The company present consisted of all the rank and fashion in town, connected with the noble families of Hill and Cecil; and the ceremony was performed by his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Her Majesty received the child from Lady Essex, and the archbishop received it from Her Majesty, who named it Georgina Charlotte Augusta. Their majesties stayed till a late hour, during which, according to etiquette, none of the company could sit down; and then returned with the usual formalities.

The present which His Majesty gave as a memorial on this occasion, was a piece of plate of one hundred and twenty ounces, on which were engraved the names of the infant, sponsors, &c.; and the whole of the entertainment and ceremonials made much noise, at that time, in the fashionable world.

The King, finding that to enrol his numerous sons in the order of the garter, agreeable to the original establishment, must prevent him from conferring that honour to the extent he wished upon the most dignified of the nobility, took occasion, on holding a chapter of investiture on the third of May, to direct the chancellor to read a new statute, by which it was ordained, that in future the order should consist of the sovereign and twenty-five knights, exclusive of the sons of the sovereign,

A few days after this, His Majesty issued his commands for a new uniform for the general officers of the army, in which they appeared for the first time on the birth-day.

A family event took place this year about the month of June, respecting which there was much animadversion at the time; but we shall merely fulfil the duty of faithful biography, by briefly stating the circumstances, which were, that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, finding his affairs embarrassed, applied to His Majesty for assistance; assuring his royal parent, that if any part of his conduct was thought improper, he would, upon its being made known to him, alter the same, and conform to His Majesty's wishes in every thing that was becoming a gentleman.

In consequence of this application, the King instantly ordered a state of the Prince's affairs to be laid before him; which statement was made out, enumerating his debts, and expenses for fitting up Carlton House; the whole amounting to £250,000. The statement was laid before the King, and on the fourth of July, in the evening, Lord Southampton received His Majesty's answer, which was a direct and positive refusual; and no sooner was this delivered to his royal highness, than he instantly took his resolution to retire to a private station.

It is wholly unnecessary now to enter into all the bearings of this question-to blame or to approve

of His Majesty's conduct towards his eldest and favourite son-it is enough to recall to public recollection the very honourable course adopted by his royal highness to prevent the accumulation of fresh debts, and to provide for the discharge of the old ones, which was now put at once inforce by an immediate sale of almost all his horses, and the reduction of his expenditure in all points.

Many most injurious reports were in circulation at this time against His Majesty's fair fame, in regard to some diamonds of immense value presented to him by Mr. Hastings: that is, he was the official presenter, but not the donor as alleged ; for the diamonds had been sent as a present by the Nizam, directed to Mr. Hastings at Calcutta, as a present to the King; but Mr. Hastings having sailed for England previous to their arrival at that city, they were entrusted to the care of a military officer returning home. From him they passed through several hands, in consequence of an extraordinary robbery of his trunks in Bengal, and came at last into the possession of Mr. Blair, brother-in-law to Mr. Hastings, through whom they were transmitted to Lord Sydney, agreeable to the Nizam's original intention.

But as Hastings died poor, we cannot suppose that he would present his own diamonds. Indeed, the whole affair is now too well appreciated to re

quire further elucidation; we shall therefore merely record an anecdote we have seen, which states, that, amongst other attacks on the royal character, a very bold caricature was one day shewn to His Majesty, in which Hastings was represented wheeling the King and the chancellor in a wheelbarrow for sale, and crying, "What a man buys he may sell." The inference of course intended was, that His Majesty and Thurlow had used improper influence; but the King smiled at the caricature, and observed, that although he had been in various kinds of vehicles, this was the first time he had ever rode in a wheelbarrow.

It was on the second of August that, as His Majesty was alighting from his post-chaise at the garden gate of St. James's Palace, a paper was presented to him by a woman of decent appearance. The King graciously stretched out his hand to receive it, and in that instant the woman aimed a blow at his breast with a knife, which she had concealed. Fortunately His Majesty parried the thrust by a sudden movement of his body; and, as the woman was preparing to repeat the blow, one of the yeomen seized her arm, and wrenched the weapon out of her hand. In this abrupt and imminent peril, the only emotions elicited by His Majesty were indicative of an anxious solicitude,-not for his own safety, but for that of the wretched woman who had attempted his life. The very first words he

uttered conveyed an injunction to his attendants not to hurt the poor woman; thus shewing a selfpossession truly honourable, free from all panic, yet alive to all the circumstances of the case.

Proper steps were instantly taken to secure the culprit; and a full and clear investigation of the circumstances took place before the privy council, when the woman was incontestably proved to be a maniac, of the name of Margaret Nicholson; and it was ascertained that for several days previous to this sacrilegious attempt she had presented a petition, replete with the most incoherent and extravagant statements, thereby establishing the fact of her insanity beyond all possibility of doubt. Under these circumstances, the humanity of our laws, and of the administrators of them in the first instance, considered her as a fitter object for a receptacle for lunatics than for a court of justice, and accordingly she was consigned to the care of Bethlehem Hospital, all idea of a trial for high treason being given

up.

That Margaret Nicholson really intended to kill the King has by some been doubted; but it is evident that her actions were sufficient to convince His Majesty of the fact, for when she pretended to offer him the paper, he observed the point of the knife whilst stooping to receive it; and a thrust being made by her at the same instant towards his belly, he drew back, and said, "What does the woman mean ?”