taken of this letter; and one addressed to the prefect of Lyons, met with like contempt. In fact, from the 7th of October to the 26th of January, the day I embarked from Toulon for Leghorn, I received so much insult from the governor and prefect, that I almost considered my life in danger, unprotected as I then was, in such a country. Another motive induced me to leave it - Mr. Brougham could not fix the period for meeting me any where in France. "I have written to lord Liverpool and lord Castlereagh, demanding to have my name inserted in the liturgy of the church of England; and that orders be given to all British ambassadors, ministers, and consuls, that I should be received and acknowledged as the queen of England; and after the speech, made by lord Castlereagh in the House of Commons, in answer to Mr. Brougham, I do not expect to experience further insult. I have also demanded that a palace may be prepared for my reception. England is my real home, to which I shall immediately fly. I have dismissed my Italian court, retaining only a sufficient number of persons to conduct me to England; and if Buckingham-house, Marlborough-house, or any other palace, is refused me, I shall take a house in the country till my friends can find a palace for me in London. I have sent a messenger to England, to make the proper arrangements for that purpose." The letter to lord Liverpool, to which allusion is here made, bore the same date, and was in these words : "Rome, March 16, 1820. "The queen wishes to be in formed, through the medium of lord Liverpool, first minister to the king, for what reason or motive the queen's name is left out of the general prayers in England, with a view to prevent all her subjects from paying her such respect as is due to her. And it is an equally great omission towards the king, that his consort queen should be obliged to submit to such great neglect, as if the archbishop was in perfect ignorance of the real existence of the queen Caroline of England. The queen is desirous that lord Liverpool should communicate this letter to the archbishop of Canterbury. Lord Liverpool will with difficulty believe how much the queen was surprised at this first act of cruel tyranny towards her; since she had been informed, through the newspapers of the 22nd of February, that, in the course of the debates in the House of Commons, lord Castlereagh, one of his best friends, assured the queen's attorney-general, that the king's servants would not use towards the queen any inattention harshness. And after that speech of lord Castlereagh, the queen is surprised to find her name left out of the Liturgy, as if she no longer existed in this world. The queen trusts, before she arrives in England, these matters will be corrected, and that she will receive a satisfactory answer from lord Liverpool. "CAROLINE, Queen." or The effect of the publication of these letters was, to raise a belief, that she would arrive in England immediately; and, so strong was the expectation on this subject, that, on the 18th of April, it was announced in the public journals, that she had reached Calais, and would be at Dover in the course of the day. Her majesty, however, was not so hasty in her movements. After a protracted stay at Rome, she at last set out, stopped some days at Milan, and arrived at Geneva on Tuesday, the 9th of May. There she remained for some time, detained, it is said, by sickness, but, probably, uncertain as to the steps which she ought to take. While there, she sent Vassali with letters to London, in which she requested Mr. Brougham to meet her at Geneva, or, if so long a journey were inconvenient to him, at one of the sea-ports of France; so that, not even at this time, does she appear to have been very eager to reach England. She was willing to wait at Geneva, or at Calais; yet, shortly afterwards, it was pretended that she had fled to England, with all the ardor of injured innocence, the moment that she found herself denied the usual prerogatives of her royal dignity. Upon Vassali's arrival in London, a consultation is said to have been held by Mr. Brougham and Mr. Denman, assisted by others of her majesty's friends. Mr. Brougham thought, that he could not, consistently with his professional engagements, go so far as Geneva; and that many difficulties might be thrown • The letter announcing this event [see Chronicle, p. 193] is dated May 17th, and says, that she had arrived on the preceding Tuesday. The 17th of May was a Wednesday, and allusion is made in the letter to what she had done in Geneva on the preceding Friday. She must, therefore, have arrived, not on the Tuesday of the week in which the letter was written, but on the Tuesday of the former week. in the way of negotiation, if her majesty remained at a great distance from the scene of discussion, as it was impossible to foresee, on how many points it might be desirable or requisite to consult her own views or wishes. It was, therefore, determined, that Vassali should immediately return to Geneva, with a humble request, that she would lose no time in proceeding to Calais, or some town on the coast, where she would have easy communication with the English shore. At the same time Mr. Alderman Wood, and along with him lady Anne Hamilton, who had formerly belonged to her household, set out to meet her. The queen, accordingly, having left Geneva, arrived at Dijon. Thence she dispatched a courier with a letter to Mr. Brougham, in which she informed him, that it was her intention to be at St. Omer on Wednesday, the 30th of May, and requested his presence at that place to confer with her. From Dijon her majesty proceeded to Montbard, where she was joined, on the 28th, by alderman Wood and lady Anne Hamilton; and, from this moment, her motions, which, till now, had been slow and uncertain, became determined and rapid. With these new attendants in her train, she immediately proceeded to Villeneuve le Roi, where she arrived on the 29th. On the same day she wrote two letters, one to the duke of York, the contents of which have never transpired; the other to lord Liverpool, announcing her intention of being in London on the Saturday following, and desiring that a royal yacht should be in readiness for her at Calais, and that a residence should be assigned her for her temporary or permanent habitation. At the same time lady Anne Hamilton addressed a note, in her majesty's name, to lord Melville, as first lord of the Admiralty, requesting him to give orders that one of the royal yachts should be in attendance at Calais, on the 3rd of June. A courier was instantly dispatched with these letters, who arrived in London on Wednesday night. There is an inconsistency, as well as abruptness, in her demands for a royal yacht, sufficient to excite the suspicion, that a refusal was desired. The queen herself intimates her design to be in London on the third of June, and, consequently, the yacht that was to convey her across the channel must have been in readiness on the 2nd of June at the farthest her attendant gives an additional day, and specifically fixes the 3rd of June as the time when the yacht would be wanted. But, whichever day we may fix upon, the interval allowed for preparation was absurdly and indecently short. The message could not possibly, and did not arrive in London, till late in the evening of Wednesday; it could scarcely be taken into consideration by the council before Thursday; and yet, on Friday or on Saturday morning, at the latest, the yacht, forsooth, is to be in readiness in the harbour of Calais ! Neither is it easy to reconcile these proceedings with her majesty's former correspondence with Mr. Brougham. The courier, who had been dispatched with the letter announcing that she would wait for him at St. Omer, could scarcely reach London be fore Wednesday or Thursday. Mr. Brougham, therefore, could not be expected to be at St. Omer before Friday; and yet she announces to lord Liverpool her intention of being in London on Saturday. At Dijon she thinks only of consulting with her legal adviser: at Villeneuve le Roi consultation or deliberation is no longer in question, and a decided line of conduct is adopted and declared. On Friday Mr. Brougham set out from Dover, accompanied by lord Hutchinson. Mr. Brougham went, not merely as the professional adviser of her majesty, but as the bearer of the proposition, which, at his own suggestion, had been submitted to him by government for her consideration. Lord Hutchinson had no authority to negotiate with her; he had no authority to make any communication to her respecting the terms of the contemplated arrangement. He had, however, been apprised of the course which the government had determined to follow, if she came to England; and it was understood, that he should make her acquainted with that determination, in case she should finally reject the terms of which Mr. Brougham was the bearer. Prudence, as well as justice, required that this warning should be given to her; it would have come with a bad grace from her own attorneygeneral; but from lord Hutchinson, who had formerly been her friend, and who was now in the confidence of the king, it would come with increased weight, and diminished harshness. Mr. Brougham and lord Hutchinson arrived at St. Omer on Saturday afternoon, and took up their abode in separate hotels. The queen had been there since the morning of Thursday. Mr. Brougham immediately waited upon her majesty, and informed her, that lord Hutchinson had come, in the spirit of sincere friendship, to make some proposals to her in his majesty's name. She replied, that she would be happy to see him, and lord Hutchinson accordingly was immediately introduced to her. Though he remained for some time with her, nothing passed except conversation on indifferent topics. She naturally would be averse to enter first upon the subject; and his lordship would not unnecessarily bring it into discussion, as the part assigned to him did not properly commence, till Mr. Brougham's negotiation should have completely failed. It has, indeed, been asserted, that when lord Hutchinson rose to go away, her majesty said, that, as she understood that he had some proposals to make to her from the king, she should wish to see them in writing without delay. That this, however, must be a mistake, appears evident, from the language of the following note, which was sent by Mr. Brougham to lord Hutchinson on the subsequent morning, and which proves, that no direct conversation on the proposed arrangement had passed between her majesty and his lordship : "Mr. Brougham having humbly submitted to the queen, that he had reason to believe that lord Hutchinson had brought over a proposition from the king to her majesty, the queen has been pleased to command Mr. Brougham to request lord Hutchinson to communicate any such proposition as soon as possible, in writing. The bearer of this (count Vassali) will wait to receive it from your lordship.-June 4, 1820." To this note lord Hutchinson sent a written auswer, which stated that his lordship had no written proposals, but merely some scattered memoranda on scraps of paper. Mr. Brougham instantly reply: sent the following "Mr. Brougham is commanded by the queen to express to lord Hutchinson her majesty's surprise at his lordship not being ready to state the terms of the proposition of which he is the bearer; but as lord Hutchinson is desirous of a few hours delay, her majesty will wait until five o'clock, in the expectation of receiving a communication from his lordship at that hour.-2 o'clock, June 4, 1820." It was not till within a few minutes of the stipulated time, that Lord Hutchinson returned any answer to this communication. At last, about five o'clock, on the afternoon of Sunday, Mr. Brougham received an answer from him in these terms: "Sir-In obedience to the commands of the queen, I have to inform you, that I am not in possession of any proposition or propositions, detailed in a specific form of words, which I could lay before her majesty; but I can detail to you, for her information, the substance of many conver sations held with lord Liverpool. His majesty's ministers propose, that 50,000l. per annum should be settled on the queen for life, subject to such conditions as the king may impose. I have also reason to know, that the conditions likely to be imposed by his majesty are, that the queen is not to assume the style and title of queen of England, or any title attached to the royal family of England. A condition is also to be attached to this grant, that she is not to reside in any part of the united kingdom, or even to visit England. The consequence of such a visit will be an immediate message to Parliament, and an entire end to all compromise and negotiation. I believe that there is no other condition-I am sure none of any importance. I think it right to send to you an extract of a letter from lord Liverpool to me: his words areIt is material that her majesty should know confidentially, that, if she shall be so ill-advised as to come over to this country, there must then be an end to all negotiation and compromise. The decision, I may say, is taken, to proceed against her as soon as she sets her foot on the British shores.' -I cannot conclude this letter without my humble though serious and sincere supplication, that her majesty will take these propositions into her most calm consideration, and not act with any hurry or precipitation on so important a subject. I hope that my advice will not be misinterpreted. I can have no possible interest which would induce me to give fallacious counsel to the queen. But, let the event be what it may, I shall console myself with the reflection that I have performed a painful duty imposed upon me to the best of my judgment and conscience, and in a case, in the decision of which the king, the queen, the government, and the people of England, are materially interested. Having done so, I fear neither obloquy nor misrepresentation. I certainly should not have wished to have brought matters to so precipitate a conclusion; but it is her majesty's decision, and not mine. I am conscious that I have performed my duty towards her with every possible degree of feeling and delicacy. I have been obliged to make use of your brother's hand, as I write with pain and difficulty, and the queen has refused to give any, even shortest delay. the "I have the honour to be, Sir, "Your most obedient "HUTCHINSON." As soon as this epistle was read by the queen, Mr. Brougham, at her majesty's request, made the following answer in writing : "Mr. Brougham is commanded by the queen to acknowledge the receipt of lord Hutchinson's letter, and to inform his lordship, that it is quite impossible for her majesty to listen to such a proposition.-Five o'clock, June 4, 1820." Within a very few minutes after this last communication, her majesty suddenly left Mr. Brougham, and went into her carriage, which was ordered to drive away with the greatest possible speed. The suddenness of her departure was such, that Mr. Brougham had no time to follow her majesty to her coach, and indeed scarcely knew she was gone, till he saw from a window the carriage hastening away. The reason of this precipitate departure was, a groundless suspicion, which had suddenly occurred to her, and which she did not think it prudent to communicate even to Mr. Brougham. Lord Hutchinson, a |