and affairs that a brave and careful man could make, he put himself into the hands of the surgeons. On the 4th of June, he sank under the consequences of the operation, which could not possibly have availed. He was sixty years of age. In the midst of the general regret for the loss of the most accomplished gentleman, perhaps, then in the House of Commons, and a man of many noble intellectual and moral qualities, no one undertook to say that the country had sustained a political loss. "Windham," it was once said, "is certainly a drawback upon the value of any Ministry, unless he can be kept in order." This "keeping in order," however, was just what could never be done, either by himself or others: and it was not only the Ministry he belonged to that suffered by his perverseness. The whole people suffered when such a man as Windham put forth his great powers in opposition to popular education, and the mitigation of our penal laws. Mackintosh declared him a man of a very high order, spoiled by faults apparently small. But such a love of paradox as made Windham the perverse man he was is, and ought to be considered, one of the gravest of faults that can be harboured by the kind of mind which is capable of harbouring it at all. The habit of tampering with truth in speculative matters, and of dealing with facts in a spirit of prejudice, must be constantly weakening the foundations of thought and action, and vitiating the whole structure of opinion and practice. This consequence of perverseness had gone far enough in Mr. Windham's case, to make his opinions of little value, except to those who found it convenient to quote them. He could gratify some and annoy others (defying all conjecture as to whom he was about to gratify or annoy), but no one thought of being convinced by him. This was remarkable in regard to a man famed, above every thing, for his logical powers: and it was remarkable that, with those logical powers, he should have so frequently arrived at wrong conclusions. Like other men of a paradoxical habit of mind, he failed to carry his high sense of honour into his relations with truth. There he was slippery and unfaithful, while without blemish, and above suspicion, in what he considered more practical transactions: as if any thing could

his

1810

be so comprehensively practical as a statesman's relations with the principles of things. All this was from no deficiency of knowledge as to those principles. As Mackintosh pointed out, he had become accustomed to those which were established among men of speculation, and his mind was roused to combat them before they were brought under popular notice; and in opposing them, he opposed what was to him established when to the many he seemed to be contending against innovations. Hence his defence of what was worn out, which at once perplexed and delighted the Eldons and Percevals and Malmesburys, who found in him an occasional ally; a support never to be reckoned on, but often most welcome. He was a man of genius, a wit, a scholar; but no philosopher. His manners were full of charm; and his conversation as rich and delightful as it was often provoking. He was sure to be remembered with admiration, and with as much regret as follows upon high admiration when its object is gone; but it was not possible that he should be practically missed from the ranks of statesmanship. During his last illness, there was a crowd of inquirers before his door; and his death was the great public event of the day. His praise was in the mouth of all who loved exquisite oratory, and benevolence of heart, and high grace of mind and manners; but, if the truth were known, perhaps no one in parliament or in the Privy Council ever wished him back again. He was buried where he was born, at the family seat at Felbrigg in Norfolk.

In the autumn, a difficulty was on the increase, from day to day, with which the feeble Ministry knew that they must soon deal in some decisive manner. The failure of the Walcheren expedition, and the disgrace of his courtly favourite, Lord Chatham, had so disturbed the King's mind, that he lost his sleep, and his cheerfulness, and such composure as had been obtained by extreme care. A family affliction now, once more, overthrew his The youngest of the Princesses, Amelia, had, for many years, been in bad health, and her disease was known to be unconquerable. It was understood that there were family secrets in connexion with her which, in consideration for his tottering intellect and vehement self

reason.

will, had been kept from his knowledge; and the moment for imparting them was that in which he must take leave of his favourite child. Parliament was to have met on the 1st of November; but, before that time, it was publicly known that the circumstances of the royal family would compel its prorogation to the 29th. Meantime, the King had become wholly unfit to affix his signature to the Commission who were to prorogue the Parliament. The parting interview had quite overthrown him; and it was a piteous spectacle to those present, when the blind and feeble old man was led to the bedside, and his child took his hand, and put on his finger a ring with a memorial inscription, whose purport his heart could read, though his eyes could not. The ministers, in profound secrecy, summoned their supporters, and hoped, by silence as to what they meant to do, to avoid bringing Opposition members up to town: and in this they succeeded.

On the 1st of November, the Lord Chancellor informed 10 the Upper House that there was no Royal Speech or Message, and no Commission to open Parliament. The King was ill; but likely to be soon better. It was a question whether, under the circumstances, a Commission would not have been legal if issued under the Great Seal, without the sign manual; but he had not assumed the responsibility of proceeding upon any mere opinion on this point. He preferred laying the matter before Parliament for its decision. In the Commons, the Speaker addressed the hundred members present, saying that, in the absence of any Royal Message or Commission, he had thought it his duty to take the chair, in order that the House might adjourn itself. The ministers, in both Houses, anxiously explained that the King's illness was mild in character, and that he had obtained some sleep: so that the physicians had confident hopes of a speedy recovery. Both Houses adjourned to the 15th. The Princess died the next day, at a time when her father was so composed that the physicians decided to tell him the news at once. They told him they were going to try his Majesty's piety. He replied that he knew what they meant; that Amelia was dead. He rambled and was very low, but was not indifferent; which was a good sign: and

Nov

1516

he mentioned her again; which was another: and the physicians were more sanguine than before about his recovery. But he never was rational again. The last heavy cloud was settling down upon his intellect. There was, however, a suspense of weeks and months, equally embarrassing to the Ministers and to Parliament. It was difficult to extract from the constitution any guidance in circumstances so singular; and it was a formidable matter to establish precedents for conducting the monarchy without a monarch. On the question of repeated adjournments, the Opposition were divided; and without any illfeeling among themselves. It was enough, in a case so unusual, to indicate that there was vigilance against dangerous precedents. That vigilance indicated, men voted according to their expectations of the King's recovery or continued insanity. On the 15th, the Houses adjourned to the 29th: and on the 29th, when a report from the physicians, decidedly favourable, was offered, in the form of a report from the Privy Council, a considerable majority decided for another adjournment to the 13th of December. When that day arrived, the Ministers acknowledged that they had no plea for further delay in discussing how the country was to be governed. A committee was appointed to examine the physicians. Their report was delivered on the 20th. There was nothing in it to delay the pressing business of providing for the carrying on of the government.

On the same day, therefore, Mr. Perceval proposed and carried three Resolutions, which declared, 1st, that the King was prevented by illness from fulfilling his royal functions: 2nd, that it was the duty of the Lords and Commons to supply ths existing defect in the organization of the government: and, 3rd, that the Lords and Commons should determine on means for giving the necessary assent to bills respecting the powers to be exercised in the King's name and behalf during his illness. These Resolutions were almost in the same words as those which had been brought forward by Mr. Pitt, and passed (with the aid of Lord Grenville, among others) in 1788. They were therefore sure to pass now, however eager the Opposition might be to bring the Prince of Wales into full power, and the

Ministry to keep him out to the last moment.

On the 27th,

the Resolutions were discussed in the Lords, and the two first were passed without a division. Lord Holland moved an amendment on the third, to the effect that the Prince of Wales should be requested, by address, to assume the powers and functions of the Crown, in the King's name, during the King's present indisposition, and no longer; an intimation being given, with the Address, that it would be necessary to forbear all but strictly necessary state action, till the Legislature should have settled how all beyond it should be provided for. This amendment was negatived; and the Resolutions being thus agreed upon, the Ministers went on to follow the precedent of 1788, in regard to the next step; which was to define the powers to be exercised by the Regent.

The proposals of the Ministers, as to the restriction of the powers of the Regent, were so unacceptable to the Prince of Wales, that he exerted himself to the utmosteven to the point of assembling his brothers to sign a Protest-to overthrow the propositions prepared for parliamentary discussion. The Protest was sent to Mr. Perceval, and found among the papers of Lord Eldon. It was dated midnight of the 19th of December: but the subject to which it referred did not come into debate till the new year had opened; and it is best to close here the records of the gloomy year 1810, whose disasters seemed but too likely to overcloud many a year yet to come.

CHAPTER IV.

Restrictions on the Regent-Negotiations with Lords Grenville and Grey-The Ministry unchanged-The King's health-The CourtNew Negotiations-Lords Castlereagh and Sidmouth in the Cabinet -Virtual close of the Reign-Mr. Perceval's death-Provision for his Family.-[1811-1812.]

THE opposite views and interests of the Ministerial and the Grenville parties on the Regency question are obvious enough, and seen in a moment to be unavoidable. The