It has been thought necessary to say so much, first upon the
appointment in the Queen’s establishment of the Doctor’s second
daughter, and next upon her resignation; from the honours to the Doctor
in which both these events were entwined, that there now seems a call
for a few more last lines upon the subject; which the Memorialist, with
the sincerest sense—and perhaps pride!—of gratitude and respect, is
anxious to impart.
She had no sooner made known that her western tour was finished,
than she was summoned to the Palace, where her Majesty deigned to
receive her with the highest grace of condescension; and to keep her
in animated discourse, with the same noble trust in her faithful
attachment, that had uniformly marked every conference during her royal
residence. Each of the amiable Princesses honoured her with a separate
interview; vying with each other in kindly lively expressions upon her
restored looks and appearance: and the King, the gracious King himself,
vouchsafed, with an air the most benevolent, not alone of goodness,
but even of pleasure, to inquire after her health, to rejoice in its
improvement, and to declare, condescendingly, repeatedly to declare,
how glad he was to see her again. He even made her stand under a
lustre, that he might examine her countenance, before he pronounced
himself satisfied with her recovery.
And, from that time forward, upon her every subsequent admission, the
graciousness of her reception bounded with the blandest joy from her
own heart to that of the Doctor.
The Queen, full of sense, penetration, and judgment, easily saw that
she had preserved a true and devoted adherent, though she had lost a
servant. The Princesses, with the impulsive confidence of innocence,
had faith in an attachment which they could not but be conscious
their own amiability had inspired: and the King, with the purest
innate probity of character, possessed a tact, which the quickest
parts sometimes fail to bestow, of a straightforward discernment to
distinguish fidelity from profession.
And thus, after conflicts and chagrins of which he had deeply felt the
severity, and by the harass of which he still remained shaken; the
Doctor finally attained the lasting consolation of seeing that the
motives, which had urged him to withdraw his daughter from the royal
roof, were perfectly understood; and that she had forfeited no favour;
but, on the contrary, had left behind her a graciously benignant—he
might almost venture to believe _friend_, in her condescending Royal
Mistress; and in each of their Royal Highnesses, nay, even in the King
himself, a most august and animated well-wisher.
And this persuasion, such was the anxious loyalty of the Doctor’s
principles, was essential rather than reviving to his happiness.