George Pelham

“ Pelham. He had a peculiarity of wit and very shrewd parts, but was a dry and generally an indifferent speaker. On a chosen embassy to the King of Prussia, Legge was duped and ill-treated by him. Having shuffled for some time between Mr. Pelham, Pitt, the Duke of Bedford, and Lord Sandwich, and wriggled through the interest of all into the Treasury, and then to the Treasurership of the Navy, he submitted to break his connexions with the two latter by being the indecent messenger [192] of Lord Sandwich’s disgrace. ”

“ Pelham frequently proved of service to the ministry as a mediator between his brother, the Duke of Newcastle, and Walpole, whose mutual jealousy led to frequent disputes. On 8 May 1730 he was promoted to the more lucrative post of paymaster of the forces. On 11 Feb. 1732 he became involved in an altercation with Pulteney during a debate in the house, and a duel was only prevented by the interposition of the speaker (Journals of the House of Commons, xxi. 796) . ”

“ Pelham held up the candle and looked eagerly into the dark chest.
'Empty! quite empty!' he cried, in a tone of the utmost disgust. 'Nothing at all in it but an old letter!' and he threw the paper on to the ground by the side of the chisel.
'I told you so,' began Nannie, but the sentence was hardly out of her mouth before she gave a little shriek and leapt high into the air. 'A rat! a horrid rat!' shrieked the child. 'It ran over my foot.'
George did not shriek; but he, too, was startled, for the rat had appeared so suddenly. ”

“ PELHAM, GEORGE, D.D. (1766–1827) , bishop successively of Bristol, Exeter, and Lincoln, born 13 Oct. 1766, was third son and seventh and youngest child of Thomas Pelham, first earl of Chichester [q. v.] He was at first in the English army, holding a commission in the guards, but soon changed his vocation to the church. After he had been trained by James Hurdis [q. v.] at the family seat of Stanmer, near Lewes, from 1784, he was sent to Cambridge, graduating B.A. at Clare College, Cambridge, in 1787. As the younger son of a leading whig family, he was quickly promoted. ”

“ Pelham, nor shall I spare him. Let him raise up Murray; Mr. Pelham knows he has betrayed him, but is willing to forget it. I know he fears me still more; he has often told me I was like Mr. Pulteney. It may be vanity, but if I am stronger than Murray, I am ten times stronger than Mr. Pelham.” “Mr. Pelham,” replied the Duke, “has neither candour, honour, nor sincerity. Fox, how do you think I have been entertaining myself this morning? It was poor pleasure, but I had no better. The Duke of Newcastle asked me how I would have the warrant for Cranborn [233] drawn. ”

“ In April 1747 the lords took measures against the publishers of their debates. Pelham refused to take a similar course in the commons, saying, ‘Let them alone; they make better speeches for us than we can make for ourselves’ (Coxe, Memoirs of the Pelham Administration, i. 355) . Differing from Newcastle and the king, Pelham was from the first desirous to accept the French proposals for peace, which ultimately resulted in the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle on 7 Oct. 1748 (Chalmers, Collection of Treaties, 1790, i. 424–67) . In his defence of the peace in the House of Commons on 29 Nov. ”

“ It may appear extraordinary that Mr. Pelham, who had not so much levity in his character, should consent to be an accomplice in his brother’s treacheries, [167] especially as upon every interval of rivalship, the Duke grew jealous of him. The truth was, that Mr. Pelham, who had as much envy [138] in his temper, and still more fondness for power, was willing to take advantage of his brother’s fickleness, and reaped all the emolument without incurring the odium of it. He had lived in friendship with Sir Robert Walpole, Lord Chesterfield, and the Duke of Bedford ”

“ After they had done with Bradford they were to take the cannon and the baggage-carts with shoes, clothes, and provisions, and go to Dewsbury. ‘We shall gain strength,’ he said, ‘as we go; if we have five hundred in the morning we shall have two thousand at night.’ From Dewsbury we{539} were to make our way up to London. I went to the Green-market a little after two o’clock. Peddie was there; George Flynn, Isaac Holloway, and Paul and James Holdsworth. There were near thirty; some had guns, some pistols, some pikes. Peddie had a belt with a pistol and dagger. Peddie asked if I had seen Turner? ”

“ Pelham’s economy, and of his provision against a war. He had discharged, too, artificers from the dockyards, and when Lord Anson represented against it, Mr. Pelham answered, [70] you will never pay your debt, if you always go to the extent of what you can do. He had wanted, the same year, to reduce the garrison of Port Mahon, but was told by a great officer that Port Mahon could bear no diminution. With regard to struggles, he said, What the motives of these struggles have been, let those, who have struggled most and longest for power, tell. ”

“ Pelham peevishly, that Pitt’s was the finest speech he ever heard, but that he (Fox) had not spoke like himself; he replied, “I know it; if I had, I should have said ten times more against the Bill;” but he objected that the præmunire clause was a little ambiguously worded, and that if the person who penned it was aware how wrong it was, he indeed deserved to incur all the weight of it. “Can fourteen persons [118] ,” said he, [133] “have power, and not want more than their share? ”

“ Seeing that—, who was esteemed, among his friends, the handsomest man of the day, had risen from his seat, next to Lady Roseville, in order to make room for me, I negligently and quietly dropped into it, and answered his grave and angry stare at my presumption, with my very sweetest and most condescending smile. Heaven be praised, the handsomest man of the day is never the chief object in the room, when Henry Pelham and his guardian angel, termed by his enemies, his self-esteem, once enter it. ”

“ Pelham. I never hoped to enlist a gentleman. I must do with such cattle as Beagle, here.” He looked scornfully at his chief lieutenant. “I want a man of imagination, of genius such as you have shown you possess. I need such a man, Mr. Pelham. Your rash infatuation for a girl has ruined you. Your world can know you no longer. Will you come to my world?”
“Turn criminal?” Pelham stared at him. ”

“ If you mention the people who are at Garrett Park, I can tell you the proper line of conduct to pursue with each.
“I am sure that I need not add that I have nothing but your real good at heart, and that I am your very affectionate mother,
“Frances Pelham.
“P.S. Never talk much to young men—remember that it is the women who make a reputation in society.”
“Well,” said I, when I had read this letter, and adjusted my best curl, “my mother is very right, and so now for Lady Roseville.”
I went down stairs to breakfast. ”

“ It is certainly the best caravansera in the English quartier.
I was engaged that day to a literary dinner at the Marquis D'Al—; and as I knew I should meet Vincent, I felt some pleasure in repairing to my entertainer's hotel. They were just going to dinner as I entered. A good many English were of the party. The good natured (in all senses of the word) Lady—, who always affected to pet me, cried aloud, "Pelham, mon joli petit mignon, I have not seen you for an age—do give me your arm." ”

“ He lived with a pretty and clever woman, who bore the name and honours of his wife. They kept up two salons, one pour le petit souper, and the other pour le petit jeu. You saw much ecarte and more love-making, and lost your heart and your money with equal facility. In a word, the marquis and his jolie petite femme were a wise and prosperous couple, who made the best of their lives, and lived decently and honourably upon other people.
“Allons, Pelham,” cried Vincent, as I was still standing at the door in deliberation ”

“ I can ask those whom I like to my house—why should I be forced into asking those whom I do not like? In fine, my good Pelham, why should I sour my temper and shorten my life, put my green old age into flannel and physic, and become, from the happiest of sages, the most miserable of fools? Ambition reminds me of what Bacon says of anger—'It is like rain, it breaks itself upon that which it falls on.' Pelham, my boy, taste the Chateau Margot. ”

“ I tell you to hurry.”
“We ’re going as fast as we can,” returned Pelham. “And as for catching him, it depends entirely on the direction that he takes. He may swing toward Nate’s farm, and if he comes out there, we ’ve as good as got him already. But if he keeps to the west of it, we ’ll have to turn out the whole town in order to catch him.”
“Then we ’ll turn out the town!” declared Brian.
Pelham asked, “What are you going to say about the money?”
Brian was checked, but only for a moment. “I ’ll say that there was five dollars in the wallet.” ”

“ He understood me. "Put it up," said he; "we will keep the secret." All this, so long in the recital, passed in the rapidity of a moment.
"Have you found any thing there, Pelham?" shouted one of our companions.
"No!" cried I, thrusting the miniature in my bosom, and turning unconcernedly away.
We carried the corpse to Dawson's house. The poor wife was in fits. We heard her scream as we laid the body upon a table in the parlour.
"What more can be done?" said Lord Chester.
"Nothing," was the general answer. No excitation makes the English people insensible to the chance of catching cold! ”

“ I am, indeed, a lamentable example of the fall of ambition. I brought starch into all the neckcloths in England, and I end by tying my own at a three-inch looking-glass at Calais. You are a young man, Mr. Pelham, about to commence life, probably with the same views as (though greater advantages than) myself; perhaps in indulging my egotism, I shall not weary without recompensing you.
"I came into the world with an inordinate love of glory, and a great admiration of the original; these propensities might have made me a Shakspeare—they did more, they made me a Russelton! ”

“ While I was in this kindly mood towards the great city and its inhabitants, my landlady put two letters in my hand—one was from my mother, the other from Guloseton. I opened the latter first; it ran thus:
"Dear Pelham,
"I was very sorry to hear you had left town—and so unexpectedly too. I obtained your address from Mivart's, and hasten to avail myself of it. Pray come to town immediately, I have received some chevreuil as a present, and long for your opinion; it is too nice to keep: for all things nice were made but to grow bad when nicest ”

“ Ah, here comes Pelham at last—a clean little bay, stepping roundly, and lifting his legs well; you might call it a perfect action, if we had not just seen Lady Suffolk go by—but so wicked about the head and eyes! Behind the little horse sits a big Irishman, in his shirt sleeves; and they are hauling away at each other, pull Pat, pull Pelham, as if the man wanted to jerk the horse's head off, and the horse to draw the man's arms out. You see the driver is holding by little loops fastened to the reins, to prevent his grasp from slipping. ”

“ He'd steal from the niggers and miners, and from me as well, if I'd let him. That's one of the reasons I'll be glad to have you on the job.... He gets things done."
"What will I do, father?"
"You're to be his assistant; he'll keep you busy. Fifty a week, to begin with. When you're worth more, we'll increase it."
Pelham's mind played around the conversation all during the trip to Jackson that followed. It was not just what he had fancied, he told himself, staring at the green hump-backed hills along the road. Why should he not be head of the operations? ”

“ In the reign of Queen Elizabeth Sir William Pelham (c. 1530–1587) , third son of Sir William Pelham (d. 1538) of Laughton, Sussex, became lord justice of Ireland. He was captain of pioneers at the siege of Leith in 1560, and served at the siege of Havre in 1562, and with Coligny at Caen in 1563. He then returned to Havre, at that time occupied by English troops, and was one of the hostages for the fulfilment of its surrender to Charles IX. in 1564. After his return to England he fortified Berwick among other places, and was appointed lieutenant general of ordnance. ”

“ I began; but Clutterbuck gently placed the hand, whose strength of affection I had already so forcibly experienced, upon my mouth. “Pardon me, my friend,” said he. “No stranger should depart till he had broken bread with us, how much more then a friend! Go, Benjamin Jeremiah, and tell your aunt that Mr. Pelham will dine with us; and order, furthermore, that the barrel of oysters sent unto us as a present, by my worthy friend Dr. Swallow’em, be dressed in the fashion that seemeth best; they are a classic dainty, and we shall think of our great masters the ancients whilst we devour them. ”

“ PELHAM By Edward Bulwer Lytton
VOLUME I. CHAPTER I. Ou peut-on etre mieux qu'au sein de sa famille?
—French Song.
[Where can on be better than in the bosom of
one's family?]
I am an only child. My father was the younger son of one of our oldest earls; my mother the dowerless daughter of a Scotch peer. Mr. Pelham was a moderate whig, and gave sumptuous dinners; Lady Frances was a woman of taste, and particularly fond of diamonds and old china.
Vulgar people know nothing of the necessaries required in good society, and the credit they give is as short as their pedigree. ”

“ Pelham was an incarnation of the spirit of the times, only with some fine talents and high qualities not quite so general. But the author's own words, in the preface to the second edition, best set forth his intentions. "Nor have I indulged in frivolities for the sake of frivolity: under that which has the most semblance of levity, I have often been the most diligent in my endeavours to inculcate the substances of truth." "By treating trifles naturally, they may be rendered amusing ; and that which adherence to nature renders amusing, the same cause may also render instructive." ”