*»f 9* LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS TO MR. FORSYTH. J)t LETTEES FROM LOED BEOUGHAM TO WILLIAM FOESYTH, ESQ., Q.C, LL.D., L.ate Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. NOT PUBLISHED. LONDON : .^^ FEINTED BY BRADBURY, EVANS, & CO., WHITEFRIARS. 1872. ." ■/£ ?5Si INTRODUCTION. For many years I enjoyed the great privilege of the warm and affectionate friendship of Lord Brougham. I first became personally acquainted with him by practising before the Judicial Com- mittee of the Privy Council when he sat there as one of its members, and he expressed himself very kindly towards me. From that time until his death we kept up a close correspondence, and I paid him several visits at his seat, Brougham, near Penrith — besides dining with him in London. I think that the following letters will show how confidential our intercourse was. I do not propose to speak of Lord Brougham as a public man. His life and services are written in the annals of his country — and in his Autobiography, 885 INTRODUCTION. lately published, he has himself recorded his own history. But only those who knew him intimately as I did can have any idea of the exceeding kindli- ness of his nature and the overflowing warmth of his heart. And I confess I take, what I hope will be considered a pardonable pride, in the recollec- tion^ of the friendship of such a man so largely gifted in intellect. It occurred to me that I might not only indulge my own feelings but possibly interest others, by printing for private circulation, a selection out of the many letters which Lord Brougham wTote to me during the last ten years of his life. I might easily add to the number — but some of them are of too confidential a nature for even such a limited circulation as this little book is likely to possess, and others might lay me open to the charge of vanity owing to the ex- tremely flattering terms in w^hich he has spoken of me in them. I did not, however, think that I was justified in printing any of these letters without first obtaining the permission of the present Lord Brougham, who is his Brother's executor — and he in INTRODUCTION. the frankest manner accorded that permission, for which I offer him my best thanks. In this Introduction my notices can only be very brief and desultory, for, as I now much regret, I never made any memoranda of my numerous conversations with Lord Brougham. It will be observed that he most frequently addresses me as Hortensius. This was owing to my having written and published in 1849 a work called " Hortensius, or the Advocate," which caught his fancy, and of which he was pleased to express his warm approval. It is a curious proof of how his mind lingered upon old times and old associations that when he wrote to me he invariably on the envelope added the letters K.C. instead of Q.C., for he was much more familiar with the appellation of King's Counsel than that of Queen's Counsel. I need not add — for the fact is well known from his published letters — that he never signed his name '' Brougham,"as Peers are in the habit of doing, but ''H. Brougham," or merely used the initials H. B. This no doubt was from long habit ; but he had in INTliODVGTION. fact become in later years very Conservative in his views. I do not mean this in the party sense of the word, for Lord Brougham in the latter part of his life belonged to no party — although he was as earnest as ever in the cause of progress, and took a warm interest in every thing that he thought would con- duce to the improvement and happiness of the people. But from many conversations which I had with him, I could plainly see that he was alarmed at the demo- cratic tendencies of the age, and thought that we were travelling a little too fast. One day as I was walking along Coney Street, in York, my attention was arrested by a full-length portrait in a shop window, which I thought was a picture of Pitt. I went into the shop and was told that it was a portrait of Mr. Brougham taken at the time when he stood as a candidate for Westmoreland. I mentioned this afterwards to Lord Brougham, and he said, ''0 ! that is not surprising, for in former years I have been taken for Pitt and was thought very like him." Certainly in later years the resem- blance had wholly disappeared. INTRODUCTION. When I was a visitor at Brougham, he generally confined himself in the morning closely to his own sitting-room, which was the most simply and plainly furnished room in the house ; and he was always hard at work composing his Addresses or carrying on his active correspondence. In the afternoon he used to walk about the grounds, and I found him a delightful and most instructive companion. It was an interesting sight to see his venerable face and form in the beautiful chapel at Brougham on Sunday, where he regularly attended the services of the church, and he not unfrequently muttered rather audibly what was passing in his mind. Sometimes at table he would sit silent for a considerable time, and it was difficult to rouse his attention. But whenever I called his memory back to old times, and put questions to him about the events and men of the early part of the century, it was wonderful to see how suddenly his mind lighted up, and how he poured forth his thoughts in a full and continuous stream of talk. His memory was most extraordinary — not merely of facts and dates — but of the contents 10 INTRODVCTION. of books ; and the only sign of failing recollection at any time that I detected was, that he now and then repeated the same thing more than once, forgetting that he had already mentioned it. Nothing struck me more than the powerful grasp he had of almost every subject we discussed, and the strength as well as sound sense of all his remarks. He might not be a very critical scholar as regards the grammar of the ancient classics, but no one w^as more familiar with the best writers of Greece and Rome, — or entered more thoroughly into their spirit. He took much interest in the question of Cicero's belief in the immortality of the soul, the affirmative of which he thought was fully proved by the passages in the SoTunium Scipionis, and Cato Major sive de Senectute. 1 hope I am in some degree competent to form an opinion on the subject, and I am bound to say that I think injustice has been done to his translation of the Crown Oration of Demosthenes. That it is not free from mistakes I readily admit — and these mistakes have been severely criticised ; but as a whole, it is a spirited and faithful INTRODUCTION. u rendering of the original. Sometimes he would quote out-of-the-way epigrams in Greek and Latin, some of which I had never heard before. When I called to mind what must have been the fiery character of his oratory, and the impetuous force of his intellect when he was in the zenith of his strength and power, it was difficult to believe that he was the same man softened and mellowed by old age. He always seemed to me to suggest the idea of the mitis sapientia Lceli, rather than the Impiger, iracundus, inexorabilis, ac^r— Achilles, such as I had imagined him before I knew bim. I can aver with perfect truth that during the whole course of my long and intimate acquaintance with him, although he always spoke as he felt, strongly, I never heard him say an ill-natured thing of anyone. He had heard Pitt speak — sitting, if I recollect right, under the gallery of the House of Commons — but he told me that he thought Erskine the finest orator he had ever listened to.* He had the highest * It will be seen that in one of his letters to me he calls Plunkett the first of modern orators. 12 INTRODUCTION. possible opinion of Berryer, the great French advo- cate to whom he introduced me when he visited this country in 1864, and was entertained by the Bar at a banquet in the Hall of the Middle Temple, in the month of November in that year. I said to Berryer, " J*espere, Monsieur, que vous etes content de voire reception ? " and he replied, ''Ah ! Monsieur, je suis confondu" In the month of October, 1863, after paying a visit to Lord Brougham at Brougham, I accom- panied him to Edinburgh with Henri Martin the French Historian, and M. Garnier Pages, to attend a meeting of the Social Science Congress of which he was President, having been for some time previously Lord Rector of the University of Edinburgh. On the 10th of that month a dinner was given to him at the New Club by the members of the Speculative Society, Scotch Judges, and others, at which I was present, and there were in all thirty-nine at table. I never passed a more thoroughly enjoyable evening, which was enlivened by some capital songs. I need not say that every honour was paid to Lord Brougham, not INTRODUCTION, ]3 only on account of his illustrious achievements, but as the Nestor of the Speculative Society, about which it may be interesting to say a few words. It was founded on the 17th of November, 1764, by six young men who were then pursuing their studies at the University of Edinburgh, so that when we dined at the New Club it had all but completed its hun- dredth year. The members were admitted by ballot, and attendance one evening a week was compulsory* The business done was an essay read and criticised, followed by a debate. The choice of the essay was left to the individual taste of the member, but the Society determined the subject of debate. The number oi resident members was at first limited to twenty, but afterwards enlarged to twenty-five, and strangers were, and I believe still are, entirely ex- cluded. To give a list of the names of all the illus- trious men who have belonged to the Society would occupy too much space, but I may mention particu- larly those of Alexander Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee ; Professor Playfair, Lord Chief Commissioner Adam, Dugald Stewart, Lord Glenlee,Lord Eldin, General Sir 14 INTRODVCTION. Thomas Maitland, Sir James Mackintosh, Benjamin Constant, Charles Hope, Malcolm Laing, Sir Walter Scott, Lord Jeffrey, Lord Brougham, Francis Horner, Lord Cockbum, the late Marquis of Lansdowne, Professor Wilson, and Sir William Hamilton. Sir James Mackintosh says, "W^hen I was in Scotland in 1801, Constant was a Tribune in France, Charles Hope Lord Advocate, and Emmet his former companion, a prisoner under his control ! My first speech was in the Speculative Society. It was against the Slave Trade which Dr. Skeete, a West Indian physician attempted to defend." At a dinner given in 1834 to celebrate the seventieth anniveisary of the Society, Lord Jeffrey proposed the health of Lord Brougham and said, " The high talents and extraordinary powers which the individual to whom I allude brought into public life, early arrested the attention of the country. But they who ascend into high places cannot hope to escape unscathed by the lightnings, unruffled by the storms which prevail in those exalted regions. In the wars of the giants, heavy blows must be given INTRODUCTION. 15 and received. It is not, however, in this more im- posing character that I now beg to offer to your notice the name of Henry Brougham. I wish you to consider him now as one of the brightest ornaments of this Society, and still more as the unwearied and distinguished friend from his youth up to the present day of education, literature, of science, and of general instruction During this long period of thirty years, he has never for an hour rested, or paused, or turned aside from the great task to which his life has been devoted, and for his efforts in which I know that he is most desirous to be remem- bered I cannot propose Lord Brougham's health without recalling to my own recollection, and to that of some present, the effect which his early appearances had upon this Society — the admiration excited by the versatility of his talents — his fertile and exhaustless fancy — his power of illustration — his intrepidity, and even apparent rashness in en- countering all subjects which proved in the end to be but the instinctive consciousness of power — and that ardent and somewhat ferocious eloquence with 16 INTRODUCTION. which he scorched and blasted and overthrew all who dared to give him battle — " The first subject of debate which was opened by Mr. Brougham in the Speculative Society was in 1798, and the question was, " Ought the King to have the unlimited power of Creating Peers ? " This was negatived by a majority of two, the numbers being eight for and ten against the affirmative of the proposition. Other questions which he brought for- ward were — ''Are parties of advantage in a free State ? " and " Ought Great Britain to interfere in the affairs of the Continent ?" which was carried by a majority of seven to four. It is curious to see what an immense variety of subjects has been ranged over by the Society during the century of its existence. It began at first with such questions as these— Whether does a married or a single state tend most to promote virtue ? Have Komances been upon the whole of advantage or of hurt to mankind ? INTEOBVCTION, 17 Is any faith to be given to dreams ? Can the characters of men be known from the features of their faces 1 Is duelling allowable by the laws of Nature ? Does the mind always think ? Whether is friendship or love the nobler passion ? Whether is that modesty which is the charac- teristic of the fair sex natural to them or acquired by Education ? Is it consistent with our ideas of the Deity that Eternal punishments should be inflicted for temporal crimes ? Does matter exist ? Ought the Royal Family of Great Britain to be allowed to submarry with subjects ? — but after the outbreak of the French Revolution the subjects became more often and more decidedly political, and I find constantly occurring such ques- tions for debate as these — Ought the Test Act to be repealed ? 18 INTRODUCTION, Ought the Peerage to be limited ? Ought there to be an Established Eeligion ? Ought there to be a Parliamentary Eeform ? Can any circumstances justify a suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act ? (Carried unanimously in the negative.) Are her Colonies of advantage to Great Britain ? Ought Members of Parliament to act by orders from their Constituents ? Ought Bishops to have a seat in the House of Peers ? (Carried unanimously in the affirmative.) Ought honours to be hereditary ? (Carried in the affirmative by a majority of 6 to 2.) And the question of " Woman's Rights " was not forgotten ; for so early as in 1796 one of the subjects discussed was — Ought the female sex to be excluded from literary professions and public offices ? The last time I saw Lord Brougham was when I called to say Good-bye to him in Berkeley Square, on the morning of the 11th of November, 1867, as he INTRODUCTION. 19 was on his way from Brougham to Cannes, where he had a house called Chateau Eleanor et Louise, after his deceased daughter. When the servant opened the door he told me that Lord Brougham would not recognize me, but begged me to go in and see him. He then opened the door of the dining-room and I saw Lord Brougham sitting in an arm chair near the fire. His hair was white as snow, and so were his shaggy eyebrows. I did not like to advance, for I was painfully conscious that he no longer knew me, as he made no siofn of recoofnition, but continued to stare fixedly at me without moving. I turned away with a presentiment that I should never see him again in this life, and a few months afterwards the news of his death at Cannes reached England. All who have corresponded with Lord Brougham know what an extraordinary hand he wrote. Even to me, familiar as I am with it, some words are hope- lessly illegible, and I have been obliged to leave blanks for them. I have heard it said that there was only one compositor in London who could print from his MS. One peculiarity is the constant ^^ 20 INTRODUCTION. omission of vowels and the use of a kind of short- hand for many words, the meaning of which can only be guessed from the context. But as no description could give an adequate idea of its character, I have printed two or three facsimiles of his letters, and I think the hieroglyphics will puzzle most readers. W. FORSYTH. CI, Rutland Gate, S.W., Dec, 1871. ^^ ^^L^l^^ 4^i^v^^.Ayi^* LOED BEOUGHAM'S LETTEES TO ME. FOESYTH. [■ 4, Geafton Street, 22 June, 1858. My dear Hortensius, Will you excuse me for asking your accep- tance of a copy of my works, which I wish I could make a little less unworthy of your receiving it, by giving the large and illustrated edition — but it is out of print, and I can only get a copy of one volume, which I send as a sample, and shall add the four others as I can pick them up. Believe me to be, Sincerely yours, H. Brougham. I fear you will find great deficiencies in the 24 LOEB BROUGHAM'S LETTERS Eoman Orations, Rhet. and [word illegible]. The Greek is somewhat more elaborated. The following accompanied a present of two of Lord Brougham's addresses. Brougham, 16 Nov., 1858. Care mi Hortensi, ^ Accipe, sed facilis et sequus, si non benigno animo hasce oratiunculas — leves quidem et parvi si per se spectantur momenti, et non ob argumenta. Nonne mirum quod Galli ephemerides non ausi sunt etiam proferre nomen Newtoni, multo minus im- primere opusculum, ob maledicta in tyrannos, pag. 16, 2, et quum promulgant alteram pag. 33, solum (T) supprimant. Vive vale, H. B. The discipline of the French Press is truly remarkable. But it will be tried too high. V /t^.(i>/,t^ (7^ ^^yL^t^i^l-t^l'-^ X^/u^«-^— '^^^^^ /|_ /Vt^..^^/^^.^^^^^ /U..p^^.'^>^^^-*''^- TO MR. FORSYTH. To which I sent the following Latin answer, GuLiELMUS Forsyth Domino Brougham, VlRO HONORATISSIMO, S. P. D. Me quam maxime devinctam habes, Domine illustrissime, propter donum gratissimum quod hodie accepi. Conciones tuas nuper habitas perlegi, sed perlegam iterum, atque inter manus sa^pius versabuntur. Quid dicam de talibus Eloquii exemplis ? Immo, ut verbis Poetse utar, — decies repetita placebunt — Hand mirum est quod Tyrannus iste qui Gallia? libertates profligavit et militum gladiis etiamnum opprimit, defensoris libertatis vocem reforrnidat. Philippus, Rex ille Macedonum, Oratorum Athe- niensium exilium flagitavit. Silentium Iste, quern scis, pacem appellat. Prolusio qusedam a me scripta cui titulus est *' The Criminal Procedure of Scotland and England," in libello trimestri qui dicitur Edinburgh Revieiv nuper in lucem prodiit, et fortasse oculos in opus- c 2 -28 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS culum nostrum conjicere hora subseciva baud gravaberis. Si studiis nostris faves gaudebo. Vale Domine Honoratissime. Soribebam Templo Londini, a. d. XIV Kal. Dec. cioiocccLViii. Brougham, 20 Nov. [1858]. My dear Mr. F., I HEARTILY tbank you for your kindness in lotting me know to whom I have been indebted for the great pleasure of reading that most able and important paper in E[dinburgh] E[eview] * I go along with all, or almost all of it, and I greatly rejoice that you have laid so deep and solid foundation for, I hope, immediate legislation — in so far as legislative remedy is required — for I have * This alludes to an article I wrote in the October 1858 number of the " Edinburgh Review," on the subject of Scotch and English Criminal Procedure. TO MB. FORSYTE, 29 always maintained that the introduction of Public Prosecutors in England may be effected gradually at first, that is, by pursuing the plan which you will find described in my evidence before Phillimore's Committee, of a counsel regularly employed by the Treasury at the Central Criminal Court; and then extending this to other counties by Act of Parlia- ment. It was on the point of being tried when our Government went out in November, 1834. Believe me, Most sincerely yours, H. Brougham. Cannes (Var), Ch[ateau] El. Louise, 21 Dec, 1858. Many thanks, my dear Mr. F. for procuring me so agreeable an acquaintance as Miss Douglas. Unfor- tunately she comes at a time when the only one of our ladies yet arrived is confined with the measles. But I expect the rest in a few days, and they will 30 LORD BROV GRAM'S LETTERS ^ agree with me that our society has now made a valuable acquisition. The extraordinary rains having passed away, we now have our usual fine weather, though for want of the sea breeze at this season we find the sun more powerful than in summer — that is, during four hours of the day. I have just had a very gratifying address from Edinburgh — not merely personally gratifying — but in a very important particular — its indication of the prevalence of liberal principles NOW. It is signed by the Provost and all the Magistrates — but also by most of the Professors and by men of all parties — among others, the Lord Advocate, who I take for granted is the leading Conservative^ and the Dean of Faculty the leading Whig. And it proceeds upon my devotion to the cause of civil and religious Liberty and to progress generally. Now this never could have happened some years ago — and it demon- strates how universal liberal principles are now be- come. I assure you I was more touched with this than even with the personal kindness of the address TO MB, FORSYTH. 31 and invitation, which I don't see how I shall be able to fix a day for accepting, as I must be in London at the meeting, and the illness in the family will make it hardly possible for me to be there till close upon the meeting of Parliament. I wish I could give you as good an account as I wish of the state of this unfortunate, not un-blame- able people. They have really by their follies, and their caring so much more for equality than liberty, reduced themselves to be the objects of compassion, as I won't say hugging — but very cheerfully wearing — their chains. They set off order and quiet against slavery, and affect to think all is well But will it give the proof by ending well ? Believe me ever, Dear Hortensius, Sincerely yours, H. Bkougham. i have just had a letter from that excellent man W. Brown (M.P. for Lancashire), enclosing such a picture from his brother in America of the conse- 32 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS quences of universal suffrage as would frighten even Bright. JPrivate, Cannes (Var), 15 Jan,, 185a My dear Mr. F., I AM exceedingly obliged to you for your kind letter, which I received a few days ago. The state of things in this country continues to be rather uneasy, owing to the follies of certain persons, and I only hope the delirant may not be followed by the accustomed plectuntur* The speculation of getting a little popularity with the liberals and the army in Italy is as shallow a one as can well be imagined ; and, as he will very soon find that it will lead, and at once, to a general war, I cannot conceive it being persisted in. Indeed, but for this marriage with the Sardinian Princess, I should have thought the fancy already at an end. But one of * Quicquid delirant reges plectuntur Achivi. ^^9^c i^ <^^..^^:-^c^^2-<_ ^^>^-^^^^p^ X^^^ -v^^.f±. t^ '7-7' 'Z./^— TO MR, FORSYTH. 37 the many mischiefs of a Government which has no check or warning from either Parliament or public opinion is, that, without meaning it, they get into scrapes from which it is not easy to escape. The fact is certain of gi'eat excitement in Italy, and more general than I had supposed among the Lombards — considerably more than in 1848-9 — and also great desire in Piedmont, both of the Goveiii- ment and people, to interfere. They are, however, quite aware that they can do nothing without France, and thus France will have to resist the temptation, or to prepare for war with Austria, and that really means a general war. It is more easily said than done that England has only to stand by and see all the Continent at war. That Austria is prepared there can be no doubt. Not only she is [illegible] large [illegible] but she is ready to sup- port them further. In France there may be no movement of troops because the railways make that easy at a day's notice, but there are magazines forming, and some arrangements as to the Guards, which show that there is a belief at head-quarters 38 LOED BROUGHAM'S LETTERS in the possibility of something. However, I do not think it will end in anything, at least for the present. No one can tell how far mere gambling in the funds may have to do with such things as the late silly vapouring (?) on the 1st January. I don't mean that the man himself has anything to do with such speculations, but he is surrounded by those who have, and who may get him on quite other grounds to help their schemes. If you see your near neighbour, remember me kindly to him, and tell him what I have said above as to French movements, because when I wrote to him I did not touch on them. Don't be surprised when you see that, being unable to attend the Burns celebration, I wrote a few pages of practical improvements on Parish School Education, and in behalf, also, of the Scotch language, which I deny to be either Barbarian or Solsecism (?) any more than the Doric or the -^olic — indeed, less than the latter. Yours ever sincerely H. Brougham. TO MR. FORSYTH, 39 [Written inside the envelope.'] I don't at all wonder at your refusal of Calcutta, for, splendid as it is, the price of ten, or even seven years' severance from family, is too high to pay * Surely the Toiy Government patronising reform, if they do, is a parallel of the French sup- porting the liberals in Italy, if they do. Brougham, 10 Augt., 1859. My dear Hortensius, ' I MAY truly say, " quemfi semper in deliciis habeo'' — for I recreate myself continually with the perusal. The last time I enjoyed this gratification (yesterday) I observed one or two things which had before escaped me, and which I now note. I hold you quite wrong in your censure of Target (p. 313, and elsewhere). Beside the arguments I have • This alludes to my having declined the offer of the Chief Justiceship of Bengal. 40 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS urged in his defence, in my Chapter on the French Bar (Statesmen, iii.), I am pretty confident that Chauveau (whom I knew and with whom I used to have much discussion) acquitted Target, though I know there is a division of opinion on the subject. I wish to mention to you, in reference to what you discuss in Chapter X. on the duties and rights of an advocate, and where you refer to what has been so often the subject of dispute — my statement in the Queen's case. The real truth is, that the statement was anything rather than a deliberate and well considered opinion. It was a menace, and it was addressed chiefly to Geo. lY. — but also to wiser men, sucl) as Castlereagh and Wellington. I was prepared, in case of necessity, that is, in case the Bill passed the Lords, to do two things — first, to resist it in the Commons ivith the country at my hack; but next, if need be, to dispute the King's title — to show he had forfeited the Crown by marry- ing a Catholic, in the words of the Act, " as if he were naturally dead." What I said, was fully under- TO MR. FORSYTH. 41 stood by Geo. lY. — perhaps, by the Duke and Castlereagh — and I am confident it would have prevented them from pressing the Bill beyond a certain point.* Believe me. Ever sincerely yours, H. Brougham. * When at the Berryer entertainment in the Hall of the Middle Temple, in November, 1864, Lord Brougham spoke, he said, alluding to Erskine, that " the first great duty of an advo- cate is to reckon every thing subordinate to the interests of his client." But when it came to the turn of Lord Chief Justice Cockburn to address the assembly, he declared what I am sure is the right doctrine, and in which Lord Brougham also must have agreed, " that the arms which an advocate wields he ought to use as a warrior, not as an assassin. He ought to uphold the interests of his clients per fas, but not per nefas. He ought to know how to reconcile the interests of his clients with the eternal interests of Truth and Justice.'' I well remember how this eloquent burst was applauded. 42 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS Whitby, 26 Augt., [1851)]. My dear Hortensius, Your letter followed me here, so I dare say you are back in London, and have left Liverpool . . ....... and you will have time to make up your mind on the certainty — or at least the great probability of your undertaking the very important and much wanted work. If I can obtain a copy of the Pol. Phil, (which is out of print), I will send it as the best contribution I can make towards your plan ; and when I return to Brougham, I will have a chapter of the unpublished part copied, as it bears upon your subject. Yours ever sincerely, H. Brougham. I have some difficulty in avoiding meetings and addresses from my old Yorkshire Constituents. TO MB, FORSYTH. 43 Whitby, 31 Angf., [1859]. Care mi Hortensi, You may rely on your name being sup- pressed ; but I know the want of attention which attends a statement without a name. In the place where my Newton Monument dis- course was composed last autumn, I have been led to reflect on the national disgrace of no monument having ever been raised to him, for the one in Westminster Abbey was erected by the family ; and the Grantham statue was by a private subscrip- tion. I much wish you would urge on our good friend and to take occasion to reproach this country with the neglect. I had letters from Paris last autumn asking whether it was possible that there should have been none. I also have a wish that my discourse should be known, which it has not been, owing to the recon- dite nature of the subject. But it is important as giving for the first time a 44 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS summary of the consent of all men of science, and especially of the great Frenchmen to Newton's immeasurable superiority. This they do not like to have made plain, and I therefore took care to name the men who joined in this confession. At first they ignored the discourse from its attack on Tyrants, meaning Napoleon I., and possibly Napo- leon III. also. But since that it has been translated with judicious, because prudent, omissions; and then the national feeling has continued the han. Yours most sincerely, H. Brougham. L. N. really deserves credit for his amnesty. It is the very best thing he has done ; but as it is so good in itself one cannot grudge him the benefit of it. TO MB. FORSYTH. 45 To explain the next letter, I must mention that during the autumn of 1859 I suffered severely from depression ; and having, while staying in France, read a passage in Lord Brougham's " Lives of Men of Letters and Science in the reign of George III.," which seemed to describe a case very similar to my own, I wrote to him, and asked if he could give me any further particulars which might be of use to me. I immediately received the following answer, and dis- covered, to my great surprise, that Lord Brougham had, in the passage referred to, been describing himself It will be found in the essay on Dr. Johnson, and is as follows : — '' Nor must it be forgotten that to these miseries, the general lot of the literary man's life, was added in Johnson s the far worse suffering from his con- stitutional complaint, a suffering bad enough in itself, if the companion of ease and of affluence, but altogether intolerable when it weighs down the spirits and the faculties of him whose mental labour 46 LORB BROUGHAM'S LETTERS must contribute to the supply of his bodily wants. The exertion, no doubt, when once made, is the best medicine for the disease ; but it is the peculiar operation of the disease to render all such exertion painful in the extreme, to make the mind recoil from it, and render the intellectual powers both torpid and sluggish, when a painful effort has put them in motion. I speak with some confidence on a subject which accident has enabled me to study in the case of one with whom I was well acquainted for many years ; and who either outlived the malady, which in him was hereditary, or obtained a power over it by constant watchfulness, diligent care, and a fixed resolution to conquer it. As in Johnson's case, it was remittent, but also periodical, a thing not mentioned of Johnson's, for in my friend's case, it recurred at intervals, first of six months, then of a year, afterwards of two and three years, until it ceased ; and the duration of the attack was never more than of eight or ten months. It seemed wholly unconnected with bodily com- plaint, though it appeared to interfere with the TO MR. FORSYTH. 47 functions of the alimentary canal; and it was relieved by strict attention to diet, and by great temperance in all particulars. There was, as in Johnson's case, no kind of delusion, nor any undue action of the imagination ; but unlike his, it was wholly unattended with apprehensions or fears of any kind. There was also no disposition to indul- gence of any kind, except of sleep ; and a particular aversion to the excitement of fermented liquors, the use of which, indeed, never failed to exacerbate the malady, as Johnson, too, from his confession to Mr. Boswell, appears to have found, after trying them in vain to alleviate his suffering. The senses were not at all more dull than usual, and there was as much relish both of physical and mental enjoyment. But the seat of the disease being in the mind, and in the mind wholly, independent of, and unaffected by, any external circumstances, good fortune produced no exhilaration, afflictions no additional depression. The attack commenced sometimes suddenly, that is, in a few days, and not seldom was foretold by dreaming that it had bes^un. The course was this. The active 48 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS powers were first affected, all the exertions of the will becoming more painful and more difficult. This inertness next extended itself . and crept over the intellectual faculties, the exercise of which became more distasteful, and their operations more sluggish ; but the results, though demanding more time, were in no respect of inferior quality. Indeed the patient used sometimes to say that when time was of no importance, the work was better, though much more . painfully done. The exertions resolutely made and steadily persevered in, seemed gradually to under- mine the disease, and each effort rendered the succeeding one less difficult. But before he became so well acquainted with the cure, and made little or no exertion, passing the time in reading only, the recovery took place nearly in the same manner as afterwards, under a more severe regimen ; only he has told me that to this regimen he ascribed his ultimate cure, after obtaining a constantly increasing prolongation of the healthy intervals. The recovery of the mind's tone always took place in the reverse order to the loss of it : first, the power returned TO MR. FORSYTH. 49 bafore the will, or the faculties were restored to their vigour before the desire of exerting them had come back." Private and Confidential. BROUaHAM, Sept. 13, 1859. My dear Friend and Fellow-sufferer, For I am myself the person alluded to. Your ac- count is a shade worse than mine. You don't say if it occurs periodically. For many years, until it wore itself out (partly by discipline), it occurred the odd years 1801, 3, 5, 7, &c. In 1821 it suffered some change, and was transferred to the even years 1824, 6, 8, 80, 32; of late years it has not been considerable except, perhaps, 1840. It may show how little the disease affected me, except by making exertion more painful, that even in speaking, I was up to my work for [illegible'] 1824 and 1828. Excuse the prolixity of these details, to which I will add that if 50 LOIW BROUGHAMS LETTERS the alternative had continued last year, I should not have done what I did with so little suffering. I quite agree in your view of the change of sense in words, and the position is fruitful ; I may trouble you upon it hereafter. Bat apropos of rvpawoi. Have you seen the example of the faculties of men .being reduced to the lowest pitch in Baroche ? An ex ultra-Republican making that speech is truly portentous, and pronouncing the eulogy of an infant of three years old ! I have written to my friend Fould, expressing the difficulty I had in retaining my breakfast after reading it, and begging him to tell the Empress (with w^iom he is) that I might have saved the expense of an emetic, and that I hope I shall not be sent to Cayenne for saying so — but adding that if the Baroches would only follow the example of L. N. (who is to be pitied as he must suffer under such inflictions), they would at least never fall into such vile absurdities. I shall let you know what answer (ixscripf) I receive. The Italian complication is still great ; but I fear there is double dealing towards its also, for I hear of TO MR. FORSYTH. 51 preparations by sea, and surely the Press might be prevented from preaching up war with England. As for liberal measures to [illegible] Berryer and Broglie hold this impossible, as they believe L. N.'s Government could not last a month if there were free discussion You are the first person I have ever told my secret. When I talk of your coming here, I mean you and yours. [77ds letter is not signed.] 26 Sept., 1859. I don't date this further, as letters maybe opened between here and the Eternal City. I think you do right to take this opportunity of seeing it, and I hope another year you may not find it so easy, for I told him that my suggestion was made not only without the least communication with you, but absolutely without your knowledge, and without your 52 LOBD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS having or being able to have the least suspicion of my having written. Many thanks for the Debats, which I received the same day with your first letter mentioning Zurich. Babinet's article is too kind by much, but it is very gratifying, as his learning on all scientific subjects is great. What pleases me most, however, is his attack on England for never having raised a National Monument to Newton, and his unbounded praise of that first of men. I quite agree with you on French Judicial Procedure, and the trial in the Journal des Debats is a striking and scandalous illustration. It even goes beyond the early abominations of that practice. Yours most sincerely, \^2Vot signed]. TO MB. FOBSYTH. 53 Cannes (Var), Ch. El. Lou. 30 Dec.y 1859. My dear Friend, The army is going on cheerily to all appearance. I hear a report from London of a con- versation in which L. N. made Cobden believe that all France, except himself, was against England, and for an invasion. This is only his usual love of truth ; but C, it is said, was so much alarmed as to tell Palmerston that he would support all votes for arma- ment. I have a letter from Florence, which mentions a dictum there current — '' si tace, conspisce ; si par la, mentisce; sempre tradisce." But whether he will or no, this last proposal of [illegible] must have a certain success. I find our 54 LOUD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS poor friend died in the bosom of the E. Catholic church. He had been converted in early youth at Genoa on a promise to keep it concealed till his death-bed. You will observe he never had a seat in Parliament until after the Catholic Emanci- pation, so there could be no fraud. What say you to the , with perfect respect, comparing L. N. to a rattlesnake ? He will like this as little as my speech on Satan, which he was stupid enough or touchy (?) enough to fancy meant him, as if he had been in the Garden of Eden where part of my scene was laid. Yours ever most sincerely, H. Brougham. He made a will the day before he died, leaving everything to in whom he expressed entire confidence. Qu. Whether the Scotch law of deathbed is not a right one ? ... -^^^'J ^^/u^^ lA^-' /x?eW^'^ >-^^^ /_.., ..--1 'i^ ^.^i/^---^- A^ "^ ^^ ^'" ^^^/^ TO MR. FORSYTH. 59 4, Grafton Street, Thursday Morning. Dearest Hortensius, I GO on Saturday morning [illegible] and away from the fog and the frost, but it would grieve me extremely if I did not see you before I go. I dine to day with Panizzi at the B. Museum, and only Gladstone is to meet me. I am on such terms with P. that I can take you. Have you any objection ? If you have, can you make it convenient to vourself to come here to-morrow morninof before eleven, or shall I find you at home and disengaged about then ? My hours are all numbered and filled here ; my stay is so short. But I must positively see you one w^ay or another before sailing, when we start at 10 a.m. Yours most sincerely, H. Brougham:. 60 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS 4, Grafton Street, Wednesday Evening. My dearest H., I SEND you in another cover tickets for the Soiree of Saturday (which they say is to be worth seeing), and for the opening of the Congress to- morrow (Thursday) evening, in case you and Mrs. F. have any curiosity to attend. Yours most sincerely, H. Brougham. 4, Grafton Street, Saturday. Dearest H., As they are apt to be priggish at such places, I think it much better to have the fair Hortensia's card, which I have got and enclose. Yours most sincerely, H. B. TO ME. FORSYTH. Gl Private. 4, Grafton Street, 5 July, 1860. My dear Hortensius, Many and hearty thanks for the pleasure you have given me of reading the very interesting and important article.* I may have a remark or two to trouble you with upon some parts of the subject. I can never enough be grateful to you for your great kindness on former occasions. Your appreciation of my speeches I cannot forget — especially when I have since found that from party or possibly from personal feelings, by far the best of them all (the Grantham Address) has, in all quarters, been ignored (to use the fashionable and un-English phrase) — a thing which I really do not so much regret on my own account (very far, indeed, from it) * This alludes to an article I wrote in the Edinburgh Rerieftv (Jan. 1860), on the " Progress of Legal Reform." 62 LOED BROUGHAM'S LETTERS as because that address has not been the means, as I hoped it would have been, of rescuing the country from the disgrace of raising no national monument to the most illustrious man that ever appeared Believe me, Sincerely yours, H. Brougham. Brougham, Thursday, [Avgi. 20, I860]. My dear Mr. F., I HOPE and trust you may come round this way from Liverpool. I am sure to be here till Monday, and, if I knew you would come on that day, I could stay over Tuesday. You are out in your law on the R[oyal] Family Marriage Act. The attempt is prevented by the forfeiture — and so it is in other cases. If tenant i\)i' life makes a feoffment in fee, the deed is not TO MR. FORSYTH. 63 worth the paper it is written on, but the estate is forfeited — and so would the remainders expectant upon it, but for trustees to preserve them. It is the same in Scotch law. An heir of entail under a strict settlement (that is, framed with the clauses irritant and resolutive), if he contravenes, forfeits his own interest. There being no remainder in Scotch law, the estate goes to the next heir of entail and is not lost. Just so the R. F. Marriage Act made the marriage without consent null and void, but it worked a forfeiture. This was once discussed, as T. Moore's Memoirs (published by Lord J. Eussell) have recorded, at dinner at Denman's ; Williams and I being present, and I believe Tindal also. C. Butler, too (Denman's old monitor), was there, and the subject was broached and the objection taken and at once pooh pooh' d, by C. Butler as well as myself. T. Moore's account, I dare say, is quite accurate (I never read it, having an abhorrence of such an unlawful woik), but in one particular he has misrepresented. He makes C[harles] B[utler] ask, "Then why did you not 64 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS prove it ? " and me or Denman answer, " Because we had no witness." Now we had Mrs. F[itz-herbert's] nephew, H. Errington, in the next street. He might have refused to answer on account of the penalties, but that was enough for us. Yours ever, H. B. I AM quite shocked to have omitted an answer to the most interesting part of your letter — the announcement of your projected work. It is very much wanted indeed, and the ground almost wholly untrodden. I can speak to this, having had occasion to go over some portions of it in preparing my Pol. Phil[osophy], and more especially in the part still unpublished, i.e.^ the functions of Government, the [illegible] being in the published volumes. Yrs. ever, H. B. TO MR. FORSYTH. 65 Beougham, 24 Bee, I860. ' My dear Hortensius, I HAVE received your kind letter, and fear you may not find the book worth reading so much as you expect There is in the PoUtical Philosophy a much more difficult subject dealt with, and on which I certainly bestowed great pains, both in England and on the Continent — I mean the Italian Governments, and, if the Italians would examine the subject and think for themselves, they might profit by it. That, however, is quite out of the [question]. But is there not somewhat of the same difficulty in teaching our countrymen the subject of their own Constitution ? . . . . Books are very cheap and newspapers cheaper, and men are so indolent that they rather hand over to others the trouble of thinking for them. You even see how few will take the trouble of reading in the news- papers the report of a debate. They prefer reading GQ LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS the Editor's summary, and chiefly the leading articles. To be sure, it may be said there are papers of all sides — so there are. But, to take an example from my book. The necessity of an Aristo- cracy is dwelt upon and the evils of mob tyranny. The radical penny papers circulate 75,000 a day . . . That paper is sure either to suppress all mention of the subject, or to misrepresent what is said, and to attack it ; and no paper will answer such attacks, for you may observe that even .... and affecting to despise the penny papers, has no small appre- hension of their power and influence with a large class, though not of their readers. Believe me. Sincerely yours, H. Brougham. One foot of snow and 27 degrees of frost this morning. TO MR FORSYTH. 67 Brougham, Penrith, 6 Atigt, 1861. My dearest Hortensius, Your refusal of so great a thing is very- satisfactory, and will .... But indeed you had before refused a higher place.* I rejoice both in the tender and the refusal. Now you are, perhaps, aware that I am due in Dublin for a week, and it may be extended to ten days, in order to see Killarney, for I have positively refused all other engagements. This makes me absent from home from the 12th to the 24th or 2oth. But, though I should be back at the close of your circuit, I wish you to consider this. If you can come Kere before the 12th, say on Friday or Saturday, you would only find the Duke of * This refers to my having- declined the offer of the post of Leg-al Member of Council of India, made to me by Sir Charles Wood (now Lord Halifax), who was then Secretary of State for India. I had previously declined the Chief Justiceship of Bengal. E 2 68 LOEB BROUGHAM'S' LETTERS Wellington, who accompanies me to the Congress (Dublin), and you have a train on Monday which takes you to Liverpool early in the day. Pray consider this, and let me know, that the carriage may be in waiting for you at the station . . . Yours most sincerely, H. Brougham, Private and Confidential. Ch[ateau] El. Lou. (Cannes, Var), 17 Nov. [1861]. Carissime mi Hortensi, I WOULD fain have from you a reference to the passage where Cicero mentions his Tullia or Tulliola — in connexion with a plan he had of build- ing a temple to her and making her worshipped. I want to see what he says, and have no recollec- tion of the passage, and even doubt if it exists. I have suffered for above twenty years the same cruel TO MB, FORSYTH. 69 bereavement, and I many years ago (fifteen or sixteen) made a kind of monument to her I had lost, by making her the heroine of a Philosophical Romance. When it was printed in three volumes — having no blasphemy and no obscenity in it — I plainly saw it would have no readers ... I showed it to two or three persons, and they afforded another reason of non-publication, by mistaking grossly the characters — supposing persons the most opposite to be the ones meant — as T. Macaulay to be a person caricatured, as carrying mathematics to excess, who did not know a [illegible] of them ; that a circle is not a square ; but, because the person was repre- sented as a great bore who talked people to death, they fancied it was my friend Tom, and so of others. I need not add how exclusively this is for your own eye ... . Yours most sincerely, H. B. 70 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS Private and Confidential, Cannes (Var), Ch[ateau] E. L., 23 Nov. [1861}. My dearest Mk. F., I HAVE just received your letter. A thou- sand thanks for the full references. There are Ciceros here of all kinds, and a very full Ernesti with indexes. You misunderstood my mention of the Romance. It never was published at all — but one or two copies got out, which were afterwards bought up. Among others to whom I lent it, were Lyndhurst and Croker. The former is called Chapeley in the book, the latter [illegible^, and Croker used always to sign [illegible] after he had read it. I got both the copies back from them, and the one to Rogers — to whom it was dedicated — I got at his death from his executors. I have one copy^ and will lend it to you when I return. The rest of TO MR FORSYTH. 71 the 1000 are all locked up and sealed in a cellar The title was * ' Many thanks for your suggestions as to autobio- graphy, which I believe are quite well founded. You do quite right to suppress all idea of the present occupation of your horce eubsecivce. Nothing is more dangerous in our pro- fession than an extra viamfi. I learn from Paris that Fould has arranged all about L. N., and probably the army will not [illegible] the necessary seduction. But he has done quite right Yours ever, [ Unsigned.] * I think it right to suppress the name, as Lord Brougham was so desirous that no copy should get into circulation. It was a Novel in three volumes, and is an additional proof of the extraordinary versatility of his powers. LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS Cannes (Var), Chateau, Uth Dec, 1861. My dearest Hortensius, ] If a copy of the Trcpt (TTi/-*^ <^?^^ ^ />^ ^M^ '-^ ^^ /^ iytuJ^U^ pe4^vx, A^ *^iy/-^ / ^^^^^'^'-^ TO MR. FORSYTH. Ill here — rather too fine, for the trees are pushing out their blossoms rapidly — and I doubt not will sufifer afterwards by the frost. I suppose our good folks will leave Brougham on Monday, and we may expect them here in less than a fortnight. Kindest regards and respects to Mrs. F., and Believe most sincerely, H. B. Cannes (Var), Ch^ateau] E. L., 4 Jany., 1864. Carissime mi Hortensi, I TRUST the Critique Fran^aise arrived safe, though it is of little value ; and that your Cicero is nearly out. It was, by mistake of the servants here, not sent the same day, but the day after. I find the book -post safe in general, but I make Ridgway send me books by Rail Parcel. 112 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS I shall take some interest in the An [nual] Register now I know in whose hands it is.* For many years it was in Burke's, I believe during the whole of the American War, and for some time after. We are now in colder weather here, but still as fine as possible. The good folks being in great want of rain (only half the usual quantity having fallen last year), were sadly disappointed last week when we had a thunderstorm, and they expected that rain would come in the [illegible]. But only an hour's light shower came, and now we are in the middle of an orange-flower harvest, which is like that in May. You see Thiers has made a very moderate speech, and his enemies expect him to take office, which I certainly do not. He was returned by the exertions of the Republican party, as not at all approving of him, but taking him for a decided enemy of the Imperialists. They will be furious if he deceives * For many years I was the Editor of the work. TO MR. FORSYTH. 113 them. Nothing can be so wild as the Jerome Napoleon paper calling out for war in behalf of Poland, and to prevent Russia from taking all Europe under her care by a general coalition. Kindest wishes of the season to you and yours. Believe me, Ever most sincerely yours, H. B. Cai;nes (Var), Ch, E. Louise, Thursday, 14 Jany., 1864. My dear Friend, I AM utterly shocked at the villany of the Post Office and I shall have the Post Office here pulled up, as they are to blame. We have had a great speech of BeiTyer, who has, I won't say surpassed, for that would be impossible, but equalled, himself I saw an absurd article in the Saturday Review on Thiers, calling him the 114 LOED BEOUGHAM'S LETTERS greatest orator in France. He is all very well, and as a Ministerial speaker, does his work as [illegible] as [illegible] did. Bat the orator is Berryer. I reckon him the first of Advocates, and equal to Erskine, which is saying everything, in the conduct of a cause, in which I have seen him with wonder. But he excels Erskine in this, that he is as great in Parliament as at the Bar, which E. certainly was not, though far more considerable than is generally said. I do hope that the wretch Mazzini may be punished in his own country for this new assassination plot in which he has been concerned. With kind regards and respects to Mrs. F. Believe me, Sincerely yours, H. B. TO MR. FORSYTIL 115 Cannes (Var), Ch. El. Louise, 22 Jan.y 1864. Carissime mi Hortensi, For he (the Emperor) is cer- tainly much worried by the debating power of the Opposition, and I conclude that he begins to feel what Fould always told him, that he had given too much not to be driven on to give more. I perceive an indication of new trouble to him in the two Paris Elections for vacated seats. Carnot is to stand for the one, and Garnier Pag& for the other. G. P. was to have come to his new house in this neighbourhood which is just finished and fur- nished, and he was expected to enter upon it. But he writes that his coming is delayed indefinitely ; the Government has the power of fixing the election at any time within six months of the vacancy, and they are not expected to fix this, for two months ; not liking two Paris defeats, which they are pretty sure to sustain. » Garnier Pagds had the whole 116 LOBJ) BBOUGHAM'S LETTERS regulation of the votes in Thiers's Election, and he chose him (by the help of Persigny's folly in abusing him) from no liking to Thiers, but [illegible] as a certain opponent of the Emperor. Kindest regards and respects from all here to Mrs. F. Yours most sincerely, H. B. Cannes (Var), Ch. El. Louise, [Feb., 1864.] My dear Friend, The Cicero is come safe, and a most beauti- ful book it is in all respects. But I here speak of its external character. The cuts are admirable, and I never can thank you enough for the pleasure I anticipate in a careful perusal. I shall write to you again when I have read a little of it. At present I am occupied in trying to make him Cicero, and not Kikero. TO MR. FOBSYTH. .117 My belief is that the Italians never retained (?) the real Roman pronunciation of chi and che. But I want to prove it, and my proof will be to find some place such as Cestria, supposing that name to have been given in classical times, and then to find that it has ever since been called Chester or Winchester, as Ainsworth has it. The conservation of the name in this change would be a strong proof. Ainsworth gives no authority, and I have not looked into Strabo. Well, what is to be done about our Criminal law ? Kelly is proposing a bill : but this is the difficulty. If Townley was mad at the time when sentence was to be executed, of course he could not be hanged on the day fixed. But if he got well, he ought to have been hanged. Then there must be a new sentence. It is the same if the convict is seized with apoplexy, and [illegible] over him for life the trial. He can- not in that state be hanged. But he may be quite fit for execution a day or two after. Yours ever most sincerely, H. B. 118 LOED BROUGHAM'S LETTERS Cannes (Yab), Ch. El. Lou., 20 April, 18B4. My dear Friend, I RECEIVED your melancholy letter a few weeks ago, and rejoiced to find you were disposed to take the only remedy — hard work* I live in hopes of seeing you before long, as I shall face the cold, and the fog, and the {illegible] of the H. of Lords in little more than a fortnight. I have been writing a somewhat elaborate preface to Plunkett's speeches and memoirs, which his family are publishing. I regarded him as the first of modern orators, and I deemed it my bounden duty to undertake this task, as Erskine did to the collec- tion of Fox's Speeches. Yours ever most sincerely, H. Brougham. Our family desire their kindest regards. * I had written to Lord Brougham, to tell him of the death of my wife. TO MB. FORSYTH, 119 Cannes (Var), Ch[ateau] E[leanor] L[ouise], 3 MaT/, 1864. My dear Friend, I SEND you by this post Lord Wellesley's very interesting work Primitice et Relliquice, which I doubt if you saw at Brougham. It is dedicated to me, and well deserves to be read. I am somewhat humbled when I reflect on one of the articles — Salix Babylonica — which he wrote in admiration of the 137th Psalm ; and so great was his admiration, that he corresponded with Bishop Maltby about learning Hebrew, which he had resolved to do. What humbles me is, to think of his having had this pro- ject when in his eightieth year, and, though I have no reason to complain, I feel how much more vigorous he felt at eighty than I do at eighty-four or eighty-five. I wonder at your having never read any of Plun- kett's great speeches. The one in 1821 on the Catholic question is represented by those who were 120 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS lucky enough to hear it (which the N[orthern] Circuit prevented me) as the finest that ever was heard. But I had, both before and since, heard him, and, I may add, contended with him in debate. He was a first-rate orator — take him in all respects, the finest I ever heard. I only doubt if my preface will do him justice, and the speeches revised by himself are so few, that a great part of his Rhetorical renown must remain upon tradition : fortunately, we saw so much of him in England that nothing rests upon Irish tradition. Since I began my letter, I have come to the determination to bring the Wellesley book home with me, instead of trusting it to the post, after the shameful blunders which befel my last transmission. I set out in ten days, and shall hope soon to see you, as I only stop three or four days in Paris. All here desire their kindest regards. Sincerely yours, H. Brougham. TO MB. FORSYTH. 121 4, Grafton Street, Saturday, 9 Jvhj, 1864. My dear Friend, I GRIEVE that the only person I know in Russia is our Ambassador, and I enclose a letter to him, which will procure you much more kindness than the ordinary Foreign Office letters, which Foreign Ministers rather look upon as an order from the office. You go at a right time, and I hope my attacks upon Russia may not injure you, when known to be my friend. Believe me, Most affectionately yours, H. B. 122 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS Ch[ateau] E. L., Cx\NNES, 25 Jan., 1865. Carissime mi Hortensi, I GOT your letter this morning, which gave me real pleasure — ^but jou. did not mention your son-in-law's name, and I searched everywhere for the chance of finding them, but in vain. Of course, my desire was to see them here, — but if they called, they left no name. I must congratulate on the marriage which I had not heard of But my chief felicitation is in your own health, which I hope and trust is permanently recovered. Having only the Classics here, without the Memoirs of the Academy, I shall have little to suggest till I get to Brougham. I have just been reading the last Quarterly, which has some good articles TO ME. FORSYTH. 123 I mean my name being omitted alone of the Law Lords, because I had The post is going, so I close. Yours ever, H. B. Cannes (Var), Ch. E. L., 3 Feb., 18()5. My dear Hortensius, Many and hearty thanks for your kindness My great regret is, that you don't make it publici juris. I am just going to write to Prince Lucien, who is become a Cannesian (?). I am sure it will greatly interest him, and indeed raise his country in his estimation, when you recommend Russland for an autumn excursion. I am enabled to bear my sudden and most unex- pected blow the better, by all our family beicg with me, and also by the sad reflection that it closed II 2 124 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS without pain a long existence of misery from weak- ness and pain, which had been suffered for fifteen or sixteen years. Yours most sincerely, H. B. Reggie desires his kind regards and respects. He is much pleased with your remembrance of him. Brougham, Penrith, Monday, 31 July, (1865). My dear Friend, I HAVE read your very kind letter, and heartily thank you for it. I write to a trusty person in Town to make enquiry as to the theft y for such it is. The man must have bought the book from one who stole it.* I am much disturbed * This alludes to the Novel written by Lord Brougham, and afterwards suppressed. I had told him in a letter that I saw in TO MR. FORSYTH. 125 at the petition against your seat. Le Marchant has written to me, that he also was alarmed by Meri- vale, whom you have seen. But although you cannot for a moment enter the House until it is disposed of, (because you by voting at any moment when a question is put, incur the penalty), I really cannot see how it comes within the Act. I am quite aware of the case of King's Counsel, and that a patent of precedence is given to avoid it. But that is because the only retainer is from the Crown direct, and it is a salary from the Crown. But I cannot see that in your case it is anything but a retainer from the Secretary for India Yours most sincerely, H. B. . a shop window in London three volumes labelled " , a Novel by Lord Brougham." b 12Q LORD BBOUGIIAM'S LETTERS Brougham, Peneith, 8 Avgvst, [1865]. Carissime mi Hortensi, You may rely on my discreetly my eulogy. I am delighted with the possibility of your coming here. You know I am fixed till Saturday, when I go to Sheffield, and you can come without notice. We dine at 7 ; but if we knew your day, we would send the carriage to the station. Yours most sincerely, H. B. ^^jUV^-^^K,^ i^O^^ ''^W5^<-^ ^'-- -"^ TO MR. FORSYTH. ]2f) Brougham, Penrith, 26 Nov., 1865. Carissime mi Hortensi, Have you considered the authority of the two fragments— especially the Somnium Scipionis, and is it anywhere discussed ? I am looking in the French memoirs, where there are some elaborate papers on Cicero ; but the total want of an index makes the search tedious. There are some things in the Somnium which tally (?) with the Christian rather than Pagan, such as what we call life is* really death. My only Cicero here is Ernesti* Yours most sincerely, H. B. * The latter part of this letter is to me hopelessly illegible. I have given a far-simile of the original. Perhaps others may be more successful in deciphering it. 130 LORD BROUGHAM'S LETTERS Brougham, Penrith, 1 Dec, 1865. Many thousand thanks, my dear friend, from myself and the whole family, for the very valuable present of your Rome. It is [illegible], and its printing, with all the cuts, is superb. I deeply lament that I shall not be able to attend at Cambridge with your constituents. But I hope the papers will give me your address. I have found the Somnium Scipionis referred to in a very able [illegible], one of a series by Sibert in the Academy of Belles Lettres. He assumes its authenticity. Yours ever most sincerely, H. B. TO MB, FORSYTIL 1:51 Private. Chateau E. L., Cannes, 17 May, 1866. Carissime mi Hortensi. I AM quite clear that a declaratory Act should be passed to set this gross error right, and I do hope and trust that it will be done. The absurd decision of the Commitee is the only thing against it.* You are quite wrong in supposing that any thing can turn on the publication of Lord Grey's letters, as regards the account in Molesworth's book of what passed with William IV. on the dissolution of 1831, for all that the son says was referred to and shown to be quite wide of the real question, viz. the hour of * This refers to the decision of a Committee of the House of Commons, by which my election as M.P. for Cambridge was declared void, on the ground of my holding the office of Standing Counsel to the Secretary of State in Council of India. 132 LOED BBOUGHAAPS LETTEllS the King's going down to the House of Lords, and not to the question of his previous assent to the measure. Besides, the present Lord Grey has re- tracted what he said of my not having accompanied his father, saying he has found that I was with him. But Molesworth has received letters from the nephew of Sir J. Warren, stating that on board his uncle's ship, William IV. himself told the whole exactly as Roebuck's book and Molesworth have given it. There is therefore an end of all question on the subject. I agree with you as to the Conservative prospects, but I greatly fear we are to have a war which will make all home politics uninteresting. Yours ever most sincerely, H. Brougham. TO MR. FORSYTH . 1:53 Private. Brougham, Penrith, Nov. 2Wi, 1866. My dear Mr. F.* Many thanks for your kind letter. The accident was really nothing, and the lumbago I have had, and still have, is not owing to it, but to the weather, and I almost always have it at this season. My using another hand is merely owing to laziness. I agree in all you say on Judicial Promotion, and feel quite certain that I hope to see you as I pass through town in less than a fort- night ; and am, in the meantime, Your most affectionate and attached friend, H. Brougham. * This letter is written by an amanuensis, and only signed by Lord Brougham. 134 LORD .BROUGHAM'S LETTERS 4, Grafton Street, [Bate illegible']. Carissime mi Hortensi, I HEARTILY rejoice to find you are in such progress, because it shows you to he well. I need not say how great an honour I should deem what you so kindly propose. I wish I were as well as you ; but I have been suffering under our com- plaint, aggravated by the state of my mouth (from teeth) which makes me no longer deserve the name of silvcT-tongue, which I once had. However, I mumble on to the end of the Session, and shall hope , to be more audible at the Great Congress [Social Science], where I preside in October at Edinburgh, and if you should attend it, I trust you and Hortensia will make Brougham your Inn on the road. Believe me, Sincerely yours, H. Brougham. TO MR. FORSYTH. 135 4, Grafton Street, 29 Jan., 180G. My dear Friend, Here is the Wellesley Relliquise. I have put in the last of them, with the addition which he made at my desire to what he had first written, and which is in the printed work. Mind I shall request you to return this if I find that we have no copy at Brougham or Cannes. I hope and trust you are well and at work, though slowly recovering your most severe blow. Yours most affectionately, H. Brougham. 130 LOBB BROUGHAJSrS LETTER. 1 Private. Brougham, Peneith, 17 Augt.y 1866. My dear Friend, I SEND by book-post to-day Sir E. Wilmot's prize essay on Cicero and Tusculum, which he has allowed me to send for your perusal. I am uncer- tain of your whereabouts at present ; and if you are not returned from your trip to the Continent, it can remain till your return. Pray return it to me at your leisure. All here desire their kindest regards. If you are disposable, I hope we shall see you at our Congress at Manchester in October. Yours ever most sincerely, H. B. THE END. BRADBURY, EVANS, AND CO., PRINTEKS, WHITEFBIAllS. ^rou^l^am I. / #farif^ // /y^^^^-^ ^,/^^/-l^ f*- 14 DAY USE I RETURN TO DESK FROM WfflCH BORROWED This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the date to which renewed. Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. C uJasKiv\&tcx ^ CNTER-LIBRARr LOAN ' '-' 2 '3 m€Zd 1089 MTODISCNOV02 198 ) TT»oi Qt;-« o "71 General Library i <^025b0b30S