and severe, and some
of them were subsequently mitigated by himself. But those who
enter public life submit their conduct and their lives to the
judgment of their contemporaries and of posterity, and this is
especially true of those who fill the most exalted stations in
society. Every act, almost every thought, which is brought home
to them leaves its mark, and those who come after them cannot
complain that this mark is as indelible as their fame. The only
omissions I have thought it right to make are a few passages and
expressions relating to persons and occurrences in private life,
in which I have sought to publish nothing which could give pain
or annoyance to persons still alive.

It will be observed that these Journals begin in the year 1818,
when Mr. Greville was barely twenty-four years of age, and indeed
I possess some notes of an earlier period, which it was not
thought desirable to include in this publication. At that age Mr.
Greville had but a short experience of life, without the
opportunities of information which he subsequently enjoyed;
consequently the first two or three chapters of the first volume
are of secondary interest, and the political value of the work
begins with the retirement of Lord Liverpool. But it is by his
own express desire that these chapters are retained to complete
the series, and the particulars relating to the Duke of York and
to the Queen's trial are not without interest. As the Author
advanced in life his narrative increases in value both in
substance and in style, and the most important portion of it is
that which must at present be reserved for future publication.

Of the Author of these Journals it may suffice to say that
Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville was the eldest of the three sons
of Charles Greville (who was grandson of the fifth Lord Warwick),
by Lady Charlotte Cavendish Bentinck, eldest daughter of William
Henry, third Duke of Portland, K.G., who filled many great
offices of State. He was born on the 2nd of April, 1794. Much of
his childhood was spent at his grandfather's house at Bulstrode.
He was educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford; but he left
the University early, having been appointed private secretary to
Earl Bathurst before he was twenty.

The influence of the Duke of Portland obtained for him early in
life the sinecure appointment of the Secretaryship of Jamaica,
the duties of that office being performed by deputy, and likewise
the reversion of