ones Canotase by, Sir Edward Par His Honour Judge Sir Edward Parry needs. little introduction as an. author, although hitherto. he has confided his Iterary activities matters which, attractively as they have been presented, are of interest primexily. to those of his own profession, In this book he has chosen a larger canvas, and without being hampered by the chapter, has given.us an eminently Feadable account of the life of Caroline, Queen of England, and her relation to the public life of her time, Most of us have a general idea that Caroline was the rather plain, very badly used wife of George 1V;, and that she was. tried by 1 House Lords for matrimonial mi conduct and. acquitted: also that Henry Brougham. made his name defending her, We all know that the Firat Gentleman of Europe was cad, but how great a ead can hardly be imagined until you read the history of how he treated his wife.
Caroline was the daughter of the hereditary Grand Duke Brunswick, her mother being a sister of George the Third; George the Fourth was therefore her first cousin, 'The marriage waz arranged entirely for reasons of state, and wes agreed to by George the Fourth, then Prince of Wales, imply in order to obtain a grant' from Parliament to py his debts. The old king, George. the Third, was, genuinely fond of his niece and stood by her until the day of his death: indeed he is the only one of the royal family who comes th, 1795 the marriage and on January 1796 their' only daughter the Princess Charlotte was born: on April 30th of the same year the Prince informed his wife that he did not propose to have anything. more to do with her, In 1797 the little princess was removed from her mother and placed in the charge of Lady Elgin, and although Caroline saw her daughter frequently, she was never under her control again—in spite of the fact that the Prince of: Wales had specially promised his father, the King, that the child should remain with her mother' until she.was eight years old,, For the next ten years Caroline lived a quiet dignified life at Blackheath, moving among the best and most' intellectual society of the day. In 1814, the failing: health of the King, and the consequent increase in' power of her: blackguardly husband, rendered. Caroline's position intolerable, and. she left England for Italy, where she- remained, and travelling other parts of Europe, until 1820, From 1815 onwards' the Privy Parse was emptied in surrounding her with spies On the death of George the Third in 1820 Caroline "returned" to. England, where. she was rested with tense popular enthusiasm, deter.
ined to assert her rightful: posi-tie 8 Queen of England; her husband being equally determined that cost what it might, she should be prevented from doing. 80.
On July. Sth 1820 the" Kings ministers "introduced a. Bill Pains and Penalties inthe House of Lords, "To deprive Her Majesty of her" rights and he marriage between His Majesty and 4 tral, criminal of evil, bil" was" wholly" un constitution and illegal, as the law officers of the Crown had hinted to" the Government. 'For "the Plainti the Attorney General and Solicitor General led: for the Queen, Brow hham led, supported by. Denman, Williams, Tindal, Dr. Lushington and "Wilde, "It ' was entirely a Government' measure, introduced before a house the majority of whom were already pledged to support it: every peer hada vote, ind even the King's two brothers fand the ministers of the Crown took their seats to vote in favour of it. "From August the 25th. to September the. 7th the "promoters argued their caxe with what heart they "could, and. called 'What "Witt nesses they' dared. Twenty-six had been brought over from Italy to tell their title tattle and perjury, but Majocchi, Sacchi, and Louise Del-mont, the star turns, had. been. discredited by the time that Broug. ham had finished with ross examin. ing them, that most of the ethers were not called.
On October 3rd, atter a recess of three weeks, Brougham opened the defence, and since in no tense arguing his case before a of Impartial tribunal, but one. in which most of those who were the judges had pledged their votes before they took their seats, he virtually told the peers that' to. pass the Bill meant their own extinction by. the country. "Witnesses of une Impeachable character, though not Caroline herself, were called to demolish the flimsy fabric of the other side's perjaries, The. House divided on "November 6th: 128 voted. for the bill, 95 against, a majority of only 28. On the third reading the majority was only and the Government moved. that the bill be postponed for six months. The Bill was dead, to the immense pleasure of the country. Right had triumphed over might, but unfortunately Caroline did not live long to enjoy her victory, Jess saan eight onthe later, her adversities and hands, "she td. Even over her funeral her husband cheated, but the citizens of London did her honour instead. you are interested in history—and who is not—I advise you not to miss this account of the life, of England's unhappy Queen, loved by the people who could not help her, and irreparably wronged by her. husband, whom sho, never harmed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.