George Selwyn: His Letters and His Life

George Selwyn: His Letters and
His Life

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Edited by E. S. Roscoe and Helen Clergue
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Title: George Selwyn: His Letters and His Life
Editor: E. S. Roscoe and Helen Clergue
Release Date: September 5, 2005 [eBook #16661]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GEORGE
SELWYN: HIS LETTERS AND HIS LIFE***
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GEORGE SELWYN: HIS LETTERS AND HIS LIFE

Edited by
E. S. ROSCOE AND HELEN CLERGUE
London T. Fisher Unwin Paternoster Square
1899

PREFACE
IN the histories and memoirs of the eighteenth century the name of
George Selwyn often occurs. The letters which he received have
afforded frequent and valuable material to the student of the reign of
George the Third. A large number of these were published by the late
Mr. Jesse in the four volumes entitled "George Selwyn and his
Contemporaries." Except, however, that Selwyn was regarded as the
first humourist of his time, little was known about him, for scarcely any
letters which he wrote had until recently been found. But in the
Fifteenth Report of the Historical Manuscript Commission there were
printed, amongst a mass of other material, more than two hundred
letters from his untiring pen which had been preserved at Castle
Howard. No one who has had an opportunity of examining the originals
can fail to recognise the skill and labour with which the Castle Howard
correspondence of Selwyn--wanting in most instances the date of the
year--was arranged by Mr. Kirk on behalf of the Commission.
A correspondence, however, which illustrates vividly phases of an
interesting and important period of English history, appeared to be
deserving of presentation to the public in a separate volume, and with
the explanations necessary to make the allusions in it fully understood.
A selection has therefore, in the following pages, been made from the
Castle Howard letters. The aim of the editors has been to choose those
which appeared most interesting and representative, and to place them
in definite groups, supplementing them with such a narrative, remarks,
and notes as would, without enveloping the correspondence in a
quantity of extraneous material, enable the whole to present the life of

Selwyn, and at the same time add another to the pictures of the age in
which he lived.
The dates of the letters are those ascribed to them by Mr. Kirk.
The frequently incorrect spelling of proper names has not been altered.
The editors desire cordially to thank Lord Carlisle, not only for the
permission to publish this correspondence, but for the kind assistance
which he has given in other ways to the undertaking.
E. S. R. H. C.
November, 1899.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1.
GEORGE SELWYN: His LIFE, His FRIENDS, AND His AGE
CHAPTER 2.
1767-1769. THE CORRESPONDENCE COMMENCES .... Frederick,
fifth Earl of Carlisle--Lady Sarah Bunbury--The Duke of
Grafton--Carlisle, Charles Fox, and the Hollands abroad--Current
Events--Card-playing--A dinner at Crawford's--Lady Bolingbroke
--Almack's--The Duke of Bedford--Lord Clive--The
Nabobs--Corporation of Oxford sell the representation of the
borough--Madame du Deffand --Publication of Horace Walpole's
"Historic Doubts on Richard the Third"--Newmarket--London
Society--Gambling at the Clubs--A post promised to
Selwyn--Elections--A purchase of wine--Vauxhall.
CHAPTER 3.

1773-1777; 1779 AND 1780 POLITICS AND SOCIETY. Fox's
debts--Lord Holland--News from London--Interviews with Fox--The
Fire at Holland House--A Visit to Tunbridge--Provision for Mie
Mie--County business and electioneering at Gloucester--Lotteries --Fox
and Carlisle--Highway adventures--London Society--Newmarket
intelligence--An evening in town--Charles Fox and America--Carlisle
declines a court post--money from Fox--Selwyn and gambling--A
Private Bill committee--Selwyn in bad spirits--The Royal Society
--Book-buying--Political affairs--London parks--Gainsborough--The
Duchess of Kingston--Selwyn's private affairs--"The Diaboliad"--A
dinner at the French Ambassador's--Politics and the clubs--In Paris
--Electioneering again.
CHAPTER 4.
1781. THE DISASTERS IN AMERICA. A drum at Selwyn's--George,
Lord Morpeth--Dr. Warner--Sale of the Houghton pictures--The House
of Commons--Pitt's first speech--Selwyn unwell--Play at
Brooks's--London gaieties--Fox and his new clothes --Gambling--The
bailiffs in Fox's house--"Fish" Crawford--Montem at Eton--Mie Mie's
education--Second speech of Pitt--Lord North--A Court Ball--Society
and politics--The Emperor of Austria --Conversation with
Fox--Personal feelings--American affairs--rd North and Mr.
Robinson--State of politics--London Society.
CHAPTER 5.
1782. THE FALL OF LORD NORTH. Fox's political principles--The
fifth Duke of Bedford--A little dinner--A debate in the Commons--The
attack on Lord George Germaine --An evening at Brooks's--Pitt and his
friends--Possible changes in the Cabinet--Faro at White's--A story of
the Duke of Richmond--An Address to the King--A Levee--Play and
politics at Brooks's --Government and the Opposition--Selwyn and his
offices--The position of the King--Fears of change of
administration--The King's objections to Fox--Probable
debates--Political prospects--Debates and divisions--The fate of the