Cavendish

“ Cavendish was contented to regard himself as one who had failed in life. He saw his younger brother, William [q. v.] , succeeding and growing prosperous, while he himself grew poorer. In 1558 he granted his manor of Cavendish Overhill to his son William, a London mercer, for 40l. a year; his grandson, William, sold it in 1569. From this time the record of the family is lost. It followed the example of its ancestor and fell into decay. Cavendish himself died in 1561 or 1562.
Cavendish's work, the ‘Life of Cardinal Wolsey,’ long remained in manuscript. ”

“ You do not mind waiting a moment?"
Cavendish shook his head, and rising, the attorney disappeared in the direction of the office. Cavendish heaved a sigh of relief; now he was free, absolutely free, to do as he chose. His disappearance would mean nothing to his small circle of casual friends, and when he was settled elsewhere he could notify the only two men who were concerned with his whereabouts—his valet, Valois, and the agent handling the estate. He thought of beginning a letter to John, but hesitated, and when Enright returned he found him with pen in hand. ”

“ Sir William Cavendish began the world the younger son of a family of some respectability, but of no great wealth or consequence; and he left it, at about the age of fifty, a knight, a privy counsellor, and the owner of estates which, managed and improved as they were by his [24] prudent relict, furnished two houses with the means of supporting in becoming splendour the very first rank in the British peerage.
But an ambitious man is not to be contented; and men do form erroneous estimates of their own deserts: let us see, then, if the work will not supply us with something more conclusive. ”

“ TWO years before the birth of Priestley, and in the reign of George II., there was born at Nice, on 10th October 1731, a son to Lord Charles Cavendish, and a nephew of the third Duke of Devonshire. The family is an old one, and traces its descent to Sir John Cavendish, Lord Chief Justice in the reign of Edward III., and to Robert de Gernon a compatriot of the Norman Conqueror; and the first peer was son to William Cavendish, usher to Cardinal Wolsey. The mother of the Hon. Henry Cavendish died when he was two years old, and of his boyhood days nothing is known. ”

“ There mustn't be the slightest sound made."
Cavendish thrust his head cautiously through the door, the revolver gripped in his hand; Miss Donovan, struggling to keep her nerves steady, touched the coat of her companion, fearful of being alone. The passage-way was dark, except for the little bars of light streaming out through the slits in the stone above the cell doors. These, however, were sufficient to convince Cavendish that no guards were in the immediate neighbourhood. He felt the grip of the girl's fingers on his coat, and reached back to clasp her hand. ”

“ A laugh from the detectives silenced him while Cavendish ended any fleeting doubts with a contemptuous gaze.
"You can't fool a man on his own cousin, youngster," he said flatly.
"The idea is absurd."
The crime unquestionably was an outside job; the window opening on the fire-escape had been jimmied, the marks left being clearly visible. ”

“ He did so, and Cavendish strapped the stout belt about them, winding it in and out until he had sure purchase. He drew it so tightly the fellow winced.
"It hurts, señor," she said, satisfied. "Well, to hurt you a little is better than what you planned for me. Now lead on. No, listen first. I know who you are and your power here. That is why we took this chance of making you prisoner. We are desperate; it is either your life, or ours, señor. You are an outlaw, with a price on your head, and you realise what chances one will take to escape. Now there is just one opportunity given you to live." ”

“ Sir Charles Cavendish married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Cuthbert, Lord Ogle, and Baroness Ogle in her own right. He left issue by his first wife, Margaret Kitson, three sons—Charles, who died an infant; William, created Duke of Newcastle; and Sir Charles, of Bolsover. Dying in 1617, the estates passed to the eldest surviving son, William Cavendish, who became one of the greatest men of the age. ”

“ Cavendish was wholly devoted to Wolsey’s interests, and also he saw in this appointment an opportunity to gratify his master-passion, a craving “to see and be acquainted with strangers, in especial with men in honour and authority.” He was faithful to his master in disgrace, and showed the courage of the “loyal servitor.” It is plain that he enjoyed Wolsey’s closest confidence to the end, for after the cardinal’s death George Cavendish was called before the privy council and closely examined as to Wolsey’s latest acts and words. ”

“ Although Cavendish contributed comparatively little to the sum of geographical knowledge by accurate reports of any original discoveries he had made, apart from the moral aspect of the principal incidents in his career, he was indisputably a remarkable man, and rarely since the78 world began has a young man of only twenty-eight years achieved such a record as he had done, at the end of his circumnavigation, illustrative of daring bravery, indomitable perseverance, and manly endurance. ”

“ Cavendish, the faithful secretary of Wolsey, rode on from Leicester to London, to announce the decease of the cardinal to the king. He found him engaged in a match of archery in the park of Hampton Court, that magnificent pile raised and presented to him by that magnificent minister. When the sport was finished, and Cavendish had delivered his solemn message, Henry seemed considerably touched by it, but almost immediately began to inquire with great eagerness after a sum of £1,500, which some one had told him Wolsey had secreted in some private place. ”

“ Hobbes's translation of Thucydides is dedicated to Cavendish, and from 1634 to 1637 the young man travelled abroad with the philosopher. He was created a knight of the Bath at Charles I's coronation in 1625. Cavendish was both wealthy and handsome, and the Countess of Leicester was anxious for him to marry Lady Dorothy Sidney, Waller's Sacharissa; but the scheme came to nothing, and Elizabeth, second daughter of William Cecil, second earl of Salisbury, became Cavendish's wife. Cavendish was lord-lieutenant of Derbyshire from 13 Nov. ”

“ Although Cavendish wrote much, he had an innate dislike to publicity. He published few papers, destroyed many, and therefore some of his brilliant researches were lost to science. His dread of popularity, want of laudable ambition, lack of enthusiasm, and morbid shyness compelled him to refrain from publishing many important scientific papers. Will there ever be an adequate life of Cavendish? ”

“ Cavendish was perfectly methodical in all his actions, and whenever he borrowed one of his own books he duly left the receipt in its place. The only relief to his solitary life was afforded by the meetings of the Royal Society, of which he was elected a Fellow in 1760; by the occasional receptions at the residence of Sir Joseph Banks, P.R.S. ”

“ My imagination has always been a mighty factor in my estimation of the characters of others, and I have often wondered how true to facts I might be, but verily it seemed to me that after Madam Cavendish arrived at Cavendish Court the influence of that great strength of character, which, when it exists in a woman, intimidates every man, no matter who he may be, made itself evident in the very king's highway approaching Cavendish Court, and increased as the distance diminished, according to some of my mathematical rules. ”

“ I shall never forget my first sight of Mary Cavendish. Her tall, slender form, outlined against the bright light; the vivid sense of slumbering fire that seemed to find expression only in those wonderful tawny eyes of hers, remarkable eyes, different from any other woman’s that I have ever known; the intense power of stillness she possessed, which nevertheless conveyed the impression of a wild untamed spirit in an exquisitely civilised body—all these things are burnt into my memory. I shall never forget them. ”

“ Cavendish is one of the most eccentric figures in the history of science, being widely known in his own time for his immense wealth and brilliant intellect, and also for his peculiarities and his morbid sensibility, which made him dread society, and probably did much in determining his career. Fortunately for him, and incidentally for the cause of science, he was able to pursue laboratory investigations without being obliged to mingle with his dreaded fellow-mortals, his every want being provided for by the immense fortune inherited from his father and an uncle. ”

“ All I know is, he was not Frederick Cavendish. But his being found there dead in Cavendish's apartments, and identified, puts us in an awful hole, if the rest of this affair should ever become known. Do you see? The charge would be murder, and how are we going to hold the real Cavendish alive, and not have it come out?"
"The other one—the stiff—wasn't Cavendish?"
"Certainly not; you know where Cavendish is."
"I never saw Fred Cavendish; I wouldn't know him from Adam's off-ox.
I've got the fellow Beaton turned over to me."
"Well, he's the man; the dead one isn't." ”

“ Evidently the Spaniards, as Cavendish had anticipated, were lulled to security by the supposition that the English, having secured the plate fleet, would have no reason or incentive for returning, and fondly hoped that, as soon as the repairs to the ships were finished, they would sail away; and that would be the last they would see of the heretic dogs.
But they little knew the character of Cavendish; he was not the man to abandon any enterprise upon which he had once entered. It was a principle of his to inflict the greatest possible amount of damage on the enemy that he could ”

“ Realising that Broadway was very dear to the young man, Enright had made allowances, until, weary of waiting, he decided to get into the game himself and to this end had despatched the note, to which Cavendish had replied both by telephone and note.
"He ought to be here now," murmured Mr. Enright sweetly, looking at his watch, and soon the expected visitor was ushered in. Arising to his feet the attorney extended a moist, pudgy hand.
"Quite prompt, John," he greeted. "Take the chair there—and pardon me a moment." ”

“ Cavendish filled his ships with as much of this as they could carry and burnt the remainder with the captured ships. On 25 May Cavendish arrived at the island of Puna in the gulf of Guayaquil; here they remained eleven days, hauled the Desire and Content on shore for repairs, sank a large Spanish ship lying at anchor, with all her furniture, and burned the town, out of revenge for an unsuccessful sortie of the Spaniards and natives upon a foraging party wherein forty of the enemy were slain, with the loss of twelve English. ”

“ Cavendish at once wrote a letter to Lord Hunsdon, in which occurs the following brief relation of his achievements:—"It hath pleased the Almighty to suffer me to encompass all the whole globe of the world. I navigated along the coasts of Chili, Peru, and New Spain, where I made great spoils. I burned and sank nineteen sail of ships, great and small. All the towns and cities that ever I landed at I burned and spoiled, and, had I not been discovered upon the coast, I had taken a great quantity of treasure.... ”

“ He received a liberal education, and was endowed by his father with considerable landed property in Suffolk. His character and learning seem to have recommended him to the special notice of Cardinal Wolsey, who “took him to be about his own [1331] person, as gentleman usher of his chamber, and placed a special confidence in him.” George Cavendish was succeeded by his son William, and ultimately the manor of Cavendish-Overhall passed to William Downes. Sir Thomas Cavendish was one of the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and died unmarried. ”

“ The following day Cavendish landed on the island with seventy men, and marched to the town of Santa Maria, where he was received in a friendly way by the chief natives, who also fancied that they were their masters the Spaniards. Here was a church with several storehouses near it, in which had been collected the tribute of provisions destined for the Spanish Governor. These stores, consisting of maize, potatoes, and dried dog-fish, were at once unsuspectingly handed over to the English, the inhabitants adding presents of hogs and fowls in large quantities. ”

“ Cavendish straightened himself suddenly, laid down his knife and fork, and laughed shortly.
“It sounds well,” he said bitterly, “but you don’t understand, Barclay. It’s too late! I don’t care, and if I did, I couldn’t shake the drink to save my immortal soul. I’m steady enough for the time being, because I’m hungry and because I’m being fed. But I’ve tried the other game too often. I know what it means. I wouldn’t promise you to quit, because I don’t want to lie to you, and that’s all it would be. When the craving comes back, I’ll go down before it like a row of tenpins. ”

“ Claim of Thomas Cavendish.
When there are only two claimants upon any property, if the pretensions of one can be shown to be groundless, those of the other seem to be established as a necessary consequence. But here we have a third party. Beside Sir William and his elder brother George, a claimant has been found in a Thomas Cavendish. In the account of Wolsey given in the Athenæ [33] , Wood calls the author by this name: and Dodd, a Catholic divine, who published a Church History of England in 3 vols. ”