letter on the subject. Nine weeks having elapsed without any reply, the princess again wrote, expressing her anxiety to learn whether she might be admitted to the royal presence; in reply, her royal highness was informed, that her vindication had been referred to his majesty's confidential servants, who had given it as their opinion that it was no longer necessary for his majesty to decline receiving the princess into his royal presence; but, at the same time, he hoped that such conduct would be in future observed by her as might fully justify these marks of paternal regard and affection which the king always wished to show to every part of the royal family. The princess no sooner received this communication than she named a day on which, if agreeable to his majesty, she would throw herself in filial duty and affection at his feet. The day, however, was at first postponed by his majesty, who informed the princess, that, at the request of the prince of Wales, he declined to see her until her vindication had been examined by the lawyers or the prince; and until his royal highness had been enabled to submit the statement which he proposed to make thereon. The princess remonstrated in strong terms against this interposition, and trusted that his majesty would recall his determination not to see her till the prince's answer respecting her vindication was received. After a lapse of three weeks, the princess informed his majesty that, having received no intimation of his pleasure, she was reduced to the necessity, in vindication of her character, to resort to the publication of the proceedings upon the inquiry into her conduct, and that the publication alluded to would not be withheld beyond the following Monday. This letter was dated the 5th of March, soon after which Percival and his friends were intrusted with the seals of office; and when the ministerial arrangements were completed, a minute of council was made, dated the 22d of April, 1807, wherein it was humbly submitted to his majesty, that it was essentially necessary, in justice to her royal highness, and for the honour and interests of his majesty's illustrious family, that the princess of Wales should be admitted into his presence, and be received in a manner due to her rank and station. Notwithstanding this advice, it does not appear that she was ever restored to complete favour, and her intercourse with her daughter was also laid under great restraint. Nothing, however, occurred that is publicly or officially known till January, 1813, at which period the princess was so much debarred from the society of her daughter, that she determined to write to the prince-regent on the subject. In her letter—which was transmitted to ministers she dwelt with great force upon the injustice of widening the separation between mother and daughter, which she considered as not only cutting her off from one of the few domestic enjoyments which she still retained, but as countenancing those calumnious reports which had been proved to be unfounded. In consequence of this letter, which appeared in a daily journal, the prince-regent directed that the whole. of the documents relating to the investigation of 1806 should be referred to the privy-council to report whether the intercourse between the princess and her daughter should continue under restriction. In virtue of this appointment, the members of the council assembled on the 23d of February, when they reported that, in their opinion, it was highly fit and proper that the intercourse between the princess of Wales and the princess Charlotte should continue to be subject to re gulation and restraint. On the 1st of March the princess addressed a letter to the speaker of the house of commons, in which she complained that the tendency of this report-a copy of which had been transmitted to her by Lord Sidmouth-was to cast aspersions upon her honour and character. Thus assailed by a secret tribunal, before which she could not be heard in her own defence, she was compelled, she said, to throw herself upon the house, and to require that the fullest investigation might be instituted into the whole of her conduct during her residence in this country. On the 5th of March, C. Johnstone, after avowing that he had no concert with, or authority from, the princess, submitted to the house of commons a motion for an address to the prince-regent, requesting him to desire that a copy of the report made to his majesty on the 14th of July, 1806, touching the conduct of her royal highness the princess of Wales, be laid before the house, with a view to an inquiry-while the witnesses on both sides were still living—into all the allegations, facts, and circumstances, appertaining to that investigation, a proceeding which, in his opinion, was due to the honour of her royal highness, the safety of the throne, and the tranquillity of the country. Lord Castlereagh, in opposing the motion, said that the house could not consider the papers called for at all necessary to remove any apprehension as to the successor to the throne. The innocence of the princess of Wales, he added, had been established in the report of the members of two successive administrations; and if a prosecution had not been instituted against her accusers, it arose only from a wish to avoid bringing such subjects before the public. The motion was overruled; the princess was declared free from imputation; and addresses of congratulation poured in from all quarters of the kingdom. To return from this melancholy digression to other events in the prince's life. In 1805 the prince encouraged the coalition of Grenville and Fox against Pitt, and on the death of the latter statesman, in the following year, his royal highness contributed, by his exertions and influence, to procure the return of his friend Fox to political power. But by the death of that celebrated statesman, soon after his acceptance of office in 1806, the chief connecting link between the whigs and his royal highness was broken; he still, however, for some time continued to act with, and to be governed in political affairs by their advice. In October, 1810, George the Third became again deranged. On the 20th of December, Percival, chancellor of the exchequer, moved three resolutions, declaring the personal exercise of the royal authority suspended, that it was necessary to provide the means of supplying the defect in such a manner as the exigency of the case might require. Sir Francis Burdett denied the competency of parliament to decide, aud advised an appeal to the people; and Mr George Ponsonby, for the whigs, read the following resolution as an amendment: "That an humble address be presented to his royal highness the prince of Wales, requesting that his royal highness will be pleased to take upon him, during the indisposition of the king, and no longer, the government of this realm; and administer the same in the name and in the behalf of his majesty, under the style and title of Regent of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.'" After a long debate ministers carried their resolutions, and a restricted regency-bill was framed, under which the prince entered upon his new functions. His royal brothers, however, deemed it necessary to present their protest against the bill. This document stated in substance: That, understanding that it was intended to propose to the two houses the measure of supplying the royal authority by the appointment of a regency, with certain limitations and restrictions, they felt it to be their duty to declare, that it was the unanimous opinion of all the male branches of his majesty's family, that they could not view this mode of proceeding without alarm; as a regency so restricted, was inconsistent with the prerogatives which were vested in the royal authority, as much for the security and benefit of the people, as for the strength and dignity of the crown itself; and they, therefore, solemnly protested against this violation of the principles which placed their family upon the throne. On assuming the reins of government the prince acted with great firmness and discretion. As soon as the regency-bill had passed, he intrusted the preparation of his answer to the parliamentary addresses on the occasion to Lords Grey, Grenville, and Moira. The assistance of the latter was, however, declined by the two former; who, in consequence of their varying in opinion, not only with each other but also with the regent, adopted language which was at once unsatisfactory to his royal highness and to themselves. The prince then solicited Sheri dan to assist him in drawing up an answer more consonant to his views: Lords Grey and Grenville agreed to the draught prepared by Sheridan, but warmly remonstrated on his interference. Soon after, and as much to the surprise of the minister as to the disappointment of the whigs, the prince-regent declared his intention of continuing the premier, Spencer Percival, in office. On the 19th of June, 1811, he gave a gorgeous fête at Carlton-house, in celebration of the king's birth-day; and, with a view to benefit trade, intimated his wish that the whole of his guests should appear in articles of British manufacture. By these and other measures he acquired so much popularity, that, on his attending a representation of Cato' at Covent Garden, when John Kemble delivered the two following lines the spectators indulged in an enthusiastic burst of applause which continued for several minutes— "Thy virtues, prince, if I foresee aright, The restrictions on the regency ceased in 1812, and expectations were entertained that the whigs would speedily take office. The regent, in a letter addressed to the duke of York, expressed a wish that “ some of those persons with whom the early habits of his life were formed would strengthen his hands, and constitute a part of his government." The duke immediately made knowo the sentiments of his brother to Lord Grey; but the whig leaders peremptorily refused to coalesce with the existing ministry, their differences of opinion embracing almost all the leading features of the policy of the empire. On one subject their sentiments were especially at variance: they were so firmly persuaded of the necessity of a total change in the system of governing Ireland, and the immediate repeal of those civil disabilities under which so large a portion of the people in that country laboured, on account of their religious opinions, that to recommend to parliament that repeal would be the first advice which they would feel it their duty to offer to his royal highness. All hope of forming an extended administration was therefore at an end. The ministry now consisted of two parties, at the head of one of which was Percival, and of the other the marquess of Wellesley. The differences between these statesmen were partly personal, and partly political; the marquess would not serve under Percival, though he had no objection to serve with him, or to serve under either the earl of Moira or Lord Holland; and when it appeared that the regent intended to continue Percival at the head of his councils, the marquess resigned his office, and the seals of the foreign department were transferred to Lord Castlereagh. On the 19th of March, Lord Barrington moved an address to the prince-regent, beseeching him to form such an administration as might most effectually call forth the entire confidence and energies of the united kingdom. Earl Grey stated the points on which Lord Grenville and himself had declined a union with the existing administration. He said that it was formed on the express principle of resistance to the Catholic claims; a principle loudly proclaimed by the person at its head, from the moment he quitted the bar to take a share in political life. With respect to the disputes with America, he wished to bear in mind the principle so well expressed by the late Edmund Burke, that, "as we ought never to go to war for a profitable wrong, so we ought never to go to war for an unprofitable right." On making bank-notes a legal tender, an impassable line of separation existed between him and the present ministry; and as to the war in the peninsula, it was his wish that we should not proceed on the present expensive scale, without having some military authority as to its probable result. He further complained of an unseen and separate influence behind the throne,-the existence of which was denied by Lord Mulgrave. On the assassination of Percival in May, 1812, the marquess of Wellesley was authorized to form an administration; but Lords Grey and Grenville still held out. The negotiation consequently failed; and on the 8th of June, 1812, the earl of Liverpool was chosen first lord of the treasury. The visit of the allied sovereigns to this country, in the year 1814, afforded the regent a favourable opportunity of exhibiting his princely magnificence in a succession of fêtes given to his illustrious visitants. His royal highness attended them to Oxford, and also dined with them at two sumptuous entertainments in the city of London,—the one given by the merchants, and the other by the lord-mayor and corporation. During his progress through the streets, on these occasions, he was hissed, and many of the mob vociferated "Your wife! where's your wife?" He was so incensed at this reception, that he made a resolution-which he never broke-never to dine in the city again. Notwithstanding his resentment, however, he conferred the dignity of a baronet on the lord-mayor, Domville, because, as he said, it had always been customary for the sovereign, on visiting his faithful city of London, to confer a mark of favour on its chief magistrate. In 1817 the prince was fired at on returning from the opening of parliament. The perpetrators of this act were never discovered. The death of the Princess Charlotte which occurred this year, and of his mother which took place in the following year, greatly afflicted the regent, who, amidst all his other faults, was never chargeable with any want of parental or filial affection. The demise of George the Third took place on Saturday, the 29th of January, 1820,-on the following Monday the new monarch was proclaimed. For some days after his accession he laboured under inflammation in the chest, which had nearly proved fatal, but on the 10th of February he was declared convalescent. A new parliament assembled in April, and the king opened his first session in person. His levees and drawing-rooms at this period were much crowded; and, generally speaking, he appeared to be popular. Preparations were soon commenced for his coronation; but, on the 12th of July, that ceremony was indefinitely postponed, in consequence of the unexpected return of Queen Caroline from Italy. She arrived in London on the 6th of July. On the afternoon of her arrival the following message was delivered to both houses of parliament: "The king thinks it necessary, in consequence of the arrival of the queen, to communicate to the house of lords certain papers respecting the conduct of her majesty since her departure from this country, which he recommends to the particular and earnest attention of the house. The king felt an anxious desire to prevent all disclosures and discussions which must necessarily prove painful to his feelings; but the step adopted by the queen leaves him no alternative. The king has the fullest confidence that the house of lords will adopt that course of proceeding which becomes the justice of the case, and is due to the honour and dignity of the crown.' On the Thursday following the committee was nominated in the house of lords, but her majesty transmitted the following communication: "The queen thinks it necessary to inform the house of commons, that she has been induced to return to England in consequence of the measures pursued against her honour and her peace for some time by secret agents abroad, and lately sanctioned by the conduct of the government at home. In adopting this course, her majesty has had no other purpose whatsoever but the defence of her character, and the maintenance of those just rights which have devolved upon her by the death of that revered monarch, in whose high honour and unshaken affection she had always found her surest support. Upon her arrival, the queen is surprised to find that a message has been sent down to parliament, requiring its attention to written documents; and she learns, with still greater astonishment, that there is an intention of proposing that these should be referred to a select committee. It is this day fourteen years since the first charges were brought forward against her majesty. Then, and upon every occasion during that long period, she has shown the utmost readiness to meet her accusers, and to court the fullest inquiry into her conduct. She now, also, desires an open investigation, in which she may see both the charges and the witnesses against her,—a privilege not denied the meanest subject of the realm. In the face of the sovereign, the parliament, and the country, she solemnly protests against the formation of a secret tribunal to examine documents, privately prepared by her adversaries, as a proceeding unknown to the law of the land, and a flagrant violation of all the principles of justice. She relies with full confidence upon the integrity of the house of commons for defeating the only attempt she has any reason to fear. The queen cannot forbear to add, that even before any proceedings were resolved upon, she had |