LEAVES THEY HAVE TOUCHED. 535 



and has refei'ence to some royal gift of jewellery about to he presented 

 to Ms niece, on the occasion of her marriage. Thus it reads : " Sir : 

 I forgot to mention to you yesterday that I have been commissioned, 

 very privately, to find out if the jewels that are to be seen at the 

 jeweller's you employed to set the H. P.'s picture, are bespoken ; 

 which, though not believed or certainly expected, as a future present ; 

 yet the Family would avoid giving duplicates, if that was the case. 

 All the letters from "Windsor to-day speak highly in praises of the 

 H. P. ; and it is only wished he may be as well pleased. Yours, W. 

 H." The note is dated April 18, 1797. " H. P." denotes "Hereditary 

 Prince," i. e. of Wirtemberg, Stutgardt. He was married with great 

 pomp May 17, 1797, at the Chapel Royal, St. James', to Charlotte 

 Augusta Matilda, Princess Royal of Great Britain, the Archbishops 

 of Canterbury and York both officiating. The Duke of Gloucester, 

 the writer of the preceding note, was present. (See Annual Register 

 1797; Chronicle, p .29.) Among the letters from which I selected 

 the above note, was one wi'itten nineteen years later by the princess 

 then married. She was now Queen of Wirtemberg, but a widow ; 

 and she speaks of her great affliction and of the unpleasant state 

 of her monetary afiairs ; she owes, she says, the King's heirs four 

 thoTisand pounds, which sum she is anxious that her brother, the 

 Prince Regent of England, should assist her to pay. One more 

 addendum to this group of "Leaves They Have Touched," is Queen 

 Charlotte's copy of "Advice from a Lady of Quality to her Children" 

 — the presentation copy from the translator. This book is further 

 interesting as coming from the press of Robert Raikes, Gloucester, 

 the memorable philanthropist. The date is 1778. (2) I add to the 

 general literary and scientific relics, a volume once the property of 

 Narcissus Luttrell, and containing his autograph. It is entitled, "The 

 Magazine of Honour, or a Treatise on the Several Degrees of Nobility 

 of this Kingdom, with their Rights and Privileges:" collected by 

 Master Bird; but enlarged by Sir John Doderidge. London, 1642. 

 Lord Macaulay has many references to Luttrell 's " Brief Historical 

 Relation of State Afiairs from September, 1678, to April 1714 : " in 

 six octavo volumes. Narcissus Luttrell's collection of fugitive pieces, 

 poetical satires, squibs, &c., on national occurrences and events in high 

 and low life, from 1640 to 1688, bound up in eight folio volumes, 

 fetched at auction in London, in 1820, the sum of £781. (3) A letter 

 written by the seventh Earl of Elgin, father of our Canadian Lord 



