laborious, as it is the etymology of all the old English words, for which he must consult a world of old books and dictionaries, and which, with writing down and looking out, gives work enough; but he assures me it is extremely entertaining."

Her piety and resignation to her recurring trials is again and again expressed without affectation or display, and is really edifying.

In 1809: "To cheer myself, my dear Lady Harcourt, I take up my pen to return you thanks for your very kind and affectionate letter. I look upon our friends thinking of us when we are under anxiety as one of the greatest comforts. Indeed, my dear madam, we have had an immense share of distress ever since the month of May, about one beloved object or the other; but some of them are past, and I trust, at least I hope, that I have learnt in that a true submission to the will of Providence. I do not deny it, I have struggled ; but after all, could I have done other than trust Providence, which directs all for the best? No, certainly, and I do assure you, when I am alone and think it over, I see such singular instances of the hand of Providence in all that has happened, that I must say to myself, Thank God for it."

Here is a notelet she wrote to Lord Harcourt in 1807: "You talk of loquacity as an evil. I, on the contrary, of taciturnity as a drudgery; for the words of Yes and No is what I experience daily; and if it goes a little further, I have the history and distresses of

the Betties, Harries, &c., of the families. Some people attribute it to shyness, and poor me attributes it to sss, and think myself quite a phylosopher to bear it."

In 1804: "We have led a dissipated, idle life ever since the month of August, and by what you have read in the newspapers, and perhaps learned by report, gay and merry. How it was I cannot tell; but amidst all this I found the principal person always left out, viz. Pleasure, without whose attendance the attempt of enjoyment upon such an occasion is fruitless."

It is remarkable that not merely the king and queen, but their daughters, shared in this affectionate regard and devotion to Lady Harcourt and her husband. Like their royal parents, the young princesses confided everything to these attached friends. The situation seems almost unusual, and unlike the usual relation between a sovereign and courtiers.

Princess Augusta had an unaffected, affectionate nature. The comments of this princess on the various trials with which they were afflicted, her general hopefulness and courage, show what a comfort she must have been to her mother and family. There is a sagacity, too, in her remarks. Her letters are pleasant reading, full of gaiety and lively comment, with plenty of sly underscorings. Mention was made of the delightful expedition to Nuneham, which so enchanted the queen. Of this, the lively princess has given an account so enthusiastic and vivacious, and so pleasing a picture of the junketting, that it seems the best and most satisfactory evidence of

the happy relations and unpretending enjoyment of the simplest of pleasures.

In September, 1785, the royal party set out in three coaches from Windsor to pay a morning visit to the Harcourts at Nuneham, close to Oxford. This amiable family were delighted at the excursion. They started betimes, before seven in the morning, arriving about ten, and the young princess thus exuberantly describes what a happy day it turned out :—

"We were met at the house door by Lord and dear Lady Harcourt. We then went to breakfast, and a very good one indeed! And I think I was one of them who relished it the most, though I had eat a sandwidge before, with the greatest appetite. Whilst we were waiting for dinner, in the octagon room, Lord Harcourt mentioned to the king that he had a private key of Christ Church Walk, and that he could see Oxford without the least trouble, and that if his Majesty would make Nuneham his home, it would make the owners of it very happy. Papa said, 'Why, Lord Harcourt, it's very tempting.' Mamma, my brother, sister, and myself (not by far the least delighted of the family) kept our wishful eyes upon the king, who fixed his on mamma ; and upon her saying, 'I will do as you please,' he said, 'Well, with all my heart, let us stay.'

"During all this conversation I think our countenances were so curiously ridiculous, and I don't doubt that our soliloquys were as much so, that anybody must have laughed if they had looked on us without

knowing why we looked 'so strange, so wondrous strange.' For my part I know I could not refrain from saying, 'And O ye ministers of Heaven, protect me! for I shall be in despair if we do not stay.' However, I was

so completely happy when I found we

did not go back

till the next day, that my spirits rose mountains high in half a second."

"Thanky, my dear Lady Harcourt ;' 'God bless you, Lord Harcourt; Heaven preserve you ;''You are the very best people in the kingdom, after papa and mamma,'-these were the sayings for the rest of the day. So we went on all day long, and I am sure we shall never hear the last of it; it was the most perfect thing ever known."

Thus this amiable, natural young creature. It will be noted how the family all thoughtfully regarded each other's wishes-the queen the king's, and he hers; and the delight with which the acceptance was hailed proves how simple and innocent were the tastes of this excellent family.

These joys, however, were alternated with the most gloomy scenes. She was presently to write : Mamma

is wonderfully well, considering all things, and so are we all; but though our situation is considered elevated, yet we feel like human creatures, and suffer and enjoy like human creatures, and sometimes must appear with a gay face when under a very heavy heart, and that is a hard case.'

Again, in July, 1804: "In many things there is great

amendment in the king's state, and in many more not the slightest. There is a vast idea of dress, so very unlike what is natural. I think my father has a bad opinion of himself at times-that is to say when he gives himself time to reflect; at others he is thoughtless and talks of his youth and vigour, and that he shall no doubt live to ninety years old. He certainly has a frightful appetite; and that is not a good sign. The ideas of building continue as extravagant as ever, altering every house, unroofing without end to add stories; and the most distressful circumstance is his fancying that people have told him things which they never thought of. From all this, my dearest Lady Harcourt, you may suppose that our life is very anxious; but we must submit of it, and the confidence of its being decreed by a higher Power enables us to bear up with it. My mother is really tolerably well, considering all things, and so are we all.”

The underlinings here are oddly and capriciously disposed, and betoken an impulsiveness and excitement that is characteristic. Her account of the Duchess of Brunswick, mother of the unlucky Princess of Wales, is graphic enough, and shows the good sense of which I have spoken.

"I have made acquaintance with my aunt, and nothing can exceed her good humour, unless it be her imprudence. She is a very handsome old woman, not a bit older than I think any person of seventy might be, but uncommonly old if you compare her to my father, and consider that there is but one year between them. She is the image