⚫ himself upon, as a complete and perfect model.'-Belsham's Memoirs of the Kings of Great Britain, of the House of Brunswick Lunenburg, Vol. 2. p. 172." VOL. II. P. 398,

Before concluding our remarks on these volumes, we must extract Mr. Coxe's character of Lord Walpole, notwithstanding its length. This we think due to the author and the statesman; for it is our wish to do justice to both in appreciating a work which will identify itself with the history of the country during the first half of the 18th century.

"No character was ever more wantonly misrepresented by the malignance of party than that of Lord Walpole. As he was the brother of a minister who so long directed the helm of government, and had so considerable a share in the conduct of foreign affairs, he partook of the obloquy heaped on Sir Robert Walpole in the numerous party-pamphlets and periodical papers which deluged the public during his administration. Smollett, blindly adopting the malevotence of his opponents, described him as employed, in despite of nature, in different negociations; as blunt, awkward, and slovenly; an orator without eloquence, an embassador without dignity, and a plenipotentiary without address. But the continuator of Tindal (Vol. 20, p. 205) has done justice to his abilities and character; and the late Earl of Hardwicke, who cannot be suspected of interested flattery, has paid a just tribute of applause to his me

mory.

"Mr. Robinson (afterwards Lord Grantham) was secretary to Mr. Walpole, embassador in France. The annals of this country will record the abilities of both; and the editor, with gratitude, ' remembers the friendship and confidence with which they indulged him. Mr. Walpole had the greatest weight with Cardinal Fleury, till Monsieur Chauvelin gained the ascendant over him, and then the former desired to be recalled from his station. His dispatches (were they published) would do credit to his unwearied zeal, industry, and capacity. He was a great master of the commercial and political interests of this country; he was deservedly raised to the peerage in 1756, and died soon after. It was the fashion of the opposition of his time to say, that he was the dupe of Cardinal Fleury; his correspondence would show, no man was ever less so. 'He negotiated with firmness and address; and, with the love of peace, which was the system of his brother Sir Robert, he never 'lost sight of that great object, keeping up the sources of national * strength and wealth. One of the most cordial leave-takings, which any public minister ever had, was that which he exchanged with the States-general in 1739, on presenting his letters of recall.'- Hardwicke's State Papers, Vol. 2. p. 631.

་

"It is hoped that this observation of so able a judge of political talents will be proved and justified by these Memoirs; and that Lord Walpole will be vindicated from the unjust obloquy heaped upon his person and abilities.

No. 129. Vol. 32, Mar, 1809.

S

"Lord Walpole, in his person, was below the middle size; he did not possess the graces recommended by Lord Chesterfield as the essential requisites of a fine gentleman; and his manners were plain and unassuming. Notwithstanding his long residence abroad, he was careless in his dress; though witty, he was often boisterous in conversation, and his speech was tinctured with the provincial accent of Norfolk. But these trifling defects, which the prejudices. of party highly exaggerated, and which rendered his personal appearance unprepossessing, he was, himself, the first to ridicule. He was frequently heard to say, that he never learnt to dance, that he did not pique himself on making a bow, and that he had taught himself French.

"He was by nature choleric and impetuous; a foible which he acknowledges in a letter to his brother: You know my mother used to say that I was the most passionate, but not the most positive child she ever had.' He corrected, however, this defect so prejudicial to an embassador; for no one ever behaved with more coolness and address in adapting himself to circumstances, and in consulting the characters and prejudices of those with whom he negociated. Notwithstanding his natural vivacity, he was extremely placable, and easily appeased. He behaved to those who had reviled his brother's administration, and derided his own talents and person, with unvaried candour and affability; and no instance occurs of his personal enmity to the most violent of his former opponents.

"In conversation he was candid and unassuming; and communi cated the inexhaustible fund of matter, with which his mind was stored, with an ease and vivacity* which arrested attention.

"In the latter part of his life he fondly expatiated on past transactions, removed the prejudices of many who had been deluded by the misrepresentations of party, and induced several of his former opponents candidly to confess their errors.

"With regard to his moral conduct, he was sincere in his belief of Christianity, and zealous and constant in performing the duties of religion. His private character was irreproachable; he was a tender husband, an affectionate father, a zealous friend, and a good master; he was particularly careful in superintending the education of his children, and had the satisfaction of seeing his cares repaid by their good conduct.

He maintained an unimpeached character for truth and integrity, as well in his public as in his private capacity. He gave a striking proof of his invariable attachment to his word by refusing to sign the triple alliance between the Emperor, Great Britain, and

* Bishop Keene, in a letter to Mr. Etough, says, 'Old Horace dined with me the other day; he was uncommonly communicative ⚫ and agreeable.' The late much regretted Lord Sydney frequently expatiated on Lord Walpole's spirited and interesting flow of conversation; Mr. Cresset Pelham also recollects, with pleasure, the satisfaction and information which he derived from his intercourse with Lord Walpole.

France; because he had solemnly assured the States, that no treaty should be concluded with France without their participation. This attachment to truth, which has been too often supposed an incumbrance to ministers in foreign transactions, established his credit, and contributed to his success in many difficult negociations. He was equally trusted by the sagacious Fleury, the cautious Heinsius, and the irritable Slingelandt.

"He was by nature and habit, arising from the original smallness of his fortune, and from the necessity of providing for a numerous family, strictly economical; yet he was liberal in rewarding services, and magnificent whenever the dignity of his station re quired. During his embassies he acted with a laudable spirit, which few embassadors have imitated; even in his absence a regular table was maintained, and the same establishment (except in his equipages) kept up as when he was present. He was accustomed to say, that the best intelligence is obtained by the convivial intercourse of a good table; and was anxious to give the same opportunities to his secretary.

"He was always an early riser, and usually finished his dis patches, and transacted his business, before the hour of dinner, unless he was pressed by urgent affairs. Being fond of company, and of a convivial temper, though strictly sober in his habits, he usually relaxed his attention after dinner, and passed a cheerful evening in domestic enjoyments or mixed society.

66. During the whole administration of his brother, he was not only assiduous in fulfilling the drudgery of his own official depart ments, but had a share in directing every negociation, and superintended the whole system of foreign affairs. Even after his retire ment from office, he spontaneously submitted his thoughts to the king or ministry; and, on account of his extensive knowledge in political affairs, he was constantly consulted, and drew up memorials, abstracts of treaties, and other diplomatic papers. Although many of these documents were destroyed by himself, and others unavoidably lost; yet those which remain are so numerous as to excite astonishment at his incredible perseverance [industry].

Lord Walpole also gave to the public several pamphlets; and it may be truly said, that few treatises of importance issued from the press, on the side of the ministry with whom he acted, which were not submitted to his inspection, or corrected and improved by his hand.

During the time of his embassies, and when almost the whole affairs of Europe passed through his hands, Lord Walpole was no less employed at home. He constantly spent the summer and au tumn at his post, and returned to England just before the meeting of Parliament; he was always consulted by his brother, and often by the King, on the current affairs, and took an active share in those debates which related to foreign transactions.

"Lord Walpole was intimately acquainted with the history both of ancient and modern times, and his political knowledge was accurate and comprehensive, being the result of sagacious observation, improved by long practice in momentous business. Few per

sons also possessed a deeper insight into the human heart, or a more accurate and ready discrimination of character*.

"He paid great attention to the trade and manufactures of this country, particularly to those which Great Britain carried on with the American colonies, and which the place of auditor of the foreign plantations rendered, according to his own expression, no less an object of duty than of information.' The treatises which he published, and many which he left in manuscript, prove his minute and extensive knowledge of those subjects. There is scarcely an article of trade, commerce, and manufacture, both native and

foreign, on which documents are not found among his papers, interspersed with occasional remarks in his own hand-writing. These remarks show great liberality of sentiments, and the most extensive views with respect to the freedom of trade, the abolition of monopolies, and the prevention of smuggling. His acquaintance with these subjects was so well known and appreciated, that, not only during the administration of Sir Robert Walpole, but even in subsequent periods, he was consulted, and had the principal share in preparing many acts of Parliament relating to the increase of trade, or the improvement of manufactures.

"From the time of his brother's resignation, till his own death, he neither desired nor courted any official employment. During this period he acted a part which every man of moderation and integrity will admire and imitate. Instead of going into petulant opposition, or publicly combating the measures of government, he thought it his duty openly to support them, whenever they deserved approbation. When he differed from the King and ministers in essential points, he always privately delivered his opinion, either in person, or by letter. Whenever he was convinced that government was pursuing weak or improper measures, he gave his sentiments with a respect, firmness, and perseverance, which few persons bred in courts would have the courage and integrity to imitate. His private correspondence, in this publication, displays many instances in which his frankness and perseverance offended the King and the ministers, and drew on himself the imputation of

officiousness.

"Lord Walpole understood and wrote French with great fluency and propriety, and spoke it with equal facility, though with a foreign accent. Cardinal Fleury, alluding to his pronunciation, used to say of him, Il est diablement eloquent avec son mauvais François. His knowledge of classical literature was very considerable, and formed a great fund of amusement during his retirement in the country, and in the latter period of his life. In his letters to his friends he often dwells with peculiar pleasure on the writings of antiquity, and proves his knowledge and taste by frequent and apposite quotations. He maintained a constant intercourse with men of letters, both native and foreign. Pope presented him with a copy of his works, which is still preserved in the library at Wolterton, as

*The reverse of this is true: his greatest defect was the want of a subtle discrimination of character. Rev.

a mark of gratitude for obtaining from Cardinal Fleury a benefice for his friend the Abbé Southcote; and he maintained an epistolary correspondence with Maittaire, the learned author of the Annales Typographici, and editor of Corpus Poetarum Latinorum.' VOL. II.

P. 451.

To the general fidelity of this portrait we cheerfully subscribe; yet we are surprised that the author should have praised Lord Walpole's great knowledge of character, when he himself admits his lordship's abuse of the talents of Sir Luke Schaub was erroneous and prejudiced; and when his lordship confessed himself deceived at first in the very intelligible character of Cardinal Fleury. In fact, Lord Walpole was a man replete with good sense, who always separated the practical from the fanciful, and adhered most obstinately to the former: he was frank and sincere, believed all men like himself, and never suspected any artifice till it had rendered itself too palpable to be any longer misconceived. His good sense, supported by his great personal integrity and disinterestedness (which appear in various instances), seem to have been the sole basis of his success in negociating. The honesty and veracity of the man inspired a confidence which eventually effected much greater advantage to his country, than more splendid talents and artifice could have done. His whole political system, as well as that of his brother, was founded on a laudable desire of maintaining a long and honourable peace. In this view he was cordially joined by the good Cardinal Fleury: but it must be confessed that the measures preferred by both these statesmen, to attain such a desirable end, savoured more of the nature of expedients than of permanent or efficient principles. Lord Walpole appears also to have been fully convinced of George the Second's German prejudices, to have regretted his attachment to Hanover and the Queen of Hungary, and to have felt the ruinous effects of continental subsidies and Austrian alliances. The pacific system was the only means of reconciling conscience and office; for, notwithstanding the length and influence of the Walpole administration, it was not able to check or modulate either the warlike or Hanoverian propensities of the King. This was reserved for the independent genius of the great Chatham, who grounded his measures on solid principles of political justice, without regard to the prejudices of whigs or tories.

These Memoirs are illustrated by well-executed portraits of all the principal characters, both male and female, con