Note 342 — INTRODUCTORY NOTE TO CHAPTER VII

George Villiers (1800–70), British Plenipotentiary at Madrid. In 1838 he became fourth Earl of Clarendon, was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in critical times, 1847–52, and afterwards, with great distinction, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1853, again in 1865 and in 1868. He was not a statesman of very original mind, or of great initiative, but he was honest and prudent and highly regardful of his country’s interests. His manners were delightful and his conversation varied with anecdotes and punctuated by wit. He was one of the principal attractions in London society during the first half of the nineteenth century.