JET. 42.] PRELIMINARIES. 375 



asked to attend, in order to introduce the parties to 

 each other. There were all sorts of blunders and mis- 

 takes as to time ; and after a ridiculous hour passed 

 in waiting for one person and another, rendered the 

 more ridiculous from the arbitrators thinking fit to 

 come in court-dress, we all separated, nothing being 

 done or said, except by the Duke, who, with his usual 

 good sense, observed that the affair never could go on 

 unless, instead of Sefton and Fitzwilliam who, after 

 the first meeting, had declined to act Denman and I 

 should be the persons on the Queen's part, which he 

 undertook to make the Government of the King ap- 

 prove ; and accordingly, Denman and I were accepted 

 by the Government on the part of the Queen. We 

 had several meetings, and I conceived a very high 

 opinion, not only of the Duke's ability as a negotiator, 

 but also of Castlereagh's. It was plain from the first 

 that they had nothing like full powers from the King. 

 Nor, indeed, had we from the Queen ; for, upon some 

 alarm being given her by the meddling folks whom 

 she saw, she complained that she was not informed 

 of the whole of the negotiation, although we made a 

 point of conveying to her the substance of each day's 

 discussion. Another thing happened both during the 

 negotiation and at other parts of the proceeding. Act- 

 ing under the influence of Lady Anne Hamilton, one 

 of her ladies, she sent letters to the Speaker, to be read 

 to the House of Commons, or rather formal messages, 

 beginning Caroline E., which Lady Anne's brother, 

 Lord Archibald (our stanch supporter), and myself 

 were never aware of till an hour before they were [to 

 be] read by the Speaker ; and on one occasion we had 

 hardly time to prevent it by hastening to her house 



