ing seemed to
be very well. The Duke of Wellington did not arrive till late,
and before he was come the King sent for Peel and gave him an
audience of two hours at least. I thought there must be something
in the wind, and was struck with Peel's taking the Duke into one
of the window recesses and talking to him very earnestly as soon
as he came out. I returned to town after the Council, and in the
evening went to the play, and coming out I met Henry de Ros and
Frederick Lamb. The former made me go with him in his carriage,
when he told me what fully explained the cause of Peel's long
audience--that the Duke has at last made up his mind to carry the
Catholic question, and that Peel[14] and the rest of the violent
anti-Catholics are going out; that the Duke's present idea is to
apply to Huskisson, but that nothing will be done or said till
the Ministers assemble in town and hold their cabinets.

[14] [It had not then transpired, nor was it known until
long afterwards, that the proposal to carry Catholic
Emancipation was made by Mr. Peel to the Duke of
Wellington on the 11th of August. Sir Robert Peel
states, however, in his 'Memoir,' p. 269, 'At the close
of the year 1828 little, if any, progress had been made
in removing the difficulties with which the Duke of
Wellington had to contend;' and, p. 274, 'The chief
difficulty was the King. At the commencement of the
month of January 1829 his Majesty had not yet signified
his consent that the whole subject of Ireland,
including the Catholic question, should be taken into
consideration by his confidential servants.']

He told me also that the French Government have at last agreed to
make common cause with us in preventing the Russians from
prosecuting the war against Turkey.

[Page Head: HEALTH AND HABITS OF GEORGE IV.]

December 16th, 1828 {p.143}

A Council at Windsor yesterday; very few present, and no
audiences but Aberdeen for three-quarters of an hour and the Duke
for five minutes. I sent for Bachelor and had a long talk with
him. He said the King was well, but weak, his constitution very
strong, no malady about him, but irritation in the bladder which
he could not get rid of. He thinks the hot rooms and want of air
and exercise do him harm, and that he is getting every day more
averse to exercise and more prone to retirement, which, besid