as Lord North, is to remain under the title of servant to the Prince; but both are to attend the Princes George and Edward as governor and equery." Two years after this, in describing the character of George, Her Royal Highness observes, "that he was very honest, but she wished he was a little more forward, and less childish at his age; and that she hoped his preceptors would improve him." "She said, she really did not know what they taught him; but, to speak freely, she believed not much: that when they were in the country they followed their diversions, and not much else that she could discover; that she must hope it would be better when they came to town." "She said that Stone* told her, that when he talked to the Prince on the subjects of government and the constitution, he seemed to give a proper attention, and make pertinent remarks: that Stone was a sensible man, and capable of instructing in things as well as in books: that Lord Harcourt and the Prince agreed very well; but she thought he could not learn much from his lordship: that Scott, in her opinion, was a very proper preceptor; but as for the good Bishop (of Norwich), he might be, and she supposed he was, a mighty learned man, but he did not seem to be very proper to convey knowledge to her children; he had not that clearness which she thought necessary; she did not very well comprehend him herself, -his thoughts seemed to be too many for his words: that she did not observe the Prince to take any partiality to any body about him, but to his brother Edward, and she was very glad of it; for the young people of quality were ill-educated, and so very vicious, that they frightened her. She repeated, that he was a very honest boy, and that his chief passion seemed to be for Edward." "Dec. 5. 1752. Lord Harcourt resigned his office as governor to the Prince. He offered to do so, unless Mr. Stone (placed as sub-governor by the ministers), Mr. Scott, tutor in the late prince's time, but recommended by Lord Bolingbroke, * One of the tutors who had been accused of Jacobitism. height; while the eldest son and heir-apparent was not only excluded from the presence and councils of his father, but was forced to reside in a private mansion in St. James's Square. It was at Norfolk House that Prince George, afterwards George III., the eldest son of Frederick Prince of Wales, by the Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, was born, May 24. 1738. O. S. The accouchement of Her Royal Highness was premature, having taken place at the conclusion of seven months; but this circumstance, usually considered as an indication of weakness, never appears to have affected the health, strength, or stature, either of the child or the future man. In consequence of the sudden death of his father, the Prince of Wales, the charge of the royal infant devolved almost solely on the Princess-dowager, who was a fond mother, and appears to have united considerable good sense with a certain portion of German stateliness. The education of the heir-apparent to the crown of England was a subject of the utmost consequence to the nation at large. Accordingly, the conduct of the Princess-dowager on this occasion was viewed with a scrutinising eye; and such a jealousy at length prevailed, that great and frequent changes took place in the inferior departments of the young prince's household. Of some of his instructors, the capacity was doubted; while others were accused of being adherents to the Pretender, and, consequently, enemies to the Protestant succession in the house of Brunswick. It is to the famous "Diary" of George Bubb Doddington, afterwards Baron of Melcombe Regis, who, abjuring the service of the old King, entered into that of Frederick Prince of Wales, and paid his respects daily at the court of Leicester House, to which His Royal Highness had removed, that we are to look for authentic information. Under the date of Oct. 16. 1749, we find the following entry: "The Princess talked to me about Lord North for a governor to Prince George, which I approved of." In 1750, we find the following memorandum: "Lord Bute kissed hands for the bed as Lord North, is to remain under the title of servant to the Prince; but both are to attend the Princes George and Edward as governor and equery." Two years after this, in describing the character of George, Her Royal Highness observes, " that he was very honest, but she wished he was a little more forward, and less childish at his age; and that she hoped his preceptors would improve him." "She said, she really did not know what they taught him; but, to speak freely, she believed not much: that when they were in the country they followed their diversions, and not much else that she could discover; that she must hope it would be better when they came to town." "She said that Stone* told her, that when he talked to the Prince on the subjects of government and the constitution, he seemed to give a proper attention, and make pertinent remarks: that Stone was a sensible man, and capable of instructing in things as well as in books: that Lord Harcourt and the Prince agreed very well; but she thought he could not learn much from his lordship: that Scott, in her opinion, was a very proper preceptor; but as for the good Bishop (of Norwich), he might be, and she supposed he was, a mighty learned man, but he did not seem to be very proper to convey knowledge to her children; he had not that clearness which she thought necessary; she did not very well comprehend him herself, - his thoughts seemed to be too many for his words: that she did not observe the Prince to take any partiality to any body about him, but to his brother Edward, and she was very glad of it; for the young people of quality were ill-educated, and so very vicious, that they frightened her. She repeated, that he was a very honest boy, and that his chief passion seemed to be for Edward." "Dec. 5. 1752. Lord Harcourt resigned his office as governor to the Prince. He offered to do so, unless Mr. Stone (placed as sub-governor by the ministers), Mr. Scott, tutor in the late prince's time, but recommended by Lord Bolingbroke, * One of the tutors who had been accused of Jacobitism. and Mr. Cresset, made treasurer by the Princess's recommendation, were removed. The Bishop of Norwich also sent in his resignation." "January 3. 1753. The Bishop of Peterborough made preceptor to the Prince of Wales." * Soon after this we find Lord Waldegrave acting as governor; and it appears, that some documents were transmitted to the King, accusing the tutors of having put improper books into the young Prince's hands, while Lord Bute, the head of a disaffected Scotch family who had been some time his governor, possessed a large portion of his confidence. At length, on the sudden and unexpected demise of the King, in the midst of a popular and successful war, conducted by the first Mr. Pitt, with a degree of ability that excited the admiration of all Europe, his grandson succeeded to the vacant crown, by the style and title of George III. At the time he ascended the throne, (Oct. 25. 1760,) His Majesty had just completed his twenty-second year, and the period has always been quoted as the most fortunate in our history; this country being victorious abroad, while plenty, happiness, and unanimity prevailed at home. The council having been summoned, the new king delivered the following address: "The loss that I and the nation have sustained by the death of the King my grandfather, would have been severely felt at any time; but coming at so critical a juncture, and so unexpected, it is by many circumstances augmented, and the weight now falling on me being much increased, I feel my own insufficiency to support it as I wish; but, animated by the tenderest affection for my native country, and depending upon the advice, experience, and abilities of your lordships, as well as on the support of every honest man, I enter with cheerfulness into this arduous situation, and shall make it the business of my One of these is said to have been Pere Orleans' History of Great Britain; but, according to the Princess-dowager's statement to Lord Melcombe Regis, it was Pere Prefixe's Introduction to the Life of Henry IV. of France, that gave occasion life to promote, in every thing, the glory and happiness of these kingdoms, as well as to preserve and strengthen the constitution in both church and state; and as I mount the throne in the midst of an expensive, but just and necessary war, I shall endeavour to prosecute it in a manner the most likely to bring on an honourable and lasting peace, in concert with my allies." On the assembling of Parliament, His Majesty pronounced a very appropriate and popular speech, which afforded general satisfaction throughout the nation: "Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Briton; and the peculiar happiness of my life will ever consist in promoting the welfare of a people whose loyalty and warm affection for me I consider as the greatest and most permanent security of my throne; and I doubt not but their steadiness in those principles will equal the firmness of my invariable resolution to adhere to and strengthen this excellent constitution in church and state, and to maintain toleration inviolable. The civil and religious rights of my loving subjects are equally dear to me with the most valuable prerogatives of my crown; and as the surest foundation of the whole, and the best means to draw down the Divine favour on my reign, it is my fixed purpose to countenance and encourage the practice of true religion and virtue." The new king may be said to have commenced his reign with a noble improvement of the laws, which, although it neither bereaved him of power nor patronage, tended not a little to endear him to his people. His Majesty on this occasion was pleased to declare, by an address to Parliament from the throne," that he looked upon the independence and uprightness of the Judges as essential to the impartial administration of justice, as one of the best securities of the rights and liberties of his subjects, and as most conducive to the honour of the crown." * A special act of parliament was accordingly passed, by * Stat. 1 Geo. III. c. 25. |