[A. D. 1784.] A year after he went to live at Carlton House his royal sire offered to pay his debts, if the accounts were sent to him. They were sent, but, after being kept for months, they were returned, because they were found to be incorrect,—twenty-five thousand pounds being entered without any explanation as to whom that sum was due. The prince declared it to be a secret of honor, which he would not reveal, and the king, in his turn, declared that he would pay no debt the nature of which his son was ashamed to acknowledge; and there the matter rested.
A.D. 1785. But the following year the prince's debts had increased to such an outrageous amount that he could see no way out of his dilemma excepting in flight. He wanted, as Earl of Chester, to remove to some German court, and there live in retirement, declaring that the king hated him, and would not allow parliament to assist him. The great trouble was, that no confidence existed between George III. and his eldest son, and neither treated the other with fairness. The ministry offered the prince a hundred thousand pounds, provided half the sum might be retained for the payment of his debts; but he pronounced the offer useless, saying that he knew the king would not listen to it, and if Pitt, the minister, were to propose such a measure he would be turned out of office. It was proposed to him to try to conciliate his royal father by ceasing to adhere to a political party in opposition to the government; but he refused to abandon Fox or any of his friends. Then it was proposed that he should marry; and, as he was very much in love with Mrs. Fitzherbert, a lady who had been divorced from a bad husband, he resolved to do so. But this marriage could not be legal for two reasons: first, because Mrs. Fitzherbert was a Catholic; and second, because no prince of the blood was permitted to marry without the king's consent before he had attained the age of twenty-five. So George, Prince of Wales, kept his marriage secret, and even had it denied in parliament, much to his wife's indignation. When the queen heard of
[Original]
it she commanded the presence of her son, and, on being assured that he was really married, and to a woman worthy of respect, she consented to receive her. Not only did Queen Charlotte show marked courtesy to Mrs. Fitzherbert, but she did a service for her son in using her influence to have all his debts paid off. Then Carlton House, which had been dull and silent, became once more the scene of gay and brilliant entertainments.
We must now return to the royal couple, and see them pleasantly established at Windsor, though with the king's health far from satisfactory. It was at this period that a remarkable lady entered the queen's service; and, as she was well-known in the literary world, she must be properly introduced. This was Frances Burney, the daughter of a musician of much talent. She was only a little child when her mother died; and, as her father seemed to think that his whole duty consisted in fondling his children and treating them with the kindness and affection his sweet temper prompted, Frances educated herself. Dr. Burney (he had the degree of Doctor of Music from the University of Oxford) really had little time for anything but the lessons he gave, for they sometimes kept him busy from seven in the morning until eleven at night, and he often carried a tin-box of sandwiches, with a bottle of wine and water, for his luncheon, which he would eat in a hack while hurrying from one pupil to another. Two of his daughters were sent to a school in Paris, and one of them taught her little sister, Frances, to write; and before she was fourteen she began to find pleasure in reading. Dr. Burney had a large library, but it contained no novels, and so his daughter's taste was not spoiled by light reading.
The social position of the Burney family was peculiar; for, while the children played with those of the tradespeople in the neighborhood, they had opportunities of seeing some very distinguished people, who were proud to know the doctor. Samuel Johnson was his most intimate friend, and they spent many a long winter evening together. David Garrick often amused the Burney girls with his powers of mimicry, and there were so many other artists and men of letters whom Frances had an opportunity of seeing that it would be tedious to mention all their names.
The very finest musicians of the day visited Dr. Burney, and esteemed him so highly that occasionally he would gather them at his modest little house, and give such a splendid concert that many members of the nobility considered it a privilege to get an invitation. At this time Frances was a shy, awkward girl, who trembled if any of the guests spoke to her. Therefore she was permitted to remain in the background, and, while thus unobserved, she watched people, observed their peculiarities, and analyzed their characters. She had a vivid imagination too, and laid up a store of material for fiction that was of great use to her later.