Monaco, in Italy, blessed and happy in the society of his wife. She was then advancing in pregnancy, and his solicitude for her was sufficient to have deeply interested a heart less susceptible than her own. Their marriage was kept from public declaration, but we shall refer to the proofs hereafter. In the ensuing month, it was announced that (17th September) the duke "died of a malignant fever," in the twenty-ninth year of his age, and the news was immediately communicated to the King of England. The body was said to be embalmed, (?) and then put on board his majesty's ship Montreal, to be brought to England. His royal highness was interred on the evening of November 3rd, in the royal vault of King Henry the Seventh's Chapel.

The fate of the duke's unfortunate and inconsolable widow, and that of the infant, to whom she soon after gave birth, must be reserved for its appropriate place in this history.

The high price of provisions this year occasioned much distress and discontent, and excited tumults in various parts of the kingdom. Notwithstanding this, ministers attempted to retain every tax that had been imposed during the late war, and appeared perfectly callous to the sufferings of the productive classes. Even the land-tax, of four shillings in the pound, was attempted to be continued, though

[41]contrary to all former custom; but the country gentlemen became impatient of this innovation, and contrived to get a bill introduced into the House of Commons, to reduce it to three shillings in the pound. This was carried by a great majority, in spite of all the efforts of the ministry to the contrary! The defeat of the ministers caused a great sensation at the time, as it was the first money-bill in which any ministry had been disappointed since the revolution of 1688! But what can any ministers do against the wishes of a determined people? If the horse knew his own strength, would he submit to the dictation of his rider?

On account of the above bill being thrown out, ministers had considerable difficulty in raising the necessary supplies for the year, which were estimated at eight millions and a half, including, we suppose, secret-service money, which was now in great demand.

The king experienced a fluctuating state of health, sometimes improving, again retrograding, up to the year

1768.

In his speech, in the November of this year, his majesty announced, that much disturbance had been exhibited in some of the colonies, and a disposition manifested to throw aside their dependence upon Great Britain. Owing to this circumstance, a new office was created, under the name of "Secretary of

[42]State for the Colonies," and to which the Earl of Hillsborough was appointed.

The Earl of Chatham having resigned, parliament was dissolved. Party spirit running high, the electioneering contests were unusually violent, and serious disorders occurred. Mr. Wilkes was returned for Middlesex; but, being committed to the King's Bench for libels on the government, the mob rescued Wilkes from the soldiers, who were conducting him thither. The military were ordered to fire on the people, and one man, who was singled out and pursued by the soldiers, was shot dead. A coroner's inquest brought this in wilful murder, though the higher authorities not only acquitted the magistrates and soldiers, but actually returned public thanks to them!

At this period, the heart sickens at the relations given of the punishments inflicted on many private soldiers in the guards. They were each allowed only four-pence per day. If they deserted and were re-taken, the poor delinquents suffered the dreadful infliction of five hundred lashes. The victims thus flagellated very seldom escaped with life! In the navy, also, the slightest offence or neglect was punished with inexpressible tortures. This infamous treatment of brave men can only be accounted for by the fact, that officers in the army and navy either bought their situations, or received them as a compensation for some SECRET SERVICE performed for, or by the request of, the queen and her servile ministry. Had officers been promoted from the ranks,

[43]for performing real services to their country, they would have then possessed more commiseration for their brothers in arms.

We must here do justice to the character of George the Third from all intentional tyranny. Many a time has this monarch advocated the cause of the productive classes, and as frequently have his ministers, urged on by the queen, defeated his most sanguine wishes, until he found himself a mere cipher in the affairs of state. The king's simplicity of style and unaffected respect for the people would have induced him to despise the gorgeous pageantry of state; he had been happy, indeed, to have been "the real father of his subjects." His majesty well knew that the public good ought to be the sole aim of all governments, and that for this purpose a prince is invested with the regal crown. A king is not to employ his authority, patronage, and riches, merely to gratify his own lusts and ambition; but, if need require it, he ought even to sacrifice his own ease and pleasure for the benefit of his country. We give George the Third credit for holding these sentiments, which, however, only increased his regrets, as he really had no power to act,—that power being in the possession of his queen, and other crafty and designing persons, to whose opinions and determinations he had become a perfect slave! It is to be regretted that he had not sufficient nerve to eject such characters from his councils; for assuredly the nation would have been, to a man, willing to

[44]protect him from their vile machinations; but once subdued, he was subdued for ever.

From the birth, a prince is the subject of flattery, and is even caressed for his vicious propensities; nay, his minions never appear before him without a mask, while every artifice that cunning can suggest is practised to deceive him. He is not allowed to mix in general society, and therefore is ignorant of the wants and wishes of the people over whom he is destined to reign. When he becomes a king, his counsellors obtain his signature whenever they desire it; and, as his extravagance increases, so must sums of money, in some way or other, be extorted from his suffering and oppressed subjects. Should his ministers prove ambitious, war is the natural result, and the money of the poor is again in request to furnish means for their own destruction! Whereas, had the prince been associated with the intelligent and respectable classes of society, he might have warded off the evil, and, instead of desolating war, peace might have shed her gentle influence over the land. Another barbarous custom is, the injunction imposed upon royal succession, that they shall not marry only with their equals in birth. But is not this a violation of the most vital interests and solemn engagements to which humanity have subscribed? What unhappiness has not such an unnatural doctrine produced? Quality of blood ought only to be recognized by corresponding nobility of sentiments, principles, and actions. He that is debarred from

[45]possessing the object of his virtuous regard is to be pitied, whether he be a king or a peasant; and we can hardly wonder at his sinking into the abyss of carelessness, imbecility, and even madness.

In February,

1769,

the first of those deficiencies in the civil