"My mind, is, as it were, gone": The Suicide of Castlereagh

Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, KG, GCH, PC, PC (Ire), Viscount Castlereagh (Dublin, Ireland, 18th June 1769 – North Cray, Kent, England, 12th August 1822)

Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1809-10

There are some names that echo through the ages, men and women who will always be remembered for their philanthropy, heroics, or perhaps their infamy. These are the names that seem to sum up their era for better or worse and for me, one of these names is undoubtedly Castlereagh, a man who is perhaps less well known now than he once was though for me, he is a figure of endless fascination. Today marks the anniversary of his death and it is this story that I will tell, a bleak end to a troubled existence. 

Castlereagh lived a life among the highest political spheres, serving in a number of high profile government offices in which he found himself increasingly at odds with public opinion. Associated with wildly unpopular policies and broken political promises, as he was attacked by the people, so too did his mental health become increasingly frail. In the year of his death, increasing stress saw Castlereagh's behaviour becoming increasingly erratic as he descended into paranoia.

As summer drew on, Castlereagh returned to the sanctuary of Loring Hall in North Cray, Kent, where his friends and family remarked that he cut a most unsettled and unhappy figure. With his physician, Doctor Bankhead, in constant attendance and all razors and other dangerous implements removed from his reach, the once influential man passed long and unhappy days in mental distress until, somehow, he managed to come by a penknife.

The Suicide of Lord Castlereagh by George Cruikshank, 1822

On the morning of 12th August Castlereagh's paranoia reached new heights and he aggressively accused his wife, Lady Amelia Hobart, of joining a widespread conspiracy against him. As she fled to summon Doctor Bankhead to attend the husband she had nursed throughout his decline, Castlereagh took up the blade and slashed his own throat. He was dead within minutes and as news of his suicide spread throughout the land, the nation fell into shock at such a violent end to the career of Castlereagh.

Perhaps in deference to his widow, the inquest found that Castlereagh had taken his own life whilst insane. Accordingly, he was buried with full honours in Westminster Abbey on 20th August. Even in this, the final act of Castlereagh's story, the unpopular politician's funeral procession was heckled and jeered on its way to the Abbey. Though his political opponents and colleagues alike were quick to sing the praises of Castlereagh, it is Byron's verse that has caught in the public memory, a savage memorial to a troubled man.

Posterity will ne'er survey
A nobler grave than this:
Here lie the bones of Castlereagh:
Stop, traveller, and piss.

The Flintlock Pistols of Catherine the Great

When I am not gadding about in pursuit of stories of the long 18th century, I can often be found setting quill to paper to tell tales of romance, adventure and all sorts of scandalous behaviour. Whilst researching a little something recently on my Pinterest boards, I came across the image of a pair of ornate flintlock pistols that once belonged to Empress Catherine the Great, and thought I would share a little about these remarkable weapons here.

http://www.metmuseum.org

The pistols were made by Johan Adolph Grecke in Saint Petersburg in 1786 and were accompanied by a fowling piece and a rifle. Although the rifle has been lost, the pistols and fowling piece remain as testament to the remarkable work of the gunsmith.

With stocks of ivory, Catherine's initial is marked on the grip and she later made a gift of the guns to Prince Stanislas August Poniatowski, a favourite of the Empress. The weapons were hugely fashionable at the Russian court and now reside at the Met Museum in New York. 

I cannot help but admire the exquisite workmanship of these pistols and the significance of Catherine passing them along to the prince cannot be underestimated. It sent a clear message of the strength of her respect for this particular courtier, who she supported throughout his career.

Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.

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The Painter and his Pug

It is no secret that I adore the pets who share my house, nor is it privileged information that my constant companion is Pippa, my wonderful hound. A man who shared my love of dogs is, of course, William Hogarth, the legendary painter who, like my sister, shared his home with a pug. 

Hogarth's pug went by the name of Trump and it's fair to say that he was a celebrity in his own right, with small porcelain figures of Trump being sold to Hogarth's fans, whilst the painter himself was on occasion depicted as a pug too!

The Painter and his Pug by William Hogarth, 1745

In the 1730s, Hogarth began work on what would become The Painter and his Pug. The work depicts Hogarth as a picture within a frame whilst Trump sits outside it, reality alongside the constructed and framed image of Hogarth. Although the finished portrait shows Hogarth in informal dress, initial work on the canvas showed a very different figure, with the artist resplendent in wig and formal dress. Clearly Hogarth had a rethink though and chose to depict himself as a craftsman, rather than a figure of wealth and importance. 

He has taken great care over other aspects of the painting too, as the self-portrait rests atop a bile of books by Milton, Swift and Shakespeare, whilst the palette in the foreground bears the words, "Line of Beauty and Grace". Although Hogarth painted out "and Grace", over time it has become visible again and this refers to Hogarth's artistic beliefs set out in his work, The Analysis of Beauty.

The Painter and his Pug was completed in 1745, a decade or so after work on it began. As a dog-lover, it is a painting that immediately speaks to me because of the way in which Trump is presented, obediently sitting before his master alongside the books, palette and words that mean so much to the artist. He is a vital part of Hogarth's life and art, as much a part of his inspiration as the literature on which Hogarth's portrait rests. Trump would not be the only pug owned by William Hogarth but his place in history is assured, captured forever in this striking work.

Augustus William: The Prince Who Died of a Broken Heart

Prince Augustus William of Prussia (Berlin, Prussia, 9th August 1722 - Oranienburg, Prussia, 12th June 1758)

Augustus William of Prussia by G von Bern

As a lass, I was fascinated by the very concept of Prussia. Something about the word itself seemed impossibly exotic, a land of mystery and, for some reason, snow everywhere. I can't vouch for snow and exoticism but we are in Prussia today to meet Augustus William, a prince of the House of Hohenzollern.

As son of Frederick William I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, Augustus could count amongst his siblings our old friend and seasoned schemer, Louise Ulrika, and Frederick the Great.

Unlike his sister, Augustus did not hanker after absolutist power and was content to live a life away from the throne. Aged twenty, he married Luise of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the sister of Frederick the Great's wife, and the couple were parents to four children, all but one of whom survived to adulthood. In fact, though Augustus never ruled in his own right, when his brother died leaving no heirs, Augustus' son came to the throne as Frederick William II of Prussia. 

Augustus won the ire of Frederick thanks to a disastrous showing at the Battle of Kolin during the Seven Years War, at which Augustus unwisely chose to retreat. The furious Frederick suffered his first defeat in this battle and he and his brother never fully reconciled. In fact, when Augustus died twelve months later of a brain tumour the rumour spread that the unhappy prince had actually died of a broken heart.

Life in the Georgian Court, true tales of 18th century royalty, is available at the links below.

Pen and Sword
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Amazon US
Book Depository (free worldwide shipping)