Samuel Rogers and his Contemporaries
Lord Brougham to Samuel Rogers, 31 August 1851
‘Brougham: 31st August, 1851.
‘My dear Rogers,—I am truly obliged to you for your kind and friendly
letter, and, as you say nothing to the contrary, I conclude you are well. It is
not, however, the weather that will do either of us much good, for I have been
these last two weeks in a climate more like Christmas than the dog-days.
Nevertheless, I am going on mending, and hope to have got quite round before
the real winter comes.
‘I have been reading Barente’s “Histoire de la Convention,” and it
is very well and fairly written. I expect to have far less satisfaction from
La Martine. But my good friend
Mignet’s “History of Mary Stuart”
will tempt me on that old and beaten ground, I doubt not.
‘Glenelg, from whom I
heard lately, gave me a good account of you, and he could not have given me any
more agreeable intelligence.
‘I have just heard from the Hollands, who are taking the baths at Aix (in Savoy). They
describe the Prince of Joinville’s
coming forward1 (if he really does) as a very
1 As a candidate for the Presidency in the
election which was to have taken place in 1852. |
| LORD BROUGHAM’S LETTERS | 397 |
alarming thing to
Louis Napoleon. If the said Prince has
a chance, it is on account of the very worst defect he can have, namely, being
likely to give the army what they want—a war. Of this you may be assured.
‘Believe me, most sincerely yours,
‘Remember me most kindly to Luttrell. I hear often from Denman, who is quite well, thank God.’
Henry Peter Brougham, first baron Brougham and Vaux (1778-1868)
Educated at Edinburgh University, he was a founder of the
Edinburgh
Review in which he chastised Byron's
Hours of Idleness; he
defended Queen Caroline in her trial for adultery (1820), established the London University
(1828), and was appointed lord chancellor (1830).
Thomas Denman, first baron Denman (1779-1854)
English barrister and writer for the
Monthly Review; he was MP,
solicitor-general to Queen Caroline (1820), attorney-general (1820), lord chief justice
(1832-1850). Sydney Smith commented, “Denman everybody likes.”
Charles Grant, baron Glenelg (1778-1866)
Educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, and Lincoln's Inn, he was a member of the
Speculative Society, MP, Irish chief secretary (1818), and colonial secretary (1835),
created Baron Glenelg in 1835.
Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869)
French poet, politician, and historian; he published
Nouvelles
méditations poétiques (1820) and
Histoire des Girondins
(1847).
Henry Luttrell (1768-1851)
English wit, dandy, and friend of Thomas Moore and Samuel Rogers; he was the author of
Advice to Julia, a Letter in Rhyme (1820).
Emperor Louis Napoleon (1808-1873)
Son of Louis Bonaparte, king of Holland; he was emperor of France (1852-70).
Samuel Rogers (1763-1855)
English poet, banker, and aesthete, author of the ever-popular
Pleasures of Memory (1792),
Columbus (1810),
Jaqueline (1814), and
Italy (1822-28).
Sarah Rogers (1772-1855)
Of Regent's Park. the younger sister of the poet Samuel Rogers; she lived with her
brother Henry in Highbury Terrace.