5 ° 4
doing better ? Surely It were the height of prefumption to expect, in a few weeksrule, to do better than him who, not a common man, had been employed for twentyyears in ftriving to do well. Whatever may have been the motive the Regent has dif*miffed molt of the perfons appointed by the late King. This conduct, to fay the leaftof it, fhews deficiency of judgment, in fo much as it will prevent thole he has placedin their {lead from attaching themfelves to him, left they fhould experience from hisfucceffor a fimilar treatment. It is conftantly highly impolitic to difapprove in ioto ofthe conduct of a predeceffor; for as it .is next to impoffible that all his meafures fhouldbe bad, a general exception either denotes exceffive arrogance or violent exafpera'tionagainft him; neither of which fentiments are creditable, particularly with refpeift to abrother much fuperior in knowledge to his cenfor *.
Of all the matters in which the Regent has differed from his brother none are moreftriking than what regards the French revolution. No doubt the new power withwhich he is veiled has made him look upon things in quite a different point of view;for we well remember that, in 1791, he held an oppofite opinion to that he has finceprofeffed: if this be in its favour it has taken him fome time to adopt.
The Regent fet out with a mod rigid -plan of ceconomy ; he began with difmiiiing theFrench adlorc, an indirefl cenfure on the conduct of the laft King, with whom thetheatre wds the chief amufement and principal expence t: but then again he kept nomiftrefs (at leaft publicly); and to us it feems that his pleafures had at leaft the ad-vantage of decency which, in perfons of a certain dillinclion., conftantly tells for fome-
thin st* ....
We (hall terminate this article with obferving that we did expect from the Regenta very different conduct. We yet have hopes ; and pray for nothing more ardentlythan that they may foon be realized.
Chap. 'X.VI.—jlJf'afination of Guftavus III.; his death. — Trial of the Confpirators •
Cletnency of the King,
AT length are we come to that execrable, murder, which our pen would refufe todefcribe but for its being a duty impofed by the plan of our work. If on the one handthe enormity of the crime excite our aftonilhment, on the other the magnanimity ofGuftavus, his firmnefs, his heroic courage afford us conlolation ; for in the commonhabits of life we feel it foothing to find thofe we love, thofe we take pride in exalting,fhew themfelves worthy of general admiration: man applauds himfelf on fuch occa-fions for his difcernment, and with refpetft to Guftavus III, we have no fear of any roomfor changing our good opinion.
That the project for making away with the King was long in agitation is an indifputablefa£t: the affaffins had miffed their aim at Haga, where His Majefty’s cabinet being onthe ground floor afforded great facility for the execution of their treafon. It is wellkiTown that on the very day of his afiaflmation it was fpoken of at Hamburg and Bruffels
* Leopold of Auftria acted in a fimilar manner on his fucceeding his brother the Emperor Jofeph, norwas this the only foolifh thing he did in courfe of a reign of very Ihort duration.
f It coll him annually ico,oco rix-dollars.
j What adds to the indecorum (at leaft in our eyes) of keeping a miftrefs, is where the cafe of one po>'felled of.au amiable and lovely wife, a wife pleafant, playful, and lively in the extreme, whom alfo, notwith-Handing thefe recommendations, the breath of calumny has never fullied ; the cleaveft proof of innocence-for none do wrong, however high their rank, but fcandal will attaint when it has room.