actory, no time was lost in getting into his own
territories, which he reached on the 6th, resting at the palace of
Osnabruck.

An incident occurred during the King's sojourn in his German dominions
which has thus been recorded. "Early in the morning a poor woman, with
a countenance apparently much worn with sorrow, on her knees presented
a paper to the King's Hanoverian Chamberlain, which was rejected. I saw
this from the saloon, from which I was looking down on the many
thousand persons assembled in the court-yard, and I observed the
expression of despair which followed. I hastened down, fearing to lose
sight of her, got her petition, and presented it to the King. It craved
his mercy for her husband, who was doomed to five years' hard labour in
a fortress. She was the mother of eight little children, and, it need
not be added, in great poverty and want. The crime was of a nature to
be pardoned, and this was done by the King, with his pen, instantly,
for here his authority is absolute. We had the poor woman in the
saloon, and you may imagine the rest."[72]

[72] Knighton's "Memoirs," p. 106.

The visit excited a great deal of Hanoverian enthusiasm, the whole
population of Osnabruck coming out to greet their King, and all the
streets through which the royal cavalcade passed were strewed with
flowers and evergreens. "Every village, too," adds the same authority,
"had triumphal arches erected, with appropriate inscriptions, all
bearing evident marks of real religion."[73] The pastor in his robes is
described as standing by the whole parish on either side, and the women
carrying their Bibles under their arms.

[73] Ibid., p. 107.

The King's reception at Hanover was equally gratifying. His Majesty
made his entry on horseback, and the occasion produced a grand
spectacle. His Majesty held a levee and a drawing-room in the capital,
which was brilliantly attended; and everything was proceeding in the
most gratifying way, when a severe fit of the gout, brought on by
spraining his knee when getting on horseback, put a stop to all
festivities. This occurred about the middle of October, and he did not
commence his return till the end of the month, when the same
enthusiastic spirit accompanied his progress. "Every town and village
was crowded. The sacred emblem of the arch, with flowers and branches
of trees, with happy devices, prevailed everywhere. The peasantry all
well dressed." Subsequently, a curious inciden