monarch that they were prepared to shed the last drop of their blood in his defence-in defence of the constitution and of their country; whilst that monarch met them not only to behold their ardour in the glorious cause, but also to evince his own: motives on both sides which seemed mutually appreciated by the thousands whom sex and age had rendered mere, but not uninterested, spectators of the scene.

The various military arrangements on this occasion were made with the utmost punctuality and precision; and the line being formed by signal, His Majesty's approach was announced a little before ten o'clock, with all the pomp and circumstance of military royalty.

The King came in his private carriage inside of the Kensington gate, where he mounted his charger, preceded by the Life Guards, and royal grooms with led horses; attended by all the princes, and followed by the Queen and the two elder princesses, in an open landau, after whom came the other princesses.

As the cavalcade advanced to the line, it was joined by the whole house of Bourbon, with the exception of Louis the Eighteenth, when the royal salutes were fired, and the King passed the lines in the usual military order.

The scene was grand in the extreme, and seemed to have an extraordinary effect upon all. When

the review was over, the two royal families of Brunswick and Bourbon passed along towards Piccadilly gate, in their way to the Queen's Palace, followed by an immense crowd, who were no longer restrained by military arrangement from approaching the royal party. Indeed, the moment that the line was broken, the people ran in all directions to indulge their loyal feelings with a nearer view of their sovereign, filling the air with their shouts, whilst the King himself manifested the deepest sense of their conduct, not only by the satisfaction which was visible in his countenance, but by pulling off his hat, and giving other evident marks of his reciprocal feelings.

It was calculated, that, including the volunteers, and the regular troops who kept the lines, there were not less than two hundred thousand people in the Park, yet not a single accident happened, although the trees, the house-tops, and indeed every position from which curiosity could satisfy itself, were taken possession of. It was, in short, a day which afforded the most glorious sight the metropolis had ever witnessed, without a single circumstance to excite the smallest regret. The troops reviewed were twelve thousand four hundred and

one.

A similar scene took place on Friday, the twentyeighth, when the Westminster, Lambeth, and Southwark corps, were reviewed on the same spot.

To describe that scene would be but a repetition of the former; suffice it to say, that every thing went off with the same loyalty and eclat as on the preceding occasion; both days commencing with thick and heavy fogs, and both days clearing up in a most unprecedented manner, as if to heighten the effect of the splendid exhibition.

In the midst of the preparations for war, the King was not inattentive to the milder arts; and accordingly, in November, he interfered most pointedly in a dispute amongst the members of the Royal Academy, where the president or council appeared to have suspended the treasurer of that body, and were accused of then proceeding to vote away the fund in a manner not sanctioned by the statutes.

The King instantly ordered the matter to be referred to the attorney-general, who agreed precisely in opinion with His Majesty, that the proceedings were illegal; in consequence of which the royal patron, with his own hand, erased the resolutions. On the twenty-first a general meeting of the academy was held, in pursuance of a royal message; and the attorney-general's opinion being declared, together with that of His Majesty, these were both ordered to be recorded in the books of the academy.

As the threatened invasion of this year called forth the active exertions of all, it was natural for the heir-apparent to wish for an ostensible military

appointment equal to his rank, and sufficiently honourable for a man of spirit. Circumstances, indeed, prevented his wishes from being gratified; but to enter into these circumstances would carry us too far from our present subject: it is, however, a duty to record the motives to the long and warm correspondence which ensued, as we do in the note below; though perhaps the best commentary upon

* The first letter of the Prince, written in July, to the prime minister, contained the following manly sentiments :-" Animated by the same spirit which pervaded the nation at large, conscious of the duties which I owed to His Majesty and the country, I seized the earliest opportunity to express my desire. of undertaking the responsibility of a military command: I neither did, nor do, presume on supposed talents as entitling me to such an appointment. I am aware I do not possess the experience of actual warfare: at the same time I cannot regard myself as totally unqualified or deficient in military science, since I have long made the service my particular study. My chief pretensions were founded on a sense of those advantages which my example might produce to the state, by exciting the loyal energies of the nation, and a knowledge of those expec tations which the public had a right to form as to the personal exertions of their princes at a moment like the present. The more elevated my situation, insomuch the efforts of zeal became necessarily greater; and I confess, that if duty had not been so paramount, a reflection on the splendid achievements of my predecessors would have excited in me the spirit of emulation; when, however, in addition to such recollections, the nature of the contest in which we are about to engage was impressed on my consideration, I should indeed have been devoid of every virtuous sentiment, if I felt no reluctance in remaining a pas

the whole affair is to be found in a letter from the late gallant Nelson to a friend, who had sent the

sive spectator of armaments, which have for their object the very existence of the British empire.

"I can never forget that I have solemn obligations imposed on me by my birth, and that I should ever shew myself foremost in contributing to the preservation of the country. The time is arrived when I may prove myself sensible of the duties of my situation, and of evincing my devotion to that sovereign, who by nature, as well as public worth, commands my most affectionate attachment.

"I repeat that I should be sorry to embarrass the government at any time, most particularly at such a crisis. But since no event in my future life could compensate for the misfortune of not participating in the honours and dangers which await the brave men destined to oppose an invading enemy, I cannot forego the earnest renewal of my application.

"All I solicit is, a more ostensible situation than that in which I am at present placed, for situated as I am, as a mere colonel of a regiment, the major-general commanding the brigade, of which such a regiment must form a part, would justly expect and receive the full credit of pre-arrangement, and successful enterprise. I remain, Sir, very sincerely, your's.

After some desultory correspondence, the Prince determined. to address his venerable parent; which letter, with the royal answer, we also insert, on account of their honourable and patriotic sentiments.

"TO THE KING.

"Sir,

"A correspondence has taken place between Mr. Addington and myself on a subject which deeply involves my honour and character. The answer which I have received from that gen