Ebook Autobiography and Political Correspondence of Augustus Henry, Third Duke of Grafton, K. G

At least the Duke should be allowed to tell his own story. It is the story of a man whom no biographer's enthusiasm could describe as a statesman of the first rank, and yet it sets before us a character not very common in the eighteenth century. For the Duke of Grafton was a nobleman with a high sense of public duty, with a real desire to use his powers and his position for the good of his country, and very ready to recognize virtue and ability in others. If his instinct was not sufficiently sure, nor his confidence in himself strong enough to save him from grave error at critical points in his career, he was led astray by no sordid or self-seeking motive; he did not seek or retain office to satisfy personal ambition, or the greed of hungry followers.