seriously thought of having recourse to the laws of honour for the adjustment of their differences ! Their seconds were chosen, and the place of meeting appointed; but their ministers at last succeeded in diverting their attention from the ridiculous design. The prince of Wales was married, in 1736, to the princess of Saxe-Gotha; but soon afterwards a serious misunderstanding arose betwixt the prince and his royal father, of which various accounts have been given. To such a length, however, did they carry their rupture, that the heir-apparent completely identified himself with the opposition, and held a court of his own at Norfolk-house; while the king issued an order forbidding all those, who visited the court of the prince and princess, from presenting themselves at any of the royal palaces.

The death of Queen Caroline, on the 20th of November, 1737, was a severe blow to the king, who, strange to say, notwithstanding his illicit attachments, always kept on excellent terms with his wife. It is a fact, however incredible it may appear, that George II. never gave his confidence to any of his mistresses, but reserved that entire for his wife, who, much his superior in mental powers, really proved a most judicious and forbearing adviser. Sir Robert Walpole asserts that the king loved the queen's little finger better than Lady Suffolk's whole body. We are at a loss to understand the exact nature of the love which subsisted betwixt the royal consorts; but must receive the unanimous testimony of their court, that they kept on excellent terms with each other, and that the king often and deeply lamented the loss he had sustained in her majesty's death. The manner in which she led the feebler intellect, but obstinate nature of the king, is thus ex plained by Walpole. She always affected much ignorance of stateaffairs, and spoke of herself as quite unfit to aid her consort in the weighty concerns of government. Even when the premier presented himself on business which had been previously settled between him and the king, she would rise and offer to retire, when the king, delighted with these appearances of modesty and humility, would exclaim to the conscious minister, "Ha! ha! You see how much I am governed by my wife, as they say I am! Ha! ha! It is a fine thing to be governed by one's wife." She had the good sense to see and acknowledge her errors, without manifesting any dislike to those who pointed them out to her, and even to overlook personal affronts when an adequate object was to be gained by her forbearance. Thus, although it was reported to her, that when Walpole, during the differences between George I. and his wife, formed a scheme for upsetting the existing ministry, and bringing the prince's party into power, he objected to the particulars of the plan being communicated to the prince, "because," said he, "the fat his wife, would betray our secret, and ruin all," she at once overlooked the affront when she became sensible that it was in Sir Robert's power to procure her a higher jointure than was at first proposed. "Tell Sir Robert," said she to the party who conveyed his overtures to her, "that the fat has forgiven him."

She once wished to shut up St James's park, and asked Walpole what it would cost to do it: "Only a crown, madam," was the minister's reply; the queen instantly thanked him for the honesty and bluntness

of his advice.

The queen's death was perhaps more truly regretted by Walpole

himself than by the king. The Spanish war was most reluctantly entered into by the minister, but he was no longer able to make a stand against the clamours of the populace, aided by the propensities of the king himself for military enterprise. The miscarriage of Admirals Vernon and Norris, in their different naval operations against Spain, drove Sir Robert from the political helm; but, with the full consent of the king, an army of 16,000 men was soon after sent to Flanders, to take part in the quarrels that were then beginning to break out on the continent. France, in despite of the Pragmatic sanction, to which that power had been a party, and by which the emperor Charles the Second's dominions were settled upon his daughter, Maria Theresa, espoused the cause of the elector of Bavaria. Assailed at once by France, Saxony, Bavaria, and Prussia, the young queen of Hungary was about to be stripped of her inheritance, when Britain interfered on her behalf, and was followed by Sardinia, Holland, and Russia. The king partook of his father's fondness for his Hanoverian dominions, and the only plausible pretext which could be offered for the interference of Britain was, that the security of the electorate depended upon nicely balancing the different interests of the empire. This plea, however, in the present humour of the nation and the king, sufficed; and a British and Hanoverian army, commanded by the earl of Stair, marched to operate a diversion, on the side of France, in favour of the queen of Hungary. The French, in order to prevent the junction of this force with the Austrian army under Prince Charles, assembled an army of 60,000 men upon the Maine, under the command of Marshal de Noailles. Stair suffered himself to be nearly surrounded by this force, near the village of Dettingen; and had the French been less precipitate in their movements, the whole British force, with the king himself, who had by this time arrived in the camp, must have been taken prisoners. The king behaved with great courage, if not with eminent prudence or skill, in this engagement; but his interference with the functions of commander-in-chief so disgusted the earl of Stair, that he resigned his command, which was conferred upon Prince William of Cumberland, whose fortunes we shall have another opportunity of relating. His majesty, notwithstanding the want of success of the army in Flanders, appears to have been highly gratified with his own share in the campaign. An ode, in honour chiefly of the battle of Dettingen, was set to music, and frequently performed in the great council-chamber at St James's, before the king and court. His majesty, on these occasions, always appeared in the dress which he had worn when serving under Marlborough, at the battle of Oudenarde. In this suit, which had became rather obsolete, did the king strut about the circle, to his own great satisfaction, and the great amusement of his court.

The lustre of the British arms was suffering under the defeat of Fontenoy, when it was somewhat restored by our naval operations under Rowley and Warren, and the capture of Louisbourg; but the movements of the Jacobites for a time excluded every other object from the public mind. The history of the domestic rebellion of 1745 will be found detailed in our sketch of the chevalier, Prince Edward.

A more inglorious period of our annals is scarce to be found, than from the fall of Lord Granville to the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. Defeat attended our arms abroad; rebellion raged at home; the govern

ment acted without concert and without energy; the king, still led by the dismissed minister, mistrusted and thwarted his new council; while the ministers themselves neglected the affairs of the nation for the pursuit of their own personal objects. At last they resigned in a body, on February, 1746, and only resumed their appointments on Pitt, whom the king detested, being raised to office. Pitt found it rather a difficult task to maintain his footing in the cabinet. Glover says that Mrs Waller told him, that she stood near the king when he first received Pitt as his councillor, and saw him shed tears on the occasion. He had likewise conceived a very early antipathy to Pitt's coadjutor, the duke of Newcastle. On one occasion he said to a confidant: "You see I am compelled to take the duke of Newcastle as my minister, though he is not fit to be chamberlain in the smallest court of Germany."

Frederick, prince of Wales, died in 1751. He had passed the greatest part of his life in opposition to his father's government; but the princess-dowager, his widow, with great judgment and discretion, threw herself and family without reserve into the hands of the king, who received her advances with tenderness and affection. "He patronised the act by which she was appointed regent in case of a minority; and, what was of greater importance, he suffered the heir-apparent to remain under her sole direction. For, though preceptors and governors were chosen by the king, or rather by his ministers, they had only the shadow of authority; and the two principal, the earl of Harcourt and the bishop of Norwich, were soon disgraced, because they attempted to form an interest independent of the mother, and presumed, on some occasions, to have an opinion of their own."'

The fall of Minorca, and still more the lamentable affair of Admiral Byng which followed that event, with the capitulation of the Hanoverian army under the duke of Cumberland, and the consequent loss of the electorate, were events crowded upon each other, and all very inglorious to this country; but under the vigorous administration of William Pitt, these reverses were more than atoned for: France was driven from the East Indies; the battle of Minden restored in some degree the honour of the British arms on the continent; Quebec surrendered to the gallant Wolfe; and the whole of Canada became subject to Britain. We shall have other opportunities of relating these events in detail.

George II. died suddenly on the 25th of October, 1760. The immediate cause of his death was a rupture of the right ventricle of the heart. Lord Waldegrave, who appears to have enjoyed much of the confidence and partiality of his sovereign, and to have returned it with affectionate and zealous service, has drawn the following portrait of his friend and master, which, though perhaps coloured a little by partiality, is probably more deserving of our confidence than the sketches of some other contemporary writers: "The king," says he, writing in 1758, "is in his 75th year; but temperance and an excellent constitution have hitherto preserved him from many of the infirmities of old age. He has a good understanding, though not of the first class; and has a clear insight into men and things, within a certain compass. He is accused by his ministers of being hasty and passionate when any mea

1 Waldegrave.

sure is proposed which he does not approve of; though, within the compass of my own observation, I have known few persons of high rank who could bear contradiction better, provided the intention was apparently good, and the manner decent. When any thing disagreeable passes in the closet, when any of his ministers happen to displease him, it cannot long remain a secret; for his countenance can never dissemble but to those servants who attend his person, and do not disturb him with frequent solicitations, he is ever gracious and affable. Even in the early part of life he was fond of business; at present, it is become almost his only amusement. He has more knowledge of foreign affairs than most of his ministers, and has good general notions of the constitution, strength, and interest of this country: but being past thirty when the Hanover succession took place, and having since experienced the violence of party, the injustice of popular clamour, the corruption of parliaments, and the selfish motives of pretended patriots, it is not surprising that he should have contracted some prejudices in favour of those governments where the royal authority is under less restraint. Yet prudence has so far prevailed over these prejudices, that they have never influenced his conduct. On the contrary, many laws have been enacted in favour of public liberty; and, in the course of a long reign, there has not been a single attempt to extend the prerogative of the crown beyond its proper limits. He has as much personal bravery as any man, though his political courage seems somewhat problematical : however, it is a fault on the right side; for had he always been as firm and undaunted in the closet as he showed himself at Oudenarde and Dettingen, he might not have proved quite so good a king in this limited monarchy. In the drawing-room, he is gracious and polite to the ladies, and remarkably cheerful and familiar with those who are handsome, or with the few of his old acquaintance who were beauties in his younger days. His conversation is very proper for a tête-à-tête : he then talks freely on most subjects, and very much to the purpose; but he cannot discourse with the same ease, nor has he the faculty of laying aside the king in a larger company; not even in those parties of pleasure which are composed of his most intimate acquaintance. His servants are never disturbed with any unnecessary waiting; for he is regular in all his motions to the greatest exactness, except on particular occasions, when he outruns his own orders, and expects those who are to attend him before the time of his appointment. This may easily be accounted for: he has a restless mind, which requires constant exercise; his affairs are not sufficient to fill up the day; his amusements are without variety, and have lost their relish; he becomes fretful and uneasy, merely for want of employment; and presses forward to meet the succeeding hour before it arrives. Too great attention to money seems to be his capital failing; however, he is always just, and sometimes charitable, though seldom generous: but when we consider how rarely the liberality of princes is directed to the proper object, being usually bestowed on a rapacious mistress or an unworthy favourite, want of generosity, though it still continues a blot, ceases, at least, to be a vice of the first magnitude. Upon the whole, he has some qualities of a great prince, many of a good one, none which are essentially bad; and I am thoroughly convinced that hereafter, when time shall have wore away those specks and blemishes which sully the brightest charac

ters, and from which no man is totally exempt, he will be numbered amongst those patriot kings, under whose government the people have enjoyed the greatest happiness."

Many amusing anecdotes are related of George II. When he attended the representation of Richard III.,' although Garrick supported the principal character, the royal fancy was most taken with the man who acted lord-mayor; and during the latter part of the performance, the king exclaimed to one of his attendants, "Will not dat lor-mayor come again? I like dat lor-mayor; when will he come again ?" A ludicrous scene occurred betwixt his majesty and Dr Ward. The doctor was sent for on account of a severe pain which the king had in his thumb, and, while examining the lame member, he suddenly wrenched it with great violence. In the agony of the moment, the king called the doctor a cursed rascal, and condescended to kick his shins. He no sooner, however, found that this rough treatment had actually relieved him, than he became profuse in his expressions of gratitude to his Esculapius, as he now termed him, and presented him with a handsome carriage and horses. Shortly before the king's death, the duchess of Hamilton, formerly the beautiful Miss Gunning, was presented to his majesty on her marriage. The king indulged in a long conversation with her, and, among other questions, asked her what striking public sights she had witnessed: "Oh," said the thoughtless duchess, "I have seen so much, that there is only one other sight in the world which I should wish to behold, and that is a coronation." The king took her hand, and with a sigh exclaimed, "I apprehend you have not long to wait; you will soon have your desire."

Frederick, Prince of Wales.

BORN A. D. 1707.—died a. D. 1751.

FREDERICK LEWIS, eldest son of George II., was born in Hanover, on the 20th of January, 1707. In 1717, he was created duke of Gloucester; in the following year, installed a knight of the garter; and in 1726, became Duke of Edinburgh. He was twenty-two years of age when he first visited Britain, on which occasion he was created earl of Chester. Shortly afterwards, the proposal for his marriage with the princessroyal of Prussia was made by his father. The ludicrous issue of this negotiation has already been detailed. The old duchess of Marlborough next undertook to find the prince a wife; and knowing that he would not be over-careful whom he offended in this matter, and that he was sorely pressed for money, she secretly proposed to him, that he should marry her grand-daughter, Lady Diana Spencer, with a fortune of £100,000. The bait took, and the prince had nearly fallen into the snare laid for him, when Sir Robert Walpole got information of what was going forward, and interfered in time to prevent the illassorted match. In 1736 he was married to the Princess Augusta, daughter of Frederick, duke of Saxe-Gotha.

The prince's education had been sadly neglected. The consequence was, that his habits were profligate, and his manners often rude and violent to an extreme. In some things he acted like a child; in others,