aternal authority. For they often preferred (as the
philosophical parent of the celebrated Mrs. Greville remarked when his
daughter ran away with Mr. G.) to "get out of the window when there was
not the slightest objection to their passing through the door."

PHILIP DORMER STANHOPE, EARL OF
CHESTERFIELD (1694-1773)

As was suggested in the Introduction, where perhaps enough
has been said of his actual letters, the fourth Earl of
Chesterfield is too commonly known, or rather _mis_known,
only by Johnson's refusal of his patronage and condemnation
of his manners and morals, by Dickens's caricature, and by
Thackeray's not untrue but merely fragmentary sketch of him
as a gambler. Therefore, though these preliminary notes are
not as a rule biographical, this may be one of the
exceptions; for his life was anything but that of a mere
idler and _grand Seigneur_. He entered the House of Commons
before he was of age, and had much to do with political and
literary as well as Court society before, in 1725, he
succeeded to the peerage. A year or two afterwards he went
as ambassador to the Hague, a post which he held, doing some
important business, for four years. On coming home he became
a formidable opponent of Walpole, and at one time led the
opposition in the Upper House. He was a most successful
Viceroy in Ireland at the difficult period of the "'45," and
a judicious "Secretary for the North" after it. He conducted
the reform of the Calendar through Parliament, and only gave
up active participation in home politics because of his
increasing deafness. In foreign affairs he was an adroit and
successful diplomatist, and made an early and remarkably
clear-sighted anticipation of the French Revolution. It is
not extravagant to say that, if he had had his fortune and
position to make, he might have been one of the foremost
men of his time in politics or letters or both; and that he
was not far below such rank in either. The following letter
is one of the most characteristic of those at which it has
been the fashion to sneer. All one can say of it is, "What a
blessing it would be if a good many people in the twentieth
century, and in places varying from the streets to the House
of Commons, would obey at least some of its precepts!"

18. LORD CHESTERFIELD TO HI