THE NEW KING
The King is dead! Long live the King!
George II has given place to George III, and those who had prostrated
themselves before the former were now anxious to pay court to his
successor. Yet those who had at heart the welfare of their country
trembled at the thought that the throne, with all the influence
appertaining thereto, had passed to an ignorant, narrow-minded lad; and
reviewing the young king's training, and his mediocre gifts, it must be
admitted that the fear was not unreasonable.
The Princess Dowager's plan of isolating the Prince of Wales from
companions of his own age, while it had kept him from evil counsellors,
had resulted only too obviously in making him a very dull young man. His
mother admitted he was "shy and backward; not a wild dissipated boy, but
good-natured and cheerful, with a serious cast upon the whole;"[86] and
unfortunately the mode of life imposed upon him during his minority
tended to develop that serious cast at the expense of other qualities.
Bubb Dodington, a keen observer, noticed this trait so early as 1752,
and asked the Princess Dowager what she thought the real disposition of
the Prince to be. "She said that I knew him almost as well as she did;
that he was very honest, but she wished that he was a little more
forward, and less childish at his age: that she hoped his preceptors
would improve him. I begged to know what methods they took; what they
read to him, or made him read; and whether he showed any particular
inclination to any of the people about him. She said she did not well
know what they taught him; but, to speak freely, she was afraid not
much: that they were in the country and followed their diversions, and
not much else that she could discover: that we must hope it would be
better when we came to town. I said that I did not much regard books,
that what I the most wished was that his Royal Highness should begin to
learn the usages and knowledge of the world; be informed of the general
frame and nature of this government and constitution, and of the general
course and manner of business, without descending into minutias."[87]
[86] Bubb Dodington: _Diary_.
[87] Bubb Dodington: _Diary_.
The young Prince of Wales's amusements had been few. He was sometimes
permitted to play a round card game, called Comet, with his mother and
brothers and sisters; and the Princess Dowager showed more liberality of
mind than was usual with her by declaring that "she liked the Prince
should now and then amuse himself at small play, but that princes should
never play deep, both for the example and because it did not become them
to win great sums."[88] A greater delight of the Prince was to take part
in amateur theatricals, an indulgence sometimes granted as the practice
might accustom him to the public speaking that must later fall to his
lot. This was of great value to him for, while in conversation his
utterance was rapid, on public occasions he spoke so distinctly and with
such dignity that Quin, hearing his first Speech from the throne,
exclaimed delightedly: "Ay! 'twas I that taught the boy to speak!" But
George was not fond of delivering or listening to orations. "I am sure
that the rage for public speaking, and the extravagant length to which
some of our more popular orators carry their harangues in Parliament, is
very detrimental to the national business," he expressed his opinion
after he ascended the throne, "and I wish that it may not, in the end,
prove injurious to the public peace."[89]
[88] Bubb Dodington: _Diary_.
[89] Galt: _George III, his Court and Family_.
In spite of these occasional relaxations, the family circle at Leicester
House was far from bright, and Dodington has recorded how in November,
1753, he was summoned to wait upon the Princess Dowager, and how,
instead of the small party and a little music he expected, he found no
one but her Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales, Prince Edward and
Princess Augusta, all in undress. They sat round the fire, and Dodington
and the Princess talked of familiar occurrences "with the ease and
unreservedness and unconstraint, as if one had dropped into a sister's
house that had a family, to pass the evening," but agreeable as it was
to Dodington, he could not refrain from wishing, "that the Princess
conversed familiarly with more people of a certain knowledge of the
world."[90] But even Dodington seldom saw the Prince of Wales, and,
though George II showed no disposition to keep his successor in the
background, the latter spent much of his time in, perhaps not entirely
voluntary, retirement at Kew, where his mother was making "a collection
of exotic plants, the precursor of the present Royal Botanical Gardens,
on a scale of liberal munificence, besides continuing to erect, under
the superintendence of Sir William Chambers, the various ornamental
gardens, originally planned by the deceased Prince."[91] Horticulture
had little charm for the Prince of Wales, who was, however, attracted by
agricultural science, and took an active interest in the farming of his
land, tastes which subsequently he endeavoured in vain to inculcate in
his sons, and secured for him the nickname that still clings to him.[92]
[90] Bubb Dodington: _Diary_.
[91] Galt: _George III, his Court and Family_.
[92] According to John Galt, George III wrote several letters signed
Ralph Robinson and dated from Windsor, to Arthur Young for the latter's
_Annals of Agriculture_.
[Illustration: _From the Oxford Magazine_
THE BUTTON MAKER]
George found some pleasure in trifling mechanical occupations, and had a
watch made from his own designs by Arnold, of which a description is
extant. "It was rather less than a silver twopence, yet contained one
hundred and twenty different parts: the whole weighed between five and
six pennyweights." Later in life he amused himself in turning on the
lathe, and it was declared by the satirists that the royal ingenuity
eventually went so far as to construct a button. Certainly for a long
time he figured in caricature as "the royal button-maker"; and it was in
this capacity an anonymous versifier congratulated him upon the success
of his army in America.
"Then shall my lofty numbers tell
Who taught the royal babes to spell
And sovereign art pursue
To mend a watch, or set a clock,
New pattern shape for Hervey's frock,
Or buttons made at Kew."[93]
[93] _The New Foundling Hospital for Wit._
George III as Prince of Wales saw nothing of the outside world, and even
when in 1759 he was allowed to make an excursion beyond the limits
usually imposed upon him, it took the form of a private trip through
Scotland, when, preserving the strictest _incognito_, he paid visits to
Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Isle of Bute and a few other places, accompanied
only by Lord Bute and two servants.
It may here be remarked that no English king travelled less than George
III, who during the whole of his long life rarely visited any part of
his dominions.
"Our sons some slave of greatness may behold,
Cast in the genuine Asiatic mould,
Who of three realms shall condescend to know
No more than he can spy from Windsor's brow."[94]
[94] _Heroic Epistle to Sir William Chambers._
He never went to Hanover or Scotland or Ireland or Wales, and in England
his longest journeys were to Cheltenham, Weymouth, and Portsmouth,
which latter town he visited twice, but solely to make an official
inspection of a battleship.
"There shall he see, as other folks have seen,
That ships have anchors, and that seas are green;
Shall count the tackling trim, the streamers fine,
With Bradshaw prattle, and with Sandwich dine;
And then row back, amidst the cannon's roar,
As safe, as sage, as when he left the shore."[95]
[95] _Heroic Epistle to Sir William Chambers._
"To tell you the honest truth," Ernest, King of Hanover, said in 1845;
"the impression on my mind has ever been that it was a very unfortunate
circumstance for my father that he was kept as it were, aloof, not only
from his brothers, but almost from all young men of his own age; and
this I saw evident marks of almost daily."[96] Indeed, the unhappy
relations of George III with his sons must in great part be attributed
to the isolation of the King's early years: never having been permitted
to indulge in the pleasures of youth, he could in later years make no
allowance for such follies in others. It comes as a relief to find that
George III when Prince of Wales did commit one stupid, boyish prank:
when a tutor reproved him and told him he must stick closer to his work,
he put pitch on the tutor's chair, thus making the pedagogue stick
closer to his seat.
[96] "Secluded from the world, attached from his infancy to one set of
persons and one set of ideas, he can neither open his heart to new
connexions, nor his mind to better information. A character of this sort
is the soil fittest to produce that obstinate bigotry in politics and
religion which begins with a meritorious sacrifice of the understanding,
and finally conducts the monarch and the martyr to the block."--Junius,
May 28, 1770.
Some lads who, from one cause or another, see little society, derive
knowledge of the world from books, but George was not one of these. He
did not learn easily, and he had not been helped by an extensive or
thorough education. His knowledge of Latin or Greek was negligible, and
Huish's statement that at an early age the Prince "correctly understood
the history of modern times and the just relations of England with the
other states" makes too great a strain upon our credulity. It is true
that in support of his view Huish prints a list of titles of plays that
the Prince is said to have selected to show the condition of various
states and persons; but though, as a matter of fact this has little to
recommend it as an intellectual exercise, it is unlikely the youth
performed even this task without assistance.[97] It may be conceded,
however, that he read with more or less understanding the history of
England, France and Germany; and that he could speak the language of
these countries with fluency. He wrote English with little show of
acquaintance with grammar and never could spell correctly, while his
general knowledge was lamentably slight, and in spite of fulsome
biographers, books never had any attraction for him. "He never delighted
in study, nor ever passed much of his time in sedentary occupations,
calculated to improve his mind, after his accession to the crown,"
Wraxall admits frankly. "A newspaper which he commonly took up after
dinner, and over which, however interesting its contents might be, he
usually fell asleep in less than half-an-hour, constituted the ordinary
extent of his application."[98] He was in truth a dull lad, and
Thackeray was probably right in his belief that "the cleverest tutors in
the world could have done little probably to expand that small
intellect, though they might have improved his taste and taught his
perceptions some generosity."[99]
[97] Russia, _The Maiden Queen_; Germany, _The Rivals_; Genoa, _All's
Well that Ends Well_; Spain, _The Ambitious Stepmother_; Prussia, _The
Inconstant, or, The Way to Win Him_; France, _The Busy-Body, Rather the
Way of the World_; Sweden, _She Would if She Could_; Denmark, _As You
Like It_; The Dutch, _The Medley; or, Nature Will Prevail_; Flanders,
_How Happy Could She Be With Either_; King of Sardinia, _The Spartan
Hero_; Stanislaus, _An Old Man Taught Wisdom_; Don Philip, _Much Ado
About Nothing_; The Young Pretender, _A Midsummer Night's Dream_.
[98] _Recollections and Reflections._
[99] _The Four Georges._
Yet those who expected the worst from the new King were pleasurably
disappointed, for, though he never became a great monarch, he developed
unsuspected good qualities. In earlier days his indolence had brought
upon him a severe reproof from George Scott, who, when his Royal
Highness excused his own want of application on the score of idleness,
said, cruelly perhaps, but certainly with truth: "Sir, _yours_ is not
idleness; your brother Edward is _idle_, but you must not call being
asleep all day being idle." On his accession to the throne, George III
became suddenly industrious, at once endeavoured to understand public
business, and showed himself willing to learn. Indeed, he had always
been desirous to improve his mind, and it has been told how when he and
Prince Edward once went by water to Woolwich he did not make a _gala_
day of it, as his brother did, and as most other boys would have, "but
paid a marked attention to everything useful and curious, taking a view
of the several works in the dockyard, seeing the manner of forging an
anchor, or making sails, etc."[100]
[100] Galt: _George III, his Court and Family_.
More remarkable than his devotion to business was the aptitude the young
man, ignorant of affairs, soon showed for King-craft, and all were
astonished to find that, after he had become accustomed to his position,
he not only made efforts to induce ministers to carry out his views, but
actually found means usually to compel them to do so. Unfortunately he
started in life with the rooted idea that those who agreed with him were
right, and those who differed wrong. "He will seldom do wrong, except
when he mistakes wrong for right," prophesied Lord Waldegrave; "but as
often as this shall happen, it will be difficult to undeceive him,
because he has strong prejudices."[101] How true this was will presently
appear. It was a misfortune, too, that what intelligence he possessed,
not sufficient to enable him to see two sides to a question, made him
suspicious of all who rose above mediocrity. Fox, father and son, he
hated, and he declared once that Sheridan ought to be hanged, while he
could rarely find a good word for Chatham, Burke, and the other men of
commanding talent with whom perforce he was brought into contact. It was
his liking for nonentities that Peter Pindar[102] pilloried, in words
attributed to Sir Joseph Banks:[103]
"To circles of pure ignorance conduct me;
I hate the company that can _instruct_ me;
I wish to imitate my King, so _nice_,
Great prince, who ne'er was known to take advice!
Who keeps no company (delightful plan!)
That dares be wiser than himself, good man!"[104]
[101] Waldegrave: _Memoirs_.
[102] John Wolcot, satirist and poet (1738-1819), wrote under the
pseudonym of "Peter Pindar."
[103] Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), president of the Royal Society,
1778-1820.
[104] _Peter's Prophecy._
Whatever forebodings may have been entertained by those behind the
scenes, George III was at his succession very popular, and whenever he
showed himself in public was heartily greeted by his loyal subjects.
"The new reign dates with great propriety and decency, the civilest
letter to Princess Emily; the greatest kindness to the Duke; the utmost
respect to the dead body," Walpole wrote. "No changes to be made but
those absolutely necessary, as the household, etc.--and, what some will
think the most unnecessary, in the representative of power. There is
great dignity and grace in the King's manner. I don't say this like my
dear Madame de Sevigne, because he was civil to _me_, but the part is
well acted. The young King has all the appearance of being amiable.
There is great grace to temper much dignity and good nature which
breaks out on all occasions." Nicholls expressed his opinion that the
monarch was "of a good person, sober, temperate, of domestic habits,
addicted to no vice, swayed by no passion";[105] while Mary Lepel, Lady
Hervey, was outspoken in his favour. "Every one, I think, seems to be
pleased with the whole behaviour of our young King; and indeed so much
unaffected good nature and propriety appears in all he does or says,
that it cannot but endear him to all; but whether anything can long
endear a King or an angel in this strange factious country, I can't
tell. I have the best opinion imaginable of him, not from anything he
does or says just now, but because I have a moral certainty that he was
in his nursery the honestest, true, good-natured child that ever lived,
and you know my old maxim that qualities never change; what the child
was, the man most certainly is, in spite of temporary appearances."[106]
Whitehead, of course, salvoed his joy in rhyme.
"And who is he, of regal mien,
Reclined on Albion's golden fleece,
Whose polished brow, and eye serene,
Proclaim him elder-born of peace?
Another George! ye winds convey
Th' auspicious name from pole to pole:
Thames, catch the sound and tell the subject sea
Beneath whose sway its waters roll,
The heavy monarch of the deep
Who soothe's its murmurs with a father's care,
Doth now eternal Sabbath keep,
And leaves his trident to his blooming heir,
O, if the Muse, aright divine,
Fair Peace shall bless his opening reign,
And through the splendid progress shine
With every art to grace her train,
The wreaths, so late by glory won,
Shall weave their foliage round his throne,
'Till Kings abashed shall tremble to be foes,
And Albion's dreaded strength secure the world's repose."
[105] Nicholls: _Recollections and Reflections_.
[106] _Letters of Mary Lepel, Lady Hervey._
Yet there were other observers who could see the reverse side of the
shield. Old Samuel Johnson thought the pleasure manifested at the
accession of George III, "of whom we are so much inclined to hope great
things that most of them begin already to believe them," was due in
great part to the fact that "we were so weary of our old King." He was,
moreover, not very enthusiastic at the prospect. "The young man is
hitherto blameless, but it would be unreasonable to expect much from the
immaturity of juvenile years and the ignorance of princely education. He
has long been in the hands of the Scots, and has already favoured them
more than the English will contentedly endure. But, perhaps, he
scarcely knows whom he has distinguished, or whom he has disgusted."
Lord Chesterfield declared that the King, "like a new Sultan, was lugged
out of the seraglio by the Princess and Lord Bute, and placed upon the
throne";[107] Mr. Attorney General Pratt,[108] within four months of the
accession, could "see already that this will be a weak and inglorious
reign"; while Charles Townshend, asked what was the young King's
character, summed it up, "He is very obstinate."[109]
[107] _Letters of Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield._
[108] Sir Charles Pratt, first Earl Camden (1714-1794).
[109] Nicholls: _Recollections and Reflections_.