George Selwyn : $b His letters and his lifeSelwyn, George Augustus
History
George Selwyn : $b His letters and his life
Selwyn, George Augustus
Selwyn, George Augustus, 1719-1791; Selwyn, George Augustus, 1719-1791 -- Correspondence
(8) Lord Charles Spencer (1740-1820); second son of third Duke of
Marlborough; M.P. for Oxfordshire 1761-1784, and again 1796-1801;
filled from time to time several minor political offices.
(9) Richard Vernon (1726-1800), termed father of the turf. He was a
captain in the army and a Member of Parliament; it was as a sporting
man, however, that he was best known. One of the original members of
the Jockey Club, he had a racing partnership with Lord March, and
rode in races. His skill at cards and on the turf afforded the means
for extravagant living. He married the youngest daughter of the
first Earl Gower.
(10) William Douglas (1725-1810), third Earl of March and fourth
Duke of Queensberry, in his later years called "Old Q." He was
appointed a Lord of the Bedchamber on the accession of George III.,
and in 1767 made Vice-Admiral of Scotland. Pleasure in all its forms
was the sole object of his life, regardless of public opinion; he
was good-natured and shrewd, and not without interest in politics
and literature. At the time of the King's madness, in 1788, he
openly declared for the Prince of Wales, and voted for the regency;
he entertained the princes and Fox with reckless prodigality until
the King regained his reason, when he lost his place at Court, and
prudently retired to Scotland for a time. Among Selwyn's many
friends the Duke of Queensberry held the first place. "Hors son
milord March, il n'amie rien," writes Mme. du Deffand, in her
portrait of Selwyn, whose unentailed property was left to the Duke
of Queensberry, and who survived his friend by nineteen years.
(11) Augustus Henry, third Duke of Grafton (1735-1811). In 1766 he
became First Lord of the Treasury in Lord Chatham's Ministry,
resigning in January, 1770; and in 1771 Lord Privy Seal in Lord
North's Government, stipulating at the same time that he should not
be "summoned to any Cabinet." He resigned in 1775, but joined the
Rockingham Ministry in 1782 as Lord Privy Seal. On the formation of
the Coalition Ministry of North and Fox, in 1783, Grafton left
office for the last time.
(12) Woburn.
(13) James Crawford of Auchinames, Renfrewshire. He belonged to the
group of fashionable young men who frequented the clubs and played
heavily. He was a Member of Parliament. In 1769 he accompanied
Charles Fox abroad, and the following year visited Voltaire at
Ferney. He was a correspondent of David Hume and of Mme. du Deffand,
who always referred to him affectionately as "Mon petit Crauford";
in a letter in which she urges her desire that he should become more
intimate with Horace Walpole, she writes, "Vous etes melancholique,
et lui est gai; tout l'amuse et tout vous ennuie." Crawford was
called the Fish at Eton, a name which clung to him throughout life.
He had wit and vivacity, but the reputation of being affected,
insincere, and jealous. Much of his life was passed abroad. He died
in London in 1814.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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