The Letter-Bag of Lady Elizabeth Spencer-Stanhope Part 26

_Mrs Spencer-Stanhope to Charles Spencer-Stanhope._ GROSVENOR SQUARE, _May 25th, 1814._

Next month is Philip's month of waiting, when he will probably have much gaiety, and from having to attend the Regent will see the Allied Sovereigns to advantage--they have been expected some time, but it is now said will not arrive till the middle of next month, when Fetes and various gaieties are expected. The Prince of Orange and Prince Paul of Wurtemburg are here.

Lady Collingwood has let her house in Town and stays at Newcastle with her father, who is very aged. I noticed that it was William's old s.h.i.+p which conveyed Bonaparte to his new Government, where I should think he must feel very odd. I cannot help wis.h.i.+ng he had been removed to a greater distance, as I doubt not he will still try to do mischief, for he has an able, active, and wicked mind. What changes have taken place within the last three months! They appear to me like a dream.

Tom Knox is come home. He says had not John been in such haste to get on he would have gone on with him.

So full was London that it was impossible to find accommodation for all the distinguished visitors, and the Stanhopes' friend, Lord James Murray, put his house in Great c.u.mberland Place at the disposal of Count Platoff, and twelve attendant Cossacks. The latter now became a familiar sight and ceased to create a sensation when they rode abroad; indeed, shortly, their departure was eagerly looked forward to, so uncivilised was their behaviour.

In Lord James's house they refused to use the sumptuous bedrooms prepared for them, but preferred to sleep herded together in the hall or on the staircase, while the damage which they did was incalculable.

_June 8th, 1814._

Philip is now at home, as this is his month of waiting, which is fortunate for him, as he will have an opportunity of seeing well all the great people now here. London was yesterday like a fair, for the Emperor of Russia and King of Prussia arrived and every house from Hyde Park Corner to Westminster Bridge was as full as possible, the windows crowded, the streets stopped with carriages, the Park and streets full of foot people, and all the Kent Road the same, who were every one disappointed--as the great people came incog., and no one knew when they arrived. The Emperor, however, showed himself at the Balcony and was much cheered.

When Blucher went to Carlton House the Mob broke in, and the Prime Minister invested him with the Garter in the midst of them all, which pleased John Bull much, for I believe they think more of the General than of the Emperor.

Philip rides every day in St James's Park; at nine, he goes to the stables at Carlton House and there he finds a riding-master--a very pleasant part of his duty riding is. Great Fetes are talked of, but there seems a doubt whether the Emperor will stay for them, as he means to travel and see the country.

From Oxford, Charles Stanhope wrote:--

The Emperor of Russia, the King of Prussia and his sons, Blucher, Platoff, the Prince of Wurtemburg and an infinitude of great men who have flocked to this country, about the middle of the summer term accompanied the Prince Regent to Oxford where they were received and feted in the most magnificent style.

The scene in the theatre was particularly fine, the Prince Regent enthroned with the Emperor of Russia on his right and the King of Prussia on his left. The Heroes of the War receiving the encomiums of the peaceful Sons of Science! Blucher seemed particularly happy. A most magnificent entertainment was provided for them at the Radcliffe Library, where old Blucher got hopelessly tipsy, and was found afterwards strolling about the College by himself, totally incapable of finding his way back to his lodgings!

I must explain that he was lodged at the Sub-Dean's in Ch. Ch., and tho' a Royal carriage was sent to convey him to the Radcliffe, he preferred walking, escorted by the Gown, for one of which bodyguard I volunteered myself.

The third day the Emperor and King of Prussia quitted the University, but the Prince Regent and Blucher remained and dined in Ch. Ch. Hall.

I must recount an anecdote of the Prince whose peculiar grace and elegance of manner shone in its best l.u.s.tre during the whole visit.

Blucher's health being drunk, he returned thanks in German, but addressed himself rather to the Prince than to the University or Ch.

Ch. in particular. The Prince, perceiving the indecorum of this, at once rose and announced that so excellent a speech should not be lost upon the greater part of the company, who could not be expected to understand German, and that, therefore, in the absence of a better interpreter, he would volunteer for that office himself, however incompetent he might be. He then delivered an extremely neat and tactful address of thanks to the University and especially to that College where Blucher and himself had been so hospitably entertained.

_Mrs Spencer-Stanhope._ GROSVENOR SQUARE, _June 20th, 1814._

This is a day of bustle and confusion in London, as it is the last day the Emperor remains here.

Philip, at eight, set off for Carlton House in his uniform, as he is to attend the Regent to a Review in Hyde Park at ten, at which hour we go to Mr Macdonald's to see it. Afterwards he will attend the Prince to the House of Lords, and at Night to a great Ball which the Members of White's Club give to the Royals. To-morrow they all go to Portsmouth where a Naval Review is expected, tho' it has been said that it cannot take place owing to many of the s.h.i.+ps having been sent for the Russian troops which are to pa.s.s thro' this country on their way home. From Portsmouth the Emperor and the d.u.c.h.ess of Oldenburg go away. The King of Prussia I understand remains some time longer.

Ever since the Crowned Heads arrived, London has been mad, & as full again as ever I knew it. Where all the people are lodged I cannot imagine. The streets are full day and night watching the Royals, who see everything and therefore are always upon the move.

The King of Prussia walked quietly into St George's Church yesterday and asked for the Duke of Devons.h.i.+re's pew. They have all been at Oxford where the Prince was with them and was received with great applause.

Since I began my letter I have been some hours at Mrs Macdonald's to see a Review in the Park where the Regent and the Crowned Heads attended. The day is beautiful and the scene was very fine, for there were thousands of spectators on foot, as horses and carriages were not admitted into the Park. I was not near enough to distinguish Philip & he has not yet returned....

I have been interrupted again. Philip is to go with the Prince to- morrow to Portsmouth which he likes the idea of extremely. He has been much entertained with the duty of to-day....

After all, the Regent did not go to the House of Lords and the Emperor does not leave London to-day, therefore Philip will have a little rest after the fatigues of yesterday, for he did not get home from the ball till between five and six, and is now asleep.

To console London for the termination of such a round of dissipation, on July 1st White's Club gave a magnificent masquerade at Burlington House in honour of the Duke of Wellington, to which the Stanhopes went with their friends, the Kinnairds. Nearly two thousand persons were accommodated in the temporary room which was erected for supper, and the costumes were remarkable for their magnificence, save possibly that of Byron, who was clad, sombrely but effectively, in the dark flowing robes of a monk. A guest of gayer, if less dignified appearance, was Sir Lumley Skeffington, who, as usual, encountered the ill-fortune which seemed to dog his footsteps, for his red Guard's coat was mischievously torn from his shoulders by crazy Lady Caroline Lamb. [9] who hid it and left the discomforted beau in his waistcoat in the centre of the ballroom.

Eight months after these festivities, news arrived in London that on March 1st, 1815, Napoleon had once more landed in France, followed by the intelligence that on March 20th he had entered Paris. In June the Campaign of Waterloo began by the defeat of Blucher at Ligny, where John Stanhope had so long resided. But on the 18th of the same month, "The fops of Piccadilly became the heroes of Waterloo," and that famous victory decided for all time the fate of the Conqueror of Europe. Four days later he again abdicated, and on July 15th he surrendered himself to the English.

_Mrs Spencer-Stanhope to John Spencer-Stanhope._ _July 28th._

What great and surprising events have happened in little more than a month. The Battle of Waterloo was one of the bravest & greatest ever fought, & has decided the fate of Europe, therefore though we must lament the many gallant men who fell on that dreadful day, yet not a life was lost in vain, & when we consider what the blood would have been had the Campaign continued, we must look upon the loss as small.

The surrender of Bonaparte is such an unexpected event, that I can scarcely yet credit it, for I never supposed he would have lived to have become a Prisoner. What will be done with him? Thank Heaven we can now confidently look forward to Peace.

Private events, however, distracted the attention and gave employment to the pen of Mrs Stanhope during the year which followed. The health of her husband was gradually declining. He was under the necessity of renouncing his seat in Parliament, where he had respectively represented Haslemere, Carlisle and Hull during a s.p.a.ce of nearly forty years. Deprived of the work which for so long a period had completely absorbed his thoughts and energies, his spirits flagged. The vivacity, the wit for which he had been noted deserted him and he sank gradually into a mental lethargy which, as his malady increased, at times almost amounted to torpor, but alternated with a restlessness and irritation of the nerves very distressing to witness. In order to divert his attention from the life with which he could no longer mingle, it was decided that novelty of scene might have a beneficial result. His family therefore proceeded to travel, but that the liveliness of his daughters was undiminished and their taste for society as keen, appears by a letter written by Marianne from Tunbridge Wells to her brother John in Yorks.h.i.+re.

TUNBRIDGE WELLS, _October 2nd, 1816._

We do not think that your Doncaster Belles sounded very captivating. I think I could have shown you at one glance a better show on the Pantiles yesterday--the beauties who turned out with a bright gleam after a horrid morning. To begin with the greatest, Miss Eden looked magnificent, and is p.r.o.nounced very agreeable. With her was Lord Auckland's sister, extremely pretty and elegant, quite a _Lucile_, then Miss Bruce, smart, with well made boots, and Miss Anstruther who, perhaps, would be least thought of and attract the most. After leaving there I met the Douglases--Miss D. looking as if her blood did not circulate and Caroline as if she wished to be civil but found it inconvenient....

Should you have to write to Murray, tell him to send to Grosvenor Square the second part of "Childe Harold," and also the new novel by the "Author of Waverley."

In the ensuing year Frances Stanhope was taken to Court by her mother.

Tall, graceful, and with a dazzling complexion, her beauty was singularly striking, and she used to relate that when she was presented to the Regent, H.R.H., who always distinguished between the pretty debutantes and the plain, graciously honoured her by bestowing upon her two resounding kisses on each cheek. Not long after this auspicious entry into society, however, her mother decided that a couple of years spent on the Continent might be equally advantageous to the health of Walter Stanhope and to the education of his children. The family therefore migrated to Paris, where everything at this date was in a curious state of transition. With Napoleon far away at St Helena, Louis XVIII. was firmly established on the Throne of his ancestors, and France was endeavouring to recover something of her pristine gaiety. Sir Charles Stuart was now Amba.s.sador at the French Court; many English were in Paris, and like a fresh act of a Play wherein the various _dramatis personae_, moved by a common impulse, translate themselves _en ma.s.se_ to a fresh locality, so the Stanhopes appear, in the midst of their new surroundings, to have found themselves encircled by their former friends.

_Marianne Spencer-Stanhope to John Spencer-Stanhope._ 35 RUE DE LA MADELEINE, _February 7th, 1818._

I will not lose the opportunity of sending you a letter by Lady Crompton, who goes to England in two days.

Mrs Beaumont, her two daughters and Wentworth are here, very grand and gay, talking of giving two grand b.a.l.l.s; she is of course the _first_ everywhere.

Mamma, Frances, Isabella and Edward were at Sir C. Stuart's Costume Ball, which was a most beautiful sight, and the whole thing went off with great eclat. Frances went as a _Paysanne de Mola_, near Naples; her dress was a short petticoat, trimmed with green and gold, a green ap.r.o.n, and black, green and gold bodice, and a roll of the same colours round her head. It was very becoming to her and she looked very grand. In Paris she is known everywhere as _la belle Anglaise_.

Isabella was a most airy Coquette, in blue and silver, with a cap of little bells on one side, and long tresses of hair plaited with blue-- she really looked beautiful. It is the dress of _Belle et Bonne_ in some Play. Mamma and Edward were both in blue dominoes.

Last night we were at an enormous ball at M. Clarmont's, one of Lafitte's houses; the heat exceeded anything I ever felt. It was said 1200 people were asked, of all kinds and degrees. It was very disagreeable.

Mamma is thinking of giving a dance and is at the moment writing the invitations, but the day is not yet fixed.

The Duke of Wellington gives a Concert to-night, and it is said two costume b.a.l.l.s. Yesterday we had some of the fooleries of the Carnival which the weather prevented on Sunday and Monday. Masks paraded the streets, the windows were full of heads, and all the people from one end of Paris to the other drawn in procession along the Boulevards and the Rue St Honore.

PARIS, _March 31st, 1818._