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.

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All these performances were strictly confined to the family, including
the painting of the scenery and the composition of Prologues, Epilogues,
&c. As we said in one of those compositions, 'We are no London stars;
we're all of Yorke.'

While we were play-acting, my father would continue persistently the
work of his estate and county. It was his habit to hire his own
labourers for the estate and home farm, and these, well and carefully
chosen, were secure in their posts from year to year, and loved him. He
also made a rule every Saturday of passing elaborate accounts at the
estate office with his steward. He dined at Cambridge once a year with
all his tenants; never was a landlord more beloved. The old-fashioned
harvest home was celebrated in the spacious coachhouse cleared for the
occasion; my mother and 'all of us' went down to welcome the labourers
and hear my father address them. He settled things in his own way,
sometimes differing considerably from ordinary routine, but he was
scrupulously just, liberal and kind, with a most attractive sense of
humour.

My father had seen and felt acutely the harm raw spirits had done in the
Navy. This made him very careful when at Wimpole. According to old
custom, beer was brewed twice a year, and he kept the key of the cellar
and punctually opened it every morning before breakfast to give out the
'measure' for daily consumption. I remember so well a new butler
arriving with a pompous manner and _very red nose_. Shortly after
arrival he was taken ill and retired to his bed for several days, the
family doctor from Royston attending him. On his recovery, going into
luncheon with us all, my father with his usual courtesy said, 'I hope
you are better.' Answer: 'Oh yes, thank you, my Lord, it was only _the
Change of Beer!'_

I remember the average doctor's bill for domestic servants at Wimpole
was L100 a year. May I be allowed for once to speak of self? Mine, with
a more or less teetotal home, comes on an average to L1; I give extra
wages and no strong drink, and this system works admirably, except for
the _poor Doctors_, whom I fear sometimes find their incomes sadly
diminished by the Temperance movement!

My father made great additions and improvements at Wimpole House. He
found it needing repair, and after releading the extensive roof, he
built offices on the left side, and later restored the large
conservatory on the right, besides entirely rebuilding the stables, and
placing the handsome iron gates at the Arrington entrance. A group of
sculpture by Foley in the pediment of the stone porch over the front
door greatly improved the centre of the house, which was very flat. In
round numbers he spent L100,000 in these improvements. There were twelve
reception rooms _en suite_, including the beautiful chapel painted
by Sir James Thornhill, and no sooner had No. 12 been done up than No. 1
began to call out! It was always beginning, never ending.

In 1867 came the first home bereavement, the first heart-breaking loss,
from which my father never recovered; he kept to his daily work, but
gaiety forsook him, and the trouble no doubt told upon his constitution,
which was threatened with a serious form of rheumatic gout, and with
gradual heart failure. His beloved third son, Victor Alexander, Queen
Victoria's godson, died suddenly whilst assisting at a penny reading at
Aston Clinton, the residence of Sir Anthony and Lady de Rothschild, to
whom he was devoted. Victor was a lad of great promise; he was in the
Horse Artillery, and a bad accident in Canada is supposed to have left
some injury to the back of the head and spine. He had been suffering
from pains in the head, but was in the highest of spirits the day before
he died. An accomplished fellow, fond of music and poetry, he was
reading 'The Grandmother' by Tennyson, and at verse three--

Willy my beauty, my eldest born, the flower of the flock,
Never a man could fling him, for Willy stood like a rock'--

he fell forward on his face and never spoke again.

The tenderness and sympathy shown by Sir Anthony and Lady de Rothschild
on this occasion made a deep impression on our bereaved hearts. It was
quite beyond words, and from it sprang that happy marriage between my
brother Eliot Yorke, Equerry to H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, and Annie
de Rothschild, their daughter. It was founded on the truest love, and
admiration of great qualities which have stood the test of many years.
The marriage took place in Wimpole Church in February 1873.

It was about June in the same year that my father left Wimpole for the
last time in an invalid carriage. The fatigue of the journey brought on
a severe attack of heart failure, and as he reached his house in Portman
Square, we feared it was his last. But not so. A few weeks later he
reached his beloved Sydney Lodge, where his room was arranged on the
ground floor and a young doctor always in attendance. His patience and
fortitude were heroic. Unable to lie down, he sat for weeks in an
armchair, supported at night by his two attendants. Nothing could be
more sad than to witness his lingering end. Sometimes he rallied
sufficiently to be wheeled into the drawing-room and be refreshed by our
singing hymns to him in parts. He was a firm believer in Christ, and
constantly asked for St. Paul's Epistles to be read to him: 'Read me my
St. Paul,' he would say. The conclusions of the great Apostle to the
Gentiles as to the divinity of Christ supported him through all his
troubles.

His last letter, dated September 7, 1873, was written to his friend Tom
Cocks.

* * * * *

'I send my Banker's Book and beg you will return it made up with a
balance. I am a dying man, and shall be glad when it pleases God to call
me home.

'Yours truly, my dear Cocks,

'HARDWICKE.'

* * * * *

On September 17 he expired at Sydney Lodge, Hamble, conscious to the
last, and was laid to rest in the family vault at Wimpole. These lines,
'to his beloved memory,' were written by his widow and engraved on a
stone cross erected in the grounds of Sydney Lodge overlooking the
Southampton Water:

'To thee, the fondly loved one I deplore,
I dedicate this spot for evermore.
Here, 'neath the shade of spreading beech, we sought
Some brief distraction to overburdened thought,
Some balm for pain, immunity from care,
To lift thy soul and for its flight prepare.
Here forest glade and wat'ry flood combine,
To stamp on nature the impress divine;
The sluggish murmur of retiring tide
Whispers "Much longer thou can'st not abide";
The trembling light of sun's retreating ray
Suggests th' effulgence of more perfect day,
And soothing warblers of the feathered tribe
Hymning their orisons at eventide,
Point to the "Sun of righteousness which springs,"
Saviour of souls, "with healing in its wings."
Hallowed by sacred musings be this ground
Where last we sat, and consolation found.
Brief be the space which binds me here below,
Thy spirit fled, all life has lost its glow.'

INDEX

Abercromby, Sir W.
Addington, Rt. Hon. Henry
Algiers, Dey of; expedition against;
Bombardment of; slaves released
Anaguasti
Ancestry
Anson, Mr.
Asarta, General
Avezzana

Barbary pirates
Baring, Sir Francis
Berlin
Bermuda
Bernadotte
Bevan, Lady Agneta
Brisbane, Captain
Bute, Lord
Byron, Lord; 'Maid of Athens'

Cambridge, Duchess of, and
Princess Mary
Camden, Lord
Campbell, Lord
Canea
Capellan, Admiral von der
Capo d'lstria
Carlo Felice
Cavour
Charles Albert
Chrisaphopulo
Clanricarde, Marchioness of
Clarendon, Earl of
Cochrane, Lord
Cocks, Margaret (Lady Hardwicke)
Coleotronis
Corfu
Corn Laws, repeal of
Croker, J. W.

Dantzig
D'Azeglio
De Launay, General
Derby, Earl of
Devonshire, Duke of
Disraeli, Mr.
Dover, Lord
Druses, the
Dundas, Capt.

Exmouth, Admiral Viscount

Fox, Henry

Garibaldi
Garrick
Genoa
George III
Gladstone, Mr.
Grafton, Duke of
Graham, Sir James
Greek Committee, the
Grey, Marchioness

Hamburg
Hardwicke, first Earl of
Lord Chancellor
character as a judge
political influence
marriage and children
------second Earl of
------third Earl of
Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland
------Charles Philip, fourth
Earl of,
birth, education, enters navy
first ships
letters from Mediterranean
visits Genoa
joins _Queen Charlotte_, Lord Exmouth's flagship
letter
commands gunboat at bombardment of Algiers
sails for Halifax
_Crazy Jane_ sloop
letters from Halifax
lieutenant
commander
anecdotes of
commands _Alacrity_ in Mediterranean,
mission to suppress Greek piracy
at Malta
Corfu
Gibraltar
visits Lord Byron
the 'Green Bag,'
at Smyrna
massacre at Psara
visit to Pasha
opinion of the Greek Committee
Odysseus
visit to Ali Bey at Magnesia
Ephesus
Malta again
Beirut
Sidon
visits Lady Hester Stanhope
account of Tyre
goes to Alexandria and Cairo
holiday in Sweden and Norway: Kiel
Copenhagen
Gottenborg, incident at
Christiania
the Storthing
dinner with Bernadotte
the Doverfeld
Trondhjem
Diet at Stockholm
conversation with Bernadotte
desire for active service
returns to Mediterranean in _Alligator_
diplomatic duties in connection with Greek settlement
chases pirate Macri Georgio
proceeds to Crete
grief at leaving _Alligator_
voyage home; Reform question
Sir Joseph Yorke's death
his last letter
elected M.P. for Reigate
for Cambridgeshire
marriage
succeeds to Earldom
country gentleman
President of the Agricultural Society
Lord-Lieutenant
Lord-in-Waiting
attends on King of Prussia
visit to
fire at Hamburg
Berlin and Sans Souci
goes with King to Court of St. Petersburg, Dantzig
Cronstadt
impressions of Emperor of Russia
and Russian Royal Family
Peterhof and Court life at St. Petersburg
review of military cadets
takes leave of Emperor
at Erdmansdorf with King of Prussia
and Konigsberg
Marienberg
Dresden pictures
Dresden fair
Sans Souci
attends Emperor of Russia in England
the Queen and Prince Consort visit Wimpole
Her Majesty's opinion of him
Wimpole cheese for King Louis Philippe
correspondence with Sir R. Peel
attitude on repeal of Corn Laws
resigns Court appointment
relations with Mr. Disraeli
wish for naval employment
Mr. Croker's opinion
appointed to command the _Vengeance_ under Sir W. Parker;
ordered to Leghorn
his instructions
at Genoa
letters to Lady Hardwicke describing his action during the
Genoese crisis
letters commending his conduct in having saved Genoa from
pillage and ruin from La Marmora, Syndic of Genoa, Sir
W. Parker, Lord Palmerston, &c.
but official approval somewhat grudging
joins Lord Derby's Cabinet as Postmaster-General
applies for command in the Baltic under Sir C. Napier
refusal
controversy with Sir James Graham
Lord Privy Seal in Lord Derby's second Cabinet
Chairman of Royal Commission on manning of the Navy
King of Italy's medal
life at Wimpole
evening amusements and society
music and theatricals
estate work
improvements at Wimpole
death of Hon. Victor Yorke
marriage of Hon. Eliot Yorke
his own illness and death at Sydney Lodge
Hardwicke, seventh Earl of
------Countess of, Margaret. See Cocks.
------Countess of, Susan. See Liddell.
Hotham, Sir H.
Hurd
Hydra
Hypsilantes, Prince Alexander

Independence, War of
Ismail Pacha
Italian unity, movement for

Karabusa in Crete
Keppel, Admiral
Konigsberg

La Marmora, General

Liddell, Hon. Susan (Countess of Hardwicke)
Liverpool, Earl of

Magnesia
Maitland, Sir T.
Mansfield, Lord
Marienberg
Massena
Matthews
Mavrocordato
Mazzini
Mecklenburg Schwerin, Duke of
Mehemet Ali
Melbourne, Viscount
Miaoulis, Admiral
Milne, Sir D.
Missolonghi
Montesquieu
Morden, Barony

Napier, Sir C.
Nauplia
Navarino
Nelson, Lord
Newcastle, Duke of
Nore, mutiny at the
Normanby, Marquis of
Novara, battle of

Odysseus, the Chief
Otho, King
Oxford, Harley, Earls of

Palmerston, Viscount
Parker, Sir W.
Peel, Sir R.
Perceval, Rt. Hon. Spencer
Pitt, William (Lord Chatham)
Pitt, William
Plumptre
Prince Consort
Prior
Prussia, King of
Psara

Rattray, Elizabeth Weake (Lady Yorke)
Reform Bill
Rockingham, Lord
Rodney, Lord
Rothschild, Sir A. and Lady de
Royston, Lord
Russell, Lord John
Russia, Emperor of (Nicholas I)

Sadowa, battle of
St. Germans, Countess of
Schetky, John Christian
Smyrna
Somers, Lord Chancellor
Stanhope, Lady Hester
Stanhope, Col. Leicester
Stanislas, King of Poland
Stanley, Lord. See Earl of Derby
Sydney Lodge

Taylor, Tom
Trevelyan, Sir George's 'Life of Fox'
Tyre

Victor, Emmanuel I
Victor, Emmanuel II
Victoria, Queen

Warburton, Bishop of Gloucester
Watson, Dr.
Wellington, Duke of
Wilkes, John
Wilmot, Lord Justice
Wimpole

Yorke, Lady Agneta
------Agneta (Hon. Mrs. Charles)
------Hon. Alexander G.
------Archdeacon
------Hon. Charles (second Chancellor)
------Rt. Hon. Charles Philip, M.P.
------Hon. Eliot
------Lady Elizabeth
------Hon. Grantham (Dean of Worcester)
------James, Bishop of Ely
------Hon. John
------Hon. Sir Joseph (Lord Dover)
------Admiral Sir Joseph Sydney, K.C.B.
------Hon. Victor A.
Yorkes of Forthampton
------of Hannington

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