CHAPTER XV.

LORD MELBOURNE AT HOME.

Accession of her Majesty-Comparison of George III. and the late Prince Consort-Lord Melbourne when First Lord of the Treasury-Lords Holland, Lansdowne, Palmerston, and Carlisie-A Court favourite-Lord Russell-Character of Lord Melbourne-The Duke of Sussex-The French ambassadorDinner and dessert-A reminiscence of the Beefsteak ClubThe Duke of York's bon-mot on General England-The Prince of Wales-Sheridan and George Selwyn-An interrupted story The Prince in a fix-Patronage of art in EnglandNapoleon's remains-The soirée-Designs of the King of the French.

A CHANGE, at last, came over the spirit of my (political) dream. A youthful Queen had taken the position which had been filled by the royal connoisseur of "fat, fair, and forty," and then by his brother to become a few years later a wife, whose pure heart and cultivated intellect developed feelings and ideas as opposite as light to darkness to those which my respected godfather displayed during his period of regal responsibility.

While a refinement, hitherto unknown, now prevailed in the decorations of the new palatial residence that had been built on the site of "the Queen's House," at Pimlico, as it was called when the residence of Queen Charlotte, an air of domestic comfort

342

A WHOLESOME CHANGE.

mingled with them that was much more readily appreciated by the popular judgment.

Part of this wholesome change had, no doubt, been effected during the reign of the Queen's immediate predecessors, the Sailor King and his amiable consort -but the cleanness of the sweep at Court was produced when the place had to be made worthy of being the home of a virgin princess; since when, her marriage had introduced an entirely new element into the establishment, that continued the improvement till it had attained the perfection which became a national blessing and a national boast.

I do not either ignore or undervalue the decorum that existed at St. James's during the long rule of George the Third and Queen Charlotte, but that estimable sovereign (bless his pigtail!) ought not to be compared in courtly accomplishments with the late Prince Consort. His Majesty may have looked the English farmer better than his Royal Highness, though I doubt if the too sanguine owner of Tiptree Hall would say that he farmed as skilfully; as a patron of science and art, the good old King lacked the intelligence and taste the Prince possessed.

As for "the sweet Queen," as Madame D'Arblay styles her so very frequently, she had many excellent qualities doubtless, and I desire to mention her with becoming reverence; but as the female head of the English Court, Queen Charlotte cannot be named in the same paragraph with her talented grand-daughter. They may, however, be said to stand on the same high ground in the affections of the people of England as

THE HALCYON DAYS OF REFORM.

343

mothers and wives. In their domestic relations it is impossible to estimate too highly the claims of either on our admiration and our gratitude.

These were the halcyon days, be it remembered, of "Reform." The political party to which I was then attached, as a county member, directing considerable influence, had for some time been masters of the situation, their leaders, by an unsparing use of professions, having at command a working majority in the House of Commons. The Government considered itself popular, and the Premier believed himself supremely so. He was a nobleman possessed of every attractive qualification likely to ensure success at Court-had long enjoyed the reputation of a social favourite, had been eminently handsome, and though report had hitherto chronicled his successes only as a social favourite, it was believed that the same accomplishments might realize more important triumphs in the chief of a popular administration. It may be supposed that there was such an excess of statesmanship in the Cabinet that it could easily be dispensed with in the Premier. Certain it is that Lord Melbourne's pretensions were not those that had recommended either a Pitt, a Wellington, or a Peel.

It was at this period that the First Lord of the Treasury gave what deserves to be styled a state banquet to his principal colleagues and supporters. I am not at liberty to say to whom I am indebted for the following account of what took place then and there. The reader must therefore be content to accept the narrative with as much faith as can be

344 THE STARS AND GARTERS AT DINNER.

accorded to intelligence the authority for which must not be divulged.

Among the stars and garters and other insignia of official distinction grouped round a magnificently furnished dining-table, might easily have been recognised the Friar Tuck physiognomy of Lord Holland.

He was no longer a leader of Opposition-he was a Cabinet Minister. Moreover, he was a guest at a state banquet. He therefore contented himself with doing justice to the cuisine, looking conscious that Government might be observed from a very pleasant point of view, and taking a modest part in the conversation, when it appeared to him necessary to say something.

On his right sat the venerable figure of Lord Lansdowne. In the tranquil face, and even then whitening locks which surrounded it, there was some difficulty in recalling the energetic Lord Henry Petty of former years. But it soon became evident that the President of the Council of 1840 was the Chancellor of the Exchequer of 1806. Time while ripening the statesman's experience had mellowed the intelligence of the man of the world, and the heart of the genial old man had lost nothing of the manly sincerity which had distinguished it in the first stage of his honourable career. He was a link between the present and the past-the colleague of Fox and Grenville in that bright but brief display of "All the Talents;" and the mild light of his clear eyes seemed to express the satisfaction of his mind in sharing the triumph of the party to which he had remained so

EARL OF CARLISLE.

345

consistently attached. with the past might have been discovered in another of the distinguished guests. The pupil of Pitt, the supporter of Perceval, and the colleague of Castlereagh, Lord Palmerston was now adapting himself to circumstances that eventually were to secure to him a pre-eminence of position and of public confidence that neither of those celebrated ministers enjoyed.

A no less interesting link

Opposite shone the round, fair face-impressed with a placid contentment of spirit that gave him the air of a pleased schoolboy-of Lord Morpeth, better known afterwards as the Earl of Carlisle, who so satisfactorily for many years played the most prominent part in the viceregal pageant maintained at far more expense than profit in Dublin. Subsequently to the period to which I am now referring, I knew him well, and a better-hearted man never existed.

The young man at the moment laughingly addressing him was a protégé of his host, and had received a political post through an influence which was still considerable, but had been paramount in a former reign, as I have already sufficiently illustrated. The rule of Court favourites was supposed to have gone out when Reform came in; nevertheless, this handsome son of a very attractive mother, according to palace gossip, had created an impression which might have led to important results had it not been superseded by one in every way more satisfactory.

It is highly probable that there never was any foundation for the rumour. At any rate, the hero of it conducted himself in a manner totally unlike that