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DIARY

ILLUSTRATIVE OF

THE TIMES

GEORGE THE FOURTH,

INTERSPERSED WITH

ORIGINAL LETTERS

FROM THE LATE

QUEEN CAROLINE,

VARIOUS OTHER DISTINGUISHED PERSONS.

Tot ou tard, tout se scait— Maintenos.

IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I.

PHILADELPHIA: CAREY, LEA AND BLANCHARD.

1838.

ADVERTISEMENT.

The aii.then1j.city of the following Diary and Letters is too apparent to be questioned. The reader, however, cannot fail to notice certain discrepancies which occur in the work, and more particularly in the earlier portions of it, by which it would appear to have been the in- tention of the editor who first undertook to prepare it for the press, to disguise — by as- suming the masculine style in the Journal, and substituting the feigned for the real sex of the personage addressed in the Letters — the evi- dent fact of the former having been written by a female, and of the latter being communica- tions to one of the same sex.

The reader, by being made aware of this cir- cumstance, will be the less surprised at the other discrepancies which occur, with regard to dates ; some of the Letters being brought in at periods quite at variance with the dates of the Journal.

MEMOIRS.

SECTION I.

Courts are strange, mysterious places; those who pretend most to despise them covet being within their precincts — those who once obtain an entrance there generally lament their fate, and yet, somehow or other, they cannot break their chains. I believe, nevertheless, that it is all one whe- ther these circles of society, which stand apart from the rest of the world, exist under one form of government, or under another; whether under Emperors, Kings, Protectors or Consuls; they may vary as to modes and designations, but courts are courts still, from the earliest times even to these days. Intrigues, jealousies, heart-burnings, lies, dis- simulation, thrive in them as mushrooms in a hot-bed. Not- withstanding, they are necessary evils, and they afford a great school both for the heart and head. It is utterly im- possible, so long as the world exists, that similar societies should not exist also; and one may as well declaim against every other defect attendant upon humanity, and endea- vour to extirpate crime from the world, as pretend to put down courts and their concomitant evils.

December, 1810.— Lady M C called upon me

by appointment; we went together to Her Royal Highness

the Duchess of B k. She thought more of me than she

had ever done before, because I was on the road to royal favour, she herself being in her own estimation an engrafted

1*

6 MEMOIRS OF THE

sprig of royalty.* "We rumbled in her old tub all the way to New-street, Spring Gardens, much to the discomfiture of my bones; for if ever the vehicle had springs, time had stiffened their joints as completely as it has done those of

its soi-disant royal mistress. Lady M C was

grandly gracious, and gave me dissertations on etiquette, such as it existed in her young days, till we reached our destination. We were ushered into the dirtiest room I ever beheld, empty, and devoid of comfort. A few filthy lamps, stood on a sideboard — common chairs were placed around very dingy walls — and in the middle of this empty space, sat the old Duchess, a melancholy specimen of de- cayed royalty. There is much goodness in her countenance, and a candour and sincerity in her manner, and even in her abrupt and rough conversation, which is invaluable in a person of her rank, whose life must necessarily have been passed in the society of those whose very essence is deceit. Her former friendship, for friends very dear to me, of whom she spoke in terms of respect and love, gave an interest to the visit which it could not otherwise have had. 1 sat,

therefore, patiently listening to Lady M C and

Her Royal Highness, who talked of lords and ladies of the last century, and wondered at those of the present, and passed trippingly over the peccadillos of their own contem- poraries, to vent all their moral indignation upon those of mine.

Old Mr. L nef was announced: poor man, what did

he get by his attendance on royalty? the ill will of all par- ties. He knows many things which, if told, would set Lon- don on fire. Soon after his entrance, Lady M C

arose, and, kicking her train behind her, backed out of the room in capital style. How the heart dilates or closes in the presence of different persons! It must surely be very

* If Lady M C means Lady Mary Coke, it is well known

she supposed herself to be the widow of the antecedent Duke of York; for when her mother one day found the Duke in her apart- ment, and rated her for the impropriety of her conduct, she drew herself up with ineffable dignity, and replied, " Madam, do you know whom you are talking- to? You are talking to the Duchess of York." —En.

f If these initials designate Mr. Livingstone, the tutor of some of the Princes, he was a good dull man, not likely to be intrusted with state secrets.-— Fd.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. /

unwholesome to be with those in whose society the latter is the case.

Went to Kensington — a great ball — every body of the highest fashion — Dukes of Portland and Beaufort, Earl Harrowby,* &c. &c. As I always wished the royal hostess well, I was glad to observe that the company then frequent- ing the palace were of the best. I sat down by some old friends, and felt that to be near them was a comfort, sur- rounded as I was by persons for whom I cared not, and who cared not for mej but the Princess beckoned to me, and taking my arm, leant upon it, parading me around the apartments. The inner room was set out with refresh- ments, and a profusion of gold plate — which, by the way, in after times I never saw: was it taken away, or was it otherwise disposed of? I know not. Sofas were placed around the tables, and the whole thing was well managed. Her Royal Highness wished the company to come into this banquetting room; but, either out of respect, and not knowing whether they ought to do so or not, or because they preferred the outer room, no one would come in, ex- cept Lady 0 — d, Lord H. Fitzgerald, and Lord G — r, who was forcibly seized upon by Lady O — d. Altogether, in my quality of looker-on, I could not but think that lady was no honour to society; and it was only surprising to remark in her instance, as well as in that of many others, how well impudence succeeds, even with the mild and the noble, who are often subdued by its arrogant assumption of com- mand.

The Princess complained of the weight of some jewels she wore in her head, and said they gave her the head-ache; then turning to a person who was evidently a favourite, asked, " May I not take them oft' now that the first parade is over?" He replied in his own doucereux voice, " Your Royal Highness is the best judge; but, now that you have shown off the magnificence of the ornament, I think it would be cruel that you should condemn yourself to suffer by wearing it longer. In my opinion you will be just as hand- some without it."

* These noblemen and their wives continued to visit Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales till the King was declared too ill to reign, and the Prince became in fact Regent; then those ladies disap- peared that moment from Kensington, and were never seen there more. It was the besom of expcdk ncy, which swept them all away.

8

MEMOIRS OF THE

I was convinced from the manner in which these words were spoken, that that man loved her. Poor soul! of all those on whom she conferred benefits, I think he was the only man or woman who could be said to have loved her, — and he ought not to have done so.

I dined again at Kensington. There were assembled a company of the very first persons of the realm. I was glad to see that what had been told me of low company, was not true.

Wednesday, 9th, 1810'.— This day, I found Her Royal Highness sitting for her picture. She received me with her usual graciousness of manner, and desired me to " come and sit," — her phrase for feeling comfortable and at one's ease. She informed me that Mr. S , the painter, en- gaged upon the picture, was only altering the costume of a portrait taken many years back, which she said was by no means doing his talent justice. Certainly the picture was frightful, and I have often regretted that I never saw a tolerable likeness painted of her. Although during the last years of her life she was bloated and disfigured by sorrow, and by the life she led, the Princess was in her early youth a pretty woman; fine light hair — very delicately formed features, and a fine complexion — quick, glancing, pene- trating eyes, long cut, and rather sunk in the head, which gave them much expression — and a remarkably delicately formed mouth; but her head was always too large for her body, and her neck too short; and latterly, her whole figure was like a ball, and her countenance became hardened, and an expression of defiance and boldness took possession of it, that was very unpleasant. Nevertheless, when she chose to assume it, she had a very noble air, and I have aeen her on more than one occasion, put on a dignified car- riage, which became her much more than the affectation of girlishness which she generally preferred.

To-day, I received the following letter from my friend "Matt Lewis:"*

* Matt Lewis, known to the public as " Monk Lewis." He was one of the most original characters I ever knew ; he possessed gene- rous and noble feelings, and talents of a very high description; but the whole was marred by conceit, which frequently rendered him ridiculous : nevertheless, his friends, who profited by his good quali- ties, and enjoyed the amusement which no one could at tiroes better

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 9

(Dated) " Holland House,

" December 9th, 1810.

" The only news which is likely to be very interesting to you is, that I have got a violent cold; and that, too, can scarcely be called news, for I have now had it about a week. Perhaps you may think this a subject of much interest to myself, but of very little to you; but I can assure you that you are likely to feel the bad effects of it, for it makes me so cross and so stupid, that you must not expect to find in this letter the slightest scrap of good nature or the faint- est spark of entertainment.

" Since you left town, I have been to Brocket Hall, and passed ten very pleasant days there en trio with William* and Lady Caroline Lamb. I was at Kensington, both Saturdayand Sunday last, and dine there again to-mor- row. The Princess was quite well — very anxious about the dear Good King; talked a great deal about you, and expressed much impatience for a letter from you, giving an account of the wedding, and its antecedents and conse- quences. Nothing is talked of, but the fluctuations in the King's health, and the probable consequences, till I am wearied to death of the eternal discussion. Sometimes he is said to be so much better that Parliament is to be imme- diately prorogued; then he is considerably worse, and the Prince is to be appointed Regent, with full powers, the next day. The King's situation is so doubtful that Perceval is resolved to protract measures as much as possible, and the regal power is at present to be confided to a commission of Lords Justices; then again, the Prince, and the King and the Lords Justices, are all to be laid on the shelf together, and the regency is to be vested in Her Majesty Queen Charlotte.

"All these projects in their turns are sifted, and sup- ported, and contradicted, and laid down again, leaving one, at the end of the discussion, just as ignorant and as confused as at the beginning. So that I grow quite wea- ried and impatient with the subject, and am in the precise situation of Sir Philip Francis, when the Prince was telling

supply to society than himself, will not like to see even this shade thrown upon his character. — Ed. * Now Lord Melbourne.

10 MEMOI11S OF THE

him a long prosing story, which still went on and went on, without coming to a conclusion: 'Well, Sir? well Sir?' cried Sir Philip, out of all patience — ' Well, Sir, well! and what then, Sir? what then?' At last the Prince said, ' Why, what's the matter with you, Sir Francis? what do you want?' ' Want, Sir, want? What's the matter with me? Sir, I want a remit? And this is precisely the only thing now which I want to hear about the Regency. More- over, it is at least certain that latterly the King's general health is worse than it was; in particular, he has lately had an internal complaint, which in its peculiar circumstances is said frequently to be the forerunner of idiotcy.

" For my own part, I am for having the Queen at the head of the government} it is certain, that having a man there, has as yet produced but little good against Bonaparte, and therefore I should like to try a woman. Who knows, but the Queen may be the very woman men- tioned in the Revelation, who is destined to be crowned with glory, and conquer the beast; and therefore, as soon as she is appointed regent, I would immediately have her send a challenge to Bonaparte; decide the whole dispute by single combat; and if she will but follow the example of that illustrious ^leioine, the Princess Rusty Fusty, in setting her back against a tree, and defending herself with her fan and her scissors, I make no doubt she will have the same success, and lay the holy Roman Emperor dead at her feet.

" In the midst of all these political speculations, Lord Grey has made the disputants a low bow, and has gone back to Norlhumberland, to remain there till the middle of January. I asked Lord Lauderdale, if Lord Grey's friends did not find fault with his being out of the way at such a moment, ' By no means,' answered he, with great gravity, ' Lady Grey is to be confined very soon, and he sacrifices every thing to the consideration of his wife. He was quite in the right. I always do the same thing.'*

" London is very full, and the Duchess of Gordon has had some good assemblies. The Princess of Wales lives quietly; never has above four or five people at dinner, and has quite given up going to the play, though she owns, she

* This is rather a strange affirmation for the man who is surnamed " The Father of Divorces."

TIMES -OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 11

-considers this is a very great privation. I have been teased into promising to put together some showy spectacle for Covent Garden; and the Princess insists on its not being produced before Easter Monday, as she says, that till then she has no hopes of being allowed to visit the theatre.

"I am quite impatient for your return to town, not only because I shall be very glad to see you again, but for your own sake, that you may see La Perouse. I am certain you will be pleased with it out of all measure. I saw it the other night, and was quite delighted: and I promise myself great pleasure in seeing the pleasure which it will give you. There is besides a new actress, a Miss Booth, who promises to be the greatest acquisition that the stage has made for many years. She plays Mrs. Jordan's characters with great sprightliness; a very pretty little figure (but not a very pretty face, at least, to my taste;) great intelligence, much appearance of sensibility and naivete, and above all, a voice very sweet, touching, aiukso articulate, that it can be heard all over the house, even in a whisper. She dances, too, re- markably well, and is very good in pantomime. The only thing in which she fails, is her singing, which is abominable; but I trust, (as she is to set herself to the study of music immediately, with all her might and main,) perhaps, she may mend this deficiency.

" How do you like Thalaba? There are always so many nothings to be done in London daily, that I have not read ten lines for the last ten weeks, till I came to Holland House, where I have galloped through two volumes of Madame Du Deftand's Letters, and with much "amusement, though the anecdotes are in themselves of no great value; still, being written on the spot, and at the moment, they have a vivacity and interest which make one read letter after letter without weariness. The extracts from Lord Orford's letters contain frequently excellent things; and, indeed, in Madame Du Deftand's own general observations, there is much good sense and plain truth; but that sense and truth, being generally grounded upon knowledge of the world, and experience of its inhabitants, it unfortunately follows, of course, that the information which it conveys, must be of a disagreeable and humiliating complexion; but what puts me out of all patience, and seems to me quite hard-hearted, is Lord Orford's perpetually torturing the poor old blind woman upon her vanity and her indiscretion,

12 MEMOIRS OF THE

and producing all her defects before her in terrible array, and that too, in the most unqualified language. Could he expect, that at eighty, she would cure herself of her faults, or that if time had not rendered her discreet, his lectures would ! — and if being indiscreet, contributed to her amuse- ment, in the name of Heaven, why (situated as she was) should she not be so. I really think that this plain dealing with a poor old blind woman, who had passed her eighty long years in frivolity, vanity and dissipation, something bar- barous;'and I cannot see any purpose which this opening her eyes to her imperfections could possibly answer, except that of vexing and mortifying her; for, as to correcting her, she must have been long past that, and the idea was ridiculous, though, to be sure, the poor old soul frequently promises to set about the amendment of her faults, as if she was a little school girl, which is, in truth, almost as ridiculous as the advice.

" Have you read these letters? You know, of course, that they were edited by your friend, Miss Berry, who has also written the Preface, the Life, and the Notes, all of which are most outrageously abused by many persons, though, in my opinion, without any just grounds.* " Believe me ever yours truly,

(Signed) "M.G.LEWIS."

To day, I was invited to dine at Kensington. It was a private dinner party; the table lighted from above, and there were dumb waiters.

Thursday, December. — This was the Princess's birth- day. I went to pay my respects.

* It would be difficult to account for this " outrageous abuse," were it not an established fact, that all women who meddle with li- terature, especially those in the higher ranks of life, place themselves in a pillory, at which every impertinent idler conceives he has a right to throw his rotten eggs. Miss Berry, has, however, estab- lished her reputation as an authoress, in spite of all detraction. Her comparative veiw of social life, in England and France, is assuredly one of the best written, and most comprehensive views of the subject, which can issue from the press, and combines all the tact of woman's feeling, with the strength and terseness ascribed to male intellect alone. This work, so superior to the ephemeral fictions of the day, has obtained for her the sober and lasting suffrage of the public. The affection and admiration of a wide circle of friends, (a dearer

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 13

Her Royal Highness was very injudiciously attired, —

-wrapped in a pink dressing-gown. Lady C n was

with her; she seemed dead tired of the latter, who in truth appears to be a dull woman, and there is an expression in her features of something very like deceit, and a sneer, which makes me grave in despite of myself. Shortly after her departure, came the Duke of Brunswick. He paid his sister a set compliment, and gave her a ring of no value. — (N. B. All princes and princesses give shabby presents.)

The Duke of Brunswick is very near being a handsome man; his figure is light and graceful; and were it not that he carries his head ill, he would be a noble looking creature. His eyes are deepisunk in his head, more so than I ever saw in any one, and his brows are remarkably prominent, with shaggy eyebrows. This circumstance gives him a sombre expression, and indeed, the whole cast of his coun- tenance is gloomy, but his features are regular; and when lie smiles, there is a transitory sweetness which is very striking, by the contrast to his usual severity of expression. In manner he is very reserved, — stiff and Germanic. He remained some time conversing with his sister in German, eyeing the lady in waiting occasionally askance. He seemed glad to take his leave.

Her Royal Highness, the old Duchess of Brunswick, next arrived, and still I was desired to remain. I thought this conference would never end; and yet it seemed not to delight either party. What a factitious life! The Duchess appears kind-hearted; the tears rolled down her cheeks as she said the poor Princess Amelia cannot live: she seemed really aft'ected. I take her to be a kind hearted upright woman, but not in the least clever, very slow in her speech and in her comprehension, whereas her daughter is precisely the reverse, and has no patience with the repetition of phra- ses, and the lengthiness of histories, for which, in fact, she feels no interest.

To-day, I had the honour of meeting the Princess Char- lotte, at her grandmother's. She is very clever, but has at present the manners of a hoyden school girl; she talked all sorts of nonsense to me; she is a fine piece of flesh and

boon still, to one whose heart, like hers, rests its happiness on them,) is that which it has ever been her privilege to call her own, and their pride to bestow. — Ed.

vol. I. 2

14 MEMOIRS OF THE

blood, but can put on dignity when she chooses, though it seems to sit uneasily upon her. What will be her fate? It is impossible not to feel an interest in any human being, upon whom such a weight of responsibility is placed.

There is no company at the Duchess of Brunswick's, but old women of the last century, and naturally the Princess calls this a dullification. It is unwise for the old to forget that they were once young; this it is which always put the Princess out of humour, when she is there, and she yawns and chews it.

There was a Count Munster who sat next to me at din- ner, who seems quite ill placed in a court; for he appears to me to be a delightful and a particularly sincere person. He expresses himself on many subjects with great enthu- siasm, and has all the sentiment of a German. He said Italy was a country in which one should not live too long. I asked him, " Why?" His reply was, " It is too de- lightful." The Princess of Wales told him that whatever little good she had in her, she owed it to his mother, who had been her governess.

One day, Her Royal Highness said to me, " If I lived always with my cousins, the royal family; and if they were kind to me, I should like them, and care for them; but I cannot say, treating me as they do, that I feel that affec- tion for them I should otherwise feel, except indeed for my dear old uncle; and he, poor dear, is lost to me now: so I confess, all I am afraid of is, lest the Princess Amelia should die, because I could not then get out to amuse myself." There was a levity in this confession, certainly, but yet there was a sincerity in it, which made me auger well of the ingenuousness of her character.

The royal family had sent her presents on h«r birth-day; the Queen, a very handsome aigrette, which the young Princess Charlotte observed was really pretty well, consi- dering who sent it. She then laughed heartily, her own peculiar loud but musical laugh.

" To-day, I received the following letter from her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales.

" Monday, December 10, 1810. •'I am just on the point of setting out for the Priory, my dear Lord , where I don't expect to be much en- livened, but go partly from civility, and partly from curio- sity, to make the acquaintance with the ' Ida of Athens,'

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 15

which I trust will gratify my search for knowledge, or my taste for quizzing.

"There is nothing new here under the sun, since you left the metropolis, and I lead literally the life of a recluse, for still public amusements are prohibited for the present. Thanks to heaven, no Lord Chamberlain has been appointed yet, otherwise the dear operas would have begun by this time, and I should have felt myself obliged to renounce this great amusement. The parties in Hanover Square, are not more lively than they were last winter in Spring Gardens, except we miss the galanti show, which was ex- hibited, of all the 'old fograms, since the reign of George the First,' which, r suppose, was intended to show the dif- ference that existed between them and the beauties of Charles the Second, painted by Sir Peter Lely; but I am afraid his pencil, as that of Titian, or of Marc Angelo,* would never have succeeded in making them rivals of that happy century; — their beauty was much more valued and praised, except there is one precedent, which will remain on record in the Argyle family.t Your letter arrived most welcomely, as there had been various reports about a sus- pension d'armes, an armistice, or a retreat, resembling that of Massena; but all this puft" must have been merely raised by envy, love of gossip, and newsmongers.

" I intend to go to Blackheath, before Christmas, to take in an additional stock of health, and strength, and spirits for the winter campaign, which I suspect will be rather longer than usual, parliament having met so early. Blackheath will be called Le Palais des .... i, as the sleep will be the most predominant amusement and relaxation, other- wise I would feel myself dans Pordre de la Trappe, be- ing with my lay sister, § Mrs. Lisle, who has taken her resemblance from the springing skeleton. If any body would take the pains to write my biography, they would in- form the public, that for some secret and dreadful crime this penance was inflicted upon her. This is the way one may vouch for the historian's veracity; but as I natter myself, that this wonderful production of epistolary punning will

• It would appear that Her Royal Highness was not very learned in vertu, or very correct in nomenclature.

t I suppose Her Royal Highness alluded to Lady Charlotte Camp- bell, the beauty of the Argyle family, of that day.

$ This word is illegible in the original letter.

§ Rather a confusion here of similes, and metaphors, and persons.

16 MEMOIHS OF THE

remain in (he archives of (he illustrious family of the ,

that upon record, matter of fact reasons of my absence from Kensington will be known.

" Believe me, for ever,

" Your most sincere

(Signed) "C. P."

"P. S. — As much as you may admire eccentricity, I

defy any person of taste and tact to admire Miss O •;

she' is just what Moliere describes so well in one of his plays, of the Precieuses Ridicules, very plain, and has an unpleasing expression in her countenance; her figure is the most diminutive I ever saw, bo(h in height and breadth, without manners and without grace; she sings, what every other person would call, like a crow, and plays the harp, like a young school miss: in short, I trust that we shall not meet again.* And 1 can easily imagine, that all men, except the Marquis, hold her in abhorrence."

The above letter may convey to posterity an idea of the kind of ill-assorted matter, which filled the mind of this unfortunate Princess; but something must be attributed to her want of knowledge of the English language, and much indulgence may be extended to a person in Her Royal Highness's situation, who was constantly goaded publicly and privately, to irritation — a fact, which she was too proud to acknowledge, but which made her take refuge in an affect- ed jocularity, and a pretence to wit- Mr. Ward is certainly a clever man. He is frequently one of the Kensington guests; indeed, there is a great and laudable wish on the part of the Princess to a((ract extra- ordinary persons around her; this desire properly directed might turn to her own advantage, and that of those who be- long to her; but it evaporates in vanity, and produces no effectual improvement in her society. Mr. Wardf is a

* This abuse is, and will be thought by most readers to be unjust

and false, and seems dictated by some private pique. Did Miss O

ever offend Her Royal Higlmess, wlio was in general a good hu- moured person? Miss O , now Lady M , was far removed

above tbe reach of such squibs; and her decided superiority of ta- lent ranks her amongst those who depend not on royal favour for success. — Ed.

f Afterwards Lord Dudley, who promised much, performed little, and died mad.

TTMES OF GEORE THE FOURTH. 17

man concerning whom great expectations are formed, and various parties look at him as a card which, in their own hands, they might like to play; but there is something un- certain and wayward about him, which, just as one is going to like him, prevents one's doing so — though I was very near the mark the other night in favour of what he said of the moon.* The Princess calls Mr. Forbest Mr. Fobb. — There is something ludicrously appropriate in this mispro- nunciation, I cannot tell why.

Again, I received a note from Her Royal Highness; the following is a curious extract from it: —

" The only astonishing news I can offer you is, that the Regent is dangerously ill; still I am not sanguine enough to flatter myself that the period to all my troubles and mis- fortunes is yet come — yet one must hope for the best. — Ever yours, " C. P."

This day, dined at Kensington, en petit comite: no ser- vants, but dumb waiters. These dinners are peculiarly agreeably — nothing to impede the flow of soul, whatever there may be of the feast of reason. The Princess gave a long detailed account of her marriage, and the circum- stances which brought it about. " I, — you know, was the victim of mammon; the Prince of Wales's debts must be paid, and poor little I's person was the pretence. Parlia- ment would vote supplies for the Heir-Apparent's marriage,- the King would help his little help. A Protestant Princess must be found — they fixed upon the Prince's cousin. To tell you God's truth, [a. favourite expression,] I always hated it; but to oblige my father, any thing. But the first

moment I saw my fidur and Lady J y together, I knew

how it all was, and I said to myself, 'Oh, very well!' I took my partie — and so it would have been, if — but, Oh, mine God!" she added, throwing up her head, " I could be the slave of a man I love; but to one whom I loved not, and who did not love me, — impossible — c'est autre chose»

"One of the civil things His Royal Highness did just at first, was to find fault with my shoes; and as I was very

• Madame de Stael said of him, he was the only man of sentiment she had met with in England!

f Now Minister at Dresden, a remarkably clever, agreeable per- son,— Ed.

2*

18 MEMOIRS OF THE

young and lively in those days, 1 told him to make me a better pair, and bring them to me. I brought letters from all the Princes and Princesses to him from all the petty courts, and 1 tossed them to him, and said, " There — that's to prove I'm not an impostor.' "

Lady Oxford observed, " Well, Madam, it is the most surprising thing in the world; that the Prince was not des- perately in love with your Royal Highness." "Not at all," she replied: "in the first place, very few husbands love their wives; and 1 confess, the moment one is obliged to marry any person, it is enough to render them hateful. Had I come over here as a Princess with my father on a visit, as Mr. Pitt once wanted my father to have done, things might have been very different: but what is done cannot be undone."

"What a delightful court we should have now," said one of the party, "if Her Royal Highness was Queen!" " I never wish to be Queen," replied the Princess; "the Queen's mother is enough for me."

Lord Abercorn was, at this time, a great friend of the Princess's; he frequently wrote to her, and was very cu- rious to know how she got on with a new person who had lately come to her court. This lady had once been in his society, but had not seen him for years: "I will not satisfy his curiosity," said the Princess; " let him come and see;"' but he came not.

To-day, the Princess was in one of her most communi- cative humours. Poor thing! she was always looking about for some one to pour out her heart to, and never found one. Some dared not listen to her, others would not, and others, again, did so only to answer their own purposes; but as she was quick at reading characters, she often set the latter upon a wrong scent, which was amusing enough. In ge- neral, when 1 had the honour of being invited to Kensing- ton, I avoided all questions, and endeavoured neither to deceive nor be deceived; but sometimes it was next to im- possible not to ask a question, or make an observation, which the next moment was repented of. For instance, when she inveighed against England and the British court, I asked her if she had left Brunswick with regret: " Not at all; 1 was sick, tired of it; but I was sorry to leave my fa- ther. I loved my father dearly, better nor any oder per- son;" and the tears poured over her face. "I will tell you," she went on to say, and she mastered her emotion —

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH.

19

" I will tell you, there is none affection more powerful than dat we feel for a good fader; but dere were some unlucky tings in our court, which made my position difficult. My fader was most entirely attached to a lady for thirty years, , who in fact was his mistress; she was the beautiful lest crea- ture, and the cleverest; but, though my father continued to pay my moder all possible respect, my poor moder could not suffer this attachment, and de consequence was, 1 did not know what to do between them; when I was civil to the one, I was scolded by the other, and was very tired of being shuttlecock between them."*

The Princess had a custom, when she drove out, of never giving an order, but pointing to the quarter to which she wished to be driven. The postillion watched her eye, and with wonderful quickness took the direction which it (and it alone, very often) designated. I have wondered sometimes, what this dumb-show mystery meant; I can only account for it by believing that royal persons divert them- selves with very puerile devices, and that they play at se- crets, as children do at hide-and-seek.

The Princess sometimes goes to see the Duke of Bruns- wick's two boys.f She climbs to the very top of a house at Vauxhall, where they are living, and having talked for some time to them, goes away again. These visits do not seem to afford either party much pleasure. She complains that they are frightful to look upon.

The Princess often does the most extraordinary things, apparently for no other purpose than to make her attend- ants stare. Very frequently, she will take one of her ladies along with her, to walk in Kensington Gardens — who are ac- cordingly dressed — [it may be3 in a costume very unsuited to the public, highway; and, all of a sudden, she will bolt out at one of the smaller gates, and walk all over Bays- water, and along the Paddington Canal, at the risk of being insulted, or, if known, mobbed, — enjoying the terror of the unfortunate attendant who may be destined to walk after her. One day, Her Royal Highness inquired at all the doors of Bayswater and its neighbourhood, if there were any houses to be l«t, and went into many of them, till at last she came to one, where some children of a friend of

* In this fact there is the seed sown, which brought forth the rankest weeds. — Ed.

f One of these is the ex-Duke of Brunswick, who went up the other day in a balloon, and is not a little eccentric. — Ed.

20 MEMOIRS OF THE

hers (Lord H. F.) were placed for change of air, and she was quite enchanted to be known by them, and to boast of her extraordinary mode of walking over the country.

Sometimes the Princess philosophizes; here is a sample of her philosophy. She said one day, " Suspense is very great bore, but we live only de poor beings of de hour — and we ought always to try to make us happy so long we do live. To tell you God's truth," — her favourite expres- sion, not always used appropriately, — "To tell you God's truth, I have had as many vexations as most people; but we must make up vons mind to enjoy de good, spite of de bad; and I mind now de last no more dan dat," snapping her fingers.

Princess Charlotte came pretty frequently to K n at

this epoch. Lady De Clifford was then her governess — that is to say, so named, for the Princess is her own gover- ness.

The Princess of Wales speaks highly of Mrs. Fitzher- bert; she always says, " that is the Prince's true wife; she is an excellent woman; it is a great pity for him he ever broke vid her. Do you know I know de man who was present at his marriage, the late Lord B d.* He de- clared to a friend of mine, that when he went to inform Mrs. Fitzheibert that the Prince had married me, she would not believe it, for she knew she was herself married to him."

The Princess took great pleasure in explaining the state of politics and parties. She thought she had it all at her fingers' ends, because she had lived with Canning and Mr. Perceval; but she saw every thing through the mist of her own passions and prejudices; and consequently, saw every thing falsely. She used to say, "the nation will go safe enough, whoever are de ministers, so long as de King lives; but when he dies every ting will be overturned. You will see, mark my words. The House of Commons do now busy themselves with trifles, which they had better let alone. 'Mais il faut etre juste.' Ministers would never

have brought in the Duke of Y 's business had he not

misled them. Had he told them the truth, confided in them, and said, I have committed a folly, save me from ex- posure, I will do so no more, he would have been saved, and de constitution too, perhaps, for the business would*

• Probably 0 o B n, that was.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 21

have been hushed up; — but no, his friends believed that he was intact; (our friends do more harm than enemies some- times:) they said the more the matter is investigated, the more it will be to his honour. You saw how de matter turnout," — and she shrugged her shoulders. "I do as- sure you — to tell you God's truth, — had those letters been published, which were brought up, they might have pro- duced a revolution; for they not only told all that is true, but a great deal that is not true."

The Princess was in the habit of saying jocularly, I have nine children* And when her hearers laughed at the joke as such she would say, " It is true, upon honour; dat is to say, I take care of eight boys* and one girl; the girl I took by a very romantic accident. In the time of the disturban- ces in Ireland, a man and woman, apparently of the better class, left a female infant with a poor old peasant woman, who lives at Blackheath, and with the infant, a sum of money sufficient to support it a certain time; but the time elapsed, the money was spent, and no one came to supply the old woman with means for the babe's future exigencies; so she came to me and told her story, and asked what she should do. At first I thought of putting the child to the parish, but somehow I could not bear that, so it ended in my taking charge of the infant entirely at my own expense. She is now at school at Bajh, under the care of a Mrs. Twiss, sister of Mrs. Siddons. 1 have not seen the child for five years, and do not mean to see her till she is grown up: she is now twelve years old."f

It appears to me, said the Princess one day, that jealousy

and politics are untying the knot of Lord A

H 's love for Lady O d; it is said that Lady

O d visits Mr. O'Connell and Sir F B tj

every day, and Lord A d does not approve; but the

greater reason still, is, that the Lady prefers Lord G r.§

* " De boys shall serve de King.— My good friend, Sir J. B., will take care of some."

f Afterwards the Princess took this child, then grown up, abroad with her. She married, but 1 never heard what became of her.

t Sir F B 1, if it be he who is meant, — in 1813 and 1833,

is a very different person. — En.

_ § If ever Lord G r was in such ignoble thrall it could not hold

him long. lie was too high, too noble, too much above the coarse- ness of manner and mind of that lady to become lor any length of time ensnared — Ed.

MEMOIRS OF THE

The Princess's villa at Blackhcath, is an incongruous piece of patch -work; it may dazzle for a moment when lighted up at night, but it is all glitter and glare, and trick, every thing is tinsel and trumpery about it; it is altogether like a bad dream.

One day, the Princess showed me a large book, in which she had written, characters of a great many of the leading persons in England'; she read me some of them; they were drawn with spirit, but I could not form any opinion of their justice — first, because a mere outline, however boldly sketched, cannot convey a faithful portraiture of character; and secondly, because many of the persons mentioned therein were unknown to me. Upon the whole, these cha- racters impressed me with a high opinion of her discern- ment and power of expression — not that it was good Eng- lish, but that it was strong sense — but how dangerous! If that book exists, it would form a curious episode in the me- moirs of those times.

The Princess told one of her friends one day, who re- peated it to me, that her life had been an eventful one from her earliest years — that at one period, she was to have been married to the uncle of the Queen of Prussia — at ano- ther, to the Prince of Orange — at another, to this Queen's brother; the latter she said was a most agreeable man, not at all ugly, and very pleasant in his manners — that she had liked him very much as a friend, but nothing more. — Prince George of Darmstadt \l think that was the name she gave the Queen of Prussia's uncle) was a very handsome man, tall, light, yet not too thin. " He turned all de women's heads except mine. I liked him very much, but he was very perfide to me — a false perfidious friend. It was he who was the lover of the late Queen of France, and he was the real father of the last Dauphin. Just before I came to this country I was very unhappy. My father said to me, if I would marry on the continent, he never wished to get rid of me, or to send meaway; but if I was determined not to marry, that this situation which presented itself seemed sent by Providence to my advantage, and he would not suffer me to slight it. So, as a drowning wretch catches at a straw, I caught at this crown and sceptre; but if I had not been miraculously supported, I could not have out- lived all I have done: there are moments when one is su- pernatu rally helped.'' The Princess became very grave after this conversation, and soon retired.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 23

The Princess of Wales is not what I think a female cha- racter should be, but she has a bold and independent mind, which is a principal ingredient in the formation of a great queen or an illustrious woman.

The Princess Charlotte always dines with her mother on Saturdays; this day Her Royal Highness came with Lady De Clifford and the Duke of Brunswick. As soon as she grows intimate with any one, she gives way to her natural Feelings, and there is an openness and candour in her con- versation which is very captivating. I pity her that she is born to be a queen — she would be a much happier being if she were a private individual. I cannot make out what the Duke of Brunswick's character really is. The Princess of Wales seems fond of him, yet as she never speaks open- ly of him, I conceive there is something about him which

does not please her. A son of Lord H. F d dined

at K n, a boy of about fourteen years of age, who ap- peared uncommonly clever and very agreeable. He is being educated at Westminister; I asked him many ques- tions about the school, which he answered most intelli- gently; but from all I can learn, the Etonians are more polished; perhaps I am partial to the school at which I was myself educated.

Lady De Clifford seems to be a good-natured, common- place person, and the young Princess appears attached to her, which is a good indication of her ladyship's temper.

The dinner over, which always weighs heavy on the Prin- cess, when composed of a family party only, Her Royal Highness recovered her natural gaiety, as soon as she re- turned to the drawing-room, and began talking eagerly to Lady De Clifford en Ute-a-tile. The Princess Charlotte ran from one end of the room to the other to fetch herself a chair. I rose and said how shocked I was, that her Royal Highness had not commanded me to do her bidding. " Oh !" said her mother, " I assure you she likes it; it is an amuse- ment for her; she is kept so very strict, it is like feeling herself at liberty to fly about, — is it not, Lady De Clif- ford?" To which the latter replied sharply, "I assure your Royal Highness, the Princess Charlotte has liberty enough with me." This retort again produced a stiffness, and the time seemed to drag on heavily until the Princess Charlotte and the Duke of Brunswick withdrew, when we

went to the Opera. Mr. Ward, Mr. H. F d, Mr.

L He, Mr. Lewis, Mr. North, and Mr. Macdonald

24 MEMOIRS OF THE

came to pay their respects in her box.* Mr. Lewis the au- thor of " The Monk," was not, however, a very suitable attendant upon royalty. Mr. Ward was clever and plea- sing; but her Royal Highness was not, upon the whole, much nattered by her visiters, neither had she much cause to be so.

Sunday. — There was, as is customary on this clay, a large party at Kensington — but it was not so pleasant a

dinner as usual, for the Duchess of R d and her

daughter with Lady S y and her daughter, also,

rendered it rather formal — and it troubled the Princess to make herself agreeable to them.

After dinner, there was an addition of Mrs. Poole, t Mrs. Lock, J Lady Dunmore, &c, and professional singers — Pucitta, his wife, Naldi, and Tremazotti. The music was procured only for the sake of making a noise — as it is merely an affair of custom with the Princess to have musicians, in order that it may be said she has had a concert; cats would

do just as well. Lord A d H n was in a bad

humour with Lady 0 dj consequently, with every- body else. She is only seeking an excuse to break with

him, in order to pursue a new intrigue with Lord G r.

The latter is much too good for her. — These worldly in- trigues are melancholy proofs of depravity — long attach- ments, even when not sanctioned by morality, excite com- passion ; but the ephemeral fires of passion, intrigue, in- terest and pleasure, are loathsome.

The Princess dined with her mother the Duchess of Bruns- wick. The Duchess of R- d, her two daughters, and the

Princess Charlotte formed the principal part of the company; the Duke of Brunswick and myself were the only gentlemen. He is very silent, and appears to be somewhat of a misan- thrope.

The Princess went to the play, a resource she always re- serves to herself, to escape from a dull dinner. She was accompanied by Lord Fitz — d, her lady in waiting, and

• If Mr. L lie means Mr. Luttrell, that man so famed for wit

and for eating, he was a kind and constant adherent to her Royal Highness, and proved his attachment by accepting frequent invita- tions to very bad food and worse wine. — En.

•J- Now Lady Maryborough.

% The once beautiful Mrs. Lock, La belle Jennings de son temps.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 25

myself. After the play, I was invited to sup with her Royal Highness — as usual, she talked of her own situation, and her previous life. "Judge," said she, " what it was to have a drunken husband on one's wedding-day, and one who passed the greatest part of Ins bridal night under the grate where he fell, and where I left him. If any body say to me at dis moment will you pass your life over again, or be killed, I would choose death, for you know, a little sooner or later, we must all die; but to live a life of wretch- edness twice over, — oh! mine God, no. Well time went on, and de case was, I began to be wid child, and all de wise people said so;, but I pitied clem, for I no more be- lieved it dan any ting for longtime — at last, Charlotte was born. Well, after 1 lay in, — je vous jure 'tis true; upon my honour, upon my soul, 'tis true, — I received a message, through Lord Cholmondeley, to tell me I never was to have de great honour of inhabiting de same room wid my husband again. I said very well — but, as my memory was short, I begged to have dis polite message in writing from him. I had it — and vas free — I left Carlton House, and went to Charlton. Oh! how happy I was — everybody blamed me, but I never repented me of dis step. Oh! mine God, what [ have suffered — luckily, I had a spirit, or I never should have outlived it." She said more, but I can never remember all she says. Poor Princess! she was an ill-treated woman, but a very wrong-headed one. Had she remained quietly at Carlton House and conducted her- self with silent dignity, how different might have been her lot. It is true, as her Privy Purse, Miss H — -n once told a person of my acquaintance, she was so insulted whilst there, that every bit of furniture was taken out of the room she dined in, except two shabby chairs; and the pearl -bracelets, which had been given her by the Prince,

were taken from her to decorate the arms of Lady J y.

Still, had the Princess had the courage which arises from principle, and not that which is merely the offspring of a daring spirit, she would have sat out the storm, and wea- thered it.

The Princess, in one of her confidential humours, de- clared she believed that " Lady II d was a woman of

intact virtue — it is only a liaison of vanity on her part with my better half, but it will not last long, she is too formal for him."* I dined with the Princess and Lady Charlotte

* These words were quickly verified in another attachment to a Vol. i. 3

26 MEMOIRS OF THE

Lindsay, the latter a most amiable and delightful person'; but she is so witty and so very brilliant, so full of repartee, that her society dazzles iny duller senses; and, instead of being exhilarated by it, I become lowered.* I often say to myself in society, " Oh! trouverai-je ma placeP''' — Total retirement, secondary intellect, secondary rank does not suit me — yet the world and the first circles, and the wit- tiest and the prettiest suit me not either — 'tis not affecta- tion, 'tis a melancholy truth.

In speaking of Mr. Ward one day, the Princess said, " I will tell you what Mr. Ward is. He is a man all of vanity — he would marry for money or Parliamentary interest, or to a very fashionable woman, who would make a fool of him; but though il joue le sentiment, sometimes," she said, shaking her head, " I do not believe he has one grain of it in his composition — did you ever observe how he eats? just like a hog with his snout sucking in a trough."

* *****

A long lapse in my journal. My own life during this time, has been far more interesting to me than when in the busy scenes of court life, for I have spent the hours with

. She left town to-day; so I had nothing to do but

to take to my books and my violin etje me stiisfait raiso??,- but it is a hard work, and an ugly man ufac lure. Lord

G — bie paid me a visit, and announced Lord G d's

marriage with Miss B. — I don't know why, but I felt sorry; what business has that old drunken man to marry so late in the day? I received Her Royal Highness's commands to dine with her. She had been very ill with an altaque de bile, as she called it, and was lying on her sofa. After some attempts at conversation, which I had no spirits to keep up, I asked leave to read to Her Royal Highness, and I began Les Malheurs de P Inconstance, and at seven, din- ner was announced; the lady in waiting and myself, were the only company, for every person who had been invited, sent an excuse, except Mr. W., who neither sent nor came — how rude; these indignities were, however, in a great measure brought down upon herself by her own conduct.

younger and more beautiful woman, but one not calculated to be so judicious or true a friend.

* What bad taste!! if ever there was wit whicb could exhilarate without wounding, or inspire gaiety without thorns, Lady C. Lind- say's was of that peculiar quality, and it was difficult to decide whe- ther her powers of amusing, or her qualities to command esteem and love, were most pre-eminent. — Ed.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 27

How true it is, that vulgar familiarity breeds contempt. The Princess was very ill during dinner-time; neverthe- less, she would go to the play for the sake of her little pro- tege Willikin, as she called him, whose birth-day it was. There was nobody at the play in her box, but Lord H.

F d. My nobody is, however, somebody's every body.

What is it makes me find the hours and days so long? Hours and days are coloured by our fancy, not by the sun or by the shade of nature.

The next day, I again dined at Kensington. Sir Harry

Englefield, Mr. Gell*, Lady O d were the only

guests. I was tired to death; oh, yes, to the death of all pleasure.

One day. the Princess set out to walk, accompanied by myself and one of her ladies, round Kensington Gardens. At last, being wearied, Her Royal Highness sat down on a bench occupied by two old persons, and she conversed with them, to my infinite amusement, they being perfectly ig- norant who she was. She asked them all manner of ques- tions about herself, to which they replied favourably; but her lady, I observed, was considerably alarmed, and was obliged to draw her veil over her face to prevent betraying herself, and every moment I was myself afraid that some- thing not so favourable might be expressed by these good people; fortunately, this was not the case, and Her Royal Highness walked away undiscovered, having informed them that if they would be at such a door at such an hour at the palace on any day, they would meet with the Princess of Wales, to see whom they expressed the strongest desire. This Haroun Al-Raschid expedition passed oft' happily, but I own I dreaded its repetition. It is said that listeners hear no good of themselves. That evening, as the carriage drove up to the door to take the Princess to the Opera, the box on which the coachman sat, broke, fell upon the horses, frightened them, and threw oft" the unfortunate man, who, in the fall, broke his leg. The Princess was shocked, but not sufficiently to prevent her from going to the Opera. Royal nerves are made of tough materials.

Sunday. — As usual to-day, there was a large dinner party. After myself, Lord Rivers was the first arrival; and the Princess, not being yet dressed, we had a Ute-a-

• Afterwards Sir William Gell — well known in the scientific and literary world — and best liked by those who knew him most: simple^ minded, kind-hearted and true. — Ed.

28 MEMOIRS OF THE

tele. He is a pleasant and an elegant man — one of the last of that race of persons, who were the dandies of a former century, and how much preferable were they to those of the present day. In the evening, the family of the C — gs came. I know not why, but there is something not altoge- ther pleasant about them, though their talents command a sort of admiration, but too much is done for display. Miss

C sings scientifically, still her voice is not a voce di petto,

not a delicious breathing of sentiment, which goes to the soul — it is studied — made out — acquired — not, in short, the Canto che nel anima si senle. I think the young man is better, though prim and pragmatical; but his verses on the dying Gladiator are full of spirit, and seem the dictates of a natural gift.*

I am half inclined to like Mr. Brougham, yet I feel afraid of him — a mind that accustoms itself always to look at every thing in a ludicrous point of view — every thing especially, that has to do with feelingt — cannot have one chord in unison with mine.

Mr. Ward I positively dislike — in the ignoble necessity of eating and drinking, as the Princess observed, he renders himself an unpleasant companion at table — then his per- son looks so dirty, and he has such a sneer in his laugh, and is so impious as well as grossly indecent in his con- versation, that 1 cannot like this clever man. The night dragged on heavily, but as the Princess was not well, she soon dismissed her company.

Tuesday. — The Princess went to see a ship launched, the Queen Charlotte. We were too late for the actual ceremony, but what we did see was one of the finest sights as a moving picture that I ever beheld. Innumerable ves- sels gliding about, or rather driving one against another, filled with people gaily dressed — all appearing pleased with

* These persons have been the victims of such shafts of fortune, that there is something' painful in seeing- their names thus harshly dealt with. — Ed.

•j- Mr. Brougham — now Lord Brougham. If such was his habitual frame of mind with regard to others, how many persons since have viewed him in a similar light ; — what public character lias ever af- forded more scope for satire, not only with but at him? And yet he is an extraordinarily clever man — even his enemies do not deny it.

The late Lord A said he was the cleverest man of his time, only

he wondered what could make a person of his great abilities choose his line in politics. — Ed.

TIMES OE GEORGE THE FOURTH. 29

the show; but how false the appearance was in many in- stances, I myself can testify. Nevertheless, the pageant had a temporary effect in drawing off attention from indi- vidual sorrows.

The Princess went on board the Commissioner's yacht, where luncheon was prepared for her Royal Highness and her party, which consisted of Lord Aberdeen, Lord H.

F d, myself, and her ladies. Lord Aberdeen is said to

be very wise, Lut he does not condescend to display his stores.

After spending two or three hours on board the yacht, the Princess said she' must take us to see Charlton, where she had passed the happiest moments of her life, and the tears rolled down her face as she spoke; — those tears were genuine. We walked accordingly to Charlton; it is a very fine situation, only looking aver the low county of Essex.. gives one idea of marshy land, which makes one suspect it must be unhealthy.

"When we returned to dinner at Blackheath, we found

Lady 0 d, Mr.Gell, Lord A. H n, and Lady

Jane Harley,* Sir H. Englefield, Miss Berry, Lord R

Lady G d ; the latter is a most curious-looking woman,

but I think she has sense and originality. I like Mr. Gell more and more every time I see him. He is so good-hu- moured, so unobtrusive, so ready to oblige, that with his talents and temper one overlooks a slight degree of vul- garity in his manners. Lord R is less informed,

less amiable; but in him there is a native elegance, and his voice in singing is most melodious: what a charm there is in perfect high breeding !f

To-day, Mr. P , an old friend, came to see me,

and painfully awoke feelings that had long lain dormant. How seldom after an absence do we meet with any person whose heart makes response to our own — either they are colder, or their manners, at least, are different from what they were when we parted with them, which makes them appear changed to us, whether they are so in reality or not. I thought nine years had sadly altered him, and obliterated all remembrance of the past, — but nine years effaces many things; it is the melancholy fate of every one who lives any time in the world to prove this truth. After he was

*.Now Lady Langdale.

f High breeding- — the term is nearly obsolete, it requires a long- and learned note, — and then would not be understood. — Ed.

30 MEMOIRS OF THE

gone, I accompanied her Royal Highness, together with Mr. Craven, Mr. Mercer, and Mr. Gell, and the Princess's ladies, to the British Museum. " Now," said the Princess, as she was getting into her carriage, " toss up a guinea, to know winch shall be the happy two who are to come with me;" but we had not a guinea amongst us, and we resigned the honour to Mr. Mercer and Mr. Craven. I cared not for it, but Mr. Cell, I saw. had rather hav been one of them, for he blushed. Away we went, I was in crested in walk- ing through the magnificent library, and i . looking at the statues — yet whenever I view these collections my mind is depressed. 1 devoured with gre'e ly eyes the outside of the volumes, and wished — oh! how vainly — that their con- tents were stored in my brain. The wnole life of a learned and laborious man would not suffice for that; what chance have I then, in the middle of my days, of accomplishing such a wish? — Then those, beautiful statues, which, even in their mutilated state, testify the glorious conceptions of the minds that formed them! Yes, they breathe the spirit of departed genius, and will continue to do so, to ages yet unborn; but I — I — shall leave nothing to excite one emulative sigh when I am gone! I shall die, and no- thing will tell of my existence! But happier far are those who have never indulged a wish for fame; if a few who have loved us in life mourn us when dead, that is the only tribute to our memories which is, in fact, worth seeking for. Down, then, proud thought, of living in after ages — be that which you are destined to be — fulfil the course which is pointed out by Providence, and be content. I have often wondered whether to a youthful mind it were an advantage or otherwise, to be led to view the highest works of art or literature at once, without previous pre- paration. If persons have great sensibility, I think it might rather be a discouragement — like the eye from which a cataract has been removed, and which cannot en- dure the broad beam of day, so a very young and tender mind should be gradually led on as its own powers de- velope themselves, to the contemplation of the most sub- lime objects, not as it were made blind with light.

I was informed that two of Lord II F d's chil- dren were dying. The Princess went to see him, — poor

Lord H F was in a state of despair, such as the

fondest father can only feel. I like him, he is very amia- ble; but I regretted that her Royal Highness should have exposed herself and him by forcing her presence upon him

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 31

at such a time — the world failed not to lay hold of the cir- cumstance and turned it to her disadvantage.

The next day, the Princess commanded me to accompany

her to Lord A 's, at the Priory. 1 had not been at that

place for many years. What a change those years had wrought in that family; all the younger branches were grown up, some of them become mothers — and there was

another Lady A n! The present one is reckoned

agreeable and clever, but how unlike her predecessor in beauty and charm! Lord A n alone appeared un- changed, though all was changed around him; he sang, stalked about the roflm, and in short was tovjours lid. He never will allow, I am told, any person to mention the chil- dren he has had the misfortune to lose. Alas! poor man, he does not foresee that soon another will drop into the grave. This wilful blindness to Godrs will is very awful.

Lady M * alone, of all the family, seems blooming

and'healthy. I hope she at least will live. Altogether this visit was not very pleasing to me, i felt too much like St. Leon. The trees" even had grown out of all proportion to my remembrance of them; but that remembrance was perfectly clear, and distinct, it had been stamped into my very being, and only gave a more strange effect to my pre- sent sensations, contrasted as they were with the actual scene.

July 27. — Slept restlessly and ill. The past and the present floated in a turbid stream of thought, and the cur- rent glided so rapidly along, that I could not distinguish the objects it bore upon its surface. My impression was that of standing in the midst of a chafing, boiling current, against which I was vainly endeavouring to stand upright. The effect of this sort of waking dream was intensely pain- ful. 'Tis such nights that unfit us for the days which are

to follow. Mr. T again visited me — but I sought in

vain for those traces of feeling, or any reference to the past, which I fancied he would evince — 1 did not meet with one. Paid a dull visit — what a pity it is when truth is not ac- companied by any charms. Miss Smith, I think it is, who has said, that to "be dull and disagreeable is high treason

against virtue. To-day, saw Mrs. L looking like a rose,

ami her husband like' a sensitive plant sitting near her —

* How soon the blight fell upon her also! What a rapid decay in a family ! A 9ad, but salutary lesson!

32 MEMOIRS OF THE

from the Basse Cour to the garden was a delicious change.

There is something very interesting in Mr. L , but I

believe it is because he takes no interest in any tiling — not that lie is devoid of affection for his wife and children, but the finer particles of his nature, those evanescent emana- tions of spirit which are only cognizable to the very few, and which thrive not, unless under the influence of conge- nial feelings, are dried up and withered within himself; and I should think can hardly be called to life again by any living object — perhaps the very woman whom he first truly loved could no longer exercise that power over him which she once possessed, even were there no barriers to their reunion — the fair illusion which presented her all perfect to his fancy existed only, it may be, in his imagination: — when time withdrew that heavenly veil in which he had clothed her, here ended the romance, but not the longing alter that which he was destined never to find. It is to be lamented that no wholesome resolve has sprung up in its place to re- cover the waste of life, the listless hours — the effeminacy — which too often succeeds to excitement; there are always honourable pursuits open to an aspiring mind, and there are realities in life which are worthy of the most noble and generous natures.

SECTION II.

February 10th, 1811. — Of the many tiroes in which I have commenced writing a journal, some reason or other has prevented its continuance, or at least thrown upon it that check, which diminishes the pleasure of writing, and renders the matter less interesting. If nobody is ever to read what one writes, there is no satisfaction in writing: and if any body does see it, mischief ensues. So I will not write a journal, but brief notes of such things as I conceive may be amusing, without incurring danger to myself or others.

I am sorry to observe that the poor Princess is losing ground every day in the opinion of the public. There is a strong and a bitter party against her; and she is always irritating some one or other of these persons, and drawing down upon herself an excuse for their malevolence by her imprudence, — it is to be lamented that she has no mental pursuits; that is the only safeguard against a love of in-

TIMES OF GEOKGE THE FOURTH. 06

trigue. People must do something to amuse themselves, and when they are not employed in any work worthy of the dignify of" human nature, they will do mischief out of mere idleness.

The Princess often read aloud. It was difficult to un- derstand her Germanised French, and still more, her com- posite English. She was particularly amused at the Mar- gravine de Bareith's Memoirs; this lady was sister of Fre- derick the Great— Devil. In truth they were amusing, as all memoirs aie that merely relate facts. Her Royal High- ness told me that if she were to die, her papers would be all examined; for which reason she had burned a great many, and that the fest— particularly the letters she had received from the Prince, either from himself or written by his orders, previous to her having left Carlton House— were in safe custody.

To-day, I had a letter from the most entertaining of all correspondents. Lord Orford's is a joke to this epistolary phenomenon.

Christ Church, Oxford, 15th March, 1811.

Dear Lord ■ ,

It vexes me extremely to think that I must have appear- ed so ungrateful to your Lordship (provided that you did. me the honour to remember that there was such a person in existence) by not sooner performing my promise respect- ing the drawing which you were so good as to desire, and

my gleanings which regard the family of ; but the

truth is, that what with bad eyes, indifferent health, and a perpetual motion from one set of lodgings to another, I have scarcely been able to wield a pen, or open a book since I left London. Even now, my eyes feel as those of Juno's cow-boy must have done, when fixed upon her peacock's tail; and my eyelids resemble in comfort a couple of hedge- hog skins inverted. Your Lordship must have seen a pair of dice in red leather dice-boxes — my optics exhibit exact- ly such a spectacle: then my head aches as if I were with child of Minerva every other day, though, alas! there is but little of the goddess in that quarter. When I last arrived in Oxford, I found that, my rooms had been demolished in my absence, and discovered ail my articles of furniture and study in the most chaotic confusion: so 1 looked out for a new abode, carrying with much pain and labour, my debris about witli me." lint here, the sitting-room was too small, there, too large; in this place the chimney smoked,

54 MEMOIRS OF THE

in that, the house-maid was slovenly, and the cat in love. I could settle with comfort no where. My luggage, how- ever, like VEsop's basket, became lighter by degrees, as I left half-a-doz.cn things behind me at every lodging which I relinquished, and I never could hear tidings of them after. Tn fine, I am at last fixed — laid by for a while, like a poor slipper that hath been hunted through many unseemly places. 1 now send you the first fruits of my repose — a representation of Titania, with that little boy in her arms, concerning whom she hath a feud with her spouse in The Midsummer Night's Dream. It is a wretched performance, but the best that my slender capacity can furnish; there- fore I beseech you to cast an eye of compassion on its beast- liness.

* %£ ^ ijt * ;'tc ^

Talking of books, we have lately had a literary Sun shine forth upon us here, before whom our former luminaries must hide their diminished heads — a Mr. Shelley, of Uni- versity College, who lives upon arsenic, aqua-fortis, half- an-hour's sleep in the night, and is desperately in love with the memory of Margaret Nicholson. He hath published what he terms the Posthumous Poems, printed for the be- nefit of Mr. Peter Finnerty, which I am grieved to say, though stuffed full of treason, is extremely dull, but the Author is a great genius, and if he be not clapped up in Bedlam or hanged, will certainly prove one of the sweetest swans on the tuneful margin of the Charwell. Our Col- lege of Christ Church is so full of noblemen at present, that one's eyes require green spectacles to preserve them from the glare of the golden tufts among these peers. The Dukes of Leinster and Dorset are pre-eminent, are both very good men, though the one will never head an Irish rebellion, nor the other write a poem quite so pretty as " To all you ladies now on land." The Irish Duke is much cried up for his beauty, but he. does not strike me as being re- markably handsome, because his nose is fashioned like a monkey, and he hath got what in Ireland is called " clober heels." As to Dorset, he is exactly like a sick Canary bird in a hard frost; all the milliners in the place admire Lord Herbert, while the wives of the Dean and Canons affect to admire Lord Apsley.he is so monstrous genteel and sickly. — Shelley's style is much like that of Moore burlesqued, for Frank is a very foul-mouthed fellow, and Charlotte, one of the most impudent brides that I ever met with in a book. Our Apollo next came out with a prose pamphlet

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 35

in praise of atheism, which I have not as yet seen, and there appeared a monstrous romance in one volume, called St. Ircoyne, or the Rosicrucian. — Here is another pearl of price! all the heroes are confirmed robbers and causeless murderers, while the heroines glide en chemise through the streets of Geneva, tap at the palazzo doors of their sweet- hearts, and on being denied admittance leave no cards, but run home to their warm beds, and kill themselves. If your lordship would like to see this treasure I will send it. Shelley's last exhibition is a Poem on the State of Public Affairs. I fear, my dear Lord, you will be quite disgusted with all this stuff, so I shall discreetly make an end, re- questing you to believe me your lordship's faithful servant,

C.R.

1811. — The tide of time bears in its flux and reflux many things away, and brings in others to supply their place. Thus, as we glide down the current, this life some- times resembles a bleak and dreary shore, at others, the beautiful margin of some bounded sea, fringed with wood, and clothed with luxurious vegetation — but still 'tis but a shore whose varying aspect, as we drift along, reminds us, that it is no fixed abode. But there is a land of promise beyond the horizon of time, where time itself will be as though it ne'er had been. As years fly swiftly away never to be recalled, it is impossible but that at the return of the epoch which marks their flight, every thinking being should not pause, and reflect: and standing as it were upon the isthmus which separates the past from the future — trace out the path they have trod, and with inquiring-glance look on to that which t^ey are vet to tread. Regret, disappoint- ment, misfortune, error — strew the track of most earthly pilgrimages — happy are those whose thorns and briers have not been sell -planted, and who can, amongst their griefs and sorrows, retain in memory's store the faithful linea- ments of some pure happiness. To dwell long upon the irrevocable past, is vain — repentance should be deep and sincere — by its fruits the tree is known — so should its truth be proved, but to sink beneath the Overwhelming nature of a gloomy self-reproach, to heap difficulties in our onward road, is to mar its best uses.

I draw the veil of private life upon one year; I have lit- tle to dwell upon during its progress that does not bring pain along with il. Since the month of June last, my days nave passed in one uniform tenor, but not thus has my mind

bb MEMOIRS OF THE

rested in abeyance. No! it has pondered deeply, and I find the result of these meditations to be, that religion and a future life are all that is really worth thinking about. The heart that acknowledges within it a hopeless vacuum — which has been disappointed in all its expectations, has burnt out its affections to the very ashes, and from nourish- ing every feeling to excess is forced to subside in the fixed calmness of indifference, and be content with common life, — must surely perish from inanition, if it aspires not to the life to come — " heureusement, quand les mysteres de ce monde jinissent, cextx de la mort commencent" I hence- forth determine to live mentally to myself. My outward life will probably be a busy one; the worldly characters and worldly vices, and strange stories that 1 may hear shall be set down on paper without many remarks of my own, for which I may neither have time nor inclination. La vie interleave is another thing.

Saturday, the 4th of , 181 l.-rSaw Sir Walter Far- quhar.* He had been dining with the Regent, as he had been obliged to do for a week past. He would not say all he could have said, but from what I gathered, it is evident he thinks as all those must think who have access to know the truth; namely, that a long course of indulgence lias at last undermined his Royal Highness's constitution, both mentally and physically speaking. It is given out that the Regent has got spasms in his arms, owing to his having leaned on his elbows at the time he sprained his arm, to save himself from pressing on his ancle! What egre- gious nonsense! But the same sort of stuff has been al- ways said concerning Princes, whenever they were to be sick or well to suit public or private concerns. Unfortu- nately for myself, I have bought experience at too dear a rate, not to know, by seeing the Regent, what is his malady, and what is the cause; — a course of excessive and habitual drinking is invariably followed by debility, and will end in bringing most persons to a premature grave. The Minis- ters now in power are in fact the Regent. The Regent dares not say nay, even when he secretly disagrees with them, and all the sense he has left is, to know that if the

* Sir Walter Farquhar, a man whose memory is scarcely done jus- tice to, though he was sought after, trusted, and courted in life. If ever there was an Israelite without guile — one who had the wisdom of the serpent and the harmlessness of the dove — that man was Sir Walter Farquhar.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. bT

limitation placed by them were taken off, he would be ut- terly overwhelmed by the host of persons to whom he has made promises, that he neither can nor will fulfil; — for this reason, whenever the Regent has been called upon to come forward and act, the public papers have always made the unfortunate Monarch better, in order that there might be a plausible pretext in bringing forward filial duty, as virtuous forbearance and making excuses for deferring that which he himself dreads; — namely, the possession of the power to fulfil promises he has no longer the inclination to keep. I think the party who have looked up so long to him cannot continue to be thus gulled without showing their teeth; — in fact, the throne totters, and the country, which has hitherto supported it, is not steady. In the language of Scripture, it *' reels to and fro and staggers like a drunken man."*

To-day, I was again one of the guests at Kensington. The Princess Charlotte was there. She is grown exces- sively, and has all the fulness of a person of five-and-twen- ty. She is neither graceful nor elegant, yet she has a pe- culiar air et tous les prestiges de la royaute et du pouvoir. In spite of the higher powers of reason and of justice, these always cast a dazzling lustre, through which it is difficult to see the individuals as they really are. The Princess Charlotte is above the middle height, extremely spread for her age; her bosom full, but finely shaped; her shoulders large, and her whole person voluptuous; but of a nature to become soon spoiled, and without much care and exercise she will shortly lose all beauty in fat and clumsiness. Her skin is white, but not a transparent white — little or no shade in her face — but her features are very fine. Their expression, together with that of her general demeanour is noble. Her feet are rather small, and her hands and arms are finely moulded. She has a hesitation in her speech, amounting almost to a stammer, an additional proof, if any were wanting, of her being her father's own child; but in eve- ry thing, she is his very prototype. Her voice is flexible, its tones dulcet, except when she laughs, then it becomes too

* There is nothing new in this conduct of the Regent; all Princes who scorn their father's ministers and measures during their minority, generally adopt both, when they come to reign. The likeness, so often drawn between the Regent in his youth to the Hal of Shak- speare, and the similar change of conduct with that Prince, when he came to the throne, and which is made an excuse for every caprice of humour and every change of system, has told the tale long ago of an heir apparent and a crowned monarch.

vol. I. 4

38 MEMOIRS OF THE

loud, but is never unmusical. She seems to wish to be ad- mired more as a lovely woman than a Queen. Yet she has lost quickness both of fancy and penetration, and would fain reign despotically, or I am much mistaken. I fear that she is capricious, self-willed, and obstinate. I think she is kind-hearted, clever, and enthusiastic. Her faults have evidently never been checked, nor her virtues fostered. The "generous purpose" may have risen in her breast, but it has never been fixed there. How much does every day's experience convince me, that from the crowned head to the labouring peasant, no fine qualities are truly valua- ble without a fixed principle to bind them together and give them stability.

The Princess Charlotte was excessively gracious to me; the wind blew my way " wooingly ," but that was all. Never was a truer word spoken by man, than that Princes are a race a part.

I cannot conceive why the Princess of Wales should dis- like that any friend of hers should become intimate with her mother's lady, Madame de Haeckle. I met the latter this day, but found that this short visit was all the commu- nication I ever was to have with her, if I desired to retain the favour of Her Royal Highness: I conclude, therefore,

she knows more than is wished. Lord L has been

paying Her Royal Highness great court lately. I fear perhaps that when she broke with her former counsellor she made a confidant of this man, and so she has fallen into his power, and he is making a tool of her. I see by the great fuss she has made, and the curiosity she has evinced

about the Duke of D- , that Lord L has been

schooling Her Royal Highness respecting his Grace, but

what a weak man Lord L was to suppose that he will

ever marry his -daughter to the Duke through her means. The Princess naturally wishes it: first, for the amusement of having something to occupy her; and secondly, thinking, I suppose, to gain in her turn, through Lord L 's in- terest, a powerful friend and supporter in the Duke of

D , should he become the Prince's son-in-law. How

little do all these people know of the matter they are fight- ing about. I know not much, but I think better of him than to suppose he would be the tool of such machinations. The more I see of courts and of the world, the more I wish to escape their polluting influence. The spirit of intrigue which reigns around, the petty passions and debasing con- trivances which take place in them, are apt to deaden the

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 39

finer qualities both of heart and head. The danger is, lest they should become wholly crushed and withered.

Her Royal Highness talked a great deal of the D sasa

family knowing nothing at all about them. She abused and

denigred the ladies, and repeated all that Mr. G had

once told her of their being false friends. This gossip she re- lated in her favourite way, saying — A person once told her, that another person, a gentleman, a friend of both parties, told him, that one of the ladies had spoken very ill of a lady she pretends to like. If this is true, it is a pity, and I have other reasons for thinking there may be some truth in the story; but who can aver that they have not themselves been oc- casionally guilty of saying unkind or pettish things of a friend? If every thing was repeated, what would become of society? Le palais delaverile would beahell upon earth. The Princess farther went on to say, that she had been credibly informed, " I tell you God's truth," (her favour- ite expression) when the second Duchess of D. was at

C k, she spent about twelve hundred pounds in five

weeks, and on the Duke's man of business representing that measures should be taken to regulate the household, the Duchess took offence and immediately went away — that was the only way of settling tHe business; but what is very odd, continued the Princess, is, that in arranging her future furniture, &c, the family diamonds were not

appointed to any one. Sir S R gave it as his

opinion, that they, in consequence, became the Duchess's, being considered as a part of her paraphernalia: but the comical part of all the story is, that she wrote a letter to

the D , saying, for his sake, his sister's and all their sakes,

she should take the diamonds, hut that if he ever married, her Grace would return them to his wife; vat did she mean? — tell me dat riddle. — Every body laughed at the Princess's amusing way of telling a story.

Mrs. A and Mr. Davy dined with Her Royal High- ness. I also was of the party. I had never yet become ac- quainted with this celebrated man, so I took his superior abilities upon trust. His superior ugliness I know by

ocular demonstration. — Mrs. A seems tinctured with

something like love. I wonder if he will analyze the sentiment.* In the evening, the Princess went to the

* Afterwards Sir Humphry Davy, and who married Mrs. A .

He was a very delightful man, and she a still more delightful woman; but neither of them the least suited to each other.

40 MEMOIRS OF THE

Duchess of Brunswick's. I am not permitted to talk to Madame de Haeckle, or I should be very much amused. But no, — that is forbidden ground; and whenever we at- tempt conversation, the Royalties interfere, and there is an end of it. If ever I might converse with the old Duchess of Brunswick freely, there is such a pleasure in pleasing, and it is so easy to please an old person, that from that source also I could derive interest. But I must not. Oh! it is a hard thing to be placed amongst many women, (the devil among the tailors is a joke to it,) and bound to be civil and make the agreeable to all 5 but there is a hard- ness of manner in the Princess towards her mother, unlike her general demeanour to others, which sometimes re- volts me.

Her Royal Highness once read through the whole of Candide to one of her ladies, who told me her opifiion of it, which does her honour. She said, — "its character as a work of extreme cleverness has been so long established, that to venture in the least to detract from it, is to en- counter the ridicule of a multitude. I must say, however, that the persiflage which reigns throughout, and in which its whole essence consists, is not consonant to my taste or understanding. Vicious subjects ought not to be treated lightly; they merit tfte coarsest clothing, and ought to be arrayed in language which would create abhorrence and disgust. But the whole work seems designed to turn vice into virtue. Either it has no aim- or end, or it has one which should be loathed. It must be confessed, however, that the tripping levity of its self-assurance, and the sar- castic drollery of its phrase, excite laughter; but it is a poor prerogative after all, to be the mental buffoon of ages."

Though I, perhaps, have more indulgence for Voltaire, in consideration of his vast talents, than my fair friend, yet I admired the woman who thought and spoke thus; and her Royal Highness is fortunate in having such a friend. But I fear princes and princesses do not suffer those who are in- clined to be their true friends to be so long.

To-day I was admitted to the Duchess of Brunswick, to pay my respects in a morning visit, and had a tete-a-tete interview. I found her sitting, as usual, in the middle of her empty dull room. It is wonderful how little power locale has over some persons, and how much it affects others. She made my heart ache for her, poor old soul, when she said, " I have nothing to love; no one loves

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 41

meJ, — Alas! — what a picture of human wretchedness did that short sentence comprise. 1 have had too much rea- son to know since, that she spoke the truth. The heart that thus seeks in vain for some reciprocal affection, must either break or become callous. 1 know not which is the preferable alternative.

About this time, her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales was intioduced, by a very injudicious friend of hers, to a set of low persons, totally unfitting her private so- ciety:— viz. three singers, the father, mother, and son; and also a number of people belonging to a school, whom her Royal Highness allowed and encouraged to treat her very disrespectfully. This at first originated in her love of ease and indolence, which is indulged by living with per- sons of inferior rank; but in after-times I much fear there were other reasons for submitting to such an unworthy set of people.

The Princess sent for me to execute a commission, of selling two enormous unset diamonds. I did not like the office, and cannot understand what could induce her Royal Highness to part with them, or why she should be in diffi- culty for any sum of money which she can reasonably want. Is she then drained by the old music master, anil will her eyes never be opened to his rapaciousness? or is there a worse reason?

I went yesterday to Mrs. N , paid a long visit, and

asked to see her children, and admired them by words, but cared not two-pence for them, — poor little ugly things! What duplicity does the civilization of mankind naturally impose! So I sometimes think, and turn from myself and others equally disgusted; but as there must be dc la petite monnale — base coin though it be, — this currency of dross is only received as it is given: — and besides, as long as we do no! do any thing base or wicked in .order to please, it is amiable to please even at the expense of sincerity. — I took ih- diamonds with which I had been intrusted to several jewellers; one man offered only a hundred and fifty pounds for them. 1 knew this was ridiculous, and so 1 restored them to her Royal Highness: — what became of them I know not, but this 1 do know, that one of the jewellers, by referring to his books, declared that they were jewels be- longing to the Crown.

Received an invitation from her Royal Highness to go to Brandenbargh House. When I arrived I found her walk- ing in her garden with Lord L . Shortly after, he went

4*

42 MEMOIRS OF THE

away, and her Royal Highness talked over the present state of politics and royal feuds. She was low, but not subdued in spirit; wounded, but not malignant. She re- lated with great spirit and drollery the visit of the Queen to the Duchess of Brunswick, and told me that when she, the Princess of Wales, was at her mother's the other day, the old lady* said in her blunt way, " Madame de Haeckle, you may have a day to yourself on Wednesday next, for the Prince hag invited me to dine at Carlton House, and he will not suffer any lady-attendants to go there; and as my son accompanies me, I shall not want you." This speech astonished all present save her daughter, who had been apprised by the Duke of Kent that such an invitation would take place. It was so unfeeling to announce this with an air of triumph to the Princess of Wales, that but for the poor Duchess being very weak and easily gulled, one must have conceived her to be devoid of all heart. This speech was followed by a general cessation of all conver- sation, Madame de Haeckle only looking dismayed. The Duchess of Brunswick first broke silence by turning sud- denly to her daughter and saying, " Do you think I should be carried upstairs on my cushion?" To which the Prin- cess, with a curious presenceof mind, replied coolly, "There is no upstairs, I believe; — the apartments are all on one floor." " Oh, charming, that is delightful i" rejoined the Duchess; and with a few more queries, to which the Prin- cess always replied with the greatest self-possession and sang fioid, as though she was not in the least hurt, this strange royal farce ended.

The Duke of Brunswick, however, came to the Princess his sister, and said, " This must not be. You must not

suffer her to think of going." Accordingly, Lady G ■

was despatched the next morning with a long letter written by the Princess to her mother, explaining to her that if she went to Carlton House, her presence there would seem like a tacit acknowledgment that she was satisfied with the Prince's conduct to her daughter; that he was in the right; that she, the Princess, merited the treatment he

gave her. Lady G read the letter to the Duchess,

then by word of mouth confirmed the contents, and further commented thereon; but the Duchess was immoveable in

* It is difficult to understand how a mother could like to affront her own child; but such are the unnatural discrepancies in the hu- man character, in that of princes particularly; for on the whole the Duchess of B. was a kind hearted woman.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 43

her intention, and persisted in going. "No," said she, " I see the business quite in another point of view from what you do; I love my daughter above all things, and would do any thing in the world for her, but I must go to Carlton House." Lady G continued in earnest con- verse and entreaty with her for two hours, but nothing ap- peared to move the old lady from her determination; when weary and worn, the ambassadress was about to depart, the Duchess cried out — "No, no; tell her 1 love her of all things, but give her no hopes upon this subject. The Prin- cess has a jewel in you;* you have done your embassy well; but give her no hopes."

" Eh bien!" said the Princess, continuing her narration of this curious scene, and drawing her breath as she usual- ly does when she is angry, " I gave the matter up, and thought, like many other things, it could not be helped; when the next day I received a letter from my mother, saying, ' Far be it from me to do any thing contrary to your interests; and hearing that there is a doubt upon the sub- ject, I shall not go to Carlton House.' This resolve astonished me as much as my mother's previous determina- tion, and I immediately wrote to say how grateful I was to her; in proof of which I begged to dine with her the next day, and added that I should take no notice of what had passed." " Accordingly," she continued, "nothing was said upon the subject, and there the business ended; but was there ever such an idea entered a mother's head!" added the Princess. " It was so evidently a trap, that was set to inveigle the poor old Duchess into a tacit condemna- tion of me/''

The one half of human life is generally passed in giving

oneself wounds, the other in healing them. Lady M ,

whom I conveyed in my carriage to her lone empty house, left a sadness in my mind. She has not perhaps one real friend among all the numerous worldly persons, calling themselves such, for whom she has sacrificed her aft'ections and her life. Her tastes are of the most extravagant kind, and above her fortune, and her mind has been too long suf- fered to waste itself in desultory pursuits after phantoms, to be able to recover its tone, and derive from its own re- sources that interest, which the world can neither give nor take away. Yet I think her case peculiarly hard. Lady

* That was true: a more delightful or good person never existed — one who united so many rare qualities in one person. s

44 MKMOIHS OF THE

H ought never to have forsaken her. But she is one

of the many who have loved and lived in vain.

I was sent for to Kensington: found her Royal Highness talking to Dr. Moseley and Lady A II n. 1 over- heard her say to the latter, " Now, dear Lady Anne, take Dr. Moseley and show him the apartments above stairs." I understood what that meant, and that my visit must be a tete-a-tete. I trembled, for I fear it is in vain to do her any good. She came to me: and having spoken a lew phrases on different subjects, produced all the papers she wishes to have published: — !ier whole correspondence with the Prince relative to Lady J- 's dismissal; his subse- quent neglect of the Princess; and finally, the acquittal of her supposed guilt, signed by the Duke of Portland, &c, at the time of the secret inquiry, — when, if proof could have been brought against her, it certainly would have been done; and which acquittal, to the disgrace to all parties concerned, as well as to the justice of the nation in general, was not made public at the time. A common criminal is publicly condemned or acquitted. Her Royal Highness command- ed me to have these letters published forthwith, — saying, " You may sell them for a great sum." At first, (for she had spoken to me before, concerning this business,) I thought of availing myself of the opportunity; but upon se- cond thoughts, I turned from this idea with detestation; for if I do wrong by obeying her wishes and endeavouring to serve her, I will do so at least from good and disinterested motives, not from any sordid views. The Princess com- mands me, and I will obey her, whatever may be the issue, but not for fare or fee. 1 own, I tremble, not so much for myself as for the idea that she is not taking the best and most dignified way of having these papers published. — Why make a secret of it at all? If wrong, it should not be done; if right, it should be done openly and in the face of her enemies. In her Royal Highness's case, as in that of wronged princes, in general, why do they shrink from straight-forward dealings, and rather have recourse to crooked policy? I wish in this particular instance I could make Her Royal Highness feel thus; but she is naturally indignant at being falsely accused, and will not conde- scend to an avowed explanation. She wishes her cause to be espoused by others. — This appears to me a xevy false pride. But were 1 to propose to her Royal Highness to place this affair in other and abler hands than my own, she would suppose that I shrunk from the task. — Now that is not the

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 45

case; whatever imprudence there may be, there is no dis- honour in the service I am about to render her; let me not therefore seem to wish to avoid it.

Shortly after, for some reason or other, which never came to my knowledge, I was spared all farther anxiety upon the subject, as other parties stepped forward, and her Royal Highness, knowing that I would not profit by the transaction, permitted her papers to be placed in their hands.

Friday, October 21st. — Yesterday, the melancholy Lady M came to see ;ne. I was obliged to go to Kensing- ton by appointment,' so I could not take Lady M with

me in the carriage, and she walked away on foot. I was quite grieved at heart for her. She was more depressed in spirit than ever. When I arrived at the palace, her Royal Highness was standing at the window, evidently awaiting my arrival impatiently. She finished reading to me the rest of the papers and correspondence, which occupy at present so much of her thoughts. — I have never known a more extraordinary person than the Princess. She writes occasionally with much spirit, and many of the copies of her letters to the Prince are both clever and touching; some- times there is a series of exalted sentiment in what she says and does, that quite astonishes me, and makes me rub my eyes and open my ears, to know if it is the same person who condescends to talk low nonsense, and sometimes even gross ribaldry. One day I think her all perfection — ano- ther I know "not what to'lhink. The tissue of her charac- ter is certainly more uneven than that of any other person I was ever acquainted with. One day, there is tinsel and tawdry — another worsted — another silk and satin — ano- ther gold and jewels — another de la boue, de la crasse, — que dirais-je? et peut Hrefaitrop dit.

I have so often determined to write a consecutive jour- nal, and have so often failed, not from idleness, which is not my besetting sin, but from the danger of telling all I think — all I know— that I have shrunk back into silence, and thought it better, wiser perhaps, to forget entirely the passing events of the day, than to record them.

After the examination of the papers, I was desired to

remain during luncheon. Lady A H n was the

lady in waiting, and she was sent for to attend. I believe the Princess has told the whole story to her, and, as she is very fond of secrets, I make no doubt she has heard them

46 MEMOIRS OF THE

in all their details. Then there are other ladies who, I shrewdly suspect, have also been admitted to this confi- dence. Most women, indeed, think a secret is not worth knowing, if one may not tell it to a dozen or two intimate friends. To own the truth, I am a very bad hand at keep- ing secrets myself, and my best chance of doing so is the great facility with which I forget them. Nothing that does not interest my heart or my passions has any great hold over my imagination or thoughts. I am only vulnerable through my affections. My weal and wo lie all in that quarter; what then can it have in common with a court?

Saturday, the 28th October, 1811.— Yesterday Sir Wal- ter F came and told me a curious conversation which

he had held the night before with the Prince Regent. " Well, F — r, so you were paying your court to the Prin- cess of Wales at Tonbridge I hear," alluding to the day he went there last May, when she spoke to Sir Walter. The Baronet — "Yes, Sir, her Ro}ral Highness was very gracious to me, and I thought it my duty to show the Prin- cess of Wales every respect; but I did not stay to supper, though she was graciously pleased to invite me; because I thought, if your Royal Highness heard of it, you might not have been pleased." Regent — " What did she say lu you?" " She asked me, Sir, why I had not advised the Princess Charlotte to go to the sea side for change of air, — saying, "it would do her Royal Highness a great deal of good," and insisted upon it that I ought to do so." "And what did you reply?" eagerly questioned the Prince. " I re- plied, Sir, that when I had last the honour of seeing her Royal Highness the Princess Charlotte, she was in such perfect health that she appeared not to require any medical advice; consequently, it would be highly improper that I

should interfere. Oh, Sir Walter F , rejoined the

Princess of Wales, you are a courtier; and we both laughed." Regent — "Was that all?" — •' Yes, Sir, 'that was all — stay, another word I recollect; when the Princess first did me the honour to speak to me, she said, ' I know you dare not, you must not speak to me?' to which I an- swered, Pardon me, Madam, 1 never had any orders from the Prince not to speak to the Princess of Wales."

At this, Sir Walter said the Prince 'seemed pleased. Persons, however lost to rectitude, are not lost to the sense of it; and he felt that the meaning of these words was, what he ought to feel, and what his friend ought to have

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 47"

answered. The Prince then observed, " I hear Lady Charlotte Campbell is very tired of her situation;" to which Sir Walter replied, "That he had never known Lady Charlotte to have expressed such a sentiment." Here the conversation ended.

Sir Walter told me that by what he could gather from all the Carlton House courtiers, he thought it most likely if any question came on in Parliament, respecting an addi- tional allowance to the Princess, it would be favourably re- ceived. This looks, I think, as if they were afraid her wrongs might, if not redressed, in pecuniary matters at least, raise a strong party in her favour, and what is worse for the ministers and placemen, against the Prince. Un- fortunajely (I say unfortunately, because the dissensions of all families, and more especially of Royal families, fre- quently lead to incalculable evils, and often overturn king- doms, and principalities, and powers,) — unfortunately the Princess of Wales cannot become popular without the Prince of Wales becoming the reverse; for the odium which is taken from her, must of necessity fall upon him; and this, in these changeable times, when the dregs of the na- tion are all shook into commotion, is any thing but desira- ble. Who can say where discontent may end, if it once lift up its hydra head; or whether redress of public grievan- ces, even if they be really such, and not innovations, may not lead to the ultimate subversion and overthrow of "the constitution? Yet, on the other hand, a blind and bigoted adherence to the past, and a venal Parliament, who are. slaves to the monarch and his minions, are not less danger- ous.— No, the lungs of Englishmen will not breathe freely under a corrupl government; and though evil spirits ever have arisen, and ever will arise, when the tempest breaks forth, yet to submit to present evil for fear of greater danger, is not the characteristic of the nation; though it has Ion"- shown patience with its rulers, even under discon- tent at their supineness. . This century will not pass with- out many awful changes. We are come to a crisis. No- thing stands still in this world — our prosperity has reached ks highest point — all things now tend to change. What leads me more particularly to think so is, the blindness of those in power. " Whom the gods mean to destroy, they blind;" and in all events of magnitude, whether in social life or in that of nations, the truth of this observation is ex- emplified. The security, the self-sufficiency of princes

48 MEMOIRS OF THE

and their creatures, and above all, the blindness of princes themselves, is a forcible comment upon this remark.

I grieve to think that the Princess of Wales is obstinate- ly bent upon bringing forward her wrongs and her com- plaints at this moment. She will only, now, be made the tool of party. Had she waited till her daughter was of age, to have backed her cause, and supported it with filial love, as well as by the influence which a young heir-apparent Queen would necessarily exercise over the minds of her future subjects, then she might have succeeded. But as it is — alas! alas! all public, like private greatness, rests its security on moral rectitude; and where that is deficient, the edifice is built on sand. No marvel, that those who are denominated the vulgar should be so taken by the bait of rank and greatness. Rank and greatness are in them- selves truly admirable; real greatness, in its original and highest sense, is an attribute of the Divinity, and earthly grandeur is the visible sign by which it is presented to out- senses. The misfortune is, that there is hardly such an image of the Divinity existing as true greatness.

My pen has never before busied itself with such a sub- ject, but my situation naturally makes me sometimes re- flect upon things, from which I turn away with pleasure to the illusory world that I have created for myself — that vie interieure which is worth all the rest, and to those simple realities which nature and natural pleasures afford.

I went this evening to a friend of mine, Miss B :

this person, whom I have known so long, and esteem so highly, has not always a winning manner, and certainly every now and then talks to her friends in a way that is not pleasant. The love that is much stronger on the one side than on the other, is always painful to witness: as to myself, the natural suavity of my manner and temper (no praise, since it is constitutional:) a suavity that I sometimes blame myself for, when it induces me to gloss over senti- ments to which a more bold frame of mind would express its dislike or abhorrence,— imparts somewhat of its own na- ture to those with whom I associate, and with those of my friends in whose tempers and manners the angular sharp predominates — I am less apt to heurter myself against these than they are against each other. This I felt yesterday

evening, but if my friend Miss B sacrifices somewhat

to the world, it must be said to her honour, that that sacri- fice is never kindness of heart or integrity of character.

It is not always in our power to be generous, or to ren-

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 49

tier great services, but it is always in our power to sooth a mind and exhilarate spirits less fortunately constituted than our own, and I do not feel it to be lost time when I have dedicated some hours to such a purpose, or at least to

the attempt. Went again to Miss B ; Sir Humphry

and Lady Davy were there; Sir Humphry, accustomed to adulation, seems to fall into surliness or d illness where he meets it not: — his allowed pre-eminence in the science ot chemistry places him in that respect above every one, but I never could find that there was great superiority in other respects. No person moving in the same sphere as myself is less liable to be led away to like, or dislike persons who are a little more orfess vulgar in point of manner, but there is a peculiar degree of under breeding in Sir Humphry, which is indicative of inferiority of intellect. I believe this proceeds from his always trying to be what he is not, ajoli eceurj* if every body would only be natural — but it is na- tural to some people to be affected. Lady Davy makes what 1 call a douce societe; never in my life, heard her speak ill of any person; she is frank and kind hearted, and has much acquirement, with a wish and thirst for more, which it is pleasing to»see: any thing, even a perpetual bus- tle after knowledge, is preferable to the careless and dream- ing way in which some persons pass their insignificant lives —pampering every appetite and never cultivating the only spark of being they ought to be proud of, the intellectual one, without which the animals are our superiors; yet how many of those who form what is called good society are sunk in this sensual sloth.

Wednesday, 28th of October. — Dined at Fish Crawfurd's an old epicure and bon vivant, but one who has seen much of the world. He has lived with all the celebrated people of his time, Madame Du Deffand, Voltaire, Hume, &c. &c, and he seems to remember with pleasure, that he has done so, though gout and the consequences of indulgence render

* Sir Humphry Davy is harshly judged in this paragraph. He was a man of exceeding refinement of mind and singular discrimination of character: if he sometimes indulged more than became the philoso- pher in the pleasures of the table, he never did so to any degrading excess;— what if a little misplaced vanity, at times, rendered him too emulous to please ? there was a great redeeming point in his charac- ter, which raised him alike from becoming the slave of this grovelling propensity, or from plunging into any habits derogatory to his fame. Sir Humphry Davy was a religious man, and his last two works will ever be most valuable testimonies, (if such were wanting, ) to prove that science is not necessarily the foe of Christianity.

Vol. I. 5

50 MEMOIRS OF THTE

him crabbed and complaining. His table, his house, is most luxurious, but his own dissatisfied mind, his emaciated body, and bloated face, give the lie to happiness. I have ever felt that old age, even in its least respectable form, is still to be respected, and I have a peculiar pleasure in pleasing old people. I reckon, that yesterday's dinner was a lesson; there was elegance, luxury — all that can flatter the fancy with well chosen and appropriate objects, as well as the palate, — but pleasure, happiness where was it? Does it sit at the board of the epicurean? — is it enthroned in purple and fine linen? — No. A very modified quantum of these,, with vigour of mind and body — a fair and honourable pur- suit, a goal in view — and contentment at one's right hand, be it gained or not; — these are, I believe, the best ingre- dients to form the mixed good, which men have agreed to call happiness. It was melancholy, to observe this old man, in the possession of all which can gratify human de- sires, and yet repining, and in fact, wretched. A Tanta- lus, with the cup of enjoyment at his lip, — but there are many such, — how many! -There ever have been, there ever will be such, so long as people live to themselves alone.

The Princess said, that the complaints made in parlia- ment, of government's not having sent over supplies to Lord Wellington in the number, and with the celerity he de- manded them, looked like an avant-propos for more com- plaints, and would end by Lord Wellesley's becoming prime minister; then, said she, "blood and treasure would not be spared, and the constitution and country will be lost."* I see many other reasons for the ruin of the coun- try, but those who might do good are blind. Lord Moira is sent off to India; — I call it being sent off, for it is evident the Regent cannot bear to have him near his person. How few people in any rank of life, have sufficient nobility of soul to love those to whom they stand indebted! Would you lose a friend, oblige him — not in the minor circum- stances of life, but let the obligation be vast, and it crushes friendship to death.

Lord Moira has accepted this honourable banishment, be-

* How ill she judged. It was the Duke of Wellington who saved the country, who saved the constitution. He never committed but one great blunder, and that was in yielding to the cry of the day— the Emancipation of the Roman Catholics. The sensible part of that per- suasion of Christians themselves say, the English Constitution was up- rooted by the measure.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 51

cause he cannot help himself, and is ruined— but who ruined him? He lent uncounted sums of money in former years, of which no note whatever was taken, and of which he never will see one farthing in return. Yet no one pities or feels for this man. Why? — because he is of nobler stuff than the common herd. Vanity and ambition perhaps, his only flaws, if flaws they be; but his attachment, or rather devotion to the Regent was sincere, chivalric, and of a ro- mantic kind, such as the world neither believes in nor un- derstands; it was a kind of affection which amounted even to a passion of the mind, and like all passions, led him into one or two acts beneath the "chevalier sans pear et sans reproche,n* but nevertheless he is a noble creature upon the whole; and what can poor human nature ever be more? Formed to live in another day than the present, some men seem born too late, and some men too soon, but perhaps the only wise men are those who fulfil their course at the time, and in the manner, where providence has placed them, suiting their conduct and their actions to the present, ra- ther than indulging in speculative theories for the future, or vain regrets for the past, neither of which can they judge with truth, for former times are seen through the medium, of other men's minds, and the future belongs to the All- seeing eye alone: if the present moment be ever well em- ployed, the by-gone, and the to come, will take care of: themselves.

Sonnet. Bi Lord Moiha.

" What splendid vision o'er my fancy flies, And with long- dormant heat my bosom warms, Banners and barbed steeds, and loud alarms, And listed fields, and love the mighty prize; Bewitching to my thought the years arise When chivalry refined the pride of arms: Then valour sought its meed from female charmsf And fierceness melted at the fair one's eyes. O days, congenial to the noble soul! Then love was dignity; then falsehood, shame; Then conscious truth a generous boast allowed. — - Now, under fashion's frivolous control, 'Tis ridicule to bear a towering name, Or hold a post distinguished from the crowd."

Very frequently, the dinners at Kensington were ex-

* A very fine sonnet by Lord Moira, will express the high-toned sen- timent which really was his.

52 MEMOIRS OF THE

ceedingly agreeable, thecompan j well chosen, and sufficient liberty given to admit of their conversing with unrestrained freedom, — this expression does not imply a licentious mode of conversation, although sometimes, in favour of wit, dis- cretion and modesty Were trenched upon. Still that was by no means the general turn of the discourse. Mr. Gell and Mr. Craven, in particular, though often very droll, were never indecorous; I think I never knew a man of a more kind and gentle turn of mind — nor one so humanised by literature and the particular pursuits to which he devo- ted himself, as Mr. Gell; affectionate in the highest degree, and willing to impart all he knew, (no common stock of in- formation,) in the least pedantic and most agreeable man- ner; and if ever he indulged in a joke that was questiona- ble, it was in a manner so devoid of real vice, that the most punctilious or delicate female could scarce take offence at it. Mr. Craven likewise, his intimate friend, without pos- sessing the strength of mind and the classical knowledge of Mr. Gell, was full of talent, and all those lighter acquire- ments which adorn, if they do hot instruct society.

To-day, I received another letter from my amusing friend, C. K.. S.

"Christ Church, Oxford, October, 1811. Dear ,

"What can I say to the generous return for my abomi- nable scribbles, which you have made me by your delight- ful letter, and I cannot for my life think of another case than the bounty of the outlandish queen, who gave a heap of diamonds for a wash-hand basin, which was a sin of ig- norance, as when Lady Strath more married Bowes, or

C a D d, P r B 1. Oh! heavens, I forgot

myself, do not tell . I wish that I had as many eyes

as Fame or Argus, or a spider, which I am told hath eight.

Alas! that Lady D s, who is the very reverse of a

spider in every thing but her industry, hath but one; — Oh! that I possessed as many hands as Briareus; or some of the Hindoo gods, that I might produce a weekly drawing, pro- vided my humble efforts were crowned with such a rich reward about once a quarter, as your epistles are calculated to bestow; but lack-a-day! my eyes, which scarcely can be called a pair, demand a string like a doll's, in the sim- ple operation of turning, and my fingers are about as un- wieldy as an Irishman's legs in the gout; nevertheless, I am resolved, in spite of nature and my stars, to write, that

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 53

ts, to wield a goose-quill in your Lordship's service, as long as I possess a little more vision than the mole, and energies that may in any measure rival those of the unfortunate sloth. In truth, the honour of any command or employment from you, is sufficient to transform a sloth into a squirrel, for I must tell you, my dear fellow, that you are one of the most extraordinary personages of the present time; perhaps you did not know it before, — but only consider a little in the first place, nothing can be more honourable and illus- trious than your family, and your rank is suitable to it. Your Lordship doth not resemble some very fine and lofty gentlemen of my acquaintance, who, however high their place may now be, had merchants and mechanics for their fathers; and midens, I guess, for their grandsires; then Na- ture s§e,ms to have run hiddy-giddy in your formation, for she made you noble too in mind, and moreover, gave you a voice of unexampled power and sweetness, which, in my humble opinion, is one of her greatest bestowments, — and here allow me just to hint at your Lordship's scientific pur- suits, and in short, whatever is praiseworthy, and fitting the true dignity of human nature; all of which is wonder- ful in any body, but in one so spoiled, so favoured, I should say perfectly prodigious*! As to your more exalted merits, I shall not particularize them, my rude pen being altoge- ther unworthy; only this, I may say, that if your Lordship, according to the chances of this world, hath not always more than King Montezuma, who reclined upon a bed of roses, — yet your pious fortitude and resignation, have given a wholesome lesson to your inferiors, and added graces to yourself.

From all that I have ever heard or seen, I am convinced that you were intended to make as conspicuous a figure in the next world as in this — and that a sentence in the funeral sermon of Mary, Duchess of Queensberry, who was a very exalted character, might with great justice be applied to you — the preacher says, • But dry up your tears, my bre- thren, and weep no more, for this most illustrious Prin- cess, who, though she was a great and good Duchess on earth, is now a great and good Duchess in Heaven.' This is not very neat, but it is all very true, so that I may say with the clown, in Measure for Measure, * here be truths.'

"Alas! — your account of London, I shall not for a

* Was there ever such fulsome flattery addressed from one man to another? Did the man want to be made a lord of the bed-chamber? 5*

54 MEMOIRS OF THE

great while experience the truth of, as when I leave this place I must repair to Scotland, where I am to remain for ages: —

" To me the gods, severely kind, ordain A cool suspense from pleasure and from pain."

However, as the dulness you mentioned mu-t exist in the mass of people, (for it cannot possibly be in you,) I must try to extract a sour-grape comfart fiom the consideration, that London is not what it was. — Meanwhile, be it known unto you that the ingenious Mr. Shelley hath been expelled from'the University on account of his atheistical pamphlet. Was ever such bad taste and barbarity known? He be- haved like a hero, 'he showed to fortune's frowns a brow serene,' and declared his intention of emigrating to Ame- rica.* I send his romance, which would have reached you sooner had not an impudent person cribbed it from my rooms. I also transmit Octavian, and a volume of poems written by a friend of mine. He is, poor fellow! in the last stage of a consumption; so the critics should be mer- ciful, for he will never write better, nor worse, (which is of more consequence to brother authors,) and a death-bed repentance of such literary crimes is as bitter, as it is useless. — Doubtless, after this cargo of Oxford goods, your Lordship will exclaim, enough, enough, no more of it, de grace. I am not wise in sending you such a dose at once, for I fear that our poetical fervours will prove little better than camomile, only not so wholesome, and that you wilt never more endure the sight of such another bouquet. I transmit my treasures of Parnassus by the coach, but this shall move per post, as I am ever dubious concerning the delivery of small parcels in London; and though my books and my letters be of little consequence, yet, I would fain not appear wanting in respect where so very much is due. I have finished your portrait and it is not like, so 1 have met the fate of all my painting predecessors. — Yet to catch your Lordship's likeness would not be quite impossible, if

* In my opinion, Mr. Shelley merited the opinion here formed of him. Nevertheless he had genius, — he had power; but his genius was an evil one, and his powers were directed to a bad end, or what was the same in effect, to no end at all; the best parts of his phren- zied compositions have all the deleterious qualities of alcohol; and Hamlet would scarcely think it necessary to apostrophize his shade in the questioning words — "Bring'st with thee aire from heaven, or blasts from hell?" — but, de mortuis—He was" drowned in a storm!!!

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 55

this s)'stem of galvanism could be improved, and four painters of ancient times rendered as lively by it, as a pig's tail is at present. — I would rouse from his dull repose, Ti- tian, to paint your head; Sir Peter Lely, your neck; Van- dyke your hands; and Rubens for the draperies and back- ground of the picture; — then, perchance, one might have something worth looking at: — as matters stand, 1 confess I am in utter despair. Will you deign to read some Oxford gaiety? — I was at a route at the Deanery last night. The Deaneress, Mrs. Hall, ci-devant Miss Byng, and sister to

the P e, a fine lady, in white satin, telling us the price

of every thing in her drawing-room, from the mantel-piece to her own dickey? — We had tea and cards, and, — what, a Miss, whbse name never reached me, called music. After a long silence, ' But where are the sweet children?' cried a parson present: on which, after two tugs of the bell, the door flew open, and violet, toute la .lingerie! — a thousand little things, with monstrous mouths, hopped in, like the Egyptian plague of frogs, and surrounded the poor dean, who resembled St. Anthony in one of his Dutch tempta- tions, squalling aloud lor cake and tea, and I kxiw not what. 1 was glad to escape, leaving the eldest boy amu- sing himself with tickling the noses of all the company in turns, with a handful of dirty hog-bristles, to the great de- light of his mother, who esteems him a decided wit':' — a propos of wits, Lady Westmoreland hath beet) at Lord Abingdon's, near this town, astonishing the weak minds of sundry poor youths with her vivacities; she talked to a friend of mine of — — 's account of the plague at Athens, which scared him sadly; he told mc that he swore it was d— d fine, though he had never read a word of it: and she played on a Spanish guitar, sitting on a cushion in the lob- by by the light of the lamps, to the admiration of sundry bores, who n-ad Sir Charles Grand ison, and think a mad countess a fine thing. For my part, 1 have been told that she is really not clever, and I never could admire her looks, — she hath such a huge nose that she resembles a hussar's sabre with the pouch and straps — she's principally nose, and all the rest of her seems to belong to it* — But

♦This is a false and altogether caricature portraiture of a lady, who deserves to be far othervv se transmitted on paper to posterity; to great talents she united a warm and affectionate heart. — She was a singularly delicate and sensible woman. — Her judgment was of the ••finest order, and her perception in reading characters partook of di- vination— so rapid, so clear, so penetrating were her decisions. But

56 MEMOIRS OF THE

it is time for me to have done, there being scarcely any space on the paper left for the name of

" Your Lordship's

" Faithful servant."

FROM H. R. H. THE PRINCESS OF WALES.

" I should not so soon have encroached on your time, my dear Lord, but that there has happened a few coinci- dences which to relate to you, would perhaps afford you amusement. — Lord Deerhurst is quite a joke to the secret marriage of the ci-devant Mrs. Panton with a Mr. Geldi, an acquaintance of Batty's, and why it is kept a secret, and why it is made public, nobody can guess, as she was her own mistress, — or that she thought that she was public pro- perty, and that it would be essential to have an act of parlia- ment to make an enclosure to become private property, at a moment's warning. — Town grows every day thinner and thinner; though I had last Monday a large party at dinner and, in the evening, a little hop for the young la- dies, yet 1 felt how useful you could have been to make the party go oft' more lively and merrily. Clan Rowland, very unusually, danced with great glee the whole evening with

Lady C — ' — E ; he supped at my table with her, and

I have not the smallest doubt that Hymen will soon crown

that work. Lord M E e looked pleased with him,

and praised him to me to the skies; poor Miss R is

quite forsaken by him, and I trust she will be wise enough to console herself, as Ariadne did — and not choose a Bac- chus, but something more eligible to her taste.

" Though Lady Harriet is very cunning and sly, still I have discovered that she is the match-making lady to her brother. She brought Lady E to dinner, and did no- thing than prosing in praise of her. — Lady G M

takes her to , and Lord H is also of the party,

and the final proposal will be made there under the shady trees, or by the placid light of the moon. — The great ball

at D House, I heard was magnificent; Lord H

began the dance with Lady E , and she was introduced

to the old Duke, who, I hear, was very much charmed with her beauty, and I dare say this marriage will be settled be- fore we meet again.

with nerves too finely strung — the instrument has jarred under rough hands and common treatment; — had she met with an answering' mind she would not have been torn — buffeted — destroyed.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 57

" The H , Lady P , and the daughters came also

to my party; the ojd lady looked like the head of a ship,

Lady P very embarrassed, the two young ladies, as

usual, frightfully dressed — like naughty girls, with gray stuff gowns, to make them learn their lesson better the next

day. The eldest danced with B N , and the two

younger ones danced together. ,They did not stay supper, but went away very early. I heard the next day, that

Lady C -s had sprained her ancle, which prevented her

from going to dance cotillions next day at Lord U 's.

She sent, instead, early in the morning, for a surgeon, to Mr. Des Hayes, tly? dancer, and he came and said, ' My Lady, je sais bien arranger les jambes qui se portent bien, mais pas celles qui sont malades;' and so he left the room, and she was obliged to keep company with the sofa.

"Monday next my humble habitation will be graced with the presence of Louis XVIII., Madame D'Angouleme, and all the French Princes, and above thirty French peo- ple at a breakfast: — my mother, and the Princess Sophia, and some old fograms, male and female, will be there to en- liven the party. This is all the merriment of my budget which I can offer you to-day.

"Mr. Arbuthnot looks shy and dismal. I think he must leel ashamed of his cowardice, never to have asked me to one of the many suppers which he has given lately. There have been, I hear, very charming masquerades; but I speak from report merely. ' Mes beaux jours sont pas- ses.' But be that as it may, I always remain,

Your affectionate friend,

" C. P."

Wednesday the 19th. — I dined at Kensington. All the pleasure of the party was marred by distant looks, and si- lence, that boded coming storms. There was Miss B ,

Mr. Ward, Mr. Knight,* and Sir James Mackintosh,! —

* Mr. Knight, the author of a work on Taste, which it has been the fashion lo receive as a standard work, but which is more pom- pous and dictatorial, more factitious and learned, than gifted with the spirit of his subject. Mr. K. was a man, whom loo much learning had made 'not mad,' but pompous, not wise but artificial; a man of systems and nomenclatures, dates and dulness; whose boast was scep- ticism, and whose enjoyments were those of a bon vivant. Yet, in his own family he was loved, for he was generous and kind-hearted. — Oh! the mixed texture of human nature!

-j- Some men perform more than is expected of them throughout

.58 MEMOIRS OF THE

the latter a very charming man; but as much leaven was thrown into this society as the Princess of Wales could put into it, to make it disagreeable.

Thursday. — I went to Lady D y's, where, amongst

much rubbish, there were some persons worth conversing

with. I met there, my old friend Lord D ley.

There are some persons whom one feels to be sure friends. It is impossible for a being gifted with quick sensations to be deceived in this respect. I know not if it can be ac- counted for philosophically, but I always return to my own system of fascination and attraction, sans rhyme ni raison. Lady M. came to see me. — I never saw so melancholy a proof of the extent of punishment that conscience can in- flict on those who have not fulfilled the severer duties of life. The leaven of disappointment has soured all the ge- nuine virtues of her disposition, while the acuteness of her intellect, and her quick and warm affections, have been fatally conducive to misery instead of happiness. — Yet, like a wayward child that has been long indulged, I would not thwart her, or use violence to instil other thoughts to counteract the poison; I would, on the contrary, sooth and lull her wounds with the sedative of affection, before I at- tempted to give stronger medicines to turn her mind and views into another channel. Alas', riches and power afford the means to do many kind things^ but who can say that when the means are ours, the inclination will remain? The amusements of London, unless accompanied by all which can pamper and satisfy ambition, cease to be pleasures.

I learnt to-day that an old servant of my family was at the point of death. The idea that this was the case, and that he had not perhaps sufficient means to render his transit to another world as little painful as possible, affected me. The great are not sufficiently attentive to the wants of their dependants — persons who, after perhaps passing a lifetime in their service, often die poorly, if at all provided for by them. This sometimes happens from procrastination; not from a determined neglect or a hardened indifference, but from the vague sensation that we will do to-morrow what we

life, whilst others never answer to the idea that is formed of their ca- pacity. Sir James Mackintosh had considerable fascination and ex- treme suavity of manner. He impressed his hearers with the belief that a great deal more remained to be said than he actually expressed; and thus his credit was unlimited, while his means were, perhaps, not of vast extent.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 59

are not inclined to do to day. The longer I live the more I am convinced, that to put off a good intention is general- ly to render it abortive.

NOTE FROM H. R. H. THE PRINCESS OF WALES.

" All the news I can offer you, my dear , is a most

dreadful blunder which that wonderful woman, Madame De Stael, has committed. She was in some party several eve- nings ago, and mistook old Mrs. B for the Marchioness

of Hertford. She began by assuring her ' que la renommee avoit vante sa beaute et son esprit par tout le continent— que ses portraits etoient graves, et faisaient les charmes et l'ornement de tous les palais.' — Of course, you may imagine that this event has been the laughing-stock of these last eight and forty hours. I had the unexpected hap- piness of seeing my brother return: he gives no sanguine hopes at all of the restoration of Germany, and he has a very sad opinion of Bei nadotte. To conclude my letter, I must only give you another piece of information, that Ma- dame De Stael has not discovered la Pierre Philosophale, but 'that Lord Castlereagh's speech about the treaty with Sweden, was the most eloquent, most rhetorical and per- suasive speech that ever was made in parliament:' these are Madame De Stael's own words. I fear this is not the way of pleasing in this country, at least not the generality of the English people. She also had a great dispute with Lord Lansdowue about the Catholic question, which has, of course, given great offence to all the opposition; at least he might have supposed that Madame De Stael must be tole- rant; but writing and speaking seem to be two different things with her. 1 will not longer dwell upon her,' and

* Very few persons of all those who wrote or spoke of Madame De Stael were at all competent to form any just judgment of her cha- racter— I would rather say, of her whole moral being', — not from de- ficiency in point of talent on their parts, but because they applied squares and rules to that which was immeasurable, and beyond all received standards of mensuration. .Madame De Stael seems to me to have been one of those creations which appeal- "few and far be- tween" in the generation of mankind. It would be wholly unfair to judge her by any common standard of her sex. In all that pertained to mind she was of no sex; those qualities which are supposed by divine right to belong to men alone — vigour of understanding — ab- stract reasoning — vastness of conception — the power of overleaping or discarding all minor considerations to arrive at a conclusion, — were peculiarly her attributes, and never did the epithet of Great pertain more jus.ly to any human being than to herself. She has been accused

60 MEMOIRS OF THE

only anticipalc the pleasure of having an agreeable tete-a- tete with you on Su inlay morning. Yours sincerely,

(Signed) "C. P."

of vanity, but it was falsely. She was ambitious — not vain; and she showed that she was so with such an ho est frankness, that little minds could not understand the bonhommie which avowed itself athirst for commendation, — not the puerile commendation only of cotempo- rary praise, but the lasting- eulogy of well-earned fame. It was not wise to betray this feeling; it gave an ample field for detractors to carp at, and it sometimes degenerated into an egotism that distressed her true admirers. But if Madame De Stael was ambitious of admiration, she was ambitious also of a woman's prerogative — of being loved as a woman, ll is, perhaps, incompatible to unite the two passions, and to be successful in both love and ambition; for the 1 itter must yield to the former in a woman's breast. A woman who loves has no am- bition but what is vested in the object of that love. According to all memoirs of Madame De S tad's early life, she was unhappy in her affections; and when at last she fixed the heart of a young and hand- some man — one whom she deemed worthy of becoming- her master — I have heard her say, as she watched the approach of that fatal dis- ease, consumption, which was bearing him rapidly to the tomb, " All I pray for is to die before him." — Her prayer was granted; nor did he long survive her. In regard to all the common things of life, she was as ignorant as a child. She has been known to say, ' L will marry my daughter to an Englishman;'' — and when the person to whom she said it laughed, and replied, "That may not be so easy, and if you could do so, it might not be for the happiness of cither party;" her astonishment was unfe igned. The " comment done!" so naively pro- nounced, was replied to by all those self evident common places which would have suggested themselves to any one save her: such as diffe- rence of education — of habits — of country, — while she saw nothing but her own very charming daughter, and the propriety of securing her happiness, by marrying her to "tin brave Anglois;" — for even Madame De Stael forgot, in her eagerness to secure that good for her child, that it, in fact, only rests in the self-choice of the heart. One of the instances where Madame De Stael exercised a woman's right, a prerogative of which she was very tenacious, was in making the Prince of Wales pay her a first visit in her lodgings in Argyll Street. She likewise made some injudicious attacks upon the great political characters of the day; questioning them on points which they nei- ther could nor would answer, and which shocked the received notions of the country she was in. Hut these are specks and flaws in the surface of her character only; mean and envious persons dwell on these, but it will ever be delightful to those of another stamp to con- sider her character in the aggregate, and do homage to her vast su- periority over the generality of human kind. l!er kindness to her inferiors in station and in intellect — her total freedom from all affec- tation— her strong sense of natural religion — the enthusiasm of her nature, — were qualities as admirable as Ihey were attractive. It was impossible for any one to like Madame De Stael by halves. She was destined to be either loved or hated. No wonder Bonaparte did the latter: perhaps she was the only human being he feared, and could not conquer.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 61

" London, Wednesday. " DEAR ,

" Lady M. informs me that you desire I should write; so I hasten to obey your commands, though the weather and my present mode of life are very far from propitious to epistolary exertion. Nothing but smothering heat, and parties that melt one into inanity. To go into the streets is to endure the fiery ordeal; (which none of us here at pre- sent can well abide;) and to venture into an evening as- sembly is to tumble into a kettle of boiling sprats. For my part, I have endured every culinary effect of fire men- tioned by Hannah Glasse, and all the newer processes of steam besides. I am in the condition of that poor Princess in the Arabian Nights, who fought so fatally with the ge- nius about the transformation of a monkey — (my concerns are full as apish,) and I might most justly exclaim with Nourmahal,

* I burn — I more than burn; I'm all a fire; See how my mouth and nostrils flames expire!'

Thank Heaven, however, I am not in love! That alone

saves me from utter conflagration; for indeed, dear ,

I cannot 'join the multitude to do evil,' in finding Lady

Elizabeth B m, and Miss Rumbold, and twenty more,

so very, very charming. Perhaps my taste is bad, and these belles are fairer than the houris; but they do not strike me; — a circumstance which can give them no con- cern, and is, on the whole, very lucky for the second son of a poor gentleman. And now, I wonder if you will care, to hear about routs and such things. I shall talk a little on that subject at a venture; for you can burn this as soon as you please, or give it to your hound to mumble, if there happeneth to be no fire (as is most likely) in your chamber. But I am firmly resolved not to say one word about the disasters at Carlton House; though I saw one miserable person brought out upon a board, and many gentlewomen worse attired than Eve in her primitive simplicity. You must have heard all these horrors long ago; so I shall begin with Lady Mary L. Crawford's ball, most magnanimously given in the Argyll Street rooms to all her friends, or ra- ther her enemies — as even by her own account of the mat- ter, she is at deadly feud with the whole world. I could admire nothing at the entertainment — not even herself. Fancy her attired in draperies of muslin, covered with Vol. I. 6

62 MEMOIRS OF THE

gold spots the size of a sixpence! When she reclined un- der that frippery canvass bower at the end of the ball-room, she looked exactly like an ill-favoured picture of Danae in

the shower of gold. To crown the whole, S ,* with

rouge on his cheeks and ultramarine on his nose, handed her to supper! ' Sure such a pair!'

" I was one of the happy few at H 's ball given in

B m House — a house I had been long anxious to see,

as it is rendered classical by the pen of Pope and the pen- cil of Hogarth. It is in a woful condition, and, as I hear, to be pulled down. The company was very genteel (I can't get a less vulgar word to express the sort of things) and very dull; but all the ladies were vastly refreshed with an inscription chalked upon the floor, which each applied to herself. Within a wreath of laurel, like burdock, fast- ened with fifty crooked true-love knots, were the myste- rious words "Pour elle." Indeed, my dear , the

words written on the wall, which we read of in the Bible, could not have produced a greater sensation. First, there was such a flocking to the centre of the room — such a whis- pering— such a 'Dear, I should like to see it!' — 'Pray Lady Lou sia, let me see it!' — 'Goodness! whom can it mean?' — and then a triumphant retreat; smiles upon every lip, exultation in every eye. It was quite amusing after- wards to ask any lady who the ' elle ' could be — the down- cast-look of affected humility, then the little sigh of half- surfeited vanity, and then the stare of confident triumph, crowned with ' How should I know?' were delightful. Af- ter all, the true elle is said to be Lady E. B , for whom

a friend of mine is at present very sick, and carving her name upon every tree he finds in the country. But I am

not qutie sure that she will be Lady H , as I do not think

that the swain looks much in love.f We had much waltzing, and quadrilling, the last of which is certainly very abomina- ble. I am not prude enough to be offended with waltzing, in which I can see no other harm than that it disorders the sto- mach, and sometimes makes people look very ridiculous; but

after all, moralists, with the Duchess of G at their

head, who never had a moral in her life, exclaim dreadful- ly against it. Nay, I am told that these magical wheelings

* Mr. S is still alive, the very wreck of a beau; he is to be

seen sometimes like a fly, half* dead and stupified, which has outlived the summer.

\ Perhaps that ball at B House was given for one who was not

permitted to attend it.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 63

have already roused poor Lord Dartmouth from his grave to suppress them. Alas! after all, people set about it as gravely as a company of dervises, and seem to pay adora- tion to Pluto rather than to Cupid. But the quadrilles I can by no means endure; for till ladies and gentlemen have joints at their ancles, which is impossible, it is worse than impudent to make such exhibitions, more particularly in a place where there are public ballets every Tuesday and Saturday. When people dance to be looked at, they surely should dance to perfection. Even the Duchess of Bedford, who is the Angiolini of the group, would make an indifferent figurante at the Opera; and the principal male dancer, Mr. North, reminds one of a gibbeted male- factor, moved to anil fro by the winds, but from no person- al exertion. Since I had the honour of seeing you last, I have been introduced to the Princess of Wales, and have dined several times at Kensington. Her Royal Highness has been very good to me, which I in a great measure at- tribute to the favourable manner in which you had men- tioned me to her. One night we went through all the up- per rooms in the palace, to examine the pictures, and many seemed excellent in their way; but one can see little by can- dle-light; and there was a sad want of names, — which takes away all the pleasure of portraits. The Scotch picture, as an altar piece, is very curious; though from the style of painting, I guess that it must have been done a long while after the death of the persons represented.

Since I have been in London I have read nothing save Miss Seward's letters and Miss Owenson's Missionary. Of Miss Seward I am bound to speak well, as she doth so of me; and her monodies are beautiful; but the letters are naught; they abound in false sentiment, and a great many other false things. As to the Missionary, Ambrosio is his father and Matilde his mother; but," wanting the indelicacy of papa, and the delicacy of mamma, he's a dull fellow. I could think of nothing but poor Margaret Stewart of Blantyre, and her presbyterian minister, while I read this book. Miss Luxina brought her hogs to a bad market, for Ililarion was little better than a beast. Walter Scott's last poem I have also seen, but so hastily that I can be no com- petent judge of its merits. Talking of works, allow me to recommend to you Ford's plays, lately re-published. Some of them are excellent; the first in the series, (which hath an awkward name, I must confess,) and the Broken Heart are particularly admirable. I am sure that you will

64 MEMOIRS OF THE

be struck with them; for Ford is almost as moving; as Ot- way or Lee, who is the mad poet I adore, yet I can per- suade nobody to read him. The History of the Somerville family, which I have seen in MS., is soon to be printed, and that of Sutherland is to be out shortly. So much for books — saving that Sir John Murray hath found the whole correspondence of the Earl of Chesterfield, who flou- rished in King Charles the Second's time, in Bath House, containing most curious letters of the Duchess of Cleve- land, Lady Southesk, and many other personages, whom Count Hamilton has rendered so interesting. I shall try to get Sir John to publish them, for such things should not run the risk of fire, not to mention rats and mice. There is a sort of memoir of Lord Chesterfield at the beginning of the volume, in which he says that his second wife died of the spotted fever or plague; but, in fact, he is said to have poi- soned her in the wine of the Sacrament, to be revenged for her gallantries, which were notorious: that old villain, Sir John Denham, having shown him the way, by getting rid of his wife after a fashion nearly similar. I have written so much that I can find no room for Mrs. Dawson's mas- querade, where it was said that the only good mask was Mr. Fit'/.harding in the character of Lord Berkeley; nor

Deerhurst's marriage, nor Lady 0 's adventure with

that rogue her brother; — but if you will signify to me that a second gazette extraordinary will be acceptable, I shall

be greatly flattered. Meanwhile I remain, dear ,

"Your faithful servant."

ANOTHER LETTER FROM THE SAME.

"London, Sunday 1811.

" You flatter me greatly by desiring a second number of the gazette extraordinary, which I hasten to transmit, al- beit the adventures of Lady 0 and her brother are now

what is termed in Scotland, Piper's news. But before I touch seriously upon that legend, you must permit me to disclaim all title to the knowledge of a certain art, the first rudiments of which may be gathered from the ' Academy of Compliments ' and 'Walton's Complete Angler;' in- deed, my dear , I never was accused of such a thing

before; nay, I have been told by many persons that I am too innocent of the sin, and that my fortunes in life are im- peded thereby; and I verily do believe it. In your especial case, however, it is scarcely possible to commit this crime.

TiMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 65

except one were to give you wings at once, and — but I shall say no more on that subject for fear of fresh accusations; and return discreetly to my news, ancient and modern, ac- cording to the tenor of the permission through which I have

the honour of corresponding with you. Lady O , poor

Lady 0 ! knows the rules of prudence, I fear me, as

imperfectly as she doth those of the Greek and Latin gram- mars; for she hath let her brother, who is a sad swine, be- come master of her secrets, and then contrived to quarrel with him. You would see the outline of the melange in the

newspapers, but not the report that Mr. S is about to

publish a pamphlet as an addition to the Harleian Tracts, setting forth the amatory adventures of his sister. We shall break our necks in haste to buy it, of course crying

' shameful ' all the while; and it is said that Lady O r- is

to be cut, which I cannot entirely believe. Let her tell two or three old women about town that they are young and handsome, and give some well-timed parties, and she may still keep the society which she hath been used to. The times are not so hard as they once were, when a woman could not construe Magna Charta with any thing like im- punity. People were full as gallant many years ago, but the days are gone by wherein my Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England was wont to go a love-making to Mrs. Fleetwood with the Bible under his arm. And so Miss Jacky Gordon is really clothed with a husband at last, and Miss Laura Manners left without a mate! She and Lord Stair should marry and have children in mere re- venge. As to Miss Gordon, she's a Venus well suited to such a Vulcan, whom nothing but money and a title could have rendered tolerable, even to a kitchen wench. It is said that the matrimonial correspondence between this cou- ple is to be published — full of sad and scandalous relations, of which you may be sure scarcely one word is true. In

former times the Duchess of St. A 's made use of these

elegant epistles in order to intimidate Lady Johnstone; but that ruse would not avail, so in spite, they are to be print- ed. What a cargo of amiable creatures! — Yet will some people scarcely believe in the existence of Pandemonium! "Tuesday morning. — You are perfectly right respecting the hot rooms here, which we all cry out against, and all find very comfortable — much more so than the cold sands and bleak neighbourhood of the sea — which looks vastly well in one of Vander Velde's pictures hung upon crimson

damask, but hideous and shocking in reality. H and.

6*

66 MEMOIRS OF THE

his Elle (talking of parties) were last night at Cholmonde- ley House, but seem not to ripen in their love. He is cer- tainly good-humoured, and, 1 believe, good -hearted, so de- serves a good wife; but his caret seems a genuine London miss, made up of many affectations. Will she form a com- fortable helpmate? For me, I like not her origin, and deem many strange things to run in blood, besides madness and the Hanoverian evil.

"Thursday. — I verily do believe that I never shall get to the end of this small sheet of paper, so many unheard of interruptions have I had; and now I have been to Vauxhall

and caught the tooth-ache. I was of Lady E. B m and

H 's party, — very dull; the lady giving us all a supper

after our promenade —

' Much ado was there, God wot, She would love, but he would not:'

He ate a great deal of ice, though he did not seem to re- quire it; and she " faisoit les yeux doux," enough not only to have melted all the ice which he swallowed, but his own hard heart into the bargain. The thing will not do. In the mean time Miss Long hath become quite cruel to Wel- lesley Pole, and divides her favour equally between Lords Killeen and Kilworth, two as simple Irishmen as ever gave birth to a bull. 1 wish to Hymen that she were fairly mar- ried, for all this pother gives one a disgusting picture of hu- man nature. Avarice in children is shocking — yet the united schools of Eton and Westminster are gaping after this girl, as if she were fairer than a myriad of Venuses. Apropos, I have discovered a Venus — a Mrs. Owen; she is beautiful, but she looks vulgar, and is horridly affected. I think that the Adonis of this year is Grammont. He is handsomer than anybody, and 1 know three fat ladies who are expiring through the love they bear him. Lady Barba- ra Ashley is to marry him, it is said; and now admire, my

dear , the strange change of opinion which takes place

in families! Here is a person descended from a precise Puritan, and the trumper-up of the popish plot, herself a Papist, and about to marry one. The Count descends pro- digiously to wed such an ill-born mushroom; but she has money and he hath not. Here is another change; but he has much more excuse for what he does than Miss Long's pack of truffle hunters. When Miss Porter's Don Sebas- tian came out, I expected to find the Margravine, Keppel Craven, (with whom the fair authoress was in love,) and

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 6~

many of my other friends there: in place of which I found nothing but such heroes and heroines as might have been fashionable and common formerly, but who are wonderfully out of date and rare now; so that circumstances gave me a disgust to the book. As to my own romance, which you have done me the honour of accepting, I feel such prodi- gious qualms about its publication, that I scarcely think it will ever see the light. When it is quite finished you shall have it in your power, as to a perusal. The subject is certainly good, though my hero was a sad fool, and my

heroine (Lady H. W ) little better than a baggage; but

I have not done it justice, and people persuade me that these melanges of truth and fiction are pernicious, or at least worthless. On the score of impropriety you will find

nothing offensive; and the moral of the Duke of M 's

life is excellent, for his errors poor soul, were venial, and

his punishment most exemplary. Lady H never held

up her head alter the intelligence of his death reached her; and his Duchess, who was a very unfeeling woman, that breakfasted on cold haggiss, married Lord C , and con- cluded her career very comfortably. And here it is time that I should conclude mine for the present, as far as wri- ting goes — so, with ten thousand thanks for your letter, which I dare not call amusing, lest you should say I flatter, and living in hopes of being honoured with hearing from you again,

"I am, Dear ,

" Your faithful servant."

FROM H. R. H. THE PRINCESS OF WALES.

"Wednesday, , 1811,

" The accounts from Windsor certainly have been very terrifying for a few days, which has prevented my going since a week to the opera, — but the accounts are now very much the same as they were a month ago, and I feel no ap- prehension that it will be worse, nor, I fear, better. My mother has been very ill indeed : her dinners have been post- poned since a fortnight. I have been much at home, and not at all the worse for having seen a few people whom I liked the best. Mr. Sharpe ! would do very well if he was

• If her Koyal Highness meant Mr. Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, and had banished him from her society, she would have lost one of the most amusing- persons in the world, and one whose wit was as harmless as it was light and bright.

68 MEMOIRS OF THE

not a great gossip; and there are days and times that it would be very inconvenient to have him in society. — The two marriages in question are still a profound secret, and the formal proposals are not yet made, of which I am cer- tain. All parties are on the point of going into the country, and before next year I believe nothing will be settled. —

Mr. Macdonald is at Mr. E 's, and I suppose that it

will be arranged soon. Your letter is safely burnt, and a

feu de joie made of it, my dear . When the royal

visiters left me, Louis the XVIIIth could only offer me the gout in one knee and in one toe, and Madame D' Angou- leme a swelled face;* so that I have not been blessed with a sight of these charming creatures. Still I was reduced to (he satisfaction of having forty, including my own fa- mily, to this great feast. The sight was not enchanting, as it was loaded with old fograms. My usual resource on this occasion is to show them the great apartments and (he rarities they contain.! At last, (every thing, alas! ends,) we were obliged to take to another resource, which was walking in the great avenue; and there we walked with all the plebeians, and with all the mobs. As our conviviality was exhausted as well as our wit, the military band sup- plied the sound of our voices. We lounged there till hap- pily the clock struck eight, and then the party was swept away like magic.

Lord Hartington gives a great ball at Burlington House, which is his new residence, and I suspect that this ball, which was given quite suddenly, was for some matrimonial reasons."

ANOTHER FROM H. R. H. TO THE SAME.

" I have lived in such a confusion since you left me, that I don't know whether I am the besieged or the be-

* All these ailings probably befell the royal family of France at the command of the Prince Regent of England.

•j- This was a circumstance which her Royal Highness's enemies laid hold of to turn to her disadvantage, and the newspapers of the day found great fault with the Princess for taking her guests into those apartments, insinuated that they were the scenes of improper conduct, being but partially lighted; whereas her Royal Highness only took her c nmany there when she had no other means of en- tertaining them. Thus was she often falsely accused; and, unfor- tunately for her own welfare, (though I think in many instancesj

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 69

sieger. Lady Anne and I began by receiving an ambas- sador, the second day after she had been installed into all the secrecy of our nunnery. He was sent by our gracious Majesty; in short, it was the Vice- Chamberlain, Colonel Desbrowe; his object being to stop my going to Windsor, and convey a refusal to my request of having my daughter to come to see me last Saturday. I was just sitting in Lady Anne's room, opposite to the sofa on which she was placed, when he was announced; she had never heard of his name, and supposed that he was a young and fashion- able beau. She behaved like Joan of Arc in the whole of this business; was immovable; not a muscle of her face altered at the eloquent speech of this knight errant. I de- sired him to write it down on paper, to refresh my memory now and then with it; but he refused. Lady Anne then took her pen, and in the presence of this ambassador, she conveyed his message to paper, which he read himself be- fore he left the room and took his departure. I think this scene will make a pretty figure in the Morning Chronicle or in the Examiner; but I leave that to a much abler pen than mine.

" One day I went with Lady Anne to see ,the English ■ St. Cyr,'* at Lee, where I met Lady Perceval. I think you would have been amused for a moment, with hearing the second Miss Grimani sing; she is one of the govern- esses. Sapio and his wife also sang duetts and trios with her, and I was much gratified by the exquisite taste and great flexibility of voice of this young person.

" Poor Lady C is, I fear, at this moment in great

anxiety and tribulation, as she has been absolutely refused, under any condition, to have the house at Kensington. She had offered to take upon herself all the repairs and finishing, that it might prove no incumbrance to the Board of Works; in short He is a brute, and unqualified to be called a gentleman through his behaviour, this Lord Cham- berlain. And now I must tell you something else — I am so accustomed, my dear Lord, to disappointments since my childhood, that one more or less makes not much effect upon my temper. I am only astonished how very little chivalresque feeling is remaining in this country, and Mr. Drummond certainly shall not be the banker to George

it speaks well for her character,) the Princess of Wales did not heed what interpretation her enemies put on her actions.

* A school founded by and under the protection of Lady Anne Hamilton.

70 MEMOIRS OF THE

l\ 'th"s Queenj* for any historian, who would write the bi- ography of the ex-Princess of Wales, would not a little astonish the world, in relating that she could not procure the sum of .C500, at the rate of paying £500 a year per annum for it!!"

LETTER FROM M. G. LEWIS, ESQ.

" The Albany, November 10th.

MY DEAR

" Lord Aberdeen is a candidate for the Presidentship ol the Anticpuarian Society; and I need not tell you, that I am extremely anxious to promote his success, and entreat you to use all your influence in obtaining votes for his support.!

<kI hear that Lady is living at Constantinople

with young B , avowedly as his chereamie; and that

she says nobody was ever so handsome, nor so clever, and that he is in short, and is to be, one of the first characters in these kingdoms. I wish him joy of his conquest, and had rather he than I.%

"I send you some verses which I read in the Examiner: I think them very witty, although very abominable. " Believe me,

"Most truly yours, "M. G. LEWIS. ^'

* The banking house of Mr. Drummond refused to advance the sum of £500 for her Royal Highness. The reason assigned was, its being inconsistent with the rule of their house to obey her com- mands— but one might have supposed that an exception could be made in favour of the Princess of Wales, especially considering the small amount of the sum.

f The person to whom this letter was addressed, canvassed for the two competitors, both Lord Aberdeen and Sir Harry Englefield, with perfect good humour and bon-hommie, not being aware (from a strange confusion and ignorance on such matters) that such efforts must of necessity be rendered nugatory to both parties. This blun- der caused much laughter at the time.

t If ever there was a person to whom the Scotch proverb of ' Great cry and little wool' is applicable, it was so to Mr. B . He be- gan his career as a spoilt child, he pursued it as a spoilt youth, and, after having become an eastern dandy, returned to enact the part of a hero in a Parisian melo-drama. Having reached London, with all his honours fresh upon his head, he turned the heads of several elderly ladies, and ended his public career by marrying a widow lady with

several children. Mr. B would have been a very harmless and

rather ornamental member of society in his youth, had not an over- weening vanity rendered him the dupe of flattery and froth,

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 7\

" The Triumph of the Whale. "Io! Paean! Io! sing1, To the finny people's King! Not a mightier whale than this, In the vast Atlantic is; Not a fatter fish than he, Flounders round the Polar sea: See his blubber at his gills, — What a world of drink he swills! From his trunk as from a spout, Which next moment he pours out. Such his person — next declare, Muse! who his companions are: Every fish of generous kind, Stands aside or slinks behind; But about his presence keep, All the monsters of the deep: Mermaids with their tails and singing, His delighted fancy stinging: Crooked dolphins, they surround him, Dog-like seals, they fawn around him: Following hard, the progress mark, Of one intolerant salt sea shark; For his solace and relief, Flat fish are his courtiers chief: Last and lowest in his train, Tub fish, libellers of the main, Their black liquor shed in spite: Such on earth the thing that write. In his stomach some do say, No good thing can ever stay: Had it been the fortune of it, To have swallowed that old prophet, Three days there he'd not have dwell'd, But in one have been expell'd. Hapless mariners are they, Who beguiled, as seamen say, Deeming him some rock or island, Footing sure, safe spot, or dry land, Anchor in his scaly rind; Soon the difference they find: Sudden, plump, he sinks beneath them, Does to ruthless waxes bequeath them. Name or title, what has he? Is the Regent of the sea? From that difficulty free us, Buff on, Banks, or sage Linnaeus: With his wondrous attributes, Say what appellation suits; By his hulk and by his size, By his oily qualities. This, (or else my evesight fails,) This should be the' Prince of Whales."

72 MEMOIRS OF THE

Who is there that may not be caricatured, when the most avowedly graceful man of his time, or perhaps of any time, can thus be personally, ridiculed? And who is there that is safe from the bitter tongue of scandal, when a kind- ly hearted monarch is represented under such malignant and dark colours?

To-day I went to see Mrs. Nugent. She is more like a corpse than any thing can be that is not one. I have paid her several visits. Her conversation is sensible and com- posed. Whatever scandal may have formerly said against her must, I conclude, now be silenced; though I believe, like the Gowls in the Arabian Nights, it ever feeds upon decayed carcasses.

I see strange reports in the papers about the poor Prin- cess. Turning her out of Kensington Palace, for that is the true meaning of procuring her another domicile, appears to me to be the forerunner of new troubles. It is said she is to be sent abroad. How can that be, without bringing her to public disgrace? It is farther reported, that no ministers will be accepted by the Prince, except such as will farther his plans respecting the Princess. Now is the time when her Royal Highness should seek for the protection of the greatest of the land. Talent alone is not sufficient to bear her up counter to the tide which has set in against her. When people forsake their own position — their own station in life — to cast themselves upon the aid of those beneath them, it is an invariable rule that they fall into a pit from which none can extricate them. The latter are generally incompetent to judge of the conduct of those who are in a totally different position from themselves. There is nothing perhaps so difficult as to place one's self in another's iden- tity, in any circumstance or station of existence; and those who attempt this, in regard to Princes, mu'st be very honour- able persons indeed, not to be swayed in their judgment by party, by prejudice, or by self-interest. No royal person ever experienced this truth more fatally than the unfortu- nate Princess of Wales. She was alternately under the influence of all these contending powers; and even the best of her Royal Highness's advisers, those who were honest and honourable in their intentions towards her, were not free from party spirit — whilst others again used her merely as a ladder on which to climb to power. But then, it must be said in justice to those who tried to serve her and failed, that she frequently marred their endeavors by underhand confidences to persons of opposite principles, when she did

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 73

not like a measure, and yet did not dare openly to run counter to it. This was vexatious to those who really were desirous to be of use to her, and failed of making her any stable friends with any set of political men.

The tissue of all human character is more or less uneven, but I never knew greater inequality than in that of this very extraordinary woman. Posterity will never do justice to her memory— for, as in most cases, the bad and inferior parts of her character were tangible and prominent to the observation, tvbiJe those alone who lived in her intimate so- ciety, knew of the many good and great ingredients which formed a part of the heterogeneous mixture. A friend of the Prince, one wht> leant with steady affection to his Ro- yal Highness's interests, said to me the other day, "The Princess has behaved towards me with a candour and good nature that do her honour;" (alluding to that person's never having waited upon her, for fear of offending the Prince;) " few royal persons are sufficiently liberal to set down a seeming omissiomof duty, even of the most trifling nature, to its true cause, when no disrespect is intended." It ought to be recorded to the honour of the Princess, that un- til she was goaded to madness, sin- never felt any hatred against the Prince's friends, as such; — only against persons who had been her adherents, and turned from her to bow the knee to Baal, did she show any resentment.

Returned to town — was invited to sup at Kensington — a very agreeable party, but, unfortunately, the Princess prolonged her pleasures till they became pains. No appe- tite for converse, no strength of nerves, no love for any in- dividual who might be present, could possible enable anv person, who was not royal, (they certainly are gifted with supernatural strength,) to sit for five or six hours attable, and keep vigil till morning light. Some one, I remember, present that night, ventured to hint that morning was at hand. "Ah!" said the Princess, " God, he knows when we may all meet again — to tell you God's truth, when I am happy and comfortable, I could sit on for ever."

There was heaviness in her mirth, and every body seemed to feel it, so they sat on. At hast we rose from table; many of the guests went away; some few lingered in the drawing room, amongst whom I was one. I was left the last of all. Scarcely had Sir H. Englefield, Sir William Gell.and Mr. Craven reached the ante-room, when a long and protracted roll of thunder echoed all around, .and shook the palace to

vol. i. 7

74 MK.MOIHS OF THE

its very foundations; a bright light shone into the room — brighter than the beams of the sun; a violent hissing noise followed, and some ball of electric fluid, very like that which is represented on the stage, seemed to fall close to the window where we were standing. Scarcely had we recovered the shock, when all the gentlemen who had gone out, returned, and Sir II. Englefield informed us, that the centinel at the door was knocked down, a great portion of the gravel walk torn up, and every servant and so!dier were terrified. "Ah!" said the Princess, undismayed but solemnly — "this forbodes my downfall," and she shook her head; then rallying, she desired Sir H. Englefield to take especial notice of this meteoric phenomenon, and give an account of it in the Philosophical Transactions; — which, he did.

I learnt the next day that three new mad doctors had been called in to the poor King: Monro, Symons, and J. Willis. Heberden was dismissed, and is to see him no more. It is settled, that a new plan is to be adopted: — as all the physicians now allow that the King's mind is quite gone, he is to be left to himself, except at moments of vio- lence,— no longer to be tormented with medicine or ques- tions, &c. &c, and oidy attended by the doctors who pro- fess to treat insane persons, and by one regular physician. By all this it appears certain, that at the expiration of the year at latest, that is to say, in the course of next Febru- ary, all restrictions will be taken off the Prince Regent. and he will act as King. What is to follow, time only can show.

Heard to-day of the marriage of Mrs. Bouverie, which event has given rise to a great deal of wit. They say that in her youth she wore a cloak, and in her old age a Spencer,

The Princess communicated to me a letter from Mr.. Brougham. It is very like a conjurer's hocus pocus; for I defy any one, and certainly her Royal Highness, to under- stand distinctly what it means. It is a very ingenious mys- tification, however.

COPY OF MR. BROUGHAM'S NOTE.

" 1 have seen Lord Grey, and Lord Lansdowne, and others. The Prince did not propose to Lord Wellesley any thing about seeing or speaking to the opposition; buc Lord Wellesley proposed it, and the Prince did not object.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 75

Lord W. saw Lord G. yesterday, and to-day he saw Lord Y. and Lord Grenville — and then Ire saw Lord Moira and others. He has proposed several principles, in which he thinks they may all agree: — the Catholic question, and the war in Spain. Nothing ha* been proposed in the order in council; which is the chief difficulty in the opinion of many. As yet, nothing is fixed, nor has any mention been made as to arrangements of the offices; they are only negotiating to try to come to an understanding upon principles. If they succeed in that, the rest will be quite easy, as far as relates to them; and I fancy Lord Grey will be minister; and the Prince reserves to himself to agree to or refuse the project they may finally submit to him. The thing is still going on, and they seem to think Lord Wellesley has completely quarretled with the old cabinet — with some (Lords Buthurst and Harrowby) irreconcileably. I never believe in such irreconcileable quarrels. The opposition (with a few ex- ceptions) are all against, their coming into office, and I am sure Whitbrcad, Coke, &c, will be decidedly so."

About this time there was a talk of publishing some state- ment of facts, in favour of the Princess, which was either got up by Brougham or some of the party, but which they chose to envelop in a sort of mystery; — whether or not to deceive the Princess, or whether to serve her or themselves and their party, I never could understand. Her Royal Highness showed me the following sentence in a note of Mr. Brougham's concerning them.

(Copy.) — "The papers have been sent to me by a mys- terious personage, with the view to publication. I have fully considered the subject, and have written a cautious answer, which has not been called for, though I have twice advertised in the newspaper, as directed by the stranger. I had intended to send a copy of my answer, but it is scarcely worth while; the substance is strongly to advise publication, but accompanied with a proper narrative, which I have engaged a most unexceptionable person to write as soon as required, namely, Mr. Hunt."*

^Yhile Mr. Brougham" was thus busily engaged, as it ap-

• Doctors differ, and so do other people, in their estimation of pro- per and improper. Some have ventured to think that Mr. Hunt was < tv reverse, as an agent for the Princess of Wales.

76 MEMOIRS OF THE

pearecl, in procuring or buying up papers, supposed to be in favour of her Royal Highness, she herself was equally busy on her part in a similar scheme; but by all 1 ever could make out, it was kept a profound secret from Mr. Brough- am.

FROM MR. M. G. LF.WIS.

"The Albany, Nov. 20th. " MY DEAR ,

"In the first place you must understand, that 1 have been all my life the most careful person in the world re- specting letters, and that the late instances of the Duke of York and Lord Folkestone have by no means operated to produce an abatement of caution. London is still very empty, and there is nothing to be clone except going to the play. Luckily that is one of my favourite amusements; and still more luckily, the few people who are in town seem to be of the same opinion; so that, whenever there is any thing worth going to see, a couple of boxes are taken, in which Lady Le Despencer and her daughters Lady de Ros, Lady Perceval, and all the men they can pick up, establish themselves, and we generally sup at Lady Le Despencer's afterwards. I have neither seen nor heard any thing of the Princess, since she removed to Blackheath, except a report that she is in future to reside at Hampton Court, because the Princess Charlotte wants the apartments at Kensington; but I cannot believe that the young Princess, who has been always described to me as so partial to her mother, would endure to turn her out of her apartment, or suffer it to be done. I have also been positively assured, that the Prince has announced that the first exertion of his power will be to decide the fate of the Princess: and that Perceval, even though he demurred at endeavouring to bring about a di- vorce, gave it to be understood that he should have no ob- jection to her being excluded from the coronation and exiled to Holyrood House.* However, I only give you these as

• I am confident, that such a course would never have been adopt- ed by Mr. Perceval. He was not a man to lend himself to any mea- sures which were not strictly consonant with open, upright honour. Had he been convinced of the Princess's guilt, lie would not have upheld her, or professed himself her friend, while in secret he joined. in the party against her.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 71

reports, for which I know no foundation, and sincerely hope that there is none of a solid nature. While on the subject of royalties, I may as well tell you an anecdote, which, whether true or false, has amused me very much. They

say, that when the Duke of C deputed Mrs. F n

to make his proposals of marriage to Miss L — ng, she went

to her and stated very gravely that the Duke of C was

willing to part with Mrs. J n, and give her place in his

affections to Miss L ; on which the poor little girl

thought that she was intended to officiate in the same capa- city with her predecessor: so she fell a crying, and called the unlucky ambassadress all the bad names that she could think of.

"Donald Macdonald called on me a few days ago, to tell me that his brother's marriage with Lady Caroline Edgcumbe is finally settled, and will take place with all possible expedition. I am heartily glad of it. Sir John Sinclair (the Duchess of Gordon's grandson) is going to be married to the daughter of Admiral de Courcy. Lady Ox- ford .is returned to town to lie in; somebody said (in allu- sion to the old joke about the Harleian Miscellany) that to judge by her size, t'lis production would be a very volumi- nous work indeed. I have not yet seen her myself, but I hear that she is looking extremely ill, is in very low spirits, and in short is evidently quite chap-fallen.

"You say, ' I wonder what you think of Trotters Life of Fox?' — Now I wonder that, supposing I had only read two paragraphs, you could have any doubt of what I must think; and Mi!! mere I should wonder, if supposing that I had read the paragraphs, you should imagine it possible for me to read two more. I contented myself with the extracts in the newspapers, which were quite numerous enough to sa- tisfy my curiosity, and prevent my wishing to see any more of the work. The Author was a person merely taken into Fox's family because he was a relation of the widow of the Bishop of Down, who was Fox's tutor; and he was only employed (as I understand) in making extracts from diffe- rent works at Paris, which contained matters connected with Fox's projected History. This man has since thought himself not sufficiently taken notice of, nor provided for by his patrons, relations, and friends, and he is therefore supposed to have published these memoirs with the bene- volent intention of vexing them. The work is evidently

.7*

T8 MEMOIRS OF THE

the production of a disappointed man. His late dispute with the physicians, respecting his charge of their having accelerated Fox's death by the use of digitalis, is sufficient to show how little he is to be relied upon for accuracy; and as to his style, it is the most inflated bombastic manner of writing that ever yet came in my way, and would be much better adapted to • the sorrows of Lady Henrietta Heart- broke, being the first literary attempt of a young lady.' Lord Holland is so much offended, both at the manner and matter of the work, that he will not suffer it to occupy a place in Ins library, where even my trash finds room.

" I have heard of nothing good in the literary way; but I read' three volumes yesterday of the strangest, dullest, and most incomprehensible trash imaginable, two or three passages in which made me laugh above measure, owing solely (I verily believe) to the writer's being half a fool, and half a mad woman. It is the life of Mrs. Wells, a ci- devant actress; in which, among other things, she proves that the Duke of has given himself a Vast deal of un- necessary trouble; a thing of which I never should have >uspected him. It seems that when a person is married already, and wants to many somebody else, nothing in the world is necessary but the simplest and easiest thing pos- sible: he has nothing upon earth to do but to turn Jew! This is what Mrs. Wells did with the greatest success; and she always takes care not to confound her personages toge- ther. There is ' her first husband;' and then there is • her second husband;' and then again there is ' the father of her children;* and I assure you, of all the distinctions I ever met with, these different distinctions are made out the clear- est. As she was always in debt, she inveighs bitterly against the power of arrest; and prays devoutly, that the earth may open and swallow all the lock-up houses. And she says that being at Hasting's trial, a citizen's wife, who had looked at her, indolently begged her to lend her the newspaper; on which, says Mrs. Wells, I said, loud enough for every body to hear me, ' 1*11 see you at the devil first.' Every eye was instantly fixed on the citizen's wife; she sank into her ori- ginal littleness, and hastily quitted a society where she had made herself so ridiculous!! — Addio.

"Ever yours,

'"M.G.LEWIS."

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 79

Sunday, February 23rd, 1812.— The Princess Charlotte was at the opera last night for the first time, and much de- lighted, as it seemed. She leant over the box and bowed to every person she knew. I could not learn if she was applauded or not. She went with the Duchess of York, Lord de Clifford, and Bloomfield to attend her. Someone of her royal uncles, and Erskine, were I understand in the box.

EXTRACT FROM A LETTER.

Dated "Saturday, 11th May, 1812. '• I was actually going to write to you about this said in- solent drawing-room j for such it is, and will help, I think, much to 'raise commencing indignation ! but, for heaven's sake, let any who may, advise the Princess to remain where she is, and not stir hand or foot for herself, but leave that to others, and be assured "qu'il s'en presentera." I have heard, and in a way that makes me give some credit to it, that a man unconnected with opposition, who wishes to come forward and be talked of, rich and independent, is in possession of a copy of The Book, and that he means to purchase a seat, for the purpose of laying this book before Parliament — to the dismay and confusion of Perceval and others of his followers," &c.

I here, that in consequence of the Princess having gone to Windsor to see her daughter, a message was sent to her from the llVgent by Lord Liverpool, to desire her not to go there again. Her reply was, that if she saw the Prin- cess Charlotte as usual, once a week, she would obey; but if not, she thought her duty in respect to her child was paramount to all others. The Princess Charlotte has not come to her, and the Princess of Wales, is determined to go again to Windsor. Her Royal Highness knows she will be refused seeing her daughter, but wishes to have the refusal in black and white; and also to be able to say that she did all in her power to prove her love for Princess Charlotte.*

* This conduct would have been natural and praiseworthy, had ge- nuine affection for her child been the real motive; but it was too evi- dently pique and a revenge for self-indignities, which instigated this undignified mode of showing her displeasure. More patience and

80 MEMOIRS OF THE

EXTRACT FROM A LETTER.

" What you have the goodness to ask as a favour, my

dfear , 1 need not say I look upon as an honour; and I

have finished two daubs, which I shall take the earliest pri- vate opportunity of sending to you. The one is Queen Elizabeth dancing, the other Louis XIV. and the Duchesse de la Valliere. Whichever of these unworthy performan- ces you deem best, pray retain for yourself; for though the Princess Charlotte is certainly a great personage, and a budding queen, and one may give oneself great airs on having done a drawing for her, yet I am a Jacobite and a Scotchman; — so I would rather have the best of my poor ef- forts in the possession of yourself, than in that of the Princess Charlotte of Wales. Ever since I have possessed eyes and ears, 1 have known how to appreciate the honours done me by the former. Things have gone on rather stupidly, 1 think, since you left Edinburgh. There have been some parties, where people pretended to waltz and imagined they were singing. Indeed, not to be above one's trade, with some exceptions, this city containeth few pretty, well dressed women, and a number of Anthropophagi, and men whose heads

4 Do grow beneath their shoulders.'

'• I had the honour of being at Lady C 's one even- ing lately, and saw some French country dances. I wish

that you and Miss C had seen them also: there was

every step of a dancing duck, and the line of beauty

formed the wrong way. Pray tell Miss C that the

principal Vestris was her humble admirer Charles C ,

figuring with a new French (I presume) head, his hair being peaked up like Corporal Trim's Montero cap, or some of the foretops in Captain Cook's Voyages: — with his head- sear, and holding his legs like a frog swimming, he was enough to kill one with laughing; — and he never could have his fill of it — for when any poor Miss fell piping hot upon

forbearance, on this as on many other occasions, would have given her a better chance of carrying her point; but if ever woman was goaded to intemperate display of passion, the Princess was that wo- man.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 81

licr chair, out of the ring, he always handed her up again, with a kick-out of his heels that beggars all description.

" I saw Dr. A. R there, in very good health, but

still busy with the measled children in George's Square. His brother, an officer in the 92d, is a xery descendant of Adonis, and all the pelisses in Princes Street are in love with him. However, 'tis said he confines himself entirely to

Miss G , a lady rich in money and a hump, to which I fear

Adolphus will never find a discussing plaster — for it ap- pears to be a mighty obstinate tumour. She does not care so very much for good looks — but she is extremely fond of laurels, and R was at***j so she will wear his gar- lands upon her shoulders * * *; while he will find her money a much more comfortable and substantial thing than a night cap of green leaves.

I saw Mr. C here the other day. He is, I think,

grown fat, and has always more light in his face than any body: but I wish he were away from this odious town, — I mean odious with respect to young men of fortune, and indeed to young men of any sort: for I am old fashioned, I confess, in many points, and deem this place a very poison to the youthful soul. In London, young lad.- are dissipated enough, and thoughtless; but I never found them set up, as they universally do here, for atheistic professors of every thing foolish and impious. David Hume has left that legacy to his unfortunate countrymen; his ill grounded reputation dazzles our college and our bar: and 1 actually believe that there is not one Christian, 1 had almost said Theist, on the benches of our lecture-rooms, or on the boards of our Par- liament-House.

"Apropos, our ladies are greatly shocked with the free use of scriptural phrases in the * *****, and \qy\ angry with the author on that account. For my part, as I have iead a great many of the old Presbyterian sermons, [ do not see those passages in so atrocious a light; for they are nothing to the wonderful things one meets with in the effu- sions ofPeden and Carglll; whose favourite scriptural book appears to have been the Song of Solomon: — which son<^, by the way, 1 lately found in MS. in the Advocates' Li- brary, translated into rhyme by Mistress Barbara Macky, and humbly dedicated to that most noble lady the Countess of Caithness, daughter to that thrice worthy marcpiess, my Lord Marquess of Argyll. And a conscientious translator

#2 MEMOIRS OF THE

Mistress Barbara was; for she leaves not out one word of her original; — but her fidelity is superior to her metre by many degrees. The Countess to whom she dedicates was twice married; first to Lord Caithness, and then to Lord Breadalbane. Her picture, extremely pretty, is at Holy- rood House.

" Talking of pictures, poor B. H. has got such a cold (I

suppose by sitting to T as Venus) that she coughs the

castle rocks into ten thousand echoes, and rouses the 92d there every fiv-e minutes with the trumpet of her nose. I

never saw her in so sad a condition Nut so Lady C 1,

who is going to many Mr. B s forthwith*, and seems

very comfortable on the prospect. However, she will not

have the satisfaction of carrying on the S family; for

it appears that Mr. B hath a son— an unlicked lad;

and 1 was told that, the other evening B 's old nurse

(who always lives with him) and his landlady, looking out of the back windows by moonlight, beheld "master salute the house-maid as they met in the cabbage garden; on which the two indignant Lucretias sallied down stairs, and fell each upon her own property, with blows as well as words — and a dreadful scene there was! Nothing like the uproar hath been heard thereabouts, since the murder of David Rixzio. They had all been vevy nearly seized by the police. What became of the nymphs I know not; but

Master B is transmitted to the birch of the minister

at Aberlady, there to mortify in sackcloth and sea-coal

ashes. If I did not know your goodness, dear , I

should beg ten thousand pardons for all this stuff; but as it is, offering my very best wishes and respect,

" I rest your ever obliged," &c.

Monday. — I was shown to-day some verses bv an ac- complished man, which made me wish to be a free agent, and to visit the scenes which he describes so well. Mr.

K. C n addressed them to a lady, a friend of mine.

Mr. K. C n was one of her Royal" Highness the Prin- cess of Wales's most intimate friends, and she valued his acquaintance. A mind that was capable of appreciating such characters and talents as his, could not itself be de- void of taste and delicacy.

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 85

Dated '« Scio, March, 1812.

"Think not, fair lady, though in foreign clime, 'Midst isles remote, a wanderer still I roam, That length of travel, or that lapse of time, Hath banished every thought of distant home;

" That home where all my old attachments dwell, Where infant hope and young emotions grew, Where breathe the valued friends I love so well, Warm in affection, though in number few.

" Then, lady, wonder not that when I view'd

The lines you traced, my cheek with pleasure glow'd; Nor deem it strange that thus my gratitude

Should own the comfort which those lines bestow'd.

11 Oh! they were doubly welcome at that hour, When solitude and sickness were my lot; They prov'd by words of soft persuasive power That, though far distant, 1 was not forgot.

" They sooth'd my sadness, and I learnt awhile The transient evils of this life to bear With patience, as 1 saw great Nature smile Upon the island she has made so fair.

"In truth, this isle is beauteous to behold, Well worthy of the ancient poet's choice, Who here had* fixed his seat in times of old, And taught its shore the echo of his voice.

" In yonder bay, which no rude storms invade,

Where, hush'd in calm, the billows seem to sleep, Two Plantain trees extend their leafy shade, Above a spring that mingles with the deep.

"There, on a rock clad with luxuriant vine, The Chian youths in eager number throng, To learn the precepts of the man divine, Or hear the wonders of his epic song.

84 MEMOIRS OF THE

" Mark you the woody crags that crown the wave, The olive groves spread o'er the Lesbian plain' Alcxus there to verse new measure gave,

And Sappho sang, and loved, and wept in vain.

"Far happier he whom Teos called her own,

The bard who drank and laughed long life away Who scatter'd roses round a tyrant's throne, And lighten'd with his song oppression's sway.

"See, in the windings of fona's coast,

Full many a spot enriched by classic fame* Behold Miletus Thales' wisdom boast, 13ut prouder still of its Aspasia's name.

" Observe where Ephesus its temple rears,

The seventh wonder of th' astonished earth; That mighty monument, the work of years, Fell on the hour that gave a conqueror birth.

" At nearer Chios, view the hallowed shrine Whose oracle the solemn silence broke; Erythrae too, where, fired witli rage divine, The Sibyl once in mystic accents spoke.

"Now smooth Ionia, grov'lling lie thy fanes, Thy massy porticos and columns tall; Alone unchanged, thy genial breeze remains, And sighs at even o'er their mournful fall.

" Beneath the marble wreck the viper hides,

The centipede along the cornice creeps;

Quick o'er th' Ionic scroll the lizard glides,

While in the sculptured leaf the scorpion sleeps,

"Within thy ports mute solitude prevails, Which arts and industry enrich no more; No poetry is heard among thy vales, No music floats along thy desert shore;

" Save where perchance some foreign minstrel strays, And strikes the lyre with melancholy hand; Or sadly chants in feeble notes the lays Which call to memory his native land — ■

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 85

■" The lays, fair lady, which you sang1 so well, Within the precincts of that royal bower. Where beauty, talents, wit, and kindness dwell, And cheer the progress of each fleeting hour.

*' Still does the wandering- troubadour aspire

To taste the joys which in those bowers are found; Beneath their shade again to wake the lyre, And hear your voice accompany its sound.

M These pleasing hopes his spirits still sustain,

And freshened courage to his steps impart; - They bid him for tbose halcyon days retain

Unmoved his friendship, and unchanged his heart."

11th May, 1812. — I know not whether to have faith in presentiments or not; but once or twice m my life " coming events" have "cast their shadows before," in a manner almost supernatural. To-day I experienced the most gloomy melancholy I ever felt, without at the time having a cause for so doing; but in the evening, as I was at dinner with the Princess of Wales, she received a letter; I observed her change colour while perusing its contents, and, cover- in^ her face with her hands, she exclaimed, "Oh! some- thing dreadful has happened; I cannot read it aloud;" but she pushed the letter towards me, and signed to me to do so. The letter was from Madame de Haeckle, giving an account of Mr. Perceval's assassination, by a man of the name of Bellingham, as he was going into the House of Commons. — Revenge of private injuries was stated as the cause which led to the commission of this crime — that is to say, the conceived injuries; — but Madame de Haeckle added, " God grant this may not be the signal for many coming woes!" — The panic struck us all, but no one more than the Princess. I never saw her so deeply affected be- fore, or since. Mr. Locke alone declared he did not be- lieve that the murder, dreadful as it was, had any con- nexion with public events, but was a solitary instance of crime. About twelve at night, an express which the Prin- cess sent to Mr. Arbuthnot returned, with a few words confirming the truth and accuracy of the first statement; except that Madame de Haeckle said the deed had been committed in the House of Commons, whereas it was done in the lobby of the house. The assassin immediately sat

VOL. i. 8

86 MEMOIRS OF THE

down, did not attempt to escape, and said he had no doubt his country would do him justice when his wrongs were laid before the public; lie was sure the laws would respect him; and, in short, used the language of a fanatic or a ma- niac. Mr. Arbuthnot said he hail lost his best friend, and never could have his loss replaced. The whole night was spent in conjectures upon the probable consequences of this horrible event.

EXTRACTS FROM LETTERS,

Giving an account to her Royal Highness of Mr. Perceval's Assassi- nation.

"Though I may not be able to send your Royal High- ness more particulars than you are already acquainted with, respecting the atrocious and horrible murder committed last evening, 1 find it impossible not to condole with your Roy- al Highness on an event the most lamentable that could have befallen the nation at this time. I feel it the more sensibly from its being connected so immediately with your Royal Highness, who has lost so true, steady, and firm a friend, at a time, too, when his strenuous efforts were em- ployed to place your Royal Highness, if not in the situa- tion you ought to hold, at least in one more proper and fit- ting than your present; so at least I have been positively informed. On the event being known, the Speaker moved an adjournment. The depositions of the witnesses present were taken immediately by Mr. Cromeand Mr. M. A. Tay- lor, which 1 understand brings the act home to the perpe- trator, Mr. Bellingham, a Russian merchant living at Li- verpool. He also confesses the crime. The Lords voted an address to the Regent, which was immediately taken up and presented to him. Insanity is, of course, ascribed to the assassin — the motive, disappointment at not receiving compensation for losses in his trade. Lord Granville Le- veson is also said to be a person of whom Bellingham com- plains; but his lordship has fortunately escaped. As to what government will now be formed, that is entirely mat-

TIMES OF GEORGE THE FOURTH. 87

ter of conjecture — but a few hours must decide. As your Royal Highness may probably determine to defer your ap pearance in public to-morrow, I shall take it as a favour if vou will let me know your pleasure.

" I have the honour to remain, &c., &c,

(Signed) « A. B. ST. LEGER."

MondayT. — I was glad to hear a person, very much against the Princess of Wales, say, that- he considered what had passed in the House of Commons as decisive in her favour, and that noihing more can be attempted to be brought against her, nor would dare to be attempted on the other side — for the unpopularity is extreme. The Prince Re- gent went yesterday in grand state to the Chapel Royal; — the first time of his appearance as sovereign. As he pro- ceeded from Carlton House to St. James's, surrounded by all his pomp, &c, not a single huzza from the crowd as- sembled to behold him! Not a hat oh*'! Of this I was as- sured by a gentleman present, on whom I can depend.

Tuesday, , 1812.

" Nothing has yet transpired of ministerial arrangements? nor is it even known whom the Prince Regent has seen: but it is thought that the same ministry are to be conti- nued, anil that they will still venture to try their hand. The Prince Regent certainly has a mind towards Lord Wellesley, and as certainly saw him before Perceval's death, — 1 believe on the, Wednesday preceding; but whe- ther Lord Wellesley will join with these, that is, thinks him- self sufficiently strong or not, is doubtful. 1 dread him! He is