Secret History of the Court of England Volume I Part 6

The Prince of Wales now veered in his political expressions, and deserted his former acknowledged principles, in obedience to the wishes of the _queen_. The other male branches of the royal family were revelling in the vortex of voluptuousness; and so expensive were their amours and gallantries, in addition to their gambling transactions, that they were continually involved in debt, and, for momentary relief, borrowed sums of every person willing to run the risk of a loan, or afraid to incur the royal displeasure.

The king was ignorant of the most dishonorable transactions in which his sons were so deeply involved; what he did know was sufficient to make him miserable. Their supplies and income were to an enormous extent; yet his majesty was aware that the Duke of York's horses and carriage were seized, while going down Piccadilly, and his royal highness obliged to walk home!

Declaration of hostilities was announced between Great Britain and France, and the year's supply amounted to TWENTY MILLIONS. To provide this enormous sum, extra taxes were again levied upon the people.

We enter upon the year

1794,

with sorrow and indignation, as it was the commencement of an all-important era in national affairs. The king beheld the critical state of the empire with much sorrow and disquietude. The extravagant and imprudent conduct of his sons also acted as a canker upon his heart.

In vain did he endeavour to represent to them, that to be worthy of holding their rank in such a great nation, they ought to lay aside the follies which had so long been practised by them; and as earnestly, yet as vainly, did he press them to retire from the society of voluptuous acquaintances, with whom he too well knew they were so deeply involved, in various ways.

At this period of our history, we are grieved to record the tyrannical acts of government, in apprehending a number of persons on the charge of _treason_. Some of our readers will, doubtless, recollect the glorious acquittal of Hardy, Tooke, and Thelwall; but there were others, less fortunate. We would rather have been Claudius or Caligula, Nero, Tiberius, or the _Christian_, blood-stained Constantine, than the man who, in cold blood, could deliberately sign a warrant against those patriotic martyrs, MUIR, SKIRVING, MARGAROT, PALMER, and GERALD, whose only _crime_ consisted in having _SUPPORTED MR. PITT'S OWN ORIGINAL SYSTEM OF REFORM_!

Our readers, at this distance of time, will reflect with amazement and indignation, that on the 8th of February, 1794, the four first-named citizens, without a moment's previous notice, were surprised in their beds by the Newgate ruffians, chained and handcuffed like the vilest felons, and thus conveyed to Woolwich, where they were sent on board a transport ready to receive them. A few hours afterwards, the vessel dropped down the river; but, during the short interval it remained at Woolwich, all communication was cut off between them and their friends!

Even the wife of Margarot was denied admission to him! Such were the positive orders of that illiberal and corrupt minister,--Mr. Henry Dundas.

Let us hope that the day is for ever past when men can be thus treated for merely giving vent to their complaints and sufferings. It is the prerogative of affliction to complain, more sacred and natural than any t.i.tles or immunities which _privileged_ persons enjoy! And whenever _force_ is employed against _argument and reason_, though the contest may be unequal, depend upon it that the cause of _TRUTH_ will _ULTIMATELY PREVAIL_!

At this period, the Prince of Wales was involved in more than SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS, beside bonds and bills, signed by him, to a very enormous amount; and, finding himself unable to procure any further sums, he applied to the queen for a.s.sistance in this extremity. Her majesty referred him to his father, and pressed him to yield to any advice which the king might suggest, or any plan he might recommend.

A time was appointed for an interview, and the father and son entered upon these very distressing and dishonorable transactions. After much deliberation, the king observed, "that it was utterly impossible to ask parliament for any relief, as it was all the minister could now do to keep the wheels of state in motion; and, even to do that, it required _immense loans_ to be raised, to make up the deficiency of the year's current expenses." As a last resource, the king proposed that the prince should MARRY, and that a lady of royal birth be selected, as agreeable to the inclinations of the prince as possible. Upon such an event, the minister would, no doubt, furnish means for his liberation, and a sufficient income for the additional expenses attendant upon such an alliance. The prince received the opinion of his father with varied sensations, and requested time to think upon the proposition, when he would announce the result of his cogitations.

Alas! how much are kings to be pitied! If their principles and intentions be virtuous, what difficulties have they to surmount, what sorrows to endure! This was a trying period for George the Third: on the one hand, he saw the impropriety and cruelty of marriage merely for state policy, and more particularly so in the present instance, as he considered the prince's marriage with Mrs. Fitzherbert solemn and binding in the sight of heaven, though certainly in direct opposition to the _law_ of the country, which was _in operation at the time it was solemnized_. On the other hand, it appeared that a royal marriage was an event that would give great satisfaction to the people, and might, perhaps, reclaim the prince from those considerable errors and obnoxious pursuits in which he was so deeply entangled; for he a.s.sociated with some of the most unprincipled characters, of whom any person of morality or _common decency_ would certainly have been ashamed.

Here again the gewgaw of royal parade was intended to entrap the admiration of the ignorant. The vain pomp and pageantries of courts and the splendour of fortune have ever been an _ignis fatuus_ to seduce the people to their ruin. They have, alas! too often served as an useful shelter to every excess of folly, every enormity of crime; while the deepest distresses and the most urgent wants have not been allowed as an extenuation for the slightest transgression, though committed to satisfy the craving exigencies of famished nature! Had a _private_ individual acted as this prince was about to do, would he not have become an outcast from his family, and would not the whole world have abandoned him? Yet, although the prince's example was ten thousand times more contagious, all the breaches of faith of which he had been guilty scarcely received the slightest animadversion! But so it was; common interest united even those who were disunited by particular discordances, and the _seeming_ harmony of the royal family may undoubtedly be inferred to have arisen from their equal interest in the success of the piece. Their private differences were apparently lost in the immensity of the SECRETS by which the state chain was rivetted, as if it were by adamant.

We must not suppose his majesty was all this time ignorant of the situation of his nephew, the only child of his brother Edward; so far from that being the case, he had caused him to be brought up privately, and was regular in the discharge of the yearly expenses incurred on his account at Eton. The queen presumed that her children were safely seated, so long as the king's _first_ marriage should be concealed, and therefore did not bestow many thoughts upon the happiness or misery, fortune or misfortune, life or death, of this MUCH-INJURED YOUTH! Does not nature revolt at this barbarity, this secret unfeeling conduct of the queen? What mother could know a similar case, and not afford all the generous tenderness of sympathy to mitigate the losses this _orphan_ had sustained, not only of fortune, but of the fostering care of both his parents?

The complicated wickedness of the court seemed now nearly approaching its climax. Deception had been added to deception, until, to complete the delusion, another victim must necessarily be added, in the person of the Princess Caroline of Brunswick!

After conferences with Mrs. Fitzherbert, the queen, and a few others, closely interested in the affair, had taken place, the prince acquainted his father with his submission to the royal will, and requested to know whom his majesty would recommend for his bride. The king suggested his niece, the daughter of his sister, the d.u.c.h.ess of Brunswick, for whose acceptance he urged the prince to send his miniature, and other formalities, usual on such occasions. _The prince, with apparent vivacity, acquiesced_; but his majesty thought that his son's language wanted sincerity.

The evening was spent in revelry and debauchery by the prince and his companions, and his royal highness swore "I will marry the Princess of Brunswick, which," said he, "will be no marriage at all, and desert her, of which I will give her timely notice." The miniature was painted _flatteringly_, and the following letter from the prince accompanied it to his intended wife:

_Copy of a letter written to the Princess Caroline of Brunswick, by George Prince of Wales._

"1794.

"MADAM,

"The king my father, whom I highly respect and esteem, has just announced to me that your hand is destined for me. I am obliged, by the imperious force of circ.u.mstances to own, that this intelligence has thrown me into despair, and my candour does not allow me to conceal my sentiments from you. I hope that when you are acquainted with them, you will aid me in breaking the ties which would unite us only to render us unhappy; and which will be in your power to oppose, since _I_ am unable to do so. You, Madam, are adored by your parents; I am aware that they have allowed you the liberty of refusing all the princes who have been proposed to you in marriage; refuse _me_ also, I conjure you in the name of pity, to which I know you are no stranger. You do not _know_ me, Madam; you therefore can have no cause to lament my loss. Learn, then, the _secret_ and _unhappy_ situation of the prince whom they wish you to espouse. I cannot love you; I cannot make you happy; my heart has long ceased to be free. She who possesses it is the only woman to whom I could unite myself agreeably to my inclinations. _You_ would find in me a husband who places all his affections upon another. If this _secret_, which I name to you in _confidence_, does not cause you to reject me; if ambition, or any other motive of which I am ignorant, cause you to condescend to the arrangements of my family, learn that, as soon as you shall have given an heir to the _throne, I will abandon you_, never to meet you more in public. I will then attach myself to that lady whom I love, and whom I will not leave. Such is, Madam, my last and irrevocable resolution; if you are the victim of it, you will be a _willing victim_, and you cannot accuse me of having deceived you.

"I am, Madam, "With great truth, "Your's sincerely, "GEORGE P."

After reading this very curious epistle, the reader may presume that the princess was _indiscreet_ in her acceptance of the hand of a prince who so _boldly_ professed himself averse to the union; but the following letters of George the Third to herself and her mother, (the king's sister) which accompanied the one of the prince, will afford some explanation of her conduct:

_Copy of a Letter to Caroline, Princess of Brunswick, from her uncle, George the Third._

"1794.

"My dearest Niece Caroline,

"It has afforded me very much pleasure to hear, by the means of my son Frederick of York, that you merit my very best regard. I have no doubt you have frequently heard of my very great and affectionate regard for your dear mother, my sister; and I a.s.sure you I love her daughter for her sake. I am well persuaded that my dear niece will not refuse the pressing request of myself and her mother with respect to an alliance with my son George, Prince of Wales, which I earnestly desire may be arranged to take place as speedily as possible. I promise, most solemnly promise, that I will be your friend and father upon every occasion, and I entreat you to comply with this ardent desire of my heart, that my agitated mind may once more be composed.

"I have explained to my sister the probable difficulties which my son George may mention; but they must not have any weight in your mind and conclusions. I beg you not to refuse this pressing pet.i.tion of your most

"Sincere and affectionate "Uncle, "GEORGE R."

"P. S. Do not delay a reply an hour longer than can be avoided."

"_To Caroline, Princess of Brunswick,"

&c. &c. &c._

_Copy of a Letter to the d.u.c.h.ess of Brunswick, from her Brother, George the Third._

"MY DEAR SISTER,

"I have endeavoured to excite and promote in the mind of my son George a desire to espouse my dear niece Caroline. _This_, I am aware, he will only consent to as a prudent step, by which his debts may be paid. I will trust to your influence with Caroline that she may not be offended with any thing he pleases to say. He may please to plead that he is already married!--and I fear he will resort to any measures rather than an honorable marriage. But as, in my former letters, I have explained my wishes upon this subject, I therefore need not now repeat them. Tell my dear niece she must never expect to find a mother or friend in the queen; but _I will be her friend to my latest breath_. Give me your support, my sister, and prevail upon my niece Caroline at all hazards.

"Your's affectionately, "GEORGE R."

A courier was despatched with these preliminaries of a royal marriage, and the prince again sank into the depths of vice. The queen saw her path was rather difficult, and feared for the consequences; but she resolved to exert every thought to devise the surest plan for future safety. Her majesty did not a.s.sist the prince to any extent, because her purse was of the greatest utility to her personal safety, and therefore _promises_ were chiefly given to the clamorous and ruined creditors, that, as soon as the prince was MARRIED, all debts would be discharged!

The reasons which prompted the parsimony of the queen were obvious to those who knew her plans, though not to the public. She was aware of the slight tenure she held, and the illegality of her marriage; the unaccounted-for death of the king's eldest brother; the uncertainty of the fate of his issue; fears for his future public appeals, and her knowledge of the validity of his claims! Beside all this, the relatives of the legally-married wife of the Duke (Edward) were of more ill.u.s.trious descent than even the queen herself; and from them she stood in doubt, lest the untimely death of this lady and her husband, the unfortunate Duke of York, as well as the privacy of their offspring, should be brought forward in a public manner, or in any way which might reflect dishonour upon the influence of the crown!

How much has guilt to fear from exposure by TRUTH! _Secrecy_ was the ministerial watch-word then in vogue, and though fallacious and destructive, as experience has demonstrated the principle to be, yet the nation was cajoled by its influence, and even induced indirectly to sanction measures the most desperate and ruinous that imagination can depict!

The hireling part of the press, notwithstanding, strove to eternize this awful and barbarous system, and thus a.s.sisted the minister to cherish the growth of Ignorance. Indeed, it is an undeniable fact, that the corruption of government pervaded every branch of Mr. Pitt's administration; but surely this minister must have been sometimes afraid that the people would discover the frauds and impositions practised upon them, and demand satisfaction. Mr. Pitt, indeed, was an _apostate_, who, at the beginning of his career, stood forth as the CHAMPION OF THE PEOPLE'S RIGHTS; but no sooner had he gained possession of power, than he at once threw off the mask, deserted his benefactors, who had trusted and exalted him, maintained, with all his might, the utmost stretch of the royal prerogative, owned himself the unblushing advocate of influence and corruption, and the decided enemy of the human race! When we reflect on the obduracy, perfidy, and ingrat.i.tude of "this pilot that _gathered_ the storm," in whose breast neither shame nor pity seldom found a residence, but as if dead to every n.o.ble pa.s.sion of the soul, he first exhausted the resources of the nation by his imposition of taxes, and then enslaved it by his politics; when we reflect, we say, on the conduct of this man, Seja.n.u.s and Rufinus, profligate and cruel as they were, appear angels of light, and we cannot help feeling disgusted with the age that tolerated such a minister! Secure in his parliamentary majorities and the favours of his queen, he imagined the people at large mere nonent.i.ties, and set them at defiance, while he must have laughed at their tameness and stupidity! Did he not warmly commend the sentences of proscription, imprisonment, and transportation, pa.s.sed against his countrymen solely for attempting to procure a reform of grievances, by the very same means which he had himself previously employed? Did he not, when every really-loyal subject in the realm was deploring the disgraces and defeats of the British arms, insult the people with affected serious congratulations on the successes that had been obtained by the allied powers, and the happy change that had taken place in their favour? Yes, reader, these acts may be taken as specimens of the policy of the "heaven-born minister, that weathered the storm," as a certain chancellor once imprudently designated Mr. Pitt.

The courier, bearing the despatches to the Princess of Brunswick, arrived at the court of her father in October, where he delivered his packet, and was entertained with generous and courteous attention. The duke and d.u.c.h.ess retired to peruse its contents, which they read with agitation; and Hope and Fear strove tumultuously to gain an ascendency.

The king's letter was considered, in a certain degree, explanatory of the follies of the prince, though it did not name any vices; and as it also expressed a _confident opinion_, that, united to a person of amiability and worth, like the princess, all good would ensue, the parents of the princess were inclined to hope for a favourable result from the alliance. The good opinion of the king, their brother, was an extra inducement to the fond and indulgent parents of Caroline to plead in behalf of her acceptance of this offer; and all must admit their conduct to be natural and affectionate.

The letter of the prince was soon after delivered by the duke to his daughter, accompanied by the remark, "I hope my dear Caroline will one day be the happy queen of a free and happy nation. Retire, my child, and, after thinking seriously, decide prudently." The princess retired, and read the strange epistle written by the prince. She knew not, for some considerable time, what to think, or how to decide. At length, after a few hours of rest and enjoyment, the courier departed. He arrived safely at St. James', and delivered the following reply to the Prince of Wales:

_Copy of the Reply to George, Prince of Wales, from Caroline, Princess of Brunswick._

"MY LORD AND COUSIN,

"I cannot express to your royal highness the feelings of surprise which your letter has afforded me, neither can I rely _entirely_ upon what it contains; because the accompanying letter of the good king, your father, is so very opposite to its meaning. I thought that the ties of relationship which exist between us would have obliged your royal highness to treat with delicacy and honor the princess whom your king destines for you. For my own part, my lord, I know my duty, and I have not the power or the wish to break the laws which are wished to be imposed upon me. I, therefore, have decided upon obeying the wishes of those who have the right to dispose of my person. I submit, at the same time, to the consequences with which your highness threatens me. But, if you could read _that heart_ to which you impart such anguish, you would perhaps have feelings of remorse from this barbarous treatment, in which your royal highness appears to boast. I am now resolved to await from _time_ and our _union_ the just regard I will endeavour to merit; and I trust that your regret for what you have written will, in some measure, avenge the wrongs you have so wantonly committed. Believe me, my lord, that I shall not cease to offer my prayers for the happiness of your royal highness; _mine_ will be perfect if I can contribute to your's.

"I am, for life, your most devoted Cousin, "CAROLINE AMELIA OF BRUNSWICK."