THE PRINCE AND IRELAND
21st June,’98.—Yesterday H.R.H. came to dinner; all went off well. He was so desirous of being civil that he was here exactly at six; nobody hardly was arrived, and he seemed uneasy, fearful that knowing he was coming many might refuse, but by half-past seven our party was complete, except of Sheridan, who did not come till ten. Grey, Tierney, Whitbread, D. of Norfolk, Ld. Suffolk, Bessboro’, J. and W. Russell, D. of Leinster, Ld. R. Spencer, Mr. Erskine, Francis, Adam, and several others. After dinner ye Prince declared that he was willing to do everything that could serve the cause of Ireland, and that if after mature consideration and consultation with Mr. Fox, it was agreed that his going down to ye H. of Lords and making a motion would be serviceable, he almost pledged himself to do it. Grey said he applauded ye measure, and was of opinion that it would turn the scale of the wavering loyalty of the Irish, but at the same time that such a momentous step was discussing he thought it but honourable to apprise H.R.H. that the consequences might be to him of ye utmost importance, as it was probable attempts would be made to pass him by in ye succession. After much argument and debating a meeting was fixed for next Saturday, when ye whole will be finally settled. The D. of Norfolk was comical in his serious manner of entreating ye Prince to postpone all decision; ‘for,’ said he, ‘one is always betrayed into some imprudences after a bottle of wine.’ It occurred to everybody that he thought of his own toast which deprived him of his Ld.-Lieutenancy.
Ld. Suffolk[212] is ye strangest looking mortal; he had just come from a two hours’ audience of the King, who did not reply a word to any of his statements. He told ye King that the taking out of the Commons so many new peers degraded ye Commons, without adding dignity to ye Peers. The party broke up at 12, with very few more than a little gay. Sheridan and ye D. of Leinster supped, ye first having lost his dinner.
Ld. Lansdown passed some days here; he is, I fear, breaking quite up. His extraordinary son is still in Dublin, where his conversation has procured him three spies who watch every action of his life. Great as would be his eventual loss should Ireland by continuing the war waste the country or become independent, I am convinced he delights in the turmoil, because it furnishes events and matter for critical discussion.
When Grattan was taken up by mistake upon the arrestation of Mr. Lawless, he was carried to the D. of Portland’s office and before the Duke.[213] The meeting was humiliating on one side, as the conversation that ensued to explain away the mistake was the first communication that had arisen between them since the D.’s famous letter to Mr. Ponsonby and the free party in Ireland, assuring them that his principal reason for taking office (upon the breaking up of Fox’s party) was that he might put his system of conciliation in practice. There was a report that Grattan’s steward had been flogged into confession that his master was a United Irishman. Somebody expressed anxiety to Grattan about his returning, to which he replied, ‘I can have nothing to fear; I am not an opposer of all law; I do not countenance torture, flogging, free quarters, and military law.’
I have read since Xmas the D. of Marlbro’s Apology, Burnet’s History, ye XIII. Satire of Juvenal, Hearne’s Travels into N. America, Smith on ye figure and complexion of ye human species, Bancroft on dying, some desultory chemistry, Roderick Random, Lazarillo de Tormes, Leti’s Life of Sixtus V., various German and French plays, novels, and trash, Cook’s Third Voyage, Wolf’s Ceylon, part of Ulloa’s Voyage,[214] and some papers in ye memoirs of ye Exeter Society. Frequent dippings into Bayle, Montaigne, La Fontaine, Ariosto. Read ye three first books of Tasso; Ld. Orford’s works.
DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH
The Dss. of Marlborough’s vindication[215] is sure of being interesting from ye high and distinguished characters who figure in the piece—herself and sovereign. After reading her history one feels the propriety of placing her name first. She seems to have been a haughty, imperious dame, full of ambition and that love of power which she was determined to wrest by terror; for it appears that she disdained the meanness of intrigue, and when tottering in her favour submitted sooner to disgrace than owe her power to flattery. Her dominion over the mind of her mistress was that of an esprit fort sur l’esprit faible, for feeble indeed was our narrow-minded Anne.
There are stories in the Spencer family, which confirm all that her contemporaries said of the violence of her temper. She had uncommonly fine hair which her husband admired: in a fit of passion, upon his refusing her a request she made, she cut off her fine tresses and threw them in his face. One of her daughters offended her beyond her powers of pardoning; she immediately flew to a portrait of her which was near, and smeared over the features with black paint, saying, ‘Now her face is as black as her heart.’[216] Her grandson, the D. of M., ventured to differ from her in politics, owing, it was reported, to the influence of the first Ld. Holland, of whom she always used to say, ‘He is the Fox who stole my goose.’ There is a letter or two of hers preserved among the old correspondence of Ld. H. to him. The present Lord Spencer owes his fortune to an adroit joke of his ancestor Jack Spencer,[217] who recovered from her displeasure by jumping in at the window after she had foiled his entering her doors; for this she left him as much almost as she gave the D. of M. Her apology was written by Mallet or Fenton;[218] she paid him several thousands for the work.