Secret History of the Court of England Volume I Part 20

On the 7th, the queen sent a letter to the king, but it was returned from Windsor unopened, with a communication that "Such a letter addressed to the king cannot be received by his majesty, unless it pa.s.ses through the hands of his minister." Why, after the refusal to receive this letter, should the princess be blamed for permitting its contents to be published? If the king were under obligations of such a description as to incapacitate him from exercising his own judgment, and giving his own opinion, was he fit to administer the laws, or ought he to have sanctioned the appeal of miscreants who sought their own, and not their country's, good? Let us consider the delays attending this letter. It was sent to Windsor, directed _expressly for the king_, accompanied with a note, written by the queen, to Sir B. Bloomfield, desiring it might be immediately delivered into the king's hand. Sir B.

Bloomfield was absent, and Sir W. Keppell, as the next in command, received it, and forwarded the same to Sir B. Bloomfield, at Carlton House, immediately, who returned the letter on the 8th to her majesty, saying, "I have received the king's commands and general instructions, that any communications which may be made should pa.s.s through the hands of his majesty's government." The queen immediately despatched a letter to Lord Liverpool, enclosing the one she had addressed to the king, by the hands of a messenger, in which her majesty desired the earl to present it. Lord Liverpool was then at Coombe Wood, and wrote in reply, that he would "lose no time in laying it before his majesty." Up to the 11th, no reply had been received; and the queen wrote to Lord Liverpool again, to know if further communication were needful. Lord Liverpool replied, that he had not received the king's commands upon the subject, and therefore could not give any positive answer relative to it. How does this strange and incomprehensible conduct appear to any unbia.s.sed Englishman? Was the king, who ought to be the dispenser of the laws, to be free from imputation, when he thus exposed his unrelenting temper and unbending determination, wherever his private inclinations were concerned? We dare avow, if that letter could have been answered, it would; but its contents were unanswerable! "Aye," said the hireling Castlereagh, "it is no matter what the conduct of the Princess of Wales has been; it is the king's desire that he may no more be obliged to recognise her in her former character of Princess of Wales." Oh! most sapient speech of a most sapient lord; truly this was a bold doctrine to broach, that kings have a right divine to subdue, injure, oppress, and govern wrong!

We pa.s.s by the number of addresses presented to her majesty at this period, and also the not-to-be-mistaken expression of public opinion against the projector of her injuries. Were they not concocted by the authority of the monarch, her husband? Was it not by his _divine_ decree that his consort's name was erased from the liturgy? Did he not send down to parliament that message which denounced his queen a criminal?

Yet, after all this, Lord Liverpool said, "The king has no _personal_ feeling upon the subject." Very true, his majesty could not have any _personal_ feeling towards the queen; his royal feelings had always been confined to the libidinous and the most obnoxious of society! Had he been a worthy and upright plaintiff against the most unfortunate of defendants, would he have scrupled to have shewn himself in his regal chair upon the continued debates arising from this most important question; and would not a sense of greatness and virtue, _had he possessed either_, after hearing the infamous statements of _false witnesses_, have influenced him to _decline further proceedings_, though his pride might have withheld an acknowledgment of error? This line of honest conduct was not followed, and we are therefore obliged to brand him as one of the most despicable and mean of the human race!

During the disgraceful proceedings against the queen, such was the public feeling in her favour, that the peers actually feared for their personal safety in going to and returning from the House. This threatened danger was, as might be expected, properly guarded against by the _military_, who poured into London and its environs in vast numbers.

The agitated state of the public mind probably was never more decidedly expressed than on the 19th of August, the day on which the trial commenced. At a very early hour in the morning, workmen were employed in forming double rows of strong timber from St. Margaret's church to the King's Bench office on the one side, and from the upper extremity of Abingdon-street on the other, so as to enclose the whole area in front of the House of Lords. This was done to form a pa.s.sage to the House, which was devoted exclusively for the carriages of the peers, to and from the princ.i.p.al entrance. Within this extensive area, a large body of constables were stationed, under the controul of the high bailiff and high constable, who were in attendance before seven o'clock. A very strong body of foot-guards were also posted in the King's Bench office, the Record office, and in the other apartments, near or fronting the street. Westminster Hall was likewise appropriated to the accommodation of the military. All the leading pa.s.sages from St. Margaret's church into Parliament-street were closed securely by strong part.i.tions of timber. The police-hulk and the gun-boats defended the river side of Westminster, and the civil and military arrangements presented an effectual barrier on the opposite side. At nine o'clock, a troop of life-guards rode into the palace yard, and formed in line in front of the princ.i.p.al gate of Westminster Hall; they were shortly afterwards followed by a detachment of the foot-guards, who were formed under the piazzas of the House of Lords, where they piled their arms. Patrols of life-guards were then thrown forward, in the direction of Abingdon-street, who occasionally formed near the king's entrance, and at intervals paraded.

At half-past nine, a body of the Surrey horse-patrol rode over Westminster-bridge, and for a short time paraded Parliament-street, Whitehall, and Charing-cross; they afterwards drew up near the barrier at St. Margaret's church. The peers began to arrive shortly afterwards; the lord chancellor was in the House _before eight o'clock_. The other ministers were equally early in their attendance.

At a quarter before ten, an universal cheering from a countless mult.i.tude, in the direction of Charing-cross, announced to the anxious spectators that the queen was approaching. Her majesty, attended by Lady Anne Hamilton, had come early from Brandenburgh-house to the residence of Lady Francis, St. James' Square, and from thence they departed for the House of Lords, in a new state carriage, drawn by six bay horses. As they pa.s.sed Carlton Palace, the Admiralty, and other such places, the sentinels presented arms; but, at the Treasury, this mark of honour was omitted.

When the queen arrived at the House, the military stationed in the front immediately presented arms. Her majesty was received at the door by Sir T. Tyrwhitt and Mr. Brougham; and the queen, with her lady in waiting, proceeded to an apartment prepared for their reception. Shortly afterwards, her majesty, accompanied as before, entered the House by the pa.s.sage leading from the robing-room, which is situated on the right of the throne.

During this initiatory part of the trial, and until nearly four o'clock, her majesty was attended by Lord Archibald Hamilton and his sister Lady Anne, who stood close to the queen all the time.

Upon returning from the House in the same state in which her majesty arrived, she was greeted by the most enthusiastic acclamations and shouts of applause from every cla.s.s of society, who were apparently desirous to outvie each other in testimonies of homage to their ill-fated and insulted queen.

Each succeeding day of the pretended trial, her majesty met with a similar reception; and, during the whole period, addresses were lavishly poured in upon her, signed by so many persons, and testifying such ardent regard and devotion, that every moment of time was necessarily occupied with their reception and acknowledgment. Thus, though the queen was insulted by the king and the majority of the peers, it must have afforded great consolation to her wounded feelings, while witnessing the enthusiasm and devotion manifested in her cause by all the really honourable of the community. We say _really honourable_, because her persecutors were either actuated by "filthy lucre," or by a desire to recommend themselves, in some way or another, to the favour of the king and his ministers.

To justify these remarks, we here present our readers with a list of those time-serving creatures who voted against the queen, with the annual amounts they were then draining from the country:

The Duke of York,[360:A]with immense patronage, nearly 100,000_l._; and the Duke of Clarence, 38,500_l._; but we must not suppose her majesty's BROTHERS voted through _interest_; their _virtuous minds could not tolerate her iniquities_!!!

DUKES.--Wellington, 65,741_l._, including the interest of 700,000_l._, which he received to purchase estates; Northumberland, possessing immense patronage and family interest; Newcastle, 19,700_l._; Rutland, 3,500_l._; Beaufort, 48,600_l._; and Manchester, 16,380_l._

MARQUISES.--Conyngham(!) 3,600_l._, but the exact sum his wife received, we have not been able to ascertain; Th.o.m.ond, 13,400_l._; Headfort, 4,200_l._; Anglesea, 11,000_l._; Northampton, 1,000_l._; Camden, 4,150_l._; Exeter, 6,900_l._; Cornwallis, 15,813_l._; Buckingham, 5,816_l._; Lothian, 4,900_l._; Queensberry, great family interest; and Winchester, 3,200_l._

EARLS.--Limerick, 2,500_l._; Ross, governor of an Irish county; Donoughmore, 4,377_l._; Belmore, 1,660_l._; Mayo, 15,200_l._; Longford, 7,369_l._; Mount Cashel, 1,000_l._; Kingston, 6,400_l._; St. Germains, brother-in-law to Lord Hardwicke, who received 7,700_l._; Brownlow, 4,400_l._; Whitworth, 6,000_l._; Verulam, 2,700_l._; Cathcart, 27,600_l._; Mulgrave, 11,051_l._; Lonsdale, 14,352_l._; Orford, 6,700_l._; Manvers, 4,759_l._; Nelson, 15,025_l._; Powis, 700_l._; Liverpool, 33,450_l._; Digby, 6,700_l._; Mount Edgec.u.mbe, 400_l._; Strange, 13,988_l._; Abergavenny, 3,072_l._; Aylesbury, 6,300_l._; Bathurst, 15,423_l._; Chatham, 13,550_l._; Harcourt, 4,200_l._; Warwick, 6,519_l._; Portsmouth, _non compos mentis_; Macclesfield, 3,000_l._; Aylesford, 6,450_l._; Coventry, 700_l._; Abingdon, 2,000_l._; Shaftesbury, 6,421_l._; Cardigan, 1,282_l._; Balcarras, 46,050_l._; Winchelsea, 6,000_l._; Stamford, 4,500_l._; Bridgewater, 13,700_l._; Home, 2,800_l._; and Huntingdon, 200_l._ We must not here omit Lord Eldon, whose vote would have been against her majesty if it had been required; his income amounted to 50,400_l._, with immense patronage.

VISCOUNTS.--Exmouth, 10,450_l._; Lake, 7,300_l._; Sidmouth, 17,025_l._; Melville, 18,776_l._; Curzon, 2,400_l._; Sydney, 11,426_l._; Falmouth, 3,578_l._; and Hereford, 1,200_l._

ARCHBISHOPS.--Canterbury, 41,800_l._; Tuam, 28,000_l._; both with immense patronage.

BISHOPS.--Cork, 6,400_l._, besides patronage; Llandaff, 1,540_l._, with twenty-six livings in his gift; Peterborough, 4,140_l._, with an archdeaconry, six prebends, and thirteen livings in his gift; he had also a pension granted him by the king's sign manual, in 1804, of 514_l._-4,654_l._; Gloucester, 3,200_l._, twenty-four livings, besides other patronage, in his gift; Chester, 4,700_l._, with six prebends and thirty livings in his gift; he has also a son in the _secret_ department in India, 2,000_l._, and another a collector in India, 2,500_l._, as well as sons in the church with benefices to the amount of 2,750_l._-11,950_l._; Ely, 21,340_l._, and the patronage of one hundred and eight livings; St. Asaph, 6,000_l._, his son has two livings in the church, 1000_l._, and he has ninety livings in his gift,--7,000_l._; St. David's, 6,260_l._, besides one hundred livings, prebends, and precentorships in his gift; he has also a relation in the church, with two livings, 1,000_l._-7,260_l._; Worcester, 9,590_l._, besides the patronage of one archdeaconry and twenty-one livings; London, 10,200_l._, with ninety-five livings, twenty-eight prebends, and precentorships in his gift.

LORDS.--Prudhoe, 700_l._; Harris, 3,800_l._; Meldrum, of the Gordon family, who annually devour about 30,000_l._; Hill, 9,800_l._; Combermere, 13,500_l._; Hopetoun, 15,600_l._; Gambier, 6,800_l._; Manners, 21,500_l._; Ailsa, _expectant_; Lauderdale, 36,600_l._; Sheffield, 3,000_l._; Redesdale, 5,500_l._; St. Helens, 1,000_l._; Northwick, 1,500_l._; Bolton, 4,000_l._; Bayning, 1,000_l._; Carrington, 1,900_l._; Dunstanville, 1,500_l._; Rous, _motive unknown_; Courtown, 9,800_l._; Galloway, 9,845_l._; Stuart, 15,000; Douglas, 2,500_l._; Grenville, 4,000_l._; Suffield, brother-in-law to the _notorious Castlereagh_,--need we say more to point out _his_ motive for voting against the queen? Montagu, 3,500_l._; Gordon, 20,990_l._; Somers, 2,000_l._; Rodney, 6,123_l._; Middleton, 700_l._; Napier, 4,572_l._; Gray, 200_l._, with great family interest; Colville, 4,600_l._; Saltoun, 3,644_l._; Forbes, 8,400_l._; Lord Privy Seal, 3,000_l._; and Lord President, 4,000.

[360:A] The Duke of Suss.e.x excused himself from taking part in the proceedings against the queen on the plea of being so nearly related to her majesty. When this was stated in the House of Lords, the Duke of York said, "My lords, I have as much reason, and, _heaven knows_, I would as anxiously desire as my royal relative to absent myself from these proceedings; but when I have a DUTY imposed upon me, of _such magnitude as the present_, I should be _ashamed_ to offer such an EXCUSE!"

It is astonishing how any man, who had _outraged virtue_ and violated HIS DUTY in a thousand ways, could, unblushingly, thus insult the English nation!

Notwithstanding this phalanx of corruption being arrayed against one virtuous female, after an unexampled multiplication of abuse and perjury, on the fifty-first day of the proceedings, the infamous bill was LOST, and, with it, the pretensions to uprightness and manly feeling of every one who had voted for it! What was the dreadful, the overwhelming, responsibility of those who had ventured to prosecute, of all others, a great, a n.o.ble, a glorious woman, (we speak unhesitatingly, for we speak from the EVIDENCE OF HER OWN PUBLIC ACTS) by a "Bill of Pains and Penalties," which was so far from being a part of our common law, that that was necessarily sacrificed in order to give effect to this? The mock trial was supported by the evidence of witnesses who, day after day, perjured themselves for the sake of wealth, and by the ingrat.i.tude of _discarded_ servants, treacherous domestics, and cowardly calumniators; evidence, not only stained with the infamy of their own perfidy to their generous benefactress, but polluted with the licentious and gross obscenity of their own debased instincts, for we cannot call their cunning by any other name. This, Englishmen! was the poison, this the vast and sweeping flood of iniquity, which was permitted by the government to disseminate itself into the minds of the young, and to inundate the morals of the whole country! A great moral evil was thus done; but the antidote luckily went with it. The same press, upon which the absurd, foolish, and dangerous imbecility of incompetent and unmanly ministers imposed the reluctant office of becoming the channel for the deluge of Italian evidence, also conducted the refreshing streams of national sympathy and public opinion! The public sustained their own honour in upholding that of Caroline, Queen of England! When that public beheld her intelligent eyes, beaming with mind and heroism; when they heard of her pure beneficence, holy in its principle, as it was unbounded in its sphere; when they felt her glowing affection for a devoted people; when they observed her, scorning alike the weakness of her s.e.x and the luxury of her station,--actuated solely by the mighty energies of her own masculine sense and powerful understanding,--braving fatigue and danger, traversing the plains and mountains of Asia, the sands and deserts of Africa; and contemplating the living tomb of ancient liberty in modern Greece; when they heard of this dauntless woman sailing over foreign seas with a soul of courage as buoyant and as mighty as the waves that bore her; but, above all, when they knew of her refusing the glittering trappings and the splendid price of infamous security, to face inveterate, persecuting, and inflexible enemies, even on their own ground, and surrounded by their own strength and power, they felt confident that such a woman must be at once a favourite of heaven, a great queen, and a blessing to the people, who fervently offered up their prayers for her safety and her triumph! It will readily be supposed, then, with what joy the result of this important and unprecedented investigation filled the hearts of thousands, which manifested itself by shouts of exultation from the centre of the metropolis, and was re-echoed from the remotest corners of the land, by the unbought voices of a brave and generous people, who considered the unjust proceedings alike "derogatory to the dignity of the crown and the best interests of the nation."

From the very commencement of the queen's persecution, her majesty's counsellors appeared more in the capacity of MEDIATORS in the cause of _guilt_ than as _stern, unbending, and uncompromising champions of honour and truth_! In one of Mr. Brougham's speeches, he declared the queen had no intention to _recriminate_; but Mr. Brougham cannot, even at this distance of time, have forgotten that, when her majesty had an interview with him after this public a.s.sertion on his part, she declared herself INSULTED by such a remark, as her case demanded all the a.s.sistance it could possibly obtain from every legal quarter. Another peculiar trait of defection was conspicuously displayed during this extraordinary trial. The letter we gave a few pages back, written by an ill.u.s.trious personage to the captain of the vessel in which the princess went in the memorable year 1814, offering him a reward to procure any evidence of improper conduct on the part of her royal highness, was submitted to Mr. Brougham, and shortly afterwards, at the supper table of the queen, he said aloud, that he HAD SHEWN THAT LETTER TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE COURT; and when remonstrated with for such extraordinary conduct, his only reply was, "Oh, it will do very well;"

and soon after left the room. This and many other singular acts of the learned gentleman will seem surprising to his admirers. Such suspicious conduct, indeed, is hardly to be accounted for; but we could not dispute the evidence of our own senses!

At this period, a lady of her majesty's household received a note from a young person, stating the writer to be in possession of some papers of GREAT CONSEQUENCE TO THE QUEEN, which she wished to deliver to her majesty. A gentleman was sent to the writer of the note, and her information to him was, in substance, as follows:

That certain property, of a large amount, had been bequeathed to her; but that for many years she had been deprived of all interest arising from it. That Dr. Sir Richard Croft, accoucheur to her late royal highness, the Princess Charlotte, was an attendant witness to the will of her mother, by whom the property had been willed,--her father having engaged, upon his return from abroad, to put his daughter in possession of her rightful claims, proving her descent, &c. That, during her unprotected state, her guardian had caused her to sign bonds to an enormous amount; and, in consequence, she had been deprived of her liberty for nearly twelve months. As Dr. Sir Richard Croft was her princ.i.p.al witness and friend, she frequently consulted him on different points of her affairs, and also gave him several private letters for his inspection; but these letters not being returned to her when she applied for them, she reproached the doctor with his inattention to her interests. In consequence of this, Dr. Croft called upon her, and promised to send the letters back the next day. The doctor accordingly sent her a packet; but, upon examination, she found them to be, _not the letters alluded to_, but letters of VAST IMPORTANCE, from the HIGHEST PERSONAGES in the kingdom, and elucidating the most momentous subjects.

Some time after, she sealed them up, and sent a servant back with them, giving him strict injunctions to deliver them ONLY into Sir Richard's hand. While the servant was gone, the doctor called upon her, and, IN GREAT AGITATION, inquired if she had received any other letters back besides her own. She replied she had, and said, "Doctor, what have you done?" He walked about the room for some time, and then said, abruptly, "I suppose you have read the letters?" She replied, "I have read enough to make me very uncomfortable." After some further remarks, he observed, "I am the most wretched man alive!" He then said he would communicate to her all the circ.u.mstances. Sir Richard commenced his observations by stating, that he was not the perpetrator of the deed, but had been made the instrument of others, which the letters proved. He then alluded, by name, to a n.o.bLEMAN; and said the circ.u.mstance was first discovered by the NURSE'S observing that a SEDIMENT WAS LEFT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CUP IN WHICH THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE TOOK HER LAST BEVERAGE, and that Mrs.

Griffiths directly charged the doctor with being privy to the act. He examined the contents of the cup, and was struck with horror at finding that it was the SAME DESCRIPTION OF MEDICINE WHICH HAD BEEN OBTAINED FROM HIS HOUSE, A FEW DAYS PREVIOUS, BY THE n.o.bLEMAN BEFORE ALLUDED TO!!! However, he endeavoured to persuade the nurse that she was mistaken; "but," said the doctor, "the more I endeavoured to persuade her, the more culpable, no doubt _I_ appeared to her."

Sir Richard said he was farther strengthened in his suspicions of the said n.o.bleman by a conversation he had had a few days before with his lordship, who said, "If any thing should happen to the princess,--IF SHE WERE TO DIE,--it would be a melancholy event; yet I consider it would, in some considerable degree, be productive of good to the nation at large." Dr. Croft asked him how he could say so. "Because," said the n.o.bleman, "every body knows her disposition sufficiently to be convinced, that she will ever be blind to her mother's most unequalled conduct; and I think any man, burdened with such a wife, would be _justified_ in using ANY MEANS in seeking to get rid of her! Were it my case, the friend who would be the means of, or a.s.sist in, releasing me from her shackles, I should consider would do no more than one man ought to do for another so circ.u.mstanced." Dr. Croft then said, he went to this n.o.bleman directly after the death of the princess, and charged him with committing the crime. He at first denied it; but at length said, "It was better for one to suffer than that the whole country should be put into a state of confusion, which would have been the case if the princess had lived," and then alluded to the Princess of Wales coming into this country. The n.o.bleman exonerated himself from the deed; but said "IT WAS MANAGED BY PERSONS IMMEDIATELY ABOUT THE DOCTOR'S PERSON."

At this part of the narrative, the doctor became very much agitated, and the lady said, "Good G.o.d! who did do it?" To which question he replied, "_The hand that wrote that letter without a name, in conjunction with one of the attendants on the nurse!_" The lady further stated, that the doctor said, "Certain ladies are depending upon me for my services as accoucheur, and I will not extend life beyond my attendance upon them."

This conversation took place just after the death of the Princess Charlotte.

Before Dr. Croft left the lady, she informed him of her anxiety to return the letters as soon as she discovered their importance, and mentioned that the servant was then gone with them. Sir Richard quickly exclaimed, "You bid him not leave them?" and inquired what directions had been given to the servant. Having been informed, he said, "Don't send them again; keep them until I come and fetch them, and that will be to-morrow, if possible." But the lady never saw him afterwards, and consequently retained the letters.

The gentleman then received exact copies of all the letters before alluded to. We here present our readers with three of the most important, which will substantiate some of our former statements.

COPY OF A LETTER FROM SIR B. BLOOMFIELD TO DR. SIR RICHARD CROFT.

"MY DEAR CROFT,

"I am commanded by his royal highness to convey to you his solicitude for your health and happiness; and I am to inform you, that the aid of so faithful a friend as yourself is indispensable. _It is by her majesty's command I write this to you._

"We have intelligence by the 20th ult. that the Princess of Wales is to take a road favourable to the accomplishment of our long-desired wishes; that we may keep pace with her, there is no one upon whose fidelity we can more fully rely than you yourself.

"A few months relaxation from the duties of your profession will banish all gloomy ideas, and secure the favour of her majesty.

"Come, my boy, throw physic to the dogs, and be the bearer of the happy intelligence of a divorce, to render ourselves still more deserving the confidence of our beloved master, whose peace and happiness we are bound in duty to secure by every means in our power.

"Remember this: the road to fortune is short; and let me see you to-day at three o'clock, without fail, in my bureau.

"Yours faithfully,"

"Carlton House, "Monday, 9th November, 1817."

COPY OF A LETTER FROM DR. CROFT TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE REGENT.

"The gracious a.s.surance of his royal highness for my happiness was this day conveyed to me, by _the desire of her most gracious majesty_.

"The many former favours and kindnesses bestowed by my royal benefactor is retained in my mind with the deepest sense of grat.i.tude.

"That I regret, with heartfelt grief, the invisible power that determined my inevitable misery, and marks the hand that gave the blow to my eternal peace. Could no other arm inflict the wound than he who, in happier moments, indulged me with the most apparent unfeigned friendship? That I shall not, to my latest breath, cease to complain of such injustice, heaped upon me in the eyes of the world, and before the nation, who at my hands have lost their dearest hopes.

"My conscious innocence is the only right I plead to a just and Almighty G.o.d! That I consider this deed of so foul a nature as to stamp with ignominy, not only its perpetrators, but the throne itself, now to be obtained by the death of its own offspring, _and that death enforced by the Queen of England_, whose inveterate hatred is fully exemplified, by heaping wrongs upon the unfortunate partner of your once happy choice, who now only impedes your union to another.

"To remove now this only remaining obstacle, I am called upon by the ministers. With a view of tranquillizing my mind, every rest.i.tution is offered me. But, no doubt, many will be found amongst them, who can, without a pang, enjoy the reward of such services--_as her majesty will most liberally recompense_.

"It has ever been my highest ambition to fulfil the arduous duty of my situation; to be rewarded by upright encomiums; and to merit, as a subject and a servant, the approbation of my most gracious benefactor, as conveyed to me on the 9th of this month by Sir B. Bloomfield, would have been a sufficient recompense to me under any circ.u.mstances of life.

"I can, therefore, only a.s.sure his royal highness, with unfeigned sincerity, that I should feel happy upon any occasion to forfeit my life for his peace and happiness; nor can I more fully evince the same than by a.s.suring his royal highness, that this melancholy circ.u.mstance shall be eternally buried in my mind.