?*

and obedience to the commands of the Prince of Wales, at length reluctantly drew from them, why all this malicious accompaniment "His Royal Highness" indeed they say, "desired that they would communicate the whole circumstances of their ac quaintance with me, from the day they first spoke with me till the present time; a full detail of all that passed during our acquaintance," and "how they became known to me, it appearing to His Royal Highness, from the representation of his Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, that His Majesty's dearest interests, and those of this country, were very deeply interested in the question," and "that he particularly commanded them to be very cir cumstantial in their detail, respecting all they might know relative to the child that I affected to adopt."

But from the whole of this it is sufficiently apparent, that the particularity of this detail was requir ed, by his His Royal Highness, in respect of matters connected with that question, in which the dearest interests of Your Majesty and this country were involved; and not of circumstances which could have no bearing on those interests. If it had been therefore true, as I most solemnly protest.it is not, that I had in the confidence of private conversation, so far forgot all sense of decency, loyalty, and gratitude, as to have expressed myself with that disrespect of your Majesty which is imputed

See Appendix, p. 90.

to me; If I had been what I trust those who have lived with me, or ever have partaken of my society, would not confirm, of a mind so uninformed and uncultivated, without education or talents, or without any desire of improving myself, incapable of employment, of a temper so furious and violent, as altogether to form a character, which no one could bear to live with, who had the means of living elsewhere;-What possible progress would all this make towards proving that I was guilty of adultery? These, and such like insinuations, as false as they are malicious, could never have proved crime in me, however manifestly they might display the malice of my accusers.

Must it not, then, have occurred to any one, who had seen the whole of this Narrative, if the motive of my accusers was, as they represent it, merely that of good patriots, of attached and loyal subjects, bound, in execution of a painful duty, imposed upon them by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, to disclose, in detail, all the facts which could establish my guilt, that these circumstances never would have made a part of their detail? But on the other hand, if their object was to traduce me ;~~ if, falsely, attributing to his Royal Highness, sentiments which could belong to no generous bosom, but measuring his nature by their own, they thought, vainly and wickedly, to ingratiate thenselves with him, by being the instruments of accomplishing my ruin;-if aiming at depriving me of my rank and station, or of driving me from this

country, they determined to bring forward a charge of Treason against me, which, though they knew in their consciences it was false, yet they might hope would serve at least as a cover, and a pretence, for such an imputation upon my character, as, rendering my life intolerable in this country, might drive me to seek a refuge in another;—if, the better to effectuate this purpose, they had represented all my misfortunes as my faults, and my faults alone, drawn an odious and disgusting picture of me, to extinguish every sentiment of pity and compassion, which, in the generosity, not only of your Majesty's royal bosom, and of the members of your Royal Family, but of all the inhabitants of your kingdom, might arise to commiserate the unfortunate situation of a stranger, persecuted under a charge originating in their malice;— if, for this, they flung out, that I had justly forfeited my station in society, and that a separation from my husband was, what I myself had once wished, and what the Chancellor might now, perhaps, procure for me; or, if in short, their object was to obtain my condemnation by prejudice, in flamed by falsehood, which never could be obtained by justice informed by truth, then the whole texture of the declaration is consistent, and it is well contrived and executed for its purpose. But it is strange, that its purpose should have escaped the detection of intelligent and impartial minds. There was enough, at least, to have made them pause before they gave such a degree of

credit to informations of this description, as to have, made them the foundations of so important and decisive a step, as that of advising them to be laid before your Majesty.

And, indeed, such seems to have been the effect; which this declaration at first produced. Because if it had been believed; the only thing to have been done (according to the judgment of the Commis-: sioners,) would have been to have laid it immedi ately before your Majesty, to whom, upon every principle of duty, the communication was due. But the declaration was made, on the 3rd of December, in the last year, and the communication was not inade to your Majesty till the very end of May.' And that interval appears to have been employed,' in collecting those other additional declarations, which are referred to in the Report, and which your Majesty has likewise been pleased, by your gracious commands, to have communicated to me.

These additional declarations do not, I submit, appear to furnish much additional reason for believing the incredible story. They were taken indeed* "for the purpose," (for they are so descried, this is the title which is prefixed to them in the authentic copies, with which I have been furnished,)" for the purpose of confirming the

statement made by Lady Douglas, of the cir if cumstances mentioned in her narrative," and they are the examinations of two persons, who ap pear to have formerly lived in the family of Sir John and Lady Douglas, and of several servants of * See Appendix (B) No. 3.

my own; they are filled with the hearsay details of other servants' declarations. And one of them, W. Cole, seems to have been examined over and over again. No less than four of his examinations are given, and some of these evidently refer to other examinations of his, which are not given at all.

These, I submit to your Majesty, are rendered, from this marked circumstance, particularly undeserving of credit; because in the only instance in which the hearsay statement, related to one servant, was followed by the examination of the other, who was stated to have made it, (I mean an instance in which Cole relates what he had heard said by F. Lloyd)* F. Lloyd does not appear to have said any such thing, or even to have heard what she is, by him, related to have said, and she relates the fact that she really did hear, stripped of all the particulars with which Cole had coloured it, and which alone made it in any degree deserving to be mentioned. Besides this, the parents of the child, which is ascribed to me by Lady Douglas, are plainly pointed out, and a clue is afforded, by which, if followed, it would have been as easy to have ascertained, that that child was no child of mine, (if indeed it ever had been seriously believed to be so) and to have proved whose child it was, before the appointment of the Commissioners, as it has been found to be afterwards.

* Appendix (B.) No. 3.

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