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
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