Part 25 (1/2)

The Princess was ordered by Her Majesty to cultivate the acquaintance of the late duchess of Gordon, as supposed to possess land--in order to learn the sentiments of Mr Pitt relative to the revolutionary troubles The duchess, however, was too lishwoman, and Mr Pitt too ive her the least clue to the truth

In order to fathom the sentiments of the opposition party, the Princess cultivated the society also of the late duchess of Devonshi+re, but with as little success The opposition party foresaw toobefore the house to alarm the prejudices of the nation

The French Ambassador, too, jealous of the unexplained purpose of the Princess, did all he could to render her expedition fruitless

Nevertheless, though disappointed in soard to influence and inforreat a favourite at the British Court that she obtained full pernify to her royal mistress and friend that the specific request she came to make would be cohton, and land, and associated with all parties She ed her conduct so judiciously that the real object of her visit was never suspected In all these excursions I had the honour to attend her confidentially I was the only person entrusted with papers fros to copy, of which the originals went to France Twice during the terland I was sent by Her Majesty with papers co the result of the secret mission to the Queen of Naples On the second of these two trips, being obliged to travel night and day, I could only keep est coffee When I reached my destination I was immediately compelled to decipher the despatches with the Queen of Naples in the office of the Secretary of State That done, General Acton ordered some one, I know not whom, to conduct me, I know not where, but it was to a place where, after a sound sleep of twenty-four hours, I awoke thoroughly refreshed, and without a vestige of fatigue either ofshould transpire, I was desired to quit Naples instantly, without seeing the British Minister To make assurance doubly sure, General Acton sent a person from his office to accompany me out of the city on horseback; and, to screen me from the attack of robbers, this person went on with me as far as the Roman frontier]

In the meanti from hour to hour, that it became impossible for the Government to carry any of their plans into effect This particular one, on the very eve of its accoined, by the secret intervention of the friends of Mirabeau The Govern in its purposes; the Princess was left without instructions, and under such circu trifled with the good-will of Their Majesties of England

In this dileland to the Queen of France I left Her Highness at Bath, but when I returned she had quitted Bath for Brighton I am unacquainted with the nature of all the papers she received, but I well reony they seemed to inflict on her

She sent off a packet by express that very night to Windsor

The Princess ian the preparations for her return Her own journal is explicit on this point of her history, and therefore I shall leave her to speak for herself I must not, however, omit to mention the remark she made to me upon the subject of her reception in Great Britain

With these, let eneral cordiality hich I have been received in your country,”

said Her Highness, ”hasiet the kindness of the Queen of England, the duchess of Devonshi+re, and her truly virtuousto be obliged to undervalue the obligations hich they overwhel theood intentions, which, I had myself solicited, into effect But we cannot co has determined to accept the Constitution (and you knowecclesiastics), I conceive itto the laws of the nation Be assured, 'Inglesina', it will be es of French history I shall endeavour to create that confidence so necessary for the restoration to their native land of the Princes of the blood, and all the e, their families, and their country, while doubtful whether His Majesty would or would not concede this new charter; but now that the doubt exists no longer, I trust we shall all ain, the happier for the privation to which we have been doomed from absence As the limitation of the monarchy removes every kind of responsibility froain taste the blissful sweets she once enjoyed during the reign of Louis XV in the domestic tranquillity of her home at Trianon Often has she wept those ti for their return! I fly to greet the co period of future happiness to us all!”

POSTSCRIPT:

Although I a myself the historian of France, yet itthis absence of Her Highness that Necker finally retired from power and from France

The return of this Minister had been veryThey both feared what actually happened soon afterwards They foresaw that he would be swept away by the current of popularity from his deference to the royal authority It was to preserve the favour of themurders of M de Foulon (who had succeeded him on his first dismission as Minister of Louis XVI) and of Berthier, his son-in-law The union of Necker with D'ORLEANS, on this occasion, added to the cold indifference hich Barnave in one of his speeches expressed hi of human blood, certainly animated the factious assassins to methodical murder, and frustrated all the efforts of La Fayette to save these victied populace, to whom both unfortunately fell a sacrifice

Necker, like La Fayette, when too late, felt the absurdity of relying upon the idolatry of the populace The one fancied he could command the Parisian 'poissardes' as easily as his own battalions; and the other persuaded himself that the mob, which had been hired to carry about his bust, would as readily proot that the people in their greatest independence are only the puppets of de over that class which, of all others, possesses most power over the ically than the rest of the world, felt that froa to their personal ambition or private emolues or innovations, except such as tend to their personal interest The more perplexed the state of public and private affairs, the better for them Therefore, in revolutions, as a body, they remain neuter, unless it is made for their benefit to act Individually, they are a set of necessary evils; and, for the sake of the bar, the bench, and the gibbet, require to be huislator who attempts to render laws clear, concise, and explanatory, and to divest them of the quibbles whereby these expounders--or confounders--of codes fatten on the credulity of States and the miseries of unfortunate millions, will necessarily encounter opposition, direct or indirect, in every measure at all likely to reduce the influence of this most abominable horde of huone so directly to the point with the lawyers that they at once saw his scope; and thus he himself defeated his hopes of their support, the want of which utterly baffled all his speculations

[The great Frederick of Prussia, on being told of the nuland, said he wished he had thereatest benefit inone-half as an example to the other!”]

When Necker undertook to re-establish the finances, and to reforenerally the abuses in the Government, he was the reat Pitt, excepted) in Europe Yet his errors were innument, such a superabundance of political contrivance, diplomatic coolness, and ht aided by great practical experience

But how futile he made all these appear when he declared the national bankruptcy Could anything be more absurd than the assumption, by the individual, of a personal instead of a national guarantee of part of a national debt?--an undertaking too hazardous and by far too adoined that the above declaration and his own Quixotic generosity would have opened the coffers of the great body of rich proprietors, and brought them forward to aid the national crisis

But he was mistaken The nation then had no interest in his financial system The effect it produced was the very reverse of as expected Every proprietor began to fear the ambition of the Minister, who undertook i bound for the debts of an individual, and justifying bail in a court of law in coulating, the pecuniary difficulties of a nation Necker's conduct in this case was, in my hu his friends that he is ruined past redemption, asks for a loan of money The conclusion is, if he obtains the loan, that ”the fool and histhe saland, that the discontent ran so high between the people and the clergy

I have frequently heard the Princesse de Laainst the clergy to the influence of his aunt, the Car the life of her father, Louis XV, she nearly engrossed all the Church benefices by her intrigues She had her regular conclaves of all orders of the Church From the Bishop to the sexton, all depended on her for preferment; and, till the Revolution, she maintained equal power over the mind of Louis XVI upon similar matters The Queen would often express her disapprobation; but the King was so scrupulous, whenever the discussion fell on the topic of religion, that she made it a point not to contrast her opinion with his, from a conviction that she was unequal to cope with hienerally very aniy, by refusing to contribute to the exigencies of the State, created some of the primary horrors of the Revolution They enjoyed one-third the national revenues, yet they were the first to withhold their assistance from the national wants I have heard the Princesse de Lamballe say, ”The Princesse Elizabeth and her orders of the clergy to set the exa up a part of the revenues, the whole of which we knew must be forfeited if they continued obstinate; but it was impossible to nitaries of the time sufficiently explain their selfish and pernicious conduct; when churchmen trifle with the altar, be their motives what they ive examples to the flock entrusted to their care, of which no foresight can measure the baleful consequences Who that is false to his God can be expected to ren? When a man, as a Catholic Bishop, marries, and, under the mask of patriotism, becomes the declared tool of all work to every faction, and is the weathercock, shi+fting to any quarter according to the wind,--such a man can be of no real service to any party: and yet has a man of this kind been by turns the primum mobile of thereat Church foraced the virtuous reign of Louis XVI

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