tivating; her eyes penetrate into every countenance on which they
rest. Her figure, plump and matronly, has lost much of its contour; but
is well suited for her part. Majesty in women should be _embonpoint_.
Her hands are beautifully white, and faultless in shape. The king always
admired her bust; and it is, therefore, by royal command, tolerably
exposed. Her fair hair is upraised in full short curls over her brow:
her dress is rich, and distinguished in that respect from that of the
Countess of Suffolk.--'Her good Howard'--as she was wont to call her,
when, before her elevation to the peerage, she was lady of the
bedchamber to Caroline, had, when in that capacity, been often subjected
to servile offices, which the queen, though apologizing in the sweetest
manner, delighted to make her perform. 'My good Howard' having one day
placed a handkerchief on the back of her royal mistress, the king, who
half worshipped his intellectual wife, pulled it off in a passion,
saying, 'Because you have an ugly neck yourself, you hide the queen's!'
All, however, that evening was smooth as ice, and perhaps as cold also.
The company are quickly dismissed, and the king, who has scarcely spoken
to the queen, retires to his closet, where he is attended by the
subservient Caroline, and by two other persons.

Sir Robert Walpole, prime minister, has accompanied the king in his
carriage, from the very entrance of London, where the famous statesman
met him. He is now the privileged companion of their majesties, in their
seclusion for the rest of the evening. His cheerful face, in its full
evening disguise of wig and tie, his invariable good humour, his frank
manners, his wonderful sense, his views, more practical than elevated,
sufficiently account for the influence which this celebrated minister
obtained over Queen Caroline, and the readiness of King George to submit
to the tie. But Sir Robert's great source of ascendancy was his temper.
Never was there in the annals of our country a minister so free of
access: so obliging in giving, so unoffending when he refused; so
indulgent and kind to those dependent on him; so generous, so faithful
to his friends, so forgiving to his foes. This was his character under
one phase: even his adherents sometimes blamed his easiness of temper;
the impossibility in his nature to cherish the remembrance of a wrong,
or even to be roused by an insult. But, whilst such were the amiable
traits of his character, history