44

A PATRON OF LETTERS.

his temper under every provocation of petulance and of dulness, which is still more trying." In 1697 he was raised to the peerage, and promoted to the Lord Chancellorship; honours which he accepted with some reluctance. Probably he valued them only because they enabled him to encourage and reward men of letters. Thus, the wardership of the Mint, he bestowed upon Newton; John Locke he placed on the Board of Trade; for Addison, the most charming of essayists, he procured an annuity of £300.* When Bayle was oppressed by poverty, and unable to give to the world his ' Historical and Critical Dictionary,' that wonderful monument of indefatigable research and critical acumen, he sent him a message, through a friend, that if he would accept of his patronage for his Dictionary, he had one hundred and fifty guineas at his service.

Neither his public services nor his patronage of literature, his political integrity nor his knowledge of jurisprudence, could shelter him from the adverse winds of unpopularity. In 1701, his enemies were powerful enough to threaten him with an impeachment, chiefly for his share in the Treaty of Ryswick; and King William, even before his trial, was reluctantly compelled to deprive him of the seals. The party jealousies which had directed the attack upon him prevented it, however, from being successful. The impeachment was not pressed; and Somers, in a private position, continued to

* In the letter of thanks which Addison addressed to Somers, he said, "The only return I can make to your Lordship will be to apply myself entirely to my business." He then set out (1699) on a Continental tour, the result of which was his Dialogue on Medals.'

CHARACTER OF SOMERS.

45

devote his surpassing intellectual powers to the service of his country. He supported with all his influence the legislative measure which resulted in the Union of England and Scotland. In 1708, after the retirement of Harley, and the triumph of the Whigs, he was made Lord President of the Council. This office he held for about two years, resigning it in 1710, when his party was again dismissed to the cold shade of opposition. His health, however, was now greatly impaired; and his strong intellect gradually sank into a condition of torpor, with occasional flashes of activity to remind spectators of its former power. At the accession of George the 1st, his infirmities prevented him from accepting the presidency of the council, though his name still lent lustre to the cabinet, and his advice was at times available for the guidance of his colleagues. On the 26th of April, 1716, his honourable career was terminated by a fit of apoplexy.

"In the whole range of our history," says Earl Stanhope, whose testimony may be the more readily accepted because it is not that of a partisan, "I know not where to find a more upright and unsullied public character than that of Somers. He had contracted nothing of the baseness and venality of his age. He had touched pitch, and was not defiled. In the words of Horace Walpole, he was one of those divine men, who, like a chapel in a palace, remain unprofaned, while all the rest is tyranny, corruption, and folly. He had all the knowledge, but none of the pedantry of his profession. He loved the law of England, not as too many seem to love it, for the sake of the dross that defiles it-for the

46

THE KING'S GERMAN FAVOURITES.

gibberish which still clings to its language-for the mummeries into which some of its forms have grown. He loved the law of England as the armoury from which, when threatened either by democracy or despotism, we may draw our readiest weapons, and which may prevent recourse to any others. In foreign affairs he was no less deeply skilled, having most attentively studied the balance of power, and the political interests of Europe. As a speaker, his reasoning was close and powerful, his diction flowing and manly. The natural warmth of his temper, which he so successfully mastered in politics, glowed unrestrained in his attachment to his friends; and as no man was ever more deserving of the veneration of posterity, so no one was ever more beloved in private life."*

The rebellion of the Jacobites having been suppressed, the nation passed into a condition of profound tranquillity. But this tranquillity was not shared by the cabinet, which was called upon to contend with the jealousies of Sunderland, the dissatisfaction of Marlborough, and the ill-humour of Cadogan and Carteret. Even a more serious difficulty was created by the rapacity of the King's German mistresses, as venal as they were ugly, and of his Hanoverian ministers. They looked upon England as a land flowing with milk and honey, of which they had come to take possession, as the Israelites of old took possession of Canaan. So excessive were their demands that Walpole

Lord Mahon (Earl Stanhope), History of England from the Peace of Utrecht,' i. 313.

A SHARP REPROOF.

"I

47

strongly protested against them, but only to draw from the King the sneer, suppose you are also paid for your recommendations?". Money did not satisfy them; they wanted rank; the favourites aspired to seats in the House of Lords, and the courtesans would fain have been made peeresses. The Act of Parliament set a barrier to these pretensions as far as England was concerned; but when it was discovered that the provisions of the Act did not extend to Ireland, the Irish establishment was encumbered with shameful pensions, and the Baroness of Schulenberg bloomed out into Duchess of Munster. This advancement, however, failed to satisfy the grasping spirit of the mistress, who cherished a keen resentment against Townshend and Walpole for opposing her desire to be created an English peeress. A similar animosity inflamed all the tribe of secretaries and counsellors, who behaved with so much impertinence towards the leaders of the cabinet, that Walpole, on one occasion, in the royal presence, rebuked a mendacious statement with the sharp and rough reproof, "Mentiris impudentissime."

Towards the end of the year, Townshend and Walpole, disgusted at the King's continental policy, and harassed by constant intrigues, quitted the ministry.* Stanhope became First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Sunderland and Addison† were

* Townshend was dismissed; whereupon Walpole resigned.

Mr. Morley complains of " the usual insolent thanklessness shown by patricians towards the greater plebeians." Yet surely, Somers, Craggs, Addison, Montague, and even Walpole himself, had no reason to complain of patrician ingratitude.

48

WALPOLE'S GROWING INFLUENCE.

made secretaries of State.* Both in the House of Commons and in the country Walpole's resignation excited regret and apprehension. He had just introduced a measure for the reduction of the National Debt; and the commercial classes placed an absolute confidence in his financial ability. It is to be noted that in opposition his influence was even greater than when he was in office; and though the ministry reigned, it could hardly be said to govern. One of his bitterest enemies admits that "in all transactions of money affairs, the House relied more upon his judgment than on that of any other member "; and ascribes his ascendancy to some secret magic of which he seemed to be a perfect master." It was due, of course, to that financial knowledge, which the House is almost always prone to overvalue, to his political consistency, his unfailing courage, and his skill as a debater. We cannot say that his conduct in opposition was always patriotic, and blush to record that he voted against the repeal of the Schism and Occasional Conformity Acts, which his acknowledged principles should have bound him to support. In this he was actuated, probably, by a desire to ingratiate himself with the Church, as well as by his anxiety to embarrass the ministry. Conscious of his great abilities, he longed for power; and directed the most persevering efforts to recover the prestige of his party. It is more to his credit, and it was in conformity to the leniency of his

*In the following year, 1717, Stanhope received an earldom, and as Secretary of State undertook the direction of Foreign Affairs. Sunderland then became First Lord of the Treasury, and Aislabie, Chancellor of the Exchequer.