408 TUB PRINCIPLE OF LOYALTY. 



at its feet. It naturally declined for a time after every deviation from 

 the ordinary course of regal succession, and recovered itself, with the 

 advance of the new line, to maturity. The sincere devotion of the Bri- 

 tons to their present Sovereign needs no comment ; and whatever the 

 " secret and combined enemies" of the approaching new dynasty, in the 

 person of the Princess Victoria, may by possibility achieve, his most 

 Gracious Majesty will rest assured, his English subjects will prove loyal 

 to that Princess, in just preference to an usurper, even if he were a scion 

 of the House of Brunswick. It is the great advantage of this " prin- 

 ciple" of royalty, then, as conducing to the stability of crowns, that it 

 attaches itself to the wearer of the crown simply as such, and indepen- 

 dently of his personal qualities. Were this otherwise, its operation 

 would often be suspended when most needed : that is, when the weak- 

 ness or vices of the possessor of the crown caused it to totter on his 

 head. Indeed, the generous attachment of the true and faithful loyalist 

 cannot be too much admired, who requires nothing but the name of king 

 to excite his enthusiastic devotion, and gives implicit credit to the owner 

 of it for every virtue under heaven. He can even create to himself an 

 object of reverence in a child in the cradle : 



See how the venerable infant lies 

 In early pomp : how through the mother's eyes, 

 The father's soul, with an undaunted view, 

 Looks out, and takes our homage as his due ; 



says Dryden, in complimenting the birth of that child of promise, whose 

 succession nothing but the infatuated bigotry of his father could have 

 frustrated. 



Now, that such a support of the modern thrones, which we have 

 seen erected, will be extremely desirable, is obvious ; and indeed it can 

 scarcely be conceived, that they can be fairly established without it. 

 As it respects our own sovereign and his crown, we unhesitatingly de- 

 clare, that Lord Melbourne, in his own person, by his commanding 

 talents, and the splendour of his services to the nation, has accumulated 

 around the wearer of the English crown so much personal admiration, 

 that his Majesty will need no artificial title to the reverence of his 

 British, Irish, and Scotch subjects. Notwithstanding appearances (and 

 we are free to confess, some facts have come to our knowledge, 

 which have had the effect of startling, if not of affrighting us,) we 

 hope there is no reason for supposing that the family line of English 



