Her MajCvSty has many o]>ject^ of attention at present, and as



1795.] THE KINO'8 ILLNESS. 297

the Princess did not like to have her Cupid mortified by
being set aside, she waited a proper opportunity to introduce
him. In the mean time she desired Mr. Smelt* (who came
from Yorkshire to gratify himself, as he says, by seeing his
Sovereign, and who unites the most refined talents with
every virtue that can adorn human nature) to peruse the
work.
He brought it back to me to-day, and with sincere pleasure
I heard his sentiments, which I shall communicate to you at
large when I come to London. Much he admires the work,
and says there is more real poetry in that composition than
in anything that has appeared these many years; some of
the scenery he is astonished at. He was just telling me he
thought the Temple might be introduced, when the door
opened, and Her Majesty came into the room. The poem
was shown her. She read the first stanza and was so
charmed, she desired I might carry it to her own apartment.
