The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-10-11

Sequently, was not likely TO surrender upon
| common terms.
She was very COY and hard to win She
knew better than to yield to the conditions
! that had marked the former loves of the
Prince, and to escape him she retired to
! France There is a story that the royal lover
| followed her there incOg., and that such
| pressure was brought to bear as assured her
return to London But there is lacking con-
| firmation of this incident of the romance.
! When, however. she did return she found
| the passion of her royal lover still burning
with its former ardor, and such means were
soon after employed as to make the lady no
! longer consider it a disgrace to acknowledge
herself the object of it. The exterior Of this
connection was evident to all the world, but
the reality of it remained as an enigma,
| which it was almost considered in vain to
| look to futurity to expound. That
it was confirmed by any form of mat
rimony was contradicted in the most author
itative manner by Mr.. Fox, in his
place in the House of Commons; but we shall
be able to show that this denial by Mr.. Fox
was an act of the most urgent eXpediency,
| The very continuance of the governmental de-
pended upon it--for had it been admitted,
the Prince of Wales, according to the act of
| William Ill, could not have taken upon
| himself the regency OF the country, for the
| people, on account of his having married
Papist, were absoived from their allegiance.
There were many legal reasons why the
marriage, if it had taken place, would have
| been null and void and its ofsprings, if any
| children had been born. would have been il
! legitimate and incapable of inheritance.
| There was, however, very general belief
! that the relation was one of good form, and
| Mrs. Fitzherbert was accordingly received in
circles that would not have been open to one
regarded merely as the favorite of the
| Prince.
To fix him to any object, however lovely
and beautiful, appeared impracticable. 1t
was monotony of life insupportabe to him,
and he seemed to court variety with all the
eagerness of a confirmed epicure at the lus-
cious banquet. Not even the personal
charms nor the finished elegance of Mrs.
Fitzherbert could hold him within her
charms; for their intercourse had scarcely
| commenced when his Royal Highness re-
ceived an invitation to dine with one of the
members of the corporation of London. The
company was composed entirely of noblemen
and gentlemen, the majority of whom were
the intimate friends of his Royal Highness.
The lady of the host was one of the most ce!-
ebrated beauties of the day, being a person
of that EN- bonpoint which was so peculiarly
the taste of his Royal Highness, and the
! features of the face were of that dignified
and impressive past for which the Grecian
beauties are so justly celebrated Her eye
| beamed with desire and passion and the gen.
eral elegance of her manners could not fail
to ensnare the affections of the enamored
! Prince
The lady left the table soon after dinner,
and his Royal Highness felt vacuum which
could not be filled by the coarser society of
| his companions. Feigning some excuse, he
retired from the table, and the worthy host,
| fearing that the return of his Royal High
ness might be delayed by indisposition, con-
| sidered he would be wanting in respect if he
did not hasten to make his personal in
quiries respecting him. There were several
| places in the house to which it was possible
the Prince had retired, but there was one in
| which it was highly improbable that he
should be found, and that was the bed
chamber of his lady. 1t was, therefore, the
last which the anxious host visited; but had
he visited it the first it would have saved
him great deal of trouble and Gained at
once his anxiety for the safety of his royal
guest There, however, in reality was the
Prince found, and the irritated husband re-
solved on the most instantaneous punish
ment He drew his sword, and England
would, perhaps, have had to mourn the loss
| of the heir-apparent to the throne had not
prudence whispered to HIM to save himself
by the most precipitate flight.
MRS BRIsrow.
The rival who came most effectively for
ward against Mrs. Fitzherbert was Mrs. Bris-
tow, a beautiful woman, referred to as the
Light of the World, who was determined to
make conquest of the Prince, and especi
ally desired to triumph over Mrs. Fitz-
| herbert, who now, rather looked upon as the
mistress of the Prince, assumed a sort of
royal scorn of less favored women with whom
she came into association. To humble a
rival of this kind was the pride and glory of
Mrs. Bristow; and being in possession of per-
sonal charms very little inferior if any, to
Mrs. Fitzherbert herself, it was struggle of
ascendency between these celebrated beau
| ties in which each claimed the conquest, and
each believed herself to have achieved it.
1t was also currently reported at this time
| that Mrs. Fitzherbert had been heard to say
that it was the rank of his Royal Highness
| that she loved more than his person, and as
this report was found to be actually true,
it was generally taken advantage of by her
artful rival to exalt herself and to debase
Mrs. Fitzherbert in the good opinion of his
| royal highness. 1t was apty and loosely
said by Sheridan that the Prince was too
much every lady's man to be the man of any
| lady; and this was trait in his character OF
| which Mrs FitZherbert was by no means ig-
norant. The monopoly of his affection was
a task which no woman who has the slightest
insight into his character would ever attempt
to accomplish; and therefore Mrs. Ftzher-
bert looked upon the temporary ascendency
of Mrs. Bristow with comparative indiffer-
ence, being conscious to herself that any at
tempt at restraint on her part would only
lead to greater arrangement
One of the most 1astardly of his amorous
exploits, however, if the Memoirs are to be
believed, was his participation in the
schemes and scenes that led to the downfall
of Louise Howard, protege of Hobart,
who used her as decoy for the Prince.
This was the beauteons creature of whom it
was said she '@ .s.t
| was sent earth
| TO show to man what angels are in heaven.
Sine was novice in the world when the
Prince first met her, and his attentions to her
excited the jealousy of Lady Jersey, who was
an aspirant for dishonor at the hands of the
Prince and she employed young stable boy
to act as spy. nv
The vonfhful emissa1v of LADY Jersey