Part 3 (1/2)

It was no secret that Gibbon wanted a place under government Moderate as his establishment seems to have been, it was more expensive than he could afford, and he looked, not without warrant, to a supplement of income from one of the rich windfalls which, in that time of sinecures ont to refresh the spirits of sturdy supporters of administration He had influential friends, and even relatives, in and near the government, and but for his parliamentary nullity he would probably have been provided with a comfortable berth at an early period But his ”sincere and silent vote” was not valuable enough to coh price from his patrons Once only was he able to help them with his pen, when he drew up, at the request of Lords Thurlow and Weymouth, his _Meainst the French manifesto the justice of the British arms” It was a service worthy of a small fee, which no doubt he received He had to wait till 1779, when he had been five years in Parliament, before his cousin Mr Eliot, and his friend Wedderburne, the Attorney-General, were able to find him a post as one of the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations The Board of Trade, of which he becahtereat speeches ”This board, Sir, has had both its original foreneration in a job In a job it was conceived, and in a job its ht it forth This board is a sort of te hothouse, where eight members of Parliaiven time, in order to ranted for doing less” (_Speech on Econoes the justice of Burke's indictht, even by those whose existence he proscribed” After all, he only enjoyed the emolument of his office for three years, and he places that eure than Burke did He could not have received more than between two and three thousand pounds of public money; and e consider what manner of men have fattened on the national purse, it would be churlish to grudge that small sum to the historian of the _Decline and Fall_ The misfortune is that, reasonably or otherwise, doubts were raised as to Gibbon's cohtforwardness and honourable adhesion to party ties in accepting office He says himself: ”My acceptance of a place provoked some of the leaders of opposition hom I had lived in habits of inti a party in which I had never enlisted” There is certainly no evidence that those ere ave him the place and reckoned on his vote, ever coiance

On the other hand, Gibbon's own letter to Edward Elliot, accepting the place, betrays a somewhat uneasy conscience He owns that he was far fro all the past measures of the administration, even some of those in which he himself had silently concurred; that he saw many capital defects in the characters of so a situation of public affairs the country had not the assistance of several able and honest men ere now in opposition Still, for various reasons, he did not consider himself in any way implicated, and rather suspiciously concludes with an allusion to his pecuniary difficulties and a flourish ”The addition of the salary which is now offered will make my situation perfectly easy, but I hope that you will do me the justice to believe that my mind could not be so unless I were conscious of the rectitude of ainst Gibbon in reference to this matter is asserted to come from his friend Fox, in this odd forst his other books the first voluht to the ha of Mr Fox, stating a remarkable declaration of our historian at a well-known tavern in Pall Mall, and contrasting it with Mr Gibbon's political conduct afterwards 'The author,' it observed, 'at Brooks's said that there was no salvation for this country until six heads of the principal persons in ad then prime minister) 'were laid upon the table Yet,' as the observation added, 'eleven days afterwards this saentleman accepted a place of a lord of trade under these very ministers, and has acted with them ever since'” It is impossible to tell what amount of truth there is in this story, and not very i personal enemy, and the cordial intimacy which ever subsisted between Gibbon and Fox seems to show that it was mere calumny Perhaps the fact that Gibbon had really no opinions in politics reed with them more than he did, and when he merely followed his own interest, theytheir principles After losing his post on the Board of Trade he still hoped for Government employ, ”either a secure seat at the Board of Customs or Excise,” or in a diplomatic capacity He was disappointed If Lord Sheffield is to be believed, it was his friend Fox who frustrated his appointment as secretary of embassy at Paris, when he had been already named to that office

The way in which Gibbon acted and afterwards spoke in reference to the celebrated Coalition gives perhaps the bestthe rank and file of Lord North's followers for the Coalition with ratitude” which actuated hiiven him his seat, and if a man's conscience allows him to think rather of his patron than of his country, there is nothing to be said, except that his code of political ethics is low We ed; but there is also no doubt that any gratitude that there was in the matter was stimulated by a lively sense of favours to co in office when he wrote in the following terotten that I went into Parliament without patriotism and without ambition, and that all my views tended to the convenient and respectable place of a lord of trade This situation I at length obtained I possessed it for three years, from 1779 to 1782, and the net produce, which a of last year the storm burst over our heads Lord North was overthrown, your humble servant turned out, and even the Board of Trade, of which I was a member, abolished and broken up for ever by Mr Burke's reform To complete my misfortunes, I still remain a member of the Lower House At the end of the last Parliament, Mr

Eliot withdrew his nomination But the favour of Lord North facilitated ratitude i available for his service the rights which I held in part froht under the allied standards of Lord North and Mr Fox: we triumphed over Lord Shelburne and the peace, and my friend (_ie_ Lord North) remounted his steed in the quality of a secretary of state Now he can easily say tofor you;' and in spite of the strongest assurances, I have too enius and very respectable talents, he has now neither the title nor the credit of priues carry off the most savoury morsels which their voracious creatures immediately devour; our misfortunes and reforh pride or through indolence I a, it may perhaps be on the eve of a fresh revolution, which will in an instant snatch from me that which has cost me so many cares and pains”

Such a letter speaks for itself Gibbon ht well say that he entered parliament without patriotis feature is the alards politics from a personal point of vieever, it may be pleaded that the letter ritten to a bosoreat depression, and when Gibbon's pecuniary difficulties were pressing him severely The Coalition proh; the conteht of But even this minute excuse does not apply to the way in which, years after, when he was in comfort at Lausanne, he refers to the subject in his Mearded was clear by that tiret, but contrives to cast suspicion on the usted by it, and bestowed their allegiance elsewhere

”It is not the purpose of this narrative to expatiate on the public or secret history of the times: the schishanation of Mr Fox and his famous coalition with Lord North But I ree of assurance that in their political conflict those great antagonists had never felt any personal animosity to each other, that their reconciliation was easy and sincere, and that their friendshi+p has never been clouded by the shadow of suspicion or jealousy The _most violent_ or _venal_ of their respective followers embraced this fair occasion of revolt, but their alliance still commanded a majority of the House of Coned, and the two friends knelt on the same cushi+on to take the oath of secretary of state Froratitude I adhered to the Coalition; my vote was counted in the day of battle, but I was overlooked in the division of the spoil”

From this we learn that it was only the _violent_ and the _venal_ who disapproved of the Coalition One would like to kno Gibbon explained the fact that at the general election of 1784 no less than one hundred and sixty of the supporters of the Coalition lost their seats, and that Fox's political reputation was all but irretrievably ruined frolected, his own proper work The first volume of his history was published in February, 1776 It derived, he says, ”more credit from the name of the shop than from that of the author”

In the first instance he intended to print only five hundred copies, but the number was doubled by the ”prophetic taste” of his printer, Mr Strahan The book was received with a burst of applause--it was a _succes fou_ The first impression was exhausted in a few days, and a second and third edition were scarcely adequate to the deeneral public Hume declared that if he had not been personally acquainted with the author, he should have been surprised by such a perfore Dr Robertson, Adauson, and Horace Walpole joined in the chorus Walpole betrays an a found the author out before ”I know him a little, and never suspected the extent of his talents; for he is perfectly modest, or I want penetration, which I know too; but I intend to know hih says that Gibbon was the ”son of a foolish alderman,” which shows at least how little the author was known in the great world up to this time Noever, society was determined to know more of him, the surest proof, not ofmoment, but Gibbon had a cool head not easily turned It would be unfair not to add that he had soard for old friends, the best preservative against the fumes of flattery and sudden fame Holroyd, Deyverdun, Madareat people hom he now became acquainted Necker and his wife ca visit in Bentinck Street, when his laurels were just fresh ”I live with her” he writes, ”just as I used to do twenty years ago, laugh at her Paris varnish, and oblige her to becolish husbands lessons of proper and dutiful behaviour, is a sensible, good-natured creature” The next year he returned the visit to Paris His fame had preceded hi welcoiens d'esprit_ Madareatest success here; it is quite a struggle to get hi while in Paris

Perhaps the recollection of the unpleasant effect of his English clothes and the long waists of the French on his former visit dwelt in his mind, for now, like Walpole, he procured a new outfit at once

”After decking myself out with silks and silver, the ordinary establish, and pocket expenses, does not exceed 60_l_ per month Yet I have two footmen in handso with da important He persevered assiduously with his history, and had two more quartos ready in 1781 They were received with less enthusiash they were really superior Gibbon was rather too ree with the public and ”to believe that, especially in the beginning, they were ” than the previous volume He also wasted some weeks on his vindication of the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of that volume, which had excited a host of feeble and ill-mannered attacks His defence was complete, and in excellent temper But the piece has no pernorant and silly that they gave no scope for a great controversial reply Neither perhaps did the subject adenerally makes people think of Bentley's incomparable _Phalaris_ But that was almost a unique occasion and victory in the history of letters Bentley hinacious of lided by, till we coned office, the Board of Trade was abolished, and Gibbon had lost his convenient salary The outlook was not pleasant The seat on the Board of Customs or Excise hich his hopes had been for a time kept up, receded into a ren of pensions and sinecures was at an end”

It was clearly necessary to take some important step in the way of retrenchment After he had lost his official inco like four hundred pounds A less expensive style of living in London never seems to have presented itself as an alternative So, like o abroad to economise

His old friend Deyverdun was now settled in a co the Lake of Geneva They had not un a quarter of a century before, in the old days when Gibbon was a boarder in Pavillard's house, and the e to make them shoot up into flaer letter to his friend, setting forth his unsatisfactory position, and his wish and even necessity to change it He gradually and with much delicacy discloses his plan, that he and Deyverdun, both now old bachelors, should combine their solitary lives in a common household and carry out an old project, often discussed in younger days, of living together ”You live in a char house I see from here my apartment, the rooms we shall share with one another, our table, our walks But such a e is worthless unless it suits both parties, and I easily feel that circun which appeared charrets, you ive e Deyverdun”

This letter, written in fluent and perfect French, is one of the best that we have of Gibbon Deyverdun answered promptly, and met his friend's advances with at least equal warmth The few letters that have been preserved of his connected with this subject give a highly favourable idea of hisand constant attachment that Gibbon felt for hiht he has felt at his friend's proposal; by the rarest piece of good fortune, it so happens that he himself is in a somewhat sio Gibbon's letter would have given him pleasure, now it offers assistance and support After a few details concerning the tenant who occupies a portion of his house, he proceeds to urge Gibbon to carry out the project he had suggested, to break loose froive himself up to the charms of study and friendshi+p ”Call to oes on, ”that I saw you enter parliaood a prophet I am sure that career has caused you more privations than joys, more pains than pleasures Ever since I have known you I have been convinced that your happiness lay in your study and in society, and that any path which led you elsewhere was a departure froentle and friendly eloquence Deyverdun pursues his arguain ”I advise you not only not to solicit a place, but to refuse one if it were offered to you Would a thousand a yearthis retreat to Switzerland, besides the beauty of the country and the pleasures of its society, you will acquire two blessings which you have lost, liberty and competence You will also be useful, your works will continue to enlighten us, and, independently of your talents, the man of honour and refinement is never useless” He then skilfully exhibits the attractions he has to offer ”You used to like arden; ould you do now? On the first floor, which looks on the declivity of Ouchy, I have fitted up an aparth for me I have a servant's room, two _salons_, two cabinets On a level with the terrace two other _salons_, of which one serves as a dining-roo-rooed three more rooms between the house and the coachhouse, so that I can offer you all the large apartreat and s east and south, not splendidly furnished, I allow, but with a certain elegance which I hope you will like The terrace is but little alteredit is lined froe-trees The vine-trellis has prospered, and extends nearly to the end I have purchased the vineyard below the garden, and in front of the house made it into a lahich is watered by the water of the fountain In a word, strangers come to see the place, and in spite of my pompous description of it I think you will like it If you come, you will find a tranquillity which you cannot have in London, and a friend who has not passed a single day without thinking of you, and who, in spite of his defects, his foibles, and his inferiority, is still one of the companions who suits you best”

More letters followed from both sides in a similar strain Yet Gibbon quailed before a final resolution His aunt, Mrs Porten, his mother, Mrs Gibbon, his friend, Lord Sheffield, all joined in deprecating his voluntary exile ”That is a nonsensical scheot into your head of returning to Lausanne--a pretty fancy; you remember how much you liked it in your youth, but now you have seen ain you would find yourself woefully disappointed” Deyverdun, with coreat a hurry to decide on a course which he hiree with you,” he wrote to Gibbon, ”that this is a sort of ive myself if I saw you dissatisfied in the sequel, and in a position to reproachdecision of character, and he cay not usual with him He pro whether he o” He had prudently refrained fro this critical period, knowing that his certain disapprobation of the scheme would only complicate matters and render decision iven Deyverdunof October, and no power of persuasion can divert me from this _irrevocable_ resolution, which I aeration He cancelled the lease of his house in Bentinck Street, packed the more necessary portion of his books and shi+pped them for Rouen, and as his postchaisefarewell to the _fu he felt in leaving arose frorief” of his Aunt Porten, whoain Nor did he He started on September 15, 1783, slept at Dover, was flattered with the hope ofCalais harbour by the same tide in ”three hours and a half, as the as brisk and fair,” but was driven into Boulogne He had not a syh Aire, Bethune, Douay, Cambray, St Quentin, La Fere, Laon, Rheires, Besancon, and arrived at Lausanne on the 27th The inns he found ht or the sh frouiled the ti with his servant, Caplin, and his dog muff, and sometimes with the French postilions, and he found them the least rational of the aniht amid a number of minor troubles, which to a less easy tempered man would have been real annoyances He found that Deyverdun had reckoned without his host, or rather his tenant, and that they could not have possession of the house for several s Then he sprained his ankle, and this brought on a bad attack of the gout, which laid hiave way In tiot installed in their own house His satisfaction has then no bounds, with the people, the place, the way of living, and his daily companion We must now leave him for a short space in the enjoyment of his happiness, while we briefly consider the labours of the previous ten years

CHAPTER VII

THE FIRST THREE VOLUMES OF THE DECLINE AND FALL

The historian who is also an artist is exposed to a particular drawback from which his brethren in other fields are exempt The mere lapse of time destroys the value and even the fidelity of his pictures In other arts correct colouring and outline reinative power, age rather enhances than diminishes their worth But the historian lives under another law His reproduction of a past age, however full and true it may appear to his contemporaries, appears less and less true to his successors The way in which he saw things ceases to be satisfactory; weto the time when he wrote, the point of view that he occupied And we feel that as accurate for hier accurate for us This superannuation of historical work is not sioing on, and is the capital test of progress Scientific books become rapidly old-fashi+oned, because the science to which they refer is in constant growth, and a work on chey is out of date by reason of incompleteness or the discovery of unsuspected errors The scientific side of history, if we allow it to have a scientific side, conforularity Closer inspection of our materials, the e to light of new authorities--all contribute to an increase of real knowledge, and historical studies in this respect do not differ from other branches of research But this is not the sole or the chief cause of the renovation and transformation constantly needed in historic work That depends on the ever-arded, so that society in looking back on its previous history never sees it for long together at quite the sa The past changes to us as we es through the windings of the road on which we travel away fro farowth, and receiving new additions, and each new addition causes us to ed in the study of an unfinished organis hiist were suddenly to come upon new and unheard-of species and families which would upset his old classification, or as if the chemist were to find his laws of combination replaced by others which were not only unknown to him, but which were really new and recent in the world

Other inquirers have the whole of the phenomena hich their science is concerned before theist has only an instalment, most likely a very small instalment, of the phenomena hich his science is concerned before him They have not yet happened, are not yet phenoation they necessarily lead to constant modification of his views and deductions

Not only does he acquire neledge like other inquirers, but he is constantly having the subject-mented Even in modern times society has thrown out with much suddenness rapid and unexpected developments, of such scope and volume that conteht of them, and wondered if social order could survive The Reformation and the French Revolution are cases in point And what a principal part do these two great events always play in any speculations instituted subsequent to them! How easy it is to see whether a writer lived before the Reign of Terror, or after it, fro social inquiries! Is there any reason to suppose that such h a certainty, is that anism are in store for us which will equal, if they do not vastly exceed, anything that the past has offered

Considerations of this kind need to be kept in vieould be just in our appreciation of historical writings which have already a certain age It is io should fully satisfy us now; but wethe writer for his supposed or real shortcos, till we have ascertained how far they arose from his personal inadequacy to his task, and were not the result of his chronological position It need not be said that this remark does not refer to many books which are called histories, but are really conteinal authorities subservient to history proper The works of Clarendon and Burnet, for instance, can never lose a certain value on this account The ireed to call a possession for ever, is the unapproachable ideal of this class But neither Thucydides nor Clarendon were historians in the sense in which Gibbon was an historian, that is, engaged in the delineation of a remote epoch by the help of such es of time It is historians like Gibbon who are exposed to the particular unhappiness referred to a little way back--that of growing out of date through no fault of their own, but through the changed aspect presented by the past in consequence of the ht us to the present But if this is the field of historical disaster, it is also the opportunity of historical genius In proportion as a writer transcends the special lie fail to wither him” That he cannot entirely shake off the fetters which fasten him to his epoch is manifest But in proportion as his vision is clear, in proportion as he has with singleness of eye striven to draw the past with reverent loyalty, will his bondage to his own time be loosened, and his ill reratitude will not be withheld

The sudden and rapid expansion of historic studies in the reat epochs in literature Up to the year 1750 no great historical work had appeared in any ainst this remark will be found to confirm it They consist of memoirs, contemporary documents, in short materials for history, but not history itself From Froissart and De Comines, or even from the earlierhis incomparable Memoirs), history ide outlook and the conception of social progress and interconnection of events did not exist Yet history in its simple forms is one of the hty deeds, of the prowess and death of heroes, are a the earliest productions of even semi-civilised man--the earliest subjects of epic and lyric verse But this rudi complexity of social evolution it dies away, and history proper, as distinct from annals and chronicle, does not arise till circueneral and synthetic views, till societies can be surveyed from a sufficient distance and elevation for their movements to be discerned Thucydides, Livy, and Tacitus do not appear till Greece and Hoeneous national life

The tardy dawn of history in theto its iradually e what e (1550-1650), under the direction of meritorious antiquaries, Camden, Savile, duchesne, Gale, and others Still official docu, and had they been at hand would hardly have been used with coious limitations were still too marked and hostile to perhteenth century, though it opened with a bloody as essentially peaceful in spirit: governed for rest The increased interest in the past was shown by the publication nearly contereat historic collections of Rymer (AD 1704), Leibnitz (1707), and Muratori (1723) Before the middle of the century the historic muse had abundant oil to feed her lahted but for the singular pass to which French thought had coreat history of France is next to valueless till he reaches the sixteenth century, that was a period bordering on his own Thuanus deals with contemporary events]

From the latter years of Louis XIV till the third quarter of the eighteenth century was all but closed, France had a government at once so weak and wicked, so much below the culture of the people it oppressed, that the better ust froht consolation in conteht it was to be found; in short, they became cosmopolitan The country which has since been the birthplace of Chauvinism, put away national pride almost with passion

But this was not all The country whose king was called the Eldest Son of the Church, and hich untold pains had been taken to keep it orthodox, had lapsed into such an abhorrence of the Church and of orthodoxy that anything seemed preferable to them in its eyes