Charles Philip Yorke, Fourth Earl of Hardwicke, Vice Admiral R.N. by Lady Biddulph of Ledbury
L >>
Lady Biddulph of Ledbury >> Charles Philip Yorke, Fourth Earl of Hardwicke, Vice Admiral R.N.
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 | 12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18
'Our voyage was too good a one to produce any anecdote worth relating.
As I passed the bar I remembered that I was indebted to its broken waves
for my present station. The King spoke to me of Royston's death; he was
at Memel when it happened and remembered all the circumstances of it. He
knew Mrs. Potter very well. We start to-morrow on our way to Silesia,
our first day's journey is to Tilsit....
'CHARLES.'
* * * * *
ERDSMANSDORFF: July 27.
'I arrived here last night about six o'clock after a prosperous journey
of four days and one night from Konigsberg, from which place my last
letter is dated. The Queen is just arrived, the King is expected about
four in the afternoon. From Memel to this place the whole country is
flat and tame. Erdsmansdorff is situated at the foot of a large mountain
that separates Silesia from Bohemia, called Riesengeberg, which means
"Great Mountain"; the chief of the chain is opposite my windows, the
highest in Germany, being 4983 feet above the level of the sea. The
outline of this chain is undulating but not bold. The valley is lovely,
and the King is building a house here; the grounds are partially laid
out, we are living in a building which will form a part of the offices
of the new house. My apartment is on the ground floor, and the King and
Queen are above me. The people are an industrious race. Here is a colony
of Tyrolese the King received and gave lands to; they were persecuted by
the Catholics on the other side of the mountains, and he said, "Come
here, and I will give you rest." So here they are 300, and have built
themselves houses after the fashion of their country, which has much
added to the beauty and picturesqueness of this land.
'I cannot say how well I am treated everywhere, you cannot conceive the
civility and attention that I have received from all and everyone, poor
and rich, a proof how much the King is loved; for the poor know me as
the King's friend.
'I must now go back a little to Konigsberg and say something of the
Palace of that place. It is a most ancient structure of enormous size,
being built round a quadrangle with round towers at the corners. It is
not beautiful, but ancient and large, towers above all other buildings,
and stands on the edge of a hill that overlooks a great part of the
town.
'The town of Konigsberg was once the capital of Prussia proper, and a
long time the residence of the electors of Brandenburg. It is the third
city in the Prussian dominions and contains 70,000 inhabitants. It is
not fortified, but is going to be.
'After the battle of Jena, the Royal Family of Prussia took shelter in
this town, the present King being then twelve years old. The Palace is
now chiefly used for provincial offices, and a suite of apartments is
kept furnished for the King. There are some very ancient archives kept
here which must contain a fund of interest; I looked at several letters
from our Sovereigns both of the Plantagenet and Tudor line to the
Teutonic Grand Masters, thanking them for falcons sent from Prussia.
'As I told you, I was to go in search of an elk and kill one if I could.
Accordingly I started at 3 P.M., accompanied by the master of the
forest, to a forest about seven English miles from the town, and without
making the story long, I had the good fortune to see, but not to kill,
six of the enormous animals; only one passed within shot, and this was a
female with her calf. I was desired to fire at the calf, and I missed. I
will not make the excuse that I might for so doing; my only bag will
distract Eliot when he hears it, a fox, on the death of which all
present raised their hats. It made me laugh and think of the old
proverb, "What's one man's meat...." I returned to Konigsberg at 9.30 and
at 10 started for this place.
'I arrived at Marienberg at nine next morning, and stayed there an hour
to see the Palace, and breakfast. The Palace is the most interesting
building in Prussia, and is very fine of its kind. The King, with his
love of architecture, has restored a great part of it, and will, by
degrees, restore the whole to its original state. This was the seat of
the Knights of the Teutonic order, they, in fact, were the founders of
the Prussian kingdom, after fifty-three years' struggle. The oldest part
of this Castle was built in 1276, the middle Castle in 1309. The rooms
in the interior and the great hall are built in a singular way: the
rooms are square, the hall is in three cubes. The ceiling of each room,
which is arched, is supported by a single slender column of granite, in
the centre hall by three columns in the same way.
'The King and Queen have arrived and dinner is over, they are both very
happy and are gone to drive together quietly, and we shall not see them
again this evening. He has been through part of Poland, where his
reception has been most enthusiastic.'
* * * * *
ERDSMANSDORFF: 31st July.
'Here I have abode quietly with the King and Queen since I last wrote to
you, and should have been quite content if I had only your company in
addition, but although all ought to be charming to me, yet the want of
employment or excitement after the first view of environs was over leads
me to wish my stay shortened. I have, however, walked hard though not
far and looked about the country for fear I could not go, as the dinner-
hour at three cuts the day in twain. Life has been quite devoid of form
or uniform for all, even the King has been what is called here _en
bourgeois._ After dinner we usually drive to some hill or dale, some
favourite haunt to take tea, returning late to supper and to bed. The
Queen is a sweet woman, the very best of her sex, most plain, modest,
and unaffected, but doing the Queen perfectly when necessary. Yesterday
we had a full dress day at Fubach, the residence of the King's uncle,
Prince William. His daughter, about to be married to the Prince Royal of
Bavaria, was confirmed in the parish Church. A great exhibition. The
church was crammed and the Princess at the altar underwent a two hours'
catechising and examination, which she bore with great talent and
conduct. To-day she receives the sacrament. She is a lovely girl of
seventeen, and her future husband is the future King of Bavaria, a roue
of 30. He was there, arrived the night before. There was a great
gathering of the Prussian Royal Family, who live in this valley and
neighbourhood....
'11 P.M.--I have just seen the King, and he has allowed me to go to-
morrow morning, and meet him at Sans Souci on Saturday.'
* * * * *
BERLIN: 5 August.
'I arrived here yesterday at 6 P.M. by railroad from Dresden, having
quitted that town at 6 A.M.; a very good railroad and well conducted. On
my arrival I was greeted by your letter of the 27th; a very good cure
for blue devils. The news you give me of all things at Wimpole is very
satisfactory. The offices in size and appearance of the east wing
corresponding with the library I was aware of, and I am of opinion that
it will not be noticeable to any degree, and if it is, can be easily
remedied when I build the conservatory. On the subject of chimneys we
shall agree.
'To-morrow I go to Sans Souci, the King arrives for dinner, and
apartments are prepared there for me. Now my object will be to get away
from my kind and excellent friend, for I cannot find another word so
proper, but I must at the same time consult his wishes.
'My journey from Erdsmansdorff to Dresden was very prosperous, though it
rained all day. I found my horses ready and paid to the frontier of
Saxony, and no one would take money from me. I stopped at the residence
of General Bon-Natzmer for breakfast, he lives about sixteen miles from
Erdsmansdorff, a very nice residence with pretty scenery, and his wife a
perfect lady; they gave me an excellent English breakfast. I arrived in
Dresden, having been twenty hours performing the journey.
'I saw all that was worth seeing in Dresden, and well worth the journey
it was, if it had only been to look at the face of the Madonna di San
Sisto, which I think surpasses anything I have seen in nature. It has
left a deep remembrance on my mind, the copy here conveys only an idea
of the original. It lives and breathes, the eyes look as if moving, and
it is perfectly true that I was riveted to the spot with wonder at the
performance of the beyond all famous master. If he had never painted any
picture but this, he must have died the greatest painter that ever
lived. After looking through this fine gallery I again returned to the
Madonna, and feel now that I had not exaggerated to my own mind the
wonder and power of this picture. The face of the child, too, carries
all that the strongest imagination can picture of wisdom and childish
innocence. I grieve to say this _chef d'oeuvre_ is going to ruin.
Your Father's copy is of great value, for it is excellent, nay
wonderful, and will in fifty years be what the great picture now is, for
much of the expression of the countenance is caused by the softness
which time has given to the tone of the picture. The Gallery wants
weeding and repairing, the pictures are going faster than they ought,
and the effect of the Gallery is injured by a quantity of inferior
pictures and copies. It now contains 2000 pictures, if it was reduced to
1500 it would be more valuable. The museum of History is well worth a
visit, the quantity of beautiful and valuable things here collected are
most interesting, a suit of gold and silver armour by Benvenuto Cellini
would hold a high place in your estimation, a collection of various
costumes within 150 years would amuse you.
'The great fair annually held here in August has just begun. I spent my
two evenings in the booths, very idly, but very much to my amusement. I
dined with our minister, Mr. Forbes and his sisters, Lady Adelaide and
Lady Caroline, two ancient maids, old friends of mine twenty-four years
ago.
'The King and Royal Family are at the fair taking part in the games of
the people, shooting with the cross-bow at the bird on the top of a
pole; large tents are pitched for their reception, and they spend the
evening; the court ladies came the second evening. You would have
enjoyed it much. The Germans are a more rational people in these matters
than we are, the best society enjoy this fair, and sit out under tents
taking their coffee and meals and enjoying the sight with their families
and wives. All the musicians from Bohemia, Tyrol and various other
districts of Germany were here playing on various instruments and
singing the national ballads. Two or three women take harps like our
Welsh harps, with the voices in parts, and sing together Tyrolese and
Bohemian songs. Perfect order, and I did not see one person drunk.
Whatever may be the secret faults of the Germans they are a decent and
orderly people. The weather is very warm, the thermometer eighty-four in
the shade. I dined with Westmorland and drove out with him in the
evening, to-day I go to Sans Souci. I must be two days in London before
I go to Wimpole.
'CHARLES.'
* * * * *
SANS SOUCI: 6th August.
'My hope of being with you as soon as the 15th is at an end. It is with
feeling of the greatest sorrow that I feel I am compelled to make a
sacrifice of a few days and arrive later. This evening we all went, that
is the King and Queen, and Prince Charles of Prussia with his wife, to
drink tea in one of the beautiful spots of this most lovely place. The
King called me to his table. When we sat down he said, "Pray, when do
you mean to leave me?" I said, "I intend to do the only painful thing I
have done since I've been in Prussia, and that is to ask His Majesty's
permission to take my leave on Monday." He said, "I will not ask you to
do what is contrary to your duty, but I must beg you to stay with me a
little longer. I must ask you to remain with me at least till after the
15th." This was said in so kind a manner, with the Queen looking me full
in the face, that I at once said, "So much honour was done me by the
desire expressed that I could not refuse."
'They both at once expressed most unfeigned pleasure, but it is a
sacrifice. I now leave Berlin on the 16th, and shall be in London on the
21st, please God, without fail. You cannot conceive how affectionately I
am treated by this great family. I never have received so much real
attention from out of my own family in my life. I feel sure you will
approve of what I have done, and think after all this kindness I was
bound to make a sacrifice, if asked. The King said to me at supper this
evening, "I cannot think what became of you one morning on board the
steamer. I went three times to your cabin to look for you, and could not
find you. I asked for you, and no one had seen you; and then the horrid
idea came over me that you had fallen overboard or were ill." I mention
this to show the sort of feeling he must have for me. I believe I was
asleep on the sofa with a table before it, and he did not see me, being
very nearsighted. I am most charmingly lodged here, the walls of my room
are all marqueterie and they have put sofa and bed, &c., as the
Chamberlain told me "like it is done at Windsor."'
It is clear from these letters that Lord Hardwicke's character and
personality were much appreciated both by the King of Prussia and by the
Emperor Nicholas. He was indeed so great a favourite with the latter
that when the Emperor paid a visit to Queen Victoria in 1844 he was
appointed to attend His Majesty, and took command of the _Black
Eagle_ steam yacht which carried the Czar from Woolwich to Rotterdam
on his leaving this country. As a memento of this service and of his
esteem, the Emperor presented Lord Hardwicke with a snuff-box of great
value, bearing his Majesty's miniature mounted in brilliants.
In 1843 Lord Hardwicke had the honour of receiving Queen Victoria and
the Prince Consort at Wimpole, upon the occasion of the Prince's visit
to Cambridge to receive the degree of LL.D., and the following mention
of the event occurs in one of the Queen's letters to the Queen of the
Belgians:
'We returned on Saturday highly interested with our tour, though a
little done up. The Royal party went by road from Paddington to
Cambridge, and stayed at the Lodge at Trinity. On the following day
Prince Albert was made LL.D. The party then went to Wimpole. At the ball
which was given at Wimpole, there was a sofa covered with a piece of
drapery given by Louis XIV. to the poet Prior and by him to Lord Oxford,
the owner of Wimpole before its purchase by Lord Chancellor Hardwicke.'
* * * * *
Lord Hardwicke rode out to meet her Majesty at Royston at the head of a
large cavalcade which included the gentry and yeomanry of the county.
After an inspection of that little town, the party started for Wimpole,
and on arriving at the House in the Fields the Queen's escort of Scots
Greys filed off at Lord Hardwicke's request, their places being taken by
a troop of the Whittlesea Yeomanry Cavalry, the Lord-Lieutenant roundly
declaring that 'the county cavalry was well able to guard her Majesty so
long as she might stay in Cambridgeshire.' On the following day Lord
Hardwicke gave a dinner in honour of her Majesty, followed by a ball, of
which the Queen makes mention in her letter, to which three hundred
guests were invited.
I may perhaps print here another reference by Queen Victoria to my
father. Writing to Lord Melbourne in 1842 her Majesty said:
'Lord Hardwicke the Queen likes very much; he seems so straightforward.
He took the greatest care of the Queen when on board ship. Was not his
father drowned at Spithead or Portsmouth?'
Lord Hardwicke, as commander of the _Black Eagle_ yacht, had taken
her Majesty to Scotland.
He was in waiting during a visit of the King and Queen of the Belgians
to Windsor, and wrote on that occasion to my mother:
'Our Court news is not filled with much interest; to-morrow the King and
Queen of the Belgians go back to their own country, and yesterday at
dinner the Queen of the Belgians told me her father (King Louis
Philippe) was so fond of English cheese that he had sent to her to
procure for him a "Single Gloster," I could not refrain from offering a
Wimpole cheese that she graciously accepted and which I must now beg you
to give.'
I find a reference to this little incident in the Queen's Letters, vol.
ii, p. 28. In a letter to her Majesty during King Louis Philippe's visit
in 1844, the Queen of the Belgians wrote:
'If by chance Lord Hardwicke was in waiting during my father's stay, you
must kindly put my father in mind to thank him for the _famous
cheese_, which arrived safely, and was found very good.'
Queen Victoria's conversation with my father upon this occasion I find
related at length in a copy in my mother's handwriting of a letter he
wrote to Sir Robert Peel. This letter is of so private a character as to
preclude its publication, but I may say that it is clear that the Queen
(though, as Lord Hardwicke says, 'in very good humour; I never saw her
so gracious to all as she was during her stay at Wimpole') was still
quite ready to state in very plain terms her objection to certain points
of the policy of the Tory party, which, as she said, she could 'forgive
but not forget.' All this Lord Hardwicke reported at length to the Prime
Minister for his information and instruction.
Several letters from Sir Robert to my father at this period show him
very anxious to learn from Lord Hardwicke the details of the proper
arrangements for receiving the Queen at Drayton Manor. 'I have the
prospect,' he wrote, 'not only of one but two royal visits, for I must
arrange that Queen Adelaide should meet the Queen each with her several
suites. If you have any device for making stone walls elastic,' he adds
humorously, 'pray give it to me. Did Lord H. new furnish the rooms
allotted to H.M.? How many apartments did H.M. require? Did he observe
anything especially agreeable to the Queen's wishes, and did Lord H.
attempt to keep any order among his mounted farmers, and if so how?'
Lord Hardwicke and his brother, Mr. Eliot Yorke, though both pledged to
the maintenance of the Corn Laws, refused to oppose the government of
Sir Robert Peel upon the rumours of the minister's intentions which
became rife in the course of the year 1845, when the Irish Famine forced
the question to the front. By that time the Anti-Corn Law League had
done its work of educating the country, and under its great leaders,
Cobden and Bright, had organised a strenuous campaign throughout the
kingdom, collected large funds, and united the great body of employers
and operatives in favour of Free Trade. There were counter organisations
of farmers' societies, of which those in the eastern counties were,
perhaps, the most active, and at a meeting of one of these, the
Cambridge Agricultural Society, Lord Hardwicke and Mr. Yorke met with
some criticism. A letter from Lord Hardwicke to the chairman, however,
made his position perfectly clear:
'I believe the meeting is intended to follow others that have taken
place in the agricultural districts of England, owing to certain reports
of contemplated changes on the opening of Parliament affecting
agriculture.
'I have endeavoured to learn what these are, and have failed; I have
heard various opinions, but no facts, and I have no knowledge of the
intentions of the Government. I therefore feel, were I to attend your
meeting, that I could give no advice, neither could I combat or support
any plans. I think it best to hear and know what is intended.'
Acting upon this determination, Lord Hardwicke waited for the
announcement of the Government policy. At the opening of the session of
1846 Sir Robert Peel then made it clear, that as Lord John Russell had
been unable to form a ministry, he himself intended to propose the
abandonment of the Corn Laws, and to follow this up by the gradual
removal of protective duties, not only upon agriculture, but also upon
manufactures, and thus to place himself in opposition to the sentiment
and principles of the party of which he was the leader. Lord Hardwicke,
as might have been expected, was among those 'men of metal and large
acred squires,' as Disraeli called them, 'the flower of that great party
which had been so proud to follow one who had been so proud to lead
them, whose loyalty was too severely tried by the conversion of their
chief to the doctrines of Manchester,' and early in February he wrote to
Sir Robert to resign his post as Lord-in-Waiting, on the ground that as
he could not support the measures of the Government and act up to his
own opinion, he thought it not respectful to her Majesty to oppose her
minister and hold an office in her household. Some correspondence
followed, which shows the regret of Sir Robert Peel at the loss of a
friend and colleague, and testifies to the cordial personal relations
between the minister and Lord Hardwicke. Here is one of the letters, two
or three of which were earnest attempts to persuade Lord Hardwicke to
reconsider his decision:
* * * * *
'MY DEAR HARDWICKE,
'If anything could tend to diminish the pain with which I contemplate
separation from you in public life, it would be the kind terms with
which you accompany your tender of resignation.
'I should indeed deeply regret it, if the termination of official
relations were to cause any interruption of private friendship and
regard.
'Most faithfully yours,
'My dear Hardwicke,
'ROBERT PEEL.'
* * * * *
So ended Lord Hardwicke's political connection with the great minister,
and it is pleasant to me to know that the aspirations of Sir Robert's
letter were fulfilled, and that their personal friendship continued
unbroken until it was brought to a close by the tragic death of the
statesman on Constitution Hill in 1850. At a time when that same great
question of Free Trade or Protection is again dissolving many political
alliances, it is, perhaps, worthy of mention that my father came to
change his view of the policy which had led to his political severance
with Sir Robert Peel. In a speech delivered at a meeting of the Western
Cambridgeshire Agricultural Association in 1858, twelve years after his
resignation, he said:
'The last agricultural meeting I had the pleasure of attending was in
the golden days of protection, when we all thought we could not do
without it. I am happy to find however, now that the legislature has
thought fit to abolish those fiscal duties, that I formed a wrong
opinion on the subject.'
Meanwhile, however, Lord Hardwicke's political severance from his old
leader was complete and final, as appears very fully from letters from
such uncompromising opponents of the minister as Lord George Bentinck,
Mr. Disraeli, and Mr. John Wilson Croker, which I find among his papers.
'Pray come up and fire a double shotted broadside into these fellows,'
wrote Lord George in 1848, in soliciting Lord Hardwicke's assistance for
Lord Desart in the House of Lords on the debate on the Copper Duties,
who as that ardent spirit complained was 'grossly insulted by Grey,
Clanricarde and Granville.' A few months later, again, upon his
resignation of the leadership of the irreconcilables in the House of
Commons, Lord George wrote: 'I come to you, therefore, as a private and
independent member of the House of Commons, with none but such as you
who admire consistency "so poor to do me reverence."'
All of Mr. Disraeli's letters to my father are written in very cordial
terms, and express much gratitude for the support which was so valuable
at that period of his career. Lord Hardwicke is 'his dear and faithful
friend'; 'I am shaken,' he says in October of 1848, 'to the core, and
can neither offer nor receive consolation. But in coming to you I know
that I come to a roof of sympathy, and to one who at all times and under
all circumstances has extended to me the feelings of regard by which I
have ever been deeply honoured and greatly touched.' Two years later he
wrote: 'I am pained that you should have been so long in England without
my having seen or heard from you, my first, my best, and most regarded
supporter and friend.--DISRAELI.'
I may perhaps look forward a few years in order to quote another letter
of Mr. Disraeli of December 30, 1851, which contains an interesting
reference to Lord Palmerston, who had just been dismissed by Lord John
Russell for having given a semi-official recognition to Louis Napoleon
and the _coup d'etat_.
'If he had not committed himself in some degree by approbation of the
"massacre of the boulevards" as it is styled, I hardly think Lord John
would have dared to dismiss him. He said to a person the other day, "I
was not dismissed, I was kicked out."'
Five days later, on January 4, 1852, Mr. Disraeli wrote:
'That my last letter should not mislead you, I just write this to say
that I have authentic information that Palmerston's case is a good one;
that the Government cannot face it; that Johnny has quite blundered the
business, and that P., whatever they may say at Brooks's, is
_acharne_.'
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 | 12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
18