Several auspicious circumstances had greatly contributed to aid
Philidor in his London career. Prominent among which were his
introduction to Lord Sandwich at the Hague. His patronage
through the same source by the Duke of Cumberland and the
never ceasing liberality of General Conway, the inestimable Count
Bruhl, the Dowager Lady Holland, and the gallant Sir Gilbert
Elliot of Gibraltar fame.
Of the players who encountered Philidor, Sir Abraham Janssens,
who died in 1775, seems to have been the best, Mr. George Atwood,
a mathematician, one of Pitt's secretaries came next, he was of a
class which we should call third or two grades of odds below
Philidor, a high standard of excellence to which but few amateurs
attain.
Some indication of the varied and important character of
Philidor's patronage is afforded by the names on the cover of his
edition of 1777, dedicated to the Duke of Cumberland.
Twenty-six ladies of title grace the list, including the historic
chess names of Devonshire, Northumberland, Bedford, Marlborough,
Rutland, with upwards of 300 male names comprising heads of
the Church, men illustrious at the bar and on the bench, statesmen,
politicians, cabinet ministers, and many most distinguished in
science, both in England and in France, with a long list of our
nobility.
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