Amongst those who paid great attention to Mrs. Mary Anne Clarke was
Colonel Wardle, at that time a remarkable member of the House of
Commons, and a bold leader of the Radical Opposition. He got
intimately acquainted with her, and was so great a personal favourite
that it was believed he wormed out all her secret history, of which he
availed himself to obtain a fleeting popularity.
Having obtained the names of some of the parties who had been fortunate
enough, as they imagined, to secure the lady's favour, he loudly
demanded an inquiry in the House of Commons as to the management of the
army by the Commander-in-Chief, the Duke of York. The nation and the
army were fond of his Royal Highness, and every attempt to screen him
was made; but in vain. The House undertook the task of investigating
the conduct of the duke, and witnesses were produced, amongst whom was
the fair lady herself, who by no means attempted to screen her
imprudent admirer. Her responses to the questions put to her were
cleverly and archly given, and the whole mystery of her various
intrigues came to light. The duke consequently resigned his place in
the Horse Guards, and at the same time repudiated the beautiful and
dangerous cause of his humiliation. The lady, incensed at the
desertion of her royal swain, announced her intention of publishing his
love-letters, which were likely to expose the whole of the royal family
to ridicule, as they formed the frequent themes of his correspondence.
Sir Herbert Taylor was therefore commissioned to enter into a
negotiation for the purchase of the letters; this he effected at an
enormous price, obtaining a written document at the same time by which
Mrs. Clarke was subjected to heavy penalties if she, by word or deed,
implicated the honour of any of the branches of the royal family. A
pension was secured to her, on condition that she should quit England,
and reside wherever she chose on the Continent. To all this she
consented, and, in the first instance, went to Brussels, where her
previous history being scarcely known, she was well received; and she
married her daughters without any inquiry as to the fathers to whom she
might ascribe them.
Mrs. Clarke afterwards settled quietly and comfortably in Paris,
receiving occasionally visits from members of the aristocracy who had
known her when mingling in a certain circle in London. The Marquis of
Londonderry never failed to pay his respects to her, entertaining a
very high opinion of her talents. Her manners were exceedingly
agreeable, and to the latest day she retained pleasing traces of past
beauty. She was lively, sprightly, and full of fun, and indulged in
innumerable anecdotes of the members of the royal family of
England--some of them much too scandalous to be repeated. She regarded
the Duke of York as a big baby, not out of his leading-strings, and the
Prince of Wales as an idle sensualist, with just enough of brains to be
guided by any laughing, well-bred individual who would listen to stale
jokes and impudent ribaldry. Of Queen Charlotte she used to speak with
the utmost disrespect, attributing to her a love of domination and a
hatred of every one who would not bow down before any idol that she
chose to set up; and as being envious of the Princess Caroline and her
daughter the Princess Charlotte of Wales, and jealous of their
acquiring too much influence over the Prince of Wales. In short, Mary
Anne Clarke had been so intimately let into every secret of the life of
the royal family that, had she not been tied down, her revelations
would have astonished the world, however willing the people might have
been to believe that they were tinged with scandal and exaggeration.
The way in which Colonel Wardle first obtained information of the sale
of commissions was singular enough: he was paying a clandestine visit
to Mrs. Clarke, when a carriage with the royal livery drove up to the
door, and the gallant officer was compelled to take refuge under the
sofa; but instead of the royal duke, there appeared one of his
aide-de-camps, who entered into conversation in so mysterious a manner
as to excite the attention of the gentleman under the sofa, and led him
to believe that the sale of a commission was authorised by the
Commander-in-Chief; though it afterwards appeared that it was a private
arrangement of the unwelcome visitor. At the Horse-Guards, it had
often been suspected that there was a mystery connected with
commissions that could not be fathomed; as it frequently happened that
the list of promotions agreed on was surreptitiously increased by the
addition of new names. This was the crafty handiwork of the
accomplished dame; the duke having employed her as his amanuensis, and
being accustomed to sign her autograph lists without examination.