alliance with the Czar, one of the objects of which avowedly was to seat the Pretender on the throne of Great Britain. On the death of Charles the Twelfth, the Swedes entered into a pacific negotiation with George the First, which terminated in the cession of Bremen and Verden to Hanover, for a million of rix-dollars. Prior to this treaty, England had become involved in a war with Spain, arising out of the discontent of the latter power, at the arrangements made by the quadruple alliance, with regard to Sicily and Sardinia. The Spanish fleet had been nearly destroyed by an English squadron, under Byng; and Lord Cobham had made a descent on Spain, captured Vigo, and destroyed two line-of-battle ships, with an immense quantity of naval stores. Spain, on the other hand, had despatched six thousand troops under the command of the Duke of Ormond, to raise the standard of the Pretender, in Scotland; but the ships, in which they were embarked, received so much damage in a storm off Cape Finisterre, that only two frigates, containing about three hundred men, reached their destination. On landing, they were joined by a few highlanders; who, however, were soon compelled to disperse by the king's forces, and the Spaniards surrendered themselves prisoners of war. Humbled by her defeats, Spain, in 1721, entered into a treaty of peace with this country. Secret articles were, at the same time, concluded between France, Spain, and England, by which the latter engaged not to oppose the views of Spain on Italy, while Spain and France guaranteed the possession of Bremen and Verden to Hanover. To induce Spain to enter into this arrangement, George the First is said to have declared his intention of abandoning Gibraltar, in a letter, written with his own hand, to the Spanish king. In 1725, when the famous treaty of Vienna was concluded, he suspected, but as it would seem erroneously, that, by secret articles between Spain and the emperor, force was to have been employed to put the former in possession of Gibraltar, and measures taken for supporting the Pretender's views on the British crown. That the latter was one of the objects of the treaty of Vienna, he asserted, in a speech to his parliament; but the imperial resident in London denied the allegation, and boldly charged the king with stating a falsehood. Meanwhile, George the First had formed new defensive alliances with some of the continental powers; and, supposing Russia to have entered into the views of Spain and the emperor, he had sent a squadron, under Sir Charles Wager, to block up her fleet in the port of Revel; a measure which so provoked Russia, that she openly acceded to the obnoxious treaty of Vienna. Admiral Hosier had also been despatched to the West Indies, with a powerful fleet, to prevent the Spanish galleons from quitting their harbours; but, as he was not authorized to commit any direct hostilities, unless the galleons put to sea, he remained in a state of tantalizing inaction, while the Spaniards removed their treasures overland to Panama. Most of the men employed in this absurd expedition, and Admiral Hosier himself, fell victims to the climate. Spain, on the other hand, had actually attacked Gibraltar, which was so ably defended by Lord Portmore, that, after the trenches had been opened four months, no progress was made by the besiegers. At length the court of Madrid, at the intervention of that of Versailles, acceded to terms of accommodation, and the preliminaries of a general peace were signed, at Paris, on the 20th of May, 1727. In these transactions, George the First acted with no great dignity as a monarch; and, apparently, with but little feeling for the welfare of his British subjects. Hanover was his hobby: and, by tracing the course of events, it will be seen, that the greater part, if not all, of the quarrels between this country and foreign powers, during his reign, may be attributed, either directly or remotely, to the king's passion for the aggrandizement of his trumpery electorate. GEORGE THE SECOND. GEORGE THE SECOND, AND HIS CONSORT CAROLINE. GEORGE AUGUSTUS, King of Great Britain, was the son of George the First, and the unfortunate Sophia Dorothea, of Luneburg-Zell. He was born at Hanover, on the 30th of October, 1683. The Electress Sophia, his grandmother, had the chief direction of his education, which does not appear to have been better than usually falls to the lot of princes. Though far from a bigot in religion, he was yet superstitious. He is said to have been a firm believer in the existence of vampires, and to have been more than once angry with Sir Robert Walpole, for speaking irreverently of those imaginary bloodsuckers. In 1705, the young prince married Wilhelmina Dorothea Carolina, eldest daughter of John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg Anspach, by whom he had several children. During the campaign of 1708, he served, as a volunteer, under the command of Marlborough; at the battle of Oudenarde, he charged the enemy, at the head of the Hanoverian dragoons, with great bravery, and had his horse killed under him. Possessing, in a high degree, both the courage and avarice which adorned and disgraced his military tutor, the young prince seems to have imbibed but a very small portion of the duke's professional skill. Prior to the death of Queen Anne, the friends of his family, in this country, were desirous that he should make his public appearance at the English court; but the queen, it appears, sent the Earl of Clarendon, ambassador to Hanover, to persuade the elector not to permit The elector his son to come over. thought fit to obey the queen's pleasure, though greatly against the will of his mother; which that princess, it is added, (but the fact is very doubtful,) who was a high-spirited woman, laid so heavily to heart, that she fell sick, and died in a few days after. On the accession of his father to the British throne, he was so elated, that he said, to an English nobleman, "I have not one drop of blood in my veins which is not English, and at the service of my father's subjects." This declaration was, probably, a genuine effusion of feeling; for, although it subsequently appeared that his political affections were by no means confined to England, he ever seemed desirous of governing it in a constitutional spirit, according to the measure of his ability and knowledge. The prince accompanied his father to England; he was shortly afterwards created Prince of Wales; and, during the king's visit to Hanover, in 1716, was appointed guardian of the realm. In this situation, however, he excited the jealousy of his father. Reports of his affability and condescension to all parties were circulated, with an intention to contrast them with the coldness and reserve of the king, over whom he had the great advantage of being partially acquainted with the English language; which he is said to have spoken correctly, though with a strong German accent. The great popularity of the Princess of Wales also contributed to alienate the king's affection from his son; and their disagreement and separation formed a tolerably accurate prototype of that which afterwards occurred between George the Second and Prince Frederick. During the differences between George the First and his son, Walpole, and the other leaders of that sub-division of the Whig party, which was out of power, rallied round the prince. It was not long before Walpole discovered, as he thought, a mode of achieving a triumph over the ministers; but he objected against the particulars of the scheme being laid before the prince, "because," said he, with his usual coarseness, "the his wife, would betray the This expressecret, and ruin all." sion was afterwards repeated to the princess; and, it is said, she naturally felt much incensed against Walpole, for speaking of her in such a manner; but the crafty statesman found means to pacify her, before she had it in her power materially to thwart his political fat his son At the time of his accession, which took place on the death of his father, June the 11th, 1727, George the Second bore the character of a prince of high integrity, honour, and veracity. It is related, that on the morning after the news arrived of the demise of George the First, Lady Suffolk was surprised, on visiting the new queen, to observe the portrait of a lady, in royal robes, hanging up in her majesty's dressingroom; and, in the bed-chamber, a halflength of the same person, neither of which Lady S. had ever seen before. They were portraits of the king's mother, which he had hitherto kept concealed, not daring to produce them while his father lived. The designs. At length, through his inter- in a despatch from Townshend, who position, an apparent, although not a had accompanied that monarch to the real, accommodation of the differences continent. The minister instantly rebetween George the First and the paired to the palace at Richmond. The prince was effected. The king gave a new king had then retired to take his strong proof that his jealousy was not usual afternoon nap. On being informed extinct, by never again consigning to that his father was dead, he could scarcethe government of affairs ly be brought to put faith in the intelduring his absence: the prince, how-ligence, until told that the minister was ever, from the period of the recon- waiting in the ante-chamber with Lord ciliation, seldom formally opposed his Townshend's despatch. At length, he father's government, but passed his received Walpole, who, kneeling, kissed time chiefly in the society of a few his hand, and inquired whom he would select friends; of whom, the Earl of please to appoint to draw up the adScarborough, and Sir Spencer Comp- dress to the privy council. "Sir ton, were the most favoured. Spencer Compton," replied the king, an answer which signified Sir Robert's dismissal. Sir Spencer was a worthy, formal character, so destitute either of ambition or ability, that on receiving the king's commands, he actually besought, and availed himself of, Walpole's assistance in preparing the draft. king, during the latter part of his father's life, had taken such offence at Sir Robert's conduct, as to have frequently declared, that if he came to the throne, Walpole should never hold a post in the administration. Robert had, also, as we have already related, seriously offended the queen, while Princess of Wales; but he won her entirely to his interest, at this critical period, by privately acquainting her, that if he were not turned out of office he would procure her a settlement of £100,000 per annum, to become payable on the king's demise. Sir Spencer Compton having publicly spoken of £60,000 a year as the intended jointure, her majesty saw the policy of forgetting the affront she had received from Walpole, and exerting her powerful influence over the king, in his behalf. "Tell Sir Robert," said she, to the messenger who had brought his proposals, "that the fat - has forgiven him." To the astonishment of the public, Walpole so completely triumphed on this occasion, that all the ministers remained in office, except the Earl of Berkeley, first lord of the admiralty, who resigned in favour of Admiral Byng, Sir Robert's personal friend. One of them he is supposed to have afterwards sent back to Hanover; and it may here be mentioned, to his credit, that he was scrupulously exact in keeping in each country whatever belonged to it. He caused a knife, fork, and spoon of gold, formerly belonging to Queen Anne, which he well remembered to have seen on his first arrival in England, to be sent back from Hanover, where he discovered them during his first visit to the continent, after he had become King. It is a curious fact, that he could not recollect having noticed any thing of consequence, appertaining to the deceased queen, about the palace, besides those comparatively trifling articles; such a clearance having been made of her majesty's jewels, or so rapidly had they been distributed by George the First among his German mistresses, that the Princess Caroline obtained only a pearl necklace. The account of the death of George the First was first brought to Walpole, Sir At the first council held by the new sovereign, Dr. Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury, produced the late king's will, and delivered it to George the Captain Porteus to death, she expressed herself with great indignation, not only against the authors of the tragedy, but the magistrates who had suffered it to take place. "Sooner," said she, to the Duke of Argyle, "than submit to such an insult, I would make Scotland a hunting field!" "In that case, madam," answered the high-spirited nobleman, "I will take leave of your majesty, and go down to my own country to get my hounds ready." Such a reply would have irritated a weak mind, but it calmed that of the queen. She disclaimed the influence she really possessed over her husband, always affecting, as Walpole relates, in the king's company, if any one were present, to act the humble, ignorant wife. Even if the prime minister came on business which had previously been settled between him and the queen, she would rise, curtsey, and offer to retire. "There, you see," the king would exclaim, "how much I am governed by my wife, as they say I am-ha, ha! it is a fine thing to be governed by one's wife!" To this the queen would reply, "Oh! sir, I must be vain indeed to pretend to govern your majesty." Thus, by an affectation of humility, may a strong mind govern a feeble one, which would, perhaps, rebel against any obvious assumption of control. Her political influence excited little less surprise than did the retention of the old ministry, which was the first instance of its exertion. As the king was known to have a mistress, it was considered by the opposition a matter of course that his wife was a mere cypher; and all female power and influence was supposed to be lodged with Mrs. Henrietta Howard, afterwards Countess of Suffolk. This lady was a daughter of Sir Henry Hobart, of Buckling, in the county of Norfolk, and the wife of Charles Howard, who, although a younger son, eventually succeeded to his father's title of Earl of Suffolk. About the close of Queen Anne's reign, Howard and his wife went to Hanover with a view of conciliating the favour of their future sovereign. England, however, had no occasion to mourn for the gold they carried to Germany, for so limited were their circumstances, that Mrs. Howard is said to have sacrificed her beautiful head of hair to defray the expenses of a dinner, which her husband found it expedient to give the Hanoverian ministers. This was at a time when enormous full-bottomed wigs, which often cost twenty or thirty guineas each, were in fashion. Mrs. Howard was very much in favour with the intelligent Electress Sophia, and on her son's accession to the crown, she was appointed woman of the bedchamber to the Princess of Wales; whose royal husband, however, does not appear to have entertained any particular partiality for Mrs. Howard until some time after this period. The most promising of the young lords and gentlemen of the Whig party in power, and the liveliest and loveliest of the young ladies, formed the new court of the Prince and Princess of Wales, on their arrival in this country. The apartment of the bed-chamber women in waiting consequently became the fashionable rendezvous of the most eminent wits and beauties of the day. Distinguished for universal admiration, even among this galaxy, was Miss Bellenden, one of the maids of honour, whom Horace Walpole describes as having a charming air, face, and person, with such agreeable manners, that she was afterwards invariably mentioned by her cotemporaries as the most perfect creature they had ever known. The prince frequented the waiting-room, and soon felt a stronger inclination for Miss Bellenden than he had ever entertained for any other female except his wife. But his gallantry was indelicate, and his avarice disgusting. One evening, while sitting by her, he took out his purse and counted his money over, until the giddy girl lost her patience, and cried out, Sir, I cannot bear it! If you count your money any more I will go out of the room. In fact, her heart was engaged, as the prince, finding his love fruitless, at length suspected. He was even so generous as to promise her, that if she would discover the object of her choice, and would engage not to marry without his knowledge, he would consent to the match, and be kind to her husband. She gave him the promise he exacted; and then, lest he should throw any obstacle in the way, married, without his knowledge, Colonel Campbell, one of the grooms of his |