Volume I Part 4 (1/2)
February 14th, 1820 {p024}
The Cabinet sat till past two o'clock thisrefused several times to order the Queen to be prayed for in the alteration which was y The Ministers wished him to suffer it to be done, but he pere should induce hiht ask hie Head: NAPOLEON IN THE HUNDRED DAYS]
I think Fleury's book[38] al memoir I ever read; it is excessively ritten, and his partiality to Bonaparte has not blinded hi under the same view the immediate causes of his return to France and the situation in which he found himself when seated on the throne This was essentially different from that in which he had been before his abdication; so much so that I do not believe, if he had concluded a peace with the Allies, he could have remained upon the throne Not only his civil poas reduced within very narrow lier the same; men seemed to have lost that reverential submissiveness which caused all his orders to be so blindly and ienerals would have dared to neglect or oppose his orders as Ney did at the battles of the 16th of June It is iht have been the political result in France of the success of Bonaparte's arained the battle of Waterloo He would probably have made peace with the Allies Had he returned to Paris triuht have dissolved the Chambers and re-established the old Imperial Government In such a measure he must have depended upon his ar up in France during his absence, which see repressed The nation, and even the army, appear to have imbibed the principles of freedom; and if upon this occasion Bonaparte was placed on the throne by the force of opinion, he could not have restored the ancient despotis universal dissatisfaction Men seem formerly to have been awed by a conviction of his infallibility, and did not suffer themselves to reason upon the principles of action of a nificence of his exploits and the grandeur of his syste _auditeur_ at the Conseil d'etat who had joined Napoleon at Elba, and afterwards returned with him to France, when he was attached to the I the Hundred Days His memoir of that period is here referred to]
February 20th, 1820 {p025}
The Ministers had resigned last week because the King would not hear reason on the subject of the Princess It is said that he treated Lord Liverpool very coarsely, and ordered hi, they say, asked hi' He replied, 'Sir, I know that I a him as it becomes a loyal subject to do' To the Chancellor he said, 'My Lord, I know your conscience always interferes except where your interest is concerned' The King afterwards sent for Lord Liverpool, who refused at first to go; but afterwards, on thesaid, 'We have both been too hasty' This is probably all false, but it is very true that they offered to resign
[Page Head: THE CATO STREET CONSPIRACY]
February 24th, 1820 {p026}
The plot[39] which has been detected had for its object the destruction of the Cabinet Ministers, and the chief actor in the conspiracy was Arthur Thistlewood I was at Lady Harrowby's last night, and about half-past one o'clock Lord Harrowby ca particulars:--A plot has been in agitation for some time past, of the existence of which, the names and nu their plans, Government has been perfectly well inforn about last Christmas at a Cabinet dinner at Lord Westmoreland's, but for soth Government received information that they were to assemble to the nuware Road, and that they had resolved to execute their purpose last night, when the Cabinet would be at dinner at Lord Harrowby's Dinner was ordered as usual Men had been observed watching the house, both in front and rear, during the whole afternoon It was believed that nine o'clock was the hour fixed upon for the assault to be made The Ministers ere expected at dinner reht o'clock Mr Birnie with twelve constables was despatched to Cato Street to apprehend the conspirators Thirty-five foot guards were ordered to support the police force The constables arrived upon the spot a fewthat the conspirators had received intimation of the discovery of their plot, and were in consequence preparing to escape, they did not wait for the soldiers, but went im sentry, whom they secured They then ascended a narrow staircase which led to the roo were assembled, and burst the door open The first man who entered was shot in the head, but was only wounded; he who folloas stabbed by Thistlewood and killed The conspirators then with their swords put out the lights and attempted to escape By this time the soldiers had arrived Nine men were taken prisoners; Thistlewood and the rest escaped
[39] [The Cato Street Conspiracy]
March 1st, 1820 {p027}
Thistleas taken theafter the affair in Cato Street It was the intention of these men to have fired a rocket from Lord Harrowby's house as soon as they had completed their work of destruction; this was to have been the signal for the rising of their friends An oil shop was to have been set on fire to increase the confusion and collect a ates of Newgate thrown open The heads of the Ministers were to have been cut off and put in a sack which was prepared for that purpose These are great projects, but it does not appear they were ever in force sufficient to put them in execution, and the mob (even if the h very dangerous in creating confusion and ular operation
June 4th, 1820 {p027}
I went to Oatlands on Tuesday The duchess continues very ill; she is not expected to recover The King was at Ascot every day; he generally rode on the course, and the ladies caes One day they all rode He was always cheered by the mob as he went away One day only a man in the crowd called out, 'Where's the Queen?' The Duke of Dorset was at the Cottage, and says it was exceedingly agreeable They kept very early hours
The King always breakfasted with the, her co so fine On Friday she said she was bored with the races and should not go; he accordingly would not go either, and sent word to say he should not be there They stay there till to-land, and Broughaone to ive her, but everybody believes that it is his intention she should cohaainst her connection with the King; but Lord Mount Charles was at the Cottage, and Denison was at the levee and very well received
[Page Head: THE QUEEN'S RETURN]
June 7th, 1820 {p028}
The Queen arrived in London yesterday at seven o'clock I rode as far as Greenwich to ed with an ie to Greenwich Carriages, carts, and horsemen followed, preceded, and surrounded her coach the whole way She was everywhere received with the greatest enthusiasm Women waved pocket handkerchiefs, and men shouted wherever she passed She travelled in an open landau, Alder by her side and Lady Ann Hausted at the vulgarity of Wood in sitting in the place of honour, while the Duke of Hae
The Queen looked exactly as she did before she left England, and seemed neither dispirited nor dismayed As she passed by White's she bowed and sreat in the streets through which she passed Probably people had ceased to expect her, as it was so nated for her arrival It is impossible to conceive the sensation created by this event nobody either blames or approves of her sudden return, but all ask, 'What will be done next? How is it to end?' In the House of Commons there was little said; but the feords which fell from Creevy, Bennett, or Denman seem to threaten most stor in the meantireatest unconcern and talk of the time it will take to pass the Bills to 'settle her business' 'Her business,' as they call it, will in all probability raise such a tempest as they will find it beyond their powers to appease; and for all his Majesty's unconcern the day of her arrival in England may be such an anniversary to hi[40]
[40] [On the day that the Queen landed at Dover a royalcommended to the Lords an enquiry into the conduct of the Queen In the House of Co day, before Lord Castlereagh ha that her return to England was occasioned by the necessity her ene her character]
June 9th, 1820 {p029}
Brougham's speech on Wednesday is said by his friends to have been one of the best that was ever ood and effective The House of Coet rid of the question if possible, for the moment Wilberforce expressed a wish to adjourn the county ly concurred in that wish that Castlereagh was obliged to consent Thes in all parts of the town and pelting those ould not take off their hats as they passed Wood's door Last night Lord Exmouth's house was assaulted and his s broken, when he rushed out armed with sword and pistol and drove away the mob