1 806.] Memoirs of the lale Right Hon. Charles James Fox. 2b 1 



Imt fddom exerted in behalf of umvor- 

 tiiy objects. 



la treating of the celebrated iubjeft of 

 lhi» niLuioir, we fliall endeavour to Itcer 

 u middle cuuife, between the two ex- 

 tremes, and after exliibiting a eaudid 

 /ketch of the hfe of the great orator 

 ■i\hom we have juti loll, a feeble attempt 

 will be made to pourtray liii character. 

 Perhaps both friends ;urI enemies may 

 difavow tlie likenefs ; but not" itliftanding 

 this, the artill lias, at leaii, the fatisfac- 

 tion to reflect, that he has cndcavouicd 

 to manage his pencil witli fidelity, if nut 

 vith talent. 



The family of Fox was originally feat- 

 vA in Wiltlhire, and William Fox, of 

 Farley, in that count}', is the firit of 

 whom any mention has been made. His 

 j'Onngeft (on. Sir Stephen, appears to have 

 relided abroad duiiag the exile of the 

 ■Stuart family ; and w lien the rpfioration 

 took [ilace, his merits and fervices were 

 not overlooked. He attained the ho- 

 nour of knighthood, then not ib lavithly 

 ijcftowed as at prefent, and became, in 

 furcei'tion, a clerk of the Green Cloth, 

 a Lord of the Treafuiy, iS:c. Ijut the mofl 

 remarkable incident of his life, perhaps, 

 is the circunifiance of his becoming a fa- 

 ther when almofl an oftogenarian ; for 

 at this late peri(Ki he married a fccond 

 time, and was not only the founder of his 

 own fortune, but alio of two noble 

 houfes — thofi; of Ilehcfter and Holland. 

 _\or ought it to be forgotten, that Chel- 

 lea Hofpital, that noble and munificent 

 alylum for our foldlcns, is chiefly iiidebt- 

 led to him ictv its e.xiltence. 



Such was the grandfather of the fub- 

 jcct of this memoir. Henry Fox, his fa- 

 ther, embarked at an early period of life 

 in the ocean of politics, and made prizes 

 of ibme of the bell offices in the gift of 

 the crown. He was Secretary at War, 

 Secretary of Slate, and then Paymafler 

 General of the Forces, the laft of which 

 empjoyments rendered him obnoxious to 

 cenfurc ; for being unpopular on account 

 of his parliamentary conduct, which was 

 of a high Tort/ eomplc'xion, the city of 

 J.ondou was pleafed to term him, in one 

 fif its addrclles, " the defaulter of unac- 

 <oimted millions." He is allowed, how- 

 o\'er, to have been a man of great ta- 

 Kiits and eloquence, and it is Imt jullice 

 to obferve, that the inimenle emolu- 

 ments which he deri\ed from his litua- 

 lion, being, on one hand, relfricted by 

 UK potitive law, and, on the other, coun- 

 Iteuunted by uniform cultoui, were ;^ene- 



rally confidered as the fair :ind regular 

 perquilites of oflice*. 



Cliarles James Fox, the third fon of 

 Henry Fox, afterwards Lord lloUandf, 

 by Georgina, eldcfl daughter of the late 

 Duke of Richmond, whs born on the 

 Itith of .lanuary, U.S. in the year 17-38- 

 From his birth lie was the darling of his 

 father, and the family having jutt lolt his 

 elder brother HemT, he, of couifc, ex-r 

 perienced mlich indulgence. Indeed, 

 this partiality was carried to a grejit, and 

 perhaps an unpardonable length; for no- 

 thing w as refid'ed to him, and all the ler- 

 vonts of the family were at length accuf- 

 tomed to pay the mofl oblequious obedi- 

 ence to his commands, however whimli- 

 cal or capricious. 



Kotwithftanrling this, his edueatinn 

 was not neglected J and as Montaigne's 

 father was particularly anxious that he 

 llionld be inftru6led in the dead lan- 

 guages at an early period of his life, io 

 it was the wijli of Lord Holland (for lie 

 had obtained a peerage foon after the 

 accef'flon of his prefent iVIajefly) that his 

 fon fhould be inftrudted .it one iuid the 

 fame time in two liviirj ones : he was 

 accordingly taught French from his cra- 

 dle, and fpoke it while a boy with ftil! 

 greater fluency than Englifh. 



As he was intended for public life, fo 

 he received a public education, and was 

 lent to Fton, when that fchool had at- 

 tained a high degree of celebrity, under 

 the aufpices of Edward Barnard, M. A. 

 who became head mailer in 17 jl. 



At the age of thirteen he dilliuguiflied 

 himli:lf by his exercifes, which reflect 

 great credit on his precocious talents, 

 and fome of hi.s- juvenile friends even 

 then contemplated him as a future flatcf- 

 man and orator;!;. M'hile his contempr- 

 raries, 



* Henry Fox, Lord Holland, like liis fon 

 Charles, cultivated the Mufes, and we have 

 feen " Vcrfes to a Lady with an artificial 

 Role," which do him great credit.— The fol- 

 lowing is the firll ilanza : 



" Fair copy of tfie faireft flower, 

 Thj' colours equal Nature's power ; 

 Thou haft theRofe's blulhinc- hue. 

 Art full as pleafing to the view; 

 Go thou toChloe's lovely breaft, 

 Wliofc fueetnei's can give all the reft," &c. 

 ■j- Lady Georgina Carolina Fox was creattd 

 Paroncfs of Holland in 17(i"2, and her hufband 

 Baron Holland, of Foxtey, in the county of 

 Wilts, April 1(1, 1~6.j 



J Lord Carlille'sauguriesinay be confidered 



as Itrictly prophetical, and it ought not to tc 



forgotten. 



