time that the Bishop of Osnaburg not being under any subordination, in regard to General Bude, might have treated him as a wholly indifferent person, yet Colonel Greville looked upon the General as his superior, and in many things was directed by his advice, in regard to the conduct that was to be pursued towards the royal youths, particularly the Bishop of Osnaburg, who frequently showed a disposition to be rather unruly, and to have a will of his own, which was not exactly consistent with that submission, which was properly due to those, who had the charge of him, and who were deeply responsible for the consequences of any act which he might commit. It is also worthy of remark, that there were few families who could exhibit more pleasing instances of fraternal love, than the Royal Family of England, particularly amongst the male branches of it. Until they made their entrance upon the public stage of life, where a diversity of opinion, and particularly of politics, estranged them from one another, they lived amongst each other in the closest bonds of friendship and affection. The profession which Prince William had chosen, separated him, indeed, a good deal from his brothers, but whenever they met, there was that open display of unequivocal affection for each other, that united them, as it were in one body and instigated them to espouse the cause of each other, with all the zeal and constancy of the sincere and genuine friend. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of York were always particularly attached to each other, they had been brought up together, they became the confidants of each other, and the manner in which the Prince of Wales, when Prince Regent, behaved towards his brother in the midst of the disgrace and obloquy that attached to him, in the affair of Mrs. Clarke, showed that the early impressions of fraternal affection, had not been erased from his bosom, and that he was himself, willing to endure the utmost extreme of unpopularity, rather than not support his brother, through the degrading ordeal, which he had to undergo. Although some dissimilarity existed in the general character and dispositions of the Bishop of Osnaburg and Prince William, still they always espoused each other's cause, with a warmth and boldness, which bordered strongly on enthusiasm, and a person had only to show himself an enemy to one of them, to meet with the most direct proofs of hostility from the other. General Bude had in many instances shown a decided opposition to many of the plans and pursuits of the Bishop of Osnaburg, and had not hesitated to express his opinion openly on the subject. This was quite sufficient to rouse the resentment of Prince William, and during almost the whole of the journey from Hanover to Berlin, it was a kind of defensive alliance between the royal youths, against the encroachments and authority of their military preceptors. Captain Merrick acted a more politic part, and resolved to maintain a strict neutrality; he knew the duty which he had to perform, and nothing could induce him to step beyond the line of it. The General and the Bishop might have exhausted their conversational powers about fashion, costume, and other favourite topics, and Captain Merrick would have seated himself at the window, or in a corner of the room, and taking up a book, would allow the combatants to carry on the contest, without manifesting the slightest disposition to range himself on either side, or to become a partizan of any of their peculiar notions. In his conversation, General Bude was a decided mannerist, and there were some particular words to which he showed such a decided preference, that he appeared glad of every opportunity in which he could introduce them, nor was this habit confined only to his conversation, but it exhibited itself also in his writings. Amongst those favourite words were those of et cetera. He never subscribed his name without two or three &c's. underneath it, and in the body of his letters, the &c's shone conspicuously, and not unfrequently very inappropriately,. Prince William was by no means ignorant of this peculiarity in the style of the worthy General, and on taking up their quarters one night at Heidelberg, his Royal Highness had an opportunity of passing his joke upon the General, which excited considerable laughter amongst the whole of the party, and gained for the General privately among themselves, the soubriquet of ET CETERA. The first thing which the host of an inn performs on the arrival of a party of guests, is to place in their hands his bill of fare, and to those who have travelled on the continent, the singularity and originality which are frequently displayed in those documents must be well known. They are generally a compound of all languages huddled together, but the French in general preponderating, and on the bill of fare which was handed to the royal party, Prince William read the following: Punch, Rum, Curacoa, petit-lait D'Henri Quatre, "There is an article in this bill of fare," said Prince William to the General, "that I know is particularly agreeable to your taste." "Pray what may it be, your Royal Highness?" said the General, "you are aware that I am not particularly partial to made dishes, but as you know I am partial to the dish you have fixed upon, pray order some." "It is one, I own," said Prince William, "that I never met with before in a bill of fare, but before we call in the host you will, perhaps, take a glance at the bill, and see if you give the preference to any other; the article I have selected for you is the one last mentioned." The General wiped his spectacles, and proceeded to peruse the bill, then with a smile on his countenance, said, "Why, your Royal Highness surely does not mean that I am to order et cetera for my supper." Certainly I do," said Prince William," it is a kind of standing dish with you, and as Heidelberg is celebrated for its wine, it may perhaps be equally so for its et cetera." The General saw the drift of his Royal Highness's joke, and although the whole party laughed at his expense, yet he bore it with great good humour, and the dish of et cetera became afterwards with the whole of the party a standing joke. On the arrival of the royal party at Berlin, they found that Frederick, one of the most extraordinary monarchs that ever ruled the destinies of a country, had retired to Potsdam, where he was busily employed in remodelling the affairs of his government, and in encouraging the extension of the arts and sciences, particularly agriculture. He had collected around him some of the best practical farmers from the agricultural districts of England and Scotland, and had also imported some of the most improved breeds of sheep and cattle, and it was by no means a disparagement to two of the kings of Europe, George of England, and Frederic of Prussia, to say of them, that instead of carrying the sword amongst the nations of the world, they were watching the progress of the ploughshare, and opening the sources of affluence and prosperity to their respective subjects. Both these monarchs had emerged from a sanguinary and devastating war, though differing widely in their results. One had lost a territory greater than the whole kingdom of the other, and the latter could at one time almost overlook the territory which the victorious career of his enemies had left him. But supported and animated by the inexhaustible resources of his genius, he roused himself like a giant refreshed, and at the head of his gallant army, scattered before him the combined forces of Russia and Austria, and obtained a glorious peace, leaving him master of his natal dominions, and sovereign of his conquered countries. The mind of Frederick, unlike that of George of England, was all comprehensive in its grasp; though maligned and calumniated for his free thinking opinions, he was one of those men at the head of his government, who would almost have reconciled a republican to a monarchy. Though fast verging to aristocratism, be had the prudence and wisdom to call those men to his councils, who, were well versed in all the minutiae of a practical and useful government, and such was the example that Frederick himself set to his people, that perhaps, at no former period of the Prussian history, were they animated with such a glowing enthusiasm for everything that was great and grand. Prussia was at that time a noble theatre for the two royal youths to trace the rise and progress of modern kingdoms. The sources of a most useful reflection were opened to them, in viewing the first germs of civilization expanding by degrees, into the full beauty of refinement and order; in observing the mighty workings of the mind during the dark ages, and the fine actions which irradiated the first twilight of improvement, until the sun of mental illumination blessed the countries of the earth with its all invigorating and enlivening beams. The book of history was open to them, in every page of which they could find some important lesson, which as British Princes they ought to have impressed indelibly on their memory, as a treasure to be made use of, should fortune ever place in their hands the reins of government. The rumblings of that political tempest, which shook all the thrones of Europe from Calpe's heights to the very palace of the Autocrat of the north, were heard at a distance, and their meaning could not be mistaken by two young men, who though in the heyday of their youth, and not much disposed to deep philosophical reasoning, or the investigation of the causes which led to the revolutions of empires, yet who could not wholly avert their view from the prospect, which like the circle in the water, extended itself wider and wider, of regenerated nations marching to independence: the spirit of freedom rousing herself, like a giant from his slumber, shaking off her fetters with one mighty effort of indignation, and arrayed in her native majesty, speaking with the million voices of an oppressed, insulted people, and demanding justice, with her hand upon her sword. A Prince generally stands on an isolated pedestal amidst the great family of mankind, and in proportion as the Government to which he belongs approaches to despotism, so is that pedestal removed to a distance from the people, but from whichever side the British Princes viewed the picture of the times in which they lived, it must have appeared to them, that to trace the feelings and the passions which actuate whole nations as one mass-to discern more closely the separated |
