Royal George

“ We are invited, of course. We are next in importance to Prince George. Our entourage is more numerous and more richly costumed than that of the other princes. Four horse coaches for us; Ministers of State waiting on us. I have train-bearers, pages, what-not.
But the King and Prince George cut me and Frederick Augustus in sight of the whole court, of the public in fact!
I don't mean to say that the "All-highest Lords," as they call themselves, treat us as air, or offer insult plain to the ear and eye—they couldn't afford to—nevertheless the stigma of royal disfavor is stamped on us. ”

“ I railed off a piece of the garden and laid it down in grass, and on one side I built a house for the animal; but as there was not food enough in the little plot, the captain had it up to a paddock near his house, where it used to scamper about with Harry on its back and enjoy itself.
“It’s an ill wind that blows no one good,” and people used to say that the foundering of the Royal George was a fortunate circumstance for the sheep, as it would long before have been under the butcher’s knife. ”

“ But Father-in-law George said "no." Anything that gives joy to others goes against his royal grain, gives him politico-economic dyspepsia. He doesn't want me to be popular,—neither me, nor Frederick Augustus, nor the baby.
George will be the next king, and if the Dresdeners or the Saxons want to "Hoch the King," they must "Hoch" George. They MUST. "It's their damned duty," says George the Pious, who never blasphemes on his own account, but allows himself some license concerning his subjects. ”

“ Next day, before twelve o'clock, a gun from the Royal George announced that the King had entered his barge. The moment the signal was heard, a shout was raised by the thousands assembled upon shore, the effect of which was indescribably striking. When at some distance from the shore, his Majesty was saluted by Mr. Kent, who was walking upon the water, to whom his Majesty bowed. When his Majesty advanced to the landing place, three distinct, well-timed cheers were given by the tars who manned the smacks abreast of the bridge ”

“ Nevertheless, George was one of the richest men in the world—or at least he had been while on the throne, and he would be again should he ever become the reigning monarch of England. The enormous wealth which had begun to accumulate in Victoria's frugal reign had grown like a rolling snowball for over a hundred years. For the latter half century the royal investors had, wisely enough, avoided all national bonds except those of the two old republics, France and America ”

“ The whigs regarded his influence over Prince George with fear and suspicion; he was credited with instilling into his mind those exaggerated ideas of the royal prerogative which were derived from Bolingbroke's ‘Patriot King,’ and were afterwards put in practice when George became king. ”

“ Thus a year or more passed by; we had visited Cadiz, and had taken a trip up the Mediterranean, when we were ordered home with despatches. One day I observed Harry was looking less merry than usual; I asked him what was the matter. At first he did not like to tell me. At last he said—
“The truth is, father, that my messmates have found out that I was saved when the Royal George went down, and that Saint George is not my real name.”
“Never mind that, Harry,” I answered; “you have as much right to it as they have to theirs. ”

“ London is all alive; the new king seems idolized by the people, and he appears no less pleased with them; perhaps Sir George is amongst the happiest of his subjects. His Majesty swears that nothing shall be encouraged but native talent, and our friend is to get up a concert at the Duke of Sussex's, where the royal family are all to dine, at which none but English singers are to perform. Sir George dined with me on Monday, and I perceive he has already arranged in his thoughts all he proposes to tell the queen about you on this occasion. ”

“ In whatever posture one sees this royal George, he is ludicrous somehow; even at [pg 735] Dettingen, where he fought so bravely, his figure is absurd—calling out in his broken English, and lunging with his rapier, like a fencing-master. In contemporary caricatures, George's son, “the Hero of Culloden,” is also made an object of considerable fun, as witness the following picture of him defeated by the French (1757) at Hastenbeck:
I refrain to quote from Walpole regarding George—for those charming volumes are in the hands of all who love the gossip of the last century. ”

“ A wise and prudent prince would have endeavoured to conciliate the adverse faction by acts of kindness, but George turned his back upon the entire body of the Tories, and threw himself completely into the arms of the Whigs, who alone shared in the royal favour, and who used every art to confirm their own interest, and extend their connexions. The consequence was, that a spirit of the most violent discontent was excited throughout the whole kingdom, and the populace, led on by the Tories or Jacobites, raised tumults in different parts of the kingdom. ”

“ These were Sir George Hamilton and his family, and Philibert, Chevalier de Grammont. Sir George was fourth son of James, Earl of Abercorn, and of Mary, sister to James, first Duke of Ormond. Sir George had proved himself a loyal man and a brave during the late civil war, and had on the murder of his royal master sought safety in France, from which country he, in the second year of the restoration, returned, accompanied by a large family; the women of which were fair, the men fearless. ”

“ In our free air, royal and humble homes have alike been purified; and Truth, the birthright of high and low among us, which quite fearlessly judges our greatest personages, can only speak of them now in words of respect and regard. There are stains in the portrait of the first George, and traits in it which none of us need admire ”

“ He obtained from his royal consort, Queen Anne, grants of royal plates for several places, among which Epsom is, however, not mentioned.
"King George I. is not handed down to us as a sporting character; but towards the latter end of his reign, the change of the royal plates into purses of hundred guineas each took place. ”

“ Thou had'st to answer for the baseness of that thought to the King of Kings, George, when thou wentest forth—alone, no subject, courtier, friend, wife, or child to do thee service, journeying—not en prince George, no, not en prince! but as a naked soul to God. Thou said'st to me: "Get thee gone, John York, where I shall no more see thee." And when I returned: "Would'st thou have me leave thy country, sir?" thou answered'st, "Blow thy quarrelsome soul to the stars where my farthest bugle cries." ”

“ He there found himself in the midst of his own creation, and was never so well pleased, as when he was engaged in raising noble piles of architecture; in conversing with men of genius, and planning future establishments in favour of the arts and sciences. Had the other Princes of Europe been possessed of such a philosophic disposition, George would never have attacked his neighbours; he was far more pleased to be at the head of an academy at Stanley, than of a victorious army, conquering a great kingdom. ”

“ How could the people but love a sovereign Duke who, when a child was born to him, asked citizens of good repute rather than of high rank to come and be gossips?
In the revolutionary war, Duke George fought like a hero. At home, he afforded refuge to bold but honest writers, driven from more mighty states. He beautified his city, improved the country; and, without being of great mental cultivation himself, he loved to collect around him, scholars, philosophers, artists, authors, gentlemen. ”

“ He now accompanied the regiment in its march up the Shenandoah River, across the Blue Ridge, and back again to Front Royal; and from thence to Port Republic. In the battle fought at the latter place he was conspicuous for bravery. During that well-contested action be contributed all that lay in his power towards winning a victory. But valor alone cannot win a battle; numbers combined with it can only accomplish that. This was his first experience under fire; but he stood up to the work like a veteran; being second to none in deeds of daring. ”

“ During the first ten years of his reign he managed to reduce government to a shadow, and to turn the loyalty of his subjects at home into disaffection. Before twenty years were over he had forced the American colonies into revolt and independence, and brought England to what then seemed the brink of ruin. Work such as this has sometimes been done by very great men, and often by very wicked and profligate men; but George was neither profligate nor great. He had a smaller mind than any English king before him save James the Second. ”

“ From the moment George distinguished himself on the continent of Europe, he became his enemy professed, and by his intrigues, endeavoured to unite the whole force of Europe against him. He had supplyed the late King of France with immense sums of money, he had put the whole force of Spain in motion, and waited only for a proper opportunity to declare openly against the King of Great-Britain. ”

“ That inasmuch as the United States, from not having mines of gold and silver, may often want supplies of specie for a circulating medium, His Catholic Majesty, as a proof of his good will, agrees to order the masts and timber which may from time to time be wanted for his royal navy to be purchased and paid for in specie in the United States, provided the said masts and timber shall be of equal quality and when brought to Spain shall not cost more than the like may there be had for from other countries. ”

“ George the Second, contradicting the silly presages drawn from parallels, which had furnished opposition with names of unfortunate Princes, who were the second of their name, as Edward, Richard, Charles, and James, terminated his career with glory both to himself and his people. He died, crowned with years and honours, and respected from success; which with the multitude is the same as being beloved. He left a successor in the vigour of youth, ready to take the reins, and a ministry universally applauded, united, and unembarrassed by opponents. ”

“ For a long time a species of war had been declared between the King of England and his son, the Prince of Wales, which had caused much scandal; and which had enlisted the Court on one side, and made much stir in the Parliament. George had more than once broken out with indecency against his son; he had long since driven him from the palace, and would not see him. He had so cut down his income that he could scarcely subsist. The father never could endure this son, because he did not believe him to be his own. ”

“ George is tall, meagre, melancholy in his aspect. Enthusiasm and disappointment have stamped a solemnity on his person, which rather creates pity than respect: he seems the phantom, which good-nature, divested of reflection, conjures up, when we think on the misfortunes, without the demerits, of Charles the First. ”

“ Rushing in, he laid about him with the pickaxe so vigorously that the grooms, taken by surprise, one after another fell before him. As soon as all were dead, St. George put on a suit of armour and a sword that hung in the furnishing room, and, mounting the strongest horse he could find in the stable, rode boldly to the nearest gate.
'Open, porter, in the king's name,' cried he. 'Know you not that St. George of England has escaped from his dungeon, and that the whole city is seeking him? ”

“ Lord George looked upon himself as the champion of a class; to save or serve the aristocracy, irrespective of the interests of the masses of the people, was, in his opinion, patriotism, and he was willing “to spend and be spent” in that service. Throughout the debates on the customs bill, and upon the measures of reduction of duties generally which Sir Robert Peel proposed, Lord George offered an animated and pertinacious, although unavailing opposition. ”

“ George the Third was still living, but he had been out of his mind, and blind, for some time, so that his son George, prince of Wales, had been made regent in the year 1810, and conducted the government with that title, till his father’s death, which happened in the year 1820, [187] he having reigned above fifty-nine years, when George the Fourth became king, instead of regent. ”

“ Versatile (Sir George) , a scholar, pleasing in manners, warm-hearted, generous, with the seeds of virtue and the soul of honor, but being deficient in stability, he takes his color, like the chameleon, from the objects at hand. Thus, with Maria Delaval, he is manly, frank, affectionate, and noble; with Lord Vibrate, hesitating, undecided, and tossed with doubts; with Lady Vibrate, boisterously gay, extravagant, and light-hearted. Sir George is betrothed to Maria Delaval, but the death of his father delays the marriage. He travels, and gives a fling to youthful indulgences. ”

“ The whole French nation were astonished at the success of George, and a general despondency ensued every where, but in the breast of Charles. That Prince was in the neighbourhood of Lyons, at the head of a powerful army; but in doubt whether he should fight the English or no; his very crown was at stake; a defeat must inevitably strip him of his dominions ”

“ Then she sprinkled him with the water of life, and George rose up again, as if he had been born anew, as fresh as a stag, and youth beamed from his countenance. ‘Oh, how heavily I have slept!’ said George, and rubbed his eyes. ‘Yes, indeed, you have slept heavily,’ said Goldenhair; ‘and if it hadn’t been for me, you wouldn’t have waked for ever and ever.’ When the old king saw that George had come to life again, and that he was younger and handsomer than before, he wanted to be made young again also. ”