The life we led at Warwick House was exactly that of a child and her nurse. Dr. Short, her Royal Highness’s sub-preceptor, a good sort of Devonshire man, with some classical knowledge, very little taste, an honest heart, but over-cautious temper, fearful of offending, used to come every morning and read English to her Royal Highness from eleven to twelve, at which hour he was succeeded by Mr. Sterkey, minister of the Swiss church, who read French to her; a man of good manners for his station, and of a pliant disposition, ready to do anything not actually wicked, and, I believe, an excellent husband and father. As to Küper, the German preceptor, I could not get her to let him give his usual lessons. She thought him a spy, and perhaps not entirely without reason; but he might have been useful with respect to information, for he was a learned man, and did not want judgment with regard to Greek and Latin, as well as the German language. Mrs. Miles, her music mistress, used frequently to give her lessons in the evening; and she had instructions on the guitar, first from Ventura, a Venetian, who sang prettily, and had practical facility, and afterwards from Vacari, a scientific professor of music, and an excellent player on the violin, who had left the band of the King of Spain, and whose wife was a Spaniard, and taught Princess Charlotte the wild Spanish manner of playing, which the Miss Fitzroys also imitated very happily.
The Bishop of Salisbury used to come three or four times a week, and “do the important” as her Royal Highness’s preceptor. He had expressed great satisfaction at my coming into her service, and had, I know, wished it many years before; but however willing I was to be on the best terms with the Bishop, and to induce Princess Charlotte to treat him with attention, I could not but see how narrow his views, how strong his prejudices, and how unequal his talents were to the charge with which he had been entrusted by the good old King, much against the Prince’s inclination. The Bishop’s great points were to arm Princess Charlotte against the encouragement of Popery and Whig principles (two evils which he seemed to think equally great), and to appear himself a man of consequence. His best accomplishment was a taste for drawing, and a love of the fine arts. I have often put him in a good humour by showing him a drawing, or forwarding his proposals of accompanying Princess Charlotte to exhibitions. Indeed, though she was not fond of the Bishop’s company at any time, and more particularly after two o’clock, when it had been decided by the Prince that he had nothing more to do at Warwick House, she would good naturedly allow him to be our cicerone on these occasions, and nothing could gratify him more, except a Garter ceremony, on which occasion he never failed to make his appearance at Warwick House in his dress as Chancellor of the Order.
The Bishop having been preceptor to the Duke of Kent, and living much at Windsor, where he was formerly a canon, had imbibed the bad style of manners belonging to that place, and as it was not grafted on any natural or acquired elegance, he was in that respect also unfit for his situation; added to which, his temper was hasty, and his vanity easily alarmed. His disputes with Lady de Clifford had been terrible, and he seemed now to bless himself that things went on so well and so quietly. Indeed, I thought it important they should do so, and the good Duchess of Leeds had no inclination to quarrel with anybody. Provided that she might ride two or three times a week at Hall’s—a second-rate riding-school—on an old quiet horse for exercise, get into her shower-bath, and take calomel when she pleased, dine out, and go to all parties when invited, shake hands with everybody, and touch her salary, she cared for nothing more, except when mischievous people to plague her, or curious gossips to find out what was going on, talked to her about Princess Charlotte’s petticoats being too short,[[142]] of her Royal Highness nodding instead of bowing, or talking to the maids of honour at chapel between the prayers and the sermon.
On these occasions the poor Duchess became bilious, cried in her sleep, and begged and prayed me next day to talk to Princess Charlotte, for she did not like to venture on anything herself, unless driven to the last extremity. The financial department being wholly in her keeping, this was a very sore subject. Princess Charlotte had been, until just before Lady de Clifford left her, allowed ten pounds a month for pocket money; more than which she lost at cards at Windsor, for her Royal Highness was not fond of play, and still less of the practice of having her hand made for her to the detriment of others; therefore she, of course, seldom won a pool at commerce, and Lady de Clifford was obliged, to furnish her with money for her little charities out of the eight hundred pounds a year allotted for her wardrobe. Before she left her Royal Highness she increased the monthly allowance to fifteen pounds, saying they could not lessen it; and this was all Princess Charlotte had absolutely at her own disposal; and now that balls and birthdays necessarily took up so much money for dresses, which the Prince and Royal Family expected should be new and splendid, the difficulties were great.
Mrs. Louis, a German, Princess Charlotte’s second dresser, and now the only one capable of exertion (for Mrs. Gagarin was in a dying state), possessed taste and economy superior to anything I ever saw, added to excellent principles of religion and morality, and a constant cheerfulness of temper. She was invaluable from all points of view. Her contrivances with respect to her Royal Highness’s wardrobe, to which she gave the appearance of novelty at a very trifling expense, were truly praiseworthy in a situation where extravagance and airs are so apt to characterise the menial servants of Princesses. But with all this economy, eight hundred pounds a year could not do more than dress her Royal Highness with propriety.
Fortunately, she was not desirous of sacrificing either time or treasure on her toilette, but she liked pictures, and specimens of the fine arts of every description; and she loved nothing so much as making presents of valuable trinkets to her young friends, who were ready enough to accept them, and the poor Duchess had really sufficient cause for crying in her sleep when quarter-day came about. Yet it is astonishing to think with what propriety, order, and regularity the house went on, with such small funds as were allowed. Fourteen thousand pounds was the average expense, from which pensions to the amount of nearly two thousand pounds a year, and salaries which could not amount to less than four thousand pounds more, were to be subtracted, a steward, page, two dressers, and a proportionate number of servants to be maintained, carriages and horses kept, and, in short, all the expenses of a family paid, excepting her Royal Highness’s saddle horses, which were kept at Carlton House stables.
Mrs. Gagarin, who had lived with Princess Charlotte from her infancy, was an excellent person; she was an Englishwoman, but in her youth had been unfortunately married to a Russian Prince, whom she afterwards discovered to be the husband of another, and whom she therefore left without even claiming a provision. This was told me in confidence by Princess Charlotte, who had almost a filial regard for her. Mrs. Gagarin had one daughter, whom she had placed, after giving her a good education, as governess in a Scotch family, where she became acquainted with a worthy clergyman named Wightman, and was engaged to him. Some months before I came to Princess Charlotte, Mrs. Gagarin had fallen into a bad state of health, and her daughter came to stay with her. Why I cannot tell, but the Queen and Princesses had been much displeased with this, and with the notice which Princess Charlotte took of her; and after giving up the plan of dismissing all the servants, which had been their intention when the Duchess and I came into office, they at least took care that Miss Gagarin should be married as soon as possible, and sent away with her husband to a small living near Bath, given him by the Bishop of Salisbury, whither Mrs. Gagarin was also sent, on pretence of change of air being beneficial to her health, but in fact hoping she would not return, for this was confessed to me. However, though far from recovering, she was most anxious to return as soon as the weather allowed her to travel; and we had her back. Every care, every attention which the kindest and most considerate affection could suggest were bestowed on her by Princess Charlotte. While she was capable of taking airings, her Royal Highness constantly sent her out in a carriage, and when she grew so weak as to be confined to her room, visited her two or three times a day, carried her in her arms to the window, and exerted every faculty to soothe and comfort her. Indeed, Princess Charlotte was kind and benevolent to all her servants, yet never condescended to any unbecoming familiarity with them, or treated them with more confidence than could be justified by their stations and conduct. They all idolised her.
On the 5th of May I went in the evening to the Duchess d’Angoulême, who had sent the Duke de Sérent to say she was in town, and desired I should be presented to her, as I had been to the King, Monsieur, and the Duke d’Angoulême at Carlton House. I went about eight, and found her in a small house in South Audley-street, belonging to Monsieur. She received me very graciously, and placed me beside herself; the room was full of French emigrants, a foreign minister or two, and two or three other strangers. Her profile was good, and she would have been beautiful had not early misfortune nipped the blossom. Her figure stooped, but it was rather a good one. Her dress particularly plain and unassuming; her manner perfectly unaffected; her voice rather too loud, and her articulation rather too quick to be pleasing, otherwise than by a tone of sincerity, which was very striking. The manners of Monsieur were perfect, and his countenance still very pleasing. The Duchess de Coigny struck me as singularly well bred and agreeable.
The Queen and Princesses came to town pretty often, and at those times we went to Carlton House, usually the Princess and Duchess to dinner, and all of us in the evening.
On the 12th there was a ball there, and also on the 1st of June. The next day, the Duchess being ill, I had to accompany Princess Charlotte to dinner at Carlton House. The Queen, two of the Princesses, and a small party dined there. The Hertfords, Liverpools, Cholmondeleys, Hampdens, and Lord St. Helens, were the usual set, and were there that day. The Prince was uncommonly gracious to me, and it was settled that I was to go to Windsor with Princess Charlotte on the 4th of June (the King’s birthday), dine at Frogmore, and come back the next day. We went, and the Prince was again all courtesy. He seemed very anxious that the Duchess of Leeds should send the Queen a letter[[143]] of mine, which she had never seen, and which he and good Princess Augusta thought would restore me to her favour. At all events, he desired I would not be uneasy, and that although the Queen might be angry with me herself, he was sure she would be much more angry with any one who should speak against me. He was in high good humour, but in the midst of it, tapping me on the shoulder, said, “Remember, however, my dear Chevalier, that Charlotte must lay aside the idle nonsense of thinking that she has a will of her own; while I live she must be subject to me as she is at present, if she were thirty, or forty, or five-and-forty.” This, of course, I did not repeat to her Royal Highness.