CHAPTER L.
The Clarke Scandal—Biography of Mrs. Clarke—Her levées—Her scale of prices for preferments—Commission of the House of Commons—Exculpation of the Duke of York—His resignation—Open sale of places—Caution thereon—Duels—That between Colonel Montgomery and Captain Macnamara.
IT WOULD be utterly impossible, whilst writing of things military, of this part of the century, to ignore the Clarke Scandal—it is a portion of the history of the times.
Mrs. Mary Ann Clarke was of humble parentage, of a lively and sprightly temperament, and of decidedly lax morality. She had married a stonemason named Clarke, who became bankrupt; she, however, cleaved to him and his altered fortunes, until his scandalous mode of living induced her to separate from him, and seek a livelihood as best she might. Her personal attractions, and lively disposition, soon attracted men’s notice, and after some time she went upon the stage, where she essayed the rôle of Portia. There must have been some fascination about her, for each of her various lovers rose higher in the social scale, until, at last, she became the mistress of the Duke of York, and was installed in a mansion in Gloucester Place. Here the establishment consisted of upwards of twenty servants. The furniture is described as having been most magnificent. The pier glasses cost from 400 to 500 pounds each, and her wine glasses, which cost upwards of two guineas apiece, sold afterwards, by public auction, for a guinea each.
MRS. CLARKE.
She kept two carriages, and from eight to ten horses, and had an elegant mansion at Weybridge, the dimensions of which may be guessed, by the fact that the oil cloth for the hall cost fifty pounds. The furniture of the kitchen at Gloucester Place cost upwards of two thousand pounds.
MRS. CLARKE’S LEVÉE.[77]
These things swallowed up a great deal of money, and, although the Duke had a fine income, yet he had the capacity for spending it; nor only so—could contract debts with great facility, so that the money which he nominally allowed Mrs. Clarke (for it was not always paid), was insufficient to provide for such extravagance, and other means had to be found. This was done by her using the influence she possessed over the Duke, and getting him to grant commissions in the army, for which the recipients paid Mrs. Clarke a lower price than the regulation scale. The satirical prints relating to her are most numerous. I only reproduce two. Her levée was supposed not only to be attended by military men, but by the clergy; and it was alleged that applications had been made through her both for a bishopric, and a deanery, and that she had procured for Dr. O’Meara, the privilege of preaching before Royalty. But it was chiefly in the sale of army commissions that she dealt, thus causing young officers to be promoted “over the heads” of veterans. Certainly her scale of prices, compared with those of the regulation, were very tempting, resulting in a great saving to the recipient of the commission.
| Mrs. Clarke’s | Price. | Regulation | Price. | |
| A Majority | £900 | £2,600 | ||
| A Captaincy | 700 | 1,500 | ||
| A Lieutenancy | 400 | 550 | ||
| An Ensigncy | 200 | 400 |
MILITARY LEAP FROG; OR, HINTS TO YOUNG GENTLEMEN
I have no wish to go into the minute details of this scandal, but on January 27, 1809, G. Lloyd Wardell,[78] Esq., M.P. for Oakhampton, began his indictment of the Duke of York, in this matter, before the House of Commons; and he showed that every sale effected through Mrs. Clarke’s means, was a robbery of the Half Pay Fund, and he asked for a Parliamentary Committee to investigate the affair; this was granted, and Mrs. Clarke, and very numerous witnesses were examined. The lady was perfectly self-possessed, and able to take care of herself; and the evidence, all through, was most damaging to the Duke. Mrs. Clarke is thus described in the Morning Post of Friday, February 3, 1809: “Mrs. Clarke, when she appeared before the House of Commons, on Wednesday, was dressed as if she had been going to an evening party, in a light blue silk gown and coat, edged with white fur, and a white muff. On her head she wore a white cap, or veil, which at no time was let down over her face. In size she is rather small, and does not seem to be particularly well made. She has a fair, smooth skin, and lively blue eyes, but her features are not handsome. Her nose is rather short and turning up, and her teeth are very indifferent; yet she has the appearance of great vivacity of manners, but is said not to be a well-bred or accomplished woman. She appears to be about thirty-five years of age.”
THE PRODIGAL SON’S RESIGNATION.
The Duke took the extraordinary course of writing a letter to the Speaker of the House of Commons, whilst the matter was sub judice, in which he asserted his innocence; and, foreseeing what was to follow, gave out that for the future he meant to be a very good boy, and that he would retrench in his expenditure, in order to attempt to liquidate his debts.
The House eventually found that there was nothing in the evidence to prove personal corruption, or criminal connivance on the part of His Royal Highness; but, although thus partially whitewashed, the public opinion against him was too strong, and he placed his resignation, as Commander in Chief, in the King’s hands.
Places were openly bought and sold, although it was known to be illegal, such advertisements as the following being common—Morning Post, June 14, 1800:
“Public Offices.
“A Young Man of good Connections, well educated in writing and accounts, and can find security, wishes for a Clerkship in any of the Public Offices. Any Lady or Gentleman having interest to procure such a situation, will be presented with the full value of the place. The greatest secrecy and honour will be observed.”
So common were they, that it was found necessary to issue notices on the subject. Here is one:
“Custom House, London, December 7, 1802.
“Whereas Advertisements have, at different times, appeared in the Newspapers, offering Sums of Money for the procuring of Places, or Situations, in the Customs, inserted either by persons not aware of the serious consequences which attach upon transactions of this nature, or by persons of a different description, with a view to delude the ignorant, and unwary: The Commissioners of His Majesty’s Customs think it necessary to have it generally made known that, in addition to the punishment which the Common Law would inflict upon the offence of bribing, or attempting to bribe, any person entrusted with the disposal of any Office, the Statute passed in the fifth and sixth year of the reign of King Edward the Sixth, inflicts the penalty of incapacity to hold such office in the person purchasing, and the forfeiture of office in the person selling; and that in case any such place or situation, either shall have been, or shall hereafter be procured, or obtained, by such Corrupt means, they are determined to enforce the penalties of the Law, and to prosecute the offenders with the utmost severity. And they do hereby promise a Reward of One Hundred Pounds, to any person or persons who will give information and satisfactory proof, of any place or situation in the Customs being so obtained, so that the parties concerned therein may be proceeded against accordingly.”
Duels were most frequent, so much so, as not to excite any interest in the student of history of that time, for it is difficult to pick up a newspaper and not find one recorded. The reasons are not always given, but it did not take much to get up a duel; any excuse would serve. As an example, let us take the duel between Colonel Montgomery, and Captain Macnamara, at Chalk Farm (April, 1803) in which the former was killed, and the latter wounded. Lord Burghersh, in giving evidence before the coroner’s jury, said: “On coming out of St. James’s Park on Wednesday afternoon, he saw a number of horsemen, and Colonel Montgomery among them; he rode up to him; at that time, he was about twenty yards from the railing next to Hyde Park Gate. On one side of Colonel Montgomery was a gentleman on horseback, whom he believed was Captain Macnamara. The first words he heard were uttered by Colonel Montgomery, who said: ‘Well, Sir, and I will repeat what I said, if your dog attacks mine, I will knock him down.’ To this, Captain Macnamara replied, ‘Well, Sir, but I conceive the language you hold is arrogant, and not to be pardoned.’ Colonel Montgomery said: ‘This is not a proper place to argue the matter; if you feel yourself injured, and wish for satisfaction, you know where to find me.’” And so these two poor fools met, and one was killed—all because two dogs fought, and their masters could not keep their temper!
