Prime ministers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Russell, John Russell, Earl, 1792-1878
His 'broken and disturbed' education was next resumed at Woburn Abbey
under Dr. Cartwright; the Duke's domestic chaplain, and brother to Major
Cartwright, the well-known political reformer. The chaplain at Woburn
was a many-sided man. He was not only a scholar and a poet, but also
possessed distinct mechanical skill, and afterwards won fame as the
inventor of the power-loom. He was quick-witted and accomplished, and it
was a happy circumstance that the high-spirited, impressionable lad, who
by this time was full of dreams of literary distinction, came under his
influence. 'I acquired from Dr. Cartwright,' declared Lord John, 'a
taste for Latin poetry which has never left me.' Not merely at work but
at play, his new friend came to his rescue. 'He invented the model of a
boat which was moved by clockwork and acted upon the water by a paddle
underneath. He gave me the model, and I used to make it go across the
ponds in the park.' Meanwhile literature was not forgotten, and before
long the boy's juvenile effusions filled a manuscript book, which with
an amusing flourish of trumpets was dedicated to 'the Right Hon. William
Pitt, Chancellor of the Exchequer.' A couple of sentences will reveal
its character, and the dawning humour of the youthful scribe:--'This
little volume, being graced with your name, will prosper; without it my
labour would be all in vain. May you remain at the Helm of State long
enough to bestow a pension on your very humble and obedient servant,
John Russell.'
Between the years 1805 and 1808 Lord John pursued his education under a
country parson in Kent. He was placed under the care of Mr. Smith, Vicar
of Woodnesborough, near Sandwich, an ardent Whig, who taught a select
number of pupils, amongst whom were several cadets of the aristocracy;
and to this seminary Lord John now followed his brothers, Lord Tavistock
and Lord William Russell. Amongst his schoolfellows at Woodnesborough
was the Lord Hartington of that generation, Lord Clare, Lord William
Fitzgerald, and a future Duke of Leinster. The vicar in question, worthy
Mr. Smith, was nicknamed 'Dean Smigo' by his pupils, but Lord John,
looking back in after-years, declared that he was an excellent man, well
acquainted with classical authors, both Greek and Latin, though 'without
any remarkable qualities either of character or understanding.' He
evidently won popularity amongst the boys by joining in their indoor
amusements and granting frequent holidays, particularly on occasions
when the Whig cause was triumphant in the locality or in Parliament.
[Sidenote: SMALL GAME]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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