Memoirs of the Court of George IV. 1820-1830 Part 21

C. W. W.

MR. W. H. FREMANTLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Englefield Green, Sept. 16, 1821.

MY DEAR LORD,

I went to town with the express object of seeing the Duke, but did not succeed; I called twice on him, but he was from home, and I did not think it was advisable to write to ask to see him, as it would have looked so very like impatience, and I am quite sure that until the King's arrival he would have been able to say nothing. I find the King arrived yesterday evening, but my full belief is, that nothing will be done till his return; I differ with you, however, completely in thinking that this fever of loyalty in Ireland will induce them to try to tide on; I am quite convinced the thing is impossible, the state of the public mind in this country is so agitated, the unpopularity of the King so great, the weakness of Government so apparent, and the general resistance to the reductions, both civil and military, so strongly demonstrated in the supporters of Government, that I am quite satisfied a change must take place, and I have quite altered my opinion with regard to his taking the Opposition. He may try Lord Lansdowne (which will fail), but my speculation is, that your friends and Canning will be and must be in office, previous to the opening of Parliament. You see by all the papers that Lord Talbot is to remain another year, and I think if it were not true, it would have been contradicted.

The change I contemplate is--Canning, Home Secretary (Sidmouth retiring, who wants to do so), and you Admiralty, Melville the India Board, and B. Bathurst making way for Wynn. I consider the _boutique_ of Sidmouth as going altogether; how it will be arranged I won't pretend to say, but this is the quarter that is to make the opening.

I never in my life heard of anything equal to the K----'s infatuation and conduct towards Lady C----. She lived exclusively with him during the whole time he was in Ireland at the Phoenix Park. When he went to Slane, she received him dressed out as for a drawing-room. He saluted her, and they then retired alone to her apartments. A yacht is left to bring her over, and she and the whole family go to Hanover. I hear the Irish are outrageously jealous of her, and though courting her to the greatest degree, are loud in their indignation at Lord C----. This is just like them. I agree in all you say about Ireland. As there is no chance of the boon being granted, no Lord Lieutenant could have a chance of ingratiating himself, or of fair justice done him, with the King's promises and flattery. I cannot see how he can be so long absent as his journey must necessarily make him. I have heard it thus calculated:--Supposing he sets off the 24th or 26th; a fortnight to Hanover, as he goes through the Low Countries and visits the King of the Netherlands; this would make it the 10th October. A month there, 10th November. A fortnight's journey and stay at Vienna, 24th November. A fortnight more from Vienna to Hamburg, Wurtemberg, and to Paris, 10th December. Four days at Paris, about the 15th or 16th December return. And all this with the present state of the country. I do not think it possible for him to be allowed to do it.

I have not touched upon expense, for although it is said Hanover is to pay for his stay there, the presents and remainder of the journey must be paid by England.

Whatever I hear, you shall have forwarded to you as quickly as I can. I shall direct always to Pall Mall. I think of going to Brighton for some warm baths next week.

Ever most truly yours,

W. H. F.

P.S.--I hear Lord Lauderdale is _seriously_ ill.

MR. W. H. FREMANTLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Englefield Green, Sept. 21, 1821.

MY DEAR LORD,

The arrangements for the foreign tour are all changed since the King's return from Ireland. Vienna, Hamburg, Wurtemberg, and Paris are given up, and he goes only to Hanover, sails from Ramsgate to Ostend, visits the King of the Netherlands, and pa.s.ses on immediately. His promises are that he will return in six weeks; and there has been a great exertion to induce him to give up the foreign tour altogether, but this could not be carried.

No appointments whatever have been made--not the Chamberlainship--and you see his name omitted in the Lords Justices. With regard to these appointments and changes, I am thoroughly convinced they will take place before the meeting, but I really think on every account it would be unwise, and too much beneath your dignity, and indeed injurious to your objects, was I to see the D---- of W----, to know more upon it at present. It would place him, perhaps, in a very awkward predicament, and after his solemn a.s.surances and written communications to you personally and through me, he must write to you or send to me should the arrangements be relinquished.

Be a.s.sured the state of the public mind is such that they cannot attempt to tide over another session. The King in his journey home overtook Lord and Lady Harcourt (now the bosom friends of Lady C----), stopped them, got out of his carriage, and sat with them for a quarter of an hour in the public road, recounting all his perilous adventures at sea and flattering reception in Ireland.

Lady Harcourt told me his _pious acknowledgment_ for his great escape of being shipwrecked was quite edifying, and the very great change in his moral habits and religious feelings was quite astonishing, and all owing to Lady C----.

The d.u.c.h.ess of Gloucester went to see him yesterday. He was in particular good health and spirits, but not so much enraptured with Ireland as she expected to see him. I believe he is a little alarmed at the advances and favour he has shown to the Catholics.

Lord Londonderry is in the highest possible favour, which certainly don't look like the Whigs coming in, although many circ.u.mstances give reason to think Lord Liverpool will go, which, however, I shall never believe till I see. It was not intended to have named the Duke of York in the Lords Justices, but for some reason which I can't tell you, his name was inserted. They are to execute nothing but absolute necessary measures, and to fill up no appointments without communication with the King. Lord Londonderry accompanies him to Hanover--all the family of the C----s also, which the d.u.c.h.ess of Cambridge does not very much relish. I shall leave this place on Sat.u.r.day; therefore, if you write to me, direct to Stanhope Street. I think of being at Brighton about Tuesday or Wednesday.

Ever truly yours,

W. H. F.

The particulars, as I understand, of Sir Robert Wilson, are what is stated in the papers; but they have the additional proof of his having paid individuals for breaking up the road and intercepting the hea.r.s.e; I believe he has not even a feather to stand upon, the facts are so strong against him. The King is to go to Waterloo, Sir Andrew Barnard, Lord Francis Conyngham, Sir William Knighton, and Sir B. Bloomfield are all that are at present appointed to accompany him.

Adieu, my dear Lord,

Ever sincerely yours,

W. H. F.

The King quitted England to visit Hanover, embarking from Ramsgate, and disembarking at Calais, whence the royal party proceeded by way of Lisle to Brussels; then, attended by Prince Frederick of Holland, the Duke of Wellington, and Lord Clancarty, he rode to the field of Waterloo. It was a locality full of the deepest interest to the King, increased by his Majesty having for his _cicerone_ the victor who had made it so celebrated. The weather was bad, but it did not in the least damp his Majesty's ardour, or make him abate his curiosity. He went "into the little church of the village, examined all the tablets of inscriptions upon the walls, then visited the willow-tree under which was buried the shattered limb of Lord Anglesea, and seemed greatly impressed with all around him." Nothing escaped him, he carefully examined every position, and did not leave the field till he was master of all the details of the battle.

The party then proceeded to Namur, thence to Aix-la-Chapelle, which they reached on the 2nd of October, and entered the dominions of the King of Prussia on the 4th; the royal suite consisting of forty horses, besides the escort. Though the King's reception by the Prussians was very satisfactory, no time was lost in getting into his own territories, which he reached on the 6th, resting at the palace of Osnabruck.

An incident occurred during the King's sojourn in his German dominions which has thus been recorded. "Early in the morning a poor woman, with a countenance apparently much worn with sorrow, on her knees presented a paper to the King's Hanoverian Chamberlain, which was rejected. I saw this from the saloon, from which I was looking down on the many thousand persons a.s.sembled in the court-yard, and I observed the expression of despair which followed. I hastened down, fearing to lose sight of her, got her pet.i.tion, and presented it to the King. It craved his mercy for her husband, who was doomed to five years' hard labour in a fortress. She was the mother of eight little children, and, it need not be added, in great poverty and want. The crime was of a nature to be pardoned, and this was done by the King, with his pen, instantly, for here his authority is absolute. We had the poor woman in the saloon, and you may imagine the rest."[72]

[72] Knighton's "Memoirs," p. 106.

The visit excited a great deal of Hanoverian enthusiasm, the whole population of Osnabruck coming out to greet their King, and all the streets through which the royal cavalcade pa.s.sed were strewed with flowers and evergreens. "Every village, too," adds the same authority, "had triumphal arches erected, with appropriate inscriptions, all bearing evident marks of real religion."[73] The pastor in his robes is described as standing by the whole parish on either side, and the women carrying their Bibles under their arms.

[73] Ibid., p. 107.

The King's reception at Hanover was equally gratifying. His Majesty made his entry on horseback, and the occasion produced a grand spectacle. His Majesty held a levee and a drawing-room in the capital, which was brilliantly attended; and everything was proceeding in the most gratifying way, when a severe fit of the gout, brought on by spraining his knee when getting on horseback, put a stop to all festivities. This occurred about the middle of October, and he did not commence his return till the end of the month, when the same enthusiastic spirit accompanied his progress. "Every town and village was crowded. The sacred emblem of the arch, with flowers and branches of trees, with happy devices, prevailed everywhere. The peasantry all well dressed." Subsequently, a curious incident occurred. "Some hundreds of miners from the mountains came to serenade their king. They are a particular race of Saxon origin, and for centuries have preserved their customs, language, and manners. Their countenance is interesting; I saw five or six in a room. They have a resigned silent melancholy, arising, I believe, from being so much underground; they are very religious. They sang with a band of music, two of the most beautiful hymns I ever heard. These miners had walked thirty miles for the purpose of paying their devotion to their sovereign."[74]

[74] Knighton's "Memoirs," p. 114.

A tournament was got up for his entertainment at Gottingen, which is described as having been beautiful and magnificent. At this famous university an address was presented by the authorities, that affected the King to tears. He had felt warmly the loyal affection his continental subjects had so earnestly displayed; and of the visits he had paid to different portions of his dominions, he appears to have enjoyed this the most thoroughly. His return journey was rendered gratifying by the fine weather with which it was accompanied, and the beautiful scenery through which he pa.s.sed. Everything seemed to favour him, and he reached England without being sensibly affected by the fatigue, and with his general health very much improved.

The impression his Majesty made was not always favourable. "I cannot help suspecting," observes an intelligent cotemporary "that his Majesty's late journeys to see his kingdoms of Ireland and Hanover will not on the whole redound much to his honour or advantage. His manners no doubt are, when he pleases, very graceful and captivating. No man knows better how to add to an obligation by the way of conferring it.

But on the whole he wants dignity, not only in the seclusion and familiarity of his more private life, but on public occasions. The secret of popularity in very high stations seems to consist in a somewhat reserved and lofty, but courteous and uniform behaviour.

Drinking toasts, shaking people by the hand, and calling them Jack and Tom, gets more applause at the moment, but fails entirely in the long run. He seems to have behaved not like a sovereign coming in pomp and state to visit a part of his dominions, but like a popular candidate come down upon an electioneering trip. If the day before he left Ireland he had stood for Dublin, he would, I dare say, have turned out Shaw or Grattan. Henry IV. is a dangerous example for sovereigns that are not, like him, splendid chevaliers and consummate captains. Louis XIV., who was never seen but in a full-bottomed wig, even by his valet-de-chambre, is a much safer model."[75]

[75] Lord Dudley's "Letters," p. 295.

The rumours of changes in the Government had taken every possible shape; but, like the long-talked of negotiation to include the Grenvilles, though often imminent, had never been accomplished. The probable reason of this may be traced to the King's varying disposition--possibly to his insincerity. It appears that two arrangements were going on at the same time, totally opposite in their intentions; one, a coalition of the Marquis of Buckingham and his friends, was negotiated by the Duke of Wellington, with the express authority of the King; the other, the introduction of a Whig Ministry, with the Marquis of Lansdowne at their head, was evidently brought forward under less creditable auspices, but could scarcely have gone on without the King's cognizance. We are much afraid that it was but a repet.i.tion of the old "Comedy of Errors," performed during the Regency, where the princ.i.p.al character trifled with both parties, till he had made more advantageous terms with the servants in his employ. The comedy, however, still proceeded, for the last act had yet to be played out.

MR. CHARLES W. WYNN TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Llangedwin, Oct. 4, 1821.

I am very much obliged to you, my dear B----, for your letter. I scarcely know what to wish as the final result of the arrangement.

If I had entirely my own way, I should desire that Lord Londonderry should unite the offices of First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lord Liverpool take some other office; but this is not to be hoped for, and the question resolves itself into that whether the increased strength which the Government would derive from placing its chief in the House of Commons, would counterbalance the general loss of character and influence which would result from the retirement of Lord Liverpool.

On the whole, I am disposed to think it would; added to which is the advantage which would result from the whole strength, if not the whole of the Cabinet, being unanimous on the Catholic question.

You are perfectly right, in my opinion, in determining not to go to Ireland unless you can carry concession to the Catholics with you.

It is true that the King's language to them is perfectly undecisive, and cannot be construed into anything like a pledge or a.s.surance of support, but still the complexion of his general conduct has been such as to convey, not to them only, an impression of his favourable disposition, and unless he makes some marked demonstration the other way, I am convinced you will perceive the effect in the next divisions in both Houses. Many hold the language of disapprobation of concession, but at the same time express the opinion that it must be carried, and if so, the sooner the better.

These will never support the measure, but will be well disposed to stay away.

Lady C---- seems to hazard a good deal in letting her husband and two sons perform the parts of deputy guardian angels while she remains behind, especially if Lord Londonderry be in favour again, since he may contrive to bring some rival charmer in view.

I quite agree with you that there is no difference of principle which opposes our union with Lord Londonderry. The whole resolves itself into a question of expediency. Is there a prospect of his being able to form with us an administration strong enough to carry on the public business advantageously and creditably? And this we have not the means of answering till we know more fully what the plan and what the further intentions are. If there appeared any reasonable chance of our carrying the Catholic question, I should myself feel that a paramount motive to accede to the Government, even if I were certain that the King's aversion to the individual Ministers joined to the general feebleness of the administration, were sure to break it up the next day after that object had been effected.

Vansittart's retirement from the Exchequer is indispensable, and if Castlereagh does not himself take the office, Huskisson is the only candidate for it whom I should think likely. Canning would be objected to by Lord L----, and Robinson is wholly unequal.

All this, however, is premature, and till we have more data to reason upon, a mere useless consumption of ink and paper.

Meanwhile, the state of Ireland seems to show that the blessed conciliation effected by H. M.'s visit is confined to those districts which have been illuminated by his countenance, and doubts may be entertained whether the reduction of the army may not have proceeded somewhat too far. It is not likely that as the nights lengthen they will become more tranquil.