A courier was despatched with these preliminaries of a royal marriage, and the prince again sank into the depths of vice. The queen saw her path was rather difficult, and feared for the consequences; but she resolved to exert every thought to devise the surest plan for future safety. Her majesty did not assist the prince to any extent, because her purse was of the greatest utility to her personal safety, and

[[111]]therefore promises were chiefly given to the clamorous and ruined creditors, that, as soon as the prince was MARRIED, all debts would be discharged! The reasons which prompted the parsimony of the queen were obvious to those who knew her plans, though not to the public. She was aware of the slight tenure she held, and the illegality of her marriage; the unaccounted-for death of the king's eldest brother; the uncertainty of the fate of his issue; fears for his future public appeals, and her knowledge of the validity of his claims! Beside all this, the relatives of the legally-married wife of the Duke (Edward) were of more illustrious descent than even the queen herself; and from them she stood in doubt, lest the untimely death of this lady and her husband, the unfortunate Duke of York, as well as the privacy of their offspring, should be brought forward in a public manner, or in any way which might reflect dishonour upon the influence of the crown!

How much has guilt to fear from exposure by TRUTH! Secrecy was the ministerial watch-word then in vogue, and though fallacious and destructive, as experience has demonstrated the principle to be, yet the nation was cajoled by its influence, and even induced indirectly to sanction measures the most desperate and ruinous that imagination can depict!

The hireling part of the press, notwithstanding, strove to eternize this awful and barbarous system, and thus assisted the minister to cherish the growth of Ignorance. Indeed, it is an undeniable fact, that the corruption of government pervaded every branch

[[112]]of Mr. Pitt's administration; but surely this minister must have been sometimes afraid that the people would discover the frauds and impositions practised upon them, and demand satisfaction. Mr. Pitt, indeed, was an apostate, who, at the beginning of his career, stood forth as the CHAMPION OF THE PEOPLE'S RIGHTS; but no sooner had he gained possession of power, than he at once threw off the mask, deserted his benefactors, who had trusted and exalted him, maintained, with all his might, the utmost stretch of the royal prerogative, owned himself the unblushing advocate of influence and corruption, and the decided enemy of the human race! When we reflect on the obduracy, perfidy, and ingratitude of "this pilot that gathered the storm," in whose breast neither shame nor pity seldom found a residence, but as if dead to every noble passion of the soul, he first exhausted the resources of the nation by his imposition of taxes, and then enslaved it by his politics; when we reflect, we say, on the conduct of this man, Sejanus and Rufinus, profligate and cruel as they were, appear angels of light, and we cannot help feeling disgusted with the age that tolerated such a minister! Secure in his parliamentary majorities and the favours of his queen, he imagined the people at large mere nonentities, and set them at defiance, while he must have laughed at their tameness and stupidity! Did he not warmly commend the sentences of proscription, imprisonment, and transportation, passed against his countrymen solely for attempting to procure a reform of

[[113]]grievances, by the very same means which he had himself previously employed? Did he not, when every really-loyal subject in the realm was deploring the disgraces and defeats of the British arms, insult the people with affected serious congratulations on the successes that had been obtained by the allied powers, and the happy change that had taken place in their favour? Yes, reader, these acts may be taken as specimens of the policy of the "heaven-born minister, that weathered the storm," as a certain chancellor once imprudently designated Mr. Pitt.

The courier, bearing the despatches to the Princess of Brunswick, arrived at the court of her father in October, where he delivered his packet, and was entertained with generous and courteous attention. The duke and duchess retired to peruse its contents, which they read with agitation; and Hope and Fear strove tumultuously to gain an ascendency. The king's letter was considered, in a certain degree, explanatory of the follies of the prince, though it did not name any vices; and as it also expressed a confident opinion, that, united to a person of amiability and worth, like the princess, all good would ensue, the parents of the princess were inclined to hope for a favourable result from the alliance. The good opinion of the king, their brother, was an extra inducement to the fond and indulgent parents of Caroline to plead in behalf of her acceptance of this offer; and all must admit their conduct to be natural and affectionate.

The letter of the prince was soon after delivered

[[114]]by the duke to his daughter, accompanied by the remark, "I hope my dear Caroline will one day be the happy queen of a free and happy nation. Retire, my child, and, after thinking seriously, decide prudently." The princess retired, and read the strange epistle written by the prince. She knew not, for some considerable time, what to think, or how to decide. At length, after a few hours of rest and enjoyment, the courier departed. He arrived safely at St. James', and delivered the following reply to the Prince of Wales:

Copy of the Reply to George, Prince of Wales, from
Caroline, Princess of Brunswick.