ying the latter to maintain secrecy during the life of
the king, and constituting her the guardian of his daughter
Alexandrina, and directress of her education on account of her
relationship, and also because the Duchess of Kent was not familiar
with English modes of education. Mrs. Ryves explained that her mother
refrained from acting on that document out of respect for the Duchess
of Kent, who, she thought, had the best right to direct the education
of her own daughter (the present queen). She also stated that her
mother had received a present of a case of diamonds from the Duke of
Cumberland, but she did not know what became of them.

The Attorney-General, on behalf of the crown, after explaining the
provisions of the Act, proceeded to tear the story of the petitioners
to pieces, pronouncing its folly and absurdity equal to its audacity.
The Polish princess and her charming daughter he pronounced pure
myths--as entirely creatures of the imagination as Shakspeare's
"Ferdinand and Miranda." As to the pretended marriage of George III.
and Hannah Lightfoot, the tale was even more astonishing and
incredible, for not only were wife and children denied by the king,
and a second bigamous contract entered into, but the lady held her
tongue, the children were content to live in obscurity, and Dr. Wilmot
faithfully kept the secret, and preached sermons before the king and
his second wife Queen Charlotte. Not that Dr. Wilmot did not feel these
grave state secrets pressing him down, but the mode of revenge which
he adopted was to write the "_Letters of Junius!_"

Yet Dr. Wilmot died in 1807, apparently a common-place country parson.
Surely there never was a more wonderful example of the possibility of
keeping secrets. One would have imagined that the very walls would
have spoken of such events; but although at least seven men and one
woman (the wife of Robert Wilmot) must have been acquainted with them,
the secret was kept as close as the grave for forty-three years, and
was never even suspected before 1815, although all the actors in these
extraordinary scenes seemed to have been occupied day and night in
writing on little bits of paper, and telling the whole story. In 1815
the facts first came to the knowledge of Mrs. Serres; but, even then,
they were not revealed, until the grave had closed over every
individual who could vouch as to the handwriting.

As far as the petitioner, Mrs. Ryves, was concerned, the
Attorney-General