DE CLIFFORD;

OR,

THE CONSTANT MAN.

VOL. I.

DE CLIFFORD

OR,

THE CONSTANT MAN.

BY THE

AUTHOR OF "TREMAINE," "DE VERE," &c.

Cum magnis vixi, cum plebeiis, cum omnibus;

Ut homines noscerem, et meipsum imprimis.

DR. KING'S Epitaph upon Himself.

IN FOUR VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

LONDON:

HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER,

GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.

1841.

Printed by J. L. Cox and SONS, 75, Great Queen Street,

Lincoln's-Inn Fields.

TO THE

LADY FREDERICK BENTINCK.

With age decayed, with courts and business tired,
Caring for nothing but what ease required,

I little thought of launching forth again

Amidst adventurous rovers of the pen.'

SUCH were the words of a man, one of the most eminent of his time, whether we consider his character for arts, arms, general literature, or poetry; whether as a courtier, a politician, or a man of quality. What business then have I with them, will your ladyship say, resembling him in none of these particulars? My answer is, that if I do not in any thing else, I resemble him in the four lines I have quoted. It is certain (though I do not like, even at seventysix, to talk of "age decayed") that I am not a little older than when I first had the honour and good fortune of being known to you; that I have done with courts; am tired of business; and now care for nothing but what ease requires.

VOL. I.

• Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham.

a