He had so great a horror in his last days of gambling, that in bequeathing his possessions to his heir, as he expected, and godson, Philip Stanhope, he inserts this clause:—­

’In case my said godson, Philip Stanhope, shall at any time hereinafter keep, or be concerned in keeping of, any race-horses, or pack of hounds, or reside one night at Newmarket, that infamous seminary of iniquity and ill-manners, during the course of the races there; or shall resort to the said races; or shall lose, in any one day, at any game or bet whatsoever, the sum of L500, then, in any the cases aforesaid, it is my express will that he, my said godson, shall forfeit and pay, out of my estate, the sum of L5,000 to and for the use of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster.’

When we say that Lord Chesterfield was a man who had no friend, we sum up his character in those few words.  Just after his death a small but distinguished party of men dined together at Topham Beauclerk’s.  There was Sir Joshua Reynolds; Sir William Jones, the orientalist; Bennet Langton; Steevens; Boswell; Johnson.  The conversation turned on Garrick, who, Johnson said, had friends, but no friend.  Then Boswell asked, ’what is a friend?’ ‘One who comforts and supports you, while others do not.’  ’Friendship, you know, sir, is the cordial drop to make the nauseous draught of life go down.’  Then one of the company mentioned Lord Chesterfield as one who had no friend; and Boswell said:  ’Garrick was pure gold, but beat out to thin leaf, Lord Chesterfield was tinsel.’  And, for once, Johnson did not contradict him.  But not so do we judge Lord Chesterfield.  He was a man who acted on false principles through life; and those principles gradually undermined everything that was noble and generous in character; just as those deep under-ground currents, noiseless in their course, work through fine-grained rock, and produce a chasm.  Everything with Chesterfield was self:  for self, and self alone, were agreeable qualities to be assumed; for self, was the country to be served, because that country protects and serves us:  for self, were friends to be sought and cherished, as useful auxiliaries, or pleasant accessories:  in the very core of the cankered heart, that advocated this corrupting doctrine of expediency, lay unbelief; that worm which never died in the hearts of so many illustrious men of that period—­the refrigerator of the feelings.

One only gentle and genuine sentiment possessed Lord Chesterfield, and that was his love for his son.  Yet in this affection the worldly man might be seen in mournful colours.  He did not seek to render his son good; his sole desire was to see him successful:  every lesson that he taught him, in those matchless Letters which have carried down Chesterfield’s fame to us when his other productions have virtually expired, exposes a code of dissimulation which Philip Stanhope, in his marriage, turned upon the father to whom he owed so much care and advancement.