Note 37 — Chapter IV

This portrait has the broad lines of truth, and is more to be depended upon than Mr. Burke’s splendid and affectionate panegyric, (Speech on American Taxation;) and yet who can blame the warmth with which this great man claims admiration for a genius which in some points resembled his own? It is to be regretted that of the many eminent literary men who enjoyed Mr. Townshend’s intimacy, none should have left behind any memorial by which his wonderful qualities might be justly appreciated. In the absence of all biographical information, the following loose memoranda from Sir George Colebrooke’s Memoirs are not without value.

“The ambition of Mr. Townshend would not have been gratified but by being Minister; and doubtless, had he lived to see the Duke of Grafton resign, he must have had the offer which was made to Lord North, who succeeded him as Chancellor of the Exchequer. But he never would have remained Premier as long as Lord North did. Though much his superior in eloquence and abilities, he wanted the nerve necessary to conduct business with steadiness; and instead of engaging in hostilities with America, he would have been the first to flinch from them, had he lived and been allowed to guide. So far, therefore, his death may be considered as a public loss. As a private man, his friends had used to say that they should not see his like again. Though they were often the butts of his wit, they always returned to his company with fresh delight, which they would not have done had there been either malice or rancour in what he said. He loved society, and in his choice of friends preferred those over whom he had a decided superiority in talent. He was satisfied when he put the table in a roar, and he did not like to see it done by another. When Garrick and Foote were present, he took the lead, and hardly allowed them an opportunity of showing their talents of mimicry, because he could excel them in their own art. He shone particularly in taking off the principal members of the House of Commons. Vanity was his ruling passion, and he sacrificed, even before his wife and daughter, all sense of decorum to a joke: I have seen instances of this which would have shocked Lord Rochester. Among the few he feared was Mr. Selwyn; and at a dinner at Lord Gower’s they had a trial of skill, in which Mr. Selwyn prevailed. When the company broke up, Mr. Townshend, to show he had no animosity, carried him in his carriage to White’s; and as they parted, Mr. Selwyn could not help saying, ‘Remember, this is the first set-down you have given me to-day.’ As Mr. Townshend lived at considerable expense, and had little paternal fortune, he speculated occasionally both in the French and English funds. With regard to the first, he had a concern with me in contrats sur le cuir, in which we lost, and he gave me his bond for his share of the difference, which was paid after his death. When he was Chancellor of the Exchequer the Duke of Grafton gave a dinner to several of the principal men in the City to settle the loan. Mr. Townshend came in his nightgown, and after dinner, when the terms were settled, and everybody present wished to introduce some friend on the list of subscribers, he pretended to cast up the sums already admitted, said the loan was full, huddled up his papers, got into a chair and returned home, reserving to himself by this manœuvre a large share in the loan. Where he was really a great man was in Parliament. Nobody, excepting Mr. Pitt, possessed a style of oratory so perfectly suited to the House. He read sermons, particularly Sherlock, as models of eloquence and argumentation.”—E.