Don Fernando Prince of Portugalfrom recollectionP.V. del. Ken. Palace. April, 1836.H.S.H. PRINCE FERDINAND OF SAXE-COBURG,AFTERWARDS KING CONSORT OF PORTUGAL.From a sketch by Princess Victoria.
Don Fernando Prince of Portugalfrom recollectionP.V. del. Ken. Palace. April, 1836.
H.S.H. PRINCE FERDINAND OF SAXE-COBURG,AFTERWARDS KING CONSORT OF PORTUGAL.From a sketch by Princess Victoria.
Lord Melbourne said Lord Redesdale[484]broughthim the Duke of Wellington’s letter yesterday. Lord Melbourne had seen Lord John this morning, who thinks we shall only have a majority of 11 to-night, and that Mr. Hobhouse said we should have more in order to delude us into security.
Wednesday, 16th May.—Got up at 10 and heard from Lord John that on a Divisionwehad a majority of 19, which he said was more than he expected. How thankful I am and feel! Lord Melbourne said he heard that Ferdinand was annoyed at our pressing the Portuguese Government about the Slave Trade; and that it would be well, if I were to state to Ferdinand that the feeling was so strong in this country about Slavery, and we were so pressed about it, that it was impossible for us to do otherwise. I spoke to Lord Melbourne of these Resolutions relative to the Irish Tithe Bill, which I thought excellent, but which he said a very great number of people were against. I observed that Lord John had told me at Windsor that he thought we should not carry it, but that it might be compromised. Lord Melbourne then again repeated that the Established Church wasgenerallykept up for the Poor, as the rich could afford that themselves; whereas in Ireland, 700,000 are Roman Catholics, and the Established Church isonlykept up for the Protestant feeling in the United Kingdom, and not for the Poor who are almost all Roman Catholics. I then asked about who should stand Sponsor in my place at the Christening of Col. and Lady Catharine Buckley’s[485]little boy, who is to be christened down in the New Forest where they lived. I said the child was to be calledVictor, which Ithought an ugly name; he did not, and said laughing that “Sir Victor Buckley” would sound very well....
Friday, 18th May.—We spoke of various things; I asked him if he liked my headdress which was done in plaits round my ears,[486]for I knowin generalhe only likes the hair in front crêpé in 2 puffs. He said, looking at me and making one of his funny faces, “It’s pretty; isn’t it rather curious—something new?”
Saturday, 19th May.—At a little after 2 I rode out with Mamma, Lord Uxbridge, Lord Torrington, Lady Forbes, dearest Lehzen, Lord Alfred, Miss Dillon, Mr. Murray, Lord Headfort, Lady Flora, Miss Quentin, and Col. Cavendish, and came home at 6 m. to 5. I rode dear little Uxbridge who wentperfectly. We met Lord Melbourne in going out, who was riding his pony. We rode out by the Harrow Road and home by the Uxbridge Road and Park. Heard from Lord John that “he yesterday stated to the House of Commons the course respecting the Irish Bills, which he had the honour to explain to Your Majesty yesterday. Sir Robert Peel asked for a delay till Friday, and appeared much agitated; but what afterwards fell from him gives every reason to suppose that the Municipal Corporations Bill will not be opposed. Nor is it probable that the Irish Tithe Bill will meet with resistance from the Radical party in the House of Commons. The Chancellor of the Exchequer made a very clear financial statement, and the deficiency of the Revenue being before known, no disappointment was caused by the announcement. Should matters proceed smoothlyanother fortnight will end the chief party questions in the House of Commons.” This wasdelightfulnews.... “Very nice party” (my Concert), Lord M. said, “and everybody very much pleased.” I smiled and said I feared I had done it very ill; that I was quite angry with myself and thought I had done it so ill; and was not civil enough. He said most kindly, “Oh! no, quite the contrary, for I should have told you if it had been otherwise.” I then said I had felt so nervous and shy. “That wasn’t at all observed,” he said. I said that I often stood before a person not knowing what to say; and Lord Melbourne said that the longer one stood thinking the worse it was; and he really thought the best thing to do was to say anything commonplace and foolish, better than to say nothing.
Sunday, 20th May.—Lord Melbourne was in delightful spirits andsotalkative andsokind and sovery agreeablethroughout the evening. I almost fear therefore (in consequence of our having talked so much) that I may have forgotten some of the things we talked about. I asked him if he had dined at Lord Shrewsbury’s the night before; he said no, that it was all a mistake; he went there, was shown upstairs, where he found Lord Shrewsbury alone with his books and papers, who said that all his family were gone to the Opera; Lord Melbourne said, “I came to dine here”; upon which Lord S. told him that it wasnextSaturday; Lord Melbourne said it was very stupid of himself to forget it, as Lord Shrewsbury had put off the dinner on account of him. He walked home, found his people at home, got his dinner in ½ an hour, and went to his sister’s. Spoke of the Preachers being so badly appointed at the Chapel Royal, which Lord Melbourne said wasa great pity, as it would have been such “an instrument of good” if it had been the contrary. We looked at some prints, and amongst others there was a very clever one of Capt. Macheath with Polly and Lucy inThe Beggar’s Opera; Lord Melbourne said thatThe Beggar’s Operawas written by Gay, and was used by the Tory Party in order to show up Lord Townshend[487]and Sir Robert Walpole; was very clever, and had an immense run; but is coarse beyond conception; it was likewise performed with great success when Lord Sandwich brought forward an indictment against Mr. Wilkes for immorality. Of Lord Teynham[488]wanting to have a Private Audience of me, which Lord Melbourne stopped; he said Peers are only allowed to have these Private Audiences to speak on Public Affairs, and not on Private concerns; that when the Regent wanted to prevent Lady Jersey going so often to see Princess Charlotte, Lord Jersey asked for a Private audience; and the Regent said to him, “Of course you come to speak of Public matters, for if you come to speak about your wife, I cannot speak to you,” and he spoke to him upon ordinary matters and dismissed him. Talleyrand is dead—at last!
Monday, 21st May.—Spoke of Talleyrand’s death, which Lord Melbourne said he heard was quite like that of the former French Ministers—like Mazarin—the house full of people to see him die. He (Ld. Melbourne) said he had heard that Louis Philippeand Mme. Adelaide had been to see Talleyrand. Spoke of his fear of dying, which Lord Melbourne said people always said of persons whose feelings on religion were rather loose. Lord Melbourne said he heard that Talleyrand had signed a sort of recantation to the Pope, for something he had done, at the time of the Revolution—for having performed Mass upon some occasion or other....[489]
Thursday, 24th May.—I this day enter my 20th year, which I thinkveryold! In looking back on the past year, I feel more grateful than I can express forallthevery great blessingsI have received since my last birthday. I have onlyone verydear affectionate friend less—dearest Louis! Oh! if she could but be still with us!! Though I havelostadearfriend, I can never bethankfulenough for thetrue, faithful, honest, kindone I’vegainedsince last year, which is myexcellentLord Melbourne, who is so kind and good to me!!... At 25 m. p. 10 I went with the whole Royal Family into the other Ball-room through the Saloon which was full of people; after speaking to a good many I went to my seat (without sitting down) and then opened the Ball in a Quadrille with George.[490]There were about the same number of people there as at the 1st Ball, and a great number of Foreigners there. My good Lord Melbourne came up to me after my 1st Quadrille, but only stopped one minute, and though I saw him looking on at 3 of the Quadrilles I danced afterwards, he never came near me again, which I was very sorry for; and when I sent for him after supper, he was gone.... After supper I danced 4Quadrilles in Strauss’s room; he was playing most beautifully. I danced with Lord George Paget,[491]Lord Cantelupe,[492]Lord Milton,[493]and Lord Leveson. Count Eugene Zichy (cousin to Countess Zichy’s husband) wore a most beautiful uniform all covered with splendid turquoises; he is a handsome man, with a very good-natured expression, as he is too, very unaffected and good-humoured, and a beautiful valzer. We then went into the other room, and danced a regular old English Country Dance of 72 couple, which lasted 1 hour, from 3 till 4! I danced with Lord Uxbridge, Lord Cantelupe and Lady Cowper being next, and the Duke of Devonshire and Lady Lothian[494]on the other side. It was the merriest, most delightful thing possible. I left the Ball room at 10 m. p. 4, and was in bed at 5—broad daylight. It was adelightfulBall, and the pleasantest birthday I’ve spent formanyyears!...
Monday, 28th May.—Spoke of writing to George of Hanover,[495]which he said I should do; and also to the King of Hanover for his birthday; spoke ofthe report of poor George’s marrying a Russian Princess. He then continued saying it would raise a curious question, “his marrying a Greek” (of the Greek religion it is); for he believed thatonlymarryingRoman Catholicswas forbidden bylawhere (George being in the succession here). I said I thought it was said,allwho were not of theReformed Religion, without naming specifically (Greek, he says, he supposes is included under Roman Catholics)Roman Catholic. Lord Melbourne said I might be right, for that he had not looked at the Act for some time. He said he believed also that George could not marry without my leave.[496]
Tuesday, 29th May.—I told him that Lord Glenelg had made me a present of a Black Swan; Lord Melbourne said that aBlack Swanwasnota Swan; “It’s a Goose.” Lady Mulgrave said the Ancients had Black Swans, and to prove it began quoting the lines from the Latin Grammar, which Lord Melbourne then repeated, and which I used to learn: “Rara avis in terris, nigroque simillima cygno.” Lord Melbourne said,thatmeant to describe something very rare, and whichdid not exist. I said to Lord Melbourne I was very glad to hear that he would come down to Windsor for the Eton Montem. He said, “It’s quite right to go, but I don’t think it’s a very pleasant thing, the Montem; rather foolish”; and we spoke of the Regatta on the 4th of June, to which I’m not going. “The Regatta as you call it,” he said to Lady Mulgrave; “The Boats” it used always to be called.Thatis in fact donewithoutthe consent of the Masters, and all the boys were generally flogged next day. LordMelbourne has not been to a Montem since 1809. In speaking of the head Colleger who generally is made the Captain, he said he was usually a big boy about 19; “More foolish than a boy,” Lord Melbourne said laughing; and that the expenses were generally so great, and the boy so extravagant for some time before, that he seldomclearedanything. I said the Montem generally ended in the boys’ being sick and drunk; Lord Melbourne said in his funny manner, he thought in these days of education, no boys ever got drunk or sick—which I fear isnotthe case. He said all this eating and drinking, “all the chocolate and tea and coffee” for breakfast, had got up since his time; that when he was at Eton, they used to cut a roll in half and put a pat of butter inside it and give it to you, and that you then might drink a glass of milk and water (for breakfast); “I never could take milk, and therefore I always took water,” he said, “and we did very well”; much better he thinks than they do now. He said that he remembered people always gave children what they disliked most; he used (before he went to school) to haveeveryday boiled mutton and rice pudding, which he hated; “Children’s stomachs are rather squeamish,” he said; and boiled mutton is particularly nauseous to a child, he observed; and he hated rice pudding. “Somehow or other,” he said, “they found out you disliked it, and there it was every day”; this, he thinks (and everybody else almost, I think, ought to do so), a bad system. He added, “Children’s stomachs are rather delicate andqueasy”; which made us all laugh.
Thursday, 31st May.—He said that Lord Mulgrave was very anxious about being made a Marquis atthe Coronation, and that he supposed it must be done, but that it would offend other Earls; he added that there was great difficulty about making these Peers,—but that he must soon lay the list before me. “I shall advise Your Majesty to make as few as possible,” he added. It would not do, he said, to make any Members of the House of Commons Peers, on account of vacating their seats. Lord Dundas wishes to be made an Earl, he says, which he supposes should be granted; and Lord Barham wishes to be made Earl of Gainsborough.[497]William IV. made 16 Peers and 24 Baronets at his Coronation; and George IV. 15 Peers; “he was so clogged with promises,” Lord Melbourne said, “he had made such heaps of promises.”