Our First Ambassador to China

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III Not long alter Macartney's return from Russia a marriage was arranged between him and Lady Jane Stuart, second and favourite daughter of John, Earl of Bute, and his wife Mary, only daughter of Edward and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. This match seems to have been brought about by Lady Holland, who...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III Not long alter Macartney's return from Russia a marriage was arranged between him and Lady Jane Stuart, second and favourite daughter of John, Earl of Bute, and his wife Mary, only daughter of Edward and Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. This match seems to have been brought about by Lady Holland, who took a warm interest in Sir George and his affairs, and considered the connection would be eminently helpful to an ambitious and rising young man. Although he had been obliged to resign the office of Prime Minister some years previously, and his political influence was no longer what it had been, Lord Bute was still very powerful at Court. He had found places there lor many of his friends and dependents, having, indeed, been unpleasantly noted for the patronage of his Scotch relatives and connections. He had great influence with the King through his mother, the Princess of Wales, whose confidential adviser and friend Lord Bute had been for many years. Lady Jane was at this time about twenty- seven, and in appearance somewhat resembled her father, but without the good looks which he is said to have possessed. She was sharp-featured and not attractive, having a prim and rather cold expression, and the unpleasantly striking characteristic of different coloured eyes, the right being blue and the left brown. She suffered from deafness, which increased as years went on, and was neither clever nor entertaining, but good, kind, religious, and thoroughly conscientious. Lady Hervey was much attached to Lady Jane, and, it is said, greatly wished to arrange a match between that50 MACARTNEY'S MARRIAGE lady and her son, the Earl of Bristol, but it came to nothing. Lady Mary Coke, in her diary, thus records the announcement of the engagement: ' Thursday, December 24, 1767.?La...