SPENCER COMPTON (8TH DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE) CAVENDISH - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED - HFSID 81101

SPENCER CAVENDISH (8th DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE)
Letter scheduling a trip around a game of tennis, signed with his earlier title, Marquess of Huntington
Autograph Letter signed: "M. of Huntington", 2 pages, 4½x7 affixed to a 7¾9½ sheet with attached newspaper clippins. No place, no date (Sunday"). To "Dear Lady Roxbury [?], in full: Fife ordered me to come down to play lawn tennis this afternoon, which will probably be earlier than you will care about starting on this afternoon. I thought of starting about 4:30 but can easily drive myself down unless you had also intended to go so early. Yours very truly". Affixed to pages with printed biographies of the 8th Duke, and of his the ducal line. Spencer Compton Cavendish (1833-1908) was known as Lord Cavendish and then as the Marquess of Huntington (1858-1891), before inheriting his highest title as the 8th Duke of Devonshire in 1891. He had the distinction of leading three separate parliamentary parties: the Liberals in the House of Commons (1875-1880), the Liberal Unionists in Commons (1886-1891), and the Unionists in the House of Lords (1903). His high government posts included Lord of the Admiralty, Postmaster General, Chief Secretary for Ireland, Secretary of State for India, and Secretary of State for War. He was 3 times offered the position of Prime Minister, refusing each time, not from a want of ambition, but because circumstances were unsuitable. He broke with Liberal Prime Minister Gladstone over the issue of Irish Home Rule, and increasingly aligned the Liberal Unionists with the Conservative Party. (The two would merge in 1912.) Some observers opined that Cavendish displayed an avid interest in sports, particularly in tennis and horse racing, in order to mask his political ambition. Surface creases. Irregularly cut. Ink notes (unknown hand) on verso. Corners slightly worn. Slightly toned. Otherwise, fine condition.