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Copyright © 2018 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Except as
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TERMS OF USE

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About the Author

Donald J. Norris has a degree in electrical engineering and an MBA

specializing in production management. He is currently an adjunct professor
teaching an Embedded Systems course in the College of Engineering,
Technology and Aeronautics, part of the Southern New Hampshire University
(SNHU). He has also taught many different undergrad and grad courses mainly
in the computer science and technology areas at SNHU and other regional
schools for the past 33 years. Don created and taught the initial robotics courses
at SNHU both on-campus and online.
Don retired from civilian government service with the U.S. Navy, where he
specialized in underwater acoustics related to nuclear submarines and associated
advanced digital signal processing systems. Since then, he has spent more than
23 years as a professional software developer using the C, C#, C++, Python,
Micro Python, Node.JS, JavaScript, PHP, and Java languages in varied
development projects. He also has been a certified IT security consultant for the
last six years.
He has written and had published seven books including three involving the
Raspberry Pi, one on how to build and fly your own drone, a book on the Intel
Edison, one on the Internet of Things, and one on Micro Python.
Don started a consultancy, Norris Embedded Software Solutions (dba NESS
LLC), which specializes in developing application solutions using
microcontrollers, sensors, and actuators. The business has also recently
completed several robotics projects for clients.
Don likes to think of himself as a perpetual hobbyist and geek and is
constantly trying out new technologies and out-of-box experiments. He is a
licensed private pilot, photography buff, amateur extra class operator, avid
runner, and most importantly, a proud grandfather of three great kids,
Evangeline, Hudson, and Holton.
 This book is dedicated to Dr. Peter Kachavos, my son-in-law, who is a
remarkably intelligent man with an equally remarkable long medical career in
service to his patients and the community. Until recently, Peter was a practicing
internist with an office in Manchester, NH. He recently retired after 25 years
from that practice and soon will be pursuing other interesting opportunities in
the medical field.

Peter enjoys cooking, fine wine, traveling, and spending quality time with his
family. His wife is my daughter, Shauna, and their child is my two-year-old
granddaughter, Evangeline.

Peter and I have spent many hours discussing many topics ranging from ancient
Greek artifacts to the latest technologies impacting modern society. I always
look forward to those interesting and challenging discussions.
 CONTENTS AT A GLANCE

1 Introduction to the STMicroelectronics Line of Microcontrollers

2 STM MCU Software

3 STM32CubeMX Application

4 STM Project Development

5 General-Purpose Input Output (GPIO) and the STM Hardware Abstraction

Layer (HAL)

6 Interrupts

7 Timers

8 Bit Serial Communications

9 Analog-to-Digital Conversion

10 Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)

11 Direct Memory Access (DMA) and the Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC)

Index
CONTENTS

Preface

1 Introduction to the STMicroelectronics Line of Microcontrollers

Microcomputer vs Microcontroller
STM Nucleo Boards
Principal MCU Components
Bit Serial Ports
Nucleo-64 Board Options
Summary

2 STM MCU Software

Open-Source versus Commercial Proprietary Software
Bare Metal Development
Brief History of MCU
The MCU Toolchain
Configuring a STM32 Toolchain
Summary

3 STM32CubeMX Application
Pinout Tab
MCU Alternative Functions
Integrated Peripheral (IP) Tree Pane
Creating an Example Project using CubeMX
The main.c Code Listing
ARM Cortex Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS)
CubeMX-Generated C Code
Compiling and Downloading the Project
Downloading the Hex Code
Summary

4 STM Project Development

Hello World Project
Creating the Hello Nucleo Project
Adding Functionality to the Program
 Compiling and Executing the Modified Program
Simple Modification for the main.c Function
Complex Modification for the main.c File
Summary

5 General-Purpose Input Output (GPIO) and the STM Hardware

Abstraction Layer (HAL)
Memory-Mapped Peripherals
Core Memory Addresses
Peripheral Memory Addresses
HAL_GPIO Module
GPIO Pin Hardware
LED Test Demonstration
Enabling Multiple Outputs
Push-Button Test Demonstration
Clock Speed Demonstration
Setting the Pin Clock Speeds
Summary

6 Interrupts
Interrupts
NVIC Specifications
Interrupt Process
External Interrupts
Interrupt Demonstration
Summary

7 Timers
STM Timer Peripherals
STM Timer Configuration
Update Event Calculation
Polled or Non-interrupt Blink LED Timer Demonstration
Test Run
Interrupt-Driven Blink LED Timer Demonstration
Test Run
Multi-rate Interrupt-Driven Blink LED Timer Demonstration
Test Run
Modification to the Multi-rate Program
Test Run
Summary

8 Bit Serial Communications

 UARTs and USARTs
USART Configuration
Windows Terminal Program
Enabling USART2
USART Transmit Demonstration Program
Test Run
USART Receive Demonstration Program
Test Run
Summary

9 Analog-to-Digital Conversion
ADC Functions
ADC Module with HAL
ADC Conversion Modes
Channels, Groups, and Ranks
ADC Demonstration
ADC Demonstration Software
Summary

10 Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)

General-Purpose Timer PWM Signal Generation
Timer Hardware Architecture
PWM Signals with HAL
Enabling the PWM Function
PWM Demonstration Software
Demonstration One
Demonstration Two
Demonstration Three
Demonstration Four
Adding Functional Test Code
Test Results
Summary

11 Direct Memory Access (DMA) and the Digital-to-Analog

Converter (DAC)
DMA
Basic Data Transfer Concepts
DMA Controller Details
Using HAL with DMA
Demonstration One
DAC Peripheral
DAC Principles
HAL Software for the DAC
Demonstration Two
Demonstration Three
Summary
 PREFACE

This book will serve both as an introduction to the STMicroelectronics line

of STM32 microcontrollers (MCUs) and also as an easy-to-follow Getting
Started Guide for readers interested in developing with a STM MCU. I will be
using one of the very inexpensive STM Nucleo-64 development boards for all of
the book projects, which should make it inviting for most readers to become
involved with the hardware. In fact, doing the book demonstration projects is
really the only way you can really be assured that you have gained a good
comprehension of the material in this book.
I will state from the beginning that it is simply not possible to gain a total
understanding of how a STM MCU functions by only reading this book. The
manufacturer datasheets that describe individual STM MCUs are often over
1,000 pages in length, which describes the enormity of the task of trying to
master the voluminous amount of information that describes these devices.
Instead, the book contents focus on a few of the core components that make up a
STM MCU and how to program those components to accomplish fairly simple
tasks.
Some readers will have trepidation about starting to develop with what are
typically considered professional grade MCUs. I wish to allay that fear and state
that I have found that developing applications with at least one representative
sample STM MCU to be remarkably easy and straightforward. In fact, I will
state that in some aspects it is easier to develop with a STM MCU than with an
Arduino or Raspberry Pi, which many readers will already be quite familiar and
probably have already created projects with those boards.
Often, the single biggest issue with developing with MCUs is setting up a
stable development toolchain. I will describe how to do this in a simple to
follow, step-by-step process, which if you rigorously follow will guarantee that
you will be able to quickly and without much trouble generate working binary
programs. These programs will then be quickly downloaded into the
development board for execution.
 1
Introduction to the
STMicroelectronics Line of
Microcontrollers

This chapter provides you with an introduction to the very comprehensive

STMicroelectronics (STM) line of microcontrollers (MCUs). I will be focusing
only on several specific controllers throughout the book, but that should provide
you with an adequate representation of the functions and capabilities of the full
line of STM MCUs.

Microcomputer vs Microcontroller
I believe at the start of this book that it must make very clear the differences
between a microcomputer and a MCU. The reason for this distinction is very
simple: STM is a company that designs and manufacturers MCUs, not
microcomputers. I think my following definition of a MCU is as good as any
that I have read:

A microcontroller is an integrated system containing a minimum of a

microprocessor, dynamic and non-volatile memory, and a set of peripherals
consistent with all design requirements.

Right away, you can see from the definition that a MCU contains a
microprocessor which is sometimes referred to as a microcomputer. There also
must be both dynamic or volatile memory as well as nonvolatile or static
memory, where the latter holds any programs or scripts necessary to run the
microprocessor. Finally, there are always peripherals added to the design that
allow for the input and output of digital signals. There are often additional
peripherals such as timers, interrupt controllers, serial data ports, and a variety of
others depending upon what requirements the MCU must meet.
I discuss all the principal MCU components below to provide you with a solid
background to understand how a MCU functions. Most of the following
explanations are based on the voluminous amount of information provided by
STM on their microcontrollers. The reason behind STM providing such a large
amount of information is to allow engineers/software developers access to all the
data they need in order to incorporate STM products into original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) designs and products. This approach is fundamentally
different than the approach taken by suppliers of maker style boards and
products, such as the Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, and so forth. In the
case of the latter, board documentation is geared toward how to use a board in a
project. The STM data is extremely specific describing items such as the
nanosecond timing pulses between memory chips and processor buses. This is
exactly the reason why some of the STM MCU datasheets are over 1,100 pages
in length. Fortunately, the datasheet for the primary STM MCU I will be using in
this book is only 138 pages. I will provide later in this chapter the website where
you can download the datasheet.

STM Nucleo Boards

MCU manufacturers such as STM have long recognized that they just couldn’t
provide only chips to potential customers as most would have no way to
effectively evaluate them for potential use in their products. This is the reason
why the manufacturers offer relatively low-cost evaluation and demonstration
boards, which have representative MCUs all setup and ready to run. STM offers
a series of such boards that it calls the Nucleo line. I will be using a fairly simple
Nucleo-64 board for the book projects. STM has actually embraced the maker
community by marketing the Nucleo lineup as boards suitable for maker project
use. These boards are very inexpensive, usually about US$10–15, which leads
me to believe that STM is striving to gain a foothold in the maker community by
actually subsidizing the manufacturing costs for the boards. In any case, this is a
boon for makers and hobbyists and one that we should embrace.
Figure 1-1 shows the three basic Nucleo boards available at the time of
writing this book.
Figure 1-1 Three basic Nucleo boards.

The boards are named Nucleo-32, Nucleo-64, and Nucleo-144 from left to
right, respectively, as shown in Figure 1-1. The number in each name represents
the number of pins present in the MCU chip. Nucleo-64 is the principal board
used in this book.

Principal MCU Components

The first component to consider is the processor or microcomputer.

Processor
The processor used in Nucleo-32 and Nucleo-64 boards is the ARM Cortex M-4
32-bit processor. It too has a lengthy 278-page user guide available from
infocenter.arm.com/help/topic/com.arm.doc.dui0553a/DUI0553A_cortex_m4_dgug.pdf
The actual processor circuitry is part of the STM MCU because STM has
purchased intellectual property (IP) rights from the ARM Corporation in order to
integrate it into its chips. However, for all practical purposes, the ARM
processor is programmed using the tools and techniques promulgated by the
ARM Corporation to support its processor IP. This distinction is of no
consequence in our case because the software tools to be used for the book
projects have all been carefully crafted and tested to work seamlessly together by
STM. Any license issues have already been resolved without bothering the end
user.
The following list contains some of the important specifications for the
Cortex M-4 processor for interested readers:
• Full-featured ARMv7-M instruction set, optimized for embedded
applications
• Floating point unit (FPU)
• Low-power 32-bit processor
• Memory protection unit (MPU)
• Nested vector interrupt controller (NVIC)
• Trace, breakpoint, and JTAG capabilities
• Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture (AMBA)
• Advanced High-Performance Bus (AHB5, AHB-Lite)

There are many more features to the Cortex M-4 processor as the 278-page
user guide would suggest. I would also recommend Joseph Yiu’s book, The
Definitive Guide to ARM® Cortex®-M3 and Cortex®-M4 Processors, Third
Edition, to readers who really want to delve into this processor to a great depth.
Figure 1-2 is a block diagram of the Cortex M-4 processor showing all of the
listed items and more.
Figure 1-2 ARM Cortex M-4 block diagram.

STM is responsible for the design and implementation of all components

outside of the box shown in Figure 1-2. Of course, the STM design must be
compliant with the ARM processor specifications. One item missing in the
figure is a clock input. The reason for it being missing is that the block diagram
is from the ARM Cortex M-4 user guide, while the clock circuitry is the
responsibility of STM, the MCU designer. STM has set the base processor clock
frequency at 72 MHz, which appears to be very low in today’s world of multi-
gigahertz clock rates for most PCs. In fact, the latest Raspberry Pi model 3 has a
1.2-GHz clock rate. But first appearances are deceiving in this case. The Cortex
M-4 processor uses an extremely efficient instruction set, with three-stage
pipelining, which maximizes the performance of the underlying reduced
instruction set computing (RISC) that the processor employs. In addition, many
common microcontroller tasks, which I discuss below, have been implemented
in a combination of hardware and firmware, further improving the overall
performance, while keeping the power consumption as low as possible. Power
consumption and performance are two key microcontroller attributes that system
designers always keep in mind. Keeping the clock rate as low as possible will
always minimize the power consumed as well as increase the longevity of the
chip.

Memory
The Cortex M-4 processor uses a Harvard architecture. This means that program
instructions are stored and retrieved from a memory separate and distinct from
the memory that holds data. The other common computer architecture is named
von Neumann in which instructions and data share a common memory. MCUs
have very limited memory and take advantage of the speed-up available by using
concurrent instruction and data access. Additionally, having separate memories
means that the processor is no longer constrained to the same sized data widths.
This means instructions can be fetched and executed in 4-byte chunks or 32 bits,
while data can be simultaneously handled with 1-byte or 8-bit chunks, thus
speeding up the overall throughput to and from the processor and memory.
Another advantage the Harvard architecture has over the von Neumann form is
that instruction prefetches can now be done in parallel with regular instruction
executions, thus further speeding up the overall system performance. Finally,
concurrent instruction and data access eliminates the need for data caches, which
are typically used in von Neumann machines. This further reduces system
complexity and power consumption.
The Nucleo-64 board used in this book is the STM MCU, model number
STM32F302R8. This chip has a 64-KB flash memory and a 16-KB static
random access memory (SRAM). Yes, those are kilobytes, not mega- or
gigabytes. You cannot expect to create any graphical programs that run in this
limited memory space. Microcontroller programs are truly a throwback to the
earliest days of computing where memory was very limited and developers had
to use every available byte to store and execute programs. Having mentioned the
scarce memory resources, you will be able to use a variety of modern-day
graphic-based programs to develop the MCU program, but they will run on a
PC. The compiled and optimized binary code will be downloaded into the MCU
from the PC.
It turns out that 64 KB is plenty of space to run fairly large programs because
the C/C++ cross-compiler used for this book’s projects produces optimize code,
eliminating all but the essential instructions needed for the program. The 16-KB
SRAM size is more than adequate for the dynamic memory requirements to
support a maximum 64-KB sized program. The actual memory is integrated onto
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
 Bonaparte has gained a great victory at Aboukir;[41] the tower is
defended, but must fall. It is supposed Sr. Sidney Smith is in it.
When he is Bonaparte’s prisoner it is to be hoped he will assist him
to correct his narrative of the affair of Acre, as Sr. Sidney’s
rhodomontades do not accord much with probability. It was an
unnatural state of things that Bonaparte should have for a moment
such a buskin hero for a competitor; whilst he was eclipsed, one
might say:—
An eagle tow’ring in its height of pride
Was by a mousing owl hawk’d at, and killed.

I went yesterday morning to see a milliner who is just arrived from

Paris; she brings strange dresses and fashions, and some
sumptuous, costly to a degree that she cannot get a purchaser. She
complains that a Deputy’s wife at Paris spends more upon her attire
than a duchess does here. She has veils that cost 50 guineas,
morning head-dresses 20, and so on in proportion. She says Paris
never was yet at such a pitch of luxury and recherche in dress as at
present.
Saturday, 19th.—On Sunday last Mr. and Mrs. Stuart and Dr.
Hager dined here. On Monday we went to the play with the Stuarts.
On Tuesday Ld. Macartney, Calonne, James, and the Fish dined, very
tolerably pleasant. On Wednesday I went to see Mr. James’s pretty
room and fine books; he has given in to the luxury of splendid
editions, broad paper, and sumptuous bindings. The collection is as
complete as possible for the sort of thing, but the expense is
enormous, and hardly answers in point of enjoyment, tho’ one is not
sorry to see fine specimens of the various arts of printing,
papermaking, bookbinding, etc., etc. He has contrived to spend
5000l. upon articles that lie in a very small compass.
The Bessboroughs, who have just returned from ye Isle of
Thanet, dined with us; they brought Ld. Boringdon. There was
besides Mr. Wm. Smith,[42] an Irish orator, who made a fine speech
and wrote a good pamphlet in favour of the Union. He is
uncommonly bashful, an infirmity not peculiar to his nation, but one
which impedes his being reckoned as able as he is to common
observers.
The whole Dutch expedition has failed, and the troops are coming
back forthwith, tho’ there are great apprehensions entertained as to
their being able to withdraw without immense loss; they calculate
upon losing their rearguard of 3000 men.[43] Out of evil there is
good: Lds. Morpeth and G. Leveson had offered their services, and
were upon the point of going. Ld. G. is raising a regiment, and is
appointed Lt.-Col. I am sorry he throws away very excellent abilities
upon a profession where so little is required—at least, as it is
practised in this country; and I believe as a good patriot one ought
to hope it may for ever remain as insignificant as it has done
hitherto. Parliament is adjourned until January. We went to the play,
Tierney, Mr. Hoare, and Capt. Murray. Confirmation of the French
accounts of the losses of the Allies in Switzerland, etc., etc.
Sunday, 20th, ’99.—The whole day I was
confined to my own den by a most villainous cold. PRICE OF
After we had finished our dinner Ld. Morpeth came SUGAR
to dine. He arrived in town only the preceding
evening.
The immense price of sugar has defeated the avarice of the
proprietors of it; various experiments have been made, first, to
extract sugar from saccharine vegetables, and then to grow it in
different climates. In Prussia they obtain 8 lbs. weight of good sugar
from 100 lbs. of beet root. In America a settlement called the
Notches, above the river Ohio, has grown a large quantity from the
sugar cane. The price is only kept up by some commercial artifice
winked at by the Government. The revenues of the West Indians will
be considerably diminished, and tho’ I ultimately may suffer I
confess I should feel very little sorrow if they had been at 0 for the
last four years; then he would not have added another example to
the many—that injustice thrives.
 25th, Friday, Money Hill.—On Sunday, 20th, Curran[44] dined with
us. He was intimidated at the sight of the tables as he passed
through the room, and told Mr. Tierney he feared he should not be
able to speak. He kept his word, as he did not utter three sentences
during dinner. We had, besides, Mr. Grey, ye Bessbro’s, Mr. Weld, Mr.
George Ponsonby[45] (the Irish orator), and the Duke of Bedford. On
Monday Mr. Wm. Smith, the Irish Unionist, Mr. Hoare, whom I knew
at Sherborne, and Calonne. Calonne slept. He gave us a most
interesting narrative of the assembling of the Notables, and many
particulars of the latter event during his Administration; if ever I
have patience I believe I would detail the account. We went the next
day to Money Hill, where we found the Smiths. They stayed till
Thursday, on which day Ld. Bor. came. He went on Friday; we
returned home on Saturday....
On Tuesday the Beauclerks went. She wished very much to stay,
as her health required repose; the motion of the carriage disagrees
with her always, and she was not recovered from the journey of the
day before. This consideration, added to her being far advanced with
child, had no effect upon Beau.; he was positive. I fear he is
disposed to be peremptory in trifles. I do not like to give way to all
my fears upon the score of his temper, but she is all sense and
gentleness. Ld. Morpeth and Dumont dined, a very pleasant dinner.
Ld. M. stayed, and cause’d late; Dumont slept. Ld. M. is very amiable
in a small party, where he is quite at his ease.
Bonaparte is returned with his staff to Paris. The cause of his
return is involved in mystery as yet.[46]
7th November.—I have just begun La Harpe’s
Cours de Littérature; they are lectures upon les A MIXED PARTY
belles lettres, delivered at the Lycée. On Friday, 1st
Nov., a remarkable pleasant day, Ld. Ossory, Macartney, Morpeth,
Calonne, Fish Craufurd, Tierney. The youth of Ld. M., and the
Jacobinism of the latter did not promise to accord with the years and
gravity of the rest of the party, but the singularity gave a zest, and
everybody was delighted. Tierney won so much upon Ld. Macartney,
that I am sure he might be made coadjutor to any outlandish
embassy Ld. M. may be appointed to: he boasts of being homme à
tout plat. Ld. Ossory was very happy, notwithstanding my Lady’s
prohibition of his being so within these walls.
The Smiths came in the evening. We were to have taken them
next day to my mother’s in Suffolk, that Mrs. S. might visit her father
at Newmarket, but during the night Ld. H. was seized with some
sharp twinges of the gout, which obliged us to delay our journey,
much to my disappointment, as by it I lost the sight of my dear little
Harriet. Saturday alone with the Smiths. Sunday Dr. Hager came;
Smiths went away. Ld. H. continued ill; not so bad as the fit last
autumn. It is curious that the pain seized him almost the day
twelvemonth.
10th Nov. Sunday.—The failure of the Dutch expedition has
created at the time a great sensation, but the public mind is
absorbed in the expectation of another enterprise upon the French
coast. All parties disclaim having projected it. Pitt’s friends say it was
all Dundas’s scheme; he again lays it to the Queen and Princess of
Orange; and they to the map-makers for placing dry land where
there ought to be swamps. The only person who uniformly
disapproved of the undertaking was the Stadtholder.
Public affairs everywhere have assumed a gloomy aspect. The
badness of the season has destroyed the corn in many counties, and
the increased price of provisions in the setting in of a threatening
winter announces misery to the wretched poor and perhaps no small
clamour from them, as certainly the corn sent to Holland must have
taken considerably from the stock here, besides that the transports
employed to convey the troops were chiefly North-country colliers.
Thus the price of coals is at an unknown height, 60 shillings the
chauldron. (In December 1799, 6 guineas.)
I have been reading Joseph Andrews. It is, in point of interest,
inferior to Tom Jones. There are scenes where the wit is even more
excellent, but the nature of his characters are sacrificed to a love of
buffoonery. Parson Adams is frequently put into situations so
extravagant that the ludicrous is destroyed by the impossibility of the
events. Fielding had a model, his tutor, a Dr. Young,[47] who was full
of learning and simplicity. There is a story of him whilst he was
chaplain to one of the Duke of Marlborough’s regiments. The
enemies were encamped near each other expecting to be engaged;
the distrait chaplain walked out, and was so absorbed in the perusal
of his Æschylus that he passed the lines. A sentinel seized him for a
spy, and carried him to the general. During his examination he
stated so naturally that without thinking of anything one foot
followed the other, and brought him without his knowledge where he
was, adding that he assured his Excellence he was no spy. ‘Ah, mon
ami, I sincerely believe you. The D. of M. ne vous aurez jamais
choisi pour espion, mais vous resterez dîner.’ He was sent off, fully
acquitted of the suspicion.
I have endeavoured to persuade Calonne to
write his Mémoires. Even those of his own life CALONNE
would be interesting; but the period of his
Administration, and his generous sacrifices to the Princes
subsequent to their emigration, would fill up a period in the history
of the Revolution which can only be well done by him. He set the
best machine of revolt in motion. His own story is that when at the
head of the Finance he found that for many years the expenditure of
the Government had exceeded its receipts, and that Necker’s compte
rendu was a false assertion upon false fact: that to remedy this
deficit he had persuaded the King to let him propose an equal
taxation to the Noblesse and Clergy; that the Queen also was got
over, till the night before he was to make his speech to the Notables,
when she joined the faction headed by the Archevêque de Sens.[48]
A bon mot of Mirabeau upon him. He was a rash, impetuous man,
without conduct or judgment. ‘L’Archevêque de Sens est toujours
hors de son diocèse.’
I am reading the Arabian History in the most methodical way, too
laborious to continue. I read Marigny, and refer to Ockley, the
Universal History, and Gibbon. The latter I shall read when I have
finished the others, because to read Gibbon one must understand
the history he writes of à fond—at least so from his summary way of
describing one should infer he thought it necessary for his readers.
Sunday, we had a very pleasant party, Hare, Fitzpatrick, Ld.
Robert, Mackintosh, Mr. Scarlett, Smiths, Dumont. Mackintosh talked
very pleasantly: his efforts to please were guided by good taste. His
memory is very correct and retentive; he illustrated literary criticisms
with lively quotations, particularly from Burke and Gibbon. Mr.
Scarlett[49] is a rising man at the Bar; his profits are more upon the
circuit than in the King’s Bench, but when Erskine and some few of
the monopolists are removed he will distinguish himself there. He
has an uncommonly benevolent countenance; his heart seems full of
mild virtues; tho’ very unassuming, he yet is agreeable in a mixed
conversation. Smith’s boisterous yet superior intellect did not
dominate; Hare’s keen wit and the General’s discerning taste
subdued his usual propensity to overpower with clamour and dispute
for victory alone. He was temperate and entertaining.
Hare was in full glee; they had all dined at the Lord Mayor’s Feast
the day before. Combe[50] is an Opposition man, and the patriots
were received with acclamations in the City; Fox was dragged by the
populace, so was the Duke of Bedford. The whole civic festival went
off with triumph to the party.
Whitbread, the arch-seceder, is disposed to return to his duty in
Parliament, and measures are to be taken to persuade Mr. Fox to do
the same. God knows whether they will succeed. It is a matter of
very little consequence whether they do nor not, as the prejudice in
the country is too strong to be conquered even by the misconduct
and failure of Ministers. The General stayed all night.
This morning, Monday, 11th, Dumont left. I was
sorry to lose him, as he is facile à vivre and full of DUMONT
amusement to me. He is very universally liked by
all who have the least relish for literature and good conversation. We
had rather a motley mixture at dinner: Hare, Fitzpatrick, General
Dalrymple,[51] Capt. Murray, and the Duke of Bedford. The latter is
in very bad health; his spirits are visibly affected. On ye 12th the
General left us to make some alterations at Sunning Hill; Hare, only,
to dinner. On Wednesday Ld. H. went out for the first time. Lewis
dined: he repeated some verses he wrote this last summer in
Scotland, ‘Reflections in a Royal Burying-ground.’ They are the best
of his, quite in a grand style; there are parts full of philosophy and
feeling. In the evening a very comfortable gossiping coze with Hare.
The price of porter is raised; the augmentation has been admitted
without clamour. Every article of first necessity is alarmingly dear.
14th Nov., ’99.—I continue reading the Arabian history with
interest, especially in Ockley, whose style is plain and manly, tho’
criticism might be busy detecting vulgarisms. A comical observation
of Gibbon’s upon himself in his Memoirs just occurs. He says, ‘Ye
year 1770 was particularly favourable to the growth of my
intellectual stature.’ The expressions are uncommonly ludicrous,
combining it with the recollection of his misshapen, grotesque
figure; for he was a monster, and so filthy withal that one could not
endure being close to him.
On Thursday, Tierney, Dumont, Sr. Lionel, and Hare to dine; very
lively and pleasant. Tierney bore a very equal share in the task of
amusing with Hare, who is unique in excellence.
Friday alone. Saturday Mr. Morrice came to stay. Went to the play,
where I gained a violent migraine and additional cold; brought the
Smiths home.
Sunday, 17th.—Sick with headache. Hare to dinner, Duke of
Bedford, Robinson, Major Hare, Hare’s son. Laughed so
immoderately at Hare’s liveliness that my head was much worse, and
I went to bed seriously ill. The Duke of Bedford looks infinitely
better. I am in great hopes he will recover. He is in better spirits.
12th January, 1800.—A variety of little circumstances and
frequent illnesses have prevented me from continuing regularly my
notes. I went in the course of the month of December to Dalham.
[52]I saw my dear child. Mrs. Smith went with us. Our visit did not
exceed four days; we returned by the way of Cambridge, Ld. H.
Petty and Mr. Debarry dined with us there. I was curious to ascertain
whether the Gothic architecture of Henry VII. [sic] chapel would
please me now, as it did many years ago, long before I saw the
wonders of Italy: I found time and comparison had not in the least
diminished my admiration of it.
Bonaparte returned suddenly from Egypt to
France. He has overthrown the Directory, and the NAPOLEON’S
then form of Governt., and established a LETTER
constitution at the head of which he is placed as
Grand Consul. Should it be a permanent usurpation I will learn with
accuracy the outlines, but the revolutions have been as variable as
chemical nomenclature or systems of metaphysics. He opened a
negotiation for peace lately by writing a letter directly to the King:
his offer was rejected upon frivolous and peevish pretexts. The reply
was made in the most barbarous language, crabbed, ungrammatical,
and incomprehensible.[53] The joke of the day was that each of the
Ministers who were present contributed their phrase: Mr. Pitt, ‘ye
limited possibilities’; to Mr. Windham, ‘the line of hereditary Princes’;
Ld. Grenville, ‘rapine, anarchy, and plunder’; nor were Lds.
Westmoreland and Camden forgotten by giving ‘their explicit
acquiescence’ to all that was done.
I went to a Harlequin farce on ye 28th December after dining in
Cavendish Square; a gun was fired off, which frightened me, and on
the morrow I was taken ill. I was very weak and confined to my bed
many days; this day is ye 13th, and I am still indisposed.
During my confinement I have been reading among other things
multitudes of novels, most of them sad trash, abounding with the
general taste for spectres, hobgoblins, castles, etc., etc. Godwin has
added to his publications; critics say, not to his reputation. In his
preface he announces that he has not abided by the principles
contained in his Political Justice, as he throughout the work shows
that the greatest calamity is to loosen the ties of social confidence
and domestic love.[54] Poor Mr. Weld, who dined here occasionally,
dropped dead at the Tower, playing at whist with Ld. Thanet. He
died under great pecuniary embarrassments. Marsh came to us the
first day of the vacation; Ly. Lucy and the Dss.[55] were in the
house, but it so happened by Ly. L.’s illness and sure management
on our part that they never met.
13th Jan.—Monsieur de Bouillé se plaignant de la Révolution dit,
‘Ce sont nos gens d’esprit qui nous ont perdu.’ ‘Ah, Monsieur, que ne
nous sauviez-vous’ [sic], said Mde. de Coigny.
Quand le mariage de Lord Paget fut remis à cause de l’accident
qu’il eut en se tirant la botte, elle dit, ‘C’était un mariage remis
àpropos de bottes.’
Une personne, attaquée de paralisie à mi-corps, étant depuis
grosse, elle dit, ‘Elle accouchera donc d’un profil.’
Lorsque Monsr. d’Épremesnil perdit sa popularité, il demanda à
Mde. de Coigny pourquoi le même peuple qui l’avait couronné de
laurier l’accablait d’injures et le brûlait en effigie. ‘C’est,’ dit-elle, ‘que
rien ne brûle plus vite que le laurier dépêché.’
Allant dîner oû elle comptait s’ennuyer, elle dit, ‘Ce dîner me pèse
sur le cœur avant de me peser sur l’estomac.’
A polacre conveying dispatches from Alexandria to France was
taken off Toulon, carried into Minorca, and the dispatches, which did
not sink when thrown overboard, have been forwarded by General
Fox to the Governt. They contain minute details of the military
colony, and complaints of their being in total want of ammunition,
etc., etc. The official letter is from Kléber; he conveys a sort of
censure upon Bonaparte for his having quitted the army. He encloses
Bonaparte’s letter to the army upon his quitting Egypt, in which
various reasons for his departure are given; among them is
l’obéissance. There is also a letter from the Contrôleur des Finances
d’Égypte. He complains bitterly of the difficulty in levying the taxes,
and the stubbornness of the Turks, who, sooner than pay will submit
to stripes and even death. These letters and many private ones are
to be made public and commented on by the mild spirit of Mr.
Gifford.[56] They will be published in a few days, before the meeting
of Parliament, in order to give the proper cue to those country
members whose warlike spirits may have been subdued at the sight
of the universal suffering throughout the country—a suffering
aggravated, if not caused, by the horrors of war.
There can be nothing more contemptible than the personal pique
all Ministerial people seem to feel towards him. The object in
publishing these letters is merely to gall him by an expression or
two, and for this gratification they shabbily put in the names of
individuals, which may be the means of much private ruin. They say,
‘Aye, this will do him up!’
Poor Ld. Andover![57] Unfortunately, in giving
his gun to his groom the piece went off, and the LORD
whole contents were lodged in his body: he ANDOVER’S DEATH
retained his senses 7 hours after the accident, and
died shortly after. His wretched wife! What must her feelings be!
Each most tenderly attached to the other. It is the only tie which
when dissolved makes the vast world a wilderness. How can piety,
fortitude, or reason bear up against such a dreadful calamity?
Indeed, one cannot wish it should prolong the existence of the
miserable relict. That direful separation alone can shake the love of
life so deeply rooted in us all. Canning says Ld. Andover used to
remind him of Ld. H. at times. Great heavens! how far beyond a
remedy must be her sorrows. Without knowing any of the parties,
the despair of the situation quite overcomes me, and draws tears of
unfeigned pity from my eyes; how fortunate for her should she
never awaken to her wretchedness, but die in the agonies of
delirium. Oh! in mercy let such be my close if I am doomed to the—
oh! I cannot with calmness suppose the case.
Ye Friday party[58] did very well, dissimilar as are the opinions of
the parties. On Saturday Ld. Wycombe brought a Spaniard,[59] who
is just come from Paris, and is in England without the knowledge
and against the consent of the Ministers. He has resided in Paris
during the last four years, and he has adopted the principles of
Revolution con amore. He calls the Church Establishment an
infamous institution, and appears quite ripe to back his principles by
his practice.
Mr. Fox was persuaded to come and attend the House of
Commons on the day the subject of the negotiations was discussed.
He always must speak well, but I should have preferred an
oratorical, philosophical survey of the events that had arisen during
the secession to a mere debating speech, which he made.
The intercepted letters are published with a preface avowedly by
Canning; the notes are certainly by another hand. During the debate
which Mr. Fox attended Canning launched out with his usual
flippancy of tongue against the D. of Bedford, and said he would not
lose his time in replying to arguments brought forward from a man
of such an intellect. Fox gave him the retort uncourteous and made
the little great man shrink. In going out he asked him if he seriously
thought he could persuade the country that the D. of B. was an
idiot. ‘No, I don’t; but why did he attack my publication?’ ‘My
publication!’ And such a thing it is; the prophecies announcing the
Messiah could not usher him in with more awful pomp than he does
these letters to the notice of the public.
It was lucky that the first time Mr. Fox heard his
nephew speak, should be when he spoke the best. LORD KING
Tho’ his terror was excessive, yet he possessed
himself, and made upon the subject of the negotiation a very able
speech. On the Dutch inquiry, moved by Ld. H., Ld. King spoke
uncommonly well. Ld. H. was the more pleased, as it was merely out
of friendship to him that he prevailed upon himself to conquer his
dread of addressing a public assembly. He is a very young man, very
handsome, very awkward, and very shy, but very full of most
excellent qualities. He is a good son, a warm and generous friend.
His principles, political and religious, are inimical to the actual state
of those in force. The first are moderated: he was a lover of liberty
even to democracy, and still abhors religion to impiety, but the
experience that has corrected him of one excess will cure him of the
other, and doubtless he will become very like other people.
When the division was coming on, Ld. Liverpool and Ld.
Malmesbury and many others called out, ‘Pooh, pooh! you won’t
divide! Why, you will have but three. Pooh, pooh! Don’t think of it!’
‘Aye, but I will divide!’ cried Ld. H. ‘If I am single I will have a
division’; when, to his great surprise and pleasure, the Duke of
Somerset and Ld. Mansfield divided with him, besides King and
Bessborough. Ld. Camelford did the same, but pique against Ld.
Grenville explains his conduct.
From several conversations I had alone this summer with the D.
of Somerset I collected that he was, tho’ not disposed towards
Opposition, yet averse to Ministers. He is a sensible man, inclined to
act upon his own judgment: his manner, from shyness, is against
him. I suspect that he has a love of fun in him, for he told me that
he was occupied in persuading Lewis to write a book on moral
philosophy, as he was certain from the opinions he heard from Lewis
that it would be at least entertaining. ‘For,’ says he, ‘he calls virtues
what the world holds in abhorrence as great vices, and these
paradoxes he maintains so strangely that I cannot illustrate them
stronger than by telling you that he confesses himself surprised that
Wilberforce should have published his book after The Monk. He
thinks it great want of taste to give a system of morality in a dry,
forbidding form, whereas “mine is given in a popular, pleasing
manner, which diverts whilst it instructs, annner to upbraid him for
his vote the night before, but hed is adapted to every capacity.”’
Yesterday when he came in to dinner Lds. Boringdon and Amherst
lifted up their hands in a ma rather showed an unwillingness to be
tutored. Again, during a dinner, Ld. B. leant across me to tell him he
was a rival to Julian. I immediately said, ‘I see no apostasy in being
guided by good sense and not biassed by interest.’ Ld. B. said no
more, and the Duke looked thanks for the reproof. Again Ld. B.
asked how he meant to vote upon a question which is coming on.
The question is improper to ask, and the Duke replied very well, ‘I
shall decide when I hear the arguments on both sides.’
We had a numerous party; Sir James St. Clair is lately returned
from Minorca, of which place he gives but a sorry account. His wife
is handsome; she did not love him when they first married, but his
good nature has conquered her dislike, and she is almost in love
with him. In most marriages a material change occurs in the course
of ten years, but she has the merit of singularity in hers. Ld. Lorne is
an old favourite of mine; his good humour, cheerfulness, and ease is
quite charming. Lewis’ lines in an epilogue to Barbarossa, which they
acted at Inverary, are very descriptive of him:—
And Lord Lorne’s easy air, when he got in a passion, Proved a
tyrant must needs be a person of fashion. He seemed much at home
through the whole of the play; He died in a style that was quite
dégagé. And his orders for murder, disclosed by their tone, ’Twas the
same if he gave them or let them alone.
14th Feb., 1800.—Bob Heathcote came for the first time. ‘A fool
and his money are soon parted.’ Most of his is squandered at the
gaming table, Newmarket, rare editions, sums lent to ——, splendid
dinners, and, in short, in every way that it can go. He is, however,
very good-natured, and not conceited—merits that cover a thousand
blemishes, and in society make up for most deficiencies.
A few days back Mr. Kinnaird,[60] eldest son of
Ld. Kinnaird, dined here for the first time. Being a MR. KINNAIRD
Scotchman and having studied in a Scotch
University, report puffs him high, of course. Tho’ it overdoes his
deserts, yet he merits some praise. He is clever and willing to
please; one cannot pity him for shyness, as he labours under no
embarrassment upon that score. Living in the world will set his head
right and render him useful. He is an eager politician against
Ministers.
Ld. H. is gone down to the H. of Lords, as a message from the
King to subsidise the German Princes is before the House. It is
conjectured that our magnanimous ally, the Imperial Paul, is
deserting the cause he espoused so vehemently; whilst we are to
continue fighting until ‘experience and the evidence of facts’ render
a peace proper with Bonaparte. One of the finest passages in Mr.
Fox’s speech was where he took up the expression of those who
gave for reason the not negotiating immediately, that ‘we should
pause.’ He described with energy the calamities of war, the villages
sacked, cattle destroyed, the field of battle covered with agonised
victims weltering in their blood, who, if questioned as to the cause
they were fighting in, could not answer as in other wars, ‘ambition,’
‘aggrandisement of territory,’ etc., etc. ‘No, we fight because the
English Ministers are doubtful as to the moral qualities of Bonaparte.’
Lord Carlisle is mightily disposed to vote against the Ministers, a
propensity which gives his son great alarm, as he is riveted to all the
dogmas of the Ministerial creed, the necessity of the war, faith in the
prowess of Suwarrow, the infallibility of Mr. Pitt, etc., etc.
General Fitzpatrick has published his letters to Lord Kenyon.[61]
Previous to doing so he sent them to the King, accompanied by a
letter calculated to delight him, appealing to him as the head of the
school of honour and chief among gentlemen. The motto to the
publication is very happy; it is taken from Kenyon’s own speech on
the trial of Horne Tooke in 1792: ‘Mr. Horne Tooke, I cannot sit here
to hear names calumniated and vilified, persons who are not in this
case, persons who are absent, and cannot defend themselves. A
Court of Justice is no place for calumny. You must see the
impropriety of it, and it does not become the feelings of an
honourable mind.’
I heard of a great trait of Scotch nationality. At a dinner at the
Chief Baron’s,[62] where Sylvester Douglas[63] was, the news, just
then fresh, of Bonaparte’s seizure of the Governt. was mentioned,
upon which both the Scotchmen at the same moment inquired, ‘And
what did Macdonald[64] do?’
 The Prince of Wales is supposed to be dying:
whatever his illness may be besides, revived love THE PRINCE’S
for Mrs. Fitzherbert has aggravated and added to HEALTH
the measure of it. Mde. de Coigny says it’s like a
rondeau, in which variations are made ad libitum, but the return is
to the first air. He had a numerous dinner last week, composed
solely of parsons; whether this was fun or fear is uncertain. If he
had been in a vein for the former, it might have been indulged, as no
set of men abhor each other with more heartfelt hatred than those
pious brethren; each is in the way of the other, like an overloaded
market in Bengal of English beauties. The other night at D. House he
fell back in his chair and pointed to have his neckcloth loosened;
fortunately Farquhar was there, and ordered proper remedies for his
recovery.
The French have played a very good trick in return for our
publishing the intercepted letters. They pretend to have found
hidden in the wall of a house belonging to a Chouan chief, letters
written by Pitt, Windham, etc., to recommend the Royalists to make
peace with the Republicans at any rate, and then break it when the
English succours arrive. This may be a real correspondence, but if
not, è bene trovato.
Menzini,[65] the satirist, was derided for his poverty by an insolent
and haughty Cardinal, who from his balcony perceived him walking,
shabbily dressed. The Cardinal expressed his contempt in the lines of
Petrarch:—
Povera e nuda vai Filosofia.

Menzini, with great quickness, replied by the next line of the poet:—
Dice la turba al vil guadagno intesa.

Caraccioli said of England, ‘Que c’était un pays où il y avoit mille

religions, et qu’une sauce.’
 M. de Lauragais[66] said of it, ‘Qu’il n’y avoit rien de poli que
l’acier, point de fruits mûrs que les pommes cuites.’
1st March, 1800.—Within these last ten or twelve days Mrs.
Beauclerk and Mrs. Smith have each added their individual
contributions to the population of the world: a little Mimi, and a still
smaller boy are the production.
Tierney told me of a circumstance which had
been conveyed to him from authority. At one of COMTE
the dinners given by the Comte d’Artois to Pitt and D’ARTOIS
the Cabinet Ministers, the Cte. expressed his
astonishment and indignation to Pitt, that a man possessing such
principles as Mr. Tierney does, and uttering all that his turbulent and
discontented disposition gives rise to, was allowed to go about; that
such a man in a well-regulated Governt. should be confined, and not
allowed to be at large to preach politics. Pitt replied that Mr. Tierney
was a member of Parliament, a very loyal subject, and respectable in
his private character. This was said drily, and intended as a reproof
to a very ill-judged question. Nothing could show a greater want of
taste and knowledge of English customs, than to abuse a member of
Parliament to the Prime Minister of England, and tho’ I would not
detract from Mr. Pitt, yet his defence of Tierney was such as the
occasion extorted, and ought to have been made for any man in
Parliament who has not outraged the laws. Even Sir Francis Burdett
is as yet entitled to a similar justification. The Cte. d’Artois (at
present, according to the ancien régime, Monsieur) is a man of
slender abilities with violent passions; before the Revolution he was
weak and volatile, he is now weak and revengeful.
Bonaparte gives fresh proofs every day of his talents for
governing, both in his disposition to conciliate and resist. He has
issued letters to recall most of the emigrant nobles who have not
borne arms against their country, infants, women, and priests; he
manifests a strong determination to fight as well as he did formerly,
and not allow of anything being wrested from the nation.
 There is upon record a very curious fact, that well considered
might abate the ardour of those who are disposed to fight on for the
Restoration ‘of the line of Hereditary Princes,’ as it shows that that
event would not in all probability induce France to fall back within
her ancient limits—one of the objects proposed by the restoration of
ye Bourbons. Upon the restoration of Charles II., the Spaniards
applied to the English Court for the surrender of Jamaica, upon the
ground of its being conquered by an usurper.[67] The English
Ministers submitted the question to the ablest civilians in the
country, and they were unanimous in their opinion that whatever
conquest had been achieved by the arms of G. Britain, whether
under lawful or usurped authority, that acquisition, once annexed
and become an integral part of the Dominion, it was safe to maintain
even by force of arms. And can it seriously be supposed, first, that
the French nation will ever receive a Monarch forced upon them at
the point of the bayonet by the allied armies, knowing that the
incentive that provokes those allies is the partition of France? And,
2ndly, admitting the restoration were practicable, would the Kings,
whose object would be popularity, venture to dismember their
country? Why, even the unhappy emigrants, starving and exiled, feel
triumph and exultation at every victory obtained by their
countrymen.
Washington died towards the close of the year 1799. His name
will stand high in the page of history, and posterity will be apt to
outstep truth to bestow enthusiastic eulogy upon him, who has been
great from his mediocrity. Mankind delight in assigning deep designs
to very obvious facts. We shall hear of his being the first among
generals, legislators, patriots, and practical philosophers, of his
integrity, his disinterestedness in sacrificing to the public, of his well
understood ambition in preferring a splendid obscurity to elevated
insignificancy; in short, what will not be said except the truth—a
plain, painstaking, plodding man, whose profession of land surveyor
taught him a smattering of mixed mathematics which became useful
when military positions were to be conceived, a mild, even temper,
that neither offended nor captivated. So much will be said, and
hitherto so little has been said, that I shall wait and hear. All France
and America mourned at his death.
Canning sent to beg we would fix a day that he might dine here.
He came, we had only Lds. G. Leveson, Boringdon, and Ly. Bess.
Went off very agreeably. He was witty upon the new Institution,[68]
which is a very bad imitation of the Institut at Paris; hitherto there is
only one Professor, who is a jack-of-all-trades, as he lectures alike
upon chemistry and shipbuilding.
When Horne Tooke harangued the electors of
Westminster from the hustings he was often put HORNE
out by one of the mob closing his sentences with a TOOKE’S
nasal ‘Amen.’ This ridiculous finale did him more ELECTION
mischief than all the arguments of his adversaries to prove his
incapacity, on account of having taken Priest’s orders, and now the
Bishop of London refuses to induct him because he is a layman. He
is ingenious enough, I doubt not, to reconcile these seeming
contradictions.[69]
Hare, joking with Ld. H. upon his small divisions, some of which
have been composed of Ld. King and himself only, says he ought to
say, ‘Ego et Rex meus.’
Marquis de la Rivière[70] has with a degree of superabundant loyal
zeal, vexed me. At dinner here he overheard me telling Calonne the
story of the Cte. d’Artois asking Pitt why a man like Tierney was not
shut up. He straight went and asked Monsieur if it was true; he, of
course, said no, and contradicted it plump. This contradiction Rivière
believes implicitly, and wrote me a formal denial of the charge. This
provokes me, as I hate being made a party in a tracasserie, and still
more hate having named any person. However, the thing is of no
importance, because I certainly credit Tierney’s statement in
preference to Monsieur’s asseveration to the contrary.
I was childish enough last night to go and see the new play; it
was almost my first sortie from my couch, but I am not punished for
the imprudence, as I have been perfectly well all day. I found Lewis
in my box; he is the only person I give leave to enter at all times. He
was just returned from Cambridge, where he had heard Ld. Henry
Petty deliver a declamation, composed in the very best taste, full of
feeling and ingenuity.
I have been reading Le Brun’s journey to Persepolis in 1704, the
ruins of which (Persepolis) seem equal to anything of antiquity in
point of solidity, size, and extent.
In future times when this little island shall have fallen into its
natural insignificancy, by being no longer possessed of a fictitious
power founded upon commerce, distant colonies, and other artificial
sources of wealth, how puzzled will the curious antiquary be when
seeking amidst the ruins of London vestiges of its past grandeur?
Acres now covered by high, thin walls of brick, making streets tirés à
cordon, divided into miserable, straitened, scanty houses, will, when
decayed, crumble into a vast heap of brick-dust. No proud arch to
survive the records of history, no aqueduct to prove how much the
public was considered by ye Governt., no lofty temples, no public
works! St. Paul’s anywhere would be a grand edifice; finer as a ruin
than in its present state, disfigured with casements, whitewashed
walls, pews, etc. The bridges alone would strike the eye as fine
remains; they are magnificent. The reason of the meanness of
everything throughout England proceeds from two causes. One is
the scantiness of materials for great works, viz., stone and marble;
second is, that commerce begets independence, from whence
springs selfishness and the wish to enjoy what you acquire. Hence
there is no ambition, no desire of perpetuating by great works fame
to posterity.
Hobhouse,[71] who dined here last week for the
first time, is a leading man among the Dissenters. THE
He and Mr. Wm. Smith have written controversial HUMANITARIAN
S
books, and he has distinguished his own sect by
the denomination of Humanitarians, not to be confounded with
Unitarians. Priestley, in fact, is the founder of their doctrines, which
doctrines they say are drawn from the New Testament in conformity
with the primitive practice of Christianity. They assert that most
points of faith in the Established Church proceed from the
corruptions of Christianity. Christ they believe to have been the son
of Joseph and Mary, but that he became inspired by a divine gift.
They deny the Trinity, original sin, and the soul; their paradise is
composed of material objects, not admitting the separation of soul
and body. The Bible they hold to be an historical chronicle, Moses
merely a legislator, the Prophets inspired darkly announcing Christ.
Sheridan by chance dined here on Friday, with a whole troop of
Frenchmen. I was afraid he would be annoyed, as he does not speak
French (which is the strangest thing imaginable for a man in his
situation), but he, on the contrary, was pleased with his party. The
company were ye Archevêque de Bordeaux, Calonne, Rivière, and
Mr. Lattin. He was diverted at seeing the Archevêque laugh heartily
at some sallies which might have shocked a bigot or a prude.
Crébillon Père, when upon his deathbed, sent for his son. ‘Ah!
mon fils, est-ce donc bien vrai que vous soyez un de ces philosophes
à la mode, qui veulent le bouleversement de la religion?’ He drew
from behind his pillow a crucifix, and pointing to it, ‘Vous voulez
donc détruire ce qu’il lui a tant coûté pour établir?’ This story
Condorcet used to be very fond of telling.
Lady Ann Hatton speculates upon marrying Lord Abercorn. Lady
Bessborough, who is all credulity, believes de bonne foi that this
marriage will take place; even I, who am incredulous, have doubts in
his favour, provided what I am told is true, such as, that Ld. A. has
taken his daughters to visit their future mother. Beauclerk thinks Ly.
Ann dreams, and imparts the vision to Lady B. for facts. Ld. Morpeth
behaves admirably, but has wisely not given in a contre projet to the
project upon the tapis. For a moment I thought the marriage story
with Ld. A. was a scheme to obtain a real one from him, but nous
verrons. Tho’ I do not particularly like Ly. Ann, I shall be glad to see
her rescued from the humiliating state she is in; neglect, poverty,
and discredit are horrid sufferances. If she closes her career with
one of the greatest matches in the kingdom, I don’t know how
young women will credit wise precepts of ‘virtue alone is rewarded,’
etc. She is 36, her appearance is so youthful that no one guesses
her to be above 24, if so much. Her figure is light, airy, and graceful;
Hare says she has a sort of vivacity that raises your expectations,
but what she says is so flat that it damps curiosity.
Bonaparte allows of the return of the emigrants; I almost fear he
extends that indulgence too far. Once restored to their possessions
they will long for their titles, and a King will be the fountain of
honour. The Duc de Liancourt has obtained all his estates which
were not sold, and those of the Duc de la Rochefoucauld; this makes
him among the number of the richest individuals in Europe.[72]
A very profligate man, who was an agent of the
Duc de Richelieu in all his vicious debaucheries, TALLEYRAND’S
said in a company one day where Talleyrand SARCASMS
(L’Évêque d’Autun) was, how much he was injured
by the calumnies propagated against him, ‘Et vraiment je n’ai jamais
fait qu’une méchanceté de ma vie.’ Talleyrand, with calm
indifference, replied, ‘Et quand finira-t-elle?’ I rather think the man’s
name was Rulhière.[73]
Talleyrand is remarkable for his cold sarcasms. When M. de
Narbonne was Minister at War, Mde. de Staël was his protecting
mistress, she guided everything; and one day at a Council of War, at
which, very improperly, she was present, each Minister gave their
opinion upon the different projects proposed for the plan of attack
by some generals. She delivered, among the rest, hers with great
warmth and decision; when she had finished she turned to
Talleyrand, and said, ‘Why, you do not say a word! What do you
think?’ He coldly replied, ‘C’est que je ne m’y entends nullement
dans les affaires militaires.’ This bitter reproof vexed her to a degree
of passion that she burst into tears; she merited the chastisement,
for ‘qu’avait-elle à faire dans ce galère-là?’
An excellent pamphlet, called Observations upon the Preface to
the intercepted correspondence, contains some witty and severe
strictures upon Canning’s highly absurd arguments contained in said
preface. It has been imputed to Grey, Lds. Wycombe, Holland, and
to Tierney. Ld. H. admired it so much that his uncle Fitzpatrick said
he could not resist telling him it was his, but it is a profound secret.
Mr. Fox is employed in writing the history of some late period in
the British annals, but whether King William’s reign or Charles II., I
am not certain, but I rather believe the latter.[74] I sent him by his
desire some books upon the subject, Ld. Grey’s narrative of the Rye
House Plot, Baxter’s Life of himself, and I have proposed to him
various other miscellaneous tracts. A philosophical history from such
a pen will be beyond praise, but I much fear his habitual indolence
will interfere too much to allow a shadow of hope that he will finish
a section even.
Ld. H. has a quality in common with him that is very serviceable
in many ways—a great enduring patience in listening to the
arguments of any fool, however great, and of always doing his best
to answer them; of never allowing himself to feel, ‘Why exert myself
for this fellow?’ Fox says he always likes to hear the opinion of a
fool, as he gets by it two opinions, that of the person who gave him
the opinion, and his own as he adopts it.
General Smith lost a great deal of money at Brookes’; to dissipate
his chagrin he walked about the room, and at length joined in a
conversation upon religion. ‘For my part,’ said he, ‘I cannot
understand what they mean with their Trinity and Holy Ghost.’ ‘I
wonder at that,’ replied General Fitzpatrick, ‘as the symbol is a
pigeon.’
The General is less remarkable for brilliant
repartees than Hare, but all he says shows a GENERAL
profound knowledge of the world, life, manners, FITZPATRICK
and character; his observations are mostly just and
expressed in the best and purest language, adorned with an
undescribable good taste. His conversation and writings remind me
of Addison. Leave out the morality and piety, and the two characters
are the same: mild, gentlemanlike, and each possessing chaste
humour. The General is by far the better poet of the two. I am told
that my taste is corrupted by that which prevails, but I think energy
of expression is oftentimes wanting in both of the above styles.
North,[75] the Bishop of Winchester’s son, Ld. H.’s old friend,
brought his wife to dine here some days ago. She is pretty rather,
but looks sour-tempered.
Bread is 17 pence the quartern loaf, coals six guineas the
chaldron, turkeys 16 shillings, capons 8s. 6d., meat dearer than
usual. During this scarcity, be it natural or artificial, we adopt the
regulations of the H. of Lords; each person in the family is limited to
a quartern loaf per week, no pastry, no fine bread for breakfast.
19th March, 1800.—A satirical poem called The Campaign is just
published; it abuses the Duke of York and the Dutch Expedition. It is
imputed to Mr. Courtenay,[76] an old member of Opposition, a man
of great coarseness, but some wit. In the House of Commons some
supporter of Mr. Pitt’s Administration complimented him on having
conducted the machine of Government with such success, in spite of
the drag chain of Opposition. Mr. Courtenay, in his reply, remarked
upon the beauty and correctness of ye metaphor, since the machine
was confessedly going downhill.
22nd March.—Erskine and Mr. Lattin (and a foolish, handsome
Irishman, Mr. Henry) dined, and were extremely entertaining
yesterday. Erskine, I have always found hitherto far from agreeable,
but yesterday was an exception. He talked strangely upon religion;
he pretends to Christianity, but the Mother Church would not take
him into her bosom. Bishops and churches, he declares, have
destroyed true religion; had he the power of Christ he would drive
the doctors out of the Temple as he did, and out of Lincoln’s Inn
besides. The Church Establishment he maintains to be the total ruin
of the simple, primitive worship. The Trinity he explains with
ingenuity, and reprobates the Incomprehensible Mystery of three
separate and individual persons.
 The little Monk Lewis has behaved like a great fool, and made
himself highly ridiculous. He sent to the Duke of Somerset and
desired he would wait upon him the next day at 1 o’clock. The Duke
obeyed the summons, and did wait upon him. ‘I understand, D. of
Somerset, that you have exposed me to the contempt of being again
blackballed by the New Club. I think the part you have acted by so
doing unbecoming the character of a friend; thus I desire our
acquaintance may drop here.’ He rung the bell, and bid the servant
open the door for the D., and thus dismissed him. The D. of S. is
remarkably good-natured, and most certainly did what he thought
Lewis would like, but, poor little man, he is very irritable and
quarrelsome, and will shortly be left not only friendless, but without
many acquaintances.
This Institution[77] of Rumford’s furnishes
ridiculous stories. The other day they tried the THE ROYAL
effect of the gas, so poetically described by INSTITUTION
Beddoes; it exhilarates the spirits, distends the vessels, and, in
short, gives life to the whole machine. The first subject was a
corpulent, middle-aged gentleman, who, after inhaling a sufficient
dose, was requested to describe to the company his sensations;
‘Why, I only feel stupid.’ This intelligence was received amidst a
burst of applause, most probably not for the novelty of the
information. Sir Coxe Hippisley was the next who submitted to the
operation, but the effect upon him was so animating that the ladies
tittered, held up their hands, and declared themselves satisfied. The
experiment to remove the popular prejudice in favour of silver
teapots failed, as the thermometer gave the lie to the Professor’s
learned dissertations, but it must have been from the malice of his
evil genius, for the fact is in his favour.
The Bishop of Killala’s[78] narrative of what passed in the town
and neighbouring district whilst the French were in possession of it
in ’98 under Humbert, is extremely interesting. It is written simply,
with a great appearance of truth and feeling. His palace was the
headquarters of the General and his officers. He speaks with highest
admiration of their humanity, civility, and incredible discipline. There
is even humour in his description of some of the scenes, particularly
that in which he describes the mixture of mirth and contempt with
which the French officer thrust indiscriminately upon the noddles of
the Irish the gaudy helmets. He yields the palm of superiority to the
English for their dexterity in pillaging and in plunder; indeed
compared with every European army, save the Papal one, it is the
only excellence in candour we can admit them to lay claim to.
Great embarkations are making at Plymouth of the Guards and
other troops. Their destination is not known, but rumour says they
go to the Mediterranean. Were I not satisfied how harmless an
English military force is against an enemy in battle array, I should
wish contrary winds to waft them leagues out of their course, if they
are destined for Egypt; but they inspire as little alarm to their
enemies as they do confidence in their countrymen, for they are, as
one of their commanders in Ireland said publicly of them,
‘Formidable only to their friends.’

This house[79] has contained many remarkable

and interesting persons; there are curious stories PICTURES BY
about its origin. Some say it was a nunnery, VAN DYKE
others, that it was built by a Cope in the reign of Philip and Mary. It
came by marriage into the possession of Rich, Earl of Holland.[80] He
was a most accomplished and gallant cavalier, and so amiable that
Charles I. conceived a jealousy against him, probably not totally
without foundation. In consequence of this he was confined by order
to his house, but his Royal mistress refused to cohabit with the King
until her favourite chamberlain was at large. During his residence
here Van Dyke passed a year with him, and probably painted some
of those portraits which now decorate most of the best collections in
England.[81] There is a very fine portrait of ye Earl of Holland, done
by this celebrated artist, in the possession of Lord Breadalbane, at
Taymouth.[82] It represents him in the prime and beauty of
manhood, arrayed in the apparel of a bridegroom, such as he was
when he represented his Royal Master at the Court of France to the
lovely Henrietta Maria. His left leg is covered with white satin, it
being the one put into bed to the bride when Royal marriages are
made by proxy. He held employments of considerable trust, but was
accounted wavering in his politics and irritable in his temper. He
retired here just when the Civil war broke out, in disgust. Clarendon
says, ‘He was visited by all the disaffected Members of Parliament,
who held frequent meetings at Holland House.’ Some time after,
when the Civil war was at its height, he offered to join the King’s
party at Oxford, but being coldly received he returned to the
Parliament forces. On 6th August, 1647, ‘The Members of Parliament
who were driven from Westminster by tumult met General Fairfax at
Holland House and subscribed to the declaration of the Army,
etc.’[83] Some ascribe his desertion of the Royal cause to his hatred
of Ld. Strafford. He gave a proof of his wish to restore it; in
consequence of which he was taken prisoner, confined to his house,
and dragged to execution the 9th of March, 1648–9. His body is
buried in Kensington Church. In the July following, Lambert, then
General of the army, fixed his headquarters here. It was restored to
the family of Rich. When the Puritans shut up public theatres, the
actors used to act at the houses of the nobility, and this house is
mentioned as having frequently been the scene of much dramatic
mirth and festivity.
Addison was tutor to the Earl of Warwick.[84] He
married the Countess, his mother, a marriage ADDISON
which made no addition to his happiness; it neither
found them nor made them equal. She always remembered her own
rank, and thought herself entitled to treat with very little ceremony
the tutor of her son. Rowe’s ballad of despairing love is said to have
been written either before or after marriage upon this memorable
pair, and it is certain Addison has left behind him no encouragement
for ambitious love. There is a pretty little poem by Rowe upon the
occasion of his first visit to Holland House to see the Countess of
Warwick. It is said by some author, “Holland House is a large
mansion, but could not contain Mr. Addison, the Countess of
Warwick, and one guest, Peace.” During his residence here the
house was frequented by the wits and poets of the time, Pope,
Tickell, Steele. Upon his deathbed he sent for Gay, with whom he
had had little previous intercourse. He told him he had injured him,
but would recompense him if he recovered: ‘What the injury was, he
did not explain.’ Lord Warwick was a disorderly young man, and had
received without heed the advice of Addison, who used his utmost to
reclaim his morals and mend his life; when he found himself dying
he sent for him, ‘That he might see how a Christian can die.’[85] He
expired under this roof in 1719.
Thou hill, whose brow the antique structures grace
Rear’d by bold chiefs of Warwick’s noble race,
Why, once so loved, whene’er thy bower appears,
O’er my dim eyeballs glance the sudden tears!
How sweet were once thy prospects fresh and fair,
Thy sloping walks and unpolluted air!
How sweet the glooms beneath thy aged trees,
Thy noontide shadows, and thy evening breeze!
His image thy forsaken bowers restore;
Thy walks and airy prospects charm no more;
No more the summer in thy glooms allay’d
Thy evening breezes, and thy noonday shade.
Tickell, on the death of Addison.

And again in his Kensington Garden:—

Where now the skies high Holland House invades
And short-lived Warwick sadden’d all the shades.

Johnson repeats with great indignation Mandeville’s observation

upon Addison. It was that he appeared to him like a parson in a tye
wig: a laughable and, I daresay, a true remark.
In 1762, Henry Fox, Secretary of State (afterwards Lord Holland),
inhabited, and shortly after purchased this house.[86] During his life
it was frequently the resort of the great politicians. Sir Robert
Walpole, unless he died before, was certainly a frequent visitor, at
least he was a friend; Lds. Bute and Chatham, etc. Lady Sarah
Lennox resided with her sister Ly. H.[87] at the period of the present
King’s love, a love that might have elevated her to the throne, but
for her levity and total disregard for appearances. Both Ld. and Ly.
Holland died here. During his long illness he one day forbade
admittance to all his friends who might call, with the exception only
of George Selwyn, ‘For if I am alive I shall be very happy to see him,
and if I am dead he will be very glad to see me,’ alluding to George
Selwyn’s extraordinary passion for beholding death in any shape. He
rarely missed the sight of an execution. He was supposed to have
incensed George II. extremely by having indulged this curiosity
about Queen Caroline, to obtain a sight of whose corpse he
concealed himself under the bed, and during the absence at night of
the attendants examined the body. George II. had such an aversion
to him that he always called him ‘That rascal George.’ Selwyn once
overheard him and exclaimed, ‘What can that mean? Rascal! Oh! I
forgot that it was a hereditary title of the Georges.’ The King (George
III.) the year after he had been at G. Selwyn’s house at Matson
(famous in history for the escape of Charles I.) went mad. G. Selwyn
upon this observed, ‘that it was odd enough that the only two Kings
that had visited Matson had both lost their heads.’
This singular marriage of Lady Ann’s is going on
rapidly, nay, the nuptials are to take place in the LORD
course of this week; but till the holy knot is tied, I ABERCORN’S
confess such mystery hangs upon the affair that I MARRIAGE
shall continue withholding my full belief. He consults Ly. B. about the
equipages, fêtes that are to be given upon the occasion, etc., and
yet insists upon her keeping her promise of secrecy, and even goes
so far as to beg she will contradict the report if she hears it. He was
always supposed to be a little cracked, and his pride is beyond belief.
When travelling in Italy during the life of his uncle and he was only
Mr. Hamilton, to distinguish himself he left upon his cards,
‘D’Hamilton, Comte Héréditaire d’Abercorn.’ His language is so outré
from the manners of common life that it would appear caricatured
and chargé’d even upon the stage. Should the union really take
place, the first step will be a rupture between Ly. Ann, his daughters,
and Miss Copley their aunt, as Ly. A. is both violent and peevish, and
little disposed to submit to the gêne of bienséance with regard to
them.
I hear from my dear Webby frequently. The others I know are
well, but poor Harriet is placed in a cheap school, and will be
educated among people and with ideas that certainly are not
adapted to her way of life I hope and trust in future.
17th April, 1800.—Abbé de Lille to-day shone. He aimed not at
proving himself a political prophet: he contented himself with being
a pleasant companion and a poet unique. In conversation he was
very amusing; he told several stories about Voltaire, with whom he
had been intimate in the early part of his life. The Collège de
Montaigne was remarkable for its filthiness; the régent of it, when
the écoliers were to act a play, was puzzled at their choice. It was
Mérope. The female name offended him, and he altered it to
Méropus: upon which Voltaire said it was in compliment of the place
to call it Mère au puce, it being the foyer of dirt. Necker’s conduct in
France, he said, was exactly like that of a Curé, who at a jovial
dinner heard the bell ringing to Vespers, upon which he immediately
chanted the Psalm of Deus in adjutorium meum intende, etc.; the
people made the response Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui sancto; a
man next to the Curé gave him a soufflet, saying if he had not
begun the people would not have sung. The application to Necker
was that he first sounded the alarm and roused the people of
France. At the beginning of the Revolution, when things that now
seem insignificant were looked upon as of great importance, two
men were overheard talking of the calamities of the country in the
Thuileries. One said, ‘Ah! bon Dieu, c’est la fin du monde.’ ‘Bah! bah!’
replied the other, ‘Comment donc, Monsr., il y a des exemples?’
He recited his translation of the fourth book of the Aeneid; the
tender passages prove his ignorance of the sentiment he expresses.
The famous tirade is admirably rendered.
Lord Abercorn’s singular union has at length
taken place contrary to every plausible speculation. LORD
A few days before it was declared he confided to a ABERCORN’S
friend his intended marriage, without naming the MARRIAGE
lady. ‘The world will be surprised, do not contradict the report, nor
deny it.’ As soon as the event was public the Queen sent Ly. Ely to
Miss Copley[88] to desire her to come to Buckingham House. ‘I hear
that in consequence of this business, that you intend quitting Ld. A.’s
house; remember, Miss Copley, that the worse the affair is, the
stronger is the necessity of continuing with your nieces, and
remember you have my advice and sanction.’ This maternal, majestic
speech had its effect. Sir Lionel Copley told me both of these
anecdotes.
The day of the marriage Ly. A. was sitting with Ly. Bess. talking of
the event that was fixed for 8 o’clock in the ensuing eve., when their
conversation was interrupted by the entrance of the porter to inform
them, ‘That Lord Abercorn had just called and left word that Ly. Ann
must make haste, as she was to be married at 4.’ This intelligence so
communicated surprised them, but compliance and punctuality are
indispensable qualities where Ld. A. is concerned, therefore they
obeyed. As soon as the ceremony was over, which was performed at
Lord Sudley’s,[89] Ld. A. made the Marchioness a low bow, handed
his eldest daughter out to his carriage, and went and dined with his
own family, whilst the Marchioness went and dined in Cavendish
Square. He came with a cavalcade of servants and flambeaux to
bear off his prize to the Priory.
He is haughty and capricious, with enough of vanity to make him
do a generous action, and with a dash of madness to make him do a
lively one. Ly. Bess. went down for a few days; she described an
evening between the new married pair, which was an exact
reproduction of a scene in The Taming of the Shrew. To cure a
headache he made her play blindman’s buff, and the more she
complained the more violent he made the sport. A person remarked