Florizel's Folly

'The Prince of Wales was, last night, at the Theatre, accompanied by the Hon. Mr. Erskine, and the Hon. Mr. Onslow, to see the Beggar's Opera, the principal parts of which were represented by gentlemen, and well represented they were. Captain Ash's Macheath much exceeded many of the professional men on either of your London theatres. It was succeeded by a well-timed address, written and spoken by Mr. Bonner, craving the friendly attendance of the company to the future benefits of the several performers.'35

We also learn by a newspaper paragraph36 that 'the house that the Prince of Wales has at Brighthelmstone, is that which formerly belonged to Lord Egremont's brother, Mr. Wyndham. The Duke of Cumberland had it last year. The house is, or ought to be, the best in the place.'

This is the house which we have seen was negotiated for the Prince by Weltje, his clerk of the kitchen; at least, this was his nominal title, but in reality he was the Prince's purveyor of his household, and was much mixed up in his financial matters. Louis Weltje was a German of obscure origin, and it is said, at one time, sold cakes in the streets. However, he must have had something in him, and must also have been thrifty, for in the newspapers of 1782 and 1783 we find several mentions of Weltje's Club, and he had a famous pastry-cook's shop and restaurant in St. James Street, and afterwards in Pall Mall. In the satirical prints in the British Museum for 1783, drawn by Captain Hays, is 'Mr. Weltjee's Fruit Shop, Pall Mall.' Madame Weltje, a large woman, is seated at a horseshoe counter, on which is a variety of fruit. In the window are displayed pines, grapes, bottles, and jars. A manuscript note says her shop was 'next door neighbour to Mr. Neville.' He served the Prince for some years, but was at last superseded. On his retirement he bought a large house at Hammersmith, formerly in the occupation of Lord Allington, the supporters of whose arms, two talbots, decorated the gate-posts. In this house, which he bequeathed to his brother Christopher, he died, probably of apoplexy, in 1810, and was buried in Hammersmith Churchyard. His name still exists in the neighbourhood in Weltje Road, which runs from the Upper Mall to King Street West, and consists of sixty-eight houses.

We have seen that Fox was at Brighton in 1784. Fox, who was the 'guide, philosopher, and friend' of Prince Florizel, was at this time a man of about thirty-five or thirty-six, having been born in 1749. By his birth, education, and talents he should have been a fitting companion for the Prince, but he was lax in his morals, an inveterate gambler, and a hard drinker, and a worse comrade for a young man could scarcely be found. Indeed, at the end of the Westminster election of 1784 Gillray caricatured him in a satirical print entitled 'Preceptor and Pupil' as a loathsome toad with a fox's brush, who is whispering into the ear of the sleeping (or drunken) Prince: 'Abjure thy country and thy parents, and I will give thee dominion over many powers. Better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven!'

Apropos of this election, which lasted forty days, and brought Fox in second at the poll, it is perhaps as famous as any in our electoral history. Much to the disgust of his parents, the Prince threw himself heart and soul into the fray, wearing a 'Fox cockade' at Ranelagh, and allowing members of his household to canvas for his boon companion. During the election, Gillray produced a satirical print (April 18, 1784) called 'Returning from Brooks's,' where the Prince, exceedingly drunk, and wearing the 'Fox cockade,' is being helped along by Fox and Sam House, a publican who kept a house, called The Intrepid Fox, at the corner of Peter Street and Wardour Street. 'Honest Sam House,' as he was called, was a violent politician and Whig, and during this election kept open house at his own expense. House figures in many caricatures of the time, and his fame was even enshrined in verse:

'See the brave Sammy House, he's as still as a mouse,And does canvas with prudence so clever;See what shoals with him flocks, to poll for brave Fox:Give thanks to Sam House, boys, for ever, for ever, for ever!Give thanks to Sam House, boys, for ever!'Brave bald-headed Sam, all must own, is the man,Who does canvas for brave Fox so clever:His aversion, I say, is to small beer and Wray:37May his bald head be honour'd for ever, for ever, for ever!May his bald head be honour'd for ever!'

There is another satirical print, which is dated January, 1785, by an unknown artist, called 'Fox singing a Song to the P – e of W – l – s.' Fox and the Prince are playing cards and drinking. Fox sings:

1'Tho' matters at present go cross in the realm,You will one day be K – g, Sir, and I at the helm;So let us be jovial, drink, gamble and sing,Nor regard it a straw, tho' we're not yet the thing.Tol de rol, tol, tol, tol de rol.2'The proverb informs us, each dog has his day,So those that oppose us, this fate must obey;But time's on our side, Sir, and now on the wing,To make me a statesman, and you, Sir, the K – g.Tol de rol, etc.3'In vain are harangues, I as well may be dumb,And let motions alone, till our day, Sir, is come;Then Thurlow and Pitt from their state we will fling,They may go below stairs, Sir, so we are the thing.Tol de rol, etc.4'Thus seated in state, Sir, we'll fill all our soul,At the fountain of Venus, at Bacchus's bowl;In all that we please, Sir, we'll take a full swing,For who's to controul a Prime Statesman and K – g?Tol de rol, etc.'

The Prince remarks: 'Fox, are you not the shuffler?'

'The Prince of Wales has again taken a house at Brighton for the season,' says the Morning Post of June 11, 1785, and he left London for his seaside residence on the 22nd of the same month. The same newspaper of June 28 reports that 'the visit of a certain gay, illustrious character at Brighton, has frightened away a number of old maids, who used constantly to frequent that place. The history of the gallantries of the last season, which is in constant circulation, has something in it so voluminous, and tremendous to boot, that the old tabbies shake in their shoes whenever his R – l H – ss is mentioned.'

'Lewes, July 2. – The Prince of Wales, on Monday last, at Brighthelmstone, amused himself for some time, in attempting to shoot doves with single balls, but with what success, we have not learnt; though we hear that his Royal Highness is esteemed a most excellent shot, and seldom presents his piece without doing some execution. The Prince, in the course of his diversion, either by design, or accident, lowered the tops of several of the chimnies of the Hon. Mr. Wyndham's house.'38

A few paragraphs from the Morning Post of this year will give us a good insight into the Brighton of the period.

July 6. – 'The Brighthelmstone intelligence has no novelty to recommend it; merely a repetition of the old story; morning rides, champaigne, dissipation, noise and nonsense: jumble these phrases together, and you have a complete account of all that's passing at Brighthelmstone!'

July 8. – 'A correspondent says, Brighthelmstone is much altered from what it was last season. Neither money, nor any speculating jewellers who give good tick, and discount upon a gentle feeling. The – has been tried and found wanting – all about him is not sterling – but one good endorser in the whole set, and he abroad. Times are bad.

'Mrs. Johnson and Windsor have undertaken to provide for the necessities of Brighton this year. The female adventurers of last season were totally ruined: even Bet Cox, who made as good a hand of it as any, swears she will not run the risk again, and that, though as how she was with the Prince, one night when he was drunk, yet that did not compensate her for the wear and tear with his attendants. We have not yet heard Mrs. Smith's opinion on the subject; but, as she was nearer the fire, she could not well escape being scorched.'

August 4. – 'Brighthelmstone is at present very thin of company, few females arriving there but the corps d'amour. Women of virtue and character shun these scenes of debauchery and drunkenness, ever attendant on the spot which is the temporary residence of a – .'

August 18. – 'His Royal Highness the Prince is so attached to his bathing residence, Brighthelmstone – he has so many sea nymphs there, rising from Old Ocean every morning to greet him; that, in the true spirit of an English Prince, his sole desire appears to rule the waves: and, when he comes to Town, he is actually like a fish out of water.'

August 25. – 'Plague upon the skippers that they do not understand the navigation of their own coasts! for, surely, some of the Margate Hoys have blundered by both the North and South Foreland, and landed their cargoes on the Sussex Shore. Never were there such a set of curmudgeonly knaves and dowdies, before, in Brighton, say the conscientious keepers of the subscription books! The lodging-houses are full, the streets well frequented, and the Steyne crowded – but who bathes, who raffles, and who subscribes? They vow that they never had so little Gold in their Autumn crop, since they were obliged to content themselves with the profits of their fishing, to wash their smocks upon the beach, and to live on crabs and pickled herrings!

'In fact, the visitors of this place are either a wiser, or a poorer sort than formerly. Snug is the word with most of them; they give as little into amusements, dissipation and extra expences, as they can well avoid – hence, the obvious policy of the inhabitants to render the necessary ones as high and as productive as possible – they treat Londoners in their town as we treat Dutchmen and others, in our charge for lights and landmarks – make them come down handsomely, as it is to be done but seldom. The innkeepers here, are a kind of beasts of prey, whose rapacity is in proportion to their former abstinence: they are leeches, who think a plethora of the purse is no less dangerous than that of the body; and, though you come here only to have your constitution put to rights, they will, also, gladly take charge of your property.

'An Irish gentleman being asked, the other day, by a friend, which Inn he thought the best, observed that they were both bad enough; at one you were imposed upon; at the other, cheated. The Rooms have been pretty well frequented on a Sunday, when it is the Vauxhall price of admission. The play house must, long since, have shut up, were it not for the extraordinary abilities and fertile resources of Mr. Fox,39 and the patronage of the fair emigrants from Cleveland Row, Jermyn Street, and King's Place – there have been no gentlemen enactors, this year; so much the worse. With deference, be it said, to the judgement of certain titled ladies, who, adding to their purity by every successive plunge into the salt water, pronounced the mixture of gentlemen with professed actors, a perfect contamination. Better sense, however, and more extra liberality prevail at present; for ladies now ride to the Downs to see Earls and great folks play at cricket, with footmen and drivers, without having their delicacy wounded, or their finer feelings deranged. That game has become the favourite amusement with the young men of fashion here. Mr. St. John is the best bowler; Lord Darnley and George Hanger the best bats; Bob the postillion, the best stopper behind the wicket. As to his Royal Highness, he is but a young cricketer; the ladies, however, commend his agility; and, since Mrs J – n's squad arrived, he has been famous for catching and running.

'On Saturday last, the Marquis de Conflans took his departure for Dieppe. The Prince and his company went to see the Marquis embark, when a very extraordinary and humorous scene was presented. It being low water, the boat could not approach the shore – the Marquis was anxious to get on board, and stood, for some time, in suspence, when the Prince, to show him that persons of their rank should not have the propensities of cats, or the frippery of petits maîtres, taking one of his companions by the hand, rushed at once into the water. The Marquis, pour l'honneur de la France, could not do otherwise than follow him; the line advanced with resolution, but could not long withstand the force of the waves, which overset them; they then rolled like porpoises in the water, till they got the Marquis aboard the packet; when they despatched him, in a proper state, to pay his respects to the Dauphin. Vive l'amour et l'allegresse, et bon voyage, M. le Marquis!'

September 10. – 'The flux and reflux of company not being so great here as at some other places, there has been very little novelty since my last intelligence. The lodging-houses are, still, in general, full, though there are some occasionally to be disposed of at the following reasonable rates: for a house upon the Steine, eight guineas a week, or the same faced with blue and buff,40 for the trifling addition of two guineas (for which you may have the credit of being a member of that party).41 Two beds, with a dining-room or parlour (the former, perhaps, being supplied with a good live stock) for three guineas; and, for a guinea per week, a single gentleman may be accommodated with an apartment, where, if he finds himself streightened for want of room, he may be gratified, at least, with a prospect of better things, and have the view of a large piece of water, commonly called the English Channel. Hence, too, he may form some idea of our naval grandeur, by contemplating the fleet, as it lies at anchor before the town, consisting, at least, of an hundred sail – of fishing smacks; or, he may indulge in a peep of the ladies dipping into the water, or bobbing at a wave in rough weather; for the Master of the Ceremonies has judiciously assigned them the place nearest to the houses, and has sent the gentlemen, for decency's sake, two hundred yards further to the westward.

'If we may believe the printed list, half the fashionable persons, and about one-fourth of the w – s of London, have visited Brighton in the course of the summer; but, for those of the most consideration, who are to be seen in their shoes, as well as upon the List of the Company, take the following names: His Royal Highness and suite, more respectable, though not as numerous as last year; the Earl and Dowager Countess of Darnley, with her family; Earl and Countess of Clermont; Lord and Lady Beauchamp; the Countess of Shaftesbury and family; Baron and Baroness Nolcken; Lord Belgrave; Lord Lucan, with his family; Lord and Lady Lisle; Lord Gage; Sir Sampson and Lady Gideon; Sir Eardley Wilmot; Earl and Countess of Sefton; Lord Herbert; Sir Godfrey Webster; Mr. Wyndham; Mr. T. Townsend; Mr. St. John. Some city beaux sport their gigs upon the downs, and their persons upon the Steine: they would fain be thought men of fashion, but their very best airs in the ballroom partake of Coachmaker's Hall; the City dancing-masters being ten years behindhand in the refinements of their profession. There is very little show of beauty in the Rooms. Among the young ladies of family, Miss Bingham, daughter of Lord Lucan, is almost the only one that deserves notice in that particular; and, however singular, in this place, it is a fact that one of the ladies who has been most distinguished for elegance, is a Miss I – s, from Cow Lane, West Smithfield!

'The Rooms, as I hinted before, have been almost deserted, except on particular nights. At the last ball but one, at the Ship, only seven couple stood up, and the lady who took the lead, according to the etiquette established in pride and folly, was pro NUMMORUM atque hominum fidem credite! – no less a person than Mrs. Tr – d, daughter of the naval baronet, who, in his lifetime, gained many signal advantages over the tribes of Benjamin and Levi. The Castle has been somewhat more fortunate. But Fox, the manager, has been so successful, as to excite the envy of his rivals, who have it in contemplation to set up a theatre in opposition to his. It was for this purpose that Signor Grimaldi's journey was undertaken, which, by the newspaper accounts, proved so fatal to him; and, as he, with Mr. Spencer, the harlequin, is to have the principal concern, we may expect that the prime parts of the entertainment at the new Theatre, will be pantomime, with grinning and jumping in abundance. If Mr. Grimaldi should bring down his young pupils from the Circus, it will, perhaps, be necessary for Mr. Fox to engage the General Jackoo, or the Dancing Dogs. At present, he confines his attempts to Comic Opera, Comedy, and Farce; and, for these, it must be confessed, he has good materials. His company may be called a good one – for the country – though the greatest part are recruits, and want drilling. Yet, why for the country, when there are so many London performers without engagements in the summer.

'The most extraordinary event that has happened lately, was a violent gale on Tuesday, which caused many sad accidents. The wind blew with prodigious force from the southward, and brought an uncommonly high tide with it. This rendered it necessary to draw up all the small craft, and the machines upon the Steine, where most of the Company, particularly the Londoners, assembled to gaze at a sea storm. The Prince's curiosity got him a ducking, and an old man and his ass were drowned under the Cliff.'

CHAPTER VII

The Prince's acquaintance with Mrs. Fitzherbert – His courtship and marriage – Satirical prints thereon

THIS year was exceedingly fateful to Prince Florizel, for, in it, he made the acquaintance of a lady whose connection with him influenced his whole life. This was Maria Anne Fitzherbert, daughter of Walter Smythe, Esq., of Brambridge, in the county of Hants, second son of Sir John Smythe, Bart., of Eske, in the county of Durham, and Acton Burnell, in Shropshire. She was born in July, 1756, and married, in July, 1775, Edward Weld, Esq., of Lulworth Castle, county Dorset, who died in the course of the same year. She married, secondly, Thomas Fitzherbert, Esq., of Swinnerton, county Stafford, in the year 1778. This gentleman only survived their union three years, losing his life in consequence of his exertions during the Lord George Gordon Riots. Being much heated, he bathed, and brought on the malady which, soon after, occasioned his death.

Behold her, then, in 1785 a fascinating young widow with a competent fortune, moving in the highest society, and of so much importance as to be made the subject of newspaper paragraphs long before she met the Prince. Morning Herald, March 20, 1784. – 'Mrs. Fitzherbert is arrived in London for the winter.' And again, Morning Herald, July 27, 'A new constellation has lately made an appearance in the fashionable hemisphere, that engages the attention of those whose hearts are susceptible to the power of beauty. The widow of the late Mr. F – h – t has in her train half our young Nobility: as the lady has not, as yet, discovered a partiality for any of her admirers, they are all animated with hopes of success.'

Cosway painted a charming picture of her, which, engraved by Condé, is reproduced as the frontispiece to this volume.

Huish42 gives an erroneous account of the acquaintance of the Prince and Mrs. Fitzherbert, but I give it so that the reader may contrast it with that of Lord Stourton,43 who was her intimate friend and near connection. 'The first time that the Prince of Wales saw Mrs. Fitzherbert, was in Lady Sefton's box at the Opera; and the novelty of her face, more than the brilliancy of her charms, had the usual effect of enamouring the Prince. But in this instance he had not to do with a raw inexperienced girl, but with an experienced dame, who had been twice a widow, and who, consequently, was not likely to surrender upon common terms. She looked forward to a more brilliant prospect which her ambition might artfully suggest, founded upon the feeble character of an amorous young Prince; and, when his Royal Highness first declared himself her admirer, she gave him not the slightest hopes of success; but, in the true spirit of the finished coquette, she turned away from his protestations; and, in order to avoid his importunities, quitted the kingdom, and took up her residence at Plombiers, in Lorrain, in France. The lovely idol knew that an object which is easily gained, is seldom esteemed or prized: the Prince, indeed, from his peculiar situation as Heir apparent, could not follow her, although it is stated, in an anonymous letter preserved in the British Museum, that his Royal Highness did once travel to Paris incog. and that he had, there, an interview with Mrs. Fitzherbert, the consequence of which was, her immediate return to England. As there is no other authority for this act of his Royal Highness, and taking the improbability of the event into consideration, it must be left with all the doubt attached to it, acknowledging, at the same time, that the preponderancy leans to the side of its being a fiction.'

Now let us hear Lord Stourton's version, which bears the impress of truth upon it, judging by the almost universal testimony as to Mrs. Fitzherbert's character:

'In the midst of the afflictions, both of body and mind, which weighed down the latter years of Mrs. Fitzherbert, the thought which most soothed her pains, and assuaged her grief, was the consoling testimony which would be borne to her character, when she should be no more; when all the actors in this extraordinary drama being removed by the hand of death, the veil might be drawn aside which had prompted secrecy during her life; and her character might be shown to posterity in the light which it appeared to herself, unsullied by crime, and even untarnished by interestedness or ambition. With this view, she almost insisted, in our confidential communications, upon my requiring from her every information respecting her conduct, from her first connection with George the Fourth, down to his death – as evidence to satisfy my mind of the strictest propriety of every portion of her conduct, that I might deem doubtful, or objectionable.

'After disclosures so intimate, and, to my judgment, so satisfactory, I should not wish to descend into the tomb myself, leaving her reputation to the doubtful testimony of others, less informed, even if equally disposed to render her justice. Associated with some, in the custody of a few important papers relative to her history, I stand single in a nearer relationship to this distinguished person, in some important and intimate connections, and was, therefore, selected by her on that account, to be honoured with communications of so very delicate and confidential a nature. Having deliberately accepted the proffered confidence, I should not feel happy to leave to the chances of ill-advised or mercenary biographers the portraiture of one so difficult to pencil in her true and accurate lineaments.

'Mrs. Fitzherbert was first acquainted with the Prince when residing on Richmond Hill, and soon became the object of his most ardent attentions. During this period she was made the subject of a popular ballad, which designated her, under the title of the "Sweet Lass of Richmond Hill."

'"I'd crowns resign to call her mine,Sweet lass of Richmond Hill."

She was, then, the widow of Mr. Fitzherbert, in possession of an independent fortune of nearly £2,000 a year, admired and caressed by all who were acquainted with her character and singular attractions.

'Surrounded by so many personal advantages, and the widow of an individual to whom she had been singularly attached, she was very reluctant to enter into engagements fraught with so many embarrassments; and, when viewed in their fairest light, exposing their object to great sacrifices and difficulties. It is not, therefore, surprising that she resisted, with the utmost anxiety and firmness, the flattering assiduities of the most accomplished Prince of his age. She was well aware of the gulf that yawned beneath those flattering demonstrations of royal adulation.

'For some time her resistance had been availing, but she was about to meet with a species of attack so unprecedented and alarming, as to shake her resolution, and to force her to take that first step, which, afterwards, led by slow (but on the part of the Prince, successful) advances, to that union which he so ardently desired, and to obtain which he was ready to risk such personal sacrifices. Keit (Keate), the surgeon, Lord Onslow, Lord Southampton, and Mr. Edward Bouverie, arrived at her house in the utmost consternation, informing her that the life of the Prince was in imminent danger – that he had stabbed himself, and that only her immediate presence would save him.44 She resisted, in the most peremptory manner, all their importunities, saying that nothing should induce her to enter Carlton House. She was, afterwards, brought to share in the alarm, but, still, fearful of some stratagem derogatory to her reputation, insisted upon some lady of high character accompanying her, as an indispensable condition: the Duchess of Devonshire was selected. They four drove from Park Street to Devonshire House, and took her along with them. She found the Prince pale, and covered with blood. The sight so overpowered her faculties, that she was almost deprived of all consciousness. The Prince told her that nothing would induce him to live unless she promised to become his wife, and permitted him to put a ring round her finger. I believe a ring from the hand of the Duchess of Devonshire was used upon the occasion, and not one of his own. Mrs. Fitzherbert being asked by me, whether she did not believe that some trick had been practised, and that it was not really the blood of his Royal Highness, answered in the negative; and said she had frequently seen the scar, and some brandy and water was near his bedside when she was called to him on the day he wounded himself.