[185] Colonel John Burgoyne, natural son of W. Benson, Lord Bingley. He proved a very unfortunate commander in the subsequent American war. He was also an author, and wrote that excellent comedy, “The Heiress.”
[186] Infidelity was then no uncommon charge against an unsuccessful commander. The Prince had in 1752 been worsted at Breslau, where he had only twenty-four thousand men to oppose to an army of ninety thousand, under Daun and Prince Charles of Lorraine. In return, he defeated Daun in 1762 at Reichenbad, a victory that decided the fate of Schweidnitz, and thus contributed to the final success of Prince Henry of Prussia at Friedberg.—E.
[187] Considering that Lord Tyrawley was in his 72nd year, and had not been employed on active service for a very long period, the Government surely acted discreetly in not appointing him to this command. He died in 1773, in his 83rd year. His life had been singularly licentious, even for the Courts of Russia and Portugal, where, however, he acquired extraordinary influence, for he had a thorough knowledge of the world, a great deal of humour, and an undaunted spirit. See more of him in Walpole’s Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 291; and Lord Chatham’s Correspondence.—E.
[188] This remarkable man was Sovereign of Lippe Buckebourgh, a petty state, lying on the confines of Hanover and Westphalia. His mother was daughter of George the First, by the Duchess of Kendal. He received the early part of his education in England, and held a commission in the Guards: at nineteen, he served at the battle of Dettingen; and two years after he showed signal intrepidity as a volunteer under Prince Lobkowitz, in Italy. At the outset of the Seven years’ war he joined the Confederates with his small contingent, and bore a prominent part in the various military operations that ensued. His bravery, in common with his opinions, had a tinge of eccentricity, but the boldness and originality of his mind were not ill directed. He became an enterprising and successful partisan, and an able commander of artillery; in which latter capacity he distinguished himself both at Minden and at Kampen. Being intrusted with a separate corps for the reduction of Munster, he not only captured the place, but defeated General Armentières, who had been sent with a French army to its relief. It was in Portugal, however, that he established his reputation. “He found the army there,” says his biographer, “in a state of thorough disorganization, without either food or pay; even the guards at the Royal Palace implored alms from strangers, with bended knees and outstretched caps. The officers, impelled by want, followed various humble crafts. There were instances of the husband working as a journeyman tailor, whilst his wife earned her subsistence as a washerwoman; and captains might be seen bringing baskets of linen from the wash. Many were servants in the households of generals and governors; indeed servants were sometimes presented with commissions in order that their pay might serve in lieu of wages.” All these abuses the Count, unsupported, if not opposed by the Court and the ministers, succeeded in rectifying. With the assistance of the English, he checked the progress of the Spanish troops, and defeated them in several encounters. He built the citadel of Elvas. He organized a plan for the defence of the kingdom; and at the end of the war he quitted Portugal, followed by the gratitude and attachment of the King and the people. Indeed, the House of Braganza were not under greater obligations to his illustrious predecessor, Marshal Schomberg. His reforms show considerable acuteness and knowledge of character, and were completely successful. One of the most questionable was, that while he punished officers in Germany for accepting a challenge, he punished the Portuguese for refusing, with the view of restoring a martial spirit among the troops. The remainder of his life he passed at Buckebourgh, the chief town of La Lippe, beloved by his subjects, and always employed in promoting their prosperity, though he has been charged with sometimes mistaking himself for a great monarch, while he was only a petty prince. He married in 1765 the Countess of La Lippe Bustafeld, a young lady of great beauty and accomplishments, and had one daughter, whose early death was quickly followed by that of the mother; and the Count, inconsolable under this double affliction, fell into a lingering disorder, of which he died in 1777, at the age of 53. He enjoyed the warm friendship of the King of Prussia, the Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and other great commanders. They entertained a high opinion of his military capacity. He inspired a sort of enthusiasm in all around him. Even the Spanish officers, who used to ridicule his reforms, and when they first descried him in the field, with his large hat and little sword, contemptuously asked whether the Portuguese were commanded by Don Quixote, eventually partook of the general feeling of admiration that attached to his generosity—his extreme disinterestedness—his abilities and valour. Biographische Denkmale, von K. Barnhagen von Ense.—E.
[189] Doctor Johnson, in the newspapers of the day, published an account of this inquiry. His weakness consisted in so far giving confidence to this flimsy imposture, as to think a solemn inquiry necessary. Croker’s Boswell, vol. i. p. 415, note.—E.
[190] Though so notorious at the time, we have been able to find only one pamphlet on the subject in the British Museum, and the papers seem to have been very reluctant to give the names of the parties. July 10, 1762, William Parsons, Elizabeth his wife, Mary Fraser, the Ghost’s interpreter, a clergyman, and a respectable tradesman, were tried at Guildhall, and convicted of a conspiracy to defame a Mr. Kent. In the Annual Register it is said, “The Court chusing that Mr. Kent, who had been so much injured on the occasion, should receive some reparation by punishment of the offenders, deferred giving judgment for seven or eight months, in hopes that the parties might make it up in the meantime. Accordingly, the clergyman and tradesman agreed to pay Mr. Kent a round sum—some say between 500l. and 600l.—to purchase their pardon, and were, therefore, dismissed with a severe reprimand. The father was ordered to be set in the pillory three times in one month—once at the end of Cock Lane; Elizabeth his wife to be imprisoned one year; and Mary Fraser six months in Bridewell, with hard labour. The father appearing to be out of his mind at the time he was first to stand in the pillory, the execution of that part of his sentence was deferred to another day, when, as well as the other day of his standing there, the populace took so much compassion on him, that instead of using him ill, they made a handsome subscription for him.”—v. Annual Register, vol. cxlii. and Gentleman’s Magazine, 1762, pp. 43 and 339. The liberty to speak to the prosecutor, described above as sanctioned by Lord Mansfield, would not now be so openly permitted, even by a bench of Middlesex Magistrates. Churchill’s poem mentions “the Ghost,” only as a peg to hang a satire upon. It has much vigour, but a key is wanted, and probably nobody can supply one to the allusions, or even the regularly drawn characters of the greater part: Johnson, Warburton, Mansfield, and one or two more are apparent. “The Ghost” has also furnished the very clever scene of the trial of Fanny the Phantom, in Foote’s farce of “The Orators.”—E.
[191] Dr. Thomas Secker.
[192] Prospero Lambertini, one of the most learned, enlightened, and virtuous prelates that ever filled the Papal chair. Protestants have vied with Catholics in doing honour to his memory. He died in 1758, at a very advanced age.—E.
[193] Lady Selina Shirley, Countess Dowager of Huntingdon. Her “Life and Times,” published a few years ago in 2 vols. 8vo., contains a graphical and interesting account of the sect which she originated and supported. Notwithstanding Walpole’s sneers, she appears to have been a woman of genuine piety; and her zeal, though sometimes misdirected, did, on the whole, essential service to the cause of religion.—E.
[194] Frederick the Third, King of Prussia.