of commodities for market. Unhappily, however, the cart was stuck fast in the mud, nor could the poor fellow extricate it, though laboring with all his might. Both the king and the prince were dressed in a style of great simplicity; and as if with one impulse of humanity, they immediately rushed forward to the assistance of the embarrassed rustic. Having through the dint of main strength enabled him to set his cart fairly on the road, the poor fellow, glowing with gratitude, asked them very cordially if they would accept of a cup of ale from him at the next house; adding, that as the road was dirty, they were heartily welcome to take a seat on the cart. Both these offers were of course declined, and they parted; the king having previously slipped a guinea, and the prince two guineas, into the hands of the rustic.

The man was thunderstruck; nor could he help relating the particulars of his adventure the moment he reached Windsor. He was assured that it must have been to the king and the prince that he had been so highly indebted; and the only circumstance that seemed to puzzle the man himself, and made him doubt the fact, was, that the prince should have given him two guineas, while the king gave him but one.

Everything, as here related, soon reached the ears of the monarch; and happening the week following to meet the same man again on his way to market, he stopped him, and smiling, said, "Well, my friend, I find you were rather dissatisfied with the little present I made you when we last met; the son you thought more munificent than the father. He was so, I confess; but remember, my good fellow, that I am obliged to be just before I can be generous; my son has, at present, nobody to care for but himself; and I (with an infinite deal more of anxiety in my mind than you can possibly experience) am bound to promote the happiness of millions, who look to me for that protection, which your children at home expect, and have a right to demand, from you."

PROMOTION.

In 1781, a striking instance occurred of the attention which his majesty paid to the services and rewards of his servants. Lord Amherst prePenting to the king a packet of army commissions for his signature, his majesty, on looking over the list, observed an officer appointed captain over an old lieutenant, and inquiring the reason, was answered by his lordship, " He cannot buy." The name struck the king, and before he signed the commissions, he turned to one of those large folios, of which he had a number, in his own hand-writing; and presently finding the name of the lieutenant, and some memorandums of his private life, he immediately ordered him to be promoted to the vacant company.

MR. FOX.

On the death of the Marquis of Rockingham, in 1782, Mr. Fox expected to be called upon by

the sovereign to fill the post of prime minister. Some time however elapsing without this hope being gratified, he summoned a secret council of the Cavendishes, Lord Keppel, Mr. Burke, the Duke of Richmond, &c. at his house in Grafton Street, when he briefly told them, that the Earl of Shelburne would be appointed minister, unless they all firmly united to oppose such a measure. On this it was unanimously agreed, that the Duke of Portland would be a proper person for the prime minister, under their auspices, and that Mr. Fox should immediately wait on the king, with a strong recommendation of his grace by this majority of the cabinet. Mr. Fox reached the royal closet only time enough to learn, that Lord Shelburne had just gone out with the appointment of first lord of the treasury. Mr. Fox, expressing great astonishment on hearing this, asked his majesty, "If, under these circumstances, he had any objection to his (Mr. Fox's) naming the new secretary of state?" To this his majesty replied, "That, sir, is already done." On which Mr. Fox rejoined, "Then I trust your majesty can dispense with my services." The king replied hastily, "That also, sir, is done." Mr. Fox bowed and retired, and next day had a further audience to deliver up his seals of office.

EARL OF MOUNT EDGECUMBE.

In the change of ministers which took place in 1782, the Earl of Mount Edgecumbe, who was then captain of the band of gentlemen pensioners, accompanied the ex-ministers in the turn out. They assembled at the Cocoa Tree, Pall Mall; the day was exceedingly dirty, and it rained incessantly. His lordship, on alighting from his carriage, hurried into the Cocoa, and was received with a general cry of "What! my lord, are you turned out also?" "Yes," said his lordship, "they have turned me out in such a day, as no Christian would turn out a dog in."

INVENTION OF THE STEAM ENGINE,

Mr. Boulton, of Birmingham, soon after he was connected with Mr. Watt, who was making such wonderful improvements in the Steam Engine, appeared at St. James's on a levee day. "Well, Mr. Boulton," said the king, "I am glad to see you. What new project have you got now?" "I am," said Mr. Boulton, "manufacturing a new article that kings are very fond of." "Aye, aye, Mr. Boulton, what's that?" "It is power, an please your majesty." "Pow er! Mr. Boulton, we like power, that's true; but what do you mean?" "Why, sire, I mean the power of steam to move machines." His majesty appeared pleased, and laughing, said, "Very good, go on, go on."

FAITHFUL SENTINEL.

His majesty, one day parading the terrace at Windsor, in 1787, with the Duke of York, rested his arm on the sun-dial, which is near the end of the walk; the Duke did the same, and continued

in conversation with some gentlemen with whom they had for some time before been walking.During this parley, a sentinel upon duty there walked up to the king, and desired him to remove from the dial, as it was under his particular charge. His majesty removed accordingly, observing, at the same time, that the man's rigid adherence to his orders was highly commendable; and a few hours afterwards he was graciously pleased to recommend him to the colonel of the regiment, as an object worthy of promotion, and one who ought to be provided for in as eligible a manner as the nature of the service would admit.

GIFT TO SALISBURY CATHEDRAL.

During the visit of the king to Salisbury, and while the improvements in the Cathedral, under the direction of Mr. James Wyatt, were going on, his majesty inquired one day in private of Bishop Barrington what these improvements were, and by what means the expense was to be defrayed. The bishop stated the several alterations, and that a new organ was much wanted, though he feared it would greatly exceed the means, which depended solely on the voluntary contributions of the gentlemen in the counties of Berks and Wilts, of which the diocese consists. The king immediately replied, "I desire that you will accept of a new organ for your Cathedral, being my contribution as a Berkshire gentleman." A new organ, built by Green, of the value of 1,5007. was forthwith sent to Salisbury.

QUEEN'S INFLUENCE ON THE FEMALE

CHARACTER OF BRITAIN.

The unsullied purity of her majesty's private life, and the noble example she afforded to the women of Great Britain, was attended with an effect, the benefit of which was deeply felt through the whole of her reign, and may, as we trust it will, extend to ages yet unborn, since upon the conduct of the female sex mainly rests the edifice of the public as well as private morals. No woman, however elevated her rank, or powerful her connexions, if her reputation was known to have suffered the slightest taint, was permitted to appear in the presence of her majesty. Her fine reply to Lady. liciting permission to present Lady when refused, saying, she did not know what to tell her disappointed friend, will long be remembered and repeated: "Tell her," said the 66 you did not dare to ask me."

when so-; and

queen,

In a conversation which passed between the queen and the Duchess of her majesty ex

pressed her astonishment that ladies intrusted their children, when they took an airing, to the care of servants, and were so seldom seen with them themselves. The duchess seemed inclined to vindicate the practice; but was interrupted by her majesty with this sensible admonition: "You," said she, "are a mother; you now converse with a mother; and I should be sorry you would compel me to suppose that you were callous where you ought to be most susceptible."

CARICATURES.

A very bold caricature was one day shown to his majesty, in which Warren Hastings was represented wheeling the king and the Lord Chancellor in a wheelbarrow for sale, and crying, "What a man buys, he may sell." The inference intended was, that his majesty and Lord Thurlow had used improper influence in favor of Hastings. The king smiled at the caricature, and observed, "Well, this is something new; have been in all sorts of carriages, but was never put into a wheelbarrow before."

MARGARET NICHOLSON'S ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE HIS MAJESTY.

As his majesty was stepping out of his post chariot at the garden entrance of St. James, on the morning of August 2, 1786, a woman who was waiting there pushed forward, and presented a paper, which his majesty received with great condescension. At that instant she struck a concealed knife at the king's breast, which his majesty happily avoided by bowing as he received the paper. As she was making a second thrust, one of the yeomen caught her arm, and at the same instant one of the king's footmen wrenched the knife out of her hand. The king, with amazing temper and fortitude, exclaimed at the instant, "I have received no injury! Do not hurt the woman; the poor creature appears insane!"

His majesty was perfectly correct in his humane supposition. The woman underwent a long examination before the privy council; who finally declared, that they were "clearly and unanimously of opinion, that she was, and is, in

sane."

She did not appear in the least embarrassed before the council; answered some questions consistently, but others with evident marks of aberration of mind. It appeared that she had frequently before presented petitions to his majesty; but having, on account of their incoherent and unintelligible nature, received no answer to them, it was her determination, as she expressed herself," to bring matters to a point." She had no intention, she said, to hurt the king; her object was to obtain the prayer of her petition, by terrifying the king, which she fancied the sight of the knife would have effected. The instrument struck against his majesty's waistcoat, and made a little cut, the breadth of the point, through the cloth. Had not his majesty shrunk in his side, the blow must have been fatal !

SEEING THE KING.

In one of his majesty's excursions, during the hay harvest, in the neighborhood of Weymouth, he passed a field where only one woman was at work: His majesty asked her where the rest of her companions were? The woman answered, They are gone to see the king. "And why did not you go with them?" rejoined his majesty."I would not give a pin to see him!" replied the woman; "besides, the fools that are gone to town will lose a day's work by it, and that is

more than I can afford to do. I have five children to work for," &c. "Well, then," said his majesty, putting some money into her hands, "you may tell your companions who are gone to see the king, that the king came to see you!"

As his majesty rode through Tewksbury, on his way to Cheltenham, the people stood upon the walls of the bridge to see him pass; on which the good monarch, observing the danger of the situation, humanely addressed them in these words: "My good people, I am afraid that some of you may fall. Don't run such hazards for the sake of seeing your king. I will ride as slowly as you please, that you may all see him."

One morning, when his majesty was taking his usual walk alone at Cheltenham, after drinking the water, he met a farmer in a great hurry. "So, friend," said the king, "you seem to be very warm." "Yes, sir," said the man, "I came a long way, for I want to see the king.' "Well my friend," observed his majesty," here is something to refresh you after your journey," giving him a guinea. "But where, worthy sir," said the man, with much 66 eagerness, can I see the king?" "Friend," replied the sovereign, you see him before you."

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GEORGE SELWYN.

This celebrated wit, George Selwyn, often received marks of attention from his majesty; and he showed himself not ungrateful for them. On conversing with a friend on the illness of his majesty, he expressed great solicitude for his recovery, saying, "Old as I am, I would stand bareheaded all day, and open the gate on Kew Green, if I could then be sure of any one passing from the palace, with good news of my royal master."

THE KING'S MUNIFICENCE.

During his majesty's illness in 1789, a committee was appointed to examine into the state of the privy purse; when out of an income of £60,000 per annum, it was found that his majesty never gave away less than £14,000 a year in charity!

DIVINE RIGHT.

In February, 1789, a body of delegates from the Parliament of Ireland waited on his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, to present him with an address, beseeching him to take on himself the government of that kingdom, as regent, during his majesty's incapacity. A few days afterwards they had the honor of dining with his royal highness at Carlton House. There were also present, the Dukes of York and CumberJand, the Dukes of Portland and Devonshire, Earl Fitzwilliam, Burke, Fox, Sheridan, &c. to the number of thirtysix. The party was most happily convivial, to which the engaging manners of the prince not a little contributed. On the company's rising, his royal highness insisted

on the landlord's bottle; this meeting with some little objection, was afterwards assented to, from an observation of Mr. Burke, who said, "that though he was an enemy in general to indefeasible right, yet he thought the prince, in his own house, had a right to rule jure de vino.”

ASSASSINATION OF THE KING OF SWEDEN.

When his majesty was informed of the assassination of the King of Sweden by Ankerstroem, he made particular inquiries of a diplomatic character, conversant with the circumstances, with a view to obtain an accurate knowledge of the particulars connected with the perpetration of that diabolical act. This gentleman, in giving the relation to his majesty, thought it necessary to introduce some cautionary observations on the danger of a sovereign exposing his person too incautiously, in times when the revolutionary rage of France had already extended its contagion to all other countries. But here the king cut the speaker short, by saying, "Nay, sir, I must differ from you there; for if there be any man so desperate to devote his own life to the chance of taking away the life of another, no precaution is sufficient to prevent him altogether from making the attempt; while a system of constant precaution against such dangers, they being in a thousand instances to one wholly imaginary, converts the life of a person who is so guarded into a sense of perpetual restraint, anxiety, and apprehension. No, sir; the best security that a man can have against such dangers, is to act openly and boldly as a man. If an attack be made upon him, his best chance of escaping is to meet it like a man; but if he should fall under it, why, sir, he will fall like a man."

NAVAL EXCURSIONS.

His majesty was much pleased with a naval excursion, and enjoyed this recreation frequently at Weymouth. When abroad, he examined all parts of the vessel; and while on deck, was constantly engaged either with his glass to catch distant objects, or making himself, by quick inquiries, conversant with the whole system of the sails and rigging.

At a grand review by his majesty of the Portsmouth fleet, in 1789, there was a boy who mounted the shrouds with so much agility, as te surprise every spectator. The king particularly noticed it, and said to Lord Lothian, "Lothian, I have heard much of your agility, let us see you run up after that boy." "Sire," replied Lord Lothian," it is my duty to follow your majesty."

After the famous victory of Camperdown, his majesty went down to the Nore to see the captured Dutch men-of-war. On this occasion one of the Lords of the Admiralty, who attended the king, suffered sadly from the "billowy motion." His majesty could not help being greatly divert. ed with the circumstance. What! what!" said he; "a lord of the navy-board sea-sick! strange, very strange."

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ETON BOYS

Two Eton boys were spending their holidays with a friend at Sunninghill, and had wandered into the forest, where they met a fresh-looking old gentleman in the Windsor uniform, who stopped them, and jestingly asked if they were playing the truant? They gave an account of themselves, and said they had come to see the king's stag-hounds throw off. "The king does not hunt to-day," said the kind stranger; "but when he does I will let you know; and you must not come by yourselves, lest you should meet with some accident." They parted; and two or three days after, while the family at Sunninghill was at breakfast, one of the royal yeomen prickers rode up to the gate, to acquaint them that the king was waiting till he brought the two young gentlemen to a place where they might see in safety.

VETERAN PRACTICE.

At the conclusion of a review of the 2d regiment of life guards, in June, 1798, two privates went through the sword exercise before the king; after which Lord Cathcart inquired if his majesty would be pleased to see two of the youngest officers display their science in the use of the sword? He assented, and was much gratified with their execution. His majesty then turned to the general, and inquired who were the oldest officers present and on being answered that Lord Cathcart and Major Barton were, he desired to see them perform, laughing heartily, and telling his lordship that he had brought the exhibition on himself. They accordingly turned out to the great amusement of those present: and though the major's system savored a little of the old school, they acquitted themselves very respectably.

SUNDAY SCHOOLS.

The queen, hearing that Mr. Raikes of Gloucester was at Windsor, on a visit to one of his relations, sent for him to the lodge, and expressed a desire to know by what accident a thought which promised so much benefit to the lower orders of the people, as the institution of Sunday Schools, was suggested to his mind, and what effects were observable in consequence of the manners of the poor. In a conversation which lasted more than an hour, her majesty said, that she envied those who had the power of doing good, by thus personally promoting the welfare of society, in giving instruction and morality to the general mass of the poor people, a pleasure from which, by her situation, she was unfortunately debarred.

CROYDON VOLUNTEERS.

As the volunteer corps of the metropolis and its neighborhood were once passing in review before the king on Wimbledon Common, the officer who carried the colors of the Croydon corps was so taken up with gazing on his majesty, that he forgot to pay the usual compliments of lowering the colors. Some time after his majes

ty happened to be passing through a town in Kent, where a corps of Volunteers was on permanent duty; and the captain's guard having turned out, in honor of his majesty, "What corps-what corps ?" asked his majesty. The officer answered, "The Croydon Volunteers, may it please your majesty." "Ah! ah!" replied his majesty, smiling," the Croydon Volunteers: I remember them well at Wimbledon. You came off with flying colors that day."

KING'S DRAWINGS.

In the queen's library at Frogmore there is a port folio of drawings, about fifty in number, done by his Majesty George III. when Prince of Wales; they represent problems from a work ́on practical geometry, with vignettes to each, drawn in India ink, on small folio paper. His Majesty had an early predilection for the study of architecture, and this preparatory department of science was the ground-work of the king's knowledge of that noble art. It is probable tha. these drawings were made with Mr. Kerby, the father of Mrs. Trimmer, as that ingenious artist had the honor to instruct his majesty in the science of lineal perspective. They were found by the queen a few years since, in a desk, and placed in a red morocco folio; on the first page of which the queen inscribed with her own hand, that they were discovered by her majesty, and that they were executed by the king, when Prince of Wales.

THE DUCHESS OF YORK.

A company of strolling players having obtained leave to exhibit in a barn at Weybridge, petitioned her royal highness to honor the performance with her presence; to which she consented, and gave tickets to all her servants. Soon after an itinerant methodist came to preach a charity sermon in the same building (the barn), and application was again made to the duchess to visit the place, with which she complied; but the servants desired to be excused, on the plea that they did not understand English. "Oh!" said her royal highness, "you had no objection to go to the comedy, which you understood much less, and so you shall go to the sermon." The duchess accordingly went with all her train, and contributed liberally on the occasion, as well for them as for herself.

THE ROYAL DOWER.

The parliament proceeded, like loyal subjects, to make provision for the queen, in case of his majesty's decease. Her majesty was allowed a jointure of one hundred thousand pounds, with Somerset House, and the lodge at Richmond Old Park, for her town and country residence. When the act passed, her majesty, who sat on a chair of state on the king's right hand, rose up and made her obeisance to the king, not to the representatives of the people; perhaps unconscious that it was the nation, and not the sovereign, who bestowed upon her this liberal grant.