If the veneration in which I shall ever hold this most dear and respected relative admitted of increase, it would certainly receive it from the contrast I am every day obliged to draw between him and the wretched butterflies who sometimes flutter round us under the name of Men: for, how can I help contrasting his inflexible courage, united to angelic mildness, with the insolence of lilly-livered Hectors, who, conscious of the most abject cowardice, dare to give an insult, and basely skulk from honest resentment beneath the arm of the Law!——fellows who, like Bobadil in the play, can kill a whole army with the tongue, but dare not face a pigmy in the field!——and, while they want the prudence to restrain the torrent of effeminate invective, have patience enough to bear a kicking, or a box in the ear!——who bluster and vapour to hide the trembling limb and poltroon aspect, as children whittle in the dark to brave the ghosts they dread! Beware of all such wretches as you would shun plague or pestilence. I hope you do not imagine that I have so little common sense or philanthropy as to censure those who, from physical causes or constitutional delicacy, are averse to contest: No, no——I do assure you, on the contrary, that my observation leads me to think such men, though slow to quarrel, and inoffensive in conduct, are very gallant when honour or duty demand from them a conquest over their weakness. I have, in my time, seen such men at first the sport, and at last the terror of your blustering bullies; and I have always thought, that in such a triumph over their feelings, they had more true merit than men constitutionally courageous: the latter has his valour in common with the mere animal; the other possesses the valour of sentiment. I mean that most ignominious of all beings, who, prodigal in offence, yet reluctant in reparation——who, hoping to find some person passive as themselves over whom to triumph, hazard the giving of an insult, with the malignant view to gasconade over him if he submits——and, if he resents, to wreak the whole vengeance of Law upon him. In society with such men, there is no safety; for they leave you only the casual alternative to choose between shame and ruin. Him who submits, they call poltroon; and him who resents, they fleece in form of Law. There are others who, to bring their fellow-creatures down to their own level, brave the execrations of Mankind, and the vengeance of Heaven; such harpies do exist, who, though bold enough to insult, are tame enough to receive chastisement without resistance; and, though tame enough to submit to chastisement, are so furiously vindictive as to proclaim their shame, their cowardice, perhaps in the face of an open Court, in order to glut their revenge by the pillage of their adversary’s purse. Let such men enjoy the fruits of their machinations, if they can——To their own feelings I consign them; for I can wish a villain no greater curse than the company of his own conscience, nor a poltroon a more poignant sting than that which the contempt of Mankind inflicts upon him.
LETTER LX.
Passing through Madura, I arrived at Trichinopoly, where I met Mr. Sullivan, the Resident of Tanjore, who very politely furnished me with a letter to Mr. Hippesley, his Deputy at Tanjore, from whom I received many marks of civility. At that place I had the pleasure of meeting a Gentleman with whom I had been at College, and for whom I had always entertained a great esteem: this was Colonel Fullarton. It is an old maxim, that we should say nothing but good of the dead——“De mortuis nil nisi bonum.” It is not a new maxim, I believe, to avoid praising the living: I am aware of the indelicacy of it; and therefore purposely avoid in this, as I shall in other instances, speaking the full opinion I entertain. To the general esteem in which he was held by all ranks of people in India, I refer you to Colonel Fullarton’s character: it is of such a sort, that I wish to hold it up for your imitation. At a time of life when others have arrived to some perfection in their profession, he made choice of his, and entered for the first time into the arduous military department, with a command for which the training of many years is no more than sufficient to prepare other men. The Minister of that day gave him this important charge, underwent the clamours of Opposition for it, and was justified in the event. When the Colonel came to act, so far from being deficient, his whole conduct was distinguished, not less for military talent than courage——while the most fortunate command of temper and captivating address subdued the spirit of prejudice, reconciled the most discordant, and gained him, though a King’s Officer, the esteem, as much of the Company’s as King’s troops. In short, all ranks of people, civil as well as military, whether belonging to King or Company, united in approbation of his conduct——a thing not known before, nor since, but in the person of Lord Cornwallis.
Too much cannot be said of the advantages resulting from a proper command of temper. To promote that in my Frederick, will be attended with little difficulty: on the contrary, my only doubt is, that the placability and mildness of his disposition will too often subject him to imposition. John is, however, of a different temper; there is something in it which requires both admonition and good example to repress within proper bounds: to shew him the beauty as well as use of a mild, cool temper, such instances as Colonel Fullarton[Fullarton] may be of weight, and I wish him to reflect upon it. And here I am reminded of a person and a circumstance so exactly in point, that I cannot refrain from noticing them: they convey no inadequate idea of the happiness resulting from a gentleness of nature, and dominion over the mind; and as the person I allude to is dead, I may speak of him with the greater freedom in that full strain of praise which his shining virtues deserve.
Of all the men I have ever had the good fortune to know, Sir Archibald Campbell possessed, in the highest degree, that heavenly turn of mind, which not only is at peace with itself, but diffuses harmony and cheerfulness around it. No business, however urgent in occasion, restricted in point of time, or embarrassed with difficulty——no accident, however unexpected, or event, however sinister——none of those innumerable minutiæ which fret and chafe the tempers of other men, ever suspended the cool tenor of his thought even for a moment: nothing shook the serenity of his temper——nothing deranged the presence of his mind: uniform and placid, he in all situations had the full dominion of himself, and in the field it gave him a decided superiority: nor was this felicity of nature confined to his public conduct; it attended him at the domestic enjoyments of the fire-side——at the social board——in the private recesses of his closet; and the very same habit of soul which, in his great public duties, rendered him valuable to his Country, and formidable to her enemies, gained him the admiration and esteem of his friends, the unbounded affection of his family, and the blessing of all his dependants.
An incident that occurred in my presence may serve in some measure to decipher the mind of this admirable man——I shall never forget it. Previously to his going to India, he had exerted his interest to obtain from the East India Company some reward for my services; and, a few days before his departure, promised to speak again to Mr. Devaynes, Chairman of the East India Company. I waited on him on the day he was setting off; he was just about to depart, and surrounded by a numerous circle. In the midst of this bustle, and the confusion, one would suppose, inseparable from such a crisis, he recollected his promise——told me Mr. Devaynes had that minute taken leave of him, and he had forgot to mention me, but said that he would write to him on the subject; and, though he was at the instant on the point of moving to the carriage that was to carry him off, sat down, and with that amiable sweetness of manners and happily collected mind so peculiarly his own, wrote a letter for me to Mr. Devaynes——holding conversation, the while, in the most lively, engaging manner, with the persons around him. The conciseness and perspicuity of language in which this letter was couched, will serve to elucidate what I have said——I therefore transcribe it for you:
“St. James’s Hotel, Sept. 30, 1783[1783].
“Dear Sir,