George, Duke of Clarence

“ George, to-day," said the duke; "whom shall I meet?"
"Lord Borodaile, for one," answered St. George; "my brother, Aspeden,
Findlater, Orbino, and Linden."
"Linden!" cried the duke; "I'm very glad to hear it, c'est un homme fait expres pour moi. He is very clever, and not above playing the fool; has humour without setting up for a wit, and is a good fellow without being a bad man. I like him excessively."
"Lord St. George;" said Borodaile, who seemed that day to be the very martyr of the unconscious Clarence, "I wish you good morning. ”

“ And for the house of Clarence C. A. never made any accompte of the tytle in comparison of the yssue of Kinge Henry the Seventh, seinge that they of Clarence onely doe pretende by the daughter of George, Duke of Clarence, of the house of Yorke, yonger brother to King Edward the Fourth, and the house of Scotlande and other yssue of King Henry the Seventh, descended of Elyzabeth, eldest daughter of the same Kinge Edward the Fourth, whoe was eldeste brother to Duke George; soe as in the very house of Yorke the lynes of Scotland and Suffolke doe goe evydently before that of Clarence ”

“ How the Reform Bill was passed; how Slavery in our colonies was abolished; how there were Revolutions in France and Belgium; how the cholera broke out; how railways were established; and how the Houses of Parliament were burned down. As King George the Fourth left no child to succeed him, his brothers were the next heirs to the throne. The Duke of York, the second son of George the Third, died three years before George the Fourth, and left no child; so William Henry, Duke of Clarence, the third son of George the Third, now mounted the throne. ”

“ There prevails a report that a chief source of the violent prosecution of the Duke of Clarence, whose name was George, was a current prophecy that the King's son should be murdered by one the initial letter of whose name was G. It is not impossible but, in those ignorant times, such a silly reason might have some influence; but it is more probable that the whole story is the invention of a subsequent period, and founded on the murder of these children by the Duke of Gloucester. ”

“ The young princes, George and Richard, were in Holland for about six months, under the protection of the Duke of Burgundy. They resided at Utrecht. Then the news came of Edward's accession, and the crowning victory of Towton. The two boys were brought home again, and were soon under their mother's immediate care, with their sister Margaret.
Immediately after the coronation, George was created Duke of Clarence; and Richard Duke of Gloucester, Earl of Carlisle, and Earl of Richmond, [1] a title which had merged in the crown after the attainder of Edmund Tudor. ”

“ The fourth duke. There was an interregnum of 311 years before another Duke of Clarence. George III. created his third son, William Henry, to the duchy of Clarence, August 16, 1789. The only Duke of Clarence who ever was raised to the throne is King William IV. of England.
CARACTACUS. SPIRIT OF THE Public Journals. SIR WALTER SCOTT. (From the first of "Living Literary Characters," in the New Monthly Magazine.)
It would be superfluous to continue the list of his prose works: they are numerous; but they are in all people's hands, and censure or praise would come equally late. ”

“ We, however, would acquit the Duke of Clarence from any participation in the profits of these bonds; his natural affection for his two elder brothers induced him to add his name to the bonds merely as a further security to their holders; and we doubt not that his present majesty will, if he have not already done so, make all the reparation in his power to the heirs of the original sufferers in these very dishonourable transactions. ”

“ Clarence would wear the crown, and his children reign in England."
"Our Lord forefend," said Richard, "that I should say that Warwick thought of this when he deemed George worthy of the hand of Isabel. Nay, it could not be so; for, however clear the claim, strong and powerful would be those who would resist it, and Clarence is not, as you will see, the man who can wrestle boldly,—even for a throne. Moreover, he is too addicted to wine and pleasure to bid fair to outlive the king." ”

“ A violent quarrel between the brothers ensued, but Clarence was unable to prevent Gloucester from marrying, and in 1474 the king interfered to settle the dispute, dividing the estates between his brothers. In 1477 Clarence was again a suitor for the hand of Mary, who had just become duchess of Burgundy. Edward objected to the match, and Clarence, jealous of Gloucester’s influence, left the court. At length Edward was convinced that Clarence was aiming at his throne. The duke was thrown into prison, and in January 1478 the king unfolded the charges against his brother to the parliament. ”

“ The English public generally would have been none the less inclined to welcome the accession of the Duke of Clarence as William the Fourth even although it had been part of authentic history that the new King had lately borne an important, if an underhand, part in the rescue of Greece from Ottoman oppression. But there was little else in the career of the Duke of Clarence to command popular respect or affection. He had lived openly, or almost openly, for many years with the celebrated actress Mrs. ”

“ Louis of France disdained to sue for her hand for the dauphin, but attacked her territories, and hoped to secure both them and her by conquest. There had been some treaty for her by the Duke Maximilian, of Austria, for his son, during the late duke's life; but now Clarence suddenly aroused himself from his grief for the loss of his wife, and made zealous court, on his own account, to this great heiress. Her mother, Margaret, the sister of Clarence, favoured his suit warmly, but the idea of such an alliance struck Edward with dismay. Clarence already was far too powerful. ”

“ King William IV., if he had been born in a private station, would have passed unobserved through life like millions of other men, looked upon as possessing a good-natured and affectionate disposition, but without either elevation of mind or brightness of intellect. During many years of his life the Duke of Clarence was an obscure individual, without consideration, moving in a limited circle, and altogether forgotten by the great world. ”

“ A far greater change, to outward appearance, was visible in the fair young face of the Duke of Clarence. His complexion, usually sanguine and blooming, like his elder brother's, was now little less pale than that of Richard. ”

“ How could the people but love a sovereign Duke who, when a child was born to him, asked citizens of good repute rather than of high rank to come and be gossips?
In the revolutionary war, Duke George fought like a hero. At home, he afforded refuge to bold but honest writers, driven from more mighty states. He beautified his city, improved the country; and, without being of great mental cultivation himself, he loved to collect around him, scholars, philosophers, artists, authors, gentlemen. ”

“ However, as the only practical reply to this was a vote by the House granting £6,000 a year to the Duke of Cambridge, and declining any grant at all for the unpopular Duke of Cumberland, the Duke of Clarence appears to have thought better of his refusal of the grant, and the marriage accordingly took place. But there can be no surprise, under the circumstances, that such a union and the character it revealed awakened no popular interest. It should be said, however, that when he became King it was generally remarked that his elevation improved him. ”

“ To Earl Rivers was given part of the estates of Clarence; and to the Marquis of Dorset the wardship of the son of the murdered duke. The king, however, was the reverse of satisfied. He never recalled the name of Clarence without a feeling of penitence; and afterward, when sued for any man's pardon, he was in the habit of exclaiming mournfully, "Ah! I once had an unfortunate brother, and for his life not one man would open his mouth." ”

“ But it was Clarence, all right. I give you my word on that.”
“Now, what d’ye know about that?” observed Nick; “dodging around like that, and declining to even speak! Generally Clarence is always ready enough to get into a hot argument. And you’d just think he’d be wild to take you up on that challenge business, George. ”

“ Clarence is heir to the throne of England, for King Edward has no male children; and the hour may arrive when the son of Henry of Windsor may return to his native land, not as sovereign, but as Duke of Lancaster, and thy hand may reconcile him to the loss of a crown. ”

“ He vigorously sustained the Whig party at Queen Anne's death, and had much influence in making the Londoners accept King George. His services were too great to be neglected, and in 1714 he was created earl of Clare, and in 1715 duke of Newcastle-on-Tyne. He also became lord-lieutenant of the counties of Middlesex and Nottingham and a knight of the Garter in 1718, in which year he increased his Whig Connexion by marrying Lady Henrietta Godolphin, granddaughter of the great duke of Marlborough. ”

“ The duke, whose shallow brain was muddled with Malmsey, soon found that he was no match for veteran courtiers. Experienced intriguers, the Woodvilles were prompt in their measures to defeat any project that jarred with their interests; and Elizabeth instilled into her husband's mind such suspicions as to Clarence's intentions, that Edward not only refused to hear of an alliance that "might enable Clarence to employ the power of Burgundy to win the crown," but even let down his dignity so far as to propose a marriage between Anthony, Earl Rivers, and the daughter of Charles the Rash. ”

“ One was for Don Mariano, one for Gabriel, one for Tano, and one for Mercedes. “The noble fellow forgets no one,” said George, beginning to read his letter, and thinking it was best not to give to Mercedes hers until all the visitors had left, was soon absorbed in what Clarence said. Knowing that all would repeat the contents of his letters to one another, Clarence related to each different incidents of his travels, leaving for Mercedes alone the recital of his heart's longings, and sufferings, and fears, and hopes. ”

“ George and Elvira watched him, and when out of hearing George said:
“Don't you know I like that young man very much. What is your mother's objection to him?”
“His family, I believe, or rather his father.”
“Old Darrell looks like a decent, honorable sort of a man to me. Certainly Clarence is very gentlemanly, and (what is equally to be considered) Mercedes likes him more than is good for her peace of mind if she is not to have him.”
“My poor little sister, she is so unhappy, and, just think of it, papa told Clarence to come, to follow Mercedes and propose to her.” ”

“ He paused a moment, and added with a sigh, “Would that Clarence were more worthy Isabel!”
“Nay,” said the countess, gently, “he loveth her as she merits. He is comely, brave, gracious, and learned.”
“A pest upon that learning,—it sicklies and womanizes men’s minds!” exclaimed Warwick, bluntly. “Perhaps it is his learning that I am to thank for George of Clarence’s fears and doubts and calculations and scruples. His brother forbids his marriage with any English donzell, for Edward dares not specialize what alone he dreads. ”

“ Mr. Thomas Greatorex, an hotel-keeper in Paris, and Mr. William Henshall, statuary, of Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square, were by accident passing, and saw her interred. They were (p. 342) the only Englishmen present." This account was afterwards confirmed in the same newspaper, date the 22nd of July. Such was her sad fate, after having borne the Duke of Clarence ten children, of whom those that survived came to great honour on his accession to the throne. ”

“ If the Prince was removed from the Council or retired from it voluntarily, his absence cannot have lasted long. His supposed successor or substitute, Thomas, Duke of Clarence, left England to take the command of the English forces in Aquitaine in July 1412, nor did he return to this country till after his father’s death. It is noticeable that there is no trace of the resentment which an elder brother unjustly dispossessed might be supposed to feel for him who had supplanted him. Henry, when he became king, retained the Duke of Clarence in his command. ”

“ CLARENCE, DUKES OF. The early history of this English title is identical with that of the family of Clare (q.v.) , earls of Gloucester, who are sometimes called earls of Clare, of which word Clarence is a later form. The first duke of Clarence was Lionel of Antwerp (see below) , third son of Edward III., who was created duke in 1362, and whose wife Elizabeth was a direct descendant of the Clares, the “Honour of Clare” being among the lands which she brought to her husband. When Lionel died without sons in 1368 the title became extinct ”

“ Lord John owned that Sir George Grey's chief desire was to see Lord Clarendon removed from Ireland, having been there so long; the Cabinet would wish to see the Duke of Newcastle join the Government as Lord-Lieutenant, which he might be induced to do. The Queen having mentioned Lord Clarendon as most fit to succeed Lord Lansdowne one day as President of the Council and leader in the House of Lords, Lord John said that Lord Clarendon had particularly begged not to have the position offered him, for which he did not feel fit. ”

“ Clarence is in high favor now. Did you ever know any one to change so, since this military business has begun? He acts like a colonel. I hear that they are thinking of making him captain of a company of dragoons."
"They are," George answered. "And that is the company I intend to join."
"Well," began Puss, with her usual recklessness, "it's a good thing for
Clarence that all this is happening. I know somebody else—"
Poor Stephen in the hall knew not whether to stay or fly. ”