to tarnish the duke's reputation, and to countenance the reports of his cruelty to the Scotch after the battle of Culloden, it produced no amelioration in the

army.

The duke's behaviour on the death of his brother, the Prince of Wales, was far from amiable. When intelligence of the event was communicated to him, he said, sneeringly, "It is a great blow to this country, but I hope it will recover it in time." He probably thought that the chief obstacle to his future importance was removed by his brother's decease; and calculated, no doubt, on becoming sole regent, in the event of the king's death during the minority of Prince George. His want of feeling on the occasion materially decreased his popularity, which had already for some time been on the wane. Elegies on the deceased prince were cried about the streets, to which were added such exclamations as the following: "Oh! that it was but his brother!" "Oh! that it was but the butcher!"

So rooted an opinion of his severity had been formed by the people, that the probability of his becoming regent excited general consternation. Some even imagined that advantage would be taken of the youth of the prince's children to raise the duke to the throne. George the Second appears to have rather participated in the general feeling against his son on this occasion; and an act was passed nominating the Dowager Princess of Wales regent, in the event of the king's demise before Prince George should have attained the age of royal majority. When the king caused his plans on this subject to be communicated to the duke, the latter coolly returned his thanks and duty, and added, "For the part allotted to me, I shall submit to it, because his majesty commands it." He, however, considered a most unmerited affront to have been put upon him, by the appointment of the princess dowager, instead of himself, to the regency; and declared to his friends, that "he now felt his own insignificance, and wished the name of William could be blotted out of the English annals."

A mortification of a slighter sort soon followed-In his apartment there were few ornaments but arms; and, one day, Prince George having paid him a visit,

to amuse the boy, he took down a sword and drew it. The young prince turned pale and trembled, supposing that his uncle intended to kill him. The duke was dreadfully shocked, and complained to the princess that scandalous prejudices had been instilled into the child against him.

In November, 1751, he fell from his horse, while hunting at Windsor. Refusing to be blooded, he grew dangerously ill, and was given over by the physicians, but happily recovered. When urged to take advantage of the uneasiness manifested by the king on this occasion, and solicit his majesty to get the regency bill repealed, he said, "I would rather bear the ignominy that has been laid upon me, than venture to give the king the uneasiness of reflecting, if it were but for two hours in his own room, on the injury he has done me."

The duke was keenly sensitive to any thing which he thought affected the national honour. In 1756, on being informed of the loss of Minorca, he exclaimed, "We are undone! Sea and land are cowards! I am ashamed of my profession!" His conduct afterwards, during the prosecution of Admiral Byng, is described at having been extremely harsh and vindictive. Party prejudice, however, then ran so high, that, without suspecting his own injustice, many an otherwise conscientious person became the tool of the blackest malice, in abetting the designs of his political friends.

In 1757, the French having made an irruption into Germany and threatened Hanover, the king wished the duke to take the command of the continental forces, and, at length, wrung from him a reluctant consent. Accordingly, in the month of April, his royal highness embarked for the field of action; and, on his arrival in Germany, found himself at the head of an allied army amounting to fifty thousand men. The French, under Marshal D'Etrées, advancing from the Rhine, the passage of which the duke had in vain been urged to dispute, the allies were compelled to retire beyond the Weser. D'Etrées passed that river also without opposition, and on the 25th of July attacked the duke in his camp at Hastenbech. While the battle was yet doubtful, his

royal highness, from a defect, not of courage, but of judgment, appears to have given orders for a retreat. The confederates accordingly retired, hard pressed by the marshal, first to Nieuburg, then to Verden, and finally to Stade. D'Etrées, on being urged to embrace a favourable moment of attack, replied there was no occasion for fighting.

It soon became apparent that the marshal was right; for, finding that his further advance was prevented by the German ocean, that he was enclosed on the right and left by the Elbe and Weser, and that the enemy had taken possession of all the passes as his troops had receded, the duke was compelled, in the month of September, to submit to terms of capitulation.

A convention was accordingly signed at Closter-Seven, by which it was declared that the electorate of Hanover should be left in the hands of the French, and that the whole confederate army, amounting to forty thousand men, should be disarmed and disbanded. Walpole, in his memoirs of George the Second, is at great pains to vindicate the duke's conduct in this campaign; and asserts that, though unsuccessful, the battle of Hastenbech was peculiarly glorious to his royal highness, as it afforded him opportunities of evincing the most consummate military skill: but such was far from being the general opinion.

The convention of Closter-Seven, however, seems to have been concluded in obedience to the express command of George the Second; but when news of the event arrived in England, where it excited universal clamour, he thought proper to disavow the whole transaction. Two messengers were despatched to recal the duke, who, early in October, returned to Kensington. He said to Mr. Fox, on his arrival, "You see me well, both in body and mind: I have written orders in my pocket for everything I did." His haughty nature

could ill brook the coldness with which he was received; and, on his father saying in his hearing, "Here is my son, who has ruined me and disgraced himself," he came to the resolution of resigning all his employments; and from that period, passed his life in comparative retirement.

In 1759, a rumour was circulated of

an intended French invasion, and it was generally supposed that the Duke of Cumberland would have been called to the head of the army. During a conversation which he had with the Duchess of Bedford on this subject, he stated that he did not believe the command would be offered to him, but when no wise man would accept it and no honest man would refuse it.

At this period the duke had become enormously fat: in the summer of 1760, he had a stroke of the palsy; which, although he soon recovered his speech and the use of his limbs, was considered by his friends, on account of the grossness of his constitution, as an omen of his decease at no very distant period. Shortly afterwards occurred the sudden death of George the Second, who had often hinted that he should leave the purchased German principalities to the duke: but he had either never intended, or forgotten, to make such an arrangement. The duke had, however, now become fully reconciled to retirement; though still a young man he had outlived his ambition, and all his feelings and passions were sobered down either to apathy or content.

On the 31st of October, 1765, he visited at court, apparently in good health and spirits; he afterwards dined in Arlington Street, and took tea with the Princess of Brunswick, without exhibiting any symptoms of indisposition; but a few minutes after his return home he was attacked with a shivering fit, and almost as soon as the king's physician arrived, he fell breathless on a sofa, and expired.

It

Walpole states, that the duke was one of the only five great men he could pretend to have seen. He was undoubtedly brave, although he displayed the cruelty of a coward. He appeared to have a natural inclination for war, but, apparently, despised renown. was an observation of his, "That during the height of his popularity, his satisfaction was allayed by thinking of Vernon"-that admiral being about the same period, with very little reason, the idol of the public. He was not contented with flattery, but expected blind obedience from those beneath him. He felt so extraordinary and unlimited a respect for the royal authority, that had his brother, whom he

appears to have despised, become king, he would, in all probability, have treated him with the most unconditional deference. Politics he considered unworthy of his notice, and refused to attend cabinet councils, even on occasions when his advice would, perhaps, have been valuable. He despised money, but was much addicted to gambling. He was fond of women, but always felt averse to matrimony. Lord Granville, at one time, greatly annoyed him by negociating a match for him with the King of Denmark's sister. The duke consulted Sir Robert Walpole, then retired from public affairs, how to avoid the marriage with which he was thus threatened. Sir Robert advised him to seem willing to consent to it, provided the king would make him a large settlement. He adopted this plan, and the alliance was longer urged.

no

He appears to have affected a lofty elevation of character, which posterity will scarcely allow him to have possessed. He evinced the littleness of his mind by his attention to military trifles. To him, the establishment of a proper pattern for spatterdashes, appeared to be an object of considerable importance; and the slightest transgression of martial etiquette was visited with his severe displeasure. He affected, on some occasions, a dignified humility, and a philosophical indifference, which, however, but ill concealed the proud swellings of his heart, and his strong inclination for power.

Notwithstanding

the encomiums which he received from some of his cotemporaries, who, in estimating his talents as a commander, judged rather from the national importance of the battle of Culloden, than the real military skill of the conqueror, it may be safely asserted, that no general ever purchased reputation at a cheaper rate. Even the merit of his success, at the head of regular troops over the raw forces of the Pretender, must, in some measure, be attributed to the advice of Lord Stair; and when we contrast the comparatively insignificant victory of Culloden,-and insignificant it certainly was, viewed as a martial achievement, although, perhaps, it determined the fate of the nation, with the duke's previous defeat at Fontenoy, and his subsequent

disasters at Hastenbech, we cannot but smile at finding him elevated by his admirers above all heroes, either ancient or modern. The success which the insurgents had obtained over the royal forces, previously to the duke's appointment to oppose them, may be attributed principally to the imprudence or irresolution of the king's commanders: at the battle of Culloden they were a match in no respect for those to whom they were opposed. The success of the duke, on this occasion, can, therefore, scarcely be said to balance even the least of his defeats. He was successful only against a force of brave but undisciplined highlanders, without efficient arms or skilful commanders; being invariably beaten when opposed to troops who were on a par with his own, in every particular, perhaps, except the very important one of having a man of military talent and experience at their head. After the battle of Hastenbech, a French officer, noticing the fine martial appearance of an English prisoner, observed, "If we had had many such enemies as you, we should not have conquered." To this the man replied, There were thousands of better soldiers than I am, but not one D'Etrées to lead them." On another occasion, an English captive having told some French officers that they had nearly made the duke prisoner at Fontenoy, one of them said, "We took care not to do so he does us more service at the head of your army." Marshal Saxe once sneeringly said of him, "He is the greatest general of his age, for he has maintained several thousand men on a spot of ground where I should never have billetted so many rabbits." The duke, on hearing of this, is said to have observed, that his men were well enough fed to fight the French on any ground: and it is true that they did occasionally fight, but, while under his command, never could manage to beat them.

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There are a few facts recorded, illustrating the more amiable parts of the duke's character, which it behoves us not to omit. On one occasion having missed his pocket-book at Newmarket, just before the horses started, he declined making any bets, observing that he had already lost money enough for that morning. At the conclusion of the

races, he was presented with his pocketbook by a half-pay officer, who had found it near the stand, shortly after it had been dropped by the duke, but who had had no opportunity of returning it. "I am very glad, sir," said the duke," that it has fallen into such hands; keep it: had it not been for this accident, its contents would probably have been, by this time, dispersed among the blacklegs of Newmarket."

During his march against the rebels, he was, one day, presented with a petition for assistance, from a destitute lad, whose father had been many years in the royal household. The duke ordered the boy into his presence, and, giving him some money, said, "In consideration of your father's fidelity, and hoping that you are worthy of being his son, when the present troubles are over, should my life be spared, I will endeavour to provide you with some permanent situation." After the rebellion was ended, the boy proceeded to London, and obtained an interview with the duke, by whose recommendation

he soon obtained a comfortable place. While the duke was in Germany, a serjeant of excellent character having performed a daring exploit, the duke thought proper to give him a commission. But this elevation in rank by no means increased the man's happiness; he could no longer associate with his former companions, and his brother officers treated him with degrading neglect. At length, he told the duke how unpleasantly he was situated, and entreated permission to resume his halberd. The duke desired him to let the matter rest for a day or two; and the next morning, on parade, walked up to him, when he was standing apart from the other officers of the regiment, familiarly took his arm, and, on being invited by Lord Ligonier to dine at the mess, replied, "With much pleasure, but I must bring my friend here with me." "Oh! certainly," said his lordship; and thenceforth the duke's "friend never had occasion to complain of being slighted by any individual in the service.

THIS princess, the fourth daughter | of George the Second and Queen Caroline, is characterized as having been the mildest and gentlest of her race. She was born on the 22nd of February, 1723. On the 8th of May, 1740, being then only in the eighteenth year of her age, she was married, in the chapel at St. James's, to Frederick, Prince of Hesse, with whom she embarked for the continent, on the 6th of the following month of June. The prince, her husband, is said to have treated her with great inhumanity. In 1754, he abjured the protestant

religion, and turned Roman Catholic. This change of creed in a prince of the empire was viewed with much surprise, and subjected him, in the event of his succeeding his father, to various heavy restrictions; which, if possible, increased the acerbity of his temper, and the brutality of his behaviour. After passing many years of her life in hopeless sorrow and unresisting submission, death, at length, relieved the princess of her tyrant ; and she spent the remnant of her days in ease and tranquillity. Her death took place on the 14th of June, 1771.

LOUISA, QUEEN

LOUISA, youngest daughter of George the Second, was born on the 7th of December, 1724. She was almost idolized by her mother, and much admired

OF DENMARK.

by the public for her personal graces, her temper, and her talents. In 1743, her hand was solicited by Frederick, Prince Royal of Denmark. On the 27th

of October in that year, she was united to him, by proxy, at Hanover, and he soon after ascended the Danish throne. Like her father, he kept a mistress, to shew that he was not governed by his wife; and her death, like that of her mother, was occasioned by a rupture. She had declared to the Duke of Cumberland, before her departure from

this country, that, however unhappy she might be in Denmark, she would never trouble her relations with any complaints; nor did she, until the last day of her life, when she wrote them an exceedingly pathetic letter. She expired, in the prime of her life, after a terrible operation, which lasted an hour, on the 8th of December 1751.

THIS princess, the first child of Frederick, Prince of Wales, was born on the 31st of July, 1737. She was the favourite of her parents, on account of her beauty and gentleness of disposition. She received a very careful education, and became highly accomplished. In 1763, she was demanded in marriage by the hereditary Prince of Brunswick Wolfenbüttel, and no obstacles being raised to the match, the nuptials were solemnized on the 16th of January, 1764, in the great council chamber, at St. James's palace. On this occasion, her brother, George the Third, presented her with a diamond necklace worth £30,000; Queen Charlotte gave her a gold watch, set with jewels, of exquisite workmanship; and her mother, the princess dowager, gave her a diamond stomacher of immense value. In a few days after their marriage the royal pair proceeded to the continent, where they resided for many years, in a state of enviable domestic happiness. The fruits of their union were six children; one of whom became, in 1795, the wife of George, Prince of Wales, afterwards George the Fourth.

Unluckily for the princess, her husband, who had succeeded to the ducal chair, on the demise of his father, accepted the command of the Prussians against the troops of republican France. His territories were shortly afterwards entered by the enemy; the duchess

was compelled to seek refuge in England; and in the autumn of 1806, the duke fell in the field of battle, while leading on the Prussians against the French. His son and successor afterwards met with a similar fate.

On her arrival in this country, the duchess found the king, her brother, infirm, blind, and about to be visited with that most dreadful of calamities, the loss of reason; and her daughter, afterwards Queen Caroline, not only living in virtual widowhood, but deprived even of the society of her own child. The declining years of the duchess were, therefore, it cannot be doubted, unhappy, rather than otherwise.

Early in 1813, a species of epidemic cough, accompanied with shortness of breathing, which was then prevalent in the metropolis, attacked the duchess, and greatly aggravated an asthmatic complaint with which she had long been afflicted. On the 21st of March she was confined to her bed, but without being considered in danger. On the 22nd the Princess of Wales quitted her, after a visit of some hours duration, without any idea that the duchess was near her dissolution; shortly before nine, on the same evening, however, she was seized with violent spasmodic attacks, which terminated her existence in about twelve hours. Her remains were interred in Westminster Abbey.