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THE IMPERIAL MAGAZINE.

JANUARY, 1832.

BRIEF MEMOIR OF HER MAJESTY ADELAIDE, QUEEN CONSORT OF GREAT BRITAIN.

(With a Portrait.)

THE duchy of Saxe-Meiningen is one of the minor principalities of the German empire, and therefore cannot be expected to afford many materials for the historian. Yet one circumstance occurred, in its later records, which deserves a place here, on account of the singularity of the case, and the light it throws upon the old Germanic constitution.

Anthony Ulric, duke of Saxe-Meiningen, died in the year 1763, and left issue by two marriages. His first wife, Philippine, being the daughter of a tradesman, her children were set aside from the succession to the ducal title and estates, by an arbitrary decree of the imperial diet in 1747: though at the same time the emperor Charles VI., as a mark of favour, was pleased to allow them the simple rank of princes.

On the death of the duchess of plebeian blood, duke Anthony espoused a princess of Hesse Philipsthal, by whom he had two children. In his last will, regardless of the imperial decision, he constituted his four sons, of both marriages, universal heirs of the duchy of Meiningen, as well as of all the other fiefs, titles, and estates to which he had himself any claim. Upon this, the dukes of Saxe-Gotha, Cobourg, and Hildburghausen, as the nearest agnates to the principality, demanded the right of guardianship over the territories of which the deceased had died possessed. The duchess dowager, who, by the will of her husband, was declared regent during the minority of the infant duke, resisted the usurpation, and a petty warfare ensued. This, however, could not continue long; for though the troops sent to enforce obedience were repulsed in the first instance, the city of Meiningen was too weak to withstand the confederated power brought against it.

On gaining possession of the capital and vicinity, the usurping guardians of Meiningen committed such violence, by exactions and other oppressions, that a formal complaint was made to the emperor, who summoned the Aulic council to examine into the case. The result was, a peremptory mandate to the three dukes to withdraw their forces, and to make satisfaction to the duchess and her subjects for the injuries they had sustained. To this order, no respect was paid; upon which, another complaint was made to the emperor, who then caused the refractory princes to be cited before the diet, for violating the peace of the empire; and, at the same time, all the other states of Saxony and Franconia were called upon to protect the duchess of Meiningen and her family. This produced the desired effect: the intruders quitted the territory; two thousand marks of pure gold were paid as an indemnification for damages; and the heroic duchess was left in quiet possession of her authority, which was never afterwards called in question, nor the tranquillity of the estate disturbed.

2D. SERIES, NO. 13.-VOL. II.

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The council further confirmed the decree of 1747, and issued a mandate against Bernard Ernest, the eldest son by the first marriage, prohibiting him from assuming the arms of Saxony, or taking the ducal title in any manner whatever. Thus ended this remarkable contest, which displays, perhaps, as curious an instance of the tyranny of the pride of birth over the rights of nature, as any in the annals of mankind; and far exceeding the arbitrary royal marriage act of our own country.

George Frederick Charles, duke of Saxe-Meiningen, the eldest of this second branch, died in 1803, at the early age of forty-two, and left, by his widow, Louisa Eleanora, daughter of Christian Albert Lewis, prince of Hohenlohe Langenberg, three children; the present reigning duke of SaxeMeiningen, and two daughters; of whom Ida, the youngest, is married to the duke of Saxe-Weimar Eisenach, her cousin; and ADELAIDE LOUISA THERESA CAROLINE AMELIA, the eldest, to his Majesty the King of Great Britain. This princess was born on the 13th of August, 1792; so that, at the time of her father's death, she had not reached her eleventh year. The late duke, by his will, left the guardianship of his children, and the sole regency of his estates, to the duchess dowager, in full confidence that she would discharge both important trusts with honour to herself, and benefit to those placed under her care. This appointment gave universal satisfaction; and the expectations raised by it, among all who were immediately interested in the happiness of the family and the welfare of the duchy, were, we venture to say, more than realized.

The period in which this excellent and accomplished princess was called to the exercise of the government, required uncommon prudence and the most vigilant attention; for the French revolution, and the wars which arose out of it, had spread infidelity and immorality so generally over the continent, that there was scarcely a part of Germany uninfected by the contagion. Happily, the little court of Meiningen formed one of the very few exceptions that were scattered here and there amidst this frightful scene of widespread demoralization. Here, as in an oasis on the desert waste, were to be found the pure principles of the Protestant faith, established by Ernest the Pious; and here were to be seen the principles of religion flourishing in the exemplary virtues of the reigning family, and reflected back in the industry and affectionate loyalty of the people. Fortunately, also, this principality escaped the dangerous distinction of being drawn within the vortex of French fraternization, in which so many of the other continental states were ingulfed.

While too many other states were ambitious of enjoying the favour of Napoleon, which in most instances proved more injurious than his enmity, Meiningen, by its comparative insignificance, and the judicious measures of the regent duchess, neither felt the scourge of his vengeance, nor the blighting influence of his protection. The moderate and wise course of policy which this talented princess pursued, at that critical juncture, exhibits such a contrast to the conduct of some powers nearly allied to the royal family of Great Britain, that the late queen Charlotte, with the cordial approbation of her excellent consort, could not help signifying her admiration of it, in a letter which opened a correspondence that was continued for some years with increasing satisfaction on both sides. But what gave peculiar pleasure to her Majesty was, the accounts she received from various sources, of the moral character of the little court of Meiningen, and especially of the admirable manner in which the two princesses were educated, and which exactly resembled that adopted by herself, in training up her own daughters.

The duchess-dowager of Meiningen, to the usual accomplishments of her rank and sex, adds a general knowledge of science and literature. She is acquainted with most of the languages of Europe; and is particularly well read in the best English authors. Besides this, she has a fine taste in composition, and writes with spirit and elegance, both in German and French. Several of her productions have been printed at Frankfort; and, among the rest, one excited considerable notice about seventeen years ago, not only on the continent, but in England. This was a little volume of Letters, pretended to be written at St. Helena by Napoleon, and stating several plans and operations for his escape from that island. A portion of this fictitious correspondence appeared in the English Literary Gazette, and many persons at the time actually believed that the letters were genuine; nor was it ever made known till lately, from what pen the amusing deception issued.

Under a parent so gifted with all the qualifications of virtue and intellect necessary to the proper instruction and guidance of youth, the princesses Adelaide and Ida became two of the most elegant and accomplished ladies of their age. The former, it has been said, was remarkable from her childhood for her sedate and rather reserved habits; devoting most of her time to her studies; and, though cheerful and lively among her more intimate associates, yet taking little or no pleasure in the gaieties and frivolities of fashion. As she grew up to maturity, she evinced a marked dislike, and even detestation, of that laxity of morals, and contempt for religious sentiment, which had been imported from France into Germany.

The religion established in Meiningen is Protestant, of the Augsburg confession, as originally settled by Luther and Melancthon, from which there has been no departure since the Reformation. That faith the two princesses not only professed in conformity to the custom of the country, but adorned by their estimable conduct. Their chief delight was in forming and superintending schools for the education of the children of the lower orders, and in providing raiment for the aged and destitute. In these good works the princess Adelaide took a leading part; and, on the marriage of her sister to her cousin Bernard, the second son of the duke of Saxe-Weimar, her exertions in these offices of benevolence were redoubled.

While thus pursuing the "noiseless tenour of her way," for the benefit of the infant and aged poor, Providence, by an awful dispensation, was preparing her for a sphere of more extensive utility, and greater splendour. The death of the princess Charlotte, the pride and hope of Britain, in 1817, compelled the unmarried members of the royal family to turn their thoughts to that state which was now deemed indispensably urgent, for the security of the succession, especially as the two elder princes had no prospect of any issue. Accordingly, matrimonial negotiations were entered into, in behalf of three of the princes of England, with different German families; and on the 13th of April, 1818, the following message was sent to the House of Commons, informing them that treaties of marriage had been concluded between his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence and the eldest daughter of the reigning Duke of Saxe-Meiningen; and also, between his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge and the youngest daughter of the Landgrave Frederic, and niece of the elector of Hesse. The Prince Regent then adds:

"After the afflicting calamity so lately sustained by his Royal Highness, in the loss of his only and beloved daughter, the Princess Charlotte, his Royal Highness is fully convinced that the House of Commons will feel

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