letters from general u. lynedoch gardiner, c.b. 
457 
my father, and have besides added two boohs—one a well-bound edition 
of the book on f The Holy Communion/ which he left to be printed 
after his death, and the other a bound volume of his pamphlets—the 
first of which is a memoir of his father-in-law, 1 who was certainly for 
some years (before the Peninsular War) the most distinguished Artil¬ 
lery Officer, and who continued, from a young man to a very old one, 
to be the Chief Staff Officer of the Corps. I remember him in my 
very young days, a most charming old gentleman, beloved by every¬ 
body; the next is a memoir of Sir Graham Moore, the Admiral, a most 
intimate friend of my father, being brother to Sir John Moore, whose 
A.-D.-C. my father was, and whom he loved and admired more than 
any other General he ever served under except f the Duke/ and that 
was more admiration than personal affection. The other pamphlets 
are chiefly battling for the rights and efficiency of the Royal Artillery, 
and it was in consequence of some of these that Lord Grey selected him 
for Governor of Gibraltar, for it was in the gift of the Colonial Minister, 
though supposed to be with the concurrence of the Commander-in- 
Chief, who was then the Duke of Wellington. 
The Queen and Prince Albert used at that time to visit Claremont, 
the property, for his life, of the Queen's uncle the King of the Belgians, 
and my father was living at Melbourne Lodge on the Claremont Estate, 
given to him by Prince Leopold and Princess Charlotte, when he joined 
them on their marriage in 1816. 
One day the Queen and Prince Consort walked down from Claremont 
to Melbourne to tell my father that H.M. had just approved of his 
appointment as Governor of Gibraltar. 
He could hardly believe his ears, for a General Officer's Command 
had never before been given to an Artillery Officer, but jealously kept 
by the Horse Guards, who thought that the R.A. and R.E. were suffi¬ 
ciently provided for by the Master-General of the Ordnance. However, 
having been told of his appointment on such good authority he went 
shortly afterwards to see the Duke of Wellington, thinking he knew 
all about it, but Lord Grey had taken care not to mention it until it 
had been approved by the Sovereign, and the Duke said : f I'm very 
glad ! but it's the first I've heard of it.' 
My father's friend, Sir George Napier, the elder brother of Sir 
Charles and Sir William (all of them ardent admirers of Sir John 
Moore), was a leading candidate for the appointment, and he wrote my 
father such a handsome letter that I think I must send you that some 
day to go into one of the drawers, but I am. now in the bustle of our 
move and cannot lay hands on it.— 
Yours very truly, 
Lynedoch Gardiner." 
1 Sir John Macleod, G.C.H., Director-General of Artillery. 
