SMALL DINING-ROOM.

No. 1.

THE HONOURABLE WILLIAM LAMB, SECOND SON OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE, TO WHOM HE SUCCEEDED.Nude child playing with a wolf.By Mrs. Cosway.

THE HONOURABLE WILLIAM LAMB, SECOND SON OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE, TO WHOM HE SUCCEEDED.

Nude child playing with a wolf.

By Mrs. Cosway.

No. 2.

GEORGE AUGUSTUS FREDERICK, SIXTH EARL COWPER.Black coat. White waistcoat. Loose cloak.BORN 1806, DIED 1856.By Lucas.

GEORGE AUGUSTUS FREDERICK, SIXTH EARL COWPER.

Black coat. White waistcoat. Loose cloak.

BORN 1806, DIED 1856.

By Lucas.

THE eldest son of the fifth Earl, by Emily, only daughter of the first Viscount Melbourne. He went from a preparatory school at Mitcham to Eton, and thence to Trinity College, Cambridge. On leaving the University, he entered the Royal Horse Guards, Blue, and became M.P. for Canterbury. In Lord Palmerston’s firstAdministration Lord Fordwich was appointed Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,—an office the arduous duties and grave responsibility of which proved too much for his health, which was never very strong, and he accordingly sent in his resignation at the end of a few months. In 1833 he married Lady Anne Florence, Baroness Lucas, eldest daughter of Earl de Grey, and two years after he retired from public life altogether. He succeeded his father in 1837. Lord Cowper was a staunch Whig, and always supported his party in the House, otherwise he took no leading part in politics; he was extremely popular, in spite of a certain diffidence which never wore off in his contact with public and official life, or general society. Perhaps it might be said (in the case of a man of his great wealth and exalted position) to have enhanced the charm of his refined and engaging manners and proverbially musical voice. He enjoyed society, of which he was a cheerful and agreeable member, and few houses were more celebrated for their delightful reunions than Panshanger, near Hertford.

The circumstances attending Lord Cowper’s death were most unexpected and painful. He was Lord-Lieutenant of the county of Kent, a post that was in some measure irksome to him, as it entailed frequent residence in a neighbourhood where he had few acquaintances,—with the exception of Lord Sydney, one of his most valued and intimate friends. These two noblemen had arranged to go down together to Maidstone at the time of the Sessions, on the occasion of the reorganisation of the militia. But at the eleventh hour Lord Sydney was prevented accompanying his friend, as his presence was required in London in his capacity of Lord Chamberlain.

The Lord-Lieutenant therefore went down alone, and while transacting business in court he was taken suddenly ill, removed to the governor’s residence in the gaol, and died the same evening, apparently unaware of his danger.

Lady Cowper had some friends dining with her in St. James’s Square, when she was summoned in all haste to Maidstone. She started immediately, accompanied by her brother-in-law, William Cowper (the present Lord Mount Temple), and the family physician, Dr. Ferguson. But, alas! they arrived too late, for all was over.

The death of a man so much esteemed in public, so tenderly beloved in private life, caused a profound sensation; and, says the friend to whom we are indebted for these particulars, ‘few men have ever been more widely and deeply lamented.’ Lord Cowper left two sons and three daughters:—

The present Earl; the Honourable Henry Cowper, M.P. for Hertford; Lady Florence, married to the Honourable Auberon Herbert, brother of the Earl of Carnarvon; Adine, married to the Honourable Julian Fane, fifth son of the eleventh Earl of Westmoreland, both deceased; and Amabel, married to Lord Walter Kerr, second son of the seventh Marquis of Lothian.

No. 3.

THE HONOURABLE GEORGE LAMB, FOURTH SON OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.As the infant Bacchus. A nude child.BORN 1784. DIED 1834.By Mrs. Cosway.

THE HONOURABLE GEORGE LAMB, FOURTH SON OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.

As the infant Bacchus. A nude child.

BORN 1784. DIED 1834.

By Mrs. Cosway.

HE was the fourth and youngest son of the first Viscount Melbourne, by Elizabeth Milbanke. Educated at Eton and Cambridge. Called to the bar, and went the Northern Circuit for a short time; but the law was not to his taste: he preferred the pursuit of literature, and took great interest in the drama. He became an active member of the Committee of Management of Drury Lane Theatre, with Lords Essex and Byron, and the Honourable Douglas Kinnaird, for colleagues. He was the author of some operatic pieces and fugitive poems, and he also published a translation of Catullus. In the year 1819 George Lamb stood for Westminster, on the Whig interest, against the Radicals; the contest lasted fifteen days, and Lady Melbourne, a keen politician, exerted herself in the canvass, and was much pleased at her son’s return by a large majority. At the general election in 1820 he had to relinquish his seat, but in 1826 he was returned for Dungarvan (through the interest of the Duke of Devonshire), which borough he represented in four Parliaments. In Lord Grey’s Administration Mr. Lamb was appointed Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department. In 1809 he married Mademoiselle Caroline Rosalie Adelaide de St. Jules, who was reputed to be a natural daughter of the Duke of Devonshire. George Lamb died at Whitehall in 1834; his two elder brothers, Lords Melbourne and Beauvale, survived him. He left no children.

No. 4.

ANNE FLORENCE DE GREY, BARONESS LUCAS IN HER OWN RIGHT, WIFE OF GEORGE, SIXTH EARL COWPER.In widow’s weeds.BORN 1806, DIED 1880.By Frederick Leighton, R.A.,afterwardsP.R.A.

ANNE FLORENCE DE GREY, BARONESS LUCAS IN HER OWN RIGHT, WIFE OF GEORGE, SIXTH EARL COWPER.

In widow’s weeds.

BORN 1806, DIED 1880.

By Frederick Leighton, R.A.,afterwardsP.R.A.

SHE was the eldest daughter and co-heir of Thomas Philip, Earl de Grey, K.G., by Lady Henriette Cole, daughter of the first Earl of Enniskillen. She married in 1833 George Augustus, sixth Earl Cowper, and was left a widow, in 1856, by the sudden and unexpected death of her husband. We cannot do better than transcribe the moral portraiture of the late Lady Cowper, sketched by the hand of one who knew her well, appreciated her highly, and who, moreover, bore a strong resemblance to her in many moral and intellectual gifts:—

‘I think I can sum up Lady Cowper’s leading attributes in three words—wit, wisdom, and goodness. In the relationship of daughter, wife, and mother she left nothing to be desired; as a hostess she was pre-eminently agreeable, being a most delightful companion; she had lived with all that was politically and socially distinguished in her day, and had read all that was worth reading in modern literature. She derived keen enjoyment from “the give and take” of discussion; her opinions were decided, and their expression fresh and spontaneous: into whatever well it was lowered, the bucket invariably came up full!’

‘In her latter days, even under the pressure of failing health, her conversational powers never flagged; she was most brilliant in the freshness of morning, and shone conspicuouslyat the breakfast-table, thereby rendering that repast far more animated than is usually the case. Her sallies, though never ill-natured, were often unexpected and startling, which added a zest to her discourse, and gained for her the title of ‘The Queen of Paradox.’

Her loss was deeply felt and mourned, not only in her own family, but in the wider range of what is termed social life.

No. 5.

FAMILY GROUP.

George,third Earl Cowper; in a green coat, pink waistcoat, and breeches.Mr. Gore,playing on the violoncello; dark blue coat, yellow breeches.Countess Cowper,pale pink gown.Mrs. Gore,grey gown; one daughter in blue, the other in white brocade.Miss Emily Goreat the harpsichord.

By Zoffany.

COUNTESS COWPER was the daughter of Charles Gore, Esquire, of Southampton. Her parents took her to Italy for her health, where the family resided for a long time. Mr. Gore is supposed to have been the original of Goethe’s ‘travelled Englishman’ inWilhelm Meister. Mrs. Delany, in one of her amusing letters, mentions the meeting of Lord Cowper and Miss Gore at Florence, ‘when little Cupid straightway bent his bow.’

They were married at Florence, and on that occasion Horace Walpole condoles with Sir Horace Mann on the prospect, as he would lose so much of the society of his great friend, Lord Cowper. Both Lady Cowper and her husband were in high favour at the Grand-Ducal Court of Tuscany, and the formerwas a great ornament of the brilliant (but by no means straight-laced) society of the day. Miss Berry speaks in very high terms of Miss Gore, who resided with her married sister. Three sons were born to the Cowpers in Florence. In her later days the Countess took up her abode at a villa a little way out of the city. She survived her husband many years, and was said to have been plundered by her servants. Indeed, this most interesting picture is supposed to have been stolen at the time of her death. It was purchased in 1845 by the Honourable Spencer Cowper (for the trifling sum of £20), who made it a present to his brother, the sixth Earl.

No. 6.

KATRINE CECILIA COMPTON, WIFE OF THE PRESENT EARL COWPER.Dark red velvet gown.By Edward Clofford.

KATRINE CECILIA COMPTON, WIFE OF THE PRESENT EARL COWPER.

Dark red velvet gown.

By Edward Clofford.

The eldest daughter of William, present and fourth Marquis of Northampton. Married in 1870 to the present and seventh Earl Cowper.

No. 7.

THE HONOURABLE WILLIAM LAMB, AFTERWARDS SECOND VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.As a youth. Black coat trimmed with fur.BORN 1779, DIED 1848.By Sir Thomas Lawrence.

THE HONOURABLE WILLIAM LAMB, AFTERWARDS SECOND VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.

As a youth. Black coat trimmed with fur.

BORN 1779, DIED 1848.

By Sir Thomas Lawrence.

WILLIAM, second Lord Melbourne, was born March 15, 1779. His father and mother were friends of the Prince of Wales, and lived in that brilliant Whig circle of which Fox and Sheridan were the political ornaments, and the Duchess of Devonshire the Queen of Beauty. It is difficult now to realise the spirit of that society, in which dissipation and intellectual refinement were so singularly combined. Drunkenness among the men was too frequent to be considered disgraceful, and even those who passed for being sober took their two or three bottles a day. Conversation was habitually interlarded with oaths; gambling, to such an extent as to cripple the largest fortunes, was the common amusement of both sexes; and morality in other respects was in a low state. But joined with this there was that high sense of personal honour, which in England, and still oftener in France, has, at other times, been united with similar manners. There was more than this. There was a spirit of justice and generosity—even of tenderness—and in some cases a delicacy of feeling which we are accustomed now to associate only with temperance and purity. There was also a very cultivated taste, derived from a far more extensiveknowledge of the Classics than is to be found in these days; a love of poetry and history; and, above all, an enthusiastic worship of liberty.

How came this strange worship of liberty among this exclusive and luxurious aristocracy? Originally, perhaps, as the result of faction. Excluded from power and deprived of popularity by misfortunes and mistakes, which it would take too long to mention, the Whigs had been driven in their adversity to fall back upon their original principles. The debating instinct of their great Parliamentary leader seized upon the cry of liberty as a weapon of warfare in the House of Commons, and the cause which he advocated was so congenial to his frank and generous nature that he embraced it enthusiastically and imparted his enthusiasm to his friends. I must not pursue these thoughts further, but the circumstances of a man’s early life have such influence in moulding his character that, even in such a slight sketch as this, it may not have been out of place to call attention to the state of that society, with its vices and its redeeming qualities, in the midst of which William Lamb grew up.

He went to Eton in 1790, and to Cambridge in 1796. In 1797 he was entered at Lincoln’s Inn, but without leaving Cambridge. In 1798 he won a prize by the oration on ‘The Progressive Improvement of Mankind,’ which was alluded to by Fox in the House of Commons.

In 1799 he went to Glasgow to Professor Millar’s, from whose house he wrote during this and the following year several letters to his mother, which still exist. They show the keenest interest in politics, and an enthusiastic admiration for the French; and they are not entirely free from a slight taint of that apparent want of patriotism which infected the Liberal party at that time, and which did it such irreparable damage. It is only fair to say that there is an entry written in a notebook a few years later showing how keenly he appreciated andlamented this political error, and throughout the whole course of the Peninsular War he expresses the warmest wishes for the success of the British arms, and for those of our allies in Germany.

His career at the bar was brief and uneventful, and by the death of his elder brother he shortly became heir-apparent to his father’s title and property.

We now come to a most important event—important to all men—in his case particularly so, and attended with almost unmitigated evil.

On June 3, 1805, was solemnised the marriage of William Lamb and Lady Caroline Ponsonby. It is heartless, unnecessary, and altogether wrong to expose the dreariness, the pain, and the ridicule of an ill-assorted marriage. Too many particulars of this unhappy union have already found their way into print. Lady Caroline was a woman of ability, and, I suppose, a certain amount of charm; but nobody who reads her works, or her letters, or the accounts of her conduct, can doubt that she was partially insane. Of her husband it is enough to say that whatever his faults may have been of over-indulgence at certain times—and perhaps an occasional outbreak of passionate temper at others—he was, on the whole, singularly tender, kind, and considerate. He was always honourable and gentlemanlike, and he bore his burden with a brave and manly spirit. But for twenty years his life was embittered, his ability depressed, and even his credit with the world temporarily impaired.

I have said that the evil which attended his marriage was almost unmitigated; but there was one compensation. He was driven into seclusion. Whole days were passed in his library, and it was during these years that he acquired habits of reading which were never afterwards abandoned, and that he accumulated much of that vast store of learning—that large knowledge of all subjects, ancient and modern, sacred andprofane—which formed a continual subject of astonishment to those who knew him in later life.

After endless quarrels and reconciliations, they were regularly separated in 1825; but he occasionally visited her, and was with her at her deathbed two years later, when they were finally reconciled, to quarrel no more.

Though he was member of the House of Commons for many years, and occasionally spoke, he cannot be said to have acquired any distinction in that assembly; but his abilities had always been recognised by leading men, as is shown by the fact that he twice refused office during that period.

His public career began in 1827, when he accepted, in Canning’s Administration, the post of Chief Secretary in Ireland.

It is difficult to form a just opinion of him as he appeared to his contemporaries at this time. Mr. M’Culloch Torrens has done justice to his high character, his clear intellect, and his broad, sound, and sensible views of men and things. Lord Melbourne’s relations must always feel grateful to Mr. Torrens for so clearly bringing forward this side of his nature, and perhaps also for not attempting to delineate those characteristics which require to be touched with a more delicate hand. The uncontrolled flow of humour, of originality and mischief, might easily have been perverted in the description into buffoonery or jauntiness, from which no man was ever more free. The paradoxes might have appeared as an ambitious effort to astonish and to draw attention, when considered separately from the simple and spontaneous manner in which they were uttered. They were saved from this, as all good paradoxes are, not only by the manner, but by each one of them containing some portion of the truth, which is generally overlooked, and which was then, for the first time, presented to the mind in a striking and unexpected way.

But though any attempt to describe the charm of LordMelbourne’s society would probably lead to disastrous failure, and must not, therefore, be attempted, it is important to bear in mind that this extraordinary charm was the one great feature that remained impressed upon the minds of all who had communication with him.

Sparkling originality, keen insight into character, a rich store of information on every subject always at hand to strengthen and illustrate conversation, exuberant vitality, and, above all, the most transparent simplicity of nature, these, from what I have heard, must have been his principal characteristics. I am bound to add that he often shocked fastidious people. He seldom spoke without swearing, and he was often very coarse in his remarks. There was, indeed, in his language and in his whole character, not only a wayward recklessness which was natural to him, but a touch of cynical bitterness that contrasted strangely with the nobleness and generosity of the original man. The nobleness and generosity were, I say, original. The scenes which surrounded him in his early years, and still more, that unhappy married life to which I have already alluded, may account for the remainder.

I must add that this charm of manner and conversation was set forth to the utmost advantage by a beautiful voice and a prepossessing personal appearance. He was tall, strong, and of vigorous constitution, brilliantly handsome, even in old age, with a play of countenance to which no picture, and certainly not this very indifferent one by Hayter, does the smallest justice.

It may easily be believed that with such a people as the Irish a man like this immediately became extremely popular; and the solid abilities of a genuine statesman were speedily recognised by his colleagues.

Even at this period, with Lord Wellesley as Viceroy, the principal business in Ireland was transacted by the Chief Secretary, though this Minister was not then, as he has frequentlybeen since, in the Cabinet. Lord Wellesley, accustomed to a far different position in India, was occasionally somewhat sore at the false relation in which he stood to his nominal subordinate, though this was made as endurable as possible by the tact and fine feeling of William Lamb, who was constantly reminding the Ministers in England of the consideration due to a veteran statesman, whom fate had placed in so disagreeable an office, and offering to send back despatches to be rewritten.

The short Administrations of Canning and Goderich were uneventful in Ireland, and early in that of the Duke of Wellington, Lamb resigned. He came away with an increased reputation. His extreme facility of access, and his delight in talking openly with people of all parties, had made him much liked—and even his very indiscretions seem to have told in his favour.

On July 22, 1828, he became Lord Melbourne by the death of his father.

In Lord Grey’s Administration of 1830 he was made Home Secretary. His appointment to so important an office without any public reputation as a man of business, and without any Parliamentary distinction, show conclusively what a high opinion had been formed of his abilities by those in authority. But by the world at large he seems to have been still looked upon as an indolent man, and to have caused some surprise by the vigour and ability which he displayed in dealing with the very serious disturbances which at this time broke out in many parts of the country. This unexpected vigour, joined with the calmness and good sense which he was already known to possess, made his reign at the Home Office very successful; and he had an opportunity of particularly distinguishing himself by his firmness and discretion in dealing with a monster deputation from the Trade Unions shortly before he was called to fill a still higher position.

In 1834, on the resignation of Lord Grey, he was sent for by the King. He formed a Government from his existing colleagues, and from that period, with the exception of a short interval, he remained Prime Minister of England for seven years.

The political history of these seven years has been written over and over again. It was a history to which the Liberal party cannot look back with much satisfaction, and the memory of the Prime Minister suffers unjustly in consequence. It was one of those strange periods of reaction which are so familiar to the student of English political life, when the country was becoming daily more Conservative in its views and feelings. Then, as at other similar periods, the Liberals were obstinately unwilling to believe the fact. While the bulk of the electors were ever more and more anxious for repose, ardent politicians were racking their brains for new stimulants, and seeking what reforms they could propose, and what institutions they could attack, in order to rouse the flagging energies of their supporters. They mistook a real wish to be left quiet for a disgust at not being led forward, and as the activity of Lord Melbourne in his Cabinet was chiefly displayed in restraining the restlessness of the more impetuous of his colleagues, he became responsible, in the eyes of some, for the want of progress; while the nation at large accused him, in common with the rest of his Government, of continually taking up, without serious consideration or depth of conviction, any policy which might be likely to bring a momentary popularity to the Ministry.

In regard to this last accusation, we must remember that Lord Melbourne was only one of the governing committee of the country—primus inter pares. It is a very strong and very popular Prime Minister alone who can be more than this. His influence, as I have said, is believed to have been a restraining one. We know the mistakes to which he was a party, but we shall never know how many he may have prevented.

After all said against it, this period of seven years was neither unfruitful in wise legislation nor inglorious to the country. Without endangering peace, we maintained the high position of England in Europe; and though many measures were prematurely introduced, and hastily abandoned, a long list may be made of very useful ones which were passed.

What were Lord Melbourne’s real political convictions? Some have said that he was in his heart a Conservative. He was undoubtedly less advanced in his opinions than many of his colleagues, and he sometimes exhibited a half-laughing, half-sorrowful disbelief in the result expected by others from constitutional changes. This, coupled with a love of mischief and a delight in startling people, made him appear less advanced than he was—as when he said about Catholic Emancipation, that all the wise men in the country had been on one side of the question, and all the fools on the other, and that the fools had turned out to be right after all; when he told some ardent reformers that the men who originated the Reform Bill ought to be hung on a gallows forty feet high; and when he remarked to Lord John Russell that he did not see that there was much use in education. These remarks, however, did not express his real convictions. His was essentially that kind of mind which sees clearly both sides of a question. His position would naturally have been very near the border-line which divides the two parties, and on which it is impossible for any public man in England permanently to stand, but it would have been, under any circumstances, on the Liberal side of that line.

As leader of the House of Lords he was, on the whole, successful—certainly not the reverse. But he had the misfortune to be opposed and most bitterly attacked, during a great part of his Administration, by the two greatest orators of the day, and he received little support from his own side. Of his speaking it has been said that if it had been a little better,it would have been quite first-rate. He never prepared a speech, and he hesitated a good deal, except when under the influence of excitement. But at his worst he was always plain, unpretending, and sensible; and his voice and appearance were of themselves sufficient to command attention. When roused he could be forcible, and even eloquent for a few minutes, and he always gave the impression that he only wanted rousing to become so. The most powerful of his opponents never could feel sure that he might not at any moment receive a sudden knock-down blow, and both Brougham and Lyndhurst more than once experienced this.

On the accession of the Queen in 1837, Lord Melbourne found himself suddenly placed in a most trying and most responsible position. This is the part of his career which is best known, and in which his conduct has been most appreciated; and I do not think there is any other instance on record of the confidential and affectionate relations subsisting between a Sovereign and a Minister so interesting to dwell upon. It is difficult to say to which of the two these relations were productive of the greatest benefit. Her Majesty was indeed fortunate in finding such a counsellor; his large-minded fairness, his impartial appreciation of the motives and feelings of all parties in the State—that philosophical power of seeing both sides of a question, to which I have alluded, and which perhaps stood in his way as a party leader,—were, under present circumstances, of unmixed advantage. His vast political and historical knowledge supplied him with ready information on every subject, which I need hardly say he imparted in the most agreeable manner; and his judgment, stimulated by the gravity of the situation, enabled him to give sound advice, at least on all the deeper and more important matters which properly belonged to his position. To the Minister himself this new stimulant was invaluable. His life had never quite recovered from the blight cast upon it in his early manhood.He had long suffered from want of an object for which he really cared; his thoughtful temperament too much inclined him in his serious moments to realise the vanity of all things; but he now found a new interest which animated his remaining years of activity, and which afterwards solaced him in illness, in depression, and intellectual decay.

Nobly did the Queen repay this chivalrous devotion and this unselfish solicitude for her welfare. Her clear intellect readily assimilated his wisdom, and her truthful and just nature responded sympathetically to his enlightened and generous views. And there was no ingratitude or subsequent neglect to mar the harmony of the picture, for to the last hour of his existence her kindness and attention were without a break. Her Majesty has been fortunate in many of her advisers—fortunate more particularly in her illustrious husband,—but such is the force of early impression, that, perhaps, no small part of the sagacity and the virtue which have signalised her reign may be traced to the influence of Lord Melbourne.

This little biographical notice must now be concluded. In 1841 his Administration came to an end. In the autumn of 1842 he had a paralytic stroke. He recovered, and lived till 1848, and was able to take his place in the House of Lords, and to appear in society. But his sweet temper was soured, and his spirits became unequal; his bright intellect was dimmed, and his peculiarities assumed an exaggerated form. He had been so famous in earlier days for the brilliancy of his conversation, that even after his illness people remembered and repeated what he said. This has done his reputation some injury, and the stories told about him do not always convey a correct impression of his ability or his charm.

The life which I have attempted to sketch was an eventful one, and Lord Melbourne took no small share in the movements of his time. But it seems to have been the impressionof all who met him, that he might have done much more than he ever did, and that he was a far abler and greater man than many who have filled a larger space in history.

No. 8.

ELIZABETH MILBANKE, WIFE OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.Pale violet gown.By Romney.

ELIZABETH MILBANKE, WIFE OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.

Pale violet gown.

By Romney.

No. 9.

THE HONOURABLE PENISTON LAMB, ELDEST SON OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.Tawny coat. White cravat. Powder.BORN 1770, DIED 1805.By Romney.

THE HONOURABLE PENISTON LAMB, ELDEST SON OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.

Tawny coat. White cravat. Powder.

BORN 1770, DIED 1805.

By Romney.

HE was the eldest child of the first Lord Melbourne, and his birth was a source of great joy to both his parents. But from his earliest years Peniston was the idol of his father, whom he resembled in many points, both moral and physical; indeed, it was said no flattery was sweeter to Lord Melbourne’s ear than to be assured of this resemblance. The mother was very fondof her first-born; but as he grew on in years, and his tastes developed, Lady Melbourne was mortified to find that Peniston evinced no predilection for politics or public life; and, finding in her second son William’s tastes more congenial with her own, it was plain to see that William was the mother’s darling. Peniston showed no jealousy; he was gentle-hearted and engaging; every tenant on the estate, every servant in the house, every dog and horse in the stable, loved him. He was a capital shot, and rode well to hounds, while quite a little fellow; and Lord Melbourne was never tired of telling how ‘Pen’ had led the field, or put his pony at the stiffest bullfinch. His brothers were among his most devoted worshippers; and in their happy romping days at Brocket, Peniston was never tired of joining in their frolics, though with a certain dignity becoming a senior. How exquisitely is this characteristic demeanour portrayed in the beautiful picture of the three boys by Sir Joshua Reynolds, which he named ‘The Affectionate Brothers,’ described in a late page.

In 1793 Lord Melbourne vacated his seat in Parliament, and Peniston represented Newport, and afterwards Hertfordshire county, in the House. He had never been very strong, and being suddenly attacked by an illness, for which the physicians could in no way account, he expired, to the despair of his father, the grief of his whole family, and the deep regret of the county. Reynolds, Romney, Mrs. Cosway, and Stubbs, were all called on to perpetuate the handsome form and features of this darling of the household.

No. 10.

THE HONOURABLE HARRIET AND EMILY LAMB, CHILDREN OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.White frocks. Pink sashes. Harriet has a cap on her head.By Sir Thomas Lawrence.

THE HONOURABLE HARRIET AND EMILY LAMB, CHILDREN OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.

White frocks. Pink sashes. Harriet has a cap on her head.

By Sir Thomas Lawrence.

HARRIET died young. Emily was successively the wife of Lord Cowper and Lord Palmerston. In later days she remembered perfectly romping on the floor with her little sister, who had just snatched her cap off her head, when the door opened, and their mother came in accompanied by a gentleman in black, who was very kind, and said, ‘Nothing can be better than that;’ and he painted the little girls just as he had found them. Lawrence, then a very young man, was on a visit at Brocket.

No. 11.

ELIZABETH, WIFE OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.

In a small carriage, drawn by grey ponies. She wears a white cloak and hat. Her father,Sir Ralph Milbanke,in the centre; grey coat, blue and yellow waistcoat. Her brother,John Milbanke;grey horse; pale blue coat, buff waistcoat, breeches, and top-boots.Lord Melbourneon a brown horse; dark blue coat, yellow breeches. All the gentlemen wear tri-corne hats.

By Stubbs.

No. 12.

ELIZABETH, WIFE OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.White muslin dress. Blue bow.By Hoppner.

ELIZABETH, WIFE OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.

White muslin dress. Blue bow.

By Hoppner.

No. 13.

PETER LEOPOLD FRANCIS, FIFTH EARL COWPER.Peer’s Parliamentary robes.By Sir Thomas Lawrence.

PETER LEOPOLD FRANCIS, FIFTH EARL COWPER.

Peer’s Parliamentary robes.

By Sir Thomas Lawrence.

No. 14.

THE HONOURABLE EMILY LAMB, AFTERWARDS COUNTESS COWPER, AND VISCOUNTESS PALMERSTON.White dress. Coral necklace.AGED SIXTEEN.By Sir Thomas Lawrence.

THE HONOURABLE EMILY LAMB, AFTERWARDS COUNTESS COWPER, AND VISCOUNTESS PALMERSTON.

White dress. Coral necklace.

AGED SIXTEEN.

By Sir Thomas Lawrence.

No. 15.

THE HONOURABLE PENISTON LAMB, ELDEST SON OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.With his horse Assassin, and his dog Tanner. Dismounted. Dark coat,leathers, and top-boots. Brown horse, stretching towards a small black-and-tandog.By Stubbs.

THE HONOURABLE PENISTON LAMB, ELDEST SON OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.

With his horse Assassin, and his dog Tanner. Dismounted. Dark coat,

leathers, and top-boots. Brown horse, stretching towards a small black-and-tan

dog.

By Stubbs.

No. 16.

GEORGE AUGUSTUS NASSAU, THIRD EARL COWPER.Dark blue coat. Scarlet waistcoat and breeches. Shoes with buckles.By Raphael Mengs.

GEORGE AUGUSTUS NASSAU, THIRD EARL COWPER.

Dark blue coat. Scarlet waistcoat and breeches. Shoes with buckles.

By Raphael Mengs.

No. 17.

HENRY COWPER, ESQUIRE, OF TEWIN WATER.Black coat. White cravat.DIED 1825 (?).By Jackson.

HENRY COWPER, ESQUIRE, OF TEWIN WATER.

Black coat. White cravat.

DIED 1825 (?).

By Jackson.

GRANDSON to Spencer Cowper (the celebrated Judge), and Deputy-Clerk of the Parliaments for many years. There is an entry in Mary Countess Cowper’s diary (wife of the Chancellor) in December 1714: ‘Monsieur Robethon received the grant of the King of Clerk of the Parliament after Mr. Johnson’sdeath for anybody he would name. He let our brother Spencer Cowper have it in reversion after Mr. Johnson’s death for his two sons for £1800.’ It was held in succession by the family for several years. The reader of the poet Cowper’s life will remember the tragical incident connected with this particular appointment.

No. 18.

THOMAS PHILIP, BARON GRANTHAM, BARON LUCAS, EARL DE GREY, K.G.Brown coat trimmed with fur. White waistcoat. Black cloak.BORN 1786, DIED 1859.After Robinson.

THOMAS PHILIP, BARON GRANTHAM, BARON LUCAS, EARL DE GREY, K.G.

Brown coat trimmed with fur. White waistcoat. Black cloak.

BORN 1786, DIED 1859.

After Robinson.

HE was the eldest son of Thomas Robinson, second Lord Grantham (of that name), by Lady Mary Yorke, second daughter of the second Earl of Hardwicke. Succeeded to the barony of Grantham on the death of his father, and to the earldom of De Grey on the death of his maternal aunt (who was Countess De Grey in her own right), and at the same time he assumed the surname of De Grey, in lieu of that of Robinson. In 1805 he married the beautiful Lady Henrietta Cole, fifth daughter of the first Earl of Enniskillen. He was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, and Privy Councillor during Sir Robert Peel’s Administration of 1834 and 1835, and on the return of Peel to power in 1841 Lord De Grey went to Ireland as Viceroy. Here he made himself remarkable by his extreme hospitality and the splendour of his establishment, while he discharged the more essential and difficult duties of his office with zeal and ability. His departurein 1844 (when he resigned on account of his health) was much regretted, while Lady De Grey left a name which was long remembered in Dublin, not only for the charm of her manners and the beauty of her person, but for the encouragement which she afforded to native talent and manufactures. On leaving Ireland Lord De Grey retired from official life, and contented himself with voting in Parliament as a Liberal Conservative. He became Lord-Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, Knight of the Garter, and aide-de-camp to the Queen. He was a member of many scientific and industrial institutions, Fellow of the Royal Society, and of the Society of Antiquarians, etc. He had several children, of whom only two daughters survived,—Anne Florence, who married the sixth Earl Cowper, and Mary, married to Captain Henry Vyner. Lord De Grey died in 1859, when the barony of Lucas devolved on his eldest daughter, and his other titles on his nephew, now Marquis of Ripon. He was a man of undoubted talent, and occupied himself in carrying out designs as an architect, decorator, and landscape gardener. When he inherited the houses of Wrest, in Bedfordshire, and the fine mansion in St. James’s Square, on the death of his aunt, the Countess De Grey, he pulled down the former, and rebuilt it, according to his own designs, in the style of a French château. The pictures which adorn the walls were painted expressly for him; the tapestry, which lends so rich a colouring to the interior of Wrest, was woven under Lord De Grey’s immediate direction in the ateliers of the Gobelins; while the rich gilding, cornices, and ceilings were all executed under his supervision, and do the greatest credit to his taste and ingenuity. He also supplemented the plans, and enlarged the ornamentation of the already beautiful gardens and pleasure-grounds which surround the house.

No. 19.

THE HONOURABLE PENISTON LAMB, ELDEST SON OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.Red coat. Grey hat and feathers lying on the table. Caressing a dog.

THE HONOURABLE PENISTON LAMB, ELDEST SON OF THE FIRST VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.

Red coat. Grey hat and feathers lying on the table. Caressing a dog.

No. 20.

THE HONOURABLE FREDERICK LAMB, AFTERWARDS FIRST LORD BEAUVALE AND THIRD VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.Blue coat. White jabot.BORN 1782, DIED 1853.By Chandler.

THE HONOURABLE FREDERICK LAMB, AFTERWARDS FIRST LORD BEAUVALE AND THIRD VISCOUNT MELBOURNE.

Blue coat. White jabot.

BORN 1782, DIED 1853.

By Chandler.

HE was the third son of the first Viscount Melbourne, by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Ralph Milbanke. He entered the diplomatic service at an early age, was successively attached to the British Legation at Palermo, and the Embassy at Vienna, where in the year 1813 he became Minister Plenipotentiary,ad interim, until the arrival of Lord Stewart, afterwards Marquis of Londonderry. From September 1815 he was Envoy to Munich until 1820, and two years later he was appointed Privy Councillor, and subsequently G.C.B. (civil), in consideration of his diplomatic services. He was successively Minister to Madrid and Ambassador at Vienna, and retired on a pension in 1841, having previously been elevated to the Peerage by the title ofBaron Beauvale. On the death of his brother William in 1848 (some time First Lord of the Treasury), the Viscountcy of Melbourne devolved on him. Lord Beauvale married at Vienna in 1841 the daughter of Count Maltzahn, the Prussian Minister at the Austrian Court. He had no children, and his large property was inherited by his only sister, Viscountess Palmerston. He died at his country house, Brocket Hall, in Hertfordshire, in 1853.

LADY COWPER’S SITTING-ROOMANDLORD COWPER’S STUDY.

LADY COWPER’S SITTING-ROOM

AND

LORD COWPER’S STUDY.

Back to Index Next