it is as little to be envied is equally true; but perhaps has never been more wittily expressed than about this period, by a young lady of beauty and high fashion, during a conversation which turned upon the subject of splendour and wealth, a subject which, of course, met with many and animated advocates. In the midst of this disquisition the lady observed with much naïvete, that for her part she had no ambitious thoughts, and was perfectly well satisfied with her condition :-" I do not," said she, "even envy majesty itself. Take away the externals, and it remains but a jest." It is no easy task to decide whether His Majesty has been most exemplary as a father or as a husband.* Considered in the character of the latter, *Her Majesty's figure was very pleasing, but her countenance, though not without attraction when she smiled, could not boast any claim to beauty. It is the lot of greatness to provoke enmity, and draw upon itself the shafts of calumny. Her Majesty did not escape this common destiny; but they who were most forward to arraign her conduct were too often those whose own conduct excluded them from her notice and approbation. Fertile as England is, and we hope will continue to be, of females no less illustrious by their virtues, than by their rank and accomplishments, it would be impossible to name one who more faithfully discharged the duties of domestic life than did her late Majesty: and this is the noblest praise that can belong to a Queen of England. The Queen has been frequently charged with economy. This charge, if true, what would it amount to? Economy is always he manifested nothing but tenderness, affection, and indulgence, with a heart susceptible of every considered by spendthrifts as a mean, pitiful quality: but how much inconvenience, how much meanness, how much sacrifice of honour and principle, would they avoid, were they to follow its golden rules! We are aware that this admirable quality may be carried to an excess; but we are by no means aware that Her Majesty did so, unless a predilection for simple enjoyments merits that imputation. : It is an undoubted fact, that Her Majesty distributed large sums of money in the exercise of private charity; but her charity was really private, not ostentatiously performed, that the world might applaud the giver. It was an express injunction, which accompanied every act of benevolence on her part, that it should be kept secret. To each nurse of her children she gave a pension of £200. a-year, as well as to several of their sons. Among the many instances of her character, we may select the following Her Majesty took charge of, and educated the orphan child of an officer who died in the West Indies. The child was brought to England by the serjeant of the regiment. The Queen's notice was attracted by an advertisement in the public papers, from the serjeant. Her Majesty not only educated this child, but caused him to be amply provided for, It is a fact equally known, that the Queen took under her protection the widow of an officer killed at Bunker's-hill, and educated her son. These two facts are mentioned, not as solitary instances of Her Majesty's humane, charitable, and honourable feelings and disposition, but to shew the nature of the application of the large sums of money supposed to have been in her possession, Many a retired and solitary sufferer has been cheered by her munificence, without knowing the hand from which the succour proceeded. From political affairs she kept studiously aloof. The only occasion upon which she departed from this course was one that fully justified the aberration. We allude to the first domestic pleasure. As a father he was severe without being morose, familiar without any relaxation Regency question. The part she then took was equally honourable to her as a sovereign and as a wife. In the former capacity she adhered to the constitution: in the latter she asserted the rights of her husband, when Providence had incapacitated him from defending them himself. Her conduct, as might be expected, created some enemies; but they were enemies only because she would not sacrifice to their feelings of party spirit her own better feelings and unbiased judgment. But in Those who have connected the Queen with the transactions of this reign, and ascribed to her an ascendant influence, have merely betrayed their ignorance of the means by which the political machine is moved. They have also tried to fix upon her the blame of events over which she had no controul. their eager desire to discover imaginary, at least trifling defects, they have overlooked her substantial virtues-the unsullied purity of her private life, and the noble example she afforded to the women of Great Britain. Upon the conduct of that sex mainly rests the edifice of public as well as private morals; and it is but just to trace to the example which has been given from the throne for the last fifty years much of that purity by which the female character is still distinguished in this country. During that time, no woman, however elevated her rank, or powerful her connexions, if her reputation was known to have suffered the slightest taint, was permitted to appear in the presence of Her Majesty. An anecdote is related of the Queen, which forcibly illustrates the lofty principles of moral virtue that always influenced her conduct with regard to the ladies who formed her court. An application was made to Her Majesty to receive a titled female, whose name was not free from taint. The request was immediately refused. "What shall I say to my friend?" answered "Tell her," replied the Queen, "that you the intercessor. of parental authority, and always affectionate, but without that weakness which often makes youth too presuming. Of his personal kindness to his children, the following anecdote will be sufficient proof. Some years ago, many individuals were infected, by the influence of fashion, with a disease, mental only we presume, whimsically called porcelanimania, or the propensity to gather old jugs, teapots, and every other kind of earthenware that bears the stamp of age and ugliness. In one instance this mania turned to a remarkably good did not dare to ask me:" an answer worthy of a Roman matron, and conveying, at the same time, a keen reproof to the lady who had dared to make such a solicitation. When faction raged furiously against the King, not a reproachful word was uttered to the disparagement of the Queen, who, by steering clear of all parties, and preserving a steady deportment in private life, secured universal esteem and admiration. The King cherished for her the fondest affection, and his mother placed in her unbounded confidence. A numerous family blessed the nuptial bed, and cemented the ties of love. The virtues of the Queen expanded with her cares; and in maternal attention, as well as in conjugal attachment, she shone a bright example in an evil age. Her children were not left solely to attendants and tutors. She had them continually under her own inspection; and even in the hours of relaxation from study they were hardly ever out of her sight. She was their first instructor; nor, when they were advancing in their studies under their respective teachers, did the Queen neglect to examine into their progress in learning, or intermit her own prelections, whenever she found an opportunity and occasion for them. account. A late collector of great celebrity hearing that one of His Majesty's amiable daughters had been seized with the malady, thought it a good opportunity to gain her favour by some offerings suited to her particular fancy. With this view he visited all, the blind alleys and courts where such things were likely to be found, and in a little time his stock was considerable. The next step was to communicate a selection to the princess, in doing which there was a little difficulty. The old pieces of china were of course much admired, and when her royal highness was humbly requested to accept them, she felt quite enraptured with the acquisition, though very reluctant to deprive the owner of such valuables. Having thus secured his footing in the good graces of the princess, our virtuoso very wisely followed it up, by adding an article now and then to her collection, always keeping the choicest in reserve for the great object which he had in view. Such repeated attentions did not fail to call forth many acknowledgments, and sincere wishes to return the obligation in some manner or other. To all these expressions of kindness the answer was uniform, that the collector was amply rewarded by the condescension with which he was treated by the illustrious personage. At length, however, a situation, not more than three thousand a-year in value, was about to be vacant, for the possessor, an antiquary also, lay on his death-bed. The time was |