CHAPTER XLVI. THE REIGN OF GEORGE THE THIRD. What is a Prince? What is a Governour, Lancelot of the Laik, Book II. 1523; Early English Text Society: Rev. W. W. SKEAT. Now gird thyself for other war; Look round thee and behold what ills, Afflict man's wretched race! Put on the panoply of Faith, Bestir thyself against thine inward foes, Of miseries and crimes. SOUTHEY, Ode. Written during the War with America, 1814. Who late and early God doth pray More of His grace than gifts to lend, And entertain the nameless day With a well chosen book or friend. This man is freed from servile bands, THE year 1782 was ushered in gloomily with bad news from the West Indies, when St. Eustatia was retaken. Demirara and Essequibo wrested back, St. Kitts lost, and only Barbadoes and Antigua left, to say nothing of the capitulation of Minorca nearer home on February 5. So much was the King troubled also at the time-driven almost to distraction by the oligarchy of the great Whig houses-that it is said he seriously contemplated retiring to Hanover; which if he had done, he would have fulfilled the wish of many during the reigns of George I. and George II., who, as we have seen before in these pages, were accustomed to express their dislike to anyone by the expression, ' Go to Hanover!' In the valley of the Rea, said my Talking Friend, there was no commoner form of speech, and even yet it is not altogether extinct amongst the lower orders, who are the last to retain proverbs. On February 22 General Conway moved an address to the King entreating his Majesty that the war on the continent of North America might no longer be pressed for the impracticable purpose of reducing the inhabitants of that country to obedience.' This was followed by a resolution on the 27th against any further attempts to reduce the insurgent colonies, and finally on March 4 a new address was framed 'to inform the sovereign that the House would consider as enemies to the King and country all those who should advise the further prosecution of offensive war in North America.' On the 20th of this month Lord North's administration ended. Whatever its course, he was a noble-hearted man and the truthful friend of his sovereign. Those who disliked him most politically were still constrained to confess that he was always good company, and always good-humoured. How much would the bitters of life be sweetened could we divest ourselves of party-feeling! And do as adversaries do in law Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends. It was on April 12 that Rodney's great engagement took place with Comte de Grasse in the West Indies, and it was on this 'memorable day that he was the first, not indeed to invent or devise, but to put into practice the bold manœuvre known by the name of breaking the line.' News of the victory reached London in the middle of May - the 18th Walpole writes to Mann-to the great joy of the people and the Ministry; and the Admiral was created a Baron, with an additional pension by that very Ministry which had sent to recall him. Burke even, referring to his old Eustatia charge, said finely,' says Lord Mahon, 'that as there was a bald spot on the head of Rodney he was willing to cover it with laurels.' In the letter to Mann above alluded to Walpole adds:- Rodney was recalled by the new Admiralty, but recovers from his falls with marvellous agility. The late Ministers are thus robbed of a victory which ought to have been theirs; but the mob do not look into the almanack.' The 'Ville de Paris,' captured with the Comte de Grasse, Rodney's worthy foe, was a present to Louis XV. from the city of Paris, and is said to have cost no less than 176,000l. Unluckily the vessel which the Frenchman thought could not be captured foundered on her way home. It is reported that Rodney's little bantam cock was with him on deck on the famous April 12, and that he crowed with all his might and main and clapped his wings at every broadside the 'Formidable' poured into the 'Ville de Paris.' Rodney did not arrive in England till September 21. The Comte de Grasse preceded him, having landed at Portsmouth on August 5; the next great captive to Marshal Tallard, who fell into the hands of the Duke of Marlborough after the battle of Blenheim. On Rodney's arrival at the 'Bush Tavern,' Bristol, and having been sumptuously entertained with his retinue, he called next morning for his bill. Your lordship forgets that you paid it before hand on April 12' was the answer of the worthy landlord-so characteristic of an Englishman. But as Rodney, like Benbow, was a great favourite with old Shrewsbury boys, and as his pillar was on the Breidden Hill, in Montgomeryshire, and might be constantly seen by them from the Welshpool Road, I may venture to jot down a few scattered notes about him in passing. Perhaps the reader may draw some conclusion for himself about the man, as Lucretius did from the little motes that danced in the sunbeams. Duntaxat rerum magnarum parva potest res The Mirror,' I know not of what date, says that the Pillar had the inscriptions following:- Summæ pereunt Columnæ, Georgii Brydges Rodney Baronetti viget nomen. et vigebit.' (Executed in honour of Sir George Brydges Rodney, Admiral of the White, by a subscription of the gentlemen of the county'), and these lines in Welsh: The above version of the inscription with the translation is from one of the best living Welsh scholars, forwarded to me this day, April 12, 1867, by the Rev. L. Darwall. He saysThe last word in the second line has puzzled my friend (the greatest Welsh scholar of the day). I tried, however, one of my parishioners, a Welsh woman, but with no better success. She also said that there was no word answering to "towers." I suppose, therefore, that "Tyrau" is an English word in a Welsh form.' TRANSLATION. The highest columns will fall, And the highest towers. But the fame of Sir Brydges Rodney Will increase daily, And his good name will not be destroyed. My friend the Rev. C. Awdry, of Worthen, writes me word that the Rev. L. Darwall, the Curate of Criggion, says that the inscriptions on the pillar mentioned in the fragment of the "Mirror" do not now exist, nor had they ever existed during his residence at Criggion, a space of nearly thirty years.' The Rev. W. E. Evans, brother of the late Archdeacon Evans, who preceded Mr. Darwall, recollects no vestige of an inscription. He adds:-'Lord Rodney married, I believe, a daughter of Alderman Harley, who was of the Oxford family, and possessed a considerable estate in Herefordshire. There seemed to have been some connection, whether by friendship or otherwise, with some families in Montgomeryshire, and when the pillar was finished there was a great meeting of Herefordshire and Montgomeryshire gentlemen on the Breidden, the Herefordshire gentlemen being hospitably entertained by their Montgomeryshire friends; a large party, VOL. IV. K among whom was my wife's grandfather, were staying with Sir Edward Lloyd at Bodsach, near Llanfyllin. Why the summit of the Breidden was fixed upon for the site of the pillar I never quite understood. The Stretton Hills prevent its being seen from Herefordshire.' By birth he had no connection with the old county, as he saw the light at Walton-on-Thames, and was educated at Harrow; but, as my Talking Friend said, 'HEARTS OF OAK' were always acceptable in Shropshire, and such was Admiral Rodney, every inch of him. And I called to mind the epigram which some wag composed when the City of London presented their freedom to Admiral Keppel in a box of heart of oak and to Admiral Rodney in a gold box. Each admiral's defective part, Satiric citys, you've told ; The cautious Keppel wanted heart, The gallant Rodney gold! The fine old admiral became a great favourite not only in the country, but especially in London, where there are still five Rodney's Heads, though his birth dates back to 1718. At Rodney Pillar Inn at Criggion is the following Anacreontic effusion on a double-sided signboard : Under these trees in sunny weather Just try a cup of ale, however; A couple then to make you warm ; But when the day is very cold Then taste a mug a twelvemonth old. On the reverse (how well I recollect visiting the quaint old inn) : Rest and regale yourself, 'tis pleasant; Enough is all the present need; Who toils all sorts of men to feed. Then muzzle not the ox when he treads out the corn, Rodney entered the navy early, and showed skill and courage from the first to the last, as may be seen from his life; but these details do not belong to these pages, as his |