Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1875-02-04
THAT MYSTERIOUS BOOK.
ScandalOus Memoirs of King
George the Fourth.
A Big Literary Speculation in
Prospect.

for the production Of a book detailing the
secret history Of certain members Of the
royal family Of England. We regarded
this at the time as a clap-trap advertise
ment, which referred to a book written by
Lady Hamilton and published secretly in
London about 1880, and that in cOnse-
quence Of this sensation produced By the
Greville memories, it was intended TO issue
a large addition Of the Hamilton bJOk, for
which the flaming offer Of a~thOusand dol
lars was intended as a preliminary puff.
The lengthy Associated Press telegram from
Louisville, informing the public at con
siderable expense 10 ourselves that the
book had been found in the possession Of a
young lawyer there, confirms our previous
opinion.
The book thus introduced with q grand
flourish is called the Memoirs Of George
w." aud is doubtless a reprint Of that
which we have referred to as written by
Lady Anne Hamilton (nCt Nelson's Lady
HamiltOn,) lady-in-Waiting 10 Queen Caro-
line, the unfortunate wife Of fat George,
the "First Gentleman in Europe As well
as we remember the book at this time it
contained about one hundred and fifty
pages, aud was full Of attractive matter to
those who could take an interest in the
groyelling debaucheries and sup-emest lit
tleness of as base a race of mel as ever
cursed a father with their united inlamy.
1t was SO fun, indeed, that the attempt was
made early in the reign Of William w.,
when it was published, to suppress it, an
attempt which only partially succeeded, for
although the book could not be purchased,
it remained in the p0ssesssOn Of many
wrTrafa fnnfVfIraNa nf Zealand and hu
those it was passed from hand TO hand.
Lady Hamilton was declared mad in the
court circles presided over by the Jerseys
and Hertiords, but her family, the Cor
dOns, vas too powerful to crush, and the
new queen, Adelaide, too respectable a
woman to participate IN an attempt to per-
secute. II gave a full account Of the 4
dals attaching to George ". under the re-
gency, his disgracelul .hOTse-racing cIreer +,
his lefthanded marriage TO Mrs. Filzher-
bert, his forfeited debts in which the Dukes
Of York and Clarence we're ~partieS-paya-
bic when the first zane to the thrOne-and
his quarrels with The old king. It was q
fearful exposure Of the means brought to
bear by George and his set TO crush the
Princess Caroline Of Brunswick, TO whom
he was to be married, on her arrival in En-
gland, surrounded as she was by q clique
Of haTpies who were determined that no
wife and children should come between
them and the man whose Distinguishing
trait was that he was never known to be
tue TO man or woman.
Lady Hamilton wrote with a pen Of
fame that burnt. Much as the people Of
England were disposed in some respects to
blame Caroline Tor certain im~prudences
which were not in accordance with their
ideas Of English prOpriety, still they took
her part strongly against the jersey court
set, whom the hated, and with Rerceval,
afterwards a~ssassinated), BrOugham, Den
man, Alderman Wood, the Gordon family,
and others equally potential, her spirited
friend revealed astounding acts which cleo
trified those Of thai day into whose hands
the book fell. In describing circumstan-
TALLY the arrival Of Caroline, she stated
how the stranger was dragged TO such an
extent that she was actually married in a
condition of standardization. Lady
Hamilton, whose love for her mistress was
supreme, did not hesitate to charge this in
fsny against Lady jersey, nor that their
object from the inst was 10 present the IN
fortunate lady before her intended husband
in such a light as 10 provoke disgust where
an uumerited dislike had simply existed
before.
The death Of the Princess Charlotte, sole
issue Of this unhappy marriage, made I
terrible episode in these memoirs. The au-
thOress declared boldly that the princess
was murdered, though she gave no reasons
for the commission Of such a crime. she
directly implicated Lord Castlereagh and
the physician, whose name we forget, with
a guilty knowledge Of the event which she
says was effected by poison. Her details
were so circumstantial, however she ar
rived at them, as to be absolutely startling,
but it is due 20 the dead 10 state that there
are very strong reasons for doubling her, as
TIE death Of the princess occurred either
during or Immediately after her accOuch-
ment. Lady HamiEOn's statement was
nevertheless broadly made and apparently
supported by subsequent occurrences, which
appeared to constitute at least a case for
serious doubt ard reflection. She referred
TO the suicide Of Lord Castlereagh-"caro-
It'd artery-cuttiHg Castlereagh," as the fierce
Byron calls him-the remOTse and death
Ofthe physician and the horror Of the nurse
as proofs in sustainment Of her extTaOrdin-
airy theory.
ALt OuhE VI 4LLh = 4E1zA 4LEAuA 4AA44z4E
/ with Ms. Clarke makes another chapter,
IN which the fact was distinctly brought
home to this younger brother Of the King
that through her he sold p~referments in the
army.
The inhumauitv of the Duke Of Clar-
ence, afterwards William ", 10 Mrs. JOr-
dan, one Of the most beautiful actresses Of
her day, aud the mother Of half a dozen Of
his children, forms another episode that
causes us to wonder what manner Of men
those Guelphs we've who lived in those
days. Lady Hamilton, in yentilating
these ~disgTacefUl facts about the sons OF
George Ill, did not omit to refer to the
~vagabOnd days of the old King, and his
equally infamous conduct to the pretty
Quaker, Miss WhitCfOOt, whom he attached
to him by q mock union, which, in fact,
caused the passage Of the royal marriage
act, behind which he sheltered himself and
behind which his s0n George, with like
~cowardice, sheltered himself when his turn
came to play the scOundrel with Mrs. Fitz-
herbert,
The most terrible denunciation Of all,
however, was that which Lady ANN
brought home to the Duke Of Cumberland,
fifth son Of George Ill, who afterwards
became King of HanOveT-when Victoria
assumed the crOWu-and father to the King
of Hanover recently dethTOned By the
Franco-Germa war. She indicted him be-
fore the world for the murder Of Sells, his
Swiss valet, in CONSEQUENCE Of q discovered
intrigue with Sells wife. The circum-
stances were so clearly against him, and
the evidence so strong, that All England
believed il, and for all the wrongs be5ped
upon her royal friend Lady Anne had that
sweet measure Of revenge, growing out Of
the belief that whatever she had stated she
had in a large degree proved. The inner
life Of Caroline and the few who adhered
10 her sad fortunes is fully given, with all
the secret facts connected with that trial
which was 50 memorable an event in Eng
lands history Of that day. The
story Of the boy Austin, the protege
OF Caroline, and whom her enemies
under the pl Omptines Of George did not
hesitatetO aliege was her illegitimate child,
IS fully given, as well as an elaborate ac-
count OF the events which Immediately pre-
coded the funeral Of that unhappy lady
when the horse guards charged upon the
people who declared that the funeral cor
tege should pass through the city.
This we presume is the book indicated
in the dispatches, and Of which we presume
at least fifty copies can be found in London
if they were demanded. The Greyiile
book has excited a desire for this kind Of
literary pabulum, and if re printed with 4