CHAP. A.D. 1819. ment; in short, a man whose devotion in this respect, can only be equalled by that of a learned ancestor of his, who having fainted from excessive toil and fatigue, a smelling-bottle was called for, when one who knew much better the remedy adapted to the case, exclaimed— For God's sake bring him an old blackletter Act of Parliament, and let him smell at that.' I cannot help thinking, that in like manner, if my right honourable and learned friend should ever be attacked in a similar way, the mere smelling of a volume of the Journals could not fail instantly to revive him." These specimens, the most favourable I can select, seem rather to justify the remark that in debate he dwelt too long upon the same topic whether grave or gay, and that he weakened both his logic and his wit by excessive elongation. * Speaker Williams, temp. Car. II. CHAPTER III. ATTORNEY-GENERAL TO QUEEN CAROLINE.-1820-1821. CHAP. Death of George III. and position of Brough am at com mencement of new AT the death of George III., Brougham certainly filled a large space in the public eye; but his position was not very comfortable for himself. His own party never conceded the 1820. lead to him in the House of Commons, and still regarded 29th Jan. him with some degree of jealousy and distrust. If he had been so inclined, it would have been impossible for him to have coalesced with the Tories; for they unreasonably considered that he was an enemy to the monarchy. As yet, the Radicals could hardly be considered a party, and Brougham reign. could not join them without lowering himself to the level of Cobbett and Hunt. But what discouraged him more, he was by no means flourishing in his profession. He made no progress on the circuit. In London his House of Lords business had left him from his neglecting it, and he only expected to be employed on extraordinary occasions in the Courts of law. In common suits, I myself was sometimes opposed to him which I thought a luxury; for his name gave a sort of celebrity to every trial he was engaged in, and if the verdict could by indiscreet management go against him he was sure to confer the splendour of victory on his opponent. Reports were circulated that he was about to leave the bar in despair, and to devote himself exclusively to politics. A most marvellous revolution was at hand. In the course of a few months his parliamentary was merged in his forensic reputation, and for a time he held a higher position at the bar than any man in England ever did before, or probably ever will again. Caroline of Brunswick was now Queen of Great Britain, and Brougham was about to defend her upon VOL. VIII. U CHAP. Unhappy Caroline of a charge which affected her honour and her life-the profligate, styled "our most religious and gracious King," being her prosecutor, the Imperial Parliament being her Judges, and all Europe looking on as spectators of the trial. Whatever may have been the failings or the faults of the unhappy Caroline, it is impossible not to pity her for the adverse circumstances in her career over which she had no control, and which had a powerful tendency to involve her in difficulties and disgrace. Although her father was one of the bravest of men, and her mother one of the most virtuous of women, she had been educated in a Court where purity was little regarded, and vice was doubly mischievous from the grossness by which it was accompanied. The match with the heir to the British Crown seemed splendid, but she found herself united to a heartless voluptuary, who had already gone through the religious ceremony of marriage with another lady, and who treated his lawful wife with contumely,—till at last he renounced all right over her as a husband, and gave her a license to follow his example in forgetting that the conjugal relation had ever subsisted between them. Driven into doubtful society, she became wholly indifferent to public opinion, and if imputations were cast upon her which were unjust, she was guilty at all events of levity and indecorum which seriously compromised her fair fame. As she certainly had experienced harsh usage in England, justified by nothing which she had done here, contending parties in the State, and selfish individuals, under pretence of vindicating her wrongs, seized upon them as property which they could convert to their own purposes, caring little for her honour or her welfare. While the belief prevailed that the heir-apparent still fostered his long professed attachment to the Whigs, the Tories, with the view of disparaging his character and lowering his influence, declared themselves her champions, and were loud in her praise. Even grave and decent men, like Lord Eldon and Mr. Perceval, wrote and printed a book to establish her innocence, and to hold up her accusers to public execration. But when, from the permanent insanity of George III., the Prince of Wales had become Regent without restrictions, and when, imbibing from a lady of high rank, who was considered to be his mistress, a new zeal for the Protestant faith, he had renounced Lord Grey and the friends to Catholic emancipation, and had manifested an intention to retain in office his father's Ministers, this "Book" was suppressed, and all intercourse between the Princess and the Tory leaders was put an end to for ever. Till the commencement of the new reign, however, they did not become her active persecutors. On the contrary, they were secretly disposed still to do her a good turn, and they discountenanced the proposal of bringing her to trial which was urged by her husband, and was strongly supported by Sir John Leach, who hoped thereby to become Lord Chancellor, instead of dying Master of the Rolls. The Princess, when abandoned by her Tory advisers, fell, as I have before explained, into the hands of Mr. Brougham, the most enterprising, the most insinuating, the most accom=plished, and the most unscrupulous of the Liberal party. She tried to form a political connection with Lord Grey and Lord Grenville, who, being now discarded by her husband, she thought would eagerly embrace her cause; but from the "Delicate Investigation" directed by them during the administration of "All the Talents," they had become aware of the perils to which any intimacy with her might lead, and they kept themselves at a dignified distance from all her intrigues. Brougham, who had still his fortune to make, could hardly be expected to be so squeamish. He put forth all his great powers of pleasing, and soon firmly established himself in her confidence; and for the present he was perfectly contented with the distinction which he enjoyed as first law-adviser to the Princess of Wales, and the certainty that ere long he must be Attorney General to the Queen of England, the reign of George III. being already the longest in our annals, and, from the enfeebled state of his bodily as well as of his mental health, being likely very soon to close. Court favour no adherent of Caroline could hope for under George IV., but from the irregular life which His Majesty had led, the general expectation (afterwards verified) was that the space of time he would occupy the throne in his CHAP. III. Brougham legal ad becomes her viser. CHAP. The Wales. own right would be brief, and Brougham had the brilliant prospect of another reign looming in the distance; for he had won the confidence of the youthful Charlotte of Wales, next heir to the monarchy. This hopeful Princess Charlotte of was then residing with a separate establishment under a governess, in Warwick House, having leave rarely, and with severe restrictions, to visit her mother, who occupied a mansion in Connaught Place. On these occasions oppor tunity was taken to praise Mr. Brougham in her hearing as one of the greatest of lawyers as well as of orators, and she was taught to look upon him with kindness as the adviser, friend, and protector of her mother. The sad differences between her parents it had been impossible to conceal from her, and although she spoke and tried to think respectfully of her father, she was naturally inclined to take her mother's side, and she complained bitterly of the restraints under which she lived, making Warwick House little better than imprisonment in the Tower of London. However, all went on without any public disclosure till the proposal was made, and, notwithstanding her declared antipathy, pressed upon her, that she should marry the Prince of Orange. Her elopement. At last, in the month of July, 1814, all her attendants being suddenly changed, she became alarmed lest there should be an intention to force her inclinations; and one fine evening, as twilight was thickening, she made her escape all alone from Warwick House, ran along the pavement unnoticed, amidst a crowd of foot-passengers, to Charing Cross, then jumped into a hackney coach, and, with the aid of a promised bribe, drove rapidly to Connaught Place. Her mother was from home, having gone to pass the day at Blackheath. The princess sent a messenger for Miss Elphinstone, who had been her playmate, and for Mr. Brougham, whose advice she intended to solicit. When Mr. Brougham arrived he found her with Miss Elphinstone. He implored her to return immediately to Warwick House, so that her flight might not be publicly. known. She expressed a determined resolution that she would not voluntarily again submit to captivity. While this discussion was going on her mother returned, accompanied |