Volume II Part 1 (1/2)
Secret History of the Court of England, from the Accession of George the Third to the Death of George the Fourth.
Volume II.
by Lady Anne Hamilton.
The coronation of George the Fourth, which had been postponed from time to time, at length took place on the 19th of July. We think, situated as her majesty then was, she ought to have been attended to the Abbey by all the n.o.blemen and gentlemen whose courage and honour had permitted them to espouse and support her cause; and, with such a phalanx, could she have been refused admittance? Instead of such arrangement, however, her majesty went at an early hour, accompanied by two ladies and one gentleman!--was refused admittance at the first door, and sought for entrance at another, with the same ill success. It was true, her majesty had not an imperative right to be _crowned_, though she had an undoubted t.i.tle to be present at the ceremony of her husband's coronation. Nay, claiming her right of admission in the character of cousin to his majesty, ought to have ent.i.tled her to very different treatment. Her majesty would not have encroached upon another's privileges, by entering Westminster Hall, because that might be considered the king's dining room; and the queen was too well informed to pa.s.s the boundary of privilege.
On the evening of the 18th of July, Lord and Lady Hood slept at Cambridge House, and, after retiring for the night, they were disturbed by the announcement that a messenger waited from Mr. Brougham to see Lord Hood. His lords.h.i.+p saw the messenger, whose business was to say, ”If Lord Hood wanted any tickets for the coronation, he might have as many as he pleased.” Lord Hood said, ”I have _my own_, and that is quite enough; I need no more.” It becomes a wise general to provide against the inroad of an enemy, and Lord Hood _ought_, and was in duty bound, to have accepted Mr. Brougham's offer of tickets, though that offer was made so SECRETLY, and at _such a late hour_. Lord Hood was either not sufficiently _firm_ in the interest of her majesty, or else some previous understanding had existed upon the subject of these tendered tickets; for all well-dressed ladies were admitted upon the presentation of a ticket, and the name never required. There cannot be a doubt that the king had positive fears of the arrival of her majesty, because his carriage was kept in waiting to convey him to Carlton House, should the queen be announced. Well might he say to the bearers of his train, ”Hold it wider.” Yes, indeed, he required room to breathe, for CONSCIENCE is an obtrusive monitor, as well as a privileged guest, in all companies.
In addition to the negligence of the _professed friends_ of the queen, we are sorry to say, that the ministers had prepared means, very demeaning, as well as perfectly _unconst.i.tutional_. A covered boat was in waiting at the back of the hall, on the Thames, to convey the queen (if deemed needful) to the Tower; but, some persons of principle and property being aware of this abuse of power, many boats were upon the river, to render a.s.sistance, if required, to an insulted queen. Eight regiments of soldiers were in and near London, FIVE of which were THE DETERMINED FRIENDS OF THE QUEEN! Was it not rather a peculiar circ.u.mstance that Alderman Wood (who was in the procession of the lord mayor) was the loudest in his applause to the king? But, before we conclude this work, our readers will have no reason to be surprised at this conduct of the inconsistent and interested alderman. It was likewise very strange, that Lord Liverpool, the then first lord of the Treasury, was NOT PRESENT AT THE CORONATION! From whence was this unusual non-attendance upon the monarch to be attributed? Because Lord Liverpool, seeing the danger likely to result from the refusal of her majesty to the coronation, had advised the king to receive his consort.
At first, his majesty consented, but shortly afterwards retracted his promise. Lord Liverpool, however, had caused this permission of his majesty for the queen's presence at the coronation to be made known to her, and a plan of the interior of the Abbey was enclosed at the same time, in which a seat was expressly ordered to be prepared for her majesty. We can positively a.s.sure our readers of the truth of this; for, two evenings previous to the coronation, we were sitting with one of her majesty's private friends, when the servant brought in a note, which that friend read with the greatest vivacity. It contained an a.s.surance, that the king had consented to her majesty's being received at the banquet, and a plan was produced, exhibiting a seat, in which the queen and her attendants were to sit. Her majesty's impression was, we can confidently say, ”That the Earl of Liverpool had advised the king to permit her to be received, in order to prevent ill consequences; for that, in case any riot should take place during the procession, the king _might have been smothered in the crowd_!” The Earl of Liverpool, however, had disobliged his majesty in the November previous, by abandoning the Bill of Pains and Penalties; but what else could he have done? If sentence had been pa.s.sed against her, the mighty rush of public opinion would have probably overwhelmed the whole regal circle.
Doubtless, Earl Lauderdale had given his royal master another version of the matter, as, from _his representation_, the king _again refused_ to see his consort; in consequence of which, the most arbitrary measures were taken to prevent the appearance of the queen at the coronation. We must also place upon record that, on the 24th of the same month, Lord Lauderdale's honours (_extra_ knight of the thistle, &c.) appeared in the Gazette, which were, no doubt, bestowed upon him for his avowed enmity to the queen.
We are sorry that Lord Hood, her majesty's only _male_ attendant to the coronation, did not act a little more as became his duty to his royal mistress on this trying occasion. His lords.h.i.+p offered neither resistance nor remonstrance to the insult of refusing her majesty an admittance to the Abbey; but tamely, not to say _cowardly_, submitted to it, as he immediately led the queen to her carriage! Yet Lord Hood was a peer! but, gentle reader, he was also a--PENSIONER! We put the question to every honest-hearted Englishman, what force would have dared to oppose the queen's entry into the Abbey, if she had been properly surrounded and attended by her legal advisers and friends? Had such been the case, the ”accomplished gentleman” would have met his injured, basely-treated wife, whose gaze must have brought a blush upon his guilty cheek. Such an unexpected visit had been contrary to his royally-fixed determination, as he then _would_ have ”met her in public.”
The English character has ever been proverbial for morality, gallantry, justice, and humanity; though we cannot help thinking it suffered a little degradation when the queen was refused admittance to the scene of her husband's coronation. This, indeed, is a blot upon the annals of our country, which the stream of time will never be able to wash away.
History cannot forget the conduct of the sovereign in this instance, who, when about to enter into a solemn compact with his people, and while calling THE OMNIPOTENT G.o.d to witness his faith and sincerity, ”that he will most truly deal out justice, and love mercy, in his kingly station,” at the same moment _refused_ BOTH to his own wife! Let not such vindictive and disgraceful conduct be forgotten, when the _taste_ and _elegant manners_ of George the Fourth are extolled!
Amongst the gay throng of fawning courtiers that attended this ceremony was the Marquis of Londonderry, whose glittering appendages and costly array were of an unusual quality. Yet, gorgeous as was the sight, the absence of the queen rendered the coronation pomp an uninteresting scene of solemn mockery in its character, and an insulting imposition to the nation, who, while hearing the royal engagements made to them, nationally and individually, saw the first law of nature inverted by the very personage for whom this ”mighty show” was designed. But are we not justified in supposing that George the Fourth possessed but a weak understanding, a frail heart, and strong prejudices, and that his judgment was perverted by bad counsel? Had his majesty been a sensible man, he would have perceived that all the advantages of his rank and station were conferred upon him by his fellow-men, and would not have squandered the national wealth upon unworthy characters. The t.i.tle of king carries no such charm with it as to exempt its possessor from any of those infirmities which are incidental to his species; but he is doomed to drag about with him a frail tenement of clay, sometimes well and sometimes ill shaped, and liable every moment to be dissolved, and reduced to a state of putrefaction, in common with all those who contribute, by their labour, to its support. But how differently did George the Fourth consider his t.i.tle and power at this period of his vanity! He concealed, as much as possible, the defects of his nature from ”vulgar eyes,” by exhibiting himself on a public stage, in borrowed plumes, like the jackdaw in the fable, who astonished his fellow-daws by a.s.suming the gaudy plumage of the peac.o.c.k. Thousands of weak mortals flocked about the royal actor, and expressed such extreme delight at the pageant scene, that we could hardly wonder to find him and his created n.o.bles so inflated with pride as to consider themselves of a superior nature to the rest of mankind, and to believe that those who so much admired their external appendages were born to be their slaves. We deprecate such grovelling servility in the people as much as we pity the pride of the n.o.bles. As well might a worm or a grub, when decorated with the ephemeral wings of a b.u.t.terfly, look contemptuously on the crawling snail!
But a few years before the insult was offered to the queen at the coronation, her brother, the Duke of Brunswick, had fallen in the field of battle, while bravely fighting against Napoleon at Waterloo. Her majesty was now, therefore, bereft of every natural connexion, save her vindictive and cruel husband; and history hardly presents a more trying situation than that in which the persecuted and shamefully-treated Queen of England was placed.
The Duke of Newcastle, who _distinguished_ himself upon the queen's trial, by p.r.o.nouncing judgment against her majesty without hearing the evidence in her favour, was the boroughmonger selected to bear the ”sword of mercy” before the king at the coronation! We ought not, probably, to find fault with the choice of George the Fourth in this instance; as the duke's subsequent acts have proved him so _worthy_ of being the bearer of such an emblem,--to which the people of _Newark_ can fully testify!
Upon her majesty's arrival at Brandenburgh House, after being refused admittance to the coronation, she took a cup of tea, and then retired to her room for nearly four hours. In this interval, the queen resolved to visit Scotland; she wrote to Lord Liverpool upon the subject, and requested his lords.h.i.+p to apprize the king of her intention. This letter was received by his lords.h.i.+p, and answered in the usual strain, ”that he (Lord Liverpool) had laid her majesty's letter before the king, but had not received his majesty's commands thereon.” In the intermediate time, it was announced, the king would visit Ireland; and his majesty left Carlton House at half-past eleven o'clock, on the 31st of July, on his way to Portsmouth for Dublin.
On the 30th of July, the evening previous to the king's departure, her majesty visited the theatre, and was much indisposed, but would not be persuaded to retire before the performance was concluded; indeed, it was the queen's usual line of conduct not to disturb any public a.s.sembly by retiring earlier than was positively needful. Before her majesty went to the theatre, she felt indisposed, but declined remaining at home, for fear of disappointing the people. When her majesty returned from the theatre, she was very sick, and had much pain in her bowels the next day. In the afternoon of this day, Dr. Holland called, apparently by chance, and, on feeling her pulse, said she must have further advice.
She objected, as having most confidence in him, who had travelled with her; but to satisfy his mind, her majesty said he might bring whom he liked. Next day (Wednesday) he brought Dr. Ainslie, who desired to have more a.s.sistance called in; and on Thursday morning, Dr. Warren accompanied the other two, both _king's physicians_, according to _etiquette_, we believe. _Previous to this_, she seemed much surprised herself at her illness, and said to Dr. Holland, ”DO YOU THINK I AM POISONED?” This day she was told, they hoped things would end well; but if she had any papers of consequence, she had better dispose of them, as, in the event of her decease, every thing must go to the king, or the ministers,--we forget which. At this, she astonished them all by her greatness of mind; for her majesty did not betray the slightest agitation, but immediately and coolly answered--”O yes, I understand you; it shall be done.” She sat up almost the whole of that night with her maid Brunette only, burning letters, papers, and MS. books. She then called Hyronemus (her maitre d'hotel) and made him swear to burn every thing she gave, him in the kitchen fire. More letters, papers, and MS.
books were then given him, besides a large folio book, full, or nearly so, of her own writing. It was about two feet long, and five or six inches thick, and bound. This book she always said contained the whole history of her life ever since she came to this country, together with the characters of the different persons she had been intimate with.
Besides papers, she sorted all her little trinkets, wrapped them in separate papers, and wrote herself the names of all her different friends who were to have them, charging Brunette to dispose of them after her death according to the directions; but these presents _never reached their destination_.
From Thursday, her majesty seemed regularly to get worse, and the inquiries after her health by the people at large were equal to the interest she had raised in the country. It was pretty generally said that her majesty's danger arose from a stoppage in the bowels. Various were the remedies prescribed; and, among innumerable others, a bottle of _Croton Oil_, with the following kind letter, was sent to an individual of her majesty's household:
”SIR,
”I am aware that nothing but the great, the very great, danger her majesty is in would excuse this unauthorised intrusion; but, learning from the papers the nature of her majesty's complaint, I have taken the liberty to forward to you, with the view of having it handed to Doctor Maton, or Dr. Warren, a medicine of strong aperient properties, called ”Croton Oil,”
one drop of which is a dose. There is no doubt but it is known to some of her majesty's medical advisers. It is but lately known in this country. It may be proper to observe that Doctor Pemberton has _himself_ taken it. I have given it to more than one person; its operation is quick and safe. Two drops, when made into pills with bread, usually produce alvine evacuations in half or three quarters of an hour. It has struck me that this medicine may be administered with success to her majesty.
At all events, I can have done no harm in taking the liberty to suggest it. Fearful of appearing anxious to make myself obtrusive, I have declined giving my name.
”Your's respectfully, ”A CHEMIST.”
”Some suspicion may, perhaps, be attached to the circ.u.mstance of this letter being anonymous. I can only answer, that Dr.
Warren or Dr. Maton will know the medicine to be what it is represented; if not, the chemist at Hammersmith may be referred to.
”G.o.d SAVE THE QUEEN!”
Both the medicine and the letter were referred to Dr. Pemberton, of Great George-street, Hanover-square, who used to attend her majesty, but had been obliged to give up practice from suffering with the ”tic douloureux.” The poor old man came, though bent double with pain, saw the remedy, and gave it as his decided opinion, ”that, if a pa.s.sage cannot be obtained in any other way, I certainly would try this, which is _sure_ to have EFFECT, as without it her majesty must die; I have, indeed, taken two drops of it myself, therefore the queen might very safely take one.”
When the king's physicians were told Dr. Pemberton's opinion, they still persisted that _they could not take it upon themselves to give her majesty the medicine_!