uBf^tn 
 
 itf^iv R
 
 (iKOiscK, 4Tii KAKI. OF ABERDEEN, K.T. 
 
 As Foreign Minister. 
 
 'rum a picture painted for Sir Kobort Pod by Sir Thomas Lawromr. P.K.A. 
 Enjjravod by Samuel Cousins, 1831.
 
 THE 
 
 LIFE OF GEORGE 
 FOURTH EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 K.G., K.T. 
 
 BY 
 
 LADY FRANCES BALFOUR 
 
 LL.D., D.Litt. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES 
 
 VOL. I 
 
 HODDER AND STOUGHTON 
 
 LIMITED LONDON
 
 MADE AND PRINTED IN GRKAT BRITAIN. 
 
 RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LIMITED, 
 
 PRINTERS, BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 THE papers and correspondence of the Earl of 
 Aberdeen, Queen Victoria's Prime Minister, were 
 entrusted to me by his grandson, the Marquis of 
 Aberdeen and Temair, in the year 1913. I also 
 received a large number of papers from Lord Stanmore. 
 His father, the Arthur Gordon who appears so often 
 in this work, known in the House of Lords as the first 
 Lord Stanmore, had devoted much time to the collec- 
 tion and the editing of the mass of State papers and 
 correspondence left behind by Lord Aberdeen. 
 
 It had been the intention of Lord Stanmore to 
 publish these papers on a scale which has not been 
 attempted in these volumes. In fact, the vastness 
 of the work was too overwhelming for him to achieve. 
 After Lord Aberdeen's death in 1860, Lord Stanmore 
 was much abroad, and his life was filled with public 
 work. Lord Aberdeen's life was published in the 
 series entitled the " Queen's Prime Ministers," and 
 that again was the shortened precis of a one-volumed 
 Life privately printed, but never published. 
 
 In Lord Stanmore's preface to the Short Life, he 
 says it was with reluctance that he consented to write 
 the book. He thought the life and nature of Lord 
 Aberdeen's character were such as to make it pecu- 
 liarly difficult to do them justice within the limits 
 of a short biography. Lord Stanmore was conscious 
 also that it must dimmish the value of any future 
 publication of Lord Aberdeen's correspondence " a 
 duty entrusted to me by the terms of my father's 
 will."
 
 iv PREFACE 
 
 More than sixty years have passed since the death 
 of the Prime Minister. The publication of the Short 
 Life has undoubtedly made the editing of the papers 
 left seem a work of some difficulty. 
 
 The vast and careful scale on which a longer memoir 
 had been planned, made it almost impossible in these 
 less leisured days to carry out the filial desire of the 
 son, and the strong sense of duty which has throughout 
 inspired the grandson. 
 
 In the light of this double inspiration, I have tried 
 to present a readable and understandable picture both 
 of the times in which Lord Aberdeen lived, and of the 
 strong personality of the Queen's Prime Minister. 
 
 It is not often remembered that he was Castlereagh's 
 Ambassador to Vienna in 1813, that he twice held the 
 Seals of Minister for Foreign Affairs, before, at the age 
 of sixty-nine, he became the Prime Minister of " the 
 girl of eighteen," whom he had seen ascend the Throne. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen was essentially, as he well describes 
 himself, " a Minister of Peace, if ever there was one." 
 Fate has almost entirely associated him with an 
 unfortunate war. 
 
 His life in his native Scotland was as remarkable 
 as any other part of his career. If I have dwelt out 
 of proportion on this feature, it is because I felt it 
 to be of deep and dramatic interest. It presents a 
 continuous picture of what " the landowning class," 
 as they are now contemptuously called, have done in 
 building up the prosperity of the country in all parts 
 of Great Britain. 
 
 I have endeavoured to follow the lines laid down 
 by Lord Stanmore, and to select from the correspond- 
 ence the things which seemed most to illustrate the 
 times, and the man who lived in this epoch, and left 
 his impress on his country. 
 
 I have resisted the temptation " to write before and
 
 PREFACE v 
 
 after," to make the past fit into the present. That 
 history does repeat itself must come forcibly to the 
 mind of every student of the world's public affairs. 
 That public men are mortal, and capable of very obvious 
 mistakes; that nations change their outlook, and the 
 temper of to-day is not necessarily the temper of 
 to-morrow, is self-evident to those who write ; whether 
 it is so to those who read, depends much on how 
 honestly history has been presented. 
 
 I can only say that I have tried to represent things 
 as they are revealed by the documents before me. If 
 I have failed it is not the fault of the written words, 
 which are nothing if they are not consistently upright 
 and sincere, and " as the noonday clear." 
 
 Two chapters have been devoted to the Disruption 
 within the National Church of Scotland. I have 
 endeavoured to write the story so as to make it com- 
 prehensible, even to the mind of an Anglican, and an 
 Englishman. The papers on this controversy ran into 
 eight hundred closely printed pages. The two chapters 
 were submitted to the late Lord Guthrie and to Sir 
 William Robertson Nicoll. Both have kindly read 
 and approved them. Lord Guthrie, the son of a 
 Disruption Father, was so interested in the revival of 
 these ancient ecclesiastical controversies, that he made 
 himself quite ill over their perusal. To those who feel 
 they are of no interest, and contain no lesson, it can 
 only be said that they may be left unread, without 
 the history being interrupted. 
 
 One personal note may be allowed me. Lord 
 Aberdeen was born in 1784, and my father died in 
 1900. When Lord Aberdeen died, I was an infant. 
 As I have traced the features and conned the mind 
 of this great Minister, I have come on much in the 
 papers that has proved the deep veneration in which 
 he was held by my father, and even yet more by my
 
 vi PREFACE 
 
 mother. Something of that long chain of association 
 was, no doubt, in the mind of the present Marquis 
 when he asked me to write or, more properly, to edit, 
 the Life. The war, with its personal anxieties and 
 national absorption, has made the work long overdue. 
 But it is not altogether inappropriate that the history 
 should now appear. The world is weary of strife and 
 warfaring, and it may have leisure to read and ponder 
 on the work of one who was among the earliest heralds 
 of the gospel of peace and a good understanding among 
 the nations. 
 
 FRANCES BALFOUR. 
 
 32 Addison Road, London. 
 July 19, 1922.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 FAQS 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 1 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 83 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) .... 69 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 135 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 191 
 
 CHAPTER VI PART I 
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 216 
 
 CHAPTER VI PART II 
 FRANCE (1830) 245 
 
 CHAPTER VI PART III 
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) .... 265 
 
 INDEX 297
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 To face pagt 
 
 GEORGE, FOURTH EARL OF ABERDEEN, K.T., AS FOREIGN 
 MINISTER ...... Frontispiece 
 
 THE TERRACE, HADDO HOUSE ..... 48 
 
 HADDO HOUSE, 1815 56 
 
 HADDO HOUSE, 1860 64 
 
 GEORGE, FOURTH EARL OF ABERDEEN .... 96 
 JANE, CAROLINE AND ALICE GORDON . . . .128 
 CATHERINE HAMILTON, COUNTESS OF ABERDEEN . .160 
 
 "A CABINET PUDDING" 192 
 
 " SOME OF THE INS AND OUTS OF THIS WORLD " . . 192 
 ARGYLL HOUSE . ....... 240 
 
 A SKETCH OF LORD ABERDEEN RIDING IN ROTTEN Row. 256 
 AT BUCHAN NESS ........ 272 
 
 HARRIET DOUGLAS, COUNTESS OF ABERDEEN . . . 288
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 
 
 " O happy is the man who hears 
 
 Instruction's warning voice ; 
 And who celestial wisdom makes 
 
 His early, only choice. 
 For she has treasures greater far 
 
 Than East or West unfold ; 
 And her rewards more precious are 
 
 Than all their stores of gold." 
 
 GEORGE HAMILTON GORDON was born at Edinburgh 
 on January 28, 1784. His father, George Lord 
 Haddo, died from the result of an accident before 
 he succeeded to the title. 
 
 He and Lady Haddo were at the time residing 
 in the beautiful castle of Gight, situated in a secluded 
 valley five miles from Haddo House. The castle 
 stands on the precipitous bank of the river Ythan, 
 which here runs through a deep glen. Nothing is 
 left of the castle save its ruined walls, holding vestiges 
 of chapel and hall. Here occurred that event which 
 in its sequel was destined to remove the future 
 statesman from the place of his ancestral lands, and 
 to bring him under influences which were to shape his 
 career apart from the ways of his country and people. 
 
 The tradition runs that Lord Haddo, riding out 
 from Gight, had to pass the castle well, now standing 
 in the green garth of the domain, though probably 
 at that period it was within the outer court of the 
 castle. A girl was about to draw water, and the horse, 
 startled by the noise of the chain, or by her sudden 
 appearance, reared violently, and fell back with the 
 rider, who was thus mortally injured. Lord Haddo 
 insisted, however, on walking to the Castle door, 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 in order to allay his wife's alarm ; but very soon after- 
 wards he expired. 
 
 Lady Haddo soon left the place where her married 
 life had come to so sudden and unhappy an end, and 
 she resolved to spend the rest of her life in England. 
 It was not destined to be a long one; she never re- 
 covered from the shock of her husband's death, and 
 lived in melancholy retirement until her death four 
 years later, in 1795. 
 
 Her children accompanied her to England. She 
 settled at Barnet in Hertfordshire, and it was 
 there that her eldest son George received his earliest 
 education, and later in another school at Parson's 
 Green. By Lady Haddo's death her children were 
 left in a position which was one of singular and 
 unhappy isolation. Their grandfather, Lord Aber- 
 deen, would naturally have stood to them in the place 
 of the father that they had lost. This unfortunately 
 was not the case, and to trace the strange circumstances 
 in which the family was placed it is necessary to 
 give some account of the ancestral history. 
 
 Like many of the great Scottish families, the early 
 history of the Gordons is full of legend. Lord Stan- 
 more writes : " That Bertrand de Gourdon, by whose 
 arrow King Richard I was killed before the castle of 
 Chalus in Perigord, left children, who settled in 
 Scotland, and became the progenitors of the house 
 of Gordon, is a proposition which I should hesitate 
 to affirm ; but it is one which, in the presence of other 
 members of that house, I should equally hesitate to 
 deny." 
 
 It is not from the senior branch of the family, which 
 in the male line came to an end in 1408, that the 
 Gordons of Haddo trace their descent. Half a century 
 before the marriage of the last heiress of this line 
 to Alexander Seton, who took the name of Gordon, 
 a son of John Lord Gordon was established as Laird 
 at Haddo in Aberdeenshire, and from him, in unbroken 
 and direct male descent, springs the present line of 
 Earls of Aberdeen. The Lairds of Haddo were a
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 3 
 
 tough and exceedingly long-lived race. Some of 
 them came to a violent end on the battlefield or on 
 the scaffold, otherwise they reached, or exceeded, 
 the allotted span of life. 
 
 Sir John Gordon of Haddo distinguished himself 
 in the Royalist cause. On March 19, 1644, he managed 
 with a handful of men to surprise the town of Aberdeen, 
 then closely watched and guarded by the Covenanting 
 party. " Haddo's Raid " was completely successful. 
 The bold cavalier, attended by some other gentlemen, 
 and with a troop of about threescore horse, came 
 galloping through Old Aberdeen to New Aberdeen, 
 and the Provost and chief men of the city found 
 themselves made prisoners of war. After other acts 
 of violence, the old chronicle narrates : 
 
 " Go to hors schortlie, and cumis bak throw the 
 old toun, about ten houris in the morning, with thair 
 four captives; and, but bo to thair blanket, thay 
 rode doun throw the Gallowget, none daring to say 
 it wes evill done. Simlie it is to be markit the like 
 seldom hes been sein that so few men so pertlie, 
 and publictlie, sould have disgraceit sic a brave brughe 
 by taking away thair provest, and the rest men of 
 note, without any kynd of contradictioun or obstacile." 
 
 Haddo, at this time, had his children living in 
 Old Aberdeen for the sake of their education. He 
 could hardly rely on their safety in a town thus out- 
 raged by this raid, so the chronicler notes, " he takis 
 his young barnis at scooll hame behinde sum of his 
 servandis." Thus, taking part in the triumphant 
 return of his father, the future Earl and Lord Chan- 
 cellor first appears upon the stormy scenes of the 
 period. 
 
 On the following day Sir John Gordon sent the 
 children, with the exception of his eldest son, back 
 to school. George, the second son, was born October 
 1637, and his mother was Mary, daughter of William 
 Forbes of Tolquhen. - 
 
 The affairs of the Royalists were mismanaged, and 
 Sir John Gordon, who had been appointed by the
 
 4 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 King next in command to the Marquis, had to retire 
 to his house of Kellie before the Covenanting Army, 
 led by the Marquess of Argyll. He was attacked 
 in it by an overwhelming force, and after a brief 
 resistance his artillerymen deserted, and he was forced 
 to surrender both himself and his house to the enemy. 
 
 His children, including the future Earl, were 
 gathered round him at this last fight. " He had 
 sex young children within the place of Kellie ; which, 
 when it was rendeied, were all put to the yett saif 
 and sound." 
 
 Then followed the complete spoiling and destruction 
 of the house. " Statelie wes the plenishing within 
 this hous, and plesant yardis and planting about the 
 samen. First, they take out the staitlie insicht and 
 plenishing, sic as bedding, naprie, veschel caldrouns, 
 chandleris, fyre vexhele, quhairof their wes plentie, 
 trists, cofferis, cabinetis, trunbris, and armour." 
 Household gear, cattle and sheep were driven away. 
 Thus was the house of Kellie spoiled and made waste. 
 
 Sir John Gordon was carried prisoner to Edinburgh, 
 and there was no escape for such a noted Royalist. 
 He was the first individual who was judicially con- 
 demned and executed for adherence to the Royal 
 cause. To the King, whom he had served with such 
 zeal and courage, he commended on the scaffold 
 his children. In a short prayer he said, " I com- 
 mend my soule to God, and my sex children to his 
 Majesteis cair, for whose saik I die this day." " And 
 albeit Haddoche wes ane auncient barron of good 
 estait, and still ane loyall subiect to the king; hardie, 
 stout, bold in all haserdis; freind to his freind, and 
 terribill to his enemy, of a goodlyf and conversatioun, 
 moderat, temperat, and religious ; loth and unwilling 
 still to give offence, and alss loth to tak offence; and 
 withall ane good nichtbour, loving and kynd to his 
 tennentis, kinsfolkis, and freindis, yet thus he ended." 
 
 The children being thus bereft of parents and estate, 
 " friendis took thrie of them, and uther thrie wes 
 sent into Old Abirdene for lerning at the scoollis;
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 5 
 
 bot had not ane penny of thair father's estait bestowit 
 upone thame." 
 
 George was one of those sent to Old Aberdeen, and 
 when next heard of he was a distinguished scholar 
 in King's College. Here he studied under John 
 Strachan, who had a great reputation for learning. 
 He took his Master's degree in 1658, and it is recorded 
 that he was promoted to his degree first in order 
 before the others of his own class or year. On his 
 tutor's resignation, at his own request, the College 
 appointed to the vacant regency his distinguished 
 pupil, who thus became a professor the day after he 
 ceased to be a student. 
 
 The family at Haddo were not forgotten at the 
 Restoration, though no other benefit was conferred 
 on them than the rescinding of the forfeiture of their 
 title and estates. In the Act which was passed, in 
 the first Scottish Parliament held after the King's 
 return, honourable mention was made of the conduct 
 and sufferings of Sir John Gordon. In consequence 
 of this Act the eldest brother of the " sex," who had 
 been put out of " the yett," recovered possession of 
 the family estates. 
 
 The second brother remained at King's College 
 till the spring of 1663, when he went abroad, resolved 
 to devote himself to the study of law. The death 
 of his eldest brother without male issue recalled him 
 from the Continent, and placed him in possession 
 of the estate and baronetcy. Sir George Gordon 
 became a member of the Scottish bar, having in 1668, 
 after the usual preliminary trials, been admitted by 
 the Lords of Session " in and to the place and office 
 of ane ordinarie advocat before them." 
 
 We next find him elected as one of the Commissioners 
 to represent the county of Aberdeen in the second 
 Scottish Parliament held by Charles II. To this 
 Parliament were submitted certain proposals with a 
 view to the union of the kingdoms. Popularly these 
 proposals were regarded with aversion, as an attempt 
 to overthrow the national independence. The King's
 
 6 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Commissioner, the Duke of Lauderdale, laid the letter 
 under the King's hand before Parliament. The 
 immediate adoption of an answer of assent was rudely 
 pressed on the House by the Commissioner. Sir 
 George Gordon was not to be intimidated either by 
 the King's representative or the rash and arbitrary 
 terms submitted to Parliament. Almost alone, he 
 offered resistance to the measure, and when Sir George 
 Mackenzie counselled a day's delay in the decision 
 of Parliament, he found a seconder in Sir George. 
 
 Sir George's reputation as a lawyer did not suffer 
 from his opposition to the Court. In 1678 he was 
 made one of the King's Privy Council for Scotland, 
 and in 1680 he was promoted from being one of the 
 ordinary Lords of Session to the bench of the Supreme 
 Court of Scotland, under the title of Lord Haddo. 
 
 Under the administration of the Duke of York, 
 Lord Haddo continued to rise in reputation and office. 
 He succeeded Sir James Dalrymple of Stair as 
 President of the Supreme Court in 1681, and in the 
 same year there died John Leslie, Duke of Rothes, 
 the Chancellor of Scotland. There was a delay in 
 filling up the appointment, and the Duke of York 
 was expected to make it on his return from London 
 in 1682. The new occupant of this high office was 
 to have his appointment made known under extra- 
 ordinary circumstances. The Duke of York had 
 embarked for Scotland on the Gloucester frigate, 
 accompanied by Lord Haddo and a numerous 
 retinue. The ship struck on a sandbank off Yar- 
 mouth, on May 5. Nearly two hundred persons 
 perished, and the Duke himself, with difficulty, 
 and most unfortunately for Scotland, escaped by 
 leaping from his cabin window into a small boat. 
 Two or three others were thus saved, and the Duke 
 called to Sir George Gordon to follow their example. 
 In leaping he fell short of the boat into the sea. 
 In the excitement of the moment the Duke called 
 out, " Save my Chancellor ! " thus giving the first 
 intimation how this high dignity had been bestowed.
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 7 
 
 On reaching Edinburgh the Duke laid before the 
 Privy Council the King's letters patent, constituting 
 Sir George Gordon of Haddo to be Lord High Chan- 
 cellor of Scotland, in place of the Duke of Rothes. 
 The Duke of York had from an early period of his 
 residence placed great reliance on the ability and 
 character of Sir George, and, in 1682, he was promoted 
 to the Peerage under the title of the Earl of Aberdeen. 
 The patent recited the eminent services he had 
 rendered the King by means of his splendid mental 
 endowments. 
 
 The reference to his father's loyalty and suffering 
 was made more marked by the record how Lord 
 Aberdeen " now sat in that very city and judgment 
 seat where his father suffered so sad and unjust a 
 sentence." 
 
 During a period of more than two years the adminis- 
 tration of public affairs remained in Lord Aberdeen's 
 hands. He had a reputation for a close and steady 
 application to business, and he superintended with 
 watchful care and a steady hand every department 
 of public affairs. His singleness of eye and dis- 
 interested mind were typical of his descendant, the 
 fourth Earl, and in the succeeding generations it is 
 possible to trace the same aloofness of mind and love 
 of justice, which made them not always understood 
 by those whose outlook on the affairs of Church and 
 State was more coloured by the passions of personal 
 and party gains. 
 
 The Lord High Chancellor was entirely at one 
 with the Government in prosecuting with the utmost 
 rigours of the law the party in rebellion in the 
 south and west of Scotland for the cause of 
 civil and religious liberty. Outside the law he was 
 not prepared to go, and when the Duke of York's 
 obsequious Privy Council originated a scheme of 
 unlawful rigour against the rebels, that husbands 
 and fathers should be made responsible by fine and 
 imprisonment for the opinions of their wives and 
 daughters, he declared as a judge that such an order
 
 8 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 could not be carried out under any existing statute, 
 and as a Minister he declined to propose any alteration 
 in the law. His remonstrances were unheeded, and 
 rather than countenance measures which were alike 
 unjust and illegal he resigned his high office into the 
 hands of the King. 
 
 There was no comprehension of this " Just Judge." 
 But Lord Aberdeen's loyal services were of value 
 to the Government, and even the ignoble conspirators 
 who had got him out of office made new overtures to 
 him, " if he would have condeschended to act as Chan- 
 celor with the juncto." He told the King, except 
 he exercised (office) as freely as his predecessor the 
 Duke of Rothes did, he could not serve him ; and the 
 King telling him " he wold be served in his owne 
 manner and conforme to his own measures, he then 
 voluntarily demitted." 
 
 These transactions took place in London in May, 
 1684. The Earl travelled back to Edinburgh, there 
 dismantled his house, and retired to his Aberdeenshire 
 estate. The Earl of Perth succeeded him as Lord 
 Chancellor, with the Duke of Queensberry as Lord 
 Treasurer. They set to work remodelling the different 
 offices at their disposal, and engaged in an effort to 
 crush and disgrace the eminent statesman they had 
 supplanted. A rumour reached them that a con- 
 venticle had been held within the County of Mid- 
 lothian, of which Lord Aberdeen was Sheriff principal. 
 They began with pious zeal to proceed against him 
 for not having suppressed it. Lord Perth had suc- 
 ceeded him in this office as well as that of Lord Presi- 
 dent. Their researches into this matter led to the 
 discovery that the conventicle had indeed been held, 
 not, however, in Lord Aberdeen's county, but a few 
 yards within the march of the property of their own 
 peculiar friend and fellow-conspirator, the Earl of 
 Tweeddale. Whereupon, the chronicler says, " the 
 matter was suffered to sleip." 
 
 Their next effort was to get hold of Lord Aberdeen's 
 papers, hoping to find in them incriminating matter.
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 9 
 
 Sir John Dalrymple's person and papers were seized 
 and he was committed " to the tolbuite of Edinbrugh. 
 The Hy Tresurer was incensed that Sir John would 
 give them no discoveries against the Earl of Aberdeen." 
 These and other efforts to blacken and sully Aberdeen's 
 reputation, though carried on over a considerable 
 period, came to naught. William Fletcher, one of 
 Aberdeen's advocates, brought sharp rebuke on him- 
 self for saying, " My Lord Aberdeen could justify 
 all the interlocutors he had procured when he sate 
 on the bench, and that he nather was guilty of injustice 
 nor malversations." 
 
 Lord Aberdeen continued to take an active part 
 in Parliament after his withdrawal from office, but 
 after the landing of the Prince of Orange he retired 
 to the country. William III regretted that he could 
 not obtain his services, for Mackay had represented 
 him as being " the solidest statesman in Scotland ; 
 a fine orator, speaking slow but strong." 
 
 He remained a non-juror till the accession of Queen 
 Anne, when he emerged from his retirement and for 
 the first time took the oaths to the new Government. 
 He lived to a great age and died in 1720 at Kellie, 
 from whence he had been driven out as a child, and 
 from whence his father had been carried to the scaffold, 
 seventy-six years before his own peaceful end in the 
 place of his ancestors. 
 
 His son William, as Lord Haddo, had been elected, 
 after the Union, to the Parliament of Great Britain 
 as member for Aberdeenshire. The election, after 
 much debate, was set aside in 1714, on the ground 
 that the eldest sons of Peers had not been allowed 
 to sit in the Scottish Parliament, and were therefore 
 ineligible for a Scottish seat in the Parliament of the 
 United Kingdom. 
 
 Lord Haddo was a strong Jacobite, and the House 
 of Commons may have considered that fact more 
 than the question of constitutional law, which was 
 strained by the decision. Earl William married, 
 first a daughter of the Duke of Atholl, and secondly
 
 10 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 a daughter of the Duke of Gordon. These alliances 
 did not help to detach him from the cause of the House 
 of Stuart. He corresponded with the Jacobite leaders, 
 and masses of letters in cypher are preserved in the 
 archives at Haddo House. He did not join the Pre- 
 tender in 1745, though he was much interested in 
 his earlier success. " Fortunately for the interests 
 of the family," he died somewhat suddenly. 
 
 His eldest son and successor, George, according 
 to the prudent custom of Scottish families at that 
 time, had been brought up as a Whig, and he at once 
 declared his adhesion to George II. He lived till 
 over eighty, and died in 1801, surviving his eldest 
 son George, Lord Haddo. Pie formed a marked 
 contrast to his father, being a man of exemplary 
 character, refinement and taste. He married, in 
 1782, Miss Baird, daughter of William Baird of New- 
 byth, sister to the famous General Sir David Baird. 
 They were the parents of seven children, of whom 
 the eldest was not twelve years of age, and the 
 youngest barely four, at the time of the death of their 
 father. 
 
 Lady Haddo was not on friendly terms with Lord 
 Aberdeen. She had expressed a well-grounded dis- 
 approval of his dissolute mode of life, and his interests 
 were removed from her and his grandchildren by other 
 relations not compatible with the legitimate claims 
 of his name and race. He had been persuaded or 
 coerced by powerful friends to send the young Lord 
 Haddo to Harrow, but there his intervention ended. 
 He refused to take upon himself any of the respon- 
 sibilities attaching to the bringing up of his grand- 
 children, and their other relatives seem to have been 
 afraid to intervene or assist them in any way. 
 
 George, when between the age of eleven and twelve, 
 addressed a respectful request for help to his grand- 
 father, but finding his request completely unheeded, 
 he showed a rare judgment, in one of his years, when 
 he turned elsewhere for parental advice and guardian- 
 ship.
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 11 
 
 Henry Dundas, afterwards created Lord Melville, 
 was at that time the most powerful man in Scotland. 
 Lord Haddo had been well acquainted with him, and 
 after his death Lady Haddo had occasionally sought 
 his advice and help. To him in his difficulties the 
 boy turned, and Henry Dundas at once responded to 
 his appeal. The condition of the young family was 
 such as to commend them to the interest of anyone 
 conversant with the facts, and bound, as Henry 
 Dundas was, by the ties of friendship. He was also 
 probably not unmindful of the influence he would 
 thereby attain over one of the most powerful families 
 in the north of Scotland. From that time Dundas 's 
 house became Lord Haddo's home, and his only 
 sister Alicia lived for the next thirty years as a daughter 
 with Lady Jane Dundas, under whose maternal care 
 all the children came on the death of their mother. 
 As the five younger brothers grew up, two of them, 
 William and John, entered the Navy, and lived to 
 attain the rank of Admiral. Two others, Alexander 
 and Charles, obtained commissions in the Army. 
 Alexander was a favourite aide-de-camp of the Duke 
 of Wellington; he was already a Lieutenant-Colonel, 
 and had been created a K.C.B. when killed at Waterloo, 
 at the age of twenty-eight. Charles died Colonel of 
 the Black Watch in 1835. The remaining brother, 
 Robert, entered the Diplomatic Service, and his 
 correspondence with his eldest brother appears often 
 in the family papers. 
 
 Dundas lived at Wimbledon, and there was no 
 more frequent visitor in his house than Mr. Pitt. 
 From the first he took the keenest interest in Lord 
 Haddo, and as the youth grew older their friendship 
 and intimacy increased. At the age of fourteen 
 Lord Haddo again took a decisive step. A right is 
 given by Scottish law to one reaching that age to 
 name for himself " curators," or guardians. Lord 
 Haddo named in that capacity Mr. Pitt, then Prime 
 Minister, and his earliest friend, Henry Dundas. 
 They both accepted the charge, and from that time
 
 12 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 their ward lived with them alternately. Thus the 
 disadvantages of his family circumstances led him 
 in early youth into direct contact with the master 
 minds of his age. It was a veritable " school of the 
 prophets " into which he entered, and by his own 
 happy choice he had selected the greatest statesmen 
 of the time for his guardians and leaders. 
 
 We know very little about his school life. Harrow 
 gave him perhaps the only good gifj a public school 
 can give, some friendships with men who were to 
 be his comrades and colleagues through life. Among 
 these were Palmerston and Althorp ; and there also he 
 met Peel, Lord de Grey, Lord Ripon, and Lord Binning, 
 afterwards Lord Haddington, with whom in particular 
 he contracted an intimacy which was to last through 
 their mutual lives. 
 
 At Harrow he was known as a quiet and studious 
 boy. His interests were classical and he devoted 
 himself to Greek scholarship, in which he obtained 
 distinction. He was a wide reader outside the usual 
 grooves of school work, and acquired an acquaintance 
 with the Italian poets which was said to be greater 
 than most men attain in a lifetime. He read also 
 such histories of modern Europe as were then at the 
 command of the student. When the time came for 
 leaving Harrow, Lord Haddo proposed to continue 
 his studies at Cambridge University. His grandfather 
 refused to furnish him with the means for what 
 he called a needless extravagance. Lord Haddo's 
 curators were of a different opinion, and the following 
 letter shows that Henry Dundas did his best to put a 
 more enlightened view before Lord Aberdeen : 
 
 Wimbledon, Oct. 10, 1800. 
 
 MY DEAR HADDO, 
 
 I send you a letter I have received from your 
 grandfather. I do not know if my letter will make 
 any impression on him, but I take it for granted you 
 do not mean to acquiesce in the principle that your
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 13 
 
 Rank supercedes the necessity of education, and if 
 you sincerely wish to go to the University, means 
 must at any rate be fallen upon to send you there. 
 
 Yours Affect., 
 
 HENRY DUNDAS. 
 
 The curators jointly threatened Lord Aberdeen 
 that if he would not properly provide for the education 
 and expenses of his grandson, they would themselves 
 advance what was necessary from their personal funds. 
 
 It is not known to which course Lord Aberdeen 
 consented. In one way or the other Lord Haddo 
 was enabled to follow his own desire, and he entered 
 St. John's College, Cambridge, in October 1800. 
 
 Succeeding to his title on the death of his grand- 
 father in 1801, Lord Aberdeen took steps to continue 
 his relations with Mr. Pitt, and for the remainder of 
 his minority associated him with other trustees, 
 whose relations may have been more formal, but could 
 not have been more parental on the one hand, or 
 more filial on the other. 
 
 Walmer Castle, Oct. 22, 1801. 
 
 MY DEAR LORD, 
 
 I am sincerely obliged to you for your very 
 kind letter and accept with great pleasure the Testi- 
 mony it gives me of your Partiality and Regard, 
 of which I am persuaded I shall allways have reason 
 to be proud. It cannot I fear be in my power to 
 render any material assistance to those with whom 
 you have joined me, but I am happy to think they 
 will not want it; and I can at least answer for it, 
 that you will find me at all times (as indeed I have 
 long been) sincerely interested in whatever concerns 
 your happiness and credit. 
 
 Believe me, my dear Lord, 
 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 W. PITT.
 
 14 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 He collected while at Cambridge a fine library 
 consisting of early editions of the classics, and of 
 early Italian poetry. It included the De Officiis of 
 Cicero, printed by Fust at Mayence in 1464, the Dante 
 of 1486, and many other rare editions of works. His 
 friends at College were men of like mind with himself, 
 and with many of them he carried on a life-long 
 correspondence . 
 
 When the Peace of Amiens reopened the Continent 
 to British travellers, Lord Aberdeen was among the 
 first to take advantage of it. One of the few letters 
 preserved from Pitt deals with the manner of his going. 
 
 Park Place, Sunday, Dec. 20, 1801. 
 
 MY DEAR LORD, 
 
 On my return from Cambridge yesterday evening, 
 I found your letter. If it were not for the circum- 
 stances you mention, I confess I should have rather 
 inclined to doubt whether you would not have found it 
 more advantageous to defer your visit to Paris to a 
 later Period ; But I certainly do not think that it is now 
 desirable for you to make any change in your plan. 
 
 " The question of being introduced to Bonaparti 
 (if contrary to your expectation it should present 
 itself) seems to me to be one of mere etiquette, and 
 therefore to be best decided by whatever you find 
 practiced by others in similar situations to your own. 
 Probably you may think it best on that or any other 
 Point of ceremony to consult Mr. Jackson the English 
 Minister whom you will find at Paris. If you think 
 it will be of any use, I shall be happy to give you a 
 Letter of Introduction to Him, and perhaps it may 
 be some convenience, if you enable me to mention 
 your companion's Name to Him at the same time. 
 Believe me, my dear Lord, 
 
 Yours most sincerely, 
 
 W. PITT.
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 15 
 
 In 1802 he visited Paris. Young though he was, 
 one so nearly connected with Mr. Pitt, even though 
 the great Minister was not at that moment in office, 
 Lord Aberdeen was not a person to be neglected. 
 He was the object of much attention from the 
 First Consul and La Citoyenne Buonaparte, as on 
 her invitation cards she still styled herself. Lord 
 Aberdeen dined with them several times, almost 
 in private, and had much conversation with the First 
 Consul. He was greatly fascinated by his singular 
 beauty and used to say " that Napoleon's smile 
 was the most beautiful he ever saw, and that his eye 
 was wholly unlike that of any other man." Some 
 notes have been preserved which he made of his 
 impressions of the state of France. The book through- 
 out its length does not contain a single date, but the 
 topics on which Lord Aberdeen writes prove that the 
 observations were made during this, the first of many 
 Continental journeys he was to make throughout his 
 life. 
 
 NOTES 
 
 I am apt to believe that Royalty in France has 
 many more partizans than is generally understood. 
 At a dinner given by Lord Cornwallis, there was a 
 General Officer who admired an ornament in the 
 middle of the table on which there were some medal- 
 lions. He enquired who one was meant for, and upon 
 being told the King of England, He exclaimed, " Good 
 God, how like mon pauvre Roi ! ' 
 
 Upon going to see Versailles, which is in a state 
 of devastation and misery, I said to several of the 
 tradesmen, that the town seemed to be in a state of 
 prosperity and the people flourishing, notwithstanding 
 the alterations which had taken place; their uniform 
 answer was " Prosperous, flourishing ? How is it 
 possible to be so without a King ? "
 
 16 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Formerly Versailles was the most beautiful town 
 in Europe, now it is the most miserable. I can easily 
 conceive it to have been much more beautiful, but 
 it is still one of the prettiest towns in France. 
 
 It is evidently the " Ton " at Paris to ridicule 
 the Revolution and all species of Equality. I am 
 persuaded that Buonaparte only made the King of 
 Etruria in order to familiarize the people to the idea 
 of Regal power being perfectly compatible with civil 
 Liberty. At one time indeed, I have little doubt 
 he intended to call himself Emperor of Gaul, or some 
 such Title, but probably he thought the acquisition 
 of the power of greater consequence and much easier 
 to be accomplished than the Title. 
 
 The conversation in Paris, indeed through the 
 whole of France, is perfectly unrestrained. You may 
 hear a party of Jacobines railing at the present Govern- 
 ment, and complaining of their being deluded with 
 only a show of Liberty etc. etc. A party of Contents 
 and Royalists all in the same Coffee House, talking 
 most vociferously. 
 
 Moreau is a quiet, moderate man, and much re- 
 spected in France. He allows that if it had not been 
 for gross blunders of the opposite party his retreat 
 must have been inevitably cut off. Indeed all their 
 principal battles seemed to have been determined 
 by some lucky chance, which gives us at once cause 
 of regret and pleasure. 
 
 Journal from Calais to Paris. 
 
 The first I saw of the French sailors, did not 
 conduce to give me a very favourable idea of their 
 skill, as it was with considerable difficulty we got 
 into Calais Harbour, and not without a compleat 
 wetting.
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 17 
 
 The rapacity of the Municipal officers is incon- 
 ceivable. I was obliged to pay 220 Livres before even 
 my carriage was suffered to pass. 
 
 From Calais we passed through an open hilly 
 country to Boulogne, which seems to have suffered 
 a great deal during the Revolution. Here, of course 
 I narrowly inspected the Harbour, and I beg leave 
 here to mention a few circumstances relative to the 
 Bombardment of this place by Lord Nelson, last 
 summer, and although it is an unpleasant employment 
 to detract from the character of a great man, but 
 truth obliges me to say, upon the authority of respect- 
 able eye witnesses on both sides, that Lord Nelson 
 added nothing to his fame by that business. The 
 sailors, as might be expected, behaved most gallantly 
 but the business was badly planned, and of course 
 could not be successfully executed ; it was injudicious 
 to make three divisions, as by that means they came 
 into action at different times. Our sailors also were 
 only armed with a cutlass, a Pistol, and tomahawk, 
 whereas the French boats were full of troops armed 
 with muskets, and defended from being boarded by 
 a net-work 8 or 10 ft. high. One boat's crew however, 
 would not leave England without muskets, and they 
 succeeded in capturing a boat. The French Admiral 
 (Latouche) said at the time he had no hopes of any 
 of the French being saved, for he declared that if 
 the English came a little nearer they might set every 
 ship on fire. It is false that there were any of them 
 chained, there were one or two aground. 
 
 I was pestered by a great number of women and 
 children begging, and upon my enquiring the cause, 
 I was instantly told because formerly there were 
 several of the noblesse who lived in and near the 
 town, but that now they were gone, the town was 
 in wretchedness and beggary. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 18 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 At Abbeville, as I was returning to the Hotel, 
 some women hissed and gave me some interruption, 
 probably from my being in regimentals. 
 
 We lay the next night at Rheims. The Cathedral, 
 which was also built by the English is extremely fine, 
 and has suffered very little by the Revolution, the 
 Mayor having taken up arms against the soldiery 
 who wished to destroy it. It has however been 
 despoiled of all its plate and riches, and some of the 
 figures demolished. Particularly, compartments in 
 which are represented history from the Old and New 
 Testaments. The heads of nearly all the figures are 
 cut off. 
 
 On Friday we slept at Chantilly, which I only 
 mention, in order to observe that it is one of the most 
 distressing scenes I have ever witnessed in France. 
 
 The magnificent Palace, once the abode of princely 
 worth, is in ruins, and a band of rcgicidal Freebooters 
 living in what were the stables. The woods and 
 gardens are all neglected, and in disorder, in short 
 the whole is calculated to excite the most melancholy 
 ideas. 
 
 At Amiens I saw Lord Cornwallis who was very 
 kind. I was invited to dine with Joseph Bonaparte, 
 but did not go, in hopes of seeing him in Paris, when 
 after a little Practice I should be able to speak French 
 more Fluently. 
 
 The Priest at Calais, who seems a sensible man, 
 informed me that the people came daily in greater 
 numbers to Church. The religion of the people is 
 greatly altered, and although there are not a very 
 great number of Atheists, yet it appears to me that 
 they are impressed with no awe, no warmth of devo- 
 tion, professing the Catholic religion yet remaining 
 indifferent about any. 
 
 Notwithstanding the ordinances of Government
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 19 
 
 in order to oblige tradesmen to keep open their 
 shops on Sunday, one frequently sees those who in 
 defiance of the Legislature shut them up, indeed 
 there is certainly an air of Sunday through the town. 
 The devastation amongst the ecclesiastical buildings 
 is immense, there is not a village I saw but what 
 there was a Church in ruins or greatly injured, the 
 same is the case in many of the streets in Paris. The 
 manners of the lower classes are certainly altered by 
 the Revolution, but not nearly so much as one would 
 be led to expect, from the great changes which have 
 taken place in the Government; in general they are 
 remarkably civil and obliging. They seem to have 
 lost some of their National gaity, which renders 
 them still more like the Scotch, who indeed I should 
 say are like the French. 
 
 I have scarcely ever seen a countryman with a 
 muff, which practice used formerly to be universal, 
 instead of which they wear a great pair of gloves, 
 with fur inside and out. They dress worse, and 
 more dirtily than before the Revolution, among the 
 lower classes cocked hats seem to be the rage, one 
 may see people of all discriptions, sailors, soldiers, 
 tailors, blacksmiths, carters and even sportsmen and 
 postmen, with these immense inconvenient articles. 
 Caps of all descriptions are worn, from the red cap 
 of Liberty to a cap made of Fox's skin, with the 
 brush hanging down behind a la guerre. 
 
 Bonaparte is certainly popular, but it is more 
 through necessity than anything else, not but what 
 they must be grateful for his overturning the Directory. 
 They all say, we lived in continual terror and danger ; 
 he came, we live at least in safety and tranquility 
 if not in happiness. They are, however, sensible 
 that it is only conferring Supreme power upon one 
 man which before was possessed by five, and they
 
 20 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 wisely prefer one Tyrant to any other number, 
 in as much as Tyrants, always get worse in an inverted 
 ratio, for instance of all Tyrannies a Monarchical 
 Government is the best, an Aristocratical the worst, 
 and a Democratical the worst possible. 
 
 It would be unpardonable were I to omit saying 
 something of Moreau, whom I shall not hesitate to 
 affirm is one of the greatest characters of the age. 
 He is indubitably one of the best officers, if we except 
 the Archduke Charles, perhaps the very best in 
 Europe he is extremely modest in his manners and 
 temperate in his opinions, he possesses an accurate 
 knowledge of the Laws of his country, (having prac- 
 tised formerly as advocate), joined to considerable 
 learning. I think the most admirable trait in his 
 character is that in whatever part he may have 
 carried on the War, he has always made himself 
 beloved by the inhabitants. This, when we con- 
 sider that he is the only officer who never received 
 any succours from the Treasury at home, is an 
 incontrovertible proof of his consummate skill as a 
 commander, and goodness as a man. I had the 
 happiness of being introduced to him, and found him 
 everything I had expected. 
 
 The Government of France at present is almost 
 entirely Military. The Generals are the people who 
 are looked up to in the place of the ancient noblesse 
 and whose alliances are coveted with equall avidity- 
 even the appartments of Bonaparte in the Tuilleries 
 which are extremely magnificent (formerly the royal 
 appartments), are decorated almost entirely with 
 military ornaments, swords, helmets, shields, etc. 
 all scattered about in the greatest profusion. In 
 the magnificent hall, where the great dinners are 
 given, I discovered nothing but statues of eminent 
 military characters, such as the great Conde, Marshall
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 21 
 
 Turenne, Chevalier Bayard, the Great Duquesne, 
 Marshall de Luxembourg etc., etc. A martial air 
 reigns through the town, soldiers parade most of the 
 principal streets, and keep the peace. The utmost 
 respect is paid to everything military but although 
 the influence of the army is thus predominant, yet 
 Bonaparte neither as chief nor in his civil capacity is 
 quite absolute, as has been proved by the rejection 
 of the code of Civil Law proposed by him, and the 
 adoption of which he was known to have had very 
 much at heart. The fundamental principle of the 
 constitution is, that all Laws must originate with, 
 and be proposed by, the Consulate. The Legislative 
 Body have thus the power of rejecting this proposal, 
 or of ordering it to pass into a Law. It is true 
 however that the Chief Consul by virtue of what is 
 called an " arrete " can do what he pleases, but it is 
 as a violent proceeding, and never acted upon but 
 on trifling occasions. I understand, however, that 
 he is determined to carry his proposed Civil Code 
 through all opposition, and in this manner, namely, 
 by getting rid of everyone who opposed it ; which is 
 done by declaring the necessity of a new election. 
 
 Bonaparte takes care of course that no ob- 
 noxious member shall be re-elected; in this manner 
 they go on rejecting twenty or thirty of the old 
 members daily, they are however to be allowed to 
 sit, until the first of Germinal, when the Code is to 
 be proposed again and no doubt carried. All Bona- 
 parte's friends are much surprised at this strong 
 measure, the consequences of which nobody can 
 foresee, but I think the sentiment of his enemies 
 seems exaltation, and of his friends dread. He him- 
 self probably thinks that the object is tantamount to 
 any danger to which he may be liable, and therefore 
 through a real desire to do good, and perhaps relying
 
 22 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 upon his popularity, he hopes all may turn out 
 well. 
 
 Bonaparte has returned from Lyons with the 
 title of first Consul of the Italian Republic. I 
 should suppose that this must have been understood 
 by the negotiating parties, for if not it is calculated 
 to produce serious consequences, as in all probability 
 he will soon make himself First Consul of the Helvetic 
 and Batavian Republics. It is impossible to cal- 
 culate the advantage which France must receive 
 from the Incorporation of these three Republics. As 
 in each of them will be organised at least thirty 
 thousand men. There will be then on the Frontiers 
 of France a Force of 90,000 men, ready to march at 
 a moment's warning. Bonaparte was received with 
 no particular demonstrations of joy. 
 
 Soon after he arrived there was a review at which 
 I was, after which I was introduced to him, he talked 
 for about a quarter of an hour. 
 
 The Spectators were very numerous, yet no joy 
 was shewn. All this very strange, but I apprehend it 
 springs from a kind of jealousy mixed with their 
 admiration, which must for some time be the case, 
 until all the popular ideas of liberty have subsided, 
 and the people are contented to sit quietly down 
 under an absolute Government, which is the only 
 one by which France can ultimately flourish, of 
 this truth Bonaparte is perfectly sensible, as are all 
 those who know the interests of France. 
 
 From France Lord Aberdeen went to Italy, and in 
 Florence spent some interesting evenings at the 
 house of the Pretender's widow, the Countess of 
 Albany. At one end of the room the Countess sat 
 with her bevy of visitors ; at the other, cloaked and 
 hatted, seated at a table, was Alfieri, alone, and 
 apparently unnoticed by the little Court around
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 23 
 
 the Countess. Lord Aberdeen's acquaintance with 
 Italian literature enabled him to have some converse 
 with the poet, which he was not accustomed to have 
 with British visitors. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen was anxious to travel in the Levant, 
 and at length extorted from his two guardians a 
 somewhat reluctant permission to gratify his wish. 
 
 At Malta he joined Mr. Drummond, the new 
 British Ambassador to the Porte, and accompanied 
 him to Constantinople. The Embassy touched at 
 almost every island in the ^Egean Sea in its route. 
 After reaching Constantinople, Lord Aberdeen spent 
 some time there, and after obtaining the necessary 
 firmans he proceeded on a long journey through 
 Greece and Asia Minor. In those days such wander- 
 ings were attended with much hardship, and 
 occasionally with a certain amount of danger. 
 
 He stayed for a considerable time at Athens, 
 where he rediscovered and excavated the Pnyx; 
 he then crossed to Smyrna, and thence visited 
 Ephesus and other points in Asia Minor. He returned 
 to Greece and explored the Morea, visited Albania, 
 and passing to Corfu, returned home, after an absence 
 on the Continent of two years. 
 
 On his return to England in 1804 Lord Aberdeen 
 resumed the life he had lived before going abroad, 
 and he resided alternately with Mr. Pitt and Lord 
 Melville. 
 
 On January 28, 1805, he attained his majority, 
 and he then went to Haddo House to take possession 
 of his estates, and receive a welcome and congratula- 
 tions from his many tenants and county neighbours. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen had never visited the home of his 
 ancestors since he had left Scotland as a child of 
 only eight years old. Such impressions as he retained 
 of his early life at Haddo were those misty and 
 illusionary impressions which are made on the infant 
 mind. His boyhood and early youth had been 
 passed among the most cultivated and illustrious 
 men of the time. His school and his various homes
 
 24 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 were situated in some of the most beautiful of English 
 counties. He had travelled early and far, and he 
 had lingered amid the Southern scenes of a great 
 past. There he had seen the vestiges of a complex 
 and ordered civilisation, set amid a natural scenery, 
 untouched in its glowing beauty and richness by the 
 history of the decay and ruin of vanished nations. 
 Whether at home in England, or travelling abroad, 
 the surroundings of his life had been totally unlike 
 the conditions which existed in Scotland at that 
 date; and his imagination had never pictured what 
 awaited him on his return to his native land. 
 
 His son has recorded that Lord Aberdeen could 
 but rarely be induced to speak of these early days, or 
 the rough awakening he was to experience. When 
 he did recall them, he spoke " with great force on his 
 sensations when brought face to face with the 
 realities." It was very literally the nakedness of the 
 land that lay before him. 
 
 Two hundred years had passed since the union of 
 the crowns, and the union of the countries was barely 
 seventy years old at the date of Lord Aberdeen's 
 birth. Aberdeenshire lay remote from the tide of 
 prosperity and common interests, which was slowly 
 linking up the two countries. When the north of 
 Scotland began the movement of enlightened progress, 
 it was no laggard in the race, and its people were to 
 take the lead in everything that needed commercial 
 sagacity and agricultural science; but that period 
 was only just looming on the horizon of its history at 
 the date when Lord Aberdeen came to his home. 
 
 When he had mastered his first deep disgust at 
 the backward condition of agriculture, the miserable 
 dwellings and half-savage habits of the people, 
 the drinking and coarseness of the gentry, the 
 inclemency of the climate, the ugliness and monotony 
 of the country, bare and undulating and treeless, he 
 entertained wild ideas of breaking the entail and 
 disposing of the property. He saw he could not do 
 this, and then the intention of permanent absenteeism
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 25 
 
 presented itself as another form of temptation. It was 
 not until after many days of mental conflict that his 
 intense desire to escape to more smiling regions gave 
 place to the conviction that it was his duty not to 
 abandon, but to improve the vast territorial posses- 
 sions to which he owed his place and position in the 
 world. 
 
 To desert those who were living under his influence 
 was clearly impossible, and the work which lay to 
 his hand was to improve those conditions, which he 
 felt so keenly were neither those of progress nor of 
 civilisation. 
 
 It is rare in any age that one born to the name and 
 position inherited by Lord Aberdeen should have 
 been brought up until he had attained his majority 
 in scenes so remote from the lot in which his inheritance 
 was cast. 
 
 Scotland has always suffered from so many of her 
 sons being educated in England, leaving them without 
 the knowledge of that race and country from which 
 they have sprung. Too often they neither share nor 
 understand the beliefs and traditions of their own 
 countrymen. Yet in the beginning of the nineteenth 
 century, had Lord Aberdeen remained in the remote 
 and isolated north of Scotland he might have differed 
 very little from those neighbours whose lack of 
 refinement he felt so keenly, when called upon to 
 view them in the light of social acquaintances. 
 
 Had he not been conversant with a different 
 standard of comfort and well-being within the rural 
 districts of England, he might never have taken rank 
 among those who were bent on being reformers and 
 benefactors on their native soil. That the young 
 man was not over-fastidious can be demonstrated 
 from any of the records of the condition of the 
 country-side at this time. 
 
 " A tree in Scotland is as rare as a horse in Venice," 
 was Dr. Johnson's dictum, and there was a larger 
 amount of truth in the Saxon gibe than was always 
 the case where Johnson and Scotland were concerned.
 
 26 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 The ancient woods had been laid low, wastefully 
 used as fuel, and destroyed as cumberers of the soil, 
 or sold by impecunious and absent landowners who 
 wasted their revenues by dissipation at the English 
 capital and Court. 
 
 In agriculture the cultivation of the turnip made 
 no real progress till after the famine of 1782. That 
 disaster taught farmers a severe and much-needed 
 lesson, and at last the ancient and outworn methods 
 were abandoned. Before the famine there were not 
 two hundred acres put under turnip in any one 
 year. 
 
 Improvement had set in by the time Lord Aberdeen 
 came to his home, but how much it was needed, and 
 how little had been effected in the outer face of nature 
 and man, may be gauged by the impressions made 
 upon him. 
 
 In writing to his friend, Hudson Gurney, three or 
 four days after attaining his majority, he says, " I 
 have feasted about eight or nine hundred neighbours 
 as well as the principal gentlemen of the County, 
 and I have been immersed, not in Greek [as Gurney 
 supposed], but in Port and Claret." 
 
 Lord Stanmore wrote thus, regarding his father's 
 first arrival at Haddo : 
 
 The scene before him was certainly cold and 
 cheerless. The short lime avenue before the house 
 terminated in a dreary and extensive peat moss, 
 which lay stretched between it and the grim high 
 walls of a distant deer park. Snipe were to be shot 
 in the marshy swamp which reached to the foot of 
 the garden terrace. Stacks of fuel and sheds of 
 lumber were piled against the walls of the house 
 itself. The neighbouring lairds, not excluding the 
 few peers who lived almost wholly in the country, 
 were uneducated, and had little in common with 
 " Athenian Aberdeen." 
 
 Three o'clock in the afternoon was the ordinary
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 27 
 
 hour of dinner, at which every gentleman present was 
 expected to propose a toast and every lady a senti- 
 ment. A particular small kind of raw turnip appeared 
 on the table as the winter dessert. Stores of salt 
 meat were laid in for winter use. There was one house 
 on the estate, besides the great house, which paid 
 window tax, but only one. Women habitually 
 assisted to draw the plough; and the houses of the 
 peasantry, and even the smaller farmers, were of the 
 poorest description. It is difficult to believe that 
 even the remotest districts of our island could have 
 been so far behind the conditions which had been 
 attained by the more civilised parts of the kingdom. 
 One anecdote will be sufficient to show how little 
 advance had been made, at all events in luxury. 
 The umbrella which Lord Aberdeen brought down 
 with him on this occasion was the first ever seen in 
 the parishes of Methlick or Tarves, and on going out 
 with it, he was repeatedly stopped by curious persons, 
 who asked him to put it up and close it again. Having 
 one day performed this operation several times, at 
 the request of an old man, he was rewarded by a long 
 sigh, a grave shake of the head, and the ejaculation, 
 ' Eh, they're braw chiels i' the Sooth.' The con- 
 trary opinion was expressed by the old huntsman of 
 the family, who declared that the young Earl would 
 have been a fine man, " gin they hadna ta'en him 
 to England, and spoiled his education." 
 
 When this was repeated to Lord Aberdeen he wrote 
 to his friend Gurney : 
 
 I by no means despise the old huntsman's reflections. 
 My father certainly contrived to make himself the 
 most popular character of this county by conforming 
 to the pursuits of the country, and by the art of 
 concealing the learning and rationality he possessed,
 
 28 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 and of which, indeed, few people had more. This 
 appears to me enviable. 
 
 Enviable it might be, but Lord Aberdeen's gifts did 
 not lie in this direction, nor at any time of his life 
 could he successfully affect interest in that which did 
 not interest him. 
 
 Once convinced that " duty stern and high " 
 demanded any sacrifice of him, Lord Aberdeen 
 never failed to pursue the appointed task. That in 
 the course of long years he lived to see his particular 
 wilderness blossom as the rose, that his labour for 
 the country and his own property became a labour 
 of love, and that he had the reward of seeing his 
 estates increase in prosperity and in material value, 
 lay still in the unknown future. What conditions he 
 found, and what conditions he left when his life 
 ended, are well recorded in an interesting report, 
 covering the period from 1801-1860, by Mr. George 
 Muirhead, F.R.S.E., during the time that he was factor 
 to the present Lord Aberdeen. Some extracts give a 
 clear account of the estate and condition of things : 
 
 Previous to the early years of the eighteenth 
 century agriculture in Aberdeenshire was in a very 
 rude state, little or no improvement having been 
 made in the cultivation of the land, which still con- 
 tinued to be cropped and managed by the unenlight- 
 ened tenantry in the same manner as it had been for 
 ages by their benighted forefathers. The whole 
 country was bare and open; no fences, trees or 
 plantations for shelter or ornament were to be seen 
 in the wide expanse of Buchan and Formartine. 
 Moors, mosses, and barren wastes, interspersed with 
 bogs and morasses, covered the greater part of the 
 surface of the ground. The cultivated lands were 
 continually soaked by the copious rains and melting 
 snows of winter, and poached into mortar by the 
 heavy feet of the drowsy steers which dragged the
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 29 
 
 cumbrous " twelve owsen " plough along the crooked 
 furrows, which were thus rendered sour and unfruitful 
 and yielded poor and scanty crops. 
 
 Artificial drainage, as well as the use of lime for 
 agricultural purposes, was almost unknown. There 
 were no roads or bridges, and no means of conveying 
 grain to the market except on the backs of pack- 
 horses. 
 
 The land was occupied by two classes the 
 proprietors and their tenants. Owing probably to 
 the disturbed state of the country, the former took 
 little or no personal interest in agriculture. The 
 only ground they cultivated was near their mansions, 
 and that just for household purposes. The tenants 
 tilled only small patches of land on the running 
 system. They followed the practices of their fathers, 
 and these were thriftless and barbarous in the 
 extreme. They sowed successive crops of corn on 
 the same piece of ground until it was utterly ex- 
 hausted, when it was left foul with weeds, to recover 
 its powers by an indefinite period of rest. Oats, 
 bere, and peas were the usual field crops, and the 
 straw of these, along with such herbage as they 
 could find in the field, formed the winter food of the 
 cattle, which before the return of the spring were 
 often so weak from starvation that they were unable 
 to rise without assistance. 
 
 The improvements introduced by the enterprising 
 and patriotic landowners, such as drainage and 
 liming, turnip-growing and the sowing of the land 
 with artificial grass seeds, were at first but slowly 
 adopted by the tenantry. 
 
 The report then quotes the Rev. Francis Knox, 
 Minister of Tarves. Writing in 1842, he says that 
 agriculture in 1772 in that parish, a typical one of 
 the Haddo estate, was in a truly wretched condition.
 
 30 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Green crops, with the exception of a few potatoes 
 and cole worts in the gardens, were unknown. The 
 horses employed in agriculture were diminutive in 
 size and used merely for burden, never for draught. 
 They carried out manure and home peats in panniers 
 or creels. Carts and wheeled carriages were only to 
 be found in the possession of landed proprietors. 
 The dwelling-houses of the tenants generally con- 
 sisted of two apartments a " but " and a " ben." 
 The walls were built of stones and clay, and roofs 
 covered with " divots " or thatched with rushes or 
 heather cut from the neighbouring moors. 
 
 One bad harvest of 1782 and the disasters which 
 followed it had a very depressing effect upon the 
 tenantry, and the close of the eighteenth century 
 found the general condition of the Haddo House 
 estates much the same as it had been for the previous 
 five-and-twenty years. 
 
 About 1805 the rise in the price of agricultural 
 produce, and especially of cattle, which succeeded the 
 breaking out of the war with France, stimulated the 
 tenantry to engage in improvements on their holdings. 
 From this time forward the progress was very rapid. 
 As a proof of this, the rental of the estates rose about 
 fifty per cent, in eight years. In the first ten years 
 of entering into his property Lord Aberdeen laid out 
 in improvements close on three thousand pounds. 
 
 The report traces all the enlightened management, 
 the improved system of leases, and the example set by 
 the landowner, through the years covered by this 
 report. Much of it seems the commonplaces of 
 to-day over agricultural Scotland, but Lord Aberdeen 
 and many of the surrounding proprietors made 
 possible by their generous terms, and steady leader- 
 ship, the enrichment of the country and its people. 
 
 When an end came to his stewardship, the total 
 he had expended in improvements, which included 
 buildings, roads, draining and planting, was close on 
 sixty thousand pounds : 
 
 He drained, he planted, he built. Tracts of
 
 EARLY YEARS (1784-1805) 31 
 
 moorland became fields of corn, new schools rose in 
 every parish, new buildings on every farm. Few 
 knew the sacrifices of taste and inclination involved 
 in his adoption of Haddo as an habitual summer 
 residence. For many years it was in the highest 
 degree repugnant to him. But in spite of inclination 
 he persevered. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen lived to see the works of his hand 
 prosper, and he learnt to love his patrimony with the 
 love which was that of a native of Caledonia stern 
 and wild. He never lost his early impressions of the 
 rigours of the January winter in which he returned 
 to his home. To the end of his large correspondence, 
 much of it when written from Haddo dwelt on the 
 changes and chances of climate. In early autumn, 
 and even in the late summer of the north, he con- 
 stantly forecasted snow-storms, and the blockading 
 of roads he had in many cases himself constructed. 
 Writing to a friend from Haddo in October 1809 he 
 says : 
 
 It will make me truly happy to see you, but, 
 alas ! this is not my Paradise : this is not Vail' 
 Ombrosa of which you have heard so much, but a 
 real Siberian waste. Far as the eye can reach no 
 tree is seen. " Earth clad in russet scorns the lively 
 green." The desolation of the exterior is only equalled 
 by the appalling badness of the house. We will 
 contrive, however, to despise these matters. If the 
 storm rages we will sit close in the old Library. I'll 
 broach ye a pipe of Malvoisie and bring pasties of 
 the doe ! in short do all that is possible to make you 
 forget the frozen latitude in which we are placed. 
 I go to-morrow to visit a brother Kamskatchan. 
 
 It has been worth while to describe the condition 
 of Aberdeenshire and the Haddo estates at the end of 
 the eighteenth century, not only because it is part
 
 32 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 of the history of the development of Scotland after 
 the union of the countries, but because much of the 
 character and talent of Lord Aberdeen may be 
 traced to the race and country from which he drew 
 his name and position. The success of the " Aber- 
 donian," in all spheres of work, has passed into a 
 proverb, and something of the tough dourness and 
 long-headed sagacity of the race of men and women 
 who have owned Aberdeenshire as their county, is 
 due to the wrestle with a harsh climate and soil, 
 which was never that of the Garden of Eden. 
 
 You may transport a Scot, and nurture him in the 
 soft South, amidst the luxuries of the capitals of 
 Europe, but untouched will remain those character- 
 istics which have been welded into his being by 
 conditions which have called forth the courage, 
 endurance and sagacious ability of the sons of the 
 North.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 MARRIAGE (18051813) 
 
 " I feel, as everyone ought, that the most solid blessing in life, 
 perhaps the only one, is the possession of a faithful and true heart." 
 ABERDEEN . 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN'S residence at the University 
 seems to have extended to two years. Lord Stan- 
 more, writing of that period, says : 
 
 At that time, not only did the vicious practice of 
 granting degrees to noblemen without examination 
 prevail, but they were actually precluded from pre- 
 senting themselves for examination even when desirous 
 to do so. 
 
 He appears, however, to have continued the classical 
 studies which he had carried on at Harrow, and to 
 have made himself conversant with modern history, 
 especially that of the Renaissance. 
 
 After what has been said of Lord Aberdeen's 
 studious habits, the reader may be surprised to learn 
 that one of his favourite recreations while at Cam- 
 bridge was acting. Silent, shy and sensitive as he 
 was, the personation of another seemed to give him 
 confidence which in his own character he did not 
 possess. On one occasion, he and two friends presented 
 themselves under assumed names to the manager of 
 the theatre at Canterbury, and were engaged by him 
 to perform the principal parts in Shakespeare's 
 tragedy of King John. Their success was complete, 
 and the manager was most anxious to retain them in 
 his company, offering Lord Aberdeen a liberal salary, 
 VOL. i. 33 D
 
 84 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 if he would only enter into an engagement for the 
 entire season. 
 
 He did not leave this talented taste behind him 
 when he left Cambridge, and when he joined the 
 circle at the Priory he became a welcome recruit of 
 the private theatricals carried on there. In one 
 play in which there were but eleven male parts, 
 there are to be found among the actors two future 
 Prime Ministers, Lord Aberdeen and Lord Melbourne, 
 two Ambassadors at Vienna, Sir R. Gordon and 
 Lord Beauvale, Sir Thomas Lawrence, and Mr. T. 
 Sheridan. 
 
 Probably his curators knew nothing of his 
 theatrical engagement at Cambridge, but after his 
 marriage the watchful eye of Lord Melville was on 
 him, and he expressed his anxiety to his former 
 charge : 
 
 Dalchonzie, 1805. 
 
 I am not much in the way of hearing anything at 
 this place, but it was mentioned by somebody two 
 days ago in conversation, that there was to be some 
 theatrical entertainment at the Priory and that you 
 was to have a part. Not knowing the circumstances, 
 nor whether it is a thing which either yourself or 
 Lord Abercorn are eager about, it may be pre- 
 sumptuous or perhaps rusticated in me to suggest 
 doubts as to the propriety of your taking a part, but 
 having these doubts, it can do you no harm merely 
 to suggest to you whether at your time of life, and 
 with the prospects of ambition which naturally 
 present themselves to your view, it would not be as 
 well to keep your oratorical talents for another theatre 
 than that of any private spectacle of mere amuse- 
 ment, and of which as performers it is not likely 
 you are to meet with many partakers of your own 
 rank and condition in life. 
 
 If I am wrong you can think no more of my
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 35 
 
 doubt and throw this into the fire, but if you think 
 there is anything in my suggestion it will not cost 
 either Lord Abercorn or you much trouble to give it 
 five minutes' consideration. 
 
 I have spoken to the Duke of York of a Commission 
 to Alec, and about the latter end of next week Charles 
 goes to sea under the care of Sir Home Popham. He 
 will have a fair trial of his love of the sea, as Sir 
 Home is going on a very distant service. 
 I remain, my dear Haddo, 
 
 Yours affectionately, 
 HENRY DUNDAS. 
 
 Lord Haddo took counsel with his other guardian 
 and received an answer : 
 
 Downing Street, Sunday, Oct. 27, 1805. 
 
 MY DEAR LORD, 
 
 I feel very much flattered by your wish to 
 know my opinion on the subject of your Note. Your 
 character for attention to real Business cannot, I am 
 sure, suffer in my eyes, nor I think in those of others, 
 from your taking a Part in the Amusement of the 
 Priory. They will, I hope, only be a prelude for 
 graver Exhibitions; and whenever an opportunity 
 may arise, you will be ready to obey the summons 
 you remember in Tacitus : 
 
 " Nunc ego te ab Auditoriis et Theatris, in Pulverem 
 atque Aciem et ad vera Proelia voco." 
 
 Ever, my dear Lord, 
 
 Most sincerely yours, 
 
 W. PITT. 
 
 It was not the private theatricals, which so 
 disturbed Lord Melville, which were the centre of 
 Lord Aberdeen's thoughts at the Priory. He was 
 about to enter into the drama and tragedy of his
 
 36 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 private life, and at this time all his hopes and 
 prospects seemed of the fairest. 
 
 On attaining his majority Lord Aberdeen con- 
 tinued to live chiefly with Mr. Pitt, and his entrance 
 into Society was into that circle which contained 
 Mr. Pitt's friends. Among those to whose notice 
 Lord Aberdeen was specially commended by Mr. 
 Pitt was Lord Abercorn. John James, Marquess of 
 Abercorn, occupied a position at that time less sin- 
 gular than it would be now that of a man who, 
 never sitting in a Cabinet, or accepting office, never- 
 theless, by virtue of the possession of rank and wealth, 
 and the command of shrewd ability, exercised no 
 inconsiderable influence on affairs, and was consulted 
 by Cabinets and by the sovereign. In his youth 
 Lord Abercorn's accession to the title had not been 
 anticipated, but his handsome person, his great 
 strength and the boldness and frequency of his 
 adventures of gallantry had made him, at an early 
 age, a marked figure in Society. Mr. Pitt had a very 
 high opinion of his talents, and according to Walter 
 Scott, declared that had Lord Abercorn remained a 
 Commoner he would have become one of the most 
 distinguished speakers of the Lower House. As a 
 peer he was remarkable for pride and stateliness, but 
 in the brilliant society which he gathered round him, 
 literature and art held at least as high a place as rank 
 and power. The imperious owner of Bently Priory, 
 and those who habitually gathered there, have been 
 sketched by Sir Walter Scott in a now forgotten 
 article in the Quarterly Review. The picture is an 
 attractive one. The Shcridans, Walter Scott him- 
 self, Lawrence the painter, Kemble the actor, Payne 
 Knight the antiquary, were among the most constant 
 and familiar guests, and to Lord Aberdeen the Priory 
 soon became a home.
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 37 
 
 The eldest daughter of Lord Abercorn, Lady 
 Catharine Hamilton, was one of those bright and rare 
 beings who seem rather to rest on the earth's surface 
 than to belong to it. The likeness of her graceful 
 form, full of restless life, of her stately bearing, and 
 eager, passionate face, has been preserved to us by 
 Lawrence. Though the fire and animation of the 
 mobile features are shown upon his canvas, it is 
 evident that their beauty, great as it is, must have 
 been enhanced by their constant play of varying 
 expression, the Lampeggiar delV Angelica riso which 
 goes so far to form love's paradise. 
 
 To his friends, Lawrence whispered that his 
 fortune would have been made if he could have dared 
 to paint, as the embodiment of scorn, her attitude 
 and expression, as with half-averted head and out- 
 stretched arm she allowed the Prince of Wales, 
 whom she despised and thought she had reason to 
 hate, to fasten an armlet above her elbow. With 
 her Lord Aberdeen fell passionately in love, and she 
 with him. There was nothing to impede his suit, 
 and they were married on the 28th July, 1805. Lord 
 Aberdeen worshipped her with complete devotion. 
 He found in her society a happiness he had never 
 known or imagined, and which was all the more 
 appreciated from its contrast to his previous solitary 
 and forlorn condition. Kind as his guardians had 
 been, the dependence on strangers had been bitter 
 to him. He had known no home or family life. 
 There were none on whom he could freely lavish his 
 strong affection, and he had early learned to repress 
 all outward signs of feeling. For a few short years 
 his happiness was now brilliant and unclouded, it 
 was then lost for ever. 
 
 In these words, the son of his old age gives the 
 history of what were truly the sanctities of Lord
 
 38 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Aberdeen's home. The happiness and subsequent 
 tragical grief runs like the warp and woof of the web 
 of life through all his subsequent history. It was a 
 grief borne with a fortitude, and concealed by a 
 reserve which even at this distance of time can be 
 vividly read in the faded ink of these documents which 
 tell the story of all the lives which were so early 
 removed from the happy circle of Lord Aberdeen's 
 home. The marriage made no difference in his 
 relations with his two guardians and friends. Lord 
 Melville, visiting the Priory after the betrothal, 
 writes warmly of his pleasure in making Lady 
 Catharine's acquaintance. 
 
 Priory, July. 
 
 MY DEAR LORD, 
 
 I can't pass a second day here without com- 
 municating to you my cordial contentment in the 
 prospect of your affairs after saying this I need 
 hardly explain it by adding that I find Lady Cath- 
 arine is really one among ten thousand, and that I 
 don't find that any part of all the good I had heard 
 of her has been exaggerated. I think her one of the 
 most natural and most pleasing people I ever saw, and 
 I am persuaded, though on so short an acquaintance, 
 that she has one of those happy natures that, the 
 more undisguised they are, must become the more 
 attaching; and certainly there are circumstances, 
 extreme cases, that almost preclude of common 
 gradations of intimacy. She has perfectly complied 
 with your desire in this respect, and met me at least 
 half-way but what I honour her for is the honesty 
 with which she shows her regard for you without 
 either mystery or affectation. It might not be 
 sufficiently flattering in Lord A.'s ears, but you will 
 do justice to the extent of my meaning when I declare 
 to you that I am quite satisfied, and more so than I 
 ever could have been if the choice of your destiny
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 39 
 
 had been left to me. I trust nothing will happen to 
 detain you long, I never saw any person's presence 
 more desired than yours is here. 
 
 His relations with Mr. Pitt became even more 
 intimate after the impeachment and trial of Lord 
 Melville by the House of Lords, which took place in 
 1806, and at Mr. Pitt's request the young couple took 
 up their residence at Lord Melville's villa at Wimble- 
 don, so as to be near Mr. Pitt's house at Putney. It 
 was not to be for long, and how profoundly the 
 change affected Lord Aberdeen is set forth in his 
 correspondence. 
 
 FROM LORD MELVILLE l 
 
 Bath, Jan. 5, 1806. 
 
 Mr. Pitt was seized with another 
 
 attack of the gout last night in the foot not attacked 
 before. He is thin and feeble. Sir Walter Farquhar 
 arrived here last night and I shall know more accur- 
 ately to-day the state of his health. But without 
 being a physician or hearing any report, upon my 
 own observation I cannot help regretting most 
 severely the early approach of the meeting of Parlia- 
 ment, before which time it does not appear to me 
 possible for him to have recovered any competent 
 degree of strength. . . . 
 
 Conduit Street, 22nd. 
 
 I have received your letter. The fatal Blow 
 I am to receive from Putney, in the course of not 
 many hours, would at any rate have disabled me 
 
 1 Henry Dundas, 1742-1811. Mr. Pitt's most trusted colleague 
 and intimate friend. Lord Advocate, 1775 ; President of the India 
 Board, 1784-1801. Created Viscount Melville, 1802. First Lord of 
 the Admiralty, 1804-5. Tried and acquitted by the House of Lords 
 on a charge of peculation, as Treasurer of the Navy, 1806. Though 
 acquitted he was shown to have been negligent in financial control, 
 and declined to resume office when asked to do so by the Duke of Port- 
 land in 1807.
 
 40 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 from joining any party at present ; I will endeavour to 
 give you a Call in the course of to-morrow, but I shall 
 go on to Bath without delay. God bless you and 
 yours. . . . 
 
 London, Jan. 23, 1806. 
 
 MY DEAR ABERDEEN, 
 
 The fatal Blow you will have heard is struck. 
 I am going to Blackheath but will breakfast with 
 you to-morrow on my way to Bath. My love to 
 Lady Aberdeen, and I remain, 
 
 My dear Lord, 
 
 Yours very truly and affectionately, 
 
 MELVILLE. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO THE REV. G. WHITTINGTON 1 
 
 Wimbledon, Jan. 24, 1800. 
 
 MY DEAR WHITTINGTON, 
 
 With mingled sentiments of grief and horror 
 I now write to you. Mr. Pitt is no more; the 
 country has lost its only support in this dreadful 
 time of disasters; and I have lost the only Friend 
 to whom I looked up with unbounded Love and 
 Admiration. The sun is indeed set, and what can 
 now follow but the blackest night 1 Why are you 
 absent ? not that I can tell you anything ; Lord 
 Melville was here this morning in absolute despair. 
 Everybody in the streets looks as if they had lost a 
 a father and Protector; and they are right; they 
 have. He was sensible until a short time before he 
 died, which he did with perfect resignation. He 
 continued to talk when senseless, and wished to 
 write to the Foreign Office and Treasury. But why 
 do I expatiate on anything so distressing ? To think 
 that I am now writing at a Table, where I have seen 
 
 1 Rev. G. Whittington, 1780-1807. Fellow of St. John's College, 
 Cambridge.
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 41 
 
 him a thousand times, is indeed Agony. What will 
 become of the Country torn by differing factions ? 
 While he lived, whether in or out of place, there was 
 at least one object to which all eyes were directed, 
 and which might have united all hearts in the time 
 of danger. But now it is all void and blank : on 
 whom can we put our trust? where can the mind 
 repose with confidence? 
 
 Nothing is known of any arrangements, and you 
 will not expect me to go over reports at present. 
 For God's sake come to England; if I do not close 
 my eyes, which I have not these last two nights, I 
 shall be soon as miserable in body as in mind. The 
 Blow is so dreadfully fatal, because wholly irreparable, 
 and admits of no alleviation. 
 
 Farewell, and come to England. 
 
 Believe me your most affectionate Friend, 
 
 ABERDEEN. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN'S JOURNAL 
 
 Jan. 25, Saturday. Wimbledon. I have often 
 resolved progressively to note down and record the 
 political events and transactions which pass under 
 my observation and are worthy of such attention, 
 but more particularly every subject of that nature 
 in which I am individually concerned or interested. 
 More especially at the present time am I inclined to 
 observe and record my own actions, as from the 
 expulsion of Lord Melville last year, and the recent 
 death of Mr. Pitt, I am deprived of the two only 
 persons to whose influence I have so long looked up 
 for assistance and protection. 
 
 Mr. Pitt, having spent some time at Bath without 
 benefit, returned to Putney in order to attend the 
 ensuing meeting of Parliament. His health remained 
 in a fluctuating state, but when Parliament did meet
 
 42 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 on the 21st of this month he was too ill to attend. 
 I received on the evening of the 22nd a note from 
 Lord Melville, intimating that his death might be 
 expected, and on the morning of the 23rd I was 
 informed he was no more, having expired that 
 morning at a quarter past four. 
 
 From my having lived with him on terms of the 
 utmost intimacy from my childhood, from his having 
 been my guardian, and from his constant affection 
 for me, the dismay and affliction which I suffered 
 and still do suffer under this irreparable loss, by being 
 absorbed in individual feelings, renders me callous 
 or insensible to those of a public nature. Yet the 
 idea is dreadful ! the sun is indeed set, and what can 
 now follow but the blackest night ? 
 
 I am resolved to recollect and write down many 
 things which I heard Mr. Pitt say, in the course of 
 this journal. Nothing fell from his lips without its 
 weight ! 
 
 Jan. 24<th. Lord Melville breakfasted with me this 
 morning on his return to Bath. He embraced me 
 with tears and for some time could not speak. We 
 at last expatiated on the dreadful calamity which we 
 and the Country had sustained. I never witnessed 
 grief more poignant; he almost wished a general 
 apathy to come upon him as the only relief; and 
 declared that if he lived a hundred years it would be 
 impossible to remain an hour without the image of 
 Mr. Pitt in his mind. He was glad to hasten out of 
 the house whose every object recalled him : indeed 
 when I recollect that at the very table at which I 
 write I have seen him (and how seen him !) a thousand 
 times, the bitterness of grief is past endurance. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen was impatient to take his seat in 
 Parliament. The English peerage which he had
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 43 
 
 been promised was no longer attainable. Was it 
 impossible that he should obtain a seat in the House 
 of Commons ? Peers, though disqualified from voting 
 at other elections, were accustomed to do so freely 
 at those of members for the Universities. Lord 
 Aberdeen contended that, not being a Peer of Parlia- 
 ment, he must be qualified to represent a constituency 
 in which he was qualified to vote, and he proposed to 
 offer himself as a candidate for the seat vacated by 
 Mr. Pitt. 
 
 JOURNAL CONTINUED 
 
 Jan. 24<th. I received a letter from Petty * 
 informing me of his intention of offering himself 
 as a Candidate for the University of Cambridge 
 and requesting my vote. In answer I informed him 
 that if I possessed a vote the same qualifications 
 would probably enable me to offer myself, which in 
 that case I certainly should do; and in consequence 
 have despatched a servant to Cambridge in order to 
 ascertain this point I fear without much success. 
 
 25th. To-day rumours are frequent and various 
 about the ministerial arrangements. I fear Lord 
 Sidmouth may again be restored. If any of the 
 opposition are called in it would be the only thing to 
 satisfy the King. Binning 2 came to dinner he says 
 that he heard from Lord Blandford that a meeting of 
 Mr. Pitt's nearest friends had been held, and they 
 had come to a resolution never to accept an office 
 under Lord Sidmouth. At the same time he says it 
 is confidently reported that Lord Hawkesbury is to 
 be the first Lord of the Treasury, and Castlereagh 
 
 1 Lord Henry Petty, afterwards Marquess of Lansdowne, 1780- 
 1863. 
 
 2 Thomas Hamilton, 1780-1858. Eldest son and successor of 
 Charles, eighth Earl of Haddington. Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 
 1834-35; First Lord of the Admiralty, 1841-46; Lord Privy Seal, 
 1846. One of Lord Aberdeen's oldest and most constant friends.
 
 44 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer. The latter went down 
 to the House to-day and informed them that His 
 Majesty was employed in forming a new administra- 
 tion. 
 
 Jan. 26th. My express returned from Cambridge 
 this morning and brought me the good wishes of the 
 University, and regrets, which I really believe to be 
 sincere, at my inability to offer myself. Dr. Turner, 
 Mr. Pitt's old Master, and now Vice-Chancellor, sent 
 in particular to say that I should have had his cordial 
 support. Had it been possible there is no reason 
 to doubt of my success. 
 
 27th. I attended the House of Commons to hear 
 the debate on the motion of Mr. Lascelles 1 for a 
 public funeral and monument to Mr. Pitt. Windham, 
 to his eternal disgrace, opposed it in a bad speech, 
 full of quibbles and nice distinctions. He was well 
 answered by R. Ryder. Fox was moderate : Castle- 
 reagh spoke well. The motion was carried by 258 
 to 89. In the course of his speech Fox signified that 
 he should probably be soon in power. 
 
 28th. Nothing accurate has transpired respecting 
 the new administration. The King would have done 
 anything to keep the present Ministers in their places, 
 and at one time it was settled they should remain. 
 But on mature consideration they determined, I 
 think on the whole wisely, to resign. When the 
 King received the news of Mr. Pitt's death he said 
 several times " This is my death's blow," and 
 appeared much affected. The Duke of Cambridge, 
 who accompanied the Duke of York at the time, told 
 this to Lord Abercorn. Mr. Pitt, among the last 
 words he uttered, exclaimed, " Oh ! my country." 
 Anxiety certainly killed him ; he was anxious beyond 
 
 1 Henry Lascelles, 17G7-1841. Succeeded his father as second 
 Earl of Harewood, 1820.
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 45 
 
 measure to meet Parliament, in the discussion of the 
 Treaties. 
 
 This is my birthday; my prospects are miserably 
 changed since last year. Lord Melville, and Mr. 
 Pitt, my only friends, both gone. Had Mr. P. lived 
 I should certainly in the course of the summer have 
 got my English Peerage, as he promised Lord Melville 
 I should be the first created. I must now depend on 
 myself, but I am determined never to renounce the 
 principles Mr. Pitt has taught me, or to become 
 dependant on Government. I pray God to grant me 
 abilities and honour to steer through all difficulties. 
 
 FROM LADY MELVILLE 1 
 
 Bath, Jan. 29, 1806. 
 
 MY DEAR ABERDEEN, 
 
 Whatever it may cost me to exert myself 
 enough to take up my pen, I cannot delay thanking 
 you : if I had ever entertained the least doubt of the 
 goodness of your feelings and the soundness of your 
 principles, that Letter would have removed it all, but 
 as further confirmation and pledge of what I on all 
 occasions of deep importance look for from you, it 
 was most welcome to me and among the very few 
 things that have given me any pleasure for some 
 time past. I agree perfectly with you in feeling the 
 immediate power of God in this severe affliction, and 
 it is not the first time in my life that I have had 
 cause to be thankful " for the hope that is in me." 
 To me in every way this misfortune has been dreadful, 
 for Lord Melville's sufferings have been such as I 
 never witnessed before this loss of sleep alarming and 
 the constant agitation of his mind such as made all 
 medicine ineffectual. He is more composed now 
 
 1 Lady Jane Hope, daughter of James, third Earl of Hopetoun.
 
 46 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 and slept more last night, and I am just going out 
 for the first time these six days. God bless you, my 
 dear Aberdeen, a thousand times we drank your 
 health with every affectionate wish yesterday and I 
 am afraid Alicia x made all the servants get drunk for 
 your sake. Give my love to Lady Aberdeen, and 
 
 believe yours most affectionately, 
 
 J. MELVILLE. 
 
 Lord M.'s love to you. He read your letter, and 
 asked for it a second time. It is a great comfort to 
 us that you keep possession of dear old Wimbledon, 
 if it is not more for our sakes than your own or 
 Lady A.'s. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO THE REV. G. WHITTINGTON 
 
 Berkeley Square, Monday. 
 
 MY DEAR WHITTINGTON, 
 
 I will not enlarge on what I have experienced 
 for the last ten days, but great as my distress has 
 been, I have been obliged to console others; Lady 
 Melville is in despair at the situation of Lord M. I 
 who know the strength of his mind and of his nerves, 
 am able to estimate the misery of his condition, when 
 he declares that for the first time in his life he looks 
 in vain for any resource within himself. We are 
 come here for a few days, but mean very soon to 
 return to Wimbledon. I am much more composed 
 since I left it, for there every object tended to provoke 
 grief. Being so near the spot where he lived my 
 imagination pictured him before my eyes the whole 
 night, and totally deprived me of sleep while I staid 
 there. I was present at the debate on his funeral, it 
 was very satisfactory. 
 
 Now that I look more calmly on what is going on, 
 
 1 Lord Aberdeen's only sister, Lady Alicia Gordon, 1787-1847.
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 47 
 
 I think the only thing to be done is what they are 
 about to do, viz. to form an union of all Parties ; and 
 I really hope that the difficulties respecting the Duke 
 of York which have occurred will not prevent any of 
 the proposed arrangements. 
 
 I can write no more, but only to entreat you to 
 come. We shall most likely be at Wimbledon, by 
 the time you arrive, but if not, remember there is a 
 bed here for you; I trust you will take possession of 
 it accordingly. 
 
 In the meantime, believe me to be 
 
 Most affectionately yours, 
 
 ABERDEEN. 
 
 Remember me to Robinson, 1 whose letter I have 
 got, and will answer, as soon as I can. I will with 
 pleasure give Lord Hardwicke my vote for the office 
 of High Steward. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN'S JOURNAL 
 
 London. 3lst Jan. The King has certainly ordered 
 Lord Grenville to prepare a list of an administration, 
 and in consequence there will be a union of Lord 
 Grenville's, Fox's, and Ld. Sidmouth's friends. This 
 will be strong in talent and perhaps will be the best 
 thing too. 
 
 Feb. 2nd. A demur is said to have arisen in the 
 formation of the new Government. Lord Grenville 
 wished to render the office of Commander in Chief 
 subject to the Cabinet; the King dreaded the censure 
 or dismissal of the Duke of York, and has in con- 
 sequence refused. Here the matter rests ; there have 
 been numerous conferences and long audiences granted 
 to the Chancellor, Lord Hawkesbury, and the Duke 
 
 1 Hon Frederick Robinson, afterwards Earl of Ripon, 1782-1859. 
 For a short time (1827-28) Prime Minister.
 
 48 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 of York. To-morrow will probably decide the 
 arrangement. 
 
 Feb. 4th. Everything is now arranged, the King 
 having yielded ; and the Duke of York is to act with 
 a Council, and be controlled by the Cabinet. The 
 Ministers will probably kiss hands to-morrow there 
 is certainly a very strong disposition in the House of 
 Commons to dislike them. 
 
 Yesterday the motion for paying Mr. Pitt's debts 
 was brought forward, and carried without a division, 
 after some debate. The sum was stated at 40,000. 
 Windham tried to recover himself from the effects 
 produced by his speech on a former night, but in 
 vain. The Business proceeded heavily, and the 
 assent of the Opposition wore the appearance of a 
 charitable grant, when Canning took it up in a very 
 high tone, and was warmly supported by the House. 
 
 8th. The Cambridge election is decided in favour 
 of Petty by a vast majority. 
 
 Feb. 9th. All the principal appointments are now 
 made, although great difficulties and dissentions have 
 occurred. In consequence of the unpopularity of the 
 new Ministers, Addington's friends have been brought 
 forward in order to secure the Government Boroughs, 
 which were in their hands. Ld. Grenville is certainly 
 weak in the Cabinet, which is thus composed. 
 
 Ld. Grenville. Fox. 
 
 Ld. Spencer. Grey. 
 
 Petty. 
 
 Ld. Sidmouth. Ld. Fitzwilliam. 
 
 Ld. Ellenborough. Windham. 
 
 10th. I dined at the Duchess of Gordon's, where 
 were the Duke of Bedford, Lauderdale, Sheridan, and 
 Fitzpatrick. There was a good deal of conversation 
 about a Minister for Scotland, which the Duchess
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 49 
 
 loudly protested against; Lauderdale was very civil 
 and gracious to me. 
 
 11th. Lord Cassilis consulted me about the repre- 
 sentation of the Scotch peerage, and showed me a 
 list marked by the Prince, from whom I believe he 
 was sent. I talked in general terms and told him I 
 would answer to-morrow. Supped at Devonshire 
 House with Lauderdale. 
 
 12th. Returned a cautious answer to Lord Cassilis, 
 being convinced his overtures were from a Cabal 
 entirely in the Prince's interest. 
 
 13th. Dined at Canning's some conversation about 
 the Addingtons. Someone remarking with surprize 
 Lord Sidmouth's junction with Lord Grenville and 
 Windham, who had always most violently opposed 
 him, Canning replied " He is like the small pox and 
 measles, everybody must have him once ! ' : 
 
 15th. Owing to the reports about the creation of 
 Scotch Peers, I went to Lord Grenville and requested 
 to know if there was any candidate in view for the 
 vacancy in the representation. He informed me 
 that the Peers so created would not vacate their 
 seats as belonging to the sixteen. I took the occasion 
 to say that I should offer myself at a general election 
 that I had been promised the first English Peerage 
 by Mr. Pitt; that altho' that opportunity was past, 
 it was impossible to relinquish the hope of attaining 
 at some time or other so desirable an object that in 
 the prosecution of that object I should, as far as 
 possible, be directed by the Spirit of Mr. Pitt's Policy ; 
 and that in talking so I trusted it was not to an 
 enemy. He said, " Certainly not ; no man can 
 respect his memory more than myself." 
 
 18th. Wm. Dundas 1 has turned out false to 
 Mr. Pitt at whose death he was the loudest in 
 
 1 William Dundas, 1760-1845, Lord Clerk Register. 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 50 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 wishing the party to adhere to one another, but after 
 a conference with Lord Stafford, he has declared that 
 except where the character of Mr. Pitt was concerned, 
 he would support the present Government. 
 
 Some man pressing Fox very much for a place, he 
 replied, " To tell you the truth, we are already three 
 in a bed." 
 
 20th. I went to Bath to see Lord Melville, whom 
 I found in better spirits than I expected, although 
 still very low. 
 
 Attended the Debate in the House of Commons on 
 the motion against the appointment of Lord Ellen- 
 borough to a seat in the Cabinet. Canning made a 
 most admirable speech in support of the motion, 
 which called forth the exertions of Fox, whose speech 
 also was admirable. In the Lords, when the question 
 was brought forward by Lord Bristol, they did not 
 divide, but in the Commons, although it had been 
 previously determined that no division should take 
 place, and in consequence many did not attend and 
 others went away, yet Wortley foolishly divided the 
 House there was only a minority of 64 to 227. 
 
 I had much conversation with Castlereagh about 
 the best line for opposition to take we agreed that 
 it was necessary to begin with moderation ; but to 
 meet frequently in order to keep together; for 
 without violent measures in public something is 
 necessary to cement the party out of the House. 
 
 March. llth.I dined at White's with Canning, C. 
 Ellis, R. Dundas, Frere, etc. It was determined that 
 we should have frequent dinners, and extend the 
 nature of the Company as much as possible. 
 
 19th. Lord Melville came to Town in order to give 
 in his answer of not guilty to the additional article 
 of impeachment preferred against him. 
 
 26th. Heard the Debate in the H. of C. on the
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 51 
 
 Impeachment of Lord Melville being carried on in 
 Westminster Hall or at the bar of the House of Lords 
 R. Dundas and Canning spoke well; if they had 
 divided after Petty's speech, which was very feeble 
 and injudicious, in all probability the point would 
 have been gained; but by protracting the Debate 
 Government received additional succour which ren- 
 dered it hopeless; there was in consequence no 
 division. 
 
 We dined afterwards at White's in number about 
 25. Hawkesbury, Castlereagh, Canning, Ld. Aber- 
 corn, Rose, Sir H. Mildmay, etc. Sat next Canning, 
 who was remarkably pleasant. 
 
 27th. A Grace for the purpose of erecting a Statue 
 of Mr. Pitt in the Senate at Cambridge being thrown 
 out of the Caput by a single dissentient voice, it was 
 resolved to erect the same by voluntary subscription 
 I received a paper this morning. 
 
 I have heard Mr. Pitt say more than once that he 
 had rather a single speech of Bolingbroke were pre- 
 served than all the lost books of Livy. He was fond 
 of praising Lord B.'s style, which he has often told 
 me he considered as the most perfect and desirable 
 in the English language. 
 
 FROM SIR WILLIAM GELL 1 
 
 Cambridge, Dec. 1806. 
 
 MY DEAR LORD ABERDEEN, Grand Duke of Athens, 
 Cousin of Theseus, and intimate friend of Pericles 
 
 I have heard that Nollekens, not Flaxman, 
 is to execute the statue of Mr. Pitt if Canova cannot 
 come to England. If that be the case I will thank 
 you to send me some certain poison by return of post, 
 as I am determined not to survive such a misfortune. 
 
 1 Sir W. Cell, 1777-1836, the famous antiquary.
 
 52 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Of all the artists of England none but Flaxman have 
 any taste for other statues than gold-laced coats and 
 long-flapped waistcoats. Flaxman has really done 
 all that could be done to acquire classical taste and 
 real Greek knowledge I have even doubts of Canova's 
 superiority where copying is not allowed. 
 
 I shall be in town soon. In the meantime ever 
 believe me yours most sincerely and affectionately, 
 
 W. CELL. 
 
 The correspondence which has been preserved 
 at this period is chiefly that with the Marquis of 
 Abercorn. 
 
 FROM LORD ABERCORN 
 
 Wimbledon, Aug. 4, 1806. 
 
 Lauderdale, you will hear, has gone to Paris, but 
 I understand without any powers; and merely that 
 Government might have a confidential person on 
 the spot : this, it is said, has been rendered necessary 
 by certain stockjobbing speculations of Lord Yar- 
 mouth's. As to Fox, the accounts are contradictory, 
 but there is the best reason to believe that his com- 
 plaint is worse; he has taken Foxglove. 
 
 Although you are probably better informed, 
 I may as well mention that the reports of a dissolu- 
 tion in Parliament increase; and that it is said Lord 
 Grenville has been left in a minority in the Cabinet 
 on a late division. 
 
 In the autumn it was resolved that Lady Aberdeen 
 should make acquaintance with her future home. 
 The journey was a long one, and her condition of 
 health made it a matter of anxiety. It was accom- 
 plished in easy stages, forty miles a day, and Lord 
 Aberdeen in September was reporting on the condition 
 of his larch plantations to Lord Abercorn. The answer
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 53 
 
 he received was in accord with the general impression 
 as to the rigours of the climate and remoteness of 
 Aberdeenshire. 
 
 FROM LORD ABERCORN 
 
 Priory, Sept. 1806. 
 
 I am very sorry for your larch, for if they fail I 
 fear nothing will succeed. But, in fact, I am quite 
 convinced that though you will be right to go on 
 fairly and very softly in gradual improvements, and 
 occasional visits to Haddo, your time of Life, Habits, 
 Tastes and everything make the balance overpower- 
 ingly against your considering it as a residence or 
 scene of enjoyment, or main object. I am glad you 
 are bored. I hope you will continue so. My main 
 object is to have you fixed here again in as few weeks 
 as may be. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD ABERCORN 
 
 Haddo, Sept. 27, 1806. 
 
 MY DEAR LORD, 
 
 I hope you will sometimes come here and 
 give me a great deal of advice about planting, water, 
 etc., but I do not want you much at present, until 
 some alterations are made, which perhaps, if you 
 knew all, you might thank me for. We are threatened 
 with a visit to-morrow or next day from the Duchess 
 of Gordon and Huntly ; others mean to pour in upon 
 us, and with the Aberdeen meeting in perspective 
 there will be no want of gaiety. 
 
 ABERDEEN. 
 
 LADY ABERDEEN TO LORD ABERCORN 
 
 MY DEAR PAPA, 
 
 You need not believe one word of what Lord 
 Aberdeen says about this place, for I can assure
 
 54 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 you that there is nothing to complain of, I never 
 was so surprised in my life as when I first saw it, for 
 I had been told so much about it by everybody, 
 that I expected a thing not fit for a human being to 
 live in, placed in the middle of a barren, black moor, 
 without a tree or anything near it but a bog; instead 
 of that I saw a great many very good trees about the 
 house, which is not regularly beautiful on the outside, 
 but very comfortable in the inside, from the windows 
 you see nothing but trees, and this fine weather it 
 is as cheerful as possible. It is really very strange 
 that everybody should have thought it so depressing ; 
 they said it was useless to do anything but build, 
 for that we never could make it tolerable, but with 
 a good chair and sopha or two, and new curtains to 
 the drawing-room, I do not wish for anything better; 
 and what do you think, I have got two little tame 
 Fawns. As for the plantations here, they are just 
 like those in Castle Rackrent. I have not perceived 
 them yet, but I am told they will be magnificent 
 ten years hence. (Note) Gentlemen who plant at 
 the rate of one million trees per ann. cannot afford 
 to put in very large and umbrageous machines. 
 
 Your affectionate daughter, 
 
 CATHARINE ABERDEEN. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD ABERCORN 
 
 Haddo, Sept. 10, 1808. 
 
 The Spaniards have done nobly ! If they acquire 
 a few independent notions, which they will if the 
 contest lasts, and the vermin are brushed off by its 
 violence, all will be well provided no British objects 
 interfere. How superior they have appeared through- 
 out to the Portuguese ! These fellows by all accounts 
 cannot much share in Sir Arthur's glory.
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 55 
 
 Oct. 13, 1806. 
 
 The news of Lauderdale's return has been received 
 with the same joy here which it seems to have pro- 
 duced in London, and altogether in this country it 
 is considered as the most popular act of the present 
 Government. 
 
 ABERDEEN. 
 
 The prospect of the General Election recalled Lord 
 Aberdeen from his estates, and he was soon immersed 
 in the controversy which raged round the election 
 of the Scottish Peers. 
 
 GENERAL ELECTION OF 1806 
 
 FROM LORD MELVILLE 
 
 Tullibody, Oct. 24, 1806. 
 
 MY DEAR ABERDEEN, 
 
 As you may believe, all hands are now at work 
 in consequence of the Dissolution. I shall meet the 
 Duke of Buccleugh this day at the Justice Clerk's, 
 when of course we shall have conversation on the 
 subject of the election of the peers, and it is really 
 a complicated business, but the ground must be 
 immediately and distinctly taken. Government al- 
 ways will and ought to keep a look out upon the 
 election of the Scotch Peers, but without naming 
 a person or suggesting Friendship or any other cause, 
 Publick Principle or otherwise. It is I believe the 
 first time the Scotch Peers were ever called upon to 
 consider the support of a Government (especially 
 a Government formed under such Circumstances, 
 and as yet untried) as the only consideration which 
 ought to weigh with them in their Choice, but of that 
 time enough to talk hereafter. At present, I content 
 myself with saying that I really think it will be 
 necessary for you to come for a couple of days to
 
 56 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Edinburgh that we may concert and take a decided line 
 for our interest in general and yours in particular. 
 
 MELVILLE. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD ABERCORN 
 
 Nov. 28, 1806. 
 
 There will be meetings immediately after the Elec- 
 tion about the condition of the Scots Peerage ; Selkirk 
 this morning went into a great detail respecting 
 Lord Grenville's Plans, and his own views. It is 
 proposed to place us in precisely the situation of 
 the Irish Peerage, both as to sitting in the House 
 of Commons and for life in the House of Lords. I 
 reprobated in toto the idea of any change. You may 
 write one word as to your opinion in this respect. 
 
 FROM THE MARQUESS OF ABERCORN 1 
 
 Dec. 2, 1806. 
 
 MY DEAR ABERDEEN, 
 
 Though I have already written to you one letter 
 to-day, I will write another to say in the most em- 
 phatical terms that I not only disapprove of, but 
 abominate and abhor Lord Selkirk's base ideas about 
 the Scottish Peerage. 
 
 Not only this either, but I shall protest even against 
 the power of Parliament to alter the express terms 
 of the Union ; explaining or modifying doubtful 
 or undecided points or cases is a different matter. 
 But to alter by a majority the actual terms and 
 articles I contend to be a virtual dissolution of the 
 Union. 
 
 It really puts me out of all patience to think of such 
 a degradation of our Peerage as making Commoners 
 of even those who would be base enough to make 
 
 1 John James Hamilton, 1756-1818. 9th Earl of Abercorn, created 
 Marquess 1790, Lord Aberdeen's father-in-law.
 
 T T^ 
 
 HADDO HOUSE. 
 
 From a sketch accompanying a plan of the plantations and policies, made in 1815.
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 57 
 
 themselves so. I wish at any meeting you would 
 say such are my sentiments. I am sure the Duke 
 of Buccleugh and many others feel the same, and we 
 could not too soon get as many as possible to promise 
 to sign a remonstrance against any such measure. 
 
 One threat we might hold out " to engage never 
 to give our votes for any Scottish Peer who should 
 sign or petition to become a Commoner at will." 
 
 I think we may bully both them and ministers 
 
 out of it. 
 
 Your affectionate, 
 
 A. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD MELVILLE 
 
 Dec. 21, 1806. 
 
 MY DEAR LORD, 
 
 On the road I met with a letter from Lord 
 Abercorn, saying that if the dissolution of Parliament 
 was mentioned in the King's Speech, or Address, 
 he should move an amendment, and begging me to be 
 in time in case of a division. Nothing being said 
 of it in the Speech or Address, no amendment was 
 moved, but Hawkesbury spoke at considerable length ; 
 he chose most certainly a weak and bad ground, and 
 laid himself open by a very injudicious speech to the 
 attacks of Lord Grenville, which, it is but justice to 
 say, were strong and successful. In the House of 
 Commons, I hear that Canning was brilliant but not 
 very wise, and that Lord Howick made one of the 
 best speeches ever delivered by him in Parliament. 
 
 The Papers relating to the negotiation are shortly 
 to be discussed, and I believe a case will be attempted 
 to be made : I confess, however, that I see none ; 
 if you think there is any tenable ground, and will 
 point it out, I should be much obliged to you. 
 
 Very many reports are in circulation; it is said
 
 58 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 that the King, though in perfect health, is so oppressed 
 and overcome by late events that he means to demand 
 a Regency. His real sentiments with respect to 
 Ministers it is difficult to ascertain; so long since 
 as the last interview he had with the Duke of Portland, 
 although they were long entirely in private, he never 
 expressed any wish about Government being sup- 
 ported, or mentioned anything on the subject. He 
 repeated several times to the Duke, " I believe, my 
 Lord, you do not find my memory at all impaired," 
 and on being answered, " Not in the least," he rejoined, 
 " Perhaps it would be better if it were." The notion 
 of this alluding to a Regency is much too chimerical, 
 and at that time there was no particular cause for 
 any depression of his spirits; I suppose he more 
 probably hinted at Ministers, and I understand this 
 is certainly the Duke of Portland's impression. 
 
 From what you know of the subject, do you think 
 the interference of the Government in the Peers Election 
 can possibly be brought forward in the House of 
 Lords, as Lord Abercorn is particularly anxious to 
 do it ? I hear there are forty petitions in the House of 
 Commons. Sheridan, it is said, means to take Chiltern 
 Hundreds, as he dares not stand a scrutiny. Plumer 
 is employed against him; he says that if the facts 
 can be proved, it is the strongest case of the kind, 
 which ever came before Parliament. It is not merely 
 bribery of which he is accused, but subornation of 
 Perjury, viz. : giving a man a guinea for his vote, 
 and then, if he would vote a second time, two guineas, 
 and so on in proportion. 
 
 FROM LORD MELVILLE. 
 
 Dunira, Dec. 28, 1806. 
 
 DEAR ABERDEEN, 
 
 I have yours of the 21st. The Delineation 
 you give of what has been passing in Parliament
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 59 
 
 and the effects of the Speeches correspond entirely 
 with what I conjectured on the Perusal of them. 
 Canning had better have made the speech without 
 the Motion, for making it and not dividing upon it, 
 at the opening of Parliament, was too obvious an 
 acknowledgement of a conscious Weakness. 
 
 I hope some of my Friends will send down to me 
 the Papers produced on the subject of the Negotiation. 
 There is no forming any opinion on the Final Result 
 when they come in the detached and unconnected 
 Manner they are given in the Newspapers. Without 
 these Papers I am really incompetent to give you any 
 suggestions such as you wish. I think it probable 
 that there will be no strong case against Government. 
 The Points to be particularly watched in the Perusal 
 of the Papers, are, Istly, whether the King's Ministers 
 were sufficiently attentive, when they came into power, 
 not to lose any of the ground in point of cordiality 
 and connexion established with Russia. 2ndly, 
 whether they were or were not too fervent in their 
 advances for Peace, when it was scarcely possible 
 that under the relative circumstances of the two 
 countries any peace could be beneficially negociated. 
 Srdly, if sufficient pains were taken early enough 
 to discover the growing animosities between France 
 and Russia, and whether we were sufficiently quick 
 in our Movements in consequence of the Discovery 
 to put an end to our own quarrels with Russia, so 
 as to enable us to act in common co-operation against 
 France. 4thly, what assistance we offered to Prussia ; 
 and fifthly, whether the terms which came under 
 Discussion and which we were willing to adopt were 
 such as were compatible with the Honour, the Safety 
 and the Pretensions of this Country. 
 
 I imagine that under these heads may be classed 
 all the material points to be attended to in the
 
 60 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 investigation of the merits or demerits of Government 
 as detailed in the Papers which have been produced, 
 and according as one or all of them can be answered 
 negatively or affirmatively are they entitled to censure, 
 or approbation. 
 
 As to the Sentiments of the King relative to his 
 Ministers, I wish our Friends may not proceed on an 
 error when they suppose that they enjoy to a great 
 degree his Predilections in their favour. I think 
 I have good grounds for what I say. To adopt the 
 present Administration was a most bitter Pill for him 
 to swallow, but are our Friends aware that the very 
 circumstance of its being so may have left a coldness 
 towards them in the affections of the King, from an 
 Idea that they ought to have stood by him and not 
 left him at that time ? I am not saying that they 
 could have stood their ground at that time against 
 the general Cry of the Country for a strong Govern- 
 ment, and therefore the feelings of the King may 
 be unreasonable in that respect, but still if they exist 
 it is of no moment whether they are well or ill founded. 
 I think the Circumstances which have since occurred 
 are a strong corroboration of my Belief on this subject. 
 If a strong predilection existed in favour of the former 
 Ministers it would have broke out at the time of Mr. 
 Fox's death, and his yielding to his present Ministers 
 the Dissolution of Parliament when he must have been 
 perfectly aware of the consequences, is in my judgment 
 an irresistible Proof, that if our Friends have been 
 speculating on any supposed anxiety in the breast 
 of the King to resort to his former Ministers, they are 
 proceeding on an error. I am afraid the real state of 
 the King's Mind is an apathy as to all Publick Men 
 and Measures, and when you hear from those about him 
 of his Calmness and Firmness and good Health, etc., 
 etc., it is only a corroborative proof of that apathy.
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 61 
 
 If my information is just, I believe that the exertions 
 and Violence and corrupt influence of Government has 
 been more notorious both as to Peers and Commoners- 
 elections than was ever known, but I do not see day- 
 light through any Proposition that could be brought 
 forward on the Subject. One may know the Truth 
 from various channels, but it is difficult to authenticate 
 anything in such a way as to produce consequences. 
 I remain, my dear Aberdeen, 
 
 Yours very affectionately, 
 
 MELVILLE. 
 
 FROM THE REV. G. WHITTINGTON 
 
 March 25, 1807. 
 
 I hope a dissolution will not be necessary. I should 
 think after the thousands paid, the papers would be 
 ready to support the Ministers rather than incur a 
 new expense. Sheridan's remark is excellent. Erskine 
 communicated his fall to his son at Trinity, precisely 
 in these words (Bernard saw the letter) " My dear 
 Bob, this damned Catholic Bill has ruined us all, 
 etc.," which may pair off with Mr. Keogh's being 
 " a damned blackguard." 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO THE REV. G. WHITTINGTON 
 
 MY DEAR W., 
 
 I received your letter this morning. Lord 
 Melville, I fear, is resolute in his intention of not 
 returning to office, which is doubtless a great loss. 
 Lord Wellesley had accepted the seals of the Foreign 
 Office, but in consideration of his peculiar situation, 
 it is postponed. With regard to a dissolution, only 
 one thing is determined, viz. not to hesitate a moment 
 if it shall be rendered necessary, which I think may 
 probably be the case. The Vote, however, of last
 
 62 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 night, will not, I apprehend, hasten it. Lord Abercorn 
 has refused Ireland. Respecting myself, I am offered 
 the Russian Embassy; it being determined that Ld. 
 Douglas is to return. This, you must allow, is arduous, 
 and I think I should prefer a mission of less importance. 
 Unfortunately Constantinople, which I should like 
 better than any place in Europe, is now shut up. 
 But all this is matter for mature deliberation; and 
 as I write in confidence you will of course not mention 
 the circumstances to anyone whatever. 
 
 CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT AND GENERAL 
 ELECTION OF 1807 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO THE REV. G. WHITTINGTON 
 
 Old Burlington St., March 21, 1807. 
 MY DEAR W., 
 
 I should long before this time have explained 
 to you the state of affairs here, had I not as you may 
 suppose been tolerably anxious, and indeed until 
 very lately nothing was finally determined. The 
 only thing which is now absolutely settled is, the 
 dismissal of the whole administration, not excepting 
 the Doctor. The Duke of Portland will it is certain 
 be first Lord of the Treasury. Ld. Melville probably, 
 although he does not like any office, will go to the 
 Admiralty. I believe the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 is to be Castlereagh. And the Foreign Home and War 
 Secretaries, Canning, Hawkesbury and Yorke (it is 
 said, however, the Hardwickes are false). I presume 
 Grant will be Chancellor, and Perceval Master of the 
 Rolls, Ld. Eldon Prest. of Council. The immediate 
 cause of all this, although arising out of the Catholic 
 Question, is very different from what you have detailed 
 in the Papers. They have made a shameful attempt 
 to Bully the King, whose case is very good. He has
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 63 
 
 shown much spirit and good determination : the 
 Ministers are surprised beyond measure, never having 
 conceived it possible for the King to resist them. 
 Sheridan says he has heard of people dashing their 
 heads against a stone wall, but never of anyone before 
 who built one for that purpose. It is hoped there 
 will be no occasion for a dissolution, but if there 
 should be it is determined to appeal to the people. 
 I think the Government will be good and well-formed 
 I cannot, however, say that it will make any differ- 
 ence to me, except giving me a seat on the fire side 
 of the House of Lords instead of the cold opposition 
 Bench. 
 
 Believe me yours most truly, 
 
 ABERDEEN. 
 
 VISCOUNTESS MELVILLE TO LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 March 24, 1807. 
 MY DEAR A., 
 
 Lord Melville went to Town this morning and 
 being now about half-past four, I must await his 
 arrival, and should do no good by forwarding your 
 letter to him, as it might miss him. Whatever it 
 contains, I see in your writing it your dear, kind and 
 anxious concern upon the subject, but in consequence 
 of a letter Lord Melville received this morning from 
 his son, my mind is much more made up than it was 
 yesterday, and I own I think that when his own son 
 discourages his return to office I can only consider 
 the die as cast, and new as the whole position seems 
 to me I must accommodate my language and appear- 
 ance to it as well as I can. I see the necessity of 
 strict prudence, and shall only when we meet next 
 tell you the reflections I make upon the whole subject. 
 Lord Melville (when I saw him last) remained perfectly 
 satisfied with his own choice and I believe nothing
 
 64 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 has passed to make him regret that he made it. I 
 heard in confidence that Lord Wellesley will be at 
 the head of foreign affairs, and that Mr. Perceval 
 will accept the place of Chancellor of the Exchequer. 
 I never asked yesterday if you would like to go to 
 Russia on the recall of Lord Douglas ? Be very 
 guarded, my dear Aberdeen, in what language you 
 hold about Lord Melville. It will be, I find, most 
 necessary. 
 
 FROM VISCOUNT MELVILLE 
 
 Wimbledon, March 25. 
 
 MY DEAR ABERDEEN, 
 
 I received your letter yesterday on my arrival 
 from town where I had gone for a few hours. There 
 is no misapprehension anywhere, you may be assured. 
 My Reluctance to return to Office is unvaried and 
 invariable, and that Reluctance could yield to nothing 
 but the King's commands originating in a conviction 
 that my being a member of his Government was 
 essential to its Strength. Recent circumstances have 
 confirmed me that there is no such feeling in the minds 
 of those who are to fill the most essential parts of 
 the new Government. I am determined never to 
 have any reserve with you on any Subject, and there- 
 fore I will explain to you \vhat I mean the first time 
 we meet. 
 
 In the spring of 1807 it was proposed to Lord 
 Aberdeen that he should be appointed British 
 Minister to Sicily, at that moment a post of much 
 importance. Mr. Canning wrote to him on the 27th 
 April that " the question of your succession to Mr. 
 Drummond is merely a matter of time, and depends 
 upon circumstances which had not occurred when 
 first I communicated with Lord Melville, but which 
 I will explain to you whenever I see you. Your
 
 HADDO HOUSE. 
 
 From a photograph taken about 1860.
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 65 
 
 succession to Mr. D. when he comes home I consider 
 as fixed, on my part at least, and subject only to your 
 own decision." Drummond, who was then an Ambas- 
 sador in Sicily, wrote to him at some length on the 
 condition of affairs, which made his post of consider- 
 able importance. Lord Aberdeen declined the post, 
 unless allowed the same control over the Sicilian 
 Government which had till then been exercised by 
 the British Ambassador, but which it had been decided 
 to discontinue. The Mission was refused on these 
 grounds, but perhaps what at this time weighed with 
 him was the strong opposition of Lord Abercorn. 
 Lord Aberdeen yielded to it, " somewhat against his 
 better judgment." He was anxious for work which 
 took him into public life. Had Mr. Pitt lived, and 
 Lord Melville remained in power, he would have had 
 no need for any anxiety as to early promotion to 
 high office. 
 
 At the first dissolution of Parliament which followed 
 his attaining his majority in 1801 he was elected one of 
 the sixteen representative Peers of Scotland, and in 
 1808 at the age of twenty-four he received the Order 
 of the Thistle. 
 
 In the following year he refused the Embassy to 
 Russia, an offer which speaks highly of the estimation 
 in which he was held. Had he accepted it, the 
 attitude in which he approached the subject of the 
 Crimean War forty-five years later might have been 
 considerably modified. Nor was he only regarded 
 as a man likely to be conspicuous in public life. He 
 received yet more consideration from his knowledge 
 and his literary culture. The excavator of the Pnyx 
 was soon elected to the Presidency of the Society of 
 Antiquaries. He became a Trustee of the British 
 Museum, and a Fellow of the Royal Society. 
 
 He wrote in the Edinburgh Review, and though 
 not a frequent speaker in the House of Lords, he took 
 part in all the more intimate consultations, out of 
 Parliament, of the friends who had formed Mr. Pitt's 
 party. 
 
 VOL. i. F
 
 66 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 It is evident that in these years his attention was 
 engrossed at first by the complete happiness of his 
 domestic life. He and Lady Aberdeen were frequently 
 in residence at Haddo, and the improvements effected 
 in the house and on the estate form the absorbing topic 
 of correspondence. Lord Abercorn always entertained 
 the view that Aberdeenshire was somewhere within the 
 Arctic Circle, and he was never at ease till his daughter 
 returned to the South. A friendly rivalry in forestry 
 existed between him and his son-in-law. It is 
 admitted the growth of trees at Baronscourt may be 
 favourably affected by the greater damp, but in 1808 
 Lord Abercorn writes : "I annex a list of trees 
 planted from my own nursery since the 1st of January 
 last. Nearly an equal number were planted in the 
 autumn preceding. In twenty years if no wood is 
 to be found, it will not be my fault. Larch 195,000, 
 Scotch Fir 444,000, Oak 10,200." 
 
 A somewhat sombre answer is returned to Lord 
 Abercorn 's advice on improving the soil : 
 
 Haddo, July 30, 1808. 
 
 It has cost, for a considerable extent near Aber- 
 deen, to clear level ground of stones (not rocks) no less 
 than a hundred pounds per acre. It would cost four 
 times the amount to clear my hills. 
 
 The happiness of his home life was completed by 
 the birth of three daughters Jane, Caroline and 
 Alice, the first born in 1807 and the others in the two 
 following years. A son born in 1810 survived his 
 birth only a few hours. In that year Lady Aberdeen, 
 always with a constitutional weakness, began to fail, 
 and after a long illness, during which Lord Aberdeen 
 watched and nursed her with the tenderest care, 
 she died on the 29th February 1812. The daughters 
 inherited the same constitutional tendency, and none 
 of them passed the age of girlhood. Lord Aberdeen, 
 the most devoted and tenderest of fathers, saw them
 
 MARRIAGE (1805-1813) 67 
 
 pass one after another, from his love and the circle 
 of his home. 
 
 With the death of his wife, Catharine Hamilton, 
 his son says, " the sunshine went out of his life for 
 ever. From the day of her funeral to that of his 
 own death, nearly fifty years later, he constantly wore 
 mourning for her." 
 
 In 1809, writing to a friend, he says : 
 
 Depend on it, true solid happiness is not tasted 
 till a man is settled quietly with his wife. This 
 does not appear orthodox, but experto crede. I think 
 the twentieth year of a man's marriage ought to be 
 happier than the first. 
 
 After her death, when he was again contemplating 
 marriage, writing to his sister-in-law, Lady Maria 
 Hamilton, in whose intimacy and affection he much 
 delighted, in speaking of his past happiness he says : 
 
 Most undoubtedly, as long as I live, I shall believe 
 that I have seen human nature under a form in which 
 it never before existed My heart must be more than 
 metaphorically cold before this feeling can ever be 
 changed or forgotten. 
 
 He was now less disinclined than before to accept 
 employment abroad, and Lord Abercorn had not 
 the same reasons for urging his remaining at home. 
 Once more he was to refuse a mission. He declined 
 to go to the United States when it was offered him 
 in 1812. What effect his conciliatory character 
 might have had in averting the war which followed 
 must remain a subject for speculation. He had 
 not yet received the call to take the active part in 
 foreign affairs which was to be his work for the 
 following years, but his interest in all that belonged 
 to the affairs of his country on the Continent was 
 constantly in his mind. 
 
 Hudson Gurney asked his opinion as to the progress
 
 68 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 of events in Sicily in October 1812, and to him he 
 replied with the faith that was his at that date : 
 
 You ask about Sicily; some of the things that 
 have been done appear to me clearly good, but others 
 are rather doubtful. To talk of " Giving the British 
 Constitution " as such is quite nonsense. You must 
 first create the people, the state of society, the whole 
 system by which the British Constitution is kept 
 alive. Give the people more liberty as you see they 
 are fit for it : break the power of the nobles ; destroy 
 commercial monopoly ; introduce justice in taxation ; 
 banish venality and corruption from the judicature, 
 all by specific measures, as fast as you please; but 
 to give them a fine-sounding name will not carry 
 much real good along with it. The thing, if anything 
 is meant by it, must be greatly modified, and by talking 
 of it difficulties are only created which need never 
 have been heard of.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 
 
 " It is probable that after the Duke of Wellington no British 
 Statesman or soldier so largely influenced the successful issue of the 
 great struggle for the freedom of Europe in 1813 as Lord Aberdeen." 
 Edinburgh Review, 1858-59. 
 
 To THE MARQUESS OF ABERCORN 
 
 Argyll House, May 3, 1813. 
 
 THERE is a great probability of a Mission to Vienna 
 speedily taking place, and it has been proposed to 
 me to accept it. If I go, it would certainly only be 
 for a short time, not more than six months. I have 
 really no wish to gratify; on the contrary, the pre- 
 dominant feeling of my mind is regret at the thoughts 
 of leaving the children, and rather a disinclination 
 to leave the country, joined to a feeling approaching 
 contempt for the whole diplomatic profession in 
 general. At the same time it appeared to me doubtful 
 whether I should be justified in declining an employ- 
 ment certainly of considerable importance, and under 
 circumstances not disagreeable. 
 
 Haddo, July 16, 1813. 
 
 At length a letter has arrived from Castlereagh 
 which makes it necessary for me to go to town 
 immediately. It is probable that I shall now be 
 obliged to go, for the urgency of Castlereagh himself, 
 as well as the entreaties of the other Ministers, are so 
 great that it would be affectation to refuse. It is 
 
 69
 
 70 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 intended that I should leave England privately, 
 but in possession of ample powers. I conclude that 
 Castlereagh entertained hopes of my going from what 
 I said to him formerly on the subject of pecuniary 
 aid; this, I understand, he has at length found 
 means to offer. 
 
 The two points on which I intend to insist are : 
 first, whatever may be my nominal diplomatic rank, 
 if any, I must be on a footing of perfect equality 
 with Lord Cathcart, or any Ambassador whatever. 
 Second, in the event of a Congress, I must be on a 
 footing of perfect equality with any English negotiator 
 with whom I may be joined. I think this will be 
 sufficient, with the understanding that I may come 
 home at any moment I think fit, and that at all 
 events my stay shall not be prolonged beyond a very 
 few months but at my own express desire. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen had declined to accept the Embassy 
 if means were not found to assist Austria either by men 
 or money in the event of her declaring war on France. 
 
 Lord Abercorn replied : 
 
 Only that it may be a good thing, both for you 
 and for the Country, I should be heartily sorry to 
 lose the autumn and winter prospect I looked 
 forward to. 
 
 You are perfectly right stipulating to be Nulli 
 Secundus in any scene or transaction of your Embassy. 
 I hope, too, you will have stipulated to have some 
 specific, defined and definitive object, end and powers, 
 so that neither can you be left in the lurch at home, 
 nor those that trust to you abroad. 
 
 I do indeed wish that I were within reach before 
 you start. As that wish is vain, I will hazard only 
 two wise opinions, the first more intelligently to be 
 expressed than the second.
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 71 
 
 An undisguised personal and national haughtiness 
 (with a sweet sauce of studied, unremitting, cere- 
 monious, condescending politeness and attention) 
 is much more advantageous than is supposed or 
 guessed. Much more is lost than gained by manoeuvr- 
 ing and going round about, and pretending to insist 
 upon more than the real object, for fear of getting less. 
 And no species of negotiation is so liable to be deceived 
 and taken in, as that which affects to penetrate and 
 draw inferences from the mind and manner of the 
 other negotiator. But an Ambassador with an 
 established character of straightforwardness, of 
 never receding, himself, from his real purpose, and 
 disdaining to cajole or be cajoled, would nine times 
 in ten succeed. How long it might take to establish 
 such a character is another point. That system has 
 not been so often tried as the other. Will you 
 forgive this foolish bit of prose. 
 
 The instructions given to Lord Aberdeen were of 
 a very general nature, and left him a wide discretion. 
 He was told that in the opinion of the British Govern- 
 ment the conditions of a general peace ought to 
 confine France at least within the Pyrenees, the Alps 
 and the Rhine. If, however, the Powers most 
 immediately interested should prefer a more imperfect 
 arrangement to the risks of a more protracted struggle, 
 England would not dictate to other States a perse- 
 verance in war not essential to their own safety, 
 and was prepared to lend herself to such a policy on 
 certain conditions. The English Government could 
 not in any circumstances be parties to a peace which 
 did not secure Spain, Portugal and Sicily to their 
 respective Sovereigns, or fulfil the existing engage- 
 ments of Great Britain to Sweden. Secondly, 
 without laying down definite details, the British 
 Government desired to establish some counterpoise in 
 the centre of Europe to the power of France, and
 
 72 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 would be ready to co-operate in the re-establishment 
 of an independent power in Holland. The restoration 
 of Hanover was also to be effected. Lord Aberdeen 
 was also authorised to promote insurrections against 
 the French in the Tyrol and Northern Italy, and to 
 sign in conjunction with Austria a Treaty with Murat, 
 guaranteeing to him, as the price of active operation 
 against Bonaparte, an indemnity elsewhere in Italy, 
 should Naples be restored to the King of Sicily. 
 
 In a secret despatch he was given power, if Murat's 
 assistance could not otherwise be obtained, to confirm 
 him in the possession of the Kingdom of Naples, 
 and to provide an indemnity to the King of Sicily. 
 
 His anticipations were not very sanguine. In a 
 letter to Lady Maria Hamilton he says : 
 
 For myself, I go to certain vexation, and, from all 
 that I can learn, probable disappointment. Things are 
 not so well as they were some time ago. The feeble- 
 ness of the Austrian Government is dreadful, and I 
 am too late. But I will do my best and act honestly 
 where little honesty has been seen; I pray God may 
 protect my endeavours. Frederick Lamb ! goes 
 with me as secretary of Embassy, D. Morier 2 as my 
 private secretary, and Robert will be attached to me. 
 
 The despatch goes on to say : 
 
 In weighing what may be due on the part of the 
 great Continental Powers to their own immediate 
 security, none is so much interested as Austria in 
 adequately providing, under the present circumstances, 
 for the general safety, as that Power, notwithstanding 
 her family connection with the French ruler, is, both 
 from position and from her recent line of policy, 
 likely to become the first object of his future 
 enterprise and resentment. 
 
 1 Frederick Lamb (1782-1853), third son of First Viscouat 
 Melbourne. 
 
 2 David Morier (1784-1877), Consul- General in France 1815-1832.
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 73 
 
 Your Lordship will, in discussing this view of 
 the subject with the Austrian Minister, strongly 
 urge him to consider the singular concurrence of 
 circumstances which are prepared at this moment 
 to sustain the Austrian Monarchy against the power 
 of France, and to restore it to its former station in 
 Europe. 
 
 A powerful British army, combined with a 
 Portuguese and Spanish force, amounting in the 
 whole to not less than 90,000 men, are advanced to 
 the Pyrenees, and menace France upon one of its 
 most vulnerable frontiers. A numerous Russian 
 army, animated by those successes which have 
 proved so fatal to the enemy, is advancing to the 
 very heart of Germany for the avowed purpose of 
 delivering it from oppression. The ancient jealousy 
 which divided the Courts of Vienna and Berlin is 
 now apparently, for the first time, buried in a sense 
 of common danger, and Prussia, the habitual rival 
 of Austria, eager as a nation to unite herself to her 
 former antagonist against the common enemy. If 
 to all these novel and powerful elements of exertion 
 be added the extraordinary feature of a large Swedish 
 army actually arrived in the north of Germany and 
 ready to act against Bonaparte, under the command 
 of one of his own most celebrated Generals, and that 
 another powerful army in the south of Italy, 
 similarly commanded, may in all probability, if 
 Austria moves, be brought against him. Surely then it 
 is not too much to assert that such means have never 
 before existed, so if the occasion is allowed to pass 
 away without effectually turning them to the salvation 
 of Europe, they may never again be placed within 
 our reach. 
 
 If this view of our situation is important in the 
 last degree to all nations, it is most peculiarly so to
 
 74 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Austria. Austria is in military strength and resource 
 the most natural object of jealousy to France. She 
 must latterly have incurred the heaviest share of 
 criminality in the eyes of that Power, by emerging 
 from a state of professed weakness to dictate terms 
 to the very Power under whose influence she had 
 submitted to act. She is also that Power which, 
 in point of position, is most exposed to sudden attack, 
 and most remote in such an event from succour. 
 It is therefore more essential to Austria than to any 
 other Power to turn the present means to her 
 advantage, and this your Lordship will press. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LADY MARIA HAMILTON l 
 
 Ystadt, Aug. 19, 1813. 
 
 DEAREST LADY MARIA, 
 
 You will have heard from Lady Abercorn 2 of 
 our safe arrival at Gottenburgh. Since we left that 
 place we have travelled through Sweden, about 300 
 miles, and are now on the point of embarking for 
 Rostock. At this town we have received the intelli- 
 gence of Austria having joined the Allies; this 
 relieves me of much difficulty, but much yet remains. 
 However, from the prosperous appearance of affairs, 
 I hope things will go on agreeably. I will not bother 
 you with news, but write as a traveller. 
 
 This country is quite delightful, it is most beauti- 
 fully wooded, and the ground varied, as to form, 
 in the most agreeable manner; cultivation is mingled 
 with all the most romantic scenes, which produces 
 an effect to me always peculiarly charming. The 
 woods are chiefly Oak, Alder, Ash, Beech and Birch ; 
 there are also a good many fir trees growing naturally, 
 but not in any great number. We crossed many 
 
 1 Lady Maria Hamilton, Lord Abercorn's third daughter. 
 
 2 Lord Aberdeen's sister-in-law, died in 1814.
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 75 
 
 fine streams; and altogether the country is not very 
 unlike some of the richest parts of the Highlands, 
 excepting the hills, which are small, and not of 
 a particularly good form. The people, without 
 exception, appear to be the best humoured I ever 
 saw. In passing through a country so rapidly there 
 is not time for much observation, but one cannot be 
 deceived in the honest frankness of their appearance. 
 We passed through no very good towns, but they are 
 generally clean, and picturesque. At Helsinburgh 
 we saw across the Sound, which is only three miles 
 wide, the Castle of Cronberg, Elsineur, and Copenhagen 
 at a distance. The roads are excellent, and we 
 travelled fast; my carriage was drawn by half a 
 dozen little long-tailed ponies that put one in mind 
 of Cinderella and her attelage. 
 
 The Crown Prince appears to be very popular; 
 and the journey of Moreau has excited the greatest 
 sensation. He was received everywhere with the 
 highest honours, and partly as a friend of the Prince, 
 and as a General of such celebrity, the people were 
 delighted with him. The meeting of Moreau and 
 the Crown Prince was most satisfactory. I saw a 
 letter from Moreau giving an account of it. 
 
 How I long to hear from you ! I am sure you will 
 write frequently; the dear children will now be at 
 the Priory, and I force myself to think will go on well. 
 
 I am well contented with my fellow-travellers, 
 but of course every step I take further from home is 
 more and more disagreeable. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LADY MARIA HAMILTON 
 
 Breslau, Aug. 27, 1813. 
 
 I must for the present abstain from writing not 
 only as a politician, but even as a traveller, and 
 confine myself to a simple account of my own
 
 76 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 wanderings and adventures. I never expected to find 
 this journey a party of pleasure ; it has been still more 
 disagreeable than I was prepared to find it. 
 
 I think I wrote to you from Ystadt on the 19th. 
 No English vessel arriving, and impatient of delay, 
 I embarked the same evening on board a Swedish 
 Packet for Stralsund. It began to blow hard soon 
 after we sailed, and during that night and the following 
 day we experienced all the horrors of a gale of wind 
 in the Baltic. The sea was very high, and the vessel 
 laboured much; the noise and apparent confusion 
 of the Captain and his crew, with their unintelligible 
 language, did not render our situation more agreeable. 
 On the whole, I was not unprepared for the termi- 
 nation of my mission, together with all the hopes 
 and fears connected with it. However, on Friday 
 evening we reached Stralsund, a wretched place, 
 where we were obliged to remain until Saturday 
 evening before we were able to begin our journey. 
 We then set out, and, passing through Pomerania, 
 on Sunday we arrived at Strelitz. Here we found 
 the Landwehr in arms, and the highest spirit of 
 resistance to the French; indeed, throughout the 
 whole country from Stralsund to this place, the 
 people are quite unanimous; nothing can exceed 
 the enthusiasm of all ranks. At Strelitz we heard 
 that the French were retiring, and that the Crown 
 Prince was advancing to the Elbe. We continued 
 our journey through a very beautiful country, and 
 towards evening met with a different report, that 
 the French were advancing towards Berlin, and that 
 a battle was expected on that day. We were at 
 some loss how to act, but determined to proceed, 
 and on our approach to Berlin inquire into the real 
 state of affairs. In the middle of the night we met 
 a person travelling from Berlin, who assured us that
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 77 
 
 the French had certainly retreated, and that the 
 Crown Prince had certainly advanced towards Witten- 
 berg on the Elbe. We arrived at Berlin about seven 
 o'clock on Monday morning. I had intended to 
 take a few hours' rest, but observing even at that 
 early hour some appearance of bustle and confusion 
 in the town, I found on inquiry that the French 
 army was really approaching. The scene of agitation 
 and interest was soon at its height ; the French army 
 was ascertained to be about twelve or sixteen English 
 miles from the town, the Crown Prince had taken 
 up his position near Potsdam, an action was now 
 momentarily expected, the noise of cannon was 
 heard, nothing but estafettes arriving and departing, 
 officers galloping through the streets, crowds of 
 people collected in all the public places, reports, 
 true or false, spread and collected with equal avidity. 
 I never before witnessed a scene of such powerful 
 interest ; it put me in mind of the state of Athens on 
 the approach of Philip to Cheronea, as we have it 
 described by the Greek orators. It became necessary 
 for me to decide on the part I was to take : Charles 
 Stewart was at Prague, and none of the English 
 mission in Berlin, so that it was difficult to get 
 information and assistance. My road was through 
 Frankfort on the Oder, but there had been skirmishing 
 the day before within two or three miles of some of 
 the villages in that direction. I wished very much 
 to remain at Berlin until the fate of the city was 
 decided by the battle about to be fought, and, indeed, 
 then said to be begun ; but if the event should have 
 been unfavourable, my communication would have 
 been entirely cut off from Frankfort. I called on 
 General L'Estocq, the commandant of the town; 
 he said, " I think you may now go in safety : to- 
 morrow I will not answer for it." On pressing him
 
 78 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 further, I found that he had not much hope of the 
 town being saved. He reckoned the French army 
 at a hundred thousand men at least, and the Crown 
 Prince had not more than eighty thousand. Under 
 these circumstances, however interesting, I thought 
 further delay would scarcely be justifiable, and by 
 the assistance of General L'Estocq I set out for 
 Frankfort, where we arrived at two o'clock on Tuesday 
 morning. We continued our journey along the Oder 
 to Crossen, where the French had recently been; 
 our road during the night was through immense 
 forests of pine and beech. This night we met with 
 our first overturn; we were not materially hurt, 
 although my head received a sort of concussion 
 which makes light painful, and which has produced 
 a headache which seems inclined to remain. On 
 Wednesday, as we were congratulating ourselves on 
 being fairly in the heart of Silesia, and safe from 
 any marauding party of the French, especially as 
 we heard they had received a check, we met the 
 Austrian General Vincent, who was going on a mission 
 to the Crown Prince : he told us that General Blucher 
 " avait un petit desavantage, et qu'il s'etoit replie 
 sur Breslau." He advised us not to go to Breslau, 
 but to make a detour. This was keeping us in hot 
 water, but, however, we determined to proceed. 
 The French had been within three miles of one place 
 where we changed horses, and had burnt two villages. 
 Most fortunately a corps of Austrians crossed the 
 Bohemian frontier, and entered Silesia in their rear, 
 which has obliged them to retreat. 
 
 We arrived at this place last night, and for the first 
 time have gone to bed, being completely worn out. 
 I shall continue my journey this morning, and proceed 
 with the utmost expedition to the Imperial Head- 
 quarters, where I am most impatiently expected,
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 79 
 
 and where, from what I hear, my presence is very 
 necessary. I am delayed two or three hours by the 
 Prince of Prussia, who is here, wishing to see me 
 before my departure. I shall take this letter with 
 me, and shall not finish it until I have an opportunity 
 of sending it by an English messenger. 
 
 On the whole everything is going on well. I am 
 ignorant of the fate of Berlin, but it cannot affect 
 the general cause. This patriotic spirit in Germany 
 is quite new, and must produce the best results. 
 
 This is a singular town very picturesque; with 
 an Italian appearance about it, rather going to 
 decay. The country fertile, but flat; generally 
 speaking, the whole country we have passed through 
 from Stralsund has been flat and sandy full of 
 very fine woods, especially fir. By far the prettiest 
 country we have as yet seen is in the neighbourhood 
 of Strelitz. The ground well diversified, and the 
 woods of every sort in great luxuriance. 
 
 Lamb x and I travel together we found it absolutely 
 necessary to divide, as we require twenty-four horses 
 to move the whole party. They were to leave Berlin 
 two hours after us; they have not yet come up, but 
 most likely they have slept on the road, as some of 
 them did not much admire the fatigue, although they 
 were all well. Lamb is rather an agreeable companion, 
 he is more cultivated than I had given him credit for, 
 he has a good deal of cleverness, and I confess myself 
 to be most agreeably surprised as to the nature of 
 his opinions and general character, so far as they 
 appear. 
 
 Prague, Sept. 1. 
 
 I continue the account of my journey, but first I 
 must congratulate you on the safety of Berlin, which 
 
 1 Frederick Lamb, son of first Lord Melbourne. Lord Beauvale, 
 1839, succeeded his brother as 2nd Viscount Melbourne, 1848.
 
 the Prussian Corps under the command of the Crown 
 Prince has for the present secured. I only arrived 
 at this place yesterday, having travelled day and 
 night since I wrote from Breslau. We came through 
 Glatz, Koniginstadt, and Brandias. The roads were 
 worse than ever, having been entirely destroyed 
 by the passage of Russian Troops, Artillery, etc. 
 One night we were overturned, and had to stand in 
 the rain for four hours before any assistance could be 
 procured, which at last was very unwillingly afforded ; 
 we had then to sit in our wet things in the carriage 
 for the rest of the night. We have more than once 
 spent the day without other food than some dry 
 bread. In short, our distresses may not be very 
 poetical, or read well on paper, but I assure you 
 they are very serious in reality. The country is 
 very beautiful on the frontiers of Silesia and Bohemia ; 
 mountainous, with a great profusion of wood, and 
 many fine streams. In Silesia we saw many reinforce- 
 ments on their way to join the Russian army; large 
 bodies of Cossacks; but what astonished us more 
 than anything was a body of several hundred Asiatical 
 Tartars, armed with bows and arrows, and carry- 
 ing a light spear. Their equipment altogether was 
 most strange. They have the Chinese face, and 
 are exactly like the fellows one sees painted on 
 tea-boxes. 
 
 You will have heard of the failure of the Allies in 
 the attack on Dresden; but yesterday news arrived 
 of a complete victory gained over Vandamme, whose 
 corps is cut to pieces and himself prisoner. Our 
 real difficulties are only beginning. The Emperor 
 of Austria is either at Lann or Teplitz. He and 
 Metternich have been sleeping on straw. As I left 
 London unprovided with everything, I cannot expect 
 to fare well. Nothing is to be had or done in this
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 81 
 
 town, which is in a state of confusion not to be 
 described. I set out to-night to join the Emperor. 
 
 Hopes are entertained that poor Moreau will 
 recover. I shall still carry on this letter with me, as 
 there are no means at present of sending to England. 
 
 Teplitz, Sept. 4. 
 
 Poor Moreau is dead. It has created a great 
 sensation. I dined yesterday in company with the 
 Surgeon of the Emperor of Russia, who cut off both 
 of Moreau's legs. They were taken off high above 
 the knees. Nothing could be more heroic than his 
 conduct throughout. The account of the whole 
 business was most affecting. For simple heroism 
 without any trick or acting I have never heard 
 anything superior. 
 
 We have been here these two days. It is a small 
 town, and you may imagine how it is filled, when the 
 two Emperors are here, the King of Prussia also, 
 and a dozen Princes, with the staff of all the armies. 
 We have a wretched quarter in the same house with 
 the Prince of Oldenburgh. I have seen Metternich, 
 and like him very much. But the difficulty and 
 importance of my negotiations increase at every 
 step. Cathcart and Stewart are here the latter, 
 you will have heard, received a contusion in the late 
 action. It is not serious, but it will be three weeks 
 or a month before he can ride. He is going to join 
 the Crown Prince. I am truly sorry for it, as he is 
 a person whose opinion on things connected with 
 military movements would be of the greatest service. 
 I think his views in general are most just. 
 
 The near approach of war and its effects are horrible 
 beyond what you can conceive. The whole road 
 from Prague to this place was covered with waggons 
 full of wounded, dead and dying. The shock, and 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 82 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 disgust, and pity produced by such scenes are beyond 
 what I could have supposed possible at a distance. 
 There are near two hundred thousand men round this 
 town. There is much splendour, and much animation 
 in the sight, yet the scenes of distress and misery 
 have sunk deeper in my mind. I have been quite 
 haunted by them. I continue pretty well, as do 
 all my party. 
 
 If I have time I will write to Lady Abercorn. God 
 bless you, dearest Lady Maria. Take care of the 
 dear children. 
 
 September 6. 
 
 I now finally close my letter. I have seen the 
 Emperor, and have been received as Ambassador. 
 In an audience of considerable length I have had 
 every reason to be satisfied with him. 
 
 LORD CASTLEREAGH TO LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 St. James's Square, Sept. 1, 1813, at night. 
 
 We have received the Austrian declaration, but 
 shall not publish it, as we found it was not to appear 
 at Prague till the 17th. Napoleon seems for once 
 to have been out-negotiated; he speculated upon 
 Metternich as he did upon Romanzow, and we have 
 only to hope that the parallel may be complete. 
 Until all chance of further pourparlers are extin- 
 guished in the din of war, I do not send you on 
 official instructions, but as the conduct of Austria is 
 strongly felt and approved, you may consider your- 
 self as authorised to express the deep impression it 
 has made upon the Prince Regent and his Ministers. 
 The Emperor's autographic instruction to Count 
 Metternich does him great honour, it is everything 
 the occasion required, and the Austrian Minister, 
 by the loyal and dignified manner in which he has
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 83 
 
 wound up the drama at Prague, has placed himself 
 and his master on high ground. Offer my con- 
 gratulations to Count Metternich on the dignity and 
 firmness with which he has conducted these delicate 
 and important transactions to a close, which, in 
 affording to Europe and to the Allies a pledge of 
 the truth and honour which actuated him throughout, 
 has given to his Sovereign and to his country irresist- 
 ible claims to confidence and support. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Sept. 6, 1813. 
 
 Having been received as Ambassador, I wish you 
 would now have me gazetted ; and if the thing can be 
 done in my absence, I hope you will have no objection 
 to have me nominated one of the Privy Council ; the 
 appointment being usual on these occasions. 
 
 I fear, however, that all my dignities will not 
 render this kind of life much more agreeable. The 
 privations and sufferings of following Headquarters 
 are nearly as great as in a military life, but without 
 any credit to be obtained. The Emperor seems to 
 think it necessary to follow the example of the other 
 Sovereigns and keep near his army; in the execution 
 of this determination he has already been obliged 
 to sleep upon straw ; what else he may do I know not. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH (Private) 
 
 Teplitz, Sept. 7, 1813. 
 
 I shall not trouble you with details of Military 
 measures, which you will receive from others, and 
 which others are much better qualified to give; but 
 there are some questions which, although partaking 
 of a Military nature, are so important in their political 
 results as to force themselves on the notice of the 
 most ignorant person.
 
 84 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 It is quite impossible to view the state of the fine 
 army by which we are surrounded, with reference to 
 the manner in which it is directed, without the most 
 lively concern and apprehension. The evils of a 
 divided command are everywhere apparent. Prince 
 Schwartzenberg, after much difficulty and discussion, 
 having been appointed Commander-in-Chief, is, after 
 all, placed in a situation in which he is invested with 
 scarcely more than nominal authority. Of the merits 
 and claims of Schwartzenberg I know nothing, 
 although Stewart seems to think favourably of them, 
 but I am quite sure that no Commander on earth 
 would prove efficient in the situation in which he 
 is placed. The vigour of every measure is paralysed, 
 the wisdom of every proposition is almost rendered 
 abortive, by the delay which is necessary to procure 
 the approbation of the different Sovereigns and their 
 advisers. The movement made yesterday morning 
 by the greater part of the Austrian army towards 
 Silesia, intended to support Bliicher by acting on 
 the right flank of Bonaparte, in which it is obvious 
 that every hour is of the utmost importance, would 
 have been undertaken eight-and-forty hours sooner, 
 had it not been for the difficulty of persuading the 
 Emperor Alexander to agree to the measure. The 
 mutual discontent and ill-will existing in the different 
 armies, which have been increased by the early 
 operations of the campaign, have arrived at a con- 
 siderable height; and when at last the Austrians 
 marched separately yesterday morning, it was with 
 a joy and acclamation as if they had obtained a 
 victory. A circumstance which has produced a 
 great effect among the Austrians is the Emperor 
 Alexander having conferred the great cross of the 
 Order of St. George on Barclay de Tolly, an Order 
 only given to Generals who have gained the most
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 85 
 
 splendid victories, which he does not wear himself, 
 and which he has never given before, but to 
 Kutusow. What renders this offensive to the 
 Austrians, is that Barclay de Tolly, in one of the 
 affairs before Dresden, refused to obey the positive 
 orders of Schwartzenberg repeatedly given. 
 
 It is evident that this state of things cannot long 
 continue without ruin to the general cause : it 
 remains to be seen how it may best be remedied. 
 The Emperor Alexander, with an affected indifference 
 on the subject, is actively employed to briguer the 
 chief command. If the Austrians could be brought 
 to consent to this, perhaps it would be the best arrange- 
 ment : Stewart is of this opinion, and he is probably 
 right. The next best expedient would be for the 
 Sovereigns to withdraw from the armies, and leave 
 the real command of the troops either in the hands 
 of Schwartzenberg or anyone else. Cathcart thinks 
 that this would be destruction to the general cause, 
 and that the departure of the Emperor Alexander 
 would shortly precede the dissolution of all our 
 hopes; I see no very good ground for this opinion, 
 but it is not likely to be put to the test, as there is 
 no probability that the Emperor Alexander would 
 ever consent to it. The only remaining plan is that 
 which has been virtually adopted a separation of 
 the forces. They will now, I believe, act independ- 
 ently, except when their union is absolutely and 
 indispensably necessary. Schwartzenberg himself 
 goes with the Austrians. The favourite project of 
 the Austrians, after the present movement has been 
 completed, is an advance to the French frontier by 
 the way of Wurtemberg, and bearing down towards 
 Bavaria. The Russians desire to make every exertion 
 in Saxony. It is not difficult to conjecture the 
 motives which influence the wishes of the two
 
 countries. I should mention that there appears to 
 be some hope of Bavaria. Metternich has said 
 nothing to me on the subject; but Gentz, 1 who is 
 now much in his confidence, told me they had the 
 best reason for believing that not only the Hereditary 
 Prince, but the King himself, and Mongelas, were 
 not unfavourable to their cause. They will probably 
 be guided by the character of the events which dis- 
 tinguish the early part of the campaign. I am sorry 
 that what has passed is not on the whole calculated 
 to hasten a favourable decision 
 
 I hope to be able to inform you with accuracy 
 concerning the visit of Murat to Dresden, where he 
 now is, and where he commands the cavalry; I can 
 only say at present that I believe his journey thither 
 was not inconsistent with the tenor of his preceding 
 conduct, and that even his stay there now depends 
 on Bonaparte pursuing a course of moderation 
 respecting peace which has been laid down by Murat. 
 
 Propositions for an exchange of prisoners have 
 been received ; and at the same time the Emperor 
 received a letter from Bonaparte informing him that 
 he had been present at the battles of Lowenburgh 
 and Dresden, and was in good health, which he 
 hoped that his father-in-law would be glad to hear. 
 We have had no official communication of this, and 
 although it is suspected that this letter was accom- 
 panied by fresh overtures of a pacific nature, nothing 
 has transpired. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Teplitz, Sept. 12, 1813. 
 
 Although the wise determination of His Imperial 
 Majesty in making common cause with the Allies, 
 
 1 Frederic von Gentz, 1764-1832, Aulic Counsellor.
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 87 
 
 and the vigour and energy with which that deter- 
 mination has been carried into effect, have relieved 
 me, as well as Your Lordship, from all anxiety 
 respecting the principal end of my mission, never- 
 theless, in the instructions which I had the honour 
 to receive, Your Lordship has adverted to other 
 objects of the highest importance, and to these I 
 have not failed to direct the attention of the Austrian 
 Minister. Before entering on these details, I think 
 it right to inform Your Lordship of the present views 
 and feelings of Count Metternich, as they have been 
 imparted to me, apparently without reserve, in my 
 frequent conferences with His Excellency. 
 
 It is impossible to imagine terms more cordial, or 
 a manner more sincere, than have been invariably 
 employed concerning the Alliance with Great Britain. 
 Count Metternich declared that it had always been 
 his wish to accomplish so desirable a purpose; that 
 although compelled to yield for a time to the pressure 
 of circumstances, he had never lost sight of the good 
 cause, or of the value of a connection with England ; 
 that the natural order of things, as well as the 
 experience of history, evinced the wisdom of this 
 connection, which, being entirely free from any 
 secret source of discontent or collision of interests, 
 could only tend to the mutual advantage of the two 
 countries. 
 
 He spoke at considerable length and has fre- 
 quently resumed the subject on the present situation 
 and views of Austria, more especially on the resump- 
 tion of the Imperial Crown of Germany. He said 
 the proposition was put forward by Russia and 
 Prussia, as a mark of kindness and good-will; but 
 on presenting the thing to himself as if it were already 
 accomplished, he could discover no good practical 
 consequence as likely to result from it. He thought
 
 88 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 it a mere name, and had no hesitation in saying 
 that he considered Austria, with reference to the 
 cause in which she is now engaged, as much stronger 
 than if at the head of the Germanic body. " The 
 grand object of our cause," to use his own words, 
 " being to reduce the power of France, and restore 
 independence to Germany; in order to do this 
 effectually, it is necessary to enlist on our side the 
 feelings both of Princes and their subjects ; in short, 
 to render the cause truly popular. If we fought 
 to restore a state of things which has already crumbled 
 away, and which, even if its restoration were practic- 
 able, is scarcely to be desired, we should do that 
 which would go far to paralize the efforts of the 
 lesser States : but if we fight only for general 
 independence, if we put ourselves at the head of 
 those very States, in contending for this independence, 
 we unite in our cause all the best feelings of man, 
 and give it a strength from its popularity which it 
 could never otherwise possess. When once the power 
 of France," he continued, " is essentially reduced, 
 there will be plenty of time to fix the destiny of 
 the German States; but we desire for Austria no 
 other species of Empire or ascendancy in Germany, 
 than that legitimate influence which the neighbour- 
 hood of a great State must give it over the councils 
 of the less : this, from the nature of things, we shall 
 possess, and this is all we desire." He said that 
 Russia appeared to enter into these principles, but 
 that Prussia had certain views of detail which, 
 although perhaps not unnatural in her situation, 
 were less liberal, and less just. He desired to know 
 the sentiments of the English Government. I replied 
 that as I conceived the main object of England in 
 the continental war was the reduction of the power 
 of France, the real independence of Europe, and
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 89 
 
 especially of the German States, whatever should 
 most effectually secure those objects would be most 
 agreeable to England. That although His Royal 
 Highness the Prince Regent would see with pleasure 
 the resumption of the Imperial German Crown by 
 the Emperor of Austria, or any other measure by 
 which the prosperity and power of his family, as a 
 main element of the Germanic Body, could be sub- 
 stantially increased, yet I entirely assented to the 
 justice of His Excellency's remarks with respect to 
 increasing by every possible means the general 
 popularity of the cause, and of sacrificing all individual 
 and separate objects until the grand purpose of the 
 Alliance should be accomplished. 
 
 Following up the principle of rendering the cause 
 popular, he thought that every pacific proposition 
 should be listened to : that we should never refuse 
 to treat; that the whole odium of the war should 
 be thrown on Bonaparte; that nothing could be 
 lost by treating, for it never could be the interest 
 of any of the Allies to separate themselves at a 
 Congress, and that, as a good peace was the sole 
 end of the war, it was indifferent by what means it 
 was obtained. I replied that England had no 
 objection whatever to treat, provided peace was the 
 real object of the negotiation, that if she thought 
 such a peace as we concurred in desiring was more 
 likely to be obtained by this method than by force 
 of arms, it could not be doubted which course she 
 would prefer. That in this, as in all other matters, 
 she would act in concert with her Allies, having 
 reference to the stipulations of existing treaties, and 
 to her own vital interests. I added that when it 
 was thought expedient, I was prepared to explain 
 to him what were the views of England with reference 
 to the terms of peace
 
 I should have had no objections to communicate 
 to Count Metternich the whole of Your Lordship's 
 Despatch on the subject of peace, but Lord Cath- 
 cart having judged it to be expedient, in conjunction 
 with the Russian Minister, to withhold from Austria 
 the knowledge of her Mediation having been accepted 
 by Great Britain, and they still wishing this fact to 
 remain secret, I thought it right so to concert 
 matters, in the first instance, with Count Nessel- 
 rode, that no objection might remain on the part 
 of Russia to the measure which I intended to 
 adopt. 
 
 Count Metternich expressed himself to be entirely 
 satisfied with the wisdom and moderation displayed 
 by the British Government on this important subject ; 
 although he confessed that he was not prepared to 
 expect anything of a different character, from the 
 opinion he had formed of the spirit which directed 
 the Councils of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent. 
 In order to prove how entirely the general principles 
 of the Statement accorded with the views of Austria, 
 he showed me the copy of a Treaty now about to 
 be signed with Russia and Prussia, by which the 
 Sovereigns mutually pledge themselves to the employ- 
 ment of their whole means in the prosecution of the 
 war, the object of which is stated to be a just and 
 durable peace, founded on the absolute independence 
 of all the German States, and the restoration of 
 Austria and Prussia to their situation in the year 
 1806. Nothing can be more satisfactory than the 
 general principles of the Treaty, or its provisions, 
 so far as they extend, but no mention is made of 
 Spain or Holland. All arrangements respecting the 
 future destinies of the lesser States of Germany are 
 postponed until a more favourable moment, with 
 the exception of His Majesty's German dominions,
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 91 
 
 the restitution of which to His Majesty is guaranteed 
 by the three Powers in a secret Article of the 
 Treaty. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Prague, Sept. 14, 1813. 
 
 Your Lordship may imagine my surprise at learn- 
 ing, after the transactions which had taken place, 
 that Murat was actually in Dresden, and said to be 
 commanding the cavalry of Bonaparte. On discussing 
 this subject with Count Metternich, he gave me the 
 following narrative, which he had received from 
 Murat, and to which, from circumstances corrobora- 
 tive of its truth, he was disposed to give full 
 credit. 
 
 It appears that Bonaparte, having contrived to 
 
 deprive him of any direct communication with 
 
 Germany for a considerable time, wrote to him to 
 
 say that the question of peace was decided between 
 
 him and Austria that it was finally settled and 
 
 that it would serve for the foundation of a general 
 
 pacification. He hoped that his brother-in-law would 
 
 not be the last person to make up his differences 
 
 with him, he begged him to come to Dresden, and 
 
 everything should be settled according to his wishes. 
 
 On receiving this intelligence, Murat held a Council, 
 
 at which it was decided he should go to Dresden, as 
 
 being, in the deserted state in which he imagined 
 
 himself to be left, the only means of averting the 
 
 vengeance of Bonaparte. This decision was contrary 
 
 to the opinion and urgent remonstrances of the 
 
 Queen, who, it appears, is extremely inimical to her 
 
 brother. Murat, although at Munich and other 
 
 places he had reason to doubt the probability of 
 
 peace being signed, still continued his journey, and
 
 92 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 arrived in Dresden the day before the conclusion of 
 the armistice. He was put under arrest, but finally 
 yielded to the solicitations of Bonaparte, and con- 
 sented to command the cavalry, on condition that, 
 after the first successes, Bonaparte would make 
 such moderate and reasonable proposals of peace as 
 should ensure their acceptance by the Allies. Not- 
 withstanding this singular transaction, he has sent 
 an agent from Dresden to Count Metternich, by whom 
 he assures him that his troops shall observe the 
 strictest neutrality that not a man shall leave 
 Naples and that he wishes the former negotiations 
 to be continued. Count Metternich has replied, that 
 it is quite impossible to treat in any satisfactory 
 manner with a person in his situation, that he must 
 either appear independent himself, or publicly make 
 over his authority to some person to treat on his 
 behalf. The intercourse has nevertheless been kept 
 up, and the Austrian Minister appears convinced that 
 Murat will finally join the Allies, especially if, as 
 there is fortunately reason to believe, the success 
 of Bonaparte in the war is improbable. In order to 
 assist his negotiation with Murat, Count Metternich 
 wished to be confidentially put in possession of a 
 written statement, explaining the precise extent of 
 my authority and disposition to treat. I demurred 
 to the unnecessary consignment of so important and 
 delicate a subject to writing, but he urged it so 
 strongly, and stated that he should be enabled to 
 proceed with so much greater effect and probability 
 of success if in possession of this authority, that I 
 yielded, although somewhat reluctantly, to his 
 request. I was the more induced to this compliance, 
 as Your Lordship had instructed me to pursue the 
 whole of this transaction in strict concert with the 
 Austrian Government, and with a deference to their
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 93 
 
 wishes. It is for this reason, that in the confidential 
 note which I presented, and of which I have the 
 honour to enclose a copy, I thought it right to put 
 forward the views of Austria, and to act in compliance 
 with her desires. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Prague, Sept. 14, 1813. 
 
 I understand from Metternich that hopes are 
 entertained of Bavaria, and that they increase daily. 
 Could we but meet with some decided success, there 
 is little doubt they would speedily declare. If 
 Bonaparte should really leave Dresden and the line 
 of the Elbe from necessity, I think it will be sufficient. 
 This is the true reason of the inactivity of Austria 
 in the Tyrol, etc. They wish to carry on everything 
 quietly with Bavaria. In addition to this, I perceive 
 they do not attach any great importance to its 
 possession. They are altogether less eager about 
 the south than the Polish frontier. Suspicions of 
 Russia are beginning, and the plan of Stein, of giving 
 Saxony to Prussia, with the consent of Russia, is 
 alarming to Austria, which looks to Russian aggrand- 
 isement in Poland as the consequence. 
 
 The ill-will and spirit of intrigue between the two 
 nations at Headquarters, rather increases. The 
 Prussians do not take much part, but the language 
 of the Russians is violent in the greatest degree. I 
 believe, in the late transactions, it is admitted that 
 Schwartzenberg has done well, but nothing will 
 content the Russians but the Emperor having the 
 command. After all the Emperor, without a good 
 council, would be worse than anyone; but there is 
 no chance of his being tried. They talk more and 
 more of a separation of the Forces. This is bad,
 
 but perhaps it may be necessary. Metternich is 
 sanguine, and hopes that things will soften down by 
 time. I think there is nothing but success which 
 can have any effect in allaying their animosities. The 
 life at Headquarters is really miserable I never 
 expected to be in such a scrape. Wretched habitation, 
 no food, the air pestiferous with dead bodies of 
 men and horses, such are some of the agremens. 
 One morning we had the advance of the French 
 within two English miles of the town, and a fire of 
 musketry. 
 
 I hear that Metternich and Stadion speak well of 
 me; this is some consolation, though a poor one, for 
 the sacrifice of every comfort in life. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO SIR CHARLES STEWART 
 
 Teplitz, Sept. 18. 
 
 We are here in much the same situation. The 
 retreat was premature. The French were yesterday 
 in the plain, and are now at the foot of the hill. 
 They showed yesterday between seventy and eighty 
 thousand men. You will be glad to hear that the 
 Austrians gained great credit last night by a move- 
 ment of Colloredo on the flank of the French, who 
 were pressing the Russians and Prussians down the 
 hill. Wilson said it was executed in a beautiful 
 style. They took a General and some hundred 
 prisoners. There was some brisk cannonading during 
 the evening. It is ascertained that Bonaparte 
 intended to attack us the day you left Teplitz, and 
 was on the spot himself, endeavouring to get down 
 his guns, which was found to be impracticable. 
 
 Party spirit is much the same, but there has been 
 a satisfactory meeting between Schwartzenberg and 
 the Emperor of Russia. The latter declared that
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 95 
 
 he was now convinced of the wisdom and prudence 
 of Schwartzenberg's measures. The most important 
 news is, that Benningsen's corps is ordered here. He 
 is to keep the enemy in check in front, while we 
 undertake a movement on his flank, which we are 
 not strong enough to do alone. 
 
 There is no danger of our being committed to 
 Murat. Metternich has acted with the greatest 
 caution and prudence. He will draw Murat step by 
 step, and not produce my communication until we 
 have him fully pledged. He never intended to make 
 any further use of it. I wish Castlereagh knew this, 
 as perhaps he may be alarmed by the bare state- 
 ment of what has already taken place. 
 
 In a despatch of the 30th August from Lord Castle- 
 reagh he encloses a copy of a letter from the Due 
 de Berri to Field-Marshal the Marquis Wellington. 
 The purport of it was whether in an invasion of 
 France the co-operation of the Due de Berri would 
 be agreeable or distasteful to the Austrian Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Your Lordship is aware that the Court of Vienna, 
 in conjunction with the Emperor of Russia, has 
 strongly recommended that the Allied armies on the 
 side of the Pyrenees should, if possible, make an 
 irruption with the South of France. 
 
 The reasoning brought forward by Lord Wellington 
 will enable Your Lordship to satisfy the Austrian 
 Government that the period for making such an 
 attempt must, on military grounds, be at all events 
 postponed till Lord Wellington's rear has been secured 
 by the fall of Pampeluna and St. Sebastian. The 
 Allies will, however, in the meantime derive the 
 advantage of having a numerous French army 
 sufficiently occupied in that quarter to prevent any 
 detachment of it to Germany.
 
 96 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 To LADY MARIA HAMILTON 
 
 Teplitz, Sept. 19, 1813. 
 
 The French are close to us, occupying rising ground 
 within three English miles. We do not know the 
 amount of their force, but it is said to be 130,000 men. 
 We have from 90,000 to 100,000. There has been 
 a great deal of firing all day, and a good many killed 
 and wounded. Every morning we pack up every- 
 thing, ready to start, in case they attack the town. 
 The worst of it is, I am extremely unwell. I have 
 had a severe attack of Cholera morbus ; it is still bad, 
 but I hope it is better than it was. 
 
 I get on very well with my business, but it 
 multiplies both in difficulty and importance. The 
 great thing which has been most satisfactory is the 
 liking which Metternich has taken to me; you have 
 no idea of his language to others, for to me he has 
 said little or nothing. However, I am most anxious 
 to get home, yet I hardly know how to leave so much 
 important negotiation with all parts of Europe 
 unfinished; and they are ever so slow about my 
 Treaty that I scarcely know when to hope that it 
 may be concluded. The Baltic will not be passable 
 after November, and will be very unpleasant then. 
 
 Nothing can be more beautiful than this country, 
 but it is ruined in every possible manner. The 
 lights of the armies close together form a striking 
 sight at night. I have just come in from a 
 little eminence that commands the view. The 
 horrible thing is the wounded of all nations. It 
 quite haunts one day and night; such dreadful 
 objects in every variety of misery. 
 
 I will not go over a list of my hardships and 
 privations at this abominable place, where we literally 
 run the risk of being starved, and where the horses
 
 GEORGE, 4xn EARL OF ABERDEEN. 
 
 From a picture, now at Hacldo House, by Sir Thomas Lawrence. Engraved by G. Turner, 
 
 1809.
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 97 
 
 die of hunger daily by dozens. I hope to God we 
 shall soon change our quarters; yet I know of no 
 better town in the neighbourhood, and we must be 
 near the enemy. 
 
 Teplitz, Sept. 22. 
 
 The French have retired to some miles distance, 
 and there is no immediate prospect of an action. 
 Our cavalry are almost starved, and require some 
 days' rest. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO SIR CHARLES STEWART 
 
 Teplitz, Sept. 18, 1813. 
 
 There has been a good deal of cannonading this 
 morning. They have now retired to the hill. It is 
 quite certain that Bonaparte's horse was wounded 
 last night while he was reconnoitring on his back. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Teplitz, Sept. 22, 1813. 
 
 I have to inform Your Lordship that, an oppor- 
 tunity having arisen in one of my conversations with 
 Count Metternich to mention the proposal of the 
 Due de Berri relative to his junction with Lord 
 Wellington, and the French force which he hoped 
 to be able, by his presence, to bring under His Lord- 
 ship's standard, I fully ascertained the views and 
 feelings of the Austrian Government on this subject, 
 as they were frankly communicated by Count Metter- 
 nich. He entreated that, in the prosecution of the 
 war against France, Great Britain would entirely lay 
 aside all reference to an Austrian interest in the 
 question, as connected with the person of the French 
 Emperor. He felt convinced that the views of 
 Austria were perfectly conformable with those of 
 Great Britain, the attainment of a solid peace by 
 
 VOL. I H
 
 98 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 the speedy and effectual diminution or destruction 
 of the preponderating power of Bonaparte. He was 
 quite content to leave the matter to the discretion 
 of Lord Wellington and to the British Government. 
 If they should be of opinion that the services of the 
 Due de Berri were likely to promote the success of 
 the common cause, he wished them to be accepted 
 in any manner which should be thought expedient. 
 At the same time he observed that he knew the 
 interior of France well, and that he was decidedly 
 of opinion little would be gained by the presence and 
 active co-operation of His Highness, and was very 
 incredulous as to the amount and value of the force 
 likely to join him. 
 
 I am inclined to believe that the Austrian Minister 
 himself is not deficient in hostility to the Govern- 
 ment or person of Bonaparte. The difficulty is with 
 the Emperor. From a weakness which cannot be 
 considered as altogether unnatural, he hesitates 
 between the welfare of his people and the safety of 
 his child. I would not have Your Lordship imagine 
 that I entertain the least apprehension of this weak- 
 ness influencing the views and conduct of His Imperial 
 Majesty in the prosecution of the war; on the con- 
 trary, I am persuaded that the object which His 
 Majesty has proposed to himself is most wise and 
 just, and that there is not the least reason to doubt 
 his perseverance and zeal in the pursuit. Indeed I 
 have the best reason for knowing that it is only as 
 connected with the security of his daughter that 
 he takes any interest in the fate of Bonaparte, and 
 that if she were safely restored to him at Vienna, 
 he would be well contented to remain without a 
 son-in-law. I wish particularly to convey to Your 
 Lordship my impression that Count Metternich, 
 individually, still less partakes of any lingering
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 99 
 
 sentiment of respect for the person of the French 
 Emperor. 
 
 In corroboration of this opinion, I may quote 
 some remarkable expressions which he recently used, 
 connected with the subject. He said the Alliance 
 had not been properly understood in England or 
 the rest of the world. He added : " No country in 
 Europe has made greater efforts, or has suffered 
 more in the good cause of which we have never lost 
 sight. We have acted the part of the oak when we 
 had strength and means, and have bent like the reed 
 under the presence of imperious circumstances ; but, 
 yielding or resisting, we have always kept in view 
 the good cause of Europe; we have at all times 
 looked forward to a state of repose founded on a due 
 equilibrium of the Great Powers of Christendom." 
 
 Teplitz, Sept. 23, 1813. 
 
 DEAE LORD HARROWBY, 
 
 The wonder is how we exist at all in this 
 vile hole, with scarcely anything to eat, and that of 
 the worst kind. Surrounded by such multitudes of 
 the living and the dead, human and brute, the air 
 is pestilential. Novice as I am, in the scenes of 
 destruction, the continual sight of the poor wounded 
 wretches of all nations is quite horrible, and haunts 
 me day and night. Walking in a sort of shrubbery 
 belonging to a house in the town, I stumbled over a 
 great heap of arms and legs which had been thrown 
 out of a summer-house in which they had been cut 
 off : this is a pleasant incident, of a more interesting 
 nature than you are likely to meet with in your walks 
 at Sandon. 
 
 However, I do not deny that there is a great 
 deal very striking in the sight of these five armies 
 with all their pride, pomp and circumstance. The
 
 100 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Emperors and Princes assembled give a lustre which 
 might prevent many from seeing anything else. 
 
 I have found my own Emperor much more 
 sensible than I expected. The Emperor of Russia 
 agreeable and rather clever, but showing off. The 
 King of Prussia most judicious, perfectly right- 
 headed, and a truly interesting character, deficient 
 in nothing but in confidence. The heroes we read of 
 at a distance with respect dwindle into minor figures 
 at a near approach. Barclay de Tolly dull and stupid 
 in the last degree. Wittgenstein not an uncommon 
 person. Jomini is high in the favour of the Emperor 
 of Russia ; I cannot say I like him ; great pretension 
 with an appearance of cunning and duplicity in his 
 countenance, the effect of which it will require all 
 his skill to counteract. 
 
 We have been kept on the alert for this last week 
 by a cannonading every morning, sometimes very 
 near us; and musketry within two or three English 
 miles. Our army in position ; a fine sight, but the 
 weather is very rainy, and they are perfectly exposed. 
 Crowds of Cossacks prowl around. The country is 
 completely devastated. There is a want of water, 
 in every sense, for, among other miseries, that we 
 have is scarcely drinkable. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 ABERDEEN. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Teplitz, Sept. 24, 1813. 
 
 I have to congratulate Your Lordship on the 
 certain prospect of the accession of Bavaria to the 
 common cause. The Emperor despatched yester- 
 day full powers to Prince Reuss enabling him to 
 conclude with General Wrede the Treaty of Alliance. 
 
 It is to the wisdom and moderation of Austrian
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 101 
 
 Councils, evinced by the extinction of all national 
 hatred and desire of revenge, that we are mainly to 
 ascribe this event, which it is to be presumed will, 
 in its immediate effects, decide the fate of Germany, 
 and secure the independence of Europe. His 
 Imperial Majesty has addressed a letter to the King 
 of Bavaria, in which his views and intentions are 
 frankly explained. He repeats the motives which 
 induced him to join the Allies and expose the unjust 
 and extravagant pretensions of France. He explains 
 at length the objects of the war, and declares that 
 he will never lay down his arms until a peace is 
 obtained, founded on the absolute independence of 
 Germany, and supported by an equal balance of the 
 Great European Powers. The actual dimensions of 
 the Bavarian territories are guaranteed, subject to 
 such local alterations as the mutual convenience of 
 the respective countries may render desirable. A 
 Bavarian army of more than thirty thousand men 
 will unite with the Austrian forces, now about to 
 descend into Franconia, and operate on the communi- 
 cations of Bonaparte. There is little reason to doubt 
 that the example of Bavaria will be speedily followed 
 by other States of the Confederation, and thus Your 
 Lordship may not, perhaps, think me too sanguine in 
 trusting that by the hostile movements of our armies, 
 and the falling off of his adherents, Bonaparte will 
 be under the necessity of abandoning the line of the 
 Elbe, and may probably think himself fortunate if 
 he is able to gain the Rhine without the destruction 
 of his whole army. At the same time the Hungarian 
 force joins the Allied army, Prince Reuss will 
 penetrate into Italy. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen says that in obedience to instruc- 
 tions he has endeavoured to discover the ulterior 
 views of the Austrian Cabinet with regard to Italy.
 
 102 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Count Metternich told me, that in the event 
 of the success of the Allied armies, the line of the 
 Mincio was the frontier to which Austria looked. 
 That the Grand Duke of Wurtzburgh should be 
 replaced in Tuscany as an indemnification of the 
 Duchy, which would be required in the arrangement 
 with Bavaria, Austria being determined to resume 
 possession of the Tyrol. He said that he presumed 
 all parties would concur in the propriety of restoring 
 Rome to the Pope. 
 
 I perceived that the Austrian Minister was very 
 anxious to re-establish the King of Sardinia with a 
 great increase of power and territory. Neither to 
 this nor to any other of his propositions had I any- 
 thing to object, but I thought it right to recall to 
 his recollection the claims of the Sicilian family to 
 an indemnity in some part of Italy. 
 
 Teplitz, Sept. 25, 1813. 
 
 MY DEAREST LADY MARIA, 
 
 Things look very well ; I hope it will not be long 
 before I am able to send my despatches by the way of 
 Hamburgh, in which case my own return will be easy. 
 
 I intend to go to Prague, where Metternich has 
 allotted me a most magnificent house, formerly 
 inhabited by Colincourt during the negotiations. 
 
 Sept. 29. Bad as my lodging is, there are two 
 great men in the same house : the Duke of Olden- 
 burgh, who is a good-natured fellow enough, and 
 Prince Eugene of Wirtemburgh, one of the best 
 officers in the Russian army, a very fine young man. 
 
 We have had fetes lately. The Russian Guards 
 gave a dinner to us all on the day of the Emperor's 
 Coronation. They constructed an edifice of fir 
 branches that was really very handsome. The dinner
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 103 
 
 excellent, very fine music; Austrian, Russian and 
 Prussian. Such an assemblage of Princes and great 
 men that the whole was very imposing. My modesty 
 was much shocked by the forward place I was 
 obliged to assume. The three Sovereigns sat at the 
 head of a table; then the Prince Royal of Prussia 
 (a very fine young fellow). But I was obliged to put 
 myself before the King's brother, and all the greatest 
 men, very much to my annoyance. 
 
 Yesterday we all (the English) dined with the 
 Emperor of Russia, who appeared in the Order of 
 the Garter for the first time. As he never wears 
 shoes, and has always great jack-boots, he was 
 obliged to put the Garter above the knee, which, as 
 you may believe, had a strange appearance. 
 
 I have seen all the great men whose names at 
 a distance are imposing, but I think very little of 
 most of them. Old Plat off is a striking figure, but 
 quite a barbarian. Bensizlea sensible, but near 
 eighty years of age. I rather like the Grand Duke 
 Constantine, he is the image of Paul, and rather mad, 
 but he is clever and entertaining. There is a very 
 fine boy here, the brother of the Prince of Orange, 
 who promises well. The Prince Royal of Prussia is 
 the person of the greatest promise. He is very like 
 his mother and shows great spirit : he has been bred 
 in a good school. The Commander-in-Chief of the 
 combined armies, Prince Schwartzenberg, is a most 
 excellent person; I believe a good officer, but he is 
 in a very difficult situation with so many different 
 interests to conciliate, and has done well. He is 
 very agreeable and a most excellent man. 
 
 We are moving to the left with Saxony. The 
 Austrians marched yesterday, the Russians are 
 going to-day : we shall leave a considerable force here 
 under Benningsen to protect Bohemia. We shall
 
 104 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 soon find ourselves in some wretched village to which 
 even this is a Paradise. God bless you. 
 
 ABERDEEN. 
 
 Teplitz, Oct. 1. 
 
 We have Benningsen's army come up. It is a 
 very seasonable reinforcement, for the army here 
 is sickly. The autumnal tints are beautiful, but it is 
 not very safe wandering in the woods; as, if one is 
 alone, there is some chance of being run through with 
 the spear of a Cossack, or shot by one of the innumer- 
 able quantity of people who are always firing off 
 muskets. The other day, as Wilson and I were 
 walking, a ball came close between us. So you see 
 war has its dangers even to the pacific. 
 
 Comotan, Oct. 8, 1813. 
 
 The two Emperors left Teplitz for this place on 
 the 5th. The King is still there. 
 
 On Sept. 23 Lord Aberdeen wrote to Lord Castle- 
 reagh that in his communication to Count Metter-, 
 nich he had limited himself to a statement of the 
 terms on which Great Britain would be willing to 
 join in negotiations for peace, that he had not told 
 him that the mediation of Austria had been accepted 
 by the British Government : 
 
 In reflecting on this proceeding I became more 
 and more doubtful of its propriety. The confidence 
 with which Count Metternich treated me seemed 
 to demand a better return, and the friendly relations 
 so happily existing between the two countries almost 
 gave him a right to expect that in a matter of this 
 nature I should have no reserve. Even if conceal- 
 ment had been desirable, it is obvious that it would 
 have been scarcely practicable, and that what had 
 been communicated to the Courts of Russia, Prussia
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 105 
 
 and Sweden could not long be withheld from that of 
 Austria. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen proceeds to say that he informed 
 Count Metternich that the mediation had been 
 accepted. The intimation was received with " some 
 surprise," but no displeasure was shown. 
 
 Under the same date Lord Aberdeen wrote privately 
 to Lord Castlereagh : 
 
 I wish I could be more expeditious, but the lenteurs 
 of the Austrian Cabinet are proverbial. Metternich 
 continues to be as cordial and as confidential as 
 possible. I think this man must be honest; yet it 
 may be, after all, that he is only a most consummate 
 actor. I will be sufficiently cautious, but I will also 
 retain the favourable opinion I have of him until I 
 see some good ground to change it. ... 
 
 I have seen something of Schwartzenberg, and 
 through him have some curious information about 
 Bonaparte. It is said, and Schwartzenberg believes 
 the story to be authentic, that very recently Berthier, 
 in the name of a large proportion of the officers in 
 the army, represented to Bonaparte the necessity of 
 peace ; he replied that he wished much for peace, but 
 that this was not the time to talk of it. The 
 Glory of France required fresh success. Before 
 Schwartzenberg left Paris he had a conversation 
 with the Empress on the subject; she was much 
 affected at the prospect of war with Austria, and gave 
 way to the strongest demonstrations of grief. She 
 said her husband sincerely wished for peace, but that 
 it was impossible for him to make such a peace as 
 would satisfy the vanity of the French nation. 
 
 No one knows what to make of his present 
 movements. It is certain that he was down here 
 himself with 90,000 men, too few to beat us, and
 
 106 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 too many for a reconnaissance. A battle seems yet 
 to be expected. The French army is now undoubtedly 
 in great distress, but we also begin to be in want. 
 The cavalry suffer very much; and we have no 
 magazines. Benningsen's advanced guard will be 
 up on the 26th. 
 
 Among the Chiefs I think there is little more 
 good-will, but the three armies are pretty much the 
 same as formerly, full of mutual discontent and 
 recrimination. This is what makes the prospect 
 of a general action so alarming; for in the event of 
 any great disaster, the seeds of internal weakness, 
 and even of dissolution, would rapidly increase ; and 
 this mighty combination of forces, apparently so well 
 cemented, might not improbably fall to pieces. 
 If we can go on for some time longer, with a little 
 more activity, perhaps, than we can boast of at 
 present, we must succeed. 
 
 I have been intimately persuaded for some time 
 of a necessity for the separation of the Sovereigns; 
 the intrigues, cabal and tracasserie of every kind 
 by which they are surrounded, and which is here 
 brought into a kind of focus, is quite incredible, 
 and must have the worst effect sooner or later. 
 
 I wish you would give me some instructions about 
 Italy; there is a considerable prospect of doing 
 something in the North, now that the Tyrol is up; 
 but I do not exactly know as to the course to be 
 pursued. I cannot be wrong in keeping up intelli- 
 gence, and encouraging them to hope for a liberation 
 from the French yoke, but I fear Lombardy, Tuscany 
 and Genoa look with little anxiety to the success of 
 the Austrian arms. Still, the desire to get rid of the 
 French is so great that much may be done in any 
 case. If I could get forward with the Treaty, and 
 arrange matters with Metternich, I have some
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 107 
 
 thoughts of going myself to Vienna to see our agents, 
 who are there collected, waiting for means and 
 instructions. The Tyrol, Switzerland and Italy are 
 open to us and should not be neglected. I had a 
 private audience on Tuesday of the Emperor of Russia. 
 We talked much of the state of affairs, and although 
 sanguine, and repeating several times that all nations 
 were weary of the yoke of Napoleon, he seemed to 
 look to a termination of the contest at no great 
 distance, of a character not quite corresponding with 
 our hopes. He said, " The final result may be more, 
 or may be less, but it must be good." I said that 
 with our great means, and his perseverance, I trusted 
 it would be such as to meet our most sanguine views. 
 He repeated over and over again the same assertion. 
 I cannot yet tell you anything positive about Bavaria, 
 but I am more sanguine than ever. 
 
 Napoleon, in the hope of sowing dissension among 
 the Allies, offered to surrender Zamose, then being 
 besieged by Russian forces, to the Emperor of 
 Austria. The Emperor Francis replied that, Zamose 
 not being besieged by his troops, he could have 
 nothing to do with its capitulation. Lord Aberdeen, 
 writing on Sept. 29 to Lord Castlereagh, says : 
 
 Your Lordship will not fail to observe the insidious 
 nature of the proposition respecting Zamose. Situated 
 on the Galician frontier, Bonaparte naturally imagined 
 that the possession of it must be of the utmost im- 
 portance to Austria, with respect to the future destiny 
 of Poland, and the securities of his territories in that 
 quarter. But the endeavour to excite an apprehension 
 and jealousy of the success of the Russian arms in the 
 siege of this important fortress has happily been ren- 
 dered abortive by the magnanimity of His Imperial 
 Majesty.
 
 108 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Sept. 30. I have learnt that the Emperor of 
 Russia, animated by the same sentiments which 
 have so nobly distinguished the Emperor of Austria, 
 has offered, in the event of the surrender of Zamose, 
 to put the Austrian troops in possession of the 
 fortress, or that it should be held conjointly by the 
 troops of both nations until a peace. 
 
 Teplitz, Oct. 1, 1813. 
 
 Although I do not often trouble Your Lordship 
 on the general state of our military prospects, I 
 am tempted at present to give you a cursory view 
 of our position, as the information is derived from 
 sources of unquestionable authority. 
 
 A part of General Benningsen's army is arrived, 
 and this morning 24,500 Infantry, composing the 
 Corps of General Docteroff, were inspected by the 
 three Sovereigns. They are fine men, well armed, 
 and sufficiently well clothed for service. It is intended 
 that General Benningsen, with his army, should 
 remain in this position, while the main army continues 
 its movement to the left by Comotan, Marienberg, 
 Zwickau and Gera. It is not the intention of Prince 
 Schwartzenberg to separate the great mass of the 
 army, but he will advance light corps to Saalfeld 
 and Erfurth. 
 
 Prince Schwartzenberg has this evening received 
 certain information of the enemy's movements. 
 Bonaparte has left 15,000 men in Dresden, and the 
 day before yesterday had his Headquarters in Leipsic 
 with 100,000. Between Dresden and Peterswalde on 
 the Teplitz Road are 35,000 men ; at Freyberg and in 
 the neighbourhood 15,000; at Meissen and Torgau 
 30,000. The remainder of the troops are either on 
 the lower Elbe, or on the right bank of the river. 
 If it shall be found that the enemy is not in greater
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 109 
 
 force on the Teplitz Road than I have mentioned, 
 it is intended to attack with Docteroff s and Tolstoy's 
 corps, forming part of Benningsen's army; perhaps 
 Collorado's column may be employed, if Tolstoy does 
 not come up before the time allowed for this 
 operation expires. 
 
 The enemy has put in motion about 50,000 men 
 of the arriere-ban ; according to some accounts they 
 may be on the Saal between the 10th and 16th 
 of this month, but the Austrian calculation gives 
 only 50,000 men to this army, including Langeron's 
 Corps, said to consist of 15,000. It also supposes 
 their arrival between Bamberg and Erfurth to be 
 impossible before the 20th. The general plan of the 
 Allies is to manoeuvre Bonaparte out of the line of 
 the Elbe, or to interpose between him and his resources. 
 The new turn given to the politics of Bavaria renders 
 us quite tranquil as to the safety of our left flank 
 in the event of any forward movement; indeed we 
 may speedily expect active co-operation from that 
 quarter. 
 
 This then in brief, is the situation of the two 
 armies. The enemy is certainly most formidable 
 from the strength and commodiousness of his position, 
 the concentration of his forces, and the unity of his 
 councils. The Allied troops, on the other hand, more 
 numerous, superior in the description of men, and 
 the zeal by which they are animated, are likewise in 
 the midst of their resources. 
 
 Prince Schwartzenberg has adopted the wise 
 resolution of fighting no great battle, unless it can 
 be done with an evident advantage; but by partial 
 affairs and continued movements so to harass and 
 distress the enemy as at last to ensure his destruction. 
 This method may not be brilliant or rapid in its 
 operation, but in the opinion of all those entitled to
 
 110 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 speak with authority, it best suits the peculiar 
 formation of the army, and affords it the most certain 
 prospect of success. 
 
 Writing again on Oct. 1, Lord Aberdeen discusses 
 the present administration and future destiny of 
 the conquered provinces : 
 
 You are already aware of the revolutionary plan 
 of Stein and his friends, by which the whole of the 
 lesser States of Germany are to be new modelled, 
 and two confederations established, to be under the 
 protectorship of Austria and Prussia. The Austrian 
 Government protested against this project at the 
 time of its appearance, and they retain at the present 
 moment all their former sentiments. 
 
 He continues after referring to the Austrian 
 policy : 
 
 What then can we expect from a system of 
 destruction, which is to trample everything estab- 
 lished and violate all that is respected ? Instead of 
 imitating Bonaparte, we ought to pursue a conduct 
 directly opposite, and avoid everything of a revolu- 
 tionary tendency. Let us restore everything to the 
 right owners; make what terms and conditions you 
 please, but the principle of restitution should never 
 be lost sight of. There is a spirit in the north of 
 Germany which is dangerous. The friends of virtue 
 ought to be attended to. It is impossible to say what 
 may arise from this discontented and restless 
 disposition ; but it is clear that we ought to put down 
 as much as possible the mischievous effects produced 
 by these speculating philosophers and politicians. 
 
 The object of Austria is to have the Provinces 
 administered and their resources obtained in a 
 temporary manner, and it is proposed that they should
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 111 
 
 be placed for a time under a military Governor, and 
 their finances managed by a civil commission. The 
 head of this commission is Stein, and the Austrian 
 Government has a reasonable dread that he will use 
 his utmost endeavours to accomplish his favourite 
 plan. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen says that he apprehends the Prince 
 Regent cannot be particularly anxious to see his 
 Hanoverian dominions under the protectorship of 
 Prussia. 
 
 The real sum of the matter is, that while we are 
 fighting to destroy the Confederation of the Rhine, 
 we shall raise up another as odious and unjust. 
 
 To LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Comotan, Oct. 9, 1813. 
 
 His Imperial Majesty left Teplitz on the 5th instant, 
 and fixed his Headquarters in this town. In con- 
 sequence of very insufficient accommodation to be 
 found here, the diplomatic body accredited to His 
 Majesty were invited to repair to Saatez, a consider- 
 able town at no great distance. Thither I went 
 accordingly, but I found by special command of 
 His Majesty a lodging had been provided for me at 
 this place. I mention the circumstance as an 
 indication of the gracious condescension which I 
 have experienced from His Majesty on this and other 
 occasions. The army has advanced in a direct line 
 towards Leipsic, near which town the Headquarters 
 of Prince Schwartzenberg are established. The 
 Prince Royal and General Blucher having advanced 
 towards the same point, the Allied forces have nearly 
 effected their junction; a rideau, therefore, is drawn 
 across this part of Saxony, extending from Dessau 
 to Marienberg on the Bohemian frontier. In the
 
 meantime General Benningsen, with the Corps of 
 Clam-Collorado, has driven the enemy from his 
 entrenchments at Giesshubel and has advanced 
 towards Dresden on the great road from Teplitz. 
 The actual position and intentions of Bonaparte are 
 entirely unknown. A strong force, not less than 
 50,000 men, is opposed to Prince Schwartzenberg, 
 and the general belief is, that Bonaparte himself has 
 made a rapid movement with the mass of his army 
 to attack General Blucher before his junction with 
 the Prince Royal is completed. Be this as it may, 
 it is not likely that any partial advantage will 
 materially improve his prospects, or render the 
 ultimate success of the Allies more doubtful. His 
 communication with France being totally destroyed, 
 his army in considerable distress, his magazines 
 nearly exhausted, and the country in which he is 
 utterly without the means of replenishing them, he 
 must shortly find it necessary to break through the 
 circle which has been drawn round him. In this 
 attempt he may probably succeed, but there is every 
 reason to hope that it will be accompanied by the 
 destruction of a great part of his army. 
 
 Full justice is done to the military talents and 
 able combinations of the Prince Marshal. Had he 
 been less prudent and circumspect in his movements 
 we should not have been placed in the formidable 
 and commanding attitude which we are now enabled 
 to assume. 
 
 P.S. Oct. 10. By intelligence received this morning, 
 it appears that Prince Schwartzenberg with the 
 main body of his army is at Chemnitz, and in the 
 neighbourhood. Bonaparte left Dresden on the 7th 
 with the King of Saxony and his family, and is at 
 Rochlitz, where his army is chiefly assembled. It 
 is the intention of the Prince to attack him to-morrow
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 113 
 
 or the next day, if circumstances should justify the 
 attempt. In the meantime General Benningsen has 
 advanced to Dresden, in which, it is said, Bonaparte 
 has left but a feeble garrison, consisting, according 
 to report, of not more than 3,000 men. 
 
 Comolan, Oct. 9, 1813. 
 
 Everything goes on as we could wish it. Bonaparte 
 is now nearly surrounded by the different armies, 
 and if they act but tolerably well in concert, he must 
 be totally defeated. Schwartzenberg has shown great 
 skill and just judgment. The Emperor Alexander 
 went last night to Chemnitz, and Cathcart followed 
 him this morning. I have not much to say of the 
 Treaty in addition to my despatch. Metternich 
 pressed very much to have the article containing 
 the demand for warlike stores inserted in the Treaty. 
 We were near two hours in warm contest on the 
 subject, but I would not yield. I consented to receive 
 a note in which the demand should be made, with 
 reference to a new Treaty of subsidy, to be made at 
 the end of the present agreement; and as Austria 
 was in immediate want of these stores, I promised 
 to recommend to your favourable consideration the 
 proposal of their being furnished as soon as possible, 
 and the amount to be taken in account of the sub- 
 sidiary Treaty to be made hereafter. 
 
 As you have behaved so liberally with respect to 
 Russia and Prussia, I think you cannot do less for 
 Austria, who, you must recollect, is only emerging 
 by unparalleled exertions from a state of the most 
 deplorable weakness. I am fully persuaded that the 
 Austrian Government is at this moment the most 
 zealous of the Allies in the prosecution of the war, 
 and I see no reason to doubt its perseverance. In 
 an audience of the Emperor the other day he spoke 
 
 VOL. I
 
 114 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 without reserve of Bonaparte. He said that until 
 he was behind the Rhine it was impossible to feel 
 any security. He added, that some persons wished 
 to make him (the Emperor) believe that this restless 
 and ambitious spirit would subside in time; but 
 he was convinced that so long as he retained the 
 power to disturb the repose of Europe, he would 
 always put it in execution. He assented to everything 
 I said about Bonaparte, and encouraged me to talk 
 with great freedom. 
 
 I am just returned from dining with the Emperor; 
 he is always very gracious, and to-day unusually 
 so. After dinner he spoke to me a great deal in 
 private, and entered very fully into his views. He 
 reverted to the subject of Bonaparte, and while 
 expressing his sanguine hopes of success, he said 
 that, after all, the only real security would be in his 
 death. I mention this to show that the situation 
 of his daughter has no effect on his conduct or his 
 opinions; and as he has so much departed from his 
 usual custom of talking very sparingly on political 
 matters with Foreign Ministers, I do not think it 
 likely that it should be for the purpose of deceit. 
 
 As I have mentioned Bonaparte, I must tell you 
 a circumstance which exhibits him in a point of 
 view more detestable and brutal than I had imagined. 
 I had it from Metternich, to whom he made the 
 speech. It was with reference to the death of Duroc, 
 of which you recollect there was a scene represented 
 in the papers, which, to people in general, although 
 it savoured a little of French heroics, was still affect- 
 ing. He told Metternich that he must not believe 
 the nonsense of the newspapers. It was true he 
 went into the room where Duroc was, who said, 
 " Sortez, Sire. Cette chambre vous fera mal." He 
 added, " Effectivement, il est comme un rat mort ! "
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 115 
 
 The devotion of Lannes and his corps at the battle 
 of Aspern, as you recollect, saved Bonaparte and the 
 wreck of his army. He was also a great personal 
 favourite. When Metternich was at Paris, Bonaparte 
 talked to him of the battle, and the death of Lannes. 
 He said that he went to see him, and heard him in 
 great pain calling, " Ah Dieu ! Aussitot qu'il a 
 
 prononce le nom de Dieu, je savois que le B e 
 
 alloit crever." Is not this a feeling way to talk of 
 one's favourites and friends ? 
 
 You may depend on it that Metternich is as free 
 from any personal respect for Bonaparte as we 
 could wish. I know Stewart thinks I am too sanguine 
 as to his sincerity, but I believe it to be without 
 reason. . . . 
 
 I shall go forward with the Emperor to-morrow 
 as far as Marienberg. Schwartzenberg is beyond 
 Chemnitz. . . . 
 
 To LADY MARIA HAMILTON 
 
 Comotan, Oct. 8, 1813. 
 
 The two Emperors left Teplitz for this place on 
 the 5th. The King of Prussia is still there. This 
 being such a small town, the Emperor of Austria 
 invited me, together with the Corps Diplomatique 
 attached to him, to go to Saatez, whither I went the 
 day before yesterday. Saatez is a curious old town, 
 situated on the Eger. They assigned me very good 
 quarters; it was an old house, such as you read of 
 in romances, and see sometimes represented on the 
 stage; very irregular, with many passages and 
 corners ; a winding stair rising out of the room with 
 different landing-places. It was picturesque. Yes- 
 terday I came over here through the worst roads 
 imaginable, and learnt that the Emperor had desired 
 that I should be here; for, you must know, I am a
 
 116 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 favourite with him as well as with his Minister. After 
 long search, they found a room just built, the walls 
 not dry, and without any fireplace. This delightful 
 abode I am now come to inhabit. They have to-day 
 put a fireplace i.e. a stove into the room for the 
 first time. I have sent away all my baggage, and 
 am come with Robert [his brother] only. As for 
 Lamb, I have not seen him for three weeks; he has 
 been amusing himself at Prague. I get on very 
 well with all the Austrians. I am as great a favourite 
 of Schwartzenberg as of Metternich. 
 
 We are on the eve of great events. A general 
 battle is expected to-day or to-morrow. If the 
 different armies act in concert, as it is intended they 
 should, the issue cannot be doubtful. Our weather 
 has been most dreadful; nothing but cold rains 
 without any intermission for whole days; imagine 
 the poor troops, without any cover of any kind; 
 with nothing but green wood to burn, which the rain 
 often extinguishes. Imagine an interval of dry 
 weather, when with great exertion the poor wretches 
 have contrived to dry themselves, and that the next 
 hour they are as completely drenched as ever ! Many 
 of the troops are young recruits, who fall fast under 
 this cruel trial. It is absolutely necessary to see 
 before you can conceive the various miseries pro- 
 duced by this dreadful exposure to so severe a season. 
 They say they could prefer the cold of Russia, yet 
 the Austrian troops are in high spirits, eager to fight, 
 and even gay, when it is possible. I dare not talk 
 of home, yet I think of nothing else. No sooner 
 is one affair concluded than another of greater import- 
 ance starts up. I shall give the armies a chance of 
 opening the Elbe before I decide. If we are clearly 
 victorious, I think it cannot remain closed; and if 
 it should once be open, I am freed from all anxiety
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 117 
 
 about the frozen Baltic. I suppose, if we are success- 
 ful in driving Bonaparte from Saxony, we shall move 
 on to Leipsic or Erfurth. 
 
 Comotan, Oct. 10. 
 
 The Emperor goes on to-day into Saxony, to 
 Marienberg. The country into which we are going 
 has been dreadfully exhausted; and with the pro- 
 digious numbers, French and Allies, now in it, one 
 can scarcely imagine how they are able to find 
 subsistence. . . . 
 
 I dined with the Emperor yesterday, and after 
 dinner he talked very fully to me in private, 
 in a very confidential manner. I find him a man 
 full of knowledge of every kind, a good Latin 
 scholar, an excellent Italian, well acquainted with 
 their authors and fond of discussing them, and very 
 knowing in all the affairs of his Government. His 
 manner at first is awkward, and rather foolish, 
 arising from great diffidence in himself; and, as 
 foreigners seldom know more of him, he has been 
 reckoned weak and ignorant; nothing can be more 
 unjust. It is impossible to be more beloved than he 
 is by his people. Their confidence in him is un- 
 bounded. In the midst of all their distresses they 
 comfort themselves with saying " that Unser Franz 
 will put everything to rights." 
 
 To LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Comotan, Oct. 12, 1813. 
 
 I have had the honour of expressing my sanguine 
 expectation of the speedy accession of Bavaria to 
 the common cause. I have now the satisfaction of 
 congratulating Your Lordship on the completion of 
 these hopes. The Treaty was signed by Prince Reuss 
 and General Wrede on the 8th instant. 
 
 General Wrede, at the head of 35,000 Bavarian
 
 118 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 troops, is in movement on Wurtzburgh and Erfurth, 
 for the purpose of acting in the rear of Augereau, 
 and co-operating with the Austrian army. His 
 Imperial Majesty, with the wisdom that has marked 
 the whole of this transaction, has determined to 
 place 25,000 Austrians from the army assembling 
 at Znaim, Moravia, under the command of General 
 Wrede; a circumstance highly flattering to the 
 national feelings of the Bavarians, and which must 
 tend to improve the good understanding already 
 existing between the two countries. 
 
 The great object of General Wrede, if his plan 
 should be approved, is to press on to the Rhine with 
 as little delay as possible, and possess himself of the 
 Tete du Pont at Mayence, an operation, as he con- 
 ceives, of little difficulty, and which will necessarily 
 cause the retreat of Bonaparte to be directed on 
 Cassel. It is quite unnecessary for me to draw 
 Your Lordship's attention to the infallible result 
 of his powerful and well-appointed army, acting in 
 the rear of the enemy, and occupying the whole 
 country to the banks of the Rhine. Your Lordship 
 will discern the vast importance of this arrange- 
 ment, although it may be difficult at one view to 
 embrace the whole extent of the varied prospect 
 which it opens to us. 
 
 I am anxious to impress upon Your Lordship's 
 mind a just notion of the merits of the Austrian 
 Government in this affair. They first evinced the 
 greatest wisdom by the moderation of their demands, 
 and liberality of their promises; and then, as the 
 timidity of the King, and the dubious policy of the 
 Minister led Count Metternich to suspect an intention 
 of some delay on their part, he sent orders to the 
 Austrian Plenipotentiary not to protract the dis- 
 cussions beyond four-and-twenty hours, well knowing
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 119 
 
 that he might rely on the effect of this energy and 
 decision. The event answered to his expectations; 
 but while we give the Austrian Minister full credit 
 for this combination of mildness and vigour, we must 
 acknowledge that something is also due to the zeal 
 of General Wrede and the spirit of the whole Bavarian 
 army. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen then states that the Austrian 
 Government had decided on recovering possession of 
 the Tyrol, the Voralberg and the Unter Thai. These 
 districts occupied, he says, it will give great facilities 
 to future operations in the Italian Tyrol, the Valteline, 
 the Grisons, and even the whole of Switzerland : 
 
 The French Minister was dismissed from Munich 
 the day after the Treaty was signed, and the Charge 
 d'Affaires from Wurtemberg was recalled. It appears 
 that the King of Wurtemberg is disposed to trust 
 the fortunes of Bonaparte a little longer, besides 
 which motive of action there has been some recent 
 injury on the part of Bavaria, which he is personally 
 disposed to resent. It is impossible, however, to 
 doubt that, at the approach of the Allied arms, he 
 will revert to those sentiments which he has so often 
 expressed, and in such strong terms, to the Austrian 
 Government. 
 
 Instead of the actual dimensions of the Bavarian 
 territory proposed to be guaranteed, it is agreed that 
 the new acquisitions should be contiguous. 
 
 The Confederation of the Rhine is formally re- 
 nounced, and the entire independence of Bavaria 
 established. 
 
 Austria engages to employ her good offices in 
 bringing about an accommodation with England, and 
 pledges herself for the adherence of Russia and 
 Prussia to the Treaty.
 
 120 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 To LADY MARIA HAMILTON 
 
 Marienberg, Oct. 15, 1813. 
 
 I left Comotan yesterday, and came here in the 
 morning. There was a good deal of snow, and the 
 weather is become cold; the road worse than can 
 be conceived; a broken-up chaussee, full of large 
 holes, which, being covered with mud, it is impossible 
 to see. The road for the most part is through a 
 mountainous district. There are large forests com- 
 posed entirely of spruce fir; many of the trees of 
 immense size. Sometimes the wood is beech. The 
 Emperor left this place yesterday. I occupy the 
 apartments in which he was. I shall go on to-morrow to 
 Chemnitz, and follow him the next day to Altenburgh, 
 where, I suppose, he will be. Before I finish this 
 letter, most likely the campaign will be decided, 
 for the armies are so close that the decisive blow 
 must be struck immediately, unless Bonaparte retires 
 entirely, which is not impossible. 
 
 I have often written to you of the necessary 
 miseries of war, even in a friendly country; you 
 may imagine they are not diminished now that we 
 are in an enemy's land. The Austrians and Prussians 
 behave well, but the Russians are not under the same 
 scruples. They contrived to keep these horrible 
 robbers, the Monguls, quiet, while they were in 
 Prussia and Bohemia, by telling them they were still 
 in Russia, and promising them full liberty to plunder 
 when once they had passed the frontier. Brutes as 
 they are, they latterly began to suspect the deceit, 
 and now the poor Saxons suffer for it. 
 
 I am rather more reconciled to my situation; at 
 least the extreme interest of the events about to take 
 place, so near as to be within hearing, cannot but 
 arrest the attention. If the travelling were a little
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 121 
 
 more convenient, the life would not for a time be 
 unamusing. Saxony is so exhausted that provisions 
 are found with the utmost difficulty. In this town 
 nothing is to be found but potatoes and black bread. 
 It is a pretty little town in which I am; the people 
 decidedly favourable to the Allies. But in this 
 respect I understand that Saxony is divided; how- 
 ever, we are not likely to meet with any inveterate 
 hostility from the inhabitants. 
 
 Chemnitz, Oct. 16. 
 
 I left Marienberg this morning about nine o'clock, 
 on horseback. A cannonade was heard soon after 
 daylight, and it has continued all day. I had nobody 
 with me but an Austrian Dragoon, consequently we 
 could not speak; but you may imagine the ride to 
 be rather interesting, with the sound of distant 
 thunder all the way, and getting rather louder as we 
 approached Chemnitz. The people here know nothing 
 about it, but the report is, that the French have 
 turned the left of our army about Wessenfels. We 
 have received intelligence that it is the Emperor's 
 intention to go to Zwickau, where we have accordingly 
 determined to go to-morrow; the more so as we are 
 here too near Dresden, and as the army is moving 
 to the left we shall be very much exposed. My 
 colleagues at the Austrian Court are the Prussian 
 and Swedish Ministers, Barons Humboldt and De 
 Bilke. The first is a very clever man, brother of 
 the traveller. We hold consultations on our situation, 
 which is far from pleasant, but we contrive to make 
 it amusing. 
 
 The road through which I passed to-day was in 
 some parts pretty. There was a very pretty village in 
 the way, with a tremendous defile leading to it, 
 called the Tycheppau. It would be destruction to a 
 retreating army. Farewell to-night.
 
 122 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Zwickau, Oct. 17. 
 
 Nothing certain is known of the battle yesterday. 
 The Commandant placed in this town when the 
 Allies took possession of it has just been with me. 
 He says that the battle was between this and Leipsic ; 
 and that the two armies nearly remained in the same 
 positions which they occupied in the morning. He 
 adds, that at first the Allies were pressed, and retired ; 
 but afterwards reinforcements enabled them to regain 
 what they had lost. All this, however, is mere report, 
 for he has received no direct intelligence. This is 
 most extraordinary, for the distance between this 
 and Altenburgh is so small that a man might have 
 come twice in the time. He almost apprehends that 
 some Corps of French have thrown themselves 
 between us, and occupies the road. The Commandant 
 has made all the provision in his power for the recep- 
 tion of the wounded, but he complains bitterly of 
 the brutality of the Russians, who occupy the whole 
 town, and will not make room, even by the removal 
 of their horses and heavy baggage. No wounded 
 are yet arrived, although the battle of yesterday 
 ended about eight o'clock, and it is now more than 
 twenty-four hours ago. I propose to go myself to 
 Altenburgh, unless anything should make it quite 
 impossible. 
 
 I came here on horseback. Although it rained, 
 and the day was gloomy, I could see the country 
 was very pretty; much resembling parts of England. 
 The people fled at my approach : they had heard of 
 the Cossack enormities, and my military appearance 
 alarmed them. 
 
 Altenburgh, Oct. 18. 
 
 The battle the day before yesterday was most 
 sanguinary; all those who were at Lutzen and 
 Bautzen say that this battle was still more obstinate
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 123 
 
 and bloody. It had no decisive result, each army 
 remaining pretty much where it was in the morning; 
 but I do not think, from all the accounts, that we 
 had the best of it : our left gained a little ground, 
 and our right lost. The Austrian Cavalry behaved 
 uncommonly well. Poor Merfeldt, an officer of the 
 highest merit, is seriously wounded, and taken. 
 
 There was fighting all yesterday, and the whole 
 of to-day the cannonade has been very heavy, with 
 villages on fire. The action is not more than ten or 
 twelve English miles from this, yet we cannot learn 
 anything certain. We have had many reports, all 
 favourable; among others that Leipsic is taken; 
 but these rest on no authority, and unfortunately 
 I have just heard that the Emperor is expected in a 
 quarter of an hour; this looks very much as if the 
 day had been against us. I arrived here late, with 
 the Baron Von Humboldt, the Prussian Minister, 
 and we had just agreed to continue our journey 
 to-morrow morning; but as the Emperor comes to 
 us we shall be saved the trouble; perhaps we shall 
 have to follow him in a contrary direction. 
 
 The whole road to-day was covered with the 
 wounded, of all nations. I have seen no official 
 returns, but it is supposed that we lost, the day 
 before yesterday, in killed and wounded 20,000. 
 Of to-day, as yet I know nothing. The loss I speak 
 of, is of Schwartzenberg's army alone; no returns 
 have been received of the loss of Bliicher or the 
 Crown Prince, who were both engaged. 
 
 This is a very pretty town, but you may imagine 
 at this moment it is not easy to admire, much less 
 to describe. 
 
 AltenburgJi, Oct. 19. 
 
 The Emperor's baggage and attendants arrived 
 last night, but, most fortunately, the battle took a
 
 124 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 favourable turn towards the evening, which rendered 
 his return unnecessary. The affair was most obstin- 
 ately contested, but we obtained a decided advantage 
 and the French are now retreating on all sides. 
 The Saxons, Wurtemburghers and Westphalians come 
 over to us in considerable numbers. I went forward 
 this morning to see what was going on. The enemy 
 is followed up, and I trust will suffer. We have not 
 lost less than 30,000 men, exclusive of Bliicher and 
 the Crown Prince. Collorado is wounded, but not 
 severely; his loss would be very great. Bonaparte 
 made offers of negotiation, which have been rejected 
 for the present. I shall go to Rotha to-morrow, and 
 perhaps to Leipsic; but I cannot learn that our 
 troops have as yet entered the town. From thence, 
 however, I shall find means to send my letter direct 
 to Berlin. 
 
 The most brilliant prospect opens. If we go on 
 with tolerable prudence, we must have him to the 
 Rhine very soon. Schwartzenberg has shown great 
 skill. The Emperor gave him the great cross of 
 Maria Theresa on the field of battle. There are but 
 four people who have it. He well deserves it. 
 
 Rotha, Oct. 20. 
 
 The Headquarters of the Emperor are still here, 
 but he leaves the place to-morrow to follow the 
 armies in pursuit of the enemy. Our success has 
 been complete. Lauriston, Regnier and Bertrand 
 are taken. Poniatowski is drowned. It is also said 
 that Victor is drowned. Poles and Germans come 
 over in great numbers, and the retreat of the French 
 is conducted in great disorder. Bonaparte sent 
 propositions of peace by Merfeldt, whom he allowed 
 to return on his parole. He offered to give up all 
 the Russian fortresses, and those on the Elbe; and
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 125 
 
 to give up Spain and Holland. The answer was, 
 that when he was behind the Rhine it would be time 
 to talk to him. The King of Saxony was taken 
 prisoner in Leipsic. He has thrown himself on the 
 mercy of the Emperors. Whether he will preserve 
 his Kingdom by this act, or whether the Allies will 
 be obdurate, I do not know. The Emperor went to 
 Leipsic yesterday morning, and was received with 
 acclamations. I believe he does not mean to fix his 
 Headquarters there, but go from this to Zeity. I 
 shall go round by Leipsic. 
 
 Leipsic, Oct. 22. 
 
 This is the second day that I have been here, but 
 how shall I describe the entrance into this town ? 
 For three or four miles the ground is covered with 
 bodies of men and horses, many not dead. Wretches 
 wounded unable to crawl, crying for water amidst 
 heaps of putrefying bodies. Their screams are heard 
 at an immense distance, and still ring in my ears. 
 The living as well as the dead are stripped by the 
 barbarous peasantry, who have not sufficient charity 
 to put the miserable wretches out of their pain. 
 Our victory is most complete. It must be owned that 
 a victory is a fine thing, but one should be at a 
 distance. 
 
 Farewell, my dearest Lady Maria. I go to-morrow 
 the road to Jena. 
 
 Lord Stanmore writes : 
 
 During the short halt of the Allied forces at Leipsic 
 an incident occurred which, as a conspicuous instance 
 of Lord Aberdeen's placability and command of 
 temper, even at that comparatively early period 
 of his life, I cannot omit to notice. General Count 
 Merfeldt was taken prisoner during the battle. He
 
 126 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 was brought before Napoleon, with whom he had a 
 most important conversation, in which the French 
 Emperor stated the sacrifices he was willing to 
 make for peace. General Merfeldt, who was released 
 on parole, detailed the interview to Sir Robert Wilson, 
 who, " writing under shell fire," forwarded full notes 
 of it to Lord Aberdeen. This important missive was 
 entrusted to Sir Robert Wilson's aide-de-camp, an 
 honest blundering officer, very eager to be back in 
 the thick of battle, and very sulky at being sent off 
 the field as an estafette during its progress. Coming 
 across another English diplomatic agent of high 
 rank, before he had succeeded in finding Lord 
 Aberdeen, and apparently thinking one diplomatist 
 as good as another, he gave him the letter for Lord 
 Aberdeen and galloped back at once to the battle. 
 The accidental recipient of Napoleon's offers forth- 
 with addressed a despatch to Castlereagh, conveying, 
 as from himself, the information he had thus acquired, 
 and instead of handing the letter to Lord Aberdeen 
 when they met, as they did that same evening at 
 Leipsic, retained it till after the messenger had started 
 for England. He then forwarded it to its address. 
 Lord Aberdeen, not knowing that he had been fore- 
 stalled, himself wrote a despatch on the subject, and 
 was then told that the news was already gone. The 
 forwarder of the intelligence received the warmest 
 thanks of the Government and a substantial reward. 
 Lord Aberdeen and Sir Robert Wilson (who was not 
 mentioned in the despatch sent) got neither. With 
 most men this would have led to a violent quarrel. 
 Lord Aberdeen felt that any such quarrel between 
 two English Ministers, in the presence of strangers, 
 would be out of place, and injurious to the public 
 interest. He preserved uninterruptedly the most 
 friendly and familiar relations with his colleague,
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 127 
 
 and the only expression of his feelings that he per- 
 mitted himself was the addition of the following 
 Postscript to a letter written in terms of accustomed 
 cordiality : "I hope you repent your silence to me 
 at Leipsic; it was not fair or friendly, and I am sure 
 could not have been deserved by me." 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LADY MARIA HAMILTON 
 
 Dermbach, Nov. 1, 1813. 
 
 We have to-day made a journey through the most 
 beautiful country imaginable, woods, valleys and 
 rivers all forming the most perfect compositions. 
 The road, " if road that might be called, which road 
 was none," was the most singular I have ever seen, 
 and the most dangerous. We had a regiment of 
 Hungarian Guards, who went before us, and by 
 making bridges, throwing fascines into the morasses, 
 and levelling the steep ascents, they contrived to 
 bring us through. I am lodged here, at the 
 butcher's, in a hole without a stove, and as the frost 
 is pretty severe, the night will not be too agreeable. 
 However, the cold has a good effect on the quantity 
 of flesh and offal which is accumulated around me 
 in consequence of the trade of the master of the 
 house. 
 
 Fulda, Nov. 2. 
 
 We began our march very early this morning on 
 horseback : Metternich, Merfeldt, the Minister of 
 the King of Wurtemburgh, Count Zeppelin, and 
 myself. We were ten hours on the road, and the 
 whole distance we were enchanted with the beauty 
 of the country, or rather they were, for it was quite 
 impossible for me to enjoy anything which made it 
 necessary for me to look around me. Soon after 
 Dermbach we came into the great road, and here 
 the horror of the scene began. The French had passed
 
 128 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 three or four days before, and I assure you that the 
 whole road to this place is scattered with dead. 
 It is not like a field of battle, but single bodies lie 
 by the roadside at such small intervals that we were 
 scarcely a minute or two without a repetition of the 
 object; these poor wretches had dropped down 
 from fatigue, some actually in the middle of the road, 
 and the people had not taken the trouble to remove 
 them to the side, although they had all been not 
 only carefully searched for anything of value they 
 might have had, but the bodies were stripped of every 
 vestige of clothing. There are still many of the 
 stragglers wandering in the woods, who are brought 
 in occasionally by the peasants, more dead than 
 alive. I hear the road is much worse in this respect 
 after this place, as it is reasonable to suppose from 
 the increased fatigue of the retreating army. 
 
 We have received here the account of two very 
 severe actions between Wrede and the French army. 
 They have been most brilliant, as Wrede 's force was 
 much inferior. Poor Wrede himself was mortally 
 wounded the second day, while leading on the troops 
 to storm Hanau. We have taken about ten thousand 
 prisoners, and it is hoped that the rear-guard may 
 still be caught. The Bavarian Alliance was the work 
 of Wrede, and his loss is very great. The Emperor 
 instantly sent him the cross of Maria Theresa, in 
 the hope that it might still be in time to afford him 
 some satisfaction before his death. He also sent 
 the assurance that his children should be well taken 
 care of. Notwithstanding this success, and the 
 incredible valour both of the Austrian and Bavarian 
 troops engaged, Wrede's death will give a sort of 
 false splendour to Bonaparte's account of the affair; 
 coming so soon after that of Moreau, it will appear 
 more wonderful than it is, for he exposed himself
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 129 
 
 in a very injudicious manner. I believe we shall 
 pass the scene of action, and arrive at Hanau the 
 day after to-morrow. The town, I understand, is 
 for the greater part destroyed. Among other 
 pleasures of the journey are to be reckoned the 
 infectious fevers in consequence of the multitude of 
 French sick and wounded; we are obliged to arrange 
 the places where we sleep according to the more or 
 less of disease existing. 
 
 Bonaparte with his army passed through this 
 town five days ago; they pillaged the town, but did 
 not remain long enough to do more material injury. 
 He had still above 80,000 men. The Emperor has 
 been remarkably well received here : not only 
 deputations from the town and all the neighbouring 
 country, but the people are clamorous with joy. 
 The whole town is illuminated to-night. The old 
 Prince Bishop of Fulda is still alive, above eighty 
 years of age. The people have all demanded of the 
 Emperor that he should be reinstated; and they 
 seem throughout this part of the country to be more 
 exasperated against the French than anywhere else. 
 
 Schluchtern, Nov. 3. 
 
 We have come here over a road decorated in much 
 the same manner as yesterday, but more abundantly. 
 This town has been burnt and ravaged by the French 
 in their retreat. The room I am in is pretty well, 
 but the rest of the house is completely devastated ; 
 the poor curate, to whom it belongs, and all his 
 family, are in despair. 
 
 The most affecting sight I think that I ever 
 beheld, I have seen to-day. Houses were burning; 
 the owners of these cottages in the deepest misery, 
 and their children were playing around, and were 
 quite delighted with the fire which consumed the 
 
 VOL. I K
 
 130 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 whole property of their parents, and condemned 
 them to cold and hunger. Here is a mixture of 
 innocence and wretchedness which goes to the heart ! 
 I do not know when I have felt more severely the 
 wretchedness of mankind. 
 
 The cause prospers, and I pray God we may be 
 near to a termination of these horrors. It is said 
 that Bonaparte himself is inclined to peace; if this 
 be really so, we shall have no difficulty. The Con- 
 federation of the Rhine is now almost dissolved; 
 every day takes from its numbers. The Prince of 
 Hesse Darmstadt has abjured it, and has signed a 
 Convention by which he throws himself on the mercy 
 of Austria. There is now no State of any consequence 
 remaining but Baden. I am glad to learn that 
 some hopes are still entertained for Wrede's life, 
 but the ball is not extracted, and as it has lodged in 
 his body, there is no getting at it. He has behaved 
 in a most heroic manner. He has issued an affecting 
 address to his army. There were not 30,000 Austrians 
 and Bavarians with him, and for two whole days 
 they stopped the progress of the French army; 
 the third day they passed, after suffering great loss. 
 With the assistance of Platoff and Orloff Denisoff 
 we have taken about 20,000 prisoners. The advanced 
 guard of our army entered Frankfort this morning. 
 
 Gelnerhnusen, Nov. 4. 
 
 We have travelled to-day through a most beautiful 
 country; for the greater part it was valley, not wide, 
 but very level, with a river running through it, 
 on each side the hills covered with wood, and running 
 out into projections and knolls something like the 
 Valley of Berry Pomeroy, in Devonshire, which you 
 remember we saw together. This is a country of 
 vines; every cottage is covered with them, and they
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 131 
 
 are cultivated also on terraces on the sides of the 
 hills, as in Italy. This town is completely devastated 
 and half burnt. It is full of prisoners, wounded and 
 sick, and the inhabitants are beginning to feel the 
 effects of the hospital fever. It was intended to go 
 to Hanau to-morrow, but they tell us it is quite 
 impossible to lodge there, as every house is full of 
 horrible objects, and the town completely sacked. 
 I suppose the Emperor will make a sort of old castle, 
 which is at no great distance from the town, do for 
 his lodging, and we must find a village if we can. 
 The next day he is to make a triumphal entry into 
 Frankfort, where I have no doubt he will be well 
 received. He has not been there since the day of his 
 coronation, twenty-one years ago. If the incon- 
 venience were less, and the horrible objects not so 
 numerous, the life I lead would not be disagreeable. 
 I perform the whole journey on horseback, in company 
 with several persons more or less pleasant, of whom two 
 or three dine with me every day. These two last days 
 Metternich and Merfeldt have dined with me ; and in 
 such good society one forgets the fatigues that are past, 
 or which are still to come. When Merfeldt was taken 
 at Leipsic, he was several hours alone with Bonaparte. 
 The account of this interview is extremely interesting. 
 I had looked to Frankfort as a certain place of 
 rest, at least for some time; but it is now said that 
 we are to be again in motion. The Emperor seems 
 very much to wish to begin the Italian campaign 
 without a moment's delay, and to put himself at the 
 head of the army. If all endeavours at negotiation 
 fail, I suppose this intention will be put in execution. 
 
 Hanau, Nov. 5 
 
 We have continued our journey through a most 
 beautiful country, but I will spare you the description
 
 132 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 of the road, and the appearance of the field of battle 
 at the gates of this town. The town itself is half 
 burnt, and the rest is a charnel-house. I went soon 
 after my arrival to inquire after poor Wrede, having 
 of course no intention whatever of seeing him; but 
 he insisted on my coming into his room. They have 
 some hopes of his life, but the ball is not extracted. 
 I found him much too well, speaking with great 
 animation and feverish strength. We were alone 
 for some time ; he was most impatient of the delay 
 in extracting the ball; he wished to follow the army 
 in a litter, as he could not bear being left here without 
 even knowing what was done. He declared that if 
 it had not been for the forced marches which compelled 
 him to advance without a sufficient supply of ammu- 
 nition, none of the French army would have passed. 
 On the whole, as you may believe, it was a very 
 interesting visit; but I have no hopes of this poor 
 man; it appears to me quite impossible that he 
 should recover ; the ball is lodged near the backbone, 
 having entered in front, but they do not know how 
 to get at it. The ball struck one of the lions' heads 
 which form the clasp of his belt, and went through 
 it. Wrede's loss will be very great, for he was the 
 soul of the Bavarian Alliance, and indeed the author 
 of it; besides which, he possessed the confidence of 
 his troops in the highest possible degree. 
 
 I believe it is intended that we should go to Frank- 
 fort to-morrow. The Emperor is to make a grand 
 public entry. Of course I shall accompany him. 
 There is no doubt that he will be received with 
 enthusiasm. He has not been at Frankfort since he 
 was crowned there as Emperor. It is a glorious 
 event for him to enter it again as the deliverer of 
 the Empire. He has been remarkably well received 
 in this town; to-night it is illuminated and the
 
 EMBASSY TO THE ALLIES (1813-1814) 133 
 
 populace are parading in all directions with a very 
 fine band of music belonging to one of the Austrian 
 regiments. They have just halted before my quarter, 
 and have played God Save the King beautifully, 
 with many acclamations. 
 
 Frankfort, Nov. 7. 
 
 The Emperor made his entry yesterday morning : 
 he was on horseback, as were all of us who attended 
 him. The Emperor of Russia, who had arrived the 
 day before, came out to meet us about a mile from 
 the town, and the Emperors returned together, with 
 an immense number of officers, etc., attending them. 
 We rode to the cathedral, where the Te Deum was 
 performed, and then we accompanied the Emperor 
 Alexander to his house. The streets, windows and 
 even roofs of houses were crowded with spectators; 
 the acclamations were universal, and it was easy 
 to see that these unbought shouts came from the 
 heart, and were produced only by gratitude for their 
 deliverance. It is but seldom that the fate of kings 
 is to be envied; yet I confess that the sensations of 
 the Emperor of Austria, on entering this town, 
 after all that has happened during his reign, are 
 such as one would give a good deal to enjoy. In 
 the evening the Emperors went to the theatre, and 
 were received with the utmost enthusiasm. Every 
 sentiment which was at all connected with the 
 present state of things, and alluded to the causes 
 of this great change, was rapturously applauded. 
 It is a great comfort to be in a good town, after all 
 the wretched places we have passed through. I am 
 in an excellent house, and hope to remain some time, 
 but it is very uncertain ; all my wishes tend towards 
 England, but they talk of a winter campaign in the 
 south. The Emperor will probably go, and it will 
 certainly be a glorious and decisive expedition.
 
 134 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 November 8. 
 
 I have found time to read The Bridal of Triermain, 
 which you sent me ; it is the work of a man of genius, 
 and there are some very striking things in it, but 
 full of faults and absurdities. I thought it sufficiently 
 interesting, however, to be read through at a sitting. 
 God bless you, dearest Lady Maria; take care of 
 yourself, and give me a good account of your health.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 
 
 THE Headquarters of the Allied Sovereigns re- 
 mained at Frankfort for more than a month. Lord 
 Aberdeen had feared that it might become a Capua, 
 but this was not the case. It was, however, a stage 
 on which kings, generals and statesmen were even 
 more crowded that at Teplitz. He was not a little 
 disappointed by the essentially common-place character 
 and moderate abilities of the leading actors, both civil 
 and military, in the great drama in which he was 
 called on to take a part. 
 
 The na'ive and excessive vanity of Metternich, and 
 the narrowness of his views inclined Lord Aberdeen 
 in the first instance to take a lower view of his abilities 
 than he did at a later period of the campaign, but 
 while doing full justice to his extreme dexterity and 
 instinctive perception of what was in any given 
 circumstances possible, he persisted in considering 
 that his reputation far exceeded his true intellectual 
 rank, and that he was not, in fact, a very clever man. 
 Lord Stanmore at this point of Lord Aberdeen's 
 Embassy says : 
 
 It is easy to comprehend the species of intoxication 
 which must have attended the vast successes of the 
 Allies. After so many years of unchecked ascendancy 
 on the part of Napoleon, the mere spectacle of his 
 flight from German soil must have caused a singularly 
 novel as well as satisfactory sensation to all good 
 Germans ; but the news which poured in from all 
 quarters in succession, the accession of Bavaria 
 
 135
 
 136 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 to the Alliance, followed by that of Wurtemberg; 
 the dissolution of the Confederation of the Rhine; 
 the expulsion of the French from Spain ; the defection 
 of Murat; the revolt of Holland; the submission of 
 Denmark, were sufficient to turn the strongest head, 
 and that it had that effect in many cases is sufficiently 
 apparent from the correspondence which has been 
 preserved. 
 
 It had no effect on the head of the young Ambassa- 
 dor, who still held that, on all grounds, peace should 
 be made so soon as it could be made with security. 
 That security he believed would be afforded by strip- 
 ping from Napoleon all the possessions and influence 
 which he had acquired beyond the natural limits 
 of France; nor did he think that these limits could 
 be infringed or diminished without the strongest 
 probability of exciting on the part of the French 
 nation an universal patriotic resistance, the strength 
 of which had been underrated twenty years before, 
 and might easily be underrated again. 
 
 Lord Cathcart and Sir Charles Stewart held other 
 opinions, in which they were warmly supported by 
 the rank and file of the regular diplomatic service, 
 whose jealousy of the amateur Ambassador, who had 
 never before held any diplomatic post, was not 
 diminished by the extraordinary favour and confidence 
 with which Lord Aberdeen was distinguished not 
 only by the sovereign to whom he was accredited, 
 but by those also with whom Lord Cathcart and Sir 
 Charles Stewart were in ostensibly closer relation. 
 
 It was not with Lord Cathcart, but with Lord 
 Aberdeen, that Count Nesselrode conferred on the 
 subject of the general alliance, the arrangements 
 with Denmark, the future operations of the Allies, 
 and the propositions to Napoleon, of which, as well 
 as of the proposals to Denmark, Lord Aberdeen 
 alone of the English Ministers was cognisant, and 
 which were only communicated to Lord Cathcart at 
 a later period, and at Lord Aberdeen's express wish.
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 137 
 
 The portraits drawn by Lord Aberdeen of his col- 
 leagues at the Courts of Russia and Prussia are hardly 
 flattering. 
 
 Cathcart is a man of very moderate talents, stiff, 
 pedantic, and difficult. I rate Stewart's natural 
 talents higher, but he is scatter-brained, obstinate, 
 and wrong-headed. Although he has certainly good 
 qualities, and we remain on the best terms, I have 
 been deceived in him two or three times, and in 
 cases which have contributed to affect my opinion 
 of him materially. 
 
 These Ambassadors could not be expected to 
 entertain a similar opinion of their own qualifications. 
 Lord Cathcart was a much older man than Lord 
 Aberdeen, and had been for some time an ambassador ; 
 Sir Charles Stewart was the brother of the Foreign 
 Secretary; and it is not surprising that they should 
 have felt, and to some extent resented, the manner in 
 which they were set aside. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen was now earnestly looking forward 
 to being released from this mission. It had already 
 lasted longer than he had anticipated, and he was 
 desirous of winding up his work and returning home. 
 There was, however, a long period of strenuous and 
 anxious work yet before him, and the correspondence 
 with Lord Castlereagh and others best gives his 
 account of the difficulties which had to be surmounted. 
 
 It has already been mentioned, that during the 
 course of the battle of Leipsic, General Count Merfeldt 
 was taken prisoner, and sent back to the Austrian 
 army on parole by Napoleon. He brought from the 
 French Emperor certain offers, which were rejected, 
 and the battle was resumed. At the same time 
 Napoleon had intimated he was willing to treat for 
 peace, and to this it was necessary to give some 
 answer. 
 
 It was decided between Prince Metternich, Count 
 Nesselrode and Lord Aberdeen that the Count de
 
 138 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 St. Aignan, the French President at Gotha, who had 
 been taken prisoner at Leipsic, should be charged with 
 the response to the overture. His release, both as a 
 non-military man and a diplomatic agent, was in 
 any case inevitable, and his natural departure from 
 the Allied lines for France was unlikely to excite 
 curiosity or suspicion. 
 
 M. de St. Aignan arrived in Paris on November 
 15, but it was not till the 28th that a letter from Maret, 
 Duke of Bassano, arrived at Frankfort, proposing 
 Mannheim as a place for a Congress. 
 
 Metternich at once replied that, while he was glad 
 to hear of the pacific intentions of the Emperor, no 
 negotiations could be entered into until the bases 
 mentioned to M. de St. Aignan had been specifically 
 accepted. This letter was answered on the 2nd 
 December by the Duke of Bassano, who was then 
 authorised to declare that "1'Empereur, mon auguste 
 maitre, adhere aux Bases generates et sommaires 
 qui ont ete communiques par M. de St. Aignan." 
 
 When Lord Cathcart and Sir Charles Stewart 
 became aware of what had passed, the former was 
 startled, and inclined to insist on the prosecution 
 of the war without any negotiations, but Lord Aberdeen 
 was able to induce him to take the same point of view 
 as his own. Lord Cathcart was with Lord Aberdeen, 
 but Sir Charles Stewart was unfortunately in Hanover, 
 with the Crown Prince of Sweden, and consequently 
 out of reach of Lord Aberdeen's personal influence. 
 There were always persons who disliked Lord Aber- 
 deen and resented his appearance as "an amateur " 
 in the sphere of diplomacy. 
 
 Sir Charles Stewart was persuaded by these critics 
 that Lord Aberdeen had abandoned the interests of 
 England and of Europe, and that France had no 
 maritime rights to which she could with justice 
 pretend, and no " pretensions ' : which could be 
 considered reasonable. 
 
 Sir Charles's temper was not improved by the 
 naivete of the Chancellor Hardenberg, who requested
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 139 
 
 him to write to his Government to express the wish 
 of Prussia that Lord Aberdeen should be appointed 
 the sole British Plenipotentiary in all matters affecting 
 the Alliance generally a request which Austria and 
 Russia had more discreetly transmitted through 
 their own Ambassadors in London. 
 
 Sir Charles did as he was asked, and, generously 
 bore testimony to Lord Aberdeen's success, and the 
 weight of his influence with the Ministers of all the 
 Allied Powers. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh and the British Cabinet shared 
 the views of Lord Aberdeen, adopted his reasoning, 
 and approved his action. Sir Charles Stewart was 
 told that he had omitted to perceive the essential 
 difference between a basis of negotiation, and the 
 terms of a definitive treaty. Lord Aberdeen was 
 assured of H.R.H. the Prince Regent's full approval 
 of the part he had borne in these delicate and moment- 
 ous discussions, and of the willingness of the British 
 Government to treat on the basis proposed, including 
 therein the frontier of " the Rhine with such departure 
 therefrom as may sufficiently provide for the independ- 
 ence and security of Holland," which country had 
 in the interval successfully freed itself from French 
 control. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Frankfort, Nov. 8, 1813. 
 
 M. de St. Aignan arrived here this day, and had 
 an interview with Prince Metternich. Immediately 
 after his departure, I had a long conference with the 
 Prince and Count Nesselrode. It is determined that 
 he should return to-morrow to France, and repair 
 with all expedition to Paris, where it is said that 
 Bonaparte now is. 
 
 A question arose between us, whether it would be 
 proper to inform Bonaparte of any objects connected
 
 140 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 with the French frontier, which might be open to 
 negotiation. Count Nesselrode wished to state the 
 terms of the Allies in the first instance as high as 
 possible, and reduce them afterwards in the course 
 of negotiation. I was of opinion that it would be the 
 preferable course to state the terms as low as possible, 
 and firmly to adhere to them. I told him that if the 
 propositions were made with the hope of being 
 accepted, common sense dictated that they should be 
 rendered as palatable to Bonaparte as was consistent 
 with the fixed views of the Allies. If the propositions 
 were made without any such hope, I deprecated the 
 whole proceeding, as being most erroneous in principle, 
 and calculated to produce the greatest injury to the 
 common cause. I observed that it would be much 
 better to defer making any overture at all, if it was 
 not thought that we were in a sufficiently commanding 
 situation to make that which we were determined to 
 press. In this reasoning Prince Metternich concurred, 
 and it was at last agreed that the specific line of the 
 French frontier towards Holland and Piedmont should 
 be open to discussion, taking care to make the inde- 
 pendence of Italy and Holland conditions of peace 
 sine quibus non. Thus the matter stands at present, 
 but I should inform your Lordship that M. de St. 
 Aignan is not sanguine in his belief of Bonaparte 
 being sufficiently reduced to accept our terms. I 
 have urged the necessity of secrecy in the strongest 
 manner, and have obtained a promise from Count 
 Nesselrode and the Prince, that M. de St. Aignan 
 should not see either of the Emperor, previous to 
 his departure, as had been originally intended. 
 
 I took this opportunity of asking the Prince his 
 intentions respecting the proclamation. He told me 
 that he meant to publish it forthwith. On this 
 subject I had thought a good deal, and had come to
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 141 
 
 the determination to dissuade him from adopting 
 this measure at the present moment. I told him 
 that a proclamation issued at the time of making 
 propositions to Bonaparte could not possibly produce 
 a good effect ; that, however moderate it might be, 
 it would certainly tend to irritate Bonaparte; at the 
 same time that from a decent regard to him, the Allies 
 deprived themselves of the benefit of a vigorous and 
 energetic appeal to the feelings of all those countries 
 about to throw off his yoke. If he accepted our 
 proposition, the proclamation was useless or injurious ; 
 if he refused to treat, we might compose a much better 
 one than we could now venture to issue. Count 
 Nesselrode appeared to assent to the propriety of my 
 observations, and finally the Prince consented, at 
 my entreaty, to delay the publication, in order to 
 give effect to the mission of M. de St. Aignan, and then 
 to act as circumstances might require. The fact is, 
 that I am not sanguine as to the effect of this, or any 
 other proclamation on the people of France; and if 
 your Lordship will call to mind the evidence of history 
 on these subjects, I think you will assent to the 
 justice of this opinion. If the inhabitants of an enemy's 
 country be well disposed, they will rise without 
 proclamations, and I am not aware of any instance 
 in which a people were ever moved by these means, 
 who were not otherwise well inclined. The possible 
 effect of such a measure in France should be a second- 
 ary object; but there is no doubt that it might be 
 of essential service in encouraging the perseverance 
 and fortifying the zeal of those countries who are 
 struggling for independence. It is to them that we 
 should show the absolute necessity of continued 
 exertion, and should prove that the blessings of peace 
 are not withheld from them by any hopeless projects 
 of ambition, and unjustifiable views of foreign conquest.
 
 142 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 I am happy to inform your Lordship, that not- 
 withstanding the pacific overtures to which I have 
 drawn your attention, the military preparations and 
 movements continue with unabated activity, nor 
 will any pause be produced in consequence of this or 
 any other measure of the kind. The present plan 
 for the continuance of the campaign, I shall have the 
 honour of detailing to your Lordship in a separate 
 despatch. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Frankfort, Nov. 8, 1813. 
 
 It being determined to prosecute the campaign with 
 the utmost possible vigour, various meetings have 
 been held with the view of coming to a speedy decison 
 respecting the best mode of carrying this determination 
 into execution. The plan which has been adopted, 
 subject however to further consideration, I have now 
 the honour of stating to your Lordship. 
 
 It is intended that the Grand Army, under Prince 
 Schwartzenberg, should march in the first instance 
 to Basle, and enter Switzerland. From thence it 
 is proposed to penetrate into France by Dauphine 
 and Franche Comte, the whole of that frontier being 
 without any fortified posts. This movement will 
 essentially aid the operations of Lord Wellington 
 in the south-west of France; it will secure the con- 
 quest of Italy, and, in general, promises the happiest 
 result. Prince Metternich has despatched the Chevalier 
 Lebzeltern to the Landamann, with propositions to 
 the Swiss Government, which there is every reason 
 to hope may prove successful. 
 
 A large force will be left to watch Mentz, Coblentz 
 and such other places on the Rhine as may be neces- 
 sary, making frequent incursions so as to keep the
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 143 
 
 enemy in constant alarm, and occupy a large portion 
 of his troops. 
 
 It is proposed that the Prince Royal should descend 
 on Antwerp and accomplish the conquest of Holland, 
 threatening the whole of the French frontier in that 
 direction. This is the outline of the plan, as it is at 
 present, and bold and gigantic as it may appear to 
 your Lordship, there will, I trust, be no deficiency of 
 means to carry it into execution. It is calculated 
 that at least 400,000 men will be necessary to give it 
 a fair chance of success, and I am happy to learn 
 that, notwithstanding the severe losses we have 
 sustained in the course of the campaign, these numbers 
 may be assembled in a short time. I shall soon be 
 informed of the final decision which may be come 
 to on this important subject, when I will not fail to 
 communicate it to your Lordship. In the meantime 
 you may rest assured that the evil of delay is fully 
 appreciated, and that whatever plan may be ulti- 
 mately adopted, will be carried into execution with 
 promptitude and energy. 
 
 Among the brilliant assembly which Lord Aberdeen 
 had found collected at Teplitz there was an English 
 officer, Sir Robert Wilson, unknown previously to him 
 except by reputation. With him Lord Aberdeen 
 speedily contracted relations of close intimacy. Sir 
 Robert Wilson had accompanied the Russian armies 
 as English military representative during the whole of 
 the campaign of 1812-13; and he was now tempo- 
 rarily attached, in a somewhat similar capacity, to 
 the army of Prince Schwartzenberg. The absence of 
 Tory prejudices on Lord Aberdeen's part astonished 
 him, and while at Frankfort he wrote in his diary : 
 
 By principles Aberdeen belongs to us. He is a 
 Liberal politician, and a man of high independent 
 spirit, with a very reasoning mind, in which there
 
 144 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 is no inextirpable prejudice. I should have thought 
 Lord Grey and he would have been inseparables; 
 and they would have been if accident had favoured 
 nature and brought them more in communication. 
 
 The testimony of so strong a Liberal as Sir Robert 
 Wilson to the breadth of Lord Aberdeen's views 
 is remarkable, but though valuable, it was no doubt 
 accentuated by gratitude. Sir Robert Wilson had 
 been temporarily attached to Schwartzenberg's head- 
 quarters from the moment the Austrian army had 
 joined the Allies. By the time that Lord Aberdeen 
 arrived at Teplitz he found that, thanks to Wilson's 
 previous service with the Russian army, and intimacy 
 with the Emperor Alexander and with Bliicher, he 
 was on a footing with all the divisions of the Allied 
 force which made him specially useful as a medium 
 of communication between them, and gave him an 
 influence and position which no man, however able, 
 coming newly to the scene could hope for a long 
 period to possess. 
 
 The officer whom the English Government had 
 chosen to act as military attache with the Austrian 
 army was not an able man, while of course he was 
 totally unacquainted with those among whom he 
 would be called on to act. He was the eldest son 
 of Lord Westmorland, Lord Burghersh, then a young 
 soldier and without distinction. Lord Aberdeen knew 
 and liked Burghersh, but at once saw that not only 
 was he not the man to replace Wilson, but that the 
 substitution of the one for the other had in it some- 
 thing which bordered on the ludicrous. He therefore 
 strongly urged Lord Castlereagh to leave Sir Robert 
 Wilson where he was, and to send Lord Burghersh 
 with the army of Marshal Bellegarde to Italy. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen wrote in vain. Sir Robert Wilson's 
 Liberal politics were fatal to him, and Lord Castle- 
 reagh replied, with something like a sneer, that Sir 
 Robert Wilson might enjoy the confidence of other 
 European Governments, but he did not possess that
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 145 
 
 of his own; that, as Lord Aberdeen wished him to 
 continue with the Austrian armies, he might be 
 allowed to do so; but only at the headquarters 
 of Marshal Bellegarde in Italy, as Lord Burghersh 
 was already appointed to the more important post 
 at the headquarters of Prince Schwartzenberg, and 
 could not be superseded. To Lord Aberdeen it only 
 seemed natural and right that the officer of experience 
 and influence should remain at the post where that 
 knowledge and influence were most usefully exercised, 
 and that the new-comer should go to Italy. His 
 diplomatic colleagues thought it amazing that the 
 consideration of efficiency should induce him to 
 prefer a man of Whig opinions, a military man without 
 birth or connection, to a man who had no other merit 
 than that of being a supporter of the Government 
 and the son of a Cabinet Minister. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Frankfort, Nov. 11, 1813. 
 
 I wish to state, without reserve, the impression 
 which this affair of Burghersh and Wilson has made 
 on me, and tjie light in which I consider it. Schwart- 
 zenberg and Metternich have frequently spoken to 
 me on the subject; the first has written to me in the 
 most pressing manner, the latter has told me that he 
 had it in command from the Emperor to express his 
 sense of the great services of Wilson, and to state his 
 wishes that he should continue with the army. 
 Schwartzenberg told me that he would as soon part 
 with Radetzky the Quartermaster-General; that 
 Wilson was admitted to all their councils, and that 
 they had the most entire confidence in his zeal and 
 talents. His services in the field have been most 
 conspicuous; on the 16th at Leipsic, the day was 
 saved by the brilliant conduct of the Austrian cavalry 
 under Nostitz, which Schwartzenberg declares to be 
 chiefly owing to the intelligence and able dispositions 
 
 VOL. I L
 
 146 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 of Wilson. In short, to enumerate his military 
 services would be endless. Great as they are, they 
 fall short, in Schwartzenberg's estimation, of those 
 which he has rendered out of the field. From his 
 intimate knowledge of the Russian and Prussian 
 armies, and the great respect invariably shown him 
 by the Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia, 
 he is able to do a thousand things which no one else 
 could. He was the means of making up a difference 
 between the King and Schwartzenberg, which was of 
 the utmost importance. In short, I cannot possibly 
 be deceived; I hear it from morning to night, from 
 all nations; and I am perfectly persuaded there is 
 no man in existence who unites in the fourth part of 
 the degree, the love and admiration of the three 
 armies. What Stewart is with the Prussians, Wilson 
 is with all. If Lord Wellington himself were to come 
 here to-morrow, I should not think the evil less in 
 the view I take of it. I have declined, both to 
 Metternich and Schwartzenberg, to do anything 
 officially : I have always said you were the only 
 judge, and that your instructions were final. But 
 under the circumstances, and with reference to the 
 paragraph of your instructions which relates to 
 consultation with me, I thought it right to give my 
 opinion to Burghersh that it would be more for his 
 own comfort, as well as for the good of the public 
 service, that he should go to Italy; that I did not 
 wish Wilson to have any appointment, but to remain 
 as he is under Cathcart, and continue to report to 
 him. That he (Burghersh) would still be the only 
 accredited agent from England ; and that the services 
 of Wilson, which were so eminently conspicuous, 
 might still be afforded, although without the satis- 
 faction of any official acknowledgment. With respect 
 to going to Italy, as Burghersh informed me he would
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 147 
 
 be d d if he did, there the matter ended, and now 
 
 a new view of the case opens. 
 
 When you mentioned the appointment of Burghersh, 
 of course I imagined that the Emperor was going to 
 remain at Prague or Vienna, and the army act at a 
 distance. But when the Emperor is with the army, 
 and I with him, the appointment of an independent 
 military officer assumes another character. The 
 splendid services of Wilson silenced all observations; 
 as yet, his character has been unofficial, but from 
 his claims, I should have had no other feeling but 
 pleasure in his official appointment. I do not wish 
 to say anything of Burghersh : I have known him 
 long, which it is not necessary to do to know him well. 
 Of course I need say nothing to you on this subject. 
 But you will imagine that it cannot be particularly 
 agreeable to me to have him the author of the only 
 official account of what I myself know, and that 
 through him only is it to be made known to the public. 
 I am resolved to follow the Emperor into the field 
 on all occasions. I have put on a red coat, and I 
 think this part of my duty. I am in daily communica- 
 tion of the most confidential nature with Schwartzen- 
 berg and Radetzky, and I do not know why it is to 
 be resigned. If you fairly consider this question, 
 I think it will appear to you that the circumstances 
 of an independent military appointment with this 
 army, in the present situation of things, cannot lead 
 to much good. In Italy we really want somebody; 
 but as Cathcart is here, of course as a military man, 
 he will take care to give you the necessary details. 
 We should not interfere together in the least. Pray 
 do not imagine that I wish to disparage Burghersh. 
 I have no such intention. It is true that I am strongly 
 impressed with the merits of Wilson, but I only 
 receive this impression from the united voice of
 
 148 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 every one whom I approach. I never saw Wilson 
 before coming to Germany ; I had prejudices against 
 him; but, on my honour, I have seen nothing to 
 blame and everything to commend. The whole sum 
 and substance of my wish is this; that Burghersh, 
 or the accredited person, should go to Italy, where 
 he may really be of use, and that Cathcart should 
 have the management of this army as heretofore; 
 so far as military affairs are concerned. Wilson 
 might remain in his former situation under Cathcart, 
 if it is wished that Burghersh should be the only 
 accredited person. 
 
 I hear Burghersh has expressed regret at not being 
 presented to the Emperor, as he was prevented from 
 going to Hocheim, and seems to think I have been 
 dilatory. Burghersh arrived here on the 7th, and at 
 seven o'clock on the 9th the affair at Hocheim was 
 undertaken. I have unremittingly applied for his 
 presentation, and it has been done this day, both to 
 the Emperor and to Schwartzenberg. I had requested 
 Schwartzenberg, whatever he might feel, to receive 
 him as the person accredited by the British Govern- 
 ment; and as a matter which was interesting to 
 myself. You may depend on it I shall not fail to 
 do what is so obviously my duty, while he remains. 
 But I do wish you would take the whole of this affair 
 into the most impartial consideration. I am quite 
 sure that you will not wish to act unjustly to any 
 one, or even unkindly. 
 
 The only thing I have to implore is that poor 
 Wilson may not suffer still more, by my exertions. 
 There has been nothing in the shape of intrigue. 
 He trusts that if, from the peculiar circumstances, 
 he is obliged to go home, you will not impute it to 
 any feeling of hostility, but, putting yourself in his 
 case, that you will make allowances. He will, I
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 149 
 
 believe, remain until we hear from you ; I will try if 
 possible to find some temporary employment for him, 
 in order to soften matters in appearance, and give 
 some sort of reason for a step which will excite universal 
 astonishment. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD ABERCORN 
 
 Frankfort, Nov. 15, 1813. 
 
 I thank you very sincerely for your kind and con- 
 siderate attention in giving me an account of the 
 children, at a time when you thought it probable 
 that I should receive no other. Thank God, they are 
 well; it almost gives me as much pleasure to know 
 that they are loved. How I long to see them 1 and 
 see you all again. Yet I do not know what to say 
 about the time. You have done perfectly right n 
 reminding Castlereagh that diplomacy is not my 
 metier. I have done the same myself. But I do 
 not know how I shall get away from my friends here. 
 The other day, I just hinted the possibility of it to 
 Metternich, and he does nothing but exclaim at my 
 thinking of such a step at such a time. The fact is, 
 I am very well placed here ; it is likely that I do some 
 good but it is certain that they are all well pleased 
 with me. The other day I overheard the Emperor 
 talking of me to his brother, the Grand Duke of 
 Wurtzburg, in terms quite incredible. I have no 
 reason to complain of my situation with respect to 
 the Russians and Prussians. I have had many marks 
 of kindness and respect both from the Emperor and 
 the King. Notwithstanding this position, I look 
 anxiously towards England, and without speaking 
 positively, I rather think that I shall go home when 
 once the Elbe is fairly opened. 
 
 This town is more splendid than ever it was during 
 the time of the coronation of the Emperors. A most
 
 150 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 numerous assemblage of Princes are collected, for the 
 purpose of uniting their means against France, and 
 joining in our alliance. I will give you the names of 
 the principal persons at a dinner from which I am just 
 come, with the Emperor of Austria. The Emperor 
 of Russia, King of Prussia, King of Bavaria, Grand 
 Duke of Wurtzburg, Grand Duke of Baden, Grand 
 Duke Constantine, Prince Royal of Prussia, and 
 Prince Henry, Hereditary Prince of Wirtemberg, Duke 
 of Oldenburgh, Prince of Coburgh, Prince of Hesse, 
 Schwartzenberg, and Metternich. There was also 
 your old friend Prince Reuss, and his brother. This, 
 you must allow, if not an entertaining, was at least 
 a brilliant assembly. We have parades and reviews 
 every day, and, altogether, it must be confessed, 
 that for a short time this town would be agreeable 
 enough. I think our only chance of ultimate success 
 is to follow up, without intermission, the blows 
 which have already been struck. Of course, Castle- 
 reagh will show you both my despatches and my 
 private letters, which will put you in possession of 
 my views on many subjects. They are not half so 
 full as I could wish, but I have little time, and less 
 inclination, to write long discussions, the greater 
 part of which are inapplicable before they arrive at 
 their place of destination. 
 
 The present plan of the campaign is formed on a 
 gigantic scale, but I think we have the means of carry- 
 ing it into execution. Not less than 600,000 men will 
 be united in one combined plan of attack. The 
 Prince Royal (between ourselves a Jacobin quack) 
 will attack Holland and the north of France. Bliicher 
 will observe the fortresses on the Rhine, and do what 
 he can. The great army under Schwartzenberg will 
 penetrate through Switzerland. The army of Italy, 
 under Bellegarde, as soon as it is set free, will cross
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 151 
 
 the Var, and entering the south of France, will com- 
 municate, if possible, with Lord Wellington on its 
 left, and Schwartzenberg on its right. If half our 
 plan succeeds we shall do very well. 
 
 You will, however, learn that an overture has been 
 made by us. I have highly approved of it, but I 
 fear it will come to nothing. The only way, however 
 to give it a chance of success is to assume the most 
 threatening attitude of hostility. This vast coalition 
 is strongly cemented, but still we are not to calculate 
 on its eternal duration; as long as we are united, we 
 must carry everything before us, but when the seeds 
 of dissension begin to appear, our weakness will only 
 be the greater from the extent of our mass, mole ruit 
 sud. It is by vigorous exertion that we shall be kept 
 together; so long as we are active, and above all, so 
 long as we are successful, we shall not quarrel. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LADY MARIA HAMILTON 
 
 Frankfort, Nov. 15, 1813. 
 
 This is a pleasant town, very rich, notwithstanding 
 the repeated vexations of the French. It is now 
 very gay. I do not suppose, in the history of Europe 
 there were ever so many Kings and Princes collected 
 together. I dined to-day with the Emperor of 
 Austria ; I think there were four-and-twenty persons, 
 and I did not see more than half-a-dozen who were 
 not either sovereign Princes or their immediate 
 connections. When one tells the coachman to drive 
 to the Emperor's, he asks which Emperor? It 
 would appear remarkable if we were not so much 
 used to it. In the morning we have grand military 
 parades and reviews. 
 
 You are very good to write me so long a letter. 
 I shall hope now to hear something of our friends, 
 as they will be in town for the meeting of Parliament ;
 
 the Levesons, the Harrowbys, the Devonshires. Lady 
 G. of course will be in town. Merfeldt will go to 
 England very soon. Everybody says CountessMerfeldt 
 is a most delightful person ; she is still at Vienna, but 
 she will go too. I hope you will see a great deal of 
 them at the Priory. As to myself, I cannot determine 
 what to do. My present notion is to be in London 
 by the end of January, but this is very uncertain, 
 and need not be mentioned. My having hinted here 
 the possibility of my departure has caused the greatest 
 possible consternation. The Emperor has used very 
 strong language about it. Certainly my position 
 here becomes more enviable every day, yet I am sure 
 you know very well how little I am consoled by all 
 this for my absence from England. I shall be able 
 to form a more decided plan in a few days; but if 
 my stay is prolonged, it will be more on account of 
 the very unusual kindness and desire of the Emperor 
 and the principal persons here, than from the wishes of 
 Ministers at home. I will tell you my reasons another 
 time, but never couple Bernadotte with Moreau, 
 who was a man of English simplicity, sincere, sensible, 
 unaffected. 
 
 I will add a few words before the messenger goes. 
 We have not many English. Vernon has gone from 
 Prague to Vienna. Lamb is amusing himself at 
 Vienna. I am alone with Morier. I hope Robert 
 will soon return to me, he was a great assistance, and 
 will be a great loss. The Bathursts I knew were 
 very fond of him. 
 
 November 17. 
 
 You see, I boldly make plans, yet it will not be 
 easy to go. Yesterday the Emperor was speaking to 
 Schwartzenberg about me. Schwartzenberg had 
 heard there was some notion of my going, and 
 mentioned it. The Emperor was astonished, said he
 
 153 
 
 would not hear of it, that he liked me more than anyone 
 he had ever had with him, and that we must absolutely 
 finish the war together. He said, " I shall very near 
 break my heart if he goes." This fagon de parler 
 is certainly very strong, but it is pleasant that they 
 think it worth while to use it. I believe Merfeldt 
 will go very soon. I shall regret him very much, 
 but he will do so well in England that I ought to be 
 content. 
 
 At any rate, we shall not remain long here. The 
 Emperor is impatient to be gone ; he told me to-night 
 that he wished very much that we were again fellow- 
 travellers, even in bad roads and bad quarters. There 
 never was a man to whom so much injustice has been 
 done as the Emperor of Austria. He is not only a 
 most excellent man, but one who judges well, and who 
 possesses the most honourable feelings. I have had 
 a hundred instances which have contributed to place 
 him in a very high point of view. You know well 
 enough that I am not much 6bloui by the splendour of 
 sovereigns, therefore you may believe what I say. 
 
 Let me hear from you soon, and tell me news, 
 anything will do. I have received Miss Hollway's 
 letters and the children'stheirs would be delightful, 
 if Miss Hollway did not improve the style. Farewell, 
 dearest Lady M. It is very late ; I have been sitting 
 up to finish some despatches, and am quite worn 
 out. God bless you. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Frankfort, Nov. 12, 1813. 
 
 I have received last night your private letter of the 
 15th, and the despatches. It is almost ludicrous, but 
 more really distressing that our communications 
 should be so dreadfully slow. Almost all your 
 speculations, which are most just and excellent, are
 
 154 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 rendered useless by our present situation. However, 
 as the Prince Royal has probably opened a channel 
 through which we may send to Heligoland, I trust it 
 will improve. Long before this time you will have 
 been convinced that you have done both Metternich 
 and me injustice. Bavaria does not stop short at a 
 simple junction, but is employing her whole means in 
 the cause. My Treaty will have convinced you, when 
 you compare it with what your friends the Russians 
 and Prussians have done, that you may rely on my 
 representations respecting the Austrian Government. 
 Do not think Metternich such a formidable personage ; 
 depend on it, I have most substantial reasons for 
 knowing that he is heart and soul with us; but, my 
 dear Castlereagh, with all your wisdom, judgment 
 and experience, which are as great as possible, and 
 which I respect sincerely, I think you have so much 
 of the Englishman as not quite to be aware of the 
 real value of foreign modes of acting. Put yourself 
 in Metternich's place. He had an Austrian game as 
 well as an European to play. To enter into the war 
 with most insufficient means, to deliver himself, even 
 if successful, into the hands of Russia and Prussia, 
 could not be wise in the Minister of this weakened 
 but still mighty empire. He has come forward as 
 the head of the German body should appear the 
 leading power and the effect has been decisive. Now 
 do not be afraid of me. There is a sort of half con- 
 fidence and intimacy which Ambassadors may enjoy, 
 which perhaps is likely to mislead. My intercourse 
 with Metternich is of another description. Living 
 with him at all times, and in all situations, is it 
 possible I should not know him ? If indeed he were 
 the most subtle of mankind, he might certainly impose 
 on one little used to deceive, but this is not his 
 character. He is, I repeat it to you, not a very
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 155 
 
 clever man. He is vain; but he is a good Austrian. 
 He may, perhaps, like the appearance of negotiation 
 a little too much, but he is to be trusted. I consider 
 it as fortunate that I have been personally agreeable 
 to him, because it has given me many personal 
 opportunities of studying his character in detail, and 
 I hope it has not perverted my judgment. He is, at 
 this moment, the main support of warlike measures. 
 But by this time I feel sure you will have much 
 changed your opinions. 
 
 Merfeldt, with all his love of England, is a little 
 restive about leaving the army at this critical moment. 
 He will certainly go, however, and I am sure, if you 
 consider this appointment rightly, it is decisive as to 
 the feelings of Metternich. He (Metternich) is trem- 
 blingly alive to the feeling of the English public. He 
 told me that he had just desired Gentz to write an 
 article, with the view of having it inserted in an 
 English newspaper, which should explain his policy 
 (his marche politique) to the English people. He told 
 me, if he had time, that he would write it himself. 
 In the Treaty, perhaps, you did not observe that he 
 had scratched out the enumeration of the Legion of 
 Honour from among his titles. He told me he thought 
 it a respect due to England, which was not to be 
 observed towards Russia and Prussia. In short, 
 Metternich is of all others the man I should choose to 
 deal with, and should do it without fear. Stadion 
 was thought of for England. His health is not very 
 good, but in other respects I told Metternich that I 
 greatly preferred Merfeldt. 
 
 The King of Bavaria comes here to-day. The Grand 
 Duke of Wauburg is come. The King of Wurtemburg 
 is coming. We shall have a prodigious influx of 
 Princes. But we must not pause. A few days may 
 be allowed, for the troops require it. But we must
 
 156 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 be active, and leave this place with all its comforts. 
 You may be surprised at one in my situation, but I 
 have made good my relations with Schwartzenberg 
 and Radetzky (the Quartermaster-General) in such a 
 manner as to have a voice even in military operations. 
 You have nothing to fear; the whole is planned on 
 the most enlarged and vigorous line of policy. 
 
 We are anxious for the result of St. Aignan's mission. 
 I have kept back the proclamation until we hear. I 
 hope the secret is well kept ; but the only objection I 
 can have to the undertaking is the possibility of its 
 checking our projects respecting Denmark and Swit- 
 zerland. The Prince Royal's attitude will do much 
 to decide Denmark. I wish you would examine that 
 question fairly. I have been led to do a good deal in 
 this business; but I hope not injudiciously. I shall 
 be glad of your approbation and instructions. 
 
 I write as if I looked forward to eternity, but it is 
 only the peculiarity of my situation which makes it 
 tolerable and that does not bring me my children. 
 You know my bargain ? When I look back on what 
 I have done, I am not aware of anything to reproach 
 myself with, and I feel perfectly confident that I 
 have laid a foundation of friendship and cordiality 
 between the Governments of the two countries which 
 may be easily preserved, and turned to the best 
 account. If we are to have negotiations, and you 
 choose me to stay, I will do my best, and with the 
 utmost pleasure, but if the war continues, I almost 
 think of home. Parliament has met, and although I 
 am not a regular performer, that is the scene after 
 all. To assist you, I would do this or almost anything 
 else, but I lean towards home. Stewart and Cathcart 
 have their stars and crosses. My rewards are at home, 
 which, if no other, are at least great in the renewed 
 love of my friends, and I trust your approbation.
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 
 
 Half a dozen persons supped with Metternich last 
 night; I met Nesselrode there : we had a long dis- 
 cussion about the Treaty of General Alliance. He 
 makes great difficulties, and at all events is decided 
 as to having it confined to the four principal Powers. 
 This, I think deprives it of half its value. He pro- 
 posed, however, that at the renewal of their subsidiary 
 Treaty they would do what you wished separately. 
 He put me in possession of all his views about it. I 
 afterwards talked a good deal to Metternich on 
 the same subject. He has no objection to sign it 
 to-morrow. I explained the difficulties of Nesselrode. 
 He said that at my desire he had frequently discussed 
 the subject with him. He added that, if I wished to 
 pass this Treaty, he would answer for making Nessel- 
 rode agree to it at last. " And now, my dear A., 
 make my compliments to Lord Castlereagh, and ask 
 him what is the next proof of our zeal and confidence 
 which he requires." I have always assured him that, 
 if you were aware of the real circumstances of the 
 case, you would be perfectly ready to give him full 
 credit. 
 
 I too entirely agree with you in all your views of 
 popular feeling, and the value of popular exertion, 
 not to have frequently urged this topic with Metter- 
 nich. The measure of all others on which he most 
 values himself is precisely of this nature, and is in 
 rapid progress. The spirit which has been excited in 
 Bavaria and Wurtemburg by the wise and moderate 
 conduct of the Austrian Government is beyond belief. 
 The Tyrol is always sure, and I hope that everything 
 is going on well in Switzerland. He will succeed in 
 placing between France and Austria, on that frontier 
 where she is most vulnerable, 400,000 armed men, 
 animated with the best spirit, and with all the 
 enthusiastic feeling of German independence. Their
 
 158 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 attachment to Austria is the grand feature of which 
 he has good right to be proud. When you recollect 
 what Bavaria and Wurtemburg have been, and see 
 what they are doing precisely in the way you desire, 
 we must admit that he has performed a service which 
 Europe will have reason to acknowledge, I trust, for 
 a very long time. Baden, notwithstanding the con- 
 nection with Russia, has thrown itself into the arms 
 of Austria, and the same spirit is kindling fast. I 
 have frequently discussed the best method of embody- 
 ing and availing ourselves of this spirit, and have 
 even made some propositions on the subject. In the 
 Austrian empire there is no deficiency. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH (Private) 
 
 Frankfort, 17th [Nov., 1813.] 
 
 A most unfortunate event has occurred in the 
 capitulation of Dresden, under the circumstances with 
 which it has been accompanied. Klenan certainly 
 went beyond his powers in the conditions which he 
 agreed to. Schwartzenberg has determined not to 
 ratify the capitulation, and the garrison is to be 
 replaced, and everything put as near as possible in its 
 former condition. Still this is so unfortunate an affair, 
 and the enemy will so well know how to turn it to 
 account, that I am not sure if it would not have been 
 better to fulfil the conditions. Being on that footing 
 of intimacy with Schwartzenberg which enabled me 
 to venture, I spoke to him on the subject. He received 
 the observations with the utmost kindness, but said 
 it was too late to do anything, that he had considered 
 the matter coolly, and that he was convinced he was 
 justified in equity and military law in not ratifying 
 the act. Of course I did not press the matter further. 
 In the evening I saw the Emperor; he came up to
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 159 
 
 me, and talked with me a long while on the subject. 
 He said that he entirely agreed with me in the view 
 that I had taken, and had spoken to Metternich 
 accordingly. He said they had persuaded him to 
 agree to the course that had been adopted, but that 
 it was against his judgment. He said a hundred 
 things about the interest which I had taken in his 
 honour, and altogether spoke in so cordial a manner 
 that I cannot do justice to the satisfaction which he 
 exhibited. I am sure that Schwartzenberg, whether 
 right or wrong, has decided on the most honourable 
 motives, and we must now make the best of the 
 affair that we can. Whatever be the result, I have 
 certainly gained great credit with the Emperor, 
 Schwartzenberg and Metternich for the manner in 
 which I have spoken on this subject. 
 
 If you think it right to mention it to the Prince, I 
 wish you WQuld have something done in the way of a 
 compliment to Schwartzenberg. If you give the 
 Emperor Alexander the Garter, who, by the way, will 
 never wear it, you may certainly offer some testimony 
 to the man who, for the first time, has beaten 
 Bonaparte fairly in a great battle, and to whose 
 skilful combinations, and consummate prudence, we 
 owe our success. If the Prince was to send him two 
 or three good horses, with a little parade, and some 
 allusion to the battle of Leipsic, it would be well 
 received. It would have a good effect in the army, 
 and would tend to do away with that suspicion of 
 Russomania with which we are infested. Pray think 
 of this. 
 
 I hope your parliamentary business gets on well; 
 with the Allies on the Rhine, I think the opposition 
 cannot give you much trouble. I hear reports of 
 Canning coming to the Foreign Office, and you going
 
 160 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 to the Chancellorship of the Exchequer; of course 
 you will tell me if there be any foundation for this. 
 I have not believed it. Wessenburg will immediately 
 have instructions to release you from silence respecting 
 the secret articles of the Treaty. Metternich seemed 
 to doubt if all could be divulged ; I do not see why. 
 If it is of use to you in Parliament, as it must be, 
 you may consider yourself at liberty to publish what 
 is essential. 
 
 You will have a project from Cathcart, in lieu of 
 the general Treaty of Alliance. Perhaps you may 
 accede to it; but if not, I think I can answer for 
 making Metternich carry us through. I am very 
 anxious to have your real and genuine feelings about 
 the Swedish business. Nesselrode spoke to me about 
 it last night in terms of bitter regret. I have held 
 but one language, the necessity of adhering to agree- 
 ments already entered into. But tell me on the whole, 
 what is likely to be your view of this subject. I have 
 invariably most stoutly defended your policy in 
 entering upon the agreement you did, and have always 
 maintained that it was at the time most wise and 
 necessary, and devoid of all injustice, but it is quite 
 impossible to pretend to hold up the character of the 
 Prince Royal, whose quackery is in every mouth. 
 Stewart will let you into all this ; and Pozzo di Borgo, 
 who is here, and who would not stay with him, or 
 return to him, is still more acharne against him. 
 Vincent's report, which Metternich shows me, speaks 
 the same language. 
 
 Metternich is happy in being the first to acknowledge 
 the independence of Hanover, and requests to have 
 Hardenberg as Minister; Hardenberg I think a very 
 jolly good sort of fellow; one who will never do 
 harm, and who may be easily managed.
 
 CATHKHINK HAMILTON, COUNTESS OF ABERDEEN. 
 
 Eldest daughter of John James, 1st Marquess of Abercorn, married 
 the 4th Earl of Aberdeen, July 28, 1805, died February 29th, 1812. 
 
 From a miniature reproducing tlie portrait (now at Haddo House) by Sir 
 
 Thomas Lawrence, K.A., who alluded to it in a letter to Lord Aberdeen thus : 
 
 " The picture of Lady Aberdeen is like music in my mind all the time."
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 161 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LADY MARIA HAMILTON 
 
 Frankfort, Nov. 24, 1813. 
 
 I cannot let a messenger go without conveying to 
 you at the same time a repetition of my love and 
 interest. I have little else to say to you; the long 
 time since I have heard from you makes me still 
 more anxious to know that you are going on well. I 
 trust that Brighton has done all that you hoped from 
 it. Your last letter to me was written soon after 
 your arrival, on the 24th of last month. 
 
 We are here much the same as we have been; 
 nothing new, no alarms, no cannonades, and even no 
 new kings; I believe we have exhausted the whole 
 stock. We are kept on the alert, however, by this 
 dreadful fever, which is gaining ground very fast. I 
 have had two servants taken ill already; if it con- 
 tinues, the mortality will be as great as if we suffered 
 from the plague itself. 
 
 At last my groom and horses are arrived from 
 England; they have made a great circuit. My only 
 pleasure here is riding every day for about an hour. 
 I generally pick up a pleasant companion. I see a 
 great deal of Pozzo di Borgo ; you know the Emperor 
 has made him a General ; we ride together frequently, 
 and he is followed by a Calmuck on horseback, instead 
 of a groom, as is often the case here. Pozzo's Calmuck 
 is the strangest animal it is possible to conceive. 
 With his flat, Chinese face, he has a sort of languishing 
 air that is irresistibly comical. He is scarcely human, 
 but he dresses himself like Stefano and Trinculo in 
 the Tempest. Being a great robber, as they all are, 
 wherever they sleep on their journey he steals blankets, 
 carpets, etc., but his great delight is old tapestry, of 
 which he has a great collection. He makes it into 
 pelisses and trowsers for himself, and astonishes Pozzo 
 
 VOL. I M
 
 162 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 and all of us by appearing every now and then with 
 a couple of great peacocks on his back, or a cupid, or 
 a goddess, or some pastoral scene ! 
 
 We have such an assemblage of all ranks and all 
 nations, that it would be very interesting to be here 
 as a traveller; but with the drudgery to which I am 
 condemned I taste it very little. 
 
 I trust that a period to my slavery is approaching. I 
 sometimes think that the best way would be to go to 
 England on a sort of leave of absence, and preserve the 
 power of returning, in case I could not remain at home. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Frankfort, Nov. 25, 1813. 
 
 I write in Metternich's room in order to be in time 
 for the courier who goes to-night. A letter from the 
 Duke of Bassano has arrived, proposing a Congress, 
 and mentioning the town of Mannheim as the best 
 place, which may be rendered neutral, and English 
 couriers allowed to go through France by Calais. He 
 says that a peace " sur la base de Findependance de$ 
 toutes les nations, tant sous le point de vue continental 
 que sous le point de vue maritime," has always been 
 the wish of the Emperor. Metternich's answer to 
 this letter will refuse to open any Congress on the 
 part of the Allies before the general basis, already 
 proposed, is accepted; the letter of the Duke of 
 Bassano says nothing on this head. You are not to 
 understand that the unofficial conversation with 
 St. Aignan embraced the whole basis on which the 
 Allies were willing to treat, but those conditions only 
 which more immediately concerned France. Nothing 
 was said of the Duchy of Warsaw. The Prince Royal 
 has been alarmed because Norway was omitted; but 
 it was for the same reason. I defer any longer 
 statements on this subject for want of time.
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 163 
 
 The Duke of Bassano says that the Emperor 
 " conyoit un heureux augure du rapport qu' a fait 
 M. de St. Aignan de ce qui a ete dit par le Ministre 
 d'Angleterre." I have already stated to you all that 
 passed, and the precaution I took that no unfair 
 inference should be drawn from the expressions 
 relating to England which I found written before my 
 arrival at the meeting with St. Aignan. But in order 
 that no mistake should exist, and that everyone should 
 know the real circumstance so far as England is 
 concerned, I will give an official statement to Metter- 
 nich on the subject, and restate all that passed. I 
 think you will approve of the decision of not closing 
 with any offer without a clear understanding before- 
 hand. There is the best inclination both with respect 
 to measures of energy in the conduct of hostilities, 
 and the terms of peace to be exacted : no pause 
 will take place in the one, or abatement in the 
 other. 
 
 It is with the greatest satisfaction that I announce 
 to you the realisation of my promises respecting 
 Metternich. He is just returned from an interview 
 with the Emperor of Russia. The Treaty of General 
 Alliance will positively be made forthwith. The diffi- 
 culties have not been few or slight, but M. has made 
 a point of bringing your unjust suspicions of Austria 
 to shame. Now, pray observe, these are not fine 
 words only, but facts, and pretty important too. I 
 wait for your amende honorable. There is only this 
 difference, that the Emperor wishes the Treaty should 
 be executed in London. To this there can be no 
 objection. . . . Some person will be sent to London 
 immediately to explain all matters. It will probably 
 be Pozzo di Borgo. Farewell. I hope everything 
 meets with your approbation. As far as I am able 
 to perceive, there is no just reason to complain.
 
 164 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD CASTLEREAGH 
 
 Frankfort, Nov. 28, 1813. 
 
 I must first refer to my private letter, written the 
 day before yesterday, and especially to that part of it 
 respecting the General Treaty. I was so happy in 
 the thought of its being done anywhere, that I, 
 perhaps, too eagerly caught at the proposed arrange- 
 ment of its being signed in London. Cathcart having 
 informed me that you had, in some of your despatches 
 to him, objected to its being sent back, and Stewart 
 having strongly represented the whole proposal as 
 unsatisfactory, I gave the subject a good deal of 
 reflection, and resolved to renew my endeavours to 
 have it executed here. Accordingly, I have told 
 Metternich that he must undo everything which he 
 had fixed with the Emperor Alexander. I told him 
 that I could not understand the reason of the reference 
 to London. If his policy was crooked, and his motives 
 dishonest, the course was intelligible, but if he was 
 sincere, as I hoped and believed, there could be no 
 possible reason to transfer that to Wissenberg, Jacobi 
 and Lievin, which we could do equally well here. 
 He represented the difficulty of dealing with the 
 Emperor Alexander ; but I told him fairly that, with 
 his views on the subject, and his influence with the 
 Emperor, I should consider the fate of the Treaty as 
 the test of his honesty. He protested against this 
 criterion, but promised to do his best, whenever the 
 Emperor returns to Frankfort. 
 
 I have not the details for a despatch, but letters 
 came from Letzeltern yesterday. He represents the 
 Swiss Government as not being willing to move before 
 the entrance of the Austrian troops into the country ; 
 but they are well inclined, and the landwehr, in 
 particular, have given great satisfaction. The people
 
 165 
 
 are still more enthusiastic than had been expected, 
 and are with difficulty restrained until the arrival of 
 the troops. In particular, the Bavarian Minister has 
 done some mischief by a premature zeal in the cause. 
 The change is so satisfactory that one may almost 
 pardon the error. 
 
 Of course you will have the details of the important 
 events passing in Holland, from Thornton and others ; 
 but I wish to recommend to your attention the state 
 of the Low Countries. I really believe a little money 
 and some arms would give you a chance of the fleet 
 at Antwerp from the state and disposition of the 
 inhabitants, the insurrection is likely to spread over 
 the whole country. I have desired them to send a 
 person immediately to England, worthy of credit, 
 from whom you may receive the necessary information 
 on this subject. To a considerable extent, the plan 
 of general rising appears to be organised, and, in 
 particular, the higher ranks are deeply involved. 
 
 Having given you, in a few words, what I know of 
 public views, I must now tell you, that after much 
 consideration I have thought it to be most wise and 
 useful for the public service that I should go to 
 England. A few conversations will put you more 
 fully in possession of my view of things here than a 
 thousand despatches. If the business of the General 
 Treaty is once settled, there is no particular object in 
 sight ; although there is a general complication, which 
 can better be developed by words than in any writing. 
 It is a feeling of this kind which has induced the 
 Russians to determine to send Pozzo ; I shall probably 
 go at the same time. I have spoken to Metternich 
 on the subject, who has no objection to it, but is 
 only anxious that I should return to them again. I 
 should not have ventured on this step, had I not 
 recollected the entire discretion with which you
 
 166 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 invested me at my going out, with respect to it. No 
 specific occupation of importance presents itself to 
 detain me, and it is my sincere conviction that I can 
 be of more use to you by oral communication at the 
 present moment than in any other manner whatever. 
 I have now only to request that you will have the 
 goodness to give directions for a frigate to receive us, 
 Pozzo and myself, either at Cuxhaven or Bremerkhe, 
 whichever may be thought most expedient, or even 
 at Heligoland if necessary. Pray have the goodness 
 to give the orders as soon as ever you receive this 
 letter, for although it is possible we may be detained, 
 it is most probable that we shall set out in a very 
 few days. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LADY MARIA HAMILTON 
 
 Frankfort, Nov. 28, 1813. 
 
 I have now nearly determined to go to England 
 immediately. It is of the utmost consequence that 
 Government should have the information which I 
 shall be able to give them ; and a thousand despatches 
 would not put them so perfectly in possession of my 
 views as a few conversations. The two Emperors 
 will not hear of my going, except on the condition of 
 my speedy return, but this must be decided by what 
 I find in England. 
 
 Not a word of news from you; I am quite sick 
 with hope long deferred. I cannot imagine what has 
 happened. I trust you are well and happy. 
 
 Our affairs here are prosperous ; everything goes 
 on well. The revolution in Holland of course you 
 will hear of daily. You may expect very soon to 
 hear of one in Switzerland. In short, everything 
 seems to justify the speech of Talleyrand to Bonaparte, 
 who, when he asked him before the beginning of the 
 campaign, what he thought of the appearance of
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 167 
 
 affairs, said, I think I see " le commencement de 
 la fin." 
 
 It is difficult to say with what delight I look forward 
 to the moment of meeting you all. Yet I shall not 
 go to England without apprehension. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD ABERCORN 
 
 Frankfort, Dec. 4, 1813. 
 
 We are going on well. The revolution in Holland 
 has given the finishing stroke to the existence of 
 Bonaparte's power out of France, for I consider the 
 affairs of Italy as nearly settled. I have an enterprise 
 of the kind in hand which I trust will turn out well. 
 I am sure it ought to do so. 
 
 It was my determination to go home immediately, 
 even at the risk of returning, but I find it to be 
 impossible; I am so much wanted here, indeed, I 
 may almost say so necessary, that I do not know 
 how to get away; however, it must end soon. I am 
 in as great favour as ever with the Emperor. He 
 has just given me the Order of St. Stephen. A very 
 different thing from the Russian St. Andrew and the 
 Prussian Black Eagle, as probably you may know. 
 Of course I shall not be anxious to accept it, but the 
 offer will do nearly as well. He is going to send the 
 great cross of Maria Theresa to Lord Wellington. 
 We are the only Englishmen to whom these orders 
 were ever given. 
 
 Your observation respecting the instructions for 
 the general Treaty of Alliance, in which Lord Cathcart 
 is first named, did not escape me, and I have repre- 
 sented it to Castlereagh. The fact is, that Ministers 
 wish to show this marked preference to the Emperor 
 of Russia; and, as a consequence, Cathcart must in 
 this business be the principal person. But I can as
 
 little permit this on the part of the Emperor of 
 Austria as on my own. It may produce the most 
 mischievous effect. Considering what the Emperor is, 
 and his situation, it is quite preposterous to put 
 forward these odious preferences. God knows we have 
 heart-burnings enough to quiet, without their being 
 fomented by our own Government. With respect to 
 this Treaty, however, I have the consolation of 
 knowing, and of its being admitted by my colleagues, 
 that if it is done at all, it will be owing to me. I am 
 not certain about it, but I hope we shall be successful. 
 
 Of Austria I am sure, and Russia, by the means I 
 have employed, may yield. Stewart has had no 
 difficulty with Prussia. If we can conclude this 
 alliance it will be a great stroke. But I must again 
 refer you to my despatches and letters to Castlereagh 
 for all this. 
 
 I hope you are tolerably well employed at the 
 Priory. This season is not favourable to your 
 beautifying occupations, yet it has its charms too. 
 In the spring I still hope that you will get a good 
 house in town. I will not despair of joining you, but 
 my plans for a little while longer must be uncertain. 
 We have here pretty much our usual quantity of 
 Kings and Princes, but the place is dull enough. 
 There is a very good opera, the orchestra excellent, 
 to which I often go ; after which, I go every night to 
 Metternich's, where there generally are about a dozen 
 persons whom I like to see. We have great dinners, 
 but as we dine at three o'clock the day is terribly 
 shortened. The sickness is great, it is a sort of jail 
 fever, which is very fatal. Three of my servants are 
 ill of it, one is near dying; but among the upper 
 ranks I do not find it common. 
 
 Among the charms of this place, I must not omit 
 the Emperor of Russia's sisters, who are lately arrived.
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 169 
 
 They are both pretty and agreeable, but the Grand 
 Duchess Catherine is delightful. 
 
 MR. J. W. WARD (LORD DUDLEY) TO LORD 
 ABERDEEN 
 
 130, Park Street, Nov. 24, 1813. 
 
 Though I don't hear from you, which indeed I 
 don't deserve to do, I read the extracts they publish 
 of your despatches with great pleasure, both on 
 account of the matter and of the manner. They are, 
 in my judgment at least, exactly what they should 
 be; and Lord Harrowby tells me that what does not 
 meet the public eye is equally well written. I hear, 
 too, that you are extremely liked at the Imperial 
 Court, in short that you are a very model of an 
 Ambassador. This is no more than I expected; still 
 it gives me the most sincere pleasure to see you 
 filling so great and conspicuous a station with the 
 approbation of all the world. 
 
 One is quite overwhelmed by the magnitude of the 
 events you have lately witnessed. In your place I 
 should die of hunger and fatigue, for I should be 
 unable to eat, drink, or sleep in such a succession of 
 delightful wonders; and then comes the counter- 
 revolution in Holland to crown all. With union and 
 perseverance on the part of the Allies (and I trust 
 there is no doubt as to either), Europe will in a few 
 months be free. Italy, Switzerland and the Nether- 
 lands remain to the tyrant : but Italy seems going, 
 and I trust that the Low Countries and the Cantons 
 will soon follow. When it is a question of treating 
 for peace, I do earnestly hope that France will be 
 required to abandon not only her conquests but her 
 plunder. I mean that part of it which consists in 
 the monuments of the fine arts. The removal of 
 them from their birthplace was at once the most
 
 170 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 infamous robbery and the most cruel insult. Their 
 restoration would not only be a magnificent and 
 gratifying instance of public justice, but contribute, 
 perhaps, more than any single thing to prevent the 
 French from instantly taking upon themselves that 
 metropolitan air which was so long and so foolishly 
 acquiesced under by the rest of Europe, and which is 
 well known to have contributed so much to the 
 extension of their dominions. I promised to write to 
 you from Bowood, and, as is usual with me in such 
 cases, failed of my promise. The truth is, that I can 
 hardly bring myself to imagine how the scenes at 
 which you are present should not destroy all interest 
 in what passes here, and without supposing any want 
 of feeling in you. Indeed, I am sure that nothing 
 can prevent you from being anxious as to the health 
 and welfare of your friends, but as to the ordinary 
 topics of correspondence, our riding, and walking, 
 and talking, and dining, and writing; these must 
 seem quite ridiculous. You will feel for a long time 
 as Gulliver did after his trip to Brobdingnag. 
 
 I had a very pleasant ten days with Lord Lans- 
 downe. He lives, as you might imagine, handsomely 
 and sensibly. The place, too, is fine, though the old 
 timber has been cut down. He is stout, and cheerful 
 in his own quiet way. He has a constant succession 
 of pleasant company at his house, and they say 
 his wealth is quite enormous. In short, except His 
 Majesty's Ambassador to the Imperial Court, I take 
 him to be the most heart-breaking individual to 
 Rogers now in the world. When I was there 
 Rogers himself Mackintosh Romilly Dumont and 
 Madame de Stael of course great literary and philo- 
 sophical discussions, but very gay and pleasant. 
 Dumont, who is the champion of the utilite against 
 the sublime principles of morals that Madame de Stael
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 171 
 
 is more desirous to introduce than ready to explain, 
 and who is a lively as well as a clever man, made 
 excellent sport with her in half-serious argument. 
 Your countryman, Sir James, prudently endeavoured 
 to keep well with both. By-the-bye, I don't think 
 you saw a great deal of Mackintosh before you 
 went. I cannot say how much I am delighted with 
 him, or how much I grieve at his hard lot. He 
 brought back from India the usual liver complaint 
 without the usual wealth. His income is very 
 confined, and his constitution has sustained so severe 
 a shock that I fear there is very little chance 
 indeed of his being able to complete the great work 
 he meditates on the history of this country. Some 
 less extensive designs he may, perhaps, execute. He 
 has, I understand, a " Dialogue upon Eloquence " 
 three parts finished, of which those to whom he has 
 read it speak very highly, and the next number of 
 the " Edinburgh Review " is to contain a very long 
 paper upon Burke, which I am most anxious to see. 
 
 We are threatened with several new books. All 
 the ladies take the field the same year. We have 
 had Madame de Stael, and we are to have Madame 
 d'Arblay and Miss Edgeworth. In the way of meta- 
 physics we are to have a ponderous quarto from 
 Dugald. Lord Byron, too, hardly a month after he 
 had done adding to The Giaour, has come out with 
 an entire new poem, The Bride of Abydos. It contains 
 some very fine passages, but I doubt whether it will 
 have such brilliant success as The Giaour. Talking 
 of the noble author puts me in mind that we have 
 made a sort of engagement to go over to Holland 
 together as soon as the ports are open, which will 
 probably be in a few days. The Continent is now 
 brought so near us that it would be a sin to miss the 
 opportunity of taking a look at some part of it. I
 
 172 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 should like to proceed to Germany, but I am not sure 
 that I shall be able to stay long enough. However, I 
 rather flatter myself I shall. I am very eager for 
 this excursion. If we see nothing but Holland, it 
 will be amazingly well worth while, and when we are 
 there we are on the high-road to everything, quite 
 ready to avail ourselves of the chapter of accidents. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LORD HARROWBY 
 
 Frankfort, Dec. 6, 1813. 
 
 DEAR LORD HARROWBY, 
 
 I cannot allow our friend Pozzo di Borgo to 
 depart without giving you some intelligence of myself; 
 always supposing that this will not be entirely un- 
 interesting to you. My desire to return to England 
 augments daily, and I had nearly resolved to go with 
 Pozzo. I thought it right on reflection to wait for a 
 letter from Castlereagh. Personally I have nothing 
 to complain of; on the contrary the Emperors are 
 equally kind to me. I believe I enjoy the confidence 
 of both their Ministers in a very considerable degree. 
 Nesselrode is a very honest man of moderate abilities, 
 but he is in fact Minister. The Emperor governs 
 entirely. My opinion of Metternich may probably 
 have excited some surprise and have been received 
 with incredulity, but I have endeavoured to judge 
 fairly and not to deceive myself. Metternich is a 
 politician, and a foreign politician; you therefore 
 know my opinion of the metier, but I really can 
 discover no just ground for thinking him worse than 
 his neighbours. Let me judge by facts and not by 
 professions. I have obtained from him everything 
 for which I have asked, with the exception of com- 
 mercial advantages, which, however, with respect to 
 Colonial produce, are less necessary in Austria than 
 elsewhere. Your friends the Russians have not done
 
 173 
 
 near so much, and I much fear this mission, which of 
 all other events is the most important, is due to none 
 of us, unless it is to you. By the way, I cannot too 
 much praise the foresight and promptitude of Govern- 
 ment, in all that you have done. If you are just and 
 moderate the whole may be brought to a happy 
 issue. 
 
 Notwithstanding the multitude of Kings and Princes 
 we have here, the town is dull. A few men who 
 are conspicuous of talent and acquirements ^afford 
 agreeable society, but the time is chiefly taken up 
 with ceremony and parade. I live a good deal with 
 Stewart, who is a most amiable person, and possesses 
 good talents. He is a little quick, and, like me, has 
 not been much accustomed to his trade. We do 
 admirably well together. 
 
 ABERDEEN. 
 
 Freiburg, Dec. 24, 1813. 
 
 MY DEAK LORD HARROWBY, 
 
 The question now is about my future plans. 
 I had written to Castlereagh to state my intention 
 of going home immediately, but I determined after- 
 wards to wait a short time longer. 
 
 It is a little hard after so very explicit an under- 
 standing as I had with Castlereagh before leaving 
 London, that I should be blamed for profiting by 
 that understanding. It is possible that my going 
 may be an inconvenience, but really I never imagined 
 that it was necessary for me to remain until it should 
 be perfectly indifferent whether I went or not. 
 
 There was one only motive of sufficient importance 
 to induce me to remain, which was the conduct 
 of the negotiation, whenever it should be entered 
 into with Bonaparte. As I was informed both by 
 Metternich and Nesselrode that they had expressed 
 a wish I should be charged with this affair, it appeared
 
 174 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 probable that such a joint application might be 
 worth attending to, at any rate, if not, it became 
 doubly incumbent on me to go home when so very 
 different an opinion was entertained by the two 
 leading Powers here and my own Government. 
 
 I confess that the importance of the charge and 
 a kind of feeling that I should act well with those 
 employed in the great work of negotiation led me 
 to desire, even ardently, that after having in 
 appearance played a second part through the war, 
 I should at least possess a prominent situation before 
 the conclusion of peace, if ever it should take place. 
 Castlercagh knew this long since; but the question 
 is very much changed now. Private reasons make 
 me much more indifferent to anything of this kind, 
 and proportionately anxious to go home. To you, 
 who know how small a share of my mind is occupied 
 by political events of any description, I may confess 
 that the alarming account of Lady Maria's health 
 is a motive of action stronger than all others. If it 
 be true that she is not destined to survive more than 
 a few months, I solemnly declare to you that I had 
 rather be the means of contributing to her happiness 
 and tranquillity during the dreadful time than 
 preserve the crown on the Emperor's head. 
 
 For God's sake lay aside your character of 
 Minister. As my friend, recollect what I have 
 enjoyed and what I have suffered. See the person 
 nearest in blood, worthy in every respect to be the 
 sister of the most perfect being whom God in his 
 power ever created see her reduced to the state 
 in which she is, and then, following the dictates 
 of your own heart, tell me what on earth can stand 
 in competition with her claims on my love and 
 attention. I know she desires to see me again; 
 and I am sure you are not the person to blame me
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 175 
 
 for listening to such a call, for I am sure you can 
 appreciate it. I have only within these two days 
 known the real situation, and have not before felt 
 thus strongly, although always desirous of going 
 home. As I have expressed myself decidedly on 
 the subject of negotiation, and as a delay might be 
 most pernicious, in the event of Castlereagh's demand- 
 ing my services they shall still be given; but there 
 can be no possible reason for my continuing the 
 routine of business at this Court if there should be 
 no such reason to detain me; especially when there 
 are others to hasten my departure besides that 
 which is all powerful. 
 
 If a time of peace should be restored, I do not 
 think there would be much difficulty in arranging 
 in a satisfactory manner the subject on which you 
 last wrote. It is only a few months since Metternich 
 has obtained so decided a command in the Austrian 
 councils. His views on the commercial question on 
 which you insist are liberal and enlightened, and 
 it is his intention to place this matter on a new 
 footing whenever the urgent occupation of the 
 moment will permit it. 
 
 I have nothing to say of public affairs, but I 
 know you do not view a beautiful country without 
 interest, and perhaps may be as well pleased to hear 
 something of the appearance of the Black Forest 
 as of the caps and gaiters of the Hungarian grenadiers. 
 It is impossible for you to imagine anything more 
 beautiful than the neighbourhood of this town. 
 We are on the skirts of the Forest, which is magnifi- 
 cent. ... I look on Swabia as the very cradle of 
 Germany. It is here that the Ghibellines and 
 Guelphs took their origin; it is here that celebrated 
 and unfortunate family extinguished by Charles of 
 Anjou long reigned; here were the early possessions
 
 176 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 of the House of Hapsburg, and here is still the 
 castle, inhabited formerly by the remote ancestors of 
 the Prussian family. 
 
 My brother tells me you see a good deal of 
 Madame de Stael. Of course you have read her 
 Allemagne. I think she describes the Germans well. 
 They are a good people, and although it appears to 
 me that she has exaggerated their qualities, on the 
 whole her description is sufficiently accurate. There 
 is a good deal of her book I scarcely understand, 
 for although I am something of a metaphysician 
 myself, she sometimes soars above me. 
 
 Jan. 17, 1814. 
 
 MY DEAR LORD HARROWBY, 
 
 It has given me most sincere pleasure to find 
 that Lord Castlereagh is himself coming to Head- 
 quarters; independently of the great public benefits 
 to be derived from it, I have an individual satis- 
 faction, because it enables me to remain long enough 
 to be of some use to him in whatever he may under- 
 take connected with the interests of Austria. This 
 Power, having wisely during the contest sacrificed 
 everything to the grand object in view, is now coming 
 more forward every hour. 
 
 I have now determined not to do the thing by halves, 
 but to stay as long as I can be of use to Castlereagh. 
 
 Against the enemy everything goes on well. 
 You will see by the official details how we are 
 situated. All enthusiasm in France is extinct, and 
 to every useful purpose French preponderance is 
 overthrown. But the maddest projects are abroad 
 which if persevered in may restore France, and ruin 
 ourselves. What do you think of the Emperor of 
 Russia having gone yesterday morning to the King 
 of Prussia before he left this town, and told him that 
 he should not halt before he got to Paris and had
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 177 
 
 proclaimed Bernadotte Emperor of France? The 
 King was petrified with astonishment, but asked 
 him if he had not better wait for Castlereagh's 
 arrival, who was expected daily. The Emperor said 
 that he went on purpose to avoid him. This is 
 almost incredible, but it is true. I have known this 
 intrigue between the Emperor and Prince Royal for 
 some time, but as Castlereagh was to arrive so soon 
 I have not yet detailed it to him. 
 
 The motives of this transaction are clear enough 
 Metternich has discussed the plan, and he told me 
 that although the Emperor of Austria would never 
 give the least opposition to the restoration of the 
 Bourbons if they were demanded by the people of 
 France, he would fight as long as he had a man left 
 to prevent his daughter from being turned adrift 
 in order to make way for Madame Bernadotte. 
 
 If this state of things should continue, you see 
 to what it must lead us. The arrival of Castlereagh 
 is therefore most ardently to be desired; indeed 
 there are many questions of a most difficult nature 
 which the tone assumed by the British Government 
 will go far to decide. You may mention this if you 
 please to Liverpool and Bathurst, but for the present 
 perhaps it should go no further. 
 
 Basle, Jan. 21, 1814. 
 
 I read your letter with great pleasure, especially 
 your philippic on the stupidity of the Allies for 
 observing the neutrality of Switzerland. It has been 
 a question of extreme difficulty, and, situated as 
 things were, the resolution adopted was highly 
 creditable to the energy of the Austrian Government. 
 The matter is still in dispute. The settlement of 
 Switzerland is as difficult as that of the whole of 
 Europe especially when the Jacobin or Mediation 
 Party has so powerful a position. . . . 
 
 VOL. I N
 
 178 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 I begin to suspect that the only way to be fully 
 approved of at home, is to live in a state of constant 
 jealousy and doubt with those with whom one has 
 to deal abroad. At the same time I must say that 
 the only real satisfaction that I have experienced 
 since leaving England has been from the goodwill of 
 the Emperor and the principal persons with whom 
 I have had to act. 
 
 With respect to the system of preference, I have 
 to say a few words. It is only with reference to the 
 common cause that I consider the policy of Govern- 
 ment as objectionable, at least to the extent to which 
 it is carried. Austria and Russia are equally in- 
 different to me; but I only mean to observe that if 
 you carry the system too far you may have reason 
 to repent it, because the power is at the present 
 moment lodged with one of these States only. 
 
 This preference, which is said not to exist, but 
 which is shown by a thousand nameless, indescribable 
 circumstances, tends more or less to produce an 
 unpleasant feeling where it is most to be avoided. 
 It is entirely with a view to the union and efficacy 
 of the whole confederacy that I press this. If States 
 are governed with little wisdom, they are influenced 
 also by little motives, and the Chancellor might 
 have added this to his observation. It is therefore 
 to avoid an impulse being given to the principal 
 member of the Alliance by these slight causes which 
 might be fatal that I blame your policy. 
 
 Do not imagine that I wish for any essential 
 change; far from it. You are much the best judge 
 of the general policy of Great Britain at the present 
 moment; but I pretend that without sacrificing 
 anything you may do all that is necessary by a little 
 more care and attention. If you ask me what I 
 mean by talking of the want of it, I will tell you of
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 179 
 
 one instance among a hundred, of a slight neglect 
 which produced a considerable effect. It was a 
 paragraph in the Prince's speech in which the acces- 
 sion of Austria and Bavaria was lumped in the same 
 sentence. A Power to whom you avowedly owed 
 the accession of Bavaria, and who felt that they had 
 prevented you from being driven over the Niemen 
 after the defeats of Lutzen and Bautzen, might 
 naturally feel a little hurt at this cavalier language. 
 
 I tell you fairly that the most difficult and 
 incessant labour I have had since I came to the 
 Continent has been to soften these feelings, generally 
 I hope with success, but still they break out as fresh 
 occasion is afforded. 
 
 It is with unmixed pleasure that I look to the 
 state of military transactions everything prospers 
 and there is nothing whatever to prevent us from 
 being at Paris whenever we please. I do not think, 
 however, that we shall ever get there, as I am con- 
 vinced that unless circumstances change very much, 
 Napoleon will agree to any terms. The recent 
 transactions with the French Princes are embarrassing, 
 and if it is intended to press them on the Allies, I 
 fear it will be attended with great difficulty, from the 
 indisposition of Austria and the personal hatred and 
 contempt of the Emperor of Russia. I daresay the 
 accounts you receive of the disposition of the French 
 people are correct, but it appears to me that you 
 draw from them a consequence scarcely warranted if 
 you suppose that the partisans of the Bourbons are 
 active or formidable. On this side it appears that 
 the greatest apathy prevails respecting their ruler, 
 and that they only value him who will give them 
 peace. 
 
 Ever most sincerely yours, 
 
 ABERDEEN.
 
 180 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO LADY MARIA HAMILTON 
 
 Carlsruhe, Dec. 15, 1813. 
 
 It must appear rather extraordinary to you, as 
 it certainly does to me, that while I think of nothing 
 but going to England, and write to you of nothing 
 else, still I am increasing the distance of my journey; 
 and every day adds to the difficulties when I begin 
 to retrace my steps. I am sure, my dearest Lady 
 M., you will only think that all this augments the 
 irksomeness of my situation, and will not the less 
 believe my wishes to be sincere. The fact is that I 
 must wait for despatches from Castlereagh; and 
 while I am here, it is as well to be placed where the 
 duty can be best done. However, I confidently 
 trust it will soon be over, and that I shall still be 
 able to join you by the end of next month. 
 
 We are now on the road to Switzerland; we shall 
 take up our quarters at Freyburg, or some place in 
 the neighbourhood, where we may be conveniently 
 situated for negotiations with the Swiss, without 
 violating their neutrality. 
 
 I left Frankfort the day before yesterday, and 
 went to Darmstadt. I was lodged in a country 
 house about a mile from the town, which put me in 
 mind of the Priory; not that it was very like it, 
 but it was a large mass of building of the same colour, 
 and something in the same style; the country, too, 
 although more level, was not unlike; but after all, 
 a very slight indication is sufficient for me on those 
 occasions. 
 
 Darmstadt is a very pretty town, regular and well 
 built. From thence I came last night to Heidelberg, 
 through the most delightful country it is possible to 
 imagine. The road was directed along the foot of 
 a range of hills, not high, but varied in form, and
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 181 
 
 beautifully scattered over with woods, vineyards, 
 villages and gardens. 
 
 On every eminence where there ought to be a 
 castle, we always observed a ruin of some kind, not 
 often, it is true, large, or even picturesque, but 
 invariably so well placed as to add a great interest 
 to the scene. To the right of the road the plain 
 extended to the Rhine, fertile, well cultivated, and 
 adorned with villages and woods. The road itself 
 was a continued avenue of magnificent walnut trees. 
 The whole of this lasted for about forty miles. I do 
 not think that I ever saw anything in Italy which 
 united so much of beauty and fertility, a luxuriant 
 vegetation, and an endless variety of feature. The 
 timber is certainly finer than in the more southern 
 countries. 
 
 When I say that the castles are not large, or even 
 picturesque, I must except that of Heidelberg, which 
 is both, in an eminent degree. It is in the best state 
 in which a ruin can be found. Magnificent from its 
 preservation, and beautiful from its destruction, I 
 am not sure if I do not prefer it to anything of the 
 kind I ever saw. The situation is very grand, the 
 distant views are perfect compositions of their kind, 
 and the details of old gardens, terraces and fountains 
 give quite an air of enchantment to the place. I 
 obtained some engravings in the town, which may 
 serve to give you a very imperfect notion of the 
 building. I have said so much of the castle, that 
 I had almost forgotten to mention the wonder of 
 which everyone speaks, viz. the great tun in one of 
 the cellars. Although I defy you to conceive any- 
 thing like the castle, you may well imagine a barrel 
 able to contain 200,000 bottles of wine, and so I say 
 no more of it. 
 
 I am come to-day to this town, through a very
 
 182 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 beautiful and well- cultivated country, but not equal 
 to the Bergstrasse, through which we passed yester- 
 day. The road, which is very good, is still an avenue 
 of walnut trees, until about three miles from the 
 town ; from which spot to the great gate is an avenue 
 of the most enormous Lombardy poplars I ever saw. 
 The effect is singular and rather handsome. This 
 town is like an immense toy; the palace is a central 
 point, from which the streets diverge like the sticks 
 of a fan. It is a town such as children would build, 
 if they had the means. As it is clean, and the streets 
 wide, it has a pleasant appearance, but the uniformity 
 is fatiguing. The Grand Duke is much liked, and 
 the Grand Duchess also is popular. She is handsome 
 a niece of Josephine. 
 
 There is a finer race in these parts; the young 
 men are well looking, and the women, if very young, 
 not amiss. Some of the old men are strange monsters, 
 with a sort of settled contortion of visage, looking as 
 if their pipes grew in their mouths. 
 
 I like the Germans better on acquaintance. They 
 are a good people. The Emperor is as good a man 
 as any in his dominions, in all the essentials of good- 
 ness; a good husband and father, a man of truth 
 and honour, and, as a Sovereign, benignant and just. 
 But it is not among the conspicuous persons of the 
 Court that I should wish to judge. In the sort of 
 life I have led, it has been my chance to be the guest 
 of all ranks, from the highest to the lowest, one night 
 sleeping in a palace, another in a cottage. I have 
 been generally a forced guest, it is true, and might, 
 therefore, have found the worst side apparent. I 
 have, on the contrary, always been struck with the 
 goodness, the bonhomie, the honesty of all ranks. 
 Madame de Stael describes them well; poetically, 
 but well. I have not yet had time to finish the
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 183 
 
 second volume; but I certainly agree with you as 
 to what she says of their literature, so far as I can 
 understand it; for it is a little rash to pronounce 
 at once, without a knowledge of their language. At 
 the same time, I have always understood that German 
 and English were easily convertible, and that our 
 respective translations enable us pretty accurately to 
 judge of each other. It is clear, however, that 
 Madame de Stael does not enter fully into the spirit 
 of English composition, nor can she understand it. 
 But is not this the case with all nations? There is 
 a degree of intimate knowledge which a stranger 
 never can attain to. Besides which, there is a 
 national feeling, a sort of attachment, which you may 
 call prejudice, but which, even in this case is, perhaps, 
 a virtue, by which we are rendered partial judges. 
 It is like a face which is dear to us; when we know 
 and love the mind, we cannot bear the frigid criticisms 
 of a stranger on the features by which it is exhibited. 
 I by no means deny the justice of her general remarks 
 on English literature; but to tell you the truth, I 
 take the liberty of receiving all criticisms of this 
 sort with great indifference. To feel strongly, to 
 enjoy fully what appear to me beauties, is the first 
 point, to make others feel and enjoy them too 
 augments the pleasure twofold, provided they are 
 persons whose sensations are worthy of exciting 
 interest. But I must have done for to-night; all 
 this I could have told you just as well at home. 
 
 Freyburg, Dec. 18. 
 
 The day before yesterday I went to Rastadt, 
 yesterday to Offenburg, through a fertile but unin- 
 teresting country. At Offenburg we came to the 
 edge of the Black Forest; we have skirted it all 
 to-day. This town is situated at the entrance of a
 
 184 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 gorge leading into the forest, and is backed by fine 
 hills covered with wood. I have long wished to see 
 the Black Forest, I have always heard much of its 
 picturesque beauty. ... It seems very beautiful, but 
 I shall explore it well while we remain here. I am 
 glad to see that there is a fair proportion of fine oak 
 and beech wood, and that it is not only the eternal 
 Scotch or spruce fir. The hills are rocky, and plenty 
 of torrents, so I shall have employment for some 
 days. I even think of going as far as Schaffhausen 
 to see the falls of the Rhine; it is not more than 
 forty miles distant. 
 
 I hope I do not tire you by writing of nothing but 
 the appearance of the country and beautiful scenery. 
 We are old fellow-travellers, and you know there is 
 nothing which at all times has so benignant an 
 influence over me as the enjoyment of nature. It is 
 so pure and unmixed, it is so perfectly w r ithin our 
 power at all times, and in all places, and it is so 
 intense, that I think those persons who do not possess 
 it are much to be pitied. They have a sense the less. 
 
 I hope the next messenger will bring me my release. 
 I am very much inclined to agree with Lord A. in 
 the view which he takes of the subject. I have no 
 doubt Ministers will wish me to stay; and I shall 
 have a real difficulty in leaving my Austrian friends, 
 who will do everything to detain me but they shall 
 not prevail. Metternich tried to influence me the 
 other day by declaring that the Emperor would not 
 receive another Ambassador. I have more reason 
 than ever to be satisfied with the kindness and 
 attention of the Emperor and the principal persons 
 here; but however gratifying it is to me, and how- 
 ever irresistible it might be to others, you know very 
 well how little effect it will have in detaining me when 
 once I think it possible to begin my journey.
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 185 
 
 Farewell, dearest Lady Maria; I will not suppose 
 it possible that I should be out of England by the 
 end of next month. Take care of yourself, and for 
 God's sake exert yourself as much as possible not to 
 increase that state of nervous irritability from which 
 you suffer so much. 
 
 It will have been seen by Lord Aberdeen's corre- 
 spondence that there had been considerable uncer- 
 tainty as to the number and position of the negotiators 
 on the part of Great Britain, at the Conference 
 for peace to be held at Chatillon. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh, finding that neither Prince 
 Metternich nor Count Nesselrode proposed to act 
 themselves as negotiators, decided that he himself 
 would not take that position. His first intention 
 was to employ Lord Aberdeen alone as the British 
 Plenipotentiary. When this became known to Lord 
 Cathcart and Sir Charles Stewart, and, moreover, 
 that Lord Aberdeen attended meetings of the Ministers 
 of the four Powers, from which they were excluded, 
 their discontent was expressed in so violent a manner 
 that Lord Castlereagh was obliged to give up the 
 idea and to effect a compromise, which as usual was 
 unsatisfactory to all parties concerned. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh begged Lord Aberdeen, while 
 himself remaining the " sole efficient person " to 
 make all reports and be the sole mouthpiece and 
 generally the negotiator, to consent that Lord 
 Cathcart and Sir Charles Stewart should act along 
 with him as assistants in a sort of Cabinet. Lord 
 Castlereagh told Lord Aberdeen that, although one 
 of the disappointed negotiators was his own brother, 
 he should have thought nothing of their dissatis- 
 faction, had it not been for the opportunity of serious 
 mischief which might be given by the insinuation 
 that the appointment of the Ambassador to Austria 
 as English Plenipotentiary showed a disposition to 
 disregard the interests of Russia and Prussia, and he 
 begged Lord Aberdeen, in language of the most
 
 186 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 earnest entreaty, to agree to an arrangement which 
 he felt he could not require, and could hardly expect 
 him to accept. 
 
 His compliance with Lord Castlereagh's wishes was 
 not approved by many of his friends, and Lord 
 Abercorn was most characteristically vehement in 
 his expressions of disapproval. The particular line 
 of criticism which he took, that Lord Cathcart and 
 his extensive connections would arrogate all the 
 praise, and that if unpopularity was incurred Lord 
 Aberdeen would be involved in it, did not in any 
 great degree disturb Lord Aberdeen in his decision 
 to accept arrangements which would make his work 
 as negotiator more troublesome than had he been 
 the sole spokesman for his Government. What most 
 concerned him, and what his clear insight obliged 
 him to see, was the fact that peace was not likely 
 to be the outcome of the Conference. 
 
 The negotiators arrived at Chatillon on the 3rd 
 February, 1814, and almost immediately held their 
 first conference with the Duke of Vicenza. This 
 meeting was chiefly occupied by matters of form, but 
 at it Caulaincourt showed an unexpected readiness 
 to meet the wishes of the Allies. This readiness of 
 Caulaincourt was due to the fact that after the 
 battle of La Rothiere, Napoleon had given him carte 
 blanche to sign any agreement which would avert 
 the advance of the Allies. Sincerely desirous of 
 peace himself, Caulaincourt was most anxious to 
 conclude an arrangement before these full powers 
 could be recalled. 
 
 FROM LORD ABERDEEN 
 
 Paris, May 15, 1814. 
 
 DEAR LORD HARROWBY, 
 
 At last there appears to be a reasonable 
 prospect of our speedy departure. Robinson, who 
 will take this letter, carries over the draft of the 
 Treaty. I hope your deliberations will be prompt.
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 187 
 
 I cannot imagine why Castlereagh wished so much 
 that we should be united with him in this business. 
 It can be of no use to him, and is not very agreeable 
 to us, however, as he insisted, my stay was in 
 consequence prolonged. 
 
 Of course you will hear from Castlereagh of the 
 unreasonable conduct of the French Government. 
 The difficulty of treating with them is as great as 
 with Bonaparte. The Marshals into whose hands the 
 King has unfortunately very much placed his interests 
 give him the worst advice. The most absurd language 
 has been held. National honour resistance, war 
 has even been threatened. The Due de Berry is, I 
 believe, at the head of all this nonsense. It has been 
 resolved to adopt a new tone in our proceedings with 
 the French Government; which I have no doubt will 
 bring them to their senses. Probably no real difficulty 
 will be found in bringing the matter to a conclusion. 
 
 I think Castlereagh understands the Imperial Philo- 
 sopher very well, and among the great qualities of 
 Lord Wellington I cannot but admire the penetra- 
 tion which led him at once to detect the falsehood 
 and duplicity of his character. Before Lord Welling- 
 ton left Paris he said to me, " Of all the persons I 
 have seen I like your Austrians much the best." 
 You may believe I do not quarrel with him for this, 
 I am sorry that the Emperor of Austria will not go 
 to England, because, as my only desire is that every- 
 one should be really known, I feel confident that he 
 would leave a favourable impression. 
 
 At the same time, knowing as he does the feelings 
 which prevail in England, I am not surprised that 
 he should decline the risk of mortification incom- 
 patible with the dignity of his situation. 
 
 He will send Metternich to make his excuses, 
 and will return to Vienna himself. As for your
 
 188 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 friend the Crown Prince (Bernadotte), he has made a 
 poor figure here as elsewhere. You must have had 
 a difficult task the other night in the House of Lords, 
 at least so far as he was concerned. 
 
 The meagre reports of the newspapers do not 
 enable me to learn much of what passed on that 
 occasion. His admirer, Madame de Stael, arrived 
 the day before yesterday; I have not yet seen her, 
 but suppose she will be at Talleyrand's to-night. Her 
 presence where there is so much room for criticism 
 appears to be generally feared and the terrors of 
 the poor Princess of Benevente are very comical. 
 I propose to see a good deal of her; indeed she will 
 be very attractive compared with the stupid society 
 of this place. I am wrong in talking of society ; it 
 can scarcely be said to exist, at least for strangers. 
 Talleyrand's house is open every night ; the possessor 
 is well worth knowing and some clever men are to 
 be met with. For the rest, Lady Castlereagh's 
 suppers after the play might just as well be in St. 
 James's Square, except that they are attended here 
 by Englishmen of a worse description, and scarcely 
 by any women at all. 
 
 You ask what I think and guess of the present 
 state of things here. The first feeling indisputably 
 is increased contempt and aversion for this despic- 
 able crowd. Their baseness is only equalled by their 
 arrogance, which, notwithstanding their degradation, 
 is still unabated. 
 
 With respect to the Bourbons, there is little en- 
 thusiasm among any class. In the army, as you 
 suspect, it is still worse. The King flatters the 
 Marshals, who possibly may be sincere in their attach- 
 ment ; but the troops, who are not aware of any great 
 political advantages which they have gained, have 
 not sufficient philosophy to enable them at once to
 
 FRANKFORT TO CHATILLON (1814) 189 
 
 forget their old leader. So many years of conquest 
 and glory are not to be forgotten even by the prospect 
 of tranquillity, which, after all, is not a state much 
 coveted by a soldier so long as he is capable of 
 activity. I think there is a great probability of 
 protracted troubles in France, which possibly is the 
 best security for the peace of her neighbours. I am 
 sorry for the difficulties of the Government and 
 personally for the King; but the great mass of the 
 nation can do nothing better than destroy each other. 
 
 You will be surprised at my rancour, but you 
 must see this vile people in their present state before 
 you can comprehend that the feeling is natural. 
 
 Perhaps in the summer you will think of coming 
 here to look at the fine things collected by Napoleon. 
 The increase of magnificence since the Peace of 
 Amiens is prodigious. I have been strenuous in 
 recommending the preservation here of the pictures 
 and statues, principally as a lover of art, for they 
 would infallibly be destroyed by a journey into 
 Italy. They have many of them suffered much in 
 being transported here, although done with the 
 greatest care and expense which a great Empire 
 could bestow, but I hope the question is decided. 
 
 I am sure their surrender would do more to 
 discredit the French Government than anything in 
 the world. The cession of the Netherlands and Ant- 
 werp is not felt as such a national disgrace as the 
 surrender of these trophies would be. 
 
 The name of the Bourbons would be inseparably 
 connected with this last degree of humiliation. You 
 will think me zealous, but at present I am a little 
 interested in their preservation, for when not engaged 
 at a conference, my time is almost entirely spent in 
 the Louvre. Were it not for the inexhaustible stores 
 of Art collected here, Paris would be intolerable.
 
 190 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's correspondence from Paris, where 
 he had accompanied the armies, has not been pre- 
 served, or more probably he wrote less than when 
 he was the principal negotiator. Lord Castlereagh 
 was himself present, and Lord Aberdeen took a 
 subordinate but not unimportant part in the 
 negotiations. He was anxious to return to England, 
 but Lord Castlereagh prevailed, and kept him in 
 Paris till the Treaty was signed. Immediately after 
 the signature of the Treaty Lord Aberdeen started 
 for England, taking the Treaty with him in his 
 carriage. He arrived in London on the 31st May, 
 1814. Argyll House was not ready for his reception, 
 and, going to Lord Harrowby's house in Grosvenor 
 Square, he learnt that a fresh misfortune had befallen 
 the Aberdeen family in the death of Lord Hamilton, 
 who passed away the morning of the day in which 
 Lord Aberdeen returned after his prolonged absence 
 on the Continent.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 
 
 " It's hame, and it's hame, and it's hame we fain would be, 
 Though the cloud is in the lift, and the wind is on the lee ; 
 For the sun through the mirk blinks blithe on mine ee, 
 Says, ' I'll shine on ye yet in your ain countrie ! ' ' 
 
 The Fortunes of Nigel. 
 
 THE death of Lord Hamilton, Lord Aberdeen's 
 brother-in-law, was attended with consequences of 
 the utmost importance to him. He had begun to 
 contemplate a second marriage, desiring to have a 
 direct heir, and also feeling the need of a mother's 
 care for his infant daughters. 
 
 He had fixed his hopes in a quarter where the 
 Tory influences with which he was surrounded were 
 not propitious to his aspirations. His chief confidante 
 in this matter had been Lady Maria Hamilton, and 
 during his absence he had corresponded with her and 
 the relatives of the lady. Lady Maria had died in 
 the spring before his return, and the difficulties in 
 the way of this marriage were made to appear insuper- 
 able. Another influence now made itself felt. Lord 
 Abercorn, Lord Stanmore says, brought to bear the 
 whole force of " his imperious nature," and he 
 determined to arrange a marriage between Lord 
 Aberdeen and the widow of Lord Hamilton. Lord 
 Abercorn's infant grandsons were without a father, 
 and the children of his much-beloved daughter were 
 bereaved of a mother. Lord Aberdeen was con- 
 vinced that Lady Hamilton entertained for him a 
 strong and sincere affection, and he yielded himself 
 to a situation which had its difficulties and per- 
 plexities. On the 15th July, 1815, Lord Aberdeen 
 and Lady Hamilton were married at the Priory. 
 
 191
 
 192 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Of this union, their son writes : " With her he lived 
 happily for eighteen years. Though strikingly hand- 
 some, the new Lady Aberdeen had not the dazzling 
 beauty of her predecessor, nor was she her intellectual 
 equal; but her devotion to her husband was un- 
 bounded, and each year as it passed saw them united 
 in closer bonds of tranquil affection and mutual 
 esteem. A son was born to them in 1816, and 
 another the following year." 
 
 But it would not be in accord with true biographical 
 portraiture to ignore or gloss over the fact that the 
 second marriage was in some aspects a contrast to 
 the unclouded happiness of the first. 
 
 The existence of stepchildren must surely almost 
 always form a test, in regard to the liability of the 
 intrusion of jealousy; and it does not appear that 
 the second Lady Aberdeen was markedly free from 
 this very common failing ; and of course this tendency 
 is the more likely to arise when, as in the case in point, 
 any of the children become, owing to ill health or 
 other causes, the object of exceptional solicitude on 
 the part of their own parents. 
 
 It must not be inferred from what has been said 
 that there is the slightest reason to suppose that 
 there was any lack, on Lord Aberdeen's part, as a 
 husband; for his letters show that, when there was 
 occasion for expostulation, this was given with due 
 tenderness and affection. And when the fatal disease 
 developed which was to carry off all his three cherished 
 children, no mother could have been more solicitous 
 than Lady Aberdeen. 
 
 There was another hindrance, though perhaps of 
 a subsidiary sort, which interfered with the full 
 harmony of the union. Although, in his early years, 
 Lord Aberdeen had spoken disparagingly of his 
 Scottish patrimony, any feeling of that sort (and 
 probably it was never very deep) very soon gave 
 way to something entirely different, namely, keen 
 appreciation and enjoyment of the place and its 
 surroundings; in short, there was a rapid and
 
 From H.fi.'s Political Sketches, 1842. 
 
 " A CABINET PUDDING." 
 
 Persons represented (from left to right) : Lord Palmerston, Lord Melbourne. Lord Hadington, 
 Lord Ripon, Lord Warnclilte, Lord Stanley, Lord Aberdeen. Sir James Graham, Duke of 
 Wellington, Sir Kobert Peel. 
 
 From H.B.'s Political Sketches, 1S43. 
 
 " SOME OF THE INS AND OUTS OF THIS WORLD." 
 
 Persons represented (from left to right): Sir Robert Peel, Lord Aberdeen, Lord 
 Lyndhurst, Lord Morpeth, Lord Melbourne, Lord Palmerston, Lord John Russell.
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 193 
 
 increasing development in the feeling of interest, 
 and even affection, which usually arises from oppor- 
 tunities of exercising on an extensive scale the 
 creative instinct involved in the fascinating pursuit 
 of landscape-gardening, especially when the designer 
 of such operations is enabled to observe and enjoy 
 the successful fruition of his plans and efforts. Such 
 certainly was the case with Lord Aberdeen; and 
 the gift of discrimination, taste and prevision, dis- 
 played by him in this pursuit, resulted in a fondness 
 for Haddo House and its surroundings that became 
 a prominent feature in his life. 
 
 Unfortunately, the second Lady Aberdeen does not 
 seem to have been able to enter very fully into this 
 feature. Of course allowance must be made for the 
 drawback which in the period referred to existed, 
 especially for one in delicate health, with regard 
 to the long and fatiguing journey from London to 
 Aberdeenshire ; and, moreover, although she belonged 
 to a Scottish family, all her early associations seem 
 to have been connected with England rather than 
 with Scotland. 
 
 On Lord Aberdeen's return from his Embassy, 
 and after his marriage, he was for several years 
 chiefly occupied with the affairs of his family and 
 estates. He had remade a home for his children 
 and for himself; domestic happiness was what he 
 always sought as the mainspring of all active life 
 and endeavour. While abroad he had corresponded 
 with Lady Jane, his eldest daughter. The letters 
 are full of longing to return to the children of his 
 first love, and he frequently asks them to keep him 
 in their remembrance and not to forget their affection 
 for him. Too soon in all three of them appeared 
 the tragic signs of the fatal disease which was to 
 remove them in earliest youth from the sight of his 
 eyes and from the foreboding care with which he 
 surrounded them. It is painful in the light of to-day 
 to read of the wasting fevers, and the severe remedies 
 with which they were met. In one letter instructions 
 
 VOL. I O
 
 194 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 are given to paste up all the windows in Argyll 
 House so that no breath of air could enter, and all 
 that might have countered the fatal tendency was, 
 in the medical science of the time, rigidly forbidden. 
 His personal watchful solicitude was ever with them. 
 After the death of Lady Jane, at the age of eighteen, 
 he spent three succeeding winters at Nice with Lady 
 Alice, watching the slow but inevitable decline of 
 the last remaining child of his first marriage. When 
 that blow fell, it seemed as if the light of his eyes 
 had for the second time been taken from him. 
 
 Of these children Sir Uvedale Price wrote to the 
 poet Rogers : 
 
 I shall never forget my having seen a number 
 of children coming out of a house in Grosvenor 
 Square. I was so struck by their beauty that, when 
 they had passed by me, I went up to the porter, 
 who, with the door half open, was following them with 
 his eyes, and asked him whose children they were. 
 "Lord Aberdeen's," he answered, "and there is not 
 a finer family in all Britain." Afterwards I became 
 acquainted with Lord Aberdeen, and was continually 
 at the Priory, and saw these beautiful and amiable 
 children growing up in all their loveliness; but 
 mixed with the colour of youth and beauty was that 
 of disease, with the terrific glory of Homer's Sirius. 
 They dropped off one after another, and of all that 
 sportive group of cherubs that I gazed at with such 
 delight in their infancy, not one remains. 
 
 For some years after Lord Aberdeen's return these 
 troubles, though looming in the future, were not 
 pressing, and he rejoiced in the society of his children 
 and the care of his estates. His detention on the 
 Continent had stimulated his desire to see again his 
 home and country, and it was not long after his 
 marriage that he found himself at Haddo. 
 
 Lord Abercorn's health began to fail, and Lord
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 195 
 
 Aberdeen's correspondence is full of efforts to cheer 
 and alleviate his suffering. He corresponded with 
 him on public affairs, on his trees, and on the books 
 of that date. 
 
 During this period he was an interested spectator 
 and at times a critic of the Government, but he 
 took no active part till he received the seals of the 
 Foreign Office, in the Duke of Wellington's Govern- 
 ment, in 1828. 
 
 Lord Castlereagh had wished Lord Aberdeen to 
 retain his Embassy, and to return to Germany as 
 one of the plenipotentiaries at the Congress of Vienna. 
 This he declined to do. He offered to go to Vienna 
 for the purpose of investing the Emperor with the 
 Order of the Garter, but not as a negotiator. Know- 
 ing that Lord Castlereagh and the Duke of Wellington 
 were both going to be there, his own part would 
 necessarily be a more subordinate one than he cared 
 to undertake, more especially as his views on many 
 points differed very materially from those of Lord 
 Castlereagh. Their friendship remained unbroken, 
 but it was never quite so close and cordial as it 
 had been before 1814. 
 
 He was still treated with confidence, and consulted 
 by Lord Castlereagh, who admitted that Lord Aberdeen 
 had formed a more correct view than his own of the 
 character and aims of the Russian Government. 
 Writing in January 1816, Lord Castlereagh says : 
 
 Jan. 31, 1816. 
 
 I have little of news foreign or domestick. The 
 Emperor has made himself very popular in the 
 Venetian States, and I believe is going on well in 
 Italy. I believe I have more than once mentioned 
 that convulsions may be expected in Prussia, they 
 appear to be approaching. I have heard nothing of 
 the Russians, but the marriage of the Grand Duchess 
 Anne is the master stroke of the Emperor's policy, 
 the effects of which, perhaps, we shall not be long 
 before we feel.
 
 196 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 In the following letters Lord Aberdeen looks at 
 the work of the Allies from an aloof standpoint, and 
 not in agreement with much that was happening. 
 
 Oct. 15, 1814. 
 
 I hope you observe how our friends the Bourbons, 
 for whom we robbed the King of Sardinia, take us 
 to task : according to them we are as bad as Bona- 
 parte himself, or the worst of the Revolutionary 
 assassins. We deserve this. 
 
 Nov. 6, 1814. 
 
 I suppose Parliament will not go into any general 
 business, although it is not always quite so easy to 
 adjourn as to meet. From the Congress, except a 
 letter from a friend, I know little. Some most 
 infamous projects are on foot, which I fear there is 
 little chance of baffling. What is much also to be 
 lamented is the wise, just and moderate language 
 which France has been enabled to assume by the 
 atrocious policy of the Allies on some points. I 
 believe it is probable that Castlereagh will not 
 remain long at Vienna, but that, if necessary, Clan- 
 carty will stay for the end of the Congress. Having 
 once known the principal actors, some of them well, 
 it is difficult to avoid taking some interest, though 
 mine is confined to two or three points. 
 
 Later he writes : "I live in horror of the Arch- 
 dukes coming as far as Aberdeen. My hope is in the 
 advanced state of the season." The Archdukes had 
 probably had enough of the rigours of northern 
 winters, and Lord Aberdeen was not invaded in his 
 fastness. 
 
 Every year his letters deal more with his improve- 
 ments within, and plantations without. The woes of 
 " a planter " are fully detailed ; the young larches that 
 disappoint him, cut by severe frost and horrid disease ; 
 the oak and the ash that make astonishing growth; 
 acre after acre is enclosed and planted. He notes how
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 197 
 
 " in these last sad three years, I looked after nothing, 
 and no one looked after things for me." Roebuck 
 and grouse are continually travelling south, and Lord 
 Abercorn receives them in fit condition. " Your 
 Cheveril came in excellent order, and with Mr. Green's 
 assistance was the most popular dish. Bathurst, 
 Lutterel, Rogers, Laurence, and three or four of 
 the ladies quite dined upon it; so that never were 
 bones more cleanly scraped and picked." 
 
 Lord Aberdeen was always asking for literature 
 and his note-books on what he read are full and 
 voluminous. In 1817 he writes to Lord Abercorn : 
 
 Nov. 26, 1817. 
 
 Have you met with any tolerable new book 
 lately? I have seen nothing of any interest except 
 Wilson's book, which is, with all its faults, worth 
 reading. He has ridiculously exaggerated the danger, 
 and his Jacobinical cant is detestable ; but those parts 
 of the book which people will find it most difficult to 
 believe are nevertheless the most true. It will have 
 more effect on the Continent than in this country. 
 
 Lord Abercorn in replying says : " Wilson's book 
 I can't estimate as highly as you do. His assump- 
 tion and dogmatisms are most disgusting." Lord 
 Aberdeen answers : " Surely there is some new infor- 
 mation, much as he exaggerates the power of Russia. 
 I believe few people are aware of the military 
 resources of that Empire. There is no doubt that 
 the amount of troops actually on foot are more than 
 double that of any State in Europe." 
 
 The next book on which they corresponded was 
 one in which they were able to be more in agreement. 
 
 To LORD ABERCORN 
 
 Jan. 18, 1818. 
 
 DEAR LORD A., 
 
 It cannot be necessary to ask if you have 
 finished Rob Roy 9 for he is unquestionably a fellow
 
 198 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 not likely to be neglected when once taken in hand. 
 On the supposition, therefore, that you have read it, 
 " I do let loose my opinion." When we meet and 
 your inclination suits, I shall be very desirous also 
 of knowing what you think of it. I doubt if it will 
 be so generally popular as either of the others ; but 
 it appears to me there are many parts quite equal 
 to anything the author has written. In particular 
 the scene at the Clachan, or Scotch Ale-House, the 
 skirmish at Loch Ard, and the escape of MacGregor 
 at the Ford of the River are all in his very best style. 
 The Baillie is surely an excellent fellow, and the 
 character extremely well drawn in all its parts. The 
 general interest of the story was to me very great, 
 and the whole narrative carries you along irresistibly. 
 
 The weak parts, as they struck me, are a clumsi- 
 ness as usual, in the denouement with a few minor 
 inconsistencies and improbabilities. 
 
 Sir Frederick Vernon, who for years passes as 
 a priest in the midst of a Catholic family and neigh- 
 bourhood, unknown but to two or three persons, 
 is quite an impossibility. His being represented as 
 a bigoted Catholic himself renders it still more 
 absurd. Perhaps the character of his daughter is 
 rather overdone : the author may have heard that 
 his heroines are considered too insipid, and seems 
 determined to avoid the reproach in this instance. 
 
 It is a little inconsistent too, with the character of 
 the Father of the hero, a stout Whig and Dissenter 
 as he is represented, that he should consent to his 
 son's marriage with a Jacobite and Papist. At least 
 it is not the inflexible personage we are introduced to 
 in the beginning of the work. The Osbaldistones 
 are a good sketch, but only a sketch, and perhaps 
 in parts done in rather a slovenly manner. 
 
 I confess, too, that the bloodthirsty heroicks of
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 199 
 
 Mrs. MacGregor are too stout for me, and savour 
 somewhat of the disgusting. But with such attrac- 
 tions, these are slight imperfections, and would be 
 even if they were more numerous. 
 
 I make no comparisons, nor is it necessary; for 
 it is the great merit of this author, be he who he 
 may, that each of his works possesses an excellence 
 peculiar to itself, and in which it surpasses the others. 
 It has been adduced as a proof of the beauty of the 
 Plays of Sophocles, that each of the seven has been 
 respectively preferred by criticks of acknowledged 
 taste. This is eminently the case with our unknown 
 friend; for the more I consider his works, the more 
 difficult I find it to give any decided preference. 
 
 The interest of Waverley, the talents of Guy 
 Mannering, the entertainment and humour of The 
 Antiquary, the historick painting of Old Mortality, 
 have equal claims. The best wish that I can form 
 for your amusement, although I fear a vain one, is 
 that you may soon meet with such another book 
 as Rob Hoy. 
 
 Lord Abercorn died on the date on which this 
 letter was written. Lord Aberdeen succeeded to a 
 large share of his personal property and became the 
 guardian of the infant heir. From that time until 
 1834 the Priory was Lord Aberdeen's habitual home. 
 His summer visits to Scotland were still made, but 
 Stanmore was now for many years the centre of his 
 life. Situated as it is within a few miles of London, 
 he was able to assemble with ease at the Priory a 
 constant succession of guests, the most distinguished 
 in literature, art and public life, without regard to 
 political distinction. Above all it was associated 
 with the most important incidents of his domestic 
 life. When in 1848 it was let by Lord Abercorn to 
 the Queen Dowager, with a view to its ultimate sale, 
 Lord Aberdeen wrote :
 
 200 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Queen Adelaide's visit seems to have been a 
 most successful affair, but I am heartily glad I was 
 not there. Everything in this world is so transitory 
 that as we advance in life we must expect, of 
 course, to see great changes. ... It is more than forty 
 years since I first was taught to consider the Priory 
 as a home, and for many years I occupied it as its 
 master. I never now go there without going to seek 
 the dead as well as the living. 
 
 The hardships of attaining his northern home 
 are set forth in a series of letters written to Lady 
 Aberdeen, who did not always accompany him. 
 The fatigues involved in such a journey, often pre- 
 vented her from contemplating the expedition to 
 what was certainly in those days " the far north," 
 and yet increasingly his heart turned again home. 
 Residence there was no longer a penance, and in- 
 stead of escaping from its dourness, he left it with 
 ever-increasing reluctance and regret. The people 
 on his estates had learnt to know him as truly a 
 Statesman in all the things that belonged to their 
 well-being. His earliest efforts in improving the 
 agriculture and forestry of the district were beginning 
 to show those fruits which delight the eyes of the 
 lover of Nature, and he was contented with the lot 
 that had fallen to him, if not in a fair, at least in 
 a ground which grew oats and beeves, and sent forth 
 a race of men conquering and to conquer difficulties 
 in all walks of life. 
 
 In 1835 he sets out to a correspondent the differ- 
 ence he perceives in what interests him, and in that 
 change we recognise the influence of his home and 
 country : 
 
 I am still President of the Society of Antiquaries 
 of London; but I am quite aware that from my 
 neglect of that worshipful Body, I deserve to be 
 dismissed. 
 
 I have been sensible of this change for some time,
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 201 
 
 and it is not only the rubbish of ancient times which 
 has ceased to interest me, but even the classical 
 productions of antiquity have comparatively lost their 
 charm. I do not mean that I am indifferent to the 
 Poetry, the Oratory, or the Philosophy of Greece and 
 Rome, or insensible to the attractions of ancient Art ; 
 but I confess they no longer occupy me as formerly. 
 
 That which never fails is the pleasure derived from 
 the productions of Nature, and from natural scenery. 
 Indeed this is likely to increase with years. 
 
 In this respect my lot has not been fortunate in such 
 a country as that in which I am placed, but there are 
 compensations ; and there is no country so bad, from 
 which much may not be extracted, and which in some 
 points, at least, may not be compared with the best. 
 
 To LADY ABERDEEN 
 
 Eaton, Sept. 13, 1821. 
 
 I have come here prosperously enough, as they 
 drove fast, and the road excellent. 
 
 My journey seems terribly long, and it will be very 
 tedious ; I think if possible I shall try to shorten it 
 a little, which may be done by not stopping to sleep 
 at Edinburgh. 
 
 Sept. 14. This has been a wretched day. The 
 road very bad, so that I was terribly jolted in the 
 Britchka, and did not get here before eight o'clock. 
 
 I met Clanwilliam on the road, who has been sum- 
 moned by Castlereagh to go with him to Hanover. 
 I think also that I passed Melville, or at least his 
 carriage. This house is full, so that I am in a little 
 back room, but they promise me a good bed, and I 
 am too much tired to go further. 
 
 Northallerton, Saturday, I5th. 
 
 It is now past nine o'clock, and I am only just 
 arrived, with a bad headache which I have had all
 
 202 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 day. I met a great many people going to Doncaster 
 for the races, among others Mrs. G. Fox. I met 
 two of Harrowby's carriages and horses, these were 
 sent to be ready for the course on Monday. 
 
 Alnwick, Sept. 16. 
 
 I left Northallerton about 8.30 this morning, and 
 arrived here about nine. I believe I must give up 
 my plan of going from this place to Haddo without 
 stopping; for the road is so rough and the Britchka 
 jumbles me so terribly that my headache never can 
 get well, and I find about eighty miles quite enough 
 for me. It is very tedious. There are a great many 
 people travelling; I was detained some time at 
 Morpeth for horses. I met the Duke of Bedford, 
 but as I was reading Madame de Stael, which is 
 ridiculous but rather amusing, I did not recognise 
 him until he was past, so did not speak to him. 
 
 Edinburgh, Sept. 17. 
 
 I left Alnwick at seven this morning and arrived 
 here at eight. I shall sleep to-morrow at Forfar, and 
 get to Haddo the day after as usual. Although it 
 was dark in coming into the town, I could see 
 enough to perceive that the new entrance over the 
 Calton Hill is magnificent, and the new street very 
 handsome. 
 
 I am at what was Dumbreck's, but he has retired. 
 It is not the house we have commonly been at, but 
 another in the Square. As usual, it is as full as 
 possible. I am in a small room at the top of the 
 house, but the bedroom seems good. The bother 
 and bustle is so great that it has hardly been possible 
 for me to get any tea, which, as I never eat in the day 
 except very sparingly of mutton chops, becomes an 
 object.
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 203 
 
 Haddo, Sept. 19. 
 
 I have at last arrived safe, but not quite sound, 
 being rather uncomfortable and having some sensa- 
 tions of cramp in the stomach. I did not leave 
 Edinburgh till five o'clock yesterday, and by travel- 
 ling all night I arrived here about six to-day. 
 
 On his return journey, writing from Edinburgh he 
 says : 
 
 Oct. 14. 
 
 I arrived here last night, and crossed the [Forth] 
 Ferry in a steamboat as the wind was quite contrary ; 
 I was a quarter of an hour, and they said that a 
 common vessel would have been forty minutes. 
 This is a great additional convenience, at what must 
 always be an unpleasant part of the journey. 
 
 From Haddo he wrote minute accounts of his 
 work on the estate. His earlier improvements began 
 to show their effects, and the face of the country was 
 altered in many particulars. To Lady Aberdeen 
 he writes in 1821 : 
 
 I am a good deal tired to-night, for from eleven 
 o'clock till eight I did not sit down an instant. I 
 staked out with Johnston two or three considerable 
 plantations, and I took a couple of hours' hard work 
 thinning the plantation at the bottom of the garden. 
 I principally cut down poplars, many of which were 
 fifteen to eighteen inches in circumference at the 
 root, which is an astonishing growth. I can tell 
 you that if I live ten years more, I shall make this 
 a really fine place. 
 
 My days pass very methodically. I get up 
 exactly at eight; walk a quarter of an hour before 
 breakfast at nine-thirty; write to you and do 
 business; go out between eleven and twelve, return
 
 204 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 at two, and after resting take a long walk from three 
 to six. We dine at six-thirty, and go to bed eleven- 
 thirty. Post is now well regulated. Letters come 
 to Meldrum from London the fourth evening, and 
 I get them before ten at night. 
 
 I rode to Formartine, and walked all over the 
 ground on that side of the river, which is to be planted. 
 It was really quite delightful; a bright sun shone on 
 the wood and rocks opposite, and the leaves just 
 beginning to change colour made it extremely 
 beautiful. I sat for an hour on the rock, and on the 
 very spot where our tower is to be. I built it half 
 a dozen times, and indulged in day dreams, which 
 to me have always been a great enjoyment. While 
 ruminating there a couple of ravens were sailing 
 round, and a falcon darted from the rock opposite. 
 I could hardly tear myself away. When you are 
 next here, if you are not strong enough to go on a 
 pony, I must positively have you carried to the spot 
 in a lettica. 
 
 And in the following year he writes of the same 
 spot : 
 
 I went to Formartine yesterday alone. But you 
 know I do not mind being alone, and particularly 
 when I can indulge in delightful day dreams. I 
 went to our tower, which I speedily built; other 
 alterations of different kinds I performed with as 
 little difficulty, and sitting under the rock without 
 a human being in sight I anticipated the effects of 
 time upon the scene. But, sweetheart, will your 
 love bear its effects as well ? for our tower owes its 
 existence, even in the mind, to a feeling of love, 
 and without it would be annihilated and vanish. 
 Without it all the joys of life become flat, stale, and 
 unprofitable.
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 205 
 
 In the autumn of 1822 Lord Aberdeen was present 
 at the reception of George IV. in Edinburgh. His 
 letters to Lady Aberdeen are full of curious details 
 of the ceremonies and those who took part in them. 
 They were not all for edification in the eyes of Lord 
 Aberdeen, and their protracted length, which involved 
 his long detention in Edinburgh, wearied him greatly. 
 
 The Highland Chiefs had not shed all their ancient 
 feudal state, and there is much to remind the reader 
 that little more than seventy years had passed since 
 their fathers had entered Edinburgh in arms for 
 the Pretender. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's southern breeding and taste were 
 amusingly outraged by the mock heroics of many 
 of the incidents, and occasionally there is a refreshing 
 gleam of very human irritation over the pretensions 
 of his brother peers and country neighbours, whose 
 experiences had not been enlarged as had been those 
 of Lord Aberdeen by converse with foreign courts 
 and camps. 
 
 To LADY ABERDEEN 
 
 Aug. 6, 1822. Harewood. I expect great difficulty 
 in making my progress to the North, now that I 
 am come into the usual North road, as I hear the 
 concourse is immense. Some of the Leeds traders 
 are gone, and going to see the show. I mean to 
 diverge at Morpeth, and go by the road to Wooler, 
 country I have not seen since the year 1798, when 
 I first went to Scotland with old Melville. 
 
 Dunbeith Hotel, Edinburgh. 
 
 August 10, 1822. I am going to-day to Melville. 
 I dined yesterday with the President (Hope's father), 
 who has a pretty place four miles distant. The 
 Captain only arrived this morning by the steam 
 vessel. Sir Charles is scuttling all over the town 
 in order to find a bit of Sutherland Tartan for a kilt, 
 and seems doubtful of success. I already begin to
 
 206 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 be tired before the business begins, and as we hear 
 that the King only sails this morning, we shall have 
 quite enough of it. 
 
 The town, however, is really striking, for in addi- 
 tion to the great beauty of many of the streets, of 
 which you can have no idea, they are full of people. 
 Highlanders in all sorts of dresses moving about, 
 and a look of activity and business everywhere. 
 
 The great man here is Walter Scott, who settles 
 everything, and furnishes the precedents for all 
 ceremonies and proceedings. I have only seen him 
 for an instant, and he was so full of occupation even 
 in the street, that he could scarcely speak a word. 
 
 August 12. The King cannot come before to- 
 morrow, but if he sailed when he intended, this 
 wind ought to bring him here by that time. You 
 cannot imagine the tumult and noise of this house, 
 and of the whole town, in which is a compleat bagame 
 throughout. 
 
 I attended a meeting of Peers to-day about the 
 ball we intend to give, which will be a very bad but 
 very expensive job. 
 
 The Duke of Chat, Ham, and Bran was in the 
 Chair and speechified a good deal. The Duke of 
 Gordon is ill and will not be able to come until after 
 the King's arrival. Nobody has heard of Huntley, 
 but I always imagine he will cast up at the critical 
 moment. It will, however, be a great disappoint- 
 ment to him not to have his train of Highlanders 
 ready like the other Chiefs. 
 
 Kinnoul is this instant arrived in forty-six hours 
 from London, and brings intelligence of the King 
 having sailed; we may therefore certainly expect 
 him to-morrow morning. 
 
 August 13. I cannot express the annoyance of
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 207 
 
 being here. In addition to other reasons, the 
 weather has become very bad, and it has blown a 
 gale of wind all night ; so that it is quite impossible 
 to say how long it may be before the King arrives. 
 
 It is supposed that he may land at Dunbar or 
 Berwick, as he cannot get up the Firth. 
 
 The Highlanders increase daily. The Head of 
 the MacGregors had posted at his door two of his 
 followers with drawn swords but to-day they have 
 been removed, in consequence of a hint being given. 
 It is not impossible that some fighting may take 
 place before all is over, and the presence of the 
 MacGregor may give rise to it ; for some of the other 
 clans say that they have never met this formerly 
 outlawed race without fighting, and that they 
 never will. 
 
 I called on Lady Gwydyr this morning, and found 
 her with fingers pricked all over with making up 
 bouquets of holly for her men. 
 
 Every hole in the house is full; but except Lady 
 Gwydyr and Kinnoul I do not know them. Mr. 
 and Lady Isabella Wemyss are in the house; but 
 there is also a person here whom I have met on the 
 stairs, a thousand times more beautiful than she is; 
 I believe the Beauty I allude to is a Miss Macleod, 
 sister of Mrs. Perceval. But, my dearest, how much 
 rather would I see you now than all the beauties 
 under the sun, that is to say, than all the other 
 beauties. 
 
 August 14. The King came into the Firth this 
 morning, and arrived in Leith harbour about one 
 o'clock. The morning was quite beautiful, and the 
 view from the Calton Hill most magnificent, the 
 whole place being covered with people. Just as 
 he arrived in the harbour it began to rain hard, and
 
 208 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 has done so ever since. I understand he was in very 
 good humour and was willing either to land or not 
 as he was desired. It was therefore thought better 
 to defer the landing until to-morrow, when I hope it 
 will be finer. I am wet through and miserable 
 enough. Hard as the rain has been, the crowd was 
 as great as possible all day, for you know in this 
 country most people do not know whether it rains 
 or not. 
 
 August 16. The King made his public entry yester- 
 day, and I am happy to say that everything went 
 off as well as possible. From the form of the 
 ground, and situation of the buildings, both the 
 town and people were seen to the greatest advantage. 
 They did not cheer quite so loud as they might have 
 done, but I believe they were prevented more by 
 intense curiosity and surprise than by indifference. 
 I understand the King has expressed himself in the 
 strongest terms of admiration at the beauty of the 
 place, and of delight at his whole reception, which in 
 truth he has good reason to do. He talks of staying 
 ten days. Sir Walter told me that when he went 
 on board the yacht to present a sort of St. Andrew's 
 Cross to be worn in his hat, on the part of the ladies 
 of Edinburgh, the King expressed his determination 
 to appear in the Highland dress at his Levee. This 
 would indeed be most preposterous, and Peel and 
 Melville are to endeavour to change this intention. 
 I should not forget to tell you that Sir Walter took 
 with him also a basket of oatcake by way of welcome 
 to the land of cakes. 
 
 We are to have the Levee to-morrow, and the 
 Drawing-room on Tuesday. To-day he rests at 
 Dalkeith. There will be an illumination to-night, 
 which in such a town as this must be very beautiful.
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 209 
 
 A dreadful gloom has been thrown over every- 
 thing by the intelligence of poor Castlereagh's death, 
 and especially by the horrible manner in which it 
 has taken place. With all his imperfections, he was 
 a thorough gentleman, and a most efficient Minister. 
 His loss at such a moment will be a fatal blow to 
 the Government, and sooner or later may com- 
 promise their existence. 
 
 August 17. We have had the Levee to-day, and 
 crowded it was, as you may imagine, to the greatest 
 degree. It took me five hours before I returned. 
 The dresses were gay from the variety of colour, a 
 large proportion being Highlanders. The King him- 
 self was in a Highland dress, which was absurd enough, 
 as although it is a compliment to one part of the 
 country, it is by no means so to the rest; and I 
 suppose he is the first King of Scotland who ever 
 wore it, at least since the times of actual barbarism. 
 
 The Duke of Hamilton also wore it (he has no 
 right that I know of to do so). The Duke of Argyll, 
 and all the Highland Chiefs were well dressed. Fife 
 an excellent figure. Lord Francis Leveson looked 
 very well in the Sutherland tartan, and Lord Gwydyr 
 in the Drummond. 
 
 " Oh that this solemn mockery were o'er." It 
 will still last some time, and I do not well see how 
 I am likely to escape. 
 
 Fife drives about in a chariot with two post- 
 boys in tartan jackets; three persons riding similarly 
 equipped; two Highlanders and a chasseur standing 
 behind the carriage; in addition to which he has 
 three or four Highland runners by the side of the 
 carriage. He dines with the King every day. 
 
 August 20. I shall go to Tyninghame to-day. 
 Our proceedings are now settled for some time to 
 
 VOL. I
 
 210 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 come. Sunday the King goes to the Kirk, a point 
 which I had much at heart ; after this I do not know 
 what happens, but I believe he embarks from 
 Hopetoun House on Wednesday. 
 
 If nothing very particular prevents me, I shall 
 leave this vile place after church on Sunday for 
 Haddo. I hate this place more and more; it is true 
 just for dinner-time I may meet with pleasant people. 
 In short I wish to be at home. Indeed you know 
 how much I always abhorred a stay in Edinburgh. 
 
 Tyninghame, August 21. We return to Edinburgh 
 to-morrow early for the grand procession from the 
 Palace to the Castle, which I daresay will be a fine 
 sight. From the width of the High Street, and the 
 enormous height of the houses, with the numerous 
 balconies formed at the windows, covered with 
 cloth of different colours, and with the varieties of 
 dresses in the street itself, the whole will have a very 
 singular and striking appearance. 
 
 August 23. The procession yesterday was really 
 superb, although it unfortunately rained almost the 
 whole time. There were only two carriages, the 
 King's and his attendants ; all the principal personages 
 rode, which always produces so much finer an effect. 
 But, independantly of the ceremony, the view of the 
 population, disposed as they were, was quite 
 beautiful. 
 
 The Duke of Chat, Ham, and Bran looked very 
 well carrying the crown on horseback, his horse led 
 by two squires in magnificent dresses, and preceded 
 by half a dozen fellows in ancient crimson costume 
 by way of livery. He was well dressed himself. 
 
 In the evening we have the Peers' Ball a wretched 
 concern. I have given my opinion freely about it 
 here. One day I held forth before Rosebery very
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 211 
 
 strongly on the subject, without knowing he was one 
 of the first movers in the business. The truth is 
 that the Peers have no natural union for any such 
 purpose, which belongs more to a club, or any society 
 of that sort. The Peers may unite to support a 
 Throne, or upset a King, but to unite to give a Ball ! ! ! 
 
 August 24. We went before nine to the Ball, 
 called the Peers'; it was very well done, something 
 like a dressed Almacks. The crowd too great, and 
 show of beauty very small. The King staid about 
 an hour and a half, and seemed pretty well bored. I 
 came home before one o'clock, although with some 
 difficulty, for the confusion at the door was immense. 
 They danced reels and country dances in the room 
 in which the King stood. One of the best-looking 
 persons there was Binning's cousin, Lady Glenorchy; 
 and another was mine, Mrs. Hope Johnstone. 
 
 August 26. To-day we had the grand City dinner 
 to the King. It was really very agreeable, with the 
 exception of having to drink so much wine, for I 
 must have had more than a bottle of claret myself. 
 The King talked a great deal, told many anecdotes 
 very well, and spoke of his reception here and his 
 whole visit in the handsomest terms. He is so 
 consummate an actor that I do not know what he 
 really thinks, but he certainly seemed to feel all 
 that he said. 
 
 The King made three speeches. The worst part 
 of it was the determination of the guests to drink 
 everything with three times three a practice quite 
 disrespectful to the King, and very tiresome to the 
 company. The King's last toast was Chieftains and 
 Clans, and God bless the Land of Cakes. He created 
 the Provost a Baronet by drinking to the health of
 
 212 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 " Sir William Arbuthnot, Bt., and the magistrates 
 of Edinburgh." 
 
 In his first speech he mentioned the effect which 
 his reception had made on him, and seemed to feel 
 deeply what he said. Some time after he was gone, 
 Melville gave, the Duke of Hamilton and the Peer- 
 age of Scotland, in a very good speech, with much 
 personal civility to the Duke; upon which His Grace 
 made a regular Whig speech, talking about the respect 
 due to the person on the throne, and a due regard to 
 the rights and liberties of the people, with many 
 other Whig commonplaces. This, to be sure, 
 considering that he was returning thanks for us, 
 and not explaining his own political opinions, was 
 in execrable taste. The speech was received in 
 perfect silence. 
 
 I see the King adheres to his original mistake 
 and thinks us all Highlanders. I suppose he is 
 surprised to see that any of us wear breeches. 
 
 I wish my dinner at Dalkeith to-day was over, 
 for I hear the King makes everyone drink a great 
 deal of whiskey, and really my head is too bad. 
 
 On leaving these festal chieftains and their King 
 and finding himself at Haddo, Lord Aberdeen was 
 more than ever inclined to find in it " peace and 
 comfort," and he applied himself to his improvements 
 with redoubled zeal, and to seeing as few of his 
 neighbours, and as much of his gardener, forester 
 and gamekeeper as he possibly could. The partridges 
 were swarming in the reclaimed fields, now ready 
 for an abundant harvest, and his shooting excursions 
 further afield in search of grouse and deer are con- 
 stantly chronicled. These years form a somewhat 
 prolonged interlude; but soon again he was to be 
 called to take his part in the affairs of the nation, 
 and from then he was to find little release till the 
 close of his life.
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 213 
 
 In 1825 Lord Aberdeen introduced a Bill which 
 had far more important effects than were at the 
 time perceived. The system of Scottish entails was 
 remarkable for its great strictness and complexity. 
 An entail in Scotland could not be broken save by 
 an Act of Parliament, and almost every estate was 
 entailed. 
 
 Under the provisions of this entail, although the 
 life tenant of an estate might, to a certain extent, 
 put burdens upon the property in order to effect 
 improvements in it, he was unable to make the 
 smallest provision for his widow or children. 
 
 This power was given by Lord Aberdeen's Act. 
 It was accepted by the proprietors of entailed estates 
 as a welcome relief, and few of them perceived that, 
 this step once taken, others must follow which would 
 be less agreeable to them. 
 
 Writing to his friend John Hope, Dean of the 
 Faculty of Advocates, Lord Aberdeen says : 
 
 It is odd that no one should see that if the tenant 
 for life may transmit the estate to his successor 
 heavily burdened, that successor may with justice 
 demand that he should have the option of assuming 
 those burdens, or of disposing of the estate to those 
 who may with less difficulty bear them. I am not 
 sorry that it is so, for the discovery would render 
 the passage of my Bill less easy. I do not think I 
 am called on myself to raise obstacles in its way, but 
 if the objection be made I shall be prepared to meet 
 it. I do not myself regard such consequences with 
 any alarm. To give the possessor of an estate, who 
 may have no personal means independent of it, the 
 right to provide from it for his wife and children, is 
 an act of bare justice to him and to them. It should 
 not be denied, because its grant may sooner or later 
 have consequences which, if not effected violently, 
 or with too great rapidity, are perhaps not to be 
 regretted.
 
 214 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 The feudal system has perished, and what 
 remains of it is destined to ultimate extinction. 
 We still preserve some of its institutions, because 
 they are still useful. But these too will disappear 
 as their utility ceases, or becomes less apparent. 
 This may or may not be matter for regret; but, 
 provided it is not effected by means of revolution 
 or of measures inflicting suffering and loss upon 
 multitudes of harmless individuals, can it be regarded 
 as an evil? 
 
 Few will deny that the changes in the position 
 of the great, and of the people, which have steadily 
 advanced in the last few centuries, have been attended 
 with advantage. Is it reasonable to suppose that 
 they have now terminated, or presumptuous to hope 
 that, if only made when obviously called for, they 
 will be accompanied by similar benefits ? 
 
 I admit that this reasoning would not recommend 
 my Bill to the House of Lords, and am therefore 
 glad that the necessity for urging it has not arisen. 
 
 Personally, I am much of Gibbon's opinion, that 
 primogeniture is an " insolent prerogative " ; but I 
 am sure that its abolition would at this moment 
 produce mischiefs not to be counterbalanced by 
 any corresponding advantage. It may not always 
 be so. But I must stop, or you will think Hudson 
 Gurney quite justified in styling me " a Jacobin ! . . ." 
 
 This chapter, which deals chiefly with Lord 
 Aberdeen's private life, may fitly be closed by an 
 extract from his letters to his eldest son, Lord Haddo, 
 in 1835, then an undergraduate at Cambridge. 
 Apparently there had been some correspondence on 
 the question of Lord Haddo joining the Pitt Club. 
 
 I do not disapprove of you not belonging to it; 
 quite the contrary. What I disapprove of is, writing
 
 HOME AND COUNTRY (1814-1825) 215 
 
 a letter to the newspaper upon any subject, and 
 then, writing in such terms as to lead to an erroneous 
 interpretation of your meaning. It is much better 
 that all the world should think you a Radical, as 
 they do in Aberdeenshire, and where they gave your 
 health as a toast at a recent Whig meeting. I 
 6 who was bred at the feet of Gamaliel,' do not quite 
 like that a son of mine should disclaim a Pitt Club; 
 but I am very glad, nevertheless, that you do not 
 belong to it. 
 
 The shifting sands of political associations and 
 party ties were already evident; the father called 
 in his day a Jacobin, and the son toasted as a Radical, 
 a name in those days full of portents. 
 
 During the years between 1822 and 1828 Lord 
 Aberdeen's friendship with the Duke of Wellington 
 became more close and intimate, which probably had 
 its effect in restraining the more outspoken views 
 of the Duke. 
 
 He had refused a seat in Canning's Cabinet, but 
 when a year later the Duke asked him to join him 
 in forming an administration, he readily consented. 
 Had all the Canning Cabinet retired, the Duke 
 had destined Lord Aberdeen for the Foreign Office, 
 but as Lord Dudley elected to remain, he offered 
 Lord Aberdeen the office of Chancellor of the Duchy 
 of Lancaster. This office enabled him to assist 
 Lord Dudley in the Foreign Office. Lord Dudley, 
 who was on terms of the most cordial friend- 
 ship with Lord Aberdeen, welcomed his assistance, 
 good-humouredly styling him his " coadjutor jure 
 successionis" In May, 1828, Lord Dudley resigned 
 along with Huskisson and Palmerston, and Lord 
 Aberdeen received the Seals of the Foreign Office, 
 and became Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 
 
 PART I 
 
 " The morrow of the victory has more perils than its eve." Mazzini. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN was at the Foreign Office from 
 1828 to 1830. At the close of that year the 
 Wellington Ministry was defeated in the House of 
 Commons. These two years were full of startling 
 events in Europe, and kept Lord Aberdeen and the 
 Government in a state of great anxiety. War 
 between Russia and Turkey, the Revolution in France, 
 and the Rebellion in the Netherlands, were all in- 
 cluded within this period; and in each, England was 
 expected, and in the case of the Netherlands asked, to 
 intervene. 
 
 When he became Secretary of State he found 
 Russia and the Porte at war. The Greek insurgents 
 were in possession of the Morea, and the Turkish troops 
 were prohibited by the Allied Powers, carrying out the 
 Treaty of London of 1827, from returning there. The 
 claim of the Greeks to the Morea formed no part of 
 the alleged grievances which had made Russia declare 
 war ; but the two questions were closely connected. 
 
 The line adopted by Lord Aberdeen with regard 
 to these questions has been held up for disapproval 
 from two opposite points of view, the reasons of 
 disapprobation being inconsistent and contradictory. 
 
 In 1828-30 the popular sympathy was strongly 
 with the Greeks, and with Russia as the enemy of 
 the Porte and the friend of Greece. Lord Aberdeen 
 was accused of having Turkish sympathies, and 
 also of being desirous to cripple the resources and 
 limit the extent of the new Greek State. Lord John 
 Russell was delighted at each Russian success, and 
 
 216
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 217 
 
 Lord Palmerston asked why the Turks should be 
 maintained at Constantinople. Twenty-five years 
 later, on the eve of the Crimean War, popular opinion 
 had swung round to a totally opposite point. Those 
 who had before hailed every defeat of the Porte with 
 joy were now its warmest allies. Lord Aberdeen 
 was abused for not having supported Turkey against 
 Russia in 1828, and was condemned by the public 
 voice as having at that time betrayed her interests 
 for the benefit of the Greeks, who were described as 
 " her revolted subjects." 
 
 The charge that Lord Aberdeen had any sympathy 
 with Russia is disproved by all his writings. The 
 other fear, so often operative in our foreign policy, 
 that of the aggression of Russia, was always present 
 in his mind. 
 
 Lord Heytesbury was appointed as Ambassador at 
 St. Petersburg, and Lord Aberdeen charged him with 
 special insistence to find out the intentions of Russia. 
 Our Ambassador soon satisfied himself that the Czar 
 had no intention of conquest, and Lord Aberdeen, 
 as will be seen, read these despatches " with interest 
 but not without concern." There was no warning 
 of an event which brought Russia and England to 
 the verge of war. The Emperor Nicholas, who 
 had promised to abstain from any exercise of his 
 rights as a belligerent in the Mediterranean, suddenly, 
 without communication with his allies, directed the 
 blockade of the Dardanelles. On hearing this, Lord 
 Aberdeen immediately informed Lord Heytesbury 
 that this step would not be tolerated. The right of 
 Russia to institute the blockade was admitted, but 
 surprise and displeasure were strongly expressed at 
 the use of the right, especially as the Czar had given 
 it to be understood that the right would not be used. 
 
 The course of Lord Aberdeen's policy throughout 
 these events is set forth in his despatches. In a 
 despatch of June, 1828, to Lord Heytesbury, at 
 St. Petersburg, he reminded him that the main 
 object of the foreign policy of this country was the
 
 218 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 preservation of peace throughout Europe. With few, 
 and comparatively unimportant, deviations, the general 
 tranquillity had been preserved, and the relative 
 state of territorial possession, as established by the 
 great Treaties of Paris and Vienna in 1814-15, had 
 been maintained. This state of general tranquillity 
 had been prematurely terminated by a declaration 
 of war on the part of the Emperor of Russia against 
 the Ottoman Porte. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen referred to the disturbed condition 
 of the Levant, and the barbarous and sanguinary 
 warfare by which some of the Greek provinces of 
 the Turkish Empire had been ravaged and devastated. 
 His Majesty's Government had trusted that by a 
 judicious interference these hostilities might have 
 been brought to an end. These hopes had been 
 shattered by Russia's declaration of war. On the 
 necessity and justice of the war His Majesty declined 
 to express any opinion. To limit the extent and 
 bring the contest to a speedy termination must be 
 the main object of the Ambassador, and as far as 
 possible to obtain the same help from the great 
 Powers of Europe. 
 
 Looking round on the great Powers, he feared 
 they might expect to see France moving in an 
 uncertain and tortuous course. Acted upon by the 
 Chambers or by a party, the Government lacked 
 steadiness of purpose. France would probably have 
 vague aspirations after taking a prominent part in 
 the affairs of the East. Austria, from the threat to 
 her own territory, and her unpreparedness, would 
 be sincerely desirous of peace. Prussia would prob- 
 ably be equally desirous for the peace of Europe, 
 but at the time no zealous or decisive co-operation 
 on her part could be expected. If the moment 
 arrived when the Court of Berlin had to take a 
 definite part, it would probably be found supporting 
 the pretensions of Russia. 
 
 Lord Heytesbury was charged to get into direct 
 touch with the Emperor, and as Vienna was naturally
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 219 
 
 on his route, he was to find out the real views of the 
 Austrian Cabinet with regard to the Levant. Above 
 all he was to consider himself as the messenger of 
 peace. Should he find territorial aggrandisement, 
 or any intention to keep possession of the fortresses 
 on the Bosphorus, to be part of the plan of the Czar, 
 he was to remonstrate in the gravest tone, and report 
 at once to his Government. 
 
 In August, Lord Aberdeen was writing to the Duke 
 of Wellington : 
 
 If these Turks be not greater liars than the 
 Christians are, it would certainly appear that they 
 have no reason to be dissatisfied with their campaign. 
 They pretend to have had an advantage in almost 
 every affair. Sixty thousand inhabitants have been 
 enrolled to serve in case of necessity, and it might 
 be ninety thousand. Metternich had also written in 
 a spirit of considerable assurance. His reason, the 
 chances of Russian failure, but at present he was 
 determined to watch events. 
 
 To this the Duke of Wellington replied : "I am 
 afraid that the Turks are greater liars than the 
 Christians. There is no doubt the Emperor of 
 Russia is before Shumla; and I entertain no doubt 
 that even with his forty thousand men he can carry 
 their entrenched camp. It is always better to meet 
 Metternich in front and to answer him." 
 
 Lord Heytesbury in August reported a long personal 
 interview at Odessa with the Russian Emperor. 
 His reception of Lord Heytesbury was more than 
 cordial. " Why," asked the Emperor " should any 
 doubts of me have been entertained ? Did not the 
 Notes of my Ministers and Ambassadors, my mani- 
 festo, my personal assurances, speak in sufficiently 
 clear language? What possible views of conquest 
 or aggrandisement could I entertain, already possess- 
 ing territories much more than sufficient to gratify 
 the largest ambition, and at the expense of an Empire
 
 220 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 which I have to the full as great an interest in up- 
 holding as any other European Power? What 
 neighbour could suit me so well as the Turk ? What 
 could Russia gain by the destruction of the Ottoman 
 throne? The obstinacy of the Porte may certainly 
 bring on complications which may lead to this result, 
 but why should the blame of what is solely due to 
 this obstinacy be laid on me ? " 
 
 The Czar proceeded to say that the Duke of 
 Wellington had mistaken him, but that there was 
 one person, and that was the King, who has " invari- 
 ably judged me as I deserve to be judged. I am 
 proud of his good opinion, and wish the King to 
 know that I am." 
 
 Lord Heytesbury hastened to assure the Czar 
 that the British Government, in spite of their regret 
 that war had been declared on Turkey, were yet 
 fully convinced that the Emperor meant to fulfil 
 all the conditions of the Treaty of July 6. The 
 Czar was assured that the loyalty and magnanimity 
 of his character were nowhere more justly appreciated 
 than in England. The conversation then followed on 
 what had been agreed to at the Treaty of London, 
 more particularly the orders given to the admirals 
 commanding the Allied Squadrons in the Mediter- 
 ranean. In expressing a hope that we were satisfied 
 with the sacrifice of the Russian Squadron to the 
 sole purpose of the Trilateral Treaty, His Majesty 
 added, " that this arrangement, though expedient 
 for the moment, could not, in fairness, be expected 
 to have any very long duration, should the Turks 
 still obstinately refuse to treat with him after the 
 fall of Varna, and the war had been carried to the 
 Balkans. I mention this that you may not be 
 taken by surprise. I shall then be driven to more 
 decisive measures; and I shall want my fleet, not 
 for the purpose which common fame would attribute 
 to me, of bombarding or capturing Constantinople, 
 but of doing what it was once determined the com- 
 bined squadrons should jointly do, namely, blockading
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 221 
 
 the Dardanelles and starving the Turks into 
 submission." 
 
 The Emperor pressed that England and France 
 should also see that the stipulations of the Trilateral 
 Treaty should not remain a dead letter, and that he 
 would rather co-operate than act alone in the blockade 
 of the Dardanelles. 
 
 In closing the conversation the Emperor reverted 
 again to his own desire for the speedy termination 
 of the war. He wished, he said, to return to the 
 bosom of his family, and to the cares of an Empire 
 which required all his attention. " What am I to 
 do? The Turks make no propositions. I am ready 
 to treat to-morrow, but not an overture is made. 
 Can your Government assist me in any way by 
 suggestions at Constantinople ? By anything short 
 of a mediation; that, you know, it is our principle 
 never to admit in our negotiations with the Porte." 
 
 The Czar then asked Lord Heytesbury, not as a 
 diplomatist, but as a man of honour, and with all 
 frankness, to tell him what opinion he might enter- 
 tain of Austria. Did Austria mean or wish to bring 
 the Porte to reason ? 
 
 Lord Heytesbury, while disclaiming power to 
 answer for any Court except his own, thought it 
 was Austria's interest to wish for a speedy termination 
 of the war, and that Prince Metternich's assurances 
 were to that effect. To this the Emperor said, 
 
 " Aye, but Prince Metternich is always The 
 
 Emperor paused. 
 
 " Is always Prince Metternich, Your Majesty would 
 have added? " 
 
 " Exactly so. You comprehend me perfectly. Is 
 it possible to rely on him ? " 
 
 The Czar then expressed a fear that Austria 
 encouraged the resistance of the Porte. " After the 
 capture of the fortress of Matchin, having heard the 
 Pacha was a man of intelligence and influence, I was 
 determined to have an interview with him. I had 
 him brought to my own tent. I questioned him
 
 222 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 narrowly as to the cause of the obstinacy of the 
 Porte. He attributed it to two causes : the personal 
 character of the Sultan and the counsels of Austria." 
 
 The Czar sent the Pacha back to his Government 
 with informal assurances of his willingness to treat 
 with the Porte. The Pacha, he knew, had faithfully 
 fulfilled his commission, but no results had come 
 from Constantinople. 
 
 Lord Heytesbury suggested that Turkey was 
 probably in dread of the indemnities which would 
 be required, and that the Sultan was probably unable 
 to make any considerable payment. 
 
 " Why not ? " asked the Emperor. " The Persians 
 submitted to a very heavy charge, and have punctu- 
 ally fulfilled their engagement." 
 
 " Persia, Sire, may possibly possess pecuniary 
 resources unknown to the Turks. Were I to judge 
 of the means of the Sultan by the appearance of 
 those parts of his dominions which I have lately 
 gone through, I should certainly deem him the poorest 
 of monarchs." 
 
 " The conclusion would be as incorrect as if you 
 were to judge of my means by the appearance of 
 the Steppes of Siberia." 
 
 The Emperor then said there were various ways of 
 paying, and that he might be indemnified by con- 
 signments of timber, or other articles of which he 
 stood in need. 
 
 The Emperor reviewed the precarious state of 
 affairs in almost every country of Europe. Lord 
 Heytesbury reminded him how the Emperor 
 Alexander had played the noble part of pacificator, 
 and insinuated that the time might be near when 
 all Europe would again turn its eyes towards the 
 North, in the hope of finding such another pacificator 
 on the throne of Russia. 
 
 Following the report of this interview the Ambas- 
 sador said that he had become a convert to the 
 opinion of those who maintain that the Emperor 
 is to be securely held by his point of honour, and
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 223 
 
 that he nourishes no arriere pensee of conquest and 
 aggrandisement. " I am convinced that there is 
 nothing he more ardently desires than the arrival 
 of propositions from the Sultan." 
 
 Lord Aberdeen replied that the report of the 
 conversation with the Russian Emperor had been 
 received with interest, but it was not perused without 
 concern. The frankness and cordiality of the 
 Emperor were highly satisfactory. Lord Aberdeen, 
 however, noted that the Emperor had placed senti- 
 ments held by the King our Master in direct opposition 
 to those which he attributed to some of the King's 
 confidential servants. " In this country we know of 
 no difference between the Sovereign and his 
 Ministers." When the King expressed his belief in 
 the honour and good faith of the Emperor, he was 
 not only expressing his own opinion, but the deliberate 
 opinion of his Council. Further, in the whole corre- 
 spondence there was to be found no positive promise 
 on any one point which might come under con- 
 sideration should there be negotiations for peace 
 between the two countries. 
 
 In June a letter had been addressed to Prince 
 Lieven regarding the amount of indemnity to be 
 exacted by Russia from the Porte, as well as asking 
 for the security of future treaties. No answer had 
 been rendered on any of these topics. "It is but an 
 act of justice to observe, that the views entertained 
 by the Austrian Government of the state of hostility 
 unfortunately existing between Russia and the Porte, 
 are entirely similar to our own ; nor has the Cabinet 
 of Vienna uttered a syllable injurious to the Emperor 
 of Russia, or derogatory from his honour, any more 
 than we have done ourselves." 
 
 Following on these despatches came the news in 
 September that the Emperor of Russia had resolved 
 to resume warlike operations, and had directed the 
 blockade of the Dardanelles. Lord Aberdeen said 
 the news had been heard with deep concern, and was 
 entirely unexpected.
 
 224 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 A strong Note to Prince Lieven was sent from 
 the Foreign Office, pointing out that Russia had 
 undertaken not to act in the Mediterranean apart 
 from the Allies. The French Cabinet made no 
 objection to the blockade, but the Duke of Wellington 
 and Lord Aberdeen took a very different view. 
 
 On writing to Lord Heytesbury Lord Aberdeen 
 said : 
 
 I may safely assure you that it will be quite 
 impossible to accede to the Emperor's proposition. 
 We have acted entirely upon the assurance given 
 to us in the protocol. We had made the King 
 declare to Parliament and to the whole world that 
 which the Emperor is now determined to falsify. 
 Even if we could be base enough to disgrace ourselves 
 by submission, I am quite persuaded that the country 
 would never endure it. What can we say to the 
 sincerity and honesty of people who sport with 
 engagements in this manner? 
 
 A despatch was sent to St. Petersburg demanding 
 the exemption from the blockade of all British 
 vessels, however loaded, which might have sailed 
 under the King's declaration to Parliament. In 
 the last extremity Lord Heytesbury was to declare 
 that the additional naval force which had been sent 
 to the Mediterranean had been ordered to give a 
 general protection to the commerce of His Majesty's 
 subjects at sea. And that protection was to be made 
 effectual if justice could not be obtained from the 
 Russian Government. 
 
 The Russian Government yielded to these vigorous 
 representations, but all naval co-operation with 
 Russia in carrying out the Treaty of London ceased. 
 Lord Heytesbury reported from Odessa in a secret 
 despatch that 
 
 The physical force of Russia, if ably managed, 
 is infinitely more than sufficient to overwhelm
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 225 
 
 her opponent; but the moral force displayed by 
 those by whom that physical force has hitherto 
 been directed has fallen very short of what might 
 have been expected. Indeed, I saw little either of 
 firmness of character or of commanding talent in 
 anybody here (except, perhaps, in the Emperor 
 himself), and if there be no one of heavier calibre 
 in reserve at St. Petersburg if this little circle be 
 Russia, the whole of Russia, as I am assured it is 
 the present war once over, Europe will, I think, have 
 but little to fear from the ambition of this Colossus 
 for some years to come. In the opinion of all those 
 most conversant with military matters, there never 
 was a campaign worse planned or worse conducted 
 than this has been. If the Russians had brought 
 their entire force at once into the field, if better 
 arrangements had been made by the commissariat, 
 if advantage had been taken of the opinion which 
 existed in their favour, and of the first enthusiasm 
 of the soldiery, if the army had really been left to 
 the sole direction and management of one individual, 
 even though that individual had been the Marshal 
 Wittgenstein, they would probably at this moment 
 have been either under the walls of Constantinople, 
 or an advantageous peace would have terminated 
 their labours. 
 
 The presence of a Sovereign at the head of his 
 army can never be a matter of indifference. It is 
 either a great evil or a great gain. If he have the 
 talent of a Frederick or a Napoleon, the advantage 
 of the absence of all responsibility, except towards 
 himself, is incalculable. If he have no military 
 talent, the disadvantage of his assuming the command 
 is in the same proportion. But of all false positions, 
 the falsest and most embarrassing is that of a 
 Sovereign accompanying his army in his simple 
 
 VOL. I Q
 
 capacity of Sovereign, disclaiming all intention of 
 interfering, yet yielding to the pleasure of doing so 
 at every instant; favouring some movements, cen- 
 suring others, and distributing honours and rewards 
 from his own personal observation, and without a 
 reference to the individual to whom the command 
 is nominally entrusted. 
 
 The presence of a Sovereign under such circum- 
 stances paralyses everything. We have a proof of 
 this before us ; where, in consequence of the Emperor's 
 interference, everybody commands, and nobody obeys. 
 The Emperor himself, General Diebitsch, General 
 Benkendorff, the Grand Duke, General Kicheloff, 
 General Woronzow, all, in short, except the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief. 
 
 So long as there was no resistance, or the army 
 was tolerably supplied, the bad effects of such a 
 system were comparatively but little felt; but no 
 sooner did the difficulties begin, than disputes, 
 accusations, recriminations, and every other evil 
 attendant upon such a state of things began also. 
 The army is now split into parties. The Russians 
 lay the fault upon the Germans, and the Germans 
 upon the Russians. All seem to be agreed in throw- 
 ing the greatest share of blame upon the Emperor 
 himself, who, independent of his too great aversion 
 to the shedding of blood, has always allowed political 
 considerations to outweigh the military, and by 
 hesitation a certain success to escape him. 
 
 At the end of October Lord Aberdeen reported to 
 the Duke the news of the fall of Varna. The Turks 
 surrendered. " The only thing extraordinary is that 
 after such a defence they should not have stood an 
 assault; but perhaps their numbers did not render 
 it possible." It was estimated the Russians lost 
 15,000 men before Varna, by sickness and accident
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 227 
 
 as well as the enemy. They might have stormed it 
 with ease for four or five weeks before the surrender, 
 for which delay the Emperor was blamed. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington believed that the Turks 
 were willing to negotiate, not alone, but through 
 the mediation of the Powers capable and willing to 
 oblige Russia to perform the engagement. Metternich, 
 the Duke thought, did not give the truth as he received 
 it, and desired to refer the questions to a Congress. 
 
 It is clear to me (wrote the Duke) that the 
 Turkish power in Europe will be annihilated in the 
 next campaign if something cannot be done for 
 their relief. They have no chance of retaking Varna. 
 Nay, more, I am convinced that if they don't with- 
 draw from the field altogether in the winter they will 
 have no chance of making any resistance next spring 
 and summer. 
 
 Metternich might be of great use if he would 
 endeavour to prevail upon the Porte to declare 
 explicitly what they propose to do in respect to 
 Greece. They must see that France and England 
 can do nothing for them till they can be satisfied 
 respecting the future state of the Greeks. 
 
 If the Turks would open for France and England 
 a reasonable road out of the Greek affair, and would 
 agree to reasonable terms of peace with Russia, I 
 should not despair of being able to prevail upon 
 the King of France to go with us to propose these 
 terms of peace to the Emperor of Russia, and to 
 concur with us in preventing him from using the 
 sea as the means of war. If His Imperial Majesty 
 should refuse to accede to such reasonable terms of 
 peace, and if we can prevent him from using the 
 Black Sea, I'll engage that he will make no conquest. 
 
 In December Lord Aberdeen addressed a long 
 despatch to Lord Cowley, the English Ambassador
 
 228 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 at Vienna. The campaign of 1828 was reviewed 
 in it, and it pointed out that the time was short 
 when negotiations could be profitably carried on. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen considered that the Russian cam- 
 paign had failed in its main object, as compared to 
 the expectations with which it was undertaken, 
 and this in spite of the capture for the first time 
 of the fortress of Varna. The Russian army had lost 
 in stores and men, above all in the temporary destruc- 
 tion of that character of invincibility which had 
 perhaps been too easily granted to the arms of 
 His Imperial Majesty. In spite of this their losses 
 had not been overwhelming, no general action had 
 been fought, and there had been nothing like signal 
 defeat. 
 
 A deficiency of water in some districts and the extra- 
 ordinary severity of the winter were among the 
 unlooked-for accidents of the campaign. Notwith- 
 standing all this, it would be a great mistake not to 
 reckon on the Emperor Nicholas taking the field 
 again in the spring with a force superior to that 
 with which he commenced the late campaign. The 
 Sultan Mahmoud would have to consider what 
 he had to oppose to Russia. In himself an energy 
 of character and a firmness of purpose well suited 
 to a situation of danger, and a people animated by 
 religious enthusiasm, and capable of great sacrifices 
 in resisting what is universally felt as an unjust 
 aggression. Turkey possessed no financial resources, 
 its troops at the best were an undisciplined and 
 tumultuary rabble ; and the whole system of Govern- 
 ment, if system it could be called, was ruinous and 
 anarchical. 
 
 Prince Metternich was to be invited to contrast 
 the Ottoman with any other European State. In 
 ordinary cases, after bloody and extensive wars and 
 conquests, peace heals all wounds. Governments 
 might change, dynasties be overthrown, without 
 society and the exercise of lawful authority being 
 materially affected. Once destroy the Turkish power,
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 229 
 
 it would be impossible to reconstruct it. Every 
 province would be in a state of tumult and revolt 
 not only against the Sultan, but against Turkish 
 authority. War of that nature would have features 
 of untold horror, and such a condition would be 
 heralded by a period of confusion and bloodshed. 
 
 His Majesty's Government had felt and expressed 
 an interest in the independence of the Turkish 
 Empire. This interest was not only founded upon a 
 conviction of the necessity of maintaining the general 
 basis of territorial possession in Europe as established 
 at the Congress of Vienna, but it was also due to a 
 Power with which, during its existence in Europe 
 for nearly four centuries, this country had contracted 
 many engagements of commerce, friendship and 
 alliance, and which had shown itself worthy of con- 
 tracting such engagements with us, by the honour 
 and good faith with which they had been observed. 
 
 The despatch pointed out that while it might 
 be an act of duty and inclination to uphold the 
 independence of the Turkish power as it existed in 
 Europe ; in the event of its being overthrown, would 
 any Power impose burdens and sacrifices on its 
 people in order to bring the Turk back into 
 Christendom ? 
 
 The Sultan, it was urged, would be more likely 
 to enter into negotiations for peace if Austria 
 co-operated heartily to that effect. The Reis Effendi, 
 in a conversation with the Imperial Internuncio, 
 appears to have testified the willingness of the Sultan 
 to treat for and to conclude a peace, under the 
 mediation or guarantee of the Great Powers of 
 Europe. This indicated an extraordinary change 
 in the counsels of the Porte, so compassed with ancient 
 maxims of Turkish policy. It was clear that until 
 the stipulations of the Treaty of London were ful- 
 filled, Great Britain and France could never interfere, 
 with due effect, either for the preservation of a general 
 peace, or for the preservation of the Sultan's throne. 
 These Powers having contracted an engagement to
 
 230 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 which they had scrupulously adhered, notwithstand- 
 ing the unexpected divergence of Russia, and even 
 at the risk of a state of hostility, these bonds must 
 be adhered to. 
 
 Admitted that the Court of Vienna had never 
 viewed with approbation the principles on which 
 the Greek Treaty was formed, it was not now the 
 time to question the wisdom of the compact. It 
 might be admitted that error and injustice had 
 their place in the Treaty. If it was an evil, it was 
 an evil of which the existence was firmly established, 
 and which must be dealt with accordingly. 
 
 Metternich was also reminded that whatever com- 
 plications and difficulties might be or, it was hinted, 
 be engineered by any of the Powers, that would not 
 make the British Government alter in any degree 
 their relations to the Treaty. " Much as His Majesty 
 desires the independence and stability of the Turkish 
 power, the preservation of his own honour is still 
 more dear to him." 
 
 The great object of the Austrian Cabinet should 
 therefore be to use all the influence it possessed with 
 the Porte to get it to obtain some reasonable settle- 
 ment of the affairs of Greece, consonant with the 
 terms of the Treaty of London. The Allies had 
 provisionally guaranteed the possession of the Morea 
 and the neighbouring islands to Greece. No final 
 decision had been reached, but in all probability 
 that would be sufficient to comply with the conditions 
 of the Treaty. 
 
 If Austria used her influence on the Porte in sup- 
 port of this arrangement, in conjunction with France 
 and England, the effect would be instantaneous, and 
 probably effectual; far more so than any attempt to 
 negotiate direct with Russia. 
 
 Prince Metternich, in reply to this overture, denied 
 the accuracy of the assumptions on which it was 
 based. He professed to believe that the campaign 
 of 1829 would not be more successful than that of 
 1828, and that the Turks were able to hold their
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 231 
 
 own without support or assistance. In the course 
 of the following spring another attempt was made 
 to induce him to prevail on the Turks to assent to 
 the establishment of a Greek State, and thus clear 
 the way for effective interposition on their behalf; 
 but he replied that Austria was in a very embarrass- 
 ing position, and that he believed the safest course 
 for her to pursue would be to abstain altogether from 
 interfering upon the present occasion. 
 
 It is therefore an error, though one very generally 
 entertained, to suppose that Prince Metternich desired 
 to undertake an armed intervention on behalf of 
 Turkey. The attitude he really occupied is thus 
 pithily and accurately described by the Duke of 
 Wellington in a letter to Lord Aberdeen : 
 
 Metternich is garrulous he is not very fond of the 
 Russians, but very much so of talking and writing 
 upon the extent and consequence of their losses, 
 which, as usual in persons of that disposition, he 
 exaggerates; and boasts, probably with some truth, 
 that if the consequences could be prevented, it is 
 in the power of his master totally to destroy their 
 combination for the next campaign. But he no 
 more thinks of interfering by arms than he does of 
 attacking France; and he would act more wisely 
 if he kept himself quiet altogether and was silent. 
 I'll engage for it that the Emperor of Russia is more 
 afraid of us, who are as quiet as mice, than he is of 
 the Austrians, though the Austrians have more in 
 their power immediately. 
 
 The way for France and us to keep well together, 
 which is an object so desirable to both countries, 
 is for each to examine well the bearings of every 
 question upon the interests and honour of each, 
 before we enter too far with them. 
 
 Nevertheless, during the Spring another attempt 
 was made to induce Austria to take the part Lord
 
 232 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Aberdeen had pointed out in his despatch to Prince 
 Metternich. 
 
 In the beginning of 1829 Lord Heytesbury wrote 
 from St. Petersburg : " We do too much honour 
 to the Government of this country if we suppose it 
 is guided by any profound system of policy. There 
 is no system at all and that the Government acts 
 by fits and starts, varying in projects from day to 
 day, and guided only by chance or circumstances." 
 Russia, he wrote, has undoubtedly fallen from the 
 high station she had usurped in the opinion of the 
 world, and it is well and just that she should so have 
 fallen; but her humiliation will not render her more 
 tractable, and therefore it were not politic to make 
 her feel it too strongly. 
 
 Reporting on the theatre of the war, he believed 
 that after great efforts the Russians would only bring 
 150,000 effective soldiers into the field, for the Polish 
 army was not to move. 
 
 The campaign proceeded, and Lord Aberdeen's 
 predictions were fully verified. The Russians 
 obtained success after success. In July the Duke 
 of Wellington wrote : 
 
 The Russian demands will be raised, and I can't 
 say that the Porte has any means of resistance. We 
 are certainly interested in preventing the extension 
 of the Russian power in Asia, and particularly in 
 preventing their having possession of Poti and Anapa. 
 They feel that this is the case, and therefore keep 
 secret from us this intended departure, on their part, 
 from the letter and spirit of their engagement to the 
 world when they commenced the war. 
 
 I quite agree with Lord Heytesbury respecting 
 the nature of their power. But observe that they 
 are harmless only when single-handed. If united 
 with France, or either of the great German Powers, 
 they are very formidable; and having the desire 
 not only as a nation, but as individuals, to mix
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 233 
 
 themselves up as principals in every concern, and hav- 
 ing a real interest in none, I am not quite certain that 
 they are not the most inconvenient for us to deal 
 with on friendly terms of any Power of Europe. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen replied : 
 
 It strikes me that Lieven and Madame de Lieven 
 both look to the arrival of the Russians at Constanti- 
 nople as a probable event. They talked of the 
 necessity of confidence; and when I asked if they 
 expected us to confide while Constantinople was burn- 
 ing, they both said that it was precisely the time 
 when it was most required and would do most good. 
 
 A crisis (Lord Aberdeen wrote in August), has 
 now arrived. The defeat of the army of the Grand 
 Vizier and the capture of the principal fortresses 
 have opened a road to the capital. The Russian 
 Cabinet must be sensible that the approach of the 
 Russian forces to Constantinople cannot be regarded 
 with indifference by this country, or by any of those 
 Powers who are interested in the preservation of 
 European tranquillity and the independent existence 
 of the Turkish Empire. 
 
 Lord Heytesbury was, if possible, to extract a 
 frank exposition of the views of the Russian Govern- 
 ment on the situation. In despatch after despatch 
 Lord Aberdeen said he longed very much to put 
 to the proof the sincerity of the Emperor's pacific 
 declarations. 
 
 In writing to the Duke, Aberdeen says : 
 
 I could not help telling Lieven that if General 
 Diebitsch arrived at Constantinople, we should not 
 feel much better satisfied even if he made a fresh 
 protestation.
 
 234 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 In August Lord Cowley reported from Vienna 
 that the Russians had captured Erzeroum, but 
 that their advance towards the capital had not 
 altered the Sultan's determination to resist to the last 
 extremity rather than subscribe to the conditions 
 insisted upon by Russia. Lord Cowley had seen 
 the terms presented to the Turks : 
 
 (1) The entire fulfilment of the Treaty of 
 Ackermann. 
 
 (2) Indemnity for the losses and damages which 
 the Russian commerce had sustained in consequence 
 of the war, and compensation for the expenses of the 
 war. 
 
 (3) The free passage of the Dardanelles and of 
 the Bosphorus for vessels of all nations without 
 being visited. 
 
 (4) The arrangement of the affairs of Greece. 
 
 The Turks had at once rejected these terms. Not 
 even were the Russians to obtain possession of every 
 fortress in the Empire, and to succeed in passing the 
 Balkans and in laying siege to Constantinople, would 
 they be accepted. Further, a council held in Con- 
 stantinople had determined to construct additional 
 works for the defence of the capital. 
 
 A change having taken place in the French Govern- 
 ment, Lord Aberdeen thought it worth while to 
 invite its co-operation. He wrote to Lord Stuart 
 de Rothesay, desiring him to lose no time in com- 
 municating with the Prince de Polignac upon the 
 present state of the war in the East of Europe. 
 
 The magnitude of the crisis was such that even in 
 the unsettled state of French affairs it was necessary 
 that the Governments of France and England should 
 do all in their power to prevent a protracted war 
 being carried on. 
 
 The arguments contained in the despatch were 
 much the same as those Lord Aberdeen had pressed 
 on Austria the preceding year. 
 
 The French Government declined to assist in any 
 measures to prevent the apparently approaching
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 235 
 
 catastrophe, and Prince Polignac saw no reason to 
 distrust the assurances of moderation given by the 
 Russian Emperor. 
 
 Russia, while gaining successes in the campaign, 
 was still professing a great desire for peace. Lord 
 Aberdeen, writing to the Duke, says : 
 
 I saw Mr. Temple, just arrived from St. Petersburg. 
 He says the Emperor makes no secret of the difficul- 
 ties of his situation at home. There is a great deal 
 of discontent, perhaps without any definite object, 
 but likely to lead to mischief. The proprietors are 
 becoming rapidly more distressed, especially among 
 the owners of land poverty is increasing. The war 
 has been almost universally unpopular, although the 
 recent successes had begun to change these feelings. 
 Mr. Temple says that it is impossible to form a 
 notion of the degree to which the hatred of 
 foreigners employed in the army is carried among 
 the true Russians. He is convinced that the complete 
 failure of the campaign would have been comparatively 
 little felt, in consequence of the number of foreigners 
 possessing command. All these reasons persuade 
 him that the Emperor is desirous of turning his 
 attention to domestic affairs. 
 
 This is all very well; but even if inclined, it 
 may now be very difficult for him to stop. The 
 conquest of Constantinople, realising the dreams of 
 a century, may well restore popularity to his measures 
 at home, if he can make up his mind to risk the effect 
 which it may produce upon other Powers. It does 
 not appear likely that he has much to apprehend 
 from French displeasure. 
 
 In August Lord Aberdeen wrote to the Duke : 
 
 The Turks are at last really alarmed; and if it be 
 true that the Reis Effendi was about to be dismissed,
 
 236 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 if peace can be obtained by submission it will be made 
 by his successor. Whether it can be had on any 
 terms may be doubtful. The last intelligence left the 
 Russians within eight or ten easy marches of Con- 
 stantinople. A new epoch is about to arrive, when 
 the whole question will assume another character. 
 
 To Lord Heytesbury he wrote privately : 
 
 The truth is, that England and Austria are the 
 only Powers who really have at heart the tran- 
 quillity of Europe. France and Russia are essenti- 
 ally unquiet, meddling and encroaching. Austria and 
 England, therefore, are naturally united in this 
 object, which, above all others, is the most important. 
 We have nothing to do with or to care about 
 bigotry or ignorance or despotism, the one thing 
 needful is peace. The best friend of England must 
 necessarily be that Power from whose designs the 
 peace of Europe has least to fear. 
 
 It was evident to Lord Aberdeen that England 
 would be left single-handed to help the Turks if 
 they were to be given any help. It mattered more 
 to the other Powers if Constantinople was taken by 
 the Russians, and even if its occupation were of a 
 temporary nature, it would have led to open collisions. 
 
 The English Ambassador at Constantinople was 
 Sir Robert Gordon, a warm friend of the Turks, 
 and strongly animated by anti-Russian and anti- 
 Greek prejudices. When the Russians arrived at 
 Adrianople he ordered the fleet under Sir P. Malcolm 
 to Tenedos, with instructions to be ready to pass the 
 Dardanelles at a moment's notice. Had the Russians 
 advanced beyond Adrianople the fleet was immedi- 
 ately to enter the Sea of Marmora for the purpose 
 of defending the Bosphorus. 
 
 But both armies were reduced to a state of 
 demoralisation. The Russians were enfeebled by 
 disease and by internal dissensions. The Turkish
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 237 
 
 army, according to Sir Robert Gordon's account, 
 were in an even worse plight. 
 
 Nothing (he wrote) but an immediate cessation 
 of hostilities can possibly save this Empire from 
 total destruction. The internal disorder is even 
 more alarming than the danger with which it is 
 threatened from without : disaffection and insub- 
 ordination have reached the highest pitch. There 
 no longer exists an embodied Turkish army; and 
 the few scattered troops which the Russians have 
 fallen in with decline to offer any resistance. ... It 
 is certain, so broken-hearted are the Turks, that if 
 the Russians appeared with 10,000 men upon the 
 heights above the capital, they might enter the 
 next day, as at Adrianople, by capitulation; in 
 ten days more they might be masters on both sides 
 the Hellespont from Tenedos to the Black Sea. 
 
 However this might be, the Treaty of Adrianople 
 was signed on September 14. When the conditions 
 of the peace were known, the Emperor of Austria 
 and the King of France wrote to congratulate the 
 Emperor Nicholas on the success which had attended 
 his arms, and the moderation he had displayed. 
 The King of England did not write a similar letter; 
 on the contrary, Lord Aberdeen addressed a despatch 
 to Lord Heytesbury, containing very severe criticism 
 upon the terms of the Treaty. 
 
 Prince Metternich did not approve the Treaty, 
 but continued to urge the absolute necessity of close 
 union between Russia and Austria, as a counterpoise 
 to the revolutionary tendencies of France. He 
 thought that had Great Britain taken a more decided 
 line, many of the misfortunes which had fallen on 
 the Turkish Empire might have been averted. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen replied to this : 
 
 At what moment would Prince Metternich have 
 recommended the adoption of a more decided tone ?
 
 238 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 When the Emperor Nicholas declared war against 
 the Porte, he exercised the right belonging to every 
 independent Sovereign, of obtaining redress for 
 injuries alleged to have been committed against 
 his own honour and the interests of his subjects. All 
 the Great Powers of the Continent, not excepting 
 Austria, recognised the justice of these hostilities. 
 It was otherwise with His Majesty's Government. 
 Great Britain objected to the beginning of the war, 
 and she refused to acknowledge the blockade of the 
 Dardanelles. 
 
 Prince Metternich cannot surely mean that we 
 might acquiesce in the declaration of War by the 
 Emperor Nicholas, and yet feel ourselves at liberty 
 to quarrel with him for carrying it on with vigour 
 and success, in a word, that we should expect Russia 
 to make war with reference principally to our conveni- 
 ence rather than in conformity with her own policy 
 and the promotion of her own interests. 
 
 The despatch went on to say that, Great Britain 
 having no separate objects to attain, and having 
 nothing to fear, it had been peculiarly her office to 
 watch over the peaceful relations of States, and by 
 upholding the established balance to promote the 
 security and prosperity of each. " From this office 
 we shall not shrink. However prompt to act when 
 called upon exclusively by a regard for the honour 
 and dignity of Great Britain, Prince Metternich 
 will probably admit that when the interest is European 
 it is reasonable that we should look for European 
 concert and support." 
 
 The motive behind Lord Aberdeen's action was 
 not love of the Turks, but he suspected the designs of 
 Russia. His view of the Greek cause was under 
 the same fear. A few years before he had regarded 
 it with more favour, but the Greek insurrection at 
 this time was mainly directed from Russia, and he
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 239 
 
 felt that to enlarge and strengthen Greece was 
 apparently to give Russia control over the southern 
 provinces of European Turkey. 
 
 These views he put forth in the House of Lords 
 in answer to Lord Holland. He regretted the 
 weakness of Turkey. " Not from any love of the 
 Turks or of the Turkish Government. God forbid ! 
 I have seen and known the effect of the barbarous 
 rule existing there, and nobody can be more alive 
 to the horrors with which it abounds. But, give 
 me leave to say that the improvement of even Turkey 
 may be purchased at too dear a rate, and I still 
 think that the conquest of that country by Russia 
 would be paying dear indeed for the amelioration 
 of its condition." 
 
 The Treaty of Adrianople made Lord Aberdeen 
 abandon the hope he had entertained of finding in 
 Turkey any effectual resistance to the progress of 
 Russia. Writing to his brother, Sir Robert Gordon, 
 he says : 
 
 The events of the war have clearly shown to 
 the most incredulous, not only that the Porte was 
 utterly unable to contend with any prospect of success 
 against the arms of Russia, but that, trusting to its 
 own resources and without foreign aid, the existence 
 of the Turkish Empire may be said at this moment 
 to depend upon the absolute will and pleasure of 
 the Emperor Nicholas. 
 
 We may perhaps be tempted to suspect that the 
 blow long since predicted is about to arrive, and 
 that independently of all foreign or hostile impulse, 
 this clumsy fabric of barbarous power will speedily 
 crumble to pieces from its own inherent causes of 
 decay. 
 
 Whenever this feeble and precarious dominion 
 shall cease, we ought not to occupy ourselves in 
 vain efforts to restore its existence. Our object
 
 240 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 ought rather to be to find the means of supplying 
 its place in a manner the most beneficial in the 
 interests of civilisation and peace. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen therefore proposed that Greece 
 should be an independent State, free altogether 
 from the suzerainty of the Porte, and that its frontiers 
 should receive a considerable extension beyond those 
 contemplated by the protocols of March, 1829. 
 
 He wrote again to his brother, a private letter : 
 
 You know that to preserve the Porte substantially 
 entire was my great wish. The instant that the 
 Russians had arrived at Adrianople and we saw of 
 what the Turkish Empire was composed, I changed 
 my views, and determined to lay the foundation, 
 if possible, of making something out of Greece. . . . 
 I now look to establish a solid power in Greece with 
 which we may form a natural connection, and which, 
 if necessary, we may cordially support in future. 
 
 But Lord Aberdeen found little support among 
 his colleagues, except from Sir Robert Peel, and to 
 some extent from Mr. Goulburn. The Duke himself 
 clung to his Turkish sympathies, and Lord Bathurst 
 Lord Ellenborough, and others were still more firmly 
 wedded to their original predilections. 
 
 In October, 1829, the Duke wrote to Lord Aber- 
 deen : 
 
 It would be absurd to think of bolstering up the 
 Turkish Power in Europe. It is gone, in fact; and 
 the tranquillity of the world, or what is the same 
 thing, the confidence of the world in the permanence 
 of tranquillity, along with it. I am not quite certain 
 that what will exist will not be worse than the im- 
 mediate annihilation of the Turkish power. 
 
 It does not appear to me to be possible to make 
 out of the Greek affair any substitute for the Turkish 
 power, or anything of which use could be made
 
 fi a>
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 241 
 
 hereafter, in case of its entire annihilation and ex- 
 tinction. All I wish is, to get out of the Greek affair 
 without loss of honour, and without imminent risk 
 for the safety of the Ionian Islands. 
 
 After much discussion, the independent sovereignty 
 was conceded to Lord Aberdeen; but he could not 
 gain the assent of the Cabinet to any extension of the 
 limits of Greece beyond those already determined. 
 With his accustomed loyalty to his chief and to his 
 colleagues, he strove, in all his correspondence, to 
 make the best of an arrangement he did not really 
 like. To his brother alone he permitted himself to 
 express the whole extent of his views with regard 
 to the future which lay before the new State. In 
 his judgment, however, the exact limits of the Greek 
 kingdom had now become of far less importance 
 than the choice of an efficient sovereign for it. He 
 thought it essential that he should be a man of real 
 capacity, willing to work and competent to rule ; one 
 on whom would naturally devolve or who, in case of 
 need, might seize the inheritance of the Sultan. 
 
 Among the numerous princes who were either 
 candidates for the new sovereignty, or had been 
 urged to become so, there were two Prince Frederick 
 of Orange and Prince Philip of Hesse who appeared 
 to Lord Aberdeen to combine the qualities required 
 for the post. Both were men of ability, decision, 
 and strength of character. But of these, Prince 
 Frederick declined to allow himself to be nominated, 
 and the French Court refused to permit the appoint- 
 of a prince who was also a general in the Austrian 
 army, which was the position of Prince Philip. Of 
 him the Duke wrote : "I know him, and believe him 
 to be as little friendly to this country as any other 
 Prince on the Continent." 
 
 Prince John of Saxony was the candidate put forward 
 by France, while Prussia urged the claims of Prince 
 Charles of Mecklenburg. Two Archdukes, Maxi- 
 milian and Bernard of Tuscany, were supposed to 
 
 VOL. I E
 
 be willing to undertake the task. In Lord Aberdeen's 
 opinion they were more fit to criticise Greek archi- 
 tecture and collect Greek coins than to rule a turbulent 
 and hungry crowd of modern Greeks. 
 
 Two other princes had proposed themselves as 
 candidates, Prince Paul of Wiirttemberg and Prince 
 Leopold of Saxe-Coburg. Prince Leopold was 
 accepted, to his own great satisfaction, by the Con- 
 ference, rather on the principle that no Power could 
 offer a definite objection to him. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen wrote to his brother at Constanti- 
 nople : 
 
 I hope you have been preparing our friends for 
 the independence of Greece. This is what we shall 
 certainly establish. We have reduced the limits as 
 much as we have been able; but in this respect we 
 have been obliged to give way more than we could 
 have wished. I consider the appointment of Leopold 
 an invaluable security for the Porte. 
 
 I think you are allowing yourself to be deceived 
 respecting the state of that Empire. It is not 
 wonderful that you should feel a kindness for people 
 who treat you with such favour and distinction, 
 and I am among the first to admit that the poor 
 devils have endured great injustice. For their 
 great misfortunes they have themselves only to thank ; 
 their obstinacy and infatuation have brought them 
 to their present state, and have deprived us of the 
 means of being really useful to them. It is impossible 
 that you can be right respecting the possibility of 
 their recovering their former position in Europe. 
 Every province is in revolt, and the moral effect of 
 a peace dictated at Adrianople cannot be recovered 
 by any means at the disposal of the Sultan. 
 
 Sir Robert said Lord Aberdeen's despatch had 
 made him perfectly unhappy, because he regarded it
 
 RUSSIA AND TURKEY (1828-1830) 243 
 
 as tantamount to a death-warrant of Sultan Mahmoud's 
 power, which he had been labouring to defend and 
 foster. He believed that the Treaty of Adrianople, 
 with all its burdens, would be more palatable to the 
 Porte than the certain knowledge that the preser- 
 vation of the Turkish Empire was no longer an 
 object of the British care. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen wrote in reply to remove some of 
 the apprehensions he had raised by his despatch. 
 He said that His Majesty's Government had formed 
 decided opinions concerning the Turkish Empire. 
 After having seen a victorious enemy within a single 
 march of the Capital, apathy and disaffection prevail- 
 ing in every province, a general disorganisation, 
 and even attempted reforms made without method 
 and discretion, it was difficult to place much confi- 
 dence in the stability of a Power in such a condition. 
 At the same time he told Sir Robert he was entirely 
 mistaken in supposing that the Government was 
 indifferent to the preservation of the Porte, or that 
 they contemplated its downfall with complacency. 
 
 Greece, he said, could not be left as it was before 
 the peace of Adrianople. The increased dangers 
 to the Turkish Empire, and its uncertain duration, 
 made the complicated relations at one time contem- 
 plated with the Greek State impossible. " We are 
 satisfied that the independence of Greece, with a 
 restricted frontier, will ultimately prove more 
 advantageous to the Porte." 
 
 The shrewdness and diplomatic talents of the 
 future King of the Belgians, Prince Leopold, were 
 not then suspected. He was thought to be indolent 
 and undecided, and that the Russian Minister who 
 then presided over the Greek State would be able 
 to guide his ways. 
 
 Capo d'Istrias had no wish to part with his own 
 authority, and when he became aware that the 
 Prince was a man of considerable capacity, he was 
 as anxious to get rid of him as he had been to name 
 him. By playing on the indolence and self-indulgence
 
 244 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 of Prince Leopold's character he knew how to frighten 
 him into abdicating the dignity he had accepted. 
 
 It was a misfortune. Had he, or either Prince 
 Frederick of Orange or Prince Philip, assumed the 
 reins of government, Greece would probably have 
 played the part which Lord Aberdeen intended her 
 to play, and which was much the same as that which 
 Bulgaria has played in our own times. No successor 
 to Prince Leopold had been selected before Lord 
 Aberdeen left the Foreign Office. By Lord Palmerston 
 it was determined that the sovereign of Greece should 
 not be its ruler, but a constitutional king of the 
 approved type, a figure-head, not a governor; and 
 that, even during the time which must elapse before 
 a Constitution could be framed, he should rule 
 through a council. Accordingly, the young Otho of 
 Bavaria was chosen, and a council of regency, mainly 
 composed of Germans, set up to rule in his name. 
 It was an unfortunate choice. What Greece wanted 
 was the direction of a single vigorous mind, the grasp 
 of one firm hand. What it got was a divided council 
 of timid and selfish pedants, acting in the name of a 
 dull, incompetent boy.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 PART II 
 
 FRANCE (1830) 
 
 " A time there is for change and chance, 
 A time for passing of the cup ; 
 And One abides can yet bind up 
 Broken France. 
 
 A time there is for change and chance. 
 Who next shall drink the trembling cup, 
 Wring out its dregs and suck them up, 
 After France ? " 
 
 C. Rossetti. 
 
 THE dispute in Portugal concerning the successor 
 to the Crowns of Portugal and Brazil came before 
 the Foreign Office. Lord Aberdeen was of the 
 opinion that neither the interests of Great Britain 
 nor of Portugal would be benefited by interference. 
 
 Dom Pedro, on his accession in 1826, chose Brazil 
 and resigned Portugal to his infant daughter. He 
 at the same time granted a Constitution to Portugal 
 which wholly set aside the existing Cortes. 
 
 The question was one of imposing the young Queen 
 and the Constitution by means of British bayonets. 
 To this Lord Aberdeen decidedly objected. His 
 argument to M. Barbecue is only interesting as it 
 shows how much interference there had been with 
 the affairs of neighbouring States. 
 
 It is then either for the purpose of resisting 
 successful rebellion, or for that of deciding by force 
 a question of doubtful succession, that Great Britain 
 has now been called upon to act. But it is impossible 
 to imagine that any independent State could ever 
 intend thus to commit the direction and control of 
 
 245
 
 246 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 its internal affairs to the hands of another Power; 
 for doubtless, if His Majesty be under the necessity 
 of furnishing effectual succour in the event of any 
 internal revolt or dissension in Portugal, it would 
 become a duty, and indeed it would be essential, 
 to take care that no such cause should exist if it 
 could possibly be prevented. Hence a constant 
 and minute interference in the affairs of Portugal 
 would be indispensable, for His Majesty could never 
 consent to hold his fleets and armies at the disposal 
 of a King of Portugal without any of those due 
 precautions, and that superintendence, which would 
 assure him that his forces would not be liable to be 
 employed in averting the effects of misgovernment, 
 folly or caprice. Is this a condition of things in which 
 any State professing to be independent could endure 
 to exist? 
 
 These demands on the part of the young Queen 
 were echoed in the House of Lords by Lord Holland, 
 to whom Lord Aberdeen pointed out that the obliga- 
 tion incumbent on Great Britain to defend the House 
 of Braganza from foreign invasion did not extend to 
 the case of internal dissensions. " It would be quite 
 impossible to fulfil such engagements, if they had ever 
 been entered into, which they had not. There 
 would be no end to interference, if we were liable 
 to be called on in every case of dispute between the 
 members of that family or between the King and 
 his people." 
 
 This is a doctrine more obvious to-day than to 
 the Whig opposition of 1830. We may be content 
 with knowing that apart from the age of the Treaty, 
 British bayonets were not employed against Portugal, 
 " our ancient ally." Indeed other matters were 
 engrossing the attention of the Foreign Office. France 
 was on the eve of her Revolution of 1830, and was 
 in various ways endeavouring to distract attention 
 by foreign enterprise. A few weeks after the French
 
 FRANCE (1830) 247 
 
 Revolution which set Louis Philippe on the throne 
 of France and drove Charles X as an exile to the 
 Palace of Holyrood, Belgium was in revolt, and this 
 was speedily converted into a revolution. 
 
 Questions more difficult of solution than those 
 involved in the French Revolution were thus raised. 
 Whatever might be said as to the inapplicability 
 of the protocol of Aix-la-Chapelle to the existing 
 state of things in France, it was impossible to deny 
 that the obvious primd facie interpretation of existing 
 engagements under the Treaties of 1814 and 1815 
 bound England and her allies to maintain the integrity 
 of the kingdom of the Netherlands, and to comply 
 with the King's request for their armed intervention 
 between himself and his revolted subjects. The 
 Duke of Wellington and Lord Aberdeen were resolved 
 not to adopt a course which would have rendered 
 war with France all but inevitable, and were most 
 anxious to engage the French Government in negotia- 
 tions which would, at all events, prevent any open 
 assistance being afforded to the Belgian insurgents 
 from that quarter. 
 
 In the pursuit of these objects they were most 
 efficaciously aided by Talleyrand, who had been sent 
 to London as French Ambassador by Louis Philippe; 
 and it is not impossible, nor indeed improbable, 
 that with his assistance means might have been 
 found to maintain the link which bound together 
 the Provinces of the Netherlands, while giving effect 
 to the just complaints of Belgium. 
 
 In one paragraph of the draft of a despatch Lord 
 Aberdeen had remarked, with satisfaction, that in 
 the change which had been effected " the horrible 
 excesses which disgraced the former revolution have 
 happily been avoided." The Duke of Wellington 
 pencilled on the margin, " We must not travel too 
 fast. Observe that only one month has elapsed 
 since the issue of the Ordinances ; compare that with 
 the first month of 1789." 
 
 The paragraph was altered to the expression of a
 
 248 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 hope that such excesses might be avoided. The 
 discussion held with Prince Polignac daily assumed 
 a more threatening aspect, and but for the revolu- 
 tion in France might have brought about a war 
 between that country and England. It was held at 
 the time that the Wellington Government and Lord 
 Aberdeen entertained strong sympathies with the 
 reactionary Government in France. It was thought 
 that, if they did not advise, they at least regarded 
 without displeasure its attempt to recover autocratic 
 power. 
 
 This was a mistaken view. The correspondence 
 of Lord Aberdeen shows how clearly he saw the 
 folly, and how decidedly he disapproved the violence 
 of the French Government. His public as well as 
 his private letters prove that the Government of 
 Charles was regarded by him from first to last with 
 suspicion, distrust and dislike. 
 
 In the latter part of 1829 rumours reached the 
 English Government that France contemplated an 
 expedition against Algiers, and had entered into 
 engagements with Mehemet AH Pacha of Egypt 
 to assist in the operation, the Pacha receiving as his 
 reward the Regencies of Tunis and Tripoli. The 
 truth of these rumours was persistently denied. 
 
 In the early days of January 1830 Lord Aberdeen 
 received from Prince Metternich, through Lord 
 Cowley, copies of the despatches of the French 
 Ambassador at Constantinople to his Government, 
 which the Prince had found means to intercept. 
 These despatches afforded incontrovertible evidence, 
 not only that the French Government contemplated 
 an expedition against Algiers, but also of the alliance 
 with Mehemet Ali. 
 
 The English Ambassador at the Porte was directed 
 to interpose to procure reasonable satisfaction for 
 France, and a warning was dispatched to Mehemet 
 Ali, which effectually stopped his co-operation. 
 
 Lord Stuart de Rothesay was also instructed to 
 suggest to Prince Polignac " the sincere desire of
 
 FRANCE (1830) 249 
 
 His Majesty that the King of France should obtain 
 from the Regency of Algiers the most ample repara- 
 tion which the provocation and insults he has endured 
 entitle him to demand from that State; but you will 
 at the same time avow a hope that it may still be 
 possible to obtain this reparation without carrying 
 into execution the measures of entire destruction 
 which have been threatened. 
 
 Should this termination of the affair prove to 
 be impracticable, and if the French Government 
 should persevere in the resolution utterly to destroy 
 the Regency of Algiers, you will suggest to M. de 
 Polignac the propriety of affording some explanation 
 of their ulterior views, and of satisfying those who 
 cannot but witness with some anxiety the con- 
 sequences of an undertaking of this description. 
 M. de Polignac will probably think it right to give 
 the necessary assurances that his most Christian 
 Majesty has no intention of establishing a French 
 garrison on the coast, or of finally settling this State 
 with a view to the exclusive prevalence of French 
 interests. 
 
 On the 25th Lord Stuart saw Prince Polignac, who 
 told him that the expedition was resolved on, and 
 would enforce the demolition of the fortifications of 
 Algiers and the abolition of piracy and slavery. He 
 denied the intention on the part of the French 
 Government to form any colony, or place French 
 garrisons on any part of the African coast, saying 
 that, whenever the object of the expedition was 
 obtained, either by the submission of the Dey 1 or the 
 establishment of a new national government dependent 
 on the Porte, the expedition, which was to be of 40,000 
 men, would return to France. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen drew attention to the alarm felt 
 by the Maritime Powers at such a force being sent, 
 
 1 Husein III, Dey of Algiers, 1818-1830.
 
 250 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 and, as M. de Polignac had only verbally stated the 
 above, it was of course necessary that this pledge 
 should be recorded more formally. " The formidable 
 force about to be embarked appears to indicate 
 an intention of effecting the entire destruction of 
 the Regency, rather than an infliction of chastise- 
 ment. This probable change in the condition of a 
 territory so important from its geographical position 
 cannot be regarded without much interest, and it 
 renders some explanation of the intentions of 
 the French Government still more desirable. The 
 intimate union and concert existing between the 
 two countries give us reason to expect to receive 
 the full confidence of the French Government in a 
 matter touching the interests of both, and which 
 in its results may be productive of the most important 
 effects upon the commercial and political relations 
 of the Mediterranean station." 
 
 On the 15th Lord Stuart wrote that he had seen 
 M. de Polignac, who had informed him that explana- 
 tions would be given through the Duke of Laval, 
 that the despatch would contain a full recapitulation 
 of events which had provoked the expedition, and 
 that it would conclude with the assurance that the 
 King of France would concur with all or any of 
 his allies in determining the future government of 
 the country which had been the scene of military 
 operations. No renunciation on the part of France 
 to obtain territory on the coast of Africa appeared 
 in the despatch when, after long delay, it was com- 
 municated to Lord Aberdeen. 
 
 The Duke here interposed a memorandum : 
 
 It will be necessary for Lord Aberdeen to consider 
 what the Cabinet ought to do upon this case. 
 
 We have demanded an official explanation, we 
 have received a verbal one; which upon one point 
 is so far unsatisfactory as that it states the intention 
 of the French Government to alter the nature of the 
 tenure of its possessions on the coast of Africa from
 
 FRANCE (1830) 251 
 
 being, as heretofore, a commercial factory, to here- 
 after a fortified post. 
 
 We have stated in Parliament that the French 
 Government had manifested a disposition to give 
 every explanation we had a right to require. They 
 now decline to give that explanation in the only 
 form in which it can be used in Parliament or 
 elsewhere. 
 
 I don't think that we can go to war because we 
 have a verbal explanation instead of one in writing, 
 but I think that we ought to desire Lord Stuart to 
 present a Note to Prince Polignac, expressing the 
 disappointment of this Government upon finding 
 that, notwithstanding His Highness's repeated assur- 
 ances, the French Ambassador in London had not been 
 authorised to give more than verbal explanations. 
 
 The Memorandum concluded that Lord Stuart 
 might be ordered to convey to the French Government 
 the knowledge that although we admit the justice 
 of their cause, His Majesty will look with anxiety 
 on the termination of those operations, as the interests 
 of his people and the honour of his crown require 
 that there should be no alteration in the state of 
 possession on the coast of Africa, to the detriment 
 of the Ottoman Porte, and in favour of His Most 
 Christian Majesty. 
 
 On May 4 Lord Aberdeen again wrote : 
 
 The affair begins to wear a sinister appearance, 
 and to give rise to doubts and suspicions, which it 
 would be very far from the desire of His Majesty's 
 Government to entertain. We have a duty to per- 
 form from which we cannot shrink. It is clearly 
 our duty to require an official explanation of the 
 ultimate designs of the French Government in 
 equipping and fitting out a military expedition of 
 unexampled magnitude, and thereby calculated to
 
 252 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 excite speculation and apprehension throughout the 
 south of Europe. 
 
 But the rotund processes of diplomacy were too 
 slow to overtake the French action. They were 
 now fully equipped and had their prey in view. 
 Lord Aberdeen heard with astonishment and concern 
 that the French Government thought the expectations 
 of His Majesty's Government were unreasonable, 
 and declined to give any further explanation or 
 assurances in any official form. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen on his part made one more appeal 
 to the consistency and good faith of M. de Polignac. 
 " It will be my duty humbly to take His Majesty's 
 commands respecting such further instruction to 
 your Excellency as the occasion may seem to require. 
 The affair of the explanation respecting Algiers has 
 become very serious." 
 
 Lord Stuart, bombarded with despatches, replies 
 that " Your Lordship has sufficient experience of the 
 mode of proceeding of this Government to admit that 
 I cannot fairly be rendered responsible for the false- 
 hood of the assurances I receive, or the failure of 
 M. de Polignac's promises. My representations upon 
 this subject, both direct or indirect, have been un- 
 ceasing, and have on more than one occasion been 
 accompanied by indications of the hostile consequences 
 which must result from the formation of French 
 establishments on the coasts of Africa that have been 
 contained in your Lordship's instructions." 
 
 Another despatch was forwarded, where the word 
 " official " was underlined, and the gravest consequences 
 were pointed out. 
 
 Austria now takes up the word, and Lord Cowley, 
 our Ambassador at that Court, writes of certain 
 despatches received there. The new elections were 
 on in France and M. de Polignac speaks with con- 
 fidence of their result. He expects a considerable 
 majority. The Austrian Ambassador considers that 
 the Algerine expedition has been undertaken upon
 
 FRANCE (1830) 253 
 
 so large a scale with no other purpose than to give 
 eclat and consideration to the Government. 
 
 The elections in France took place at the same 
 time with the success of the French arms in North 
 Africa. They varied from day to day, and M. de 
 Polignac was determined that all was satisfactory. 
 It was admitted that the Algerine success had 
 gratified the vanity of the French, but Lord Stuart 
 reports : " The progress of the elections is unfavour- 
 able, and whenever the deputies in the department 
 in which the return has been deferred shall have 
 been chosen, there is little doubt that the party 
 opposed to the present Ministers will bring together 
 a majority of at least one hundred members." 
 
 After surveying M. de Polignac's position Lord 
 Stuart says : " The nearer the crisis approaches the 
 more the French Minister appears determined to run 
 every risk rather than abandon the principles which 
 he professed when the Administration was formed." 
 
 In the meantime, on July 16, Lord Stuart 
 officially congratulated M. de Polignac on the success 
 of the French arms at Algiers. 
 
 M. de Polignac now gave every assurance that 
 the French had no desire to retain possession of 
 the territory, and Lord Stuart remarks that, " the 
 treasure which has fallen into the hands of the army 
 having covered the whole expense incurred by the 
 expedition, the project of a military occupation for 
 the purpose of obtaining an adequate indemnity of 
 course falls to the ground." 
 
 On the 19th M. de Polignac told Lord Stuart 
 that he had resolved to divide the Algerine question 
 into two parts : the one embracing the territorial 
 possession of Algiers and its dependencies; the 
 other relating to the immediate and complete 
 abolition of piracy, tribute, and slavery throughout 
 the Mediterranean. With respect to the first, he 
 expects to remove all suspicion of an undue appro- 
 priation of the countries which the French army has 
 subdued, by the simple acknowledgment of the
 
 254 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 sovereignty of the Porte, and the consequent mani- 
 festation to treat exclusively with that Government 
 for the possessions which the French were entitled 
 to claim before the war, leaving the Porte to make 
 the arrangements which they may think most 
 expedient to secure their own authority over the 
 whole Regency. 
 
 Whether the French Government would have had 
 the courage to carry out its professions, or whether 
 it had ever intended to do so, may be doubtful. But 
 the foregoing history makes it likely that a serious 
 breach with Great Britain would have followed. 
 Ten days after the last conversation with Lord Stuart, 
 not M. de Polignac alone, but also the dynasty 
 he served, was overthrown by the Revolution which 
 drove Charles X from France. Lord Aberdeen, 
 instead of considering what should be done in the 
 event of France evading her promises, was consider- 
 ing the place of exile, and the method of transporting 
 " the Count of Pouthieu " to these shores. 
 
 Lord Stuart was taken entirely unawares. On 
 July 23, 1830, the very day before the issue of the 
 Ordinances, he wrote : " The various reports respect- 
 ing the possibility of a coup d'etat I believe to be 
 utterly unfounded." As soon as the Ordinances 
 were published, unaccompanied by any serious dis- 
 turbances, Lord Stuart was at once instructed to 
 deliver no opinion. 
 
 On July 31, Lord Aberdeen, taking advantage of 
 a private conveyance, writes : 
 
 The truth is that from our inevitable ignorance of 
 the actual state of affairs at Paris, it would answer no 
 good purpose to furnish you with instructions which 
 the next hour might become wholly inapplicable. 
 Indeed we cannot form any opinion which ought to 
 influence our conduct respecting events of which the 
 progress is so rapid. We must, therefore, wait until 
 we see a conclusion of some kind; or rather a con- 
 clusion of the first act of the drama; for I take it
 
 FRANCE (1830) 255 
 
 for granted that we are destined to witness a 
 succession of important scenes. 
 
 I do not understand how the city has been 
 evacuated by the troops, who appear to have been 
 everywhere the masters. If symptoms of defection 
 were gaining ground, it might be desirable to prevent 
 further contact with the people. If the troops 
 brought together at St. Cloud continue faithful, 
 and if they should be directed with energy, they 
 may still be too strong for the population of Paris, 
 even with the assistance of the National Guard. 
 The desertion which has already taken place makes 
 it impossible to confide in the steadiness of the other 
 troops, but upon this subject, which is the most 
 important of all, you can give us no information. 
 
 Judging from appearances, I should say that the 
 question now to be decided is, whether a monarchy 
 under any form will be permitted to exist, or whether 
 we shall again see a republic. 
 
 Notwithstanding the astonishment, and even 
 alarm, which prevail here, the effect on the Funds 
 has been but slight, the persuasion in this city being, 
 that a change of Ministers will set all to rights. 
 Rothschild receives frequent expresses, and I hope 
 you will avail yourself of his couriers when you are 
 able. 
 
 Algiers was soon found to be a victory in name 
 alone. Sickness decimated the troops, while the 
 continued hostility of the natives rendered it impos- 
 sible to retain even temporary possession of the 
 territory. 
 
 Lord Stuart on August 23, 1830, reports from 
 Paris : 
 
 Everything that has been said to myself and 
 friends upon the subject of the expedition to
 
 256 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 Africa indicates great indifference respecting the 
 fate of their conquests in that country. That a 
 permanent settlement is useless, because experience 
 has shown that the climate and soil are not suited 
 to the cultivation of the productions of tropical 
 climates; that their exportations must therefore be 
 confined to corn, which will entail ruin on the pro- 
 prietors of the southern departments, who are now 
 beginning to recover from the effects of the import 
 of that article from Odessa under the administration 
 of the Duke de Richelieu. 
 
 They consequently return to the opinion that it 
 will be expedient to concert with the Powers interested 
 in the commerce of the Mediterranean the best mode 
 of re-establishing the authority of the Sultan in 
 those countries, under arrangement for the suppres- 
 sion of piracy, slavery and tribute ; and they consider 
 that this cession may be rendered conditional, depend- 
 ing on the consent of the Sultan to admit rectifica- 
 tions, which may prevent future differences respecting 
 the line of the Greek frontier. 
 
 Our Government and the French were much 
 concerned as to the future residence of the abdicated 
 Monarch. At one time Charles X believed that 
 the vessel on which he was to embark had orders 
 to convey him to the United States, and he requested 
 that two English ships of war should be sent to 
 escort him to Jersey. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen pointed out that this might lead 
 to very complicated relations. To suspect America 
 of lending herself to such " foul play," or to suspect 
 France of it, was equally impossible. " The situation 
 of the King is most difficult and cruel, but it is not 
 foreign advice which can improve it." 
 
 On July 11 Lord Aberdeen reported to the Duke 
 that he had seen Lord Marcus Hill, who had been in 
 Paris during the late disturbances.
 
 A SKETCH OF LORD ABERDEEN RIDING IN ROTTEN Row. 
 
 Taken by H.B. from one of his cartoons.
 
 He confirms in a greater degree than could be 
 thought possible the total want of preparation on the 
 part of the Government to meet any opposition, and 
 indeed the certainty of their never having calculated 
 upon any serious resistance to the Ordinances. So 
 entirely ignorant of the real state of affairs was the 
 King himself, that when Semonville went to St. 
 Cloud on the 30th and used the expression, ' tout est 
 fini,' the King imagined that the confusion was at 
 an end, and proposed to return to Paris the next 
 day ! 
 
 Lord Marcus also confirms the general deter- 
 mination shown by the mob to abstain from pillage. 
 All accounts agree that the number of persons unem- 
 ployed and turned adrift by the manufacturers in 
 consequence of the bankers refusing to transact any 
 business, was the immediate cause of the assemblage 
 being formed to resist the military. We may safely 
 presume that the final result was looked to by such 
 bankers as Lafitte, Casimir Perrier, Odier Delessert. 
 However, it seems that we are now to have Philip I 
 King of the French. I suppose we must take it 
 for granted that King Philip will reign long and 
 prosperously, especially as Lafayette has declared 
 that his sovereignty is the best sort of republic. 
 Perhaps it may expire with the Chamber of Peers, 
 which it is clear is not destined to last long. 
 
 They have confined themselves to the destruction 
 of the Peers created during the reign of Charles X, 
 and have adjourned the question of whether an 
 hereditary peerage shall exist at all. 
 
 The tricoloured flag and the setting aside of the 
 Due de Bordeaux may sanctify the title of the Duke 
 of Orleans in the eyes of many, but I cannot think 
 that even the charms of Republicanism and usurpation 
 
 will enable him to last very long. 
 
 VOL. i s
 
 In the meantime it is possible that we may have 
 Charles X and his family at Portsmouth. Sir George 
 Cockburn 1 has been here to know how they are to be 
 received. In these times the most simple and 
 natural things become matters of difficulty. Under 
 ordinary circumstances an abdicated King would 
 be received with the personal honours due to a 
 reigning Sovereign; and, at all events, a cargo of 
 princes and princesses arriving in their proper 
 character, as such could scarcely fail to meet with 
 the respect due to their birth. 
 
 I have told Sir George, however, in case they 
 should arrive before I hear from you, to desire the 
 Admiral to go on board, and to pay every personal 
 respect; but to make no public demonstration 
 without further orders; and to plead his ignorance, 
 and the absolute novelty of his situation, as his 
 excuse for waiting for instructions. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington sums it up : 
 
 It is very astonishing, but it is quite clear, that the 
 King, Charles X, was not prepared for the conse- 
 quences of his Ordinances. Those consequences, how- 
 ever, were prepared. I don't think that the Duke 
 of Orleans knew anything from either side; but he 
 has been very ready to act. 
 
 I conclude that I shall receive, on to-morrow or 
 Saturday, the accounts of the final termination of 
 the affair, and I will immediately go to London. 
 We can then decide whether we still act without 
 assembling the Cabinet, or without waiting for the 
 opinion of any of our Allies. There are some bitter 
 pills to swallow : the cockade ; the apparently 
 verbal, but, in fact, real and essential alterations 
 
 1 Admiral Sir George Cockburn (1772-1853) took part in the capture 
 of Washington in 1813.
 
 FRANCE (1830) 259 
 
 of the Charter ; the act of placing it under the sauve- 
 garde of the National Guard; the tone assumed by 
 La Fayette. However, the best chance of peace 
 is to swallow them all. If we don't quarrel with 
 them they must set these matters to rights, or quarrel 
 among themselves, or quarrel with us. Any one of 
 these would be better for us and for the world than 
 that we should at this moment quarrel with them. 
 I believe that there is not a Power in Europe who 
 will not be relieved from a load of anxiety when it 
 is known that we have recognised the new Govern- 
 ment. However, we must look at everything. 
 
 His Majesty, King Charles X, accompanied by his 
 family, arrived at Spithead the day before yester- 
 day; and the Marquis de Choiseul was dispatched 
 with a letter, which has this day been placed in my 
 hands, for the purpose of being laid before the King 
 our Master. It appears that His Majesty has 
 assumed the title of Count de Pouthieu, and that it 
 is his wish to be considered as a private individual. 
 He has written to the Emperor of Austria, in whose 
 dominions he is desirous of obtaining a permanent 
 asylum; and until the answer to this request shall 
 be received, King Charles is anxious to take up his 
 residence in this country. 
 
 His Majesty's Government, considering the strictly 
 private character which the King has assumed, have 
 not thought themselves justified in offering any 
 opposition to the accomplishment of his wishes. 
 It has been impossible for us to forget his age and 
 his misfortunes; and we have felt, that to compel 
 these illustrious exiles to seek an uncertain refuge 
 from port to port would have afforded a spectacle 
 little honourable to the Government of Great Britain.
 
 260 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 It is intended that King Charles and his family, 
 during their residence in this country, should fix 
 their abode in some mansion at a distance from the 
 metropolis, in which they may remain in privacy 
 and seclusion. 
 
 There are still those who remember stories concerning 
 the exiled monarch at the Palace of Holyrood. There 
 is no mention in the Aberdeen papers of his going 
 there, but we may believe that the plan came from 
 Lord Aberdeen. Holyrood was sufficiently " in 
 privacy and seclusion " at that date, and one wonders 
 what inhospitable welcome it gave the exiles. Not 
 worse perhaps than that which it extended to the 
 young Queen Mary, also accustomed to all the pomp 
 and fleeting vanities of " la belle France," and at least 
 King Charles was not the centre of plots between 
 the sister kingdoms. There remains a kindly 
 memory of an unfortunate gentleman, lavish with 
 his gold and silver, and looked upon with respect by 
 the good-hearted people, who knew so little about 
 the " Ordonnances " or the rival claimants to the throne 
 of France. Nor did they know of the tossings to 
 and fro, the desire for America and the Low Countries 
 before his little fleet finally brought him to the 
 shores of England. " Country houses have been 
 burnt and pillaged by the populace in the depart- 
 ments of Correze and the Garonne," but safe in the 
 ancient Palace of Holyrood lived the exiles. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen sent a despatch to our Ambassadors 
 in which he summed up the history of these months : 
 
 The events have followed each other with a 
 rapidity which has afforded little time for exami- 
 nation or reflection, and a very few days have been 
 sufficient to overthrow the established Government, 
 to dethrone and expatriate three generations of 
 Princes, and to call a new dynasty to the succession. 
 
 The Revolution being now consummated by the 
 elevation of the Duke of Orleans to the French
 
 FRANCE (1830) 261 
 
 throne, we ought rather to direct our attention to 
 the actual condition and character of the Government 
 of France, and to the manner in which it may exercise 
 an influence upon the general welfare of Europe. 
 His Majesty's Government have especially felt it 
 to be their duty to consider how far the recent 
 changes have affected the political situation of Great 
 Britain and her Allies, and what course, under the 
 extraordinary circumstances of the time, it may be 
 most proper for His Majesty to pursue. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen pointed out the nature and extent 
 of our engagements under existing treaties, and how 
 far they were applicable in the present state of France. 
 For this they were to look for the objects of the 
 general Treaty of Paris of November 20, 1815, after- 
 wards explained by the protocols and declarations 
 of the contracting parties at Aix-la-Chapelle in the 
 year 1818. 
 
 There the Allied Powers, having overthrown the 
 usurpation of Bonaparte, and being anxious to protect 
 Europe from the evils which surrounded it, entered 
 into a solemn Treaty for that purpose. The stipula- 
 tion by which the Allies bound themselves to exclude 
 for ever from the throne of France any member of that 
 family, and to resist all territorial aggression on the 
 part of the French Government, were sufficiently 
 explicit. Should, however, the same revolutionary 
 principles reappear under other forms, convulsing 
 France, and thereby endangering the repose of other 
 States, the Allies further engage to concert among 
 themselves, and with His Most Christian Majesty, 
 the measures which they may judge necessary to be 
 pursued for the safety of their respective States, 
 and for the general tranquillity of Europe. 
 
 Manifestly this precise case has occurred in 
 France, and was not foreseen or provided for in the
 
 Treaty. The object aimed at was the confirmation 
 of the order of things in France, founded on the 
 Royal authority, and of the constitutional Charter. 
 The danger to be guarded against was the overthrow 
 of this order of things by revolutionary principles 
 under some form or other. 
 
 The Revolution having been consummated, the 
 question now arises, whether revolutionary principles 
 have appeared in such a form as to endanger the 
 repose of other States. 
 
 It cannot be denied that the resistance to the 
 decrees of Charles X has been followed by acts which 
 are too well calculated to excite uneasiness and 
 apprehension. The adoption of the revolutionary 
 colours, the National Guard, and the arbitrary 
 destruction of a large body of the Peerage, with the 
 threatened abolition of the hereditary character of 
 the Chamber, all recall to our recollection the early 
 periods of the Revolution, although we may be 
 permitted to hope that the horrible excesses which 
 disgraced the progress of that event will be avoided. 
 
 Under these conditions there is nothing clearer 
 than that the Great Powers must act in perfect 
 union and concert, founded on their determination 
 to preserve the state of territorial possession as 
 settled in the Treaties of Vienna and Paris. The 
 very dangers of the Revolution in France, with all 
 its accompanying circumstances, point to the propriety 
 of union, and acting promptly so as to avert approach- 
 ing danger. The spirit of the Treaty appears to 
 justify and to require this concert. His Majesty's 
 Government has decided that we should studiously 
 abstain from all interference in the external affairs 
 of France. This principle, at all times recommended 
 by the British Government, deserves the utmost 
 attention at the present moment.
 
 FRANCE (1830) 263 
 
 In the actual state of France it is not only 
 necessary to avoid every reasonable ground of offence, 
 but to afford no pretext for complaint of any kind. 
 Should we unfortunately be destined again to endure 
 the calamities of war, it is more than ever indis- 
 pensable that we should exhibit our enemy to the 
 world as being unquestionably the aggressor. The 
 justice of our cause will prove the chief cause of our 
 strength. 
 
 The opinions of our Allies upon this subject 
 coincide with our own. Despatches from the 
 Cabinets of Vienna and Berlin addressed to the 
 representatives of Austria and Prussia fully confirm 
 the system of policy which I have now endeavoured 
 to inculcate. 
 
 A watchful neutrality is recommended, with 
 an avowed determination to protect the integrity 
 ,and independence of all States as established. In 
 view that the despatches from the different Govern- 
 ments have made no mention of the Duke of Orleans 
 as King of France, we find ourselves in a somewhat 
 insulated position. 
 
 It seems natural, with the course taken to 
 abstain from all interference, that we should not 
 hesitate to acknowledge the Sovereign placed upon 
 the French throne. The proposed neutrality of the 
 Allies has been dictated by a desire to give no cause 
 of umbrage to the French nation or Government, 
 and thus, if possible, to secure the continuance of 
 those blessings which Europe has enjoyed during a 
 long interval of peace. If we failed to recognise 
 the Sovereign it would create excitement and 
 irritation in France, and our hopes of preserving 
 peace must in proportion be diminished. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen pointed out that in the midst of 
 measures subversive of the Royal authority the
 
 264 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 principle of monarchical government had still been 
 preserved. 
 
 It is by upholding this principle that we shall 
 best defeat the designs of those who would throw 
 France into confusion and render foreign war 
 inevitable. 
 
 The proximity of our situation demands a speedy 
 decision. Under these circumstances, and influenced 
 by these considerations, His Majesty has determined 
 to acknowledge the Duke of Orleans as King of the 
 French. 
 
 His Majesty has felt also, that in coming to this 
 determination, and to enhance its value, the recog- 
 nition should be made promptly, frankly and cordi- 
 ally. I have therefore received His Majesty's 
 commands to transmit letters to Paris without delay, 
 for the purpose of accrediting His Majesty's Ambas- 
 sador to King Louis Philippe."
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 PART III 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 
 
 " We are on the threshold of a great age, the age of the Peoples." 
 
 Mazzini. 
 
 No sooner were the affairs of France settled than 
 trouble appeared at The Hague. Lord Aberdeen 
 wrote to the Duke : 
 
 There is unpleasant intelligence from the Nether- 
 lands, but it might have been still worse. There 
 were some disturbances, which were met by the 
 magistrates calling on the Garde Communale to turn 
 out and protect the public peace. The riot, serious 
 as it was, seems to have been in great measure 
 accidental. It has been the custom for some time 
 to attend the representation of Masaniello (" Le 
 25 AoQt on jouait sur la theatre de Bruxelle ' La 
 Muette de Portice,' qui montre precisement sur la 
 sce"ne une revolution populaire, Les jeunes gens, 
 sortirent du theatre, criant ' Imitons les Parisiens ' ") 
 for the purpose of applauding passages favourable to 
 liberty. In consequence of the events in France, this 
 piece had drawn an immense number of persons, and 
 the disturbance appears to have commenced among 
 the overflowing of the theatre. No leader has shown 
 himself, nor did the populace assemble at the house 
 of any popular Liberals. Perhaps the worst symptom 
 is the destruction of the Royal Arms upon the shops 
 of the King's tradesman. At all events it is a great 
 
 265
 
 266 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 blessing that this tumult should have been suppressed 
 so soon, even without much aid from the military, 
 as there were but two battalions in the town. They 
 will now have time to take measures of precaution. 
 
 Sir Charles Bagot, our representative at The 
 Hague, writes of the frontier difficulty. It was a 
 great error to leave the fortresses so utterly defence- 
 less as, upon the first suspicion of danger, they 
 proved to be. The storm, if one be brewing, will 
 not burst on this side, and it is not to the north 
 that the eyes of the present French Government will 
 be turned. If a single French regiment enters the 
 country with overtures of fraternisation I would by 
 no means answer for the consequences. 
 
 The Duke returns the papers : 
 
 Falck knows better than I do what is the constitu- 
 tion, and what are the duties of the Garde Com- 
 munale. If they are at all the same as those of the 
 Garde Nationale of France, the retreat of the troops is 
 decisive. When I see that besides the Garde Com- 
 munale, the inhabitants received arms from the store, 
 I cannot but be apprehensive that this is another 
 revolution. 
 
 Sir Charles Bagot writes on August 27 : 
 
 Heaven only knows whether it is a riot merely or 
 a revolution that my despatch of to-day announces. 
 Till we know whether the contagion spreads, and the 
 other towns in Belgium imitate the example of 
 Brussels, it is impossible to decide. It is evident that 
 as yet nothing but the dregs of the people have 
 appeared as actors in the disturbances, that there has 
 been no distinct political cry or rallying word, and 
 that mischief and pillage have been the chief objects 
 of the mob.
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 267 
 
 Every hour that passes away before the disturb- 
 ances are quelled in Brussels increases the danger 
 of contagion to the other towns. I tremble for the 
 first accounts from Liege and Hainault; I tremble 
 too, though not so much, for those from Ghent and 
 Bruges. I do not think the spirit is bad at 
 Antwerp. 
 
 I fear (he writes again) that the question is 
 pretty nearly decided, and that it is not mere riots, 
 but something very like complete revolution. It is 
 true that at present we know of no disturbances 
 anywhere but at Brussels. There has been some 
 little assembling of the people at Louvain, but it 
 was without disorder, and has led to nothing. The 
 complexion of things, however, at Brussels is, as far 
 as it can be understood, because as yet it is very far 
 from clear what the armed bourgeoisie, which is 
 in full possession of the town, really is, and really 
 designs; and whether it proposes to itself complete 
 separation from the general Government, whether 
 they mean independence whether they mean junction 
 and fraternisation with France, or whether they are 
 acting by their own impulses or by French excitation. 
 
 The Princes are now in the act of starting for 
 Antwerp, and the States General are to be imme- 
 diately convoked here, because we are still (that is, 
 till the third Monday in October) in the year of 
 Hague residence. In four or five days I believe that 
 a force of about 10,000 men may be collected in and 
 about Antwerp. If the other towns remain quiet, 
 this may be ample to impose upon an open town 
 like Brussels. 
 
 It was not unnatural that France was supposed 
 to have a hand in this mysterious revolution, and 
 Sir Charles was asked, in the event of this proving
 
 268 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 true, whether the Netherlands could look for military 
 assistance from England. He advised them in 
 their own interest to do nothing which can provoke 
 the cry of, or feelings inspired by, " baionettes 
 etrangeres." 
 
 Later Sir Charles Bagot writes : " Revolution, in 
 the broad sense of the word one can hardly call it, 
 but at Liege and Brussels at least the people are 
 ascendant, and in an attitude of armed negotiation 
 with their Government," 
 
 Again Sir Charles communicates that the whole 
 may turn out to be a regular conspiracy : 
 
 Not one to overturn the fabric of Government, but 
 one to force the redress of grievances. In this con- 
 spiracy it is now nearly certain that some of the first 
 families of Flanders, both in name and wealth, are, 
 and have long been, concerned. 
 
 He continues : 
 
 It has been the tactics of these persons to get 
 hold of the Press, the Courrier des Pays Bas and the 
 Beige newspapers. Their plan has been to supply 
 the lowest rabble with money, and then to set them 
 on as a rabble, to attack and pillage the houses of 
 certain obnoxious persons. When this had taken 
 place, and the inhabitants of the towns were 
 sufficiently alarmed, the scheme was then to get the 
 middle classes and bourgeoisie to arm for public 
 tranquillity, then to engage the mob so to act against 
 this armed bourgeoisie as to induce them to fire upon 
 them, and thus establish animosity between them; 
 while, on the other hand, with money and brandy, 
 they kept the mob up to the proper mark of pillage 
 and riot, in order to justify the continuance of the 
 bourgeoisie in arms. 
 
 By this contrivance they managed to get and keep
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 269 
 
 under a most plausible and popular pretext, arms in 
 the hands of the more respectable classes, and to 
 put them in a condition to prevent plunder and riot 
 going too far. 
 
 If this be true, many of the Garde Bourgeoisie 
 will gradually retire on this account, others will do 
 so from the loss and inconvenience occasioned to 
 them by their military duties; and such a wish 
 will arise for the protection of more regular troops, 
 that what is now the great instrument of the agita- 
 tors will crumble from under them. The regular 
 troops, once peaceably admitted (a single shot might, 
 I admit, change all this) into Brussels, and the States 
 General once assembled here, the most effective part, 
 if not the whole of the machinery, upon which the 
 promoters of the mischief have reckoned is broken 
 up. We must add to this chance the prospect that 
 there now is that France will in no way come to 
 their assistance, for Baron Verstolt told us yesterday 
 that he had received more than a hint that M. de 
 Potter 1 had made a distinct offer to the French 
 Government to put them in possession of the Belgian 
 Provinces, and that another and separate proposal 
 of the same nature had been made directly from 
 Brussels, both of which had been met in Paris with 
 a decided and unqualified rejection. 
 
 The revolution in the Netherlands continued to 
 give great anxiety. Lord Aberdeen, writing to the 
 Duke, says : 
 
 You will have received Lord Stuart's despatch. I 
 do not clearly understand his proposition. If he 
 means that we are to join the French Government 
 in advising the King of the Netherlands to attend 
 to the demands of his subjects, the idea may 
 
 1 L. A. de Potter (1786-1859), a Belgian statesman.
 
 270 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 be at once rejected. What advice it may be proper 
 to give to the King of the Netherlands is another 
 question, and which properly may belong to us. 
 We are bound to secure the union of Belgium with 
 Holland upon certain conditions; we have there- 
 fore a right to see that those conditions are fulfilled, 
 and that our guarantee shall not unnecessarily be 
 called into execution. Our advice has not been 
 asked ; and what may be the real state of the question 
 between the King and his Flemish subjects I do not 
 know. Probably no reasonable ground of complaint 
 exists. 
 
 The Foreign Minister at Paris, M. de Mole, 1 had 
 called on Lord Stuart to tell him that his despatches 
 showed that the movements at Brussels had produced 
 an effect throughout the Belgian Provinces which 
 induced him to consider the maintenance of their 
 connection with Holland extremely doubtful, and 
 he regretted that the King of the Netherlands should 
 delay the communication with the persons in power 
 at Brussels which are necessary to prevent the total 
 annihilation of his authority in Belgium. 
 
 M. de Mole also stated that the Belgian demands 
 were all concerned with local objects, and that the 
 French Government was not compromised by the 
 events taking place. Although the four Great 
 Powers are determined not to interfere in the affairs 
 of France, he felt sure that they were too interested 
 in the maintenance of the present state of territorial 
 possession to encourage the apathy of the Dutch 
 Cabinet by remaining silent spectators of the events 
 which were taking place in Belgium. 
 
 M. de Mole therefore felt anxious to ascertain 
 whether the Powers would agree to address to the 
 Court of the Netherlands a representation asking it 
 
 1 Comte M. de Mole (1781-1855), Foreign Minister to Louis Philippe.
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 271 
 
 to get into touch with the Belgian Provinces, and 
 endeavouring to find out the causes of their discon- 
 tent, and to prevent their total separation from 
 Holland. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen wrote on the perplexed situation 
 to Sir Charles Bagot : 
 
 Your revolution, or whatever it may be called, is 
 a most incomprehensible affair. We know so little of 
 the real causes, and of the actual state of parties, that 
 advice is out of the question, except of a general 
 nature which cannot be required by so sensible a man 
 as the King of the Netherlands. The question of 
 foreign interference is of a most delicate kind, and 
 cannot be answered offhand. You have done quite 
 right to discourage the notion, and I apprehend it 
 could not take place without leading to a general war. 
 At the same time our Treaties are sacred, and the 
 Netherlands Government may naturally rely on the 
 performance of our engagements. We have guaran- 
 teed the union of Holland and Belgium, and if the 
 King has faithfully performed his part, we must 
 perform ours. But I hear nothing of separation, nor 
 do I know what are their grievances. Do not imagine 
 that I am not fully aware of the force and bearing, 
 and tremendous possible consequences of the de- 
 spatches which I send, but we are come to this, the 
 kingdom can be no longer saved by its own internal 
 unaided means, and it now remains for the Allied 
 Powers to decide whether it is to be preserved at the 
 risk which foreign intervention of any kind may, and 
 probably will, incur. 
 
 It is for you to determine whether the communi- 
 cation which I announce from hence does or does 
 not make out the casus fcederis. It is for you also 
 to determine whether, if we have the intention, we
 
 272 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 have also the means of prompt and of sufficient 
 assistance; you too must decide whether France 
 can be made to stand aloof while we fulfil the obliga- 
 tions (if obligations they prove to be) of our Treaties, 
 or whether they are to be fulfilled at the peril of 
 war with her. All this is high matter, qui n'est pas 
 de mon ressort ; but rely upon it that this Govern- 
 ment has no longer the physical means of defending 
 the greater part of Belgium against France, or 
 against those who design to surrender it to France. 
 
 All that has happened is remotely French, all 
 that is happening is directly so. It is no cause, real 
 or pretended, of Belgium which has triumphed at 
 Brussels. If it is not the cause of the French Govern- 
 ment, it is the cause of a French faction which is 
 superior to the Government and the result must be 
 the same for the rest of Europe. It is no longer a 
 question of what this Government can or cannot 
 do to satisfy demands. We have passed that stage. 
 I believe that no declaration of the King's and no 
 measure of the States General would now produce 
 any effect whatever in the greater part of the Southern 
 Provinces. All that is opposition to the Government, 
 all that is even home-made faction, is now swept 
 away. I have no doubt the French Government 
 are perfectly sincere in their desire not to interfere, 
 but they are powerless, and the impulse is given 
 from Paris in spite of them, and by persons nearly 
 connected with the Government. 
 
 Sir Charles Bagot wrote from The Hague, Septem- 
 ber 3 : 
 
 I know not what you will think of the Prince of 
 Orange's measure of entering Brussels as he did; I 
 know not what to think of it myself. If the choice 
 lay between entering as he has done and taking the
 
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 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 278 
 
 town by assault, he has perhaps acted wisely, and 
 it may prove a great card in his hand that, as yet, 
 no drop of blood has been spilt under his orders, by 
 the national troops, but it was a fearful experiment, 
 and I suspect that it was with the greatest difficulty 
 that the Garde Bourgeoisie saved him from worse 
 than insult on the part of the mob when he first 
 entered the town. That danger past, his reception 
 was on the whole good, and it is scarcely possible that 
 the confidence and courage which he has displayed 
 should not, in the end, impose even upon that basest 
 of all human congregations, a Belgian rabble. 
 
 I do sincerely believe that in the whole history of 
 the world there never was an example of a popular 
 revolution so totally uncalled for, and so totally 
 unjustified by real popular grievances, as this will 
 prove to be, if it really ends in becoming revolution 
 in the extended sense of the word. I hope, and I 
 still think, that it will not so end, but, end as it may, 
 the work of fifteen years is already undone, and no 
 man living can say yet how it is all to be repaired. 
 
 On September 9 Lord Aberdeen wrote to the 
 Duke of Wellington : 
 
 The affairs of the Netherlands have now assumed 
 a new character, and one which will require much 
 attention from us as well as from the other European 
 Powers. The question of some kind of separation will 
 be considered by the States General under the King 
 himself. What the precise nature of the proposition 
 is does not yet appear; but it is clear that if the 
 separation shall be of such a character as to satisfy 
 the authors of the insurrection, it will be equivalent 
 to a juncture with France. A mere separate adminis- 
 tration for the Flemish Provinces under the control of 
 the King might be of little consequence, but if the 
 
 VOL. I T
 
 274 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 finances are distinct, and the army also, what becomes 
 of the engagements of the King to protect the 
 frontier? The interest of the Great Powers, and 
 especially of this country, in the state of the fortresses, 
 and the money expended, will require to be attended 
 to. I apprehend that no separation can take place 
 such as is but too probably contemplated, without 
 the abrogation of the Eight Articles of the Treaty 
 of London. These form a part of the General Act 
 of the Congress of Vienna, to which France is a 
 party. The King will unquestionably refer to the 
 Great Powers the consideration of the changes which 
 it is proposed to make. The frontier was manifestly 
 constituted against France : is France to deliberate 
 upon the condition of that which is intended to be 
 a protection against herself? But, as France is a 
 party to the Treaty of Vienna, the question has 
 become European and the French Government may 
 assert their right. 
 
 In a despatch sent to Lord Stuart, Lord Aberdeen 
 notes the desire of M. de Mole to exculpate the 
 French Government from any charge of participating 
 in the disorders which had broken out. France, 
 through her Minister, had concurred in such measures 
 as might be necessary for the execution of the Treaties, 
 and in that had given evidence of the spirit of modera- 
 tion and justice which had directed the Councils of 
 the King of the French. 
 
 The condition of the Netherlands must be regarded 
 with the utmost degree of interest by the Powers of 
 Europe, as the result of the crisis might materially 
 affect the objects proposed by the parties to the 
 late Treaties, according to which the Belgian 
 Provinces were united to Holland. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen pointed out that anything that 
 gave a reasonable prospect of strengthening that 
 connection would meet with the agreement of His
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 275 
 
 Majesty's Government, but the propositions of M. 
 de Mole were not likely to be helpful. His proposal 
 was that a joint representation should be addressed 
 to the King of the Netherlands, which would point 
 out the manner of his dealing with the Belgian 
 Provinces. That he should communicate with the 
 authorities in those Provinces, to find out their 
 grievances, and to prevent if possible the total 
 separation of the countries. 
 
 It appears (Lord Aberdeen wrote) that the 
 populace of Brussels and of other towns, stimulated 
 possibly by the example of what had recently taken 
 place at Paris, suddenly broke out into acts of riot. 
 No political object was announced, but the excesses 
 were directed against the dwellings and property of 
 certain individuals. A Burgher Guard was organised 
 in self-defence, and this Guard had remained in 
 possession of the town, assuming a power not only 
 unconnected with the Government, but with the 
 exercise of any lawful authority. 
 
 These persons are said to have petitioned the 
 King for the redress of their grievances. We have 
 no certain information of the grievances, nor of 
 the petitions being presented. It would be extremely 
 hazardous to give to a Sovereign so enlightened as 
 the King of the Netherlands any general advice 
 on such a situation. The King, already by a most 
 wise decision, has sent the Princes, his sons, into 
 the Southern Provinces, with a body of troops 
 sufficient to restore order and to give confidence 
 to the well-affected part of the community. He has 
 convoked an extraordinary meeting of the States 
 General, by whose deliberations he may be assisted. 
 Under these circumstances we should incur heavy 
 responsibility by interposing foreign counsel. Every- 
 thing appears to have been done which is most
 
 276 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 consistent with the character of a constitutional 
 Sovereign ; and we ardently hope, that by a judicious 
 union of conciliation and firmness, the dangers which 
 threaten the Government may be overcome. 
 
 On September 17 Sir Charles Bagot writes again : 
 
 The violent party, consisting either of pure 
 Jacobins or of those who desire to throw the country 
 into the arms of France, and the party which 
 by comparison may be called moderate, are, as it 
 should seem, now come to an open rupture. I cannot 
 conceal from Your Lordship that the situation of 
 the country and the position of the King are becoming 
 every moment more critical. The military force 
 does not amount to more than 20,000 men. Of this 
 force the proportion of Belgians to Dutch is at least 
 three to five; the fidelity of the Belgian part must, 
 in such a struggle, be very questionable. As yet the 
 Provinces of Liege and South Brabant alone can 
 be declared in a state of open revolt; there is every 
 reason to believe that the two Flanders and the 
 towns of Ghent and Antwerp are decidedly friendly 
 to the Government, but the other towns and a great 
 part of the Plat Pays are only waiting the signal 
 from the town of Brussels or from France. In all 
 the fortresses of the frontier the population is greatly 
 superior to their garrisons : the finances and credit 
 of the country are fast getting into derangement; 
 the Northern Provinces are becoming highly dis- 
 contented with the supposed inactivity of the Govern- 
 ment, and every sacrifice now made to the Belgian 
 demands, and every measure which might seem to 
 pardon or overlook the proceedings at Brussels, 
 might endanger the King's popularity in this part 
 of the country to a very serious degree.
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 277 
 Writing an undated despatch, Sir Charles says : 
 
 Since I wrote my despatches the Prince of Orange 
 has been with me. His object was to ascertain, 
 in consequence of the Council held this morning, 
 what we would and what we could not do. For 
 the would, I made him easily understand that it 
 was quite out of my power to answer. For the 
 could, materially speaking, I told him that I believed 
 that there hardly ever was a moment in which we 
 were so little provided. He seemed to admit that 
 this might be the case, but he seemed also to think 
 that we might afford a great moral assistance, by 
 giving France to understand that in interfering 
 under the engagement of our treaties, to maintain 
 the order of things to which we were pledged, and 
 nothing more, we should consider any obstacle on her 
 part to such an operation as a declaration of hostilities 
 against us, and probably against all the other Powers 
 connected with us by the same obligations. 
 
 On September 19 fresh disturbances broke out 
 in Brussels and the Burgher Guards were over- 
 powered. Prince Frederick of Orange, concluding 
 that action was inevitable, attacked the town. After 
 four days' fighting, on September 27, the Dutch 
 troops, unable to advance, were withdrawn from the 
 positions they had won. On the following day the 
 Lower Chamber of the States General decided in 
 favour of a dissolution of the union between Belgium 
 and Holland. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen wrote to his brother, Sir Robert 
 Gordon : 
 
 The events in our part of the world are sufficient 
 to move even the most phlegmatic Mussulman. 
 The French Revolution has completed its first period ; 
 you will see that we have acknowledged the King
 
 278 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 of the French, and the Great Powers are following 
 our example. I have no great belief in the stability 
 of the present order of things in France. The 
 Jacobins are gaining ground, and the King and his 
 Government are without power. The first change 
 will probably be to turn the King into a President, 
 that is in name; for in reality he is now nothing 
 more. The condition of the Netherlands is most 
 critical. The conduct of the King has been wise 
 and moderate, as he has taken care to put himself 
 in the right. But the spirit at Brussels, and Liege 
 especially, is as bad as possible, and generally a 
 separation will be desired. I have no conception 
 how this will end. The French Government have 
 not openly interfered, and indeed profess to regret 
 this state of affairs ; but many of the most influential 
 persons in France are undoubtedly connected with 
 the whole affair, and the nation generally are eager 
 to resume possession of what they consider to be 
 their own Provinces. I think no party in this 
 country would agree to the separation of the Belgian 
 Provinces from Holland, and still less would tolerate 
 their union with France. Here then, with all our 
 desire of peace, is a cause of war not very distant. 
 
 Germany is in an extraordinary state. Insurrec- 
 tions have been frequent. Brunswick, Hesse, Saxony, 
 Hamburgh have all been convulsed, I do not very 
 well know why. 
 
 As yet nothing serious has broken out in Italy, 
 but it is to be feared, especially in Piedmont, where 
 some symptoms have already appeared. I hear too 
 that in the Roman States the danger is great. The 
 Austrians are reinforcing their army in Lombardy, 
 and I suppose are pretty secure. 
 
 You will want to know what we are about here. 
 The newspapers will show you that we have been
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 279 
 
 nearly mad about this French Revolution, and the 
 heroic populace of Paris. I think that people are 
 gradually coming to their senses, and they begin 
 to see what the revolution really is, and what are 
 likely to be its consequences. We have behaved 
 handsomely to the new Government, and if they 
 stand we may preserve peace; but happen what 
 may, if we take good care to be right, I think we shall 
 be supported. 
 
 You will be astonished to hear that old Talleyrand 
 is on his road as Ambassador ; I have already received 
 a letter from him, in which he refers to the pleasure 
 of his former rapports with me. Considering that 
 these related to the restoration of Louis XVIII, the 
 recollection is rather out of place. 
 
 In other respects the country is going on well. 
 We have had a good harvest, commerce is flourishing, 
 and I believe manufactures of all kinds. The King 
 is very popular, and cordially supports his Govern- 
 ment. Although we have gained numbers by the 
 late election, the general impression has been unfavour- 
 able, for we have met with signal defeats. I should 
 say there was no general hostility to the Government, 
 but there is certainly no zealous support in the 
 country. The Catholic question has utterly destroyed 
 all party attachment, and, having separated the Duke 
 and Peel from their natural followers, has thrown 
 them on the mercy of the candid and impartial, 
 who, I fear, will never give the necessary strength 
 to any Government. 
 
 For myself, I assure you that I am at single 
 anchor; there are many things in leaving office 
 which I should undoubtedly regret, but the motives 
 which induce me to wish to retire are becoming 
 stronger every day.
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON 
 
 Sept. 29. 
 
 I think it best to send the intelligence which we 
 have received from the Netherlands, without any 
 delay. Its importance and character are such as 
 to require immediate attention ; and in this instance 
 I act according to the instructions of Bonaparte, 
 who decided that not a moment should ever be lost 
 in communicating bad news, but that the good 
 might be left to a convenient time. I will write 
 to Peel to-night, for we may expect to be called 
 upon by the King of the Netherlands immediately. 
 
 On the 3rd October he wrote further instructions 
 to Lord Stuart : 
 
 We are desirous that you should take an early 
 opportunity of seeing the King of the French, and 
 conversing with him upon the present state of the 
 Netherlands. You may impress him as strongly as 
 possible with the conviction of our sincere desire 
 to do everything in our power to prevent these 
 convulsions from becoming the cause of war in 
 Europe. He must be aware of the feeling of our 
 Allies upon this subject, and the difficulty under 
 which we are placed in recommending the most 
 conciliatory and pacific course. A frank concurrence 
 on the part of the King in friendly counsels may 
 effect this; but if he should separate himself from 
 the other Powers, and carry the principle of non- 
 intervention so far as not even to assist in giving 
 advice for the purpose of securing the continuance 
 of a work to which France herself is a party, it is 
 easy to see what must be the consequence. No one 
 will believe the sincerity of those declarations of 
 neutrality which are violated by hundreds of French
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 281 
 
 subjects every day, unless the Government should 
 come forward in the spirit of peace, and prove that 
 they are desirous of seeing an end of these troubles. 
 
 If the French Government will fairly act with us, 
 and with the other Powers, in the endeavour to 
 discover what may be the best practicable modifica- 
 tion of the union, we may hope that the Belgians 
 will come to their senses and that some arrangement 
 may be made. 
 
 The present state of anarchy cannot continue, and 
 if it could, it would be disgraceful to the Powers 
 who have created this kingdom to permit it. 
 
 I fear, therefore, that without a friendly concert 
 the course of events must inevitably lead to a state 
 of actual hostility at no distant period. 
 
 Lord Stuart in reply stated that the views of the 
 British and French Governments were sufficiently 
 analogous, and that he could not doubt the French 
 Government would concur in devising the means 
 of bringing about a settlement of the affairs of the 
 Low Countries, by which every interest might be 
 consulted. He believed the happiest result would 
 follow the similarity of opinion which prevailed in 
 the two Cabinets. 
 
 M. de Mole acknowledged the stipulations of the 
 several Treaties, and then said it would be necessary 
 to consider the means at the disposal of the Allies. 
 The Southern Provinces were now separated. 
 Whether the indication of the opinions of the several 
 Powers, through the King of the Netherlands, would 
 in the present moment of irritation be a good mode 
 of inducing them to acquiesce in the views enter- 
 tained by the Allies, he felt that it was impossible 
 for them to enter into direct communication with the 
 Provisional Government which had been formed at 
 Brussels, or to listen to any overture from that source. 
 
 A Conference of the respective Governments was 
 suggested either at Paris or in London. The King
 
 282 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 of the Netherlands was in favour of a concert between 
 his Government and the Allies, and he thought the 
 choice of the Prince of Orange to govern the Low 
 Countries to be the most secure arrangement that 
 could be adopted. He felt that the maintenance of 
 the present order of things in his country depended 
 upon the maintenance of peace with Great Britain 
 and Prussia. 
 
 Lord Stuart after seeing the King, had a short 
 interview with the Prussian Minister. He asserted 
 that the views of his Court were the same as those 
 of the British, and he said he would support the 
 overtures which had been made to the French 
 Ministers. The Prussian Government was preparing 
 for every alternative, and in case the policy of the 
 Allies should not be duly appreciated, and the King 
 of the French encouraged projects incompatible with 
 existing treaties and the tranquillity of other States, 
 he asserted that military preparations in Germany 
 were in a state of forwardness which would permit 
 Prussia to bring a force of 260,000 men to the Rhine 
 within two months from October 1. 
 
 On that date Sir Charles Bagot, writing from The 
 Hague, says : 
 
 In the meantime the sceptre of Belgium has passed 
 away, and the King reigns no more over it than he 
 does over the two Jerusalems. Whether he is again 
 to reign over it par droit de conquete is a question 
 for you to decide. Everything is going or gone like 
 a house of cards. I have no conception how we can 
 weather the inevitable confusion of the finances. The 
 expenses are increasing threefold, and the revenue is, 
 of course, diminishing in at least the same proportion. 
 
 LORD ABERDEEN TO SIR CHARLES BAGOT 
 
 Oct. 6, 1830. 
 
 After what had happened in the Netherlands it is 
 clear that great alterations must take place in the
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 283 
 
 manner in which the Kingdom is constituted, even 
 if it be possible to preserve it entire. Our interests 
 and the interests of the three Allied Powers are the 
 same as those of the King. Nothing, therefore, can 
 be more desirable than to get France into a negotia- 
 tion with us, where her separate interest must be 
 pressed at a great disadvantage, in case she is disposed 
 to pursue it. The short of the matter is this, the 
 affairs of the Netherlands can never be permanently 
 settled without the concurrence of France. This can 
 only be obtained by persuasion or by force; we are 
 bound to attempt the first before we employ the 
 latter mode. If the Belgians should see that France 
 is employed with us in an arrangement of their 
 affairs, upon the avowed principle of conciliation 
 with Holland and separation from France, I cannot 
 help trusting that they will cool a little in the work 
 of revolution, and that by degrees they may be 
 brought to reason. At all events we shall have the 
 French Government committed to our principle, 
 which must necessarily embarrass their future pro- 
 ceedings, in case we should disagree. 
 
 We have reason to think that the French Ministers 
 are disposed to act with us cordially in this matter, 
 and we ought, therefore, if possible, to strengthen 
 their hands. 
 
 I received late last night the Note from Falck 1 
 demanding assistance. Having made our overture 
 to France last Sunday, we shall wait the result before 
 giving an answer to him. Have the goodness to 
 place it in the best light to the King and M. Verstolk. 
 Show them that, at all events, it is the safest for 
 the Netherlands and the whole world. It may 
 possibly succeed; in which case the blessing would 
 be beyond all price, but even if it fail it will give a 
 
 1 A. R. Falck (1773-1843), Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs.
 
 284 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 moral power which we shall find of the utmost 
 importance in the adoption of future measures. 
 
 Sir Charles Bagot reported his conversation with 
 Verstolk : 
 
 I fear that I shall have some difficulty in 
 making our project of negotiations palatable to 
 him. He thinks that France will gladly accept our 
 proposition, that it is exactly what she wants, 
 that it gives her time to form and discipline the 
 110,000 men that she has called out, that the Govern- 
 ment neither can nor will give any security that, 
 while negotiations are going on, money and assistance 
 of all kinds should not continue to pour into Belgium 
 as they do now, and that in the meantime the hands 
 of England and the other Allies are tied up. Time, 
 he contends, is everything, and though he does not 
 deny the moral force which the Allies would acquire 
 by putting France yet more in the wrong, he does 
 not admit that it counterbalances the physical force 
 which she will now acquire by every day's delay. 
 
 The Allies, he says, must speak to the French 
 Government, but the Government cannot control the 
 Nation, and that while the Allied Powers are holding 
 diplomatic conferences, the French people, under 
 the name of Belgians, will be securing all the fortresses, 
 overrunning Holland (which has not, unassisted, the 
 means at this moment of defending itself), and 
 perhaps penetrating into Hanover and the North of 
 Germany. War is inevitable in his opinion, and 
 that all delay is provoking it in favour of France, 
 which is not yet prepared for aggression, and to the 
 disadvantage of Europe and the Allied Powers. I 
 have not failed to endeavour to persuade him that 
 an overwhelming foreign force might perhaps put 
 down the rebellion, and secure, for a very short time
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 285 
 
 longer, the nominal integrity of the kingdom and 
 sovereignty of the House of Orange, but that it would 
 be but for a moment, and that nothing could be 
 permanently arranged unless France, Government and 
 people, were concurrent parties to the arrangement. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's note on this letter was : 
 
 It appears to me to be neither more nor less than 
 a demand to send troops into the Belgian Provinces 
 as a preliminary to all discussion. It is the duty of 
 this Government to look at the state of things at 
 present, at the chances of the conquest of Belgium, 
 and even of any benefit to be derived from the 
 conquest if made. 
 
 In the meantime Namur had capitulated, and 
 Antwerp and Malines were the only strong places 
 left in the hands of the Royal troops. 
 
 Baron Verstolk again wrote on the French attitude 
 that, whatever the intentions of the French Govern- 
 ment, the French nation (to which he attributed the 
 present complexion of the revolution) only desired 
 to avert for a time an armed intervention in the 
 affairs of the Netherlands, in order to acquire that 
 force which at the present moment it had not, and 
 which, when acquired, would make such intervention 
 nugatory. He said that while the Allies remained 
 inactive he could get no security from France that 
 she would not continue to encourage and support 
 the revolution by every means in her!' power, and 
 contended that, late as it was, the presence of a 
 combined Prussian and English force would suppress 
 the revolution, and probably preserve that general 
 peace which six months hence could not be preserved. 
 
 Both the Minister and the King pressed this view 
 with warmth, and Sir Charles Bagot thought that he 
 had had little effect in combating this view of the 
 true policy of Europe, and the obligations of the 
 four Allied Powers.
 
 286 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 On October 15 the French Ambassador commu- 
 nicated the desire of his Government for a Con- 
 ference of the Allied Powers, to consider the 
 restoration of tranquillity, and the establishment 
 of a regular Government in the Netherlands, and 
 that it should be held at Paris. Lord Aberdeen 
 answered that, though the original idea of a Conference 
 came from His Majesty's Government, it had never 
 been the desire of his Goverment to make London 
 the usual place for such meetings. Under ordinary 
 circumstances the proposal of the French Government 
 would meet with no objection. " In the actual 
 condition of the Netherlands," the despatch went 
 on to say, " it is clear that these Conferences, to be 
 really useful, should be promptly undertaken, and, 
 if possible, speedily brought to a close. All the 
 Ministers at the Court of Great Britain are ready 
 to join in these deliberations, and to concur in what- 
 ever arrangements are thought suitable. At Paris, 
 on the contrary, where no Austrian or Russian 
 Minister is yet accredited to the King of the French, 
 a delay highly prejudicial must occur, and the intrigues 
 of the insurrectionary Government will tend to 
 impede the progress of the negotiations. Nothing 
 could more tend to give confidence in the desire of 
 the King of the French to maintain the peace of 
 Europe, and to execute the Treaties by which it 
 exists, than that the French Plenipotentiary should 
 be engaged in concert with the British Plenipotentiary 
 and his Allies, in endeavouring to re-establish tran- 
 quillity in the Netherlands. We lament that such 
 an opportunity should be lost by the perseverance 
 in the proposal to hold the Conferences in Paris 
 instead of in London. 
 
 On October 16 The Hague was expressing a wish 
 through Sir Charles Bagot that the Four Powers 
 which had signed the Eight Articles of London 
 should appoint Plenipotentiaries, to whom might be 
 referred the modification which it might be found 
 expedient to make in the Fundamental Law. As
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 287 
 
 the rebellion in the Belgian Provinces had made 
 such rapid progress, and had assumed so menacing 
 an attitude, it was very uncertain whether either the 
 Deputies or the States General would meet in sufficient 
 numbers to proceed to business, or in short whether 
 there remained any regular and legal means by 
 which the differences which had arisen between the 
 Northern and Southern Provinces could be adjusted. 
 
 His Netherlands Majesty felt that, although his 
 Allies were disinclined to afford him military assistance 
 in his present difficulties, a diplomatic measure of 
 this kind might be of the greatest service to him, 
 and might contribute essentially at this moment 
 to the preservation of the general peace. 
 
 On the Plenipotentiaries meeting, the King of 
 the Netherlands thought that their first measure 
 should be to demand an armistice, and if this was 
 conceded, the French Government taking part in 
 the measure, there could be very little doubt that 
 such an arrangement might be effected as would 
 satisfy the just demands of each division of the 
 kingdom, and prevent any disturbance of the general 
 peace. The Netherlands Foreign Minister suggested 
 that the proposed Congress should be held at The 
 Hague, but as the Belgians might fear coming to The 
 Hague, he suggested either the towns of Breda or 
 that of Cleves. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen wrote to Lord Heytesbury, our 
 Minister at St. Petersburg : 
 
 The importance of affairs in the Netherlands makes 
 us less alive to anything else. I am not very sanguine 
 about the effect of our conciliatory overture to the 
 French Government, because I cannot help entertain- 
 ing some doubt of their good faith ; and this is con- 
 firmed by the proposition of Talleyrand to transfer 
 the Conference to Paris. It is clear that the time of 
 forcible interference is not yet come; nor can we yet 
 tell what it is that we are to attempt to perform.
 
 288 LIFE OF .THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 One only thing is quite indispensable union and I 
 am happy to say that nothing can be more perfectly 
 satisfactory than the spirit which prevails among 
 the Four Powers in this respect. 
 
 Lord Aberdeen's next letter was sent to Baron 
 Falck. It was in answer to a direct appeal made 
 for military succour. Lord Aberdeen proceeds to 
 sum up the situation : 
 
 Your Excellency may be persuaded that His 
 Majesty will scrupulously fulfil all the engagements 
 into which he has entered. The obligation of Treaties, 
 the interests of his own people, and his regard for 
 the person of the Sovereign, His Ally, all combine 
 to render it impossible for His Majesty to remain 
 indifferent to the fate of the Low Countries, and 
 to the result of the present troubles. The great 
 object of His Majesty's care, and of which he 
 can never lose sight, is to prevent, if possible, the 
 disturbances of these Provinces from leading to any 
 interruption of the general peace of Europe. It is 
 not to be doubted that the other Powers, parties 
 to the Treaties and diplomatic acts which regulate 
 the constitution of the Netherlands, are animated 
 by sentiments equally pacific. 
 
 With these views His Majesty's Ambassador at 
 Paris has been instructed to invite the French 
 Government, according to those Treaties to which 
 France is a contracting party, to join the deliberations 
 of His Majesty and his Allies, and to concur in such 
 measures as by common consent should be thought 
 indispensable for the re-establishment of order in 
 the Netherlands; and which should be framed with 
 a due regard for the security of other States. The 
 King of the French has testified his desire to enter 
 into this concert, and we may be permitted to hope
 
 HARRIET DOUGLAS, COUNTESS OF ABERDEEN. 
 
 Sister of the 17th Earl of Morton. Married, first, Viscount Hamilton 
 
 (son of John James, 1st Marquess of Abercorn), who died in May, 1814. 
 
 She married secondly, George, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, at Bentley Priory, 
 
 July 15th, 181.3, and died August 20th, 1833. 
 
 From a picture by Sir Thoma* Lawrence.
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 289 
 
 that the sincere endeavours of the Allied Powers, 
 in conjunction with the enlightened judgment of 
 the King of the Netherlands, will prove successful 
 in applying an effectual remedy to the present evils. 
 
 The French still continued to raise objections to 
 the Conference being held in any other place than 
 Paris. M. de Talleyrand was directed to say that 
 rather than come to London, the Conference should 
 be conducted through the Ambassadors who were 
 acting as the medium of their Courts. A further 
 letter indicated that it was jealousy of the appoint- 
 ment by the King of Prince Talleyrand, and that 
 the proposal to meet in London was due to his 
 inspiration. To this Lord Aberdeen replied that 
 the extraordinary reason of M. de Mole against 
 the Conference being held in London did not appear 
 to be worth serious consideration. 
 
 "It is for the French Government to determine 
 in what manner they may think proper to employ 
 their representative, but M. de Mole must admit 
 that his observations about M. de Talleyrand afford 
 no valid answer to the reasons for selecting London 
 as the seat of the Conferences." Lord Aberdeen 
 said that if no better reasons were presented it would 
 give rise to the suspicion that a prompt and satis- 
 factory adjustment of the dissensions in the Low 
 Countries was not the object of the cordial and 
 zealous endeavours of the French Government. 
 
 The Netherlands also objected to the Conference 
 being held in London, on the ground that if Holland 
 were not chosen a very ill impression would be 
 produced. A direct appeal was made on October 25 
 through Sir Charles Bagot for a certain number of 
 troops for the defence of Antwerp. " It has certainly 
 been turned by the advanced force of the rebels, 
 and we are as certainly alarmed here for the Dutch 
 line of defence." 
 
 To the appeals for military assistance the Duke of 
 Wellington made vigorous reply : 
 
 VOL. i u
 
 290 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 We are accused of apathy and our Ambassador at 
 The Hague says nothing. 
 
 Then we do not send military succours ! The 
 King of the Netherlands with great wisdom, deter- 
 mined in the first instance to consider the insur- 
 rection as an internal affair; and without consulting 
 with us, to discuss it and determine upon it 
 with the States General without insisting upon 
 the previous submission of the insurgents. He 
 subsequently tried force; and His Majesty's forces 
 were not sufficient to obtain possession of the town 
 of Bruxelle. It was at that time that His Majesty 
 called for the assistance of his Allies, and parti- 
 cularly of England, and before the demand arrived, 
 we heard of the revolt at Bruges, and of the loss 
 of Ostend, Nieuport, Ypres, Tournay, Ath, Mons, 
 Namur, Charleroi, Huy, and the Chartreuse at Liege. 
 
 The affair, however, increased in importance, but 
 was still considered in the Netherlands as one of 
 internal insurrection, to be settled by measures of 
 legislation. We were to consider the affair then as 
 domestic, and although there was and is undoubtedly 
 great jealousy of French interference in it, no charge 
 is made against the French Government. 
 
 Are we then to be accused of apathy in a cause 
 interesting to our Allies, as well as to this country, 
 because we do not at once get under arms, and put 
 ourselves and all Europe in a state of war, in a cause 
 in which we have not yet tried negotiations asked by 
 the King of the Netherlands himself : in which 
 course be it observed that we had commenced to 
 negotiate before we received the application from 
 His Majesty? But we ought to have sent our forces 
 when required to negotiate, and to concert with others 
 the means of pacifying the Netherlands ! For what 
 purpose ? to secure the fortresses ? They were lost,
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 291 
 
 and we should have been driven off by the fire of 
 the cannon which we had provided ourselves ! 
 
 To defend Antwerp, Maestricht, the northern 
 division itself of the kingdom, from the hostility of 
 the southern Provinces ? 
 
 I am really ashamed of discussing such a question. 
 I cannot believe it possible that the necessity for 
 such defence exists; or that, the question being 
 fairly discussed, any man, who had any regard for 
 the honour of the Netherlands, could pretend that 
 it existed. But I'll for a moment suppose that the 
 King cannot defend himself against the Belgians; 
 it is surely necessary that, before we provoke a fresh 
 revolution at Paris, or a war, either with the existing 
 French Government or with another which may 
 displace the present Government, of which war, 
 the first movement would be to place all the Nether- 
 land fortresses in the hands of France, we should 
 try at least the effect of showing to the world, and 
 to the Netherlands, France engaged in concert with 
 England and all Europe in an endeavour to pacify 
 Belgium, and the further effect of negotiation. 
 
 The French yielded the point about the Conference 
 meeting in London, and appointed a Pleni- 
 potentiary to act with Prince Talleyrand. Lord 
 Aberdeen said that notwithstanding the ungracious 
 manner in which the French Government had acted, 
 he considered their acquiescence in the British 
 proposals a great point gained. " Only let the King 
 retain Antwerp and Maestricht, and the Belgians 
 may go on making what Governments and Constitu- 
 tions they please, without our chances of a satisfactory 
 settlement being diminished." 
 
 Antwerp fell on October 26. Sir Charles 
 Bagot writing says : 
 
 Whether the citadel has held, or can eventually
 
 292 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 hold out, is more than I know. I have been this 
 morning with Verstolk to urge the importance of 
 maintaining the citadel as long as possible, and of 
 reinforcing in every way Lillo, Batz and all the 
 defences of the Scheldt. All that can be done will 
 be done, but all is, I fear, very little. They are 
 inundated. 
 
 If the country, I mean the old seven united 
 Provinces, is only to be defended by its own internal 
 means, and the French or Belgians, or whatever 
 they are, choose to attack it, it must fall. It has 
 absolutely no power of resistance whatever. The 
 whole disposable force of the Government is not 
 30,000 men. They are ill organised and ill officered, 
 and the extent which they have to defend is not 
 inconsiderable. In addition to this the spirit of the 
 country, without being bad, is beginning to be 
 discouraged, and emissaries are at work endeavouring 
 to make it discontented. On the other hand, the 
 Southern Provinces are flushed with their successes; 
 and though it may not enter into their policy to 
 overrun this country, they are, I fear, quite able to 
 do so if they please. It is certain that there is not 
 less than 20,000 Frenchmen in arms at present in 
 Belgium. A General Chasserond or some such name 
 a French General of Napoleon's who once commanded 
 in the Illyrian Provinces, and who has been living 
 for some years on property which he acquired in 
 Limburg has collected an army of 3000 men and 
 300 cavalry, with which he is so harassing the garrison 
 of Maastricht (a mixed garrison, by the way) by 
 keeping them constantly on the alert, that serious 
 apprehensions are entertained for the result. 
 
 Conferences were held in London, an armistice 
 was proclaimed, and Protocols were drawn up. These 
 were strongly objected to by the King of the Nether-
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 293 
 
 lands, as he considered the Netherlands were called 
 upon to surrender to the insurgents territory of which 
 they never had possession, but that after having 
 maintained at the suggestion of the Allied Powers, 
 and at great hazard to the security of the Dutch 
 dominions, the citadel of Antwerp, he was required 
 to surrender it at the moment when its successful 
 defence had contributed more than any other measure 
 to check the progress of the rebel forces. The King 
 went on to say that the ancient line did not even 
 reinstate the seven United Provinces securely in 
 their ancient possessions. 
 
 Sir Charles Bagot had ventured to remind His 
 Majesty that the Protocol had expressly stipulated 
 that the line suggested in the armistice should not 
 in any way affect or prejudice the general adjustment 
 which the Allied Powers would afterwards be called 
 upon to make. The Plenipotentiaries had necessarily 
 been ignorant of the exact position occupied by the 
 respective forces of the two divisions of the country 
 at the moment of the Conferences, but that according 
 to all the later reports which they must have received 
 of the danger to which this part of the kingdom 
 was exposed, they might have reasonably presumed 
 that the probable effect of the line which they 
 had prescribed would be to restore to His Majesty 
 positions occupied by the Belgians within the Dutch 
 limits. 
 
 M. de Verstolk also agreed with the King, that the 
 armistice upon the prescribed basis had never been 
 what the Dutch Government had wanted. Nothing 
 was stated in the Protocol as to the duration of 
 the armistice; and it was left doubtful whether the 
 King was at liberty to withdraw from Antwerp the 
 military stores with which it was abundantly 
 furnished. It was not clear whether Fort Lillo 
 and the other forts which commanded the navigation 
 of the Scheldt were to be evacuated or not; and 
 nothing had been stipulated in respect to prisoners, 
 of whom the Belgians had many, while the Prince
 
 294 LIFE OF THE EARL OF ABERDEEN 
 
 of Orange had given up nearly all those taken by 
 the Dutch. 
 
 The despatch ended by saying that the King 
 would ultimately acquiesce in the armistice, but 
 that the matter which most touched his feelings was 
 surrendering the citadel of Antwerp, and that the 
 proposed line might need alteration. 
 
 Tl^ Protocol was signed by the five Powers in 
 London on November 4. The line of demar- 
 cation was still under consideration, and the Nether- 
 lands Government suggested that Commissioners 
 should be sent from London to trace the line on the 
 spot. The armistice was to last three months; 
 the citadel of Antwerp was not to be given up till 
 the frontier line was definitely traced; all prisoners 
 on both sides were to be exchanged, and the Pleni- 
 potentiaries were to make some public declaration 
 by which the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg was 
 excluded from the Belgian Provinces. 
 
 On November 26 the Wellington Government had 
 fallen and Sir Charles writes a farewell to his late 
 chief : 
 
 " More last words of Mr. Baxter." You probably 
 did not bargain for another letter from me, but I 
 must be allowed to thank you for the few and very 
 kind parting words which I received from you last 
 night. They have gratified me more perhaps than 
 you think. You have been thrust from your stool. 
 The same fate may await me. If Whigs can save 
 the country, in God's name let them save it, but I 
 fear the time is coming, if it be not already arrived, 
 when the spirit which is universally abroad is neither 
 to be influenced nor controlled by the Ministers of 
 established Governments, be they who they may. 
 
 A young Comte de La Rochefoucauld told me 
 the other day in my own room, that Monsieur de 
 Talleyrand had certainly been a man of some
 
 NETHERLANDS AND BELGIUM (1830) 295 
 
 eminence in the old school, " mais que maintenant 
 la jeunesse faisoit tout ! " 
 
 This is the universal mode or creed, and no excep- 
 tion will be made in favour even of elderly Whigs. 
 
 I try not to croak, but I am seriously alarmed, 
 and I believe in my conscience that our days are 
 doomed to set in tenfold greater trouble than that 
 in which they rose, and this is saying a good deal.
 
 INDEX 
 
 NOTE. The words "4th Earl" are used in this index to indicate the subject of 
 the biography. 
 
 ABBEVILLE, 18 
 
 Abercorn, John James, 1st Marquess of, 
 34, 51, 62, 184; his talents, 
 guests, and daughters, 36-7 ; cor- 
 respondence of, with 4th Earl, 
 52 sqq. , on his Mission to the 
 Allied Sovereigns, 69-71 ; tree- 
 planting by, 66 ; criticism of, on 
 4th Earl's attendance at Chatillon, 
 186 ; 4th Earl's second marriage 
 urged on by, 191 ; failing health 
 of, and correspondence with 4th 
 Earl, 194 sqq., death of (1818), 199 
 2nd Marquess of, 199 
 
 Abercorn, Marchioness of, 74 &"?&., 82 
 
 Aberdeen, Catharine, Countess of, born 
 Hamilton, 37, 174 ; first visit of, 
 to Haddo, 52 ; letter to her 
 father, on her impressions of 
 Haddo House (1806), 53-4 ; death 
 of, 66-7, 191 
 
 Countess of (the 2nd), widow of 
 Viscount Hamilton, born Douglas, 
 marriage of, to 4th Earl, 191-2 
 sqq. ; letters to, from 4th Earl, 
 on the journey to Haddo, and his 
 work there, '200, 201-2, 203, on 
 George IV. 's visit to Edinburgh 
 (1822), 205 sqq. 
 
 1st Earl of, Sir George Gordon of 
 Haddo, later, Lord Haddo, and 
 Lord High Chancellor of Scot- 
 land, 3, 5 ; attitude of, to the 
 Union, 6 ; elevation of, to the 
 peerage, 7 ; character of, 7-9 ; 
 resignation of his office and 
 efforts made to disgrace him, 8-9 ; 
 a non-juror, 9 ; death of, 9 
 2nd Earl of, William, Lord Haddo, a 
 Jacobite, 9-10; election of, to 
 Parliament of Great Britain set 
 aside, 9 
 
 3rd Earl of, George Gordon, 2 ; atti- 
 tude of, to his orphan grand- 
 children, IQsqq. 
 
 4th Earl of, George Hamilton Gordon, 
 ancestry and parentage of, 
 2 sqq. ; character, tastes and 
 studies of, 10, 14, 23, 24-5, 
 
 297 
 
 Aberdeen, 4th Earl of, contd. 
 
 28, 32, 65, 200-1; love of 
 acting, 33-5 ; love of books, 
 197-9 ; love of nature, 184, 
 201 ; placability and self-con- 
 trol of, illustration of, 125-6 
 1784-1805. Early life and educa- 
 tion, 2, 10 ; brothers and sister 
 of, 10, 11, see also under names ; 
 friendship with Dundas and 
 with Pitt, 11 sqq. ; other 
 friends, 12 ; studies and tastes, 
 12, 23 ; life at Cambridge, 12, 
 13 sqq., 33-4; college friends, 
 12, 14 ; succession to the Earl- 
 dom, 13 ; library of, 14 ; 
 travels in France (1801), his own 
 notes on, 15 sqq. ; his acquaint- 
 ance with Buonaparte, 15, 22 ; 
 furtherjourneysin Italy, Greece, 
 the Levant, etc., 22-3 ; excava- 
 tions by, at Athens and dis- 
 covery of the Pnyx, 23, 65 ; 
 first visit to Scotland since 
 early childhood, 23, his im- 
 pression, 24, 31, and his im- 
 provements, 25 sqq., see also 
 under Haddo House. 
 1805-13. Taste of, for acting, hid 
 guardian's letters on, 33-5 ; 
 friendship with Lord Abercorn, 
 36, and marriage to his 
 daughter, hapmness of the 
 union, 37-8, 66, 67; life at 
 Wimbledon, illness and death 
 of Pitt, 39 sqq. , letters on, to 
 Whittingtou, and journal on, 
 46 sqq. ; desire of, to sit in 
 Parliament, 42 sqq. ; English 
 Peerage sought by, 423, 45, 
 49 ; correspondence with Lord 
 Abercorn, 52 sqq., with Lord 
 Melville, on the Dissolution 
 (1806), 57 sqq., with Whit- 
 tiugton on the fall of the 
 Grenville Ministry and the 
 General Election of 1807, 62-3 ; 
 Russian Embassy offered to, 
 62, 64, and refused, 65 ; Sicilian
 
 298 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Aberdeen, 4th Earl of, contd. 
 
 Embassy declined by, 64-5 ; 
 letter to, from Lord Melville 
 on Ids reluctance to return 
 to Office, 64 ; President of the 
 Society of Antiquaries, 65, 
 200-1 ; Trustee of the British 
 Museum and Fellow of the 
 Royal Society, writer in the 
 Edinburgh Review and work 
 of, with Pitt's Parliamentary 
 friends, 65 ; Order of the 
 Thistle bestowed on (1808), 
 G5 ; elected a Scottish repre- 
 sentative Peer, 65 : births of Ids 
 children and their early deaths, 
 66, 192-4; death of his first 
 wife, 66-7, 191 ; mission to 
 U.S.A. declined by, 67; letter 
 from, to Gurney, on events in 
 Sicily (1812), 68 
 
 1813-14. Embassy of, to the 
 Allies, course of, narrated in 
 letters and despatches, 69 sqq. ; 
 his instructions, tlsqq., 82; 
 correspondence with Lord Aber- 
 corn on his mission, tiQsqq., 
 with Lady Maria Hamilton 
 (see that head), with Castlereagh 
 (1813), 72-3, 82, 87-94, 100-2, 
 IQlsqq., lllsqq., 117 sqq., on 
 the operations and diplomacy 
 of the Allies and of Napoleon, 
 73 sqq. , requesting nomina- 
 tion to Privy Council, 83, on 
 evils of divided command, 
 83 sqq. ; on the Treaty, 113; 
 conversations of, with Metter- 
 nicli on Imperial German 
 Crown, and on Peace negotia- 
 tions (1813), 87 sqq. ; state- 
 ment by, on his authority as 
 Ambassador, furnished by, to 
 Metternich, 92-3 ; popularity 
 of, with Allied Sovereigns and 
 Ministers, 94, 96, 102, 111, 
 116, 149, 166, 169, 172, 184; 
 letters from, to Stewart from 
 Teplitz, 94 sqq., 97; illness of 
 (cholera), at Teplitz (1813), 
 96 ; Treaty Negotiations of, 96, 
 100, 113, 154; letter from, to 
 Lord Harrow by, onlifeatTeplitz 
 and characters of the great folk 
 there, 92-100; impressions of, 
 on the notabilities at Teplitz, 
 etc. (1813), 100, 102, 103; 
 private audience with Alex- 
 ander I., 107; on the Battle 
 of Leipsic, 121, 122 sqq. 
 1813-14. At Frankfort and at 
 the Conference of Chatillon, 
 
 Aberdeen, 4th Earl of, contd. 
 
 events narrated in letters 
 and despatches, 135 sqq. ; 
 estimate of the character and 
 abilities of those gathered at 
 Frankfort, 135; share of, iu 
 Peace negotiations, attitude to, 
 of other British Ambassadors, 
 136, 137-9, jealousy of, as 
 being "an amateur," 137, 139; 
 request of the Powers that he 
 be appointed the British Pleni- 
 potentiary in matters affecting 
 the Alliance, 139 ; letters and 
 despatches from, to Castlereagh 
 on the Frankfort negotiations 
 (1813), IBS sqq., 115 sqq., 153 
 sqq., 162 sqq., on the Capitula- 
 tion of Dresden, an honour 
 for Schwartzenberg and the 
 Treaty of General Alliance, 158 
 sqq.; Liberal politics of, Sir R. 
 Wilson on, 143-4; efficiency 
 preferred by, to political and 
 social considerations, 145 ; 
 letters from, to Abercorn, on 
 his wish to quit his Ambas- 
 sadorship, on those present at 
 Frankfort and on the plan of 
 campaign, 149-51; desire of, 
 to leave his Embassy, 149, 152- 
 3, 156, 162, 165, 174-5, 184-5, 
 190; on the Treaty of General 
 Alliance, 157, 160, 167-8; on 
 his children's letters to him, 
 153; Order bestowed on, by 
 Francis I., 167; letter to, 
 from Ward, 169 sqq. ; letters 
 from, to Harrowby, 172 sqq., 
 176 sqq., 186; position of, at 
 the Chatillon Confereuce(1814), 
 intended, and actual, 185-6; 
 share of, in negotiations at, 
 Paris over the Treaty of Peace 
 of 1814, 186 sqq., 190; death 
 of his brother-in-law (1814), 
 190, and its consequences, 191 
 1814-25. Return to England and 
 second marriage (1815), 190, 
 191. ?qq.; doings at Haddo, 
 192-3, 194, sec also under 
 Haddo House ; a looker-on in 
 politics, 195; relations of, with 
 Castlereagh, refusal to go to 
 the Congress of Vienna, 195 ; 
 correspondence of, with Aber- 
 corn, 195, 196 sqq. , with 
 Castlereagh, 195-6 ; property 
 inherited by, from his father- 
 in-law (1818), his life and 
 guests there, 199 ; on its 
 associations for him, 200 ; let-
 
 INDEX 
 
 299 
 
 Aberdeen, 4th Earl of, contd. 
 
 ters from, to his wife, on the 
 difficulties of reaching Haddo, 
 on his improvements there 
 (1821), and on the visit of 
 George IV. to Edinburgh 
 (1822), 201 sqq. ; tower built 
 by, 204; called "a Jacobin," 
 214, 215 ; Bill of, concerning 
 Scottish entails (1825), 213-14 ; 
 letter from, to his son, on join- 
 ing the Pitt Club, Cambridge, 
 214-15 ; increasing friendship 
 of, with Wellington (1822-28), 
 215 ; seat in Canning's Cabinet 
 refused by, 215 ; becomes Chan- 
 cellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, 
 215 
 
 1828-30. At the Foreign Office 
 in the Wellington Ministry, 
 195, 215, 2l6sqq., 274 
 
 Dispute over Portuguese Succes- 
 sion, letter from, to Barbecue, 
 stating his views, 245-6 
 
 Events of his Ministry. The 
 Russo-Turkish War, 215 sqq. ; 
 accused of Turkish sympathies, 
 216, and, later, of Russian 
 sympathies, 217 ; Russian 
 aggression feared by, 217; 
 action of, on renewed blockade 
 of the Dardanelles, 223 sqq. ; 
 correspondence of, with Wel- 
 lington, on the Russo-Turkish 
 War, 219, 226-7, 231, 232 sqq., 
 240, witli Heytesbury on the 
 same, 217-19, 21 9 sqq., 224 sqq., 
 232, 233, 236, on the Treaty 
 of Adrianople, 2378 ; despatch 
 from, to Cowley at Vienna, on 
 proposed negotiation for Russo- 
 Turkish Peace, and on Greek 
 independence (Dec. 1828), 
 227 sqq. ; correspondence of, 
 with his brother (the Ambas- 
 sador to the Porte) on the 
 same, 237, 239-40, and on the 
 independence of Greece (1830), 
 240, 242-3 ; on his distrust of 
 Russia and on the state of 
 Turkey (1830), 239; Princes 
 considered desirable by, for 
 the Greek throne, 241, 242, 
 244 
 
 French Algiers Expedition, des- 
 patches and correspondence 
 on, with Metternich, Cowley, 
 Stuart de Rothesay, and 
 Polignac, 248, 249 sqq. 
 
 French Revolution of 1830, 
 246 sqq., 254 sqq., despatches 
 and correspondence on, with 
 
 Aberdeen, 4th Earl of, contd. 
 
 Stuart de Rothesay, 254 sqq., 
 on the arrival in England of 
 Charles X., 259-60; corre- 
 spondence with Wellington, on 
 Lord Marcus Hill's account of 
 events in Paris in July, 1830, 
 256 sqq. ; despatch from, to 
 English Ambassadors, on the 
 French July revolution and 
 its effects on Allied policy, 
 260 sqq. 
 
 The Revolt of Belgium from 
 Union with Holland (1830), 
 265 sqq. ; despatches and corre- 
 spondence on, with Wellington, 
 265-6, 269, 273-4, 280, with 
 Bagot, 266-7, 268-9, 271 sqq., 
 271, 276, 282-4, 285, 291-2, 
 with Stuart de Rothesay, 
 269-71, 274-6, 280-2, with 
 Sir R. Gordon, 277 sqq., 
 with Heytesbury, 287-8, with 
 Falck, in reply to a request 
 for military succour, on British 
 observation of Treaty engage- 
 ments and on the presence of 
 France at the Conference, 288- 
 9 ; on venue for Conference on 
 the Netherlands, correspond- 
 ence with the French Ambas- 
 sador (Oct. 1830), 286, 289; 
 Bagot'a farewell letters, on fall 
 of the Wellington Government, 
 294-5 
 Aberdeen, Earls of, family of, history of, 
 
 2 sqq. 
 
 Aberdeen, "Haddo's raid" on, 3 
 Aberdeenshire in 1805, 4th Earl's im- 
 provements, 23-4, 25 sqq. 
 Act introduced by 4th Earl, concerning 
 
 Entail, 213 
 Addington, , 48 
 Adelaide, Queen Dowager, at Stanmore, 
 
 199, 200 
 
 Adrianople, Russian Forces at (1830), 
 236, 237. Treaty of, see that head 
 JEgean Islands, 23 
 Agriculture, in Aberdeenshire, 1805, 4th 
 
 Earl's improvement in, 21 xqq. 
 Aix-la-Chapelle, protocols of, 247, 261 
 Albania, 23 
 
 Albany, Countess of, 22-3 
 Alexander I., Emperor of Russia, 81, 
 103 ; and the command of the 
 Allied Annies, 84-5, 93 ; Allied 
 irruption into Southern France 
 urged by (1813), 95 ; 4th Earl's 
 characterisation of, 100 ; as wearer 
 of the Garter, 103 ; on the coming 
 Peace (Oct. 1813), 107 ; beaii gestc 
 of, as to Zamose, 108 ; at Chem-
 
 300 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Alexander I., contd. 
 
 nitz, 113 ; at Comotan, 115 ; entry 
 of, into Frankfort (Nov. 1813), 
 133 ; intimacy of Wilson with, 
 144, and wishes concerning, 145 ; 
 at Frankfort, 150 ; and the Treaty 
 of General Alliance, 163, 164, 
 167-8 ; appreciation of, for 4th 
 Earl, 166~ 172 ; and Nesselrode, 
 172 ; scheme of, for making 
 Bernadotte Emperor of France, 
 176-7 ; master-stroke of(1816), 195 
 
 Alfieri, 22-3 
 
 Algiers, French Expedition against 
 (1830), British action regarding, 
 248 sqq. 
 
 Allemagne, V (Stael), 4th Earl on, 176 
 
 Allied Armies, round Teplitz (1813), 99 ; 
 prospects of, 108 sqq. ; prisoners 
 taken by, at Leipsic, 128, 130 
 Conference on the dissolution of the 
 Union of the Netherlands sug- 
 gested (1830), 281-2 
 Observance of Swiss neutrality (1814), 
 
 177 
 Plans of Campaign (1813), 109, 142-3, 
 
 150-1 
 Policy after the French July revolution, 
 
 4th Earl on, 262-3 
 During the Belgian revolution 
 
 (1830), 284, 285 
 Reply to Napoleon's Peace proposals 
 
 after Leipsic, 125 
 
 Sovereigns in 1813-14, 4th Earl's em- 
 bassy to, 69 sqq. ; mutual attitude 
 of, and of their armies, 84 sqq., 
 93, 106; H.Q. of, at Frankfort 
 (1813), 135, 150 
 Successes (1814), 179 
 
 Allies, the, appointment by, of Pleni- 
 potentiaries, desired by the 
 Hague, to whom to refer modifica- 
 tions in the Fundamental Law, 
 286-7 
 
 Treaty obligations of, as to the Kingdom 
 of the Netherlands, 270, 271, 274, 
 277, 281 
 
 Altenburgh, 120, 122 
 
 Althorp, Viscount (3rd Earl Spencer), 
 12 
 
 Amiens, 18 
 
 Anapa, 232 
 
 Anjou, Charles of, and his descendants, 
 175 
 
 Anne, Grand Duchess, marriage of 
 (1816), 195 
 
 Antwerp, in 1830, 267, 276, 285, 289 ; 
 fall of, 291-2 ; protocol re objected 
 to, by the King of the Nether- 
 lands, 293 
 
 Arbuthnot, Sir William, Bt., Provost of 
 Edinburgh, knighting of, 211-12 
 
 Argyll, 6th Duke of, 209 
 
 Argyll House, 190, 194 
 
 Asia, Russian penetration in, British 
 attitude to, 232 
 
 Asia Minor, 4th Earl's travels in, 23 
 
 Aspern, Battle of, 115 
 
 Athens, 4th Earl's excavations at, 23, 
 65 
 
 Atholl, 2nd Duke of, 9 
 
 Attrition, use of, by Schwartzenberg, 
 109-10 
 
 Augereau, Wrede's operations against, 
 118 
 
 Austria, position of, in 1813, 72; Allied 
 support to, 73-4 ; the Allies joined 
 by (1813), 74, 86, 101, 179; 
 Metternich on the alliance, 99; 
 4th Earl on zeal shown, 113 ; 
 operations of (1813), 84, 85, 101 ; 
 attitude of, to Bavaria, Poland 
 and Saxony, 86, 93 ; attitude of, 
 to person of Napoleon I., Metter- 
 nich on, 97-8 ; Balance of power 
 desired by, 99, 101 ; mediation 
 of (1813), accepted by Great 
 Britain but acceptance kept secret, 
 90, later made known to Metter- 
 nich, 104-8 ; Peace aims of (1813), 
 97-8 ; views of, on Italy (1813), 
 101-2 ; policy of, as to German 
 Confederation, 110-11 ; action of, 
 in regard to Bavaria, tribute to, 
 by 4th Earl, 118-19 ; troops of, 
 placed under the Bavarian General, 
 Wrede, 118 ; decision of, to recover 
 the Tyrol, Voralberg and Unter 
 Thai, advantages to Allies, 119 ; 
 Prussia, and Russia, request from, 
 that 4th Earl be made British 
 Plenipotentiary in all Allied 
 affairs, 139 ; wisdom of action of, 
 in Bavaria and Wurtemburg, 157 ; 
 desire of, for peace (1828;, 218 ; 
 views on the Levant inquired into, 
 219 ; and England, concern of, 
 for tranquillity of Europe, 4th 
 Earl on (1829), 236 ; attitude of, 
 in 1828, Nicholas I. on, 221-3 ; 
 influence of, to secure Russo- 
 Turkish Peace urged by 4th Earl, 
 228 sqq. ; view in, on French 
 Algiers expedition (1830), 252 ; 
 Charles X. 's wish to live in, 259. 
 
 Austrian Archdukes, a visit from, feared, 
 196 
 
 BADEN, Grand Duke of, 150 ; popularity 
 
 of, and of the Grand Duchess, 
 
 182 
 Baden, and the Confederation of the 
 
 Rhine, 130; attitude of, iu 1813, 
 
 158
 
 INDEX 
 
 301 
 
 Bagot, Sir Charles, Ambassador at the 
 Hague, on the troubles in the 
 Netherlands (1830), the froutier 
 question, etc., 266 sqq. ; letter to, 
 from 4th Earl on the same and 
 on foreign interference, 271-2 ; 
 further despatches from, on the 
 same, and on the entry of the 
 Prince of Orange into Brussels, 
 272-3, on the state of affairs in 
 September, 1830, 276, 277, on a 
 visit from the Prince of Orange 
 and his inquiry into what Great 
 Britain could or would do, 277 ; 
 on financial confusion after the 
 secession of Belgium (1830), 282; 
 letter to, from 4th Earl on affairs 
 after the secession of Belgium, 
 282-4 ; letter from, to the same, 
 on his conversation with Verstolk 
 (Oct. 1830), 284-5 ; Dutch appeal 
 through, for military aid and the 
 Duke of Wellington's vigorous 
 reply (Oct. 1830), 289-91 ; on the 
 fall of Antwerp, and the power- 
 lessness of Holland, 291-2; on 
 the Protocol of the Conference 
 of London (1830), 293 ; farewell 
 letter of, to 4th Earl, 294-5 
 
 Baird, General Sir David, 10 
 
 Baird, William, of Newbyth, 10 
 
 Balance of Forces, Allied and French 
 (Oct. 1813), 109 
 
 Balance of Power, Austrian efforts to- 
 wards, 99, 101, British attempts 
 to secure, 71-2, 238 
 
 Baltic Sea, 75 ; 4th Earl's stormy pas- 
 sage of (1813), 76 ; winter con- 
 ditions of, 96 
 
 Bankers, Parisian, and the July revolu- 
 tion, 257 
 
 Barbecue, M. , letter to, from 4th Earl, 
 on the Portuguese Succession, 
 245-6 
 
 Barclay de Tolly, Field-Marshal, Order 
 conferred on, 84-5, after insub- 
 ordination, 85 ; 4th Earl on, 100 
 
 Barnet, 4th Earl's early school at, 2 
 
 Baronscourt, trees planted at, 66 
 
 Bassano, Maret, Duke of, and Peace 
 proposals (1813), 138, 162, 163 
 
 Bathurst, Countess, 152 
 
 Bathurst, 3rd Earl, 152, 177, 197, and 
 Greek independence, 240 
 
 Bautzen, Battle of, 122, 179 
 
 Bavaria, King of, letter to, from Francis I. 
 on the desired Alliance, 101 ; at 
 Frankfort, 150, 155 
 
 Bavaria, Austrian plan of advance on, 
 85 ; hopes of gaining, to the Alli- 
 ance, 86, 93, 100-1, 109 ; acces- 
 sion of secured, 117, 135-6, 154, 
 
 Bavaria, contd. 
 
 179 ; independence of, and re- 
 nunciation by, of the Confedera- 
 tion of the Rhine, 119 ; wisdom 
 shown by Austrian conduct to- 
 wards, 157, 158 
 
 Bavaria, Otho of, chosen King of Greece, 
 244 
 
 Bavarian territory and acquisitions, 
 agreement on (1813), 119 
 
 Bayard, Chevalier, statue of, 21 
 
 Beauvale, Lord, later, 2nd Viscount Mel- 
 bourne, 79 n., a? actor, 34 
 
 Bedford, 6th Duke of, 48, 202 
 
 Belgian Provinces, offer of, to France in 
 1830, 269 
 
 Belgium, Revolution of (1830), Treaty 
 problems caused by, 247 ; course 
 and events of, 265 sqq., 290; 
 French influence suspected, 266, 
 267, 272, 284, 285, 292 ; revolting 
 towns in, 290 ; Union with Hol- 
 land dissolved (Sept. 1830), 277, 
 281 
 
 Bellegarde, Marshall, 144, 145 ; objective 
 of (1814), 150-1 
 
 Benevente, Princess of, and her guests, 
 188 
 
 Benkendorff, General, 226 
 
 Benningsen, General, 95 ; operations of, 
 in 1813, 103-4, 106, and suc- 
 cesses of, 112, 113 ; at Teplitz, 
 108, 109 
 
 Bensizlea, 103 
 
 Bently Priory, see Stanmore 
 
 Berlin, French advance on (1813), 76 
 sqq. 
 
 Bernadotte, Charles, Crown Prince 
 (Prince Royal) of Sweden, 81, 
 138, 150, 154, 156, 162, 188 ; 
 operations of, in 1813, 73, 76-8, 
 80, 123-4, 143 ; popularity of, 75 ; 
 character of, 152, 160 ; scheme of 
 Alexander I. to make Emperor of 
 France, 176-7 
 
 Berri, S. A. R. , Due de, letter from, offer- 
 ing co-operation to Wellington 
 (1813), 95, Metternich's view on, 
 98, difficulties caused by (1814), 
 187 
 
 Berry Pomeroy, Vale of, 130 
 
 Berthier, Peace urged by, on Napoleon, 
 105 
 
 Bertrand, made prisoner, 124 
 
 Binning, Lord (Earl of Haddington), 12, 
 43<2r^. 1, 211 
 
 Black Forest, the, 175-6, 183-4 
 
 Blandford, Marquess of, 43 
 
 Bliicher, General, 78, 84, 112, 124 ; part 
 assigned to, in campaign of 1813- 
 14, 150 ; Wilson's intimacy with, 
 144
 
 302 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Bolingbroke, Lord, speeches of, Pitt on, 
 51 
 
 Bonaparte, Joseph, 18 
 
 Books, 4th Earl's interest in, 197 
 
 Bordeaux, Due de, 257 
 
 Bosphorus, forts on, 219 ; free passage of, 
 Russian demand for (1829), 234 
 
 Boulogne, Nelson's bombardment of, 17 
 
 Bourbon Princes of France, embarrass- 
 ment due to (1814), 179, 187 
 
 Bo wood, a visit to, Ward on, 170 
 
 Brandias, 80 
 
 Brazil, Crown of, succession to, Portu- 
 guese dispute on, 4th Earl's non- 
 intervention view on, 245-6 
 
 Bremerkhe, 166 
 
 Breslau, 4th Earl at, 78-9 
 
 Bridal, The, of Triermain (Scott), 4th 
 Earl's comments on, 134 
 
 Bride, The, of Abijdos (Byron), 171 
 
 Bristol, 5th Earl of, 50 
 
 British Fleet, Sir R. Gordon's plans for 
 (1830), 236 
 
 Bruges, '267 
 
 Brussels, disturbance at (1830), 265-6, 
 267, 268, 275, 278 ; entry into, 
 of the Prince of Orange (1830), 
 272-3 ; attack on, of the Prince 
 of Orange, failure of, results of, 
 277 
 
 Buccleugh, 4th Duke of, 55, 57 
 
 Buonaparte, Josephine, 15, 182 
 
 Burghersh, Lord, 144 
 
 Burgherah- Wilson affair, share in, of 4th 
 Earl, 144 sqq. 
 
 Byron, Lord, poems by, 171 
 
 CALAIS to Paris, 4th Earl's journey iu 
 
 1802, 16*77. 
 Calton Hill, Edinburgh, 202 ; view from, 
 
 207 
 Cambridge, H.R.H. Adolphus -Frederick, 
 
 Duke of, 44 
 Cambridge University, 4th Earl at, 13 
 
 sqq., and, later, his desire to 
 
 represent, 43, 44 ; his son at, 
 
 214-215 
 Candidates for the throne of Greece, 
 
 241-2 
 Canning, George, 48, 50, 51, 57, 59, 62; 
 
 mot of, onSidmouth, 49 ; Ministry 
 
 of, 4th Earl invited to join (1827), 
 
 215 
 
 Canova, 51, 52 
 Capo d'Istrias, Count, and Prince Leopold 
 
 of Saxe-Coburg, 243-4 
 Carlsruhe, 4th Earl at (1813), 180, 181-2 
 Caroline Bonaparte, wife of Joachim 
 
 Murat, Queen of Naples, 91 
 Cassilis, 6th Earl of, 49 
 Castlereagh, Viscount, 43-44, 50, 51, 
 
 62; 4th Earl sent by, as special 
 
 Castlereagh, Viscount, contd. 
 
 Envoy to the Allies (1813- 
 14), 69 sqq. ', correspondence of, 
 with 4th Earl in 1813, on the 
 Austrian declaration, 82-3, after 
 the entry into Frankfort, 137, on 
 the negotiations at Frankfort, 
 139 sg<7.~, 145 it??., 153 sqq., 162 
 sqq. , on Wilson and Burghersh, 
 144-5, on Napoleon's reply to 
 St. Aignan's mission and on the 
 Treaty of General Aliauce, 162 
 sqq. ; despatch to, containing 
 Napoleon's Peace offers, story of, 
 126-7; 4th Earl's Peace views 
 approved by, 139 ; efforts of, to 
 retain 4th Earl as Ambassador, 
 156, 165, 166, 172, 173 sqq. ; 
 decision of, to go to Frankfort, 
 176 ; and the Chatillon Con- 
 ference, 185-6 ; later relations 
 of, with 4th Earl, 195 ; letter 
 from, on European affairs (1814), 
 195; death of (1822), 209 
 
 Castlereagh, Viscountess, suppers of, in 
 Paris, 188 
 
 Cathcart, 1st Earl, Ambassador at St. 
 Petersburg, 70, 81, 82, 90, 113, 
 147, 148, 156; views of, contrary 
 to those of 4th Earl (1813-14), 
 136, 138 ; 4th Earl's estimate of, 
 137 ; and the Treaty of General 
 Alliance, 164, 167 ; and the Con- 
 ference of Chatillon, 185 
 
 Catherine, Grand Duchess of Russia, 109 
 
 Catholic Question, dissolution due to 
 (1807), 61, 62; effects of, on the 
 AVelliugton Ministry (1830), 279 
 
 Caulaincourt, Due de Vicenza (Colin- 
 court), at Prague, 102 ; desire of, 
 for Peace and powers entrusted 
 to, 186 
 
 Change of Government and General 
 Election of 1807, letters on, 62 
 sqq. 
 
 Chantilly, in 1802, 18 
 
 Charles, Archduke, military skill of, 20 
 
 Charles Edward * Stewart (the Young 
 Pretender), 10, 205 ; widow of, 
 22-3 
 
 Charles I., 4 
 
 Charles II., 5 
 
 Charles X. , King of France, 227 ; deposi- 
 tion of, and exile, 247, problem 
 of future residence for, 256, re- 
 ception of, in England, 258, 259, 
 at Holyrocd, 254, 260; Government 
 of, 4th Earl's disapproval of, 248 ; 
 his ignorance of the state of affairs 
 in July, 1830, 256, 258; Ordi- 
 nances of, effects of, 247, 257, 258, 
 260, 262
 
 INDEX 
 
 303 
 
 Chasserond, General, and his forces at 
 Maestricht (1830), 292 
 
 Chatillon, see Conference of 
 
 Chemnitz, Allied Sovereigns at, 113, 
 120; cannonade near (1813), 121 
 
 Clam-Collorado, Corps of, 112 
 
 Clanwilliam, 3rd Earl of, 201 
 
 Coalitions, 4th Earl on, 47, 151 
 
 Cockburn, Admiral Sir George, 258&ft. 
 
 Code Napoleon, the, 21 
 
 Colincourt, sec Caulaincoart 
 
 Collorado, , 94, 109 
 
 Comotan, Allied H.Q. at (1813), 104 
 sqq., 108, 111 
 
 Comotan-Marienburg-Zwickau-Geraline, 
 Allied advance by (1813), 108 
 
 Conde, statue of, 20 
 
 Confederation of the Rhine, 110 ; alter- 
 native to, 4th Earl on, 111; 
 renounced by Bavaria, 119 ; dis- 
 solution of, 130, 136 
 
 Conference of Chatillon (1814), prelimi- 
 nary difficulties 'smoothed by 4th 
 Earl, 185-6 
 
 Conference on the Netherlands, question 
 of venue for (Oct. 1830), 286-7, 
 289, held in London, 291, 292 
 sqq., and the ejections of the 
 King of the Netherlands, ib. 
 
 Congress of Vienna (1814), 196; 4th 
 Earl's refusal to attend, 195 ; and 
 Turkish independence, 229 
 
 Constantine, Grand Duke, 103 
 
 Constantinople, 62, 217, 221, 222, 225; 
 4th Earl's visit to, 23 ; Russian 
 approach to (1829), 4th Earl on, 
 233 sqq. , resolute attitude at 
 (1829), 234; British Ambassador 
 at, see Gordon, Sir Robert 
 
 Consumption, treatment of, early nine- 
 teenth century, 193-4 
 
 Corfu, 23 
 
 Cornwallis, Marquess of, 15, 18 
 
 Cossacks, 80, 100 ; enormities of, in 
 Saxony (181&), 120, 122 
 
 Courtesy and Care essential in Diplo- 
 macy, 4th Earl on, 178-9 
 
 Cowley, Lord, Ambassador at Vienna 
 (1828), 248, 252; 4th Earl's des- 
 patch to, on proposed Peace 
 between Russia and Turkey (1828), 
 227 sqq. ; despatches from (Aug. 
 1829), on Russian success and 
 terms offered to the Turks, 234-5, 
 on Austrian opinion on the 
 French Algiers Expedition (1830), 
 252-3 
 
 Crimean War, 65 ; British sympathy 
 during, for Turkey, 217 
 
 Crosseu, an upset near, 78 
 
 Crown Prince, sec Bernadotte 
 
 Cuxhaven, 166 
 
 DALKYMPLE, Sir John, 9 
 
 Dalrymple of Stair, Sir James, 6 
 
 Dante, early edition of, owned by 4th 
 Earl, 14 
 
 d'Arblay, Madame (Fanny Burney), 171 
 
 Dardanelles, the, Russian blockade of 
 (1828-9), 217, comments on, of 
 Nicholas I., 220-1 ; British action 
 in regard to, 217, 236, 238; free 
 passage of, Russian demand for 
 (1829), 234 
 
 Darmstadt, 180 
 
 De Bilke, Baron, Swedish Minister, 121 
 
 Degrees granted to noblemen without 
 examination (circa 1805), 33 
 
 de Grey, Lord, 12 
 
 de la Rochefoucauld, Comte, on youth 
 doing all, in 1830, 294-5 
 
 Delessert, Odier, 257 
 
 Denmark, 156; submission of (1814), 
 136 
 
 De Officiis of Cicero, early edition owned 
 by 4th Earl, 14 
 
 Dermbach, the "road " to, 127 
 
 Dessau Marienbad, Allied forces strung 
 out between (1813), 111 
 
 Devonshire, 6th Duke and Duchess of, 
 152 
 
 Devonshire House, a dinner at, 49 
 
 Diebitsch, General, 226, 233 
 
 Diplomatic Secrecy, difficulty in main- 
 taining, 104-5 
 
 Directory, the, fall of, 19 
 
 Divided Command, evils of, 83 sqq. 
 
 Docteroff, General, 108, 109 
 
 Doncaster Races, 202 
 
 Douglas, Lord, 62, 64 
 
 Dresden, Allied attack on (1813), failure 
 of, 80, 85, 86 ; Murat at, 86, 91- 
 2 ; French forces in, 108 ; Napo- 
 leon's departure from, 112-13 ; 
 capitulation of, 158-9 
 
 Dresden Teplitz Road Peterswalde, 
 French troops along (1813), 108, 
 1 09 ; Benningsen's advance along, 
 112 
 
 Drummond, , British Ambassador to 
 the Porte, 23 
 
 Drummond, , British Ambassador in 
 Sicily, 64-5 
 
 Dudley and Ward, 4th Viscount, at the 
 Foreign Office, 215 
 
 Dugald, , 171 
 
 Dumont, , 170-1 
 
 Dundas, Henry, see Melville, Viscount 
 
 Dundas, Lady Jane, see Melville, Vis- 
 countess 
 
 Dundas, R., 50, 51 
 
 Duudas, Robert, later, 2nd Viscount 
 Melville, 63 
 
 Dundas, William, Lord Clerk Register, 
 49^71., 50
 
 304 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Duroc, death of, and Napoleon I., 114 
 D*quesue, the Great, statue of, 21 
 Dutchappeals for military succour (1830), 
 288, 289, Wellington's reply, 
 289-91 ; objections to London as 
 venue for the Conference of Oct. 
 1830, 289, towns suggested as 
 venue for Conference of Pleni- 
 potentiaries (1830), 287 
 
 EDGEWORTH, Maria, 171 
 Edinburgh, beauty of, 206 
 
 Execution at, of Sir John Gordon, 4, 
 
 7; George IV. 's reception at 
 
 (1822), 4th Earl's accounts of, 
 
 205 sqq. 
 Edinburgh Review, Macintosh's articles 
 
 in, 171 
 
 Eger, the, 115 
 Elbe, Line of the, held by Napoleon 
 
 (1813), 93, 101 ; Allied aims on, 
 
 109 
 
 Eldon, Earl of, 62 
 Ellenborough, Lord, 50 ; and Greek 
 
 independence, 240 
 Ellis, C., 50 
 
 English literature, 4th Earl on, 183 
 Public opinion, Metternich's sensitive- 
 ness to, 155 
 Entail, Scottish system of, 4th Earl on 
 
 his Bill concerning (1825), 213-14 
 Ephesus, 23 
 Erfurth, Allied advance on (1813), 108 ; 
 
 French troops directed on, 109 
 Erskine, ,61 
 
 Robert, 61 
 
 Erzerourn, Russian capture of (1829), 235 
 Etruria, King of, 16 
 Europe, instability in (1828-30), 216; 
 
 Nicholas I. on, 222 
 Peace of, Treaties securing, broken by 
 
 Russian declaration of war on 
 
 Turkey, 218 
 
 FALCK, Baron A. R., Dutch Minister 
 for Foreign Affairs (1830), 266; 
 Note from, demanding assistance, 
 283 &n. ; on the venue for the 
 Conference, 287 ; 4th Earl's letter 
 to, on British observance of Treaty 
 obligations, and on French share 
 in the Conference, 288-9 
 
 Farquhar, Sir Walter, 39 
 
 Fife, 4th Earl of, 209 
 
 Fitzpatrick, , 48 
 
 Fitzwilliam, 2nd Earl of, 48 
 
 Flanders, leaders from, of the Bt l<.'ian 
 revolution (1830), methods of, 
 268-9 ; the two, revolt of, see 
 Belgium, revolution 
 
 Flaxman, John, 51, 52 
 
 Fletcher, William, 9 
 
 Forbes, William, of Tolquhen, 3 
 
 Foreign Policy in 1806, 59 
 
 Formartine, 4th Earl's tower at, 204 
 
 Fort Lillo on the Scheldt, 293 
 
 Forth Ferry, crossing of, 203 
 
 Fox, Charles James, 44, 47, 48, 50, 52 
 
 Fox, Mrs. G., 202 
 
 France, State of, in 1802, 4th Earl's 
 Notes on, 15 sqq., ; Royalism in, 
 15, 16 ; Military Character of the 
 Government, 20-1 ; and Russia in 
 1806, 59 ; Boundaries of, to be 
 secured by Peace (1813), 71; 
 Powerof, reduction of Alliedefforts 
 towards (1813) 71-2, 73, 83 sqq., 
 passim ; Glory and Patriotism of, 
 the obstacle to Peace in 1813, 105, 
 136 ; Frontiers of, natural, 4th 
 Earl's views on, 136, 139, 140, 
 those unfortified, 142 ; Limits of, 
 compatible with Secure Peace, 
 in 4th Earl's view (1814), 136 ; 
 Route of Schwartzenberg's pro- 
 posed invasion of (1813-14), 142 ; 
 Plunder of, restoration of, Ward 
 on, 169-70, 4th Earl's view, 189 ; 
 Bourbon partisans in, 4th Earl on 
 (1814), 179 ; after the Restora- 
 tion, 4th Earl on, 187 sqq. ; antici- 
 pated attitude of, to Russo- 
 Turkish War, (1828), 218 ; atti- 
 tude of, to Russian blockade of the 
 Dardanelles (1828), 224 ; after 
 the July revolution, applicability 
 to of existing Treaties, 261 sqq. ; 
 attitude of, to Brussels provisional 
 Government (1830), 281 ; Second 
 Chamber of, hereditary principle 
 threatened, 257, 262 ; and the 
 tricolour, 257, 262 ; suspected of 
 furthering the Belgian revolution 
 (1830), 266, 267, 272, 284, 285, 
 292; offer to. of the Belgian 
 provinces in 1830, declined by, 
 269 
 
 Francis I., Emperor of Austria, 80, 81, 
 82, 83, 95, 103 ; 4th Earl received 
 by (1813), 82; declaration of, on 
 joining the Allies, 82 ; attitude 
 of, to the person of Napoleon, 98 ; 
 4th Earl's estimate of, 100, 117, 
 153, 182, 187 ; letter from, to 
 King of Bavaria on the desired 
 Alliance, 101 ; moves of (Sept.- 
 Oct., 1813), 103, 115, 120, 121, 
 123, 124, 125 ; on the surrender 
 of Zarnose, 107 ; appreciation by, 
 of 4th Earl, 111, 116, 149, 152-3, 
 166, 167, 172, 184, and on 
 Napoleon, 113-14; popularity of, 
 in his home dominions, 117, and 
 in the Venetian provinces, 195 ;
 
 INDEX 
 
 305 
 
 Francis I. contd. 
 
 Austrian troops placed by, under 
 Wrede, 118; Schwartzenberg 
 decorated by, on the field of 
 Lcipsic, 124; acclaimedatLeipsic, 
 125 ; reception of, at Fulda, 129 ; 
 entry of, into Frankfort, 131, 132, 
 133 ; and Sir R. Wilson, 145 ; at 
 Frankfort (1813), 150, 151 ; and 
 the capitulation of Dresden, 158- 
 -9 ; Orders bestowed by, on 4th 
 Earl, and on Wellington, 167 ; 
 attitude of, respectively to return 
 of the Bourbons and to Bern.i- 
 dotte's elevation as Emperor of 
 France, 177 ; and the Order of 
 the Garter, 195 ; Metternich's 
 boasts concerning (1828), 231 ; 
 on the Treaty of Adriauople, 237 ; 
 and Charles X. in exile, 259 
 
 Frankfort, 4th Earl's journey to 
 (1813), 77-8 ; Allied Entries 
 (1813), 130, 131, 132; H.Q. of 
 Allied Sovereigns (1813), 135, 
 150; notables at, 150; negotia- 
 tions at, on bases of Peace negotia- 
 tions, 137 sqq. 
 
 Frankfort to Chatillon (1814), 135-90 
 
 Frederick the Great, 225 
 
 Frederick William III., King of Prussia, 
 81, 103, 115, 176-7; 4th Earl's 
 estimate of, 100 ; at Teplitz, 103 ; 
 appreciation by, of 4th Earl, 149 ; 
 and Wilson, 'l46 ; at Frankfort 
 (1813), 150 
 
 French, the, in Tyrol and Noithprn Italy, 
 4th Earl's instructions concerning 
 (1813), 72 ; efforts against, 106, 
 and the same (1814), 144, 115, 
 150-1 
 
 French Advance on Prague, and on 
 Teplitz (1813), 94, 96, and retreat, 
 97 
 Army of the Pyrenees, contained by 
 
 Wellington (1813), 95 
 Candidate for the Greek throne (1830), 
 
 241 
 Charter, the, alterations in (1830), 
 
 258-9, 262 
 
 Expedition against Algiers and engage- 
 ments with Mehemet AH of 
 Egypt, British action concerning 
 (1830), 248 sqq. ; report on, from 
 British Minister, 255-6 ; success 
 of, 253 ; 
 
 Forces in motion (Oct. 1, 1813), 109 
 Government (1829), co-operation of, 
 in Eastern European affairs in- 
 vited, and the response, 234-5 
 Influence on Belgian revolution, sus- 
 pected, 266, 267, 272, 284, 285, 292 
 Nation as distinct from French 
 VOL. I 
 
 French contd. 
 
 Government, Verstolk's anxieties 
 on (Oct. 1830), 284, 285 
 
 French Revolutions : 
 1789, 247, 262 
 
 1830, 216 ; results of, 246-7 ; 
 Algiers Expedition in relation to, 
 246, 253 ; 4th Earl on, 247,254-5, 
 262, 277-8 
 
 Frenchmen in arms in Belgium (Oct. 
 1830), 292 
 
 Frere, , 50 
 
 Freyberg, French troops at (1813), 108 ; 
 Allied Mission to (1814), 180 
 
 Fulda, horrors of the way to, 127-8 ; 
 reinstatement of its Prince-Bishop 
 demanded, 129 
 
 Fundamental Law, modification of, 
 appointment of Plenipotentiaries 
 to whom to refer this, desired by 
 the Hague (1830), 286-7 
 
 GARDE BOURGEOISIE, at Brussels (1830), 
 269, 273, 275, 277 
 
 Garde Communale, called out at Brussels 
 (1830), 265, 266 
 
 Garde Nationale of France, 255, 259, 
 262, 266 
 
 Cell, Sir William, letter from, on a 
 Statue of Pitt, 51 &n., 2 
 
 General Election of 1806, 55 sqq. 
 
 Genoa, 106 
 
 Gentz, Frederic von, 86 &">i., 155 
 
 George, Prince of Wales, 37, 49, 90 ; as 
 Prince Regent, 111 ; views of, on 
 Austria and the Imperial German 
 Crown, 89 ; approval expressed 
 by, of 4th Earl's part in Peace 
 negotiations (1813), 139, sec also 
 George IV. 
 
 George III., 15; on the death of Pitt, 
 44 ; alleged wish of, for a Regency, 
 58 ; attitude of, to Ministers 
 (1806), 60; and the Catholic 
 Question, 62-3 
 
 George IV., reception of, in Edinburgh 
 (1822), letters on, of the 4th 
 Earl to his wife, 205 sqq., High- 
 land Dress worn by, 208, 209 ; and 
 Nicholas I., 220, 4th Earl's com- 
 ment, 223 ; and the Treaty of 
 Adrianople, 237 ; recognition by, 
 of Louis-Philippe, 264; popularity 
 of, 279 
 
 German Dominions, British (1813), 111, 
 restitution of, Secret Article re, 
 in Russo-Prussian Treaty, 90-1 
 Independence, Austrian desire for, 90, 
 
 101 
 Influence in newly-independent Greece, 
 
 244 
 People, 4th Earl on, 176, 182-3
 
 306 INDEX 
 
 w 
 
 Germany, 4th Earl's journeys in (1813- 
 14), 76 sqq. 
 
 Imperial Crown of, resumption of, by 
 Austria, Metternich on, 87-8 
 
 Two new Confederations of, proposed 
 by Stein (1813), 110, 111 
 
 Insurrections in (1830), 278 
 
 North, Friends of Virtue in, danger 
 
 from, 110 
 Ghent, 267, 276 
 Giaour, The (Byron), 171 
 Giesshubel, French driven from (1813), 
 
 112 
 Gight, Castle of, death of Lord Haddo 
 
 at, 1-2 
 Glatz, 80 
 
 Glenorchy, Viscountess, 211 
 Gloucester frigate, wreck of, 6 
 Gordon, Admiral the Hon. John, 11 
 
 Admiral the Hon. William, 11 
 
 Colonel the Hon. Charles, Black 
 Watch, 11 ; at sea in youth, 35 
 
 Duchess of, 48, 53 
 
 2nd Duke of, 10 
 
 4th Duke of, 206 
 
 Family, of Haddo, 3, 4, 5 
 
 John, Lord, direct ancestor of present 
 Earls of Aberdeen, 2 
 
 Lady, born Mary Forbes of Tolrjuhen, 
 3 
 
 Lady Alicia, 11, 46er?i. 
 
 Lady Alice, early death of, 66, 192, 
 194 
 
 Lady Caroline, early death of, 66, 192 
 
 Lady Jane, early death of, 66, 192, 
 194 ; letters to, of 4th Earl, 193 
 
 Lieut. -Colonel Sir Alexander, K.C.B., 
 killed at Waterloo, 11, 35 
 
 Sir George, of Haddo, sec Aberdeen, 
 1st Earl of 
 
 Sir John, of Haddo, Royalist, raid by, 
 3, execution of, 4, fate of his 
 family, 3, 4 sqq. 
 
 Sir Robert, Ambassador to the Porte, 
 11, 72, 116, 152; as actor, 34; 
 action of, on arrival of UieRussians 
 atAdrianople(lS30), 236; on the 
 condition of Turkey (1829), 237 ; 
 correspondence of, with 4th Earl 
 ontheresultsofthe Rus.so-Turkish 
 War and on the independence of 
 Greece, 239-40, 242-3 ; 4th Earl's 
 letter to, on the revolutions in 
 France and the Netherlands, 
 affairs in Germany and Italy and 
 on the Catholic Question (1830), 
 277 sqq. ; warning sent via, to 
 Mehemet AH (1830), with effect, 
 248 
 Goulburn, , and Greek independence, 
 
 240 
 Gourdou, BertranJ de, 2 
 
 Gotteuburgh, 74 
 
 Grant, , 62 
 
 Great Britain, Austrian alliance with 
 (1813), 82, 87; balance of power 
 striven for by, 71-2, 238 ; German 
 dominions of, 111, Restoration of, 
 Secret Article in Russo-Prussian 
 Treaty on (1813), 90-1 ; objects 
 of, in the Continental War (1813), 
 88-9 ; readiness of, to treat for 
 Peace (1813), 89; interest of, in 
 independence of Turkey, bases of, 
 229, 233, 243; action of, con- 
 cerning the blockade of the 
 Dardanelles (1828-30), 217, 236, 
 238 ; engagements of, towards the 
 House of Braganza, 246 ; aid of, 
 desired by the House of Orange 
 in 1830, 268, 277, 283, 285, 
 289 sqq. 
 
 Greece, 4th Earl's travels in (1802-4), 
 23 ; future of, Wellington on 
 (1828), 227; affairs of, desired 
 settlement of (1828), 230, 231, 
 Russian Peace terms concerning 
 (1829), 234, 4th Earl's view on, 
 238-9 
 
 Independence of (1830) and extension 
 of, 4th Earl's proposals on, the 
 former secured, 241 ; the candi- 
 dates for the throne and the choice 
 of a king, 241 sqq. ; constitu- 
 tion for, 244 ; Treaty confirming, 
 Austrian attitude to, 230 
 
 Greek Insurgents in the Morea (1828), 
 British popular sympathy with, 
 216 
 
 Treaty, the, Austrian attitude to, 
 230 
 
 Grenville, Lord, and his Cabinet (1806), 
 47-8, 49, 52, 56, 57 
 
 Grey, 1st Earl, 48 
 2nd Earl, 144 
 
 Guelfs and Ghibellines, 175 
 
 Gurney, Hudson, letters to, from 4th 
 Earl. 26, on Sicilian affairs, 67-8 ; 
 4th Earl called "Jacobin" by, 
 214 
 
 Gwydyr, Lady, 207 
 
 Gwydyr, 2nd Lord, 209 
 
 HADDINGTON, Charles Hamilton, 8th 
 
 Earl of, 43 n. 2 
 Haddo, George, Lord, father of 4th Earl, 
 
 death of, 1-2, 10, 11 
 George, Lord, son of 4th Earl, letter to, 
 on joining the Pitt Ciub, Cam- 
 bridge, 214-15 
 Gordons of, descent of, 2 
 Lady, born Baird, mother of 4th Earl, 
 
 1, 10, 11 ; death of, 2 
 Haddo House, archives, 10 ; 4th Earl's
 
 INDEX 
 
 307 
 
 Haddo House contd. 
 
 first visit to (1805), and impres- 
 sions on, 23 sqq., improvements 
 and tree-planting carried out by, 
 25 sqq., 52, 53, 54, 66, 196, 200, 
 203 ; impressions on, of 4th Earl's 
 first wife, 53-4 ; later attitude to, 
 of 4th Earl, 192-3, 200 ; attitude 
 of his second wife, 193 ; journey 
 to, fatigues of, 200, 4th Earl on, 
 201 sqq. 
 
 " Haddo's Raid," 3 
 
 Hague, the, trouble at (1830), 265-6 
 
 Hainault, 267 
 
 Hamburgh, 102 
 
 Hamilton, Lady Catharine, beauty of, 
 and marriage of, to 4th Earl, 37-8, 
 see also Aberdeen, Countess of 
 Lady Maria, 4th Earl's friendship 
 with, and letters to, on his wife's 
 death, 67 ; on his Embassy to the 
 Allies (1813), 72, 74 sqq., 96, 
 102-4, 115-17, 120 sqq., 127 sqq., 
 151-3, 161-2, 166-7, 180 sqq., 
 191 ; serious ill health of, as a 
 cause for 4th Earl's wish to go 
 home, 174-5 ; death of, as affect- 
 ing 4th Earl's second marriage, 
 191 
 
 Viscount, brother-in-law of 4th Earl, 
 death of, and consequences of, 
 190, 191 
 
 Viscountess, marriage of, to 4th Earl, 
 191 sqq., see also Aberdeen, Coun- 
 tess of, the second 
 
 Hamilton and Brandon, 10th Duke of, 
 at the Edinburgh reception of 
 George IV., 206, 209, 210, 212 
 
 Hanau, storming of (1813), Wrede 
 wounded at, and visited at, by 
 4th Earl, 128-9, 132 
 
 Hanover, 138, 201, 284 ; restoration of, 
 72 ; independence of, 160 
 
 Hanoverian dominions, see German 
 
 Hapsbnrg, House of, early possessions of, 
 175-6 
 
 Hardenberg, Prussian Chancellor, and 
 4th Earl, 138-9; 4th Earl's 
 estimate of, 160 
 
 Hardwicke, 3rd Earl of, 47 
 
 Harrow, 4th Earl educated at, 10, 12 
 
 Harrowby, Countess of, 152 
 
 Harrowby, 1st Earl of, 4th Earl's letters 
 to, during his Embassy to the 
 Allies, on life at Tcplit/, 99-100 ; 
 on a Treaty : the French Govern- 
 ment : the Due de Berri : Napo- 
 leon's falsity : Bernadotte ; on 
 affairs at Frankfort and bis retire- 
 ment, 172 sqq. ; on Castlereagh, 
 coming to H.Q. and on the 
 scheme for making Bernadotte 
 
 Harrowby, 1st Earl of contd. 
 
 Emperor of France ; on neutrality 
 of Switzerland ; on preference, 
 on effect of slight negligences, 
 176 sqq ; on 4th Earl's despatches, 
 169 
 
 Haughtiness, Lord Abercorn on, 71 
 
 Hawkesbury, Viscount, 43, 47, 51,57, 62 
 
 Heidelberg, 180 ; Castle of, great tun at, 
 181 
 
 Heligoland, 154, 166 
 
 Helsinburgh, towns seen from, 75 
 
 Helvetic and Batavian Republics, 22 
 
 Hesse-Darmstadt, Prince of, 130, 150 
 
 Hesse, Prince Philip of, 241, 244 
 
 Heytesbury, Lord, Ambassador at St. 
 Petersburg (1828-30), 4th Earl's 
 instructions to, 217, 218-19 ; 
 interview of, with Nicholas I., 
 peaceful note in, 219 sqq. ; 4th 
 Earl's further instructions to, 
 on the Blockade of the Dar- 
 danelles (1828), 224 ; his des- 
 patch on the matter, 224-6 ; 
 on lack of system in Russian 
 Government, and Russian military 
 strength (1829), 232; 4th Earl's 
 instructions to (Aug. 1829), 233, 
 and private letter to, 236 ; 4th 
 Earl's despatch to, criticizing the 
 Treaty of Adrianople, 237 ; letter 
 to, from 4th Earl on affairs in the 
 Netherlands : the Conference : 
 Allied Unity, 287-8 
 
 High Street, Edinburgh, 210 
 
 Highland Chiefs and the reception of 
 George IV. in Edinburgh (1822), 
 205 sqq. 
 
 Hill, Lord Marcus, account given by, 
 of Paris, during the July revolu- 
 tion (1830), 256 sqq. 
 
 Hocheim, 148 
 
 Hohenzollern family, ancestral castle of, 
 176 
 
 Holland, 3rd Lord, 239 
 
 Holland (see also Netherlands), revolt 
 of (1813), 136 ; independence of 
 British attitude to (1813), 72, 
 139, 140 ; proposed Allied in 
 vasion of (1813), 143 ; affairs in 
 (Nov. 1813), 165 ; separation of, 
 from Belgium (1830), 277, 281 ; 
 Belgian revolution leading to, 
 165, 166, 167, 169, 216 ; problem 
 of, 4th Earl on, 273-4 ; Ward's 
 proposed trip to, with Byron, 
 171-2 ; fears of French invasion 
 of (1830), 284 
 
 Holloway, Miss, and the children's 
 letters, 153 
 
 Holyrood, Palace of, Charles X. in exile 
 at, 247, 260
 
 308 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Hope, John, Dean of the Faculty of 
 Advocates, letter to, from 4th 
 Earl, on his Bill concerning 
 Entail (1825), 213-14 
 
 Howick, Viscount, 57 
 
 Humboldt, Baron von, Prussian Minister 
 to Vienna, 121, 123 
 
 Humboldt, Baron vou, the Traveller, 
 121 
 
 Hungarian force, joining Allied army, 
 101 
 
 Huntly, Marquess of, 53, 206 
 
 Huseiu III., Dey of Algiers (1818-30), 
 
 Huskisson, W., 215 
 
 IONIAN Islands, 241 
 
 Indemnity, demanded by Russia from 
 
 Turkey (1828-30), 222, 234 
 Irish Peerage, proposed assimilation to, 
 
 of the Scottish, 56 
 Italian Campaign, plans for, of Austria 
 
 (1813), 131, 144-5 sqq. 
 Poetry, 4th Earl's knowledge of, 14 
 Republic, 22 
 Italy, 4th Earl's travels in, 22-3 ; 
 
 Austrian views on (1813), 101-2 ; 
 
 affairs in (Oct. 1813), 106-7 ; 
 
 French frontier towards, 140 ; 
 
 state of, in 1830, 278 
 
 JACKSON, , English Minister at Paris 
 
 (1801), 14 
 Jacobi, 164 
 "Jacobin," epithet applied to 4th Earl, 
 
 214, 215 
 
 Jacobin or Mediation Party (1814), 177 
 Jacobins, the, in 1802, 16, in 1830, 278 
 Jena, 125 
 
 Jersey, Charles X.'s wish to go to, 256 
 Johnson, Dr., on trees in Scotland, 25 
 Johnston, , 203 
 Johnstone, Mrs. Hope, 211 
 Jomini, 4th Earl's characterization of, 
 
 100 
 
 KELLIE, House of, siege of, 4 
 Kemble, the actor, 36 
 Keogh, , 61 
 Kicheloff, General, 226 
 King's College, Old Aberdeen, 5 
 Kinnoul, Countess of, 207 
 
 10th Earl of, 206 
 Klenan, and the capitulation of Dresden, 
 
 158 
 
 Knight, Payne, 36 
 Kuox, Rev. F., Minister of Tarves, on 
 
 Agriculture in that village (1772), 
 
 29-30 
 Konigiustadt, 80 
 
 LAFAYETTE, and Louis-Philippe, 257, 
 259 
 
 Lafitte, Maisons, 257 
 
 Lamb, Hon. Frederick, Secretary of 4th 
 Earl's Embassy to the Allies 
 (1813), 726^71., 79&n., 116, 152 
 
 Langeron's Corps, 109 
 
 Launes, devotion of, at Aspern, 115 ; 
 death of, Napoleon's brutal words 
 on, 115 
 
 Lansdowne, 4th Marquess of, at Bowood, 
 170-1 
 
 La Rothiere, Battle of, 186 
 
 Lascelles, Henry (2nd Earl of Harewood), 
 44&?i. 
 
 Latouche, Admiral, 17 
 
 Lauderdale, Duke of, 6, 48-9 ; mission 
 to Paris (1806), 52, 55 
 
 Laurence, , 197 
 
 Lauriston, made prisoner, 124 
 
 Laval, Duke of, and the French Algiers 
 Expedition, 250 
 
 Lawrence, Sir Thomas, 36 ; as actor, 34 : 
 portrait by, of 4th Earl's first 
 wife, 37 
 
 Lebzeltern, Chevalier, 142, 164 
 
 Leipsic, Allied forces near (Oct. 1813), 
 111 ; horrors of, after the battle, 
 125 
 
 Battle of (Oct. 17, 1813), 4th Earl on, 
 121 sqq. ; Napoleon's Peace over- 
 ture under fire, and the 4th Earl's 
 magnanimous behaviour concern- 
 ing, 126-7 (see also Merfeldt) ; 
 Allied losses, 123, 124 
 
 L'Estocq, General, 77-8 
 
 Levant, travels in of the 4th Earl, 2n ; 
 unrest in (1828), 218 
 
 Leveson, Lord Francis, 209 
 
 Levesons, the, 152 
 
 Liege, 267, 268 
 
 Liege, Province of, revolt of (1830), 276 
 
 Lieven, Prince, 164 ; letter to, on the 
 Turkish indemnity and security 
 of future Treaties, 223 ; confidence 
 desired by (1829), 233 
 Princess de, 233 
 
 Liverpool, 2nd Earl of, 177 
 
 Lombardy, 106 ; Austrian forces in 
 (1830), 278 
 
 London, Treaty of General Alliance to he 
 signed in, by desire of Alexander 
 I., 163, but this objected to by 
 Castlereagh, 164 
 
 as venue for Conference on the 
 Netherlands, 286, French and 
 Dutch objections, 289, finally 
 decided upon, 291, 292 
 
 Louis XVI., 15 
 
 Louis XVIII., 189 ; and his Marshals, 
 187, 188 ; and Talleyrand, 279 
 
 Louis Philippe (Duke of Orleans), King 
 of the French, 288, 289 ; on the 
 Treaty of Adrianople, 237 ; acces-
 
 INDEX 
 
 309 
 
 Louis Philippe contd. 
 
 sion of, 247, 257, effects of, on 
 Allied policy, 4th Earl on, 260 
 sqq. ; recognition of, tardy, 263, 
 286, by England, 4th Earl on, 
 264, 277-8 ; and French neutrality 
 towards the Netherlands (Oct. 
 1830), 280-1 
 
 Louvain, 267 
 
 Louvre, the, treasures of, 189 
 
 Lowenburgh, Battle of, 86 
 
 Lutterel, , 197 
 
 Lutzen, Battle of, 122, 179 
 
 Luxembourg, Marshall de, 21 
 
 Luxemburg, Grand Duchy of, exclusion 
 of, from Belgium (1830), 294 
 
 MxcGREGOR, The, and his clansmen, 
 in Edinburgh (1822), 207 
 
 Mackay, , 9 
 
 Mackenzie, Sir George, 6 
 
 Mackintosh, Sir James, 170, and his 
 writings, 171 
 
 Macleod, Miss, beauty of, 207 
 
 Mahiuoud II., Sultan of Turkey, and 
 the war with Russia (1828-30), 
 222-3, 228-9, 229-30, 234 ; Sir 
 K. Gordon's fears for (1830), 243 
 
 Malcolm, Admiral Sir P., 236 
 
 Malines, 285 
 
 Malta, 23 
 
 Mannheim, suggested as place for Peace 
 Congress (1813), 138, 162, 163 
 
 Maria da Gloria, Queen of Portugal, 
 British aid sought to establish 
 (1830), 4th Earl on, 245-6 
 
 Marie-Louise, Empress, 98, 114, 177 ; 
 on the difficulty of making Peace 
 (1813), 105 
 
 Marienberg, 115, 117, 130 
 
 Marmora, Sea of, 236 
 
 Mary, Queen of Scots, at Holyrood, 
 260 
 
 Mataniello, performance of, at Brussels, 
 265 
 
 Matchin, fortress of, fall of, 221 
 
 Mayence, tete du pont at, objective of 
 Wrede (1813), 118 
 
 Mecklenburg, Prince Charles of, 241 
 
 Mehemet Ali, Pacha of Egypt, contem- 
 plated French alliance with 
 (1830), 248 
 
 Meissen, French troops at (1813), 108 
 
 Melbourne, 1st Viscount, as actor, 34 
 
 Melville, 1st Viscount (Henry Dundas), 
 friendship of, with 4th Earl, 11 
 sqq., 45, 64, 65, 201, 205, 208, 
 212 ; correspondence of, with 
 4th Earl, on his going to Cam- 
 bridge, 12-13 ; on 4th Earl's 
 theatricals, 34-5 ; on Lady Aber- 
 deen, 38-9 ; on Pitt's illness, 39, 
 
 Melville, 1st Viscount contd. 
 
 and death, 40, 42 ; on General 
 Election of 1806 : Election of 
 Scottish Peers, 55-6, 57 sqq. ; 
 Impeachment and Trial of,39<sA., 
 50-1 ; determination of, not to 
 return to office, 61, 63 ; letter 
 from, on his wish to abstain from 
 office (1807), 64 
 
 Melville, Viscountess, born Lady Jane 
 Hope, care given by, to the 
 Haddo children, 11, 46&*n.; 
 letters of, to 4th Earl, on her 
 husband's state owing to the im- 
 peachment, 45-6, and on his ob- 
 jection to again taking office, 
 63 
 
 Merfeldt, Countess, 152 
 
 Merfeldt, General Count, 127 ; wounded 
 and made prisoner in the Battle 
 of Leipsic, 123, released on parole 
 with Napoleon's Peace proposi- 
 tions, 124, 125-6, 131, 137 ; 
 mission of, to London, 152, 153, 
 155 
 
 Metternich, Prince (Count), Austrian 
 Minister, 80, 81, 82-3, 86, 93, 
 94, 127, 131, 150, 227 ; political 
 views of (1813), 87 sqq. ; negotia- 
 tions of, with Murat, 92, 95 ; 
 statement on 4th Earl's authority 
 requested by, 92-3 ; attitude of, 
 to 4th Earl, 94, 96, 102, 116, 
 149, 184 ; on Austria's attitude 
 to the person of Napoleon IX., 
 and on her desire for Peace, 97- 
 8 ; views of, on offered aid of the 
 Due de Berri, 98 ; attitude of, to 
 Napoleon, 4th Earl on, 98-9, 
 115; on the Balance of Power, 
 99 ; on Austrian views on Italy, 
 102 ; 4th Earl's opinion of, 104- 
 5, 115, 135, 154-5, 172, 175 ; 
 Article on Warlike Stores urged 
 by, in Treaty, 113 ; stories by, 
 of Napoleon's brutality, 114-15 ; 
 and the Peace Negotiations 
 (1813), 137 sqq. and the Treaty 
 of General Alliance, 157, 163, 
 161 ; and independence of Hano- 
 ver, 160 ; dinners given by, 168 ; 
 on the Bernadotte intrigue (1814), 
 177 ; at the Conference of Chatil- 
 lon, 185 ; on affairs in 1828, 219 ; 
 Nicholas I. on, 221 ; considera- 
 tions laid before, during Russo- 
 Turkish War (1828), 228-9, 230, 
 and his reply to the foregoing, 
 230-1 ; his real attitude at this 
 juncture, Wellington on, 231 ; 
 on the Treaty of Adrianople : 
 British indecision, and the 4th
 
 310 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Metternich, Prince contd. 
 
 Earl's reply (1830), 237-8 ; and 
 the French alliance proposed 
 with Mehemet Ali, 248 
 
 Mildmay, Sir H., 51 
 
 Mincio, Line of, as Austrian frontier, 
 102 
 
 Mole, Comte M. de, Foreign Minister of 
 Louis Philippe, on the Belgian 
 demands and disturbances (1830), 
 270-1 ; exculpation by, of France 
 as regards Belgian disorders, 274 ; 
 on Treaty Stipulations as to the 
 Low Countries, and the separa- 
 tion of the Belgian provinces 
 (Oct. 1830), 281 ; despatches ex- 
 changed by, with 4th Earl, on a 
 Conference of Allied Powers on 
 the Netherlands (Oct. 1830), 286. 
 289 
 
 Monarchical principle preserved after 
 French revolution of 1830, 264-5 
 
 Mongelas, , 86 
 
 Morea, 4th Earl's explorations in, 23 ; 
 Greek insurgents in (1828), 216 ; 
 and neighbouring district provi- 
 sionally guaranteed to Greece 
 (1828), 230 
 
 Moreau, General, 16 ; character of, 20, 
 152 ; and Bernadotte, 75 ; death 
 of, 81, 128 
 
 Morier, David, 4th Earl's private secre- 
 tary (1813), 726-Ti., 152 
 
 " Muette, La, de Portice," a revolu- 
 tionary play, 265 
 
 Muirhead, George, F. R.S.E., on the 
 Haddo Estate, 1801 to 1860, 28 
 sqq. 
 
 Munich, 91 
 
 Murat, Joachim, King of Naples (1813), 
 efforts of 4th Earl to detach from 
 Napoleon, 72 ; at Dresden, 86 ; 
 position of, explained, 91-2 ; ne- 
 gotiations with, 92, 95 ; defection 
 of, from Napoleon, 136 
 
 NAMUR, fall of (1830), 285 
 
 Napoleon Buonaparte, Emperor of the 
 French, 14, 16, 82 ; 4th Earl's 
 acquaintance with, 15, 22 ; smile 
 of, 15 ; titles desired by and 
 assumed by, 16, 22 ; popularity 
 of, 19 ; British effort to detach 
 Murat from, 72 (sec also Murat) ; 
 Allied operations against (1813), 
 in Silesia, 84 ; letter of, to 
 Francis I., 86 ; odium of Conti- 
 nental War to rest on, 89 ; cavalry 
 of, under Murat at Dresden, 91- 
 2 ; intended attack of, on Teplitz, 
 94 ; horse of, wounded near Tep- 
 litz, 97 ; person of, attitude to, 
 
 Napoleon Buonaparte contd. 
 
 of Austria, Francis I., and Metter- 
 nich, 97, 98-9 ; communications 
 threatened in Franconia, 101 ; 
 Berthier's alleged representations 
 to, on need of Peace, and his 
 reply, 105 ; efforts of, to sow dis- 
 sension among Allies, 107; move- 
 ments of (Oct. 1813), 108, 112 ; 
 Allied plan of operations against 
 (Oct. 1813), 109 ; position of, on 
 Oct. 9, 1813, 112 ; Francis I. on, 
 113-14 ; brutality of, stories on, 
 114-15 ; Peace proposals of, after 
 defeat at Leipsic, 124, 126, 131 ; 
 Allied Reply, 125 ; 4th Earl's 
 share in, 137, sqq. ; retreat of, in 
 disorder, 124; 80,000 troops still 
 with, 129 ; flight of, from Ger- 
 many (1813), 135 ; Peace proposi- 
 tions to (1813), 136, and his reply, 
 138 ; loot of, surrender of, 169- 
 70, 4th Earl's views on, 189 ; 
 4th Earl's idea as to his willing- 
 ness to accede to any terms (1814), 
 179 ; powers given by, to Caulain- 
 court (1814), 186 ; as head of his 
 army, 225 ; on telling bad news, 
 280 ; usurpation overthrown by 
 the Allies, Treaties of 1815 and 
 1818 after, 261 
 
 National Guard (French), see Garde 
 Nationale 
 
 Nelson, Admiral Lord, and the bombard- 
 ment of Boulogne, 17 
 
 Nesselrode, Count, 90 ; conferring with 
 4th Earl, and not with Cathcart 
 (1813), 136 ; and the choice of an 
 emissary in reply to Napoleon's 
 Peace offers, 137, 139 ; view of, 
 on Peace terms, 140, 141 ; on the 
 Treaty of General Alliance, 157 ; 
 4th Earl's estimate of, 172 ; and 
 the Conference of Chatillon, 185 
 
 Netherlands, the Kingdom of the (see 
 also Belgium, Flanders, mid Hol- 
 land), disturbances in, leading to 
 Belgian revolution, course of 
 (1830), 265 sqq. ; frontiers, de- 
 fencelessness of (1830), 266, and 
 effect on, of separation of Belgium 
 from Holland, 274 ; Allied en- 
 gagements to maintain its integ- 
 rity, problems raised by Belgian 
 revolution (1830), 247 ; dissolved 
 by separation between Holland 
 and Belgium, 277, 281 
 
 Nicholas I., Emperor of Russia, 228-231, 
 and the Russo-Turkish War, 
 Dardanelles blockaded by (1828), 
 4th Earl's instant protest, 217, 
 238 ; Heytesbury's interview
 
 INDEX 
 
 311 
 
 Nicholas I. contd. 
 
 with, pacific note in, 219 sqq. ; 
 on Metternich, 221 ; effect of his 
 presence with the army, 226 ; 
 over-influenced by political con- 
 siderations, 226 ; and terms of 
 Peace (1828), Wellington on, 227 ; 
 pacific declarations of, 233, 235 
 
 Niemen, the, 179 
 
 Nollekens, 51 
 
 Nostitz, cavaly work under, at Leipsic, 
 145 
 
 ODESSA, 219, 224; corn port, 256 
 
 Offenburg, 183 
 
 Oldenburgh, Prince (Duke) of, 81, 102, 
 
 150 
 Orange, House of, Princes of, sent to 
 
 Antwerp (1830), 103, 267, 275 
 Prince Frederick of, 241, 244; entry 
 
 of, into Brussels (1830), 272-3 ; 
 
 defeat of, at Brussels, results 
 
 of, 277 ; suggested as Governor 
 
 of the Low Countries, 282 ; 
 
 desire for British aid, 277 
 Ordinances of Charles X., effect of, 247, 
 
 257, 258, 260, 262 
 Orleans, Duke of, sec Louis Philippe 
 Orloff Denisoff, 130 
 Otho of Bavaria, King of Greece, 244 
 
 PALMERSTON, Viscount, 12, 215; Russian 
 sympathies of, 217 ; constitu- 
 tional rule determined on by, for 
 Greece, 244 
 
 Pampeluna, 95 
 
 Paris, 4th Earl's visit to (1802), 15 sqq. ; 
 Napoleon's return to, mission to, 
 of St. Aignan (1813), 138, 139 
 sqq. ; Peace negotiations at, part 
 in, of 4th Earl, 190, see also 185 
 sqq. ; as venue for Conference on 
 the Netherlands, objections to, 286 
 
 Parson's Green, 4th Earl's early school 
 at, 2 
 
 Paul, Emperor of Russia, 103 
 
 Peace, Austria's efforts for (1813), 101 ; 
 Napoleon's " terminological inex- 
 actitude" on, to Murat (1813), 
 91 ; the one desire of the French 
 (1814), 179 
 
 Peace of Amiens, 14, 189 
 
 Peace conditions of the British Govern- 
 ment in 1813, 71 
 
 Peace negotiations (1813), Metternich 
 and 4th Earl on, 89-90; history 
 of, 4th Earl's share in, 136 sqq. , 
 151, 185-6 sqq., 190 
 
 Pedro IV., Emperor of Brazil, and the 
 Portuguese succession and Con- 
 stitution (1826), 245 
 
 Peel, Sir Robert, 12, 208 ; and Greek 
 
 Peel, Sir Robert contd. 
 
 independence, 240 ; and the 
 Catholic Question, 279 
 
 Peers created by Charles X., fate of, 
 257 262 
 
 Peers' Ball, Edinburgh, 1822, 4th Earl 
 on, 210-11 
 
 Peninsular War, references to 54, 73, 
 95 ; results of, 136 
 
 Perceval, Mrs., 207 
 Spencer, 62, 64 
 
 Perrier, Casimir, 257 
 
 Perth, Earl of, 8 
 
 Petty, Lord Henry (later Marquess of 
 Lansdowne), 43& J ?z., 48, 51 
 
 Piedmont, unrest in (1830), 278 
 
 Piracy and Slavery, abolition of, pretext 
 of the French Algiers Expedition, 
 249 253 256 
 
 Pitt Club,' Cambridge, 4th Earl to his 
 son, on joining, 214-15 
 
 Pitt, William, Prime Minister, 50; friend- 
 ship of, with 4th Earl, 11 sqq., 
 49, 65 ; letters to 4th Earl, on his 
 trusteeship, 13, on 4th Earl's 
 journey to Paris, 14, and on his 
 theatricals, 35 ; and Lord Aber- 
 corn, 36 ; illness and death, 39, 
 effects on 4th Earl, ib. sqq., his 
 last words, 44 ; public funeral 
 debate, 44, 46 ; debts of, motion 
 for paying, carried, 48 ; statue of, 
 51 ; on Bolingbroke's speeches, 
 51 
 
 Platoff, Hetman of the Cossacks, 103, 
 130 
 
 Plumer, , 58 
 
 Pnyx, the, excavated by 4th Earl, 23, 65 
 
 Poland, Russian aggrandisement in, 93 ; 
 frontier of, Austrian anxiety as 
 to (1813), 93 
 
 Polignac, Prince de, correspondence with 
 4th Earl, on Russo-Turkish War 
 (1828-30), 234, 235 ; on the 
 French Algiers Expedition (1829), 
 248 sqq. ; overthrow of, 254 
 
 Poniatowski, drowned, at Leipsic, 124 
 
 Popham, Sir Home, 35 
 
 Porte, sovereignty of, over Algeria, 
 French alleged willingness to 
 acknowledge, 253-4, 256 
 
 Portland, 3rd Duke of, 39 ., 58; 
 Ministry of (1807), 62 
 
 Portugal, dispute in, as to the successor 
 to the Crowns of Portugal and 
 Brazil, non-intervention view of 
 4th Earl, 245-6 
 
 Posts from London, to Scotland (1821), 
 204 
 
 Potter, L. A. de, offer by, to France of 
 the Belgian provinces (1830), 
 2626-n.
 
 312 
 
 INDEX 
 
 " Pouthieu, Count of," 254, 259 
 
 Pozzo di Borgo, General, 160 ; Calmuck 
 servant of, 161-2 ; mission of, to 
 England, 163, 165, 166, 172 
 
 Prague, 102 ; 4th Earl at (1813), 79, 80 ; 
 agrf.mf.ns of, 94 ; sights along the 
 road from, to Teplitz (1813), 81-2 
 
 Preference, 4th Earl on, 178 
 
 Press, the, "nobbling" of, in the 
 Belgian revolution of 1830, 268 
 
 Price, Sir Uvedale, on the children of 
 the 4th Earl, 194 
 
 Primogeniture, 4th Earl's view on, 214 
 
 Prince Royal, see Bernadotte 
 
 Princes Street, Edinburgh, 202 
 
 Prisoners, Dutch and Belgian (1830), 
 question of, 2934 
 
 Proclamation to the French (1813), de- 
 layed by 4th Earl, 140-1 
 
 Prussia, Prince Royal of, 103 
 
 Prussia, British relations with (1806), 
 59; attitude of, in 1813, 73; 4th 
 Earl's journey in (1813), 76 sqq. ; 
 proposed giving to, of Saxony, 93 ; 
 unrest in (1814), 195; anticipated 
 attitude of (1828), 218 ; candidate 
 put forward by, for the Greek 
 throne, 241 ; attitude of, and 
 military readiness of (Oct. 1830), 
 282 
 
 Putney, Pitt's house at, 39 
 
 QUARTERLY REVIEW article, by Scott, on 
 
 Lord Abercorn, 36 
 Queensberry, 1st Duke of, 8 
 
 RADETZKY, Quartermaster-General of 
 Schwartzenberg's army, 145, 147 ; 
 4th Earl's relations with, 156 
 
 " Radical," import of the name in 1835, 
 215 
 
 Rastadt, 183 
 
 Regnier, made prisoner, 124 
 
 Reis Effendi, the, 235 ; and Peace possi- 
 bilities (1828), 229 
 
 Reuss, Prince, and negotiations with 
 Bavaria (1813), 100, 117; penetra- 
 tion into Italy, 101; atFraukfoit, 
 150 
 
 Revolutionary excesses, not usually at 
 the outset, 247, 262 
 
 Rheims Cathedral, 18 
 
 Rhine, the, line of, 101, 114; Wrede's 
 objective (1813), 118; Allied 
 force detailed to watch, 142-3, 
 150; as French frontier, 139; 
 castles along, 181 
 
 Richard I., 2 
 
 Richelieu, Duke de, 256 
 
 Ripon, 1st Earl of (Hon. Frederick 
 Robinson), 12, 47 n. 
 
 Road-making by Hungarian Guards, 127 
 
 Rob Roy (Scott), 4th Earl on, 197-9 
 
 Robinson, Hon. Frederick, later, 1st 
 Earl of Ripon, 47^71., 186 
 
 Rochlitz, French forces assembled at, 
 under Napoleon (Oct. 1813), 112 
 
 Rogers, Samuel, 170, 197 
 
 Roman States, unrest in (1830), 278 
 
 Roman zow, 82 
 
 Romilly, , 170 
 
 Rose, , 51 
 
 Rosebery, 4th Earl of, 210 
 
 Rostock, 74 
 
 Rotha, H.Q. at, of Francis I., 124 
 
 Rothes.iJohu Leslie, Duke of, Chancellor 
 of Scotland, death of, 6, 7, 8 
 
 Rothschild, , 255 
 
 Russell, Lord John, a pro-Russian (1828), 
 216 
 
 Russia, advance of, on Germany (1813), 
 73, Asiatic troops employed by, 
 80, 100, enormities of, 120, 122 ; 
 operations of (1813), 85 ; Wilson's 
 military experience in, 143, 144 ; 
 military resources of, Abercorn 
 on, 197 ; British sympathy witli 
 (1828), 216; 4th Earl's distrust 
 of, 217, 238-9; Asiatic extension 
 of, Wellington on, 232; diffi- 
 culties in (1829), 235 
 
 Russian Army, hatred of foreigners in 
 
 (1829), 235 
 Embassy declined by 4th Earl, 62, 64, 
 
 65 
 
 Government, lack in, of system, 232 
 Losses before Varna, 226, 228 
 Policy (1814), 4th Earl's insight into, 
 195 
 
 Russo-Pruisian Treaty (1813), bases of, 
 90 
 
 Russo-Turkish War (1828-30), 4th Earl's 
 policy in respect of, 216 sqq. ; 
 Heytesbury on its inception and 
 execution, 225 ; proposed Peace 
 negotiations, 4th Earl's despatch 
 on (Dec. 1828), 227 sqq.; military 
 strength of Russia at beginning 
 of 1829, 232; Russian successes 
 in 1829 ; Russian approach to 
 Constantinople (1829), 233, 235, 
 236 ; Russian terms of Peace, 
 234 ; close of, state of rival 
 armies, 236-7 ; Treaty of Adri- 
 anople, conditions of, various 
 views on, 237 
 
 Ryder, R., 44 
 
 SAAL, the, 109 
 
 Saalfeld, 108 
 
 Saatez, Diplomatic Body lodged at (1813), 
 
 111 
 St. Aignan, Comte de, Allied messenger 
 
 with reply to Napoleon's Peace
 
 INDEX 
 
 313 
 
 St. Aignan, Comte de contd. 
 
 proposals, 188, HO, 141, 156, 162, 
 163 
 
 St. Cloud, in 1830, 255, 257 
 
 St. Petersburg, 224, 225, 232, 235 
 
 St. Sebastian, 95 
 
 Sardinia, King of, re-establishment, etc., 
 of, urged by Metternicli (1813), 102 
 
 Saxe-Coburg, Prince Leopold of, candi- 
 date for the Greek throne, 242, 
 withdrawal of, 243-4 
 
 Saxony, King of, 112; made prisoner at 
 
 Leipsic, 125 
 Prince John of, 241 
 
 Saxony, Allied rideau across (1813), 
 111; devastation in, 117; miseries 
 of, in the war, 120-1 ; proposed 
 bestowal of, on Prussia, 93 ; Rus- 
 sian operations in (1813), 85 
 
 Schaffhausen, Ehine falls at, 184 
 
 Scheldt defences (1830), 292, 293 
 
 Schwartzenberg, Prince, Commander-in- 
 Chief of Allied Forces (1813), 84, 
 85, 93, 108, 150; meeting of, 
 with Alexander I., 945; 4th 
 Earl's characterization of, 103 ; 
 on Napoleon and Peace, 105 ; 
 strategy of, 108, 113; H-Q. of, at 
 Leipsic, 111 ; forces opposing, 
 112; at Chemnitz (Oct. 1813), 
 112 ; advance of, 115 ; 4th Earl's 
 relations with, 116, 147, 148, 156 ; 
 and the Battle of Leipsic, deco- 
 rated on the field, 124, 159 ; plan 
 of campaign for (1813-14), 142; 
 and Sir R. Wilson, 143 sqq, ; and 
 the capitulation of Dresden, 158, 
 159 
 
 Scotch Peerage, representation of, 49 
 Peers, creation of, 49; election of, 55 
 sqq. 
 
 Scotland, Minister for, discussed, 48 
 Union of, with England, 5-6 
 
 Scots characteristics, influences forming, 
 32 
 
 Scott, Sir Walter, on Lord Abercorn and 
 his circle, 36 ; books by, 4th Earl 
 on, 134, 197 sqq.; and the recep- 
 tion of George IV. in Edinburgh 
 (1822), 206, 208 
 
 Scottish Parliaments held by Charles 
 II., 5 
 
 Selkirk, 4th Earl of, 50 
 
 Semonville, , 257 
 
 Seton, Alexander, later Gordon, 2 
 
 Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 48, 61, 63 ; 
 
 accusation against, 58 
 T., as actor, 34 
 
 Sheridans, the, 36 
 
 Shumla, 219 
 
 Sicilian Embassy declined by 4th Earl, 
 64-5 
 
 Sicily, events in (1812), 4th Earl on, 
 68 ; King of, 72, 102 
 
 Sidmouth, Viscount, 43, 47, 48, 49 
 
 Silesia, operations in (1813), 84 
 
 Smyrna, 23 
 
 Soil-clearing in Scotland, cost of, 65 
 
 Sound, the, 75 
 
 South Brabant, in revolt (1830), 276 
 
 Sovereign, presence of, with his armies, 
 when good, 225, when harmful, 
 225-6 
 
 Spain, expulsion from, of the French 
 (1813), 136 
 
 Spencer, 2nd Earl of, 48 
 
 Stadion, , 94, 155 
 
 Stae'l, Madame de, 170, 171, 176 ; books 
 by, 4th Earl on, 176, 182-3, 202 ; 
 in Paris, 188 
 
 Stafford, 2nd Marquess of, 50 
 
 Stanmore, Lord (Sir A. H. Gordon), son 
 of 4th Earl, on the ancestor of 
 the Earls of Aberdeen, 2 ; on 
 4th Earl's first arrival at Haddo, 
 26 sqq. ; on Granting Degrees to 
 Noblemen without examination, 
 33 ; on the death of 4th Earl's 
 first wife and his perpetual wear- 
 ing of mourning for her, 67 ; on 
 a striking instance of the 4th 
 Earl's placability and self-com- 
 mand, 135-6; on the intoxicating 
 effect of Allied successes in 1813, 
 135-6 
 
 Stanmore (Bently Priory), seat of Lord 
 Abercorn, its guests, master, and 
 associations with, of 4th Earl, 34, 
 35-6, 75, 152, 168, 180, 194; 
 becomes 4th Earl's home (1818- 
 34), 199 
 
 States General, convocation of, at the 
 Hague (1830), 267, 269, 272, 
 273 
 
 Stein, , plan of, for giving Saxony to 
 Prussia (1813), 93 ; two German 
 confederations proposed by, 110, 
 111 
 
 Stewart, Sir Charles, Ambassador to 
 Prussia, later, 3rd Marquess of 
 Londonderry, 81, 84, *85, 115, 
 156, 164 ; at Prague, 77 ; 4th 
 Earl's letters to, from Teplitz 
 (1813), 94 sqq., 97; views of 
 (1813-14), contrary to those of 
 4th Earl, 136, 138-9, 164; 4th 
 Earl's estimate of, 137, 173; 
 Prussian appreciation of, 146 ; 
 at the Conference of Chatillou, 
 185 
 
 Strachan, John, 5 
 
 Stralsund, 79 ; 4th Earl's rough passage 
 to, 76 
 
 Strelitz, 76, 79
 
 314 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Stuart de Eothesay, Lord, Ambassador 
 at Paris ; 4th Earl's instructions 
 to, concerning Russo-Turkish War 
 (1830), 234 ; 4th Earl's instruc- 
 tions to, on the French Algiers 
 Expedition (1830), 248-9, 251, 
 252, and his replies, 250, 
 252 ; and the coup d'ttat of July, 
 1830, 254, letter to, from 4th 
 Earl, 254-5; his report on the 
 Algiers Expedition after the fall 
 of Charles X., 255-6; letters to, 
 from 4th Earl on the arrival of 
 Charles X., 259-60, on the Belgian 
 revolution, France's exculpation, 
 Allied representations to the King 
 of the Netherlands, 274-6 ; 4th 
 Earl's instructions to, and his 
 reply on, the King of the French 
 and affairs in the Netherlands 
 (Oct. 1830), 280 sqq. 
 
 Swabia as cradle of Germany, 175 
 
 Sweden, Crown Prince of, see Bernadotte 
 British engagements to, 71 ; action of, 
 in 1813, 73 ; 4th Earl's journey 
 through, 74-5 ; affairs in, Aus- 
 trian attitude to (1813), 160 
 
 Switzerland, 157 ; neutrality of (1814), 
 177, Allied observance of, 180 ; 
 proposed passage through of Al- 
 lied Armies, 142, 150, Swiss 
 Government's attitude to, 164-5 
 
 TALLEYBAXD, Prince of Benevente, on 
 "the beginning of the end," 166-7; 
 his wife and his guests (1814), 
 188 ; Ambassador in London of 
 Louis Philippe, 247, 279, 291, 
 on the Allied Conference on the 
 Netherlands and its venue, 287, 
 289 ; young France's estimate of 
 (1830), 294-5 
 
 Tartars, Asiatic, with Russian army 
 (1813), 80 
 
 Temple, , on affairs in Russia (1829), 
 235 
 
 Tenant Farmers, Aberdeenshire, early 
 nineteenth century and before, 
 28 sqq. 
 
 Tenedos, 236 
 
 Teplitz, Allied H.Q. at (1813), 81 sqq. 
 agrdmens of, 96-7, 199 ; French 
 menace to, 96 ; fetes at, 102-3 ; 
 notable people at, 100, 102-3, 
 104, 143, 144 
 
 Thornton, , 165 
 
 Tolstoy, 109 
 
 Torgau, French troops at (1813), 108 
 
 Tower built by 4th Earl at Formartine, 
 204 
 
 Treaty negotiated by 4th Earl (1813), 
 96, 100, 113, 117 
 
 Treaty obligations of the Allies as to the 
 Bonaparte family, and French 
 territorial aggression, 261-2 ; as to 
 the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 
 270, 271, 274, 277, 281, British 
 observation of, 4th Earl on, 288 
 
 Treaty of Ackermann (1826), 234 
 
 Treaty of Adrianople signed (1829), 237 ; 
 effects of, on Greece, 242, 243 
 
 Treaty with Bavaria signed, Oct. 8, 1813, 
 117 
 
 Treaty of General Alliance, the, 157 ; 
 Cathcart's project in lieu of, 160 ; 
 prospects of, 163, 164; instruc- 
 tions for, 167-8 
 
 Treaty of July 6, 220 
 
 Treaty of London (1827), 216 ; Russia's 
 defection from, 220, 222, 224, 
 230 ; binding on Great Britain 
 and France, 229-30 ; abrogation 
 of, essential to separation of 
 Belgium from Holland, 274 ; 
 appointment of Plenipotentiaries 
 to whom to refer the modi- 
 fication probably expedient in 
 the Fundamental Law, desired 
 by the Hague (1830), 286-7 
 
 Treaty of Paris (1814), 186, 218; 
 taken to England by 4th Earl, 
 190 
 
 Treaty of Paris (1815), and applicability 
 of Allied engagements after the 
 July revolution, 261 sqq. 
 
 Treaty referred to, by 4th Earl as in 
 process of negotiation, 154 
 
 Treaty of Subsidy, 113 
 
 Treaty, the Subsidiary, 157 
 
 Treaty of Teplitz, see Treaty of General 
 Alliance 
 
 Treaty of Vienna (1815), 218 ; action by 
 Great Powers in accordance with, 
 after French July revolution, 262 ; 
 and the separation of Belgium 
 from Holland, 274 
 
 Tree-destruction in Scotland, 25-6 
 
 Tree-planting by 4th Earl, at Haddo, 
 52, 53, 54, 66, 200, 203, 204 
 
 Trilateral Treaty, 220, 221 
 
 Tuilleries, the, 20 
 
 Turenne, Marshall, statue of, 20-1 
 
 Turkey, British popular attitude to, in 
 1828-30, and in 1854, 216-17; 
 independence of, British interest 
 in, bases of, 229, 233, 243 ; War 
 of, with Russia (see also Russo- 
 Turkish War), Russian terms of 
 Peace offered to (1829), 234 ; state 
 of, after the war, 4th Earl on, 
 239-40, 242, Wellington on, 
 240 
 
 Turkish Grand Vizier, defeat of (1829), 
 233
 
 INDEX 
 
 315 
 
 Turner, Dr. , Vice-Chancellor, Cambridge 
 
 University, 44 
 Turnip-growing in Scotland, 26; kind 
 
 used for dessert, 27 
 Tuscany, Archduke Bernard of, 241-2 
 
 Archduke Maximilian of, 241-2 
 Tuscany, 102, 106 
 Tweeddale, 2nd Earl of, 8 
 Tycheppau defile, 121 
 Tyrannies, 20 
 Tyrol, the, and Austria, 93, 106, 107, 
 
 119, 157 
 
 UMBRELLA, 4th Earl's, sensation caused 
 
 by, 27 
 United States of America, mission to, 
 
 declined by 4th Earl, 67; war 
 
 with (1812), 67; and Charles X., 
 
 256, 260 
 Unter Thai, the, 119 
 
 VANDAMME, defeat of (1813), 80 
 
 Var, the, 151 
 
 Varna, fall of, 220, 226-7, 228 
 
 Veruon, , 152 
 
 Versailles, state of (1802), 15-16 
 
 Verstolk, Baron, demand of, for Allied 
 aid to the Netherlands (1830), 
 4th Earl on, 283, 285; Bagot's 
 conversation with, on French 
 attitude to the Belgian revolu- 
 tion, 283, 284-5 ; objections of, 
 to the Armistice and to the 
 Protocol of the Conference in 
 London (Oct. 1830), 293 
 
 Vicenza, Duke of, see Caulaincourt 
 
 Victor, fate of, 124 
 
 Vincent, General, 78, 160 
 
 Voralberg, the, 119 
 
 WAR, miseries of, 4th Earl on, 81-2, 94, 
 96-7,99, 112, 116, 117, 120,121, 
 123, 125, 127-8, 129, 130, 131, 
 132 
 
 Ward, Hon. J. AV. (later, 4th Viscount 
 Dudley and Ward), letter from, 
 to 4th Earl, 169 sqq. 
 
 Warlike stores, Austria's need of (1813), 
 113 
 
 Warsaw, Duchy of, 162 
 
 Waterloo, Battle of, 11 
 
 Wauburg, Grand Duke of, see Wurtzburg 
 
 Waverley and other novels by Sir 
 Walter Scott, 4th Earl on, 199 
 
 Weather in Oct. 1813, 116 
 
 Wellesley, Sir Arthur, see Wellington, 
 Duke of 
 
 Wellesley, 1st Marquess of, 61, 64 
 
 Wellington, Field-Marshal, the Duke 
 of, 11, 220; in the Peninsular 
 War, 54 ; letter to, from the 
 Due de Berri, 95, 97 ; on the pro- 
 
 Wellington, Duke of contd. 
 
 posed irruption from Spain into 
 France, 95 ; operations of, in 
 the south of France (1813), 142 ; 
 Austrian Order conferred on, 167; 
 at Chatillon, comment of, on the 
 Austrians, 187; at the Congress 
 of Vienna, 195; correspondence 
 of, with 4th Earl on the Russo- 
 Turkish War (1828-30), 219, on 
 . Turkish affairs after the fall or 
 Varna, 227 ; on Metternich's 
 position in 1828, 231 ; on Russian 
 successes (1829) and demands, 
 her Asiatic extension and power 
 in Europe, 232-3 ; on Russo- 
 Turkish War (1829), 233, 235- 
 6 ; on the state of Turkey after 
 the War (1828-30), and on 
 Greece and the Ionian Islands, 
 240-1 ; on Prince Philip of Hesse, 
 241 ; on revolutionary excesses in 
 1789, 247 ; on the French Algiers 
 Expedition, British dissatisfac- 
 tion, 250-1 ; on the French 
 revolution of 1830, 247, 258-9 ; 
 on the revolution in the Nether- 
 lands (1830), 266, 269*??.. 273-4, 
 280 ; letter from, to Bagot, on 
 the Dutch appeals for military 
 assistance (Oct. 1830), 289-91 
 
 WellingtonMinistry, the, 4th Earl Foreign 
 Secretary in (1828-30), 195, 215, 
 216 sqq. ; believed to sympathize 
 with French reactionaries, 248 ; 
 shaken by the Catholic Question, 
 279; fall of (1830), 294 
 
 Wemyss, Mr., and Lady Isabella, 207 
 
 Wesseufels, 121 
 
 White's Club, 50, 51 
 
 Whittington, Rev. G., correspondence 
 with, of 4th Earl, on death of 
 Pitt, 40-1 ; on illness of Mel- 
 ville, 46-7 ; on the General 
 Election of 1806, 61-2; on the 
 General Election of 1807, 62-3 
 
 William, King of the Netherlands, and 
 the Belgian revolution of 1830, 
 272, 273 sqq., 289, demands of, 
 for armed Allied intervention, 
 247, 270, 280, 283, 285, 288, 
 categorical refusal of, by Welling- 
 ton, 289-91 ; suggested Allied 
 advice to, 4th Earl on, 269-71, 
 275, French views on, 270-1 ; 
 4th Earl on, 278 ; views of, on 
 the crisis, 281-2 ; end of his rule 
 over Belgium, 282 ; views of, at 
 the London Conference, 287 ; 
 objections of, to its protocols, 
 2923 
 
 William III., 9
 
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