even till the last glimmering spark of life was extinct, were the only traits recorded of him, posterity will say this was a great Prince, a faithful friend, and possessed of a feeling, uncorrupted heart."

Mr. Moore observes upon this period, "By the death of Mr. Fox, the chief personal tie that connected the Heir Apparent with the party of that statesman was broken. The political identity of the party itself had, even before that event, been, in a great degree, disturbed by a coalition against which Sheridan had always most strongly protested, and to which the Prince, there is every reason to believe, was by no means friendly. Immediately after the death of Mr. Fox, his Royal Highness made known his intentions of withdraw ing from all personal interference in politics; and, though still continuing his sanction to the remaining ministry, expressed himself no longer as being considered a party_man.'* During

the short time that these ministers continued in office, the understanding between them and the Prince was by no means of that cordial and confidential kind which had been invariably maintained during the life-time of Mr. Fox. On the contrary, the impression on the mind of his Royal Highness, as well as on those of his immediate friends in the ministry, Lord Moira, and Mr. Sheridan, was, that a cold neglect had succeeded to the confidence with which they had hitherto been treated; and that, neither in their opinions nor feelings, were they any longer sufficiently consulted or considered."+

The Prince now lived in comparative retirement, and his chief amusements seem to have been the building of his palace at Brighton, and the embellishment of his residence in Pall Mall. He was seldom seen in public. The Princess of Wales resided at Montagu House, at Blackheath, which had been presented to her by the King, and at Kensington Palace; the King continuing

This is the phrase used by the Prince himself, in a Letter addressed to a Noble Lord, (not long after the dismissal of the Grenville Ministry,) for the purpose of vindicating his own character from some imputations cast upon it, in consequence of an interview which he had lately had with the King. This important exposition of the feelings of his Royal Highness, which, more than any thing, throws light upon his subsequent conduct, was drawn up by Sheridan; and I had hoped that I should have been able to lay

it before the reader-but the liberty of perusing the Letter is all that has been allowed me. † Life of Sheridan, vol. ii. p. 385. Montagu House, after the departure of the Princess of Wales for the Continent, was pulled down by order of the Prince Regent.

to act as guardian to the Princess Charlotte.

THE REGENCY.

At the close of the year 1810, the malady with which the King had been thrice before afflicted, returned; and, after the usual adjournment of Parlia ment, it was found necessary to establish a Regency. The question was revived and discussed with great asperity. The proceedings terminated on February 5, 1811, when the bill appointing the Prince of Wales Regent, under a number of restrictions, became a law. These restrictions were to continue till Feb. 1, 1812.

As the opposition to the restrictions was conducted in concert with the Prince, some surprise was manifested on his continuance in office of the Perceval administration. In a letter which was published at the time, his Royal Highness apprized Mr. Perceval, that the irresistible impulse of filial duty, and af→ fection to his beloved and afflicted father, leads him to dread that any act of the Regent might, in the smallest degree, have the effect of interfering with the progress of his sovereign's recovery, and that this consideration alone dictates the decision now communicated to Mr Perceval."

To the influence of Mr. Sheridan with the Prince, the continuance in power of Mr. Perceval was generally attributed. Lords Grey and Grenville had resented the interference of Mr. Sheridan in altering the Answer of the Prince to the Addresses of both Houses of Parliament, when he was appointed Regent in 1811, which they had drawn up by command of the Prince. On that occasion they informed the Prince that "they would be wanting in that sincerity and openness by which they could alone hope, however imperfectly, to make any return to that gracious confidence with which his Royal Highness had condescended to honour them, if they suppressed the expression of their deep concern, in finding that their humble endeavours in his Royal Highness's service had been submitted to the judgment of another person, by whose advice his Royal High ness had been guided in his final decision, on a matter on which they alone had, however unworthily, been honoured with his Royal Highness' commands." According to Mr. Moore, Sheridan "proud of the influence attributed to him by the noble writers, and now more than ever stimulated to make them feel its weight, employed the whole force of his shrewdness and ridicule in exposing the stately tone of dictation which, ac

cording to his view, was assumed throughout this paper, and, in picturing to the Prince the state of tutelage he might expect, under ministers who began thus early with their lectures." Mr. Moore adds that Sheridan called rhymes also to his aid, as appears by the following:

"AN ADDRESS TO THE PRINCE, 1811.
"In all humility we crave

Our Regent may become our Slave; And being so, we trust that He Will thank us for our loyalty. Then if he'll help us to pull down His Father's dignity and Crown, We'll make him in some time to come The greatest Prince in Christendom." The observations of Sheridan could hardly fail to produce their effect, and the Queen and another Royal Personage are said to have completed what had been so skilfully begun.

The "new era," words used by the Prince Regent, were not soon forgotten. They were the text of many an angry phillippic-many a keen satire. The extent of the obligation of the Prince may have been exaggerated; but Mr. Moore observes," that those who, judging merely from the surface of events, have been most forward in reprobating his separation from the Whigs as a rupture of political ties, and an abandonment of private friendship, must, on becoming more thoroughly acquainted with all the circumstances that led to this crisis, have to soften down considerably their angry feeling, and see, indeed, in the whole history of the connexion-from its first foundation in the hey-day of youth and party, to its faint survival after the death of Mr. Fox-but a natural and distinct gradation towards the result at which it last arrived." If justice be done, it must, however, be conceded that the Prince throughout his life was but too apt to make his inclinations the rule of his actions; and that on this occasion his feeling of disinclination was a sufficient reason for departing from his engagement to them.

Mr. Moore also finely characterizes the political fall of Sheridan on this occasion:-"His political repugnance to the coalesced leaders would have been less strong but for the personal feelings that mingled with it; and his anxiety that the Prince should not be dictated to by others was at least equalled by his vanity in showing that he could govern himself. But, whatever were the precise views that impelled him to this trial of strength, the victory which he gained in it was far more extensive than he himself had either foreseen or wished. He had meant the party to feel his power

*

not to sink under it. Though privately alienated from them on personal as well as political grounds, he knew, that publicly, he was too much identified with their ranks, ever to serve, with credit or consistency, in any other. He had, therefore, in the ardour of undermining, carried the ground from beneath his own feet. In helping to disband his party, he had cashiered himself; and there remained to him now, for the residue of his days, but that frailest of all, sublunary treasures, a Prince's friendship. With this conviction, (which, in spite of all the sanguineness, of his disposition, could hardly have failed to force itself on his mind) it was not, we should think, with very selfgratulatory feelings that he undertook the task, a few weeks after, of inditing for the Regent, that memorable Letter to Mr. Perceval, which sealed the fate at once both of his party and him self, and, whatever false signs of reanimation may afterwards have appeared, severed the last life-lock by which the "struggling spirit" of this friendship between Royalty and Whigism still held."

It is important that we should thus glance at the political leaders of the day, with whom the Prince was actively in contact; indeed, were it only for the fine lesson it conveys to every station, such a scene as the above would find its moral point. Besides, the fortunes of these thrice servants," these "men of great place "" are so identified with their royal master, that it is impossible to sever them.

The ceremonial of the Regency took place at Carlton House, on February 5, with great pomp. On the 12th, his Royal Highness communicated his resolution not to remove any of his father's official servants, and the following day he repaired to Windsor, where, in a lucid interval of two hours, a most affecting scene took place between the parent and the son. Strong hopes were entertained of a recovery, until the latter end of 1811, when the official reports of the physicians were of a totally different nature, and the Prince avowed that he no longer expected his royal father's restoration to sanity.

SPLENDID FETE.

On June 19 of this year, a splendid féte was given at Carlton House, by the Prince, to show every respect and filial affection to his father's birth-day, it not having been convenient to hold a drawing-room on its anniversary. This entertainment is a splendid item in the an

nals of royal magnificence. It was the only experiment ever made at any court of Europe to give a supper to 2,000 of the nobility and gentry. The largest entertainment at the most brilliant period of the French monarchy was that given by the Prince of Condé to the King of Sweden, at Chantilly, when the number of covers were only 400; while, at the fête given by the Prince Regent, covers were laid for 400 in the palace, and for 1,600 more in pavilions in the gardens. The invitation cards, with a due regard to our internal commerce, expressed a strong desire that every person should appear dressed in articles of British manufacture only. The fête was attended by Louis XVIII. and the French Princes then in exile, all the royal dukes, and such an assemblage of beauty, rank, and fashion, as no other court in the world could boast. The banquet was most sumptuous in all its arrangements, and all the state-rooms were fitted up with an elegance and grandeur, which gave the palace the appearance of a scene of enchantment. Many of our readers must recollect the lavish expenditure on this occasion, and the puerile taste of a stream with gold and silver fish, flowing down the centre table. Permission to view the superb fittings and arrangements, however, reconciled the public to the cost, although their pleasure was marred by several serious accidents which happened in consequence of the pressure to gain admittance.

Meanwhile the Prince was otherwise aiming at popularity. He refused the ministerial offer of any additional grant towards the support of his new dignity -an act which deserved the epithet of magnanimity, when contrasted with his former expenditure. Early in June, his Royal Highness reviewed 24,000 troops on Wimbledon Common, where he was saluted with ecstatic acclamations by a countless multitude.

THE DUKE OF YORK.

One of the first acts of the Regency was, however, the restoration of the Duke of York to the chief command of the army; which he had resigned in consequence of the Parliamentary investigation into his conduct, urged by Colonel Wardle, respecting the disposal of promotions, and attributed to the influence of Mrs. Clarke. This measure was strongly opposed in Parliament, where Lord Milton moved, "that it was highly improper and indecorous in the advisers of the Prince Regent to recommend the re-appointment of the

Duke of York;" but the motion was negatived by 296 to 47. Experience subsequently proved, that a regard to the good of the service was quite as strong a motive as brotherly affection in this measure of restoration.

THE REGENCY-1812.

When the Regency restrictions expired, and the Prince became vested with the full powers of sovereignty, it was expected that he would immediately

withdraw his confidence from the Perceval administration. To the general surprise, however, the Prince Regent, on the 13th of February, 1812, addressed a letter to the Duke of York, in which he stated that " a new era is now arrived, and I cannot but reflect with satisfaction on the events which have dintinguished the short period of my restricted Regency;" and he could not withhold his approbation from those who had honourably distinguished themselves in the support of the war in the Peninsula. He concluded with expressing the gratification he should feel, if some of those persons, with whom the early habits of his public life were formed, would strengthen his hands and constitute a part of his government; and he authorised his brother to communicate these sentiments to Lord Grey, who, he had no doubt, would make them known to Lord Grenville. Lords Grey and Grenville, on the 15th of February, answered, that they disclaimed all personal exclusion, that they rested on public measures, and that it was on this ground alone that they must express, without reserve, the impossibility of their uniting with the present government.

Mr. Perceval now granted the Prince 100,000l. for his expenses in assuming the dignity of Regent; he then added 10,000l. a year to the Queen's income, 70,000l. a year for the King's expenses, and he augmented the incomes of all the Royal Family. During the measures for these grants, a very striking debate arose in Parliament upon the invidious exclusion of the Princess of Wales's name from the list. Mr. Tierney also attacked Mr. Perceval for suddenly abandoning his friend and client, and even for suppressing "the Book" that was to have been published in her defence. Mr. Perceval made a lame defence, although he had the justice to confess, that nothing could be urged against the Princess.

THE MINISTRY.

The assassination of Mr. Perceval, on the 11th of May, 1812, led Mr. Stuart

Wortley, on the 21st of May to move an Address to the Prince Regent, praying his Royal Highness to take such measures as might be best calculated to form an efficient Administration. The Address was carried against Ministers, and the answer returned was, that his Royal Highness would take the Address into serious and immediate consideration. Expectations of a new Ministry were generally entertained, and the Prince gave directions to the Marquess of Wellesley to take measures for forming a strong and efficient Administration. The negotiation between Lord Wellesley and Lords Grey and Grenville, and some members of the existing Administration having come to an end, Lord Moira received an unconditional power from the Prince Regent to renew the negotiation, and had expressed to Lords Grey and Grenville that all the leading questions of their policy would be conceded. The negotiation, however, broke off on a preliminary question. It appears, from the minute of a conversation between Lord Moira and Lords Grey and Grenville, that they thought it necessary immediately, to prevent the inconvenience and embarrassment of the further delay which might be produced if this negotiation should break off in a more advanced state, to ask "whether this full liberty extended to the consideration of new appointments to those great offices of the Household which have been usually included in the political arrangements made on a change of Administration; intimating their opinion that it would be necessary to act on the same principle on the present occasion." Lord Moira contended that no restriction had been laid on him; that the Prince had never pointed in the most distant manner at the protection of these officers from removal; but that it would be impossible for him to concur in making the exercise of this power positive and indispensible. Mr. Canning afterwards stated, in the House of Commons, that Lord Moira, fearing that he was not entirely understood by the Prince when he received his unrestricted commands to form an Administration, on returning to the Royal presence he put this question directly: "Is your Royal Highness prepared, if I should so advise it, to part with all the Officers of your Household ?" the answer was,

am.

"I

." "Then" said Lord Moira, "your Royal Highness shall not part with one of them." On June the 8th, the Earl of Liverpool stated in the House of Lords, that the Prince Regent had on that day appointed him First Lord of

the Treasury; and the Liverpool Administration was immediately formed.

On this occasion Mr. Sheridan, as a politician, fell to rise no more. Enjoying the intimacy of the Prince, he knew, it seems, that Earl Grey was personally disliked by the Regent; and, to gratify the Regent, he prevented the negotiation with Lord Moira from coming to a successful issue. We well remember the effect produced in the House of Commons, when the Marquess of Hertford, then Lord Yarmouth, stated, in a clear and distinct manner, that himself and the other officers of the household, to save the Prince Regent from the humiliation he must have experienced from their being turned out of office, had stated to his Royal Highness their wish to resign, and only requested to know ten minutes before certain gentlemen received the seals, that they might make a timely resignation; that this intention of theirs was well known; that they took every means of stating it in quarters through which it might reach the ears of the persons interested; and that in particular they had communicated it to a right honourable gentleman (Mr. Sheridan), who had taken an active part in the negotiation. "Not only, however," observes Mr. Moore, "did Sheridan endeavour to dissuade the noble ViceChamberlain from resigning, but with an unfairness of dealing which admits, I own, of no vindication, he withheld from the two leaders of Opposition the intelligence thus meant to be conveyed to them; and when questioned by Mr. Tierney as to the rumoured intentions of the household to resign, offered to bet five hundred guineas that there was no such step in contemplation." Sheridan stammered out a sort of apology for himself; but from thenceforward he, was ruined in character as well as in fortune."

THE PRINCESS OF WALES.

To return to the Princess of Wales.

On April 30, 1811, the Queen held a drawing-room, the first that had been held for two years. Both the Prince and the Princess were there; but it was so contrived that they should not meet. The mental death of the King brought unnumbered woes upon this unhappy lady. Her child was removed to Windsor; and upon the mother writing to the Queen for permission to see her daughter, she received a laconic and harsh reply-"That her Royal Highness' studies were not to be interrupted." After a still more stern and unjustifia* From the Morning Chronicle Memoir,

ble refusal, the Princess was granted the privilege of seeing her daughter once a week, in the presence of the go'verness and attendants.

A series of painful circumstances was the result of this unfeeling treatment. On January 14, 1813, the Princess of Wales transmitted to the Prince, a sealed letter upon the subject, with two open copies, to the Earls of Liverpool and Eldon. This letter was written by Dr. Parr; and to judge by the only notice taken of it by Lord Liverpool, was unanswerable, his lordship stating that "his Royal Highness had not been pleased to express his pleasure thereon."" The subsequent publication of this letter, by the independent Mr. Perry, in the Morning Chronicle, so irritated the Prince, that he personally forbade any intercourse between the Princess of Wales and the Princess Charlotte.

The affection of the Princess Charlotte now began to show itself in her mother's cause. The Queen's drawing-room, on her Majesty's birth-day, in 1813, was appointed for the introduction of the young Princess into public life. The Prince had arranged that his daughter should be introduced by the Duchess of York; but, when the time arrived, the Princess exclaimed- "My mother, or no one;" and persevering in her purpose, the presentation did not take place. The Prince and Princess were unavoidably brought into contact on this occasion, when a slight acknowledgment only passed between them. The public sym pathy now became strongly expressed for her Royal Highness, and her case was threatened to be brought forward in the House of Commons. The Prince Regent took alarm; and summoning a privy council, laid before it such documents as induced the members to sanc'tion the restricted intercourse between the mother and daughter. The case was debated in the Commons, in March, 1813, in consequence of the Speaker receiving a letter from her Royal Highness by the hands of the door-keeper. Every effort was made to prevent disclosures. The gallery was cleared during the discussions; and Lord Castlereagh, with more sophistry than feeling, excused the cruelty towards the Princess, by maintaining the right of the Regent to act as he pleased, and censuring the indelicacy of parliamentary interference. Sympathy was now raised into clamour without doors, and a less restricted intercourse was permitted between the parent and child.

Insults still more galling, however, awaited the Princess. In 1814, the

Emperor of Russia, the King of Prussia, and other illustrious foreigners, visited England, and were present at several superb entertainments at Carlton House, at Devonshire House, from all of which the Princess was excluded.

On March 5, a motion was brought before the House, by Mr. Cochrane Johnston, who submitted a series of resolutions, to elicit further information on the separation of the Princess and her daughter. He was foiled by Lord Castlereagh; but Mr. Stuart Wortley, now Lord Wharncliffe, made a speech which produced a great sensation. He exposed the hypocrisy of the declaration of Lord Castlereagh; for why, he said, "was it necessary now to ransack the evidence of 1806, and to rake together the documents of that period, to found a Report upon what regulations were necessary to govern the intercourse be'tween the Princess and her daughter, when he could at once say, 'I am father of this child, and I will act as a father is empowered to do; I am Prince of these realms, and I will exercise my preroga tive of educating the Successor to the throne ?"" The concluding observations of the Honourable Gentleman were striking: He said "he had as high notions of Royalty as any man; but he must say that all such proceedings contributed to pull it down. He was very sorry we had a Royal Family who did not take warning from what was said and thought concerning them. They seemed to be the only persons in the country who were wholly regardless of their own welfare and respectability. He would not have the Prince Regent lay the flattering unction to his soul, and think his conduct would bear him harmless through all these transactions. He said this with no disrespect to him or his family: no man was more attached to the House of Brunswick than he was; but had he a sister in the same situation with her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, he would say she was exceedingly ill-treated." This was a severe castigation for Royalty. The matter was, however, allowed but to rest for a few days, since, on March 15, the subject was again mooted. The examination of Lady Douglas had been continued, and the evidence had been published in the Morning Post, and the Morning Herald, of the same day, the latter paper being then edited by Sir Bate Dudley, who enjoyed the intimacy of the Prince. On the 17th, Mr. Whitbread moved an Address recommending the prosecution of the two newspapers, when he emphatically said "She, the