CHRONICLE. 



431 



centre was hung a great number of 

 .variegated lamps, which were so ar- 

 ranged as to assume the form of a 

 balloon. About six o'clock the 

 company sat down to dinner. At 

 the Lord Mayor's table were, the 

 Lord Chancellor, the Earls of Har- 

 rington and Camden, the Lords 

 Melville, Grantley, Leslie, Mul- 

 grave, and Castlereagh, Mr. Pitt, 

 the Hanoverian and Turki>h Am- 

 bassadors, several of the Judges, Sir 

 John Colpoys, Admiral Peyton, 

 Sir John Nichol, and some foreign 

 oiBcers, &c. &c. The ladies retired, 

 soon afternine, to the common coun- 

 cil room, where the crowd Avas very 

 great. The ball was opened by a 

 minuet between Alderman Hunter 

 and Miss Le Mesurier. Country 

 dances followed, and continued for 

 several hours. 



12th. This day the long-expect- 

 «d interview between the sovereign 

 and the heir apparent took place at 

 one o'clock at Kew palace. The 

 queen and princesses were present. 

 The meeting of those two person- 

 ages, after a long interval, was 

 narked by every emotion of kind- 

 ness and conciliation on the one 

 part and of the most profound filial 

 respect and veneration on the other. 



13th. This day witnessed ano- 

 ther violation of the law of na- 

 tions by order of Buonaparte. Mr. 

 Wagstaffe, the British messenger, 

 was robbed of his dispatches, money, 

 cloaths, kc. On the 6th he had set 

 out for Pctcrsburgh, with dispatches 

 for Lord G. L. Gower ; and on the 

 11th, he took a carriage at Husum, 

 with intent to proceed through Ber- 

 lin on his destination. Arriving at 

 Nohrdolf, he proceeded to Lubec in 

 company with a HanoTcrian mes- 

 senger ; at which place they were 

 joined by a Meckleuburgh merchant 



going to Schwerin. The three car- 

 riages proceeded together for Schwe- 

 rin, in safety, until the}- arrived be- 

 tween Rhena and Sch^vc^in, in the 

 forest within two German miles of 

 the latter city. Here the two mes- 

 sengers and postilions were alarmed 

 by the appearance of a horseman in 

 the uniform of an officer of French 

 light horse, who rode up with an in- 

 solent air, looked in at the windovr 

 of each carriage, and, having made 

 his observations, drew up ; instantly 

 seven men, well mounted, rushed 

 from the wood and joined him. 

 They had the uniform and appear- 

 ance of French cavalry, and were 

 armed with carbines and sabres. 

 Tiic men presented their pieces at 

 Mr. Wagstaffe and his companions, 

 threatening that, if the least resist- 

 ance were made, they would blow 

 out their brains. They then dragg- 

 ed the parties into a wood, about a 

 quarter of a mile from the road side. 

 Here thev proceeded to tie the two 

 messengers, the Mecklenburgh mer- 

 chant, and the postilions, to the trees, 

 and left them, threatening to shoot 

 the first who attempted to disengage 

 himself. At length Mr. W. untied 

 himself, and released his compani- 

 ons ; when, on reaching their car- 

 riages, they found that the banditti 

 had robbed them of every thing. — 

 Mr. W. then returned to Husum, 

 and reached London on Sunday. — 

 This outrage took place upon the 

 territory of the Duke of JNIecklen- 

 burgh Schwerin, within two Germaa 

 miles of his capital. 



The persons who robbed Mr. 

 Wagstafle are discovered to be the 

 commandant of Ratzeburgh, and se- 

 ven French^soldiers. 



14th. This morning about half 

 past ^'^^ o'clock, his majesty arrived 

 at the queen's house from Windsor; 



when 



