The Sun.
London, England, 1837-08-17 00:00:00

comfort to the King, and receiving from his Majesty the
same silent though expressive proof of his satisfaction and
gratitude. At length, on the suggestion of the Queen, that
it was already late, and the Archbishop might become fa-
tigued, the king immediately signified his assent that he
should retire ; and crossing his hands upon his breast, and
inclining his head, said, as his Grace left the room, " God
bless thee, dear, excellent, worthy man ; a thousand, thou-
sand thanks."
The whole course of his Majesty's illness affords abun-
dant proof, not only of his composure, his patience, and his
resignation, but that even when under the pressures of great
pain and suffering, his mind, from being absorbed with the
sad circumstances of his own situation, was often dwelling
on subjects connected either with the affairs of this country
or with the comfort and convenience of individuals. _

His Majesty rose this morning with the recollection thw
this was the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo. As
early as half-past eight he alluded to the circumstance, and
said to Dr. Chambers, " Let me but live over this memo-
rable day—l shall never live to see another sunset." Dr.
Chambers said, " I hope your Majesty may live to see
many." To which his Majesty replied, in a phrase which
he commonly employed, but the peculiar force of which,
those only who bad the honour of being frequently admit-
ted into his Majesty's society can fully appreciate,* " Oh,
that is quite another thing."
A splendid entertainment, as is well known, has been
always given on that day to the officers engaged in that
glorious action, and since his accession to the throne, his
Majesty had himself honoured it with his presence.
Under the present circumstances, the Duke, naturally
feeling unwilling to promote any scene of festivity, had sent
Mr. Greville to request the King's commands, or at least
to ascertain the wishes and opinion of the Queen. Pre-
vious to the flag annually presented by his Grace being
deposited in the Guard Chamber, it had been brought to
his Majesty, who, laying his hand upon it, and touching the
eagle, said, "I am glad to see it. Tell the Duke of Wel-
lington that I desire his dinner may take place to-morrow ;
I hope it will be an agreeable one."
In the course of the night the Queen observed to his
Majesty that the Archbishop had only been invited to stay
till the following day, that his Grace wished to be honoured
with his commands, and that he had expressed himself not
only willing but anxious to stay as long as his services
could be either acceptable or useful to him. The King
immediately said, " Yes ; tell him to stay. It will be the
greatest blessing of God to bear that beautiful service read
by him once more ;" alluding to the Liturgy of the Church
of England, from the frequent use of the prayers of which
his Majesty had been so much comforted and supported in
his illness.
Monday, June 19.—Though his Majesty passed a to-
lerably tranquil night, yet no corresponding effect was pro-
duced upon his health. Decaying nature could no longer
be recruited by the ordinary sources of strength and sus-
tenance. His Majesty, however, rose at seven, for he had
at no time during his illness been confined to his bed, and
had even for some weeks anticipated by an hour his usual
time of rising. There was much in the King's language
and manner this morning which bespoke his sense of ap-
proaching death. Qn awaking, he observed to the Queen,
" I shall get up once more and do the business of the
country ;" and when being wheeled in his chair from his
bed-room to his dressing-room he turned round, and, look-
ing with a benign and gracious smile on the Queen's at-
tendants, who were standing in tears near the door, said,
" God bless you," and waved his hand.
At nine o'clock, by the desire of the Queen, who was natu-
rally anxious that the hope so fervently expressed by the
King on the preceding night might be gratified as soon as
possible, the Archbishop entered the King's room, and was
received, as at all other times, with the significant tokens
of joy and thankfulness which his Grace's presence never
failed to call forth.
On this occasion the Archbishop read the service for the
Visitation of the Sick. The King was seated, as usual,
in his easy chair ; the Queen affectionately kneeling by his
side, making the responses, and assisting him to turn over
the leaves of the large prayer-book which was placed before
him. His Majesty's demeanour was characterised by the
most genuine spirit of devotion. Though unable to join
audibly in the responses which occur in the service, yet,
when the Archbishop had rehearsed the articles of our
creed, his Majesty, in the fulness of his faith, and labour-
ing to collect all the energies of sinking nature, enunciated
with distinct and solemn emphasis the words—" All this I
steadfastly believe."
During the whole service his Majesty retained hold of
the Queen's hand, and, in the absence of physical strength
to give utterance to his feelings, signified by his fervent
pressure of it not only his humble acquiescence in the doc-
trines of our holy faith, but his grateful acknowledgment of
those promises of grace and succour which so many pas-
sages of this affecting portion of the liturgy hold out to the
dying Christian, and the belief of which his Majesty so
thankfully appreciated in this his hour of need.
With the other hand his Majesty frequently covered his
eyes and pressed his brow, as if to concentrate all his power
of devotions, and to restrain the warmed emotions of his
heart, which were so painfully excited by the distress of
those who surrounded him. His Majesty did not allow the
Archbishop to withdraw without the usual significant ex-
pression of his gratitude, " A thousand, thousand thanks."
It was when the Archbishop pronounced the solemn and
truly affecting form of blessing contained in the " Service
for the Visitation of the Sick" that the Queen for the first
time in his Majesty's apartment was overpowered by the
weight of affliction.
The King observed her emotion, and said, in a tone of
kind encouragement " Bear up, bear up."
At the conclusion of the prayers, his Majesty saw all
his children ; and as they successively knelt to kiss his
hand gave them his blessing in the most affectionate terms,
suitable to the character and circumstances of each. They
had all manifested the most truly filial affection to his Ma-
jesty during his illness ; but on Lady Mary Fox, the eldest
of his Majesty's surviving daughters, had chiefly devolved
the painful, yet consolatory, duty of assisting the Queen in
her attendance on the King.
The extreme caution of his Majesty, and his anxiety to
avoid causing any pain or alarm to the Queen, was very re
markable. He never alluded in distinct terms to death in
her Majesty's presence. It was about this period of the
day that he tenderly besought her Majesty not to make
herself uneasy about him ; but that he was already antici-
pating his speedy dissolution was evident from his expres-
sions to several of his relatives. Even at this advanced
stage of his disease, and under circumstances of the most
distressing debility, the King had never wholly intermitted
his attention to public business. In accordance with his
usual habits, he had this morning frequently desired to be
told when the clock struck half-past ten, about which
time his Majesty uniformly gave audience to Sir Herbert
Taylor. At eleven, when Sir Herbert was summoned,
the King said, " Give me your hand. t Now get the
things ready." On Sir Herbert saying that he had no
papers to-day, his Majesty appeared surprised, till Sir Her-
bert added, " It is Monday, Sire ; there is no post, and no
boxes are come ;" when he replied, " Ab, true—l had for-
got." The Queen then named Sir Henry Wheatley, who
had entered the apartment. The King regarded him
with a gracious look, and extended his hand to him,
as he did also to Dr. Davies, evidently influenced by the
same motive which had prompted a similar action to Sir
Herbert Taylor—a last acknowledgment of their faithful
services. His Majesty then passed several hours in a state
of not uneasy slumber—the Queen almost uninterruptedly
kneeling by his side, and gently chafing his hand, from
which assurance of her presence his, Majesty derived the
greatest comfort.
During this afternoon to such an extremity of weakness
was the King reduced that he scarcely opened his eyes,
save to raise them in prayer to heaven, with a look ex-
pressive of the most perfect resignation. One or twice,
indeed, this feeling found expression in the words, " Thy
will be done !" and on one occasion he was heard to utter
the words, " The Church—the Church !" and the name of
the Archbishop.
It was about nine o'clock in the evening of this day
that the Archbishop visited the King for the last time.
His Majesty's state altogether incapacitated him from
joining in any act or exercise of devotion ; but, as at each
preceding interview, his Grace's presence proved a source
of joy and consolation to the dying Monarch, who strove in
vain to convey any audible acknowledgments of the bless-
ings which he sensibly enjoyed ; but when, on leaving the
room, the Archbishop said, " My best prayers are offered
up for your Majesty," the King replied, with slow and
feeble yet distinct utterance, " Believe me, I am a religious
man !"

After this exertion his Majesty gently moved his hand
in token of his last farewell, and the Archbishop withdrew.
As the night advanced a more rapid diminution of his
Majesty's vital powers was perceptible.
His weakness now rendered it impracticable to remove
him into his usual bed-room, and a bed was accordingly
prepared in the Royal closet, which communicates with the
apartment in which his Majesty had passed the last ten days
of his life. At half-past ten the King was seized with a
fainting fit, the effects of which were mistaken by many for
the stroke of death. However, his Majesty gradually,
though imperfectly, revived, and was them removed into
his bed.
From this time his voice was not heard, except to pro-
nounce the name of his valet. In less than an hour his
Majesty expired, without a struggle and without a groan,
the Queen kneeling at the bedside, and still affectionately
" It was usually employed by his Majesty to express his
dissent or incredulity with regard to any subject under dis-
cussion.
1- For many years the King had discontinued giving his
hand familiarly to any one, and from this deviation from his
usual practice Sir Herbert inferred that his Majesty intended
to take km of him.