Part 13

The lamentable divisions that existed in the royal family formed a topic of common conversation, and deeply disturbed the tranquillity of His Majesty's mind. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of York took industrious advantage of all available means to cultivate popularity out of doors; and when it was thought advisable by Ministers, that the King should make a procession to St. Paul's to offer up thanks for his recovery, their Royal Highnesses seem to have entered into a sort of rivalry with the King for the applause of the spectators. Indeed, there was so little disguise about their personal conduct to His Majesty, that the newspapers did not hesitate to charge them with it, and the Dukes of York, Gloucester and Cumberland, felt it necessary to protect themselves against the animadversions of the Press, by prosecuting the publisher of the "Times," for accusing them of "insincerity" in their professions of joy at the King's recovery. Some fears were entertained as to the bearing of His Majesty on the occasion of the procession; but he passed through it with a composure and self-control that inspired his friends with the utmost confidence in the future. Mr. Bernard, writing to Lord Buckingham on the 23rd of April, gives the following account of the proceedings:

MR. BERNARD TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

London, April 23rd, 1789, Five o'clock, P.M. MY LORD,

The ceremony of this day has been gone through exceedingly well. The procession from the House of Commons began at eight o'clock, and the King reached St. Paul's between eleven and twelve. The arrangement of the cathedral, particularly the dome, presented a beautiful sight. The King seems much reduced by his late illness--was remarkably composed during the service, and attentive to the music. His Majesty, as well as the Queen, seemed much affected with the solemnity of their first entrance, as were many of the persons present. Lady Uxbridge was near fainting away.

As the King went out of the church, he seemed to be in good spirits, and talked much to the persons about him; but he stared and laughed less than ever I knew him on a public occasion. He returned to the Queen's House between three and four o'clock. Mr. Fox and most of his party were there. He and Colonel Fitzpatrick were stationed in front of the altar, and directly opposite the King, being the part of the cathedral for Privy Councillors and Peers' sons. Mr. Pitt sat near them, but not in the first ranks. I saw Lord Temple in a very good place, in that part of the church. I did not see Mr. Burke there, and therefore suppose he continues ill. The trial was deferred yesterday on account of his illness, which people say was occasioned by his working himself into too great a passion the day before.

I have the honour to be ever, my Lord, Your Excellency's most faithful and affectionate servant, S. BERNARD.

The same subject is followed up in a letter from Lord Bulkeley.

LORD BULKELEY TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Stanhope Street, April 27th, 1789. MY DEAR LORD,

The pilgrimage to St. Paul's, which funck'd us all very much, has turned out exceedingly well, for the King conducted himself throughout the whole of that very arduous trial in such a manner as to convince all, except those who will not see nor hear, that he is in perfect possession of his faculties. The Princes of Wales, York, Cumberland, and, I am sorry to say, Gloucester, talked to each other the whole time of the service, and behaved in such an indecent manner that was quite shocking. The King in Pall Mall was received without applause, and the Prince with a good deal; but from Cockspur Street to St. Paul's he had the warmest acclamations possible, particularly in the city of London, where all ranks of people were unanimous, which the King perceived, and since has much praised. In parts of the Strand the Prince's dependants were posted to give him an huzza as he passed, which flattered him most exceedingly; but he lost his temper in the City, and he never recovered it afterwards, for at St. Paul's he was in the worst humour possible, and did everything he could do to expose himself in the face of an amazing concourse of persons, and of all the foreign Ministers.

On the return of the procession the Prince and Duke of York put on their uniforms at Carlton House, and headed the whole brigade of Grenadiers, and fired a _feu de joie_ before Buckingham House, the King and Queen and the Princesses standing in one of the windows. The Prince, before the King got into his carriage, which the whole line waited for before they filed off, went off on a sudden with one hundred of the common people, with Mr. Wattie in the middle of them, huzzaing him, and was done evidently to lead, if possible, a greater number, and to make it penetrate into Buckingham House.

The breach is so very wide between the King and Prince, that it seems to me to be a great weakness to allow him any communication with him whatsoever; for under the mask of attention to their father and mother, the Prince and Duke of York commit every possible outrage, and show every insult they can devise to them. The report of the journey to Hanover prevails to an alarming degree, and the King talks of it right hand and left; but it is to be hoped the Ministers will be able to divert his attention from it at this particular moment, for in the present unhinged state of things it might be pregnant with very disagreeable consequences. I believe the King's mind is torn to pieces by his sons, and that he expects to relieve himself by a new scene, and by getting out of the way of hearing of and seeing the Prince of Wales, with the hopes of being able to detach the Duke of York, whom he fondly and dotingly loves, and of prevailing on him to marry on the continent, of which there is no chance, for in my opinion he is just as bad as the Prince, and gives no hopes of any change or amendment whatsoever in thought, word, or deed.

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P.S.--It is said that the King abuses Dundas to those about him very much, in a language that is very much copied by those whom we all know by the term of "King's friends;" and there are some who pretend to say that his loss of ground at Buckingham House has been owing to the part he took against Hastings, in which he has the reputation of having engaged Pitt to concur. I have made every inquiry whether the King ever expresses himself to his people about him in favour of Hastings, and I am told he is very guarded and reserved on his subject, but that some _females_ in his house talk loud and warmly in his favour, which occasions the attributing the same opinions to him.

On one of the adjourned questions on Hastings's trial in the House of Lords, Lord Maitland, standing next to Dundas, asked him what he thought would be the result of the inquiry, to which he replied in these words: "I don't care what is done with him, for you and your friends in Opposition have done our business, by keeping him out of the Board of Control." Lord Maitland on this called up Colonel Fitzpatrick and Dudley Long, in whose presence Dundas actually repeated his words, and they, of course, trumpeted them all over town, and they have occasioned much conversation and much abuse of Dundas, in addition to their former abuse on the part of Hastings's friends. The folly of such language, especially to three violent Oppositionists, was very absurd, weak, and ill-judged, but the fact is certain.

I hear many complaints of Pitt and his Secretaries' personal inattentions to Members _of_ Parliament, but they will think twenty times before they go into Opposition; and it is most probable that these complaints are not made till _impossible jobs_ have been refused; I therefore only mention them as certainly existing, and most probably as to any consequences, _vox et praeterea nihil_, at least till the last sessions.

* * * * *

Just as I was sealing my letter a person called on me, who tells me that divisions in the Cabinet, or rather among the Cabinet Ministers, certainly do exist, to a great degree, about Mr. Dundas, and has confirmed to me what I have before told you, that every corner of Buckingham House resounds with abuse, and opprobrious epithets against him.

A passage in a letter of Mr. Grenville's, dated the 2nd of May, indicates an approaching event, to which many circumstances, but chiefly the increasing weight the writer had latterly acquired in the councils of Mr. Pitt, had for some time been obviously tending.

I wish to mention to you that Lord S. has taken great offence, from the circumstance of having at last found out that your despatches to him come over enclosed to me. I could wish, therefore, that for the _very short time_ that your correspondence with him is likely to continue you would alter this, as nothing material is likely to arise that can render it necessary, and I am desirous just at this particular moment to avoid any altercation with him. This jealousy on his part, and a just sense on mine of his conduct towards you, has entirely broke off all communication between us with respect to Irish, or indeed any other, business. Some delay and awkwardness necessarily arises from this; but it is unavoidable, and I repeat that it will probably be of _very_ short duration.

The nomination of Mr. Grenville to the Home Office had been delayed only till the arrangements consequent upon the necessary changes it involved could be satisfactorily carried out. The means of effecting it were now within Mr. Pitt's reach; and at the moment this letter was written, Mr. Grenville's appointment was on the eve of being ratified.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Whitehall, May 15th, 1789. MY DEAR BROTHER,

Just as I was sitting down to write to you, I received a note from Hobart, informing me of his arrival. I have seen him, and had a long conversation on the different points which he is charged with. My appointment is, I think I may now _decisively_ say, fixed for Friday next, and I hope that you will soon feel the effects of your new correspondent, in the expedition of the various matters which are now lying on hand. You must, I am sure, be sensible that under the circumstances of these last three weeks, it has been _quite impossible_ for me, however ardently I wished it for your sake, to bring forward these different points of business; but on Monday sev'nnight, at latest, I hope to write to you upon them all, though the length of Hobart's memorandum-paper has a little frightened me. I do not complain of it as thinking your bill a large one, considering the value received, but only I think the impression of my _debut_ in the closet may be a little awkward. I must, however, meet this as well as I can; and although this ten days' more delay must, I know, be very unpleasant to you, I trust you will see it is unavoidable.

If you find it necessary, for reconciling any of your principal people to the delay, to assign the intended change in the Secretary's office as a reason, there can now be no objection to it, as we have agreed that it would be right that, by the time you can receive this letter, we should begin to buzz it about, as a thing not improbable to happen.

With respect, however, to your peerages, I have, as I promised you, got Pitt to state them to the King, who has consented to them, Marquisates and all. You may now, therefore, recommend them as soon as you please, and _I_ will take care there shall be no further unnecessary delay.

There are, however, still two points with respect to this business. I understand from Hobart that Lord Glerawley wants his promotion to be limited to his brother. This had not been stated in your letters, and I was therefore unable to mention it to Pitt. It is therefore still possible that the King may make some objection to this, as you know it is against one of his rules (though by no means an invariable one) to give a step and a limitation at the same time.

The other is essential, and can, I hope, make no difficulty with you. He is willing to _engage_ that these should _all_ be done without delay, but he seems much to wish that the promotions and creations should be separated, in order that they may not, by coming together, appear to fill too large a column in the "Gazette." There must, therefore, be an interval of a fortnight or three weeks. You will judge whether the promotions or creations should come first.

The only remaining point is that of the Seals. I beg you to believe me sincere when I assure you that, independent of your wishes upon the subject, my own opinion is quite as much made up as yours is on the subject of Fitzgibbon's appointment. But, in the same sincerity, I assure you that it is by no means advantageous towards the attainment of this object, that it should be pressed forward in the present moment. Hobart has asked me whether Fitzgibbon's coming over would not be of use to him? I am strongly inclined to be of opinion that it would; but before I gave him a decisive answer, I wish to consult Pitt, and he is not to write to Fitzgibbon till after that. With respect to the difficulty of your Chancery causes, I can conceive no earthly reason why Carleton, especially as he is to receive so great a favour, should not have to go on with them, just as Lord Loughborough did here when the Seals were in commission for a year. Depend upon it that I do not deceive you, when I say that it is much better to wait for the favourable moment, than to hurry it on to a decision now. That favourable moment may arise sooner or later, but I am confident that ultimately _le bon tems viendra_. Your information about the Chancellor's _resolution_ is very curious, because I have reason to _know_ that McNa. is exactly the very person who has most strongly urged Thurlow on the propriety of an English appointment, and who has suggested this curious notion of F.'s unpopularity. But I mention this, relying upon your honour that you will not repeat it to _any one_, but particularly not to Fitzgibbon.

I am most sincerely sorry that the consideration of your health should enter at all into the question of your going or remaining. Pray let me entreat you, whether you take the one resolution or the other ultimately, not to delay nor put off one day a fixed resolution to use constant and sufficient exercise. I am sure any delay on that head is of a hundred times more consequence than all those which we have been lamenting. Nothing in the world could make up to you for the consequences which your omission in this respect (which I am grieved to learn from Hobart still continues) may bring upon you. You cannot conceive how earnestly I feel on this subject, because I am every day feeling the good effects of a contrary practice, which enables me to go through all the business I have, without hurting my health or spirits.

Adieu, my dear brother, Believe me ever most affectionately yours, W. W. G.

The duel between Colonel Lenox and the Duke of York took place on the 26th of May. The town gossiped about it, but regarded it with indifference; and neither party got much credit in the end. Mr. Hobart, on the 30th, communicates another _on dit_ concerning the behaviour of the Princes.

The Queen and Princesses were last night at the _fete_ given by the French Ambassador. The Prince of Wales, Dukes of York and Clarence, were also there; but would not dance, or stay supper, lest they should have the appearance of paying the smallest attention to Her Majesty. The officers of the Duke of York's regiment met yesterday, at the request of Charles Lenox; they did not come to a decision till about an hour ago. I hear it is that Lenox acted with courage, but not with judgment.

There was some difficulty in finding a successor for Mr. Grenville in the House of Commons. The choice at last fell on Mr. Addington. The selection was not altogether unexceptionable; but, upon the whole, he was the best person that could be found.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Whitehall, June 1st, 1789. MY DEAR BROTHER,

I have this morning received your two letters, of the 26th and 28th together, which was a great relief to me from the uneasiness which I should have felt from your first letter, if I had received it separately. I most sincerely hope that you will feel no further bad effects from this accident. Lady B. has been some days on her road to Dublin, and is probably with you before this time. I cannot express to you how much I am concerned that any parts of my letter on the subject of the promotions should have appeared to you in the smallest degree wanting in that kindness and warmth of affection which I so sincerely feel, and always wish and mean to express. I have no copy of that letter, nor have I any recollection of the particular turn or expression of it which can at all serve me to remember what part of it can have impressed your mind with this sensation. I can therefore only say that, whatever it was, it has been most remote from my intention, and that as to any expression which can bear such an interpretation--_totum hoc indictum volo_.

With respect to the King's health, on which you ask me so particularly, I can only repeat to you what I said in my last letter--which I have from what I believe to be the very best authority--that he continues perfectly well, both in mind and body, and, with respect to the latter, is growing stronger every day. I beg you to believe, that though I should write you any contrary account with much pain and mortification, yet that I feel too much the importance of your being well and accurately informed on the subject, to have a moment's hesitation in stating anything of that sort to you as soon as I heard it myself. But, in truth, I believe that all these reports originate in nothing else than the anxiety of the King's friends for the preservation of his health, and the impatience which his enemies feel for the only event which can give them any prospect of seeing their wishes accomplished.

Addington is the person intended for my successor. He wants only a little more age, and being a little more known, to make his nomination unexceptionable; but I certainly cannot but confess that he does want both these. It is, however, the best appointment that we can make to a situation to which so few people are willing to look, and for which so much fewer are at all qualified. I have no doubt of his acquitting himself well in it, and of his becoming, in a little time, extremely popular in the House. We shall certainly lose our Abolition question. The cry against us upon it is growing every day stronger, without anybody being willing to give themselves the trouble of entering, in the smallest degree, into the examination of the grounds upon which our arguments rest.

We have no foreign news, except the continuance of the disputes and difficulties in France. But these you have as fully in the newspapers as I could detail them to you. The accounts from Vienna seem to agree that there is not much probability of the Emperor's finally recovering these repeated attacks, though he may linger out a considerable time.

Adieu, my dear brother, And believe me ever most sincerely and affectionately yours, W. W. G.

Lord Buckingham's health had suffered so much from the toils and anxieties to which he had been exposed during the last few months, that his physicians urged upon him the necessity of trying the waters at Bath. So long as the exigencies of the public service made an imperative demand on his energies, he bore his labours with unshrinking resolution; but now that the contest was over, and the security and influence of the Government were restored, he felt the recoil severely. It was natural that there should be mixed with this hope of recruiting his strength by change of scene, a strong desire for repose. The stormy times he had fallen upon in Ireland rendered his position there onerous and oppressive. He had ridden the storm in safety, and had the satisfaction of feeling that, whenever he retired from the Government, he would leave to his successor, untrammelled by the associations and recollections of the past, a comparatively easy task.

MR. W. W. GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

(Private.) Whitehall, June 13th, 1789. MY DEAREST BROTHER,

You will receive with this the official notification of Fitzgibbon's appointment to the Seals, which I send with the more pleasure at this particular moment, because I know that it will relieve your mind from one of the points on which you have felt a peculiar degree of anxiety. The decision on this point gives me great satisfaction, on many accounts, as an act of justice towards him, and as an example both to our friends and our enemies; but the interest which you took in it makes the event infinitely more agreeable to me than it would otherwise have been, however much I am convinced that it was right and necessary.