82 Biographical Account of [Feb. 



philosophy. During his residence in Switzerland, the young 

 nobleman made a considerable advance in his scientific pursuits, 

 especially in those branches to which he afterwards so sedu- 

 lously devoted himself. While he was still in Geneva, and of 

 course before he was twenty years of age, he actually obtained a 

 prize from the Society of Arts and Sciences at Stockholm, for 

 the best essay on the structure of the pendulum : it was written 

 in French, and was published among the Transactions of the 

 Society. It appears, however, that the other objects which we 

 conceive to be essential to complete the education of a man of 

 rank, were not neglected, and that he even distinguished him- 

 self for his dexterity and adroitness in various athletic accom- 

 plishments, such as horsemanship, and the military exercises. 



He may be considered as having almost inherited from his 

 father and grandfather a peculiar set of political opinions, and 

 those would be fostered by the mode of his education, and the 

 associations which he would form by his residence at Geneva. 

 He accordingly acquired a decided attachment to all those prin- 

 ciples and measures which he supposed to be favourable to 

 the liberty of the subject, in opposition to the privileges or 

 encroachments, as he conceived them to be, of the aristocracy 

 and monarchy. By most persons he was considered as carrying 

 his notions of liberty to a very extravagant or even dangerous 

 length ; so that in the latter part of his life he was deserted by all 

 his political associates, and, in his capacity as a member of the 

 legislature, was not unfrequently left without a single individual 

 to support his measures. Justice, however, requires that while 

 we lament or condemn his rashness and impetuosity, we applaud 

 his honesty and integrity. It does not appear that in any single 

 instance he was swayed either by the gross motives of self- 

 interest, or even by the more pardonable object of ambition. 

 He seems always to have been influenced by a sense of duty, and, 

 although mistaken in his judgment, he acted from conviction. 

 He first appeared on the theatre of politics as a candidate for 

 Westminster, in which he was unsuccessful ; but he was return- 

 ed for the borough of Wycombe, and continued a member of 

 the Lower House until, upon the death of his father in 1786, he 

 took his seat as a Peer of the realm. He was extremely assi- 

 duous in the discharge of his parliamentary duties during a great 

 part of his life ; and even those who are the most disposed to differ 

 from him in his general views and system, must admit that, on 

 various occasions, he either introduced or actively supported 

 measures of undoubted utility. During his latter years he retired, 

 in a great measure, from his attendance on parliament, probably 

 irritated by the general opposition which he experienced, an 

 opposition which he ascribed to the increasing prejudices of his 

 antagonists, but which, at least in an equal degree, originated 

 in the greater warmth with which he supported his opinions, and 

 the more objectionable tendency of the opinions themselves. 



