But now over the squabblings and disagreements of this Royal Family, with their enormous wealth and power, was gathering a dark cloud from which presently descended a greater Power than theirs, the Power which one day touches all, and which the riches of a Palace are as impotent to resist as the poverty of a poor man’s dwelling--the Power of Death. For some time past the Queen’s health had been steadily failing; possibly the excitement of the last few months, Madame de Walmoden, the King’s danger in the storm, the affair of the Prince’s income, and lastly the _émeute_ at the birth of his child, had been all too much for her, yet her death as will be seen was mainly the result of her own fault, the foolish concealment of a malady. On Wednesday, the 9th of November, 1737, the Queen was taken ill while superintending the arrangements of her new library attached to St. James’s Palace--the library is now pulled down. She described her complaint as the cholic and suffered great pain, Doctor Tesier, the German Physician to the Household, gave her some of a concoction called “Daffy’s Elixir,” and ordered her to bed. Nevertheless, that being a Drawing Room day, and fearing to disappoint the King, and the company, she rose, dressed and attended the function. Lord Hervey describes the following conversation with her when he entered the rooms: “Is it not intolerable,” she said, “at my age to be plagued with a new distemper? Here is that nasty cholic I had at Hampton Court come again.” She looked extremely ill, and telling him the incidents of the morning Lord Hervey became alarmed. “For God’s sake, Madam,” he said, “go to your room, what have you to do here?” She went and talked a little to the people and then came back again to Hervey. “I am not able to entertain people,” she said. “Would to God,” he replied, impatiently, “the King would have done talking of the ‘Dragon of Wantley,’ and release you!” This was a new silly farce, which no doubt just suited the King who was for ever talking about it. It was a burlesque on the Italian Opera, by Henry Carey, and first played at Covent Garden the 26th October, 1737. At last the King had said his last word on this entertaining subject and left, giving the Queen the chance which both she and Lord Hervey desired, for her to get away. [Illustration: CAROLINE, QUEEN OF GEORGE II, AND THE YOUNG DUKE OF CUMBERLAND] The King, however, as he passed her, reminded her that she had not spoken to the Duchess of Norfolk, and she went back and said a few words to her. This was the last person she ever spoke to in public. She retired, went at once to bed, and grew steadily worse.