Bishop Burnet probably intended the following inimitable composition as an epitaph on queen Mary. For many years, it was all that the public knew concerning her, excepting the two dubious anecdotes previously quoted :— THE CHARACTER OF QUEEN MARY II. BY BISHOP BURNET. "To the state a prudent ruler, To the church a nursing mother, Moderate in opinion; Sincere in profession, A pattern of industry. High in the world, Low esteem of the world, Above fear of death, Sure of eternal life. What was great, good, desired in a queen, Thoughts to conceive, it cannot be expressed What was contained in her royal breast." Such was the last poetic tribute devoted to the memory of the who was so queen, 66 sure of eternal life!" ANNE, QUEEN REGNANT OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. CHAPTER I. Life, as princess, under the reign of William III.—Retrospect of her proceedings, immediately before her sister queen Mary's death-Princess Anne fears infection for her son-Removes him from the vicinity of Kensington-Influx of courtiers to visit her, Christmas-day, 1694-Emotion at hearing of her sister's death-Seeks reconciliation with her brother-in-law, William III, -Her letter of condolence to him-Course of the negotiation-Interview at Kensington-palace-Alliance between the princess Anne and the kingAnecdote of her levees-Court honours permitted to her-Alteration of her correspondence with her father-His observations concerning her-Departure of William III.-Recovery of the princess-Her baths-Her hunting -Her embarrassments regarding etiquette-Incidents concerning her home life and the education of her son the duke of Gloucester-Her maternal anxieties-Residence of the princess and her son at Twickenham-Returns with her son to Campden House-Goes to an oculist in Bloomsbury-Morning interviews with her son at her toilet-Dialogues with him-Forbids his Welsh usher to give him desultory instruction-Other occurrences in her domestic routine-The princess writes a congratulatory letter to king William-His contemptuous neglect of it-The princess's son visited by the king-Princess receives studied marks of disrespect from the king-She instigates parliamentary inquiry on his granting away the appanages of the princes of Wales-Disregard shown by the king to her rank-Princess is neglected in his drawing-room-Her part taken by the people. THE events of the life of the queen-regnant, Mary II., would have been utterly inexplicable, if the contemporary portion of those of her younger sister had not been blended in the narrative. Although the parliamentary change in the laws of the succession to the crowns of Great Britain did not permit the princess Anne to occupy her place for years as the natural heiress of her childless sister, still the death of that queen drew the princess insensibly into a more ostensible position, and rendered her public life more important, notwithstanding her habitual feebleness of purpose, arising from infirm health and bad education. It has been shown, in the preceding chapters, that the princess Anne lived like a private person, from 1692 in Berkeley House, hired by herself, her sole distinction being derived from her only child, who was recognised by parliament as heir-presumptive to the throne, after Mary II., William III., and herself. The princess, despite of her sister's remonstrances, pertinaciously continued to lavish favour on the lady Marlborough, and on lord Marlborough, for her sake. Anne likewise continued to write letters professing duty and loyalty to her father, who, having suffered much from her previous conduct in the Revolution, was dubious regarding her sincerity. In her domestic conduct there is much to commend in this princess. Anne was a fond mother and a tender wife, perfect in all her conjugal duties, and sacrificing even her personal ease to nurse and attend on her husband and son, when either were suffering from ill health. She was likewise a gentle and indulgent mistress to her dependants in her household, even to those whom she did not view with any particular favour. It is true that no evidence exists of her kindness or benevolence, in the early period of her life, or the least trait of feminine tenderness or sympathy, towards any living creature not included in the narrow circle of her home, neither is a single instance of charity quoted. But as such virtues appeared indisputably, directly she emerged from under the overpowering dominion of the Marlboroughs, no doubt can exist that the imperious favourite kept the good qualities of her mistress as much in the shade, as she brought out her evil ones in strong relief. It has been likewise shown, that at the close of 1694, the princess Anne was residing with her son at Campdenhouse, close to the back gate of Kensington Palace, in a state of health that precluded, not only invigorating exercise, but progression of any kind; she could only move as she was carried. When it was declared on Christmas day, 1694, that her sister, queen Mary II., was dying of the small-pox, the first care of the princess Anne was to remove her child from the infected vicinity of Kensington-palace, where many of the royal household were suffering from the same pestilence of small-pox, which threatened to be fatal to her sister queen Mary. At that period, this pest had neither been abated by the discovery of inoculation nor vaccination; there was no escape from its terrors but in flight. The princess Anne, therefore, had her son conveyed to Berkeley-House, directly she ascertained the nature of the queen's malady. The princess herself was secure from danger, having, in her youth, experienced the disease, during the marriage of her sister' with the prince of Orange, at the close of the year 1677. At the fatal crisis when the recovery of queen Mary was declared utterly hopeless, vast crowds of the nobility and gentry, then resident in London, in consequence of this report, took the opportunity of its being Christmas-day, to pay their compliments of the season at Berkeley-House, and at the same time to make their court to the princess Anne. Most of these flatterers had passed her by with utter neglect, during the sway of her sister and brother-inlaw; they now, by swarming round her, indicated infallibly the sudden improvement in her prospects, owing to the mortal danger of her royal sister. Queen Mary's courtiers had previously affected to consider the probabilities of the prospects of Anne and her boy to the succession, as very remote indeed; they had calculated, that according to all human chances, the sickly life of William III. would be but a short one, that his royal widow would marry again, and then it was possible that very great changes might happen regarding the heirs to the crown. It will be remembered, that queen Elizabeth was beset with a similar influx of visitors, who besieged her retreat at 'Life of Mary II., Vol. x. chap. 1. 2 Inedited MSS., Bibliothêque du Roi, Paris. Hatfield when her sister queen Mary was at her last gasp; she always mentioned the circumstance with irrepressible horror. Such movements scem to have been customary in English court routine; and courtiers had not improved in delicacy, or disinterested attachment, at the close of the seventeenth century. Three days subsequent to this extraordinary influx of courtiers, the princess Anne received the tidings of her sister's death. Her ungrateful favourite, Sarah of Marlborough, was certainly present when the news came, and she, when impelled by pique, asserted, that the heart of the princess was hard, and that she never saw her shed a tear, or manifest an emotion of tenderness, on that or any other occasion. A witness of humbler degree,' however, declares, that the princess was deeply affected by the loss of her sister, and that she felt grief very bitterly. He says, that her tears were flowing fast, when she sent for her little son the duke of Gloucester, and communicated to him the demise of his royal aunt. On this occasion, Lewis Jenkins, who was the young duke's attendant in waiting at Berkeley House, owns, that he was much disappointed at the utter want of sympathy manifested by the child, whose insensibility to the loss of queen Mary, with whom he had been familiar, as a frequent visitor and petted plaything, greatly scandalized all his mother's ladies; but such is often the case when similar communications are made to young children. "What should they know of death?" as Wordsworth pathetically asks. All they can be aware of is, that the person they have been used to meet, returns no more; yet if they actually witness mortal suffering, and the demise of one they have been accustomed to sec, such grief and terror is more than their tender natures can bear; therefore, this insensibility to tidings of death is a merciful dispensation of Providence in favour of children, and they ought not to be blamed for their usual indifference to facts of which they cannot form an abstract idea, neither do they understand, that "to affect a sorrow though 1 Lewis Jenkins' Life of the Duke of Gloucester. 2 Ibid. |