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mentary grants had been settled, the Prince of Wales reduced his establishment, but retained the Marchioness of Townshend, the Countesses of Jersey, Carnarvon, and Cholmondeley. The Princess requested the discharge of one of the number, but it was refused. Her Royal Highness led a very retired life, and rarely appeared in public. Little attention was paid to her by the Prince. The King visited and countenanced her with great steadiness; but the Queen and Princesses treated her with coldness. In some letters to her friends in Germany, since published, the Princess described forcibly and affectingly her isolated and distressing position at this period. It appears certain, that among other sources of uneasiness, she was the prey of unprincipled and treacherous domestics. Her Royal Highness did not long confine herself to venting her discontent in letters sent abroad. She talked of her ill-treatment to the King and other persons, and even wrote to the Prince and Lord Cholmondeley on the subject.

Among the circumstance which excited, on the part of the Princess, a suspicion of treachery about her, was the singular abstraction of a packet of letters to her German friends, which she entrusted to Dr. Randolph, but which, instead of reaching their destination, got into the hands of the Queen. Lady Jersey was publicly accused of being concerned in the embezzlement; and, a dispute (by some considered to be feigned,) arose between her and the doctor. The account given by the latter, of the affair was, that after he received the packet, finding his journey to Germany would be deferred, he returned it to the Princess, then at Brighton, in a coachparcel, which he booked at the Golden Cross, Charing Cross, but which never reached the Princess. This story was ill-contrived, and believed but by few persons.

BIRTH OF THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE.

The long period during which the Prince of Wales had remained unmarried, and the consequent prospect of a broken succession, caused the nation to hail this union with universal satisfaction; and the birth of a royal daughter, which took place at Carlton House, January 6, 1796, diffused the most lively and general sensations of joy. Addresses of congratulation on this auspicious event for the country, were poured in from all quarters. The Prince, however, declined to receive the address of the city of London in person, and de

puted Earl Cholmondeley to inform the Remembrancer, that "having been under the necessity of retrenching his establishment, his Royal Highness could not receive the congratulations of the City of London on the birth of the Princess in a manner suited to his rank, and the respect due to the city. The same cause was assigned for the Prince's privately receiving the congratulatory compliments of Parliament. These would be curious items in the history of the Royal Family of England, and might be attributed to economy, were not other motives more obvious.

The infant Princess was baptized at Carlton House, on the 11th of February following, and named Charlotte Augusta. The estrangement of affection, which subsequently led to a separation of the royal parents, served to concentrate the public attention upon their infant daughter, and caused her to be regarded with the deepest interest as the cherished hope of the nation.

SEPARATION OF THE PRINCE AND
PRINCESS.

The difference which existed previous to the birth of the Princess Charlotte, led, after that event, to further estrangement; and although the King interposed, and remonstrated in behalf of the Princess, it was without effect. The Prince proposed a separation; the Princess objected to it, and required an explanation of his conduct. swer was unsatisfactory, and equally so were the few interviews which they had at this time.

The an

In March, 1796, a proposal of separation was again made to the Princess, to which she consented to listen; several verbal messages passed, but the Princess being desirous, on a subject of so much importance, of having the Prince's statements in writing, he addressed to her, on the 30th of April, 1796, the letter which has been so much celebrated. It was to the following effect:

"MADAM,-As Lord Cholmondeley informs me that you wish I would define, in writing, the terms upon which we are to live, I shall endeavour to explain myself upon that head with as much clearness, and with as much propriety, as the nature of the subject will admit. Our inclinations are not in our power; nor should either of us be held answerable to the other because nature has not made us suitable to each other. Tranquil and comfortable society is, however, in our power; let our intercourse, therefore, be restricted to that, and I will distinctly subscribe to the

condition which you required, through Lady Cholmondeley, that even in the event of any accident happening to my daughter, which I trust Providence in its mercy will avert, I shall not infringe the terms of the restriction by proposing, at any period, a connexion of a more particular nature. I shall now finally close this disagreeable correspondence, trusting that, as we have completely explained ourselves to each other, the rest of our lives will be passed in uninterrupted tranquillity.

"I am, Madam, with great truth, "Very sincerely yours, "GEORGE P." "Windsor Castle, April 30, 1796. It has been said that the Princess felt averse from the measure proposed, when it assumed so decided an aspect. Her answer to the Prince's letter may be considered sufficiently descriptive of her feelings. It was as follows:

"The avowal of your conversation with Lord Cholmondeley neither surprises nor offends me: it merely confirmed what you have tacitly insinuated for this twelvemonth. But after this, it would be a want of delicacy, or rather an unworthy meanness in me, were I to complain of those conditions which you impose upon yourself. I should have returned no answer to your letter, if it had not been conceived in terms to make it doubtful whether this arrangement proceeds from you or from me; and you are aware that the honour of it belongs to you alone.

"The letter which you announced to me as the last, obliges me to communicate to the King, as to my Sovereign and my Father, both your avowal and my answer. You will find inclosed the copy of my letter to the King. I apprize you of it that I may not incur the slightest reproach of duplicity from you. As I have at this moment no protector but his Majesty, I refer myself solely to him upon this subject; and if my conduct meet his approbation, I shall be in some degree at least consoled. I retain every sentiment of gratitude for the situation in which I find myself, as Princess of Wales, enabled by your means to indulge in the free exercise of a virtue dear to my heart, I mean charity. It will be my duty, likewise, to act upon another motive, that of giving an example of patience and resignation under every trial. "Do me the justice to believe, that I shall never cease to pray for your happiness, and to be your much devoted "May 6, 1796. "CAROLINE." A formal separation now took place. For some time, however, the Princess

continued to reside at Carlton House ; she afterwards removed to Charlton, where she was occasionally visited by the King, (her Father-in-law,) but never by the Queen or Princesses. The Prince occasionally saw his daughter (whose habitual residence however was with her mother) and he is said to have manifested great affection for her.

The Prince now returned to private life; but debt and embarrassment still disquieted him; and application was once more made to Parliament for an additional allowance, only six years after his income had been raised from 50,000. to 125,000l. a year.

In 1802, Mr. Manners Sutton, then Solicitor-General to the Prince of Wales, moved for a Committee to inquire into the appropriation of the arrears of the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall. The King, alarmed at being called on to account for the expenditure of this money, wished to appease the Prince by a Parliamentary grant of an increased income; and on the 23rd of February, Mr. Addington proposed, that from the 5th of January, 1803, the establishment of his Royal Highness should stand on the same footing that it stood in 1795; or, in other words, that it should be 125,0007. a year, exclusive of the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall. To this proposi tion the Prince gave an immediate assent; and the motion respecting the Arrears of the Duchy was therefore abandoned.

THE PRINCE'S COURAGEOUS ENTHU

SIASM.

In 1796, when the Duke of York went to command the army in the Netherlands, his Royal Highness made application to the King to be allowed to accompany his friend, the Earl of Moira, but this his Majesty positively refused, alleging the danger of risking the life of the Heir Apparent in battle. In 1803, when the country was arming en masse, in order to repel the threatened invasion of our implacable and deadly enemy, the Emperor Napoleon, his Royal Highness, with the true spirit of an English prince, came forward to make an offer of his personal service to the country. A correspondence ensued, in the course of which the Prince addressed letters to Mr. Addington, the Duke of York, and the King. In a letter to the King, in particular, the Prince appealed to his "natural advocate," with an eloquence and a warmth of patriotism, which it is delightful, even at this distance of time, to contemplate :

"I ask," such was the language o

the Prince on this occasion, "to be allowed to display the best energies of my character, to shed the last drop of my blood in support of your Majesty's person, crown, and dignity; for this is not a war for empire, glory, or dominion, but for existence. In this contest, the lowest and humblest of your Majesty's subjects have been called on : it would, therefore, little become me, who am the first, and who stand at the very footstool of the throne, to remain a tame, an idle, and a lifeless spectator of the mischiefs which threaten us, unconscious of the dangers which surround us, and indifferent to the consequences which may follow. Hanover is lost; England is menaced with invasion; Ireland is in rebellion; Europe is at the foot of France. At such a moment, the Prince of Wales, yielding to none of your servants in zeal and devotion- to none of your subjects in duty—to none of your children in tenderness and affectionpresumes to approach you, and again to repeat those offers which he has already made through your Majesty's Ministers. A feeling of honest ambition, a sense of what I owe to myself and my family, and, above all, the fear of sinking in the estimation of that gallant army, which may be the support of your Majesty's crown, and my best hope hereafter, command me to persevere, and to assure your Majesty, with all humiliation and respect, that, conscious of the justice of my claim, no human power can ever induce me to relinquish it.

"Allow me to say, Sir, that I am bound to adopt this line of conduct by every motive dear to me as a man, and sacred to me as a Prince. Ought I not to come forward in a moment of unexampled difficulty and danger? Ought I not to share in the glory of victory, when I have every thing to lose by defeat? The highest places in your Majesty's service are filled by the younger branches of the royal family; to me alone no place is assigned; I am not thought worthy to be even the junior Major-General of your army. If I could submit in silence to such indignities, I should, indeed, deserve such treatment, and prove, to the satisfaction of your enemies and my own, that I am entirely incapable of those exertions, which my birth and the circumstances of the times peculiarly call for. Standing so near the throne, when I am debased, the cause of royalty is wounded. I cannot sink in public opinion without the participation of your Majesty in my degradation. Therefore, every motive of private feeling and public duty induces

me to implore your Majesty to review your decision, and to place me in that situation which my birth, the duties of my station, the example of my predecessors, and the expectations of the people of England entitle me to claim."

The request was sternly refused, and it cannot be doubted that the refusal further alienated the Prince from his Father. It has been stated that these letters were from the pen of Sheridan; but the first of the series was written by Sir Robert Wilson, and the remainder by Lord Hutchinson." We find it, however, stated in the Morning Chronicle, that these letters were actually written by Mr. Fonblanque, who then enjoyed more of the confidence of the Prince than his professional advisers.

SHERIDAN.

It next gives us great pleasure to turn from this unpleasant position to record a sincere proof of the Prince's regard for one of his warmest friends.

Early in the year 1804, on the death of Lord Elliot, the office of receiver, of the Duchy of Cornwall, which had been held by that nobleman, was bestowed by the Prince of Wales upon Mr. Sheridan, " as a trifling proof of that sincere friendship his Royal High ness had always professed and felt for him through a long series of years." His Royal Highness also added in the same communication, the very cordial words, "I wish to God it was better worth your acceptance."+

Towards the end of the same year, a' cordial reconciliation put an end to the differences which had long separated the Sovereign and the Prince of Wales, to the great pain of all the loyal part of the nation.

THE "DELICATE INVESTIGATION."

In 1805 and 1806, the Princess' conduct became the prominent subject of public attention, and it was distinctly asserted that she had given birth to a child. This and other reports to her prejudice, were the prelude to what has been usully designated the "Delicate Investigation," with the result of which the public is acquainted. A few details may, notwithstanding this, be requisite. The Princess, subsequent to the separation, became acquainted with Sir John and Lady Douglas, whose residence was at Blackheath. Sir Sydney Smith was a visiter there, and Lady. Douglas is said to have been desirous of attracting his regards. Fancying, how* Moore's Life of Sheridan, vol. ii, † Ibid.

ever, that they were directed elsewhere, and entertaining, in consequence, great hostility to the Princess, she caused certain representations to be made to the Duke of Sussex, which the latter thought it expedient to communicate to the Prince of Wales. The Duke of Kent had, a year before, been informed by the Princess that she had had some altercations with the Douglases on the subject of an anonymous letter and a loose drawing which they had attributed to her, but which she of course disclaimed; and on that occasion the Duke, conceiving the insinuations against the Princess to have no foundation, discountenanced further inquiry on the part of Sir John Douglas, who had appeared very indignant, and threatened prosecution. In December 1805, Sir John and Lady Douglas made a formal declaration against the Princess, involving not only the subject of the anonymous letters, but her general conduct. The servants of Sir John also made declarations, and the whole were submitted to his Majesty. The King in consequence issued a warrant (29th of May, 1806,) directing Lords Erskine, Grenville, Spencer, and Ellenborough, to inquire into, and report on, the allegations. The investigation immediately took place, Lady Douglas being the principal witness examined. Her evidence was of the most decided character. According to her the Princess had admitted (in 1802) that she was actually pregnant. The confinement, Lady D. said, took place in November, 1802, and that she saw the child frequently with the Princess till Christmas, 1803. Lady Douglas's evidence was of considerable length, and attributed great indelicacy of manner and language to the Princess. The evidence of Lady Douglas was partially corroborated by the testimony of Sir John Douglas and others, but the whole appears to have originated in a conspiracy. The Commissioners made their report on the 14th of June, 1803, from which we select the following passages:

"We are happy to declare to your Majesty our perfect conviction, that there is no foundation whatever for believing that the child now with the Princess is the child of her Royal Highness, or that she was delivered of any child in the year 1802; nor has anything appeared to us which would warrant the belief that she was pregnant in that year, or at any period within the compass of our inquiries. The identity of the child now with the Princess, its parents, age, the place and date of its

its first being taken under her Royal Highness' protection, are all established by such a concurrence, both of positive and circumstantial evidence, as can, in our judgment, leave no question on this part of the subject. That child was, beyond all doubt, born in the Brownlow-street Hospital, on the 11th day of July, 1802, of the body of Sophia Austin. Neither should we be more warranted in expressing any doubt respecting the alleged pregnance of the Princess, a fact so fully contradicted, and by so many witnesses, to whom, if true, it must in various ways be known, that we cannot think it entitled to the smallest credit."

The report concludes by stating that, the examination contained references to circumstances, as having passed between her Royal Highness and Capt. Manby, which required satisfactory contradic-, tion.

The result of the "Investigation did not satisfy all parties; although its malicious intent had been frustrated. The Princess was not immediately after this received at court, as she had expected; she therefore wrote to the King. on the 8th of December, 1806. Some correspondence ensued, and on the 10th of February, 1807, she was informed by a note from the King, that the Prince of Wales had put the several documents into the hands of his legal advisers, and that he, (the King,) therefore, deferred naming a day for her reception until the result of that proceeding should appear.,

The Princess was dissatisfied, and attributed her exclusion to the influence of her mother-in-law, to whose views the Grenville ministry were known to be favourable. But her wishes were soon to be gratified. The Grenville ministry retired from office, and her own political friends took their places. The new ministry, consisting of Lords Eldon, Camden, Westmoreland, the Duke of Portland, Earl Bathurst, Lords Castlereagh, Mulgrave, and Hawkesbury, and Mr. Secretary Canning, in less than a month after their accession, determined on a minute of council, (bearing date April 22, 1807,) which completely exculpated her, not only on the main charges of pregnancy and delivery, but also from the minor accusation, "Which," said the minute, "are satisfactorily contradicted, or rest upon evidence of such a nature, as render it undeserving of credit."

To be completed in the next No. (439.)

Printed and Published by J. LIMBIRD 143,

birth, the time and the circumstances of Strand, (near Somerset House,) London,

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No. 439.]

SUPPLEMENTARY NUMBER.

Memoir of George the Fourth.
(Concluded from page 32.)

THE PRINCESS OF WALES.
OUR narrative left the reader in some
suspense, respecting the final result of
the "Investigation." The Princess
being now fully exculpated from all
charges, was publicly received at Court,
and had state apartments allotted to her
at Kensington Palace. On her first re-
ception at Court, as she passed to and
from the drawing-room, through the
different chambers, she was received with
clapping of hands-a most extraordinary
display of feeling for such a place. Her
afflictions were aggravated by her daugh-
ter being taken from her; a separate
establishment being formed for the
Princess Charlotte at Shrewsbury House.

A violent altercation had previously taken place between the King and the Prince of Wales, respecting the education of the Princess Charlotte. The Prince insisted that the mother was an improper companion for the daughter, and resolved that she should be confided to his sole management. The King, on the contrary, maintained that the Prince of Wales was an improper person to have the charge of his own child, and insisted upon the right of the mother. The Prince remonstrated, and pronounced the line the King had taken to be an insult upon him. His Majesty was firm, and became himself the guardian of the child.

The various proceedings against the Princess, in 1807, were collected and arranged by Mr. Perceval, who likewise superintended the printing. These documents, generally known as "The Book," which tended to show the innocence of the Princess and the malice of her enemies, were, however, suppressed by Mr. Perceval, her former counsellor, soon after his appointment as Prime Minister. Nearly the whole edition of " The Book" was burnt;" a few copies, however, got abroad sur

One editor of a newspaper was said to have obtained £1,500 for his copy, and several other copies were bought up at £500, £750 and similar VOL. XVI. D

[PRICE 2d.

reptitiously; and one Captain Ashe, who had been mixed up in the affair, contrived to possess himself of a copy, and subsequently to publish what he called "The Spirit of the Book," which had an immense circulation. In short, the scandalous chronicles of any age scarcely furnished a stronger excitement than the Book" and its " Spirit" produced among all ranks.

At length, in 1809, a formal deed of separation was signed between the Prince and Princess, he agreeing to pay her debts, amounting to 49,000l. and to increase her allowance from 17,000l. to 22,000l. a year.

DEATH OF MR. FOX.

About the period of these unhappy disputes, the Prince lost one of his firmest political friends in Mr. Fox, who died September 13, 1806. During the last illness of this illustrious statesman, his biographer tells us "the Prince of Wales showed all the marks of a feeling heart, and of great constancy in his friendship, more honourable to him than the high station he adorned. Daily he called upon him-there was no affectation in his visits-the countenance full of good-natured concern-the manner expressive of lively interest-the softened voice evinced that not all the splendour, the flattery, or pleasures of a court, had changed the brightest feature in the human character-attention to a sick and drooping friend. If his affectionate solicitude about the great statesman then struggling under a cruel disease, and the constancy of his affection sums. The Chancellor, in 1808, had issued an injunction against one editor, who had declared that he possessed a copy, and would republish it. £5,000 and afterwards sold his copy for an He was restrained under a penalty of enormous sum. In the Morning Chronicle of March 26, 1809, was the following advertiseinent:-"A Book.-Any person having in their possession a certain book printed by Mr. Ed. wards in 1807, but never published, with Mr. Lindsell's name as the seller of the same on the title-page, and will bring it to Mr. Lindsell, bookseller, Wimpole street, will receive a handsome gratuity."

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