Note 10 — Chapter III

Audi alteram partem is a maxim that holds good wherever accusations are levelled against individuals, illustrious or mean. Lady Hester may have maligned the Prince from personal pique or from some other cause; and, whilst she placed his foibles and failings in a conspicuous point of view, may have studiously concealed the good qualities which he possessed. Sir Walter Scott, who read men’s characters if any body could, has left upon record a very different opinion of him; and, unless we suppose that Sir Walter had motives of his own for eulogizing him, we must place his testimony in the balance against Lady Hester’s spite. In a letter, he describes George IV. as—“A sovereign, whose gentle and generous disposition, and singular manners, and captivating conversation, rendered him as much the darling of private society, as his heart felt interest in the general welfare of the country: and the constant and steady course of wise measures, by which he raised his reign to such a state of triumphal prosperity, made him justly delighted in by his subjects.”—Letter from Sir W. Scott, p. 65, vol. ii., Mem. of Sir Wm. Knighton, Bart.—Paris edit. Sir Walter could not have written worse prose if he had tried. It shows how difficult it is to string words together on a subject where perhaps the convictions of the heart were not altogether in unison with the sentiments expressed.