[*] There are several letters on this subject towards the end of vol. ii. of 'The Correspondence of the Late Earl Grey with H.M. King William IV., and with Sir Hubert Taylor,' edited by his son, and published by John Murray in 1867. Anyone desiring to have a clear idea of the political anxieties which Miss Clitherow tells us harassed the King would do well to consult this interesting work.
'The Thursday after we went to see Lady Falkland, who is on a visit to papa King. We found her, her widowed sister Lady Augusta Kennedy, and Miss Wilson very comfortably at work. They were the two Fitz-Clarences; we saw a good deal of them when they lived at Bushey.
'A page soon came to conduct my brother to the King, another to desire we would take luncheon in the Queen's room. On entering the King called Jane by him, the Queen me; she rose up and shook hands with both. My brother went down to the general luncheon. Nothing could be more good-humoured and pleasant than they were. The King was cheerful but silent; 'twas the day after Lord Grey's resignation. The Queen certainly in particular good spirits; the King's firmness respecting the making no peers had delighted her. They went to his apartments, and we to Lady Falkland's, and were preparing to depart, when a message came. The Queen had not taken leave of us, and hoped we were in no hurry, but would stay and Walk with her. Of course we did. The party consisted of the Queen, Miss Eden (Maid of Honour), Miss Wilson, Lord Howe, Mr. Ashley, Mr. Hudson, Sir Andrew Barnard, and our three selves. She took us through the slopes to her Adelaide Cottage and her flower-garden to see Prince George of Cambridge at gymnastics, with half a dozen young nobility from Eton, who came once a week to play with him. We were walking nearly two hours. The Queen is very animated, and Mr. Ashley and Mr. Hudson full of fun and tricks, and amused us all much. In short, I have but one fear when with her--forgetting in Whose presence I am; her manner is so very kind, but there is dignity with it that keeps us in order.'
Before Miss Clitherow wrote again to her old friend, the Queen's little niece, Whose illness has been already alluded to, had passed away. Her Majesty was tenderly attached to the young Princess, and had shown her every possible attention during her illness. She was greatly grieved at her death, and the sorrow and anxiety seem to have affected her health for some little time.