HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



129 



the note to be a forgery. As to the 

 note relating to the appearance of 

 major Tonyn's name in the gazette, 

 his royal highness could not be 

 positive. He could not state 

 that he might not have written 

 such a note, in answer to a note 

 ■which might have been addressed 

 to him. He could not call the 

 circumstance to mind. The other 

 note, however, his royal highness 

 most positively denied having 

 written. When Mrs. Clarke (who 

 was ignorant of what was passing 

 in the House) was called in, and 

 shown the note, which was ad- 

 dressed to George Farquhar, esq. 

 she said, " 1 suppose I must have 

 seen it before, for it is his royal 

 highness's writing. — I do not know 

 how it couldhave got into that man's 

 possession unless I gave it to him. 

 It was a direction I used very 

 often to get from his royal high- 

 ness.'' This evidence being re- 

 butted by the Duke of York's po- 

 sitive denial of the fact, several 

 witnesses were called from the 

 Bank and Post Office to give their 

 opinion upon it. And they all, 

 with only a single exception, ge- 

 neral Brownrigg, decided, that 

 the note was in the same hand writ- 

 ing as other letters acknowledged 

 to be his. It is also to be observ- 

 ed, that the circumstance of the 

 note was not brought forward by 

 the Chancellor of the Exchequer 

 till it was believed that the note 

 itself was destroyed. Thus the 

 affair of the note had an effect 

 quite opposite to what was in- 

 tended. To justify his royal high- 

 ness general Clavering made a vo- 

 luntary attempt ; the consequence 

 of which was, that he himself was 

 committed, as well as captain San- 

 don, tp Newgate, for prevarica- 

 VoL. LI. 



tion. But after all, this circum- 

 stance of the note, supposing its 

 authenticity, only showed, that 

 his royal highness suffered Mrs. 

 Clarke to talk, and write, and put 

 questions respecting military ap- 

 pointments : which the duke does 

 not seem to have affected to deny 

 or conceal. For it has just been 

 seen, that when the note, " Tonyn 

 will be this night gazetted," was 

 shown to him, he admitted that he 

 might possibly have written such 

 a note, though he did not recollect 

 the matter. 



Tiie other circumstance, wear- 

 ing on its face a direct inculpation 

 of the commander-in-chief, was 

 the following. Miss Mary Ann 

 Taylor, who was in the habit of 

 visiting Mrs. Clarke when she 

 was under the duke's protection 

 very frequently, stated, that she 

 heard the Duke of York speak to 

 Mrs. Clarke about colonel French's 

 levy, and that what passed, as 

 nearly as she could recollect, was 

 as follows; " I am continually 

 worried by colonel French. He 

 worries me continually about the 

 levy business, and is always want- 

 ing something more in his own 

 favour." Turning then to Mrs. 

 Clarke (Miss T. thinks) he said, 

 *' how does he behave to you, dar- 

 ling?'' or some such kind words as 

 he was wont to use. Mrs. Clarke 

 replied, middling, not very well : 

 on which the duke said, " master 

 French must mind what he is 

 about, or I shall cut up him and 

 his levy too.'' 



At the close of the evidence 

 given at the bar, the general of- 

 ficers, who were members of the 

 House, were asked with respect to 

 the improved state of the army in 

 discipline and condition, and whe- 



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