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ribald and licentious publications , which , instead of writhi" in tlie interest of the King , or the Grenvffles liirnislied the people with squibs and lampoons upon the objects of popular dislike . Independent Whigs , and Cobbettite publications , " now circulating ? most extensively , " appear , in Mr . 1 < remantle ' s eyes , " dangerous , much beyond any tlimg 1 can describe . I have , " he writes , " an opportunity of seeing them , and can speak , therefore , from knowledge ; and the Government taking no steps ( Toiowing , perhaps , they cannot depend on a jury ) to prosecute . " Though , by the way , we read pretty often of " informations , " ami the incarceration of unfortunate editors ; but of course not often
enough for . Mr . Fremantle . It is somewhat inconsistent with the contempt for the press , exhibited by the Marquis ' s correspondents , to find them occasionally inquiring whether he had " pro ^ cured any clue which may enable us to patronise a newspaper ; " but the editor of these volumes acknowledges that there were exceptions—Theodore Hook , for " instance , who , the Duke tells us , "in the columns of the John Bull ,, made the respectable portion of the Queenites ¦ heartily ashamed of their cause . " Even the King's . retirement was invaded by this pest , and ¦ his Majesty ' s temper ruffled , as appears by the following . letter , which , will serve as a specimen of royal grammar : —
"THE KING TO LORD ELDON . "Brighton , Jan . 9 , 1821 "Mr DEAR LoKD , * "As the Courts of Law will now open within a few days , I am desirous to know the decision that lias been taken by the Attorney-General upon the mode in which all the vendors of treason , and libellers , such as Benbow , &p . &c ., are to be prosecuted . This is a measure , so vitally indispensable to . my feelings , as well as to the country , that I must insist tliat . no further loss of time should be suffered to elapse before proceedings be instituted . It is clear beyond dispute , from the improvement of the public mind , and 4 : he
loyalty which the country is now everywhere displaying , if properly cultivated and turned to the best advantage by Ministers , that the Government will thereby be enabled to repair , to the country and to me , those evils of the magnitude of whichthere can be but one oi ) inion . This I write to you in your double capacity as a friend and a Minister ; -and-I wish , under the same feelings to Lord Sidnumfii , that you would communicate my opinions and determination to him . ¦ . "Always , my dear Lord , " Very sincerely yours , ' G . R "
The position of the Marquis of Buckingham and his friends at this time appears to have been peculiar , though not difficult to understand . They . were neither of the Liverpool Government , nor of the Opposition . One of their number peevishly , but not inaptly , describes their position towards the ministry , as that of " hackney coaches bound to remain on the stand , whatever the weather may be , till they shall make up their -minds to call iW A deep horror of Lord Grey's party of Kefonners kept them from opposing the G-o vernmont heartily : — " The . manner ( says Lord Grenville ) in winch the Opposition have of late years ,-moat unfortunately
for themselves and for tlie country , been drawn on to mix themselves up with projects of reform , and with tho countenance and defence of reformers of the wildest description , scums to me , I regret to say , to throw the balance at this time wholly on tho sido of their opponents . " Mr . Thoinns GrenviHo nervously suggests that ilio Government may " court popularity among the lower ranks by measures , under the ppccioua name ofreform , which might irrecoverably ruin the constitution of the country before they could bo displaced ;" and Mr . Froinantlo becomes occasionally ^ " lowspirited " about the nspecfc ofaflairn , declaring that " one cannot calculate on anything ol . se
butsubversion of ajl government and authority , if this is to go on ; and . how it is to end no one can foresee . Mr , Ifrcinantlo , however , finds consolation in the power for mischief of tlie ( jkenvijlo . coterie . "AH your members ( ho writes tho Marquis ) wore present yesterday , and if we had voted ii ^ nniHt tins Government , only hoc howwowuuld liuvouiiri ' iniNhod theirnumbers . " Poor Lord Liverpool lbund it impossible to keep head against Whigs and Kadicalu ¦ without tho Grenvilles . lie throw thorn a Garter , then a Dukedom , then places and einbawHios ; and eo helped to stave oil ' ruin till he died . A ' nnd tho dryot « details of political mnncanvroa * wo have occasional glimpse * ot the King , which ai'o curious . For all tho troubles of the beginning oi Ws reign ho appears to have had but oiio
cureretirement in " The Cottage , " and his favorite Lady Conyno-ham—sometimes in bed all day with the gout , sometimes angling in the lake , not half so anxious about " the nation" and the Constitution as Mr . Thomas Fremantle , or Mr . Croker , who saw the country rapidly " going to the devil . " When the Kino- -drove about , dragoons were-posted on the rb'aefs to warn the people away . Mr . Fremantle laments that , when in town , his Majesty " never shows himself , " adds " he has never been out of Carlton House . Lady Conyngham goes to him of an evening , and he has had his usual dinners of Sir Carnaby Haggerston , Forester and two or three of this description . His language is only about the coronation and Lady C . - . very little of the . state of the country . " At the coronation—to which the ot
Queen was refused admission , on the ground improprieties of conduct—Lady Conyng ham was accommodated with a " private box , " The correspondents of the Marquis are' loud in complaint of her folly and rapacity . " -Mr . ' Fremantle , writing upon ministerial prospects , thus speaks of the lady ' s influence over her royal lover : — " " The more I hear and see of the matter , the more convinced I am that the whole thing hangs on a . thread ; that if the King dared turn them out lie would ; that is , he would submit to the influence of Lady C . in so doing ; but I don't know that if it were not but for this influence he would be so disposed . not to
That the . ; Cabinet knowing this are cautious give him any good ground , and not to e xasperate him at the present moment . You cannot imagine the state of irritation in which the Duke was this morning * and I think not a * little of . it arose from the result of an interview which Lord Anglesea had with the King yesterday , for he said to me , among other things— ' You have no idea the mischief that is done to us by person who have an opportunity of seeing and conversing with the King . Lord Anglesea saw him yesterday , arid this has interfered already in our proposed milii ary reductions / Afterwards he said ^ T- ' There are not less than five Pagets named for situations at the coronation . ' I give you all
this to show the tone and temper . "I told'him , when he was talking over the state of the House of Commons , that I thought if he could iii the arrangement secure the most efficient of the present members of Government , together with your squadron Canning and Peel , such a Government might defy not only the Opposition , but all the folly , or indiscretion , or passion of the-King ; to which he said , f It is the only Government that ought to be formed . ' and abuse of
Nothing could exceed his indignation Lady C . He said the situation in wliich she was now placed was one she had be en seeking for twenty years ; that her whole object was patronage and patronage alone ; that she mingled in everything she could , and it was entirely owing to the necessary interference of the Government on one or two points , and the offence given by Lady Castlereagh in not inviting her , that her present animosity to the Government proceeded , and the consequent difficul-¦
ties with the King . A slight revival of the King ' s popularity took place after the excitement of the Queen ' s trial had subsided ; and his visit to Dublin in 1821 appears to have been considered a hit , notwithstanding that rebellion followed very hard upon the royal departure . There are some amusing notes of the visit among the letters . In Sir William Kingston ' s memoirs is a letter from the King , describing the storm in crossing the Channel , in which ^ the royal yacht hail nearly foundered ; but his Majesty must have forgotten some of the particulars of the voyage , which Mr , Fremantle thus supplies : — " X don't know whether you hav . e heard any of the details from Ireland , but' tlie conduct of the Irish is
beyond all conception of loyalty and adulation , and I fear will serve to strengthen those feelings of selfwill and personal authority which are at all times uppermost in The Mind . Tho passage to Dublin was occupied in eating goosc-pio and drinking whiskey , in which his Majesty pui'took most abundant ly , singing many joyous songs , and being in a state , on his arrival , to double in sight evoii tho numbers of his gracious subjects assembled on tlie pier to roeilve him . Tho fact was , that they wore in tho last stage of intoxication . However , they got him to tho Park . Lady C has boon almost constantly at ( ho Phoanix Park , but has not appeared much in public . "
Later , Mr . IJYciuantlo uddri : — "I ncvor in jny life hoard of anything equal to tho K ' s infatuation and conduct towards Lady C- . Sh ' o lived exclusively with him during tho whole time ho was in Ireland , at thoPhcwnlx Park . When ho went to Slano , sho roooivod him dressed out as for a drawing room . Ho saluted hor , and thoy then retired alono to her apartments . A yacht Is left to bring her yvor , and she and tho wholo family
go Hanover . I . are outrageously jealous of her , and , though courting her to the greatest , degree , are aloud in their indignation at Lord C—— . This is just like them . " The Marquis ' s diligent correspondent furnishes another anecdote of this journey worth quoting : — " The King-. in his journey home , overtook Lord and Lady Hat-court ( now the bosom friends of Lady C— ) , stopped them , got out of his carriage , and sat with them for a quarter of an hour in the public road , recounting-allhis perilous adventures at sea , and flattering reception in Ireland . Lady Harcourt told me his jrious acknoioledgmeni for his great escape oi being shipwrecked was quite edifying , and the yery great change in his moral habits and religious feelings ¦ was quite astonishing , and a'l owing to Lady Ct— »' How the King next wciit to Scotland—how th < first Scotchman that came in the drizzling rair aboard the Royal Yacht to present him witl St . Andrew ' s Cross in silver , from the ladies o " Auld Reekie , " was the illustrious , though , it rnusi be confessed , somewhat obsequious aiithor o : " Waverley "—how the King invites Sir Walter tc a bumper of whiskey , which having done , the lattei requested " permission to keep the glass , " anc placed it carefully in the . tail of his coat—and hov Sir Walter , going home , found the poet Crabbc there , and in welcoming him forgot the precious relic , till sitting down he c rushed it to atoms , " noi without inflicting on himself a severe sci-atch , " is subsequently narrated by the noble editor , " aswel as how the gouty King appeared in the Highlanc costume , and was disgusted at the presence of the fat and vulgar Lord Mayor in exactly the same attire . "There are some other traits of Sir Walter Scott , which are not very pleasing . Amono' other interesting documents in the volumes Is the following letter from the Duke oJ Wellinoton to the Duke of Buckingham , explainino- his famous duel with the Earl of Winchelsea , for attributing to him " insidious designs" in acceding to the Catholic Relief Bill : — " THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON TO THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM . " London , April 21 sVIS 9 . "My Dear Duke , . "I iiin very much obliged to you for your letter of the 6 th , which I received tlvis morning . " The truth is that the duel with Lord Winchelsea was-rs much part of the Roman Catholic , question , and it was as necessary to undertake it , and carry it out to the extremity to which . I did carry it , as it was to do everything else which I did do to attain the object I had in view . " I was living here for sometime in an . atmosphere of calumny . I could do nothing that was not misrepresented as having some bad purpose in view . If my physician called upon me , it was for treasonable purposes . If I said a word , whether in Parliament or elsowhere , it was misrepresented for the purpose of fixing upon me some gross delusion or falsehood . Even my conversations with the King were repeated , misrepresented and commented upon ; and all for the purpose of shaking the credit , which the Parliament were inclined to give to what I said . " The courts of justice wore shut , and not to open till May . I know that tho BUI must pass , or be lost , before the 15 th of April . In this state of things Lord Wineholsoa published his furious letter , I hnniediutelyperccived the advantage it gave mo , and I determined to act upon it in such a tone as would certainly put mo in the right . Not only I was successful in the execution of my project , but tho project itself produced the offect which L lookod for , and intended that it should produce . The atmosphere of calumny in which I had been for some time living cleared away . Tho system of calumny was discontinued . Men were ashamed of repeating what had been told to them ; ami X have reason to believe , moreover ., that intentions not short of criminal were given iip in consequence of remonstrances lroni some of tho most prudent of tlie party , who came forward in consequence of tlio duel . I am nfVnkl time the event itself shocked nuiny good men ; buf I . ' »'> certain that the public interests at the moment required that I should do what I did . "Everything is now quiet , and in Ireland we have full reason to be sntia / icd . \ Yu must , however , lose no time in doing everything < - ' 1 < H ! tImli 1 S PussIUlo topromote tho prosperity of that country . Holievu me , my dour JJuko , ' Ever yuui'S moat sincerely , " WjCI / UXUTON . " Tho reign oi tho good King George was now rimlillv ( Iran-ing to a clone . JL ' yonlu talked but latoly of a new wife ( or him , and oven oi' a now niittlrosisi , in the portion of " Lady L—— ; ' but his health grow worne and worwo , and ho uncut much , of his timo in bed , and liucumo , with IiIh increased rotundity and " tallowy jtiioo , " so much Ium charm ?
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to hear the Irish v « k February 26 , 1859 . 1 THE LEADER . 267 I tI \ j ; # . tlvVJ ¦ *^^ " ^^ v ^ *"" . _ j ¦ ¦ . ' ^*^ - —* . < ¦ i - nil ' . _ i ¦ ' u ~" u -nut . —i—— - i ,, , ' n ^ , I- ¦ 'ir "' TP' " ^—¦—nr ^ + ^ f * *^ * "' ¦* ''' * i * ir i ¦»¦¦ - ' »» ' ¦ m " *^* T ~ Ttr ^ m * - ~ i % Mr ^ WBnT ^^ T ^ rw ^^ B $
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 26, 1859, page 267, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2283/page/11/
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