574 
but, that a post should be allotted to 
you, upon the present emergency, 
suitable to your situation in the 
state. 
This I conceive to be purely a po- 
litical consideration, and, as such, 
totally out of my department; and, 
as I have most carefully avoided, at 
all times, and under all circumstances, 
ever interfering in any. political 
points, I must hope that you willnot 
call upon me to deviate from the 
principles by which I have been in- 
variably governed. 
Believe me, my dear brother, 
Your most affectionate brother, 
(Signed) Frederick. 
His’ Royal Highness the 
3» 9Prince of Wales. 
Carlton House, Oét. 14. 
My dear brother, 
It cannot but be painful to me to 
be reduced to the necessity of fur- 
ther explanation on a subject, which 
it was my earnest wish to have 
closed, and which was of so clear 
and distinct a nature, as, in my 
humble judgment, to have preclud- 
ed the possibility of cither doubt or 
misunderstanding. 
Surely there must be some strange 
fatality to obseure my language in 
statement, or leave me somewhat 
deficient in the powers of explana- 
tion, when it can lead your mind, 
my dear brother, to such a palpable 
misconstruction (for far be it from 
me to fancy it wilful) off my mean- 
ing, as to suppose for a moment I 
had unconnected my object with 
efficent military rank, and transfer- 
red it entirely to the view of a poli. 
tical station, when you venture to 
tell me “‘ my object is nof military 
rank, but that a post should be al- 
jotted to me, upon the present 
emergency, suitable to my situation 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1803: 
in the state.” Upon what ground 
you can hazard such an assertion, 
or upon what principles you can 
draw such an inference, [ am utter- 
ly at a loss to determine. For I 
defy the most skilful logician, in 
torturing the English language, to 
apply with fazrness such a construc- 
tion to any word or phrase of mine, 
contained in any one of the letters 
I have ever written on this, ¢o me, 
most interesting subjeét. 
I call upon you to re-peruse the 
correspondence. In my letter of 
the 2d instant, I told you unequi- 
vocally that I hoped you knew me 
too well to imagine, that édle, znac- 
tive rank was in my view; and thaé 
sentiment, I beg you carefully to 
observe, L have, in no instance what- 
ever, for one single moment, relin- 
quished or departed from. 
. Giving, as 1 did, all the consider- 
ations of my heart to the delicacy 
and difficulties of your situation, 
nothing could have been more re- 
pugnant to my thoughts, orto my 
disposition, than to have imposed 
upon you, my dear brother, either 
in your capacity as commander in 
chief, or in the near relationship 
which subsists between us, much 
less the expectation of causing you 
to risque any displeasure from his 
majesty, by disobeying, in any de- 
gree, his commands, although they 
were even to militate against myself. 
But, with the impulse of my feel- 
ings towards you, and quickly con- 
ceiving what friendship and aflec- 
tion may be capable af, I did not, 
I own, think it entirely impossible 
that you might, considering the mag- 
nitude and importance which the 
object carries with it, have officially 
advanced my wishes, as a matter of 
propriety, to mélitary rank and sub- 
sequent command, through his ma- 
jesty’s 
ATES 
