66 66 66 lating the arrival at Florence of the King of Sweden, and a dinner which His Majesty accepted at Charles's house, in the course of which the exiled Prince exclaimed: "Oh! Sir, what a consolation to me at length "to sit at table with one of my equals!" thus proceeds: They (the King of Sweden and the Pretender) then 66 passed to common discourse, in which the Pretender "related some circumstances of his life that had occurred formerly to him, and particularly what follows; that in "the month of September 1750 he came from France in company only with a Colonel Brett; that they exa"mined the exterior parts of the Tower, one gate of "which they thought might be beaten down with a pe"tard; from thence they went to a lodging in Pall Mall, "where about fifty of his friends were assembled, among "whom were the Duke of Beaufort* and the Earl of "Westmoreland †; and he said that if they could have "assembled only 4,000 men he would publicly have put "himself at the head of them. He stayed there a fort"night, and asserts that the Government never had the "least notice of it." 66 66 Some further details are supplied by Dr. King, the Principal of St. Mary's Hall at Oxford: "September "1750, I received a note from my Lady Primrose, who "desired to see me immediately. As soon as I waited on her she led me into her dressing-room, and presented me to the Prince. If I was surprised to find him there, "I was still more astonished when he acquainted me "with the motives which had induced him to hazard a "journey to England at this juncture. The impatience "of his friends in exile had formed a scheme which was "impracticable. I had some long conversations "with him. One evening he came to my lodgings, * This was Lord Noel Somerset, wno had succeeded to the Dukedom in 1746. He died in 1756, and was great grandfather of the present Duke and Lord Granville Somerset. (Collins's Peerage, vol. i. p. 241.) † John, seventh Earl. Notwithstanding his Jacobite politics, he was a Lieut. General in the army. Because of them, he was, in 1758, elected Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Dying in 1762, his titles devolved on his distant cousin, Thomas Fane, great grandfather of the present Earl. (Collins's Peerage, vol. iii. p. 300.) 1750. PRINCE CHARLES STUART IN LONDON. 9 "and drank tea with me. He was soon convinced "that he had been deceived, and therefore he returned "to the place from whence he came.' 66 There is another tale, which has more than once been told, referring to the same romantic enterprise. The King, it is said, had received some secret tidings of it, and took an opportunity, a day or two afterwards, of inquiring from the Secretary of State where the Pretender might be at present. The Minister answered, that he would consult his last despatches from France. "You may save yourself the trouble," rejoined His Majesty, "for I can tell you- he is now here in London."— The Minister started, and proposed that a Cabinet Council should be summoned.—“No,” said the King, good humouredly; "leave him alone; when the gentleman shall "have looked about him a little he will no doubt return quietly." ― But all this story, circumstantial as it seems, is on closer examination overturned by a single fact. During the whole month of September 1750 King George was not in London, but at Hanover. † 66 Such is the last important enterprise that History has to record of Charles Edward Stuart. From this time forward he resigned himself to daily intoxication, as his refuge from harrowing thought; the noble qualities of his youth were lost in his degraded manhood; and he grew an object of contempt to his enemies, of sorrow to his friends. It was the prevalence of disaffection at this period that produced a bold and unusual burst on the part of Pitt. When, early in the next Session, Pelham, with ill-judged economy, proposed a reduction in the number of seamen from 10,000 to 8,000-when he, as First Lord of the Treasury—when Fox, as Secretary at War-when Lord Barrington, as one of the Admiralty Board,—had spoken in defence of this motion, the House saw with surprise the Paymaster of the Forces rise and declare his vehement opposition to the proposal of his colleagues. That * Anecdotes of his own Times, p. 196. Dr. King limits the stay of Prince Charles in London to five days only; but, as we have seen, Charles himself, in 1783, (and this seems the better authority,) mentions a fortnight. † Coxe's Pelham, vol. ii. p. 373-396. 66 66 course he took with great firmness, but great regret. My fears of Jacobitism alone," said he, "have induced me to differ upon this only point from those with whom "I am determined to lead my life." - In the result, however, the reduction was carried, and the objector not dismissed.* From the retreat of the pretended, we pass at once in the order of time to the death of the real, Prince of Wales. Frederick expired on the 20th of March 1751. His illness was at the outset but a slight cold, aggravated by neglect, and ending in pleurisy; there was also, as afterwards appeared, a gathering imposthume on his breast, which was ascribed to a blow which he had received full two years back at a game of trap-ball. For some days the illness was thought serious; afterwards, however, it appeared to be passing away; and only half an hour before his decease no one had doubted his recovery. To his own family the bereavement was no less grievous than sudden; the Princess was left with eight children, and seven months pregnant of another. Clinging to the last gleams of hope, she remained in his room four hours after he was dead before she could be quite convinced of it. Prince George, a boy of twelve, showed deep emotion at the news; he turned pale, and laid his hand on his breast.. "I am afraid, Sir, you are not well,” said his tutor. He answered: "I feel something "here; just as I did when I saw the two workmen fall "from the scaffold at Kew!"† 66 So ill had been the terms on which the Prince had lived with his father and his brother, that they could scarcely be expected to feel any poignant sorrow for his loss. The King, however, showed a decent concern; the 66 * Coxe's Pelham, vol. ii. p. 141., and Horace Walpole to Mann, February 9. 1751. Walpole adds malignantly: "The key to this you will find in Pitt's whole behaviour; whenever he wanted new "advancement he used to go off. It will not be surprising, if, though baffled, he still carries his point of Secretary of State." But neither on this occasion nor on any other would I readily trust Horace Walpole as to motives; he is far too willing to impute the 66 worst. † H. Walpole to Sir H. Mann, April 1. 1751. See also Mr Harris's letter to Sir Charles H. Williams of March 22. 1751 1751. DEATH OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. 11 Duke of Cumberland, when the tidings were brought to him at Windsor, only turned to Lord Sandwich, and said with a sneer: "It is a great blow to this country, but I hope it will recover it in time!"* 66 Through all the consequences of this important event, nothing could exceed in prudence and propriety the conduct of the widowed Princess. Having been in the midst of her anguish borne to bed by her women at six in the morning, she rose again at eight, sent for Dr. Lee, and proceeded with him to burn all the Prince's papers, lest they should endanger any of his friends. Up to this time her principle of action had been duty to her husband; it now became solely duty to the King. To this principle she steadily adhered. She resigned herself altogether to his will and guidance, and discouraged all cabals in her little Court, while the King, on his part, touched and surprised by her demeanour, showed herself and her children great kindness, and even great affection. Prince George was created Prince of Wales; a sum of 50,000l. was settled on the Princess Dowager; Leicester House was assigned for their residence; and the new Household was nominated in concert with her wishes. Lord Harcourt, grandson of the Chancellor, was named Governor; Dr. Hayter, Bishop of Norwich, Preceptor; Mr. Stone, Sub-Governor; and Mr. Scott, Sub-Preceptor. It was in vain that Lord Egmont attemptedto keep up the Prince's party. Having convened it at his house the very morning after the Prince's death, when he preached harmony, he was answered: "Likely, "indeed, we should all agree now, when even the Prince "could never bring it about!"-and so every one went away to take care of himself. Lord Egmont remained an active chief of Opposition, but nearly all the late Prince's servants became supporters of the Court.† The heir apparent to a King of sixty-seven was now a Prince of twelve. "Who shall be Regent? was then H. Walpole's Memoirs, vol. i.p. 68. † Dr. Lee called one day on Horace Walpole the younger, talked much of "the great and good part " the King had taken, and added that the Prince's servants could no longer oppose if they meant to be "consistent." "Pho!" said Mr. Chute, "he meant subsistent ?” Walpole to Mann, April 22. 1751. 39 the question in every body's mouth; and the Duke of Cumberland, as the next Prince of the Blood, deemed himself entitled to that office. The King's own wishes strongly tended to his favourite son. But the extreme. alienation of the people from His Royal Highness might well have deterred any Minister from his appointment; far more a Minister so timid as Pelham. When the late Prince's death had been announced, and sung in ballads through the streets, great crowds had followed with the unfeeling cry: "Oh that it was but his brother! Oh "that it was but the butcher!" ""* On the other hand the Princess Dowager, who ever since her arrival in England, though placed in most trying circumstances, had never made an enemy, nor committed an imprudence, had no lack of partisans to her pretensions. On the whole, therefore, the Administration, studious of offending neither the King nor people, prudently determined on a middle course. Early in May the anxiously expected Bill of Regency was brought by the Ministers into the House of Lords. It provided that in the event of the Royal decease before the Prince should attain the age of eighteen, the Princess Dowager should be both guardian of his person and Regent of the kingdom, but in the latter capacity acting only with the advice of a Council, composed of the Duke of Cumberland and the nine principal officers of state, as left by the King. The Bill passed the Lords with only two speakers (Stanhope and Talbot) and twelve voters against it; in the Commons it gave rise to vehement debates, and a minority of 90. We may feel surprise— if indeed any thing should surprise us in party struggles -to find a man so sagacious and experienced as Sir John Barnard declare that he did not think it necessary to settle a Regency before the event happened.† But the main ground taken by Barnard, by Speaker Onslow, and other members of the minority, was to oppose the whole scheme of restrictions, with some strong insinuations against the ambition, the power, and the undisguised hostility to the Princess of the intended President of her *Coxe's Pelham, vol. ii. p. 169. |