with small-pox, and on the 13th of that month he expired at Whitehall. His body, after being embalmed, was removed to Somerset House, placed in a barge, and conveyed up the Thames to Westminster. There he was interred with much solemnity in the sepulchre of Mary, Queen of Scots. Ere the year closed the vault was again opened, and the Princess of Orange, who had come on a visit to her royal relatives, was laid beside the brother whom she had loved so well. "It seems," remarks Fuller, "that Providence, to prevent excess, thought fit to temper the general mirth of England with some mourning."

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WILLIAM, DUKE OF GLOUCESTER,

SON OF QUEEN ANNE.

AMONG the historical portraits at Hampton Court, there is one by Sir Godfrey Kneller of the son of Queen Anne. The courtly artist has painted the Prince as a delicate but good-looking little boy, as he was perhaps expected to do. For the painter, however, Gloucester was a bad subject, with a sickly countenance, and a head as large as any grown-up person. The years of this boy were few, and his childhood gave little promise. Still, as heir-presumptive to the English crown, and as a namesake and favourite nephew of William of Orange, a short sketch of his life will not be out of place in this volume.

About the time when the reign of the second Charles was drawing to a close, his niece, the Princess Anne, then in her nineteenth year, was given in marriage to George, second son of the King of Denmark. The royal lady had no great reason to be proud of the husband whom fortune had sent her. Indeed, far from being a brilliant specimen of royalty, Prince George was remarkable for nothing but his intense stupidity.

He

This quality reached in him to such perfection as to defy the ingenuity of the most experienced of men. "I have tried him sober, and I have tried him drunk," said Charles the Second; "but drunk or sober, there is nothing in him." When time had passed on, and the second James had played and lost the game of tyranny, and William of Orange landed at Torbay, Prince George attended his father-in-law to Andover. had already engaged to desert the deluded king, and his stupidity saved him from the hazard of being discovered. As defection after defection was announced, he exclaimed, "Est-il possible?" At length the Danish Prince fled, and the news was brought to James. "What!" asked the King, "is Est-il possible gone too? Well, after all, a good trooper would have been a greater loss!" Soon after, the knowledge that Anne had made her escape reached the fallen man, and affected him deeply. "God help me!" exclaimed James; "my

own children have forsaken me."

Unfortunate as a wife, Anne was still more so as a mother. Of the thirteen children she bore to Prince George, all died in childhood. The little Duke of Gloucester alone left the slightest memorial of his existence.

It was at the Palace of Hampton Court, that, on the 24th of July, 1689, the year after the Revolution, which placed William and Mary on the throne, the Princess of Denmark became the mother of this boy. His birth did something to dissipate the dread of a Popish successor

to the crown; and his appearance was therefore hailed with satisfaction by a large party in the country. Three days after, his baptism took place at Hampton Court, with much pomp and great rejoicing. The ceremony was performed by the Bishop of London. William of Orange was one of the godfathers; the Earl of Dorset, as proxy for the King of Denmark, was the other; and the Marchioness of Halifax had the distinction of being godmother. The King bestowed his own name on the little godson, who was heirpresumptive to the throne, and took occasion to inform the assembled guests that the infant Prince was to bear the title of Duke of Gloucester

The little Prince soon showed signs of delicate health, and Anne, in the hope of improving it, went to reside at Craven Hill, the seat of the old lord of that After this she took Campden House, in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, and brought thither the sickly boy, who, as the sole survivor of a numerous family, was the object of her tender solicitude.

Notwithstanding his feeble constitution, the Duke of Gloucester early showed high spirit. One day, when six years old, he was informed that King William was coming to pay a visit to his mother. The little Prince immediately shouldered his miniature musket, and sallied forth to meet the royal visitor. “I am learning my drill,” said the boy, presenting arms, "that I may help you to beat the French." The grave Dutchman smiled, and promised his little nephew the Garter.

After the death of Queen Mary, William of Orange grew wonderfully fond of Gloucester, and treated him with much distinction. About the beginning of 1696 the prince was elected a Knight Companion of the Garter, and on the 24th of July, being the anniversary of his birth, he was installed with great magnificence.

When nine years of age, William of Gloucester was taken out of the hands of his governess. At the same time the Great Duke of Marlborough was nominated his governor, the Bishop of Salisbury was appointed his tutor, and he began to figure in public. About this period, also, Gloucester began to take pleasure in hunting and in martial exercises, and learned the terms of fortification.

That he might early be imbued with military ideas, and brought prominently forward on state occasions, the Prince had a regiment of boys, of which he was colonel, and rode at the head of them on his pony, carrying a sword, and wearing a uniform of red and blue. The juvenile soldiers had pipes, trumpets, and drums; they stood as sentinels at the Prince's door, and they had reviews in Kensington Gardens. Sometimes the hero of the Boyne condescended to honour these military displays with his presence. Every article likely to amuse the little Duke appears to have been procured for him. Two guns, manufactured for his diversion (one of them partially destroyed by fire), are still among the curiosities preserved in the Tower of London.