The Sun.
London, England, 1801-08-27 00:00:00

•floc RArHY.

. Ttitt talents of Sir CHARLES HANICURi- W.
•
LlAms',- which :were much distinguished in his'cia,
were employed merely On temporary -stflijeCts arid
charaCters,'otherwise his Wit'and imagination would
most probably "haVe secured him a respeaable sta-
tion in the 'Temple of Fame, -among the satirical
Poets of this Country.—Mr. CoxE, in hiS

gent and amusing Tour in.iVionmouthshire,, has in-
trodticed some 'Anecdotes of this lively Writer,
which w a doubtless be acceptable to ourßeaders‘:.

" Charles' iHanbury. (Williams) was born
in-
t7og, and educated at: Eton, where he made con-
siderable .progress in classical literature ; d, having
finished his s,:ndicA,. travelled throUgh various parts
of 'Europe.. Soon after his-,return 'he assumed the
name of Williams, obtained from ;his father the
estate of'Coldbr6ok, and espoused, in 173 z,'Lady
FraneiS Coningsby, youngest,: -daughter. of -Thoinas,
Earl of Coningshy.
" On the death of his father in 4733, he was
eleded Member of
sParliument' for. the County of
.-I'vlonniOuth;'cand uniformly 4upported the Admini,
• stration of Sir' Robert:Walpole, whom he idolized
- he received frOmsthat Minister many early and con?
fidential marks 'of esteein„ and in 1739, was ap-
pointed by him PaymaSter' of the Marines. 'Hs
. name occurs only twice as a speaker in Chandler's
Debates;.' but the substance of his-speech is given
neither instance. . - . -
- "'Sprightliness of conversation, ready wit, and
agreeable manners, introdneed him to•the acquaintance
of men of the first talents; he Was the soul of,thecelo.
brated Coterie, of which the, most conspicunusamem,
bells. were Lord Hervey, Winnington, 1L Walpole,
(late Earl of Orford) Step. Fox (Earl di ilchester), •
and Henry Fox (Lord Holland), with whom in par,'
titular he lived in •the. strietest habits of.. intimacy
and friendship. At this-period, he distinguished
himself hy'political ballads remarkable 'for vivacity,
keenness of inveetive, and -ease', of
He did not, however,-confine his satire to politics,
but descended into private life : with much wit, and
little delic:icy, he wrote a severe lampoon on the
marriage of Mr. Hussey, afterwards. Lard 13eaulieu,
with Isabella ;daughter-and heiress- of: John. -Duke
of Montague, and. Widow of -William Duke of'
Manchester, whose-exquisite beauty attra&ed
nerai admiration.

Wide was the'extent of her Commands;
• ' O'er fertile fields,- o'er barren lands, '
• She stretcli'dher haughty reign :
The coxcomb, fool., and marl of sense,
• ' Youth; manhood, age, arid impotence,
With pride r..irciv'd her chain." • .
" The Ode tirrlstirrittern in
.1743,„ sonn after the
marriage, and ccofined to the perusalOf,his intimate
friends ; btit copies -being indiscreetly circu-
lated, liecarrie public in 1746, the aagan and
dissatisfaaion of the author: ". • '
" Mr. HusSey bOre tke.severe-attack with gteat
forbearance but the Hibernian spirit waslouScd_by
the illiberal satire against the.whole nation:
• " Nature indCed.deniesiherri sense ; •
But gives iheirilegs, and iriipudence,
• That beafs-allitn4rstanding.;" •
-
and several Irish Gentlemen. in London seem to have
entered into a combination to challenge the author.
To,avoid a .succession of duels,, by the idvice of his

friends, he prudently retired into ~Monmouthshire,

though:he did not himself eutertain• serious appre-
hetiSions of danger. His -absence,'and the interven-
tion of friends; cooled the anger; of those whom his
satire had provoked, ~gave them . time to- reflea on
.the .absurdity' of converting a national iota a per-
sonal quarrel; and their cause was justly.avenged by
some counter lampoons, whiCh ied with his own
sprightliness and wit.

I,‘ln i 740 he was instaHed Knight of :the Bath,
and soon after lus return to London; appointed En 7
voy to the Court of Dresden ; a mission which his
laMpooners,imputed to.cowardice,. bat which he at-
tributes to a nobler motive; his 'aillittion for The
death of his friend Mr. Winnington, which threw
him into a 'temporary fit of deep -melancholy, and
considerably affected his health., An Epitaph which
he composed to:" his written with much
feeling, and a letter to Sir Thomas Robinson 'on
that event, does honour to his. friendship;
am here a good'cleal retired, and in a melan-
'chOly way, which . I have been in ever since the
death of my friend Mr. Winnington, in whom -my
Country lost an useful Citizen, and the( man upon
earth I loved the best. 'Tomas upon his death I-
begged the King to send me'abroad, and resigned a
very profitable employment to collie out of a Conn.:.
try where I missed an objet that I esteemed and
hono red very highly, and where every thing dail
put me in mind of him. When he ,dy'cl, he hact
much the best interest of any man in Eeiglancl with
the King ; and had three times in cic\e day retuned
the. Chancellour's of the Exchequer. Seal intd'ilte
King's hand, wtr:tywon'cl fain "bade 'fore'd it upoi
him; but hews steady.to his friends, and 'the cause
in which be had enibark'd, and .1)roof against the
temptation of power itself.' - •
‘( The irotary2of wit and pleasure -was instantly
transforthed into a 'nag of business, and the Author
of Satirical Odes' penned excellent dispatches. He
was well adapted for .the office of a* Foreign Mini'.
ster, and the lively no lesg than ilie solid parts -of
his charader, proved. useful in his. new employ--
ment... FloW of conversation, sprightliness of wit,
politeness of demeanour, ease of addreis;'conviviali-
ty of disposition; together with the delicacy of his
cable, attracted persons of all descriptions. • .He had
an excellent taste for_ discriminating charaders,.
mouring the foibles fof those with 'whom he nego-
tiated, and. conciliating those by whom the Great
here' either directly or:irldiredly governed.,
In t 74.9 he Was appointed, 'ar -the express de-
sire of the King, tosuecetd,MrAege as Minister
Plenipotentiary- to the Court of Berlin.; but in't 75 1.
returned to hiS etribasV -at Dresden: .paring. his re-
siderict at these CoirtTi, he transacted the affairs of
England and Hanover with,.so much address, that he
was. dispatched to Pelersburgh, in:4 time of critical

emergency, . to -condua a negotiation of great, deli.
cacy..and- importance. .

"SOon after ,iris arrival, at the au:
tumn of .1757., he was suddenly smitten wit]; a‘wo,