Duchess of Newcastle

“ Elia says, ‘where a book is good and rare, such a book, for instance, as the life of the Duke of Newcastle, by his Duchess, no casket is sufficiently durable to honour and keep safe such a jewel.’
In 1643, the year in which Lord Newcastle lost his first wife, Margaret Lucas went to the Court of Henrietta Maria, where, she tells us, her gravity, reticent, and virtuous timidity, which ill assorted with the courtly manners of the period, caused her to be regarded as a simpleton. ”

“ She did not relish the life, but remained on, by her mother’s wish; and when the Queen fled to France, Margaret Lucas accompanied her.
In 1645, Newcastle, being in Paris, saw, and loved the Maid of Honour, who became his wife. The union was most happy. ‘They loved each other truly, and had many pursuits and tastes in common, notwithstanding which a story is told that the Duke, being once complimented on the talent of his wife, replied, ‘Sir, a wise woman is a very foolish thing.’
The Duchess was of graceful person, reserved, and reticent. ”

“ One daughter of the Godolphin branch of the Marlborough family remained. This was Harriott, married, as we have seen, in 1717, to the extolled and favourite minister, Pelham Holles, Duke of Newcastle, one of the most liberal statesmen of those venal days. To his grace the Duchess had, as we have already seen, addressed her complaints of the Duke of St. Albans, and his siege in Windsor Park; and she could not have bespoken the interest of any one more able to promote her wishes. The Duke had been a steady promoter of the Hanoverian interests. ”

“ In defence o' wor country, wor laws, an' wor King,
May a Peercy still lead us to battle;
An' monny a brisk lad o' the nyem may there spring
Fra Northumberland, free o' Newcassel.
[10] Baron Prudhoe, of the Royal Navy.
[11] The Duchess of Northumberland.
THE DUCHESS AND MAYORESS. Written in September, 1819.
Ye Northumberland lads and ye lasses,
Come and see what at Newcastle passes,
Here's a damnable rout,
At a tea and turn out,
And no one knows how to bring matters about. ”

“ The titles of Earl of Montague and Viscount Monthermer succeeded to that of a simple baron. A second marriage added to his wealth; for his first wife having died in giving birth to his only surviving son, he resolved to acquire, by an union with the Duchess of Albemarle, a revenue of six thousand pounds additional to his wealth, and, moreover, to unite his family with the house of Newcastle. The Duchess of Albemarle, whom he for these interested motives addressed, was the heiress of Henry Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, and relict of Christopher March, Duke of Albemarle. ”

“ Elizabeth Percy, Duchess of Somerset, daughter and sole heiress of Joceline Percy, Earl of Northumberland. This lady had been affianced to Henry Cavendish, Earl of Ogle, only son of Henry Duke of Newcastle, but his early death, in 1680, prevented the completion of the nuptials. The Duchess afterwards supplanted the Duchess of Marlborough in the confidence of Queen Anne.—Granger, vol. ”

“ Lord Chesterfield depicts in the Duke of Newcastle an obsequious, industrious, and timorous man, whom the public put below his level, in not allowing him even mediocre talents, which Chesterfield graciously assigns to him; a minister who delighted in the insignia of office; in the hurry, and in the importance which that hurry gives, of business; as one jealous of power, and eager for display. “His levées,” says the Earl, “were his pleasure and his triumph;” ”

“ This constancy and permanency in the family relations were in themselves inestimable boons to the child, who thus grew up in an atmosphere of familiar affection and unshaken trust, for the absence of which nothing in the world could have compensated. Another lady of higher rank was of necessity appointed governess to the Queen in 1831, when she became next heir to the throne. This lady, the Dowager Duchess of Northumberland, appears also as the Queen's friend in after life. ”

“ By his first wife he had ten children, of Whom one son, Henry, survived him and became 2nd duke of Newcastle, dying in 1691 without male issue; the title then became extinct and the estates passed to his third daughter Margaret, wife of John Holles, earl of Clare, created duke of Newcastle in 1694. ”

“ She could be gentle and tender enough in certain moods; but she was used to taking the lead with her mother.
"People—men or women—with Royal blood in their veins must think of that point of view," returned the Grand Duchess. She was not Royal, save by marriage, though her long since dead father, the English Duke 9 of Northminster, claimed ancestry from kings and had married a near relation of Queen Victoria. But he had been one of the richest men in the world at the time of his daughter's marriage; and the exchequer of Eltzburg-Neuwald had sadly needed replenishing. ”

“ It has been said that Earl Grey, the prime minister, obstinately opposed all idea of inviting the Princess to be present. But the grounds for such opposition are so unapparent that it is difficult to give credit to them at all. By others it has been asserted that the Duchess of Northumberland, the governess of the Princess, in the exercise of a superior and enlightened judgment, and in consideration of the then alleged delicate health of her young charge, advised that her pupil should not be present at the coronation of King William and Queen Adelaide. ”

“ The Duke of Newcastle was a mean-spirited and ill-favoured nobleman, whose eccentricities rendered him the laughing-stock of the Court, and he had made himself especially obnoxious to the Prince and Princess of Wales. All this the King knew full well, and to appoint him godfather to the Prince’s child was a studied insult. The Prince of Wales was furious, but his royal sire refused to give way, and the christening took place, as arranged, in the bedroom of the Princess of Wales at St. James’s. ”

“ The same enthusiasm was shown everywhere in Canada, and the Duke of Newcastle writing to the Queen on the 23rd of September, from Dwight in Illinois, after he had crossed into the United States, thus summed up the results of the visit: "Now that the Canadian visit is concluded, the Duke of Newcastle may pronounce it eminently successful, and may venture to offer Her Majesty his humble but very hearty congratulations. He does not doubt that future years will clearly demonstrate the good that has been done. The attachment to the Crown has been greatly cemented.... ”

“ As for example, A Man, or the like Creature, doth not appear when he is old, as when he was young; nor when he is sick, as when he is well in health; no, nor when he is cold, as when he is hot. Nor do they appear in several Passions alike: for, though Man can best perceive the Alteration of his own Kind, or Sort; yet, other Creatures have several Appearances, as well as Man; some of which, Man may perceive, though not all, being of a different sort. And not only Animals, but Vegetables, and Elements, have altered Appearances, and many that are subject to Man's perception. ”

“ Passions, unquiet Humors, Grief, Pain, Sadness, Sickness, and the like; through which, Man seems to be more restless, than any other Creature: but, whether the cause be in the Manner, or Form of Man's Composition, or occasioned by some Irregularities; I will leave to those who are wiser than I, to judg. ”

“ Concerning Passions, Madam, I have given my opinion at large in my Book of Philosophy, and am of your Authors mind, that Passions are made in the Heart, but not by an Immaterial spirit, but by the Rational soul which is material; and there is no doubt, but that many Passions, as Fear, Jealousie &c. arise against our will and appetite ”

“ After the death of Catharine Parr, the manor was bestowed on the Duke of Northumberland by Edward VI. On the accession of Mary, the duke was impeached, attainted of high treason, and beheaded in 1553.
Jane, Duchess of Northumberland, was a most singular instance of the vicissitudes of fortune, having been the wife of one of the greatest men of that age, she lived to see her husband lose his head on a scaffold; to see one son share his father’s fate, another die in a prison, and the rest of her children live only by permission. ”

“ While foes vainly threaten, and faction may rave,
Our Union Flag still in triumph shall wave;
And whether as few or as many we be,
Like true honest Freemen we still will be free.
The fam'd Corporation of our good old town,
Unsullied, still onward shall bear its renown;
In loyalty ever the foremost we've been,
To drink in a bumper—good health to the Queen.
Hurrah for Old England, her Queen, and her laws!
Hurrah for all hearts that are true in the cause!
Hurrah for Newcastle! Hurrah for the Mayor!
Hurrah for the Tyne—its banks bustling and fair! ”

“ But since I am not able to conceive what his Gas is, being a term invented by him self, I will briefly declare my own opinion, which is, That Snow, Ice, and Hail, in my judgment, are made in the like manner, as Passions or Colours are made and raised in Man; for a sad discourse, or a cruel object will make a Man pale and cold, and a fearful object, will make him tremble; whereas a wanton and obscene discourse will make some red and hot. ”

“ But this is to be noted, That the more Changes and Alterations the Rational and Sensitive Motions make, the more variety of Passions and Appetites the Man hath: also, the quicker the Motions are, the sharper Appetite, and the quicker Wit, Man hath. But, as all the Human Senses are not bound to one Organ; so all Knowledges are not bound to one Sense, no more than all the Parts of Matter to the composition of one particular Creature: but, by some of the Rational and Sensitive actions, we may perceive the difference of some of the Sensitive and Rational actions ”

“ The Parts of my Mind could not possibly, being Parts of a Purgatory World, conceive the happy condition of all Creatures in the Regular World; but only, conceiving there was no Irregularities, they did also conceive, that all Creatures there, must be in perfection; and that the Elemental Creatures were purer, without drossie mixtures; so that their Earth must needs be so fruitful, that it produces all sorts of excellent Vegetables, without the help of Art; and their Minerals as pure, as all sorts of Stone that are transparent, and as hard as Diamonds ”

“ As for the Loadstone, it is not more wonderful in attracting Iron, than Beauty, which admirably attracts the Optick Perception of Human Creatures: and who knows, but the North and South Air may be the most proper Air for the Respiration of the Loadstone; and, that Iron may be the most proper Food for it. But, by reason there hath been so many Learned Men puzled in their Opinions concerning the several Effects of the Loadstone, I dare not venture to treat of the Nature, and Natural Effects of that Mineral ”

“ Nor is it easy to fancy the brilliance of the scene in the quiet place when it was lined from floor to ceiling with tier upon tier of seats for the noblest in the land, when every inch of standing-room had its fit occupant, and a princely gathering was grouped before the glittering altar to hear a Queen plight her troth.
St. James's has still a royal resident in the sole surviving member of the great family of George III., the venerable Duchess of Cambridge, who lives in the north wing of the palace. ”

“ Life had not been quite so smooth with the Baroness since the Queen’s marriage, and there were occasions when she was subjected to hitherto unknown criticisms. The Duchess of Northumberland once sent by her some communication to Victoria, which was never transmitted, and this caused the Duchess to make a personal explanation to the Queen, and ask why her message had received no notice. ”

“ I was, perhaps, too scrupulous about seeming officious or jealous of the predilection shown to the Duchess. Experience had taught me the inutility of representing consequences, and I had no wish to quarrel with the Queen. Indeed, there was a degree of coldness towards me on the part of Her Majesty for having gone so far as I had done. It was not until after the birth of the Duc de Normandie, her third child, in March, 1785, that her friendship resumed its primitive warmth.
"As the children grew, Her Majesty's attachment for their governess grew with them. ”

“ In the portrait at Hardwick Hall she is represented as a comely, roguish-looking matron in full maturity: a better idea of her character may be won from the effigy lying on the tomb she erected for herself in All Saints' Church at Derby. There one [31] sees a face not unbeautiful, but cold and masterful in the extreme.
It was her grandson, William, first Duke of Newcastle, who first gave lustre to Welbeck, and perhaps, after all, he owed most of his celebrity to an intellectual wife, known in Restoration days as "Mad Madge of Newcastle". ”

“ England is a great kingdom. It is not an easy land to rule. A queen who has grown up in another country will never hold the hearts of the people."
"True," said the Duchess. "I must live in England. That is my duty to my child and to her country."
How the Duchess and her child were to live was a question of much importance. The King could not refuse to allow them to occupy their old apartments in Kensington Palace, but the Duchess was almost penniless. ”

“ Queen Elizabeth can still be seen, gorgeously dressed, but weary and sad-looking; Charles II. is there, and the beautiful Duchess of Richmond of the Stuart race, whose monument, with that of her husband, is in Henry VII.'s Chapel. Then there is the Duchess of Buckinghamshire, proud and pomp-loving, who insisted on seeing the canopy for her funeral hearse, that she might be sure it was magnificent enough, and who made her attendants promise that even when she became unconscious they would still stand in her presence. ”