Duke of Bedford

“ Bedford stood upon his being the son, brother, and uncle to a king, and Philip upon the greatness of his own independent dominions. Neither would condescend to make the first move, and they parted with only increased bitterness. Bedford, in this case, permitted his pride to sway him from his usual prudence, and, though he did not live long, it was long enough to cause him deeply to repent his folly.
The Duke of Burgundy was now quite prepared to reconcile himself to Charles. A point of honour only stood in the way, and diplomacy is never at a loss to get rid of such little obstacles. ”

“ Nothing can impress us with a higher idea of the wisdom, address, and resolution of the duke of Bedford, than his being able to maintain himself in so perilous a situation, and to preserve some footing in France, after the defection of so many places, and amidst the universal inclination of the rest to imitate that contagious example. ”

“ The Earl of Bedford and Lord Clinton appeared as proxies for many absent peers, and, of all the lords, Bedford (Francis Russell) was the most decisively committed to radical reform. The Howards were for the Queen, their cousin; the young Duke of Norfolk, England's one duke, was at this time ardently Protestant, and in the next year was shocked at the sight of undestroyed altars.
Money was cheerfully voted. The Queen was asked to choose a husband, and professed her wish to die a maid. ”

“ The remainder of Lord Bedford’s life is so intimately bound up with that of his daughter-in-law and her children, that we must refer the reader to our notice of Lady Russell for further particulars, even the passage in which we have given the account of the creation of the Dukedom, which honour was doubly acceptable to the aged Duke, as a tribute to the memory of his lamented son. ”

“ Though the virtues of this amiable prince lay some time in obscurity, the duke of Bedford knew that his title alone made him formidable, and that every foreign assistance would be requisite, ere an English regent could hope to complete the conquest of France; an enterprise which, however it might seem to be much advanced, was still exposed to many and great difficulties. ”

“ It is little to be doubted, that several of his forefathers in that long series have degenerated into honour and virtue. Let the Duke of Bedford (I am sure he will) reject with scorn and horror the counsels of the lecturers, those wicked panders to avarice and ambition, who would tempt him, in the troubles of his country, to seek another enormous fortune from the forfeitures of another nobility, and the plunder of another church. ”

“ After this failure the king's army withdrew from Paris. A few days later Bedford returned and punished the people of St. Denis. He soon received a visit from Duke Philip, who brought back his sister, Bedford's duchess. The two dukes met with signs of affection. Bedford was ready to make any sacrifice to retain Philip's alliance; he was conscious that all his energies would be required for the defence of Normandy, and that, while the Parisians feared the Armagnacs and were as strongly Burgundian as ever, they were not satisfied with the English rule. ”

“ He prospered greatly, rising high in office; and in the next reign, when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, Russel came in for a handsome share of the spoils, including Woburn Abbey; he was created a peer, and so founded the great house of Bedford, made a dukedom in 1694 by William III. One of his descendants, the third son of the sixth Duke of Bedford, was Lord John Russell (the name being then able to afford an extra letter) , who brought the Great Reform Bill into Parliament in the year 1832. ”

“ For the moment the Duke of Bedford's most serious grievance against Charles was that he was accompanied by the Maid and Friar Richard. "You cause the ignorant folk to be seduced and deceived," he said, "for you are supported by superstitious and reprobate persons, such as this woman of ill fame and disorderly life, wearing man's attire and dissolute in manners, and likewise by that apostate and seditious mendicant friar, they both alike being, according to Holy Scripture, abominable in the sight of God." ”

“ The papers of Peel and of the Duke of Wellington may be more important, but I doubt their's being more interesting, because the Duke of Bedford's will be of a more miscellaneous and comprehensive character; and though his abilities are not of a very high order, his judgement is sound, his mind is unprejudiced and candid, and he is a sincere worshipper of truth. ”

“ But notwithstanding Bedford’s vigour the English lost ground steadily; and the death of Anne and this marriage destroyed the friendly relations between England and Burgundy. Negotiations for peace had no result, and when the duke returned to England in June 1433 he told parliament that he had come home to defend himself against the charge that the losses in France were caused by his neglect, and demanded that his detractors should make their accusations public. The chancellor replied that no such charges were known to the king or the council, and the duke was thanked for his great services. ”

“ For the commons having, in October 1757, passed a strong series of resolutions against pensions, absentees, and other standing grievances, the lord lieutenant, the Duke of Bedford, who had formed the design of governing independently of the undertakers, was, much against his will, compelled by a threat of suspending supplies to transmit them to England in the very words in which they had been moved. ”

“ Bedford took measures for strengthening the city, displaced the provost and other municipal officers, and appointed others whom he could trust more fully. He wrote to the council in England for reinforcements, and it was agreed on 1 July 1429 that he should have the troops raised by Cardinal Beaufort for the Hussite crusade. He also sent to Duke Philip, begging him to come at once to Paris. Philip came on the 10th, and renewed his alliance, being influenced, it is said, by his sister, the Duchess of Bedford. ”

“ After Bedford's death he was appointed to serve on the Duke of York's council in Normandy, but showed some reluctance, and stipulated for the payment of his arrears, and for his return at the end of the year. In 1437 he was appointed treasurer of the household, but before the year closed French affairs again demanded his presence, and he acted as ambassador in the peace negotiations of 1438–9. ”

“ Vast property, rank, influence, and station always attract a sentiment which is dignified with the name of friendship, which assumes all its outward appearance, complies with its conditions, but which is really hollow and unsubstantial. The Duke of Bedford thinks of nothing but his own personal enjoyments, and it has long been a part of his system not to allow himself to be disturbed by the necessities of others, or be ruffled by the slightest self-denial. ”

“ The duke held many public offices: lord-lieutenant of Bedfordshire and Devonshire, and chancellor of Dublin University among others, and was a knight of the garter. Bedford was a proud and conceited man, but possessed both ability and common-sense. ”

“ Her soliloquy crystallized itself into little fragmentary phrases emerging suddenly from the turbulence of her thought, particularly when she had to exert herself in any way, either to move, to count money, or to choose a turning. “To know the truth—to accept without bitterness”—those, perhaps, were the most articulate of her utterances, for no one could have made head or tail of the queer gibberish murmured in front of the statue of Francis, Duke of Bedford, save that the name of Ralph occurred frequently in very strange connections, as if, having spoken it, she wished, superstitiously, to cancel it by adding some other word that robbed the sentence with his name in it of any meaning. ”

“ He despatched to Paris a force sufficient to clear the neighbourhood of the French. This was immediately before the council at Arras began its proceedings. On 31 Aug. the English ambassadors declared themselves unable to assent to the French conditions, and on 6 Sept. they withdrew from Arras, leaving Duke Philip to desert his ancient allies and enter into an alliance with their enemy. Bedford saw that the cause for which he struggled so long was ruined. He died at Rouen on 14 Sept. ”

“ All the world knows the great part played by the House in the emancipation of England from the yoke of James II. The martyrdom of Lord William may have cast upon the Family a passing cloud; but whatever compensation the perishable things of this world can afford, they received and accepted. In 1694, having assisted at the destruction of yet another form of government, the Earl of Bedford was made Duke, and on 7 September, 1700, his great work now entirely accomplished, he departed this life peacefully in his eighty-seventh year. ”

“ He was High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Member of Parliament for Northumberland, and Lord Lieutenant for Bucks.
Lord Bedford served as Ambassador to France on two occasions, and in 1564 he was made a Knight of the Garter. He also served as Chief Justice in Eyre south of Trent, and Lord Lieutenant of Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall. He was known as the "Good Earl of Bedford," and entertained Queen Elizabeth both at Chenies and at Woburn.
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RUSSELL, WRIOTHESLEY, SECOND DUKE OF BEDFORD
Arms.—Arg., a lion rampant gu., on a chief sa., 3 escallops of the first. ”

“ When Bedford and his fellow-ministers heard that George III was in communication with Pitt on the subject of a new ministry, they told him that unless one was formed at once they would resign. Bedford, believing that the king still acted by Bute's advice, flatly accused him of a breach of his word (Correspondence, p. 280) . The Duke of Cumberland's negotiations with Pitt having failed, the king was forced to keep his ministers, and on the 23rd Bedford and the rest compelled him to assent to various hard and insulting demands as conditions of their retaining office (Adolphus, History, i. 179) . ”

“ The Bedfords in the interim had totally renounced Bute. The Duchess had carried her animosity still higher, and would not, on her return from the French embassy, be prevailed on to pay her duty to the Princess of Wales. Casting about for allies (for Grenville and Lord Halifax they despised) , the Bedford faction had not been without views of connecting with the Duke of Cumberland and Newcastle; and his Royal Highness had at this very juncture been invited to Woburn. The death of Lord Egremont seeming to dissolve that ministry, a bolder stroke was struck ”

“ The duke of Bedford herewith gathered an armie of six thousand men, whereof were capteins; Robert lord Willoughbie, sir Andrew Ogard chamberlaine to the duke, sir Iohn Saluaine bailiffe of Rone, sir Iohn Montgomerie bailiffe of Caux, sir Philip Hall bailiffe of Vernoill, sir Richard Ratcliffe deputie of Calis, sir Rafe Neuill, sir Rafe Standish, sir Iohn Hanford, sir Richard Euthin, sir Richard Harington bailiffe of Eureux, sir William Fulthorpe, sir Thomas Griffin of Ireland, Dauid Hall, Thomas Stranguish, Leonard Ormstone esquiers, and Thomas Gerard. ”