ulations. It is certainly true, what Lyndhurst said
to me the other day in George Street, that 'they know the Bill
accomplishes their purpose.' Melbourne said to me at Court that
'it was a great _bouleversement_, a great experiment, and we must
see how it worked.' I met him in St. James's Park afterwards, and
walked with him to the Palace. He told me the King was in a state
of great excitement, especially about this militia question, but
that the thing which affected him most was the conduct of the
Duchess of Kent--her popularity-hunting, her progresses, and
above all the addresses which she received and replied to. He
told me what the King had said at dinner on his birthday about
her. 'I cannot expect to live very long, but I hope that my
successor may be of full age when she mounts the throne. I have
great respect for the person upon whom, in the event of my death,
the Regency would devolve, but I have great distrust of the
persons by whom she is surrounded. I know that everything which
falls from my lips is reported again, and I say this thus
candidly and publicly because it is my desire and intention that
these my sentiments should be made known.' Melbourne told me that
he believed Lord Durham is not in favour with the Duchess of
Kent, who has discovered that he had made use of her for his own
ends, and she has now withdrawn her confidence from him. I asked
him who her confidants were, but he either did not know or would
not tell me.

Doncaster, September 15th, 1835 {p.314}

Left London on Saturday morning with Matuscewitz; I had a good
deal of conversation with him about the state and prospects of
this country, in the course of which he told me that Louis
Philippe had consulted Talleyrand about the maintenance of his
intimate connection with England, and that Talleyrand had
replied, 'When you came to the throne four years ago, I advised
you to cultivate your relations with England as the best security
you could obtain. I now advise you to relinquish that connection,
for in the present state of English politics it can only be
productive of danger or embarrassment to you.' Having omitted to
put it down at the time, I can't recollect the exact words, but
this was the sense, and _I think_ Matuscewitz said that Louis
Philippe had told him this himself.

[Page Head: PRINCESS VICTORIA AT BURGHLEY.]

We dined at Burghley on the way, and got here at two on Sunday;
read Mackintosh's Life in the carriage, which made