John Whishart: The Pope of Holland House

My Dear W.,—You will be surprised at my date, and at hearing that I have not yet reached my aphilion, so much have I miscalculated my orbit. I am in the field twelve hours every day, and have met with no impediments in my journey; but flat enclosed country so conceals everything, that you want wings or the use of the divining rod to see deeper than other people. My researches began at St. Osyth, from which I have coasted as far northward as Orford; and have come inland from Harwich to this place. I am going to Aldborough, Dunwich, Lowestoft, and Yarmouth, thence to Norwich, and then I must read my letters to see whether I can complete my intended excursion to Hunstanton or not. The whole country I have traversed is very uniform in the appearance of its surface and in its geological character. Hillocks of sand or gravel resting on an irregular base of blue clay, similar to that of London or Southend, compose the whole of the Eastern maritime district. Except where sandhills form the coast, the sea is everywhere encroaching on these perishable materials, and where there is a cliff, the air is still more destructive to the blue clay, which is full of pyritous wood, than the water. The collecting the pyrites, that is washed out of the fallen clay for the use of the vitriol makers, affords a livelihood to some of the women and children that live on the coast. They sell it at the low price of 2d. a basket of about half a cubic foot capacity. The other
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From Henry Warburton
product of this clay is the septarium, which is burnt to make Parker’s cement. The Ordnance have a very expensive apparatus with steam-engine for grinding it at Harwich. They send the cement thence to the different Government works in the kingdom. You may see the organic remains of this bed at the Society. On this coast I have not found the animals’ reliques numerous, though I believe I have obtained some that are new.

The most curious bed of this district is the gravel which covers the blue clay, and which is no other, I believe, as to the date and manner of its formation, than that which you disregard every day in Hyde Park. In some loamy varieties of this at Walton-le-Soken, I have collected some magnificent remains of the elephant, the elk, the hippopotamus, the buffalo, and the stag. You may judge that they are found pretty abundantly, by my obtaining in one day two teeth, one tusk of the elephant, three horns of the elk, one of the stag, one of the buffalo, and two jaws of the hippopotamus. Have the goodness not to talk about this to our geological friends at present, as I have set some little pensioners to work to collect for me what they may meet with, and by which I hope to make our cabinet at the G.S.1 more perfect. By the time that my present one is arranged, they will have probably found all that the beds of Walton yield, and may open the door to the public. I have found the same remains less perfect, and in fragments very numerous, in the gravel beds as far as my researches have extended north-
1 Geological Society.

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ward; but after leaving Walton they are found mixed with the great beds of marine shells, which form another important feature in the gravel. These beds of shell, or crag, as they are called, extend over the whole maritime district north of Harwich, running several miles inland, and varying from ten to a hundred feet in thickness. The shells are mostly broken, and are mixed with a red ferruginous sand. Fragments of the septaria of the subjacent blue clay, are very common in this crag, and therefore iron is probably derived from the decomposed pyrites of the clay. The crag is very extensively used in this district.

I have seen the extract from the new corn report in the newspapers, and it is very true as there stated that the state of agriculture in this district is more improved than in any other part of England. This is evident to the most careless eye. It is not, however, equal to that of the south of Scotland—longo intervallo. The proximity of the London market by means of water carriage, and the lightness of the soil, rending labour more productive, are two principal reasons for this improvement. There is very little of the appearance of the splendid opulence of the manufacturing counties: and yet a great deal of good substantial comfort. It is not a little proof of wealth that I found myself most comfortably located in all the little public-houses in which I lodged along the coast. They have lowered the price of labour 6d. per diem in many parishes in Essex. The importations from the Dutch coast of corn, meat, and poultry have been very small, although with every facility for
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From Henry Warburton
effecting them. Beef had been imported at Harwich for 6½d. the pound, and was said to be very good, but not to be well killed or clean in its appearance for the market. I did not expect to be so long engaged in this survey, but, having begun, am desirous of completing it. I fear I may have disappointed you in your hopes of a companion, whom you must secure another time before he undertakes a fortnight’s journey. I know how imprudent it is sometimes to have limited oneself to a day in these expeditions; I should have missed my elephants at Walton had I done so according to my first intention. It cost me two days to prepare the coffins for these mighty bones.

Yours,

H. W.

From H. Warburton to Mr. Whishaw.

18, Cadogan Place,
Sept., 1814.

My dear W.,—I reached Norwich on Monday evening last, where I found your three letters, which I have not answered as I returned on Tuesday morning through Bury to town; I arrived at my den last night. You will be curious to follow me from Woodbridge. I went on an etymological scent to Cretingham, in search of the boundary of the chalk; which, however, I did not find, although I discovered its rubbish. I have told you of the blue clay and the crag pit and the elephant beds which I traced in the southern part of my excursion. These were continued without much variation, with some interrup-
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tions to Yarmouth. At Southwold I found an elephant grinder; and understood that after the fall of the cliff, bones were numerous. Many of the shells of the crag pit north of Aldborough retain not only their nacre, but also their colour. But to return to my chalk rubbish. From Cretingham to Aldborough, thence to Yarmouth, all over the country south of Norwich, and thence as far south in the interior as Braintree, in Essex, the surface is covered by the rubbish of chalk, some of the organic remains of the beds immediately below the chalk being also intermixed. This rubbish about Lowestoft is nearly 100 feet thick. There is a doctrine, you know, that maintains that the earth was made like an onion, with numbers of beds lying contiguous one over the other. Their continuity has been since broken, and the lower beds have thus been disclosed. Without going to this length, it is pretty clear that these beds were once much more extensive than they are at present, and I have found the rubbish of one of them. I thought on looking at the rubbish that covers the hills in Cambridgeshire, that there had been a torrent from the west, and I am inclined from what I have seen in my last tour the more to believe it, as that is the direction in which the chalk is defective.

On a lower level, at a more remote period, and in the bed, or nearly so, to which the elephant’s bones belong, I have found, mixed with chalk, numerous fragments and boulders of primitive beds, some two feet in diameter. This about Lowestoft. In what direction these and the bones have come I cannot venture to conjecture.

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From H. Warburton

So much for Geology: for fear of missing what was curious, as no one could give me any information concerning the country I have traversed, I have been much longer about it than would otherwise have been necessary.

My praise of the agriculture of these counties ought to end with Woodbridge. Thence to Yarmouth I saw very little to admire, and much to blame. The neighbourhood of the little corporate towns seems to be always inferior to the rest of the country. The owners of the boroughs have, I suppose, more interest in the prevention than in the encouragement of wealth and population. Dunwich may vie with Old Sarum. In spite of its two members it scarcely yielded me a dinner of eggs and bacon. The number of voters is reduced to 24; a few moss-grown houses, instead of more than a hundred which it formerly contained. The sea has done much in the work of destruction, which the patrons have never wished to repair. At Yarmouth I recovered, in sight of that magnificent opulence which I had begun to forget: more visible in the suburbs than in the town, but in the town very wonderful. There are more than 250 sail of shipping in the roads, the wants of which alone would make a town. I was glad to find at Acle and at Norwich so much complaint against the steamboat, it was likely to ruin the coach trade.

For England there is a moderate appearance of wealth at Norwich. I should conceive that accident had placed the woollen trade there, and that the superior activity and power of the coal districts is causing it to decay. The Flemish refugees, you
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know, brought it there. I was rather surprised at the silence and little appearance of bustle in so great a town. It is very possible that there may be somewhat less of a disposition to spend in display their wealth among these Anglo-Belgians. I understood that the woollen trade had improved here since the peace. Send Malthus to Long Melford and Sudbury when he praises an agricultural population; except a little straw plaiting, the wants of the surrounding farmers seem alone to maintain these towns. I hardly believed that there existed such, on so great a scale so near London.

I shall call and see you to-morrow.

Yours,

H. W.

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From J. L. Mallet

From Mr. J. L. Mallet to Mr. Whishaw.

Sloane Street, Jan. 28, 1815.

My dear Sir,—I return you Lord Holland’s letter1 with many thanks for its perusal. It is with great diffidence that one ventures to differ from so good an observer and so superior a man, but I think that the bias given to his opinions by party politics is very discernible. An impartial reader would certainly conclude upon weighing Napoleon in Lord Holland’s scales, that his fall is upon the whole a loss to Europe, or at least to the countries he governed. From this conclusion I must differ.

Bonaparte’s career towards absolute despotism and corrupt government was progressive, and had made rapid strides within the last five years. The people who admired him most in France acknowledge this. Lord H.’s observations might apply with propriety to the first part of his reign, when even greater credit might be given him under one head of deserved eulogium passed in silence by his lordship; namely, his having arrested the oscillations of the French Revolution, and restored France to the benefits of a stable and regular administration. But if one is to judge of the future state of France by the experience of the last years, it was far from holding out cheering expectations to the friends of good government. A system of personal devotion to the Emperor, as unprincipled in its nature as it would have proved fateful in its consequences, was rapidly gaining ground, and was encouraged by every species
1 There is no trace of this letter in Mr. Whishaw’s papers.

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of favour. Hence the discarding of such men as Talleyrand, who were not mere tools, and the influence and authority of such a man as Count de Molé,1 whose counsels were considered as having greatly contributed to Bonaparte’s fall.

Every branch of administration felt every day more and more the effects of this system. How are we to explain otherwise the apathy of the French in the invasion of their territory?

Louis XIV. and Charles XII. were born in the lap of power, whereas Bonaparte selected his own course. To say that he was not so bad as Nero, and better than Charles XII., is really leaving the mind quite wide of the question.

Lord Holland takes no notice of Bonaparte’s antipathy to commerce, and that great feature of his government, the prohibitory system, and the means by which it was enforced. His want of good faith in financial operation, his over-reaching maxims, were totally destructive of public credit.

Whatever good effects the Revolution might have produced with regard to education and intellectual advancement, it appears to me that the system of military education universally enforced within the last ten years was to have tended materially to check them. The sameness of the education, and the narrow policy of the Government with regard to the liberty of the Press, must have had in the course of time the worst moral and intellectual effects.

1 Born 1780; died 1836. Author of “Essais de Morale et Politique,” which attracted Napoleon’s notice; in 1813 was Minister of Justice; 1836, Prime Minister of Louis Philippe.

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From J. L. Mallet

It is no great praise of any Government in France that it allowed liberty of speech. The French have always enjoyed it more or less; and the influence of liberty of speech in checking despotism and erroneous policy is not to be compared to the influence of the Press.

Lord Holland does not stoop to inquire what would have been the consequences of the consolidation under one despotic power of the immense conquests of Bonaparte, and of the assimilation of laws, institutions, and commercial and military policy in so large an extent of country. The probable consequences of such a state of things appears to me almost to decide the question. Who would not rather have lived under any of the Governments of Europe during the last century than under the best of the Roman Emperors?

I was a little surprised at the repeated mention by Lord Holland in a manner rather unqualified of the gratification of national glory, as one of the advantages of Bonaparte’s government. Too much stress is also laid upon public works, in a country where there are no cross-roads or canals.

Believe me ever yours,

J. L. Mallet.

309

1816

From Francis Horner to Mr. Whishaw.

Pisa, Dec. 24, 1816.

My dear Whishaw,—Your writing to me was an act of great kindness, for your letter gave me much gratification.

Thank you for your attention in sending me the books you mention; our correspondent at Leghorn has received notice of some packages for us, which I hope contain those you selected. I am impatient to read Mackintosh’s article1: the subject was full of topics for him, and must have given scope for his fine discrimination in the philosophy of morals and politics, as well as recalled him upon an old subject to his former copiousness of eloquence, which in his late writings he has perhaps too much restricted.

I brought Mr. Stewart’s dissertation with me, and have sent it to M. Sismondi at Peschia. Tell me something about Dumont’s2 new works, for I suppose I have no chance of seeing them till I get back to England.

1 Article in the Edinburgh Review for September 16th, on Dugald Stewart’s “Dissertation on the Progress of Philosophy and the Revival of Letters,” published 1815.

2 Etienne Dumont, author of “Souvenirs sur Mirabeau.” In 1816 he published “Tactique des Assemblies Legislatives et des Sophismes” of Jeremy Bentham. “Dumont was much more than an editor or populariser; he placed other gifts at Bentham’s disposal besides a clear style and a turn for happy illustration. Out of the chaos of manuscript confided to him ... he composed a lucid narrative. Above Dumont’s literary gifts, though great, was his enthusiasm for Bentham, who was to him a law ... his approval of his teaching was expressed in the saying, ‘C’est convainquant, c’est la verite, meme, c’est presque “Benthamique.”’” (“Dictionary of National Biography,” Jeremy Bentham.)

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From Francis Horner

I must trouble you with some messages to my friends, for I have not permission to write as many letters as I should like to do. Let Hallam know, when you see him, that I received his letter; I heard of Elmsley1 being at Florence when I first came here, and I begged Lord Carnarvon, who was going there, to inquire for him, but he could hear no tidings of him. He is probably gone to Rome, where I hope he will go to work in the Vatican. The Prussian Minister, Niebuhr, son of the traveller, has betaken himself to that most innocent branch of the diplomatic art, the exploring of ancient manuscripts, and he is said to have met with some encouragement to proceed in his search by the discovery of some fragments of the Orations of Cicero. That is not what one would have wished for first. It is said that no complete catalogue has ever been made of the MSS. in the Vatican; in other words, that they have never been all examined. Give my very kind remembrances both to Malthus and to Mackintosh, of whom I never think but with great regard and attachment.

For the last week I have kept the house on account of the coldness of the weather; I have, however, been rather better during this time than I have felt since I came here.

Yours, my dear Whishaw, Ever affectionately,

Fra. Horner.

1 Rev. Peter Elmsley (1773-1825), classical scholar, wrote for Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews. In 1823 he was made Principal of St. Alban’s Hall, Oxford, and Camden Professor of Ancient History in the University.

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1818

From Rev. Sydney Smith.

Sedegley, Jan. 7, 1818.

My dear Whishaw,—We have been at Philips’ for about a fortnight. The company who come here are chiefly Philippical, as there is an immense colony of that name in these parts. They seem all good-natured worthy people, and many of them in the Whig line. In these days, too, every lady reads a little, and there is more variety and information in every class than there was fifty years ago. About the year 1740, a manufacturer of long ells or twilled fustians must have been rather a coarse-grained fellow. It is not among gentlemen of that description I would at present look for all that is delightful in manner and conversation, but they certainly run “finer” than they did, and are (to use their own phrase) a superior article.

The acquittal of Hone gave me sincere pleasure, because I believe it proceeded in some measure from the horror and disgust which excessive punishment for libel have excited, and if jurymen take this way of expressing their disgust, judges will be more moderate. It is a rebuke, also, upon the very offensive and scandalous zeal of Lord Ellenborough, and it teaches juries their strength and importance. In short, Church and King in moderation are very good things, but we have too much of both. I presume by this time your grief at the death of the Princess1 is somewhat abated. Death in the midst of youth is always melancholy, but I cannot think it of the smallest political importance. I dread a popular
1 Princess Charlotte.

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From Sydney Smith
King, because they are always popular from some low and pernicious art, and anything which weakens the power of the crown, seems to be a good.

I am very glad the Hollands have sent Henry from home; he is a very unusual boy, and he wanted to be exposed a little more to the open air of the world.

Poor Mackintosh,1 I am heartily sorry for him, but his situation at Hertford will suit very well (pelting and contusions always excepted.) He should stipulate for pebble money, as it is there technically called, or an annual pension in case he is disabled by the pelting of the students!2

By the bye, might it not be advisable for the professors to learn the use of the sling (Balearis habena)? It would give them a great advantage over the students.

We are all perfectly well, with the usual January exceptions of colds, sore throats, rheumatism, and hoarseness.

I shall be in town in March and make some stay, but pray write to me before if you have any leisure.

Ever your sincere friend,

Sydney Smith.

1 Mackintosh was Professor of “General Polity and the Laws of England” in the European department of the East India College, Haileybury, from 1818 to 1824. He used to come down for his lectures on two days a week, and he occupied temporary rooms in the passage where Professor Johnson also had rooms close at hand. Here he often rehearsed his speeches for the House of Commons, and on one occasion after a splendid peroration, Johnson heard him finish with the comment, “The hon. gentleman resumed his seat amid loud cheers from all parts of the House.” (“Memorials of Old Haileybury College,” pp. 203-4.)

2 The College had been celebrated for its “rows” and disorder.

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1818

From Rev. Sydney Smith to Mr. Whishaw.

Foston, York, April 13, 1818.

My dear Whishaw,—I am very much obliged to you for your kind offer, I have, however, made numerous inquiries and believe I am tolerably well instructed in the ways of Westminster. If any of your friends have a son at Westminster who is a boy of conduct and parts, I should be much obliged to you to recommend Douglas to his protection. He has never been at school, and the change is greater, perhaps, than any other he will experience in his future life.

I entirely agree with you as to Brougham’s crusade in Westmoreland. I believe he was very much piqued by Lord Lonsdale when the Whigs were in power, and his hatreds are not among the least durable of his feelings.

My astonishment was very great at reading Canning’s challenge to the anonymous pamphleteer. If it were the first proof of this kind it would be sufficient to create a general distrust of his sense, prudence, and capacity for action. What sympathy can a wit by profession, a provoker and discoverer of men’s weaknesses, expect for his literary woes?

What does a politician know of his trade whom twenty years has not made pamphlet-proof? In short, such an act of absurdity and madness I have never witnessed in my time. It far exceeds the fondest wishes of Job upon the subject of writing. I cannot form a guess who has written a pamphlet that could provoke Canning to such a reply. I should scarcely
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suppose any producible person, but I have not read it, and am therefore talking at random.1

1 This pamphlet was printed in 1818, and was suppressed the day after publication. It was entitled, “A Letter to the Right Hon. George Canning.” It contained the most violent abuse of one of his speeches and denounced the utterer of it with the most furious invectives. When Canning read it, he wrote the following letter to the anonymous author, through the medium of the publisher:—

Gloucester Lodge, April 10 [1818].

Sir,—I received early in the last week, the copy of your pamphlet, which you (I take for granted) had the attention to send to me.

Soon after, I was informed, on the authority of your publisher, that you had withdrawn the whole impression from him, with the view (as was supposed) of suppressing the publication. I since learn, however, that the pamphlet, though not sold, is circulated under blank covers. I learn this from (among others) the gentleman to whom the pamphlet has been industriously attributed [Sir Philip Francis], but who has voluntarily and absolutely denied to me that he has any knowledge of it, or of its author.

To you, sir, whoever you may be, I address myself thus directly, for the purpose of expressing to you my opinion, that you are a liar and a slanderer, and want courage only to be an assassin.

I have only to add, that no man knows of my writing to you; that I shall maintain the same reserve so long as I have any expectation of hearing from you in your own name; and that I shall not give up that expectation till to-morrow (Saturday) night.

The same address which brought me your pamphlet will bring any better safe to my hands. I am, Sir, Your humble servant,

George Canning.

For the author of “A Letter to the Right Hon. George Canning.”

(Mr. Ridgway is requested to forward this letter to its destination)

Of course no answer was returned. This pamphlet was generally ascribed to Mr. Hobhouse, and in 1820 Canning on a suppositious ground of injury, heaped scorn upon scorn on “the Honourable Baronet, Sir Francis Burdett and his man,” and said that “in six months the demagogue admitted to this Assembly finds his level and shrinks to his proper dimensions” (“Life of George Canning,” by R. Bell, pp. 275-6).

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If the Hollands keep Ampthill I should doubt if they will be any richer for their legacy. The temptation I admit to be great, but they ought to resist it.

Our excellent friend Philips appears to be somewhat hasty upon the subject of the spy in the chaise drawn by the warriors, but his conduct was very manly and respectable in advocating the cause of the Democrats, who, by their knavery and folly, are very contemptible, but are not therefore to be abandoned to their oppressors.1

I have been fighting up against agricultural difficulties, and endeavouring to do well what I am compelled to do, but I believe the first receipt to farm well is to be rich. Soon after May 12th I hope to see you, and shall be happy to converse with you on the subject of our poor friend’s2 papers, though the general leaning of my mind is to leave his name where it now stands upon its political base.

Of Hallam’s labour and accuracy I have no doubt, but he has less modesty than any man I ever saw, and with talents of no very high description is very apt to attempt things much above his strength, and is wholly without any measure of himself. I like and respect Hallam as much as you do; his success will surprise me but please me very much. This opinion I write in confidence. I remain, my dear Whishaw,

Ever most truly yours,

Sydney Smith.

1 On March 5, 1818, George Philips had brought forward a motion for enquiry into the conduct of spies and informers, and a long debate ensued. It was defeated by 69 votes to 62. Mr. Philips had previously stated that a spy of the name of Dewhurst had been carried to General Byng in that officer’s carriage, but he now acknowledged that the statement was incorrect.

2 Francis Horner.

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From Lady Mackintosh

From Lady Mackintosh to Mr. Whishaw.

No date.

Dear Mr. Whishaw,— * * * I was very glad to find by the papers last night that all was quiet at Constantinople four days after the account of the battle of Navarino had arrived there. Is it possible that Lord Grey means to head the opposition against his old friends, and that they are to make their first attack on the ground of this battle? I can’t think it possible. How I should have liked Lord Lansdowne to have been in Lord Goderich’s place.1 How came that not to be? When, months before Canning was Prime Minister, Lord L. was talked of for that place, though Lord G. never, though no doubt a very able man. If that friend had been in his place I should have confidently looked for the salvation of Ireland, which I verily believe is necessary to the stability of England. But there is surely some fatality attending that unhappy country, and every measure in regard to it. Can Lord Anglesey be thought a good Governor for it in its diseased and wretched state? Is he not a man, from the irregularity of his passions and his stern temper, likely enough to introduce triangles and tortures and all the etceteras of that iniquitous Government which we were obliged to cover with a Bill of Indemnity? What I have most interesting at this moment to tell you, I have kept to the last, because I should not have been able to have written on any subject afterwards.
1 Lord Goderich resigned on January 9, 1828, owing to differences with his colleagues as to Admiral Codrington’s action at Navarino. He was succeeded by the Duke of Wellington.

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We had last night from my sister1 the melancholy intelligence of poor M. de Staël’s2 death; she and M. Sismondi are quite overwhelmed with grief, and never was any loss so mourned. His gentleness and kindness of disposition and temper, his upright views and generous feelings on public questions, formed altogether a most endearing character. His unhappy wife is near her confinement. As she had the greatest admiration of her excellent husband, her affliction and that of the Duke and Duchess of Broglie will be very great.

I wish you would have the kindness to send this sad account to Mr. Brougham from me. I am sure he will feel for him, who admired England so much. You will direct your next to Ampthill, from whence it will be forwarded to me.

Ever most sincerely yours,

C. M.

1 Madame Sismondi. 2 Son of Madame de Staël.

318

From Hallam

From Mr. Hallam to Mr. Whishaw.

Rome, April 28, 1828.

My dear Whishaw,—Murray’s apologies would be more satisfactory if I could reconcile them with the rest of his behaviour. But he has not written to me, though he evidently told you that he would do so; and under all the circumstances this is really an unparalleled neglect. Were it a mere matter of business as to the publication of the octavo edition and the sale of the present, I might expect to be consulted by my publisher; much more by a person who professes to value my acquaintance, after what he admits himself, gives me a strong prima facie ground of complaint against him. I am also much dissatisfied at the delay in printing the second edition. It was commenced as early as last April; and Taylor had the whole corrected copy in his hands before I left England in August. It is plain that Murray must purposely have checked him. Pray do not give yourself so much trouble about my affairs as to correct the proofs; this ought not to be required if the printer is tolerably careful; and I shall arrive in England in time, I hope, to put forth the edition early in the summer. What you tell me of M.’s subjection to Lockhart had occurred to me, and is probably in great part true; though I can hardly think he can have lost the power of remonstrance in such a case as the present. This is like what sometimes happens in the management of private property, a weak man employs a very cunning one, and ends by being in the power of his own agent. Murray took Lockhart just as you
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would take your servant, though probably with a worse character; it was one of his very silly speculations, and he expected wonders from the support of Scott. I believe, however, that the Review is declining, and such articles as Southey’s will not restore it. I shall certainly (unless my friends in England advise the contrary) limit myself to a few pages prefixed to the second edition. From some expressions of yours, I judge that others as well as the Quarterly reviewers take exception to some of my opinions. These, I presume, are almost entirely ecclesiastical objections, for I think real Tory doctrines do not at all prevail among the laity. I have not the slightest alarm about my ultimate success. The slow sale I attribute chiefly to the high price, which was owing to Murray, and to the general expectation that an octavo edition would be published. I had calculated that by far the greater part of the quarto edition of my former work must be in private libraries, and that the owners would wish to add the present in the same form, but probably the book clubs had taken a larger proportion than I had supposed.

Guizot, I am told, is translating the whole work with notes, which I hold no slight honour. I am also reviewed in a new journal, La Revue Universelle, so that I really have much more honour out of my country than in it. I am sorry for Macaulay’s inability to finish his critique, which would better have fallen to Empson.

Nothing could give me more unexpected pleasure than the repeal of the Test Act, chiefly as it most essentially affects the Catholic question. I believe
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From Hallam
some of the bishops, &c., fancy they shall now have a stronger support of the dissenters on that point; but it is evident that the Houses see it differently. They are aristocratic assemblies, and have always had a greater dislike, if not a greater jealousy, of the dissenters than of the others.

I am, in somewhat a less degree, but still very much delighted with the Manchester Bill.1 This House of Commons is really an excellent one. I fear, however, that the present Cabinet will be as little able to master the Tories in one House as the Whigs in another. This is, I expect, the opening of a new era in our Constitution, and of such a collision between the aristocratic and popular parties as has hitherto been prevented by the strength of Government. A strong Government we neither have nor shall again see—at least, unless more commanding talents should appear than seem to be producible at present. The Corn Law is, on the other hand, a complete triumph of the aristocracy, and makes Huskisson pass sub jugo.

Foreign affairs are, as you say, immensely embarrassing; but I cannot blame Canning about Portugal.2 On the other hand, the present men, by giving way to Miguel’s usurpation, have exchanged an ancient ally
1 The Manchester Bill, 1828, was for transferring from the borough of Penryn in Cornwall to the town of Manchester the right of returning two members to Parliament. Under the auspices of Lord John Russell it passed through the Commons, but was negatived without a division in the Lords on June 20, 1828.
2 In 1824 the King of Portugal had applied to England for assistance. Canning was unwilling to send troops to Lisbon, but thought a squadron might be sent to the Tagus; by this means he frustrated the coup d’état planned by Don Miguel, the son of the Queen of Spain.

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for an interested enemy, and lowered the dignity of Britain all over Europe. Perhaps they could have done nothing, which I own seems rather a military question; for if we were strong enough, I really think we should have been warranted in seizing the persons of Miguel and his mother; and yet I am much for the law of nations, and did not like the Greek treaty, as I have told you before. As it is we must not dream of interfering against Russia. Perhaps the duty of her possessing Constantinople has been overrated, as dangers from abroad usually are. Her Empire is already unwieldy, and if a younger branch should reign in Turkey, as will probably be preferred, it may not in the long run be injurious to the rest of Europe. At all events we cannot prevent it without exciting a war that may be almost as long as the last.

Yours most truly,

H. H.

From Mr. Hallam to Mr. Whishaw.

Munich, June 2, 1828.

My dear Whishaw,—I was not without hopes of finding a letter here from you, but you have really been so very kind in writing frequently and fully that I shall have felt almost ashamed of the trouble I caused you.

I received one at Florence, and thank you for the information it contained. English politics seem to be in a strange state, and this resignation of Huskisson, of which the newspapers have been so full, must totally unsettle the hopes of the Government. I
322
From Hallam
expect to find a good deal of depression as to the prospects of the country, which, in truth, are far from encouraging, though our stockholders seem to act as if they thought the contrary; yet I cannot help hoping that the Catholic question is in a more favourable wind than it has hitherto been. It seems evidently impossible to form a Cabinet possessing general confidence, or with any tolerable union among its Ministers, until this important point is settled. Whatever might have been done by the established influence of Lord Liverpool, no other man will hold together a set of persons pledged to the most opposite opinions on a subject perpetually varying, and a merely anti-Catholic Ministry could not probably exist long. Except those already on the stage, there are no men of the least eminence to take up that side. Meanwhile, the delay is so mischievous that, when at length the concession is made, it will perhaps do far less good than its advocates anticipated, and certainly will not prevent now, whatever it might have done at the Union, a struggle against the preponderance of the Irish Church. I fear, indeed, that the original wrong of that establishment against the wishes and wants of the people, like West Indian slavery, cannot be atoned by any reparation that we know how to make. Though in both instances, I am too timid a politician not to acquiesce in the convenient maxim, Fieri non debuit, factum valet. As to the repeal of the Test, it is only good if it tends to the relief of the Catholics, as I think it must; for if the latter perceive that they alone are prohibited as an odious class, while the abstract principle of Church
323
1828
ascendancy is given up, it can only exasperate them to fury, and turn the question still more into a theological one than it has most absurdly been made at present.

Very truly yours,

H. Hallam.

324

From Lady Mackintosh

From Lady Mackintosh to Mr. Whishaw.

Chene, Nov. 12, 1829.

Dear Mr. Whishaw,—You were the only English person I sought in Paris, and I was sorry not to find you. I looked out for you in the sunny part of the garden of the Thuilleries which they call “Provence,” as the only place in which I had any hopes of meeting you. I lodged latterly at a hotel facing the gardens of the Luxemburg, where there was no chance of finding you. Yesterday we dined and talked much of you with your friend Madame Achard. I was glad to see the interior of a Swiss family en famille, for days of state are the same, or nearly so, in every country and house, and I was pleased to see a pretty little girl placed in a vacant seat at the bottom of the table, break a glass with the best grace imaginable without having her nerves in the least way affected by the accident, as it was a proof how tenderly she had been brought up.

I saw no person of any consequence in Paris but the celebrated Abbé Grégoire,1 who in his 84th year is a most remarkable person, and seems as if he were waiting for another Revolution. Whatever he really was in the last, he seems now to be purified into an
1 Bishop of Blois, b. 1750, d. 1831. Was among the first of the clergy to swear fidelity to the Constitution. He distinguished himself in the Constituent Assembly by the boldness of his opinions regarding both civil and religious liberty. During the Reign of Terror he stood forward as the supporter of religion. He opposed the accession of Napoleon. On the restoration of the Bourbons he was excluded from the Institute and deprived of his bishopric. He was the author of many historical and political essays.

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1829
excellent man. But the occasion of my renewed acquaintance with him was not on account of his talents or virtue, but of that of an intemperate sally of mine towards him when we visited Paris during the Peace of Amiens, which he might well have taken for a singular impertinence in such a one as myself. He seemed to have forgotten my offence, but I never have, through all the years that have succeeded it, and I have been as much gratified by his forgiveness as by his conversation.

The Marquis de Lafayette was coming to call on me the day I changed my lodgings from the Hôtel Britannique to that of the Luxemburg, owing to which I am afraid I lost seeing him. He is infinitely more talked of, and I believe more thought of, than Charles X. or any of his family. They might still be at Hartwell for any sensation that their presence at Paris occasions. The very people that crowd the Gardens of the Thuilleries seem not to know whether they are there or not, till they look up to see if the white flag is waving.

From the appearance of the ill-looking men, of by no means the lower sort, which gather in knots all over the gardens and galleries of the Palais Royal, calling for and seeming to devour with intense interest the Opposition papers, one might augur anything but a peaceful parliamentary session in Paris, and some pains are said to be taken on the pretence of the Hall of Chamber of Deputies wanting repairs to prevent its meeting at all; at any rate, I think your session of Parliament is likely to be more quiet. Since the Times has absconded from the popular and generous
326
From Lady Mackintosh
side in foreign politics, it is in vain to think of its being upheld to any purpose in or out of Parliament. You may easily imagine how the conduct of the English Government is reprobated here and generally through the Continent. Nothing is more worthy, certainly, of astonishment than its conduct for the last two years, without it is that of the Russian Emperor’s moderation. But it is too early perhaps to write of these matters, some lovers of liberty and the human race may yet get up in both your Houses of Parliament, if it meets soon enough, to advocate these sound causes, and prevent the countries which have just been emancipated from being thrown back into the hands of the cruel and treacherous Mahomed, whom the Times is pleased to designate as unfortunate only.

At this distance from London I was rejoiced to see announced and praised the pamphlet of Mr. Gally Knight,1 which the Times so unwillingly praises, the quotations from which is the only part of it I have yet seen.

It is a great pity that some of our distinguished young Englishmen were not here this autumn to make a conquest of a Mademoiselle Klustine, a young Russian lady of high rank and great fortune and still more remarkable accomplishments, whose conversation bewitched all the learned professors here.

You have heard, of course, of the noble offer of M. Eynard, on the refusal of the French of the Greek
1 Henry Gally Knight, a country gentleman of great wealth and still remembered for his works on architecture, published a letter to Lord Aberdeen on his foreign policy. His “Oriental Tales” exposed him to the satiric strokes of Byron.

327
1829
loan, to advance the whole of the money himself, if the French Government would allow him the means of transporting it. How such an instance of generosity makes one long to be rich!

Did you observe the remarkable advertisement in the French papers, about a month ago, as coming from a person who was the next heir to a great personage; which was said at Paris to be from a daughter of the late Duke and Duchess of Orleans who was exchanged immediately after her birth for a male child, the present Duke? I was much struck by it, as it seemed a facsimile of the story current about the Duke of Devonshire.

I heard since I came here an anecdote about our lamented friend Dumont which gave me great consolation on his account, and is calculated to give pleasure to all who tenderly regret him, as we and so many others do. When he made his will, three years ago, he began it by thanking the Almighty for his long and happy life, which had been alternately cheered by the delights of study and by constant intercourse with so many beloved friends. Tell Miss Fox of this, with kind remembrance at little Holland House.

Our best wishes attend you.
Ever yours,

C. M.

328

From J. L. Mallet

From Mr. J. L. Mallet to Mr. Whishaw.

Malvern, Sept. 8, 1831.

My dear Whishaw,—The Times has taken up some clauses of the Reform Bill, the division of counties, and the giving votes to the tenants-at-will who occupy land or houses of the value at least £50 a year, with an extraordinary degree of violence, and has done its best to damage the whole measure in public opinion. I do not know a more capricious and unprincipled paper. The Bill, however, proceeds, and will get through the Commons in the early part of the ensuing week, and the quiet manner in which it has gone through the Commons (at least this session) is mainly due to Lord Althorp’s admirable temper and quiet good sense. He received last week a most flattering tribute of respect as to the conciliatory manner in which he had conducted the discussions from Peel and Wynne and several other members.

I am not sure that Brougham’s transference to the other House, notwithstanding his superiority and great talents, has been advantageous on the whole: and I am afraid that his sarcastic manner and Lord Grey’s irritable disposition will prove very formidable circumstances in the Lords: irritate the Opposition, and irritate the public against the Peers. Not a word calculated to excite angry feelings has escaped Lord Althorp.

You will see the list of the Commissioners who are to report on the division of counties, and on the districts to be allotted to boroughs. Abercromby is at
329
1831
the head; Gilbert,1 Littleton,2 and, very odd to say, Hallam are three of the principal persons; John Romilly, young Ord, Bellenden Ker, young Drinkwater,3 are among the members: I do not know, but it appears to me that Bentham’s laboratory and the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge have furnished no inconsiderable quota.

Speaking of Bentham, there was a letter from him in the Courier newspaper some days ago animadverting on a criticism in the Spectator on Bowring’s4 report on French finances. I had suggested to Huskisson, when he was Secretary of State, some enquiry on this subject, and it appears from Bentham’s letter that he followed it up, and that when at Paris he had endeavoured to get some information as to French accounts. But, says Bentham, “Huskisson was all stiffness, haughtiness, coldness, and repulsive, and did not succeed. Bowring is all attractive.”

There is a pamphlet of Senior’s on the subject of Irish affairs, particularly with reference to the Poor Laws, which I have not seen, but which has been
1 Davies Gilbert, M.P., of Cornwall.
2 First Lord Hatherton.
3 J. E. Drinkwater Bethune, well-known counsel to the Home Office and member of the Supreme Council.
4 Sir John Bowring (1792-1872), an intimate friend of Bentham. In 1828 was appointed Commissioner for reforming the system of keeping public accounts. His appointment was cancelled by the Duke of Wellington. In 1831 was associated with Sir H. Parnell in the duty of examining and reporting on the public accounts of France, and appointed Secretary of the Commission for inspecting the accounts of the United Kingdom. This Commission was the foundation of all the improvements since made. (“Dic. Nat. Biography.”)

330
From J. L. Mallet
a good deal read and animadverted on in the Times and Chronicle, both of which papers will hear of nothing but Poor Laws. Senior has severely criticised Dr. Doyle’s evidence and publications, which are chiefly remarkable for eloquent declamations and mistaken philanthropy; and no doubt the Doctor will reply and lay it on the economists. The most unexpected part of Senior’s panacea for Ireland is the decapitation of the Irish Church and the transferring of the revenues of five or six sees to the support of the Catholic clergy. This coming from Oxford has made people stare; and Stanley took an early opportunity of protesting in the House against the appropriation of any of the revenues of the Church to any save Church purposes.1

I am always truly yours,

J. L. Mallet.

1 This refers to Senior’s “Letter to Lord Howick on a legal provision for the Irish poor, commutation of Tithes and a provision for the Irish R.C. Clergy.” In it he suggests that eighteen out of twenty-two existing sees should be suppressed. Dr. Doyle was the R.C. Bishop of Kildare who wrote under the initials J. K. L., in support of a legal provision for the poor.

331

1840

From Rev. Sydney Smith to Mr. Whishaw:

Combe Flory, Aug. 26, 1840.

My dear Whishaw,—I read the death of the Bishop of Chichester1 with sincere regret; a thoroughly good and amiable man, and as liberal as a bishop is permitted to be. I am much obliged to you for mentioning those circumstances which marked his latter end, and made the spectacle less appalling to those who witnessed it.

Modest Milnes2 has been here, and left a deep impression of his diffidence on us all; to him succeeded our friend Mrs. Grote, who is now here and very agreeable.

I send you by this post my letter to the Bishop of London. It will not escape you that the “King of Clubs” was long in a state of spiritual destitution, as were the Edinburgh reviewers—all except me.

Mrs. Sydney is much better than she was this time last year. The ventilation she got at Brighton still continues to minister to her health.

I am scarcely ever free from gout, and am still more afflicted with asthma, but keep up my spirits and laugh a good deal. I am truly glad to hear such good accounts of your health, and

Remain, dear Whishaw,
Ever sincerely and affectionately yours,

Sydney Smith.

1 Bishop Otter. 2R. Monckton Milnes (Lord Houghton).

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Miguel I, King of Portugal (1802-1866) The absolutist king of Portugal who reigned from 1828 to 1834; he spent the remainder of his life living as an exile in Germany.

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Louis-Mathieu, comte Molé (1781-1855) French statesman who served under Napoleon and was prime minister under Louis Philippe; he was elected to the Académie française.

John Murray II (1778-1843) The second John Murray began the Quarterly Review in 1809 and published works by Scott, Byron, Austen, Crabbe, and other literary notables.

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Nero, emperor of Rome (37-68) Roman emperor (54-68) who made Christians scapegoats for the disastrous fire of 64 AD.

Barthold Georg Niebuhr (1776-1831) The son of the cartographer Carsten Neibuhr, he was a Danish-German statesman and historian of classical Rome.

William Ord (1781-1855) Of Whitfield Hall, Northumberland; he was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and was MP for Morpeth (1802-32) and Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1835-52).

Louise Marie Adélaïde, duchesse de Orléans (1753-1821) The daughter of Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre; in 1769 she married the duke of Orléans, the regicide Philippe Égalité.

William Otter, bishop of Chichester (1768-1840) Educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, where he befriended Thomas Malthus, he was appointed by Lord Melbourne to the bishopric of Chichester in 1836. Sydney Smith described him as “a thoroughly good and amiable man, and as liberal as a bishop is permitted to be.”

Henry William Paget, first marquess of Anglesey (1768-1854) Originally Bayly, educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford; he was MP (1790-1810), commander of cavalry under Sir John Moore, lost a leg at Waterloo, and raised to the peerage 1815; he was lord-lieutenant of Ireland (1828-29, 1830-33).

Thomas Paine (1737-1809) English-born political radical; author of Common Sense (1776), The Rights of Man (1791), and The Age of Reason (1794).

Henry Brooke Parnell, first Baron Congleton (1776-1842) The son of Sir John Parnell, second baronet; he was Whig MP for Queen's County (1802, 1806-32), Portarlington (1802), Dundee (1832-41); he held high government offices and wrote on economics.

Sir Robert Peel, second baronet (1788-1850) Byron's schoolmate at Harrow, afterwards prime minister from 1834-1835 and 1841-1846.

Henry Pelham (1694-1754) English statesman sometimes aligned with Sir Robert Walpole; he was prime minister 1743-1754.

Edward Pellew, first viscount Exmouth (1757-1833) Naval hero; he was commander in chief of the East Indies (1804), of the Mediterranean (1811), and bombarded Algiers (1816).

Spencer Perceval (1762-1812) English statesman; chancellor of the exchequer (1807), succeeded the Duke of Portland as prime minister (1809); he was assassinated in the House of Commons.

Sir George Philips, first baronet (1766-1847) Textile magnate and Whig MP; in addition to his mills in Staffordshire and Lancashire he was a trading partner with Richard “Conversation” Sharp. He was created baronet in 1828.

John Pitt, second earl of Chatham (1756-1835) The eldest son of the elder Pitt and favourite of George III; as lieutenant-general he led the Walcheren expedition (1809).

William Pitt the elder, first earl of Chatham (1708-1778) English statesman whose prudent management was often politically unpopular.

Richard Porson (1759-1808) Classical scholar and Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge (1792); he edited four plays of Euripides.

James Ridgway (1745-1838) London bookseller who began trading in 1784; he was imprisoned in 1793 for printing Thomas Paine's Rights of Man.

Frederick John Robinson, first earl of Ripon (1782-1859) Educated at Harrow and St. John's College, Cambridge, he was a Tory MP for Carlow (1806-07) and Ripon (1807-27), Chancellor of the Exchequer (1823-27), and prime minister (1827-28) in succession to Canning.

John Romilly, first baron Romilly (1802-1874) English judge, the son of Sir Samuel Romilly; educated at Trinity College, he was MP for Bridport (1832-35) and master of the rolls (1851).

Sir Samuel Romilly (1757-1818) Reformer of the penal code and the author of Thoughts on Executive Justice (1786); he was a Whig MP and Solicitor-General who died a suicide.

John Russell, first earl Russell (1792-1878) English statesman, son of John Russell sixth duke of Bedford (1766-1839); he was author of Essay on the English Constitution (1821) and Memoirs of the Affairs of Europe (1824) and was Prime Minister (1865-66).

James Scarlett, first baron Abinger (1769-1844) English barrister and politician educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and the Inner Temple; he was a Whig MP (1819-34) who served as attorney-general in the Canning and Wellington ministries.

John Scott, first earl of Eldon (1751-1838) Lord chancellor (1801-27); he was legal counsel to the Prince of Wales and an active opponent of the Reform Bill.

Sir Walter Scott, baronet (1771-1832) Scottish poet, novelist, antiquary, biographer, editor, and sheriff.

Nassau William Senior (1790-1864) Professor of political economy at Oxford (1825-30) and author of Outline of the Science of Political Economy (1836). He contributed to the Quarterly Review and Edinburgh Review.

Jessica de Sismondi [née Allen] [Jessie] (1777-1853) The daughter of John Bartlett Allen of Cresselly; in 1819 she married the French historian Léonard Simond de Sismondi; two of her sisters married Wedgewoods, a third Sir James Mackintosh. She corresponded with Emma Darwin.

Léonard Simond de Sismondi (1773-1842) Swiss historian of Italian origin; author of L'Histoire des républiques italiennes du Moyen-Age (1809-18).

Catharine Amelia Smith [née Pybus] (1768-1852) The daughter of John Pybus, English ambassador to Ceylon; in 1800 she married Sydney Smith, wit and writer for the Edinburgh Review.

Douglas Smith (1804-1829) The eldest son of Sydney Smith; educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford, he died while a student at the Inner Temple.

Sydney Smith (1771-1845) Clergyman, wit, and one of the original projectors of the Edinburgh Review; afterwards lecturer in London and one of the Holland House denizens.

John Somers, baron Somers (1651-1716) Whig politician, member of the Kit-Kat Club, friend of Addison, Steele, and Swift; he was lord chancellor (1697).

Nicholas Soult (1769-1851) Marshal of France and commander in the Peninsular War.

Robert Southey (1774-1843) Poet laureate and man of letters whose contemporary reputation depended upon his prose works, among them the Life of Nelson, 2 vols (1813), History of the Peninsular War, 3 vols (1823-32) and The Doctor, 7 vols (1834-47).

John Charles Spencer, third earl Spencer (1782-1845) English politician, son of the second earl (d. 1834); educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge, he was Whig MP for Northamptonshire (1806-34) and chancellor of the exchequer and leader of the lower house under Lord Grey (1830).

Auguste Louis, baron de Staël-Holstein (1790-1827) The child of Madame de Staël, thought to be illegitimate; he inherited her husband's title in 1802.

Germaine de Staël (1766-1817) French woman of letters; author of the novel Corinne, ou L'Italie (1807) and De l'Allemagne (1811); banned from Paris by Napoleon, she spent her later years living in Germany, Britain, and Switzerland.

Charles Stanhope, third earl of Harrington (1753-1829) Tory Peer and general who succeeded his father as earl in 1779 having won distinction in the American war; he was commander-in-chief in Ireland, 1805-12.

Charles Stanhope, third earl Stanhope (1753-1816) Whig MP and inventor; he was the father of Lady Hester Stanhope. George Dyer tutored his children.

Edward John Stanley, second baron Stanley (1802-1869) The son of John Thomas Stanley, first Baron Stanley, educated at Christ Church, Oxford; he was Whig MP for Hindon (1831), North Cheshire (1832-41, 1847-48), raised to the peerage as baron Eddisbury (1848), president of the Board of Trade (1855-58) and postmaster-general (1860-66).

Dugald Stewart (1753-1828) Professor of moral philosophy at Edinburgh University (1785-1809); he was author of Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind (1792-93).

Thomas Sydenham (1780-1816) Educated at Harrow and Christ Church, Oxford, he was a diplomat in India and Persia before serving under Wellington during the Peninsular War.

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754-1838) French diplomat; he was foreign minister under Napoleon.

Tippoo Sahib (1750-1799) Son of Hyder Ali and maharajah of Mysore; he fought with the French against Lord Cornwallis in 1792.

Nicholas Vansittart, first Baron Bexley (1766-1851) Educated at Christ Church, Oxford, he was a Pittite MP for Hastings (1796-1802), Old Sarum (1802-12), East Grinstead (1812), and Harwich (1812-23); he was Chancellor of the exchequer (1812-23).

Victor Emmanuel, King of Sardinia (1759-1824) The second son of King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia; he was king of Sardinia from 1802 to 1821.

Constantin François, comte de Volney (1757-1820) Oriental traveler, historian and member of the Académie française. He wrote Les Ruines, ou méditations sur les révolutions des empires (1791).

Henry Warburton [Eliot Warburton] (1784-1858) Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, he was a Radical MP for Bridport in Dorset (1826-41) who took an interest in bodysnatching.

Arthur Wellesley, first duke of Wellington (1769-1852) Soldier and statesman; commander in the Peninsular Campaign (1809-1813), he defeated Napoleon at Waterloo and was prime minister (1828-1830).

Richard Wellesley, first marquess Wellesley (1760-1842) The son of Garret Wesley (1735-1781) and elder brother of the Duke of Wellington; he was Whig MP, Governor-general of Bengal (1797-1805), Foreign Secretary (1809-12), and Lord-lieutenant of Ireland (1821-28); he was created Marquess Wellesley in 1799.

Thomas Wentworth, first earl of Strafford (1593-1641) English statesman; a favorite of Charles I, he was lord deputy of Ireland (1632) before he was impeached and executed on Tower Hill, 11 May 1641.

John Whishaw (1764 c.-1840) Barrister, educated at Trinity College, Cambridge; he was Secretary to the African Association and biographer of Mungo Park. His correspondence was published as The “Pope” of Holland House in 1906.

William III, king of England (1650-1702) King of England (1689-1702); succeeded James II in the Glorious Revolution.

George Wilson (1751 c.-1816) Born in Aberdeen and educated at Lincoln's Inn, he was a barrister on the Norfolk Circuit and close friend of Jeremy Bentham.

Charles Watkin Williams Wynn (1775-1850) The son of Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, fourth baronet; educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford, Robert Southey's friend and benefactor was a Whig MP for Old Sarum (1797) and Montgomeryshire (1799-1850). He was president of the Board of Control (1822-28).

Philip Yorke, first earl of Hardwicke (1690-1764) English politician and jurist aligned with Robert Walpole and the Duke of Newcastle; he was lord chancellor from 1737.

Asiatic Researches. 20 vols (1799-1839).

The Courier. (1792-1842). A London evening newspaper; the original proprietor was James Perry; Daniel Stuart, Peter Street, and William Mudford were editors; among the contributors were Samuel Taylor Coleridge and John Galt.

The Edinburgh Review, or Critical Journal. (1802-1929). Founded by Francis Jeffery, Sydney Smith, and Henry Brougham, the Edinburgh Review was for decades a principal organ of Whig opinion in Britain.

Morning Chronicle. (1769-1862). James Perry was proprietor of this London daily newspaper from 1789-1821; among its many notable poetical contributors were Coleridge, Southey, Lamb, Rogers, and Campbell.

The Quarterly Review. (1809-1967). Published by John Murray, the Quarterly was instigated by Walter Scott as a Tory rival to the Edinburgh Review. It was edited by William Gifford to 1824, and by John Gibson Lockhart from 1826 to 1853.

The Spectator. (1828-). A London weekly edited by Robert Stephen Rintoul, 1828-58.

The Times. (1785-). Founded by John Walter, The Times was edited by Thomas Barnes from 1817 to 1841. In the romantic era it published much less literary material than its rival dailies, the Morning Chronicle and the Morning Post.

Dictionary of National Biography. 66 vols (London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1885-1901). Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee.

Memorials of old Haileybury College. (Westminster: A. Constable and Company, 1894). Written by multiple contributors.

Robert Bell (1800-1867) The Life of Rt. Hon. George Canning. (London: Chapman and Hall, 1846).

Étienne-Pierre-Louis Dumont (1759-1829) Recollections of Mirabeau, and of the two first Legislative Assemblies of France. (London: E. Bull, 1832).

Mountstuart Elphinstone (1779-1859) The History of India. 2 vols (London: J. Murray, 1841).

Henry Hallam (1777-1859) The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. 2 vols (London: John Murray, 1827).

John Cam Hobhouse, baron Broughton (1786-1869) Fairburn's Genuine Edition of the Suppressed Letter to the Right Honourable George Canning: (printed verbatim from the original copy,) to which are added Mr. Canning's Letter to the Author; the Author's Reply, &c. &c.. (London: John Fairburn, 1818). The suppressed pamphlet was also reprinted in the Examiner.

Peter King, seventh baron King (1775-1833) Thoughts on the Restriction of Payments in Specie at the Banks of England and Ireland. (London: Cadell and Davies, and J. Debrett, 1803).

Henry Gally Knight (1786-1846) Eastern Sketches in Verse. (London: J. Murray, 1819). A collection of three oriental tales: "Phrosyne," "Alashtar," and "Ilderim."

Henry Gally Knight (1786-1846) A Letter addressed to the Earl of Aberdeen, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. (London: J. Ridgway, 1829). There was a reply from the earl.

Thomas Babington Macaulay, baron Macaulay (1800-1859) “Hallam's Constitutional History” in Edinburgh Review. Vol. 48 (September 1828): 96-169.

Sir James Mackintosh (1765-1832) “Stewart's Introduction to the Encyclopaedia” in Edinburgh Review. Vol. 27 (September 1816): 180-244.

Sir John Malcolm (1769-1833) The History of Persia, from the most early Period to the present Time: containing an Account of the Religion, Government, Usages, and Character of the Inhabitants of that Kingdom. 2 vols (London: J. Murray, 1815).

Louis-Mathieu, comte Molé (1781-1855) Essais de morale et de politique. (Paris: Nicolle, 1806).

Nassau William Senior (1790-1864) A Letter to Lord Howick on a Legal Provision for the Irish poor, Commutation of Tithes, and a Provision for the Irish Roman Catholic Clergy. (London: J. Murray, 1831).

Robert Southey (1774-1843) “Hallam's Constitutional History of England” in Quarterly Review. Vol. 37 (January 1828): 194-260.

Dugald Stewart (1753-1828) Dissertation First: exhibiting a General View of the Progress of Metaphysical, Ethical and Political Philosophy. ([Edinburgh]: 1815). From the preface to the Encylopedia Britannica.

Constantin François, comte de Volney (1757-1820) Recherches nouvelles sur l'histoire ancienne. (Paris: Courcier, 1814-15). In three parts.

INFORMATION FROM TEI HEADER

Source Description:

Author: Whishaw, J. (John), 1764 or 5-1840

Title: The “Pope” of Holland House: Selections from the Correspondence of John Whishaw and his Friends 1813-1840 (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1906).

Electronic Edition:

Series: Lord Byron and his Times: http://lordbyron.org

Encoding Description: Any dashes occurring in line breaks have been removed. Obvious and unambiguous compositors’ errors have been silently corrected.

Markup and editing by: David Hill Radcliffe

Completed April 2011

Publication Statement:

Publisher: Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Tech

Availability: Published under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License