The Sun.
London, England, 1839-09-16 00:00:00

TO THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS.

" Buckingham Palace, May , 1839.
" With regard to the Duchess of Kent, her Royal
Highness--Bad a very warm conversation with her on every
bearing of the transaction, and it was in that conversation
Lady Portman took upon herself to aver, from her expe-
rience as a married woman, that there was no doubt I was
in the situation they alleged me to be in.
" It is upon that averment that Lady Portman stand 3
committed and convicted as a slanlerer, and out of that
position no ingenuity can take her ; and it was upon that
feeling that the Duchess declined seeing her, and re-
stricted her explanation of her conduct to a written one,
which explanation her Royal Highness merely acknow-
ledged, and referred Lady Portman to her Majesty's
ad viserF.'
ABSTRACTED FROM A DIARY KEPT BY THE LATE LADY FLORA

HASTINGS, IN HER OWN HANDWRITING.
" With one exception, an inquiry after Lady Forbes's
children, her Majesty showed Lady Flora no notice from
the 24th of March, the date when Mr. Fitzgerald's letter
was published, until the 9th of June, when her Majesty
sent to ask bow she was.

COPY OF CERTIFICATE IN SIR J. CLARK'S HANDWRITING.
" Buckingham Palace, Feb. 17, 1839.
" We have examined with great care the state of Lady
Flora Hastings, with a view to determine the existence or
non-existence of pregnancy, and it is our opinion, although
there is an enlargement of the stomach, that there is no
grounds for suspicion that pregnancy does exist or ever
has existed.

(Signed) " CHARLES M. CLARKE, M.D.
"JAMES CLARK, M.D."
PRESCIFTIONS WRITTEN BY SIR JAMES CLARK, AND PRE-
PARED BY MR. SQUIRE, APOTHECARY, 277, OXFORD-
STEET.

" LADY FLORA HASTINGS.

" it. pulv : ipecac : comp : 20 grains ; pu!v : ipecac :
5 grains: optime terendo et adde cxtracti rhrei. q. s.—;
ft : massula in pilul : xii. dividend : Sig : one at bed-time—
" ft : Liniment : camphor : comp : 1 oz. ; liniment :
penis comp :—tinctur. opii a.a., oz. Sig: lniment for
side. M.

" Jan. 10th, 1839. ( Signed) " J. C."
" The above copied by me from the original prescrip-
tion.

" JOHN CAMPBELL, M. M."

" Kelburne, Sept, 2. 1839."
" R. Infus: chyraytm, 6 oz. ; acid sulphur: dilut :
drachm. Sig : a table-spoonful in a table-spoonful of wa-
ter, morning and noon. M.
" Feb. 1: 1839. (Signed) "J. C."

- -
" Lady Flora Hastings."
" The above copied by me from the original prescrip•

tion.

" JOHN CAMPBELL, M.D."
" Kelburne, Sept. 2, 1839."

My heart sickens at the repetition and recollection of
the scenes I have so lately witnessed ; but whatever may
be the opinion of those interested in calling for silence on
this subject, I could only regard that line of conduct on my
part as the most cringing submission to the most atrocious
injustice. I have therefore now performed not only a very
obvious but a very painful duty, by laying this statement
before the public ; and I shall henceforward seek in the
bosom of my family that consolation which alone remains
to me, namely, the feeling of having done the utmost in my
power (under circumstances without parallel or precedent)
to wrest from infamy or disgrace the character of her who
is, alas I now no more ; and whose unostentatious piety and
meekness might have shielded her from such wrongs; and
with the world I now leave that painful subject for ever.
(Signed) HASTINGS.

VISIT OF THE QUEEN OF THE
BELGIANS TO THE GUILDHALL AND ST.
PAUL'S.

On Saturday the Lord Mayor received an intima-
tion, between eleven and twelve o'clock, from Colonel
Cavendish, that her Majesty, the Queen of the Bel-
gians, would drive to Guildhall to take a view of the in-
terior of the building, and that she would arrive at two
o'clock. His Lordship immediately gave orders that
the necessary preparations should be made for her Ma-
jesty's reception as far as possible consistently with so
limited a notice. At the time the notice was sent his
Lordship was engaged in presiding at the London Ses-
sions. He proceeded to the Mansion-house to give di-
rections to his household, in the event of the honour of a
visit after her Majesty should have viewed the Guild-
hall, and while he was sitting in the Justice-
room, at a little after one o'clock, word was brought to
him that the Queen had already reached Guildhall-yard.
His Lordship drove off to the building in his full dress
robes, attended by the Sword-bearer, and a few minutes
after the Queen's arrival joined her Majesty and suite
in the Chamberlain's office, to which she was conducted
by Sir James Shaw, the Chamberlain, the two Sheriffs,
and Aldermen Farebrother and Harmer. An immense
crowd gathered together the moment it was known that
her Majesty was in the Guildhall, but by the active and
judicious management of Mr. Whithair, the Superin-
tendent of the City Police, the awkward effects of the
public curiosity were not encountered by the Royal
party.

Tire Lord Mayor accompanied her Majesty to the
Chambers in which the Courts of Aldermen and Corn 7
mon Counseil are held, and from thence to the Library,
where he exhibited the ancient charter of the Corpo-
ration, and pointed out to the Queen the embroidered bill
of fare which was laid before Queen Victoria on the
day of the last Royal entertainment within the walls of
the Guildhall. The Queen of the Belgians appeared
to be highly gratified with the respect and attention
paid to her by the Chief Magistrate, and accompanied
his Lordship from Guildhall to St. Paul's. Her Ma-
jesty mentioned to his Lordship, when he expressed his
regret that he had not received more early notice of the
honour intended to the citizens of London, in order
that he might have made saitable preparations,
that she was obliged to promise Queen Vic-
toria to return, after paying a hasty visit to
the Guildhall, St. Paul's, and Westminster Abbey,
to Windsor to dinner at six o'clock. Upon arriving at
St. Paul's, her Majesty walked arm and arm with the
Lord Mayor up the steps of the building. She sat for
some minutes in the whispering gallery and a itnessed
the passage of sound from which it derived its name,
and the damming of the door celebrated for making
more noise than any other door in Europe.
At the door of the library her Majesty was received
by the Rev. Mr. Barham, one of the residentiary
Canons of the Cathedral, who placed before her the
ancient manuscripts and documents connected with the
diocese, and described their nature and meaning.
The Queen of the Belgians after viewing the chancel
walked round the aisle, and appeared to be muchinte-
rested by the monumental statues which were pointed
out by Mr. Languard, the senior Verger, who observed
to her Majesty that he had had the honour of conduct-
ing her, when she was a child, and the present King of
the French, round the Cathedral. The Queen, in the
most affable manner informed the old gentleman that
she should not forget to call her father's attention to the
circumstance, which she had no doubt his Majesty per-
fectly well recollected. Her Majesty then turned to the
Lord Mayor and said, that although she had been two
or three times in England she had never before seen the
Grand Hall of the Citizens of London, and that Queen
Victoria had limited her to a few hours to visit buildings
which it would require days to inspect to a person's satis.
faction.

His Lordship again expressed his sorrow that her
Majesty could not honor him by condescending to ac-
company him to the Mansion House, and the Queen
took several opportunities of expressing her gratification
and her thanks for the very kind manner in which his
Lordship and the Sheriffs and other City officers had
received her.

The Lord Mayor handed her Majesty into her car-
riage, which drove off immediately to Westminster
Abbey.

The Lord Mayor wore his scarlet robes and chain,
and the Sheriffs appeared in their blue robes
and chains. The Sword-bearer attended his
Lordship, with the CAp of Maintenance, and
the pearl sword, which has never been used except upon
occasions when members of the Royal Family have
visited the Guildhall.
. Her Majesty, who speaks English extremely well,
made numerous inquiries while in the Guildhall about
the position of Queen Victoria, the Duchess of Kent,
and the Duke of Sussex, at the grand entertainment
which was given on the 9th of November, 1837, the
description of which had, it appears, caused quite a sen-
sation amongst the highest classes in France and Belgium.
'l'it.: (it' Q"'', n of Bel.;ians
tb, City yk as owe of the Roy.,i carriages, and was
drawn by four horses with two outriders.