Page:The Complete Peerage Ed 2 Vol 3.djvu/276

 256 CLARE II. 1802. 2. John (FitzGibbon), Earl of Clare, i^c. [I.], also Baron FitzGibbon of Sidbury [G.B.], ist s. and h., b. 10 June 1792, in Dublin; ed. at Harrow school ;(*) matric. at Oxford (Ch. Ch.), I Feb. 18 10, B.A., 18 12, M.A., 18 19; Governor of Bombay, 1830-34; P.C. 25 Aug. 1830; G.C.H., 1835; K.P., 17 Sep. 1845. Lord Lieut. Sep. 1848, and Gustos Rot. 1850, of co. Limerick, both till his death. He m., 14 Apr. 1826, at Richmond, Surrey, Elizabeth Julia Georgiana, 3rd da. of Peter (Burrell), ist Baron Gwydir, by Priscilla Barbara Elizabeth, suo jure Baroness Willoughby (of Eresby), who separated from him.C") He d. s.p., at Brighton, 18 Aug. 1851, aged 59. Will dat. 7 Apr., pr. 26 Sep. 1 85 1. His widow, who was i>. 25 Mar. 1793, d. 30 Apr. 1879, at Ryde, where she had built a Roman Catholic church some 30 years previously. Will dat. 29 Feb. 1872, pr. 4 July 1879. in. 1 85 1 2. Richard Hobart (FitzGibbon), Earl of Clare to [I. 1795], Viscount FitzGibbon of Limerick [I. 1793], 1864. and Baron FitzGibbon of Lower Connello [I. 1789], also Baron FitzGibbon of Sidbury [G.B. 1799], br. and Sir Egerton Brydges (in his Biographical Peerage, 1 808), on the other hand thus writes of him. "He was a man of a vigorous and bold mind; of superior talents and un- daunted loyalty, who stemmed the torrent of rebellion in Ireland, unawed by threats and unbroken by the dreadful difficulties of the cl-isis." " His voice tho' clear and distinct is neither commanding nor melodious for it has a shrillness of tone. . . Altho' possessed of great private fortune not less than ;^7,000 a year, and acquiring by his profession nearly as much more, he is yet the uniform supporter of every measure of every adminis- tration. He has undoubtedly understanding enough to see what is right, and we should hope integrity enough to pursue it. The fact is inexplicable." {J Reviexu of the Irish H. of Commons, I 789, by the Rev. John Scott). He is stated to have been " of humble origin, his father's father having been a very small farmer who worked his land himself." He was " the most vehement opposer of the Catholic pretensions to share in the privileges of the Constitution . . . Like Thurlow he was in early life a man of dissipation . . . like Thurlow he is pompous and dictatorial in his manner ., . like Thurlow he professes no great veneration for the people or their rights." {Sketches of Irish political character, lj<)g). In the Life of Curran, by his son, he is described as "of slender figure, not very robust health, and rather delicate features; he had the haughty air, the imperious glance, and the despotic will of a Roman Emperor." " He was arrogant and domineering ; he delighted in insulting language and in despotic measures, and he had a supreme contempt for the majority of his fellow countrymen, but he was wholly free from the taint of personal cruelty, and he was too brave and too strong to be blinded or swayed by the passions of the hour." {History of England in the iSth cent., by Lecky, vol. viii, p. 185). "In private life I can affirm that he was a generous and indulgent landlord, a kind master and an attached friend." {Essays by an Octogenarian, 1851, vol. ii, pp. 114, 115). V.G. (») Where he formed a friendship with Lord Byron, of whose Childish Recollec- tions, he is the "Lycus." Byron addressed two poems to him, one beginning " Friend of my youth." He was a Conservative, but followed Peel in his tergiver- sation on the question of the Corn Laws. G.E.C. and V.G. (*>) "How amiable of Lord Clare to be sorry, if he is! I should be so pleased never to see her again." (Harriet, Countess Granville, letter, 19 Feb. 1829). V.G.