subjects. The former town is now become the refuge of the persecuted
_noblesse_ of a neighbouring state. The former returned to his country
and kingdom, untaught by affliction, and ungrateful to loyalty that
had bled in his service. And it is to be feared, that if the bayonets
of combined despotism restore the latter to their late rank and power,
petty tyranny will revive, and human nature, exhausted in the unequal
struggle for freedom, again lick the feet of her oppressors, in
debility and despair.

'On Wednesday last (_Aug. 29_) Madame (_Duchesse de_) Noailles arrived
at Brighton from France, and was received with the most polite and
cordial hospitality, by his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and
Mrs. Fitzherbert. Her husband being a counter revolutionist, she
found it very unsafe to remain any longer in Paris, or any other part
of France, and sent her child and nurse before her, who took their
passages from Dieppe to Brighton, where they arrived about a week ago.
The lady, herself, had more difficulty in leaving her native land; but
we are far from vouching for the reality of all the sufferings which
are said to have attended her emigration. Travelling in breeches[68]
was no very great distress; but the coil of cable which is said to have
enclosed her for _fourteen hours_, smells not less of the _marvellous_,
than the _tar_. This, in the hands of a novelist, might be spun out to
something _monstrous pathetic_.

'It is also said that the Marchioness de Bouillé (? Beaulé), whose
safety in France might have been no less precarious than that of
the other fair fugitive, hired an open boat at Dieppe, in which she
committed herself to the mercy of the winds and waves; and, after a
very tempestuous passage, arrived safe, on Wednesday last, at Brighton.

'Some Frenchmen, seemingly of distinction, landed last Wednesday
morning, after a very rough passage, in an open boat, at Newhaven; and,
on Friday, went post from this town for the Capital.'

_September 10._--'On Wednesday and Thursday last, no less than _one
hundred and seventy_ French emigrants, mostly priests, were landed
from the packets, and an open boat at Brighton. More are daily
arriving; and, many of them being observed to labour under very
distressed circumstances, we hear a subscription has been opened for
their relief, at Mr. Crawford's library.

'On Friday and Saturday last, near three hundred unfortunate Frenchmen
of the above description were put on shore at Eastbourne, many of whom
were hospitably received by Lord George Cavendish, Lord Bayham, A.
Piggott, Esq^{re}, and many other of the Nobility and Gentry of that
place. They, afterwards, took different routes for the Metropolis.
Many, from the above place and Brighton, came to this town, and such
as could not get places on the stage coach, hired carts for their
conveyance. Five of them, seemingly of a superior order, who brought a
letter of recommendation to a gentleman of this town, have fixed their
abode there.

'Mrs. Fitzherbert, the Duchess de Noailles, and many other ladies of
distinction, were present at the Cricket match, and dined in a marquee
pitched on the ground, for that purpose. The Prince's band of music
attended, and played during the whole time the ladies were at dinner.
In the evening, Mrs. Fitzherbert, the Duchess, Lady Clermont, and Miss
Piggott, walked round the ground, seemingly the better to gratify the
spectators with a sight of the French lady.

'The Duchess de Noailles appears to be 21, or 22 years of age, is very
handsome, and her figure and deportment are remarkably interesting.'

_September 17, 1792._--'Upwards of five hundred unfortunate emigrants
were, last week, landed on our coast, who have had the fury of the
elements to contend with, after escaping that of their barbarous
countrymen. The Brighton packets, heavily laden with them, were driven
by the winds far eastward of their usual track; and, with difficulty,
made Hastings, Pevensey, and Eastbourne. At the former place, on
Wednesday morning, _seventy six_, all ecclesiastics, came on shore;
among whom were the _Bishop of Avranches_, the _Dean of Rouen_, and
several other dignitaries. The Bishop, with great difficulty, escaped
from _Avranches_ with the assistance of one of his Grand Vicars, who,
with one of his domestics, accompanied him to _Rouen_, where they were,
for some days, concealed. The populace, however, having discovered
them, they were, again, obliged to fly. They travelled thence, on foot,
in disguise, to _Dieppe_, at which place they arrived in the night, and
took refuge, for a few hours, at a hotel. Thence, at the time appointed
for the departure of the packet, they ran to the sea side, and, as it
was, providentially for them, high water, they were enabled to put off,
and instantly get out of the reach of the rabble, who, in less than one
minute afterwards, pursued them to the shore, and, with savage fury,
declared that it was their intention to have murdered them on the spot.

'The Bishop and his Grand Vicar were hospitably received at Hastings
by the Rev. Mr. Whitear, who entertained them till Saturday, when they
left that place for London. It is the duty of every Magistrate and
Gentleman to prevent the lower classes in this country from imposing
upon these poor fugitives. We are sorry to learn that, at Hastings,
the _exactions_ of the boatmen, on Wednesday last, were shameful in the
extreme. They refused to bring any of the Frenchmen on shore for less
than four _shillings_ a man; and some even raised their fare to _five
shillings_.--Among _English_ mariners, we thought that such _unjust_
and _unfeeling_ wretches were not to be found.'

A notice of the nuns who took refuge here must close this episode:

_October 29, 1792._--'The Nuns, whose arrival at Brighthelmstone was
mentioned in our last paper, were driven from a convent at _Lisle_.
At the time of their debarkation they had only about thirty pounds in
specie remaining, all the valuables of their convent having been seized
on by the _regenerate_ French. The Prince and Mrs. Fitzherbert paid
them a very long visit at the New Ship Inn; after which, his Royal
Highness set on foot a subscription for their relief, which, in a short
time, amounted to upwards of one hundred pounds.

'The above ladies, on the evening of their arrival, celebrated High
Mass, with great solemnity, in an apartment at their inn.

''Twas remarkable that no two of the above nuns could be prevailed on
to sleep in one bed.'

_October 1, 1792._--'The Prince, we hear, has it in contemplation, to
take down, and entirely rebuild, on a much larger scale, his Marine
Pavilion at Brighthelmstone;' but he did not do it just then, as he was
woefully hard up.

[Illustration: A VOLUPTUARY UNDER THE HORRORS OF DIGESTION.]

Of course, during the year the Prince did not escape the pencil of the
satirist, and there was a print published on May 23, to understand
which it must be premised that formerly, at the opening of Courts of
Assize and Quarter Sessions in England, a proclamation against vice
and immorality was always read. This print is called 'VICES OVERLOOKED
IN THE NEW PROCLAMATION,' in which are depicted the King and Queen as
AVARICE, the Prince as DRUNKENNESS, the Duke of York as GAMBLING, and
the Duke of Clarence and Mrs. Jordan as DEBAUCHERY.

Another, published July 2, is 'A Voluptuary under the Horrors of
Digestion.'

This is an excellent likeness of the Prince, who, with unbuttoned
waistcoat, lolls in an armchair, picking his teeth with a fork. On the
ground are dice, a Newmarket List, Debts of Honour unpaid, and Faro
partnership Account, Self, Archer,[69] Hobart and Co.

In February, 1793, war was declared between France and England, and
volunteers were enrolled for the defence of their country. Camps
were formed at different parts of the coast, and there was one at
Brighton in August of that year. Needless to say that the Prince's
regiment was quartered there, and he himself showed in great force.
A contemporary[70] gives us an account of this camp, written by a
volunteer:

'_Brighton Camp, August 22._--On the Monday, whatever mistakes (if
commanders can make any) had prolonged the order of march from
Waterdown, they were removed, and the line reached Chailey in good
time. With equal glee and regularity, they set off, the next morning,
for Brighton: about four miles before they arrived on their ground,
their regiments were formed in battalions, in which order they
moved, keeping good wheeling distance. The irregularity of the Downs
frequently gave an opportunity of seeing every regiment with a _coup
d'œil_. Numbers of people came out to meet us. The town, with the sea
and the music, and the universal animation around, somewhat dissipated
the fatigue of a long march. Conspicuous among the spectators, was
the Prince of Wales, in the honourable garb of his regiment, looking
both the Soldier and the Prince. We marched by his Royal Highness by
divisions, officers saluting, and then wheeled round the town to our
new ground, which appeared a little Paradise, in comparison.

'The water at our former stations had too much chalybeate in it to be
pleasant. On Chailey common it was good; and, on our arrival here, we
had the luxury of finding it could not be better. This necessary part
of the comforts of life, with the delightful ground we are encamped
upon, a full advantage of the sea breeze, and the lively scene
continually passing and repassing in our front, make us hope we shall
have more opportunities of frequenting the Steine Parade than we had of
visiting Tunbridge Wells. Besides, the Commander in Chief wonderfully
gave us an overslaugh from Wednesday until Monday; on which day we were
out six hours and a half; five of the hours dragged on with the usual
having nothing to do. We then began to form columns and lines. This
intention was by way of drilling in the new system. General Dundas, the
modeller of it, gave his personal assistance; and I could not help
remarking how gracefully and expeditiously he moved his sun burnt hand,
explanatory of his formation of the divisions into battalion. I dare
say, when we have brought his theory to practical perfection, we shall
never be a hair's breadth out. Old officers, who have been accustomed
to fight after the old school, find great fault with many parts of this
celebrated system.'

This camp consisted of about 10,000 men, regulars, militia, and
volunteers, and was situated at Hove, where it continued till October
28. Two new batteries were built, one on the west cliff, which mounted
eight twenty-four pounders, and the other on the east cliff, where were
four guns of the same weight.

The _Annual Register_, August 21, gives the following: 'Last Sunday,
the Rev. Dr. Knox (a gentleman well known in the literary world as the
author of several essays) preached at Brighton church. He took his
text from St. Luke; "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace
and good will towards men!" In enlarging on this subject, he spoke in
very strong terms of the calamities of war, and said that the tinsel
of military parade was but a poor compensation for the innumerable
miseries that were the too sure attendants upon a state of warfare;
that the voice of religion was but little heard amidst the roar of
cannon, the shouts of conquerors, and the splendour of victory. In
another part of his discourse, he said that religion and philosophy
seemed to have but little weight in the councils of the rulers of the
world.

'Several military officers in the church, officiously took upon
themselves to think that the sermon was an attack upon the constitution
of the country, and that it contained improper reflections upon the
profession to which they belonged.

'Last night, Dr. Knox and his family being in one of the boxes at the
theatre, there were, also, several officers in the house. At the end of
the play, a note was handed by the boxkeeper, to Dr. Knox, stating that
it was the desire of several gentlemen then present, that he should
withdraw. The note being without a signature, Dr. Knox took no notice
of it. Several officers then stood up, and insisted on his leaving the
house immediately.

'A scene of much confusion, nearly bordering on personal violence,
ensued. Dr. Knox attempted to speak, but was, absolutely, forcibly
hindered from proceeding; and himself, Mrs. Knox, and two or three of
their little children, were compelled to leave the house, to avoid
_military_ coercion.'

Florizel, commanding his regiment, and playing at soldiers, was in his
element, as the following extracts from the _St. James's Chronicle_
show:

_August 13-15._--'Monday, being the anniversary of the Prince of Wales'
birth, the same was celebrated at Brighton; the morning was ushered in
by the ringing of bells; and, at one o'clock, the guns of the salute
battery were fired. Several of the nobility, who went down to pay their
compliments to the Prince, visited his Royal Highness in the Pavilion,
who gave a very superb entertainment to the officers of his regiment,
etc., in his Marquee. In the evening there was a grand ball in the
Castle, which was numerously attended.'

_September 5-7._--'In the high winds of Wednesday night, the Prince of
Wales's Marquee, in the Camp at Brighton, was blown down; his Royal
Highness, however, suffered nothing; for, except on the nights when he
is Colonel of the Camp, his residence is in the Pavilion. Many of the
officers and men had their tents blown down on the same night.'

This marquee was a very splendid and spacious affair, with a kitchen
and all sorts of conveniences attached. Indeed, Florizel was ever
attentive to his own comfort, _vide_ the following account of his new
travelling-carriage:

_August 22-24._--'The Prince of Wales has just built a long carriage
for travelling--it is so constructed, that, in a few moments, it forms
a neat chamber, with a handsome bed, and every other convenience for
passing the night in it, on the road, or in a camp.'

It is all very nice to have travelling-carriages and marquees, and
whatever one's soul desires, but if the income is a fixed one, albeit
over £70,000 a year, there must be a limit to expenditure. Poor
Florizel was deeply in debt, and one of his best friends, the Earl of
Malmesbury, tells us about it:[71]

'Landed at Dover on Saturday, June 2nd, 1792.... Saw Prince of Wales
early the 4th--he was very well pleased with what I had done at Berlin,
thanked me for it, etc.--Stated his affairs to me as more distressed
than ever--Several executions had been in his house--Lord Rawdon had
saved him from one--that his debts amounted to £370,000. He said he
was trying, through the Chancellor, to prevail on the King to apply to
Parliament to increase his income.

'On the Wednesday following, I was with him by appointment. He repeated
the same again; said that if the King would raise his revenue to
£100,000 a year, he would appropriate £35,000 of it to pay the interest
of his debts, and establish a Sinking fund. That, if this could not be
done, he must break up his establishment, reduce his income to £10,000
a year, and _go abroad_. He _made a merit_ of having given up the turf,
and blamed the Duke of York for remaining on it. He said (which I
well knew before), that his racing stable cost him upwards of £30,000
yearly. He was very anxious, and, as is usual on these occasions,
nervous and agitated. He said (on my asking him the question), that he
did not stand so well with the King, as he did some months ago, but
that he was better than ever with the Queen--that _she_ had advised him
to press the King, through the Chancellor, to propose to Mr. Pitt to
bring an increase of the Prince's income before Parliament, and that,
if this was done, she would use her influence to promote it.

'I strongly recommended his pressing the Queen. He suggested the idea
of going to Mr. Pitt _directly_ through the Chancellor, etc. I doubted
both the consent of the Chancellor to such a step, at the moment he
was going out, and his influence and weight if he did consent to it.
I took the liberty of disapproving his going abroad, on any terms,
and, particularly, under the circumstances he mentioned; said, that
if he should, unfortunately, be reduced to the necessity of lowering
his income to the degree he had mentioned, it would be much better
to live in England, than _out_ of it. That the showing, in England,
that he _could_ reduce his expences, and live economically, would do
him credit, prove him in earnest, and if he kept up to such a plan,
would, in the event, be much more likely to induce the public to take
his situation into consideration, than any attempts through Ministry,
Opposition, or even the Queen herself.

'I saw the Prince again on the 7th June, at Carlton House, as before.
He repeated the same things, and added, that, if he could not obtain
some assurance from the King that he would apply to Parliament in
the next Session of Parliament, before this ended, that he should be
ruined, and _must go abroad_--I, again, combated this idea; but he
appeared to have a wish and some whim about going abroad, I could not
discover.--He talked coldly and unaffectionately about the Duke and
Duchess of York, and very slightingly of the Duke of Clarence.

'Colonel St. Leger called on me on the 8th June. He said the Prince
was more attached to Mrs. Fitzherbert than ever; that he had been
living with Mrs. Crouch[72]; that she (Mrs. Fitzherbert) piqued him by
treating this with ridicule, and coquetted on her side. This hurt his
vanity, and brought him back; and he is, now, more under her influence
than ever.'

And yet he could sacrifice her, in order to get his debts paid, and
himself have a larger income to squander. There was but one way out of
his mess: that he must commit bigamy, and deliberately repudiate his
wife.

On August 24, 1794, the King wrote thus to Pitt from Weymouth:

 'Agreeable to what I mentioned to Mr. Pitt before I came here, I have
 this morning seen the Prince of Wales, who has acquainted me with
 his having broken off all connection with Mrs. Fitzherbert, and his
 desire of entering into a more creditable line of life, by marrying;
 expressing, at the same time, that his wish is that my niece, the
 Princess of Brunswick, may be the person. Undoubtedly she is the
 person who, naturally, must be most agreeable to me. I expressed my
 approbation of the idea, provided his plan was to lead a life that
 would make him appear respectable, and, consequently, render the
 Princess happy. He assured me that he perfectly coincided with me in
 opinion. I then said that till Parliament assembled, no arrangement
 could be taken, except my sounding my sister, that no idea of any
 other marriage may be encouraged.

  'G. R.'

At this time Lady Jersey, a lady of mature age, had great influence
over the Prince, and this probably made his rupture with Mrs.
Fitzherbert the easier. The caricaturist (this time J. Cruikshank), who
always seems to have been as well posted up in any Court scandal as one
of our Society papers, has a picture, August 26, 1794, 'MY GRANDMOTHER,
alias the JERSEY JIG, alias the RIVAL WIDOWS.' Old Lady Jersey, who is
taking snuff, sits on the knee of the Prince, who says:

    'I've kissed & I've prattled with fifty Grand Dames,
      And changed them as oft, do you see;
    But of all the Grand Mammys that dance on the Steine,
      The Widow of Jersey give me.'

Mrs. Fitzherbert, one hand clasping her forehead, and in the other
holding a bond for £6,000 per annum, cries distractedly: 'Was it for
this Paltry Consideration I sacrificed my--my--my--? for this only I
submitted to--to--? Oh! shame for ever on my ruin'd Greatness!!!'

It came very suddenly. Both Mrs. Fitzherbert and the Prince were to
dine with the Duke of Clarence; the lady was there, but Florizel was
not; instead, a letter from him was handed to his wife repudiating her.
Lord Stourton had the story from her own lips. Let him tell it:

'Her first separation from the Prince was preceded by no quarrel, or
even coolness, and came upon her quite unexpectedly. She received,
when sitting down to dinner at the table of William the Fourth, then
Duke of Clarence, the first intimation of the loss of her ascendancy
over the affections of the Prince; having, only the preceding day,
received a note from his Royal Highness, written in his usual strain
of friendship, and speaking of their appointed engagement to dine at
the house of the Duke of Clarence. The Prince's letter was written from
Brighton, where he had met Lady Jersey. From that time she never saw
the Prince, and this interruption of their intimacy was followed by
his marriage with Queen Caroline; brought about, as Mrs. Fitzherbert
conceived, under the twofold influence of the pressure of his debts
on the mind of the Prince, and a wish on the part of Lady Jersey to
enlarge the Royal Establishment, in which she was to have an important
situation.

'Upon her speaking to me of this union (confiding in her own desire
that I should disguise from her nothing that I might conceive to be
of doubtful character as affecting her conduct to the Prince), I told
her I had been informed that some proposals had been made to her
immediately preceding the marriage of the Prince, of which her uncle,
Mr. Errington, had been the channel, offering some terms upon which his
Royal Highness was disposed to give up the match. She told me there
was no truth whatever in the report; that a day or two preceding the
marriage, he had been seen passing rapidly on horseback before her
house at Marble Hill, but that his motive for doing so, was unknown to
her; and that, afterwards, when they were reconciled, she cautiously
abstained from alluding to such topics; as the greatest interruptions
to their happiness, at that period, were his bitter and passionate
regrets and self accusations for his conduct, which she always met by
saying--"We must look to the present and the future, and not think of
the past."

'I ventured, also, to mention another report, that George the Third,
the day before the marriage, had offered to take upon himself the
responsibility of breaking off the match with the Princess of
Brunswick, should the Prince desire it. Of this, too, she told me, she
knew nothing; but added, that it was not improbable, for the King was
a good and religious man. She owned, that she was deeply distressed
and depressed in spirits at this formal abandonment, with all its
consequences, as it affected her reputation in the eyes of the world.

[Illustration: THE RAGE.]

'One of her great friends and advisers, Lady Claremont, supported her
on this trying occasion, and counselled her to rise above her own
feelings, and to open her house to the town of London. She adopted the
advice, much as it cost her to do so; and all the fashionable world,
including all the Royal Dukes, attended her parties. Upon this, as upon
all other occasions, she was principally supported by the Duke of York,
with whom, through life, she was always united in the most friendly
and confidential relations. Indeed, she frequently assured me, that
there was not one of the Royal family who had not acted with kindness
to her. She particularly instanced the Queen; and, as for George the
Third, from the time she set foot in England, till he ceased to reign,
had he been her own father, he could not have acted towards her with
greater tenderness and affection. She had made it her constant rule
to have no secrets of which the Royal Family were not informed by
frequent messages, of which, the Duke of York was, generally, the organ
of communication, and, to that rule, she attributed, at all periods,
much of her own contentment and ease in extricating herself from
embarrassments which would, otherwise, have been insurmountable.'

Compare this paragraph with the ideas of the pictorial satirist on her
abandonment. Take, for instance, 'The Rage,' published November 21,
1794. Here we see Mrs. Fitzherbert, having thrown off her Princess of
Wales's coronet, with clenched fists and dishevelled hair, sparring at
the new Princess of Wales.

Another, which is of the same date, and is called 'Penance for past
Folly,' shows Mrs. Fitzherbert weeping, and on her knees, before a
Roman Catholic priest, who holds a birch rod in his hand.

The newspapers had an early inkling of the state of affairs between
Mrs. Fitzherbert and the Prince, and the following cuttings from the
_Times_ of 1794 do not redound much to the paper's credit, or knowledge:

_July 21._--'A CERTAIN LADY has not been so improvident as the
beauteous harlot in the days of EDWARD. She has, wisely, laid up ample
provision for a rainy day; and, therefore, her approach, unlike to that
of SHORE, is still as likely as ever to make "a little holiday!"'

_July 23._--'We have, hitherto, forborne to mention the report in
circulation for many days past, of the FINAL SEPARATION between a
GENTLEMAN of the most DISTINGUISHED RANK, and a LADY who resides in
_Pall Mall_, until we had an opportunity to ascertain the FACT beyond
all doubt.

'We are now enabled to state from the most undoubted authority, that
a final separation between the parties in question has ACTUALLY TAKEN
PLACE; that the agreements formerly entered into, have been given up
by mutual consent; that a new contract has been signed, by which the
lady is _secured_ in the possession of £4,000 per annum, for her life,
besides retaining her house in Pall Mall, plate, jewels, etc.

'Mrs. FITZHERBERT has no intention of retiring into Switzerland, as has
been reported. She is looking out for a house at, or near, Margate,
where she means to reside for six months, in the society of the Duchess
of CUMBERLAND, Lady E. LUTTRELL, Mrs. CONCANNON,[73] and others of her
old acquaintance.'

_August 5._--'Mrs. FITZHERBERT, we learn, wished to have a title and
£4,000 annuity settled on her, but this was peremptorily refused.'

_August 7._--'Much has been said respecting the jointure settled on
Mrs. FITZHERBERT, in consequence of a late separation; but the precise
fact has never been hitherto stated.--The truth is this:--When the
incumbrances of a certain GREAT PERSONAGE were put in a state of
settlement, two, or three years since, £3,000 a year was allotted out
of his revenues, for Mrs. FITZHERBERT, which has been punctually paid
by Mr. COUTTS, the banker. This sum has been lately settled on the lady
for life; which, with her own private fortune of £1,800 annually, will
make her present income £4,800 a year. Unincumbered as she now is, the
lady will, probably, be a happier woman than she has ever been.'

[Illustration: Decorative motif]

FOOTNOTES:

[68] She was disguised in male attire.

[69] Lady Archer and Mrs. Hobart, both notorious keepers of high-class
faro-tables.

[70] _Gentleman's Magazine_, vol. lxiii., part ii., p. 785.

[71] 'Diaries and Correspondence of James Harris, first Earl of
Malmesbury;' London, 1844, vol. ii., p. 450, etc.

[72] Anna Maria Crouch, actress and famous singer; born 1763, died
1805. Separated from her husband in 1791.

[73] All notorious gamblers and keepers of faro-tables.

[Illustration: Decorative panel]

CHAPTER XIV.

 Another camp at Brighton--The Prince's second marriage--His
 debts--Parliamentary debate thereon--Prince and Princess at
 Brighton--'Moral Epistle from the Pavilion at Brighton to Carlton
 House'--Manners at Brighton, 1796--Description of the town.

Early in the summer of 1794 another encampment took place at Brighton,
about a mile and a half to the west of the town, as it then was. It
consisted of about 7,000 men, and did not break up until the second
week in November. The Prince was at the Pavilion in May, but not much
afterwards. Mrs. Fitzherbert did not go there this year.

The King, in his speech in opening the session of Parliament, on
December 30, 1794, said: 'I have the greatest satisfaction in
announcing to you the happy event of the conclusion of a treaty
for the marriage of my son, the Prince of Wales, with the Princess
Caroline, daughter of the Duke of Brunswick; the constant proofs of
your affection for my person and family persuade me that you will
participate in the sentiments I feel on an occasion so interesting to
my domestic happiness, and that you will enable me to make provision
for such an establishment, as you may think suitable to the rank and
dignity of the Heir apparent to the crown of these kingdoms.'

As soon as possible afterwards the pictorial satirist has (January 24,
1795) THE LOVER'S DREAM.

    'A thousand virtues seem to lackey her,
    Driving far off each thing of sin and guilt.'

    MILTON.

The Prince is represented as asleep in bed, and dreaming of his
coming bride, who is descending from heaven, accompanied by Cupids,
and driving away Bacchus, Fox, the Jews, Mrs. Fitzherbert and fiends,
racehorses, etc.; and by the bedside are the King and Queen, the former
holding a bag labelled £15,000 per annum.

Much Florizel cared for reforming his character; he only wanted to get
clear of debts, and have an increased income; and, not caring how he
obtained this relief, he committed bigamy on April 8, 1795, in order to
obtain the longed-for relief. His debts were, according to a schedule
presented to Parliament, up to April 5, as follows:

  Debts on various securities, and
      bearing interest                  £500,571  19  1
  Amount of tradesmen's bills unpaid      86,745   0  0
  Tradesmen's bills and arrears of
      establishment (from October 10,
      1794, to April 5, 1795)             52,573   5  3
                                        ---------------
                                        £639,890   4  4

On April 27 the King sent a message to his faithful Commons respecting
an establishment for the Prince and Princess of Wales, and in the
last paragraph he says: 'Anxious as his Majesty must necessarily be,
particularly under the present circumstances, to relieve the Prince
of Wales from these difficulties, his Majesty entertains no idea of
proposing to his Parliament to make any provision for this object,
otherwise than by the application of a part of the income which may be
settled on the Prince; but he earnestly recommends it to the House, to
consider of the propriety of thus providing for the gradual discharge
of these incumbrances, by appropriating and securing, for a given
term, the revenues arising from the Duchy of Cornwall, together with a
proportion of the Prince's other annual income; and his Majesty will
be ready and desirous to concur in any provisions which the wisdom of
Parliament may suggest for the purpose of establishing a regular and
punctual order of payment in the Prince's future expenditure, and of
guarding against the possibility of the Prince being again involved in
so painful and embarrassing a situation.'

On May 14 the House went into Committee on the subject. Pitt pointed
out that fifty years previously the Prince's grandfather, as Prince of
Wales, had an annual income of £100,000. 'He, therefore, now proposed,
that the income of his Royal Highness should be £125,000, exclusive
of the Duchy of Cornwall, which was only £25,000 a year more than was
enjoyed 50 years ago. This being the only vote he had to propose, he
should merely state, in the nature of a notice, those regulations
which were intended to be made hereafter. The preparations for the
marriage would be stated at £27,000 for jewels and plate; and £25,000
for finishing Carlton House. The jointure of the Princess of Wales, he
proposed to be £50,000 a year, being no more than had been granted on a
similar occasion.'

The addition to the Prince's income was carried by 241 to 100.

In the course of the debate Pitt proposed that the revenues of the
Duchy of Cornwall and part of the income of £125,000 should be applied
to the payment of the interest of the debts, and to the gradual
discharge of the principal; that the sum so taken should be vested
in the hands of Commissioners. From the income of £125,000 a year
he should propose that £25,000 should be deducted annually for the
payment of the debts at 4 per cent., and that the revenues of the Duchy
of Cornwall should be appropriated as a sinking fund, at compound
interest, to discharge the principal of the debts, which they would do
in twenty-seven years.

Finally, by an Act which received the royal assent on June 27, 1795
(35 Geo. III., c. 129), £60,000 per annum was to be set apart and
vested with Commissioners from the Prince's income, as well as £13,000
per annum from the Duchy of Cornwall, to pay the Prince's debts, a
proceeding which found small favour in Florizel's sight.

Of the wretched marriage nothing need be said. Public appearances were
kept up until the birth of the Princess Charlotte, and the Prince and
his consort visited Brighton together, as we see from the following
extracts from the _Sussex Weekly Advertiser_:

_June 22, 1795._--'Their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of
Wales arrived at Brighton between one and two o'clock on Thursday
morning last. They alighted at the house of Mr. Hamilton, on the
Steine, which is to be made the Royal residence, till the alterations
that are going forward at the Pavilion, can be completed.

'In the evening the whole town was illuminated, in honour of their
Royal Highnesses' arrival; but the effect of the illumination was
greatly lessened by the wetness of the night, as it prevented the lamps
with which the Castle, the Libraries, and other houses were decorated,
from burning.

'The Prince, we are informed, perambulated the town, in his great coat,
to view the different devices.

'Though the untowardness of the weather has, hitherto, obscured
the beauties of Brighton from the Princess of Wales, it has had no
effect whatever on her Royal Highness's spirits; on the contrary, her
cheerfulness and pleasantry strongly bespeak her approbation of the
place.

'The Prince, about noon yesterday, set off for town, but we understand
his Royal Highness signified his intention of returning to Brighton
some time in the course of this day.

'On Wednesday morning, should the weather prove favourable, the Prince
and Princess of Wales intend visiting the Camp, when the whole line
will be drawn up, and fire a Royal salute, on the occasion. After
which, there will be a grand field day.'

_June 29._--'The Prince and Princess of Wales did not visit the Camp,
last Wednesday, as was expected, owing to the absence of his Royal
Highness, who, on that day, went to town, in order to attend the Privy
Council. The whole line was, nevertheless, out, and had a field day.

'On Saturday morning, however, their Royal Highnesses honoured the
Camp with their promised visit, when the whole line was drawn up in
readiness to receive them; after which, the troops marched to Goldstone
Bottom, where they had a very grand field day, and fired a Royal
salute, on the occasion.

'We are glad to hear, from the best authority, that the air of Brighton
proves extremely agreeable to the above illustrious Princess. Since
her arrival at that place, her Royal Highness has enjoyed an excellent
flow of spirits, and has frequently been heard to declare she had
never before experienced so good an appetite. Her Royal Highness has
signified her intention of continuing at Brighton, the whole of the
summer.'

_July 6._--'The Prince and Princess of Wales removed from Mr.
Hamilton's house, on the Steine, to the Royal Pavilion, on Thursday
last.'

They stopped at Brighton till November, and Queen Caroline never again
revisited it, as, after the birth of the Princess Charlotte (January 7,
1796), the royal couple separated for good.

The Prince went to Brighton for the season on July 28, 1796, and
the Pavilion, as it then was, is thus described in a contemporary
pamphlet:[74]

'The Pavilion is built principally of wood; it is a nondescript monster
in building, and appears like a mad house, or a house run mad, as it
has neither beginning, middle, nor end; yet, to acquire this design, a
miserable bricklayer was despatched to Italy, to gather something equal
to the required magnificence, and actually charged two thousand guineas
for his expenses.--There are four pillars in _scagliola_, in a sort of
oven, where the Prince dines; and, when the fire is lighted, the room
is so hot, that the parties are nearly baked and incrusted: the ground
on which it is erected was given to the Prince by the town, for which
he allows them fifty pounds yearly, to purchase grog and tobacco; and
has so far mended their ways, as to make a common sewer to hold the
current filth of the parish.'

The same pamphlet contains 'A Moral Epistle from the Pavilion at
Brighton to Carlton House, London,' which gives an account of the style
of company kept there:

      'When he first nestled here, he was handsome and thin,
    No razor had then mown his stubbleless chin:
    He was sportive and careless, bland, upright and young,
    And I smiled on his feats when he said, or he sung:
    Then youth bore its own pardon, while stumbling o'er ill,
    As the passions o'erthrew what was meant by the will.

      I have seen him inwove with a pestilent crew,
    Who, nine tenths came undone, and the rest to undo!
    When those caitiffs came thund'ring in impudent state,
    And drew up their _tandems_ and _gigs_ at my gate,
    Full of wrath at their daring, I rav'd and I swore,
    Then I let in an Eddy that slamm'd to the door:
    But, alas! it avail'd not--'twas open'd again,
    And the P---- rose, and welcom'd the toad eating train!
    He, urbane, smil'd on all, where 'twas sin to look sad,
    As God's light aids, in common, the good and the bad.
    I tore off Folly's cloak, to exhibit the wrong;
    How I toil'd to advise, but was stunn'd with a song:
    I made signs on my plaster to rally them all,
    But no _Daniel_ was there to decipher the wall.--
    Ah! I know his large heart, and beneficent plan;
    Though he's run from the course, yet HE FEELS LIKE A MAN:
    Though he dissipates seeds of an undeserv'd sorrow,
    And, gaily, puts off half his ills till the morrow,
    His radical nobleness knows no decay;
    He will act, but not cant;--he'll relieve ere he'll pray:
    As Charity's retinue own, while embrac'd,
    IN HIS GIFT HE GIVES TWICE, 'TIS A DEED SO WELL GRAC'D.
      When their mirth grew to madness, and jests met the ear,
    Which Philosophy scorns, and no maiden should hear,
    Convuls'd with disdain, I soon alter'd their note,
    For I shut up the principal valve of my throat;
    Till the smoke, in vast volumes, pour'd into the room,
    And enwrapp'd the loud mob in a horrible gloom,
    More fœtid than Vulcan inhal'd with his breath;
    More thick than e'er pass'd o'er the threshold of Death;
    More choking than Cyclops drank in at their forge;
    More rank than the reptile of Thebes could disgorge:
    As they gasp'd, it rush'd down their intestines, and clogg'd 'em,
    And from _pharynx_ to _rectum_ begrim'd and befogg'd 'em:
    While, hoarsely, they growl'd at the house, and the smother,
    Though, by knowing the cause, they had curs'd one another.
    'Mid their baneful carousals, I've fum'd and I've fretted,
    Till from kitchen to garret, I've croak'd, and I've sweated;
    By pressure, I made my joints crack--I can't bawl--
    And drops, drawn from my heart, ran from every wall:
    But, his H----s, not knowing my woes, or displeasure,
    Renew'd the broad catch, and refill'd every measure;
    While the rascals around him, revil'd the damp mansion,
    And my marrow, scorch'd up by the fire's expansion:
    Which so heated my fibres and bones--I mean wood--
    That a putrescent fever polluted my blood;
    Which settled behind the bed's head of the P----e,
    And I've not had my health, or my ease, ever since;
    Yet I'm sure he would grieve, his politeness is such,
    Had he known that a lady had suffered so much.
    Thus they swill'd and re-swill'd, and repeated their boozings,
    Till their shirts became dy'd with purpureal oozings.
    When the _taster_ sought wine of a primary sort,
    I have cough'd 'neath the bin, and shook all the old port,
    Till 'twas muddy as WILL B----CK'S brains--yet each varlet
    Said 'twas as bright as a ruby, and toasting some harlot,
    Would then smack his lips, in despite of my labour!
    Oh, ye Gods! how I wish'd for a fist and a sabre,
    To cut down the hiccupping roist'rers with glee,
    That is, if their heads could be injur'd by me.
    When WELTJE has cook'd for the half famish'd group,
    How oft have I belch'd pecks of soot in his soup:
    Yet e'en that could not drive them from board, or from bed,
    Though 'twas render'd as black as an Ethiop's head:
    When I've made it as foul as a Scot's ragged tartan,
    The rogues gulp'd it down, and all swore it was Spartan.
    When they've sat near the fire, in knee squeezing rows,
    I have spit out a coal, and demolished their hose:
    All my grates have breath'd sulphur to stifle their powers;
    I'd a watch at my side to beat minutes and hours:
    When I've seen a Blight glide 'twixt the earth and the skies,
    I've coax'd in the demon, and ruin'd their eyes:
    I've edg'd down a poker on legs swell'd with gout,
    Till the miscreant has roar'd like swine stuck in the snout;
    When Lord---- from my windows was making a beck,
    I have hurl'd down my sashes, and wounded his neck;
    Though my rage could but bruise him black, yellow and blue,
    'Twas a hint that might show what the nation should do:
    But each knave all the arts of my anger withstood,
    For the leeches will suck while the body has blood.
    I'd have prophecied much, had I Cerberus' three tongues;
    I would fulminate oaths, but, alas! I've no lungs.
    When they thought 'twas an earthquake that palsied my walls,
    It was I who was shudd'ring to witness their brawls.
    There's no office so dirty but they would fulfil;
    There's no sense of debasement could alter their will:
    When the munching of immature codlings might gripe him,
    They would tear out the leaves of the Psalter to wipe him.
    Yet these summer fed vermin will fly him, if e'er
    His wintery fortunes should leave his trunk bare;
    Then he'll know that but virtue can keep the soul great,
    As they'd make their past meanness the _cause_ of their hate!
    I have dropp'd lumps of lime in their glasses while drinking;
    I've made thieves in the candle to move him to thinking;
    I have clatter'd my casements and chairs to confound 'em;
    I have let in the dews and the blast all around 'em;
    I have elbow'd my timbers 'gainst many a head;
    I have stirr'd up the sewers to stink 'em to bed:
    Yet this mass of antipathy marr'd my own liver,
    And my tears fill'd the gutter like Egypt's deep river.
    --My eyes, my dear Coz, are exhausted with crying;
    So I'll give o'er at present--I'm yours till I'm dying.

    'PAVILION.'

We learn what the society at Brighton was like at this time by the
following excerpt from the _Times_ of July 13, 1796:

'BRIGHTON.--The Prince and Princess of WALES'S arrival has been talked
of much in London; but, as yet, we have no signs of it here. The Duke
and Duchess of MARLBOROUGH pass their time in a very retired manner
indeed. His Grace walked for some time yesterday evening upon the
_Steyne_; the company consisted chiefly of opulent Jews, needy fortune
hunters, broken down Cyprians, fishermen's daughters, and several fat
city dowdies, from the environs of Norton Folgate. Her Grace commands
the play on Friday evening, which will be her _first appearance_ in
public, here, for this season. The Officers of the Blues are the _great
dashers_ of the place; they associate with no one but their own Corps.
The most of them keep their blood horses, their curricles, and their
girls. At one o'clock they appear on the parade, to hear the word of
command given to the Subaltern Guard: afterwards, they toss off their
_goes_ of brandy, dine about five, and come about eight to the Theatre.
_Vivent L'Amour et Bacchus._'

The latter part of this quotation seems to be borne out by the first
of 'TWELVE GOLDEN RULES _for young Gentlemen of Distinction, to be
observed at Brighton for the year 1796_':

'Young and inexperienced officers must confederate with several of
their mess, as young as themselves, and reel into the theatre, during
the performance, in a state of assumed intoxication, and be sure to
disturb the audience in the most important part of the drama, by taking
liberties with any of those Cyprian nymphs who harbour in the green
boxes, and are, unhappily, devoted to insult: by this manœuvre, if
dexterously managed, they will gain three enormous points;--the first
is, the credit of having consumed more wine than their income will
allow; the second is, a disposition for unlimited intrigue; and the
third is, an opportunity of displaying their contempt for good manners,
without any hazard of personal danger.--This behaviour will be totally
out of character if any of the parties have seen service, or arrived at
the years of discretion.

'N.B.--All descendants, or members of the tribes of Israel, must
neither mention lottery tickets, _omnium_, _bonus_, scrip, navy, nor
exchequer bills; they must pay their tradesmen on Saturdays, laugh at
the paschal, eat swine, and shave every day.'

Let us look at Brighton as shown us by a contemporary publication[75]:

'There are two taverns, namely, the Castle, and the Old Ship, where
the richer visitors resort; and, at each of these houses, a weekly
assembly is held, where a master of the ceremonies attends, to arrange
the parties, not according to the scale of morality, but that of
aristocracy. There is a ball every Monday at the Castle, and, on
Thursdays, at the Old Ship; every subscriber pays three shillings and
sixpence, and every non-subscriber, five shillings; for which they
are entitled to a beverage which they call _tea_ and _coffee_.--The
masters of the respective inns receive the profits, except on those
nights appointed for the benefit of the Master of the Ceremonies; to
whom, all who wish to be arranged as people of distinction, subscribe
one guinea--and who would not purchase distinction at so cheap a
rate!--Independently of this vain _douceur_, they must pay most
liberally for their tickets! The card assemblies are on Wednesdays and
Fridays.--There is a hotel, which was intended for a country Hummums,
or grand dormitory; but, in my weak opinion, the establishment is
somewhat inefficient, unless it can be supposed that the tumultuous
equipment of stage coaches, at the dawn of day, is contributory to the
purposes of rest.--There is a theatre, commodious, and, generally,
well directed; the nights of performance are Tuesdays and Wednesdays,
Fridays and Saturdays.--At the lower end of North Street is a sort
of Birmingham Vauxhall, called the _Promenade Grove_; it is a small
inclosure of a paddock, tormented from its native simplicity, befringed
with a few gawky poplars, and decorated with flowers, bowers, zigzag
alleys, a ditch, and a wooden box for the minstrels.--The coast is
like the greater part of its visitors, bold, saucy, intrusive, and
dangerous.--The bathing machines, even for the ladies, have no awning,
or covering, as at Weymouth, Margate, and Scarborough; consequently,
they are all severely inspected by the aid of telescopes, not only as
they confusedly ascend from the sea, but as they kick and sprawl and
flounder about its muddy margin, like so many mad Naiads in flannel
smocks;--the shore is so disastrously imperfect, that those beginners
who paddle in, are injured by the shocking repulsion of the juices
to the brain; and, of those who are enabled to plunge in, and swim
beyond the surge, it is somewhat less than an even bet, that many never
return--in truth, the loss of lives here, every season, would make
any society miserable, who were not congregating in the mart of noisy
folly.--There is a Subscription House, or Temple of Fortune, on the
Steyne, where the minor part of our blessed nobility are accustomed
to reduce their characters and their estates in the same period;--the
signal for admission is _habeo_,--for rejection, _debeo_.--There are
lodgings of all descriptions and fitness, from twenty pounds per week,
on the Cliffs, to half a crown per night in a stable--the keepers of
the lodging houses, like the keepers of madhouses, having but one
common point in view--to _bleed_ the parties sufficiently.--There are
carriages and caravans of all shapes and dimensions, from a waggon to
a fish cart; in which you may move like a king, a criminal, or a crab,
that is, forwards, backwards, or laterally.--There are two libraries on
the Steyne, replete with every flimsy species of novels, involving the
prodigious intrigues of an imaginary society; this kind of recreation
is termed _light reading_; perhaps, from the certain effect it has
upon the brains of my young country women, of making them _light
headed_!--There is a parish church, where the _canaille_ go to pray;
but, as this is on a hill, and the gentry found their Sabbath visit to
the Almighty very troublesome, the amiable and accommodating _master_
priest has consigned the care of his common _parish mutton_ to his
_journeyman_, the curate, and has kindly raised a Chapel Royal for the
_lambs of fashion_, where a certain sum is paid for every seat; and
this, it must be admitted, is as it should be; as a well bred Deity
will, assuredly, be more attentive to a reclining Duchess, parrying
the assaults of the devil, behind her fan, than the vulgar piety of
a plebeian on his knees.--There were books open in the circulating
libraries, where you were requested to contribute your mite of charity
to the support of the rector, as his income is somewhat less than seven
hundred pounds a year; the last incumbent died worth thirty thousand
pounds.'

[Illustration: Decorative motif]

FOOTNOTES:

[74] 'The New Brighton Guide;' London, 1796, 8vo., p. 16.

[75] 'New Brighton Guide,' 1796.

[Illustration: Decorative panel]

CHAPTER XV.

 Reconciliation of the Prince and Mrs. Fitzherbert--Her scruples,
 etc.--The Prince at Brighton--Satirical prints--The Prince and
 the Pavilion--Increase of income--The Prince and his regiment--A
 race--Guests at the Pavilion--The Prince and his daughter.

It was in this year that the separation of the Prince and the titular
Princess of Wales was complete, and Florizel's heart (if he had such a
thing) went back to his wife. Let us hear Lord Stourton's account of
their reconciliation:

'When she thought her connection with the Prince was broken off for
ever, by his second union, she was placed by him in difficulties from
the same earnest and almost desperate pursuit, as she had been exposed
to during the first interval of his attachment. Numbers of the Royal
Family, both male and female, urged a reconciliation, even upon a
principle of duty.

'However, as she was, by his marriage with Queen Caroline, placed in a
situation of much difficulty, involving her own conscience, and making
it doubtful whether public scandal might not interfere with her own
engagements, she determined to resort to the highest authorities of her
own Church upon a case of such extraordinary intricacy. The Rev. Mr.
Nassau, one of the chaplains of Warwick Street Chapel, was, therefore,
selected to go to Rome and lay the case before that tribunal, upon
the express understanding that, if the answer should be favourable,
she would again join the Prince; if otherwise, she was determined
to abandon the country. In the meantime, whilst the negotiation was
pending, she obtained a promise from his Royal Highness that he would
not follow her into her retreat in Wales, where she went to a small
bathing place. The reply from Rome, in a Brief, which, in a moment
of panic, she destroyed, fearful of the consequences during Mr.
Percival's administration, was favourable to the wishes of the Prince;
and, faithful to her own determination to act, as much as possible,
in the face of the public, she resisted all importunities to meet him
clandestinely. The day on which she joined him again at her own house,
was the same on which she gave a public breakfast to the whole town of
London, and to which he was invited.

'She told me, she hardly knew how she could summon resolution to pass
that severe ordeal, but she thanked God she had the courage to do so.
The next eight years were, she said, the happiest of her connection
with the Prince. She used to say that they were extremely poor, but
as merry as crickets; and, as a proof of their poverty, she told me
that once, on their returning to Brighton from London, they mustered
their common means, and could not raise £5 between them. Upon this,
or some such occasion, she related to me, that an old and faithful
servant endeavoured to force them to accept £60, which he said he had
accumulated in the service of the best of Masters and Mistresses. She
added, however, that even this period, the happiest of their lives, was
much embittered by the numerous political difficulties which frequently
surrounded the Prince.'

We can scarcely, nowadays, when the judicial separation of man and
wife is an everyday occurrence, and divorce is rendered as easy as
possible, properly conceive Mrs. Fitzherbert's feelings in this matter
of reconciliation. We must, however, remember that she was a strict
Catholic, that her Church teaches that marriage is indissoluble, except
by death, and that she invoked and followed the highest ecclesiastical
authorities for guidance. Let us hear a modern opinion of her conduct.
It occurs in the _Dublin Review_ of October, 1854, p. 21, in a
criticism of 'Lord Holland's Memoirs':

'The doctrine of the Catholic Church regarding marriage is plain
and simple. She teaches that the marriage contract itself, which is
perfected by the words, "I take thee for my wife," on the part of the
man, and "I take thee for my husband," on the part of the woman, or by
any other words, or signs, by which the contracting parties manifest
their intention of taking each other for man and wife, is a sacrament.
Protestants are apt to fall into the mistake that it is the priest
who administers the sacrament to the wedded pair. He does no such
thing. As far as the validity of the contract and of the sacrament
is concerned, even when the contracting parties are both Catholics,
the priest need not utter a word. His presence is only necessary as a
_witness_ to the contract between the parties. Up to the time of the
Council of Trent, the presence of a priest was not necessary for the
validity of either the contract, or the sacrament. Nor was it by any
means to confer the sacrament that the Council enacted a law requiring
his presence. The law was made in consequence of the abuses which
arose from clandestine marriages, because an immoral person who had
married without witnesses, could, afterwards, deny the existence of the
contract, and wed another publicly, and in the face of the Church. To
prevent this abuse, the Council of Trent enacted that the parish priest
of one of the contracting parties, or some other priest deputed by him,
and two other witnesses should, _for the future_ (_in posterum_), be
present (_præsente parocho_) at the marriage contract. The presence of
the two other witnesses is required exactly in the same way as that of
the parish priest. The law is simply that marriage should be contracted
in the presence of three witnesses, one of whom should, necessarily, be
the parish priest.

'Nor was this law made, at once, obligatory, even on Catholics. By an
ordinance of the Council, it was not to have effect _in any parish_
until thirty days after it had been published there. This allowed
a large discretion to each bishop with regard to the time of its
publication in his diocese, and, in fact, it is not long since it has
been introduced into England.

'But it does not, and never did apply to any marriage in these
countries, where one of the parties is not a Catholic. Neither in such
marriages, which are called mixed, nor in those contracted between
parties, neither of whom belong to the Catholic Church, is the presence
of any priest required for the validity of either the contract, or
sacrament. It is not even necessary that the contracting parties should
_know_ that marriage is a sacrament. The sacrament exists wherever
Christians marry as Christ intended; and, if they be properly disposed,
they will receive grace to live happily together, and to bring up their
children in the fear and love of God.

'Mrs. Fitzherbert's marriage was, therefore, perfectly valid, both as a
contract and as a sacrament, in the eyes of the whole Catholic Church,
and to imagine that she alone, of all those who professed the same
faith, should look upon it as invalid, is monstrously absurd. Neither
the Pope, nor the whole Church could have annulled it, nor allowed her
to marry another.

'But it was illegal! Why, so was the whole Catholic religion, at the
same period. It was, not very long ago, unlawful to celebrate Mass, but
the sacrifice was not, therefore, invalidly offered. To say that Mrs.
Fitzherbert considered the marriage ceremony to be nonsense, because
it was illegal, at the time when the penal code against Catholics--and
especially that part of it which regarded matrimony--was in full
operation, is about as reasonable, as to prove that she did not believe
in transubstantiation, because the law declared it to be damnable and
idolatrous.'

For the next two or three years we hear little about the Prince, the
newspapers leaving his doings unrecorded. We learn (May 15, 1797) that
'On last Thursday evening, the Prince of Wales, accompanied by a single
gentleman, arrived at his Pavilion at Brighton. His Royal Highness,
the next day, reviewed the Monmouth and Brecon Militia, on the Downs,
near the above place. To-day, we hear, the Prince leaves Brighton,
having come there only for a few days, by the advice of Dr. Warren, for
the benefit of the sea air. His Royal Highness has lost much of his
corpulence since he was last at Brighton.'

He went again, on July 24, to be present at the races, and it is
recorded that, on October 23, 'The Prince of Wales amused himself
with a day's shooting at Petworth, on an invitation from the Earl of
Egremont. The next day, his Royal Highness being on his way to London,
with post horses, very narrowly escaped being overturned, about a mile
and a half on the other side of Cuckfield, where the horses, by some
means, took the carriage off the main road to the side of a bank, and
with an inclination that threatened its overturn, for the space of many
yards, but fortunately, and owing to the lowness of the carriage, it
was kept upon its wheels.'

He was present at the races on August 1, 2, and 3, 1798, and a
newspaper remarks that 'The change of society and manners which has
taken place at the Pavilion, gives the most heartfelt satisfaction to
every lover of his country; it is, now, every way worthy of the Heir
apparent of the British Empire.'

In 1799 we hear of him being at Brighton, both in July and October. In
1800 he was at the races in August, when his horse Knowsley won a race.
In the 'Brighton New Guide,' fourth edition, there is a good view of
the Pavilion as it was in 1800, with the following text:

'Adjoining to Marlborough House stands the MARINE PAVILION, built by
his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in the year 1784.

'This handsome structure extends upwards of 200 feet in front, towards
the Steyne; the centre is a circular building, with a lofty dome,
supported by pillars; on each side are two elegant rooms on the ground
floor, with bed chambers over them: in addition to these, in the spring
of 1802, two wings were added, which gives a light, airy appearance to
the building; gravel walks, grass plats, and plantations towards the
Steyne, add a great degree of elegance to the whole.

'The front, towards the street, forms a square, with a handsome
colonnade in the middle, supported by columns; in the wings are
commodious apartments for his Royal Highness's suite; in the court is
the figure of a negro supporting a dial, executed in a superior style
of beautiful sculpture.'

The Prince was at Brighton in 1801. _Vide_ the following extract from a
newspaper:

'_Rejoicings for Peace._ _Oct. 14._--On Monday, the joyful tidings of
Peace were celebrated here; the bells rang from six in the morning
till twelve at night; never was the satisfaction of the people
more fully displayed. Young and old wore ribbons emblematic of the
occasion--_Peace and Plenty!_ The sea fencibles fired a _feu de joie_,
marched from thence to the Prince's house, and gave him three loud
huzzas: with that liberality which has ever marked our Royal guest,
he ordered them two hogsheads of beer. Brilliant illuminations took
place in the evening; the whole town appeared in a blaze. The most
distinguished were those of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales,
flambeaux burning round his house, and every window lighted. This happy
day closed with a ball and supper at the Castle, attended by near five
hundred visitors; at one o'clock the room was opened with the most
sumptuous entertainment; every delicacy that could be procured.'

The Prince was in Brighton in 1802, and in the latter part of the year
hunted almost daily with his harriers, and had concerts at the Pavilion
two or three times a week. He left it for the season on December 27.

A newspaper cutting tells us that 'The charitable donations and willing
assistance which Mrs. Fitzherbert has bestowed, and continues to bestow
on the unfortunate individuals of this place, have justly endeared her
to the inhabitants of every description.'

But the miserable caricaturist, who knew nothing of her noble nature,
depicts her in a scurrilous drawing (October 21, 1802), entitled 'A
BRIGHTON BREAKFAST, OR MORNING COMFORTS.' Mrs. Fitzherbert and Lady
Lade are at breakfast; Mrs. Fitzherbert is pouring Hollands into a
huge tumbler labelled 'Comfort,' and says, 'Won't you take another
Comforter? We must make haste, I expect Noodle here presently.' Lady
Lade, who takes Brandy, says, 'I think your Comforters are bigger than
my John's.'

The next day brought out another satirical print, indicative of the
Prince's intimacy with the Lades. It is called 'Birds of a Feather
Flock Together; Diversions of Brighton.' Sir John Lade and the
Prince are on the box of an open carriage, in which are seated Mrs.
Fitzherbert and a lady (Miss Snow). Sir John is lashing one of the four
horses, and says to the Prince, 'There, B----t it, don't you see?
that's the Cut.' Miss Snow observes to Mrs. Fitzherbert, 'Did Noodle
bring your physic this morning?' To which she replies, 'Oh, yes, he
calls regularly every morning.'

We read in the _Sussex Weekly Advertiser_ (February 28, 1803) that
'The Prince's Pavilion at Brighton is undergoing other considerable
alterations and improvement, under the direction of Mr. Holland, the
architect; and is ordered to be got ready for the residence of his
Royal Highness, at an early part of the ensuing season.'

On October 14, 1800, just before Weltje died, the Prince took from him
a lease of the Pavilion for ninety-nine years at a rent, annually,
of £1,150, and on April 18, 1803, he went to Brighton to see how the
alterations were getting on. 'His Royal Highness slept at the house,
late Weltje's, adjoining the Pavilion, the repairs and alterations of
which are not yet completed. The Prince, after minutely inspecting the
works going on, returned to town on Thursday.'

In this extravagance he was somewhat justified, for on February 16 the
Chancellor of the Exchequer brought before the House of Commons the
following message from the King:

 'GEORGE R.

 'His Majesty having taken into consideration the period which has
 elapsed since the adoption of those arrangements which were deemed,
 by the wisdom of Parliament, to be necessary for the discharge of
 the incumbrances of the Prince of Wales; and, having adverted to the
 progress which has been made in carrying them into effect, recommends
 the present situation of the Prince to the attention of this House.

 'Notwithstanding the reluctance and regret which his Majesty must
 feel in suggesting any addition to the burthens of his people, he is
 induced to resort, in this instance, to the experienced liberality and
 attachment of his faithful Commons, in the persuasion that they will
 be disposed to take such measures, as may be calculated to promote the
 comfort, and support the dignity of so distinguished a branch of his
 Royal Family.'

On February 23 the House went into Committee to consider the King's
message; and the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Addington) pointed out
that on the 5th of the previous January £563,895 had been paid off the
Prince's debt of £650,000, and that the whole would be discharged in
July, 1806. He moved 'That his Majesty be enabled to grant a yearly
sum, or sums of money, out of the Consolidated Fund of Great Britain,
not exceeding, in the whole, the sum of Sixty thousand pounds; to
take place, and be computed from the 5th day of January, 1803, and to
continue until the 5th day of July, 1806, towards providing for the
better support of the station and dignity of his Royal Highness, the
Prince of Wales.' This resolution was agreed to.

In September, 1803, the royal stables, now the Dome, were commenced,
and that the Prince was there in October we have evidence in the
following newspaper cutting:

'_Oct. 2._--The Prince of Wales, at the conclusion of the Concert at
the Pavilion, some time after midnight, on Thursday last, addressing
himself to Colonel Leigh, expressed an anxious desire to know in how
short a time his regiment of dragoons could be under arms, and ready to
face the enemy, should necessity require their exertions in the night.
The Colonel immediately proposed, as the best method of satisfying
his Royal Highness, instantly to ride to, and order an alarm to be
sounded at the barracks; and, afterwards, to return, and give his Royal
Highness a correct account of the conduct of his troops. This measure
being approved by the Prince, the Colonel's horse was soon brought to
the door, and he set off, with all possible speed to see it carried
into effect.

'On reaching the advanced guard at the entrance of the barracks, the
Colonel commanded a black trumpeter on duty, to sound to arms. The
man, in obedience to the mandate, raised the trumpet to his lips; but
the surprise of the moment so greatly overpowered him, that he wanted
breath to put it in execution. An English trumpeter, who overheard the
order, as he lay in bed, in an instant arose, dashed open the window
of his room, and without waiting for further advice, put the bugle to
his mouth, gave the proper signal, and the troops, in every part, were,
in an instant, in motion. The greater part of the soldiers had been in
bed many hours; the whole of them were properly accoutred, and on their
horses, together with the flying artillery, in readiness to depart, in
time sufficient to have reached Brighton within 15 minutes after the
bugle gave the alarm. The barracks are situated something better than a
mile and a half to the north of the town.'

The following excerpt from the _Annual Register_ shows the diversions
of Brighton:

'_Aug. 20, 1803._--A whimsical exhibition took place on the race ground
at Brighton. Captain Otto, of the Sussex Militia, booted, and mounted
by a grenadier of 18 stone weight, was matched to run 50 yards, against
a poney, carrying a feather, to run 150; but Capt. Otto's rider tumbled
over his neck, which he was very near cracking; and, consequently,
he lost the bet. The next match was, the same gentleman, mounted by
the same grenadier, to run 50 yards, against a noble lord, carrying
a feather, who was to run 100. He was considerably distanced by the
latter.'

The following is taken from the _Times_ of September 7, 1804:

'BRIGHTON ANECDOTE.--Some ill timed pleasantry was played off, a few
days ago, at Brighton, on a respectable _Law Officer_ and his wife, who
have made a summer excursion there. An invitation, couched in due form,
and bearing all the marks of authenticity, was sent to them, desiring
their company at the Pavilion in the evening. The Gentleman and Lady,
justly proud of the distinguished honour thus conferred on them, they
knew not how, attended at the hour appointed, and were ushered into
the Saloon, in which were many persons of distinction, to whom they
were wholly unknown. Some embarrassment necessarily ensued, but it
was increased to a ten fold degree, when they were announced to the
_illustrious_ Master of the house, who had no recollection either of
his guests, or the invitation in his name; an explanation ensued, and
his Royal Highness, with all that urbanity that distinguishes him as
the most finished Gentleman in Europe, was pleased to declare "that he
felt himself much indebted to the ingenious person, who (by forging
his invitation, in order, perhaps, to sport with their feelings) had
afforded him the pleasure of their society and acquaintance, however
unexpected; and that he was perfectly happy in the opportunity of
receiving them." His Royal Highness conducted himself towards them
during the whole of the evening with the most liberal and marked
attention, and thus converted a _rencontre_, which was produced by
the most malignant motives, into a source of honour and perfect
satisfaction.'

Of the Prince's connection with Brighton in 1804 we have very little
trace. He was averse to having his doings chronicled, probably because
they were immediately pictorially satirized; but we have a very fine
one by Gillray, called THE RECONCILIATION, published on November 20,
1804.

The Prince and the King had been at daggers drawn, principally as
to the guardianship of the little Princess Charlotte. A peace was
temporarily patched up between them, and the King wrote on November 7
to the Chancellor that he was ready to receive the Prince. The letter
being forwarded to the latter, he at once replied:

  'BRIGHTON,
  '_Nov. 8, 1804_.

 'The Prince of Wales, without delay, acknowledges the receipt of
 the Chancellor's letter; and will, in consequence of the gracious
 intention signified from his Majesty, be in London to-morrow evening,
 with Lord Moira, who has just arrived at Brighthelmstone. The Earl of
 Moira is authorised by the Prince to wait upon the Chancellor at any
 hour on Saturday morning, that his lordship may please to appoint.'

The meeting between father and son took place on November 12, and next
day the King wrote to the Princess of Wales:

  'WINDSOR CASTLE,
  '_Nov. 13, 1804_.

 'MY DEAREST DAUGHTER IN LAW, AND NIECE,

 'Yesterday, I and the rest of the family had an interview with
 the Prince of Wales, at Kew. Care was taken on all sides to avoid
 all subjects of altercation, or explanation, consequently, the
 conversation was neither instructive, nor entertaining; but it leaves
 the Prince of Wales in a situation to show whether his desire to
 return to the family, is only verbal, or real, which time, alone,
 can prove. I am not idle in my endeavours to make inquiries that may
 enable me to communicate some plan for the advantage of the dear
 child. You and I, with so much reason, must interest ourselves; and
 its effecting my having the happiness of living more with you, is no
 small incentive to my forming some ideas on the subject, but you may
 depend on their not being decided upon, without your thorough and
 cordial concurrence; for your authority as a mother, it is my object
 to support.

    'Believe me, at all times,
    'My dearest daughter and niece,
    'Your most affectionate Father in Law and Uncle,

    'GEORGE R.'

Nothing really came of this so-called 'Reconciliation,' and soon father
and son were as much estranged as ever. Gillray gives us a picture of
the Prodigal Son's return. '_And he arose and came to his Father; and
his Father saw him, and had compassion and ran, and fell on his neck,
and kissed him._' The Prince of Wales is in tatters, with his empty
pockets turned inside out, his stockings slipping down, and his shoes
down at heel. Lord Moira and Pitt stand by, looking on, and Queen
Charlotte, with her arms outspread, and two of the Princesses, are
beaming with delight.

[Illustration: Decorative motif]

[Illustration: Decorative panel]

CHAPTER XVI.

 The case of Miss Seymour--Satirical prints thereon--The Prince at
 Brighton, 1806--His birthday--The Green Man--Visit of the Princess
 Charlotte.

In 1805 the Prince was much at Brighton, but we hear but little of him
except in connection with Mrs. Fitzherbert's guardianship of Miss Mary
Seymour, a child of whom the Prince of Wales was very fond, and Lord
Stourton tells the story in a pleasant way:

'A circumstance now took place, which ended by blasting all her happy
prospects, and, finally, terminated in a rupture with the Prince, which
lasted till the end of his life. One of the dearest friends of Mrs.
Fitzherbert, Lady Horatia Seymour, in the last stage of decline, was
advised to go abroad, to seek, in change of climate, her only chance of
recovery. She had, at that time, an infant, and, not being able to take
it with her, she entrusted her treasure to the care of her attached
friend, Mrs. Fitzherbert, who, having no child of her own, soon became
devotedly attached to the precious child, and her affection for the
child increased with the loss of the parent. Some time afterwards, one
of the near relatives of the family, desirous of having the education
of the child placed in other hands, and being jealous of the religion
of its protectress, applied to the Chancellor to obtain possession of
Miss Seymour, as guardian. Mrs. Fitzherbert, now more than ever devoted
to the child, and sharing, in this affection, with the Prince himself,
exerted every means to retain the custody of it; and, after all others
had failed, had, at last, recourse to Lady Hertford, with whom she was,
formerly, intimately acquainted. She requested her to intercede with
Lord Hertford, as head of his house, to come to her aid; and, demanding
for himself the guardianship of the child, to give it up to her,[76]
upon certain conditions as to its education.'

The satirical prints, of course, were to the fore on this subject,
although it was a purely private matter. First of all comes (January 9,
1805) 'TO BE, OR NOT TO BE, A PROTESTANT.' Miss Seymour is sitting on
a sofa, holding in her hand a book, '_Mother's advice to her Daughter,
respecting the true principles of the Protestant religion_'; Mrs.
Fitzherbert, wearing a rosary and crucifix, and having in her hand
a book, '_Directions from the clergy, respecting the Duty of a true
Catholic, in converting all, etc._,' says: 'I say I have the undoubted
right to have the care of her, and to bring her up as I like. Do I not
Rule the Roast?' At an open door appears a monk, who says: 'Well done,
my Child, you are now serving our holy religion; you shall next use
your influence to procure us Emancipation.'

[Illustration: THE GUARDIAN ANGEL.]

'THE CONVENTION, OR A HINT AT EMANCIPATION,' is another on the same
subject (February 18, 1805). Mrs. Fitzherbert, who has been reading
'The Reign of Queen Mary,' is seated at a table with a monk, who is
making a hearty meal of roast beef and port wine. She says: 'Oh,
Father, they want to rob me of my charge, I will not part with her;
entrusted to my care, I have the will and the power to make her as mine
own, and save one Heretic, at least. I know my power, and will exert it
for our cause.' Says the monk: 'Dear Child! the labours of the faithful
claim their due regard. That thou hast laboured to promote our cause,
full well I know, and have my brethren well informed. Emancipation is
at hand, and all _depends on thee_.'

But the best print is 'THE GUARDIAN ANGEL. The print taken from the
Rev. Mr. Peter's sublime Idea of an Angel conducting the Soul of
a Child to Heaven.' Mrs. Fitzherbert, with an apron full of 'play
things,' such as rosaries, monstrances, thuribles, service-books, etc.,
is the angel, who, ascending from the Pavilion at Brighton, with Miss
Seymour in her arms, points to an altar surrounded by lighted candles,
flowers, etc., and surmounted by a Virgin and Child. All round are
cherubs--Fox, Sheridan, Earl of Derby, etc., all friends of the Prince.

We learn the following from a newspaper cutting in 1805:

'On Friday and Saturday, the Prince, attended by Col. Leigh and Col.
Hanger, rode for several hours. Soon after six o'clock, on the former
evening, his Royal Highness, in his carriage, left the Pavilion to
dine with the Marchioness of Downshire, at Westfield Lodge. Among the
_elegantes_ present, on this occasion, were, Lord and Lady Harrington,
the beautiful and accomplished Lady Ann Maria Stanhope, Mrs.
Fitzherbert, Baron Eben, Col. Hanger, Col. Leigh, etc., forming, on the
whole, a select and sociable party of fourteen. About nine o'clock, the
Prince, the Marchioness, and the whole of her guests from Westfield
Lodge, removed to the Pavilion, where a most splendid entertainment,
consisting of a ball and supper, etc., was given by the Prince, and
of which the greater part of the most distinguished persons, here
at present, partook, in number somewhat exceeding one hundred and
sixty.... On the night following (Saturday) it being the natal day of
the interesting little _protégée_ of Mrs. Fitzherbert, Miss Seymour,
this young lady gave a ball and supper to a party of juvenile nobility,
at the Pavilion.'

The Prince's birthday in 1806 was celebrated at Brighton with great
festivity.

'_Aug. 12._--At the Pavilion dinner yesterday, the Prince entertained
five of his Royal brothers, the Dukes of York, Clarence, Kent, Sussex,
and Cumberland. Of the splendid party were also the Duke of Orleans,
M. Beaujolais, the Marquis of Winchester, Count Stahremberg, Mr.
Sheridan, Colonels Turner and Lee, etc. This being the natal day of the
Heir apparent, the morning was ushered in by the ringing of bells, and
the flag was hoisted on the tower of the church. Two oxen, _pro bono
publico_, are roasting whole, on the Level. Such an agreeable bustle
as this town at present exhibits, was never witnessed here before.
Business is totally given up, and pleasure is the standing order of
the day. At ten o'clock a.m., the _Otter_ sloop of war, decorated with
the colours of all nations, hoisted the Royal Standard at the main,
and announced the event by a discharge of her guns. The _Gallant_ and
_Calypso_, armed brigs, and Earl Craven's yacht, were, also, dressed
out with colours. About this time, the Carabineers from Shoreham, and
the Fourth Dragoons, passed to the north and south of the town for the
Downs. The Artillery, the King's Dragoons, and the Nottingham and South
Gloucestershire Militias were under arms as early as four o'clock in
the morning. At half past twelve, the Prince of Wales, habited as a
Field Marshal, a star at his breast, accompanied by his Royal brothers,
and a numerous suite of noblemen, etc., and mounted on a grey charger,
splendidly caparisoned, left the Pavilion for the Downs. The Royal
brothers were all in regimentals, with stars at their breasts. The Duke
of Sussex wore his Highland uniform. The Earl of Moira, General White,
Count Beaujolais, Lord E. Somerset, the Earl of Barrymore, etc., were
in the Prince's suite. Lady Haggerstone, and Miss Seymour, the Lord
Chancellor, Lord Headfort, Mr. Sheridan, and Mrs. Smith were in the
Prince's landau. Mrs. Fitzherbert was detained at home by indisposition.

'As soon as the Royal cavalcade was distinguished by the military
on the Downs, signal guns were discharged, and every necessary
adjustment was, in an instant, made for its reception. The Royal
party now advanced, and passed down the centre of the line, each
regiment saluting, and the bands alternately playing "God save the
King." Having reached the extremity of the line, the cavalcade turned
back, and the Commander in Chief and staff, took their stations in
the centre of the line, the Prince and the other Royal Dukes facing
them. The whole line now saluted the Prince. This ended, the line
passed the Prince, in review order, to slow time; the bands of each
regiment wheeling off, and playing until the regiment to which they
were attached, had gone by. The regiments again passed in quick time,
the Duke of York, etc., having stationed themselves by the Prince of
Wales. The line was again formed, when a _feu de joie_ was fired in
a very capital style. Huzzas and "God save the King" concluded the
proceedings, this day, on the hill, when a signal was hoisted at the
Telegraph, for the shipping to salute, which was instantly obeyed;
and every house in the town was shaken by the explosion. The Princes
returned to the Pavilion about half past three o'clock. At six, all
the splendour and fashion of Brighton were assembled to dine at the
Pavilion.

'_Tuesday Evening._--The crowd on the Level in number are many
thousands; and his Royal Highness's butcher, Russell, habited in a
white jacket, the sleeves ornamented with buff and blue ribbons, and
a blue sash containing the words "Long live the Royal Brothers," with
a white apron, and steel, and a fanciful cap to correspond, has just
given the signal for the grand carver to do his duty. The acclamations
of the multitude are deafening, and all, now, is confusion, expectation
and joy. The Nottingham Militia, whose encampment adjoins the public
kitchens, are busy actors in this scene. They distinguish themselves
manfully, and many a heavy joint, after severe struggles for
victory, is borne by them, triumphantly, to their tents. Amongst the
splendid party at the Pavilion are, the six Royal Brothers, the Lord
Chancellor, Earl Moira, Count Beaujolais, Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Tierney,
with a numerous assemblage of persons, the most distinguished for
their rank and talents. Two bands of music, the Prince's own, and the
South Gloucester, play alternately on the Lawn. The Steyne is crowded
with pedestrians. The town is generally illuminated; Pollard's and
Donaldson's libraries have, both, a very brilliant appearance. The
Theatre, Fisher's lounge, Mr. Russell's, the Old Ship, the New Inn,
the Coach Offices, Blaker's, Alexander's, and the greater part of the
houses at the bottom of North Street, are, also, lit up in a very
radiant style.

'At ten o'clock, the Princes and the whole of the Royal dinner party
left the Pavilion, for the ball at the Castle. The rooms had a good
show of company as early as half past eight, but, towards nine, they
began to arrive in crowds. Carriages with four and six horses rattled
through the town from Worthing, Rottingdean, Lewes and Eastbourne.
Before ten o'clock, not less than four hundred persons were present;
and, before eleven, the assemblage had received an addition of two
hundred, at least. The crowd occasioned heat, and many ladies nearly
fainted, though every possible precaution was taken to prevent it.

'When the Royal Brothers entered the ball room, the band (the Prince's)
struck up, "God save the King," all the company standing until they had
passed down the room. All the rank, elegance, fashion and beauty in
Sussex were present. A few minutes subsequent to the arrival of the
Princes, dancing commenced with the _Honey Moon_. About fifty couple
stood up; who led off, it was impossible correctly to ascertain. This
dance was succeeded by _Lord Macdonald's reel_; at the end of which,
about half an hour after midnight, the Prince and his Royal brothers
removed to the supper rooms: tables were laid in three separate rooms,
but the company was so numerous, that many could not be accommodated
with seats; and, consequently, _sans_ refreshment, they were compelled
to remain in the ball room. The tables were decorated with every
delicacy of the season. The ladies were dressed in an unusual style
of elegance; such a rich display of diamonds we never saw at a public
entertainment before, and such a fascinating display of beautiful
women, in one house, was not to be found, perhaps, in any other part
of the world. The Princes were all in regimentals, and all appeared
in high health and spirits. The attention paid by those illustrious
personages to the company was highly flattering. They entered into
conversation with all they knew; and the ladies were highly gratified
with the marked attention which was so peculiarly bestowed upon them;
and all ultimately retired, highly gratified with the entertainment
they had received.'

My readers must pardon my introducing an episode unconnected with this
book, except as regards Brighton; but it is so curious that I cannot
refrain. It is chronicled in the _Annual Register_ for 1806:

'_Oct. 25._--Among the personages who lately attracted public notice
at Brighton, was an original, or _would be_ original, generally known
by the appellation of THE GREEN MAN. He dressed in green pantaloons,
green waistcoat, green frock, green cravat: and, though his ears,
whiskers, eyebrows, and chin were powdered, his countenance, no doubt,
from the reflection of his clothes, was also green. He ate nothing
but greens, fruits and vegetables; had his rooms painted green, and
furnished with green sofa, green chairs, green tables, green bed, and
green curtains. His gig, his livery, his portmanteau, his gloves and
his whip were all green. With a green silk handkerchief in his hand,
and a large watch chain with green seals, fastened to the green buttons
of his green waistcoat, he paraded every day on the Steine.

'This morning, at six o'clock, this gentleman leaped from the window
of his lodging, on the south parade, into the street, ran thence to
the verge of the cliff nearly opposite, and threw himself over the
precipice, to the beach below. The height of the cliff whence he
precipitated himself, is about 20 feet perpendicular. From the general
demeanour of the above gentleman, it is supposed he is deranged. His
name, we understand, is Henry Cope, and that he is related to some
highly distinguished families.'

There were some contemporary verses on Mr. Cope:

    'A spruce little man in a doublet of _green_,
    Perambulates, daily, the streets and the Steyne.
    _Green_ striped is his waistcoat, his small clothes are _green_,
    And, oft, round his neck a green 'kerchief is seen.
    _Green_ watch string, green seals, and, for certain, I've heard,
    (Tho' they're powdered) _green_ whiskers, and eke a _green_ beard;
    _Green_ garters, _green_ hose, and, deny it who can,
    The Brains, too, are _green_, of this little green man.'

Another account of him says:

'Mr. Cope, at four o'clock, walked on the Steyne; he wore a huge
cocked hat, with gold tassels. He was surrounded with company, who
expressed their surprise at the size of his hat: when he answered that
he was then performing a different character from that of the preceding
day. He is the gaze of Brighton.'

In 1807 the Princess Charlotte was staying at Worthing, and paid a
surprise visit to the good folks of Brighton.

'_July 27._--About eight o'clock yesterday evening, an open barouche,
with four horses, halted for a few minutes nearly opposite to the
Pavilion, and, shortly afterwards, it was ascertained that the carriage
contained the Princess Charlotte of Wales. The carriage at length moved
for the Buff and Blue houses, and, afterwards, down the North and
South Parades, followed by an immense confluence of people, anxious to
obtain a view of the interesting blossom of royalty. As if to gratify
the populace, the carriage moved but slowly, and, on the North Parade,
it again halted for a few moments. Her Royal Highness was habited in
a very plain and simple style, white frock and slouch straw hat. She
appeared in charming health, and much pleased with the respectful
notice she obtained. Her extreme likeness to her Royal parent was
loudly spoken of, and, on that subject, there could be but one opinion.
Her Royal Highness, prior to her arrival here, yesterday, had paid a
visit to Lewes. She returned from hence to Worthing.'

The Prince liked to spend his birthdays at Brighton, and 1807 was no
exception. Here is a contemporary account of the festivities:

'_Aug. 12._--His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales's birthday
was announced, this morning, by the ringing of bells, and every
demonstration of joy: colours were hoisted on the church. The gun
brig, the Strenuous, and Earl Craven's boat, were dressed in national
colours, and placed in a situation to be seen from the Pavilion. By
eight o'clock, the whole town was in motion, the Marine Parade was
lined with company, the balconies were full of beauty and fashion, and
all the telescopes were in use. At ten o'clock, the gun brig fired
a royal salute, which was answered by Earl Craven's boat. His Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales's band, in full uniform, played on the
lawn in front of the Pavilion; and, on the outside of the railing, the
carriages formed a complete line, the ladies sitting on the boxes,
surrounded by a vast number of gentlemen on horseback, viewing the lawn
in front of the Pavilion, where all the Royal Dukes were walking.

'At eleven o'clock, her Royal Highness the Princess Charlotte of Wales
arrived at the Pavilion from Worthing, in one of her Royal father's
carriages, drawn by four beautiful bays. Her Royal Highness was dressed
in white muslin, trimmed with point lace, Vandyked at the edges, and
wore a Leghorn gipsy hat, with wreaths of small roses round the edge
of the leaf, and a second row round the crown. Her Royal Highness
looked most charmingly, and was received at the grand entrance by her
Royal father and uncles, who conducted her to the Chinese apartment,
with which she appeared greatly delighted. The Pavilion was surrounded
on all sides by a most numerous concourse of spectators, who waited
anxiously to see the Royal party proceed to the ground, where the
grand review was to take place.

'At twelve o'clock, a Royal salute was fired from the batteries; and,
immediately after, two of the Royal carriages came out, the first,
drawn by four bays, with two postilions dressed in blue striped
jackets, and brown beaver hats; in this carriage were Viscount and
Viscountess Melbourne, Lord Erskine, and Mr. Dalmy; in the second,
her Royal Highness, the Princess Charlotte of Wales, attended by the
Dowager Lady De Clifford, and another lady; the carriage was drawn
by six fine bay horses; after which, followed his Royal Highness the
Prince of Wales, mounted on a beautiful iron grey charger. His Royal
Highness was most superbly dressed in the hussar uniform, and wore a
diamond belt, with a diamond crown on his breast: the feather in his
cap was most superb, encircled with diamonds round the bottom, and
fixed in a diamond loop: never did we witness his Royal Highness in
better health and spirits. The accoutrements of his charger were most
superb. They proceeded slowly to the ground, where the troops were
formed in a line, which was on the beautiful hills at the four mile
course, which command a grand view of the sea.

'At within half a mile from the ground, his Royal Highness the Duke of
York galloped up to the line, extended upwards of a mile, and passed
them without any form. At half past twelve the whole of the Royal party
arrived on the ground, and took their station in the centre of the
line; her Royal Highness the Princess Charlotte of Wales's carriage
stood just behind her Royal father. As soon as the party had taken
their station, a royal salute of twenty one guns was fired from the
horse artillery; the ranks formed into open order, when the Royal party
went down the front of the line, returned by the rear, and retook their
station in the centre, when the whole of the line passed in ordinary
and quick time, the different bands playing "God save the King." Some
ships passing at the time, received signals from the telegraph; they
immediately fired a Royal salute, and hoisted a Royal Standard.

'There was, also, a sham fight on the sea with small boats, which had a
very pretty effect. The day was uncommonly fine, and not one accident
occurred to damp the joy manifested on this happy occasion. A good
deal of mirth was occasioned by the firing, several of the horses that
had been taken from the carriages, having broken loose, and run in all
directions, leaving many of the company fixed in their carriages until
the horses were caught.

'At half past three the Royal party returned to the Pavilion, where the
Prince of Wales's band was playing to receive them. Her Royal Highness,
the Princess Charlotte of Wales, after partaking of some refreshments,
walked on the lawn with her Royal uncles, who seemed to vie with each
other in attention to her. The Duke of Cambridge danced with her on the
lawn, and at six o'clock she returned to Worthing. At eight o'clock the
Royal party, the Duke of St. Albans, the Marquis of Headford, Earls
Berkeley, Craven, Dursley, Bathurst and Barrymore, Viscount Melbourne,
Lords Petersham, Erskine, and Charles, Edward and Arthur Somerset,
and several military officers, sat down to dinner. The Pavilion was
most brilliantly lighted, and the South Gloucester band played on
the Steyne. The illuminations were splendid. The Prince attended the
ball at the Castle in the evening, which was crowded with fashion and
beauty, but none of the Royal party joined in the dance. The supper was
of the first description, but would have been better enjoyed had the
company been less numerous. The Prince retired at an early hour.'

[Illustration: Decorative motif]

FOOTNOTES:

[76] An arrangement which was satisfactorily effected.

[Illustration: Decorative panel]

CHAPTER XVII.

 Final rupture between the Prince and Mrs. Fitzherbert--That lady
 and William IV.--Her kindly relations with the Royal Family--Her
 death--The King's illness--The Regency--Visitors at the
 Pavilion--Queen Charlotte there--The 'Royal Rantipoles.'

The episode of Miss Seymour indirectly led to the final separation of
the Prince and Mrs. Fitzherbert, which was mainly brought about by
her false friend, Lady Hertford. Lord Stourton, speaking of the Mary
Seymour incident, says:

'This long negotiation, in which the Prince was the principal
instrument, led him, at last, to those confidential relations which,
ultimately, gave to Lady Hertford, an ascendancy over him, superior
to that possessed by Mrs. Fitzherbert herself; and, from a friend,
converted her into a successful rival. Lady Hertford, anxious for
the preservation of her own reputation, which she was not willing to
compromise with the public, even when she ruled the Prince with the
most absolute sway, exposed Mrs. Fitzherbert, at this time, to very
severe trials, which, at last, almost, as she said, ruined her health
and destroyed her nerves. Attentions were required from her towards
Lady Hertford herself, even when most aware of her superior influence
over the Prince, and these attentions were extorted by the menace of
taking away her child. To diminish her apparent influence in public, as
well as in private, was now the object. When at Brighton, the Prince,
who had passed part of his mornings with Mrs. Fitzherbert on friendly
terms at her own house, did not even notice her in the slightest manner
at the Pavilion on the same evenings, and she, afterwards, understood
that such attentions would have been reported to her rival.

'She was frequently on the point of that separation which afterwards
took place, but was prevented by the influence of the Royal Family from
carrying her resolution into effect. A dinner, however, given to Louis
XVIII.[77] brought matters, at last, to a conclusion; and, satisfied
of a systematic intention to degrade her before the public, she then,
at last, attained the reluctant assent of some of the members of the
Royal Family, to her determination of finally closing her connection
with the Prince, to whom, in furtherance of this decision, she never,
afterwards, opened the doors of her house. Upon all former occasions,
to avoid etiquette in circumstances of such delicacy as regarded her
own situation with reference to the Prince, it had been customary to
sit at table, without regard to rank. Upon the present occasion, this
plan was to be altered, and Mrs. Fitzherbert was informed, through her
friends at Court, that, at the Royal table, the individuals invited
were to sit according to their rank.

'When assured of this novel arrangement, she asked the Prince, who had
invited her with the rest of his company, where she was to sit. He
said, "You know, Madam, you have no place." "None, Sir," she replied,
"but such as you choose to give me." Upon this, she informed the Royal
Family that she would not go. The Duke of York, and others, endeavoured
to alter the preconcerted arrangement, but the Prince was inflexible;
and, aware of the peculiar circumstances of her case, and the
distressing nature of her general situation, they no longer hesitated
to agree with her, that no advantage was to be obtained by further
postponement of her own anxious desire to close her connection with the
Prince, and to retire once more into private life. She told me, she
often looked back with wonder that she had not sunk under the trials of
those two years.

'Having come to this resolution, she was obliged, on the very evening,
or on that which followed the Royal dinner, to attend an assembly
at Devonshire House, which was the last evening she saw the Prince
previously to their final separation. The Duchess of Devonshire, taking
her by the arm, said to her, "You must come and see the Duke in his own
room, as he is suffering from a fit of the gout, but he will be glad to
see an old friend." In passing through the rooms, she saw the Prince
and Lady Hertford in a _tête-à-tête_ conversation, and nearly fainted
under all the impressions which then rushed upon her mind; but, taking
a glass of water, she recovered, and passed on.[78]

'Thus terminated this fatal, ill-starred connection, so unfortunate,
probably, for both the parties concerned. Satisfied as I was with the
very full explanation of all the circumstances, and of the propriety,
and almost necessity of the course which Mrs. Fitzherbert was compelled
to pursue, I yet felt, that her intimate relations with the Prince
might have imposed upon her some duties during his last illness, the
non-fulfilment of which would have left my mind not fully satisfied.
I, therefore, again availed myself of the confidence which had been so
repeatedly urged upon me, to inquire of her, whether any communication
had taken place previous to his demise. She told me "Yes," and that
she would show me the copy of a letter which she had written to the
King, a very short time before his death, which, she said, had been
safely delivered by a friendly hand; the person assuring her, that the
King had seized it with eagerness, and placed it immediately under his
pillow; but, that she had not received any answer. She was, however,
informed that, on the few last days of his life, he was very anxious to
be removed to Windsor Cottage.

'"Nothing," she said, "had so cut her up," to use her own expression,
as not having received one word in reply to that last letter. It
is true, she observed, that she had been informed by the Duke of
Wellington, that he, more than once, expressed his anxiety that a
particular picture should be hung round his neck, and deposited with
him in the grave; and it seemed to be the opinion of his Grace, that
this portrait was one which had been taken of her in early life, and
was set round with brilliants. It appeared the more likely, as this
portrait was afterwards missing when the others were returned to her.
The copy of the letter, which, in answer to my question, she went
into her bedroom to fetch, she put into my hands to read. It was an
expression of her fears that the King was very ill, and an affecting
tender of any services she could render him, in a strain which I could
not read without sympathising deeply in her distress.

'Soon after his death, she left town for Brighton. There, she, a second
time, received the kindest messages from William the Fourth; but, upon
his inquiry, why she did not come to see him, she stated the peculiar
difficulties of her situation, and a wish, if it was not asking too
much from his condescension, that he would graciously honour her with a
personal communication at her own house, previously to her visit to the
Pavilion.

'The King complied with her request, without delay, and she told him
that she could not, in her present circumstances, avail herself of the
honour of waiting upon his Majesty, without asking his permission to
place her papers before him, and requesting his advice upon them. Upon
her placing in his hands the Documents which have been preserved, in
justification of her character, and, especially, the certificate of
her marriage, and another, and most interesting paper, this amiable
Sovereign was moved to tears by their perusal, and expressed his
surprise at so much forbearance with such Documents in her possession,
and under pressure of such long and severe trials. He asked her what
amends he could make her, and offered to make her a Duchess. She
replied, that she did not wish for any rank; that she had borne through
life the name of Mrs. Fitzherbert; that she had never disgraced it, and
did not wish to change it; that, therefore, she hoped his Majesty would
accept her unfeigned gratitude for his gracious proposal, but that he
would permit her to retain her present name.

'"Well, then," said he, "I shall insist upon your wearing my livery,"
and ended by authorising her to put on weeds for his Royal brother. He
added, "I must, however, soon see you at the Pavilion"; and, I believe,
he proposed the following Sunday, a day on which his family were more
retired, for seeing her at dinner, and spending the evening at the
Pavilion. "I shall introduce you myself to my family," said he, "but
you must send me word of your arrival."

'At the appointed hour, upon her reaching the Pavilion, the
condescending monarch came himself and handed her out of her carriage,
and introduced her to his family, one after the other, as one of
themselves. He, ever after, treated her in the same gracious manner,
and, on one occasion, upon her return from Paris, made her a present of
some jewels, which he said he had had some time, but would not send
them to her abroad, as he wished to give them to her himself, on her
return to England. He afterwards entered into conversation on matters
relating to her dearest interests, and to sanction the custody of such
papers as were thought most available in support of her honour and fair
reputation with posterity.

'Mrs. Fitzherbert told me that, the first day, when, in compliance
with the commands of the King, she went to the Pavilion, and was
presented by him to the Queen and Royal Family, she was, herself, much
surprised at the great composure with which she was able to sustain
a trial of fortitude which appeared so alarming at a distance; but
she believed the excitement had sustained her. It was not so the next
dinner at which she was present in the same family circle; and the many
reflections which then oppressed her mind, very nearly overpowered her.
Afterwards, she frequently attended the King's small Sunday parties at
Brighton, and then, as upon all other occasions, she was received with
uniform kindness and consideration.

'Many letters of hers, even when writing from abroad to fight off her
marriage, had been preserved by the King. Some were in the possession
of Sir William Knighton,[79] who had obtained possession of the King's
correspondence, either as being his executor, or from having Colonel
MacMahon's letters in his custody. She had, also, various letters of
her own, from the Prince. It was, therefore, agreed, by the friends of
both parties, that, with a few exceptions, the whole correspondence
should be destroyed.

'In this arrangement, William the Fourth kindly concurred, and it
was carried into effect; only such papers being preserved as Mrs.
Fitzherbert thought fit to select to bear witness to her character.

'Upon one memorable exception, only, she was called upon by the Prince;
and, indeed, expressly sent for to Brighton, to give her opinion on a
step of great political importance which he was about to take, but her
influence, then, had been, some time, on the wane. He told her that he
had sent for her to ask her opinion, and that he demanded it of her,
with regard to the party to which he was about, as Regent, to confide
the administration of the country. At his commands, she urged in the
most forcible manner that she was able, his adherence to his former
political friends. Knowing all his engagements to that party, she used
every argument and every entreaty to induce him not to sever himself
from them. "Only retain them, Sir, six weeks in power. If you please,
you may find some pretext to dismiss them at the end of that time; but
do not break with them without some pretext or other." Such was her
request to him. He answered, "It was impossible, as he had promised";
but, at the same time, she observed that he seemed much overpowered by
the effort it cost him. Finding that resistance to a determination so
fixed was unavailing, she asked to be allowed to return to Brighton,
which she did; but, previously to leaving him, she said that, as he
had done her the honour of imposing upon her his commands of freely
declaring her sentiments upon this occasion, she hoped he would permit
her, before she left him, to offer one suggestion, which she trusted
he would not take amiss.

'She then urged upon him, as strongly as she was able, the
disadvantages which must accrue to his future happiness from treating
his daughter, the Princess Charlotte, with so little kindness. "You,
now, Sir," she said, "may mould her at your pleasure, but, soon, it
will not be so; and she may become, from mismanagement, a thorn in your
side, for life." "That is your opinion, Madam," was his only reply.

'I must, here, also add that, not only with the Royal Family, but,
also, with the Princess Caroline, Mrs. Fitzherbert was always on the
best terms. As to the Princess Charlotte, Mrs. Fitzherbert said,
the Prince was much attached to her for some years; indeed, he was
generally fond of children and young people, and it was only when
the Princess Charlotte became the subject of constant altercation
betwixt him and those who took part with Queen Caroline, that he, at
last, began to see her with more coolness. Upon one occasion, Mrs.
Fitzherbert told me, she was much affected by the Princess Charlotte
throwing her arms round her neck, and beseeching her to speak to her
father, that he would receive her with greater marks of his affection;
and she told me that she could not help weeping with this interesting
child.'

She spent the latter part of her life almost entirely at Brighton,
beloved by the townsfolk for her goodness and charity, and whilst she
lived her servants invariably wore the Royal livery. She died in 1837,
and was buried in the Old Catholic Church[80] at Brighton, where a
handsome monument was erected to her memory by the Hon. Mrs. Lionel
Dawson Damer, whom we have known as Miss Mary Seymour. It bears the
following inscription:

 'In a vault near this spot, are deposited the remains of Maria
 Fitzherbert. She was born on the 26th July, 1756, and expired at
 Brighton, on the 29th March, 1837. One, to whom she was more than a
 parent, has placed this monument to her revered and beloved memory, as
 a humble tribute of her gratitude and affection.'

On her wedding-finger are three rings, in allusion to her three
marriages.

The Prince was more or less at Brighton in 1808, 1809, and 1810, when
came the death of the Princess Amelia, and the mental aberration of the
poor old King. On February 11, 1811, the Prince of Wales was sworn in
as Regent, and for the next two or three years Brighton saw little of
him; only the Pavilion was always growing bigger. Marlborough House was
purchased, in 1812, for £9,000, and in 1813 a series of improvements
and additions were made, which lasted till 1818. In 1814 the King of
Prussia and the Emperor of Russia came to England on a visit--the
former, in passing through Brighton, spending ten minutes at the
Pavilion for refreshment, and the latter going all over it, besides
walking on the Steine.

Queen Charlotte paid a visit to the Prince Regent at the Pavilion on
October 24, 1814, accompanied by the Princesses Elizabeth and Mary,
and they stopped until the 29th, visiting, during their stay, various
parts of the town, and expressing themselves much satisfied with the
situation and appearance of the place, and the general respectability
and conduct of the inhabitants. Before her Majesty left the town, she
ordered £50 to be distributed among the poor, and became the patroness
of the Dollar Society for their relief, towards which both she and the
Princesses liberally subscribed.

They paid another visit to Brighton the next year, as the _Gentleman's
Magazine_ for 1815 records:

'_Brighton. Dec. 14._--Her Majesty and the two Princesses arrived on a
visit to the Prince Regent, at the Pavilion. The principal inhabitants,
having received permission, went to Patcham, dressed in buff and
mounted, to escort her Majesty; a dutiful address was presented on
the occasion, to which her Majesty returned a gracious verbal answer.
Her Majesty, on entering Brighton, seemed to be highly pleased with
the attention paid her, and repeatedly bowed to the gentlemen who
escorted her. The Prince Regent remained from three o'clock until the
arrival of his august mother, outside the gate of the Pavilion, with
the Duke of Clarence and several of the nobility, to receive the Queen
and Princesses.--On the 16th, her Majesty, accompanied by the Duke of
Clarence, with the two Princesses, in a carriage, passed through the
principal streets of the town, notwithstanding the dampness of the
atmosphere, and was every where received with the most marked respect
and homage.'

It was of this visit that the following satire[81] (believed to have
been written by C. F. Lawler) was penned. I can only give a portion, as
it is too long; but I give it, as it exhibits the popular belief of the
doings at the Pavilion:

'ROYAL RANTIPOLES.

    '"I'll stick to state affairs no more,
      But banish toil and sorrow;
    So order, Mac,[82] my coach and four
      And we'll away to-morrow.

    '"Of Rhenish take an ample store;
      Be careful how you pack it;
    My whiskers, too, my hearty cock;
      And eke my shooting jacket.

    '"I mean to pass a month or so,
      'Midst rural scenes so pleasant;
    In waging war with buck and doe,
      With partridge, hare and pheasant.

    '"The pockets of the coach well cram
      With brandy, gin and carraway
    That we may take a social dram,
      When snugly riding far away."

    'Thus spake the Prince, a demi-god,
      The pink of earthly Regents,
    Who shakes three nations with his nod,
      And bows them to obedience.

    'Thro' Brighton streets the carriage rolls,
      Loud greeted by the million,
    Who, crowding thick as herring shoals,
      Block'd up the gay Pavilion.

    'Now from his carriage Cæsar hopp'd,
      (No second Master Ellar[83])
    Just like a butt of porter dropp'd
      Into an alehouse cellar.

    'Then happy Cæsar cry'd "Huzza!
      As sure as thou'rt a sinner,
    Since here we are, Mac, here we'll stay,
      And eat our Christmas dinner.

    '"And we will sport and feast away,
      In one unbroken revel;
    Venus all night, and wine all day,
      We'll play the very devil."

    'The next day came a group of lords,
      And eke of ladies plenty;
    Deck'd out in jewels, wigs and swords,
      Of each not less than twenty.

    'High at the head of this gay throng
      Shone mighty Cæsar's mother;
    And, like a pine, the shrubs among,
      Stood Y--k, his favourite brother.

    'And brother K--t, too, shew'd his face;
      And Austria's budding roses,[84]
    To swell th' attractions of the place,
      Thrust in their royal noses.

    'And Cæsar's glorious sisters came,
      Each like a butter firkin,
    A round, unwieldy, greasy dame,
      With visage gay and smirking.

    'And H----d,[86] too, the prince of peers,
      The monarch of the stables.
    Who, like a glutton leech, for years
      Had suck'd the royal tables.

    'And H----d's frisky Mar----ss,[85]
      The very pink of beauty,
    Came, Cæsar's banquet to caress,
      And pay her humble duty.

    'And then came quibbling Cast----gh,[86]
      And C----h's proud spousy;[86]
    And placemen green, and placemen grey,
      And many a Lady Blowsy.

    'But sure some dire mishap befel
      Red-headed Whiskerandos,[87]
    Or frolick'd he with wanton belle,
      In that fam'd street call'd _Chandos_?

    'Or had he some contusion gain'd
      While at the Fives court sparring?
    Or, murky thought! a scratch obtain'd
      In some domestic jarring?

    'No, truth to tell, for truth will out,
      Cæsar and this hot stager,
    Had quarrell'd, as the thing fell out,
      About some trifling wager.

    'Says Redhead, "One to five, this pea
      (And in the fire he cast it);
    Will bounce against your Grace's knee,
      As soon as fire shall blast it."

    '"Done!" Cæsar cry'd.--The hot pea bounc'd,
      Outrageously disloyal,
    And with most trait'rous aim it pounc'd
      Against the forehead royal.

    '"Knave!" Cæsar roar'd, and Cæsar look'd
      With most prodigious fury;
    And said--"Such pranks shall not be brook'd,
      No, Redhead, I assure ye!"

    'Then Redhead swore his Highness jok'd,
      And seem'd but to be fluster'd;
    At which his Grace grew more provok'd,
      And still more loudly bluster'd.

    'And then he d----d the pea so vile,
      And d----d poor Redhead's folly;
    Whilst he stood staring all the while,
      Quite dumb with melancholy.

    'And from that hour, as courtiers say,
      High ran the mutual malice;
    Nor was hot Redhead, from that day,
      Seen in the Royal Palace.

    'Then Cæsar quoth--"My friends, give ear:
      This Christmas, to my thinking,
    Is the fit season for good cheer,
      For frolic, fun, and drinking:

    '"And, since my Mother will not stay
      A week for recreation,
    Our Christmas sports will have, to-day,
      A sweet anticipation:

    '"So, pray you, name, some lord or gent,
      How we may all make merry,
    How best the moments may be spent,
      How we dull care may bury."

    'Then quoth the Q--n, and with her snuff,
      Rais'd thick terrestrial vapours--
    "Suppose we play at blindman's buff,
      Or cut some country capers."

    '"Faith" (Cæsar cry'd) "catch who catch can,
      I'll do my best endeavour;
    So blind my eyes; 'ware maid and man,
      And blindman's buff for ever!"

    'Queen Dollalolla[88] straightway bound
      Round Cæsar's eyes the linen,
    And three times thrice she turn'd him round,
      While all the group sat grinning.

    '"Now!" cry'd the Q--n; and, at the word,
      Off hood-wink'd Cæsar started;
    While lady, from his grope, and lord,
      With cunning archness darted.

    'Now, Cæsar's hand profanely press'd
      The bosom of his mother;
    Now, grasp'd this fair one's naked breast,
      Now wandered to another.

    'Now, on some lady's carmine cheek,
      His erring fingers lighted,
    But not one timid shrug, nor shriek,
      Told that the fair was frighted.

    'At length, with am'rous fire, he seized
      Round her white neck, his sister;
    And clasp'd her to his heart, well pleas'd,
      And, still mistaking, kiss'd her.

    'And Heaven alone knows when and where
      Had paus'd the panting Cæsar,
    But the dame whisper'd in his ear--
      "'Tis Mary; pray don't teaze her."

    'Then Cæsar quick relax'd his hold,
      And grip'd to find another;
    And, soon, with hand most lewd and bold,
      He clasp'd his wither'd mother.

    'But she, too old for am'rous guile,
      For Cupid's conflagration,
    Felt his embrace, and stood the while
      Secure from perturbation.

    'Yes, like a stock or stone, she stood,
      While naughty Cæsar linger'd,
    Her gay attire and attitude,
      Her varying graces finger'd.

    'But gay, good temper'd Y--k, just by,
      Felt for his brother's blunder,
    And, whisp'ring in his ear, so sly,
      Soon tore the pair asunder.

    '"Take care, the belles!" then Cæsar cry'd,--
      "I'll hug 'em if I reach 'em!"
    Then Cæsar made a desp'rate stride,
      And caught young Lady B----mp.[89]

    'Young Lady B----mp, strange to tell,
      Was much attached to virtue;
    And scream'd, and Cæsar said, "Sweet belle,
      I'll tickle, but not hurt you."

    'And, then, his wicked fingers stray'd
      About the fair one's graces;
    The neck and bosom of the maid,
      And such forbidden places.

    'Then, in the maiden's eyes, a tear
      Glisten'd, and seem'd to linger;
    And then, she loudly cry'd "O, dear!"
      And pinch'd the Royal finger.

    'But, still, the Royal finger stay'd
      And shew'd no signs of flinching;
    But, further in the lab'rinth stray'd,
      In spite of sighs and pinching.

    'So high then grew the maiden's fears,
      Lest scandal should traduce her;
    That hard she box'd great Cæsar's ears,
      And called him "_Vile Seducer!_"

    'Then, dumb with anger and surprise,
      And not without much reason,
    Cæsar unveil'd his royal eyes,
      To see who did the treason.

    'Then Lady B----mp's mother rush'd,
      Nor lords, nor ladies heeding,
    And vow'd to Cæsar that she blush'd
      To see the girl's ill breeding.

    'But, if his Highness would, for once,
      Benignantly forget her,
    She would take home the silly dunce,
      And teach the rustic better.

    'Queen Dollalolla interpos'd,
      To wipe off the transgression,
    And Cæsar's wounds, at length, were clos'd
      By this most vile concession.'

Then they played at 'hunt the slipper,' and would have tried forfeits,
only none of the gentlemen could be found with wit enough to invent the
penalties, and--

    'Now wearied Cæsar call'd for wine,
      And Y-- his brother Gracchus,
    With Momus cut, and left his shrine,
      To pay his vows to Bacchus.

    'The peers, of sport and frolic cur'd,
      Soon put their chairs in motion,
    And join'd, by high example lur'd,
      The jolly god's devotion.

    'Then rose the dame of mighty mind,
      The graceful Dollalolla,
    And walk'd across the room, and sign'd
      The peeresses to follow.

    'But whether, as the Frenchman notes,
      They went to closet handy,
    To wet their pretty little throats,
      And glut themselves with brandy:

    'Or, whether, as the aforesaid saith,
      Adjourning to their houses,
    They went to plan their plans of death
      Against their thoughtless spouses:

    'Of this, the bard relateth not,
      Nor with the ladies went he,
    But chose to stay (far happier lot!)
      Where claret flow'd in plenty.

    'Now Cæsar at the head took place,
      With Y-- and K-- beside him;
    And those who said he shew'd no grace,
      Most wofully belied him.

    'Quoth he, when in his brain, a rout
      The wine began to kick up,
    Tho' lamely hopp'd the language out,
      Delay'd by many a hiccup.

    'Quoth he--"Upon my soul, Lord L.,[90]
      You are a funny fellow,
    And it would please me vastly well
      If you a song would bellow;

    '"Or, if Lord C.[91] and you will try
      To sing my favourite duet,
    I'll dub you dukes before you die,
      So mind and keep me to it."

    'Then did Lord C---- most gravely swear,
      For songs he could not hum 'em;
    For sharps and naturals made him stare,
      He could not overcome 'em.

    '"And," said Lord L----, "I gravely vow
      By him the blessed Saviour,
    I, never, from my youth, could know
      A crotchet from a quaver."

    'Then Cæsar cry'd--"Well, sing in flats,
      I want no grace nor science;
    And, if you mew like two Tom Cats,
      I'll have a prompt compliance."

    'When these two nobles saw 'twas vain,
      To oppose his R----l Highness,
    They pick'd them out a simple strain,
      Suited to birds of shyness.

    'The key once pitch'd, they puff'd their cheeks,
      And gave the ears a griper,
    Like the discordant sound that breaks
      From an old Scotch bagpiper.

    'But L----l soon got before,
      And C----h jogg'd after,
    While all their friends were in a roar,
      And Cæsar shook with laughter.

    'Cry'd Cæsar--"Of your notes be spare,
      A little economic;
    For though a vastly tragic air,
      Your genius makes it comic.

    '"When next, with long, Munchausen hop,
      The Post[92] your praise is ringing,
    Your politics the knave should drop,
      And blazon out your singing."

    'Then Cæsar volunteer'd a song,
      And volunteer'd it gaily;
    And bellow'd out, in cadence strong,
      "Unfortunate Miss Bailey!"

    'But, as his voice approach'd the close,
      Its tones began to woddle;
    The claret fumes so quickly rose,
      While reaching to the noddle.

    'Dimly the lights began to burn,
      And care appear'd a bubble,
    And ev'ry noble, in his turn,
      Saw wine and glasses double.

    'Now Cæsar from his cushion popp'd,
      And none to help were able;
    For, one by one, the whole group dropp'd,
      Like logs, beneath the table.

    'And now, God bless all men who breathe,
      And shield the Royal _crania_,
    That they may never break beneath
      The Bacchanalian mania.'

[Illustration: Decorative motif]

FOOTNOTES:

[77] On June 19, 1811.

[78] On June 1, 1812, _Town Talk_ published a satirical print, Worse
and Worse, or the Sports of the 19th Century.' Mrs. Fitzherbert and
Lady Hertford are playing at shuttlecock with the Prince of Wales's
feathers. Mrs. F. says, 'This shuttlecock is too light for me. I'll
have no more to do with it.' Lady H. calls out, 'You have play'd with
it till you are tired, but it suits me to a nicety; the game's mine.
Y--h, take care of the shuttlecock.' Lord Yarmouth, who is behind Mrs.
F., says, 'O yes, Ma'am, I'll take care of the shuttlecock, I warrant
you.'

[79] Physician-in-ordinary to George IV.

[80] St. John the Baptist in Upper St. James's Street.

[81] 'Royal Rantipoles; or the Humours of Brighton.' A poem, by Peter
Pindar, Esq.; London, 1816, 8vo.

[82] Colonel MacMahon, the Regent's Privy Purse.

[83] A famous equestrian at Astley's Amphitheatre.

[84] The Archdukes John and Lewis, who spent a few days at Brighton
with the Prince.

[85] Marquess and Marchioness of Hertford.

[86] Lord and Lady Castlereagh.

[87] Lord Yarmouth, who had red hair and was a notable bruiser.

[88] According to the novelist Fielding, in his play of 'Tom Thumb,'
1730, Dollalolla was the consort of King Arthur, very fond of stiff
punch, but scorning 'vulgar sips of brandy, gin and rum.'

[89] Beauchamp, pronounced 'Beacham.'

[90] Liverpool.

[91] Castlereagh.

[92] The _Morning Post_.

[Illustration: Decorative panel]

CHAPTER XVIII.

 The Regent and Admiral Nagle--A quiet time at the Pavilion--The
 Regent's extravagance--His yacht--Sham fight and caricature
 thereon--A cruise to the French coast--Royal visitors--The Regent's
 statues--'High life below stairs,' etc.--Satirical prints--Closing
 days--Last appearance at the Pavilion.

The Regent was always being satirized by the publication of some of
his own puerilities, or those of his suite, who, of course, took their
tone from him. The _Brighton Herald_ is responsible for the following
anecdote:

'A gallant Admiral (Nagle) residing at the Pavilion, was, a few days
since, presented by a certain Great Personage, with a beautiful milk
white mare, which, it was stated, had just arrived from Hanover.
Nothing was talked of but this fine creature; and every one seemed
anxious to have her merits put to the test. The Admiral mounted,
tried her in all her paces, and, though he could but approve, yet he
pronounced her to be greatly inferior to a favourite black mare of
his own. The present, however, coming from so high a quarter, was, of
course, received with every expression of duty and thankfulness. The
long switching tail of the animal not exactly suiting the Admiral's
taste, he sent her to a farrier to have it cropped--when, lo! he
speedily received intelligence that it was a _false_ tail, and that,
beneath it appeared a short black one. This curious fact led to a
minute inspection, when it was discovered that this _beautiful white
Hanoverian horse_ was no other than the good humoured Admiral's
own _black mare_, which had been painted in a manner to elude his
detection.'

This anecdote is probably true, as Captain Gronow ('Reminiscences,'
second series, p. 212) tells a similar story, only he changes the venue
from Brighton to Carlton House:

'Admiral Nagle was a great favourite of George the Fourth, and passed
much of his time with his Majesty. He was a bold, weather beaten tar,
but, nevertheless, a perfect gentleman, with exceedingly pleasing
manners, and possessed of much good nature and agreeability.

'The late Duke of Cambridge, on one occasion, sent his brother a cream
coloured horse from the Royal stud at Hanover, and the King gave the
animal to Colonel Peters, the riding master. Admiral Nagle ventured to
express a hope that, if his Majesty received a similar present from
Hanover, he would graciously make him a present of it; upon which the
King replied, "Certainly, Nagle, you shall have one."

'The Admiral was, shortly afterwards, sent to Portsmouth, to
superintend the building of the Royal Yacht, during which time
Strohling, the fashionable painter of the day, was summoned, and
ordered to paint the Admiral's favourite hack, to make it appear like
one of the Hanoverian breed. The horse was, accordingly, placed in the
riding school, and, in an incredibly short period, the metamorphosis
was successfully completed. In due time the Admiral returned from
Portsmouth, and, as usual, went to the Royal Stables, and was charmed
to see that his Majesty had fulfilled his promise. He lost no time in
going to Carlton House to return thanks, when the King said, "Well,
Nagle, how do you like the horse I sent you?" "Very much," was the
reply, "but I should like to try his paces before I can give your
Majesty a decided opinion about him." "Well, then, let him be saddled,
though it does rain, and gallop him round the park and return here,
and let me know what you think of him." It rained cats and dogs; the
paint was gradually washed off the horse, to the Admiral's great
astonishment, and he returned to Carlton House, where the King and
his friends had watched his departure and arrival with the greatest
delight. The Admiral was welcomed with roars of laughter, which he took
with very great good humour; and, about a month afterwards, the King
presented him with a real Hanoverian horse of great value.'

These Christmas festivities probably produced a fit of gout, which
brought the Queen and Princesses, together with the Princess Charlotte,
to the Pavilion, on a visit, from January 6, 1816, to January 20--a
visit which covered the birthdays of the Princess Charlotte and Her
Majesty, both of which were nobly celebrated.

This seems to have been a quiet time at the Pavilion, if we may credit
a letter from the Dowager Countess of Ilchester to Lady Harriet
Frampton, dated from Cranborne Lodge, February 2, 1816:[93]

'... I must tell you that the fortnight at Brighton has had a very