Thomas Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury

“ Not so loud," said Montagu, in an altered voice. "Approach nearer,—nearer yet. They who talk of a crowned king, whose right hand raises armies, and whose left hand reposes on the block, should beware how they speak above their breath. Witchcraft, sayest thou? Make thy meaning clear."
Here Robin detailed, with but little exaggeration, the scene he had witnessed in Friar Bungey's chamber,—the waxen image, the menaces against the Earl of Warwick, and the words of the friar, naming the Duchess of Bedford as his employer. Montagu listened in attentive silence. ”

“ MONTAGU, Sir EDWARD (d. 1557) , judge, second son of Thomas Montagu, lord of the manors of Hanging Houghton and Hemington, Northamptonshire, by Agnes, daughter of William Dudley of Clopton, near Oundle, in the same county, born in the royal manor-house of Brigstock towards the close of the fifteenth century, studied at Cambridge, and was called to the bar at the Middle Temple, where he was autumn reader in 1524 and 1531. His family claimed descent from the Earls of Salisbury. His father died on 5 Sept. ”

“ When in London in 1738 she delighted in visits to Marylebone Gardens or Vauxhall, and George, first lord Lyttelton [q. v.] , whom she met at court, then showed her attentions, which led to a long friendship. On 5 Aug. 1742 she married Edward Montagu, second son by a second wife of Charles Montagu, fifth son of the first Earl of Sandwich. His wife's senior by many years, Montagu was a serious-minded man of wealth, with coal mines at Denton, Northumberland, and estates in Yorkshire and Berkshire. ”

“ In her youth she combined the attractions of a reigning beauty and a wit. Her early studies were encouraged and assisted by Bishop Burnet, and she was the friend of Pope, Addison, and Swift. In 1712 she m., against the wishes of her family, Edward Wortley-Montagu, a cousin of the celebrated Charles Montagu, afterwards Earl of Halifax. Her husband having been appointed Ambassador to the Porte, she accompanied him, and wrote the sparkling Letters from the East which have given her a place high among the great letter-writers of the world. ”

“ Courayer, and not far from Northampton my Lady Halifax [367] going to London to lye in, and afterwards my Lord, [368] with whom j had some discourse, and who was so civil as to say he hoped j intended calling on him at Horton. I said j would take some other opportunity of paying my respects. We had yesterday the company of Lord Wentworth [369] and a brother [370] of the great Mr. Lyttelton, who is a Clergyman, at dinner. The former of whom is a very pretty kind of man, and the other will be a Bishop.”
[367] Née Anne Dunk, a great heiress.
[368] George Montagu Dunk, 5th Earl of Halifax. ”

“ Towards the close of 1660 he came secretly to England on a visit to his brother, Edward, earl of Manchester.
Queen Henrietta Maria died in 1669, and in the following year Montagu was requested by the French government to resign his office of abbot of St. Martin in favour of the young Cardinal Bouillon. He was, however, allowed to remove his furniture, and continued to enjoy the revenues of the abbey. His income as commendatory abbot amounted to 5,000l. ”

“ From this period dates the extreme intimacy which grew up between Miss Robinson and Lady Barbara Montagu, sister of George Montagu Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, who was then living at Bath, and invited Miss Robinson to stay with her.
The Hill Street house not being completed, Mrs. Knight, [457] a cousin of the family, lent Mrs. Montagu her house in Golden Square, London. Miss Grinfield, just mentioned, was just made a dresser to the princesses, daughters of George II.
[457] Née Robinson.
“Miss Grinfield is in waiting.... The place is enough to weary a person of the strongest constitution ”

“ Montagu, already affluent, received a great accession of fortune in the shape of colliery property in the north of England. This enabled his wife to entertain very liberally, and, in conjunction with her talents and high connections, gave her a commanding place in society. They took a large house in Hill street, then the extremity of the West End, which became the resort of that class who, being anxious to put an end to eternal card-playing and introduce rather more of the intellectual into social intercourse, received from a chance circumstance the name of "blue-stockings." ”

“ Through Mrs. Montagu, Dr. Monsey sends to Dr. Young a powder for his rheumatism. From “Hog Magog” on September 26, Dr. Monsey writes a long letter to Lord Lyttelton, describing his visit to Tunbridge to see “dear Amadissa,” meaning Mrs. Montagu. In it he says—
“It may be new to your Lordship tho’ not strange, that the Earl of Bath is fall’n desperately in love with one who seems not insensible of his passion, and I think ’tis time for you and I to look about us, for an Earl is better than a Baron or a quack Doctor ... ”

“ Montagu, ii. 180 Pitt, William, afterwards 1st Earl of Chatham, “the great commoner,” i. 58, 64{139}; ii. 1, 22, 35, 41, 45, 53, 77, 78, 83, 85, 111, 173, 216; his speeches in the House of Commons, i. 137, 138, 171; ii. 153, 156; Sarah Robinson on, i. 167; obtains for Gilbert West the Clerkship of the Privy Council, ii. 4; his house, South Lodge, Enfield, ii. 8, 10; his hospitality to West, ii. 9; authorship of The Adventurer attributed to, ii. 25; his insomnia, ii. 30–33; at Tunbridge Wells, ii. 37, 40; King’s lectures, ii. 38; Bath, ii. 43; gout in his hand, ii. 51 ”

“ However, the aspects in the horoscope of his successor are more unfavorable still, I hear."
"Now, Heaven forefend!" said Lord Montagu, warmly: "he is a right noble monarch, and, though the commonalty do fret and storm, he is too strong and firm for them to shake him. But what say you of the great and gallant Duke of Buckingham, signor? There is a man born to success and honor."
"His star has passed its culminating-point," said Morini: "there is something dark and sad behind. His life cannot be long. Perhaps he may die upon the battle-field in this new war ”

“ The young man's cheek reddened. "I am not afraid of any thing, my lord," he answered, "but of seeing your lordship a prisoner in the hands of your enemies. If they once get you into the Bastille, what becomes of all the results of your lordship's negotiations?"
"True," answered Montagu, "the stakes we play for are great ones; but in playing for great stakes one must risk boldly wherever there is a chance of success. I think we can pass, Edward ”

“ If you will be at home to-morrow at two o’clock, I will pass an hour with you; but pray send me word to Jermyn Street at eleven, whether I can come to you without meeting any person at Whitehall but the Duke; to every one else pray deny your dressing room. Mr. Freind will tell your Grace I behaved magnanimously, and not one cowardly tear, I assure you, did I shed at the solemn Altar, my mind was in no mirthful mood indeed. I have a great hope of happiness; the world, as you say, speaks well of Mr. Montagu, and I have many obligations to him, which must gain my particular esteem ”

“ Montagu has the very soul of honor, and he can set off the conclusions of his vigorous judgment, and the treasures of his cultivated taste, with an eloquence that rises to extraordinary grandeur when he is fulminating his scorn at any species of tyranny or meanness. ”

“ What is the particular science to which you have most addicted yourself, young gentleman? What have you lately been studying?"
"Nothing," replied Edward, almost inclined to be rude. "My lord does me too much honor in calling me a philosopher."
"Nay, nay," said Montagu, laughing: "if I may judge from letters I have received, and from what you yourself have told me, you have been lately studying much,—fair ladies' hearts and prime ministers' heads,—Ned. He has quite captivated a duchess and smoothed down a cardinal. ”

“ George Montagu, Esq., of Roel, in the county of Gloucester, son of Brigadier-General Edward Montagu, and long M.P. for Northampton. He was the grandnephew of the first Earl of Halifax of the Montagu family, the statesman and poet, and was the contemporary at Eton of Walpole and Gray. When his cousin, the Earl of Halifax, was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, he was his secretary; and when Lord North was Chancellor of the Exchequer, he occupied the same position with him. He died May 10, 1780, leaving the bulk of his fortune to Lord North. ”

“ At length Montagu went so far as to write him a letter containing—amid biting-sarcasm and mock courtesy—a statement equivalent to a charge of falsehood. In consequence of this he was dismissed; but Sir John Franklin, who considered Montagu to be a man of ability, magnanimously gave him a letter to Lord Stanley, recommending him for employment in some other important position. This letter, being conveyed to Lord Stanley, was adduced by Montagu as a confession from the Governor of the superior ability and special fitness of the Chief Secretary for his post. ”

“ The duchess’s maiden name was Van Hatten, but she had been married to a Sir Thomas Davall. After the duke’s death she came to reside at Shaw House, [487] near Newbury, from whence she writes to Mrs. Montagu, and after some inquiries as to health, etc., says—
“What different tempers the world consists of: I am told passion sent the late Lord Pembroke [488] out of the world, but that Mr. Middleton who opened him says that both heart and all the vitals were displaced by the continual swathing he used to keep himself from growing bulky. ”

“ By her charter of 1306 the same Aufreca, styling herself “Aufreca of Counnoght, heir of the land of Man,” granted the island to Simon, and this grant, rather than the marriage universally asserted by Simon’s biographers, was probably the origin of the Montagu claim. The first earl died in 1344 and was buried in the Whitefriars Church in London. His wife, Katherine, daughter of William de Graunson, and co-heir, in her issue, of her brothers, is connected by a legend of no value with the foundation of the Order of the Garter. ”

“ The duchess was anxious for the Montagus to go to Bullstrode, but the visit was deferred, as the three younger Robinsons were spending their holidays at Sandleford, and the captain and Morris Robinson expected Mr. and Mrs. Freind there as well. Poor old Mr. Carter, the steward, was just dead of fever, which, it was thought, he caught when on agent’s work at Newcastle, where fever had been rife amongst the unhappy prisoners of the ’45 confined there. He was a great loss to Mr. Montagu, who was contemplating a journey north to place his affairs in young Mr. Edward Carter’s [414] hands. Dr. ”

“ I can admire great qualities even in my enemies. But here comes Tronson to call me to the king. Come to me to-morrow."
CHAPTER XLIV.
Four days more passed before Edward actually got his proper passes and safe-conduct; but then they came in the most precise style and ample form. His whole person was described with accuracy. He was mentioned as a young English gentleman attached to Lord Montagu, travelling under the particular protection of his Majesty the King of France, with two palfreniers and other servants and attendants ”

“ The company at Tunbridge Wells had been increased by the Duke and Duchess of Newcastle, the Duchess of Norfolk, and, Mrs. Montagu writes, “we expect those goddesses called the Gunnings and Sir Thomas Robinson.... My Father is very gay, but complains he never saw the place so dull. I never said so to those about me, lest they should say to me as Swift to the fat man who complained of a crowd, ‘Friend, you make the very crowd you blame!’ Mr. West reads to us in the evening, and the wit of the last age supplies us when we do not meet with any in this.” ”

“ With this solemn menace, Montagu quitted Hastings, and passed on, leaning upon Marmaduke, and with a gloomy brow.
At the gate of the palace waited the Lord Montagu’s palfrey and his retinue of twenty squires and thirty grooms. “Mount, Master Marmaduke, and take thy choice among these steeds, for we shall ride alone. There is no Nevile amongst these gentlemen.” Marmaduke obeyed. The earl dismissed his retinue, and in little more than ten minutes,—so different, then, was the extent of the metropolis,—the noble and the squire were amidst the open fields. ”

“ Morris says he hears of nothing else. I wish the Beefeaters had not let him pass the door. Lord Harry Beauclerc on the buzz his appearance occasioned, desired the people to be quiet, for that he had never seen the gentleman so well dressed before.”
ADMIRAL BOSCAWEN ILL
Mr. Montagu, having attended the Durham election in favour of Sir Thomas Clavering, was preparing to go to Huntingdon for his own re-election. In Mrs. Montagu’s next letter she says—
“I told you in my last that Admiral Boscawen was ill of a fever, I hope he is out of danger. ”

“ He adds, “He is unwearied, j never knew his fellow. He has lived three times as much as any other man no older than he, and has done three times as much business and benefited many and hurt none. I wish j could say as much of those who are in a rank of life infinitely superior to him.” Truly this is a fine picture of a righteous steward.
THE BIRTH OF A SON
By May 1, when Elizabeth writes to her mother, Mr. Montagu had returned to her, she and her sister meeting him at Highgate. Mention is made in this letter of Miss Brockman having become temporarily speechless from [148] inoculation. ”

“ Muse on this, and for the peace and weal of the realm so limit all thy schemes, my lord and cousin!"
With these words the prince pressed the hand of the marquis, and walked slowly towards the king's pavilion.
"Shame on my ripe manhood and lore of life," muttered Montagu, enraged against himself, and deeply mortified. "How sentence by sentence and step by step yon crafty pigmy led me on, till all our projects, all our fears and hopes, are revealed to him who but views them as a foe. ”