LIFE AT WARWICK HOUSE—THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE’S ESTABLISHMENT—HER
WARDROBE—THE DUCHESS D’ANGOULÊME—A DINNER AT CARLTON HOUSE—THE DUKE OF
GLOUCESTER—THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE.
THE life we led at Warwick House was exactly that of a child and her
nurse. Dr. Short, her Royal Highness’s sub-preceptor, a good sort of
Devonshire man, with some classical knowledge, very little taste, an
honest heart, but over-cautious temper, fearful of offending, used to
come every morning and read English to her Royal Highness from eleven to
twelve, at which hour he was succeeded by Mr. Sterkey, minister of the
Swiss church, who read French to her; a man of good manners for his
station, and of a pliant disposition, ready to do anything not actually
wicked, and, I believe, an excellent husband and father. As to Küper,
the German preceptor, I could not get her to let him give his usual
lessons. She thought him a spy, and perhaps not entirely without reason;
but he might have been useful with respect to information, for he was a
learned man, and did not want judgment with regard to Greek and Latin,
as well as the German language. Mrs. Miles, her music mistress, used
frequently to give her lessons in the evening; and she had instructions
on the guitar, first from Ventura, a Venetian, who sang prettily, and
had practical facility, and afterwards from Vacari, a scientific
professor of music, and an excellent player on the violin, who had left
the band of the King of Spain, and whose wife was a Spaniard, and taught
Princess Charlotte the wild Spanish manner of playing, which the Miss
Fitzroys also imitated very happily.
The Bishop of Salisbury used to come three or four times a week, and “do
the important” as her Royal Highness’s preceptor. He had expressed great
satisfaction at my coming into her service, and had, I know, wished it
many years before; but however willing I was to be on the best terms
with the Bishop, and to induce Princess Charlotte to treat him with
attention, I could not but see how narrow his views, how strong his
prejudices, and how unequal his talents were to the charge with which he
had been entrusted by the good old King, much against the Prince’s
inclination. The Bishop’s great points were to arm Princess Charlotte
against the encouragement of Popery and Whig principles (two evils which
he seemed to think equally great), and to appear himself a man of
consequence. His best accomplishment was a taste for drawing, and a love
of the fine arts. I have often put him in a good humour by showing him a
drawing, or forwarding his proposals of accompanying Princess Charlotte
to exhibitions. Indeed, though she was not fond of the Bishop’s company
at any time, and more particularly after two o’clock, when it had been
decided by the Prince that he had nothing more to do at Warwick House,
she would good naturedly allow him to be our cicerone on these
occasions, and nothing could gratify him more, except a Garter ceremony,
on which occasion he never failed to make his appearance at Warwick
House in his dress as Chancellor of the Order.
The Bishop having been preceptor to the Duke of Kent, and living much at
Windsor, where he was formerly a canon, had imbibed the bad style of
manners belonging to that place, and as it was not grafted on any
natural or acquired elegance, he was in that respect also unfit for his
situation; added to which, his temper was hasty, and his vanity easily
alarmed. His disputes with Lady de Clifford had been terrible, and he
seemed now to bless himself that things went on so well and so quietly.
Indeed, I thought it important they should do so, and the good Duchess
of Leeds had no inclination to quarrel with anybody. Provided that she
might ride two or three times a week at Hall’s—a second-rate
riding-school—on an old quiet horse for exercise, get into her
shower-bath, and take calomel when she pleased, dine out, and go to all
parties when invited, shake hands with everybody, and touch her salary,
she cared for nothing more, except when mischievous people to plague
her, or curious gossips to find out what was going on, talked to her
about Princess Charlotte’s petticoats being too short,[142] of her Royal
Highness nodding instead of bowing, or talking to the maids of honour at
chapel between the prayers and the sermon.
On these occasions the poor Duchess became bilious, cried in her sleep,
and begged and prayed me next day to talk to Princess Charlotte, for she
did not like to venture on anything herself, unless driven to the last
extremity. The financial department being wholly in her keeping, this
was a very sore subject. Princess Charlotte had been, until just before
Lady de Clifford left her, allowed ten pounds a month for pocket money;
more than which she lost at cards at Windsor, for her Royal Highness was
not fond of play, and still less of the practice of having her hand made
for her to the detriment of others; therefore she, of course, seldom won
a pool at commerce, and Lady de Clifford was obliged, to furnish her
with money for her little charities out of the eight hundred pounds a
year allotted for her wardrobe. Before she left her Royal Highness she
increased the monthly allowance to fifteen pounds, saying they could not
lessen it; and this was all Princess Charlotte had absolutely at her own
disposal; and now that balls and birthdays necessarily took up so much
money for dresses, which the Prince and Royal Family expected should be
new and splendid, the difficulties were great.
Mrs. Louis, a German, Princess Charlotte’s second dresser, and now the
only one capable of exertion (for Mrs. Gagarin was in a dying state),
possessed taste and economy superior to anything I ever saw, added to
excellent principles of religion and morality, and a constant
cheerfulness of temper. She was invaluable from all points of view. Her
contrivances with respect to her Royal Highness’s wardrobe, to which she
gave the appearance of novelty at a very trifling expense, were truly
praiseworthy in a situation where extravagance and airs are so apt to
characterise the menial servants of Princesses. But with all this
economy, eight hundred pounds a year could not do more than dress her
Royal Highness with propriety.
Fortunately, she was not desirous of sacrificing either time or treasure
on her toilette, but she liked pictures, and specimens of the fine arts
of every description; and she loved nothing so much as making presents
of valuable trinkets to her young friends, who were ready enough to
accept them, and the poor Duchess had really sufficient cause for crying
in her sleep when quarter-day came about. Yet it is astonishing to think
with what propriety, order, and regularity the house went on, with such
small funds as were allowed. Fourteen thousand pounds was the average
expense, from which pensions to the amount of nearly two thousand pounds
a year, and salaries which could not amount to less than four thousand
pounds more, were to be subtracted, a steward, page, two dressers, and a
proportionate number of servants to be maintained, carriages and horses
kept, and, in short, all the expenses of a family paid, excepting her
Royal Highness’s saddle horses, which were kept at Carlton House
stables.
Mrs. Gagarin, who had lived with Princess Charlotte from her infancy,
was an excellent person; she was an Englishwoman, but in her youth had
been unfortunately married to a Russian Prince, whom she afterwards
discovered to be the husband of another, and whom she therefore left
without even claiming a provision. This was told me in confidence by
Princess Charlotte, who had almost a filial regard for her. Mrs. Gagarin
had one daughter, whom she had placed, after giving her a good
education, as governess in a Scotch family, where she became acquainted
with a worthy clergyman named Wightman, and was engaged to him. Some
months before I came to Princess Charlotte, Mrs. Gagarin had fallen into
a bad state of health, and her daughter came to stay with her. Why I
cannot tell, but the Queen and Princesses had been much displeased with
this, and with the notice which Princess Charlotte took of her; and
after giving up the plan of dismissing all the servants, which had been
their intention when the Duchess and I came into office, they at least
took care that Miss Gagarin should be married as soon as possible, and
sent away with her husband to a small living near Bath, given him by the
Bishop of Salisbury, whither Mrs. Gagarin was also sent, on pretence of
change of air being beneficial to her health, but in fact hoping she
would not return, for this was confessed to me. However, though far from
recovering, she was most anxious to return as soon as the weather
allowed her to travel; and we had her back. Every care, every attention
which the kindest and most considerate affection could suggest were
bestowed on her by Princess Charlotte. While she was capable of taking
airings, her Royal Highness constantly sent her out in a carriage, and
when she grew so weak as to be confined to her room, visited her two or
three times a day, carried her in her arms to the window, and exerted
every faculty to soothe and comfort her. Indeed, Princess Charlotte was
kind and benevolent to all her servants, yet never condescended to any
unbecoming familiarity with them, or treated them with more confidence
than could be justified by their stations and conduct. They all idolised
her.
On the 5th of May I went in the evening to the Duchess d’Angoulême, who
had sent the Duke de Sérent to say she was in town, and desired I should
be presented to her, as I had been to the King, Monsieur, and the Duke
d’Angoulême at Carlton House. I went about eight, and found her in a
small house in South Audley-street, belonging to Monsieur. She received
me very graciously, and placed me beside herself; the room was full of
French emigrants, a foreign minister or two, and two or three other
strangers. Her profile was good, and she would have been beautiful had
not early misfortune nipped the blossom. Her figure stooped, but it was
rather a good one. Her dress particularly plain and unassuming; her
manner perfectly unaffected; her voice rather too loud, and her
articulation rather too quick to be pleasing, otherwise than by a tone
of sincerity, which was very striking. The manners of Monsieur were
perfect, and his countenance still very pleasing. The Duchess de Coigny
struck me as singularly well bred and agreeable.
The Queen and Princesses came to town pretty often, and at those times
we went to Carlton House, usually the Princess and Duchess to dinner,
and all of us in the evening.
On the 12th there was a ball there, and also on the 1st of June. The
next day, the Duchess being ill, I had to accompany Princess Charlotte
to dinner at Carlton House. The Queen, two of the Princesses, and a
small party dined there. The Hertfords, Liverpools, Cholmondeleys,
Hampdens, and Lord St. Helens, were the usual set, and were there that
day. The Prince was uncommonly gracious to me, and it was settled that I
was to go to Windsor with Princess Charlotte on the 4th of June (the
King’s birthday), dine at Frogmore, and come back the next day. We went,
and the Prince was again all courtesy. He seemed very anxious that the
Duchess of Leeds should send the Queen a letter[143] of mine, which she
had never seen, and which he and good Princess Augusta thought would
restore me to her favour. At all events, he desired I would not be
uneasy, and that although the Queen might be angry with me herself, he
was sure she would be much more angry with any one who should speak
against me. He was in high good humour, but in the midst of it, tapping
me on the shoulder, said, “Remember, however, my dear Chevalier, that
Charlotte must lay aside the idle nonsense of thinking that she has a
will of her own; while I live she must be subject to me as she is at
present, if she were thirty, or forty, or five-and-forty.” This, of
course, I did not repeat to her Royal Highness.
The Prince had desired Princess Charlotte to make him a present of her
portrait, and she had for some time been sitting to Sanders for that
purpose. He is an excellent painter, but uncommonly slow. She wished it
should be finished against the 12th of August, as a present to her
father on his birthday; and we used to go very often to his study for
these sittings. Sanders is a very particular man, very correct, very
religious. So far from taking the liberty of admitting any one when her
Royal Highness was there, it was with great difficulty we could prevail
on him to let in Miss Mercer, Lady Tavistock, Lady Jersey, or the Miss
Fitzroys, when the regent particularly desired it; and it certainly was
an annoyance to a nervous man, peculiarly anxious for the success of
this picture, to have a set of women come and give their opinions, and
afterwards talk over the balls and parties of the night before. Princess
Charlotte, however, could not sometimes resist letting in these
tormentors of poor Sanders; and she had so little amusement in general,
that anything of this kind was an object to her. She listened with
avidity to all the accounts her friends gave of the assemblies and other
amusements of which she could not partake; and they would sometimes come
for a little while in the evening, before they went to their gayer
parties. Our only other entertainment was driving in the park, and when
that was objected to, on the road.
On the 17th of May we had visited the Princess of Wales on her birthday,
but were not allowed to dine there.
On the 30th of June there was a magnificent ball at Carlton House, and
the evening before we had been at the Duke of York’s. The Duke of
Gloucester was there, sat down by Princess Charlotte, and talked to her.
This displeased the Prince, and there was much conversation with Lady
Liverpool, who walked up and down the room, and was at last sent to
desire that her Royal Highness would change places with Lady Bathurst,
who sat on the other side of her. This she would not do, but walked into
the next room. The Duke was greatly offended, and his sister much hurt.
After the Queen, Prince, and Princesses were gone, Princess Charlotte
apologised to the Duke and Princess Sophia of Gloucester for what had
passed. This gave occasion to the Duke, who had been only talking to her
before on indifferent subjects, to say that he meant to take no liberty,
but that she might consider him as devoted to her, and ready to come
forward whenever she would cast her eyes on him. Princess Charlotte came
home indignant and hurt at having been watched and worried, and the ball
was not so pleasant to her as it otherwise would have been.
The Duke of Devonshire used alternately to dance with Princess Charlotte
and Princess Mary, not less, and generally more, than two dances at
every ball. The Prince encouraged this, on account of his rank, and also
from a regard for him on his late mother’s account; and ministers were
supposed to encourage it, because they hoped the attractions of Princess
Charlotte might attach him to Carlton House, and so to the Prince, and
so on to their side of the House in Parliament.
The Duke was by no means insensible to the charms of his future Queen.
Followed by all the mothers and all the misses in London, because he was
the yet unmarried Duke of Devonshire, it is probable that he might wish
to be liked for himself alone, and this must be the case if Princess
Charlotte liked him. His ambition, also, might be roused, and he might,
and perhaps unfortunately did, feel really attached to her. A good young
man, of a benevolent heart, moderate abilities, and romantic turn (which
I understand was the case with him), might easily fall into such a
snare. He was very attentive, and Princess Charlotte’s friends were,
almost all, very intimate with him. Miss Mercer Elphinstone was supposed
to like him, to wish to marry him, and to be playing a deep game, so
that when he was disappointed of Princess Charlotte, he might take her,
out of gratitude for her good offices. This ill-natured story was too
ridiculous to be believed; for if Miss Mercer wished to marry him, she
could not at the same time wish to encourage his attachment to a
beautiful young Princess of seventeen, who was generally thought the
handsomest woman in the ball-room (for dress became her particularly),
and who must, at all events, eclipse a woman of twenty-eight, whose
great fortune would be no attraction to the Duke. I heard this story
from every one, but did not believe it. The Duke of Devonshire paid
great attention to all Princess Charlotte’s friends, and also to the
Duchess of Leeds. As to myself, I was not acquainted with him, and
rather avoided being so, that I might not be suspected of carrying on
any intercourse between him and Princess Charlotte.
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