! pressure of much misfortune, under the provocation of great and accumulated injustice. Oh! Sire, to be unfortunate, and scarce to feel at liberty to lament; to be cruelly used, and to feel it almost an offence and a duty to be silent is a hard lot; but use had, in some degree inured me to it: But to find my misfortunes and my injuries imputed to me as faults; to be called to account upon a charge, made against me by Lady Douglas, who was thought at first worthy of credit, although she had. pledged her veracity to the fact, of my having admitted that I was myself the aggressor in every thing, of which I had to cemplain, has subdued all power of patient bearing, and when I was called upon by the Commissioners, either to admit, by my silence, the guilt which they imputed to me, or to enter into my defence, in contradiction to it-no longer at liberty to remain silent, I, perhaps, have not known how, with exact propriety, to limit my expressions. In happier days of my life, before my spirit had been yet at all lowered by my misfortunes, I should have been disposed to have met such charge with the contempt which, I trust, by this time, your Majesty thought due to it; I should have been disposed to have defied my enemies to the utmost, and to have scorned to answer to any thing but a legal charge, before a competent tribunal: but in my present misfortunes, such force of mind is gone. I ought perhaps, so far to be thankful to them for their wholesome les sons of humility. I have therefore, entered into this long detail, to endeavour to remove, at the first possible opportunity, any unfavourable impressions; to rescue myself from the dangers which the continuance of these suspicions might occasion, and to preserve to me your Majesty's good opinion, in whose kindness, hitherto, I have found infinite consolation, and to whose justice, under all circumstances, I can confidently appeal. Under the impression of these sentiments, I throw myself at your Majesty's fect. I know, that whatever sentiments of resentment; whatever wish for redress, by the punishment of my false accusers, I ought to feel, your Majesty, as the Father of a Stranger, smarting under false accusation, as the Head of your illustrious House dishonoured in me, and as the great Guardian of the Laws of your Kingdom, thus foully attempted to have been applied to the purposes of injustice, will not fail to feel for me. At all events, I trust your Majesty will restore me to the blessing of your Gracious Presence, and confirm to me, by your own Gracious Words, your satisfactory conviction of my innocence. With every I am, sentiment of Gratitude and Loyalty, Your Majesty's most affectionate and dutiful Daughter-in-Law, 3 Subject and Servant, Montague House, 2d October, 1806. C. P. The Deposition of Thomas Manby, Esquire, a Captain in the Royal Navy. Having had read to me the following passage, from the Copy of a Deposition of Robert Bidgood, sworn the 6th of June last, before Lords Spencer and Grenville, viz. ; "I was waiting one day in the anti-room Captain Manby had his hat in his hand, and appeared to be going away; he was a long "time with the Princess, and as I stood on the steps, waiting, I looked into the room in "which they were, and, in the reflection on "the looking-glass, I saw them salute each "other-I mean, that they kissed each other's lips. Captain Manby then went away, I "then observed the Princess have her handker"chief in her hands, and wipe her eyes, as if "she was crying, and went into the drawing "room." I do solemnly, and upon my oath, declare, that the said passage is a vile and wicked invention; that it is wholly and absolutely false; that it is impossible he ever could have seen, in the reflection of any glass, any such thing, as I never, upon any occasion, or in any situation, ever had the presumption to salute Her Royal Highness in any such manner, or to take any such liberty, or offer any such insult to her person. And having had read to me another passage, from the same Copy of the same Deposition, in which the said Robert Bidgood says "I suspected that Captain Manby slept requently in the house; it was a subject of con"versation in the house. Hints were given by "the servants; and I believe that others sus"pected it as well as myself." 66 I solemnly swear, that such suspicion is wholly unfounded, and that I never did, at Montague House, Southend, Ramsgate, East Cliff, or any where else, ever sleep in any house occupied by, or belonging ta Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, and that there never did any thing pass between Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales and myself, that I should be in any degree unwilling that the world should have seen. (Signed) Sworn at the Public Office, Hatton Garden, London, the 22d day of September, 1806, before me, THO. MANBY. (Signed) THOMAS LEACH, The Deposition of Thomas Lawrence, of Greekstreet Soho, in the County of Middlesex, Por trait Painter. Having had read to me the following Extract from a Copy of a Deposition of William Cole, purporting to have been sworn before Lords Spencer and Grenville the 10th Day of June, 1806, viz. "Mr. Lawrence, the painter, used to go to Mon"tague House about the latter end of 1801, when "he was painting the Princess, and he has slept "in the house two or three nights together. I "have often seen him alone with the Princess at eleven or twelve o'clock at night; he has been there "as late as one or two o'clock in the morning. One night I saw him with the Princess in the blue room, after the ladies had retired; sometime "afterwards, when I supposed he was gone to "his bed-room, I went to see that all was safe, "and found the blue room door locked, and "heard a whispering in it, and then went away." I do solemnly, and upon my oath, depose that having received the commands of Her Royal Highness the rr Princess of Wales to paint her Royal Highness's. Portrait, and that of the Princess Charlotte; I attended for that purpose at Montague House, BlackHeath, several times about the beginning of the year 1801, and having been informed that Sir William Beechy, upon a similar occasion, had slept in the house, for the greater convenience of executing his painting; and it having been intimated to me, that I might probably be allowed the same advantage, Isignified my wish to avail myself of it; and accordingly I did sleep at Montague House several nights.→→ That frequently, when employed upon this painting, and occasionally, between the close of a day's sitting and the time of Her Royal Highness's dressing for dinner, I have been alone in Her Royal Highness's presence; I have likewise been graciously admitted to Her Royal Highness's presence in the evenings, and remained there till twelve, one, and two o'clock but, I do solemnly swear, I was never alone in the presence of Her Royal Highness in an evening, to the best of my recollection and belief, except in one single instance, and that for a short time, when I remained with Her Royal Highness in the Blueroom, or Drawing-room, as I remember, to answer some question which had been put to me, at the moment I was about to retire together with the ladies in waiting, who had been previously present as well as myself; and, though I cannot recollect the particulars of the conversation which then took place, I do solemnly swear, that nothing passed between Her Royal Highness and myself, which I could have had the least objection for all the world to have seen and heard. And I do further, upon my oath, solemnly declare, that I never was alone in the presence of Her Royal Highness in any other place, or in any other way, than as above described; and that neither upon the occasion last mentioned, nor upon any other was I ever in the presence of Her Royal Highness, |
