served, during a great portion of the residue of his time as a midshipman, in the West Indies, and off Nova Scotia and Canada. The following anecdotes of this part of his naval career are strikingly illustrative of his character:During his first trip to sea, having had some altercation with one of his brother midshipmen, of the name of Sturt, the latter said to him pettishly, "I would teach you better manners, sir, if you were not the king's son.' The prince, in reply, stated, that he was above being mean enough to derive any advantage over his associates from the superiority of his birth, and offered, at once, to fight his opponent, after the manner of seamen, across a chest. Sturt, however, declined the proposed contest; which, he said, would be unfair, on account of the superiority that he possessed over his royal highness in years and strength. This generous objection so charmed the prince, that he immediately offered his hand to Sturt; a reconciliation took place, and they soon became much attached to each other. While the prince was at Port-Royal, in 1783, a midshipman, named Lee, was condemned to be shot, for disrespect to a superior officer. "The whole body of midshipmen," says a young gentleman in the service, who was then on the same station, "were deeply affected at this sentence, but they knew not how to obtain a mitigation of it, as Mr. Lee was ordered for execution, while they had not time for an appeal to the admiralty, and considered a petition to Admiral Rowley useless. However, Prince William generously came forward,-drew up a petition, to which he was the first to set his name, and solicited the rest of the midshipmen in port to follow his example. He then carried the petition to the admiral himself, and, in the most urgent manner, begged the life of an unhappy comrade; and Mr. Lee is reprieved. We are all grateful to our humane, brave, worthy prince, who has so nobly exerted himself in saving the life of a brother sailor." During the same year, Prince William successfully interceded with the governor of Louisiana for the lives of some Englishmen, who had been sentenced to death for a violation of fidelity to the Spanish government: their pardon, as he observed in a letter of thanks to the governor on the occasion, was the most agreeable present that his excellency could have offered him. Having served his full time as a midshipman, he was promoted in the ordinary manner; and, for several years, commanded the Pegasus frigate. On the 20th of May, 1789, he was created Duke of Clarence and St. Andrews, and Earl of Munster. He shortly after wards took his seat in the house of lords, and frequently spoke in defence of the war with revolutionized France. In 1790, he became rear admiral of the blue; but, notwithstanding his gallantry, his intimate acquaintance with naval tactics, and his notoriety as a strict disciplinarian, he was not permitted to gratify his ardent inclination to engage again in active service. On the 11th of July, 1818, he was united, at Kew palace, to Adelaide Louisa Theresa Caroline Amelia, daughter of the Duke of Saxe Coburg Meinengen, (born on the 13th of August, 1792) who, on account of the excellence of her disposition, and the unimpeachable purity of her morals, had been strongly recommended to the notice of his royal highness, by Queen Charlotte, his mother. Parliament having granted an addition of £6000 per annum only, to the duke's income, on this occasion, the royal couple, fearing that their allowance was too limited for them to live with proper dignity in this country, after having passed a few days in retirement at St. James's palace, proceeded to Hanover. Long before his marriage, the duke had formed a connexion with the fascinating Mrs. Jordan, the fruits of which were several children, who have all received the strongest proofs of paternal affection on the part of their royal parent, the cause of whose sudden and final separation from their mother still remains a mystery. Mrs. Jordan died in France, about two years before the duke's union with the Princess Adelaide. At the latter end of the year 1819, the duke and duchess set out on their return to England; and just before the close of 1820, she became the mother of a seven months' child, (the Princess Elizabeth) who died in her infancy. On three other occasions, twice in 1819, and again in 1821, the duchess had the misfortune to be prematurely confined. On the death of his brother, Frederick Augustus, in 1827, the duke being rendered by that circumstance heir-presumptive to the crown, obtained an additional parliamentary grant, which raised his income to nearly £40,000, per annum. In the course of the same year, he was appointed lord high admiral. While in this important station, his meritorious conduct procured him the warm attachment of the navy, and the most hearty approbation of the public. When the Duke of Wellington became premier, some objections were made to the expense of his progresses, in consequence of which his royal highness thought proper to resign. The frankness and affability of his manners, his sterling good sense, the liberality of his opinions, and the zeal with which, in 1829, he advocated the cause of the catholics, insured him a continuance of that high popularity which he had attained while in office, up to the period of his elder brother's demise to record his subsequent career does not fall within the plan of this work; we follow the illustrious subject of our present notice only to the foot of the throne,-the period of his accession being the allotted bourne of our labours. CHARLOTTE AUGUSTA MATILDA, THE eldest daughter of George the Third, Charlotte Augusta Matilda, was born on the 29th of September, 1766. She received a careful education, and her talents being naturally good, she became a very well-informed and accomplished woman. On the 18th of May, 1797, she was married, at St. James's palace, to Frederick Charles William, hereditary Prince of Wirtemberg, whom she accompanied to Germany, early in the following month. Her marriage portion was £100,000, one half of which was invested for her separate use in the government securities of this country. By the treaty of Luneville, in 1803, her husband, who had found it expedient to form an alliance with the French, was raised to the dignity of elector; at the convention of Presburg, his then aggrandized dominions were converted into a monarchy; and he was proclaimed king of Wirtemberg on the 1st of January, 1806. His conduct as one of the members of the Rhenish confederacy, afforded especial gratification to Napoleon Buonaparte; who, on more than one occasion, visited the queen at her court, and, according to the Moniteur, bestowed on her a variety of splendid presents. The king died, without issue by her, on the 30th of October, 1816, and she soon afterwards retired to the castle of Louisburg, where she displayed such active benevolence, as speedily to acquire the gratifying appellation of "The good Queen Dowager." When George the Fourth went to the continent, shortly after his coronation, she met him on his progress, and sportively welcomed him at the entrance of a house, in front of which she had caused to be erected the sign of the Hanover Arms. In the spring of 1827, she visited this country; and, during her residence here, she found it necessary to undergo the operation of tapping; from which, however, she derived no permanent relief. While on her return to the continent, a violent storm for some time threatened destruction to the vessel in which she had embarked. Her conduct, on this occasion, was admirably serene: "I am here," said she to her attendants, "in the hands of God, as much as if I were at home in my own bed." Soon after she had reached Wirtemberg, she was found to labour under symptoms of water on the chest; but no apprehensions of immediate danger were entertained, and she continued to receive the visits of her friends, with whom she conversed in her usual vivacious manner, until two days before her demise, which took place on the 6th of October, 1828. VOL. I. Her character appears to have been decidedly admirable. By the people of Wirtemberg she was regarded with the utmost affection and respect; and the children of her husband, by his first wife, loved and honoured her as though she had been their own mother. EDWARD AND VICTORIA, DUKE AND DUCHESS OF KENT. EDWARD, the fourth son of George the Third, was born on the 2nd of November, 1767. His education was commenced in this country, and completed at Hanover. He entered the army at an early age, and soon became an enthusiastic admirer of military discipline. Having attained the rank of colonel, he served during the years 1790 and 1791, under General O'Hara, at Gibraltar, where he rendered himself so unpopular by his strictness, that his regiment repeatedly mutinied, and his life is stated to have been, on more than one occasion, in considerable peril. On quitting Gibraltar, he was sent out as commander of the forces in Canada. In 1794, he received orders to join the expedition under Sir Charles Grey, against the French West India islands; and, during the campaign that ensued, his impetuous bravery procured him the general admiration of his companions in arms. He headed the flank division at the storming of several strong and important forts in Martinique and Guadaloupe; and so brilliant were its exploits, that, "The Flank Corps" became a standing toast, as well at the admiral's table, as at that of the commander-in-chief. The prince was subsequently appointed governor of Gibraltar, where the rigorous measures which he adopted for the purpose of repressing various abuses in the garrison, produced such excitement and insubordination, that it was deemed prudent to recal him. In 1799, he was created Duke of Kent, and obtained a parliamentary grant of £12,000 per annum. A large portion of this allowance he set apart for the liquidation of his debts; and, in the year 1816, he went abroad in order to abridge his expences. On the 29th of May, 1818, he was united to Victoria Maria Louisa, widow of the late Prince of Leinengen, (by whom she had had two children), and sister to the Prince of Saxe Cobourg, who was then in the thirtieth year of her age, having been born in 1788. The duke and his amiable bride, whose character has been most highly and deservedly eulogized, shortly afterwards arrived in this country, and were re-married according to the rites of the church of England. In 1819, the duchess gave birth to a daughter, (the Princess Victoria); and, in the latter part of the year, with a view to the reestablishment of her health, which had been materially affected by her confinement, she proceeded to Sidmouth, in Devonshire, where the duke, who had accompanied her royal highness, was attacked by an inflammation of the lungs, and died, after a brief illness, on the 23rd of January, 1820. His person was tall and athletic; his appearance dignified; his understanding strong; his deportment affable, and his bravery chivalrous. The course which he pursued in politics, appears to have been almost invariably tolerant, liberal, and conciliatory. Towards the latter part of his life, he had become exceedingly popular, and his death was deeply regretted by the nation. ERNEST AUGUSTUS AND FREDERICA, DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CUMBERLAND. ERNEST AUGUSTUS, fifth son of George the Third, was born on the 5th of June, 1771. He received his educa tion at the university of Gottingen, where he was entered, July 6, 1786, with his two younger brothers; each being accompanied by a governor, a preceptor, and a gentleman. They were lodged in one house, and had their table fixed at six hundred crowns a week, including two grand institution dinners, to which the professors and some students were invited. They were taught German by Professor Meyer; Latin by Heyne; religion by Less, ecclesiastical counsellor; and morality by counsellor Feder; for which duties, each received an appointment of one thousand crowns per annum. On the 23rd of April, 1798, his royal highness was created Duke of Cumberland and Tiviotdale, and obtained a parliamentary income of £12,000, which was increased in 1819, to £18,000 per annum. In 1815, he married Frederica Sophia Charlotte, of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, widow of the Prince of Salms, (born on the 20th of May, 1778,) with whom the duke remained on the continent for a very considerable period. The duchess visited this country, for the first time, in 1829, during which year she appeared at a drawingroom held by George the Fourth. AUGUSTUS FREDERICK, DUKE OF SUSSEX. THIS prince, the sixth son of George the Third, was born on the 27th of January, 1773. He received his education on the continent, where he formed an union, which was solemnized according to the forms of the church of Rome, with Lady Augusta Murray, a daughter of the Earl of Dunmore. 66 On Lady Augusta," ludicrously observes a cotemporary writer, "soon became pregnant, and returned to England; his royal highness did the same." their arrival in this country, they were again married by banns, in St. George's church, Hanover square, and the duke proposed to resign whatever claims he might possess as a member of the royal family, on condition that his marriage should not be disturbed: it was, however, some time afterwards declared illegal and invalid by the ecclesiastical court, as being contrary to the provisions of the royal marriage act. No sooner was the sentence published than Lady Augusta, who had become the mother of two children, separated from his royal highness, and the remainder of her life was passed in dignified retirement. The prince was created Earl of Inverness and Duke of Sussex, in 1801, when he obtained a parliamentary grant of £12,000 per annum, to which a yearly addition of £9,000 was subsequently made. His attachment to the Whigs, the frankness with which he avowed his political sentiments, and the course which he adopted with regard to the differences in the family of the king, his brother, rendered him a stranger at court during the reign of George the Fourth; with whom, however, during his majesty's last illness, the duke was cordially reconciled. As a speaker, he possesses considerable facility: his opinions are decidedly liberal, and his manners frank and condescending. ADOLPHUS FREDERICK AND AUGUSTA WILHELMINA, DUKE AND DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE. ADOLPHUS FREDERICK, the seventh son of George the Third, (by whom he was much beloved,) was born on the 24th of February, 1774. He received a military education, and entered the army at an early age. In 1793, he served with the British forces before Dunkirk, and on the 13th of September, in that year, he is stated to have returned to England, wearing a coat that exhibited several sabre marks, and a helmet, through which he had been wounded in the eye. In 1794, he attained the rank of colonel: in the following year he was raised to the dukedom of Cambridge, and parliament granted him a yearly allowance of £12,000, which was subsequently raised to £27,000 per annum. In 1803, he was placed at the head of an army of 14,000 men, destined for the defence of Hanover: but, finding on his arrival in the electorate, that its inhabitants evinced but little inclination to aid him against the enemy, he soon solicited his recal, and after some delay, procured permission to return to England, leaving the army under the command of Count Walmoden, who was shortly afterwards compelled to surrender. The duke gradually rose to the rank of field-marshal, and on the restoration of Hanover, he was appointed its governor-general. On the 7th of May, 1818, he married Augusta Wilhelmina Louisa, niece of the Landgrave of Hesse. This amiable and accomplished lady was born on the 25th of July, 1797: her education is said to have been conducted with remarkable care, and her union with his royal highness is stated to have been attended with the decided approval of the whole of their respective relatives. The private conduct of the duke appears to have been always unexceptionable: his public career can scarcely be said to have been brilliant; but although it may have procured him little applause, it has decidedly entitled him to public esteem. His political opinions have rarely been censurable; as an orator, he may be pronounced acute, well-informed, correct, but not altogether eloquent. His habits are said to be studious, and his acquirements as a scholar are reputed to be much more considerable than is generally supposed. On the whole, the duke, who has never courted notoriety, appears to be deserving even of a larger share of admiration and respect than he actually enjoys. WILLIAM FREDERICK AND MARY, DUKE AND WILLIAM FREDERICK, son of The public conduct: he, accordingly, con- |