376 



STANHOPESTANISLAUS. 



it. The practice of makiug gold coins of both 

 these standards was continued, however, till 1633, 

 since which all the gold coined has been of the new 

 standard. The coins of the old standard remained 

 in circulation until 1732, when they were with- 

 drawn. But the standard has been degraded by 

 the reduction of the weight of the coin, so that a 

 pound weight of silver, which, at, the time of the 

 conquest, was coined into twenty shillings, was, in 

 1601, coined into sixty-two, and, in 1816, into 

 sixty-six shillings. In other countries, the degra- 

 dation of the coin has been still greater. But it 

 would far rxnvd our limits to give a detailed state- 

 ment of the facts, which are, however, of great 

 importance to readers of history. 



STANHOPE, JAMES, first earl, was born in 

 Herefordshire, in 1673, and accompanied his father, 

 who was sent envoy extraordinary to the court of 

 Spain early in William's reign. He continued in 

 Spain some years, made the tour of France and 

 Italy, served as a volunteer in Flanders, and re- 

 ceived the commission of colonel at the age of 

 twenty-two. He served as brigadier-general under 

 the earl of Peterborough at the capture of Barce- 

 lona. In 1708, he was made major-general and 

 commander-in-chief in Spain, and, the same year, 

 he reduced the island of Minorca. In a sub- 

 sequent campaign, in 1711, he was made prisoner, 

 but was exchanged the following year. On the 

 accession of George I., he was appointed one of the 

 secretaries of state. In 1716, he attended the king 

 to Hanover, where he was principally concerned in 

 the formation of the alliance concluded with France 

 and the States-general, which removed the pre- 

 tender beyond the Alps. The next year, he was 

 appointed first lord of the treasury and chancellor 

 of the exchequer. In 1718, he became secretary of 

 state, and was created earl Stanhope. He died in 

 1721. 



STANHOPE, PHILIP DOKMER. See Chester- 

 field. 



STANHOPE, CHARLES, the third earl, was 

 born in 1753. He received the early part of his 

 education at Eton, and finished it at Geneva, where 

 his genius led him to pay a close attention to the 

 mathematics; and such was his progress that he 

 obtained a prize from the society of Stockholm for 

 a memoir on the pendulum. In 1774, he stood 

 candidate for Westminster without success ; but 

 was introduced, by the earl of Shelburne, into par- 

 liament as a member for the borough of Wycombe, 

 which he represented until 1786 r when the death 

 of his father called him to the house of peers. He 

 was one of the many English politicians who re- 

 garded with pleasure the dawn of the French re- 

 volution; but, what was much more extraordinary 

 in a peer by birth, he openly avowed republican 

 sentiments, and went so far as to lay by the exter- 

 nal ornaments of the peerage. He was also a fre- 

 quent speaker against the war ; and, although sin- 

 gular in many of his opinions, a strong vein of sense 

 and humour often qualified his statements of pecu- 

 liar views. As a man of science, he ranked high, 

 both as an inventor and patron, and, among other 

 things, was the author of a method for securing 

 buildings from fire, an arithmetical machine, a new 

 printing press, a monochord for tuning musical in- 

 struments, and a vessel to sail against wind and tide. 

 He was twice married; first, to lady Hester Pitt, 

 daughter of the first earl of Chatham, by whom he 

 had three daughters ; and, secondly, to Miss Gren- 

 ville, by whom he had three sons. This scientific, 



ingenious, but eccentric nobleman, published several 

 philosophical and a few political tracts. He died 

 December 14, 1816. Henry Philip Stanhope, the 

 present earl, son of Charles, earl Stanhope, was 

 born in the year 1781, and professed principles dia- 

 metrically opposite to those of his father, against 

 whom he even carried on a suit in equity. On the 

 opening of parliament, in 1818, he made a speech, 

 in which he recommended that France should be dis- 

 membered, to prevent her from troubling, in future, 

 the tranquillity of Europe. In the investigation, 

 with respect to the conduct of the late queen Caro- 

 line, his lordship voted against the bill of pains and 

 penalties. His eldest son, known as viscount Mahon, 

 is the author of a life of Belisarius, and of a His- 

 tory of the War for the Spanish Succession (1832). 



STANHOPE, LADY HESTER; an English lady, 

 a niece of Pitt, famous for her singular mode of 

 life. She has resided in Syria for about twenty 

 years, living chiefly about eight miles from Si- 

 don, at a villa of her own construction, called 

 D'Joun. It is situated on a solitary moun- 

 tain, remote from any village. Doctor Madden, 

 who went to see her in 1827, gives the following 

 account of his visit: "Every thing without was 

 wild and barbarous, and all within confessed the 

 hand of taste. I was led from the court into a 

 little garden, at the extremity of which there was 

 a sort of kiosk, consisting of two rooms a- sitting 

 room and a bed room furnished, in the European 

 style, with chairs and tables. The room into which 

 I was ushered was in the Arab style ; and at the 

 farther corner I perceived a tall figure, in the male 

 attire of the country, which was lady Hester her- 

 self. For seven hours there never was a pause in 

 the conversation. Every subject connected with 

 Oriental learning was discussed, and every observa- 

 tion of her ladyship's evinced a degree of genius 

 that astonished me, and was couched in such forci- 

 ble and energetic language as to impress me with 

 the idea that I was conversing with a woman of no 

 ordinary intellect. The peculiarity of her opinions 

 in no wise detracted from the general profundity of 

 her reflections ; and, though I could not assent to 

 many of her notions regarding astral influence and 

 astrological science, I had no reason to alter my 

 opinion of her exalted talents, though they were 

 unfortunately directed to very speculative studies. 

 Nothing is more difficult than to ascertain the point 

 where eccentricity terminates and insanity begins : 

 at all events, I am sure that whatever may be the 

 eccentricity of lady Hester Stanhope, her mind is 

 unimpaired, and that few women can boast of more 

 real genius, and none of more active benevolence." 

 Lady Hester showed doctor Madden a horse which 

 she said was of the race of Solomon's favourite 

 steed, saddled by the hand of God (there was an 

 indentation in the back, resembling a Turkish sad- 

 dle). The rich presents which she made to the 

 Turkish pachas gave her a great influence over 

 them for a time ; but at the time of doctor Mad- 

 den's visit, this was greatly diminished. The 

 Bedouins, however, or wild Arabs, whom her wis- 

 dom and kindness had won, still continued to look 

 up to her, not only as a benefactor, but as a being 

 of a superior order. Her belief in magic and astrol- 

 ogy may also have contributed to extend her influ- 

 ence. She is a woman of great personal bravery 

 as well as moral courage, and has encountered the 

 robbers of the desert at the head of her servants, 

 sword in hand. 



STANISLAUS I., king of Poland, was born at 



