182 Kj 
Queen’s drawing-room was not such as 
she had a right to expect. 
She continued travelling in Greece, 
the Holy Land, &c. &c. till the demise 
of George the Third. It has since ap¬ 
peared, that from the moment of her 
departure till her return, all her actions 
were watched, and that spies were set on 
her conduct, introduced into her family, 
and encouraged to make such reports 
as were agreeable to the party that em¬ 
ployed them. After her travels, she 
fixed on a most delightful spot on the 
lake of Como, where she purchased a 
villa and some land, and from thence 
made excursions to different places. 
The reception she met with at some of 
the courts she visited, was insulting, 
and the British envoys at many of them 
showed her every mark of disrespect. 
During her absence she lost her mo¬ 
ther, the Duchess of Brunswick, and 
her only child, the princess Charlotte 
ot Wales, which last melancholy 
event was not even announced to her 
by the proper authorities. 
In the meantime every inquiry was 
made into her conduct. It was even 
thought proper to send certain persons 
to Italy, to make inquiries and collect 
proofs of her supposed guilt, under 
the name of what is called the Milan 
commission , which ended so disgrace¬ 
fully to all who were employed in 
it. The declining state of the king’s 
health, and the prospect of his dissolu¬ 
tion being made known to her, she 
journeyed towards England, and hav¬ 
ing heard of his death, assumed the 
title of queen of England. 
Her vicinity to England, and the re¬ 
port generally circulated of her intention 
to come over, appeared to alarm both the 
kingandhis ministers; and Lord Hutch¬ 
inson was sent to St. Diner’s to offer her 
50,0001. per annum, on condition that she 
would abandon the title of queen of Eng¬ 
land and continue to live abroad. She had 
too much courage, energy, and vigour of 
mind to fall into this snare, and she 
instantly set off for England, to meet 
any charges which folly or malice 
might bring against her. If she had 
been guilty of adultery, as her enemies 
asserted, the ecclesiastical court was 
open to try the cause; but the ministry 
must have been sensible that their,evi¬ 
dences were such as would not find 
credit in any court in the kingdom, and 
therefore had recourse to a bill of de¬ 
gradation, or pains and penalties. The 
production of the green bags, and the 
proceedings thereon, in both houses, are 
Monthly Mag. No. 358 . 
137 
too recent and well known to require 
particular detail in this place, and we 
shall only remark, that when the aban¬ 
doned and avaricious character of the 
evidences and the high rank of her ac¬ 
cusers are considered, her escape by the 
solemn vote of the House of Lords, was 
almost miraculous. 
She now became the idol of the na¬ 
tion. Never were addresses more nu¬ 
merous, eloquent, or heartfelt. The 
people seemed to live to sound her 
praises, and pour in congratulations, 
and her answers to their addresses re¬ 
sponded to their feelings and principles. 
Her visit to St. Paul’s was the proudest 
triumph ever partaken by a British 
sovereign. Yet while enjoying the de¬ 
votion of millions, power continued its 
malign exertions. Her name was pro¬ 
scribed from the liturgy—the nobility 
forebore to visit her—and she found 
herself neglected by all who moved in 
her own sphere. The press was even 
corrupted to vilify every one who visited 
her. The professed object was to drive 
her out of the kingdom—but she was 
the firmest of her sex, and would not 
separate herself from a people so devoted 
to her person and cause. 
In our last number we noticed her 
claims to be crowned with the king, 
and her attempt to be present at the 
ceremony. Her personal exertions on 
that occasion are believed to have 
shaken her frame. She kept up her 
spirits in public, hut pined and wept in 
secret. Her stomach ceased to perform 
its functions, ami she resorted to her 
medicine chest, instead of taking pro¬ 
fessional advice. The consequence was 
an obstruction of the bowels, which, 
accompanied by a weariness of life, 
led to a fatal result on the 7th of August, 
after four days serious illness. On 
her death bed she exclaimed 44 they 
have destroyed me”— 44 my disease is 
here,” pointing to her heart—that she. 
44 hailed death as a friend”—and 44 for¬ 
gave all her enemies.” 
Conceiving that it would not be per¬ 
mitted that her body should lie with 
her daughter, she directed it to be con¬ 
veyed to Brunswick, and buried in the 
vault of her ancestors, with the inscrip¬ 
tion 44 Here lies Caroline , the injured 
Queen of England .” This alternative 
being adopted by government, the re¬ 
moval of the body was on Monday an¬ 
nounced for Tuesday, the 14th; but 
in spite of the shortness of the notice, 
the people prepared with alacrity to 
attend the corpse. The exact route, 
\ S was, 
Memoirs of Caroline Queen of England. 
