Volume III Part 28 (1/2)

Villiers's narrative of the revolution of La Granja is alluded to in the passage next following]

Septee Head: GEORGE VILLIERS'S DESPATCHES]

Mrs Villiers sent e Villiers's to Pal a narrative of the events which took place at St Ildefonso on the 12th, 13th, and 14th of last month; these he sent to her, because he had not ti can bereat simplicity, extreme clearness, and inimitable liveliness of narration It re the French Revolution; but as these despatches will probably be published, I shall not be at the pains to give an analysis of theeously and prudently the Queen seeies a difficult crisis called forth! How her spirit and self-possession bore up in the er and insult, and how she contrived to preserve her dignity even while co concessions! No roe Villiers's correspondence will so publications that ever appeared, though I shall not live to see it He writes incoy peculiarly his own

Septe about the revolutions at Madrid and Lisbon, because I know nothing besides what has appeared in all the newspapers, and it would be very useless to copy facts from their columns As to private matters, and the exploits or interests of individuals, I only note them as the fancy takes me, and the fancy has not taken me of late I cannot keep a _journal_--that is, a day by daydown to posterity (if ever posterity should have an opportunity of seeing and would take the trouble to read these pages) the _private_ faults and follies of my friends, acquaintance, and associates

To-day we had a Council, the first since Parliaracious Majesty behaved raciously to his confidential servants, whoht to honour The last article on the list was a petition of Ad to be restored to his rank, and when this was read the King, after repeating the usual forranted As Captain Napier was restored, so entleman be, for there was this difference between their cases: Ad, which Admiral Sartorius was not aware of' Lord Minto said, 'I believe, sir, there was not so ines, for Ad which I could not catch, but the King did, for he said, with considerable asperity, 'Unless your Lordshi+p is quite sure of that, Ileave to say that I differ from you and do not believe it to be so, but since you have expressed your belief that it is so, I desire you will furnish me with proofs of it immediately The next time I see you you will be prepared with the proofs of what you say, for unless I see them I shall not believe one word of it' Minto made no reply to this extraordinary sortie, and the rest looked at each other in silence

[Page Head: RUDENESS OF THE KING]

This, however, was nothing compared hat took place at Windsor with the duchess of Kent, of which I heard soust 30th), but never the particulars till last night It is very re has not beeninvited the duchess of Kent to go to Windsor on the 12th of August to celebrate the Queen's birthday (13th), and to stay there over his own birthday, which was to be kept (_privately_) on the 21st (the real day, but falling on Sunday) and _publicly_ the day following She sent word that she wanted to keep her own birthday at Claremont on the 15th (or whatever the day is), took no notice of the Queen's birthday, but said she would go to Windsor on the 20th This put the King in a fury; he made, however, no reply, and on the 20th he was in town to prorogue Parlia desired that they would not wait dinner for hiton Palace to look about it; when he got there he found that the duchess of Kent had appropriated to her own use a suite of apartments, seventeen in number, for which she had applied last year, and which he had refused to let her have This increased his ill-humour, already excessive When he arrived at Windsor and went into the drawing-rooht), where the whole party was assembled, he went up to the Princess Victoria, took hold of both her hands, and expressed his pleasure at seeing her there and his regret at not seeing her oftener He then turned to the duchess and made her a lo, almost immediately after which he said that 'a most unwarrantable liberty had been taken with one of his palaces; that he had just coton, where he found apartments had been taken possession of not only without his consent, but contrary to his commands, and that he neither understood nor would endure conduct so disrespectful to him' This was said loudly, publicly, and in a tone of serious displeasure It was, however, only theof the storm which was to break the next day Adolphus Fitzclarence went into his rooreat exciteh the celebration as called private, there were a hundred people at dinner, either belonging to the Court or frohbourhood The duchess of Kent sat on one side of the King and one of his sisters on the other, the Princess Victoria opposite Adolphus Fitzclarence sat two or three from the duchess, and heard every word of what passed After dinner, by the Queen's desire, 'His Majesty's health, and long life to hi speech, in the course of which he poured forth the following extraordinary and _foudroyante_ tirade:--'I trust in God that er, after which period, in the event of ency would take place I should then have the satisfaction of leaving the royal authority to the personal exercise of that young lady (pointing to the Princess), the heiress presumptive of the Crown, and not in the hands of a person now near me, who is surrounded by evil advisers and who is herself incompetent to act with propriety in the station in which she would be placed I have no hesitation in saying that I have been insulted--grossly and continually insulted--by that person, but I aer a course of behaviour so disrespectful to s I have particularly to co lady has been kept away fro-rooht always to have been present, but I aain I would have her know that I a, and I am determined to make my authority respected, and for the future I shall insist and command that the Princess do upon all occasions appear at my Court, as it is her duty to do' He terminated his speech by an allusion to the Princess and her future reign in a tone of paternal interest and affection, which was excellent in its way

[Page Head: THE KING AND THE ducheSS OF KENT]

This awful philippic (with a great deal et) was uttered with a loud voice and excited manner The Queen looked in deep distress, the Princess burst into tears, and the whole cohast The duchess of Kent said not a word

Immediately after they rose and retired, and a terrible scene ensued; the duchess announced her ie, but a sort of reconciliation was patched up, and she was prevailed upon to stay till the next day The followingsaw Adolphus, he asked hiht the duchess of Kent iven there; that he ought to have sent for her into his closet, and have said all that he felt and thought there, but not at table before a hundred people He replied that he did not care where he said it or before whom, that 'by God he had been insulted by her in a measure that was past all endurance, and he would not stand it any longer'

Nothing can be more unaccountable than the duchess of Kent's behaviour to the King, nothing more reprehensible; but his behaviour to her has always been as injudicious and undignified as possible, and this last sortie was ht to send for her, and signify to her both his displeasure at the past and his coross and public insult offered to her at his own table, sitting by his side and in the presence of her daughter, ade frouest, and to the last degree unbeco the station they both of them fill He has never had the firmness and decision of character a due display of which would have obviated the necessity of such bickerings, and his passion leads him to these indecent exhibitions, which have not the effect of correcting, and cannot fail to have that of exasperating her, and rendering their reeable

November 7th, 1836 {p369}

An interval of above six weeks I went to Newmarket on the 3rd of October, returned to town for a Council on Wednesday in the first October week; after the first OctoberI went to Buckenham, after the second to Euston, and after the third came to town At Buckenhaain the particulars of the scene with the duchess of Kent, which did not differ materially from what I have put down He added one ite the Queen was not ready for dinner, and when dinner was announced and he aiting he asked, 'Where's the Queen?' They told hi for the duchess of Kent, when he said, loud enough for everybody to hear, 'That wo here, received him very coldly at Windsor, had no conversation with him on business, and on one occasion exhibited a rudeness even to brutality It seems he hates water-drinkers; God knohy One day at dinner Leopold called for water, when the King asked, 'What's that you are drinking, sir?' 'Water, sir' 'God da; 'why don't you drink wine? I never allow anybody to drink water at my table'

Leopold only dined there, and went away in the evening All this is verythis period I have heard little or nothing, except that while the Conservatives are feasting and spouting in all parts of the country, and rallying their forces, there is a split a their opponents, an event which was inevitable, considering the different shades of opinion prevailing ah they hope to reconcile all their differences by the time Parliament meets, which they will probably do, in order to baffle their co that these differences should arise ast them I wish I could see a party formed upon really Conservative principles, determined to maintain the Constitution and steer clear of Tory nonsense and bigotry; but this I doubt to be practicable

Novee Head: PRINCE ESTERHAZY'S CONVERSATION]

I dined on Sunday with Cunningha conversation He talked a great deal about the state of Europe, of the bickerings between Palmerston and Louis Philippe on the Spanish question, between England and Russia in the East, and of the position of Austria in the th with the Eue and with Louis Philippe at Paris, both having talked in the ht successfully) to bring Pal, and to effect some sort of cons have the same desire to avoid war, and Louis Philippe told hiuerre impossible,' that no Power could be sothe power and ambition of Russia within reasonable bounds, and that the Ee, as he believed with sincerity; that our prejudices against Russia were unreasonably violent, and they arose in so opportunities slip out of our hands, and throwing advantages and influence into those of Russia, which ere now angry that she availed herself of; but that if we continued to act frankly and firmly in conjunction with Austria and France (France and Austria being perfectly agreed) we should have nothing to fear from Russia They (the northern Powers) were content that we should exercise an especial influence in the Peninsula; they were aware that these questions were the peculiar concern and interest of France and England, and they did not want to interfere But for the escape of Don Carlos, which altered the aspect of affairs in Spain, and soht easily have been adjusted, the Spanish question would have been settled anised by the time past the affairs of Europe had been extensively influenced by personal feelings and individual interests and passions, greatly so on Pal the e been sofriendshi+ps and connections The Emperor told Esterhazy that it was impossible for him to leave Lieven there, that he was not represented by hiht to be, that they in some respects fell short of, and in others went beyond, the line which their duty and his interests demanded He said that the Emperor Nicholas was a very remarkable man--absolute master, his own Minister, and under no other influence whatever--that his perceptions were just and his ideas reh his vieere not very extensive, and the circle within which these ideas ranged was li a particle of influence; his Ministers and Ambassadors were clerks; and while his ease and affability to foreigners (to hi, he treated his Russians with a loftiness that could not be conceived, and one and all tre huue he on a sudden set off and travelled with a any notice to anybody

His object was to visit the Dowager Ehted at Tatischef's (his Ambassador's), where, as soon as his arrival was known, the Russian ladies ere at Vienna full-dressed themselves and hurried off to pay their _devoirs_ They were met in all their diamonds and feathers on the staircase by Benkendorf, who said, 'Allez-vous en bien vite; l'Empereur ne veut pas voir une seule de vous,' and they were obliged to bustle back with asprevailed between the French and Austrian Governments, and the latter is cordially allied with Louis Philippe, there is some sourness and disappointe hich the Duke of Orleans went to Vienna Esterhazy said that it had failed in great h an iiven universal satisfaction, but there were great prejudices to surmount, and the recollection of Marie Antoinette and Marie Louise He thought the advantages of the match were overrated at Paris, but they were so anxious for it there that the disappointht still be brought about These are the few fragments I have retained from the talk we had

Novee Head: GLOOMY PROSPECTS]