These, and a thousand things beside, I could discover and deride. I may, perhaps, renew my lay. "Not quite, unless You put your satire to the press. For sure a satire, in this mode, No doubt of it! and much better written and applied than any of the birthday odes of the period. The fact was, that if there were strong prejudices, there were also simple virtues at court. The King would have no ode sung to him, as his predecessors had, on New Year's. day; and the Queen would not allow Twelfth Night to be celebrated by the usually ruinous play at "hazard." No wonder the poets praised her. CHAPTER V. PERILS, PROGRESS, AND PASTIMES. The American war-Dr. Dodd-The Duchess of Queensberry and the "Beggars' Opera "-Royal progresses-Royal visit to Bulstrode-Mrs. Delany and Queen Charlotte-Birth of Prince Octavius-Strange the engraver-The riots of London-Lady Sarah Lennox-The Prince and his Sire-The Prince's Preceptors-Errors committed in the education of the PrincesThe Prince's favourite, Perdita Robinson-Marie Antoinette's present to her-Separate establishment granted to the Prince-Lord North's facetious remark-Parliamentary provision for the Prince-The Prince's presence in the House of Commons not acceptable- His pursuit of pleasure The Duke of Clarence described by Walpole-The Prince of Wales overwhelmed with debts-Dissension in the Royal FamilyMarriage proposed to him to extricate him from his debts-The Prince's connection with Mrs. Fitzherbert-The Prince's marriage disclaimed by Mr. Fox-The Prince's behaviour to Mrs. Fitzherbert-The Prince acknowledges his marriage to the Queen. THERE had been, during the recent years of Charlotte's married life, no lack of either private or public trials and misfortunes. The struggles of the government at home against the press had signally failed; and that against the American. colonies, wherein France, Spain, and Holland were arrayed against England, ended in the acknowledgment, on our part, of the independence of the United States. The unpopularity of the King, who applied for and received 100,000l. per annum in addition to the 400,0007. granted to him at his accession, was extended to the Queen. The King was insulted by a female, said to be insane, as he was proceeding in his chair to the Haymarket Theatre. This circumstance rendered the Queen ill at ease for several days. Her sympathy could at no time, however, induce the King to grant her a favour, if he thought it was against his sense of right. Thus, few persons more interested themselves to rescue the Reverend Dr. Dodd, the forger, from the hands of the executioner, than Queen Charlotte. Her respect for the sacred office was so great, that it seemed to be something shocking that a clergyman should be hanged. But George III. remarked, that Dodd's offence was rendered the more grievous from the fact of his being a clergyman, and that the law must take its course. It may fittingly be stated here, that in the month of June of this year, 1777, the old Duchess of Queensberry was alive to see the triumph of her protégé, Gay,—a triumph in which the poet himself did not participate. The lord-chamberlain of George III.'s time was less scrupulous or less sensitive than his predecessor, the Duke of Grafton, of George II.'s era. "Polly"-for subscriptions to print which the duchess had even asked the courtiers in Queen Caroline's own apartment— was for the first time represented at the Haymarket, on the 19th of June, 1777. In this sequel we learn that Peachum has been deservedly hanged. Was it on this account that Walpole, who deemed himself misrepresented in that character, was determined to prevent the representation of this poor piece? All the rest of it is without offence, that is without political offence; for otherwise it is, throughout, an offence against common sense and decency. The Macheath of the opera is, in the sequel, a transported felon at large, in the West Indies, and turned pirate, under the name of Morano. He is subsequently put to death by the Indians; and Polly, who has crossed the Atlantic in search of him, ends the piece by asking time to consider an offer of marriage made to her by Cowwawkee, the son of an Indian king. The now old Duchess of Queensberry enjoyed this poor triumph of a dead poet over a defunct politician. It was a paltry business altogether; the only singular fact in the affair being that the original Macheath was a ballast-heaver on the Thames, really bore that name, took "to the road," and was hanged at the end of it. During the following year, 1778, many royal "progresses were made to the fleet, to the fortified towns on the coast, to the various camps, and to the mansions of the nobility. A general air of festivity was exhibited about the Queen and court, but there was nothing in the condition of the affairs of the kingdom to warrant the apparent joy. By sea and land our flag, though not dishonoured, was not triumphant; and for the moment, the most unpopular man in the kingdom was the King himself;-obstinate in his determination to govern as well as reign, and daily verging towards that disturbed state of mind which ended at last in hopeless insanity. Meanwhile, however, the home enjoyments of the court were placid and unexciting. In her "progresses" with the King, Charlotte was not reluctant to maintain the state of a Queen. Her ideas on this subject seem strange to us now. Thus, when she held a court in the old royal city of Winchester, her costume consisted of a scarlet riding-habit, faced with blue, and covered with rich gold embroidery. In the same dress, with the addition of a black hat and a large cockade, she accompanied the King on his visits to the various camps established in the south. Nothing, however, could be more simple than the way of life of this royal pair when really "at home." Its simplicity extracted from a foreigner who witnessed it the remark, that such citizen-like plainness was injurious to royalty, and an encouragement to republicanism. Adopting as far as possible the descriptions of eye-witnesses of scenes in which the sovereigns enacted the principal part, we will now turn to the gossiping Mrs. Delany's letters, for the report of a visit made in 1779 by the Queen and her royal consort and family to the Duke of Portland's, at Bulstrode. "The royal family," says the writer, "ten in all, came to Bulstrode at twelve o'clock. The King drove the Queen in an open chaise, with a pair of white horses. The Prince of Wales and Prince Frederick rode on horseback; all with proper attendants, but no guards. Princess Royal and Lady Weymouth in a post-chaise. Princess Augusta, Princess Elizabeth, Prince Adolphus (about seven years old), and Lady Charlotte Finch, in a coach. Prince William, Prince Edward, Duke of Montague, and the Bishop of Lichfield, in a coach; another coach full of attendant gentlemen; among others, Mr. Smelt, whose character sets him above most men, and does great honour to the King, who calls him his friend, and has drawn him out of his solitude (the life he had chosen), to enjoy his conversation every leisure moment. These, with all their attendants in rank and file, made a splendid figure as they drove through the park, and round the court, up to the house. The day was as brilliant as could be wished, the 12th of August, the Prince of Wales's birth-day. The Queen was in a hat, and in an Italian night-gown of purple lustring, trimmed with silver gauze. She is graceful and genteel. The dignity and sweetness of her manner, the perfect propriety of everything she says or does, satisfies everybody she honours with her instructions so much, that beauty is by no means wanting to make her perfectly agreeable; and though awe and long retirement from court made me feel timid on my being called to make my appearance, I soon found myself perfectly at ease; for the King's conversation and good humour took off all awe but what one must have for so respectable a character, severely tried by his enemies at home as well as abroad. The three princesses were all in frocks. The King and all the men were in uniform, blue and gold. They walked through the great apartments, which are in a line, and attentively observed everything, the pictures in particular. I kept back in the drawing-room, and took that opportunity of sitting down, when the Princess Royal returned to me, and said the Queen missed me in the train. I immediately obeyed the summons with my best alacrity. Her majesty met me half-way, and seeing me hasten my steps, called out to me, Though I desired you to come, I did not desire you to run and fatigue yourself.' They all returned to the great drawing-room, where there were only two arm-chairs, placed in the middle of the room for the King and Queen. The King placed the Duchess Dowager of Portland in his chair, and walked about, admiring the beauties of the place. Breakfast was offered,-all prepared in a long gallery that runs the length of the great apartments (a suite of eight rooms and three closets). The King, and all his royal children, and the rest of the train, chose to go to the |