Chapter V: Part 5

Thus did Prussia, vaunting herself to be peculiarly the military power of Europe, sell the services of her army for hire, with as little reservation as ever did the mercenary troops of Switzerland or Brabant. The very idea of such an individual transaction carries with it something degrading; as a state-bargain, it is humiliation. One quality only can be brought forward to redeem the sellers of their national armies from contempt, and that is the most scrupulous fidelity to the cause of the parties from whom they have accepted their hire. There is no treachery so base as the desertion of a paid ally.

Immediately after the treaty was signed, Lord Malmesbury was recalled to London "for information." The advantage which was taken in the absence of this clear-sighted and able diplomatist, may be gathered from subsequent events. We doubt however, whether, had he remained on the spot, he could have counteracted the evils, which appear to us more the result of a preconceived intention to betray, than the sudden consequence of a plot, or the predominance of a new hostile party in the court or cabinet of Berlin. On the 27th of May, the first instalment of the subsidy, L300,000, was remitted from the British Treasury. About the same time, Lord Malmesbury returned to Holland, and renewed his entreaty, through Haugwiz, that the Prussian army might be put in motion. This was positively refused, until advice was received of the payment of the subsidy at Berlin. Frederick William had removed to Poland to look after his ill-gotten possessions. His minister, Haugwiz, very shortly retired to Berlin, and never returned. Moellendorff, in command of the army, peremptorily refused, in the face of the treaty, and of the apparent commands of his master, to leave the Rhine, and take up his position in the Low Countries--in short, he would obey no orders, and did all in his power to thwart and counteract the Austrian. Meanwhile, the French advanced in irresistible power. On the 26th of June they were victorious at Fleury--a battle which established the reputation of General Jourdain, and settled the fate of the Netherlands. In Flanders, Moreau defeated Clairfait, and took Ypres. General Walmoden evacuated Bruges. The Duke of York was obliged to abandon Tournay and Oudenarde to their fate, and retired upon Antwerp on the 3d of July.

This was a period of great anxiety to Lord Malmesbury; for although there are many occasions wherein even the ablest diplomatist must fail, more especially when there is a total absence of good faith on the other side, yet the crisis was so alarming as to impress him with the sense of more than usual responsibility. The following extract from his diary will show his opinion of the Prussians:--"June 26. To Keyserlautern, Prussian headquarters--repetition of the same language--great, but shabby art and cunning--ill-will, jealousy, and every sort of dirty passion. The marshal proposes a memorial to us, which we decline receiving, and he dispatches his first aide-de-camp, Meyerinck, to the King of Prussia, with his account of what we had said. (N.B.--It appears that these were exaggerated, and calculated to do mischief, and embroil the negotiation.") Shortly afterwards, he writes thus to the Duke of Portland:--"I must thank you on a separate sheet for your few confidential lines. If we listened only to our _feelings_, it would be difficult to keep any measure with Prussia. But your opinion and that of Mr Pitt, is one of sound political wisdom, and I am well pleased it has prevailed. _We must consider it as an alliance with the Algerines_, whom it is no disgrace to pay, or any impeachment of good sense to be cheated by."

The ministry of Great Britain, however, found it necessary to come to an immediate and explicit understanding with the Prussians, who, though utterly useless and inactive, continued with the utmost punctuality to draw the monthly subsidy. A good opportunity was afforded by the conduct of the Prussian minister at London, who, with unparalleled effrontery, took upon himself to complain of the manner in which the late treaty had been executed with reference to the disposition of the forces. Lord Grenville's reply was decided. If the treaty had not hitherto been punctually executed, it was notorious to all Europe, that the failure had not been on the part of England. The British resident at Berlin was further desired to intimate, "that the continuance of the liberal subsidy granted by his majesty will depend solely on the faithful execution of the engagement taken by Marshal Moellendorff, and on the efficient service of the Prussian army under his command." This announcement led to a conference between Baron Hardenberg on the part of Prussia, and Lord Malmesbury and Baron Kinckel as representing Great Britain and Holland. Hardenberg began with the usual assurances of the continued good wishes and intentions of his king, who, he said, had been deceived by a cabal, but who would, _so soon as the Polish war was over_, return to Berlin, and then every thing would go well. He further proposed that Lord Malmesbury should return to Berlin, and resume his negotiations there.

"This was said to Kinckel and me with a clear and evident view to
prevail on us to renew the subsidy treaty, as the term of its
expiration draws near, and as the court of Berlin is uneasy at our
negotiations at Vienna, and apprehensive of the event of an attack on
Warsaw. It was too thinly veiled not to be seen through. I therefore
answered, that I was fearful _the evil was done_; that if the king
and his ministers had acted up to the sentiments M. Hardenberg now
mentioned, or even if I saw a sincere disposition of doing it now, by
Moellendorff's army _really acting_, it certainly would be good
grounds to hope, but that this was not the case.

"Hardenberg employed every argument, and every _trick_, within the
narrow compass of his means, to persuade me they were earnestly
anxious to unite with us, and disposed to rectify their past
behaviour; but I remained firm, and absolutely declined giving in to
a belief of it.

"This led him to say _that we could not do without the Prussians_,
and that we _must_ continue the subsidy; that, therefore, it was
wisest and best to do it in the manner the most useful and
conciliatory. I replied, that without deciding on this strong
question of _necessity_, I could not but observe that, by stating it
as an argument, he brought his court on a level with the lowest
German prince, and supposed it to be actuated by principles like
those of the dey of Algiers; and that, if _necessity_ was to decide
the measure, it required no negotiation, it would do itself, and I
felt myself by no means in a rank to conduct _such_ a business."

On the 1st of October, instructions arrived from England to suspend the subsidy; and on the 25th of the same month, Baron Hardenberg, on the part of Prussia, declared the treaty at an end, which was followed by a direct order from the king to withdraw his army altogether. On the 2d of November, Lord Malmesbury received his recall.

We have been induced to dwell somewhat minutely upon this singular negotiation, because its details have never yet been placed with sufficient clearness before the public. We are now, for the first time, admitted, through the medium of the Malmesbury papers, to a sight of the hidden machinery, by means of which the colossal panorama of Europe was made so ominously to revolve. Much is there, too, of importance, and useful for the future, in the portraitures of national bad faith and individual worthlessness which appear throughout the whole transaction. Prussia was fortunate in her subsequent miseries. These, and these alone, have made the pen of the historian, and the tongue of the orator, slow to denounce the enormous measure of her perfidy. Throughout the whole of this negotiation, on the result of which the destinies of Europe for a quarter of a century were doomed to depend, there is not one single bright spot of candour or of honesty to relieve the darkness of the picture. In comparison with such treachery, Pennsylvanian repudiation is venial. The subsidy, out of which England was swindled, was for the most part applied to the further subjugation of Poland--the troops, for which she had contracted and paid, were used as an impediment to, and not in furtherance of, her designs. The language employed by the Prussian minister, Hardenberg, at his last interview with Lord Malmesbury, was that of a sturdy freebooter, who, far from seeking to conceal his real character, takes glory in his shame, and demands a compulsory tribute for what he is pleased to denominate protection. It may be said that Prussia afterwards redeemed her error. We cannot see it. To the last she remained a gripping, faithless, avaricious power; and could she have coexisted equal with France, there is not a shadow of a doubt that she would have surpassed that country in her appetite for acquiring plunder. In 1806, under a different monarch, she made peace with Napoleon on the condition of acquiring Hanover, the hereditary dominions of the occupant of the British throne. It was only when the fact became evident that she was utterly mistrusted throughout Europe; that no state, even the most insignificant, could place any reliance upon her assurances; when, through her own conduct, France made no scruple of using her as a contemptible tool, and her old allies regarded her with looks of menace--that Prussia made a virtue of necessity by attempting to restore her independence. Even then her repentance was incomplete. Lord Morpeth, when sent, before the disastrous battle of Jena, on a special mission to the Prussian headquarters, found Frederick William III. so distracted between the option of a British subsidy on the one hand, and the cession of Hanover on the other, that, with the genuine feelings of an Englishman and a man of honour, he could scarce restrain his indignation in the presence of the vacillating king. In our mind, the videttes of Pichegru's army had a truer estimate than our own cabinet of the value of such an alliance, when they thus expressed themselves at the outposts:--"Englishmen, go home: you have no business here; you are too honest to be leagued with the Austrians and Prussians. They will soon leave you in the lurch; and as to the Hessians, the Landgrave will turn them all over to us to-morrow, if the Convention offers him a ducat a-day more than you now pay him!" Yet Austria is not chargeable with deceit--who will dare hereafter to say the like for Prussia?

Lord Malmesbury did not return immediately to England. At Hanover he received another mark of the confidence of his royal master, in a commission to demand the Princess Caroline of Brunswick in marriage for the Prince of Wales. This mission was conferred upon him directly by the king, and no discretionary power was given to offer information or advice either to the court or the government. It does not appear that the subject was ever mentioned to Lord Malmesbury before his credentials arrived; certain it is that he had no communication with the person most deeply interested in the alliance, and therefore no means of ascertaining his wishes or his motives. The Prince of Wales had never seen his cousin. Probably, beyond the false impression conveyed by a portrait, he knew nothing of her; for the little court of Brunswick was rarely visited by the English, and the military occupations of the Duke kept him almost constantly from home. It must ever be matter of deep regret that more prudence was not employed in the conduct of this unhappy business. Royal marriages are at best precarious; for there is too often a larger ingredient of policy than of affection in the alliance. This one needed not to have been a matter of policy. Neither the illustrious bridegroom, nor the kingdoms over which he was afterwards to rule, could derive any advantage from a more intimate connexion with the diminutive state of Brunswick. It is, therefore, almost incomprehensible that no precautions were taken, and no investigations made, before the prince was finally committed. Surely some one might have been found worthy to play the part of a Buckingham to the successor of Charles--some intimate of the prince, who, acquainted with his tastes and inclinations, might have visited Brunswick as a stranger, and, without betraying the actual nature of his mission, might have acquired a sufficient knowledge of the manners and character of the princess to frame an adequate report. Common prudence should have suggested this; but there is too much reason to fear that the match was the result of motives little creditable to other members of the royal family of England, and was not expected by them to secure the ultimate happiness of either party. This, at least, was the opinion of Lord Malmesbury, a shrewd observer, and well versed in the domestic politics of St James's. He says--"She (the princess) talks about the Duke of Clarence, whom she prefers to the Duke of York, and it struck me to-day, for the first time, that he originally put her into the prince's head; and that with a view to plague the Duke and Duchess of York, whom he hates, and whom the prince no longer likes, well knowing that the Princess Caroline and Duchess of York dislike each other; and that this match would be particularly unpleasant to her and the duke." Again, "Princess Caroline asks about the Duke of Clarence--says she believes he was the person who first mentioned her to the prince.--N.B. My own private ideas and feelings on this remark."

Endowed by nature with a good heart and some quickness of apprehension, this princess was as uneligible a personage as could possibly have been selected for so high a dignity as that of consort to the future king of Great Britain. Her education had been wretchedly neglected. She was vain, giddy, and imprudent; addicted to the society of persons infinitely beneath her rank, whom she treated with unbecoming familiarity; totally ignorant of the world and its usages, and withal something of a _bavarde_. She stood in awe of her father, who was an austere person, and, it is said, treated his children habitually with much severity. For her mother she had no respect, and did not scruple, when she could find an opportunity--which occurred but too often--to turn her into ridicule. Her conversation was that of a thorough gossip--her manners those of a flirt. She was disposed to be liberal, not from generosity, but from absolute carelessness--a fault which she extended to her person. Lord Malmesbury's first impressions of her are by far the most favourable; and yet it will be seen from these, that mediocrity was the utmost limit of her charms. "The Princess Caroline much embarrassed on my first being presented to her--pretty face--not expressive of softness--her figure not graceful--fine eyes--good hand--tolerable teeth, but going--fair hair and light eyebrows--good bust--short, with what the French call _des epaules impertinentes_." Her personal habits may be gathered from the following passages of the Diary:--

"Argument with the Princess about her toilette. She piques herself on
dressing quick; I disapprove this. She maintains her point; I,
however, desire Madame Busche to explain to her that the Prince is
very delicate, and that he expects a long and very careful _toilette
de properte_, of which she has no idea; on the contrary, she neglects
it sadly, and is _offensive_ from this neglect. Madame Busche
executes her commission well, and the Princess comes out the next day
_well washed all over_."

"Princess Caroline had a tooth drawn--she sends it down to me by a
page--nasty and indelicate."

"I had two conversations with the Princess Caroline; one on the
toilette, on cleanliness, and on delicacy of speaking. On these
points I endeavoured, as far as was possible for a _man_, to
inculcate the necessity of great and nice attention to every part of
dress, as well as to what was hid as to what was seen. (I knew she
wore coarse petticoats, coarse shifts, and thread stockings, and
these never well washed, or changed often enough.) I observed that a
long toilette was necessary, and gave her no credit for boasting that
hers was a _short_ one. What I could not say myself on this point, I
got said through women; through Madame Busche, and afterwards through
Mrs Harcourt. It is remarkable how amazingly on this point her
education has been neglected, and how much her mother, though an
Englishwoman, was inattentive to it."

Such were the personal habits of the future Queen of England, who, in this normal virtue, fell infinitely beneath the level of a daughter of a British tradesman. It is plain that Lord Malmesbury has left much unsaid; but enough there is to show that, in every way, she was unfitted to be the wife of the most fastidious prince in Europe. In point of morals, the examples afforded her at the court of Brunswick were of the worst possible description. Conjugal fidelity seems to have been a virtue totally unknown to the German sovereigns. The following, according to Lord Malmesbury, were the existing _liaisons_ of Frederick William of Prussia. "The female in actual possession of favour is of no higher degree than a servant-maid. She is known by the name of Mickie, or Mary Doz, and her principal merit is youth and a warm constitution. She has acquired a certain degree of ascendancy, and is supported by some of the inferior class of favourites; but as she is considered as holding her office only during pleasure, she is not courted, though far from neglected, by the persons of a higher rank. The two candidates for a more substantial degree of favour are Mdlle. Vienk and Mdlle. Bethman." Of the Emperor Leopold we are told the following anecdote:--"Kinckel said that Bishopswerder told him, that Lord Elgin, when in Italy, would have succeeded in making a triple alliance for the purpose of general peace and tranquillity, when he was with the Emperor Leopold at Florence, if he had not run too much after Madame Lamberti, (Leopold's mistress,) and by that means displeased and soured him." The father of the Princess was not one whit better than his royal brethren. His mistress, Mdlle. de Hertzfeldt, lived at court, and was on intimate terms with the rest of the family. She appears to have been a clever woman, and well acquainted with the character of the Princess. Lord Malmesbury, who had known her formerly, made no scruple of applying to her for information. "In the evening with Mdlle. de Hertzfeldt--old Berlin acquaintance, now Duke's mistress--much altered, but still clever and agreeable--full of lamentations and fears--says the Duke has been cruelly used--abuses the king of Prussia--she always thought him a _bete_, and not a _bonne bete_--talks of the _Illumines_ and their sects--her apartment elegantly furnished, and she herself with all the _appareil_ of her situation. She was at first rather ashamed to see me, but soon got over it." Her advice regarding the future treatment of the Princess is so interesting that we give it entire.

"Je vous conjure, faites que le prince fasse mener, au commencement,
une vie retiree a la Princesse. Elle a toujours ete tres genee et
tres observee, et il le falloit ainsi. Si elle se trouve tout a coup
dans le monde sans restriction aucune, elle ne marchera pas a pas
egaux. Elle n'a pas le coeur deprave--elle n'a jamais rien fait de
mauvais, mais la parole en elle devance toujours la pensee; elle se
livre a ceux a qui elle parle sans reserve, et de la il s'ensuit
(meme dans cette petite cour) qu'on lui prete des sens et des
intentions que ne lui ont jamais appartenus. Que ne sera-t-il pas en
Angleterre--ou elle sera entouree de femmes adroites et intriguantes,
_auxquelles elle se livrera a corps perdu_, (si le Prince permet
qu'elle mene la vie dissipee de Londres,) et qui placeront dans sa
bouche tels propos qu'elles voudront, puisqu'elle parlera elle-meme
sans savoir ce qu'elle dit. _De plus, elle a beaucoup de vanite, et
quoique pas sans esprit, avec peu de fond_--la tete lui tournera si
on la caresse et la flatte trop, si le Prince la gate; et il est tout
aussi essentiel qu'elle le craigne que qu'elle l'aime. Il faut
absolument qu'il la tienne _serree_, qu'il se fasse respecter, sans
quoi, _elle s'egarera_. Je sais que vous ne me comprometterez pas--je
vous parle comme a mon vieux ami. Je suis attachee coeur et ame au
Duc. Je me suis devouee a lui, _je me suis perdue pour lui_. C'est le
bien de sa famille que je veux. Il sera le plus malheureux des hommes
si cette fille ne reussit pas mieux que son ainee. Je vous repete,
elle n'a jamais rien fait de mauvais, mais elle est sans jugement, et
on l'a jugee a l'avenant. _Je crains la Reine. La Duchesse ici, qui
passe sa vie a penser tout haut, ou a ne jamais penser de tout,
n'aime pas la Reine, et elle en a trop parle a sa fille._ Cependant,
son bonheur depend d'etre bien avec elle, et, pour Dieu, repetez lui
toujours cette maxime, que vous avez deja plus d'une fois
recommandee."

The education of the Princess had been most lamentably neglected.

"Letter from the Prince--well satisfied, and approves of what I have
done--positively refuses to let Mademoiselle Rosenzweit come over.
She was to be a sort of _reader_. King writes on the subject to the
Duchess; both she and the Duke press it. I insist upon it, and it is
settled that she is not to accompany the Princess. Duke takes me
aside, and says that the only reason why he wished her to be with the
Princess was, _that his daughter writes very ill, and spells ill, and
he was desirous that this should not appear_. Affected to be
indifferent about this refusal, but at bottom hurt and angry.
Suspects the Queen, whom he and the duchess hate."

Perhaps no ambassador, ever sent upon such a mission, was placed in more embarrassing circumstances than Lord Malmesbury. He was entreated on all sides to undertake a kind of tutelage of the Princess; to prepare her mind for the future life she must lead; to warn her of her faults, and school her as to the behaviour which became a Princess of Wales. It was quite plain that even her own relatives, and those who regarded her most partially, had little expectation that the marriage would prove auspicious or happy; and that their doubts arose, not from any rumours of the bridegroom's instability, but from their knowledge of the character of the bride. To act the part of Mentor, under such circumstances, required much delicacy and tact, both of which qualities Lord Malmesbury possessed in an eminent degree. More, however, was requisite in order to make them effectual. It was impossible, in a hurried and limited period, to repair the fatal effects of years of indolence and neglect. Lord Malmesbury could merely warn, but the task of improvement was hopeless. What he did, however, was well done. From his courteous manners, and kindly tone of conversation, he speedily became a great favourite with the Princess, and sometimes--as we have already seen--used his personal influence with success. Yet this familiar intercourse, while it certainly heightened his estimation of her good qualities, impressed Lord Malmesbury with the thorough conviction that the Princess was in no way qualified to maintain her future rank. She made him her confidant in certain passages of her history, which it would have been far wiser to have concealed:--"Dinner and concert at court; Princess out of humour; very nonsensical confidence about Prince of Orange; cannot be committed to writing; must recollect it, as well as my answer and advice." And again--"After dinner, long and serious conversation with the Princess on her manner of calling women by their plain name; of saying 'ma chere,' 'mon coeur,' &c.; and of _tutoying_ when talking to them in German; she takes it right; prepare her for a still more serious conversation on the subject of hereditary Prince of Orange."

We must state, in justice to the Princess, that all the lectures of Lord Malmesbury--and they were neither few nor trifling--were taken by her in extreme good part. Indeed, his lordship appears at one time to have been apprehensive that he was gaining too much influence over his future mistress, and that caution was necessary on his side.

"The Princess Caroline asked me, with an apology, as for _une
question indiscrette_, whether I was to be _her Lord Chamberlain_? On
my saying I knew nothing of it, she was very gracious, and expressed
a strong wish it should be; and added, that she feared it would not
be good enough for me, and that I would decline it. I told her any
situation which placed me near her would be flattering to me, but
that these situations were sought for by many persons who had better
claims than myself; and that, besides, I never solicited any thing,
and could not expect that such an office would be offered to me
without my asking for it. She again (and apparently in earnest)
expressed her wish that it should be, and said it would be of
infinite use to her to have a person near her she was used to, and
whom she had confidence in."

On another occasion, when the Princess renewed her desire, Lord Malmesbury is more significant--

"She again urges me to accept a place about her court at my return. I
avoid an explicit answer, but earnestly entreat her not to solicit
any thing on my behalf; _I had the Duke of Suffolk and Queen Margaret
in my thoughts_!"

When Lord Malmesbury's years and grave functions are considered, the touch of vanity, which in this latter paragraph peers through his diplomatic caution, is somewhat amusing.

An anonymous letter, which arrived from England, led to the following conversations:--"At dinner I found the Duchess and Princess alarmed, agitated, and uneasy at an anonymous letter from England, abusing the Prince, and warning them, in the most exaggerated terms, against Lady ----, who is represented as the worst and most dangerous of profligate women. The Duchess, with her usual indiscretion, had shown this letter to the Princess, and mentioned it to every body. I was quite angry with her, and could not avoid expressing my concern, first, at paying _any_ attention to an anonymous letter, and secondly, at being so very imprudent as to bruit forth its contents. The Duke, on being acquainted with it, thought as I did, but was more uneasy than he ought. Mademoiselle Hertzfeldt again talks to me as before about the Princess Caroline. "Il faut la gouverner par la peur, _par la terreur meme_. Elle s'emancipera si on n'y prend pas garde--mais si on la veille soigneusement et severement, elle se conduira bien." The King of England, in a letter to the Duchess, says--"Qu'il espere que sa niece n'aura pas trop de vivacite, et qu'elle menera une vie sedentaire et retiree." These words shock Princess Caroline, to whom the Duchess very foolishly reads the letter.

"Princess Caroline shows me the anonymous letter about Lady ----,
evidently written by some disappointed milliner or angry
servant-maid, and deserving no attention: I am surprised the Duke
afforded it any. Aimed at Lady ----; its object to frighten the
Princess with the idea that she would lead her into an affair of
gallantry, and be ready to be convenient on such an occasion. This
did _not_ frighten the Princess, although it did the Duke and
Duchess; and on my perceiving this, I told her Lady ---- would be
more cautious than to risk such an audacious measure; and that,
besides, it was _death_ to presume to approach a Princess of Wales,
and no man would be daring enough to think of it. _She asked me
whether I was in earnest._ I said such was our law; that any body who
presumed to _love_ her, was guilty of _high_ treason, and punished
with _death_, if she was weak enough to listen to him; so also would
_she_. _This startled her._"

The following is Lord Malmesbury's own summary of her character, sketched at a favourable moment:--

"If her education had been _what it ought_, she might have turned out
excellent; but it was that very nonsensical one that most women
receive--one of privation, injunction, and menace; to believe no man,
and never to express what they feel, or say what they think, _for
all_ men are inclined to entrap them, and all feelings are improper;
this vitiates or _abrutis_ all women--few escape." (Surely this
censure is too sweeping.) "On summing up Princess Caroline's
character to-day, it came out to my mind to be, that she has quick
parts, without a sound or distinguishing understanding; that she has
a ready conception, but no judgment; caught by the first impression;
led by the first impulse; hurried away by appearances or
_enjouement_; loving to talk, and prone to make missish friendships
that last twenty-four hours. Some natural, but no acquired morality,
and no strong innate notions of its value and necessity; warm
feelings, and nothing to counteract them; great good humour, and much
good nature--no appearance of caprice--rather quick and _vive_, but
not a grain of rancour. From her habits, from the life she was
allowed and even compelled to live, forced to dissemble; fond of
gossiping, and this strengthened greatly by the example of her good
mother, who is all curiosity and inquisitiveness, and who has no
notion of not gratifying this desire at any price. In short, the
Princess, in the hands of a steady and sensible man, would probably
turn out well, but when it is likely she will meet with faults
perfectly analogous to her own, _she will fail_. She has no governing
powers, though her mind is _physically_ strong. She has her father's
courage, but it is to her (as to him) of no avail. _He_ wants mental
decision: _she_, character and tact."

This mission of Lord Malmesbury extended over a period of nearly five months. An abortive attempt was made to conduct the Princess to England by the way of Holland; but the inroads of the French into that country rendered the expedition highly dangerous. In fact, by this time the fate of Holland was sealed. One of the severest winters ever known had opened a natural and universal bridge to the invaders over the most effective barriers of the country. All was flight, terror, and confusion. The envoy returned with his royal charge to Hanover, there to await intelligence of the arrival of the British fleet at Stade, as the passage by the Elbe alone seemed practicable. During this anxious period, Lord Malmesbury received several letters from the Prince of Wales, which are given in his correspondence. These are well worthy of attention. Although a strict grammarian might find fault with their construction, there is no appearance of any thing like indifference on the part of the Prince. On the contrary, he seems to have awaited with extreme anxiety the arrival of his consort, and to have been much vexed and annoyed by the delay which intervened. The following is an extract from his first letter, dated 23d November 1794, and written shortly after Lord Malmesbury's arrival at Brunswick:--

"I have desired Captain Hislop to give you an ample and thorough
account of the steps I have taken towards the expediting every thing
on this side of the water, as well as with my brother the Duke of
York, to whom I have written also by Hislop; and as to what is now
necessary to forward the completing every thing at Brunswick, I must
leave that to you, hoping that you will make every exertion possible
to put the Princess in possession of her own home as near the 20th of
the ensuing month as possible; for every thing that can create delay
at the present moment is bad on every account, but particularly to
the public, whose expectations have now been raised for some months,
and would be quite outrageous were it possible for them to perceive
any impediment arising to what they have had their attention drawn to
for so long a time; besides the suspense, and the naturally
unpleasant feelings attendant upon suspense, which I myself must be
subject to, and the very honourable, fair, and handsome manner in
which the Duke and Duchess have both conducted themselves to me in
this transaction; their having also, in their last letters, both to
the King and me, said that the Princess was ready to set off
instantly. In short, all these reasons make it necessary for me, my
dear lord, to desire you to press your departure from Brunswick at as
short a date as possible from the receipt of this letter."

In another communication of a later date, (21st February 1795,) the Prince thus expressed himself:--

The accounts you are so good as to give me of the temper and
resignation with which the Princess is so good as to bear with the
interruptions in her journey, is more than I fancy any one would
venture to say of me from hence, as, I assure you, all the
mismanagements, procrastinations, and difficulties that I have met
with in the conduct of that business on this side of the water, have
totally put patience (a virtue, you well know, that our family in
general are not much endowed with) out of the question.

"I hope you will make this plan," (that of the embarkation and
landing,) "acceptable to the Princess as well as the Duchess, as you
must be well acquainted with my impatience; and I beg you will assure
them both, that there is no sort of respect, state, and attention
that shall not be shown to the Princess the moment she sets her foot
on our dear little island. I am convinced you will heartily concur
with me in my anxious endeavours, through this, or even any other
means, to bring your voyage to as expeditious and happy a termination
as possible. I write to the Duchess of Brunswick by the same courier,
which letters you will have the goodness to deliver into her hands
yourself. I cannot help once more reiterating my thanks to you, my
dear lord, for your judgment and caution through all these late
occurrences."

On the 28th of March the embarkation was effected, and, after a prosperous but foggy passage, the royal squadron entered the Thames. It was destined, however, by management or mismanagement--for we know not which to call it--that the jealousy of the Princess should be awakened from the very first hour she landed in Great Britain. The lady, regarding whom the anonymous letter above referred to was written, and whose _liaison_ with the Prince of Wales was the subject of public scandal, had been selected as one of the Ladies of Honour to meet the Princess on her arrival. This was neither more nor less than a premeditated insult, and Caroline must have felt it as such. We can exempt no one from the censure attachable to such a proceeding. Even if it can be supposed that the general rumour was unjust with regard to the nature of that connexion, its mere publicity should have prevented the Prince from subjecting his bride to such society, at least at so early a period. But we apprehend that no such palliative can be urged. Under these circumstances, it was the clear duty of the King to have interfered, and, in his double capacity of uncle and father-in-law, to have prevented this affront from being offered to the unprotected Princess. Altogether, it was a scandalous arrangement, and Lord Malmesbury felt it as such. The following extract speaks volumes as to the feelings entertained by the haughty favourite towards the wife:--

"_Sunday, April 5._--At eight the Princess got into the royal yacht
(Augusta)--pleasant and prosperous sail to Greenwich, where we arrive
at twelve o'clock. The King's coaches not yet arrived, owing, as I
have since heard, to Lady ---- not being ready. She, Mrs Aston, and
Lord Claremont, came to meet the Princess. We waited at least an hour
for the carriages, and were very attentively, but awkwardly, received
by Sir W. Pattison, governor of the hospital, and his two sisters.
Lady ---- very much dissatisfied with the Princess's mode of dress,
though Mrs Harcourt had taken great pains about it, and expressed
herself in a way which induced me to speak rather sharply to her. She
also said, _she could not sit backwards_ in a coach, and hoped she
might be allowed to sit _forwards_. This, (though Mrs Harcourt was
servile enough to admit as a reason,) as it was strictly forbidden by
the King,"--[it _does_ seem, therefore, that some such difficulty had
been apprehended, and the probable conduct of Lady ----
discussed!]--"I most decidedly opposed, and told Lady ----, that, as
she must have known that riding backward in a coach disagreed with
her, she ought never to have accepted the situation of a lady of the
bedchamber, who never ought to sit forward, and that, if she really
was likely to be sick, I would put Mrs Aston into the coach with the
Princess, and have, by that means, the pleasure of Lady ----'s
company in the carriage allotted to me and Lord Claremont. _This of
course settled the business_; she and Mrs Harcourt sat backward, and
the Princess sat by herself forward. There was very little crowd, and
still less applause, on the road to London, where we arrived, and
were set down at St James's (the Duke of Cumberland's apartments,
Cleveland Row) about half-past two."

The long-expected, and probably dreaded interview was now to take place. We may search the whole annals of marriage in vain for such another.

"Immediately notified the arrival to the King and Prince of Wales;
the last came immediately. I, according to the established etiquette,
introduced (no one else being in the room) the Princess Caroline to
him. She very properly, in consequence of my saying to her that it
was the right mode of proceeding, attempted to kneel to him. He
raised her, (gracefully enough,) and embraced her, said barely one
word, turned round, retired to a distant part of the apartment, and,
calling me to him, said--'Harris, I am not well; _pray, get me a
glass of brandy_!'

"I said, 'Sir, had you not better have a glass of water?' upon which
he, much out of humour, said with an oath--

"'No; I will go directly to the Queen,' and away he went.

"The Princess, left during this short moment alone, was in a state of
astonishment; and, on my joining her, said--'Mon Dieu! est-ce que le
Prince est toujours comme cela? Je le trouve tres gros et nullement
aussi beau que son portrait.'

"I said his Royal Highness was naturally a good deal affected and
flurried at this first interview, but she certainly would find him
different at dinner. She was disposed to further criticisms on this
occasion, which would have embarrassed me very much to answer, if
luckily the King had not ordered me to attend him."

Little comment is required upon such a scene. In charity, we shall suppose that the Prince at the first glance was grievously disappointed with the personal appearance of his bride--that he had formed some exaggerated estimate of her charms, and that the reaction was so strong as to create instantaneous antipathy. A more favourable hypothesis we cannot form; any other must resolve itself into preconcerted insult. Still, this is no justification for conduct which was at once mean and unmanly. There she stood--the daughter of a sovereign prince--his own near kinswoman, whose hand he had voluntarily solicited--young, and not devoid of some personal beauty. Other defects he had not time to observe, and surely, on such an occasion as this, they were not conspicuously prominent. Could any man, with a spark of chivalrous feeling within him, have permitted himself to manifest such tokens of disgust in the presence of a woman, who was to all intents and purposes his wife, and whom he then for the first time beheld? Some there were, wearing before him the princely plume of Wales, who would rather have forfeited that honour than offered insult to a female and a stranger--but the spirit of the Henrys and the Edwards was not there. An interview of a minute's duration--brandy--and an oath! Rare prospects for the felicity and continuance of the future Hymen!--Let us follow Lord Malmesbury through the subsequent scenes.

"The drawing-room was just over. His Majesty's conversation turned
wholly on Prussian and French politics, and the only question about
the Princess was--'Is she good-humoured?'

"I said, and very truly, 'That in very trying moments I had never
seen her otherwise.'

"The King said, 'I am glad of it;' and it was manifest, from his
silence, he had seen the Queen _since_ she had seen the Prince, and
that the Prince had made a very unfavourable report of the Princess
to her. At dinner, at which all those who attended the Princess from
Greenwich assisted, and the honours of which were done by Lord
Stopford as Vice-Chamberlain, I was far from satisfied with the
Princess's behaviour. It was flippant, rattling, affecting raillery
and wit, and throwing out coarse, vulgar hints about Lady ----, who
was present, and, though mute, _le diable n'en perdait rien_. The
Prince was evidently disgusted, and this unfortunate dinner fixed his
dislike, which, when left to herself, the Princess had not the talent
to remove; but, by still observing the same giddy manners and
attempts at cleverness and coarse sarcasm, increased it till it
became positive hatred.

"From this time, though I dined frequently during the first three
weeks at Carlton House, nothing material occurred; but the sum of
what I saw there led me to draw the inferences I have just expressed.
After one of those dinners, where the Prince of Orange was present,
and at which the Princess had behaved very lightly and even
improperly, the Prince took me into his closet, and asked me how I
liked this sort of manners. I could not conceal my disapprobation of
them, and took this opportunity of repeating to him the substance of
what the Duke of Brunswick had so often said to me, that it was
expedient _de la tenir serree_, that she had been brought up very
strictly, and if she was not strictly kept, would, from high spirits
and little thought, certainly emancipate too much. To this the Prince
said--'I see it but too plainly; but why, Harris, did you not tell me
so before, or write it to me from Brunswick?'

"I replied that I did not consider what the Duke (a severe father
himself towards his children) said, of sufficient consequence; that
it affected neither the Princess's moral character nor conduct, and
was intended solely as a communication which I conceived it only
proper to notice to his Royal Highness at a proper occasion, at such
a one as now had offered; and that I humbly hoped his Royal Highness
would not consider it as casting any _real_ slur or aspersion on the
Princess; that as to not writing to his Royal Highness from
Brunswick, I begged him to recollect I was not sent on a
_discretionary_ commission, but with _the most positive commands_ to
ask the Princess Caroline in marriage, and nothing more; that to this
sole point, respecting the marriage and no other, these commands
went; any reflections or remarks that I had presumed to make, would
(whether in praise of, or injurious to her Royal Highness) have been
a direct and positive deviation from those his Majesty's commands.
They were as _limited_ as they were _imperative_. That still, had I
discovered notorious or glaring defects, or such as were of a nature
to render the union unseemly, I should have felt it as a bounden duty
to have stated them, but it must have been _directly to the King_,
and to no one else. To this the Prince appeared to acquiesce; but I
saw it did not please, and left a rankle in his mind."

We have heard some blame attributed to Lord Malmesbury, in certain quarters, for not having communicated to the Prince his own impressions of the bride. We are inclined to think this censure undeserved, and to look upon his own defence, stated above, as perfectly satisfactory. Even if he had considered it his duty to make any such representation--which it was not--he must have done it at great personal peril. The whole odium--if the marriage had been broken off--would have been attributed to him. Had it gone forward, the coldness of the Prince would inevitably have been set down as the effect of his interference. If he had been trusted with a discretionary commission, much more would have been left in his power; but the marriage was, in point of fact, quite concluded when he received orders to repair to Brunswick. With regard to the Princess, he acted throughout as a sincere and judicious friend in warning and in counselling her. He drew no glittering or extravagant pictures to lead her imagination astray. He prepared her to find the Court of London rather a place of ordeal, beset with many snares and difficulties, than the site of luxury, ease, and indulgence. He did his best to tutor her on the delicate topics of deportment, manners, and conversation; and if he failed, it was only because his counsel was required too late. It is said that the Prince never forgave Lord Malmesbury for his share in this negotiation. If the fact be so, the Prince was both unjust and ungenerous; for it is questionable if there was one, among the other servants of the Crown, who could have discharged so arduous a duty with half the discretion of this accomplished and wise diplomatist. It should be remembered too, by those who have adopted a different view, that Lord Malmesbury had little opportunity, _at the first_, to investigate the character and habits of the Princess. He was in daily expectation of his recall, and his time, as his diary shows, was greatly occupied with the stirring public events of Europe. Except himself, there was no experienced English statesman on the Continent qualified to give advice at a period when communication with home was hopeless. He therefore became, as it were, the adviser-general to our ambassadors, our army, and the friendly states of Holland and of Austria. He was the only man capable of unravelling and detecting the tortuous policy of Prussia, and almost every moment of his time was engrossed by these stupendous labours. It was only upon the journey home--broken and protracted as it was--that he had the full opportunity of ascertaining, by the use of his own faculties, the faults and imperfections of the Princess, and surely it was then by far too late to interfere.

Lord Malmesbury was present at the nuptials. There was little gaiety on the occasion--none certainly in the heart of one--if not both--of the principal actors in the scene.

"I should have said that the marriage ceremony took place late on the
evening of Wednesday, the 8th April, at St James's Chapel-Royal. The
ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, (Moore.) The
usual etiquette observed--we had assembled in the Queen's apartment;
from thence to the usual drawing-rooms, (very dark.) The procession,
preceded by the heralds and great officers of the court, (amongst
whom I was ordered to attend,) walked to the Chapel--very crowded.
Prince of Wales gave his hat, with a rich diamond button and loop, to
Lord Harcourt to hold, and made him a present of it. After the
marriage, we returned to the Queen's apartment. The King told me to
wear the Windsor uniform, and have the _entrees_. The Prince very
civil and gracious; but I thought I could perceive he was not quite
sincere, _and certainly unhappy; and as a proof of it, he had
manifestly had recourse to wine or spirits_." Lord Malmesbury remarks
in conclusion--"It is impossible to conceive or foresee any comfort
from this connexion, in which I lament very much having taken any
share, purely passive as it was."

Such is the secret history of the commencement of this ill-starred union, which was destined at a future, and even more perilous period, to form one of the most dangerous points of discord between the crown and people of these realms. At the lapse of half a century, the appearance of these documents is valuable, for they throw light upon many passages which otherwise could only have been dimly conjectured. Since then, society in the higher circles has undergone considerable reformation. More amalgamation and friendly intercourse is yearly taking place among the different courts of Europe; and we hail those reunions with joy, as the best securities not only of the private happiness of those whose welfare must always be important to their people, but of the general peace and federal prosperity of the world.

The topics upon which we have dwelt in this article, are so interesting, that we have occupied our space without exhausting one half of these valuable volumes. They contain, besides, Lord Malmesbury's negotiations with the French Directory at Paris in 1796, and at Lille in 1797, with much of the private history of Mr Pitt during the period of the Addington Administration. We may perhaps, on a future occasion, recur to these; at present we shall conclude by heartily recommending this work to the perusal of every one who desires to become thoroughly acquainted with the diplomatic relations of the times.

GERMAN-AMERICAN ROMANCES.

THE VICEROY AND THE ARISTOCRACY, OR MEXICO IN 1812.

PART THE SECOND.

The two great colonizing nations of Europe, England and Spain, have displayed a striking difference in their mode of treating the countries which discovery or conquest has at various periods placed under their rule. The constant aim of England has been to civilize the aborigines, and elevate their moral character; to teach them the arts of life, and to attach them to their rulers by the impartial administration of justice. The prosperous state of British India, and the ease with which that vast empire is governed and controlled by an insignificant number of Europeans, prove the wisdom of the liberal and humane policy applied by Great Britain to her Indian subjects.

The colonial system uniformly pursued by Spain has been widely and fatally different. The establishment of her transatlantic colonies was accomplished by the indiscriminate slaughter and plunder of the unoffending natives. Disguise it as he may, cruelty is a distinguishing characteristic of the Spaniard; and this moral phenomenon in the character of a people, certainly not destitute of noble and chivalrous attributes, may probably be traced, partly to the large admixture of Arabian blood in the Spanish population, and partly to the long enduring and paramount authority of a priesthood remarkable for its intolerant spirit, and for its savage abuse of unlimited power. This propensity to deeds of cruelty and oppression was nourished during the long contest with the Moors. Abundant evidence of it may also be found in Spain's European wars, and especially during the long and noble struggle of the brave Netherlanders against the reckless and blood-thirsty soldiery of the Duke of Alva. But the crowning atrocities of Spain were perpetrated in her American possessions, and more particularly in Mexico, the richest and most important of them all.

Assuming that the whole of Spanish America was a gift to the king of Spain from God's vicegerent on earth, the Roman pontiff, and under the plea that it was their especial duty to establish his creed, the Spaniards did not hesitate to accomplish this end by the most lawless and cruel means. Their unbounded greed of gold led to further oppressions on their part, and sufferings on that of the Indians; and even the arbitrary, and for the most part unjust, enactments of the Consejo de las Indias, a council established for the government of Spain's colonial possessions, were outheroded and overstepped by the cruel and mercenary individuals to whom their enforcement was entrusted.