pliment they think they can pay to any one, which is, Sir, you are just "like one of us." "I talk a great deal; I am very loud and peremptory; "I sing and dance as I go along; and, lastly, I spend a monstrous deal of "money in powder, feathers, white gloves," &c. Queen Anne's death, which happened at this time, made great changes in England. Chesterfield regretted not having been present to partake of the general joy upon the arrival of her successor. He enjoyed, however, almost an equivalent satisfaction, in being a witness of the extreme concern expressed both by the French and the Jacobites on this event. He was of those who believed that Anne meditated the restoration of the Pretender, and esteemed her death the greatest blessing that could have happened to Great Britain, whose religion and liberties, he firmly believed, would otherwise, in three months' time, have been subverted. CHAP. II. Becomes an M. P. and a ministerialist, George I. being king, and also the fast friend of Lord Scarborough-Zealous in his first speech for impeaching the late minister, Bolingbroke, and the Duke of Ormond— Is nearly being turned out of the House for entering it and speaking before he was of age- Supports the septennial bill, yet sees the necessity of reform-Leaves the king's for the prince's party-Supports the test acts-The king and prince reconciled-In office again—will not sell places-dismissed-Death of George I.Re-instated—Pope and Swift—Anecdotes of Pope and of Voltaire, (then in England,) und of gaming. 1714 GEORGE the First ascended the throne of Great Britain without opposition. His title, though founded upon revolution principles, and the choice of a free people, was not universally acknowledged. The new king arrived in England nearly two months after he had been proclaimed. The opposite parties were prepared for a struggle. This critical situation obliged the new ministry to call to their assistance all those persons, who, from inclination and principle, were attached to their cause. Chesterfield was one of the first sent for. He owed this distinction to General Stanhope, one of the principal leaders of the whig party, and who having stood forth in defence of the Hanover family during the trying years of the last reign, expected, and deserved to be rewarded. He was immediately appointed Secretary of State, and soon obtained the greatest share in the affections and confidence of the new sovereign. His young kinsman could not have wished for a more favourable introduction; and therefore, though he had intended to spend the next Carnival at Venice, he did not hesitate to sacrifice in this, as in many other instances, pleasure to business. Upon Chesterfield's arrival in London he was presented to the king, and appointed one of the gentlemen of the bed-chamber to the Prince of 1715. Wales. In a soil so unfavourable to the growth of virtues as courts generally are, it was our young lord's peculiar good fortune to meet with a man, whom Socrates would, probably, not have disowned as a disciple; and he had the good sense to make that man his friend. Lord Lumley, afterwards so well known, so greatly esteemed, and so universally regretted, under the name of Lord Scarborough, was at this time lord of the bed-chamber, and master of the horse to the prince. The intimacy between these two noblemen was unreserved, notwithstanding the differences of characters and age, for Lord Scarborough was ten years older. It continued unalterable, amidst the conflict of interests and parties. In these stirring times, a seat in parliament was not considered merely as an honour, but also implied a duty, the performance of which was expected from all those whose abilities were adequate to the task. They were called upon to make an open declaration of their sentiments, and to employ their powers in the service of their respective parties. For these purposes Chesterfield was elected into the first parliament under George I. as representative of the borough of St Germains, Cornwall. The circumstance, in which he first took an active part, was delicate, and in some degree decisive. The principal ministers of the late queen, as favourers of the Pretender, had been driven out of the country, or sent to the Tower. Articles of impeachment were drawn up by a committee of inquiry, composed of one and twenty members, against the principal contrivers of the peace of Utrecht. One of these was the Duke of Ormond, who, as well as Lord Bolingbroke, was prudent enough to withdraw from the storm, and to leave the kingdom. As the duke had never been a friend to the last-named lord, and seemed much less culpable than the other ministers, several of the most moderate whigs were inclined to treat him with less severity. The majority, however, were of a different opinion; and our new member, who, on this occasion, spoke for the first time, appeared, what the well-meant zeal of inexperienced youth could alone excuse, particularly violent. He said, that "he never wished to spill the blood of any of his countrymen, much “less the blood of any nobleman; but that he was persuaded that the safe"ty of his country required that examples should be made of those who be“trayed it in so infamous a manner." This speech, he owned afterwards, was but indifferent as to the matter. It went off, however, tolerably well, in favour of the spirit with which it was uttered, and the language with which it was graced. As soon as he had done speaking, one of the opposite party took him aside; and, having complimented him upon his coup d'essai, added, that he was exactly acquainted with the date of his birth, and could prove that, when he was chosen a member of the house, he was not come of age, and that he was not so now: at the same time he assured him, that he wished to take no advantage of this, unless his own friends were pushed, in which case, if he offered to vote, he would immediately acquaint the house with it. Chesterfield, who had no desire to pay a penalty of L.500, and be turned out of the House, making a low bow, quitted it directly, and set off to Paris. In the meanwhile, the rebellion had broken out in some parts of England as well as of Scotland. The success of this undertaking is sufficiently known. Like all other precipitate and ill-conducted schemes, it was soon quelled, and only served to distinguish the friends of government from its enemies. Though the majority in the present parliament was greatly on the side of the whigs, the leaders of that party feared, or seemed to fear, that another election might not be equally favourable to them. This apprehen1716. sion induced the ministry to bring in a bill for making this, as well as future parliaments, septennial. Our young senator, we are sorry to say, supported the Septennial Bill. He spoke for the second time on this occasion. He delivered himself with more ease, and was more favourably received. His arguments against short parliaments were founded on the violence and debauchery inseparable from popular election. In the then state of the constituency the arguments were too well grounded, and he adhered to them through life. He was well aware, however, of the necessity of reform. Its practicability was the point that puzzled him. The germ of the thing itself was plainly shewn in the following passage of his speech, in which he styles the governing by corruption, "that shameful method of governing, which had been gaining ground insensibly ever since Charles II.; with uncommon skill and un"bounded profusion, it has been brought to a degree of perfection, which, "at this time, dishonours and distresses this country, and must, if not "checked, (and God knows how it can now be checked,) ruin it.” 66 : The misunderstanding between the king and his son happened about this time. Chesterfield attached himself to the prince's party. No person was allowed to profess neutrality. The friends of the prince were not received at court; and the courtiers totally deserted him and looking to the great principles of toleration and public liberty, they were fully warranted in deserting him. The court desired to repeal, but the ex-party supported, two of the most abominable acts which the tories of Queen Anne's reign, in these the high and palmy days of church of Englandism, had put upon the statute book. By the first of these acts, all persons in places of profit and trust, who assisted at any place of worship where the common prayer was not used, forfeited their places; and, by the second, no person in Great Britain and Ireland was allowed, under pain of imprisonment, to keep any school, or be tutor or schoolmaster, that had not subscribed to the declaration to conform to the church of England, obtained a licence from the diocesan, received the sacrament according to the communion of the church, and abstained from resorting, at least for a twelvemonth, to any conventicle of the dissenters. Yet, like Sir Robert Walpole, our young senator joined in the high church clamour against the repeal. He was young, and probably some prejudices of education clung to him. He afterwards came to pass judgment upon himself for thus joining in faction. "I thought it," he says, "impossible for the honestest man in the world to be saved out of the pale of "the church, not considering that matters of opinion do not depend upon "the will; that it is as natural and as allowable that another man should "differ in opinion from me, as that I should differ from him; and that if we are both sincere we are both blameless, and should consequently have "mutual indulgence for each other." And he certainly had the negative merit of not going all lengths. He did not join the party in their attempt for a new and even a severer test law. 66 The king and prince became reconciled for a season. One of the 1720-3. causes of their reunion seems to have been one of those plots, so abundant in English history, in which there is something always my. sterious, and, plot or no plot, remains ever in doubt. On this occasion 4000 men were added to the army to keep out the Pretender. Chesterfield, by supporting that measure in Parliament, shewed his attachment to the reigning family, who, of course, shewed him gratitude. He was soon after appointed captain of the yeomen of the guards. It is remarkable that this favour was granted at the time that the king, on setting out for Hanover, again excluded the prince from the regency. Lord Townshend, to whom he succeeded in this post, advised him to dispose of the places, and make it more profitable than he himself had done. "I rather, for this time," answered Chesterfield, " wish to follow your lordship's example than your ad"vice." On the revival of the order of the Bath, his Lordship was offered 1725. the red ribband. This he thought proper to refuse; and was not well pleased with his brother, Sir William, for accepting it. It is also said that his lordship took an opportunity of exercising his humorous talents upon this occasion; for Sir William Morgan of Tredegar, one of the new knights, having lost the ensign of the order, he made a ballad to turn it into ridicule. Whether this followed or preceded his lordship's disgrace is uncertain; but when the king set out this year for Hanover; among the changes that were made at court, Chesterfield shared the fate of Pulteney, and was dismissed. This anecdote is mentioned of him as a member of the House of Commons. One of his opponents, in addition to argument, and greatly to his discomfort, used mimicry of his lordship's tone and action. This is a curious fact, for Chesterfield was likely to sink under it. Had he not been called to the upper house, probably he would have been lost to the world as an orator; but as shewing the latitude of debate then taken and allowed, it is still more curious. It is not quite so bad as the braying and cock-crowing of modern days, but which, it is believed, are without leave of the Speaker. He was called to the House of Peers by the 1726-7. death of his father, which happened in 1726. George the First died suddenly in the following year, which still farther opened to him the Geld of political distinction. Lord Chesterfield's eloquence, though the fruit of study and imitation, was in great measure his own. Equal to most of his cotemporaries in eloquence and perspicuity, perhaps surpassed by some in extensiveness and strength, he could have no competitors in choice of imagery, taste, urbanity, and graceful irony. This turn might originally have risen from the delicacy of his frame, which, as on one hand it deprived him of the power of working forcibly upon the passions of his hearers, enabled him on the other to affect their finer sensations by nice touches of raillery and humour. His strokes, however poignant, were always under the controul of decency and sense. He reasoned best when he appeared most witty; and, while he gained the affections of his hearers, he turned the laugh on his opposers, and often forced them to join in it. Among his friends were Mr Addison, Sir John Van Brugh, Dr 1727. Garth, and Dr Arbuthnot, Mr Gay, Mr Pope, and several more. The last of these great writers very soon attached himself to Chesterfield, admitted him to his private parties, and was particularly desirous of enjoying his company in his retirement at Twickenham. There he made himself most agreeable to those whom he thus distinguished. The wit and taste of our English nobleman was not a little improved by this intimate intercourse, in which he had many opportunities likewise to observe the English bard's charitable disposition. The following anecdote, bearing upon religious belief, was often mentioned by Chesterfield: "I went to Mr "Pope one morning at Twickenham, and found a large folio bible with "gilt clasps lying before him upon his table; and as I knew his way of "thinking upon that book, I asked him jocosely, if he was going to write an answer to it? It is a present, said he, or rather a legacy, from my "old friend the Bishop of Rochester. I went to take my leave of him "yesterday in the Tower, where I saw this bible upon his table. After the "first compliments the Bishop said to me, My friend Pope, considering your "infirmities, and my age and exile, it is not likely that we should ever meet "again; and therefore I give you this legacy to remember me by it. Take it "home with you, and let me advise you to abide by it. Does your lordship abide by it yourself? I do. If you do, my lord, it is but lately. "May I beg to know what new light or arguments have prevailed with you now to entertain an opinion so contrary to that which you entertained of “that book all the former part of your life? The Bishop replied, We have "not time to talk of these things; but take home the book; I will abide by it; “and I recommend you to do so too, and so God bless you.” 66 66 Swift was not so intimate with our Earl, who related this story of the witty dean: One winter he was very often in company with Swift, and he observed that he was very desirous to be more particularly acquainted with him, but that he would not pay him the first visit; upon which his lordship condescended to make the first advance. When he was made Lord Steward, the dean applied for a place in favour of a friend. His lordship |