The Life of Edward Mountagu, K. G , Vol. 1 of 2
First Earl of Sandwich, (1625 1672) (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Life of Edward Mountagu, K. G , Vol. 1 of 2: First Earl of Sandwich, (1625 1672)

Though the first Earl of Sandwich played a prominent part during our great constitutional struggles, no biography of him has hitherto appeared. Campbell, Charnock, and our earlier naval historians, treated him fairly as a seaman, Southey wrote of him with sympathy; but later writers have done him scant justice. Some sixty years ago, Thomas Carlyle, in his search for Cromwell's letters, looked over the papers at Hinchingbrooke. Shortly afterwards he wrote of Mountagu: "Such a man ought to have had a written Biography, and universal legible Memorial, long ago; if the sacer vates were not in so confused a state among us in these times!..." And Carlyle paused.

It has been left to the present Earl of Sandwich, the eighth of his line, to initiate the work. The idea of a biography of his ancestor had long occurred to him, and fitful efforts were made to examine and arrange the papers, but the pressure of a busy life prevented the fulfilment of the task. Yet Lord Sandwich only needed an assurance that the work was really worth doing, and within a few months the arrangements were made.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.