Baron's return to England in the following year, and it
led to the celebrated treaty of the 15th July, 1840,
and the quarrel with France, the true object of
Nicholas having been the severance of the Western
Powers. M. de Brunnow remained in England as Minister
or Ambassador for nearly thirty-five years.]

London, November 8th, 1839 {p.243}

Six weeks nearly of an absolute blank. Left town October 1,
Newmarket, then Cromer for ten days, Newmarket, London,
Riddlesworth, Newmarket again, Euston, and back on Monday last.
Nothing very remarkable has happened in this interval. Lord
Clarendon[8] accepted the Privy Seal, not very willingly, but
feeling that he could not, with decency, refuse it. They consider
his accession to the Government a matter of great importance, and
the Tories own it to be so, such a reputation has he acquired by
the brilliant manner in which he conducted the mission in Spain,
and by his popular and engaging qualities.

[8] [George William Frederic Villiers, fourth Earl of
Clarendon, succeeded his uncle in the title in
December, 1838. He had filled for some years with
distinguished ability the office of British Minister at
Madrid. He now returned to England; married Lady
Katharine Barham, eldest daughter of the Earl of
Verulam and widow of John Forster-Barham, Esq., in June
1839, and entered the Cabinet for the first time as
Lord Privy Seal.]

[Page Head: LORD BROUGHAM'S PRETENDED DEATH.]

Nothing has excited so much interest as the hoax of Brougham's
pretended death,[9] which was generally believed for twenty-four
hours, and the report elicited a host of criticisms and
panegyrics on his life and character, for the most part
flattering, except that in the 'Times,' which was very able but
very severe, and not less severe than true. As soon as it was
discovered that he was not dead, the liveliest indignation was
testified at the joke that had been played off, and the utmost
anxiety to discover its origin. General suspicion immediately
fixed itself on Brougham himself, who, finding the bad impression
produced, hastened to remove it by a vehement but indirect denial
of having had any share in, or knowledge of, the hoax. But so
little reliance is placed upon his word, that everybody laughs at
his denials, and hardly anybody has a shadow of a doubt that he
was hi