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THE NEW CONSTITUTION.

ascend a foreign throne, he will be bound, when his male issue should be seven years old, to send them to the above-mentioned house to receive their education.

OF THE PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS AND AUDIENCES. Those who wish to present petitions, or addresses, &c. to the king, will put at the head, "To the King." They all begin with the title of Sire, and in the body of the addresses, &c. the words Your Majesty" must be used. His majesty has provisionally charged the counsellor of state, M. Golberg, in order to receive in his name all the requests, supplications, and remonstrances which may be presented, and to give a circumstantial account of them to the king. This counsellor attends for this purpose in the apartments of the old court, every Tuesday and Friday, from nine in the morning till two in the afternoon. But all petitions, supplications, or remonstrances, must be presented in writing, on stamped paper: and there ought besides to be indorsed on the petitions, &c. the name of the supplicant, the nature of the demand, and in concise terms, the motives of the same. It must be observed besides, that all demands, addresses, or remonstrances to the courts, or tribunals of justice, departmental administrations, or other constituted authorities, ought to be sent to the minister or directors general, that the deed which relates to the object, be made by them, and presented to the king. Those who desire to be admitted to the audience of his majesty the king, are obliged to address themselves for this purpose to the chamberlain of the day, the motive for which this audience is requested, must be signified by writing, and the place where the answer may be sent exactly mentioned. The king has decreed. that in order to facilitate and assure as much as possible the relation between him and his subjects, all the ministers, or directors-general, have to give once or twice a week a public audience; for this purpose they have fixed the following days, &c. &c.

THE NEW CONSTITUTION.

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The leading features in this constitution, are the guarantee of the payment of the national debt; the free and unqualified exercise of religion; the predominant authority vested in the king; the establishment of the salique law, for ever excluding females from the throne; the declaration that the minority of any future king shall expire upon his attaining his eighteenth year; that only natives shall be eligible to any offices under the state, exclusive of those immediately appertaining to the king's household; that the yearly revenue of the king shall be two millions of florins, and that the royal residences shall be the palaces of the Hague, in the Wood, and at Soestdyke.

As a few months have only rolled away, since the promulgation of this constitution, it would be somewhat hasty to offer any objections to it: it must be left to time to ascertain how far it is adapted to the genius and resources, and propitious to the prosperity of the people.

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CHAPTER IX.

GRAND ENTRY OF KING AND QUEEN INTO HOLLAND OPENING OF THE MEETING OF THEIR HIGH MIGHTINESSES-ANECDOTE OF ROYAL ECONOMY-THE HAGUE DESCRIBED--LADY W. MONTAGU'S REMARKS REBUTTED—PRETTY FEMALE FACES-A DUTCH NURSERY -DUTCH MODE OF ENCREASING ANIMAL HEAT-THE WOOD-ITS SANCTITY-THE PALACE FORMERLY CALLED THE HOUSE IN THE WOOD-ANECDOTE OF KING WILLIAM THE THIRD-UNOSTENTATIOUS HABITS OF THE ORANGE FAMILY-CHARMING JAUNT TO SCHEVELING-A MARINE HOTEL-MR. FOX.

SOON after the pomulgation of the constitution, the King and Queen set off from Paris to take possession of their new kingdom, and on the 23d of June following made their solemn entry into the Hague: they left the palace in the Wood in the following order—a herald at arms, his majesty's horse guards, the guard of honor, the council of state in three coaches, the admirals in one coach, the ministers in two coaches, the great officers of the crown in one coach, their majesties in one coach, the generals in two coaches: the ladies and officers of the royal household in one coach, followed by aides-de-camp and other officers, and the whole procession closed by detachments of hussars and dragoons.

MEETING OF THEIR HIGH MIGHTINESSES.

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When the procession reached the palace of their high mightinesses, their majesties were received at the door by four deputies from the assembly. They ascended the great staircase, passed through the chamber of the national library, and were received at the door of the anti-chamber by the president of their high mightinesses, and two other deputies. Having entered the hall of the assembly, her majesty was conducted to her tribune by two deputies. The king seated himself on his throne, and put on his hat. On the right side, and behind his majesty, sat the grand chamberlain, and the aide-de-camp general; on the left, the master of the horse, and the grand master of the civil list. All the other officers of state were ranged in proper situations. The members of the assembly stood up in their places uncovered on the entrance of the king; but when his majesty covered himself, they followed his example. The president placed himself in his chair, directly opposite to the king. After the king was seated on his throne, he directed the grand master of the ceremonies to administer the oaths of allegiance to their high mightinesses. The oaths were accordingly first taken by the president, and afterwards by the other members, in the order of their seniority. Each member approached to the foot of the throne, and was sworn on the Holy Evangelists. When all the members were sworn, his majesty delivered the following speech to the assembly:

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THE KING'S SPEECH.

"GENTLEMEN,

"When the national deputies came to offer me the throne which I ascend this day, I accepted it, under the conviction that it was the wish of the whole nation-that the confidence and the necessities of all called me to it.

“Relying on the intelligence, zeal, and patriotism of the principal public functionaries, and particularly on yours, gentlemen the deputies, I have fearlessly weighed in my mind the misfortunes of the nation in their fullest extent. Animated by the strongest desire to promote the welfare of this good people, and entertaining a hope that I should one day attain that end, I stifled those sentiments which, till then, had been ever the object and happiness of my life. I have consented to change my country, to cease to be solely and entirely a Frenchman, after having passed my whole life in performing, to the best of my ability, those duties which that name prescribes to all who have the honor of bearing it.

"I have consented to separate myself, for the first time, from him who, from my infancy, has possessed my love and admiration-to lose the repose and independence which those whom Heaven calls to govern cannot haveto quit him, the separation from whom would fill me with apprehension, even in the most tranquil times, and whose presence precludes danger.

"I have consented to all this, and, gentlemen, had I not done so, I would nevertheless yet act the same part, now that by the ardour, joy, and confidence of the people through whose country I have passed, they have proved to me, that you were the true interpreters of the nation, now especially, when I am convinced, that I may rely on your zeal, your attachment to the interests of your native land, and on your confidence in, and fidelity towards me. "Gentlemen, this is the first day of the real independence of the United Provinces. A transient glance at past ages is sufficient to convince us, that they never had a stable government, a fixed destiny, a real independence. Under that famous people, whom they fought and served by turns, as under the Franks and the Empire of the West, they were neither free nor tranquil. "Neither were they so afterwards, when subjected to Spain.

"Their wars, and their repeated quarrels until the union, added to the glory of the nation, confirmed its qualities in point of frankness, intrepidity, and honor, for which, indeed, it had been always celebrated; but its efforts procured it neither tranquillity nor independence, even under the Princes of Orange, who, though they were useful to their country, as soldiers and statesmen, were always disturbing it, by pretending, or endeavouring to obtain a power which the nation denied them.