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LVIII.

Chancellor

persists in

his asser

tion of

he used

sented.

insult me), that the language imputed to me, in a conver- СНАР. sation with Mrs. Douglas, was a gross misrepresentation; and I persist in that assertion, notwithstanding an affidavit The Lord made before your Lordship, as a magistrate, by Mrs. Douglas. Your Lordship says that Mrs. Douglas is a most respectable lady. I do not mean to controvert that the words fact, but I am very sorry she forgot that character, and being misyour Lordship did not remind her of it, when she made reprethe supposed substance of a conversation pressed upon me in my study the subject of an affidavit. If Mrs. Douglas conceived that I had said anything injurious to your feelings or character, she ought to have apprised me of it, and to have given me an opportunity of explaining myself and disabusing her. As to calling you an emancipator and an enemy of the Protestant Ascendency and Government, I profess I never knew, and do not at this moment care, what are your sentiments upon that subject-whether you agree with Lord Liverpool or Lord Castlereagh; but I am perfectly sure I never used any such expressions, and the rest of this garbled conversation is, I am convinced, equally misrepresented. And now, my Lord, I wish you to understand that I am taking this trouble, not to satisfy your Lordship-for I think you have no claim on me whatever, nor to prevent your having recourse to any measure you may think proper-but to complain how abominably I am treated by your Lordship and Mrs. Douglas, by supposing me so disqualified for the situation and office I hold in this country, as to be capable, wantonly and unprovoked, of insulting any gentleman.

'I am your Lordship's humble servant,

'MANNERS.'
92

Talbot,

This terminated the correspondence, and Lord Cloncurry did not press the subject until the Viceroyalty of when

1 Yet the statement of Mrs. Douglas receives strong corroboration from the details of conversation with the Chancellor, contained in the petition of Mr. O'Hanlon.-Ante, p. 348.

2 Personal Recollections, p. 264.

Viceroy, has the

CHAP.
LVIII.

wishes of the Leeson

family complied with.

The King's

landing.

The King speaks his thanks.

Earl Talbot in 1817, when the compliment was at once accorded to Mr. and Miss Leeson.

His Majesty George IV. landed at Howth, on Sunday, August 12, and was received with shouts of The King, God bless him.' He recognised a famous Irish sportsman and highly-accomplished Irish gentleman, Denis Bowes Daly, with whom he warmly shook hands. But Mr. Daly soon found that while paying loyal respect to his Sovereign a member of the swell-mob had been making free with his watch, which he never saw again. The King then got to the carriage in waiting, and drove to the Viceregal Lodge, Phoenix Park, accompanied by a cavalcade of his Irish subjects. When he reached the Lodge, he thanked the assembled multitude in these words ::

"This is one of the happiest days of my life. I have long wished to visit you; my heart has always been with the Irish. From the day it first beat I have loved Ireland. This day has shown me that I am loved by my Irish subjects. Rank, station, honours, are nothing, but to feel that I live in the hearts of my Irish subjects is to me exalted happiness. Go and do by me as I shall do by you-drink my health in a bumper; I shall drink all yours in a bumper of good Irish whiskey."1

The National Review, p. 9.

CHAPTER LIX.

LIFE OF LORD MANNERS, LORD CHANCELLOR-CONCLUDED.

CHAP.

LIX.

Visit of

THERE was great enthusiasm throughout Ireland in general, and Dublin in particular, when in the year of our Lord 1821, King George IV. visited this part of his dominions, George IV. which he loved like his bride. Since the eventful period to Ireland. when James II. and William III. measured swords on the banks of the Boyne, no monarch had set foot upon our land, and George IV. had in his youthful days evinced a warm sympathy for the Irish people. The consequence was that, from the palace of the peer to the hut of the peasant, the coming of the King was hailed with deepfelt joy. I was then a mere child, but my father posted for our home, more than a hundred miles away, to swell the crowd of loyal subjects bent on giving his Majesty a cead mille fealthe. The party divisions which had so long divided Ireland into two hostile camps were laid aside. Sir Abraham Bradley King, the Lord Mayor of the then exclusively Protestant Corporation of Dublin, freely invited Catholics to the civic feasts of the Mansion House, when the room now known as the Round Room was specially built to entertain his Majesty in a fitting manner; while four hundred of the élite of the land, Protestant and Catholic, dined together, at Morrison's Hotel, on the anniversary of the King's coronation. If such was the effect of a Royal visit of very brief duration, would it not be politic if these visits did not resemble so closely angels' visits, being both few and far between.

The Lord Chancellor was, from his position and rank, a very prominent personage during the Royal visit; but as he could not divest himself of his dislike to the

CHAP.
LIX.

time of

peace.

Public entry.

Catholics, he shunned, as much as he could consistently with respect for his Royal master, coming in contact with members of that creed.

George IV. It is a noticeable fact that George IV. was the first the first English English sovereign who did not engage in war during his King stay in Ireland. Each monarch who previously came to who visited Ireland in Ireland-Henry II., John, Richard II., James II., and William III.-all witnessed the Irish and English in battle-array, and it was most satisfactory to find that no event occurred during the King's visit in 1821 to disturb the harmony and good fellowship which pervaded every class and creed. No wonder many a bumper was drained in honour of so jovial a monarch. His manner was so captivating, his words so happily chosen, and his allusions so felicitous, he quite charmed all ranks in Ireland. On August 17 he made his public entry into Dublin. The streets were spanned by triumphal arches, banners waved from every house, streamers fluttered in many a window, and bright faces were everywhere. The King wore a gay military uniform with the order and collar of St. Patrick, and a rosette of shamrocks in his hat, that attracted every eye, and won Paddy's soft heart. In Cavendish Row an arch with gates was improvised. Here the Lord Mayor, kneeling with head uncovered, presented the city keys and sword to the King, which were recommitted to his care. Earl Talbot, Lord Lieutenant, then knelt and presented the Sword of State, which the King taking said, 'I receive it, that I may again present it to you, my Talbot.' When the procession reached Sackville Street, the noblest street in his Majesty's dominions, and the enormous size and grandeur of the welcome he met with, could there alone be properly estimated, the King no longer restrained his feelings, which broke forth. want words,' he said to those who thronged around, 'I want words, to tell how my heart responds to the affectionate feelings of this excellent and generous people. I shall love them for ever; they shall ever dwell in my

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The National Review, p. 9.

LIX.

thoughts and in my heart. I was not prepared for this CHAP. enthusiastic and affectionate welcome. I thought I knew my Irish subjects, but I find there was much room to know them better. They shall profit by my improved knowledge of them while ever I live. The beauty of the city, and the splendour of its buildings, perfectly surprise me.'1 In a similar spirit of unmixed gratitude and surprise, all the other Royal pageants passed over the Royal mind. O'Connell, at parting, presented the King with a laurel crown, and the King's parting words are worth recording: 'I have never felt sensations of more delight than since I came to Ireland. I cannot expect to feel any superior, nor many equal, until I have the happiness of The King's seeing you again. Whenever an opportunity offers where- to Erin. in I can serve Ireland, I shall seize on it with eagerness. I am a man of few words. Short adieux are best. God bless you, my friends; God bless you all.' Such was the short and memorable visit of King George IV. to Ireland during the Lord Chancellorship of Lord Manners.

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farewell

Manners

Green,

While Lord Manners held the Great Seal of Ireland, Lord he occupied the spacious mansion, 51 Stephen's Green in SteEast, now the Museum of Irish Industry, under the direc- phen's tion of Sir Robert Kane. Here Lord Manners kept great Dublin. state. It was quite a procession,' I am informed by a learned friend, 'when he marched to church on Sundays. He would never take out his horses on Sundays, and always walked to Peter's Church. He was preceded by his ten servants walking two and two, and then came Lord and Lady Manners. He was very charitable, and on every Sunday, both Lord and Lady Manners placed each a pound on the plate.'

The Lord Chancellor was twice married. His first marriage took place in 1803, when he married Anne, daughter of Sir John Copley, of Sprotborough, in Yorkshire. Lady Manners died in August, 1814. The Lord Chancellor did Death of not remain long a widower. In the following year he was first Lady captivated by the charms of a blooming daughter of

The National Review, p. 10.

Manners.

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