the stores in the arsenal. In his official letter, Admiral Gam. bier thus speaks of him :-"I feel it my duty to make a particular acknowledgment of the aid I have derived from Sir Home Popham, captain of the fleet, whose prompt resources, and complete knowledge of his profession, especially of that branch which is connected with the operations of an army, qualify him in a particular manner for the arduous and various duties with which he has been charged." On the 8th of January, 1808, Sir Home Popham and Sir John Stuart were presented with the elegant swords, voted to them by the corporation of London. They were first presented, at Merchant Taylors' Hall, with the freedom of that company; after which they proceeded to Guildhall, and were presented to the Lord Mayor. They were accompanied by Lord Gambier and Sir Edward Hamilton. In 1809, Sir Home accompanied the expedition that had been fitted for the occupation of Flushing, and the destruction of the French ships of war, arsenals, and dock-yards, in the Scheldt. The command of the army was entrusted to the Earl of Chatham, and the naval part of the expedition to Sir Richard Strachan. On the 28th and 29th July the armament sailed in two divisions. The Rear-Admiral, aware of Sir Home's local knowledge of the insular navigation, entrusted him to lead the fleet into the Rompoot, where they were all anchored in security. The army being landed, and the bombs and gun-vessels directed to proceed up the Veere Gat; Sir Home (who, at the request of Lord Chatham, had remained on shore with his Lordship) received permission from Sir Richard to employ the bombs, &c. as the service might require. He accordingly began on the morning of the 31st July to cannonade Camvere, which had been summoned, but held out. The fire of the gun-boats was exceedingly well directed, and did much damage to the town. Three of the gun-boats were sunk. In the afternoon it blew fresh, and as the strength of the tide prevented the bombs from acting, the flotilla fell back, preserving a menacing position. At night, some rockets being thrown, from the dyke on shore, at the nearest battery of Camvere, the town surrendered. After the performance of this service, Sir Home was dispatched with several sloops, brigs, and a rocket-ship, together with a light flotilla, up the West Scheldt; to sound and buoy the channels of that river, to enable the larger ships to advance, for the purpose of putting into execution the ulterior objects of the expedition; which service he executed with his usual judgment and correctness, driving the enemy above Lillo, where their ships and gun-brigs had taken up a strong position. On the 15th August Flushing surrendered, after a severe bombardment. In the meantime a very numerous French army assembled in the neighbourhood of Antwerp; the forts in the Scheldt were well manned; and every preparation was made for opposing the passage of both the army and the navy. Preparations were also made for conveying the ships so high up the river as to be beyond the reach of either naval or military operations, in case of a successful attempt to force a passage. All idea of pushing up the Scheldt being abandoned, Lord Chatham, with the greater part of the troops, returned to England on the 14th of September. The island of Walcheren was evacuated on the 23d of December following. During the Peninsula war, Sir Home Popham commanded the Venerable of 74 guns, and was actively employed on the north-west coast of Spain, harassing the French forces. When Lord Moira went out as Governor-General of Bengal, Sir Home was appointed to convey him to India, in the Stirling Castle of 74 guns. He was subsequently nominated a Colonel of Marines. Sir Home was advanced to the rank of Rear-Admiral of the White on the 4th of June, 1814, and shortly afterwards hoisted his flag as Commander-in-chief, in the River Thames. In 1819, the Rear-Admiral accepted the command on the Jamaica station, and proceeded thither in the Sybille frigate, commanded by his eldest son, Captain William Popham. He was promoted to rank of Rear-Admiral of the Red on 12th August, 1819. During Sir Home Popham's stay at Jamaica, he lost a son, aged 17 or 18, and his second daughter: they fell victims to the climate. From this period the services of Sir Home Popham have been less before the public, or rather, the demolition of the naval power of France afforded no opportunity for their display. He devoted himself to other pursuits, particularly an improved telegraph, constructed, in 1815, along the coast, from Bridport to the Land's End in Cornwall. Subsequently, he accepted the command of the West India station, where he vainly attempted to reconcile Christophe, King of Hayti and Boyer, and whence he returned in 1820, weakened in his constitution, and mourning the loss of a daughter, whom he did not long survive. He closed a life, as brilliant as it was serviceable, at Cheltenham on the 11th of September. His will was proved in the Prerogative Court, Doctors' Commons, September 23d; it was dated on the 18th of July, 1809, when he was Captain of the Venerable, and about to proceed on a particular service; which he states himself to have arranged. The whole property is left, for life, to Lady Popham, and at her death, to be equally divided among their children. The executors having renounced their right, a grant of administration was made to her Ladyship. The personal property was sworn under 18,000l. His Works were as follow: 1. Concise Statement of Facts relative to the Treatment experienced by him since his Return from the Red Sea; 8vo., 1805. 2. A Description of Prince of Wales' Island; 8vo. 1805. 3. Rules and Regulations to be observed in His Majesty's Ships; 4to. 1805. 808 No. IV. THE RIGHT HONORABLE THE EARL OF SHEFFIELD, BARON OF DUNAMORE, AND BARON OF ROSCOMMON, Quem te Deus esse jussit. OHN BAKER HOLROYD, Earl of Sheffield, the friend and associate of Gibbon, and the editor of an admirable edition of his miscellaneous works, was the second son of Isaac Holroyd, Esq., by Dorothea, youngest daughter of Daniel Butler, Esq. of Penn, in the county of Bucks. The family of the Holroyds were originally settled in Yorkshire, where it flourished as early as the reign of Edward I. The name is very common on the borders of Lancashire, and has given local appellations to one or two small towns in that county. By his mother's side, the subject of this memoir inherited a considerable fortune; and, upon her decease in 1777, he added her maiden name of Baker to his own patronymic. On Mr. Holroyd, after the usual preliminary education, entered the army, and obtained the command of a troop of light horse, called the Royal Foresters, under the Marquis of Granby, as early as 1760. The short duration of the war precluded all opportunity of promotion; consequently Mr. Holroyd obtained no higher rank than that of captain. the ratification of peace, three years afterwards, he passed over to the continent, and travelled through the principal states in Europe. It was during this absence from England, that he commenced an acquaintance, at Lausanne, with the celebrated Historian of the Roman Empire, who thus alludes to it in the interesting Auto-biography, prefixed to his Miscellaneous Works. "In my second visit to Lausanne, (1764,) among the crowd of my English companions, I knew and esteemed Mr. Holroyd, (now Lord Sheffield,) and our mutual attachment was renewed and fortified in the subsequent stages of our Italian journey. Our lives are in the power of chance, and a slight variation on either side, in time or place, might have deprived me of a friend, whose activity in the ardour of youth, was always prompted by a benevolent heart, and directed by a strong understanding."* In 1767, Captain Holroyd, having returned to his native country, united himself to Miss Abigail Way, the only daughter of a gentleman of considerable opulence. His marriage with this lady, of whom Gibbon entertained a very exalted opinion, is thus jocosely alluded to, in one of the historian's letters to his friend, dated Bereton, April 29, 1767. "I happened to-night to stumble upon a very odd piece of intelligence in the St. James's Chronicle; it related to the marriage of a certain Monsieur Olroy, (the name was so spelt in the newspapers,) formerly Captain of Hussars. I do not know how it came into my head, that this Captain of Hussars was not unknown to me, and that he might possibly be an acquaintance of yours. If I am not mistaken in my conjecture, pray give my compliments to him, and tell him from me, that I am at least as well pleased he is married, as if I were so myself. Assure him, however, that though as a philosopher, I may prefer celibacy, yet as a politician, I think it highly proper that the species should be propagated; assure him, even that I am convinced, that if celibacy be exposed to fewer miseries, marriage can alone promise real happiness, since domestic enjoyments are the source of every good. May such happiness as is bestowed on few, be given to him; the transient blessings of beauty, and the more durable ones of fortune and good sense, and an amiable disposition." About this time a good deal of discussion had arisen * Gibbon's Miscellaneous Works, vol. i. p. 169. |