The life and letters of George William Frederick, fourth earl of Clarendon, K.G., G.C.B.

  • Maxwell, Herbert, Sir, 1845-1937.
Date:
1913
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The life and letters of George William Frederick, fourth earl of Clarendon, K.G., G.C.B. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material is part of the Elmer Belt Florence Nightingale collection. The original may be consulted at University of California Libraries.

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    Horace Walpole's reason for disparaging Lord Clarendon's merit as a public servant. He ascribed King Frederick's affection for him to that monarch's distaste for able men : ' He has, you know, been much gazetted, and had his letters to the King of Prussia printed; but he is a very silly fellow.' ^ Lord Clarendon died on 11th December 1786, leaving three sons. The eldest, Thomas, succeeded him as second earl, but does not seem to have taken any part in pubHc affairs. Creevey, however, writing on 18th August 1821, has the following about him : The Queen [Caroline] appointed as executors of her will Bagot,^ the minister of this country to America, and Lord Clarendon, and she left them all her papers sealed up. The other day Lord Jersey received a letter from Lord Clarendon begging him to come to him, which he did. He then told him that he was going as executor to open his [Lord Jersey's] mother's papers.^ The seal was then taken off, and letters from the monarch to his former sweetheart caught Jersey's eye in great abundance. Lord Clarendon then proceeded to put them aU in the fire, sajdng he had merely wished Lord Jersey to be present at their destruction, and as a witness that they had never been seen by any one. Very genteel, this, on Lord Clarendon's part to the living monarch and memory of his mistress, but damned provok- ing to think that suoli capital materials for the instruction and improvement of men and womankind should be eternally lost.* Earl Thomas was succeeded by his younger brother, John Charles, who had passed through a much varied parhamentary experience. Lord Camelford presented him in 1784 to the pocket-borough of Old Sarum, which he represented till 1790, being Comptroller of the Household in 1787-90. Next, he sat for Dartmouth from 1790 till 1802, when the IMarquess of Stafford secured him as member for the Wick burghs. He continued member for this remote constituency (which certainly he never can have visited) till * Walpole's Letters [curd Cunningham), ii. 140. * Rt. Hon. Sir Charles Bagot. « Frances, wife of George, fourth Earl of Jersey. Her relations with the Prince of Wales (afterwards George iv.) are well known. * Creevey Papers, ii. 25.