in his views, six days before
the prorogation of parliament, he addressed a letter on the subject to
the king himself; and from him likewise received a similar reply. The
prince now exhibited a very unfriendly spirit both towards his majesty
and Mr. Addington. In a letter to the Duke of York, he called "the
opportunity of displaying his zeal at the head of his regiment," which
was intended to be consolatory to his feelings, "a degrading mockery."
The whole correspondence, in truth, brought great discredit, both on the
heir-apparent and his advisers. It ended, however, in the prince
joining his regiment at Brighton, in opposition to the expressed wish of
Addington; he being bound to do so, he remarked, "by the king's precise
order, and by that honest zeal which was not allowed any fitter sphere
for its action."

MOVEMENTS OF THE FRENCH

A few days after the king's message had been sent to parliament, the
French admiral, Linois, was despatched with a strong squadron for the
East Indies. The armies of the republic were increased to 480,000 men;
that of Holland being destined to occupy Hanover; and that of Lombardy
to invade Naples, garrison Tarentum, and other parts of the Adriatic.
The first consul was resolved to occupy Hanover, as a pledge for the
restitution of Malta. The electorate was summoned by Mortier on the 25th
of May, and the Hanoverians being unable to resist, soon capitulated
possession was taken of the country, and Mortier was enabled to
control the navigation of the Elbe, and the Weser, as well as to
levy contributions on the rich towns of Hamburg and Bremen. A British
squadron, however, blockaded the mouths of those rivers, which measure
caused such distress to Hamburg and Bremen, that they appealed to the
King of Prussia for protection, as one of those sovereigns who guarded
the neutrality of the empire. The King of Prussia, however, declined
to interfere, and the French were left to continue their exactions with
impunity. Napoleon, also, made severe exactions on the Batavian and
Italian republics; drew pecuniary assistance from Spain and Portugal;
and augmented the supplies of the French treasury, by the sale of
Louisiana to the United States, for three millions of dollars. His
grand objects, however, at this time, were the army and flotilla for
the invasion of England. His army was swelled by contingents of allied
states, and the command of it was given to Soult, Davoust, and Ney; the
familiari