The “Pope” of Holland House
John Whishaw to Thomas Smith, 21 July 1813
July 21, 1813.
MY DEAR SIR,—I have been some time intending to
write you a letter of thanks for your kind reception of me at Easton Grey; but I
was desirous of accompanying my acknowledgments with something that might be worth
adding to Mrs. Smith’s collection.
I have not been able to get all that I wished; but such as they
are you will, I hope, receive them safe in an office frank. I shall not omit any
opportunity of picking up any letters or signatures which may appear to be
interesting.
Tennant1 has been
some days at Cambridge
1 Smithson
Tennant, 1761-1815, Professor of Chemistry at Cambridge, was
the discoverer that the true nature of the diamond consisted of pure
carbon. |
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Madame de Staël |
to settle respecting the chemical
apparatus for his lectures. He found it necessary to stay and make some alterations
in the furnaces; and I yesterday sent him some potassium for the purpose of trying
some experiments which I hope will prove interesting.
The Edgeworths have been
succeeded in London by Madame de Staël,
whose arrival you must have seen mentioned in the papers. Her career is still more
brilliant than theirs; for she is extremely in vogue with all parties, and
especially the Ministerialists. She has also been much noticed at Court by the
Queen and the Regent, the latter of whom paid her a visit of two hours a few
mornings ago. These great distinctions are owing not to her talents or even to her
celebrity, but to her hostility towards Buonaparte, her connections with the Crown Prince of Sweden, and the decided change that has taken place
in her politics. She is violent for war, considers Lord
Castlereagh as a great statesman, and is decidedly adverse to the
Catholic claims. She says she is come to England very much for the purpose of
giving her daughter1
a religious education, and she is looking out for a clergyman of the Church of
England for that purpose.
Notwithstanding all this, which to those who know Madame de Staël’s history or have read her
works must look like grimace or hypocrisy, she is to a considerable extent
perfectly sincere in these opinions; for she is the creature of passion and
imagination and has nothing at all to do with reason. She is very good-natured, and
oc-
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Madame de Staël |
casionally, I believe, shows great kindness
and benevolence; and she has great ease and frankness in her deportment, though not
strictly good manners. Her talents in society are principally displayed in eloquent
harangues upon subjects which do not frequently occur in ordinary conversation,
such as the excellence of the British Constitution, the Divine Benevolence,
&c., &c. Though she has great success at present, it remains to be seen
whether her popularity will be lasting; for she appears to require an audience, and
to be more exigéante than is quite
consistent with the ease of freedom of society.
Queen Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1768-1821)
Married the Prince of Wales in 1795 and separated in 1796; her husband instituted
unsuccessful divorce proceedings in 1820 when she refused to surrender her rights as
queen.
Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849)
Irish novelist; author of
Castle Rackrent (1800)
Belinda (1801),
The Absentee (1812) and
Ormond (1817).
Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821)
Military leader, First Consul (1799), and Emperor of the French (1804), after his
abdication he was exiled to Elba (1814); after his defeat at Waterloo he was exiled to St.
Helena (1815).
Elizabeth Smith [née Chandler] (1767 c.-1859)
The daughter of Richard Chandler of Gloucester and wife of Thomas Smith of Easton Grey in
Wiltshire; she was a Unitarian and friend of John Whishart.
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.
Smithson Tennant (1761-1815)
Agricultural chemist educated at Christ's College, Cambridge; he was a business partner
of William Hyde Wollaston and a member of the King of Clubs and the Holland House
circle.