[[A.D. 1794.]] Of this prince so much has been said in the previous reign that it will be necessary for us to take up his life only at the time of his marriage. As his union with Mrs. Fitzherbert was illegal, the prince provided for her a sumptuous house at Brighton, and finding himself over head and ears in debt, agreed to take a wife who could help him out of his dilemma. It must not be supposed that the Prince of Brunswick would or could pay the seventy thousand pounds that the Prince of Wales owed, but parliament had agreed to do so if he would consent to marry. So for the sake of his creditors, and his own peace of mind with regard to them, he wrote to Caroline of Brunswick, and offered her his hand in marriage. She replied coolly but favorably; and, as the prince's financial affairs were getting more and more desperate, what, with horse-racing and all sorts of dissipation, he lost no time in setting on foot the arrangements for his marriage. Lord Malmesbury was selected for the prince's proxy, and he was instructed to bring Princess Caroline to England without using any discretion in the matter whatever. He reached Brunswick on the twenty-eighth of November, and was received with a most enthusiastic welcome. Then he saw the future Queen of England for the first time. She was an accomplished, high-spirited girl of twenty-seven, who spoke English fluently, and dressed tastefully. She had fair hair, expressive, almond-shaped eyes, good teeth, {211}and a delicately formed mouth. Her face was pretty, but her figure was rather undersized and not graceful. This was a slight defect compared with one of which Lord Malmesbury speaks in his diary. We refer to uncleanliness, which seems to have been sadly apparent in this pretty creature, and was in great part due to her bad training. The duchess was indiscreet enough to talk disparagingly of Queen Charlotte to the English ambassador; but she was so fond of gossip that she could not lose this opportunity of telling how she had been an object of envy and dislike to her sister-in-law, who had been ready to quarrel with King George because he had given her a handsome diamond ring on her marriage. "George is more kind-hearted than wise-headed," she added, "and loves me as well as he could love anybody." Lord Malmesbury had not been in Brunswick more than a week when Major Hyslop arrived with a portrait of the Prince of Wales, and a private letter to his envoy, urging him to set out with the Princess Caroline immediately. Whether it was impatience to possess his bride, curiosity to behold her, or the increasing demands of creditors that prompted the message, we can only guess; but the marriage was celebrated on the eighth of December, just five days after Major Hyslop's arrival.