Famille de Cambourg

The Gentleman's Magazine (London, England) 1839

Major-Gen. Sir B. C. Stephenson.

June 10. In Bolton Row, Piccadilly, aged 73,

Major-General, G.C.H., one of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests.

This gentleman entered the Hanoverian service in May 1788 as Second Lieutenant in the 9th regiment of bght dragoons, and in 1796 be joined the English army as Comet and Adjutant of the 3rd Dragoon Guards. During the period of bis service he was present in the battle of Famarg, and at the siege of Valenciennes, besides several other actions and skirmishes, in one of which he was very severely wounded by a shell, and bis horse was shot under him.

la 1803 be was appointed Deputy Judge Advocate of the South-West District, and two years afterwards Mr. Pitt named him to succeed Col. Beckwith as a Commissioner for inquiring into the Public Expenditure of the Military Departments.

In 1812 be received from Queen Charlotte the appointment of Master of the King's Household at Windsor, and such was the admirable system introduced by him into that establishment, that, whilst he was in office, there was no one year in which a surplus revenue of some thousand pounds was not returned into the Treasury; and so satisfied was Lord Winchelsea, the then Lord Steward, with his judicious management, that the control of this branch of bis department was wholly relinquished by him to the care of Sir B. Stephenson.

In 1814 be was gazetted a Lieut.-Colonel in the Hanoverian service, and in September of that year he was appointed Surveyor-general of the Board of Works. That Board being subsequently merged in the department of Woods and Forests, Sir B. Stephenson became one of the Commissioners of the new Board, and continued in that situation up to the period of his decease. He also held the office of Biding Forester of the New Forest, with a salary of 500/. a year: which office (a sinecure) has ceased with bis deatb.

In 1823 he was requested to undertake the superintendence of the Dukt; of York's household, in the hope that by the same system of economy and regularity which had been introduced at Windsor, his Itoyal Highncss's affairs might in sonic measure be rescued from the state of disorder into which they had fallen. For his services in the execution of this last employment he declined accepting any salary.

In 1830 he was raised to the rank of Major-General in the Hanoverian service, and created a Knight Commander of the Guelphic Order of Hanover, and in 1834 he received the Grand Cross of the same Order.

To no one but a man endued with the qualities which Sir B. Stephenson possessed, could duties so onerous and so confidential have been safely confided. He was indeed gifted—singularly gifted— with many valuable endowments: a clear understanding, a sound and candid judgment, quickness of capacity, a gentlemanly spirit under the nicest rules of discretion, unfailing zeal, perfect disinterestedness, and spotless integrity.

In all his transactions, every thought of self was forgotten. His time—his talents—his repose—(alas, the too needful repose required by a weakened frame and by advancing years,) were all devoted to the service of his country, and of those whom he considered to have claims upon him; and it may with truth be stated, that no man occupying his station in society, and advanced to his period of life, allowed himself fewer hours of relaxation. From the time of his appointment as Surveyor- General lie never absented himself from the duties of his office, with one exception, for more than a few days, in any one year.

In society, Sir B. Stephenson was acceptable to persons of every age and every rank: shrewd, intelligent, with a vein of humour as original as it was delightful, possessing also a fund of information and of anecdote, the result of various and accurate reading, and close observation of men and manners. The characters of distinguished individuals and the events of past days were familiar to him, and he communicated his anecdotes and remarks in that simple and unaffected manner which heightened their intrinsic value.

But in this faint sketch of a beloved and honored friend bis religious character must not be passed over in silence.

It might be supposed that the early life of a soldier, spent in a foreign land, especially half a century ago, and the unceasing toil of business in after life, were little calculated to induce strong religious principles and feelings; but, as regards.the character before us, this was not the case. A firm conviction of the truths of Christianity, professed with humility, and evidenced by its fruits, together with a sincere reverence for the doctrines and ordinances of the Established Church of his country, were among the strongest features of Sir B. Stephenson's character. In these principles he lived, he impressed them sedulously upon his children, and with these his last hours were soothed.

For the world which benefited by his active and useful life, and for the numerous class of relatives and friends who loved and esteemed him, his death has occurred suddenly and prematurely. To himself, with a constitution ill calculated to bear the shock of further attacks, or a continuance of mental labour, let us hope that it has been "a gentle wafting to immortal life." This thought must allay the keen regrets of an affectionate and attached family, and of those who, with the writer, have long regarded his friendship and society as amongst their highest enjoyments.

Sir B. Stephenson married, in 1805, Maria, the second daughter of the lute Sir Peters Rivers Gay, Bart., by Martha, sister of the late Veil. Archdeacon Coxe, and by her he left two sons and six daughters.

His body was interred in the family vault in Kensington church-yard, on Saturday the 15th of June. His funeral was, by his own express desire, conducted with the strictest privacy, and in the manner most suited to the simplicity of his character.