O'er him Thine arm extend,
For Britain's sake defend,
Our father, prince, and friend,
God save the king!"
We have scarcely mentioned Prince William, Duke of Clarence, third son of George III. and Queen Charlotte. At the age of thirteen he was sent as midshipman on board a man-of-war, and told to fight his way. He obeyed by having a wrestle with another "middy" soon after he was afloat, and in this way secured the respect of his fellow-officers. He was present in several important actions, under different admirals, and when a certain Spanish commander was brought prisoner on board the "Prince George," this smart, active, young midshipman, whom he observed on duty at the gangway, was pointed out to him as a prince of the blood, he exclaimed, "Well may England be queen of the seas, when the son of her sovereign is engaged in such duty!" Prince William was the least courteous of the queen's Sons,—owing, perhaps, to the fact of his having spent so many years among sailors, enjoying the freedom of a life on the ocean wave; but he was certainly coarse in manners and speech. Once he disappointed his sister, Princess Mary, very much by drinking champagne until he was too intoxicated to dance a minuet with her at the drawing-room, as he had promised. We shall tell more about this prince hereafter, when he becomes King of England.
Of the marriage of the Prince of Wales with Princess Caroline of Brunswick, which took place about this time, we need only say that it began, continued, and ended miserably; but the particulars of it and of the remainder of their lives will be considered in the ensuing reign.
A.D. 1801. We pass over five years, and find the prince in full opposition against the crown and Pitt, which, with other matters, weighed so heavily on the mind of the king that a return of his malady was the consequence. He improved, after a few weeks, enough to be able to open parliament in person; but he required constant watching, and could not attend any of the entertainments he was in the habit of honoring with his patronage. He lived with the utmost regularity, but was excessively careless about taking cold, though it was always a prelude to the attacks of brain fever that had perceptibly impaired his mind.
A.D. 1804. He was living at Windsor with his family when he again became suddenly and alarmingly ill. His attack was called rheumatic, but his mind was more affected than his body, and no wonder; for he was constantly on the rack between public affairs, changes, and quarrels in the ministry and the conduct of his sons. He recovered after several weeks, only to continue the contest which had begun between himself and the Prince of Wales, relative to the residence and education of the Princess Charlotte, daughter, of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The monarch wished her to be placed under the supervision of the queen at Windsor, in order that she might be brought up properly; but the prince objected merely for the sake of opposition. After years of estrangement the father and son had an interview on the subject; but the latter was so insulting in his tone and manner that the poor king was more annoyed than ever.
A.D. 1805. The remaining years of his life were spent in retirement, except on rare occasions; and the queen, who watched over him with a true wife's devotion, beheld the gradual but certain decay of his mental faculties, the details of which are too painful to be interesting.
The Queens of England. A gorgeous entertainment, the expense of which exceeded fifty thousand pounds, was given by the king at Windsor on the installation of the Knights of the Order of the Garter; but his conduct was so undignified, and so different from what that of a monarch should have been on such an occasion, that the queen looked at him in amazement, and perhaps wondered whether it was all due to his disordered mind.