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came and brought me the following letter from her Majesty, written with her own hand :

"My dear Mrs Delany will be glad to hear that I am charged by the King to Lummon her to her new abode at Windsor for Tuesday next, where she will find all the most essential parts of the house ready, excepting some little trifles, which it will be better for Mrs Delany to direct herself in person, or by her little deputy, Miss Port. I need not, I hope, udd, that I shall be extremely glad and happy to see so amiable an inhabitant in this our sweet retreat; and wish, very sincerely, that my dear Mrs Delany may enjoy every blessing amongst us that her merits deserve. That we may long enjoy her amiable company, Amen! These are the true sentiments of my dear Mrs Delany's very affectionate Queen,

"CHARLOTTE.

"Queen's Lodge, Windsor, Sept. 3, 1785. "P.S. I must also beg that Mrs Delany will choose her own time of coming, as will best suit her own convenience.'

"MY ANSWER. It is impossible to express how I am overwhelmed with your Majesty's excess of goodness to me. I shall, with the warmest duty and most humble respect, obey a command that bestows such honour and happiness on your Majesty's most dutiful and most obedient humble servant, and subject,

MARY DELANY,'" "I received the Queen's letter at dinner, and was obliged to answer it instantly, with my own hand, without seeing a letter I wrote. I thank God I had strength enough to obey the gracious summons on the day appointed. I arrived here about eight o'clock in the evening, and found his Majesty in the house ready to receive me. I threw myself at his feet, indeed unable to utter a word; he raised and saluted me, and said he meant not to stay longer than to desire I would order every thing that could make the house comfortable and agreeable to me, and then retired.

"Truly, I found nothing wanting, as it is as pleasant and commodious as I could wish it to be, with a very pretty garden, which joins to that of the Queen's Lodge. The next morning her Majesty sent one of her Ladies to know how I had rested, and how I was in health, and whether her coming would not be troublesome? You may be sure I accepted the honour, and she came about two o'clock. I was lame, and could not go down, as I ought to have done, to the door; but her Majesty came up stairs, and 1 received her on my knees. Our meeting was mutually affecting; she well knew the value of what I had lost, and it was some time after we were seated, (for she always makes me sit down,) before we could either of us speak. It is impos

VOL. VII,

sible for me to do justice to her great con-
descension and tenderness, which were al-
most equal to what I had lost. She re-
peated, in the strongest terms, her wish,
and the King's, that I should be as easy
and as happy as they could possibly make
me; that they waved all ceremony, and
desired to come to me like friends. The
Queen delivered me a paper from the King,
which contained the first quarter of L. 300
per annum, which his Majesty allows me
out of his Privy Purse. Their Majesties
have drank tea with me five times, and the
Princesses three. They generally stay two
hours, or longer. In short, I have either
or heard from them every day. I
seen
have not yet been at the Queen's Lodge,
though they have expressed an impatience
for me to come; but I have still so sad a
drawback upon my spirits, that I must
decline the honour till i am better able to
enjoy it; as they have the goodness not
to press me. Their visits here are paid in
the most quiet private manner, like those
of the most conseling and interested
friends; so that I may truly say, they are
a royal cordial, and I see very few people
besides. They are very condescending in
their notice of my niece, and think her a
fine girl. She is delighted, as is very na-
tural, with all the joys of the place. I
have been three times at the King's private
chapel at early prayers, eight o'clock,
where the Royal Family constantly attend;
and they walk home to breakfast afterwards,
whilst I am conveyed in a very elegant
new chair home, which the King has made
me a present of for that purpose. As to
my health, it is surprisingly good, con-
sidering the sufferings of my agitated spi-
rits; and that I was hardly recovered, when
I came, of a putrid sore throat and fever.
How thankful ought I to be to Providence
for the wonderful blessings I have receiv
ed! How ungrateful must I be, not to
endeavour to resign those withdrawn from
me as I ought to do! It is a cordial com-
fort to me to receive a good account from
you of your health and prosperity, and the
rest of my dear friends who have so kindly
I cannot dictate a word more,
felt for me.
but believe me, unalterably and affection-
ately, yours,

"M. DELANY." We have next as fine a picture of domestic happiness as has been ever either imagined or realized; and although we quoted this and several others of these passages before, yet we do not hesitate to present them again to our readers in one view.

"I have," says the good old lady, "been several evenings at the Queen's Lodge, with no other company but their own most lovely family. They sit round a large table, on which are books, BQ'

work, pencils, and paper. The Queen has the goodness to make me sit down next to her, and delights me with her conversation, which is informing, elegant, and pleasing, beyond description, whilst the younger part of the family are drawing and working, &c. &c. the beautiful babe, Princess Amelia, bearing her part in the enter tainment; sometimes in one of her sisters' laps; sometimes playing with the King on the carpet; which, altogether, exhibits such a delightful scene, as would require an Addison's pen, or a Vandyke's pencil, to do justice to. In the next room is the band of music, who play from eight o'clock till ten. The King generally directs them what pieces of music to play, chiefly Handel's. Here I must stop, and return to my own house. Mr Dewes, from Wellsbourn, came here on the 25th of October: on the 28th their Majesties, five Princesses, and the youngest Princes, came at seven o'clock in the evening to drink tea with me. All the Princesses and Princes had a commerce table. Miss Emily Clayton, daughter to Lady Louisa Clayton, and Miss Port, did the honours of it. It gave me a pleasing opportunity of introducing Mr Dewes to their Majesties: the King took gracious notice of him; and having heard that his youngest brother, Mr John Dewes, wished to take the name of Granville, said to Mr Dewes, that he desired he might, from that time, be called by that name, and gave or ders that his sign manual should be prepared for that purpose, which has accordingly been done." pp. 63, 64.

In another letter, Mrs Delany mentions some improvements which had been made in her house at Windsor, under the auspices of the King, with the view of rendering it more commodious to her, and she proceeds to say

"Indeed, it is now a most complete, elegant, comfortable dwelling; and I am hourly receiving marks of attention and kindness that cannot be expressed. The constant course of my living at present, from which I vary very little, is as follows: I seldom miss going to early prayers at the King's chapel, at eight o'clock, where I never fail of seeing their Majesties and all the Royal Family. The common way of going up to the chapel is through the great entrance into the castle, which is a large room with stone pillars, at the corner of which is a narrow winding staircase, which leads to the chapel; but their Majesties, with their usual goodness and indulgence, have ordered that I should be adinitted through the great staircase, which is a very casy ascent. When chapel is over, all the congregation make a line in the great portico till their Majestics have passed; for hey always walk to chapel and back again,

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and speak to every body of consequence as they pass; indeed, it is a delightful sight to see so much beauty, dignity, and condescension, united as they are in the Royal Family. I come home to breakfast generally about nine o'clock: if I and the weather are well enough, I take the air for two hours. The rest of the morning is devoted to business, and the company of my particular friends. I admit no formal visitors, as I really have not time or spirits for it, and every body here is very civil and very considerate. My afternoons I keep entirely to myself, that I may have no interruption whenever my royal neighbours condescend to visit me; their usual time of coming is between six and seven o'clock, and generally stay till between eight and nine. They always drink tea here, and my niece has the honour of dealing it about to all the Royal Family, as they will not suffer me to do it, (though it is my place,) the Queen always placing me upon the sofa by her, and the King when he sits down, which is seldom, sits next the sofa. Indeed, their visits are not limited to the afternoons, for their Majesties often call on me in a morning, and take me as they find me, not suffering any body to give me notice of their being come. Great as my awe is, their Majesties have such sweetness of manners, that it takes off painful sensations." pp. 67–69.

Miss Burney's introduction to the service of the Queen. This celebrated novelist was very amiable, as well as highly endowed. The Queen's dresser was obliged to go to the country in search of health, and the author of Evelina, &c. became her successor, and was chosen by the Queen without any particular recommendation from any body. The next extract cannot liar interest. fail, we think, to be read with pecu

In the same letter we are told of

"It is impossible for me to enumerate the daily instances I receive from my royal friends; who seem unwearied in the pursuit of making me as happy as they can. I am sure you must be very sensible how thankful I am to Providence for the late wonderful escape of his Majesty from the stroke of assassination: indeed, the horror that there was a possibility that such an attempt would be made, shocked me so much at first, that I could hardly enjoy the blessing of such a preservation. The King would not suffer any body to inform the Queen of that event, till he could show himself in person to her. He returned to Windsor as soon as the Council was over. When his Majesty entered the Queen's dressing-room, he found her with the two eldest Princesses; and entering, in an animated manner, said, Here I am, safe and

well!' The Queen suspected from this saying, that some accident had happened, on which he informed her of the whole affair. The Queen stood struck and motionless for some time, till the Princesses burst into tears, in which she immediately found relief by joining with them. Joy soon succeeded this agitation of mind, on the assurance that the person was insane that had the boldness to make the attack, which took off all aggravating suspicion; and it has been the means of showing the whole kingdom, that the King has the hearts of his subjects. I must tell you a particular gracious attention to me on the occasion: Their Majesties sent immediately to my house to give orders I should not be told of it till the next morning, for fear the agitation should give me a bad night. Dowager Lady Spencer was in the house with me, and went with me to early prayers, next morning, at eight o'clock; and after chapel was over she separated herself from me, and had a long conference with the King and Queen, as they stopped to speak to her on our coming out of chapel. When we returned to breakfast, I taxed her with having robbed me of an opportunity of hearing what their Majesties said to her, by standing at such a distance. She told me, it was a secret; but she had now their permission to tell me what it was, and then informed me of the whole affair." pp. 7476.

We learn, from a subsequent letter, that their Majesties, while at Kew, distinguished the family of a Mr Smelt with the same familiar and unceremonious visits as they did that of their venerable protegée,-a circumstance which shows that she was no solitary instance of their kindness and condescension, but that these, and many other qualities equally amiable, belonged to their character. At Windsor, when the weather permitted, the evenings were devoted to the terrace. The Queen, with much consideration, as well as goodness, commanded Mrs Delany to come to the Lodge when ever it suited her convenience. She generally went at half-past seven to Miss Burney's apartment, and, when the Royal party came from the terrace, one of the Princesses, generally Princess Amelia, just four years old, came into the room, took the old lady by the hand, and led her into the drawing-room, where a chair was set for her at the Queen's left hand. To these interesting particulars succeeds a statement which exhibits our late venerable Sovereign in the character of a Christian, a King, and a Parent.

"I began this on Saturday, but found myself not equal to finish it, but being better in the evening I went to the Lodge, to Miss Burney's apartments; but had not been there a quarter of an hour before the King walked into the room, took me by the hand, and said, Come along, Mrs Delany,' and led me into the Queen's apartment, and placed me in the chair allotted for me, next to her Majessy, (which, however, I am indebted to my deafness for,) where I spent two hours, not knowing which gave me most delight, the harmony of the music, or that of the amiable society. The two Princes were there. Yesterday was the Prince of Wales's birthday, and it being Sunday, the entertainment that was to be given was put off till Monday, which was yesterday, for here I was interrupted, and am now come to Tuesday the 14th.

"The entertainment at the Castle, yesterday, was very superb indeed: there were above a hundred people of the first rank, Ministers of State, and foreigners invited to come to the Castle. At seven o'clock, and after the Drawing-room was over, and all compliments paid and received on the day, the company were conducted into the music-room, where there was a very fine concert, chiefly of Mr Handel's music, and most exquisitely performed. When that was over, which was about twelve o'clock, there was a supper prepared in St George's every thing that had been done before. Hall, which, for magnificence, exceeded The company were not all dispersed till two o'clock; and are invited again to the same entertainment on Thursday, which is the Duke of York's birth-day. The younger part of the company are in hopes of a ball." p. 93, 94.

of the Queen's attention to Mrs DeWe are sure the following instance lany in her sickness, if it may be paralleled cannot easily be surpassed. The most sensible and affectionate daughter could not have conducted herself towards a beloved mother either with greater judgment or delicacy. The letter containing this valuable anecdote was written by a Mr Preston.

"One little anecdote of the Queen struck me, as a stronger instance of her real tender feeling towards our dear old friend, than all her bounties or honours. As soon as the Duchess of Portland died, Mrs Deany got into a chaise to go to her own

house; the Duke followed her, begging to longed to his mother; Mrs Delany recolknow what she would accept of, that belected a bird that the Duchess always fed and kept in her own room, desired to have it, and felt towards it, as you must suppose. In a few days she got a bad fever, and the

bird died; but for some hours she was too ill even to recollect her bird. The Queen had one of the same sort which she valued extremely, (a weaver bird ;) she took it with her own hands, and while Mrs Delany slept, had the cage brought, and put not to let it go so near Mrs Delany, as that she could perceive the change, till she was enough recovered to bear the loss of her first favourite. This requires no comment, as it speaks strongly for itself." p. 99, 100.

her own bird into it, charging every one

We have just one extract more to give, and it, too, contains an instance of the Queen's goodness of heart above all praise. This is told by Mrs Delany herself.

"The day before I intended to leave Windsor, when Mary Anne and I were set down to our little dinner, one simple dish of veal-collops, without any notice, the Queen walked into the dining-room, and said, I must not be angry with my servant, for she would come in, and that my dinner smelt so well, she would partake of it with me. I was both delighted and confused with the honour conferred upon me. Miss Port very readily resigned her place, and became our attendant. The Queen honoured my humble board, not only by partaking of it, (which she did to make me go on with my dinner,) but commended it Soon after the clock struck four, her Majesty said she would resign her place for she came to see me on purpose to prevent my venturing out in the evening, lest I should catch cold before my journey." p. 103, 104.

very much.

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This worthy lady, the object of so much royal favour, of which she has given so pleasing an account, died on the 15th day of April 1788. She was buried in St James's Church, and a stone was erected to her memory, which concludes with these words:

"She was a lady of singular ingenuity and politeness, and of unaffected piety. These qualities had endeared her through life to many noble and excellent persons, and made the close of it illustrious, by procuring for her many signs of grace and favour from their Majesties."

In giving these large extracts from this epistolary correspondence, we conceive ourselves to have performed an important duty to our readers. From the constitution of our nature, the contemplation of the beauty of virtue is fitted to afford us a very pure and ennobling species of pleasure. Our proneness to imitate the manners and actions of our superiors must have made the union of so much private

worth with the highest rank and supreme authority, exemplified in the long life of their late Majesties, the happy means of deepening that love of home, encouraging the growth of those family affections, and preserving that attention to the ordinances and the duties of religion for which our countrymen have been long conspicuous among the nations. And while the example of domestic, social, and religious duty, so long emanating from the throne, penetrated through all the ranks in society, till it shed its kindly influence even upon the cottages of the peasantry, we are sure that the best way to secure and confirm the effects it has wrought, is to give as wide a circulation as possible to its written record.

JOURNAL OF A VISIT TO HOLLAND.

(Concluded from p. 222.)

LETTER XII. ›

DEAR J

IN my last letter I Amsterdam, Wednesday, of the strange customs gave you some account 13th August. which a short excursion into North Holland enabled me to remark; but these I must still follow out a little further. Finding the town (Broek) so completely deserted that we had only seen à gardener dressing some shrubbery, and a woman who ran hastily from one house to another, our party expressed to our guide a strong wish to enter into some of the houses and converse with the people. The guide immediately undertook to procure admission into the house of the notary or lawyer of the town, where, in courtesy to the Emperor Alexander, when he visited Brock in 1814, he had been permitted to walk out at the sacred door of the shut up room! We were received very kindly by the landlady, though rather against the wishes of her austere husband. Upon entering the sacred room, she opened a small folding piece in each of the window shutters, which shewed a very commodious apartment, remarkable for its cleanliness, and for the antique style and description of the furniture. On each side stood an antique glass-case, filled, and indeed overloaded, with much curious and valuable Chinaware, with silver coffee, tea, and table

equipage. In particular, there was a massive fish-plate, with a golden bottom, with a curious silver fish-slice and fork. Every other article in the room was rare or valuable; the carpet, for example, was an Indian matting, formed of reeds of various colours. The landlady politely lifted one corner of it, and exposed a beautifully tessellated pavement of Dutch tyle, coloured chocolate and buff. Two or three of these tyles she also lifted, when we saw that they lay upon a bed of pure white Holland sand. These she assured us were all lifted, wiped, and laid down again every Saturday when the room was cleaned out. The bed of this room was no less a matter of curiosity. The bedclothes were folded up and laid aside, while the pillows and bedding might be said to be lying in state. They appeared to be filled with the very finest down of the Eider duck, for the smallest touch of the hand sunk as into a fluid substance; the striped tick in which the down was inclosed was of silk and cotton, or, perhaps, wholly of a silk stuff. These, again, were covered with slips of fine lawn cloth, edged all around with Brussels lace. Having seen every thing worthy of notice in this and the other rooms, we retired by a back-door which passes through the kitchen, where we found the landlord smoking his pipe; but he retreated hastily as we approached. This having rather disconcerted us, we immediately took leave after returning our best thanks to the landlady. They seemed to have no chimney in the kitchen, but burned their turf upon the floor, on which was laid a plate of cast-iron for a hearth: this was polished as smooth and bright as a piece of sil

ver.

It was impossible to walk through this town without feelings of melancholy; the whole place seemed as if it had been dispossessed, and the gloomy aspect of the shut up or sacred chambers conveyed an idea of their society, which was quite uninviting. Here we naturally observe that man is a social being, and it is certainly a mistaken view of his happiness in this life, to become morose and distant. Among a happy and cheerful people, the inhabitants of the village of Broek, from their manners and customs, seem to be ill suit

ed for this present life, and are not only shut up from the world, but apparently from one another, and have always before them the emblem of some great change in the state of human life, without, perhaps, deriving much comfort from the reflection.

Saardam is, if possible, a greater curiosity than Broek, even in regard to the retirement of the better sort of houses, their fantastic parterres decorated with shells, which are painted, having also, in several instances, a gilded sphere, supported upon a pedestal of shells, descriptive, perhaps, of their taste for navigation and astronomy. Some of their houses are also surrounded with water, to which you approach by means of a wooden draw-bridge. Here the Dutch painter is allowed to sport with his brush in the deepest tinges of the. rainbow, in which he is not confined to house work, but even extends his colours to the shells which decorate their walls, and even to the boughs and branches of their trees. But this is certainly a more interesting place than Broek, from its being more a commercial town.

It was in this village that Peter the Great resided while in Holland, and learned to work as a carpenter; and the cottage is still shewn in which he lodged, with his table and chair, &c. Here an album is kept, where strangers insert their names. Over the chimney there is painted, on a piece of wood,

"Neits is den grooten
Man te klein;"

which is in English, "Nothing is for a great man too little." This cottage is extremely mean, and being almost wholly of wood, like the other houses in Saardam, it has gone much into decay. When the Emperor Alexander was in Holland in 1814, he visited this cottage: and since that a small slip of marble has been sunk into the mantel-piece, with an inscription to this effect: "Alexander, Emperor, to Peter the Great." To this enigma, if I may be allowed to use freedom with this royal inscription, an explanation has been attempted in Dutch upon another piece of marble; but from the translation given us of it, it seemed to be little more definite than the inscription itself.

We visited the church of Saardam,

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