From Mr. E. Cheney
St. Anne's Hill, Chertsey, October 31st.
My dear Reeve,—… I have been reading Charles Greville with much interest and entertainment. I think you are quite right in publishing now, and not waiting for a generation 'who knew not Joseph.' There is always a clamour against those who tell the truth. Charles Greville may very likely [have been], and certainly was, very often wrong; but he believed he told the truth, and he certainly uttered his genuine sentiments. These journals throw a strong light on contemporary events, and will be very valuable to the future historians of the period. Ch. G. was a man who felt much and expressed himself strongly; and had you attempted to soften his language you would have injured the effect and destroyed the couleur locale.
He was a man naturally of a quick and irritable temper, and he had been a spoilt child all his life. His original education was defective. He lived with the selfish and the self-indulgent, and naturally became selfish and self-indulgent himself. At six years old an old friend of his mother's found him crying at dinner because he had not got the liver wing of the chicken; and to the last he would have wanted 'the liver wing.' But he had naturally a kind heart, and a just perception; and he admired what was noble and generous, if he did not always practise it. He suffered greatly in health, and he was too self-indulgent, even with the certainty of pain before his eyes, to moderate his appetite. His last years were unhappy. The indulgence of his temper made his company often disagreeable, and he very keenly felt the neglect of his old friends. With a better education he would have been a most valuable man, for his natural powers were considerable. Like so many other London men, he thought the whole world was bounded by Oxford Street, Pall Mall, the Parks, and the City; and he took his opinions from the clubs in St. James's Street and Pall-Mall, and, as those opinions varied, so we find his judgements in these journals vary. But he himself was convinced, and he uttered the genuine sentiments of the moment…. I hope you will publish the rest of the four vols. before long, and that you will preserve exactly the same plan you have done in these…. Yours very sincerely, E. C.
From Mr. Harvie Farquhar
16 St. James's Street, November 28th.
The yeast of society ferments easily, and—at present—C. G.'s manes are the best abused in or out of Hades; but all will settle down soon, and when people have done throwing stones, and the water is placid enough to enable them to see below the surface, they will better appreciate what lies at the bottom. Whether abused or not, the book will be in every library—on its merits.
From the Queen of Holland
The Hague, Monday, November 30th.
My dear Mr. Reeve,—Saturday night, November 28th, the books arrived. I am afraid, after Sunday church, more of my time than ought to have been Sunday's occupation was given to these three volumes. Of course, I have not read them; I rushed through, and am now going to read page by page. The interest is an immense one. Not only that I have known many of the persons named, but I have heard from all, and they seem to me like shadows reviving, returning to light and life. Dear Lord Clarendon's name struck me several times; and I remember, when Mr. Greville died, Lord Clarendon wrote me 'his papers had been given to the person most able to judge them.' At that time I did not know Mr. Reeve; but I recollect the words perfectly. Pray give my best compliments to Mrs. Reeve, and believe me very sincerely yours,