francis napier 10th lord merchistoun (3 Ergebnisse)

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 4pp, 12mo. Bifolium. In good condition, with slight discoloration along central fold. Large bold signature 'Napier'. Addressed to 'The Honble. George Elliott', with salutation to 'My dear Elliott'. As he does not know where Elliott's sister Lady Dunfermline is 'residing at this moment', he is placing in Elliott's hands 'for transmission' a letter from the wife of the Turkish ambassador at the Hague. He expresses to Elliott's family his sympathy at the loss of their father. 'I can never forget the kindness which he shewed me when I was unequally associated with him in his duties in Italy. He continued the same goodness and partiality to me afterwards.' Added to Napier's 'personal attachment' is 'the highest appreciation of his manly unaffected sincere character, and of his great and useful capacity'. He is sure 'there never was a better father and never one more loved'. He urges Elliott to consider that his 'distress must be tempered by the reflection that his disorder was incurable and that his life could only be prolonged amidst suffering and infirmity'. He considers that there is 'no family more united by affection' than Elliott's. He concludes in the hope that they 'may be preserved to each other and see good days and happy homes, and that wherever you go you may be gathered to the banks of the Teviot at last'.

See Napier's entry, and that of his sister Maria's husband John Gellibrand Hubbard (1805-1889), 1st Baron Addington, in the Oxford DNB. 3pp, 4to. In good condition, lightly aged and discoloured, with small closed tear to a crease. Part of letter torn away on opening, and now under small black wax seal (good impression of crest with letter N). Folded four times. Addressed, with three postmarks, on reverse of second leaf, to 'The Rt Honble | The Lady Napier | Kew Green'. Minuted by Lady Napier: 'Cambridge Novr. 1838'. 64 lines of neatly-written text. He greets his mother as 'My dear Mamma', and begins by expressing delight at the arrival of his sister Maria on the previous day, 'though it happened at rather an unfortunate time for my occupations. I am glad to see her looking so very well and wearing her curls, but I miss you very much and I wish you had been able to come along with them.' Despite the fact that 'Cambridge is particularly wet & dirty', Maria and 'Hubbard' (Maria had married John Hubbard, the future Lord Addington, in 1837) breakfasted with him that morning. 'Sedgwick and we sat talking till Church time when we got squeezed into St Mary's and heard Melville preach much worse than usual.' The letter proceeds with references to 'Whewell', Trinity Chapel, 'Thorp', 'the Philosophical society', 'Ld & Lady Fitzalan', 'Lucy', Lady Kinlock. He reports that 'Cambridge was very much shocked by the Duke of Wellington's reported stroke and delighted to hear it was only a cold.' Turning to personal matters he writes: 'Maria is very much cut up about her cook who after appearing to be a pattern of culinary morality for some months has turned out a peculating thief besides having had several children in the house, which she clandestinely conveyed out of the way in the dirty clothes basket'. One of Sedgwick's dog's five puppies is mousing for him. 'Maria says that Sir Alexander has at last gone north and high time it was for I see Mr Ewart has gone down to stand for the boroughs he has been petting so long through Patrick.' He ends by mentioning 'Sir Thomas misfortunes whiuch are so very hard upon his old age but Maria declares that he seems to bear it very cheerfully.' He concludes: 'I write this [dull] letter late at night dear Mother, it is only to announce Maria's happy arrival and I intend to despatch a longer one to 9. this week. Lady Fitz. is pale and plain & Maria cust her out.' The letter is signed 'Napier / Trin. Coll. Sunday 12 o'clock'.

An excellent letter, in which a serving Victorian ambassador discusses the nature of diplomacy, and gives a vivid assessment of his former superior Sir Hamilton Seymour, whom he jokingly characterizes 'the great Elchee'. See both men's entries in the Oxford DNB. 7pp, 4to. On two bifoliums. In good condition, lightly aged and with creases from folding into a packet. Minuted on reverse of last leaf. Addressed to 'The Honble. George Elliot' (he received his KCB in 1862) and headed 'Private'. Beginning on the subject of his brother-in-law Henry Lockwood (1825-1882), Napier writes: 'My dear Elliott, Many thanks for your kind letter informing me that Lord John Russell had moved Lockwood from Constantinople to Stockholm. It must be in many respects a great advantage to Lockwood and he will be very grateful to Lord John for the change. I hope that my brother in Law did not incur any blame from being involved in the dissensions of the Constantinople Embassy. I do not know all the circumstances, indeed I have hea[r]d one side much more than the other. The malignant atmosphere of the place could not have been more strikingly shewn than in a musunderstanding between a most amiable Minister and a very devoted and agreeable subordinate. Such at least was Lumley to Sir Hamilton when I knew him.' (Napier had served as first secretary to Sir Hamilton Seymour in St Petersburg, with John Lumley-Savile, the future Lord Savile, as second secretary.) Napier considers Lumley, as secretary to the Constantinople ambassador Sir Henry Bulwer, is, in Napier's view, 'most in the wrong. Bulwer has a natural fondness for the twilight in business matters and this fanciful partiality for secrecy and winding may have led him to keep some things close from his Secretary'. After a comment on Lords Cowley and Shatford, he continues: 'The great Elchee never gave me a key or shewed me a Dispatch, but when I wanted to know anything I would go to his room and talk to him about George Canning, or the greek Revolution; or Sophocles, or the Emperor Nicholas. Shaking such provocations in the face of that furious genius he would rowse up and open the flood gates of his conversation, one thing led on another, and at length he had disburdened himself of the past the present and the future. I was young and liked the humour of the thing, besides I admired the old man angry, so intense, so handsome, so austere, so like Cato, outside. And we cannot deny them generous sympathies and great services. Cowley [Henry Wellesley, 1st Earl Cowley, who had been Minister Plenipotentiary] was older and more than even, on a foot of equality. He could not ever abide him. In fact your Secretary seems the natural enemy of his Chief. Please God I may not find it so if I ever become an Ambassador.' Over two pages he discusses the 'most just and wise regulations' of the Foreign Office, and what may happen 'if your Ambassador is as wild as Nebuchadnezar and your Secretary not as discreet as Daniel', before continuing: 'You must have observed that Diplomacy is becoming a caste, that we are a sort of Brahmins. Every man has a son in the possession. The diplomatic qualities will become progressive and hereditary. The Children will be wiser than their fathers. I have myself a son who is as smooth as Jacob and who never smiles unless he meets another young augur.' He jokes: 'You must be prepared to have an application soon for an unpaid attachéship. My second son is turbulent. I intend him for a naval reformer. I suppose your brother Henry has some of the same.' This leads to a discussion of Elliot's wider family the Mintos, and the jesting reproach: 'You are allowing Elcho and The Duke of Argyle to run away with the sympathies of Scotland. This must not be. There will not be a piece of bannock left in the land for a true Whig.'.