Memoirs of the Reign of King George II, Volume 1 (of 3)

Memoirs of the Reign of King George the Second, Volume 1 (of 3)

The work now submitted to the public is printed from a Manuscript of the late Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford. Among the papers found at Strawberry Hill, after the death of Lord Orford, was the following Memorandum, wrapped in an envelope, on which was written, Not to be opened till after my Will. In obedience to these directions, the box described in the preceding Memorandum was corded and sealed with the seals of the Honourable Mrs. Damer and the late Lord Frederick Campbell, the Executrix and Executor of Lord Orford, and by them delivered to the late Lord Hugh Seymour, by whose Representatives it was given up, unopened and unsealed, to the present Earl of Waldegrave, when he attained the age of twenty-five. On examining the[vii] box, it was found to contain a number of manuscript volumes and other papers, among which were the Memoirs now published. Though no directions were left by Lord Orford for the publication of these Memoirs, there can be little doubt of his intention that they should one day or other be communicated to the world. Innumerable passages in the Memoirs show they were written for the public. The precautions of the Author to preserve them for a certain number of years from inspection, are a proof, not of his intention that they should remain always in the private hands of his family, but of his fears lest, if divulged, they might be published prematurely; and the term fixed for opening the chest seems to mark the distance of time when he thought they might be made public without impropriety. Ten years have elapsed since that period, and more than sixty years since the last of the historical events he commemorates in this work.[1] No man is now alive whose character or conduct is the subject of praise or censure in these Memoirs. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 57016
Author: Walpole, Horace
Release Date: Apr 21, 2018
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Editor: Holland, Henry Richard Vassall, Baron, 1773-1840