the Chateau ; theatre ; 
 Clifton playing " Belvidera." 
 
 \Qth, Sunday. — Drove out with Lyster and Campbell to 
 Charlelong ; dined with the Grenadiers. 
 
 \7th, Monday. — Attended the steeple-chase as umpire ; 
 won by Conroy ; Cavendish having broken his horse's 
 back at a fence going over which we had guarded him ; 
 Durham, &c., there ; dined with the Coldstreams. 
 
 \Sth. — Rainy day ; walked out with Durham ; and rode 
 with him in the afternoon ; dined at the Chateau. 
 
 ] 9th. — Drove to Cape Rouge ; crossed the ferry, with 
 Cavendish's drag ; a beautiful drive ; saw the Lake ; very 
 small; dined at the Chateau; first intelligence brought of 
 the disallowance of the ordinances ; went to Turton's and 
 Buller's house to talk it over. 
 
 20th. — I went with D., &c. on board the Medea ; 
 Lambtons, Colonel and Mrs. Grey, &c. ; landed about 
 twelve o'clock at St. Anne's ; rode and walked through the 
 woods to the Falls, which are very beautiful, placed in a 
 deep glen ; re-embarked about four ; dined on board the 
 Medea, and got home about eight in the evening; went to 
 bed, having had a severe attack of cholera all day. 
 
256 EXCITEMENT AT QUEBEC. 
 
 21st. — Quebec much excited by the news from England, 
 and Durham's intention of going home ; the merchants, &c.j 
 evidently much alarmed ; several hundred of the respectable 
 merchants and persons in Quebec, of all shades of politics, 
 left their names at the palace as a mark of respect and con- 
 fidence in Lord Durham, and their disapprobation of the 
 treatment that he had received at home ; rode with Conroy ; 
 dined at the Chateau ; Clifton's benefit ; Durham went ; a 
 fuU house ; and he was received with marked enthusiasm, 
 in consequence of English news of his treatment at home. 
 
 22nd. — Rainy day; rode with Conroy; dined with the 
 Grenadiers ; Murray Greville arrived from New York, 
 where he had left his packet, being unable to make Quebec. 
 
 23rd, Sunday. — Walked out with Villiers, Bushe, and 
 Cavendish in the afternoon ; dined at the Chateau ; weather 
 cold. 
 
 24^/i, Monday. — Drove out with Durham ; dined at the 
 Chateau. 
 
 25th. — Attended a public meeting of the Scotch Church, 
 claiming equal rights with the Church of England: adjourned 
 in conseqrience of the unsettled state of affairs ; walked out 
 with Durham ; dined at the Chateau. 
 
 26th. — Drove out with Durham ; and Grey and I returned 
 to the wharf, seeing the steamer arriving; took the bag to 
 Durham in Spencer's Wood ; Bill of Indemnity passed ; 
 ordinances disallowed. 
 
 27th, Thursday. — The Attorney-General told me that he 
 saw Woolfrid Nelson previous to his departure for Bermuda, 
 he having asked him to come and see him. When he did, ex- 
 pected that he would thank him on behalf of himself and the 
 other prisoners for the great clemency that had been shown 
 him and the others by Lord Durham. He hoped to God 
 that they should not be allowed to return until peace, good 
 order, and harmony were restored ; which he prayed 
 God Lord Durham might effect, and this he thought he 
 would be able to accomplish if he continued as he had 
 begun ; denounced Papineau as a coward ; so did Bouchette, 
 who was taken only by the deceptive statement of Papineau, 
 
LORD DURHAM RESIGNS. 257 
 
 ■who told Mm that at a certain place he would find force, 
 and there was none ; which was done purely to get rid of 
 him, in order that he might escape, as he did before from 
 the rebels, when he told them he was going into the States 
 to meet 12,000, and would return at their head ; the character 
 of a priest was implicated. A jury having been shut up 
 three days and three nights, were dismissed ; and it was 
 composed of six Canadians and six British ; the farce of a 
 trial by a common jury ; special jury ought to be permitted ; 
 admitted by the Canadians themselves. Rode to Theadon 
 Bank with Durham, &c. ; dined at the Chateau ; the 
 Attorney- General dined there; made acquaintance with 
 Miss Grant, a great political French Canadian. 
 
 2Sth, Friday. — Drove with Durham to the Coves to meet 
 Tdstone, Campbell, &c. ; the merchants and their men — 
 m.uch pleased; the day beautiful ; the ladies also went, 
 and walked over all the rafts. Wrote letters to send to 
 New York by Cavendish, who was to go by the Gi-eat 
 Western, taking Durham's resignation. Dined at the 
 Chateau ; went down to the wharf to see Colonel Grey off 
 by the St. George to Montreal ; THstone and Murray 
 Greville went also. 
 
 29th. — Finished my letters ; Cavendish left about six by 
 land; walked out with Durham; dined at the Chateau; 
 Great Western bag aiTived about nine ; nothing occurred to 
 alter Durham's determination to go home and resign. 
 
 2>0th, Sunday. — Fine weather; quite warm; drove with 
 Durham and his family to Lorette ; dined at the Chateau ; 
 walked with Buller and Turton on the platform till late. 
 
 October 1st, Monday. — Went to read the papers at the 
 Exchange; rode down to the Coves ; saw Campbell and Mr. 
 Lemenunier; told me that he agreed with a writer upon 
 Canada, that the character of the Fi-ench Canadians was 
 " Jaloux et ingrat — haut et bus ;" I believe him to be 
 partly right ; offered my services to him and his friends if I 
 could be of any use to them in Parliament ; he seemed 
 much pleased. Dined at the Chateau ; an American party ; 
 Durham too ill to dine, confined to his bed all day; 
 
 VOL. I. S 
 
258 RETURN JOURNEY. 
 
 Major Wharton, Mrs. W., and Miss Ballett, of Ken- 
 tucky. 
 
 2nd, Tuesday. — Rode out with D., &cc., to the agricul- 
 tural show, at Mr. Anderson's farm ; rode through the 
 Coves and Lower Town; dined at the Chateau. 
 
 3?'d, Wednesday. — Called on D. ; attended the meeting 
 at the Exchange, about five hundred persons present ; rather 
 flat ; Andrew Stewart in the chair ; bad speeches ; mail in 
 from England ; heard from Parkes ; dined at the Chateau. 
 
 4th, Thursday. — Left Quebec at half-past three per 
 Canadian Eagle with Mr. Sadler (the tutor) for Montreal 
 on my way to Niagara. 
 
 Friday, 5th. — Arrived at Montreal at four p.m. ; met Sir 
 George Arthur leaving for Quebec in the Canada steam- 
 boat ; dined at the mess of the 7th Hussars, Gi'assett and 
 Whyte ; went to the theatre ; stopped at Rosco's hotel j good. 
 
 Saturday, 6th. — Left Montreal at ten per stage for 
 Lachine, nine miles ; arrived about twelve, and took the 
 boat Henry Brougham, Captain Whipple, intending to land 
 at Beauharnois to see Ellice, but it blew so hard we could 
 not make Beauharnois, and were obliged to go on to the 
 Cascades, where we arrived at half-past four, twenty-four 
 miles, but towing five barges, and the wind blowing, caused 
 the delay. Took stage to Coteau du Lac, sixteen miles ; 
 arrived at eight, and went on board the steamer Neptune, 
 Captain Ballett ; it blew so hard and so dark night, he settled 
 not to move until the morning. 
 
 Sunday, 7th. — Under weigh about four, and arrived at 
 Cornwall, forty-five miles, at nine ; went on per stage to 
 Dickenson's Landing, twelve miles, but being Sunday, no 
 boats go from thence to Prescott or Kingston; resolved to 
 go on in waggons to Prescott, forty miles, in hopes of catch- 
 ing the Ogdensburg boat for Niagara, at six ; but the roads 
 were so bad, that at half-past four we had got no further 
 than Williamsburg, eighteen miles, and finding it a good 
 inn (the stage house), we decided to remain there for the 
 night, and to be picked up in the morning by the Kingston 
 boat ; good bed and good dinner ; charges preposterous : — 
 
EXTORTION. 259 
 
 Bill — Copy, for Sadler, Self, and James. 
 
 Stage House at Williamsburg, Oct. 7tli, 1838. 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 3 Dinners 15 
 
 3 Teas 15 
 
 2 Pints of port wine ... 10 
 
 3 Beds 7 6 
 
 3 Breakfasts 15 
 
 Sundries 2 
 
 £5 2 6 
 
 N.B. — The dinners consisted only of beefsteaks, and 
 eggs and bacon ; at tea, nothing but toast ; and the break- 
 fast was tea, and eggs and bacon. 
 
 I remonstrated with the landlady, who gave as her excuse 
 that she thought persons of my rank would be offended if 
 we were not charged more than ordinary travellers ; it 
 ended by our paying 21., with which she was perfectly 
 satisfied. 
 
 Monday, 8th. — Mne morning ; a passenger told me that 
 it was here that upon a judge passing sentence upon a man 
 who was convicted of felony, he sentenced him to " be trans- 
 ported from God Almighty's land !" But where to ? he was 
 asked. " Oh, send him to Canada," replied the judge. The 
 Dolphin steamer took us np at eleven (Captain Bennie), and 
 we arrived at Kingston at twelve at night, ninety miles, 
 touching Edwardsburg, Ogdensburg, Prescot, BrockvUle, 
 and Conasaquoi, passing through the Thousand Isles, and 
 went direct on board the Commodore Barrie, for Toronto. It 
 blew hard upon the lake, and we were obliged to put into 
 South Bay, near the Bay of Trinite, where we remained 
 until ten o^ clock on the following morning. 
 
 Tuesday, 9th. — On board the Commodore Barrie, where were 
 fourteen parsons going to a convocation at Toronto; there 
 was also Mr. Robert Gourlay, a celebrated Canadian agi- 
 tator, who was imprisoned eight months by Sir Peregrine 
 Maitland in 1822, and was afterwards, in 1824, shut up in 
 
 S 2 
 
260 THE FALLS. 
 
 Coldbath Fields prison three years, for horsewhipping 
 Brougham in the lobby of the House of Commons; he 
 carries the whip about with him, which he exhibited on 
 board the steamer ; we raised a small subscription for him, 
 as he seemed poor and ill-used — but not mad now, at all 
 events. Mem. — The Commodore Barrie a bad boat, full of 
 freight, cattle, and emigrants ; avoid it ; as also never leave 
 Montreal on a Saturday; if you do, no boats going on 
 Sundays, you will be detained that day, as we were, at 
 Cornwall on the landing. When we proceeded, although it 
 blew hard all day, we touched at Wellington and Coburg, 
 and arrived off Toronto about eight o'clock on 
 
 Wednesday morning, the IQth ; when we met the Transit 
 steamer, Captain Richardson, leaving for Queenston, where 
 we arrived about twelve o'clock; took stage to "the Falls," 
 and arrived at the Clifton Hotel, eight miles, at two 
 o'clock ; dined at the table d'hote, only five people ; walked 
 out and stared with wonder and admiration at the Falls 
 until six ; the sunset beautiful ; the spray quite pink ; 
 seldom seen ; had tea and went to bed ; you see the spray 
 twenty miles off in crossing from Toronto to Niagara. In 
 our way from Queenston to the Falls we stopped at General 
 Brook's monument, who was killed on the heights in 1812 ; 
 went to the top of it, about 1 20 feet ; splendid view. 
 
 Thursday, Wth. — Rain; drove to Navy Island, four miles 
 off; 300 acres, one mile and a quarter wide; returned to 
 the hotel ; dined at one ; crossed over the ferry to Man- 
 chester, intending to go by the railroad to Buffalo ; found 
 the train had just left; went to see Goat Island and the 
 American Falls, Sec ; went to the top of the observatory, 
 near the Horse-shoe Fall; returned to the hotel; went 
 behind the sheet of water to Termination Rock, 160 feet 
 behind ; very cold and wet ; the negro's teeth, who was my 
 guide, chattered dreadfully from the cold. Nothing to see ; 
 great noise, and very dangerous walking ; dif&cult to keep 
 one's breath ; the dress they gave me was of no use, it was 
 wet through and through. I returned to the hotel, and 
 went early to bed ; they show you the Rapids here, where 
 
A SPECULATION. 261 
 
 the Caroline, "when she was burnt, first struck, and went to 
 pieces ; it is supposed that she never reached the Fall ; but 
 a few years ago the guide told me that he saw two old 
 lake steam-boats which were bought by the livery stable- 
 keepers and others, of Buffalo (with a view of having their 
 horses and carriages used), viz., the Michigan and Superior, 
 freighted with all sorts of birds and animals, turned into 
 the Rapids, and they came down the Palls ; and the only 
 creatures that escaped or survived the shock were two bears. 
 Thousands of people came to witness the cruelty; Goat 
 Island was covered; and it is supposed the speculators 
 made a good thing of it. 
 
 Friday, 12th. — Walked to the Burning Spring; crossed 
 the ferry at one, and went by the railway to Buffalo, twenty- 
 two miles ; arrived at four o^clock ; put up at the American 
 Hodges' ; got a good dinner ; went to the theatre ; saw the 
 Ravel Family ; a large, good theatre ; and liked the town 
 much; a large, rising, important commercial city; good 
 shops and large wharfs, &c. 
 
 Saturday, October IZth. — Returned at nine to the Falls, 
 took a waggon to Queenston,- crossed to Toronto in the 
 Transit, forty-three miles, that is, seven from Queenston to 
 Niagara Fort, and thirty-six from Fort George to Toronto. 
 Arrived at six ; went to the North American Hotel (Camp- 
 bell's) ; pretty good. A gale of wind springing up, and no 
 boat to leave, decided to remain here till Monday, to avoid 
 the Commodore Barrie ; had some tea and went to bed, 
 having got the Bishop of Quebec's rooms^ which he had 
 left until Monday. 
 
 Sunday, \Uh. — Cold and wet morning; went to St. 
 James's church, a large, fine church ; Dr. Strahan preached ; 
 walked about the town, fort, and neighbourhood with Sadler ; 
 think Toronto a nasty, ugly place, flat, but has some good 
 houses. Evans, my compagnon de voyage in the Gladiator, 
 called on me ; he had, or was going to settle at Buntford 
 on the Ottawa; dined at six, and went to bed early. 
 
 Monday, October \'6th. — Left Toronto at twelve for 
 " William the Fourth ;" fine weather, but the lake roughs 
 
262 MORMONS. 
 
 and arrived the next morning; heard an account of the 
 new sect in Ohio^ called the Mormonites or Mormons, 1500 
 strong and armed, under Joe Smith, who pretends to have 
 had a vision, in which the Angel appeared and told him that 
 he would find certain tablets of gold ; they were part of the 
 Bible, which he was to transcribe and reveal to the world ; 
 that in that part of the country Jesus Christ was shortly to 
 appear and reign, and that all who were found there and 
 beHeved, would be saved; he pretends to be inspired and 
 to work miracles, but they are not seen excepting by a 
 few elders who answer for him. The land upon which he 
 and his followers have settled belongs to some friend of his, 
 who sells it to the deluded people at a high price; some 
 persons of education have joined him, but many have re- 
 turned to their homes ruined and plundered of the property 
 they took with them. He established a bank, issued a 
 quantity of notes, got them exchanged to a large amount in 
 Michigan for their notes, stopped payment, nearly ruined 
 the other bank; and defends his conduct by saying that the 
 Angel had again appeared, and had desired him not to pay 
 his notes. His followers, &c. defend this inspired swindler.* 
 Three parsons again on board. 
 
 Tuesday, 16th. — Stopped at Will's Island, near the French 
 creek, and inspected and boarded the wreck of the Sir 
 Robert Peel, burnt the 29th May last by the pirate Bill 
 Johnson and others; brought a bit of her away. Ladies 
 were left on this island in chemises, some six or seven hours, 
 until the Oneida steamboat came by. A few cloaks were 
 saved by the stewardess, an intrepid Irish girl, which is all 
 the ladies had to cover them. The men were made to leave 
 their berths just as they were found at the time of the 
 attack. About eight a.m. at Kingston, where we took the 
 Dolphin for Dickenson's Landing, where we arrived about 
 seven on the following morning, viz., 
 
 Wednesday, 17th, and proceeded immediately by stage to 
 
 * For an interesting account of the Mormons, see Mr. Hepworth 
 Dixon's " New America." 
 
A CANADIAN JURY. 263 
 
 Cornwall, twelve miles, thence per Neptune, Captain Ballett, 
 to Coteau du Lac; arrived at two; thence per stage to the 
 Cascades, sixteen miles ; obliged to wait for the arrival of 
 the H. Brougham ; went on board at half-past five ; too dark 
 to proceed beyond Beauharnois, where we laid to ; found 
 EUice gone to Quebec ; slept on board the H. Brougham ; 
 and on — 
 
 Thursday, 18th, about five o'clock were under weigh, and 
 arrived at Lachine at seven ; thence per stage to Montreal ; 
 six in hand, well driven; breakfasted at Rosco's. Col. 
 Ellison came in from New York ; drove round the Mount 
 with him, a magnificent view ; dined at the table d'hote at 
 six ; went to the theatre ; no boat to Quebec this evening. 
 Colonel Grey, whom I sat next to at dinner, related to me 
 the following anecdote. He said they complain of Lord 
 D.'s executive and special councils being ignorant of the state 
 of feeling and social affairs of the Province ; he maintained 
 that Lord Gosford's and Sir J. Colborne's were worse, for, 
 on the week preceding Lord Gosford's departure, they agreed 
 to a general thanksgiving being proclaimed for the restora- 
 tion of tranquillity, and the following week, when Sir J. 
 Colborne came, they consented to a proclamation for martial 
 laiv, although nothing whatever had occurred in the Province 
 in the interim, thereby showing themselves either perfectly 
 ignorant of what was going on, or the mere tools of the 
 Government — perhaps both. Another proof of home ig- 
 norance was displayed during Lord Bathurst being Colo- 
 nial Minister. The Government ordered a frigate to be 
 built at Quebec ; when nearly complete it was inquired 
 on what service she was to be sent : they said — " Lake 
 Erie." Upon which it was suggested to them, that 
 "some difficulty would occur in getting her up the Falls at 
 Niagara.'''' 
 
 This was told me by Mr. Vigre, ex-maire of Montreal ; 
 and also that the Colonial Office of that day used to direct 
 to Montreal, Upper Canada ! 
 
 Turton told me the following anecdote : 
 
 Mem. — The murderers of Chartraud were acquitted after 
 
264 LORD DURHAM. 
 
 the clearest evidence of guilt, and the judge directing the 
 jury that they must find the prisoners guilty. The jury 
 were out three-quarters of an hour, not deliberating upon 
 their verdict, but upon who was to carry in the verdict. It 
 ended (when called upon as to each prisoner), in their all 
 saying in chorus, " Non coupable ;" so ashamed were they 
 of their verdict and so conscious of their perjury. They 
 did not mind doing in a body that which, it would appear, 
 they shrunk from performing separately. So much for 
 Canadian justice, law, and coivardice ! 
 
 Friday, \9th. — Left Montreal by the Eagle at twelve ; 
 rainy day ; Chambly barracks burnt ; two officers — Carey 
 and Roe — burnt ; arrived on 
 
 Saturday, 20th, at Quebec, about nine o^clock at night ; 
 found the city in a great state of excitement at the escape 
 of Theller and Dodge ; had some difficulty in getting the 
 gates opened, until I convinced the guard and the police 
 that if I was Theller or Dodge they could not do wrong in 
 admitting me vnthin the walls ; Dillon starting for England 
 with despatches, Wakefield going also ; went to bed tired, 
 and although much pleased with the Niagara Falls, Buffalo, 
 &c., yet I suffered considerably in discomfort by the badness 
 of the boats, roads, and weather. 
 
 Sunday, 21st. — Called on Durham j rainy day ; called at 
 Lyster's ; dined at the Chateau j small party. 
 
 Monday, 22nd. — Fine day ; went to the Exchange to 
 read the papers ; went with Dm'ham, &c., to view the 
 locale from which the State prisoners had escaped; dined 
 at the Chateau ; large party ; whist with the Lord Chief 
 Justice (Stewart). 
 
 Tuesday, 23rd. — Rain ; went on board the Inconstant ; 
 called on D., and spent the whole afternoon in going through 
 the colonial despatches, his replies, &c. Dined at Chateau ; 
 whist, and bed. 
 
 Wednesday , 24:th. — Went early to the Exchange to see 
 the papers; walked with D. till dinner-time; whist tiU bed- 
 time. 
 
 Thursday, 25th. — Walked out with D. until dinner-time ; 
 
HIS DEPAETUEE. 265 
 
 dined with the Coldstreams at the citadel ; played at •vrhist ; 
 returned with C. Grey and Ellice, rather late. 
 
 Friday, 26th. — Walked round the town with Durham; 
 dined at the Chateau; large party; whist until bed-timej 
 with music. 
 
 Saturday, 27th. — Rainy day ; dined at the Chateau ; 
 whist ; Ellices left by the Charlevoix in the evening. 
 
 Sunday, 28th. — Fine weather; walked on the battery 
 with D. ; dined at the Chateau ; returned home^ wrotCj and 
 went to bed. 
 
 Monday, 29th. — Went to the Exchange-rooms ; English 
 mail in; no news; walked with D. ; copied Turton's case, 
 &c. ; dined at the old Chateau with the brigade of Guards, 
 dinner given to Durham on his departure ; about a hundred 
 sat down ; all went off well ; returned home about half-past 
 twelve ; Sir James Macdonnell presided. Hard frost and 
 snow. 
 
 Tuesday, 30th. — Called on Turton ; Durham unwell ; Sir 
 J. Colbome arrived by the Canada. Dined at the Chateau ; 
 above forty present ; whist in the evening ; freezing hard. 
 
 Wednesday, S]st. — Exchange-rooms; drove down to the 
 Cove to take leave of Campbell ; luncheon ; called on Turton ; 
 dined with Sir J. Macdonnell to meet Durham ; twenty-five 
 sat down ; wind easterly ; supposed that we should not start 
 to-morrow ; went home and to bed. Hard frosty and very 
 cold. 
 
 Thursday, November 1st. — Erost — and snow had fallen 
 rather heavy during the night ; wind due west ; embarked 
 on board the Inconstant frigate, 36 guns. Captain Daniel 
 Pring, at half-past two ; walked down to the wharf with 
 Turton ; the streets lined with the Guards. Durham and 
 Lady D. came down in open carriage with Sir J. Colborne 
 and Sir J. ]\Iacdonnell, attended by above three thousand of 
 the most respectable tradesmen and mechanics of Quebec^ 
 comprising the different societies and clubs of the place — 
 viz., the St. George's Society, the St. Andrew, and the St. 
 Patrick. It seemed a melancholy parting when the boat 
 put off, and then the last loud cheer bid farewell to the last 
 
266 SHIP STEIKES. 
 
 hope these ill-fated colonists had entertained for a restora- 
 tion of peace and tranquillity by his appointment. Many 
 told me that perhaps upon our arrival we should hear that 
 some of their worst fears were realized ; and it was im- 
 possible to leave them without feeling that we were going 
 from a kind, loyal, and enterprising body of men, who 
 would perhaps in a few weeks have to struggle for their lives 
 and property, all owing to the imbecility and cowardice of 
 a Government stationed 4000 miles off, enjoying every 
 luxury and comfort that home could afford them, but totally 
 ignorant of the high qualities and energies of those they 
 presumed to govern, and whose destinies were in their 
 hands. 
 
 At half-past four the Inconstard was under weigh, amid a 
 general salute from the city, citadel, and fleet, and we were 
 towed by the Canada and the lumber merchant steamers 
 about six miles, viz., to St. Patrick's Hole, they having 
 volunteered their services for that purpose; we then 
 anchored, and were not under weigh until about ten o'clock 
 the nest morning. 
 
 Friday, 22nd. — When we got within a short distance of 
 the Brandy-pots, anchored for the night. Under weigh 
 again about seven, and about eight the ship stru.ck upon 
 Hare Island shoal; she struck twice. Much alarm created 
 by the carpenter reporting that she made two feet and a 
 half water immediately ; pumps at work ; but she made 
 little or nothing after ; pilot blamed and suspected of doing 
 it intentionally. I do not believe it ; his manner convinced 
 me he was innocent, as, if he had been so inclined, he might 
 have done it much more effectually the night before. He 
 attributed the mishap to the negUgence of the man who 
 heaved the lead, and told me that, in aU the ships that he 
 had ever had charge of soundings were never so disgrace- 
 fully given, which, added to the snow on the shores, conceal- 
 ing their usual landmarks, caused the accident. 
 
 The sailor had given the soundings from forty-five to 
 three at once, which was impossible. The fact was, he had 
 given the forty-five wrong, and, having come to twelve, he 
 
LORD AMELIUS BEAUCLERK. 267 
 
 mistrusted his heave, and tried again when she was in three 
 fathoms water, and she immediately struck. However, the 
 pilot, " helm jlown," had her off directly; she draws between 
 eighteen and nineteen feet. An investigation took place, 
 and the different depositions were taken, but I feel satisfied 
 " Old Papineau," as the gun-room mess called him, was 
 innocent of intentional mischief. 
 
 On Saturday night Lord D.'s cabin lining caught fire, 
 owing to the negligent lashing of a lamp ; it was soon ex- 
 tinguished ; a similar accident, I forgot to mention, occurred 
 the first day of our sailing, in the baggage hold, owing to a 
 candle falling upon some matted plate chests, which were 
 in flames, but the mate, with great presence of mind, tore 
 off the burning mat, handed it up on deck, and from thence 
 it was committed flaming into the St. Lawrence. However, 
 though twice on fire and once ashore, after twenty-five 
 days' tempestuous weather and heavy gales, we anchored in 
 Plymouth Sound on Monday evening, eleven o'clock, the 
 26th of November. 
 
 Tuesday, 27th. — Blowing so fresh we could not land; 
 the admiral's yacht came out about one o'clock ; Ponsonby 
 and Villiers went back in her, and as it was moderating, a 
 message was sent to the admiral to request she might return 
 about six in the evening ; the evening was calm, and 
 the sea as still as a mill-pond, but that crusty old brute, 
 Lord Amelius Beauclerk, never sent her back. The next 
 morning, 
 
 Wednesday, 28th, it blew hard, and continued to do so 
 all day, as weU as the next, viz., 
 
 Thursday, the 29th, when a shore boat trying to get to us 
 was upset, and two men and a boy drowned. We did 
 not land untU 
 
 Friday morning, the 30th, in the admiral's barge, which we 
 did safely ; in the evening I got my heavy baggage out ; 
 dined with Sir John Doratt and James, the purser of the 
 Inconstant, at Elliot's Hotel, and went to bed. 
 
 Saturday, Dec. \st. — Hard rain; went at two with 
 Durham to the Town Hall to receive the address of wel- 
 
268 LORD Durham's return. 
 
 come from the inhabitants of Devonport ; a very crowded 
 and enthusiastic meeting ; dined at General EUice^s^ at the 
 Government-house; and on « 
 
 Sunday, the 2nd, started by the London mail with Sir J. 
 Doratt for London, where I arrived between eight and nine 
 o'clock on 
 
 Monday morning, the 3rd, after having been absent barely 
 five months, travelled nearly 10,000 miles, making a most 
 agreeable trip, and having seen the most beautiful country — 
 a country of which England has reason to be proud, and 
 which never can be lost to her but through the treachery 
 or pusillanimity of her Government. Found on arrival the 
 news of the outbreak in Acadie and Beauharnois. 
 
 Thos. S. Buncombe. 
 6, Albany Court Yard, December 3rd, 1838. 
 
 During their voyage home Lady Mary Lambton 
 made a sketch in pencil of a cutter in a gale of wind, 
 off Newfoundland, and presented it to Mr. Duncomhe 
 on board the Inconstant. He preserved it with great 
 care among the memorabilia of his political life. 
 Lady Mary was the sister of Lord Durham, and sub- 
 sequently married the Earl of Elgin. 
 
 Lord Durham was considered by the Government 
 to have committed an unpardonable offence — he had 
 quitted his post without waiting for an official accep- 
 tance of his resignation. The late Grovernor of the 
 Canadas thought that, as the circumstances which 
 had caused his being invested with extraordinary 
 powers had entirely ceased, his powers had ceased 
 with them ; and as he was fully aware of the treachery 
 of his colleagues, he felt impatient to get rid of the 
 obligation which made him their dependent. The 
 public journals indulged in severe remarks on their 
 conduct, the Times taking the lead in denouncing it as 
 
EXTRACT FROM " THE TIMES." 269 
 
 mean and dastardly. In the leading article for the 
 paper dated August 28th, 1838, are the following 
 sentences :— 
 
 " True to their base and selfish instincts, the time-serving 
 WhigSj, in deference to whom the noble earl had at great 
 personal sacrifice placed himself in the van of their Canadian 
 conflict, have at the first shot deserted, dishonoured, and 
 dismissed him. It is in vain to pretend that their conduct 
 towards Lord Durham has been otherwise than we have 
 now described it ; nor, on learning the public affront which 
 they have put upon him by advising her Majesty to dis- 
 allow his proceedings, is it possible that his lordship can 
 retain their commission for a single day; unless, indeed, 
 that proud and generous spirit, heretofore reputed as the 
 very model of sensitive honour, shall now be so abased by 
 contumely as to submit ignominiously to those freedoms 
 with his character and coronet which formerly he would 
 have perilled his life to resent." 
 
270 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 THEIR ROYAL HIGHNESSES THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OP 
 
 KENT. 
 
 George the Third and Queen Charlotte — The Eoyal Family — The 
 Prince of Wales and Duke of York — Prince Edward sent to 
 Hanover under the control of a Governor — Removed to 
 Geneva — Mercenary spirit of his Governor — The Prince quits 
 Geneva and returns home — Anger of the King — He is sent to 
 Gibraltar — German despots in favour at Court — Insufficient al- 
 lowance — Debts — Prince Edward sent to North America — His 
 military services in the West Indies — Created Duke of Kent, 
 and receives a Parliamentary allowance — Appointed Governor 
 of Gibraltar — Drunkenness and debauchery in the garrison — 
 The Duke endeavours to enforce sobriety — INIutinous conduct 
 of the troops, supported by several of their officers — The mutiny 
 suppressed — The Duke recalled — His creditors left unpaid — 
 Gazetted a Field-Marshal — Endeavours to liquidate his debts — 
 The Duke's blameless Kfe — Leaves England for Brussels — The 
 Duke marries the Princess of Leiningen — Birth of the Princess 
 Victoria — Discussion in the House of Commons — Retires to Sid- 
 mouth — Narrow escape of the Princess — His death — Account 
 of it by the King of the Belgians — Mr. Duncombe honoured 
 vidth the friendship of the Duchess — Regrets for the Duke's 
 death — Accession of Queen Victoria — Conduct of the Liberal 
 Party, and of the Duchess — Mr. Duncombe a friendly visitor 
 to the Duchess. 
 
 George the Third has long enjoyed the credit of 
 having possessed the domestic virtues in an eminent 
 degree ; but the more closely the annals of his family 
 have been looked into, the less cause does there appear 
 for crediting his Majesty with the most common and 
 
A GERMAN "GOVERNOR." 271 
 
 best appreciated of them — tile love of offspring. He 
 vp-as certainly surrounded by one of the finest families 
 in his kingdom, and both sons and daughters grew up 
 distinguished with more than ordinary talent ; but 
 the system of education pursued in childhood and 
 adolescence appears to have been singularly ill adapted 
 for rendering them exemplary men and women. 
 There is no evidence that either parent displayed a 
 parental interest in the superintendence of their moral 
 training. The elder sons were certainly brought up 
 rigidly, with what were considered sufficient safe- 
 guards for their continuing in the right path ; but 
 clerical lessons, with even episcopal superintendence, 
 did not secure in those days to such pupils a suflB.cient 
 knowledge of the cardinal virtues. 
 
 We know that at Kew the Prince of Wales and the 
 Duke of York, however familiar they may have been 
 made with the catechism, found abundant opportuni- 
 ties for outraging every right principle it inculcated. 
 The paternal authority was better understood than 
 appreciated, the control exercised wanting the reliable 
 influence of personal affection; and as that control 
 became weaker and weaker, more and more powerful 
 grew the inclination for vicious indulgences. Their 
 characters as men are sufficiently known. 
 
 With some of the younger sons a different system 
 was pursued, but it was worse because it removed 
 them entirely from the father's observation and put a 
 stranger and a foreigner in his place. This " gover- 
 nor" was sure to be a German, and in one instance at 
 least a compound of pedant, spy, and rascal, whose 
 recommendation of the important charge with which 
 he was entrusted, was the facility it afforded him of 
 
272 PRINCE EDWARD. 
 
 following the advice of lago, " Put money in tty 
 purse." 
 
 The member of the royal family who suffered most 
 by this pernicious arrangement, was Prince Edward ; 
 at whose baptism (1767) the Marquis of Hertford 
 acted as sponsor for the royal child-cousin, the heredi- 
 tary Prince of Brunswick (with whose sufferings by 
 the same system the reader will presently be made 
 acquainted) ; his other godfather and godmother — 
 from the same field of selection — being Prince Charles 
 of Mecklenburg Strelitz, and the Landgravine of 
 Hesse Cassel. 
 
 In the year 1785, then in his eighteenth year, 
 he was sent to that dullest of dull Grerman towns, 
 Luneberg — a most gloomy neighbourhood in the eyes 
 of a youth banished from the cheerful and affectionate 
 intercourse of his family and friends, in " merry 
 England," with almost the exclusive association of a 
 stupid martinet, under whom the expatriated youth 
 was to learn the military profession. An allowance 
 of 1 000/. per annum was granted for the use of the 
 royal cadet, of which he was permitted the expendi- 
 ture of a guinea and a half a week — a rigid economy 
 being maintained with the rest, to enable his " gover- 
 nor" to follow out the advice referred to above. How 
 he followed it will be seen. 
 
 In this region of damp and gloom, the Prince was 
 drilled as nearly as possible into a machine. After a 
 year, a slight change for the better was occasioned by 
 his removal to Hanover ; but drilling and parading 
 were continued with merciless severity till May, 1786, 
 when his Eoyal Highness was gazetted a colonel in 
 the British array, and on the 3rd of June was honoured 
 
BARON WANGENHEIM. 273 
 
 witli the Order of the Garter. Possessed ot such 
 military rank and with so proud a decoration ot 
 knighthood, it might he supposed that the Prince 
 would have been allowed a little more indulgence. 
 He was certainly permitted to turn his back upon 
 Hanover, for which no doubt he was sufficiently 
 thankful. He now enjoyed something resembling 
 social intercourse at Greneva, with an allowance in- 
 creased to 6000/. a year; nevertheless, so completely 
 had the sensible counsel given to Michael Cassio taken 
 possession of the soul of the Prince's German governor, 
 that nothing beyond the weekly dole of a guinea and 
 a half of that liberal provision reached his pockets. 
 The Baron Wangenheim had studied Shakspeare to 
 some profit ; but he never studied the wants of the 
 young man whose princely disposition he restrained 
 up to the attainment of his majority. 
 
 It was not difficult for his Eoyal Highness at 
 Geneva to procure means for maintaining his rank in 
 the society in which he now moved. The Baron shut 
 his eyes as he industriously followed the recommenda- 
 tion he had adopted as his rule of life, taking special 
 pains to secure his advantage by private communi- 
 cations to St. James's. The King seems to have been 
 content with these representations, and neglected the 
 complaints of the despotically-treated and much-plun- 
 dered Prince. 
 
 In the year 1790 his Eoyal Highness made up his 
 mind, come what would, to terminate his most un- 
 satisfactory pupillage, and to the intense astonishment 
 of Baron Wangenheim (exclusively) he took French 
 leave of Geneva. Smarting under the profound sense 
 of wrong created by this stoppage of his zealous en- 
 
 VOL. I. T 
 
274 GEORGE THE THIRD. 
 
 deavours to respect to the end of his life the excellent 
 advice he had so implicitly followed, it is supposed 
 that he communicated to his Majesty an exaggerated 
 account of the Prince's conduct ; for when the latter 
 arrived in London after an absence of five years, 
 longing for the paternal embrace, the King would not 
 see him. It was in vain that the Prince of Wales and 
 the Duke of York, after hearing their brother's narra- 
 tive of his wrongs, interceded for him. George III. 
 treated his fourth son as an unpardonable delinquent 
 for having come home without leave. 
 
 It was nearly a fortnight after his arrival in 
 England before Prince Edward received any communi- 
 cation from his father, except verbal messages of an 
 angry import ; then a letter reached him, containing 
 his Majesty's commands that he should embark for 
 Gibraltar on the following day. An interview was 
 conceded on the same evening ; it was singularly 
 brief, and the reverse of affectionate ; then with the 
 inadequate sum of 500/. intrusted to Captain Crawford 
 for his necessities, the Prince was again hurried out of 
 the country. His Eoyal Highness set sail on the 1st 
 of February, 1790. 
 
 When the unchecked career of his elder brothers 
 up to their twenty- third year is remembered, the harsh- 
 ness of the king to Prince Edward, who had com- 
 mitted no worse offence than putting an end to an in- 
 tolerable subjection, is only to be rationally accounted 
 for by the supposition that the King's mind had already 
 lost its equilibrium. It must, however, be remem- 
 bered that both the King and Queen placed extraordi- 
 nary confidence in their German employes. Miss 
 Burney gave the public a portrait of a female despot 
 
PRINCE Edward's treatment. 275 
 
 wlio was a favourite of Queen Charlotte ; probably the 
 Baron was as much in favour with King Greorge. 
 
 Owing to the inadequacy of the small moiety of the 
 Duke of Kent's allowance that was permitted to reach 
 his Eoyal Highness, he had contracted pecuniary ob- 
 ligations at Geneva; but they were a trifle in com- 
 parison with the load of debt incurred before their 
 twenty-third year by the Prince of Wales and the 
 Duke of York. At Gibraltar, Prince Edward was 
 compelled once more to have recourse to similar 
 eager friends, when left there without sufficient funds, 
 to defray his outfit, till he received a reduced allowance 
 of 5000/. a year. He had been appointed colonel of 
 the Eoyal Fusiliers, then forming a portion of the 
 garrison under the command of General O'Hara, and 
 was obliged to maintain an appearance before his 
 brother officers corresponding with his social supe- 
 riority. The difficulty he met with in doing this^ 
 and the injustice under which he suffered, probably 
 rendered him irritable, for it was not long before 
 complaints reached the Horse Guards of his over-strict- 
 ness as a disciplinarian ; as a strange mode of remedy- 
 ing this evil, the young colonel and his regiment were 
 ordered to America in the summer of 1791. 
 
 If the men of the Fusiliers fancied themselves ag- 
 grieved by the severity of their commander's rule, his 
 brother officers in the garrison evidently regarded 
 him with very different feelings, for they subscribed 
 liberally to give him a handsome entertainment at 
 his departure. The Prince sailed for Quebec, where 
 he entered into arrangements for paying his debts. 
 In 1793 he received an order to join the force of Sir 
 Charles Grey, then reducing the French West India 
 
 T 2 
 
276 GIBRALTAR. 
 
 Islands. Martinique was captured before his arrival, 
 4tli March, 1794 ; but his Eoyal Highness assisted in 
 the reduction of St. Lucia and the capture of Guada- 
 loupe. The young colonel not only obtained the 
 commendation of his superior officers for his gallantry, 
 but the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. 
 
 The campaign being over in 1794, the Prince went 
 back to Canada. He had been obliged to have seven 
 different equipments, which had either been captured 
 or lost: and he returned to England in 1799 with 
 heavy pecuniary embarrassments. It was not till this, 
 his thirty-second year, that he was permitted, with a 
 brother four years his junior (Ernest Duke of Cum- 
 berland), to receive a Parliamentary grant of 12,000/. 
 per annum; and in 1799 he was elevated to the 
 dignity of Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Earl of 
 Dublin. 
 
 On the 7th of May his Eoyal Highness took his 
 seat in the House of Lords, on the 10th he was 
 gazetted a general, and on the 17th appointed Com- 
 mander-in-Chief of the British forces in the North 
 American colonies. This command, however, owing 
 to ill-health, he retained only a short time, and once 
 more returned to England, where he remained till 
 promoted to the Governorship of Gibraltar. 
 
 It should be borne in mind that the Duke was of 
 abstemious and regular habits when drunkenness and 
 debauchery formed the rule, and sobriety and respect- 
 ability of conduct the exception. He reached " the 
 Eock" on the 10th of May, 1802, when the rule pre- 
 vailed in the garrison to an extent totally unprece- 
 dented. Among officers and men a course of brutality 
 was daily indulged in that would not be permitted to 
 
A DRUNKEN GARRISON. 277 
 
 exist for an hour in any garrison in her Majesty's 
 dominions. The Duke of Kent courageously set to 
 work to restore order, decency, and discipline. The 
 idle officers were made to perform their military duties, 
 and the sotting men were prevented making beasts of 
 themselves. 
 
 So little were these attempts at reform appreciated 
 by the garrison, that a mutiny broke out on Christmas 
 eve, which was quelled with some difficulty. This 
 was followed by another of a more alarming character 
 a few days later, instigated, as was alleged, by 
 officers to whose irregularities the Governor was en- 
 deavouring to put a stop. The principal object ot 
 the mutineers was to ship their commander to 
 England with as little delay as possible. To get 
 rid of him they determined — but did not succeed. The 
 Duke had timely warning of the plot, and with the 
 assistance of a few of the officers on whom he could rely, 
 suppressed the outbreak ; and discipline was restored. 
 
 The garrison went on in a creditable way ; but the 
 alarming events had been made known to the autho- 
 rities at home, and instead of supporting an energetic 
 commander endeavouring, at no ordinary risk to him- 
 self, to improve an almost demoralized force, he was 
 recalled in the following March. He arrived in Eng- 
 land on the 26th of May, and at once applied for a 
 court-martial. This was refused, nor was he per- 
 mitted to return to his government ; and his succes- 
 sors increased those facilities for intoxication the 
 Duke had diminished. 
 
 The Duke now pressed on the Government the 
 urgent claims of his creditors, and received from Mr. 
 Pitt, in July, 1805, 20,000/. His Eoyal Highness 
 
278 THE DUKE A FIELD-MARSHAL. 
 
 was now able to cancel the bonds on which he had 
 been paying interest since 1791. Promises were held 
 out to him of an increased Parliamentary grant of 
 18,000/. a year. The Grenville Administration came 
 in and proved less liberal, for though the grant was 
 increased, the deductions insisted on made it no more 
 than 16,200^. The Duke's various equipments alone 
 had cost about 50,000/., and as he had never been re- 
 imbursed their loss, he was answerable to the full 
 amount, with accumulating interest. 
 
 On the 5th September, 1804, the Duke was ga- 
 zetted a Field-Marshal ; but his military career was 
 over. Though infinitely the best general in the 
 royal family, he was never after entrusted with any 
 command. His civil career did not promise anything 
 more brilliant, for there was evidently as strong a 
 prejudice against him in Downing- street as at the 
 Horse Guards. His Eoyal Highness had been heard 
 to express very Liberal opinions ; and notwithstanding 
 the temporary assumption of Whig principles by his 
 elder brothers, and the "Whig Grovernment of Fox and 
 Lord Grrenville, advanced ideas in politics were then 
 regarded as a bar to employment. 
 
 Having ascertained, in the year 1807, that his 
 debts had amounted to 108,200/., he put aside half 
 his income for their gradual liquidation. He had 
 applied for assistance and for employment in vain, 
 till at last, disheartened or disgusted, he resolved to 
 live as privately as possible. In the year 1809 he 
 took Sir Samuel Pomilly's opinion as to the publica- 
 tion of his case, several unauthorized pamphlets 
 having already appeared, and that eminent lawyer 
 was decidedly averse to such an appeal. 
 
EETIRES TO BRUSSELS. 379 
 
 The insurmountable obstacle to the Duke's obtain- 
 ing military employment was tbe Duke of York ; but 
 tbougb the Commander-in-Chief resigned that post in 
 1809, in consequence of Mrs. Clarke's exposure, the 
 Duke of Kent did not renew his application to the 
 Horse Gruards. 
 
 In the House of Lords he took part in the debates 
 upon the Eegency in 1810-11, and in the follow- 
 ing year spoke in favour of removing the Eoman 
 Catholic disabilities. His Eoyal Highness, however, 
 refrained from any public display of his pohtical 
 sentiments, contenting himself with taking the chair 
 at anniversary meetings of important, useful, and 
 religious institutions. His amiability rendered him 
 extremely popular with all who enjoyed the privilege 
 of his acquaintance. He lived a blameless and 
 quiet life. 
 
 But misfortune had not done with him. His soli- 
 citor absconded with funds entrusted to his care, 
 which forced him to renewed exertions for the settle- 
 ment of his pecuniary obligations. In the years 1814 
 and 1815 he made earnest appeals to the Grovern- 
 ment and to the Prince Eegent; but without the 
 slightest result. He therefore reduced his establish- 
 ment, sold his superfluities, and set aside three-fourths 
 of his income ; but this proving insufficient, the 
 Duke, in 1816, left England and lived with great 
 privacy at Brussels. 
 
 The case of his Boyal Highness was much can- 
 vassed in military circles. It was one that could not 
 fail of exciting the sympathy of Captain Duncombe ; 
 nor was he forgotten by others of his countrymen ; 
 
280 DUKE OF Kent's marriage. 
 
 they made a public manifestation of their regard in 
 November. They were the promoters of the various 
 charitable institutions of which the Duke was a 
 patron. He had presided at seventy-two in one 
 year. 
 
 While his military friends were regretting the 
 Duke's expatriation, he was intent on turning it to 
 profit. While travelling in Grermany he had been in- 
 troduced to the young widow of the late Prince of 
 Leiningen (sister of the Prince of Saxe-Coburg), and 
 on the 29th of May, 1818, they were married at 
 Coburg.* They travelled to England, and were re- 
 married in July at Kew in presence of several mem- 
 bers of the royal family. 
 
 The union was one entirely of affection — par- 
 ticularly so on the part of the Duchess, who made im- 
 portant sacrifices when she quitted Grermany. All 
 the earnest admirers of his Royal Highness hailed it 
 as the commencement of a new and more prosperous 
 life for the ill-used Prince. The Houses of Parliament 
 were cordial in their approval. A jointure of 6000^. a 
 year was voted to the Duchess, and there was every 
 appearance that fortune was about to make him 
 amends for his long and severe trials, when, on the 
 24th of May, 1819, a daughter became the first fruit 
 of that auspicious alliance f She was hailed as an 
 instalment of the hoped-for recompense. 
 
 * Princess Charlotte, who loved tenderly her uncle, the Duke 
 of Kent, was most ardently desirous of this union, and most im- 
 patient to see it concluded. " Eeminiscences of King Leopold." 
 See Appendix, "Early Years of the Prince Consort," i. 389. 
 
 •j- " The May Flower" of her German relatives. See " The 
 Early Years of the Prince Consort," i. 11. 
 
PRINCESS YICTOKIA. 281 
 
 The burtlien under which his Royal Highness had 
 so long groaned was not likely to be lessened by this 
 additional source of expense ; and, as the only avail- 
 able plan for getting free of his embarrassments, the 
 Duke petitioned the House of Commons in the follow- 
 ing June to sanction a lottery for the disposal of his 
 estate and effects at Castle-hill, Ealing. During the 
 discussion that ensued, Alderman Wood detailed the 
 Duke's case to the House. Mr. Hume also addressed 
 the House at considerable length, when he stated that 
 he had enjoyed the Duke's friendship for ten years, 
 and also went into particulars of his Eoyal Highness's 
 history. So long and intimate a connexion with a 
 leader of the Opposition would alone have been suffi- 
 cient to prejudice the Grovernment. Lord Castlereagh 
 opposed, and the motion was withdrawn. 
 
 It is not difficult to find a cause for the hostility of 
 the Duke's elder brothers. The Duke of Kent was 
 neither gambler, rake, nor bon vivmit. His virtuous 
 life was a standing reproach to their excesses : he was, 
 moreover, daily getting more popular, a knowledge 
 of his principles as well as of his wrongs enlisting 
 many patriotic hearts in his favour ; and what both 
 the Prince Eegent and the Duke of York seemed to 
 fear — his being made the leader of a strong party — 
 was every year becoming more imminent. 
 
 Notwithstanding the failure of his scheme, the 
 Duke did not despair. With his Duchess and their 
 infant daughter he retired to a modest residence at 
 Sidmouth, where, near the close of the year, the 
 Princess had a narrow escape. A boy with a gun, 
 shooting at sparrows near the house, broke the win- 
 dows of her nursery. The kind-hearted Duke would 
 
282 DUCHESS OF KENT. 
 
 not Kear of punishment, and the culprit was dismissed 
 with, a reprimand. 
 
 In the Duke's retirement his mind was devoted to 
 offices of benevolence. He was engaged in forward- 
 ing the interests of a charitable institution, when he 
 caught cold in consequence of not changing his 
 clothes, after having been caught in a shower. A 
 fever followed, which on the 23rd of January, 1820, 
 terminated fatally, to the profound regret of the many 
 English hearts who had learnt to love his honest, 
 manly, and kindly English nature. His friend, 
 King Leopold, who was present at his demise, pre- 
 served the following brief record of the sad event : — 
 
 The Duke and Duchess of Kent came to Claremont after 
 the Prince's return,* and remained there till he went to 
 Sidmouth, where the Duke hoped to escape the winter^ 
 which had set in with unusual severity, even in November, 
 when thick ice was everywhere to be seen 1820. Prince 
 Leopold was at Lord Craven's when the news arrived that 
 a cold, which the Duke got at Salisbury, visiting the 
 cathedral, had become alarming. Soon after the Prince's 
 arrival, the Duke breathed his last. The Duchess, who lost 
 a most amiable and devoted husband, was in a state of the 
 greatest distress.f 
 
 To the Liberal party the Duke of Kent was an 
 irreparable loss ; for though he was no partisan, and 
 as much as possible concealed his opinions, he was 
 known amongst them as a reformer, and they had 
 looked forward to the day when they might be able to 
 make head against an unyielding Government, under 
 his banner. 
 
 The Duchess of Kent as the widow of a soldier, and 
 
 * Prince Leopold ; lie had been to Scotland, 
 f " The Early Years of the Prince Consort," Appendix A, i. 390. 
 
CONSIDERATENESS. 283 
 
 the Princess Victoria as the daughter of a soldier, 
 were objects of deep solicitude to many young ofl&cers. 
 Among those of the Coldstream Guards they had few- 
 warmer friends than Captain Buncombe ; and when 
 he learnt how admirably the former had behaved, in 
 administering to the will of the deceased Duke — sur- 
 rendering to his creditors everything she might have 
 retained, and caring apparently only for the proper 
 nurture of his only child, his interest in both must 
 have greatly increased. It was probably through 
 Mr. Hume that he obtained an introduction to her 
 Eoyal Highness, for that eminent reformer continued 
 to the widow the friendly counsel he had afforded her 
 deceased husband, and was one of her most esteemed 
 Parliamentary friends. Mr. Duncombe, as soon as he 
 obtained access to the House of Commons, was pressed 
 into the same honourable service, and honoured with 
 frequent invitations from the Duchess. 
 
 ISTo member of the royal family was ever so deeply 
 regretted by the people or so generally eulogized by 
 public writers — in marked contrast to certain verses 
 on the death of his grandfather, Frederick Prince of 
 "Wales, which disposed of the survivors of the family 
 with even less respect than it mentioned the deceased. 
 Had the audacious poet survived to this generation, he 
 might have contrasted his royal subject with some of 
 its immediate connexions, and produced an epitaph as 
 much more honourable to one as more humiliating to 
 the other. An able historian thus estimates the public 
 loss : — ■" He possessed alike the respect of the nation 
 and the warm affection of his personal friends. . . . 
 Deeds of beneficence, or the support of institutions of 
 charity, of which he was a munificent patron, alone 
 
284 QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 brought him (in liis latter years) before the eye of the 
 public."* 
 
 The motive for bis Eoyal Highness's reticence 
 cannot be too highly lauded. He had not been awed 
 into silence ; but, having brought his wrongs in a 
 proper way before every available tribunal, and ascer- 
 tained that he had no chance of redress against the 
 power arrayed against him, he chose to suffer in 
 silence rather than drag before the public another 
 family scandal, and risk the present position of his 
 self-sacrificing wife and the magnificent future of his 
 beloved daughter. In a few days the demise of her 
 grandfather — in a few years that of the Duke of York 
 and of his elder brother — left the throne to the suc- 
 cession of the childless Duke of Clarence, to whom 
 that beloved daughter was next heir. The nation is 
 therefore under no slight amount of obligation to the 
 ill-used Duke of Kent, for the considerateness of his 
 conduct towards the close of his career, but are in- 
 finitely more indebted for bequeathing them a Sove- 
 reign who has inherited his own upright principles 
 and exemplary virtue. 
 
 On the death of William IV., so cordial had been the 
 Duchess of Kent's professions to both the great poli- 
 tical parties, that each made the best use it could 
 of the Queen's name. The Whigs, knowing that pos- 
 session was undeniable proof of royal support, took 
 especial pains to make it appear that the Sovereign 
 was with them. The Tories were equally eager to re- 
 present the inexperienced Queen as an unwilling dupe 
 in the hands of Lord Melbourne. Mr. Duncombe 
 
 * Alison : " History of Europe from the Fall of Napoleon to the 
 Accession of Louis Napoleon," ii. 418. 
 
DUCHESS OF KENT. 285 
 
 does not appear to have put in any claim; but as 
 Lord Durham was in expectation of official employ- 
 ment, it is probable that he waited events. A letter 
 published about this time by his lordship must have 
 assured him that his friend was no longer disposed to 
 support extreme opinions. It soon became clear that 
 the Eadicals were losing ground. 
 
 The Duchess resisted the proposal of William lY. 
 to establish a household for the Princess, as the ap- 
 pointments would probably be made by the Queen ; 
 and the Ministers were, now the King's indispo- 
 sition became known, daily more assiduous in their 
 attentions. The member for Finsbury was apparently 
 quite as much in favour as any of them. 
 
 The Duchess of Kent appears to have encouraged 
 the popular party. Her invitations to Mr. Duncombe 
 were followed in 1837 by her Eoyal Highness ex- 
 pressing her sympathy with the party of which he was 
 a leader. Tom Eaikes states in his " Diary" that the 
 Duchess opposed the King in the Westminster elec- 
 tion, exerting all her influence in favour of Mr. Dun- 
 combe's friend. Leader. 
 
 The agreeable manners and thoroughly gentleman- 
 like appearance of the member for Finsbury, made a 
 favourable impression on the Duchess. He had the 
 honour of conversing frequently with the Princess 
 Victoria ; upon whose talent and amiability he was 
 fond of dwelling in confidential communications with 
 his friends. Had he ever entertained any dangerous 
 notions, this graceful manner of enrolling him among 
 the friends of a youthful Princess must, with a person 
 of his chivalrous nature, have sufficed to put them 
 to flight. 
 
286 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 AMONG THE CHAETISTS. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe's indignation at the treatment of Lord Durham — 
 The ladies of the household and Sir Robert Peel — Rise of Char- 
 tism — Lord Brougham — Mr. Tooke's attempt on Finsbury 
 defeated — Death of Lord Durham — Mr. Duncombe's admira- 
 tion of his character — Eloquent description of this statesman in 
 Bulwer's "King Arthur" — Mr. Duncombe's amendment to the 
 Address — Letter from H. G. Ward, Esq., M.P. — Frost, Williams, 
 and Jones — Fair in Hyde Park — Letters from Marquis of Nor- 
 manby and Lord Dungarvon — Letter from Mr. Vernon Smith, 
 M.P. — M''. Duncombe's speech on the Ways and Means — Pre- 
 sents a Petition — Discussion in the House of Commons — His 
 motion lost by the Speaker's vote — A new Tory Government — 
 Chartist leaders — Cooper — Feargus O'Connor — His letter — Mr. 
 George Julian Harney — Agitation in Edinburgh — Letter of Mr. 
 Blackie — " Devil's Dust" — Notice of Mr. Duncombe in Le 
 Courier de V Europe — The People's Petition for the Six Points — 
 Popularity no sinecure. 
 
 No sooner had. Mr. Duncombe reached England 
 than he set about the best means of serving his friend. 
 Lord Durham's mission to Canada had been attended 
 with the most brilhant success, and his enemies were 
 alarmed by his unexpected return, armed with the 
 prestige which his judicious treatment of the re- 
 bellion had created. The member for Finsbury 
 frequently dined with the ex-governor ; and they 
 doubtless conferred together as to their plan of action. 
 The Eadical interest was evoked, and no effort spared 
 
POLITICAL BASENESS. 287 
 
 to excite indignation against the public men who had 
 treated their colleague with such shameless perfidy. 
 
 It appeared very much as if a trap had been dex- 
 terously laid for Lord Durham. He was induced to 
 accept an unpopular ofBce, and furnished for the occa- 
 sion with unconstitutional powers ; that as soon as 
 he exercised them, and had lost his popularity, they 
 might destroy his character as a public man by dis- 
 allowing his proceedings. We are not aware that 
 there ever was an instance of such political baseness 
 among gentlemen working in a common cause ; it 
 disgusted men of principle of all parties. 
 
 Among the papers on the subject we find the fol- 
 lowing memorandum : — 
 
 Memorandum. 
 
 Lord Durham's return from the Canadas without the 
 acceptance of his resignation by the Home Government 
 appears to me to have been unduly regarded as a blemish 
 even by those attached to his person and his policy. 
 
 Are such extraordinary powers as he was invested with 
 subject to the common rules of office ? 
 
 The people administered could not estimate the degree in 
 which the Lord High Commissioner was disavowed by the 
 ministry. To their view it was not lowering him one strand 
 of the ladder, but hurling him from the top of it. Not 
 merely the administrative power, but the more valuable 
 moral influence was destroyed by it. After the disallow- 
 ance of the ordinances, it was not that Sir John Colborne, 
 or any other military commander^ was as good as Lord 
 Durham for the remaining purpose^ but that any officer of 
 common capacity and character was better than the indi- 
 vidual so suddenly deposed from his high estate. 
 
 Lord Durham said in the House of Lords before he went 
 out to North America that he would throw off these 
 dictatorial and unconstitutional powers the moment he 
 
288 THE people's charter. 
 
 cou]d do so after satisfying the occasion that called them 
 into existence, feeling as he did the awful responsibility of 
 holding such authority. If this public declaration im- 
 plicated a breach of official etiquette, why did not the 
 Colonial Secretary, or one of his colleagues, say, as it was 
 apparently his duty to have said, " My lord, you were mis- 
 taken upon a point of hureaucratic usage. You may cease 
 to exercise your extraordinary powers when your objects 
 are accomplished, hut you must retain the nominal posses- 
 sion of them until we announce the acceptance by the Crown 
 of your resignation." 
 
 Parliament opened on the 5tli of Eebruary ; signi- 
 ficant demonstrations were made in both Houses, and 
 on the 7th of May the Government resigned. Owing, 
 however, to Sir Eobert Peel's expressed intention ot 
 changing the ladies of the royal honsehold, which 
 the Queen would not sanction, Lord Melbourne re- 
 sumed his post on the 10th. 
 
 Soon after the commencement of the Parliamentary 
 Session of 1839, Mr. Duncombe renewed his ordinary 
 course of life as a popular representative. A wide- 
 spread agitation was now going on among the work- 
 ing classes for a considerable extension of the suffrage. 
 In June, in the House of Commons, Mr. Attwood pre- 
 sented a petition signed by a million two hundred 
 names, praying for political privileges to a rather 
 startling amount; and prodigious public meetings 
 were held in various parts of the country, where an 
 intention to obtain these privileges was loudly ex- 
 pressed. They were embodied in a declaration called 
 "ThePeople'sCharter," and those who agitatedfor them 
 were designated Chartists. In Newport a tumultuous 
 assemblage was put down by the authorities, and its 
 leaders, Frost, Jones, and Williams were tried and con- 
 
LORD BROUGHAM. 289 
 
 victed of high treason. Similar outbreaks occurred in 
 other districfcs,but were with little difficulty suppressed. 
 
 Lord Brougham's talents as an agitator had been 
 of the first class. As a pamphleteer, he threw even 
 Roebuck's fecundity into the shade. Lord Holland 
 states that on one occasion in the course of ten days 
 he filled every bookseller's shop with pamphlets and all 
 the newspapers with paragraphs. But his great work 
 in the way of proselytisni was the establishing, when 
 Mr. Brougham, the Society for the Diffusion of Useful 
 Knowledge, to which all the Whig leaders belonged. 
 They commenced a series of sixpenny publications of an 
 intellectual character, preceded by an attractive intro- 
 duction written by him on the advantages and pleasures 
 of science. They were treatises on different branches 
 of philosophy, much too abstruse for the class of 
 readers to whom they appealed. The " Penny Maga- 
 zine" was one of the most popular of their publica- 
 tions, and the " Penny Cyclopaedia" the most useful. 
 They started a " Dictionary of Biography" that began 
 and ended with the letter A ; shortly afterwards the 
 Society collapsed. 
 
 Hitherto the member for Finsbury had gone on un- 
 checked in his political career. He had made friends 
 everywhere ; and however rival politicians might be 
 inclined to quarrel, they never quarrelled with him. 
 In January, 1840, he became aware of an insidious 
 attempt about to be .made to deprive him of his seat. 
 The rumour had the effect of drawing his old friends 
 closer to him. It soon came out that Mr. Tooke, the 
 treasurer of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful 
 Knowledge, was in an underhand way going about 
 making use of the influence of the Society for advanc- 
 
 VOL. I. u 
 
290 MR. TOOKB, F.U.S. 
 
 ing his object. On being charged with this, he 
 denied it. Lord Brougham appointed a sub-com- 
 mittee of inquiry, before whom the accusation was 
 fully proved. The committee had previously tried 
 every possible pretext for ending the subject. Mr. 
 Duncombe followed up the charge with his usual per- 
 severance. The Times and other influential journals 
 supported him. Mr. Tooke found himself going to 
 the wall, when he wrote an impertinent letter, pub- 
 lished in the Morning Herald, reflecting on Lord 
 Nugent for having been instrumental in causing an 
 indirect vote of censure to be passed against him by 
 the committee of the Useful Knowledge Society. He 
 moreover affected to persevere in the idea of ousting 
 Mr. Duncombe from Finsbury ; but the ridicule 
 which he brought upou himself and his Society, and 
 the withering sarcasms which nearly the whole of the 
 press poured out upon him — the complete exposure 
 of his pretensions, and the equally complete denials of 
 Lord Nugent, Mr. Leighton, and others, of his state- 
 ments, terminated his public career. 
 
 It came out in the course of the discussion that 
 Mr. Tooke was a solicitor, put F.R.S. after his name — 
 (for what scientific service no one knew), was a saint 
 on his own representation, and though incorruptible, 
 had been rejected at Truro for practices that looked 
 very corrupt indeed. Tn short, there was so general 
 a cry of " Pharisee" and " humbug," that the baffled 
 intriguer thought it more prudent to retire altogether 
 into private life. 
 
 i. 
 
 The clever experiment to weaken Mr. Duncombe's 
 hold on his constituents strengthened it immensely. 
 His honesty of purpose contrasted most favourably 
 
DEATH OF LORD DURHAM. 291 
 
 with the intense hypocrisy of his would-be opponent ; 
 and the most modest of the Tory papers mentioned 
 him with respect. He had taken this session a much 
 more active part in politics, and spoke much more 
 frequently in the House of Commons ; but though his 
 conduct secured him many influential friends, for 
 none of them could he feel the regard he experienced 
 for one he lost this summer. Lord Durham died at 
 Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, at the early age of 48, 
 on the 28th of July. Lord Ebrington was thought 
 likely to supply his place as a leader of the extreme 
 party ; but he had been appointed Lord-Lieutenant 
 of Ireland, and at once set himself in opposition to 
 O'ConneU and the Repeal movement. That party, 
 however, was not deficient in leaders ; and among the 
 most popular of them unquestionably was the member 
 for rinsbury. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe was a warm admirer of his deceased 
 friend, and lost no opportunity of expressing his con- 
 tempt for the Whig leaders who could not appre- 
 ciate, or in his opinion were jealous of, his great and 
 varied talents. In one of his commonplace books, 
 he quotes Dryden on Congreve : — 
 
 Let not th' insulting foe his fame pursue, 
 But guard the laurels which descend to you. 
 
 He adds a note — " Applicable to Poulett Thomson 
 on his conduct to Lord Durham in Canada. — 
 T. S. D." 
 
 High as was his estimate, it was exceeded by 
 that of his distinguished contemporary. Sir Bulwer 
 Lytton, Bart., who, in his epic poem, " King Arthur," 
 thus eloquently does justice to Lord Durham's 
 
 merits : — 
 
 u 2 
 
292 LORD LYTTON. 
 
 But who, with eastern hues and haiighty brow, 
 Stern with dark beauty, sits apart from all ? 
 
 Ah, couldst thou shun thy friends, Elidie ! — thou 
 Scorning all foes, before no foe shalt fall ! 
 
 On thy wronged grave one hand appeasing lays 
 
 The humble flower. Ah, could it yield the bays ! 
 
 Courts may have known than thee a readier tool. 
 States may have found than thine a subtler brain, 
 
 Biit states shall honour many a formal fool, 
 And many a tawdry fawner courts may gain. 
 
 Ere king or people in their need shall see 
 
 A soul so grand as that which fled with thee ! 
 
 For thou wert more than true ; thoti wert a Truth I 
 Open as truth, and yet as truth profound ; 
 
 Thy fault was genius — ^that eternal youth 
 
 Whose weeds but prove the richness of the ground. 
 
 And dull men envied thee, and false men feared. 
 
 And where soared genius there convention sneered. 
 
 Ah, happy hadst thou fallen foe to foe. 
 
 That bright race run — the laurel o'er thy grave ! 
 
 But hands perfidious sprung the ambushed bow. 
 And the friend's shaft the rankhng torture gave ; 
 
 The last proud wish in agony to hide — 
 
 The stricken deer to covert crept — and died ! 
 
 Lord Lytton probably refers to the intrigues of 
 those amongst Lord Durham's colleagues — friends 
 they could scarcely be called — who sacrificed him to 
 their jealousy, ostracised him, and on his return 
 destroyed his character as a statesman. It was this 
 impression, doubtless, that made Mr. Duncombe so 
 bitter upon the Whig leaders who had assisted in 
 abruptly terminating the career of his brilliant friend. 
 To one quotation in his commonplace book, under 
 the head " Whigs," he wrote : " They have the voice 
 of lions, and the timidity of hares." To another: 
 
ROBERT PLUMER WARD. 293 
 
 " Cobbett designates tbe Whigs ' Sboyhoys/the Hamp- 
 sbire name of scarecrows, that frightened at a distance, 
 but were found to be harmless on closer acquaintance." 
 Among the members of the House who appreciated 
 iMr. Buncombe's amendment on the Address (1889) 
 was the son of Eobert Plumer Ward, author of 
 " Tremaine," and other works of some note in his day. 
 He had been brought up for the diplomatic profession, 
 and had accepted a mission to Mexico ; but on his 
 father's death had succeeded to the paternal estate, 
 and had entered Parliament. He subsequently be- 
 came Secretary to the Admiralty. Eobert Plumer 
 Ward had been Under Secretary of State for Foreign 
 Affairs, a Lord of the Admiralty, Clerk of the 
 Ordnance, and Auditor of the Civil List. 
 
 Gilston Park, Saturday. 
 
 My dear Duncombe, — You have done most successfully 
 what I have been trying for some days past, namely, to put 
 a something that might serve as an amendment in the 
 debate upon the address into a shape that would secure a 
 decent minority. I think the words which you have sug- 
 gested cannot be improved, as every man may put his own 
 interpretation upon them, and ride his own hobby, while 
 voting with you. My own projected amendment I now 
 drop entirely, and give in my adhesion to yours, which I 
 will support most cordially. We may have a rattling debate 
 upon it, and to you I am sure I need not say that, whatever 
 be our numbers, we must divide. I merely trouble you with 
 this because you may hear of my intentions from Hawes 
 or Molesworth ; and I think it right, therefore, to assure 
 you that you need fear no competition from me. 
 
 Yours very truly, H. G. Waed. 
 
 rrhe case of the foolish men at Newport who had 
 joined in a Chartist demonstration, that was easily 
 
294 MARQUIS OF NOEMANBT. 
 
 suppressed by a lawyer and a few constables, miicli to 
 the advantage of the former, who was rewarded with 
 the honour of knighthood, was not lost sight of by the 
 popular member for Finsbury. They had been sen- 
 tenced to death; and early in the year 1840 Mr. 
 Buncombe presented a petition to her Majesty in 
 their behalf The following reply proves that he had 
 been successful to the extent of saving their lives : — 
 
 WhitehaU, 6tli February, 1840. 
 
 SiK, — I have laid before the Queen the petition -which 
 you presented from the inhabitants of Plymouth in behalf 
 of John Frost, Zephaniah Williams, and William Jones, 
 under sentence of death for high treason ; and having con- 
 sidered the special circumstances of the case of each of these 
 prisoners with reference to the proceedings which have taken 
 place since their trials, I have deemed it advisable to re- 
 commend to her Majesty to extend the Royal mercy to the 
 said prisoners on condition of transportation for life ; and 
 her Majesty has been graciously pleased to extend her 
 mercy to them on that condition. 
 
 T am, sir, your most obedient humble servant, 
 
 NORMANBY. 
 
 Thomas Dunoombe, Esq., M.P., &o. &c. 
 
 In the following month, Mr. Duncombe moved an 
 address to the Queen, to grant a free pardon to Frost, 
 Jones, and Williams ; in which, though he was sup- 
 ported only by six members of the House, one of them 
 was Mr. Disraeli. He took up the case, as he took up 
 many others of the same kind, in the conviction that, 
 whatever might be the amount of culpability of such 
 offenders, mercy would serve the crown better than 
 coercion. He boldly advocated the cause of the reck- 
 less politicians, often returning again and again to 
 the charge, as though he would weary the Govern- 
 
FAIR IN HYDE PARK. 295 
 
 ment into moderation. He dwelt forcibly on the 
 treatment tlie state prisoners received, particularly in 
 the cases of Feargus O'Connor, Vincent, Baines, and 
 Thorogood. He succeeded in most of his humane 
 efforts; and considered himself well recompensed by the 
 grateful thanks of the near relatives of the prisoners, 
 and the increasing regard of the community at large. 
 In the same year he undertook to lay before the 
 9,uthorities the idea of a general holiday, including a 
 repetition of the popular entertainment permitted in 
 one of the metropolitan parks on the day of her 
 Majesty's coronation. This was to be in honour of 
 the Queen's birthday. It was popular with his con- 
 stituents, but did not meet with the approval of the 
 authorities, as may be seen from the following corre- 
 spondence, and was consequently abandoned : — 
 
 Hill-street, May 9tli. 
 
 My dear Tom, — I desired them to send you an order for 
 the Penitentiary to-day, in case I should not be able to go 
 with you, which I now find I cannot, having a late Cabinet 
 and an early charity dinner. In talking over the matter of 
 the memorial you presented to me, with Duncannon, we 
 came to the decision that it would not be advisable to allow 
 a fair in Hyde Park ou the Queen's birthday. There 
 would then probably be another similar request on the 
 birth of an heir, and Duncannon says it did much mischief 
 last time, though very well conducted on the part of the 
 lessee. Ever yours, ' Noemanby. 
 
 July 1st, 1840. 
 
 My deak Lord, — I am sorry that I cannot say that I 
 think it would be advisable to recommend to her Majesty 
 to accede to the petition of certain persons for permission 
 to hold a fair in Hyde Park. I have already stated my 
 objections to Lord Melbourne, and I understood from him 
 
296 LORD UUNCANNON. 
 
 that he agreed in my objections. I have no donht that care 
 ■was taken on a former occasion to prevent mischief, and that 
 many of the persons attending the fair were most respect- 
 able. The circumstances that induced the Government to 
 accede on the occasion of the Coronation^ do not at present 
 exist. It was necessary then to provide amusements in dif- 
 ferent places for the enormous congregation of people from 
 all parts of England, to prevent too great a number in one 
 place, to prevent accidents, and to provide amusement for 
 the lower class as well as the upper class of society. The 
 ease is now directly the reverse, and it is proposed to call 
 together crowds of people for no reason whatever that 
 would not apply to the celebration of her Majesty's birth- 
 day, or any other great festivity, for a purpose that all the 
 authorities in and about London have been attempting to 
 discountenance — the metropolitan fairs, which I thought 
 by the acknowledgment of all were denounced as scenes of 
 idleness, drunkenness, and profligacy, and that everybody had 
 agreed in the propriety of discontinuing them. On this 
 ground I cannot think it would be right for a Government 
 to advise the Queen to sanction a fair of this description in 
 the park. With respect to the damage to be done to the 
 trees or herbage, with all the care that can be taken it is 
 quite impossible to bring together such a large body of 
 persons without doing mischief, and without some disorder 
 and tumult. I am sorry that, after the best consideration 
 I can give to the question, I must oppose myself to it, and 
 I feel that I should not be doing my duty by the Queen or 
 by the public if I did not state my objections. 
 
 Believe me, truly yours, Duncannon. 
 
 Hill-street, July 7th. 
 My dear Duncombe,- — Enclosed I send you the official 
 letter I have received from Duncannon, in whose depart- 
 ment the matter rests, in consequence of my asking his 
 opinion upon the subject of the memorial you presented. 
 Do you wish me to convey his answer, which you will 
 observe is unfavourable, in any more formal shape to you ? 
 Yom-s ever, Normanby. 
 
WHIG POLICY. 297 
 
 The session of 1841 had scarcely commenced when 
 the policy of Ministers was violently assailed in both 
 Houses; and, what is more aggravating, by two of 
 the most distinguished of their own partisans — Lord 
 Brougham in the House of Peers ; Mr. Grote, the 
 historian and banker, in the Commons. The Grovern- 
 ment lived on from day to day, the more able ad- 
 ministrators striving to divert attention from the 
 shortcomings of their colleagues. Lord- John Eussell 
 not only defended them in the House, but was inde- 
 fatigable in suggesting measures that promised to be 
 of great public benefit ; and Lord jNIelbourne rendered 
 himself so generally agreeable that friends and foes 
 were equally ready to shut their eyes to his want of 
 political sagacity. 
 
 It is evident, from the letter appended, that the 
 colonial policy of Ministers was not more popular 
 than other portions of it : — 
 
 Colonial Office, Saturday, February 20tli, 1841. 
 
 Dear Dxjncombb, — ^I find that Mr. Pine has seen all the 
 papers that Lord John Russell thought fit, namely, such as 
 concerned his own case. He Vfrote a letter claiming to 
 succeed to the government of the Gambia, and en- 
 closed others casting imputations upon Mr. Ingram, the 
 Colonial Secretary^ who was appointed to this temporary suc- 
 cession, whose conduct he said betrayed " conscious dis- 
 honour, or extraordinary weakness or indecision^ alike 
 incapacitating him for so important a station." Under 
 this same Mr. Ingram he had consented, however, to serve 
 as writer, and exercise the functions of Queen-'s Advocate, 
 never producing his charge till he thought an opportunity 
 was presented to advance himself by the injury of his 
 superior. He has never accounted for his possession of 
 these criminatory letters in any better way than his having 
 received copies of them anonymously. Upon this case, and 
 
298 MR. duncombe's elocution 
 
 tte inferences to be drawn from it, Governor Huntley^ a 
 j^entleman of very high character and impartiality, has 
 thought proper to suspend Mr. Pine, and Lord John 
 Russell does not think it advisable to interfere. 
 
 Yours truly, R. Vernon Smith. 
 
 No description could give the reader a perfect idea 
 of the effect the memher for Finsbury was able to 
 produce in the House of Commons, when he rose 
 during a debate and addressed that assembly. No 
 one unacquainted with his elocutionary powers affected 
 to undervalue him. They may have observed the out- 
 ward characteristics of the fine gentleman — they may 
 have considered the assumption of the democrat in 
 whatever light they pleased, — but he soon convinced 
 them that he was in earnest, and as quickly forced 
 them to regard him with respect. His resources 
 always appeared to develop themselves in proportion 
 with the exigency that required them, and were sure 
 to display themselves to most advantage during a 
 crisis. For instance, his speech on the Ways and 
 Means debate on the Sugar Duties, May 17th, 1841, 
 was remarkably telling, particularly the introductory 
 portion : — 
 
 Mr. Duncombe rose and said — Judging by certain sig- 
 nificant questions put by honourable members opposite in 
 the early part of the evening, judging also by the silence 
 they have subsequently observed — (cheers) — he thought he 
 was justified in assuming that great anxiety prevailed 
 upon that side of the House that this debate should be 
 brought to a speedy conclusion — (Opposition cheers) — 
 an anxiety not merely arising from a conviction on the 
 part of honourable gentlemen opposite of the weakness 
 of their cause — (ironical cheers from the Tories) — but an 
 anxiety arising from the delusion they seemed to be under 
 that the sweets of office, although not at this moment 
 
IN PARLIAMENT. 299 
 
 within their grasp^ ivould be so at the conclusiou of this 
 debate. (Renewed Tory cheers.) Knowing, therefore, this 
 anxiety, he would not now interpose between them and 
 their fondest wishes, did he not feel confident that the 
 longer this debate was prolonged the better the people 
 of England would understand the conduct and motives of 
 each side of the House — (loud Opposition cheers, answered 
 from the ministerial benches) — yes, the better would 
 they understand not only the conduct and motives of the 
 House, but the better would they appreciate the resolution 
 of the noble viscount (Viscount Sandon), which was in 
 opposition to their going into committee for the purpose of 
 considering the best means and the best way of meeting 
 the exigencies of the state in preference to imposing any 
 additional burdens upon the people ; — (cheers) — and not 
 only would they appreciate the conduct of honourable 
 members on both sides of the House, but they would also 
 set a value on the resolution of the noble lord, which he 
 had no hesitation in saying, since he had had the honour 
 of sitting in Parliament, for its unparalleled inconsistency 
 — (cheers) — its barefaced duplicity — (renewed cheers, and 
 " Oh, oh \" from the Opposition) — ay, and he would say, its 
 matchless hypocrisy — (cheers) — would stand unrivalled in 
 the records or the annals of Parliament. (Loud cheers.) 
 His immediate object in rising was, if possible, to catch a 
 little of that sympathy which appeared to exist in the 
 breasts of honourable members opposite for the population 
 of foreign states. He wished to seek a little of that 
 sympathy for the sufferings and distresses of our own 
 fellow-countrymen — (cheers) — -which he would venture to 
 prove to the House most distinctly far exceeded those of 
 any negroes in the world. (Hear, hear.) But before he 
 proceeded to do so, he begged to be allowed to congratulate 
 honourable members opposite on the fidelity with which 
 they could keep a secret. (Hear, hear.) Speaker after 
 speaker on that (the ministerial) side of the House had 
 made the most urgent, and, he might say the most pathetic 
 appeals^ to know^ in the event of their defeating her 
 
300 A QUESTION OF HNANCE. 
 
 Majesty's ministers on this occasionj what they would do ; — 
 (hear, hear) — but, with one exception, those honourable 
 gentlemen had been as silent as the grave. He need not 
 remind the House that this exception was the right honour- 
 able gentleman, member for the University of Cambridge 
 (Mr. Groulburn). He, to be sure, coquetted and played with 
 the question. He demanded of her Majesty's ministers, 
 " Vt'hj do you ask us this question ? You have no right to 
 do so — you have produced the crisis and the difficvilty, and 
 you must propound the remedy." (Hear,hear.) But he should 
 like to know who had created the difficulty ? Had it arisen 
 from any extravagant and unauthorized expenditure on the 
 part of the Government, or from any misconduct on the 
 part of the people ? What were the items by which this 
 deficiency had been produced ? A great and overwhelming 
 loss, nearly 900,000/., from the free communication by post 
 which had been established. (Tory cheers.) Had not that 
 been authorized by Parliament — had it not met with the 
 approbation of the whole country? (Cheers.) What was 
 the other cause of the deficiency ? Did it not arise out of 
 the deficiency of our excise returns? Did it not arise from 
 the improved disposition and temperance of the Irish people ? 
 (Cheers.) He was told that temperance in Ireland had 
 caused a deficiency of half a million. He vrished to know, 
 then, how honourable gentlemen opposite meant to meet 
 the difficulty if they came into office ? Did they mean to 
 repeal the Penny Postage Act ? (Cheers.) Dared they 
 raise the postage of letters ? (" Oh, oh," and cheers.) 
 Did they mean to promote inebriety in Ireland ? (Loud 
 cheers.) Did they mean to take half a million of money 
 from the starving people of England in support of what 
 they are pleased to call church extension ; or is their 
 panacea to admit the claim of the honourable member for 
 Antrim, who, disdaining the twenty millions that this 
 country has already paid to the pampered slave-drivers of 
 the West Indies, modestly demands one hundred and seven- 
 teen millions more ? (Loud cheers.) But the right 
 honom'able gentleman (Mr. Goulburn), after beating some 
 
GREAT CHARTIST PETITION. 301 
 
 time about the busily took compassion upon the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer, and said, " If you really -want to know 
 what my remedy is, I will tell you." The Chancellor of 
 the Exchequer, good easy man, pricks up his ears, and 
 naturally says to himself, " "V^'l^at a kind, good-hearted man 
 that is ; what a disinterested patriot ! He at least is 
 evidently not actuated by party views ; he is really going 
 to extricate us from the difficulty we are in ;" and, after all, 
 what is the remedy propounded by the member for the 
 University of Cambridge ? To use his own words, " by 
 leaving things alone." But he (Mr. Buncombe) was prepared 
 to prove that they could not " leave things alone.''^ 
 
 In May, 1841, the member for Finsbury was 
 selected to present tbe great Chartist petition, signed by 
 1,300,000 persons, and he did so with a speech that was 
 a model of elocutionary common sense. The petitioners 
 prayed for the liberation of political offenders. He 
 concluded by moving an Address to the Crown that 
 the prayer might be carried into effect. His motion 
 was supported by Hume, Leader, Evans, O'Connell, 
 Wakley, Hall, &c. &c.; and opposed by Mr. Fox Maule, 
 Lord John Russell, and Sir Robert Peel — principally 
 on the ground that such an interference with the 
 course of justice was an encroachment on the royal 
 prerogative. On a division the numbers were the 
 same for and against, but the Speaker gave a casting- 
 vote against the motion, and it was lost. ISTeverthe- 
 less the debate was extremely encouraging to Mr. 
 Duncombe ; and the result was so much the reverse 
 to the Government that they talked of resigning. 
 Some of the incarcerated sent him an address from 
 Newgate thanking him for his exertions in their 
 favour, to which he replied in suitable terms. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe's identification with the extreme 
 
302 EXTREME RADICALS. 
 
 section of politicians emboldened Mr. Tooke to stand 
 the result of a division among tlie proprietors and 
 members of University College, London, in wliicb lie 
 beld the same office lie had occupied in the Society of 
 Useful Knowledge. The latter he had found it ne- 
 cessary to resign, preparations having been made for 
 turning him out. By extraordinary exertions he 
 managed to secure a majority of two (his son and his 
 brother) ; and though it was virtually a defeat, he 
 published an address congratulating himself and the 
 University. 
 
 As the Government had been defeated on the Sugar 
 Duties on the 18th of May, and again on the 24th by 
 a motion of want of confidence, they resolved to appeal 
 to the country. This ought to have brought Mr. 
 Tooke to the hustings. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe now cast in his lot with the extreme 
 Radical party, seeing, apparently, how hopeless it was 
 to expect any great measure of good from the hand- 
 to-mouth policy of a Whig government, and not yet 
 being satisfied that the supporters of Peel and Wel- 
 lington deserved his confidence. Mr. Disraeli, it seems, 
 did not win him over to Conservative views ; nor did 
 that right honourable gentleman's guest entice him 
 into Eadicalism — probably neither entertained such an 
 intention. Mr. Grote, one of the most intelligent re- 
 formers the age had produced, appears to have been his 
 example; and, in conjunction with other influential 
 friends, he more and more countenanced the Chartist 
 movement. He was thus brought into intimate com- 
 munion with several of the agitators who had acquired 
 a local celebrity, and was much occupied with their 
 correspondence. 
 
BEIBERY. 303 
 
 Among the Chartist celebrities wlio favoured him 
 most in this was Cooper, author of " The Purgatory 
 of Suicides." 
 
 On the 14th of June Mr. Duncombe pubHshed a 
 stirring address to his constituents, and was elected 
 for the fourth time before the end of the month. Mr. 
 Tooke did not venture to contest the borough. He 
 was content with the judgment of his "enlightened 
 and independent majority." Mr. Duncombe, satisfied 
 on better grounds, published a letter of thanks. 
 
 He had now to prepare for a more active campaign 
 than any he had experienced during his fifteen years 
 of Parliamentary service. The Whigs went out, and the 
 Tories came in, on the 6th of September. Sir Eobert 
 Peel was again in oflfice, with a thorough Tory cabinet. 
 The Liberals of course were in Opposition, but were 
 gaining strength, and knew that they would be re- 
 garded with increased consideration by Whigs and 
 Tories. On the 6th the member for Finsbury spoke 
 on the motion for a Committee of Inquiry on the 
 prevalence of bribery, when he stated that a large ma- 
 joritjr of the House owed their election to such practices. 
 As Parliament was prorogued on the 7th, operations 
 against the new Government had to be deferred. 
 
 In the interim his time was occupied with a good 
 deal of Chartist correspondence from town and coun- 
 try. Patriots sprung up in all directions, who required 
 his advice and assistance. Most of them had little 
 objects of their own to gratify, and the popular mem- 
 ber for Finsbury was expected to help them. Mr. 
 Cooper was a printer, and wanted to start a publica- 
 tion with the suggestive title of " The Extinguisher." 
 Mr, Duncombe sent a handsome contribution; but 
 
304 FEARGUS o'cONNOR. 
 
 "The Extinguislier" only extinguished itself, and 
 Mr. Duncombe was asked to support a sequel to it in 
 the shape of " The Commonwealthsman." His cor- 
 respondent had previously edited " The Illuminator" 
 and " The Eushlight ;" but the one had illumined no 
 one, and the other appeared to have been lit at both 
 ends — it so soon burnt itself out. Mr. Duncombe again 
 answered the appeal ; but " The Commonwealthsman" 
 never became common enough, and possessed not the 
 most remote pretensions to wealth. 
 
 Mr. Cooper was an experienced Liberal, having 
 adopted his opinions, he writes, at fourteen, from 
 reading the " History of Athens" ; and must have 
 had some ingenuity, for he acknowledges that he gave 
 lectures on " astronomy, geology, geography, Newton, 
 and Saxon history," always weaving Chartism into 
 the subject. But evidently his cleverness did not 
 do him much service as a journalist. After ihe^rsf 
 number " The Commonwealthsman" went the way of 
 " The Illuminator," " The Extinguisher," &c. &c., and 
 came to a lamentable end before it was a month old. 
 
 Mr. Feargus O'Connor was a more celebrated as 
 well as a more intimate associate. He was a gentle- 
 man of fortune and position in Ireland, who had 
 determined on playing a prominent part in English 
 politics. Mr. Duncombe, impressed by his earnest- 
 ness of manner, accepted his co-operation, and nothing 
 could exceed his devotion to his leader. 
 
 Denham Cottage, Tuesday. 
 My deah, SiRj — I beg to enclose you a letter from Hull, 
 and to add my request to that of the requisitionists. I am 
 on the look-out for the long-headed fellow to arrange a table 
 of details for you. Hoping that your health is now quite re- 
 storedj I am^ faithfully yours^ Feargus O'Connor. 
 
MEASUKES, NOT MEN. 305 
 
 4, Caroline-street, Hull, Feb. 11th, 1842. 
 
 Dear Sin, — You are doubtless aware of our victory over 
 " the plague " at the Town Hall on the 24th of January. 
 The WigSj though fairly beaten, where determined not to 
 be outdone ; so on the Saturday following they had a snug 
 little meeting in the magistrates' room — Sir Wm. Lanethorp 
 in the chair — and adopted their petitions, of course, without 
 our amendment, which they have forwarded to Mr. Hutt 
 for presentation. I have sent our petitian with a letter by 
 this post to Mr. T. Duncombe, for him to present in opo- 
 sition to theirs, if that gentleman will condesend to do so. 
 Our object in writing to you is, that if you can posibly 
 devote so much of your valuable time to us as to wait upon 
 Mr. Duncombe, you perhaps might induce him to do us the 
 favour of presenting our petition ; for the Wigs have the 
 impudence to tel us that we cannot get any member of the 
 House of Commons to present it, and the Chartists of Hull 
 whould very much like to convince them of the contrary. 
 Hoping that we shall have your cohoperation in this business, 
 
 I remain, sir, your sincere, though very humble servant, 
 James Grassby, Sub-Secretary. 
 
 Feargus O'Connor, Esq. 
 
 When Place, the tailor of Charing Cross, was in 
 the habit of coming prominently before the public as 
 a Reformer, he was sometimes twitted with the sug- 
 gestive axiom then much in vogue, " Measures, not 
 men ;" but there was a reforming clothier at Leeds 
 who was desirous of advocating it in its most prac- 
 tical shape. He was apparently tired of hearing the 
 hackneyed reference to the proverb — " Cut a coat ac- 
 cording to the cloth," and desired the shaping of 
 another garment, but of the very humblest fabric. 
 The material, it must be admitted, was not adapted 
 for the intended wearer's appearance at any of the 
 fashionable parties to which he was daily invited; 
 
 VOL. 1. x; 
 
306 devil's dust. 
 
 but there is no doubt that he appreciated the sensible 
 gift, though there is no evidence that he capitalised 
 it politically at the " Crown and Anchor," or at 
 " White Conduit House" :— 
 
 175, Briggate, Leeds, July 6tli, 1842. 
 
 Sir, — I take the liberty of sending you a trowsers piece, 
 three yards in length, made from " devil's dust " and 
 " cotton.-" If you think it is not suitable wear for a 
 gentleman, be kind enough to hand it to Mr. Busfield 
 Ferrand, as a reivard for his enormous lying. I can supply 
 you with any quantity at fourpence halfpenny per yard. 
 
 There are thousands of persons in this town who admire 
 your honest and independent conduct, and only regret you 
 are not better supported in the House. 
 
 I remain, your obedient servant, 
 
 Wm. Whitehead. 
 
 T. S. Duncombe, Esq., M.P. 
 
 We add a communication from one of the principal 
 writers in the Northern Star, the oracle of the Northern 
 Eadicals, and for many years supported by Feargus 
 O'Connor and the extreme Liberals. There is some 
 exaggeration in the statement it contains : the man 
 referred to had been sentenced to imprisonment for a 
 political offence at Sheffield, and had endured two 
 years of his sentence when he sickened and died. 
 His townsmen were exasperated by this mischance 
 into holding an indignation meeting, when they re- 
 solved to send a petition to Parliament praying for 
 inquiry, and this petition, it was unanimously re- 
 solved, should be presented by the popular member 
 for Finsbury : — 
 
 Sheffield, No. 11 Hartshead, July 8tli, 1842. 
 
 Sir, — Herewith I send a memorial to the House of 
 Commons praying for enquiiy into the treatment and death 
 
A SAD CASE. 307 
 
 of tte deceased Samuel Holberry. Particulars are stated 
 in the memorial. 
 
 I am instructed by tlie Chartist Council to request that 
 you will present it. It was adopted at a very large meeting 
 of many thousands of persons held in Paradise Square on 
 the 27th of June last. Certain circumstances have pre- 
 vented me sending the copy sooner. 
 
 The death (murder it is considered here) of poor Holberry, 
 at the age of only twenty-seven, has excited the greatest in- 
 dignation of the people of Sheffield against the Government. 
 Upon the occasion of the funeral^ a mass of people 
 assembled such as within the memory of the oldest in- 
 habitant has never before been seen in Sheffield. 
 
 The deceased has left a wife to mourn his untimely end. 
 She is about the age of her deceased husband, an amiable 
 and accomplished woman. She was arrested with her hus- 
 band, and shamefully ill-treated. Three months after, and 
 while her husband was undergoing the tortures that have 
 sent him to the grave, she gave birth to a child, which did 
 not live. What wonder ! They had been married but 
 fourteen months when he was arrested ; he had been nearly 
 two years and a half from her, the inmate of a dungeon, 
 when he sunk under his punishment. His wife had never 
 seen him during that time but once, and then only through 
 iron bars; the next time she saw him she gazed upon — not 
 him, but his livid corpse. 
 
 Think you, sir, that the aristocracy will not one day rue 
 these things ? Fools ! the fearful lesson given to all Europe 
 within the memory of most of them, appears to be forgotten 
 or unheeded. Be it so. 
 
 We hope to be able to raise the means of placing Mrs. 
 Holberry above the reach of want. 
 
 By this post I forward you a copy of last Saturday's 
 Northern Star, in which is given a lengthy account of the 
 funeral proceedings. With the deepest respect, 
 I am, sir, your very obedient servant, 
 
 George Julian Harney. 
 
 T. S. Buncombe, Esq., M.P. 
 
 X 2 
 
808 THE people's petition. 
 
 Acknowledgments of Mr. Buncombe's services to 
 the people came from various places ; his position, 
 too, was recognised by foreigners as well as by En- 
 glishmen. Le Courier de V Europe states to its 
 readers : — 
 
 Pour etre juste envers les principaux membres du parti 
 radical en Angleterre, disons que pendant ces troubles ils 
 se sent soigneusement abstenus de tout ce qui pouvait etre 
 interprete comme une adhesion aux principes anarchiques 
 des Chartistes. M. Duncombe, par exemple, qui dans cette 
 session comme toujours a loyalement et liabilement defendu 
 les doctrines democratiques, n^'en a pas moins dedaigne une 
 vaine popularite et n'a point youIu preter I'autorite de son 
 nom aux agitateurs. M. Duncombe est radical, mais il ne 
 veut pas arriver k la realisation de ses idees par le desordre. 
 II y a dans ses discours an parlement un parfum d'hon- 
 netete, un accent de conviction, qui inspirent la confiance k 
 ceux qui sont le plus eloignes de partager ses convictions 
 politiques : c'est le Garnier-Pages de la tribune Anglaise. 
 
 The session of 1842 commenced with the discus- 
 sion on the Corn Laws ; but quite as much interest 
 was excited when Mr. Duncombe, on the 3rd of May, 
 presented to the House what was styled " The Peo- , 
 pie's Petition,'-' praying for the Six Points of "the 
 Charter." It bore three million five hundred thou- 
 sand signatures. On his moving that the petitioners, 
 by their agents or counsel, should be heard at the 
 bar. Sir James Grraham and Sir Eobert Peel, Lord 
 Francis Egerton and Mr. Hawes, Mr. Macaulay, and 
 even Mr. Eoebuck, opposed ; and on a division the 
 motion was lost by 207 against 49 in favour. There 
 could be no disputing the meaning of this declaration 
 of the House of Commons ; it created universal dis- 
 satisfaction among the industrial classes, and strikes, 
 
POPULARITY NO SINECURE. 309 
 
 riots, and tumultuous processions became general in 
 the manu'factuiing districts and populous cities. Many 
 seditious speeches were uttered ; but the Government 
 were prompt in their measures of repression. Several 
 persons were arrested, and among them Mr. Feargus 
 O'Connor, the member for Finsbury's too zealous 
 subordinate. 
 
 In the political session of 1842, the popularity Mr. 
 Duncombe had acquired by presenting the national 
 petition created inci'eased demands upon his time. 
 He was to be seen at the Reform Club, he assisted in 
 getting up the Birkbeck testimonial, attended public 
 dinners at White Conduit House, at Highbury 
 tavern, at Eadley's Hotel, the Crown and Anchor, 
 Strand, as well as committees in the House of Com- 
 mons ; visited the House of Correction and Model 
 Prison ; met deputations of various kinds ; joined in 
 the principal parliamentary debates ; played a con- 
 spicuous part in public meetings ; was present at the 
 National HaU tea-party and fete ; and received invi- 
 tations from Dundee, Edinburgh, Grreenock, York, 
 Glasgow, Birmingham, Hull, Bristol, Keighley, 
 Eochdale, Liverpool, Derby, Oldham, Bradford, Hud- 
 dersfield, Aberdeen, SheflBeld, Leeds, Salford, Ashton- 
 under-Line, Bolton, Stockport, and Manchester; of 
 which he could accept only Manchester, Stockport, and 
 Leeds. 
 
 When his private affairs and amusements are con- 
 sidered, it will be acknowledged that, in his case, 
 popularity was no sinecure. 
 
 On the 24th of August, Mr. Duncombe attended 
 a large public meeting, held at the White Conduit 
 House, to take into consideration the distressed state 
 
310 INTENSE EXCITEMENT. 
 
 of the country. Mr. Feargus O'Connor accompanied 
 liim ; both made what were considered very telling 
 speeches, and were vehemently cheered. The former 
 received a vote of thanks ; and the latter, while re- 
 sponding to the call made for him, did justice to the 
 merits of his friend. The assembly of ten thousand 
 persons then quietly dispersed. 
 
 The country was in a state of such intense excite- 
 ment that the leaders of the people generally displayed 
 a prudent reserve. The member for Finsbury, how- 
 ever, continued his course, and whether in town or 
 country spoke out with a manliness that won him 
 universal respect. This was peculiarly the case at 
 the great meeting held in November at Stockport, 
 where he was the only person of influence or educa- 
 tion who dared to come forward as a friend of the 
 working classes. 
 
 On the 29th of October, in the same year, a festival 
 was held at the National Hall, Holborn, in compli- 
 ment to Mr. Duncombe, Colonel Thompson in the 
 chair. It was attended by eminent reformers, who 
 acknowledged the public services of the member for 
 Finsbury in glowing terms ; and the chairman, in an 
 eloquent speech, put forward the following resolu- 
 tion : — " Our invited guest, T. S. Duncombe, Esq., a 
 legislator regardless of party or faction, who having 
 espoused just principles has honestly stood forward in 
 Parliament the advocate of his oppressed and suffering 
 countrymen. May he continue to pursue the same 
 sound, just, and prudent course, till the rights of the 
 millions are won, and their wrongs redressed." 
 
 This elicited from him a long and powerful speech, 
 in which he reiterated his opinions in favour of liberal 
 
BIOGRAPHIES. 311 
 
 measures. It was listened to throughout with general 
 attention, and enthusiastically cheered. 
 
 In this year at least half a dozen different biogra- 
 phies of Mr. Duncombe appeared in the public jour- 
 nals, several embellished with characteristic portraits ; 
 aU were laudatory, and all found a large sale. In 
 every quarter there was the same appreciation of his 
 fearless honesty and agreeable ionhommie. Testi- 
 monials and complimentary festivals were frequent; 
 in short, he did not appear to have a single enemy. 
 His entire life was canvassed from the cradle, yet 
 no one was able to find a passage that could call 
 in question his claims to sincerity. He spoke out 
 on all public occasions ; but the Government wisely 
 left him unmolested at a time when they were 
 strenuously endeavouring to suppress similar ideas 
 in England and Ireland. Those who published 
 them, however, were notoriously political adven- 
 turers, in whose discretion no confidence could be 
 placed. 
 
 The following communications show that the fame 
 of the member for Finsbury had extended to the 
 capital of the northern portion of the island. The 
 Chartist agitation had developed into an extensive 
 combination. It was intended to form a convention, 
 to which every portion of the empire was to send 
 delegates ; their number to vary in accordance with 
 the population of the district. Edinburgh had for 
 some time displayed a partiality for advanced opinions, 
 but in seeking for representatives went far afield. 
 The reply to the application of the inhabitants of 
 the "modern Athens" is well worthy of observa- 
 tion : — 
 
312 EDINBURGH DELEGATES. 
 
 7, Milne-square, Edinburgh, Dec. 7tli, 1842. 
 
 Esteemed Sie, — I have been requested to intimate to 
 you thatj at a pubKc meeting of the inhabitants of this city, 
 held on Monday, the 5th instant, for the purpose of elect- 
 ing delegates to attend the conference to be held at Bir- 
 mingham on the 27th of December, and following days, 
 the following gentlemen were duly elected : — The Eev. Dr. 
 John Ritchie, Mr. Robert Lowery, John Dunlop, Esq. of 
 Brockloch, Mr. Henry Ranken, Joseph Sturge, Esq. of 
 Birmingham, and Thomas S. Duncombe, Esq., M.P. Permit 
 me, sir, 'to state that the citizens of Edinburgh entertain a 
 very high sense of the many important services which you 
 have rendered to the cause of popular liberty, and will feel 
 highly honoured by your attending the conference as one of 
 their representatives. — I have the honour to be, sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, Thomas Blackie. 
 
 The Albany, December 12th, 1842. 
 
 Dear Sib, — I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your 
 letter of the 7th date, informing me that the inhabitants of 
 Edinburgh, in pubUc meeting assembled, had done me the 
 honour to elect me as one of their representatives at the 
 conference intended to be held on the 27th instant at Bir- 
 mingham. I hope it is unnecessary for me to assure you, 
 or those on whose behalf you address me, how deeply sen- 
 sible I am of the high compliment they have been pleased 
 to pay me by this public mark of their confidence. I regret 
 to say that, although engagements long since made would 
 have precluded the possibility of my complying with their 
 wishes, yet I think it but right to state, that in justice to 
 their cause I should equally have felt myself compelled most 
 respectfully to have declined the honour and responsibility 
 of their delegation, even had I been disengaged at the 
 period alluded to; convinced as I am that, in order to 
 enable any delegate to do full justice to the interests and 
 opinions of those he is called upon to represent upon so im- 
 portant an occasion, that the delegate should possess a much 
 closer personal acquaintance and local connexion with his 
 
POPULAR LIBERTY. 313 
 
 constituents than that which I can have the happiness to 
 claim as existing between myself and the citizens of Edin- 
 burgh. Allow me J at the same time, to thank you for the 
 kind manner in which you express yourself in approbation 
 of my past Parliamentary labours in the cause of popular 
 liberty, and to assure you and the reformers of Edinburgh that 
 so long as I have a seat in the Plouse of Commons no ex- 
 ertions shall be spared on my part in endeavouring to obtain 
 for the people those electoral privileges to which I consider 
 not only their increased intelligence entitles them, but which 
 a due protection of the interests of all classes imperatively 
 demands. — I have the honour to remain, dear sir. 
 
 Yours faithfully, T. S. D. 
 
 Tliomas Blackie, Esq., Edinburgh. 
 
314 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 EXPOSURE OF SIR JAMES GRAHAM. 
 
 Mazzini and" the member for Finsbtiry — Egotism — Apology for 
 Sir James Graham — Charge of opening Mr. Mazzini's and Mr. 
 Buncombe's letters — Indignation meeting — Letter of Mazzini 
 denouncing the Eiighsh Government, and describing the viola- 
 tion of his correspondence — ParHamentary discussion — Com- 
 mittee of secresy — The report conveys a direct contradiction to 
 a statement made by Lord Aberdeen — Impression made on the 
 public mind by the disclosures — Mazzini dissatisfied — More 
 communications — Letters irom Herr von Bismark and Signer 
 Mariotti — Kossuth's statement of the case — Sir James Graham 
 in Punch. 
 
 As it will be necessary to describe the state of Italian 
 affairs as tbey were made known to the member for 
 Finsbury, we shall defer a more detailed account of 
 the great Italian patriot of whom he was so zealous 
 a partisan, till we treat of the condition of Italy : let 
 it suffice here to inform the reader that Griuseppe 
 Mazzini, after unsuccessful efforts at republican pro- 
 pagandism in Italy, France, and Switzerland, had 
 found shelter in England. He had sought the ac- 
 quaintance of Mr. Duncombe, who joined a society 
 under his direction called " The Friends of Italy," 
 and satisfied with the ardour of his patriotism, and 
 admiring his talent, shortly became on terms of the 
 most cordial and confidential intimacy. 
 
 Mazzini at the close of the year 1836 had been 
 
MAZZINX. 315 
 
 banished from Switzerland as a dangerous conspirator, 
 and had proceeded to England. In the following 
 January he arrived in London. He has taken the 
 trouble of entering into a long review of his position, 
 in which he has indulged in much philosophical dic- 
 tion, that people gifted only with plain sense may find 
 it difficult to understand.* The confession in the next 
 page of the straits to which he was at this time re- 
 duced, does not show that this opportunity for self- 
 examination was turned to any profit. This is much 
 to be regretted. It is pitiable to see a man of supe- 
 rior intelligence succumbing to an evil destiny ; but 
 it is still more lamentable to find him striving to force 
 events after repeated assurances had been given him 
 that he was not fitted for the task he had undertaken, 
 nor for the age in which he lived. 
 
 Mazzini's account of the discovery of the violation 
 of his letters at the Post-office, as given in the third 
 volume of his " Life and Writings," throws the ear- 
 nest-minded Reformer to whose unremitting and 
 arduous exertions in his behalf he was exclusively in- 
 debted for the Parliamentary inquiry that brought 
 him and his afiairs so prominently before the world, 
 quite into the shade. He condescends to mention 
 Mr. Duncombe by name ; but of his zeal, courage, 
 perseverance, and eloquence in addressing the House 
 of Commons again and again, till the whole nation 
 was roused to indignation by his exposure of the out- 
 rage, he says not a word. " I, therefore, caused a 
 Committee of Inquiry to be demanded," is a most 
 disingenuous way of putting the stirring appeals of 
 the member for Finsbury. 
 
 * See " Life and Writings," vol. iii. pp. 170 to 175. 
 
316 
 
 SIR JAMES GRAHAM. 
 
 Tt is quite true that he afforded what information 
 he could, as the following correspondence will prove. 
 
 Sir James Graham being the minister who sanc- 
 tioned the opening of Mazzini's letters, was naturally 
 the chief object of his indignation ; but whatever 
 may have been the amount of blame he incurred by 
 the proceeding, he had merely followed precedents 
 that had been set him by every Secretary of State, 
 including Lords John Russell, Palmerston, Melbourne, 
 and the Marquis of Lansdowne, including also Charles 
 James Pox ! The error is no doubt a grievous one, in 
 accordance with English notions of fair play; but 
 then the greatest advocates of these notions have been 
 obliged to fall into it. Mazzini writes : — 
 
 108, High Holborn, Wednesday. 
 
 Dear Sir^ — The speech of Sir James Graham as to my 
 case, amounts to these affirmations : — 
 
 1. "That the date of the warrant is correct." It may 
 be true : but we state that we are ready to prove that my 
 letters have been opened two months before the date. The 
 Lords^ committee states the fact that they have been opened 
 for some time at least beyond the date. The rational con- 
 sequence is, that the letters have been opened during some 
 time without a warrant ; and it is likely that the Post-office 
 authorities, seeing that the thing was going on for a longer 
 time than they expected, insisted upon sheltering themselves, 
 in case of discovery, under a warrant. In such an hypo- 
 thesis, the two under-secretaries and the clerk have nothing 
 to do with the business. 
 
 2. " That Lord Aberdeen did not utter a falsehood, &c." 
 Lord Aberdeen declared that not a syllable of the cor- 
 respondence had been communicated — only the contents 
 were transmitted. If there is a distinction to be drawn be- 
 tween the two things, certainly it would do honour to the 
 most quick and cunning Jesuit one can imagine. You steal 
 
THE BROTHERS BANDIERA. 317 
 
 my purse : give to the next robber in the crowd tbe money 
 contained in it : then you declare, on your honour, that you 
 have not transmitted a single penny, because the purse has 
 not been transmitted ; or, still more to the case, because the 
 original thief before transmitting the money has changed it 
 into bank-notes. What was the meaning of Lord Nor- 
 manby's question, if not of knowing whether or not this 
 opening of the letters had taken place for England's or for 
 a foreign power's sake ? And what is the meaning of Lord 
 Aberdeen's answer, if not saying : " Oh ! no ; we have not 
 been so wearisome as to copy and transmit literally the 
 whole ; we drew up a summary of the important parts" ? 
 Really, it seems to me that there is no self-respect in listen- 
 ing patiently to such shameful things, mixed up with words 
 such as honour and loyalty. 
 
 3. " That no trap was laid for the Bandiera and their 
 companions." 
 
 " A descent on the coast of Calabria was not expected." 
 No ; it was wanted. 
 
 " They were not opposed on landing." True ; who can 
 foresee the point of the shore where a boat with twenty-one 
 men will land ? They were not opposed, neither by troops, 
 nor by the civic guard, as he says : they took, undisturbed, 
 to the mountains leading to Cosenza. But how is a sum- 
 mary of the facts? — before it, no man in his senses will 
 doubt, I hope, the entrapping. 
 
 Pirst. — On the 21st of May, after my letters and refusal 
 to help them with money, every scheme of action was laid 
 aside ; they were talking of going to seek a living in Algiers. 
 On the 6th, 7th, and 8th June, a faint idea of attempting 
 had revived, but it was an idea of accompanying Ricciotti 
 to a point of the estates of the Pope. All this is from their 
 letters, in my possession. 
 
 Secondly. — It was during the 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th, 
 that the false reports, of which I spoke in the Chronicle 
 and at the end of the pamphlet on the Post-office, were 
 spread around them. It was during these days that 
 Boccheciampi, the man enjoying their confidence, and who 
 
318 
 
 ITALIAN EXILES. 
 
 had been bought by the Neapolitan consul at Corfu^ pre- 
 vailed upon them and led them to Calabria. They started 
 on the 12th, writing their last letter to me, and stating all 
 the reports. Boccheciampi started with" them : landed with 
 them, armed, and with the national cockade. As soon as 
 they landed he vanished, went to Cotione, and gave infor- 
 mation of the direction they had taken. After three days 
 of march, when they came forth from the forests in a 
 narrow defile of San Giovanni, in Fiore, they found them- 
 selves there, where troops are never quartered, [surrounded] 
 by a mass of troops. Besides all other authorities we have, 
 Boccheciampi has been denounced by Nardi (one of the 
 shot) in a letter written from the condemned cell twelve 
 hours before dying, and which I published in the Times and 
 Chronicle some time ago. The letter was conveyed through 
 the Austrian agents. 
 
 Thirdly. — On the 18th July, seven days before the exe- 
 cution, the Neapolitan agent at Corfu, Gregorio Balsamo, 
 was granted the order of Francis the First by his king, with 
 a. public decree, for services paid in the thing. What ser- 
 vices ? Publicly, officially, he had done nothing ; was de- 
 serving of reproaches : he had prevented neither the starting 
 nor the landing. 
 
 Whatever the answer may be given to the question put 
 by Mr. Milnes at the end of the debate, you can maintain, 
 without the least fear of mistaking, that never a single 
 communication has been made or hint given to the exiles at 
 Corfu about their being watched or suspected. 
 
 Tlie political question seems to me to have been left 
 almost intact ; perhaps it is more advisable not to mix it up 
 with a question of morality now. Still, it seems to me a 
 rather perplexing fact, that ministers of a constitutional 
 monarchy declare themselves ready to help, secretly, abso- 
 lutist powers abroad. I have touched the point in a letter 
 inserted in the Morning Chronicle of the 18th. 
 
 As to Stolzmann^'s and Worcell's case, there is a striking 
 remark that has been neglected. Sir Robert Peel has talked 
 beautiful sentimental twaddle about the horrible position in 
 
AGITATION. 319 
 
 whicli lie w^ould have found himself had the Emperor of 
 Russia heen killed in London. The emperor left England 
 on the 10th of June ; the warrant against my Polish friends 
 was cancelled on the 20th. What was the ground for 
 opening their letters during ten days after all possibility of 
 danger had vanished ? 
 
 Thanks and most sincere heartfelt congratulations for 
 your noble speech. I will call on you to-morrow morning. 
 Perhaps you will be able to appoint a place for meeting in 
 the HousC;, and lead Mr. Linton and me somewhere. It 
 was impossible yesterday to get in. 
 
 Believe me^ dear sir^ ever yours, Jos. Mazzini. 
 
 As an instance of striving to benefit oneself at the 
 
 expense of another, the following communication will 
 
 be found worthy of notice. The writer first makes it 
 
 appear that he has obtained the services of some 
 
 subordinate in the Post-office, for whom he requires 
 
 Mr. Duncombe to find employment. He then 
 
 suggests a comprehensive system of agitation in the 
 
 way of indignation meetings, the expenses of which he 
 
 wishes to shift from his own pocket. There was a 
 
 crowded meeting at White Conduit House, to demand 
 
 an inquiry into the suspicions implied against the 
 
 member for Finsbury, by opening his letters at the 
 
 Post-office. Mr. Wakley again made a warm defence 
 
 of his colleague. Other speakers, including Sir Charles 
 
 Napier, were equally favourable ; but not a word was 
 
 said about Mazzini. 
 
 108, High Holborn, Wednesday. 
 
 My dear Sir, — Will you allow me to express a few 
 thoughts about the course that, according to my opinion, 
 ought to be taken in regard to the letter-opening affair ? 
 You will do with them what you think proper. 
 
 There is, with one condition that I will name by and by, 
 a dilemma in which we can place our letter-breakers, and 
 
320 A POSSIBLE SPY. 
 
 from which I don^t see how they can, even with all the 
 Jesuitic definitions of Lord Aberdeen, escape. It is stated, 
 in the two reports, that a warrant was issued for the open- 
 ing of my correspondence on the 1st of March. Suppose 
 that we can prove that my correspondence was opened two 
 months before, one of the two things must be : either they 
 have forged a warrant for the purpose of deceiving the 
 committees, and narrowing the proportions of the case; or 
 they have had my letters opened during two months and 
 more without a warrant, but only through some confidential 
 intelligence between one of the Ministry and one of the 
 chief officers of the post. Both cases are equally guilty. 
 
 The ground upon which truth has been concealed is this. 
 I stated in my petition that during four months my letters 
 had been violated. I stated that only because, not knowing 
 whether the Government would avow or deny the charge, I 
 was obliged to state only what I was ready to prove from 
 my own evidence. They thought, of course, that my 
 knowledge of the fact was not going beyond the four months, 
 and acted accordingly. 
 
 Now, it is a fact that my letters were opened, with or 
 without a legal warrant, from nearly the Christmas of 1843. 
 I had, soon after Christmas, a friendly advice from the man 
 whom you know : it was forwarded to me through my maid 
 and in the presence of another English woman. They 
 would, if required, corroborate the evidence that the man 
 would be ready to give— if he was otherwise employed. 
 
 You will not, I hope, think it too bold of me if I here 
 venture to recal to your memory that the man was promised 
 that, should circumstances require. He is a good and clever 
 man, and has acted from good and noble feelings ; he has 
 a family to support. He appears to be suspected; and 
 though they will not commit the blunder of ejecting him, 
 without motive, from his situation, still he is sure of never 
 being promoted, and besides deprived even now of all little 
 extraordinary profits granted to his companions. I think 
 myself the moment come for our calling him up, when the 
 discussion opens, to say all that he knows ; but that can- 
 
AGITATION EXPENSES. 321 
 
 not he done wittout his being provided for. This, unhap- 
 pily, / cannot do ; I could afford to him a little temporary 
 relief, but not find employment. You will see what can be 
 done by English friends in this way. 
 
 From what I hear I think that the prospects of our suc- 
 ceeding within the Houses are not very brilliant. The first 
 outbreak of public opinion having subsided, strange and 
 illogical as it is, it has entered in the head of many that 
 with the two reports the affair has come to an end. The 
 reopening of the discussion ought to have been preceded by 
 some external agitation. And nothing was easier, nothing 
 is easier. A few meetings — one City meeting — you in the 
 chair ; a petition drawn, signed at the meeting, then depo- 
 sited elsewhere, are things very easily done. I could have 
 easily found speakers for a monster meeting ; but it would 
 require a rather great expense for the room, the advertise- 
 ments, bills, placards, &c. I had thought a moment of having 
 a subscription publicly opened for the organizing of a legal 
 agitation towards the result. But one name was wanted : 
 the name of a man of known honesty, in whose hands the 
 voluntary contributions could be put, and that name is not 
 within my reach. 
 
 I suppose you have seen some time ago, in the Morning 
 Chronicle, a long article on the proceedings adopted by the 
 Government towards our exiles at Malta. It was sent by 
 me. Perhaps my friends there will send more facts before 
 the opening of the House. — Believe me, dear sir. 
 
 Ever respectfully yours, Joseph Mazzini. 
 
 Mazzini was irritated respecting a charge of having, 
 as judge of a secret tribunal at Marseilles, signed a 
 death warrant against two of his countrymen in France, 
 which he had averred was a forgery. He had, in a 
 French court of law, prosecuted the prefect Gisquet, for 
 having referred to it in a work he had published ; but 
 the court dismissed the case with costs, under the 
 pretence that the prefect, in writing his book, might 
 
 VOL. I. Y 
 
322 COMPENSATION. 
 
 have been thinking of another Mazzini. It seems 
 that Mr. Duncombe wanted him in a more formal 
 manner to deny the charge ; hence the captious tone 
 of his answer below. He was subsequently induced to 
 publish a letter, addressed to Mr. Duncombe, in which 
 he denied any knowledge of the transaction referred 
 to ; and he avers that he will never more have any- 
 thing to do with the House of Commons. 
 
 By the next note, it appears that his friend was 
 desirous of obtaining for him compensation for loss of 
 time and trouble in pursuing the charge against the 
 Post-office ; but this did not meet his approval. 
 
 108, High Holborn, Friday. 
 
 Deae Sir, — My not meeting you yesterday night at the 
 House of Commons will have told you that, after all due 
 examination, I decided for the negative. The opinion of 
 Panizzi, Linton, and all my friends, was entirely unfavour- 
 able to the scheme. They all agreed in this, that if I was 
 an Englishman I ought to do so, but that, as a foreigner, I 
 ought not. Last year, even against their opinion, I would 
 not have hesitated ; now I do. I might be mistaken, and 
 wish to be so, but I fear that the result would be null. I 
 do not feel at all confident, looking at the conduct of 
 Wakley, and of all the Anti-Corn-law League, that you 
 would be supported in your exertions ; and things seem to 
 go wrong out of doors. If your majorities want to have 
 their letters opened, be it so; I will not fight their battles. 
 I don't care at all about what is called public opinion when 
 I can reach a result. But I don't like to be accused of 
 seeking notoriety by struggling for no purpose. If I was 
 an Englishman I could have no such fears about misinter- 
 pretation of my object. 
 
 As to personal satisfaction, I must say I feel not the least 
 interest in getting one. I feel within myself the pro- 
 foundest contempt for Sir James Graham, and I would 
 spurn rather than accept his apologies. This feeling of 
 
MAZZINI S INDEPENDENCE. 323' 
 
 contempt I will express in an unequivocal manner in the 
 pamphlet of which I am now correcting the proof; and if 
 they will find it to be a breach of privilege, so much the 
 better — but there I have an object. I want to plead the 
 cause of my country, and the necessity of appealing to 
 physical force that is incumbent upon us. Whenever I 
 write I feel it to be my duty to write whatever amount of 
 truth I have in my heart; and if I meet Secretaries of 
 State or Parliamentary majorities in my way, I must not 
 shrink from treating them as they deserve. In the other 
 case I would seem as if I was looking for them. 
 
 To-day I will see somebody whose opinion could influence 
 me to a different course ; and if so, you will know it imme- 
 diately. The loss of time would do no harm : I would only 
 say that T wanted to grant full time to Sir J. Graham for 
 a re-examination of the case. — Believe me, dear sir. 
 Ever truly and gratefully yours, 
 
 Jos. Mazzini. 
 
 The interest with which Mazzini watched the debate 
 then going on in the House of Commons respecting his 
 correspondence, may be gathered from the following 
 rather caustic commentary on the opinions expressed 
 by the Ministry and their supporters. It should, how- 
 ever, be remembered that the question was of almost 
 universal interest, as it affected every one who might 
 have secrets to communicate to a confidential friend 
 by means of correspondence — to members of the com- 
 mercial quite as much as those of the political world. 
 But to his compatriots it was of vital importance, as 
 it affected the safety of their near relations and dearest 
 friends. We add the notes intended to refresh the 
 memory of his advocate : — 
 
 108, High Holborn, Friday. 
 
 Dear Sie,— The change in the physiognomy of the House 
 was yesterday night quite unexpected to me. Mr. Charles 
 
 T 2 
 
324 SCHEMES OF THE BANDIERA. 
 
 BuUer had " a burden taken off from him" by Sir Robert 
 Peel's explanations in his answer to M. Milnes' question. 
 Por all other members his explanations were quite satisfac- 
 tory. These explanations I have examined again^ and am 
 at a loss how to understand the reasons of the change. 
 
 Sir Robert Peel was asked whether the Government had, 
 through Lord Seaton or others, given advices to the Ban- 
 diera. He answered, " They had not." So far as that, 
 there is an aggravation of the case. 
 
 But then, there is a motive given : of what sort ? 
 
 " That they could not suppose tiventy-two men would go, 
 unarmed, to attack an Italian estate." 
 
 The twenty-tiuo men are a fact, and not a theory. Neither 
 Sir Robert Peel nor Lord Aberdeen could guess, before the 
 fact, that the Bandiera would take with them only twenty 
 men. The question is, therefore, whether they were ap- 
 prized or not of the intentions of the Bandiera. 
 
 Take up the explanations of Sir Robert Peel. He says 
 " that plots were carrying on in the Mediterranean English 
 possessions ;" that " these plots were the subject of Lord 
 Aberdeen's watching and communications." 
 
 Malta and Corfu are the only English possessions in the 
 Mediterranean where Italian exUes are to be found. Erom 
 Malta and Corfu only, letters were coming to me during the 
 operation of the warrant. Now, I do affirm upon my 
 honour, and I have the proofs at home, that in the two- 
 thirds of those letters there is nothing but debating on the 
 landing-schemes of the Bandiera. How, then, could Lord 
 Aberdeen be ignorant of them ? What was his inspecting 
 my letters for? What about was he communicating with 
 the foreign power ? 
 
 The entrapping is denied. The proofs I have given of 
 this entrapping are these — 
 
 The very fact of the descent made on the 12th, when on 
 the 21st of May the Bandiera had renounced to all schemes 
 of that sort — when, on the 8th of June, they thought only 
 of following another man to a point of the Roman Estates : 
 all this from their letters. 
 
AUSTRIAN VICTIMS. 325 
 
 The sudden spreading, through strangers who came on 
 the 9thj 10th, and 11th from the kingdom of Naples to 
 Corfu, of false news ahout insurrectionary movements in 
 Calabria and other provinces : all these news stated to me 
 ia the last letter of the Bandiera to me^ where they give the 
 reasons of this sudden decision. 
 
 The presence of a traitor (Boccheciampi) amongst them, 
 who pushed them to go, went with them, disappeared when 
 landed, and went to Cotione, to give information : this man 
 being denounced not only by all our informations ; by 
 public notoriety ; by the fact of not being condemned with 
 the others for the expedition, but simply accused of having 
 known and not revealed a plot ; — but by the last letter 
 written by Nardi, one of the victims, twelve hours before his 
 death, from the condemned cell, to a friend at Corfu, and 
 conveyed through the Austrian embassy. This letter, pub- 
 lished in the Times and in the Chronicle, is the same upon 
 which Lord John Russell grounded a question yesterday night. 
 
 The attack made on the exiles at San Giovanni, a little 
 place where not a single soldier is quartered, by a mass of 
 royal troops. 
 
 The order of St, Francis the First, solemnly given by the 
 King of Naples, with his public decree of the 18th July, to 
 Gregorio Balsamo, the Neapolitan agent, for services ren- 
 dered on the occasion. What services, if he, according to 
 Sir Robert Peel, was taken by surprise ? 
 
 Of these proofs not one has been refuted, or even alluded 
 to, in the " satisfactory-shaking-off-burdenings" explana- 
 tions. The only insinuation against the statement is, " that 
 the exiles were put down by inhabitants, consequently not 
 by soldiers." 
 
 Now, the decree of the 18th July, published in the 
 Official Gazette of Naples, contains one hundred and seventy 
 rewards awarded by the King of Naples to one hundred and 
 seventy men belonging to the civic guards, to gendarmes, 
 and to soldiers and ofBcers of the second battalion of chas- 
 seurs, for their behaviour in the conflict. Is Sir Robert 
 Peel better informed than the Neapolitan government ? 
 
336 VIOLATING CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 I was forgetting to state tHat tile Bandiera left Corfu in 
 one boatj armedj and with a great quantity of ammunition^ 
 as stated in their last letter to me. 
 
 The honourable House was perhaps tired of listening to 
 complaints about nine generous and brave-hearted foreigners 
 shot in such a distant place from England ; but if a Minis- 
 terial statement was to be accepted as entirely satisfactory 
 and admitting of no discussion^ one does not reaUy see the 
 purpose of having entered in the most noble and earnest 
 manner into the debate. " Be quick : speak out what de- 
 fence you like ; it will prove acceptable/' was a language 
 more fit to be used from the beginning. 
 
 I am^ dear sir^ ever truly yours, 
 
 Jos. Mazzini. 
 
 Notes. — The warrant has been in operation against me at 
 least since the beginning of March. Sixty or seventy 
 letters addressed to me have been opened, coming from 
 perhaps twenty-five or thirty different persons. Every care 
 was taken to avert any suspicion — impressions of the seals 
 taken ; the cut sometimes so delicate that it almost required 
 a magnifying glass to follow its trace; a double stamp in- 
 variably applied to alter or make illegible the mark of the 
 hour at which the letter was reaching the General Post- 
 office, and to conceal the delay. 
 
 The first month, the first week of the system, must have 
 proved to the Home Department that England or English 
 safety was not concerned in the correspondence. The 
 session must have, therefore, been continued for the sake 
 only of a foreign power. 
 
 The coincidence of these facts with the beginning of the 
 agitation prevailing in Southern and Central Italy, afibrds 
 another proof. 
 
 There appeared in the Privileged Gazette of Milan of the 
 20th Aprd, 1844, and a few days before in the Swabian 
 Mercury, an article saying — " That the English cabinet had 
 addressed to that of Vienna promises extremely satisfactory 
 concerning the agitation prevailing in Italy, and especially 
 
BROUGHT BEFORE PARLIAMENT. 327 
 
 the Estates of the Pope; that besides formally protesting 
 against all suspicious of sympathy with Young Italy and its 
 political tendencies, the Government of Great Britain, going 
 still fiirther, was willing to put, as far as possible, a remedy 
 to the agitation; that, wanting to afford a direct co-opera- 
 tion towards such an aim, the English Government would 
 endeavour to put a stop to all agitations proceeding from 
 the exterior, beginning from Madrid ; that, as to the Italian 
 exiles in London, hospitality would be severely restricted to 
 the mere limits of duty ; that Mazzini would cease to be a 
 person unknown to the London police," &c. 
 
 A short time after the Augsburg Gazette, Allgemeine 
 Zdtung, printed " that, to escape the strict watching of the 
 London police, Mazzini had fled to Portsmouth," which, of 
 course, was false. 
 
 I have towards my country duties that I have tried and 
 will try to fulfil, as an Englishman would do towards his 
 own country ; but I challenge any Secretary of State, past, 
 present, and future, to bring forward, not a proof, but a 
 single slight indication, of my being, or ever having been, 
 connected with English afl'airs or any of the Enghsh politi- 
 cal parties in existence. 
 
 Joseph Mazzini. 
 
 June 24tli, 1844. 
 
 We will now trace tlie progress of the investigation 
 towards tlie conclusion of the Session of 1844. 
 June Mth, Mr. Dun combe, from his seat in the House 
 of Commons, presented the petition of two Italians, 
 Calderara and Mazzini, and two Englishmen, Lovett 
 and Linton, complaining of their letters having been 
 detained and opened at the Post-ofl&ce ; and he moved 
 for a committee of enquiry. The Secretary of State 
 did not attempt to answer the allegations in the peti- 
 tion, and opposed the committee. He appeared to be 
 supported by the House. The member for Finsbury 
 
328 PARLIAMENTARY REPORTS. 
 
 was not so easily to be got rid of. A few days later, 
 he presented another petition from two respectable 
 Poles, complaining of the same abuse. Mr. Duncombe 
 pressed the case with his usual force ; and on a divi- 
 sion found himself in a minority of 1 64. The Grovern- 
 ment finding the case could not be pooh-poohed, gave 
 way to the desire expressed by several members for in- 
 vestigation. The Earl of Eadnor brought the matter 
 before the attention of the other House ; and each 
 granted a committee of secresy, to inquire into the 
 alleged irregularities. On the 2nd July, the member 
 for Finsbury moved for the appointment of a select 
 committee. But Sir James Gfraham would only have 
 a committee appointed by himself, from which Mr. 
 Duncombe was excluded — the members being Lord 
 Sandon, SirWilliamHeathcote, Sir Charles Lemon, and 
 Messrs. Wilson Patten, Thomas Murray, Warburton, 
 Strutt and Ord, and the O'Connor Don. Both com- 
 mittees sat, and both published reports early in the 
 month of August. But before their publication the 
 press had taken up the subject, and the severity of 
 their strictures on the breach of confidence of which 
 the petitioners had complained, had helped to create a 
 very strong feeling in the public mind against the 
 practice. 
 
 On the 12th of July, Mr. Duncombe presented 
 another petition from Mazzini, desiring to be examined 
 before the secret committee, but no notice was taken 
 of it. Much sympathy was excited for him in con- 
 sequence of a very characteristic letter, written by 
 Mr. Thomas Carlyle, the eminent historian, express- 
 ing a warm eulogium on his qualities, moral and in- 
 tellectual. 
 
SECRET COMMITTEE. 329 
 
 He wrote : " I have had the honour to know Mr. 
 Mazzini for a series of years, and whatever I may 
 think of his practical insight and skill in worldly 
 affairs, I can with great freedom testify to all men, 
 that he — if I have ever seen one such — is a man 
 of genius and Airtue — a man of sterling veracit}", 
 humanity, and nobleness of mind — one of those rare 
 men numerable unfortunately but as units in this 
 world, who are worthy to be called martyr souls." 
 
 This, and the powerful aversion that exists in the 
 English mind to secret espionage, placed ]\Iazzini on 
 a pedestal- such as a foreign refugee never was raised 
 to before or since. 
 
 The Eeport of the Secret Committee of the House 
 of Commons, -u-ith numerous annotations by Mr. Dun- 
 combe, is now before us. We learn from it that Whig 
 and Tory ministers have freely exercised a privilege of 
 breaking the seals of suspected correspondence. The 
 report states that — " Eepresentations had been made 
 to the British Grovernment from high quarters, that 
 plots, of which Mr. Mazzini was the centre, were 
 carrying on, upon British territory, to- excite an in- 
 surrection in Italy : and that such insurrection, should 
 it assume a formidable aspect, would, from peculiar 
 political circumstances, disturb the peace of Europe. 
 The British Grovernment, considering the extent to 
 which British interests were involved in the mainte- 
 nance of that peace, issued on their own judgment, 
 but not at the suggestion of any foreign power, a 
 warrant to open and detain Mr. ]\Iazzini's letters. 
 Such information deduced from those letters as ap- 
 peared to the British Government calculated to frus- 
 trate this attempt, was communicated to a foreign 
 
330 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN. 
 
 power ; but the information so communicated was not 
 of a nature to compromise, and did not compromise, 
 the safety of any individual within the reach of that 
 foreign power ; nor was it made known to that power 
 by what means or from what source that information 
 had been obtained." 
 
 This statement conveys a direct contradiction to 
 one recently made in the House of Lords by Lord 
 Aberdeen, that "not one syllable of the correspon- 
 dence had been communicated to anybody whatever." 
 There were other statements still more startling in 
 the report, and they were commented upon with great 
 freedom by all the journals. The Law Magazine 
 and the Westminster Bevieiv published articles de- 
 nouncing the system which had tolerated so gross 
 a breach of common honour and honesty ; and at 
 public meetings the exposure was an unfailing theme 
 to excite popular condemnation. 
 
 The member for Knsbury was not satisfied. On 
 the 19th of February, 1845, he brought the subject 
 again before the House of Commons, commenting on 
 the Secret Eeport in very severe terms. In the course of 
 the debate Mr. Wakley made a most effective speech 
 in support of his colleague, while Sir Robert Peel 
 made as excellent a defence for his friend. The dis- 
 cussion did not terminate. Many more speeches were 
 given; but it was quite clear that Mr. Buncombe 
 had made such an impression on the House and on 
 the people of England as Government did not con- 
 sider it safe to trifle with ; consequently an under- 
 standing was conceded that the practice complained 
 of should be discontinued. 
 
 To this conclusion it is absurd to imagine that the 
 
ACCUSATIONS. 331 
 
 House of Commons was driven by the immediate in- 
 fluence of Mazzini. They had as little to do with 
 him as possible — in truth, showed themselves indif- 
 ferent to him personally. At this he took offence, 
 and evidently at last was not well pleased with his 
 advocate : — 
 
 108, High Holborn, AprU 6th, 1845. 
 
 Dear Sir, — I will call on you between twelve o'clock 
 and half-past twelvCj and bring back to you the " copies and 
 extracts." 
 
 Meanwhile I send a sort of statement of my case. I 
 cannot find in the " copies and extracts" anything worth 
 being refuted^ after what has been stated by you, by me, by 
 the Review, and by the Morning Chronicle. The political 
 past attempt on Savoy, leading of the National Association, 
 proclamation, he, I have never denied. I owe no account 
 for my political acts except to my country, to which alone 
 they are directed ; I owe no account of my political prin- 
 cipleSj except to my own conscience and to God. If strug- 
 gbng for one's own country's emancipation could ever 
 appear as a crime to many or some of your countrymen, so 
 much the worse for them ; to you^ I trust, it will not. The 
 only thing concerning the " secret tribunal" is owing, it 
 seems, to informations forwarded to one of your agents 
 abroad by an Austrian minister — that is, by the man of the 
 Government against which all the efibrts of my life have 
 been and will be directed. If that is deemed to be the 
 proper authority to apply to in such a case, I, for one, am 
 more disposed to pity those who could believe so than to 
 stoop to refute them. 
 
 I have felt extremely sorry at an expression contained in 
 your last note to me ; it seems almost to imply a doubt, 
 which, from you, would grieve me more than all the foul 
 accusations uttered by such a man as Sir James Graham ; 
 but, even to you, I cannot yield in this point. I have made 
 my miad up, that I wih not stoop down to justify myself 
 from an accusation of such a kind. In your country, if a 
 
832 THE RHODEZ CASE. 
 
 court had given a verdict "killed -without premeditation" 
 in a case of murderj nobody would dare to accuse another 
 man of having planned and ordered that very murder. Such 
 a verdict has been given by the Supreme Court i of 
 I'Aveyron in the Rhodez case. Why should I again justify 
 myself in England ? And for whom ? Those who know 
 me cannot doubt me for a single moment ; about those who 
 do notj and for whom all that has been said is insufficient, 
 I have never cared, nor will begin now to care. I have, 
 throughout all my life, answered all Ministerial accusations 
 by mere contempt ; and feel inclined to go on so. If such 
 an accusation should be uttered before me, I would answer 
 it — even if it came from a Secretary of State — by a slap on 
 the face of the man who would be so impudent as to utter 
 it in my presence. But I feel nothing but unutterable 
 contempt for what is said out of my presence and under 
 cover of Ministerial irresponsibility. 
 
 Believe me, dear sir, ever gratefully yours, 
 
 Jos. Mazzini. 
 T. S. Buncombe, Esq., M.P. 
 
 Facts and Dates. 
 
 August, 1832. — The Ministerial decree ordering me out 
 of France, owing to the same causes for which Sir James 
 Graham would order me out of England if he, as in France, 
 was empowered to do so — viz., the publishing the Giovine 
 Italia, and acting as a leader in our national movement. 
 
 Voluntary concealment, as stated in the Westminster. 
 
 Fruitless inquiries and perquisitions from the police ; re- 
 proaches from our government to the French authorities, 
 pretending that they did not want to find me out, &c. 
 
 June 7th, 1833. — The forged document appears in the 
 non-oflicial part of the Moniteur, with both the signatures of 
 Mazzini and La Cecilia. 
 
 Junelith. — My protestation, dated from Geneva (it is in- 
 serted, amongst other French papers, in the Gazette des 
 Tribunaux, June 22nd) . It runs so : — 
 
 " The Moniteur of the 7th of June, contains, &c 
 
MAZZINI INDIGNANT. 333 
 
 " That 1, an independent foreigner, having never had any 
 government grant, belonging to no category of exiles in 
 France, have been, without any motive, undefended, and 
 through the mere bon plaislr of the Ministry, ordered out of 
 France, is no matter of great surprise ; the measure origi- 
 nated from a corrupt and corrupting power, which has been 
 successively playing the part of a betrayer at the Pyrenees, 
 of a gendarme at Ancona, of a denouncer at Frankfort, and 
 which has been persecuting in the name and for the sake of 
 the Holy Alliance all men nobly devoted to a patriotic 
 cause, &c. . . . 
 
 " But that, after the blow has been struck, poison should 
 be thrown in the wound ; that calumny should be added to 
 persecution; that after a man has been deprived of his 
 liberty, of his welfare, of all his comforts, an attempt should 
 be made to deprive him of his honour, is low and disgusting 
 to such an extent, that one could scarcely believe it, even 
 when coming from such men. One would say it to be like 
 the assassin's doing, who would move roimd his dagger in 
 the heart of his victim. It suggests the image of worms 
 crawling about a corpse. 
 
 " I will not stop here to expose all the contradictions 
 crowding in that perfidious piece of absurdity ; the date of 
 my expulsion postponed from August to September, 1832 ; 
 that of the forged sentence from Marseilles, whilst, in the 
 body of the act, a letter is quoted from Marseilles to an 
 unknown place; the alleged condemnation, on May 31st, to 
 five years' imprisonment of the accused of wounds inflicted 
 upon Emiliani, whilst they had a verdict of acquittal, &c. . . 
 But I will, before the proper court, ask the Moniteur how 
 he has dared to" affix my name — the name of a man who has 
 ever felt stranger to the very thought of a crime — to such a 
 low, ferocious production. I will ask him how, upon a mere 
 copy, the authenticity of which has not been verified, he has 
 dared to brand me as an assassin. 
 
 " Meanwhile, I feel bound, towards those who did spon- 
 taneously defend me, to give the lie {dementi) to the un- 
 known accusers : and I do give it, most solemnly, to the 
 
334 A DARK DEED. 
 
 Moniteur, to all the papers hired by the Governmentj to the 
 Government itself. 
 
 I defy them all, together with the foreign policy by 
 which they have been prevailed upon to play the part of 
 calumniators, to prove only one of the things they affirm ; 
 to exhibit the original of the sentence ; to produce a single 
 line or single word from me, apt to engender a belief in the 
 possibility of such a dark deed from me. 
 
 I certainly did not carry into effect my threatenings of a 
 prosecution. There was impossibility. I had been ordered 
 the year before out of France, and was concealed ; I could 
 not give a power to a friend, without having it legally 
 framed and certified by public authorities. The only thing 
 that I could do was to give myself up ; that is, to throw 
 myself into the hands of foes aiming to my destruction, 
 when my activity was most wanted — when I had to organize 
 the insurrection then contemplated in Italy. Besides, no 
 one took notice, in France, of the accusation. The docu- 
 ment was universally admitted to have been forged by 
 some obscure police agent. La Cecilia, whose name had 
 been inserted along with mine, was not arrested, not inter- 
 rogated, not deprived of the subsidy granted to the political 
 exiles. To come forth and play the martyr would have 
 been, not heroical, but ridiculous. I decided to await 
 patiently for the result of the trial. 
 
 November 30th, 1833. — Verdict of the " Cour d' Assises 
 de FAveyron" (Rhodez). After two hours of deliberation 
 the jury declared Gavioli guilty of homicide without pre- 
 meditation, on the person of Emiliani; guilty of homicide, 
 without premeditation, on the person of Lazzareschi ; more- 
 over, with extenuating circumstances.^'' Vide Gazette des 
 Tribunaux, December 8th, 1833 ; adding, that " it has not 
 been possible to prove that Gavioli was the executor of a 
 decree given by a secret society, nor that such a society was 
 existing in- France." 
 
 Gisquet^s " Memoires." 
 
 1841. — Law-suit against him for having reproduced the 
 forged document. Vide VFestminster Review. 
 
MARIOTTI. • 335 
 
 The subject attracted the attention of foreigners 
 generally. We add two notes, the signatures of which 
 will direct attention to their remarks : — 
 
 1, Down-street, April 7th. 
 
 Sir, — I have read Sir James Graham's speech on the 
 subject of Mr. Mazziui, delivered in the House of Commons 
 on Tuesday, April 1st, and the debates on the same subject 
 on that and the following Friday evening. I have long 
 meditated upon it, lest indignation might prompt me with 
 words which I might afterwards repent having spoken. 
 
 I say now coolly, calmly, and deliberately, as an intimate 
 friend of Mazzini for the last fourteen years, no less than 
 as an honest man and enemy to falsehood, that Sir James 
 Graham, when chargrag Mr. Mazzini with murder, without 
 being able or willing to produce, without one minute's 
 delay, the proofs of so grave an accusation^ was guilty of a 
 foul, base, and dastardly lie; and those members of the 
 House of Commons who supported and voted for such a 
 Minister under such circumstances are sharers of and 
 abettors iu that same foul, base, and dastardly lie. 
 
 I beg you will have the goodness to convey to the 
 Minister, and the members who constituted the Ministerial 
 majority on that occasion, my sense of their conduct, being 
 perfectly willing to abide all consequences that this frank 
 profession of my opinions on that subject may bring upon 
 me. — I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 L. Mariotti. 
 
 Sir, — About eighteen months ago I had a long conver- 
 sation with a French gentleman belonging to the party op- 
 posed to Mons. Guizot about the sanctity of the seal, and 
 the abominable institution of the chambre noire ; when he 
 assured me that this custom had been entirely abolished in 
 France, but that it continued to be done in the London 
 post-oflBce ; nay, he asserted that, even at the time we were 
 conversing, the letters of Lord Brougham were opened before 
 being sent off to his place of residence in the south of 
 
336 BISMARK. 
 
 France ; and this by his own Conservative friends^ who 
 could not spare his services with regard to all communica- 
 tions with Lord Brougham's intimate friend^ Mons. Guizot. 
 At that time I was so little acquainted with the Ministerial 
 practice that I thought it a foul aspersion on the character 
 of the English post-office, but I now do not know whether 
 there may not be some truth in it, as the present ministers 
 certainly are distrustful of the above-mentioned lord. 
 
 I think the disgrace is not so much in opening the letters 
 as in the clandestine manner in which it is done. If the 
 letters of Mr. Mazzini had been re-sealed with the Post- 
 office seal, the lives of the unfortunate Italians would pro- 
 bably have been saved, as they would have known that they 
 were watched. — Yours very obediently, 
 
 Charles v. Bismark. 
 
 There was one more exile, to whom the idea of any 
 interference with his correspondence was most dis- 
 tasteful. The apologists of the Grovernment might 
 repeat the profound observation of Sir Roger de Co- 
 verley — " Much may be said on both sides." Much 
 was said by one side. Edifying is the tone of virtu- 
 ous indignation taken by individuals like the writer 
 of the following paper, who, having accepted shelter 
 in England, considered themselves perfectly at liberty 
 to plot and scheme against other governments in 
 amity with her. It is well known that railway 
 managers and ship captains will not carry secret com- 
 bustibles. Why the English Post-ofEce should be 
 forced to facilitate the transit of private despatches 
 that may be equally mischievous, not one of the angry 
 correspondents has attempted to explain. 
 
 Memorandum by Kossuth. 
 
 March lOth. 
 
 The Morning Chronicle of to-day contains a letter of 
 Mr. Mazzini^ and of other parties, well worth perusal. That 
 
PAPAL GOVERNMENT. 337 
 
 of Mr. Mazzini proves amply the mistakes of Lord Aberdeen 
 as to tlie dates of tlie arrival and depM'ture of the Bandieras 
 to and from Corfu. 
 
 The reasons adduced for opening the letters of foreigners 
 are, that an attempt at a revolution in Italy, for instance, 
 might produce a war, in which England might have to take 
 part, as the Austrians would certainly interfere to put it 
 down in the States of the Pope or of Naples. This argument 
 goes the length of proving that if Austria, or any other 
 power, determines to march an army into any country to 
 put down any internal commotion in that country, England 
 will be ready, not, indeed, to take a bold part with the 
 interfering power — as the nation will not stand it — but a 
 Tory government will act as a spy to the interfering power, 
 and open letters, or doing other mean actions, to sacrifice 
 the fi'iends of liberty, who, unaware of such abominable 
 principles, should happen to trust to the boasted character 
 of English gentlemen. The claim of interfering in the 
 internal affairs or disturbances of other countries was the 
 one proclaimed by the Holy Alliance, but never agreed to by 
 England. It was enforced in the case of Naples, and in 
 that of Spain ; but far from approving of it, far from open- 
 ing the letters of the Spanish patriots, to give information 
 to their enemies, although the peace of Europe was seriously 
 threatened, Mr. Canning declared he hoped they would 
 succeed. Lord Aberdeen has no wish but for the success 
 of Austria and of despotism, whether Neapolitan or Papal ; 
 and so far as he can, he and his colleagues help the despots 
 to succeed, by opening the letters of those who trust not to 
 their sympathy, but to their honour. 
 
 When a revolution took place in Romagna and the 
 Legations, in 1830 and 1831, the Austrians interfered to 
 put it down. But as this was considered a monstrous prin- 
 ciple, the five powers — Russia, Austria, Prussia, Prance, and 
 England — tried to persuade the Pope to introduce a better 
 government, as the only means of tranquillizing his subjects, 
 and rendering interference unnecessary. This was done by 
 a joint note of the 31st May, 1831. The Papal Govem- 
 
 VOL. I. Z 
 
33S THE POPE. 
 
 ment promised to act according to the suggestions made in 
 that note ; and then 4id nothing of the kind. The Pope did 
 worse, he actually declared that no layman should ever be 
 appointed governor of a legation (the five powers having 
 especially urged a council of state, composed of laymen, 
 which was promised, but never then or afterwards instituted) ; 
 it would admit of no popular election, no municipal offices 
 (this likewise one of the measures suggested by the five 
 powers, promised by the Pope, and then never done) ; then 
 it enlarged the power of ecclesiastical over civil tribunals ; 
 ordered that, for the same crime, priests should be always 
 less punished; and strengthened the Inquisition. The dis- 
 satisfaction increased : the Pope took iato his service all the 
 banditti he could get from the prisons and the galleys, and 
 enrolled them as soldiers. These soldiers, imder the orders 
 of Cardinal Albani, the most Austrian of all cardinals, on 
 entering Porti and Cesena committed robberies and murders, 
 as well as other crimes too disgusting and abominable to be 
 even mentioned ; and the inhabitants of the Legations and 
 Romagna asked as a favour the intervention of Austria. 
 
 As no good could be effected, Sir G. H. Seymour, 
 English Minister at Florence, who had joined the conference 
 and the remonstrances of the other powers at Rome, was 
 ordered to withdraw; and on September 7th, 1832, he gave 
 his reasons for this step in a note to his colleagues, the 
 ministers of the other powers. He said, that as the Pope 
 had done nothing of what he had been requested, and he 
 had promised to do, it was no use to share any longer in a 
 negotiation which could do no good. Metternich answered 
 this note by saying, that as the Pope was an independent 
 sovereign, no one had a right to dictate to him how he was 
 to govern; that, however, Austria had not only strongly 
 advised him to improve his government, but put under his 
 orders Austrian employes, to help him in carrying these 
 improvements out. Sir G. Seymour insisted that the Pope 
 had not answered the hopes and expectations of the other 
 powers, and withdrew. 
 
 It results from this, that for the poor subjects of the 
 
LORD ABERDEEN. 339 
 
 Pope there is no redemption. If they attempt to better 
 their condition, Austria pours ia her troops, and Lord 
 Aberdeen opens the letters of the liberals, and both act as 
 if the Pope's dominions were part of the territories of 
 Austria, or his subjects dangerous conspirators agaiast 
 England. If the Pope tyrannizes over them in aU sorts of 
 ways, leaving security neither for life or for property, the 
 Austrians affect so much respect for the Pope's independence, 
 that they can say nothing. If the Pope is independent, 
 •why is Austria allowed to march her troops into her ter- 
 ritories, and Lord Aberdeen give information to Austria ? 
 K not iadependent, far better would it be to give all Italy 
 (for all Italy is exactly in the same case) to Austria at 
 once, and place it under Austria's direct control. The 
 government would be infinitely better, and the people would 
 not have to pay two sets of troops, and two sets of civil 
 officers, those of the Pope and those of Austria. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen knows full well that no treaty gives any 
 power to Austria to enter the Roman States to put down 
 commotions excited by an execrable government ; and he 
 ought to know that hitherto, when any power interfered in 
 the domestic affairs of an independent power — for the Pope 
 and the Kiag of Naples was, according to the law of nations, 
 as independent as England— Great Britain protested against 
 this brutal abuse of force of the strong against the weak. 
 But Lord Aberdeen has not a word to say in condemnation 
 of Austria's interfering, or of the governments for which she 
 interferes. Had he not stated as a good ground for opening 
 letters, that he did it to preserve the peace of Europe, which 
 depends on the non-interference of Austria (as he implies), 
 one might not render him responsible for the misgovern- 
 ment of poor Italy; but as he chose to identify himself 
 with the Austrians, and act as spy to the constables, who 
 invade independent states on the plea of keeping the peace, 
 he ought to share in the blame of these proceedings. 
 
 Sir James Graham never recovered from the storm 
 of indignation which his encouragement of this breach 
 
 z 2 
 
340 "PUNCH." 
 
 of confidence created. No one can forget tlie capital 
 hits in Punch at him, particularly the sheet engraving 
 of " Punch's Anti-Graham Wafers, dedicated to the 
 Home Secretary, and presented to him by Thomas 
 Slingsby Duncombe, Esq. ;" and another that rivalled 
 it in humour, " Grand Eeview of the London Post- 
 men." " The men being ranged in treble line," the 
 reader was told that the review began. The word of 
 command was given by Sir James as follows : — 
 
 Present letters ! Thumb on seal ! Read letters ! Eeseal letters ! 
 Feel for seal ! Open letters ! Eefold letters ! Pocket letters ! 
 
 This deservedly popular journal gave many a genial 
 reference to Mr. Duncombe's proceedings. One of 
 the most amusing occurs in a list of " Fights to come 
 off:"— 
 
 Tom Duncombe (the Finsbury Lad) will figbt either 
 Sir James Graham or the Bishop of London for a trifle ; 
 and Mr. Joseph Hume and Mr. Wakley will be happy to 
 back him. A. JuniuSj addressed to his residence in town^ 
 will reach him. 
 
341 
 
 CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 PATRONAGE AND RESPONSIBILITY. 
 
 llr. Duncombe's clients — Letter from Joseph Hume — Appealed to 
 by Prince Scliwarzenberg — Letter from Lord Belfast — Major 
 Fancourt's account of the Court of Hanover— Letter from R. B. 
 Haydon — The Marquis Townshend on his Peerage Bill — Letters 
 of Madame Letitia Wise recommending Mademoiselle Jenny 
 Colon — Lord Belfast on the tenure of land in Ireland — The 
 Marquis Clanricarde on the Diocese of Clogher — Mr. Duncombe's 
 liberality — Noble conduct of Lord Durham — Debt to Lord 
 Chesterfield— Note from the Due de EicheUeu — Thynne v. 
 Glengall — Petition of Mr. Duncombe — Death of Mr. Dun- 
 combe's father— Lord Goderich on the Public Health Bill — 
 The Sale of Pubhc Libraries — Sale of Copgrove. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe was now regarded as a man of mark, 
 and numberless were the applicants for his patronage. 
 He was asked for favours of all kinds, in many 
 instances by persons who could only know him by 
 reputation. Whatever might be the amount of trouble 
 such appeals brought him, and however obscure then- 
 writers, he lost no time in putting his reputed influence 
 to the test in their favour. When persons known to 
 him as men of eminence in the political world, chose to 
 recommend to him some protege, in whose advancement 
 in life they expressed an interest, he was equally at 
 their service. A request from the great economist of 
 the House of Commons, therefore, was sure of being 
 treated with respect. 
 
342 JOSEPH HUME. 
 
 Bryanston-square, 19th April, 1833. 
 
 My dear Sir, — I believe you are the only governor of 
 the poor of St. George's parish with whom I am acquainted ; 
 and I am anxious to state to them, through you, that Mr. 
 Grieve, now a candidate for keeper of the workhouse, has 
 been known to me for eight or nine years as possessing the 
 confidence and good opinion of his fellow workmen, and of 
 many very influential persons at Poplar, for many years. 
 I know him to be a man of firmness and ability, and to pos- 
 sess habits of order and regularity ; and I have had suffi- 
 cient experience to assure you that he has the art of con- 
 ciliation towards those with whom he acts. 
 
 I should be pleased to get such a man for that situation, 
 and only regret that the state of his business obliges him 
 to look to what I consider a situation below what he is 
 capable of fiUing. If you can forward his views, I think 
 you will be obliged to me for my recommendation after 
 you have had some trial of his services, if you shall make 
 the trial. I am yours sincerely, Joseph Hume. 
 
 Thomas Dunoombe, Esq. 
 
 The applicants to Mr. Buncombe to exercise his 
 interest for securing admission to Crockford's were in- 
 numerable, many of them of high rank. He generally 
 interested himself in behalf of foreigners of distinction; 
 and this procured him a reputation which was pretty 
 freely taken advantage of. A near relative of the 
 Prime Minister of the Emperor of Austria had been 
 one of \as, proteges ; and the following brief reminder 
 was written to him, and forwarded to the club, on the 
 eve of the election : — 
 
 Voulez-vous avoir la bonte de ne pas oublier mon frere. 
 Prince Adolphe Schwarzenberg ? Tout k vous, F. S. 
 
 The appeals of friendship are not always in accord- 
 ance with duty; but Mr. Duncombe was of too 
 
LORD BELl'AST. 343 
 
 social a character to stand on punctilios when a friend 
 required his services. Lord Belfast, son of the 
 Marquis of Donegal, wrote to apprize him that an 
 Irish lawyer was getting up a petition to the House 
 of Commons against him, which Mr. Wakley was to 
 present; and requested Mr. Duncombe to dissuade 
 his colleague from undertaking that duty. As he 
 was asked to avert a private scandal, which it would 
 be a waste of time to discuss, he readily compUed. 
 His friend thus expresses his acknowledgment : — 
 
 April 21st, 1841. 
 
 My dear Tommy, — A thousand thanks for your kindness ; 
 the rascally attorney did send me a copy of his intended 
 petition. The object of the whole affair is to intimidate 
 me, and to try and force me to give him security for 5000/. 
 my father owes him, and to which I have nothing to say. No 
 one is to blame but himself for not having had the interest 
 on the money (1900/.) paid him when the principal was 
 (5000/.), about a year and a half ago. He blundered his 
 own security and deprived himself of it ; and because he 
 had done so, and was defeated in a court of law, knowing 
 the sum was justly due, I gave him my bond for it, little 
 thinking he would be such a rascal to repay my generosity 
 in such a way. I feel assured no gentleman could uphold 
 him — and I am certain Mr. W. will not — when he knows 
 the reasons that induce him to take the steps he has done. 
 I cannot dine at the " Shakspeare" on Friday ; I am de- 
 tained here by family affairs with my father, trying if we 
 cannot arrange matters and raise the wind. I expect to be 
 in town on Tuesday or Wednesday, if not sooner. Pray do 
 what you can with "Wakley ; a promise is no promise about 
 a petition. Yours most truly, Belfast. 
 
 The popularity Mr. Duncombe enjoyed in his own 
 circle was equally as great as his favour among the 
 humblest class of politicians. Every one seemed 
 
344 GENERAL SIR DE LACY EVANS. 
 
 desirous of doing him good service, or to repeat the 
 good opinion others entertained of him. In the batch 
 of notes we now publish, Greneral Sir De Lacy Evans 
 is thus seen testifying to his being the man of the 
 people. Sir Benjamin Hall, the candidate for Mary- 
 lebone, is equally anxious to secure his presence. 
 Another chairman of an important committee wants 
 to get him to aid the popular cause in Westminster. 
 The Croesus of the age, Baron Eothschild, desires the 
 favour of a visit ; and Lord Enfield asks for his son to 
 have the advantage of seconding a motion of his in the 
 House of Commons. The last is the most impressive, 
 as it contains a liberal offer to back Mr. Duncombe if 
 he would stand a contested election for the City of 
 London — an idea entertained by him at the time : — 
 
 Sunday. 
 Dear Duncombe, — I should have called on you before, 
 but I thought the committee had written to you relative to 
 the Marylebone meeting to be held to-morrow, at twelve 
 for one, at HalFs Riding-school, Albany-street, Regent's 
 Park. The committee for arranging this meeting, of which 
 committee I am chairman, resolved unanimously, " That 
 Mr. Duncombe should be specially requested to attend the 
 meeting." It was declared that you alone of all the metro- 
 politan members had the people's confidence, and that your 
 presence at this important popular meeting was indispen- 
 sable. I was remiss in not calling or writing to you before, 
 but I thought I had signed a letter to that effect, which I 
 find was a mistake. I hope you will not desert your Irish 
 friends on this occasion. Most truly yours, 
 
 De Lacy Evans. 
 
 24, Portman- street, Sunday. 
 
 My dear Duncombe, — The committee for conducting 
 the preparations for the meeting to-morrow are particularly 
 anxious that you should attend, and I join most cordially 
 
BARON ROTHSCHILD. 345 
 
 in the same wish, and am anxious to express my hope 
 that you may be able to come to Hall's Riding-school, in 
 Albany-street, to-morrow at twelve. Pray come, if you 
 can; I imderstand it is to be an immense meeting. 
 
 Yours sincerely, B. Hall. 
 
 Committee Eoom, British CofFee-house, May 6th, 1857. 
 
 My dear Buncombe, — I am directed by Mr. Leader's 
 committee to thank you for your offer of assistance in can- 
 vassing for Mr. Leader. The committee request me to ask 
 your permission to publish your letter ; and if you have a 
 written reply from Mr. Jones Burdett, the committee would 
 be glad to publish it along with the others. 
 
 Yours truly, R. C. Ferguson, Chairman. 
 
 148, Piccadilly, Friday Evening. 
 
 My dear Sir, — You were so good as to say that you 
 would see me again about our Bill ; at what o'clock shall I 
 call upon you to-morrow ? or if you are passing our house, 
 would it be equally convenient for you to call upon me ? I 
 shall be at home all day, or I can call upon you at any 
 hour you like to fix. Believe me yours most truly, 
 
 Lionel de Rothschild. 
 
 T. Buncombe, Esq., M.P., &c. 
 
 Wrotham Park, Barnet, December 15th, 1857. 
 My dear Buncombe, — My son (M.P. for Middlesex), is 
 very anxious to have the satisfaction of seconding the motion 
 which stands in your name for the 9th of February. I 
 daresay that you wid have no objection to gratify his 
 ambition. Yours sincerely, Enfield. 
 
 57, Cambridge-terrace, Hyde-park, Dec. 17th, 1857. 
 My dear Lord Enfield, — 1 need not assure you that I 
 shall be but too delighted to have so able a seconder as the 
 member for Middlesex, feeling confident that the cause can- 
 not do otherwise than gain considerably by his advocacy in 
 one of those talented speeches which I have had the plea- 
 sure to hear him make upon other occasions. Our case, I 
 
346 KING OF HANOVEE. 
 
 think, at the present moment^ a very strong one ; and if he 
 will permit me to do so, I shall be glad, when the House 
 reassembles, to have a few moments'" conversation with him 
 upon the subject. 
 
 Believe me always yours faithfully, 
 
 T. S. DUNCOMBE. 
 
 Viscount Enfield, 'Wrotliam House, Barnet. 
 
 Upper Montague-street, Thursday Night. 
 
 My dear Duncombe, — There is nothing within my 
 power that I would not do to promote your success in any 
 effort which you may make to get into Parliament. You 
 have fought the battle at Hertford so gallantly that it would 
 be a disgrace to reformers not to save your purse in any 
 other contest. My vote and personal services shall be at 
 your call for the City, and my lOOZ. towards the expenses 
 if you attempt it ; and if you will send your servant back 
 to say where we can meet, I will instantly come to you. 
 My attendance upon the " btdls" and the " bears" com- 
 pelled me to quit Parliament, and prevents me taking it 
 again with convenience ; when I can conveniently leave 
 business, and not till then, shall I be desirous of a seat in 
 the House of Commons. If you are disengaged, say where 
 I can see you as soon as can be. I shall keep myself in 
 readiness to meet you this evening. 
 
 Haste, yours truly, J. Easthope. 
 
 On the accession of tlie Queen, the crown of 
 Hanover reverted to the next male heir; and the 
 Duke of Cumberland became its sovereign. He left 
 England accompanied by several Enghsh gentlemen, 
 to assist in forming his establishment ; among them 
 was a very intimate friend of Mr. Duncombe's, who 
 shortly afterwards made him acquainted with the state 
 of the Hanoverian court. The King of Hanover had 
 always been the most unpopular member of the Eoyal 
 Family ; but after he had left England, he seems to 
 
HIS COURT. 347 
 
 have recommended himself to his Hanoverians with 
 
 remarkable assiduity. His conduct, too, to the officer, 
 
 who was nearly made the victim of a cabal, was no 
 
 less praiseworthy : — 
 
 ^ -^ Hanover, February lt\ 1839. 
 
 My dear Tommy, — I daresay you are to be rather con- 
 gratulated tban condoled with on the upshot of the Cana- 
 dian trip. Either it will do Durham good at home or not. 
 In the first case, you will share in the advantage ; and in 
 the second^ you have the positive good of being safe at 
 home in a situation to estimate dispassionately the state and 
 prospect of parties. Speaking from the imperfect knowledge 
 necessarily attendant on an exiled patriot, I should say that 
 the pear is far from ripe for Durham and those generally 
 named as likely to form a party under him; but he may 
 lend a powerful pull in accomplishing the downfall of John 
 RusseU and Dan, a consummation which, as you may sup- 
 pose, I look forward to with considerable interest. I do 
 hope that you will, as soon as you can guess how the wind 
 is likely to set for the session, give me the benefit of your 
 Parhamentary information : of course it is not for the mere 
 purpose of pobtical gossiping, however pleasant, that I make 
 the request. I have a practical object in view which makes 
 it important — nay, essential — that I should be au courant 
 with the march of party movements at home. 
 
 Here I am jogging on with edifying monotony, which 
 has only been once broken, and that by an event which I 
 am about to relate to you ; it will give you a perfect notion 
 of the savages among whom I am doomed to do penance for 
 my past sins. In the first place, I should mention that 
 ever since my appointment as aide-de-camp to the king, the 
 native Vons of the place have been on the watch to pick a 
 hole in my coat; but I was too wary for them, and by 
 keeping aloof from all their trumpery intrigues, of whatever 
 kind, I gave them no chance of going at me. At length, 
 however, they thought that they had a chance ; they went 
 their hardest ; but, thanks to the king, and, I must add, to 
 a proper exercise of spirit and brains on my part, the blun- 
 
348 
 
 MAJOR FANCOURT. 
 
 dering malignants were completely baffled^ and are now 
 chewing the cud of their bitter fancies as best they may. 
 This lie was taken to the king without my being apprized 
 of its existence. As soon as I heard it I suspended my 
 attendance on his majesty, and wrote to him to say that till 
 my character was cleared from all aspersion I could not 
 appear before him. The king appointed a Court of Honour, 
 and the result was the general order, which he himself di- 
 rected, and which was printed in the Times of the 2ith of 
 December last. Nothing could have been more completely 
 satisfactory, and my worthy persecutors have the pleasure 
 of seeing me more firmly established in royal favour than 
 before. King Ernest behaved in the most gentlemanlike 
 and manly way, as you may conceive, when I tell you that 
 he is surrounded by people, every one of whom would cut 
 my throat if he could. Write to me soon, old boy, and 
 believe me always 
 
 Affectionately yours, C. John Fancourt. 
 
 Hamburgh, May 31st, 1839. 
 My dear Tommy, — I left Hanover on excellent terms 
 with my monarch, although, between ourselves, we had " a bit 
 of a breeze." He made me a full colonel, and a Knight of 
 the Guelphie Order, and made me promise to write to him, 
 and to return to see him in the winter. I find that I must 
 apply to Palmerston for leave to wear the order, and I shall 
 feel obliged by your making the application to him, and de- 
 Uvering the enclosed in person, provided always that your 
 political position as regards the Government enables you to 
 do so. Be good enough not to mention that I am at Ham- 
 burgh, as I have written to others to say that I leave the 
 place on Monday next. I am writing to you at two o'clock 
 in the morning to send by the packet which starts at six. 
 I have dated my letter to Palmerston, Hamburgh; but I 
 have begged him to send the answer to Messrs. Clarke, 
 Fladgate and Co., Craven-street, Strand. God bless you, 
 dear Tommy. Send me a line, and tell me whether the 
 Tories are really coming in, and, if so — when ? 
 
 Ever yours, C. E. 
 
HATDON. 349 
 
 Mr. Duncombe possessed a taste for art, and was 
 ever ready to befriend its professors. The pictures of 
 " The Mock Election," and " Chairing the Member," 
 had rendered the painter of them well known to many 
 members of the legislature, and to such members of 
 the fashionable world as had had opportunities of 
 appreciating the fidelity of the representations. The 
 member for Finsbury had given him a commission, 
 and appears to have sent him a possible purchaser ; 
 whom the eccentric artist, according to his own 
 account, treated somewhat uncivilly. The terrible 
 catastrophe that closed his career accounts for his 
 flightiness. g^^^^y_ 
 
 My dear Sir, — I have got into two or three scrapes 
 with this private day, one of which I am very anxious to 
 clear up with you. On Friday I was expecting Lord Grey, 
 and as I was preparing the small sketch of him, and had 
 given strict orders to let no one in, all of a sudden I turned 
 round and saw a gentleman standing looking at the picture. 
 As he could only have come in while the workmen were 
 hringing in the chairs, and I did not know who he was, I 
 was exceedingly angry any one had got in in such a way. 
 I told him I expected Lord Grey, and he would be dis- 
 pleased to find any one before himself. I begged him not 
 to mention that he had been there, when he showed me 
 your ticket. Of course, Mr. Duncombe, this was a pass- 
 port, but I am stiU angry he had not, as he ought to have 
 done, sent in his name and your card first, and there would 
 not have been a moment's hesitation on my part to a dozen 
 friends of yours. He then came over as I am painting, 
 and said, " I suppose you painted this picture ?" I replied, 
 " I believe I did." Thinking to soften me, he walked over 
 and asked the price of the size head I am painting of 
 Lord Grey. I replied, fiercely, " Forty guineas !" and he 
 directly left the room. 
 
 AU this had a rude look. It was not well-bred on my 
 
350 MAKQUIS TOWNSHEND. 
 
 part or gentlemanly on his. He ought not to have walked 
 into my room in that way without sending in your ticket. 
 This is really what passed, and if you feel as if I had 
 treated a friend of yours rudely, I really apologize to you, 
 and shall be exceedingly sorry if it leaves an unpleasant 
 impression on your mind. 
 
 I am, dear sir, truly yours, B. R. Haydon. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe had become so popular in tbe 
 
 House that every one wlio had a measure to bring 
 
 forward was eager to engage his support. When they 
 
 promised any advantage to the public, he did not 
 
 wait for being asked, he supported it heart and soul ; 
 
 but there was always a good deal of legislation going 
 
 on that was of a totally different character. From 
 
 friends with whom he was closely connected he could 
 
 not refuse his assistance when called upon, if there 
 
 was nothing objectionable in the transaction; and 
 
 there were other ties similar to those that connected 
 
 the Eoman patron and client, which enlisted him in 
 
 many a similar service. The following application 
 
 was from the former : — 
 
 May 29, 1843. 
 
 My dear Duncombe, — I hope you will oblige me by 
 attending in the House on Thursday next, and voting for 
 the second reading of our Peerage Bill, which is threatened 
 by the lawyers as an unconstitutional measure. I am a 
 party very much interested in this question, and I hope you 
 will do aU in your power to ensure its success. Pray give 
 me a line at Brookes', and believe me. 
 
 Truly yours, Townshend.* 
 
 When Mr. Duncombe first became acquainted with 
 the Bonaparte family there is no evidence among his 
 papers to show. Two letters from the daughter of 
 Lucien (Prince of Canino), married in 1821 to Wil- 
 
 * George Ferrers, third Marquia. 
 
JENNY COLON. 351 
 
 liam Thomas Wyse, Esq., one of Lord Melbourne's 
 Lords of the Treasury, and afterwards Secretary to the 
 Board of Control, are as curious as they are charac- 
 teristic. Mrs. Letitia Wise appears to have sought a 
 sj)icialite in introducing remarkable ladies to remark- 
 able gentlemen. A few years before, at Eome, she 
 had brought together the Countess Gruiccioli and the 
 Duke of Buckingham; and now, from the French 
 capital, she sought to do the same kindness for a 
 talented French actress and the popular member for 
 Finsbury. Unfortunately for her social intentions, he 
 did not avail himself of the letter of introduction. 
 
 H6tel d'Artois, Eue d'Artois, Paris, Juillet 8, 1834. 
 
 MoN CHER DuNCOMBE, — II y a Men long terns que je 
 n'ai en de vos nouvelles directement. J'ai appris vos 
 succes k Finsbury^ et vous en felicite de tout mon coeur. 
 Ces braves citoyens ont montre plus d'esprit que je ne leur 
 en supposais en vous nommant leur representant ; ils ne 
 pouvaient faire un meilleur choix. Une de mes anciennes 
 amies, Mademoiselle Jenny Colon, est maintenant &, 
 Londres ; elle est engagee pour dix representations au 
 Theatre Fran9ais. Elle ne connait personne k Londres, 
 elle ne parle pas un mot d' Anglais; faites-moi I'amitie 
 dialler la voir de ma part. Vous la trouverez 180, Regent 
 Street, et je lui ai ecrit pour lui annoncer votre visite. EUe 
 est jeune, belle, et chante h, ravir ; veuillez done chercher 
 h. lui etre utile, je vous en saurai un gre infini. 
 Mademoiselle Colon desire chanter dans des concerts ; 
 t§,chez de la patroniser, et de la mettre en voie de 
 gagner de Targent. Au reste, je vous repete que vous me 
 faixe plaisir en cherchant k lui etre utile. Vous n'avez 
 qu'k dire h, la femme de chambre que vous venez de ma 
 part, et vous serez introduit de suite. Voici deux lignes 
 pour elle. Adieu; ecrivez moi un mot en reponse, et 
 conservez-moi toujours un souvenir amical. 
 
 Tout k vous, L. Wise. 
 
852 
 
 LORD GLENGALL. 
 
 Paris, Juillet 8. 
 Ma chere Amie, — Cette lettre vous sera remise par 
 mon ami Monsieur T. Duncombe, Membre du Parlement, 
 qui se fera un plaisir de cbercher a vous etre utile, et k vous 
 rendre le sejour de Londres moins ennuyeux. Menagez 
 bien votre sante, et revenez h nous le plutot possible. 
 
 Votre amie, L. Wise. 
 
 During the O'Connell agitation, considerable atten- 
 tion was paid to the tenure of land in Ireland, par- 
 ticularly in the north, where the larger proprietors 
 and a great amount of the population are of Scottish 
 origin and descent. The subject was brought before 
 the notice of Parliament in 1843; and the member 
 for Finsbury was selected as the most proper person 
 to present a petition, as will be seen : — 
 
 August 1st, 1843. 
 
 Dear Tommy, — I enclose you the petition. We signed 
 it in a hurry, so had no time to have it copied handsomely 
 — no slight intended to Mr. Speaker. Amuse yourself by 
 dipping into that wondrous Act- — the 17th of Charles II. 
 It shows how CromwelFs ". adventurers and soldiers " were 
 settled in Ireland ; it shows how the confiscated estates were 
 parcelled out, and other villanies. The treaty of Limerick 
 is to be found in the appendix to Leland's " Ireland," third 
 volume. The Irish Society — i.e. the London Companies 
 who hold such immense estates in Ulster, a grant from 
 James I., are the parties attacking the Bishop of Derry. 
 They were always Protestants, and have not so good a case 
 as us Papists, for they ought to have fought for their rights 
 before this. But stiU. you have no right to stop them ; 
 the law ought to determine their rights, or a commission 
 ought to inquire into all these livings. 
 
 Truly yours, Glengall. 
 
 On particular subjects friends would forward infor- 
 mation, especially if they were in any way interested, 
 
MR. duncombe's liberality. 353 
 
 and tliouglit that Mr. Duncombe could help them by 
 his advocacy. It appears that Sir Thomas Lennard 
 and the Bishop of Clogher* had long been at variance 
 as to their right of presentation to a certain living in 
 that diocese. The layman was the natural son of 
 Lord Dacre, and had been created a baronet in 1801. 
 His eldest son was M.P. for Maldon, and three others 
 out of six were in the church. Lord Clanricarde writes : 
 
 House of Lords, Thursday, August 1st, 1843. 
 
 You should move for "■ an extract from the Diocesan 
 Registry of the diocese of Clogher, showing the record there 
 kept of the presentation of the present and of the late 
 incumbent of the benefice of Clones." 
 
 Sir Thomas Lennard beat the bishop in 1812, and pre- 
 sented to itj and I am assured it is noted in the registry that 
 the clergyman is in by " intrusion." This is a perfect 
 illustration of the conduct of the bishops and church 
 officers. Indeedj if those records had been properly kept 
 there could be no expensive lawsuits, if any, on these sub- 
 jects. Yours ever, Clanricarde. 
 
 In the course of Mr. Duncombe's voluminous cor- 
 respondence that has been preserved, we have met 
 with frequent evidences of a truly liberal dispo- 
 sition. One of the most pleasing was his investing 
 in 1845 500/. for so many shares in "The United 
 Trades Association for the Employment of Labour in 
 Agriculture and Manufactures." His purse and his 
 patronage were always open to proper appeals to them ; 
 at which times, be it remembered, he was frequently 
 harassed by heavy liabilities, or failure of supplies on 
 which he had confidently reckoned. It would be only 
 fair to him to state that when his friends were pressed, 
 
 * Dr. Tottenham, second son of Charles, first Marquis of Ely. — 
 Burke. 
 
 VOL. I. A A 
 
354 LORD DURHAM. 
 
 L.e was ready to do his utmost to help them. There 
 is at least one instance of a friend coming nobly to 
 his assistance when under a temporary difficulty. 
 Lord Durham wrote : — 
 
 L. C, December 24, 1834. 
 
 My deae D., — This is the first time in my life that I can 
 put my name to any paper of this kind. I have ever de- 
 clined doing sOj on account of my commercial transactions 
 in the coal trade ; and my credit would most dangerously 
 suffer if my name was seen in the hands of a money-lender. 
 But my friendship for you will not permit me to desert you 
 at the present crisis of your affairs. I therefore send you a 
 sufficient guarantee for the money you require. The bill 
 you sent me was informal. I could not promise to pay to 
 my own order. I send you an efficient substitute. Re- 
 member^ I rely on your honour for two things. The paper 
 is not to be negotiated ; — in your own words^ " it is not to 
 see the daylight." Secondly^ that you wUl provide for its 
 being taken up at the due time. 
 
 I will be quite frank with you. If times had been good 
 — as they used to be — I would have sent you a draft for the 
 2000Z.J payable at sight. But I have suffered such immense 
 losses within the last ten years from the state of the coal- 
 trade^ that I have not that sum or any portion of it to 
 spare. I should therefore^ I fairly own^ be seriously incon- 
 venienced if I had to pay the sum at the end of six months. 
 I make this avowal to you in perfect and unlimited confi- 
 dence. I rejoice to hear of your intentions about your 
 affairs. Put them at once into the hands of trustees^ and 
 be assured that any personal sacrifice will be amply repaid 
 by that peace of mind; which is ever destroyed by pecuniary 
 embarrassments. 
 
 Yours ever^ truly and faithfully^ D. 
 
 Of course, the document was duly returned, and the 
 two friends became more cordial than ever. Other mem- 
 bers of the patrician circle in which Mr. Buncombe 
 
DUG DE RICHELIEU. 355 
 
 mingled were, however, prominent among those who 
 pressed him most — the heaviest of his embarrass- 
 ments being a claim of upwards of 100,000/., for which 
 he does not appear to have had any consideration. 
 This was owing to Lord Chesterfield, and was reduced 
 to 38,000/. It was his knowledge of such liabilities 
 that caused Lord Durham to offer the good advice 
 with which he concludes his communication. 
 
 The next note apparently refers to a transaction of 
 a similar nature : — 
 
 Paris, 6 Janvier, 1843, 
 MoN CHER DuNCOMBEj — ^Nous avons cherclie, Cumming 
 et moi, dans tous nos papierSj le billet en question, sans 
 pouvoir parvenir a le trouver. Je pense, que lorsqu^il n'a pas 
 ete paye je Tai brule; mais il y a si longtemSj que je ne 
 peux pas en etre sur. Je vous remercie pour les cent der- 
 nieres livxeSj et je vous prie d^accepter mille et mille amities. 
 
 Richelieu. 
 
 Eeference has already been made to the heavy loss 
 Mr. Buncombe suffered by the insolvency of Lord 
 
 ; but owing to legal proceedings 
 
 taken by the latter against Lord Glengall, he was 
 doomed to suffer all the annoyance he then endured 
 over again ; Lord Grlengall having, in an appeal cause 
 in the House of Lords, introduced unwarrantable 
 statements into a petition addressed to their lordships. 
 To which Mr. Duncombe replied in the same form, 
 as follows : — 
 
 To the Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal 
 in Parliament assembled. 
 
 Tlie Eumble Petition of Thomas Slingsby Duncombe, Esq., 
 
 M.P., of tbe Albany, in the County of Middlesex, 
 Sheweth, 
 
 Tbat, on or about the sixteenth day of February 
 
 A A 2 
 
856 PETITION TO THE LOEDS. 
 
 last^ the Earl of Glengall^ a representative Peer of Ireland, 
 presented a further Petition to your Honourable House, 
 
 in the Appeal cause of v. Glengall and others, 
 
 signed by his Agents, Tooke, Son, and Hallowes : 
 
 That your Petitioner is no party to the said Appeal, nor 
 is he in any way interested therein, and only knew of the 
 existence of the said Petition from information derived from 
 his solicitor, Mr. Kensit, who called your Petitioner^'s 
 attention thereto, as containing divers scandalous and 
 malignant falsehoods and a perversion and suppression of 
 truth relating to your Petitioner : 
 
 That your Petitioner having been informed that copies 
 or extracts of the said false and calumnious Petition of the 
 said Earl of Glengall have been procured by members of 
 your Honourable House, and privately circulated amongst 
 other persons, for the purpose, as your Petitioner is informed 
 and believes, of injuring your Petitioner, your Petitioner 
 throws himself upon the justice of your Honourable House, 
 in the confident hope that your Lordships will not allow 
 your Petitioner or any other subject of Her Majesty to be 
 slandered in secret and traduced with impunity, under the 
 pretence and cover of your high judicial functions : 
 
 That your Petitioner is prepared and anxious to prove by 
 evidence on oath, that not only there exist no just grounds 
 for the allegations and statements made by the said Earl of 
 Glengall as regards your Petitioner, but that the said state- 
 ments and allegations are false, calumnious, and vindictive, 
 and the truth maliciously perverted and wilfully suppressed. 
 Your Petitioner therefore humbly prays your Honour- 
 able House that your Lordships will be graciously 
 pleased to institute an immediate enquiry into the 
 truth of your Petitioner's statement, or give to 
 your Petitioner such further or other redress as in 
 your Lordships'" wisdom and sense of justice your 
 Lordships shall under the circumstances consider 
 your Petitioner entitled. 
 And your Petitioner will ever pray, ^c. 
 
 Thomas S. Buncombe. 
 
COUNTESS OF WILTON. 357 
 
 We add a note from one of liis earliest female 
 friends : — 
 
 Cowes, July 27th, 1845. 
 
 Dear Mr. DuncombEj — I cannot say how much I am 
 obliged to you for your very kind remembrance of me. 
 The miniature is a beautiful one, and of course highly valu- 
 able to me, and will be stni more so as a token of remem- 
 brance from an old friend, as I assure you I have not 
 forgotten the merry days of Merton and Lambton. I have 
 been here for a week with my children ; I am going up to 
 town to-morrow, and I expect Wilton to return here with 
 me on Thursday, for a month or five weeks' sailing. The 
 Beauforts are also here, &c. &c. 
 
 Believe me, dear Mr. Duncombe, yours very truly, 
 
 M. Wilton. 
 
 The year 1 848 was characterized by a severe 
 domestic affliction. After having gone through the 
 ordinary course of White Condnit House, committees 
 in the House of Commons ; dinner to Mr. Wakley at 
 the Angel, Islington ; public meeting at the Crown 
 and Anchor ; attendance at the board of directors ; 
 the Woolwich investigation; the Birmingham con- 
 ference; another Finsbury election; and more than 
 the usual number of balls and dinners, Mr. Duncombe 
 received intelligence of the death of his father on the 
 7th of December. He was then staying at Sidmouth, 
 in bad health ; and the funeral took place at Copgrove 
 on the 10th. As he was the heir-at-law, the estate 
 devolved to him ; but unfortunately his obligations at 
 this time were so heavy, that it seemed problematical 
 if he would be much the better for his inheritance. 
 There was, however, a very brilliant prospect held out 
 to him, which if it could be realized would enable 
 him to secure for himself a very covetable position. 
 
358 LORD GODERICH. 
 
 In all useful legislation Mr. Duncombe was sure to 
 take a special interest ; and few subjects commanded 
 his attention so certainly as improved systems of 
 drainage. Most towns and villages were very de- 
 fective in this respect, and disease was as notorious 
 as filth. Water and gas were introduced after long 
 delays, and much opposition; but if they did not 
 secure proper means for keeping the dwellings sweet, 
 those advantages would be of secondary value. The 
 preservation of the public health at last became a 
 favourite subject of discussion ; and there began to be 
 a general anxiety to give all houses the benefit of a 
 good system of drainage. A Government Bill for this 
 purpose was in progress when the member for Fins- 
 bury expressed a desire to a cabinet minister that a 
 place in which he was interested might have the ad- 
 vantage of the benefits it promised to confer. The 
 appeal met with a prompt response : — 
 
 August 7tli, 1855. 
 
 My deae Mr. DuncombE;, — I had mucli pleasure this 
 morning, in accordance with the wish expressed in your 
 letter of the 5th, in moving the extension of the Public 
 Health Bill to Keighley, to which Sir B. Hall at once 
 agreed, and the desii'e of your correspondent was fulfilled in 
 five minutes. — Believe me, ever truly yours, 
 
 GODEBICH. 
 
 Multifarious as were the duties of a popular member, 
 they did not appear half numerous enough to his 
 innumerable correspondents. He had notice of every 
 wrong done, with an intimation that he was the only 
 person qualified to have it put right. We could print 
 a hundred letters of the kind ; but as a fair indication 
 
SALE OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 359 
 
 of the variety of appeals made to him, offer the fol- 
 lowing : — 
 
 41, Claremont-square, London, N., June 28tli, 1861. 
 
 Sir, — I beg to call your attention to one of the strangest 
 tMngs that could happen in the present century, namely, 
 the sale and dispersion of a library given to and settled 
 upon the public by the most solemn legal sanctions possible. 
 I am referring to the sale of the books and manuscripts of 
 Archbishop Tenison^s Library in St. i\Iartin^s-in-the-Fields. 
 The subject matter I know is not in your borough ; but, 
 being within the metropolis, I take the liberty of drawing 
 your attention to it. The library is gone — that has been 
 sold, and the manuscripts are to be sold on Monday, the 1st 
 July, by ]\lessrs. Sotheby and Wilkinson ; but a word in Par- 
 liament might yet preserve them to the nation. There are 
 large manuscripts ia Lord Bacon's own hand, many MSS. 
 of Wickliffe's works, many things of historical and archseo- 
 logical value. These sales have been ordered by the Charity 
 Commissioners, and they, it seems, obtained an Act at the 
 end of last session to authorize them to do so ; but the 
 literary world has been taken by surprise in the doing of it. 
 The Commissioners propose the establishment of some 
 middle and lower class school in Westminster with the 
 funds. They are welcome to the lOOOZ. settled by Arch- 
 bishop Tenison, and to the ground and building : a money 
 value can be attached to them, and they be replaced, if 
 necessary ; but a collection of rare and valuable books, &c., 
 got together with the greatest pains, by one of the first 
 scholars of his age, can never be replaced. A word in Par- 
 liament, as I said before, may yet stop further mischief, and 
 I hope you will see the importance of not suffering lightly 
 public property and pubhc bequests to be thus lightly treated. 
 
 I have heard of a gentleman, who had been liberal of 
 gifts to the British Museum, saying he would never give 
 anything more : that library might be sold like St. Martin's. 
 Indeed, I hear of the hbraiy of Doctors' Commons being to 
 be sold ; but for whose benefit I know not. Sure that belongs 
 
360 doctors' commons library. 
 
 to the public, after all the compensation given to the de- 
 parted Proctors. 
 
 What is wanted of public libraries is, that they should 
 be made more available, not, Omar-like, destroyed. I hope 
 the importance of the subject will excuse this intrusion from 
 one of your constituency and supporters, and 
 
 Your most obedient, humble servant, Ph. J. Chabot. 
 
 Thos. S. DuncomlDe, Esq., M.P., House of Commons. 
 
 41, Claremont-square, N., August 1st, 1861. 
 
 Dear Sir, — If, as in your note to me of the 3nd July, 
 any notice in the House respecting the sale of manuscripts 
 of the Tenison Library would be " a day after the fair," 
 much more would any reference to the sale of the Doctors' 
 Commons library now be so, as I found, upon inquiry, that 
 the sale had taken place in April last. I believe it was 
 much to the disgust and under the protest of some of the 
 elder doctors that the sale took place. Grovernment did 
 take some 6001. or 7001. worth of the books — those on mari- 
 time and constitutional law, I believe — and the rest of the 
 library was sold for some 9001. or lOOOZ. more, by auction, 
 by Hodgson, of Chancery-lane ; and the proceeds have been 
 divided among the doctors, or proposed so to be, as it is sup- 
 posed to be their property. I do not know the constitution 
 of " Doctors' Commons." The library sold is described as 
 that of the " Faculty of Advocates, Doctors' Commons." 
 But when I look at the flagitious amount of annual compen- 
 sation made to Proctors and officers of the late courts, viz., 
 115,987Z. 3s. 6d., as stated in the return ordered to be 
 printed by the House of Commons, 22nd March, 1861, I 
 think that any property belonging to those courts should 
 have been reserved to the nation, and most especially an 
 ancient and valuable library, the collection of centuries. 
 
 People are naturally very anxious, after seeing these sales 
 of public libraries, with respect to the British Museum. 
 Perhaps you might make some inquiry whether it is the in- 
 tention of Parliament to authorize the sale of that in the 
 next session. Certainly, if due notice is given of it, next 
 
SALE OF COPGROVE. 361 
 
 year will offer a most favourable opportunityj as the " Great 
 Exhibition" will have drawn great numbers from all parts 
 of the world. Only I should think the trustees of the 
 Museum might be warned against laying out more public 
 money, and especially their 5001. for gorilla collections, 
 when, by a little judicious correspondence with some of the 
 African houses trading to the west coast of Africa, they 
 might procure as many gorillas, ourang-outangs, &c., as 
 they could desire to be brought down to the coast — in short, 
 they covdd get a " wilderness of monkeys" for perhaps half 
 the money. I have the honour to be, dear sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant and unworthy elector. 
 
 Ph. J. Chabot. 
 T. S. Buncombe, Esq., M.P., &c. &o., House of Commons. 
 
 No sooner had Mr. Duncombe come into possession 
 of Copgrove than pecuniary claimants appeared to 
 start from all directions. Their aggregate amount, 
 and the urgency with which they pressed their de- 
 mands, compelled him to have recourse to a sale. 
 The estate was offered by public auction at Knares- 
 borough on the 31st July, 1848. The sum realized 
 was about 130,000/. 
 
362 
 
 CHAPTER XYII. 
 
 COLLAPSE OF CHARTISM. 
 
 Conduct of Lord Abinger — Speech of Mr. Buncombe — National 
 Charter Association — Popular demonstrations in honour of the 
 member for Pinsbury — Letter of Mr. Bernal Osborne, M.P. — 
 Smith O'Brien on the imprisonment of O'Connell — Discontent 
 in Pinsbury — Peargus O'Connor — A new Reform Bill — Letter 
 of Sir John Cam Hobhouse, Bart. — Convict discipline — Loyal 
 letter from Peargus O'Connor — Letter of Mr. Wakley respecting 
 Mr. Buncombe's health — Public excitement in 1848 — Mr. Bun- 
 combe's caution to the masses — The Chartists defy the Govern- 
 ment — The Duke of Wellington's precautions — ^Preparations for 
 a struggle — Monster processions and monster meeting on the 
 10th of April — The Chartist leaders — Harmless conclusion of 
 the meeting — End of physical force demonstrations. 
 
 The prosecution of persons implicated in disturbances 
 of the public peace was characterized by so much 
 harshness, that the principal journals indulged in 
 severe comments on the presiding judges. Mr. Dun- 
 combe made a powerful effort to serve his friends by 
 bringing, on the 21st of February, 1843, the conduct 
 of Lord Abinger before the House of Commons, in a 
 long and extremely effective speech, subsequently 
 published as a pamphlet. He reviewed the judicial 
 proceedings of the Lord Chief Baron in the late 
 special commissions executed in the counties of 
 Chester and Lancaster, ending with a motion for the 
 examination of witnesses at the bar of the House, for 
 
CHARTIST ASSOCIATION. 363 
 
 the House to ascertain Hs language and conduct. 
 Lord Abinger was warmly defended by tbe Attorney- 
 General, Mr. Tbesiger, Mr. James Wortley, Mr. 
 Scarlett (bis eldest son), Lord Jobn Eussell, Sir James 
 Grabam, and Mr. CardweU. On a division, 73 sup- 
 ported tbe motion and 228 opposed. 
 
 Tbe Anti-Corn-Law League in England, and tbe 
 Eepeal movement in Ireland, drew away mucb public 
 attention from tbe movement in favour of tbe People's 
 Cbarter in 1843. In tbe first, Mr. Cobden rose to 
 well-deserved eminence. His friend, Jobn Brigbt, 
 tbe Quaker, was elected member for Durham ; but 
 the Government succeeded in putting down Eepeal, 
 and Mr. O'Connell was brought to trial, and con- 
 demned to a fine of 2000/. and twelve months' im- 
 prisonment. Tbe member for Finsbury, however, 
 did not relax his exertions. He became a member 
 of " Tbe National Chartist Association of Great 
 Britain," of which Mr. PhUip M'Grath was tbe. 
 president, and Mr. Peargus O'Connor the treasurer, 
 and attended a demonstration in bis honour at 
 Nottingham by the working classes, to whom he 
 delivered a stirring address, in which he attacked the 
 policy of tbe Whigs and advocated the Charter, amid 
 tumultuous cheering. 
 
 A complimentary demonstration at Aberdeen on 
 the 26tb of October, 1843, was formed by a general 
 turn-out of the working population of that ancient 
 city, with banners and transparencies. Among the 
 latter was a full-length portrait of the hero of tbe 
 day presenting tbe national petition. The grandeur 
 of tbe procession was marred by the weather, for it 
 rained during four hours, soaking everything and 
 
364 MR. BEENAL OSBORNE. 
 
 everybody. Mr. Duncombe and Mr. Feargus O'Connor 
 addressed the assembly with their usual eloquence 
 and with their usual effect ; after which they were 
 entertained at a soiree, and the member for Finsbury 
 was presented with a tartan plaid by the female 
 Chartists of the city; one or two more stirring 
 speeches were given, and the proceedings having 
 concluded, the meeting quietly dispersed. 
 
 Before the session of 1844 had commenced, it was 
 the desire of some of the Liberal leaders that the cam- 
 paign should begin with an unmistakable display of 
 opposition to the Government. The member for Fins- 
 bury was regarded as the fittest person to lead the 
 attack. His principal recommendations were the 
 prominence he had for some time maintained, and the 
 fearless way in which he had bearded the executive. 
 The Whigs were not sufficiently enterprising or reli- 
 able ; moreover the people generally had lost confi- 
 dence in them. They had proclaimed the Reform 
 Bill to be a final measure, and would not listen to 
 any proposal to extend the suffrage, to elect annual 
 parliaments, or to vote by ballot, to all of which Mr. 
 Duncombe was pledged. The note on this subject, 
 now printed, is from the pen of Mr. Bernal Osborne : — 
 
 Sunday, January 22nd, 1844. 
 
 My deab, Duncombe, — A rumour has reached these re- 
 mote parts that you propose moving an amendment to the 
 Address, relating to England in general and Ireland in par- 
 ticular. As my movements will be influenced by your 
 reply, perhaps you will not object to drop me a line to 
 Baron Hill, Beaumaris, N. Wales, and credit me. 
 
 Yours very truly, R. Bernal, Junior. 
 
 I trust you will move an humble address, calling for the 
 dismissal of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. 
 
IRTSH LIBERALS. 365 
 
 In February, 1844, there appeared to be signs of a 
 split in the Chartist camp at Finsbury ; two or three 
 obscure individuals, desirous of gaining notice, ven- 
 tured to address Mr. Duncombein atone of querulous 
 complaint. A public meeting had been called to take 
 place at "the Crown and Anchor," which Feargus 
 O'Connor as well as Mr. Buncombe attended. As 
 neither entered into the views of the individuals who 
 had called the meeting, their disappointment created 
 considerable confusion. This conduct was pronounced 
 an offence at a special meeting of the " Finsbury 
 Complete Suffrage Association;" but the popular 
 member, in a brief reply, extinguished the com- 
 plainants, and nothing came of their grievance. The 
 Chartists were too well convinced of the value of his 
 public services to heed the opposition of his self- 
 elected censors. 
 
 The Irish Liberals had long regarded Mr. Dun- 
 combe as their best political friend in England, and 
 were glad to appeal to him when they wanted 
 English assistance. The writer of the communi- 
 cation about to be printed had been for some time 
 treading in O'Connell's footsteps, as though in- 
 tending to commence business on his own account as 
 an agitator. The great advocate of repeal had been 
 temporarily silenced ; his disciple was indignant, more- 
 over was desirous of making his countrymen as in- 
 dignant as himself. Mr. Smith O'Brien lacked both 
 the talent and the prudence of O'Connell, and there- 
 fore suffered himself to be led into treasonable acts : — 
 
 Dublin, June 27th, 1844. 
 Deak DtJNCOMBE, — Perceiving that Sir R. Peel proposes 
 to force on the discussion of the Irish Registration Bill, I 
 
366 MR. SMITH o'bRIEN. 
 
 write to express a hope that the English " friends of Ireland'" 
 will not allow this bill to be brought forward during the 
 imprisonment of O^Connell. It is too bad that the Govern- 
 ment should first imprison by foul means two of the ablest 
 of our few representatives, and then take advantage of their 
 absence from Parliament to inflict upon this country a 
 measure which wiU destroy the popiilar character of our 
 constituencies. 
 
 I trust, therefore, that a faithful band, no matter how 
 small, wiU divide on adjournments during the whole of 
 Monday evening, if the Government strive to force on the 
 bill. I am persuaded that public opinion will sanction this 
 extreme method of Parliamentary resistance to a bad 
 measure, on the sole ground (if there were no other) of the 
 compulsory absence of Mr. O^ConneU and his son from the 
 debate. 
 
 Believe me yours truly, W. S. O^Brien. 
 
 I suppose the Post-office spies of Sir James Graham will 
 read this letter. Thanks for your exposure of that atrocity. 
 
 There still remained a feeling of dissatisfaction in 
 a small minority of the Finsbury electors respecting 
 the conduct of their representative. The bulk of 
 them were members of the Anti-Corn-Law League ; 
 and as neither Mr. Buncombe nor Mr. Wakley would 
 consent to belong to it, from objections they had to 
 its title rather than to its objects, the malcontents 
 induced the rest to call their members to account. A 
 public meeting was therefore held, at which they , , , , 
 were summoned to appear. Both came, and heard 
 that they were under suspicion for not taking a more 
 decided part on the question of free trade and the 
 Corn Laws. Mr. Duncombe referred to his speeches 
 and votes as the best authority for his opinions. 
 Mr. Wakley expressed his dislike to the title " Anti- 
 Corn-Law League,^' and avoided giving a decided 
 
FEARGUS o'cONNOR. 367 
 
 answer when asked if lie would agitate for a repeal of 
 the Corn Laws. The result was, that the assembly 
 passed a resolution — that they were fully satisfied. 
 
 Mr. Duncombe's connexion with Feargus O'Connor 
 began to be regarded by some of the more respectable 
 of his poHtical friends with impatience. To sober 
 English politicians that gentleman's notions were not 
 only impractical, they began to suspect that his mind 
 was unsound. His extravagant republicanism became 
 more and more obnoxious to the common sense and 
 right feeling of the country ; and he was supported 
 only by a knot of desperate adventurers, who hoped to 
 make profit out of his appeals to physical force. Mr. 
 Duncombe was warned of the mischief the Irish orator 
 was doing the cause he had so much at heart ; and the 
 way in which his more sagacious friends kept out of his 
 company ought to have impressed on him the necessity 
 of keeping out of it himself. The tone of his paper, 
 the Northern Star, had become as objectionable as his 
 speeches. It was, no doubt, the known mischievous 
 projects of Feargus O'Connor, and his universal suffrage 
 friends, that induced Sir James Graham to have their 
 correspondence looked into. 
 
 In this year there were few political events of 
 importance in which Mr. Duncombe played a pro- 
 minent part. It is only necessary to refer to a 
 universal sufii-age meeting on the 29th of March ; the 
 O'Connell dinner at Covent Oarden in the same month 
 the Birmingham and Manchester meetings in April ; 
 the Sheffield and Birmingham meetings in July ; 
 and the Finsbury Belvidere dinner. He visited Pen- 
 tonville, Parkhurst, and Millbank prisons, and did 
 good service in Parliament in defeating the Masters 
 
368 A NEW REFORM BILL. 
 
 and Servants Bill. He retained the favour of tlie 
 leading female leaders in the political world — Lady 
 Holland, Lady Palmerston, Mrs. Fox, &c. &c. — and 
 continued to be entertained at dinner at the best 
 houses in town. His health now began to suffer, and 
 he was frequently at Brighton for change of air, on 
 one occasion riding to London tHe-a-tete in the coupe 
 with Sir Robert Peel. Such an excellent opportunity 
 for conversion was suffered to pass by — the member 
 for Finsbury was not tempted to enter the Cabinet, 
 nor did the member for Tamworth join the Chartists. 
 Mr. Buncombe was now agitating for a new and 
 real Eeform Bill, and sought from all available quarters 
 trustworthy information respecting the non-effective- 
 ness of the Whig measure. That after so many 
 years of arduous struggle for an honest parliamentary 
 system, what they had obtained was little better than 
 a sham, other politicians had found out ; but no one 
 of the Liberal members had taken the trouble he had 
 undergone to prove that it sought to perpetuate the 
 very evils it had been created to abolish. The writer 
 of the annexed letters — Edmund Lechmere Charlton, 
 Esq., of Ludford Park, Herefordshire, Wilton Court, 
 Shropshire, and Hanley Castle, Worcestershire, had 
 formerly represented Ludlow in Parliament : — 
 
 Ludford Park, 27tli April, 1844. 
 
 Dear DtrNCOMBEj — I was very happy to see the notice I 
 did in the newspaper, of your intended motion on the 8th of 
 May. Pray have a slap at Ludlow^ and make the evidence, 
 taken before a committee of the House of Commons in 1840, 
 of what took place at the election in 1839, when Mr. Alcock 
 and Mr. Clive were candidates, the basis of yoiir attack. 
 That evidence will disclose iniquity enough for anything ; 
 
LORD POWIS. 369 
 
 but in the meantime I will, if you wish it, get up a little 
 private steam that shall propel the Reform engine at a 
 quicker pace than usual. You must not fancy, my dear 
 boy, by this, that I am become, in my old age, a Chartist. 
 No J I am what I have always been — a great Reformer of 
 abuses, not to destroy, but to keep alive the Constitution ; 
 and if I opposed the Whigs with all my little might after 
 they got into power, it was because they acted in the very 
 teeth of their professions when out of power. Robert Clive 
 is a great personal friend of Lord Johnny ; and to prove 
 that the latter sometimes thinks more of personal friendship 
 than of public duty, let me refer you likewise to a speech of 
 his in 1840 respecting the report of this committee, on 
 which occasion he threw his mantle over the Clive family, 
 whose character, I think he said, was " above reproach or 
 even suspicion" (or some such honeyed words) ; though I 
 could, I believe, prove if it were necessary that the family 
 have admitted, and that their agent has confirmed the ac- 
 curacy of the report, that they spent in electioneering in 
 this borough, between July 1837 and July 1841,* upwards 
 of 40,000/., the borough having only between three and four 
 hundred voters. 
 
 If any farther evidence will be necessary to promote in- 
 quiry, you may command my services. 
 
 Possibly you may have been told that I have been a 
 party to their proceedings, which I consider unworthy of 
 notice. All that I ask is, that before you place the slightest 
 reliance on anything you have heai'd or may hear on the 
 subject, you will have the kindness to write to me, and not 
 suffer yourself to be biassed one way or another till you 
 have heard both sides. This is but fair ! 
 
 Yours ever, E. L. Charlton. 
 
 Ludford, 2nd May, 1844. 
 
 Dear Duncombe, — You must not suppose that so sly a 
 fox as Lord Powis has done enough to bring him within the 
 
 * In these four years there were four contested elections and a 
 scrutiny. 
 
 VOL. I. B B 
 
370 RETAINERS. 
 
 castigatioD of the " honourable House" for a breach of the 
 standing order you allude to. No ! His lordshipj mole- 
 fashion, works underground, shutting his eyes to the law. 
 One fact you may rely on — there are ten or a dozen attor- 
 neys in the town, and to each of these, who do all the dirty 
 work at an election, he gives 200 guineas. Among the re- 
 spectable class of tradesmen these quill-drivers were rather 
 unpopular, and it was supposed they hurt the cause which 
 they meant to support. 
 
 Something of this kind was represented to the noble lord 
 in 1840, who directed in consequence that they should not 
 be employed. Such an order from head-quarters was cal- 
 culated, as you may suppose, to create " a sensation" among 
 the legal squad, who talked very loud in consequence, and 
 lost no time in seeing either his lordship or his confidential 
 factotum, who informed them — and great was the joy 
 thereof — that it was far from his lordship^s intention to 
 withdraw the little douceur. Oh no ! — all that his lordship 
 wanted was to prevent them from interfering, in which case 
 " the compliment" would be continued as usual ; and I really 
 believe I could prove, if necessary, that these worthies have 
 received at an election, as retainers only, as much as 2500Z. 
 
 I have thought about a petition, but I find it wont do. 
 There is a Chancery suit now depending respecting the 
 Charity Estates, which Lord Powis is attempting to sacrifice, 
 in order to increase his electioneering influence. I will 
 send you fuller particulars on this subject. In the mean- 
 time, pray read the evidence, taken in 1840, of what took 
 place in 1839, and I will explain everything you want to 
 know. Paddy Holmes was on that occasion agent for the 
 Clives. — Believe me, my dear Duncombe, 
 
 Very truly yours, E. L. Charlton. 
 
 On the 2nd of February, 1845, a soiree on a large 
 scale was got up at White Conduit House ; it was a 
 political demonstration as well as a compliment to the 
 member for Pinsbury. As was invariably the case, 
 he made a long speech, and a very telling one, against 
 
MEMORIALS. 371 
 
 the Government, against the income-tax, and espe- 
 cially against Sir James Graham. There was as 
 much laughing as cheering as the orator proceeded, 
 for he was more than usually amusing. It had been 
 made clearly evident that letters written to exiles in 
 this country had been tampered with, and Mr. 
 Buncombe's exertions to put a stop to the practice 
 elicited their grateful thanks. A deputation waited 
 on him with an address from the Polish National 
 Convention at Brussels. He was also presented with 
 a vote of thanks from certain emigrants from Italy, 
 and a medal bearing an inscription in Italian, per- 
 petuating the fate of nine of their countrymen, recent 
 victims to oppression ; while the working classes of 
 Great Britain rewarded him with a valuable piece of 
 plate for his eminent public services. 
 
 The Peel Cabinet had been losing ground, and on one 
 occasion a threatened dissolution was prevented by the 
 difficulties that beset Lord John Eussell in endeavour- 
 ing to form a Whig Government. On the 18th of 
 July the change had been effected. Lord John be- 
 coming First Lord of the Treasury and at the head of 
 a Ministry in whicli, as usual, -the aristocratic 
 element was overwhelming. As usual, also, there was 
 not in it a particle of the Liberal element ; neverthe- 
 less, it contained at least one old friend of Mr. Dun- 
 combe's. He thus replied to a proposal to help him to 
 his re-election : — 
 
 Berkeley-square, Saturday, 21st March, 1846. 
 
 My dear DtJNCOMBE,— I have thought over what you 
 said to me last night, and the conclusion to which I come 
 is this— that it would be very inexpedient to form any de- 
 cided opinion on the matter until the time comes. Many 
 
372 
 
 CONVICT DISCIPLINE. 
 
 things may happen between this day and the dissolution of 
 Parliament which would entirely stultify any previous reso- 
 lution; and my experience has taught me that, in so large 
 a constituency, there is rather harm than good in attempt- 
 ing to pre-occupy the ground. Believe me, however, when 
 I say that I shall always be grateful to you for your uniform 
 kindness to me in all business connected with my old con- 
 stituency. 
 
 Your truly obliged, John Hobhouse. 
 
 There were the usual political demonstrations ; but 
 things were going on in the ordinary course, when a 
 Conservative opposition was threatened in Finsbury ; 
 it ended, however, in the re-election of the sitting 
 members. 
 
 The Liberal press recognised Mr. Duncombe's posi- 
 tion as a tribune of the people, and several of them 
 cordially acknowledged his public services. We have 
 noticed his visits to different prisons, without sus- 
 pecting him of any design to tread in the steps of 
 Howard; but in the summer of 1847, he startled the 
 House of Commons by his revelations of convict 
 discipline. His statements were so extraordinary that 
 they seemed incredible; only his reputation for honesty 
 gained them credence. After a searching examination, 
 the Secretary of State, Sir George Grrey, was obliged to 
 acknowledge that they were substantially true. This 
 confirmation was a distinct eulogium ; and the Grovern- 
 ment by it endorsed the opinion expressed by the 
 public, of the value of such a legislator. A reform of 
 these abuses was promised ; and thus was inaugurated 
 a much-required amelioration in the management of 
 criminals. 
 
 We here add another striking testimonial of his 
 earnestiicytj in the duties he had undertaken : — 
 
MR. buncombe's health, 373 
 
 Paradise, Sunday. 
 
 Beloved General, — In discharge of my first and far 
 most pleasing duty, I called at " head-quarters/^ Spring- 
 gardens, on my arrival, to report myself, but was told you 
 were not in town. I now perform my duty by letter, and 
 beg to assure you that no monarch on earth ever had a more 
 devoted subject, and no general a more obedient soldier. It 
 will not be my fault if you are not the first man in your 
 country. My terms are, that upon Irish questions I shall 
 be free to act as I please ; in all else I follow you, but no 
 other man. I will propose no national question of which 
 you are the proper, the acknowledged, the loved leader ; nor 
 shall adversity or prosperity ever banish from my recollec- 
 tion the boldness of the friend who visited me in my 
 dungeon. My service is not like that of any other man 
 when I give it; life itself is offered, if needed. — Ever and 
 for ever, your fond, affectionate, and devoted friend, 
 
 Fbargus O'Connor. 
 
 It would be morally impossible to describe the state of 
 Nottingham. Lord Rancliffe, the two principal bankers, 
 and most of the clergy, voted for me and asked me to dine ; 
 and Smith, the banker, was chaired with us. 
 
 Yours, P. O'C. 
 
 How Mr. Buncombe's occupations permitted him 
 to exist in a state in any way approaching health 
 for so long a period was a mystery to those who knew 
 how many and serious were his anxieties ; but his 
 diaries contain abundant evidence of a constitution 
 giving way. He took every precaution, consulted the 
 ablest physicians, tried the most approved remedies, 
 and went frequently to watering-places to recruit; 
 but in July, of the year 1847, he found himself so ill 
 that he was obliged to send a certificate from Dr. 
 Elmore to excuse his attendance at the hustings, 
 when called to abide another election for Finsbury. 
 
374 THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON 
 
 The accompanying note from his colleague sufficiently 
 describes his position : — 
 
 Wednesday Evening, July 28th, 1847. 
 
 My dear SiRj — I have just returned here and found 
 your note. I strongly advise you to quit London for a 
 time^ and abstain from even talking as much as you possibly 
 can. You want rest and sleep. 
 
 I have only time to scratch the accompanying form of 
 address. Alter it as you like, and attach my name to your 
 improved edition. 
 
 I spoke of you this morning only as I felt vras your due. 
 I said much less than your public labours deserve. 
 
 Yours faithfully, T. Wakley. 
 
 P.S. — Would you consent to have your name on Osborne's 
 Committee ? He is, I think, sure of being returned. 
 
 At last serious indisposition took Mr. Duncorabe 
 far from the exciting and dangerous scene. Like 
 every public man of good social position and character, 
 he had kept aloof from the Chartists as soon as he 
 discovered in them an intention to appeal to physical 
 force. He had retired to Sidmouth, in Devon, the 
 favourite resort of the Duke and Duchess of Kent ; 
 and it was in this peaceful retreat the repose he 
 sought was disturbed by the accounts in the daily 
 papers of the alarming condition of the metropolis. 
 The masses had determined on an overawing de- 
 monstration ; and the Duke of Wellington had deter- 
 mined to destroy its effect. His grace had contrived 
 to put down O'Connell with a nation at his back, and 
 was confident of being able to dispose of a much less 
 formidable agitator, with a much less excitable follow- 
 ing. Mr. Duncombe became anxious ; and to prevent 
 
AND THE CHARTISTS. 375 
 
 the mischief he apprehended, caused the following 
 caution to be extensively circulated in London : — 
 
 To the Sons of Labour and Industry. 
 
 Sidmouth, April 6tli, 1848. 
 
 My dear FearguSj — Thougli absent^ I am not an inat- 
 tentive observer of passing events^ and it saddens me to see 
 a cause for vrhicb I have so perseveringly struggled — and I 
 think in the right direction — novr likely to be damaged by 
 folly. 
 
 I caUj of course, make every allowance for reasonable 
 excitement, but I cannot reconcile to my mind the folly of 
 jeopardizing a good and just cause by extravagant language 
 and foolish threats, which, as of old, can only have the 
 effect of retarding progress, and disarming its best friends. 
 
 Nothing in my mind could be more ridiculous or cruel 
 than to hazard the long-looked-for prospects of the people 
 by any rash collision with the authorities, and those who 
 adopt such a course will impose upon themselves a fearful 
 responsibility. 
 
 THINK! THINK! THINK! 
 
 and remember — that one false step may seal the fate of 
 millions. 
 
 Faithfully yours, T. S. Buncombe. 
 
 The Chartists proved themselves inaccessible to 
 reason ; they relied on overwhelming numbers to 
 intimidate the Grovernmentj and Feargus O'Connor, 
 their acknowledged leader, with his characteristic 
 rashness, supported them in their resolution to 
 defy the authorities, and all the force they could 
 array against them. An immense amount of "tall 
 talk" was indulged in by some of the demagogues, 
 and everything indicated the approach of a desperate 
 struggle. 
 
 The great general quietly made his preparations. 
 
376 MARCH OF THE CHARTISTS. 
 
 and the defenders of law and order were largely re- 
 inforced by a newly-organized force of special con- 
 stables — Prince Louis Napoleon, then in London, 
 being one — to protect the streets, while the pohce 
 were employed in disposing of the disturbers of the 
 public peace, should the anticipated riot take place. 
 
 The morning of the memorable 10th of April 
 arrived, and the physical-force men mustered in suffi- 
 cient numbers to have scattered the military and 
 police at the disposal of the Government to the four 
 winds ; at least, so it was imagined. As the pro- 
 digious detachments marched through the principal 
 thoroughfares to the general rendezvous — Kennington 
 Common — the timid looked forward to a repetition of 
 at least the three so-called glorious days in Paris, 
 should they be interrupted. 
 
 But of interruption there did not seem the slightest 
 sign. On marched column after column, their banners 
 waving, and their bands playing ; rank after rank 
 stepped the men, shoulder to shoulder, with vigour in 
 their limbs, and determination in their faces. But not 
 a single policeman was to be seen, nor a solitary 
 soldier ! There was no sign of opposition anywhere. 
 
 Away went these several armies quite unmolested, 
 and apparently unobserved, occasionally cheered by 
 mobs of roughs and idlers as they threaded the 
 streets, till they began to pass out of the county of 
 Middlesex into that of Surrey. They became a little 
 excited as they drew near their destination, for the 
 more sagacious knew that there must be a motive for 
 this apparent neglect of their defiance, and anticipated 
 a Peter loo. 
 
 On passing the bridges, the men of the vai'ious 
 
THE MEETING. 377 
 
 divisions ascertained that the G-overnment had not 
 been idle, these strong positions having been taken 
 possession of by a force well qualified to maintain 
 them against all comers. No molestation, however, 
 was offered ; and the van with the monster petition, 
 the Chartist council, the bands, the banners, and the 
 detachments, passed on without a word. 
 
 At last the entire assemblage reached the common. 
 The vans were placed in position as platforms for the 
 orators, and those who were not looking out for 
 murderous charges of cavalry, expected equally sensa- 
 tional speeches. In both they were disappointed — 
 neither horse soldier nor foot was in sight — plenty 
 were in concealment at a little distance. At last, the 
 Chartist leaders having become aware that artillery, 
 cavalry, and infantry, in overwhelming force, had 
 been placed conveniently for disposal, lost heart as 
 well as tongue. They abandoned the idea of a grand 
 procession to accompany the monster petition to the 
 House of Commons, knowing that it would not be 
 permitted to pass either of the bridges ; and presently 
 abandoned the monster meeting. Feargus O'Connor 
 was the first to present himself at the Home Ofiice, 
 to report the harmless result of the long-dreaded 
 meeting. 
 
 With the exception of a slight collision between 
 the return mob and the police, by the former en- 
 deavouring to force a passage over one of the 
 bridges — which had been prudently closed — there was 
 no disturbance whatever. The 10th of April was, 
 however, fatal to Chartism. Mr. Duncombe, having 
 warned in vain, washed his hands of the cause ; 
 though he continued as active as ever as a supporter 
 
 VOL. I. c c 
 
378 END OF CHAKTISM. 
 
 in a legitimate way of the rights of labour. " The 
 Executive" could not stand up against the ridicule 
 generally directed against them, for having permitted 
 themselves to be outgeneralled. The most influential 
 organs of public opinion, with Punch in the van, 
 laughed them into private life ; and nothing more 
 was beard of menacing processions as long as the 
 vigorous spirits of Wellington and Palmerston were 
 at hand with the way and the will to suppress them. 
 These useless demonstrations have recently been 
 tolerated in a manner that renders their suppression 
 difiicult, unless Parliament invests the Government 
 with additional powers for that purpose. 
 
 END OE THE EIRST VOLUME. 
 
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