FOOTNOTES.


[1]. “Aware of this unnatural rebellion, the Royal parent, as might be expected, became anxious to ascertain the description of persons by whom his daughter was immediately surrounded, and by means of one of the most pious and virtuous characters of the land, it was soon discovered that many of her associates were persons possessing pernicious sentiments alike hostile to the peace of the daughter, the father, and the country. Under these circumstances there was but one safe or advisable course to pursue; the determination was prompt, and the whole of the obnoxious associates were dismissed by order of the Regent from Warwick House.”—Morning Post, July 14, 1814.

[2]. “The Princess Charlotte came to town on Saturday, attended by her ladies-in-waiting, in the Prince Regent’s open carriage and four, with three of the Prince Regent’s footmen as outriders, to visit the Princess of Wales at Connaught House, and after dinner, her Royal Highness returned to Cranbourne Lodge. This visit was to take leave previous to the Princess of Wales leaving town for Worthing, where her Royal Highness has taken a house. It is said that the Princess of Wales does not return to London from thence, but proceeds from that place to leave England for a short time to visit her native country. The Princess Charlotte’s visit to Connaught House was occasioned by a message of the Princess of Wales to the Minister, stating that she intended to go to Cranbourne Lodge to see her daughter, and expected to be admitted. The answer was, that the Princess Charlotte would be allowed to come to Connaught House on Saturday. Miss Mercer was allowed to go to Cranbourne Lodge to visit the Princess Charlotte on Sunday, and to remain with her Royal Highness till to-morrow.”—Morning Chronicle, July 26, 1814.

“Sompting Abbey, Sussex. July 29, 1814.... I saw Princess Charlotte on Saturday, two days before I set out; she seems much more calm and resigned to her prison at Cranbourne Lodge than I expected. She is to go afterwards to the sea-side. Warwick House is to be demolished, and a new wing built to Carlton House; and the Regent is to remove to the Duke of Cumberland’s apartments in St. James’s Palace.”—Extract of Letter from Princess of Wales, given in Lady Campbell’s Diary, vol. i.

[3]. “The Princess of Wales arrived at her house near Worthing on Tuesday night, and next evening she walked to Worthing, accompanied by her lady-in-waiting and attendants. Chairs were immediately placed on the beach, where her Royal Highness sat two hours. The moonbeams danced on the waves, and the pleasure-boats glided at her feet, forming a most delightful scene. The company is now select and numerous, and the packet which regularly sails to and from Dieppe is a great convenience, as it enables parties to drink champagne at Worthing in the evening, and old port on the French coast the next morning.”—Morning Chronicle, August 3, 1814.

[4]. “We understand that Princess Charlotte is going this day to Cranbourne Lodge, from whence, we trust, she will be permitted to repair to the sea-coast, bathing having been recommended by three eminent professional men as indispensably necessary for her general health, as well as for a local affection in the knee. Health and peace be with her!”—Morning Chronicle, August 18, 1814.

[5]. “The removal of the Princess Charlotte from Cranbourne Lodge to the King’s house at Weymouth is expected to take place this day or to-morrow. Her Royal Highness will be accompanied by the Countesses of Ilchester and Rosslyn, the Misses Coutts (Coates), Mrs. Campbell, General Garth, Major Price,” &c.—Morning Chronicle, August 24.

The names of General Garth and Major Price will be familiar to the readers of Madame D’Arblay’s Diary, with whom the Major was an especial favourite.

[6]. The fourth Viscount Ashbrook. Lady Ashbrook, his second wife, was sister of the late Lord Metcalfe, and daughter of Sir Theophilus Metcalfe, Bart.

[7]. The following are the letters to which Miss Knight refers:—

“My dearest Madam,—To suffer the 7th January to pass entirely without notice is a self-denial of which I do not feel myself capable, although I have not ventured to ask permission for paying my personal respects.

“That every blessing may attend your Royal Highness, in this and many succeeding years, is the constant, and will be among the latest, prayers of

“My dearest madam,

“Your Royal Highness’s

“Most dutifully attached servant.”

“To H.R.H. the Princess Charlotte.”

“My dear Madam,—The liberty I take in enclosing a letter for Princess Charlotte, merely to offer my dutiful respects, will, I trust, be mitigated by the assurance that I leave it entirely to the discretion of your Royal Highness whether it should be given or not.

“Nothing can ever alter the sentiments of respectful attachment with which I have the honour to be,

“My dear madam,

“Your Royal Highness’s

“Most obliged and obedient servant.

“To H.R.H. the Princess Mary.”

[8]. “Madame de Lieven is a Livonian by birth, and is remarkable for the distinction of her appearance as well as for her general talents. She is the only foreigner who was ever made a patroness of Almack’s, into the tracasseries of which establishment she entered very cordially, and as her manner at times is tinctured with a certain degree of hauteur, she has not failed to make many enemies. Madame de Lieven is, however, in every sense of the word, a très grande dame, and has formed friendships and intimacies with the highest persons of all parties in England.”—Raikes’s Journal, vol. i.

[9]. See extract in Appendix from the Duke of Buckingham’s “Memoirs of the Regency.”

[10]. March 9th, but it was subsequently postponed to the 13th, on which occasion Miss Knight was present, and her dress is thus described in the Morning Post of the following day:—“A petticoat of white satin with draperies of peach-blossom silver gauze, most tastefully disposed with silver trimming, which formed a lacing between each to display the petticoat underneath, and ornamented with silver cords and tassels. Robe to correspond, trimmed with point lace. Head-dress, feathers, and diamonds.”

[11]. Mr. Robinson’s bill to prohibit the importation of corn, except for bonding purposes, until the average price of wheat had reached 80s. a quarter.

[12]. Probably the Duke of Cumberland, whose marriage with the Dowager Princess of Salms was several times announced in the Morning Chronicle—and it did ultimately take place.

[13]. “The Princess of Wales has asked for a ship of war to convey her home to Great Britain from Naples, and has been informed that no vessel could be conveniently spared at this time from the Mediterranean station to accommodate her Royal Highness.”—Morning Chronicle, February 25.

[14]. Prince Castelcicala died at Paris of cholera in 1832, at which time he was Neapolitan Ambassador at the Court of France. He was in the eightieth year of his age, and “had long been known,” pleasantly observes Mr. Raikes, “for his self-indulgent mode of life.”

[15]. On the occasion of the chairing of Mr. Barclay, who was compelled to take refuge in the Horns Tavern, Kennington. The tumult arose from a misapprehension with respect to Mr. Barclay’s vote on the Corn-law Question.

[16]. Widow of Mr. Perceval, the Prime Minister, assassinated by Bellingham, May 11, 1812.

[17]. It was said, because the rooms were being gilded and redecorated.

[18]. “The new favourite grand ballet composed by Monsieur A. Vestris, entitled, ‘Le Prince Troubadour, ou la Double Epreuve.’ The music by F. Venua.”—The plot was taken from the opera of “Joconde,” and the principal performers were the two Vestrises, M. Baptiste, Mesdames Leon and Del Caro, and Mademoiselle Mélanie. It was highly praised in the morning papers.

[19]. Son and daughter of the Countess Charleville, by her first husband, James Tisdall, Esq.

[20]. Lord Ellenborough’s, in Saint James’s-square; Lord Eldon’s, in Bedford-square; Mr. Robinson’s, in Burlington-street; Lord Darnley’s, in Berkeley-square; Mr. Yorke’s, in Bruton-street.

[21]. Mr. Robinson, as proposer of the Corn Regulations, was especially obnoxious to the mob. The railings in front of his house were torn up, the windows and parlour shutters demolished, and the street door split open. Some soldiers who were in the house then fired into the street at random, and a man fell shot through the head. From the buttons on his coat it was conjectured that he was a naval officer; he proved to be a midshipman, named Edward Vyse—several other persons being wounded.

[22]. In addition to the household troops, the 10th Dragoons occupied the King’s Mews, the 16th Dragoons the Queen’s Riding-house, the 5th Dragoon Guards were at Romford, the 7th Hussars at Putney, the 18th in Lambeth, the 5th Foot at Knightsbridge, and the South Lincoln Militia in the Tower.

[23]. The attack on New Orleans on the 8th January, when the British were repulsed, with the loss of 2454 men, killed, wounded, and made prisoners.

[24]. “March 8.—They next proceeded to Mr. Ponsonby’s house, No. 19, in Curzon-street, May-Fair, with their numbers increasing on their way. On their arrival at Mr. Ponsonby’s, they presented a very formidable force. They instantly commenced a furious attack upon the house, demolished the windows, and broke the iron palisades in front. During this, some firing began from the inside of the house, through the door, while the mob were endeavouring to break it open. The door is much injured by the bullets which were fired through it, but we have not heard that any person was hurt. The house of Mr. Quentin Dick, next door to Mr. Ponsonby’s, is also considerably injured from the misdirection of the stone-throwers. In a few minutes the cavalry made their appearance, and the populace immediately dispersed in various directions.”—Annual Register, 1814, p. 23.

[25]. The French Ambassador, M. de la Châtre, in a letter to the editor of the Anti-Gallican, denied that M. Rayneval was ever private secretary to Caulincourt. He was merely chargé d’affaires at St. Petersburg until the arrival of the latter. The editor, Mr. Goldsmith, rejoined that, however that might be, M. Rayneval was with Caulincourt at Châtillon, and remained with him until Napoleon’s abdication, adding, “in fact, it was M. Rayneval who drew up the treaty of Fontainebleau.”

[26]. This “man” was the celebrated pianist Frederick Kalkbrenner, son of the equally well-known composer, Christian Kalkbrenner. Frederick Kalkbrenner visited London for the first time in 1814, and excited the greatest enthusiasm, eclipsing even the long-established reputation of Cramer. He resided in England ten years, and made a very handsome fortune.

[27]. The first notice of this event was received by Mr. Rothschild, who immediately sold out stock to the amount of 600,000l. before the news was generally known.

[28]. The Chancellor, Lord Eldon, lived at No. 6, which was attacked by the mob on the 6th, the iron railings torn up, and every pane of glass and much furniture broken and destroyed. The windows being broken, it was facetiously remarked that his Lordship at last kept open house. The mob was kept at bay by a party of soldiers sent from the British Museum, until a troop of the Horse Guards arrived and cleared the square.

[29]. “Napoleon Bonaparte is declared a traitor and a rebel for having appeared with arms in his hands in the Department of the Var.”—Art. IV. of the Ordonnance du Roi.

[30]. Richard II., Mr. Kean; John of Gaunt, Mr. Pope; Bolingbroke, Mr. Elliston; Duke of Norfolk, Mr. Rae; the Queen, Mrs. Bartley.

[31]. “‘Messieurs,’ said the King, ‘you see me suffering, but do not deceive yourselves: it is not disquietude, but gout which causes it. Assure your Sovereigns, with respect to what is passing in France, that the repose of Europe will be no more disturbed than that of France.’”—Morning Chronicle, March 13, 1815.

[32]. General Clarke, Duc de Feltre, formerly war minister under the Emperor.

[33]. “Four persons literally carried his Lordship out of the House, he, however, kicking and struggling somewhat violently.”—Morning Chronicle, March 22, 1815.

[34]. Louis XVIII. left Paris at 8 P.M. of the 19th, and slept at Abbeville on the 20th. Napoleon entered Paris at 9 P.M. on the 20th.

[35]. This was not the case. Lord Fitzroy Somerset left Paris with the King.

[36]. Madame Adelaide.

[37]. Colonel the Baron Labadayse, who reported that six thousand National Guards and four thousand troops of the line had sworn to remain faithful, but their defection took place a few days later.

[38]. “G. P. R.—The Prince Regent, acting in the name and on the behalf of his Majesty, thinks it right to inform the House of Lords, that the events which have recently occurred in France, in direct contravention of the engagements concluded with the allied powers, at Paris, in the month of April last, and which threaten consequences highly dangerous to the tranquillity and independence of Europe, have induced his Royal Highness to give directions for the augmentation of his Majesty’s land and sea forces.

“The Prince Regent has likewise deemed it incumbent upon him to lose no time in entering into communications with his Majesty’s allies, for the purpose of forming such a concert as may most effectually provide for the general and permanent security of Europe.

“And his Royal Highness confidently relies on the support of the House of Lords in all measures which may be necessary for the accomplishment of this important object.”

[39]. General Clausel entered Bordeaux on the 2nd April, the Duchess having embarked at Pouillac on board an English frigate, the Wanderer, on the previous day, and landed at Plymouth on the 19th.

[40]. There were two armed yachts in attendance on the Princess Charlotte at Weymouth, the Royal Charlotte and the Royal Sovereign.

[41]. “The lady has rather produced a dramatic poem than a regular drama. The versification is sweet and harmonious, the sentiments just and impressive, the images poetical, and, though not recommended by their actual novelty, were rendered so by their dress and elegance. It was a poem, then, which will be read with delight, but which wanted situation, incident, and passion to give it dramatic effect on the stage.”—Morning Chronicle, April 24, 1815.

Mrs. Wilmot, the authoress of “Ina,” was sister of Lady Asgill, and, therefore, first cousin of Mrs. Sheridan.

[42]. Lord Tullamore, born April 28, 1801, afterwards second Earl of Charleville.

[43]. Born King of Rome, died Duke de Reichstadt, a colonel in the Austrian service.

[44]. Coriolanus, Mr. Kemble; Sicinius, Mr. Barrymore; Brutus, Mr. Murray; Volumnia, Mrs. Renaud.

[45]. “Covent Garden Theatre. The beautiful masque of ‘Comus’ was revived last night (April 28) at this theatre with great splendour. All the music of Handel and Arne was retained, with some additions by Bishop. Miss Stephens sung the Echo song with the most fascinating effect. Mrs. Liston was encored in the fine song, “By dimpled brook.” Mrs. Faucit in The Lady, and Mr. Abbot in the Elder Brother, gave strong effect to the beautiful poetry, and Mr. Conway was, at least, a very grand figure in Comus. It was received throughout with rapturous applause.”—Morning Chronicle, April 29.

[46]. The present Countess of Essex.

[47]. “We have great pleasure in announcing that the marriage is settled between the Duke of Devonshire and Miss Mercer, daughter of Lord Keith. It is to take place next week.”—Morning Chronicle, May 11, 1815.

[48]. “We are desired to contradict, from authority, the report of the Honourable Miss Mercer Elphinstone’s marriage with the Duke of Devonshire.”—Ibid., May 12.

[49]. “Mr. Naldi’s last concert for the season was given at the superb mansion of Mrs. Maitland, in Grosvenor-place, on Monday last. The numerous suite of rooms were crowded, and the splendours of the ladies made it a grand coup d’œil. The concert was chiefly vocal, there being only two instrumental pieces. Mr. Naldi had the assistance of Mrs. Dickons, Mrs. Salmon, Miss Mortimer, Miss Griglietti, Mr. Braham, Mr. Ledesma, and other artists. Miss Mortimer sang a duet, by Zingarelli, with Mr. Ledesma, and an aria by Meyer. In these she displayed a highly cultivated taste and extensive power of voice. Her musical education has evidently been adapted to the theatre rather than to the orchestra, as was manifested in the theatrical air by Meyer, which demanded considerable execution, and in which, therefore, we were able to distinguish the character and style of this native songster, who, for ten years past, has performed in all the principal theatres of Italy. She will be a great acquisition to the British stage.”—Morning Chronicle, May 25, 1815.

[50]. Fifteen thousand stand of arms taken over by M. Larochejaquelin.

[51]. “The Duke de Gallo surrendered two sail of the line, and the whole arsenal of Naples, by capitulation, to Captain Campbell, of the Tremendous, on his threatening to bombard the city.”—London Gazette, June 5.

[52]. “We hear the Duke of Cumberland has signified his intention of coming to England, for a very short time, after his marriage, but that the Duchess was not expected to accompany him on the present occasion.”—Morning Chronicle, June 10.

His Royal Highness arrived in London on the 18th, and alone.

[53]. The Duke of Cumberland married a daughter of the reigning Duke of Mecklenburg Strelitz, niece of Queen Charlotte, and widow of the Prince Salms Brauenfels. The marriage was first solemnised at Berlin, but owing to some informality the ceremony was repeated at Carlton House on the 29th August, in a very private manner, the old Queen refusing to be present.

[54]. The news of the occupation of Paris was announced by Mr. Elliston on the 6th at the King’s Theatre, where a mixed performance was being given for the benefit of the widows and orphans of those who fell at Waterloo. In answer to a question, he said he had it in command from Carlton House to announce the tidings, which were fully given in the morning papers of the 7th.

[55]. He was found dead in his dressing-room, about 10 A.M., July 6.

[56]. Daughter of Count Dillon, guillotined at Paris in 1794 for his adherence to the Bourbons. Her mother was the Countess Latouche, of Martinique.

[57]. Her Royal Highness left London on the 26th July in a carriage and four, attended by Lady Ilchester and Colonel Addenbroke, Dr. Short, and Mrs. Campbell.

[58]. Owing to an affection of the eyes, Miss Knight discontinued her journal until the commencement of the ensuing year.

[59]. “The morn (of January 7) was ushered in by the ringing of bells, and preparations were making in the early part of the day for a general illumination in the evening, in compliment to the Princess Charlotte, whose natal day it was; but a desire was expressed that this mark of respect and loyalty from the town might be dispensed with.”—Morning Post, January 10, 1816.

There was a grand ball at the Pavilion, attended by “all the families of rank and fashion” at Brighton.

[60]. Mr. Ward, afterwards Lord Dudley, was a great favourite with the Princess of Wales. “How melancholy are all the recollections attached to his name! A person endowed with such supremacy of talent and situation, and yet so blasted by an invisible hand, that none of the former availed to his happiness. No one, it is said (either for his own sake, or, alas! more probably, for his brilliant position in life), was ever more courted by the fair sex, in despite of a very plain exterior and coarseness of manner. He was accounted one of the most agreeable and seductive of men. The beautiful Mrs. B. was one of those reported to have been not insensible to his attentions. Her melancholy death was, it is said, the actual cause of finally confirming his mental derangement.”—Lady C. Campbell’s Diary, vol. ii. p. 117.

[61]. Major-General Sir Robert Thomas Wilson, Michael Bruce, Esq., and Captain John Hely Hutchinson, were tried before the Court of Assize for the Department of the Seine, found guilty of being accessory to the concealment and escape of General Lavalette, and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment. The trial took place on the 22nd of April. In the first instance, they were accused of plotting against the political system of Europe in general, and the French monarchy in particular, but these charges were subsequently withdrawn.

[62]. A message was sent from the Prince Regent to each House of Parliament on the 14th of March, announcing the forthcoming marriage of his daughter, Princess Charlotte Augusta, with his Serene Highness Leopold George Frederick Prince of Coburg of Saalfeld. The Commons granted the illustrious pair the annual sum of 60,000l., of which 10,000l. were for the exclusive use of the Princess. They also voted the sums of 40,000l. to purchase furniture, plate, equipages, &c., 10,000l. for the Princess’s dresses, and 10,000l. for jewels.

[63]. “Notwithstanding some disadvantages, the Princess (Charlotte) had grown up to womanhood with many attractions, both mental and personal. Her Royal Highness possessed, also, a nature susceptible of every generous impression; unsuspicious and trusting, she readily became the dupe of persons who sought for their own objects to influence her through her sympathies, but when the influence was removed, the natural good sense of the Princess suggested a line of conduct becoming her sex and position. During the period when the society of her mother was least restricted, there is nothing to prove that her Royal Highness testified for it a very decided partiality; and it was scarcely possible for her to have been a frequent visitor at Blackheath and Kensington, without obtaining a knowledge that must have circumscribed her affection. Her disposition was extremely amiable, notwithstanding an impulsiveness that, under peculiar provocation, may have led her on one or two occasions into error; a pleasing proof of which was exhibited in her conduct to Lord Eldon, after he had brought her home, subsequently to her elopement from Warwick House. In her communications with, or observations on her mother, after the latter had left England, there are quite sufficient evidences of filial interest, tempered with a reserve naturally arising out of a sense of her objectionable conduct.”—Duke of Buckingham’s Memoirs of the Court of the Regency, vol. ii. p. 156.

[64]. The Princess Charlotte in 1811. “She is grown excessively, and has all the fulness of a person of five-and-twenty. She is neither graceful nor elegant; yet she has a peculiar air et tous les prestiges de la royauté et du pouvoir. The Princess is above the middle height, extremely spread for her age; her bosom full, but finely shaped; her shoulders large, and her whole person voluptuous, but of a nature to become soon spoiled; and without much care and exercise, she will shortly lose all beauty in fat and clumsiness. Her skin is white, but not a transparent white. There is little or no shade in her face, but her features are very fine. Their expression, like that of her general demeanour, is noble. Her feet are rather small, and her hands and arms are finely moulded. She has a hesitation in her speech amounting almost to a stammer—an additional proof, if any were wanting, of her being her father’s own child; but in everything she is his very image. Her voice is flexible, and its tones dulcet, except when she laughs, then it becomes too loud, but is never unmusical. She seems to wish to be admired more as a lovely woman than as a Queen. Yet she has quickness both of penetration and fancy, and would fain reign despotically, or I am much mistaken. I fear she is capricious, self-willed, and obstinate. I think she is kind-hearted, clever, and enthusiastic. Her faults have evidently never been checked, nor her virtues fostered.”—Lady C. Campbell’s Diary, vol. i. p. 65.

[65]. “I received a visit from Miss Knight. Her presence recalled Kensington and the poor Princess to my mind. She conversed with sense and kindliness on these topics, but her exceeding prudence always restrains the expression of her feelings, and she appeared averse to dwelling on the subject. The only remark she made which struck me as singular was that, in speaking of the King’s illness and probable decease, she said she conceived it would be a fortunate event for the country. Miss Knight has a very refined mind, and takes delight in every subject connected with literature and the arts. She is exceedingly well read, and has an excellent judgment in these matters.... I alluded once to the poor Princess Charlotte’s death, but Miss Knight only replied, ‘Ah, that was a melancholy event!’ and passed on to other subjects. She did not impress me with the idea of lamenting the Princess so much as I should have supposed she would have done. But perhaps she may, in reality, mourn her melancholy fate, and that she only forbears speaking of her lest she should say too much. Certainly Miss Knight was very ill-used by the Queen and the Regent, and I do not think Princess Charlotte liked, although she esteemed her. Miss Knight was not sufficiently gay, or of a style of character suited to her Royal Highness.”—Lady C. Campbell’s Diary, vol. iii. p. 7.

[66]. Louis Philippe, son of Philippe l’Egalité, Duke of Orleans: afterwards King of the French.

[67]. George Hammond, Esq., and David R. Morier, Esq., his Majesty’s Consul-General in France, were gazetted December 20, 1815, as his Majesty’s Commissioners of Arbitration.

[68]. Probably wife of M. de Fontanes, who translated into French Pope’s “Essay on Man.” By the Emperor he was created Count of the Empire, Commandant of the Legion of Honour, and Grand Master of the Imperial University; and by Louis XVIII. he was subsequently created Peer of France and Officer of the Legion of Honour.

[69]. Lady Morgan’s “chef d’un magasin de blanchissage” was willing to “pardon the King much for giving ‘la nation une princesse blanche comme la neige.’”—Lady Morgan’s France in 1816, vol. i. p. 105.

[70]. The Duke of Wellington occupied the Hôtel de la Regnière. “It was in this hotel that his Grace gave a splendid ball, on the occasion of the marriage of the Duc de Berri, which, from the circumstance of all the guests coming fresh from the grand couvert at the Tuileries in their splendid court dresses, together with the illuminations of the hotel and gardens in honour of the event, produced an effect of brilliancy and magnificence to which description can do no possible justice.... It was curious to see in this congress of beauty and fashion, to which so many countries lent some of their lovely representatives, the belles of Berlin, Petersburg, Rome, London, Paris, Edinburgh, and Dublin, all assembled under the same roof; Bonapartist generals waltzing in close embrace with pretty royalistes enragées, and revolutionary senators linked in a chaîne-entière with ultra partners, formed the best illustration of the ‘Holy Alliance’ that could possibly be given.”—Lady Morgan’s France in 1816, vol. ii. p. 81.

[71]. “The arrangements of this comparatively small theatre combine all that is chaste, elegant, light, and splendid in architecture and decoration. Illuminated with its thousand lights reflected from their crystal branches, it appears some fairy palace of Parian marble and burnished gold, at once noble and simple, magnificent and tasteful. To this splendid theatre no one was admitted who had not been presented at Court, and received a special invitation through the ‘premier gentilhomme de la chambre,’ or through their own ambassador. Every one appeared in full court dress, and the boxes, or rather the gallery which was round the theatre, is so constructed that every individual is distinctly seen. The King and the Royal Family occupy a centre box on one side; the ministers and ambassadors occupied a box on the left-hand of the King, the French Duchesses on the right, for the women do not mingle with the men under the present régime in the Court of the most gallant country in the world. The ‘parterre’ was exclusively occupied by the male part of the audience,” &c. &c.—Lady Morgan’s France in 1816, vol. i. p. 221.

[72]. And not without reason, as the following extracts will show. It must be remembered, too, that the Duke of Wellington and many of the Waterloo heroes were in the house by special invitation:

“Je prévois que bientôt cette guerre fatale,

Ces troubles intestins de la maison royale,

Ces tristes factions cèderont au danger

D’abandonner la France au fils de l’étranger.

Je vois que de l’Anglais la race est peu chérie,

Que leur joug est pesant! qu’on n’aime leur patrie.


... n’acceptera pour maître,

L’allié des Anglais, quelque grand qu’il puisse être.


... Je ne veux pas que l’Anglais en ces lieux,

Protecteur insolent, commande sous mes yeux;

Les Anglais avec moi pourraient mal s’accorder,

Jusqu’au dernier moment je veux seul commander,” &c. &c.

[73]. Then residing at Camelford House.

[74]. The Dukes of York and Sussex were chief mourners, while the pall was supported by the Dukes of Bedford and Argyle, the Earl of Lauderdale, Lords Mulgrave and Holland, and the Bishop of London. “The coffin,” says a writer in the Universal Review for January, 1860, “was borne to its resting-place in Westminster Abbey by a crowd of titled and illustrious mourners, whose homage to departed genius offered rather a suggestive contrast to their late neglect of its living owner:

‘How proud they can press to the funeral array

Of him whom they shunned in his sickness and sorrow.’

No circumstance of splendid woe was wanting to the burial of him whose last illness had been embittered by the falling away of friends, and the growing pressure of pecuniary troubles, and whose last hours were passed under his own roof only through the kindness or calculating fears of a sheriff’s officer.”

[75]. New Hall originally belonged to Waltham Abbey, but in the reign of Edward III. passed by exchange into the possession of Sir John Shardelowe. During the wars of the Roses it was bestowed upon Bortello, Earl of Ormond, a zealous Lancastrian, who was taken prisoner at Towton, and beheaded. The Manor House was fortified by his brother, by permission of Henry VII. It was obtained, by exchange, by Henry VIII., who erected it into an Honour, gave it the name of Beaulieu, and frequently resided there. After various vicissitudes, New Hall was sold to Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who was assassinated by Felton. At a later period it was purchased by Oliver Cromwell for five shillings, though yielding a rental of 1300l. a year. Soon afterwards, however, he gave New Hall, together with a considerable sum of money, in exchange for Hampton Court. Some years later it was the residence of Monk, Duke of Albemarle, after whose time the glories of the place gradually faded away, until the house, fast falling to decay, was converted into a convent for English nuns of good family.

[76]. Buckden Palace, in Huntingdonshire, was granted to the Bishop of Lincoln by the Abbot of Ely, in the reign of Henry I.

[77]. George Prettyman Tomline, D.D., consecrated Bishop of Lincoln in 1787, and promoted to the Bishopric of Winchester in 1820. Mrs. Maltby was wife of the Rev. Dr. Maltby, who held the living of Buckden.

[78]. Thorndon Hall, the seat of Lord Petrie, about two miles from Brentwood.

[79]. “Mrs. Lutwyche,” says Madame Piozzi, “has written from Rome; says her husband can walk now seven miles a day. They spend their time in seeing sights, under the direction of the far-famed Cornelia Knight, and rejoicing in the society of the first society of the first city in Europe.—January, 1817.” See the second of Mr. Hayward’s very pleasant volumes. The date should be 1818, not 1817.

[80]. See letter in Appendix—“Death of the Princess Charlotte.]”

In 1821, Miss Knight again went abroad, and arrived in Paris on the 12th of May.

[81]. Now Count de Chambord. He was born on the 29th of September, 1820. His father, the Duke de Berri, was assassinated on the 14th of February in the same year, as he was leaving the Opera. The assassin was a journeyman saddler, named Louvel, who had previously been a soldier in the old Imperial Guard, and who for four years had meditated this crime.

[82]. The conspiracy of the 19th August, 1820, having for its object the overthrow of the Government and the expulsion of the Bourbons. The trials of the conspirators terminated on the 17th July, 1821, when three of them were condemned to death, and six others to various terms of imprisonment, with or without fines.

[83]. Marie Amélie, daughter of Ferdinand IV., King of the Two Sicilies, by Caroline of Austria, Queen of the French from 1830 to 1848. In the revolution of February the Château de Neuilly was sacked and fired by the mob. The Duke de Chartres here mentioned was afterwards Duke of Orleans, killed by leaping from his carriage whilst his horses were running away.

[84]. The Congress at Laybach.

[85]. Described in Lord Holland’s “Foreign Reminiscences” as “a man of strict veracity and accurate memory.” He had a very confidential interview with the Emperor Napoleon at the island of Elba.

[86]. The celebrated Baron Denon, Directeur-Général des Musées under the first Empire, and author of a remarkable work upon the monuments of Egypt.

[87]. The St. Swithin of the French calendar. His festival falls on the 8th of June.

[88]. The Abbé de Montesquiou-Fénezac was born in 1757, and was the chief author of the Charter of 1814. In the following month of July he was appointed Minister of the Interior, and rendered himself unpopular to the ultra-Royalists by his moderation and liberality. On one occasion, after he had been violently abused for his impartiality, which was called favouring the Revolutionists, he quietly remarked “que le Roi ne connaissait point de révolutionnaires; qu’il ne venait pas pour punir la révolution, mais pour la faire oublier.” During the Hundred Days he took refuge in England, and after the second restoration he was created a Peer of France, and allowed to retain the title of Minister of State, but he took no further part in public affairs.

[89]. Stanislas, Marquis de Boufflers, was born at Lunéville in 1737, and was named after the unfortunate King of Poland, his godfather. He was educated for the Church, hence he was at first known as L’Abbé de Boufflers. But he gave up the Church for the Army, and became a Knight of Malta and captain of hussars. In 1791 he fled with Madame de Sabran and her son to Berlin, where he soon afterwards married her. In 1800 he returned to France and published a book entitled “Libre Arbitre,” and in 1804 was elected member of the French Academy, as successor to Marshal Noailles. The Chevalier died in 1815. He has been described as “abbé libertin; militaire philosophe; diplomate chansonnier; émigré patriote; républicain courtisan.” His stepson, Count Elzéar Louis Marie de Sabran, at a very early age gave proof of uncommon talents. He was warmly attached to Madame de Staël, and consequently incurred the anger of Napoleon. In 1820 he composed a dithyrambic poem on the assassination of the Duke de Berri, which was much thought of at the time. His death took place in 1846, in the seventieth year of his age.

[90]. The Emperor Napoleon died at St. Helena on the 5th of May, 1821. The intelligence was conveyed from Calais to Paris by telegraph. “There was a disposition,” says Lord Holland, “in the people of Paris to disbelieve in the death of Napoleon, there was more in the middling classes to attribute it to poison, and there was some in the Court to affect the magnanimity of stifling all resentment towards the departed hero. Mourning was worn by many, especially on the 15th August, the festival of St. Napoleon. Publications on his character, life, and death, were numerous, and generally more full of commendation than of censure. Portraits, engravings, and prints in allusion to his exile and death were bought up with an avidity which alarmed the police, and led to the temporary suppression of the exhibition of such articles in the shops.”—Foreign Reminiscences, p. 205.

[91]. The coronation of George IV. took place on the 19th July, and the Queen died on the 7th of August following. A riot took place on the 15th, when her body was removed from Brandenburg House to be taken to Harwich for embarkation, the populace being determined that the funeral procession should pass through the City of London, against the wishes of the Government. Queen Caroline was buried at Brunswick on the 24th, between her father and her brother.

[92]. Larive, a celebrated French tragedian, born at La Rochelle in 1749. He was a pupil of Mademoiselle Clairon, and was considered inferior only to Lekain and Talma. He retired from the stage at a comparatively early age, and settled down on his beautiful little property at Monlignon, in the valley of Montmorency.

[93]. The change of Ministry took place on the 14th. M. Villèle continued in power till January, 1828, when he was created a Peer of France, and retired into private life.

[94]. Princess Elizabeth, third daughter Of George III., born May 22, 1770, married the Landgrave of Hesse Homburg, April 7, 1818.

[95]. Princess Charlotte Augusta Matilda, eldest daughter of George III., born September 29, 1766, married May 18, 1797, to Frederick Charles William, Hereditary Prince of Würtemberg, who, by the treaty of Lunéville, was raised to the dignity of Elector in 1803. Through the favour of Napoleon, and by virtue of the Convention of Presburg, he was declared King of Würtemberg on January 1, 1806. He died in 1816. His widow, by reason of her universal benevolence, was called “the good Queen-Dowager.” She died October 6, 1828.

[96]. Lady Mary was the only daughter of Charles, third Earl of Aylesbury, by his third wife, Caroline, daughter of John Campbell, Duke of Argyle, who survived him and married, not General Conway, but General Henry Seymour, brother of the first Marquis of Hertford. Lady Mary Bruce married Charles, third Duke of Richmond, and died without issue. Thomas Brudenell took the name and arms of Bruce in addition to his own, and in 1776 was created Earl of Aylesbury, the title having become extinct at the death of his uncle. The Count of Horn married Charlotte, daughter of Thomas, third Earl of Elgin and second of Aylesbury, by his second wife, Charlotte Countess of Samm, of the House of Argenteau in Brabant. It was Robert, second Earl of Elgin, who, for his devoted loyalty to Charles I. and Charles II., was created Earl of Aylesbury.

[97]. Afterwards Lord High Admiral of Prussia. He distinguished himself in an attack on the Riff pirates. His brother, Prince Waldemar, travelled in India, and was present at the battle of Ferozeshuhur, under the incognito of Count Ravensburg.

[98]. The present Duke of Cambridge, Commander-in-Chief of her Majesty’s Forces. Princess Augusta was then only two years old, and is described in Miss Knight’s Diary as being “very pretty;” “they are both fine children.”

[99]. Sophia Dorothea, daughter of the Duke of Zell. After the assassination of her paramour, Count Philip de Kœnigsmark, she was confined in the Castle of Dahlen. She died in 1727, only a few months before George I.

[100]. His first wife was the Princess Augusta Carolina Frederica Louisa of Brunswick, married 1780, died 1787.

[101]. Lord Prudoe, Lord Caermarthen, Lord Pelham, Lord Hopetoun, Lord Hervey, and Lord Strathmore. Sir W. W. Wynne, Colonel Clive, and Captain Perry were also attached to the Duke of Northumberland.

[102]. These riots were speedily suppressed by the resolute daring of the Emperor Nicholas, who ascended the throne December 26, 1825.

[103]. Married in 1831 to M. Emile de Girardin. Mademoiselle Delphine Gay was born at Aix-la-Chapelle about the year 1800, and in 1822 competed for the prize offered by the Academy for the best poem “Sur le Dévouement des Médecins Français et des Sœurs de Sainte Camille pendant l’Epidémie de Barcelone.” Had she conformed to the conditions, she would have gained the prize; as it was, it was read aloud by M. Alexandre Duval, and created a great sensation. The consecration of Charles X., the deaths of General Foy and of Mathieu de Montmorency, and other subjects, furnished themes for this accomplished poetess. After her marriage she frequently contributed feuilletons to the Presse under the name of Vicomte Delaunay, and also published some novels of considerable merit. Her last literary work was the popular drama, “La Joie fait Peur.”

[104]. Count Alexis de Saint Priest, author of several tragedies, and also of historical works of more than average merit.

[105]. It is amusing to contrast the well-bred kindliness of feeling with which Miss Knight accepts the dresses presented to her by the Queen-Dowager of Würtemberg, with the under-bred fussiness displayed by Miss Burney, when Queen Charlotte presumed to send her a gown by the hands of Madame Schwellenburg.

[106]. In conformity with diplomatic usage, Russia being the youngest member of the great European family. The Duke of Wellington it will be remembered, called the battle of Navarino an “untoward accident.” It was fought on the 20th October, 1827.

[107]. M. de Vathnesuil, one of the six Advocates-General of the Court of Cassation.

[108]. During the greater part of March, Miss Knight had been confined to her room by severe illness.

[109]. Diebitch’s army had melted “like snow at the glance of the Lord” by the time he reached Adrianople. The Treaty of Adrianople saved the remnants of the Russian forces rather than Constantinople.

[110]. “It has been asserted” (says Lord Holland in his “Foreign Reminiscences,” p. 87) “that his (Manuel Godoy’s) marriage with the daughter of the Infant Don Luis originated in a malicious trait of jealousy of the Queen. The story goes, that she brought the King unexpectedly to the apartment of the favourite, and surprised him when supping tête-à-tête with Mademoiselle Tudo (the daughter of an artillery officer), a lady of extraordinary beauty, to whom he was clandestinely married, though some say by a contract which the laws would consider as invalid; that the King was partly shocked and partly diverted at the discovery; that he shortly afterwards, at the suggestion of the Queen, with a view of providing, without the peril of a deadly sin, for the incontinence of his favourite, insisted on matrimony, and condescended to offer his young and recently acknowledged cousin for a bride; that the Prince of the Peace, not daring to acknowledge his union with the Tudo, and still less to decline the royal alliance without alleging some such insurmountable bar, prevailed on the wife of his affections to suppress the truth, and allowed Charles, in his zeal to rescue him from more venial and ordinary vices, to involve him in the heinous and troublesome sin of bigamy. I do not vouch for the truth of the tale. Well-informed persons believed it, and related it to me. It is certain that the ostensible marriage with the Princess, which took place in 1797, never interrupted his connexion with the Tudo. During his prosperity, she was generally lodged in a royal palace, or in an adjoining apartment. After his exile and adversity, she followed him to Rome, and has always been treated by him, his friends, and even the Royal Family, as a personage in some sort legitimately entitled to the society, tenderness, and protection of the Prince of Peace.”

[111]. Signor Horatio Pallavicini quitted his native country and settled in the Netherlands, where he married a woman of low extraction. On her death, he crossed over into England, and was appointed by Queen Mary collector of the papal taxes gathered in the kingdom. At Mary’s decease he happened to have thus a large sum of money in his possession, and accordingly turned Protestant. His talents and knowledge of continental languages rendered him very useful to Queen Elizabeth, who conferred upon him the honour of knighthood. In the following year he fitted out and commanded a ship against the Spanish Armada, and his portrait was placed among those of the patriots who distinguished themselves on that occasion in the tapestry that hung in the old House of Lords. He died in 1600, leaving his second wife, daughter of Egidius Hooftman of Antwerp, in possession of immense wealth. In the following year she married Sir Oliver Cromwell, uncle and godfather of the Protector. Two sons and a daughter by her former husband, Sir Horatio Pallavicini, married two daughters and a son of her second husband by his former wife. It does not appear that Lady Cromwell ever visited Genoa at all. Her son Oliver may have done so, as he was certainly a student at Padua. He was killed by the fall of some buildings at Rome. There is no mention of any other member of the family going to Italy. See the Rev. Mark Noble’s “Memoirs of the Protectoral House of Cromwell.”

[112]. This story is told on the authority of the Countess d’Uglas.

[113]. “Massacre them!”

[114]. The Princess Dashkoff, who had been the chief instigator of the conspiracy against Peter III. The ribbon worn by the Princess was torn, it is said by her own hands, from the person of her sister, the Countess Woronzow, the mistress of the unfortunate monarch; both of them being the daughters of Chancellor Woronzow.

[115]. The murder of the Czar did not take place for some days after his dethronement. If there be any truth in this story, which is questionable, it must have been the tidings of the success of the conspiracy that the Princess was so anxiously expecting.

[116]. At a later period, Paul was by no means remarkable for his conjugal fidelity. Of his personal appearance the following mention is made in Masson’s “Memoires Secrètes,” quoted by Mr. Kelly in his “History of Russia,” vol. ii. p. 154: “It is said that the people of Paris, crowding to see Paul, then a youth, cried, ‘My God, how ugly he is!’ and that he had the good sense to laugh at it. He is not improved since he is grown old, bald, and wrinkled. The Empress appears by his side like one of those beautiful women who are painted with a little deformed blackamoor near them, as a contrast to their dignity and grace. The singularity which he affects in his dress, and the severity of his manners, add greatly to his deformity. Without excepting even the Kalmuks and the Kirghaz, Paul is the ugliest man in his extensive dominions; and he himself considers his countenance as so shocking, that he dares not impress it upon his coin.” Miss Knight herself describes the Grand-Duke, in one place, as “the ugliest man I ever saw;” but this was before he had spoken to her.

[117]. Told on the authority of the Abbé Gabriel.

[118]. Père Jacquier died at Rome in 1787.

[119]. At the time of the flight to Varennes.

[120]. Through Miss Knight’s influence with Sir William Hamilton he was shortly afterwards restored to liberty. His family showed her the most grateful attentions when, in after years, she much frequented Paris.

[121]. This is explained elsewhere.

[122]. In inducing the King of Prussia to join the Allies against France.

[123]. The Viscount de Materosa and Don Diego de la Vega.

[124]. As the ship conveying the Queen of France and the Duchess d’Angoulême and suite passed Admiral Russell’s fleet, “the gallant veteran saluted the illustrious visitors with a royal salute.” Her Majesty landed at Harwich on the 29th August.

[125]. In the Annual Register for 1809, this inscription is ascribed to her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth.

[126]. The anecdotes relating to Boswell were given to Miss Knight by Mrs. Piozzi.

[127]. This is also stated in the Autobiography, vol. i. page 19.

[128]. This anecdote is related on the authority of Baron Wrangel, and is also mentioned in Wraxall’s “Memoirs of his own Time.” It was said that this “Russian lady of high rank” was a daughter of the Empress Elizabeth by Alexis Ragumofsky, and that the English Consul, Mr. John Dick, assisted Count Alexis Orloff in luring her on board the Russian fleet. But Mr. Kelly states that she was “an adventurer who called herself Countess Tarakanoff: he allured her on board his ship and sent her to Petersburg.”—History of Russia, vol. ii. p. 57.

[129]. “You cardinals want to give us the go-by in everything.”

THE END.

C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND.