Goddess of the Green Room: (Georgian Series) (20 page)

Hebe
toured the British Isles calling at various ports in Scotland and Ireland; and in a short time William had become second lieutenant; and in less than a year he was made a captain and given the command of the
Pegasus
which he took to Canada and afterwards to the West Indies. It was in Antigua that he found Nelson who was the commanding officer on the Leeward Island Station, which meant that the Captain of
Pegasus
was under his command.

Nothing could have delighted William more, and he was determined that Nelson should have nothing of which to complain in his command of
Pegasus
.

William began to grow more serious under Nelson’s influence; he learned of the reforms Nelson was seeking to introduce; and they had many discussions about ships and the sea.

William regarded Nelson as his greatest friend, and the most brilliant sailor it had ever been his good fortune to meet. He did not think so much of Nelson as a lover, however, and he told him so; for Nelson had met the widow of a physician who was serious, intelligent and delightful in every way and was considering marrying her.

The Prince wanted to hear all about Mrs Nisbet and would
laugh at the calm and judicious manner in which Nelson described her.

‘My dear Horatio,’ he said, ‘you talk more like a man who is married than a man who is about to be.’

‘And what does Your Highness mean by that!’

‘That you show more enthusiasm for reforms in the Navy, seem more enthusiastic about tackling an enemy than marrying this lady.’

‘It is a different matter.’

‘Oh, you don’t deceive me. You are married already. Only a married man could be so calm.’

‘As Your Highness has never married…’

‘I know what you are going to say. How could I be sure? But I am sure. I have never married because I’m my father’s son. Many times I have been on the point of marrying but have been unable to because of the Marriage Act.’

‘Then perhaps we should be thankful for the Marriage Act.’

William laughed. ‘Oh, I doubt not that had I married I should have settled down happily enough. Happily enough… yes… as you are now, my dear Horatio. Calm, contented but not ecstatic. That is why I say you are more like a man who is already married than one who is about to be.’

Nelson laughed at his friend which was because, said William, Horatio knew more of the sea than the ways of women.

‘Nonsense,’ retorted Nelson. ‘I am morally certain that Frances Nisbet will make me a happy man for the rest of my life.’

‘Spoken like a married man,’ mocked William. ‘And I tell you this: I shall insist on giving the bride away when the occasion arises.’

‘We will take you at your word,’ replied Nelson.

On a March day in the year 1787 Nelson was married and, true to his word, William gave the bride away. William was twenty-two, a little envious of the young Captain who could marry as he wished and did not have to suffer the restrictions put on princes.

Frances Nisbet – now Nelson – was a charming woman and he hoped his dear friend would be happy. He realized that serving under him had been the most rewarding period of his life. He had come to idolize the Captain and to feel differently about him than
he had about anyone else in his life. He marvelled at Nelson’s genius as a commander coupled with his care for his men. He considered the welfare of the lowest rating. ‘How can you have an efficient ship if the men are not as well and happy as you can make them?’ He had asked. ‘Discipline yes, but a discipline the men can accept as justice. Then you’ll have no need to enforce it.’ Although they had visited pestilential ports they never lost a man through disease, which was due to Nelson’s rigorous rules on hygiene which, because he explained them in detail to his men, they accepted.

No one had had such an influence on his life as Horatio Nelson.

That was why when Horatio and his bride sailed for England and William received orders to sail for Jamaica he had never before felt so depressed.

With Nelson gone and orders to report to the nearest commanding officer William was suddenly in revolt.

Why should he be ordered here, there and everywhere and have no say in his own actions? It was bad enough not to be able to marry where he would. Every common sailor had that right. He wanted to be home. He wanted to see his brother George and discuss his situation with him. George was the most sympathetic person in the world for while William was fond of and greatly admired Nelson, the sailor had rigid ideas of duty which the Prince of Wales lacked. George knew how to get what he wanted from life. He had captured Maria Fitzherbert and was extremely happy with her. Everybody seemed to be able to do what they wanted except William.

On impulse, instead of obeying orders and reporting to the nearest ship, he set sail for Halifax.

Here he was received with dismay and when he could give no satisfactory explanation of his arrival there when he was expected in Jamaica was sent to Quebec there to remain for the winter.

This was not what he wanted and still in rebellious mood he set sail for England.

When his unexpected arrival was reported to the First Lord of the Admiralty a message was sent to the King without delay telling him of William’s action.

The King heard the news in horror. He went to the Queen; he
was confiding in her more than he ever had and the reason was that he was sometimes afraid of talking to his ministers because he was apt to lose the thread of what he was talking about and ramble on vaguely of other matters.

The Queen had noticed disturbing signs during the last months and she was worrying more about the King than ever.

There were rumours about George and Maria Fitzherbert and the question of whether or not they were married was being raised everywhere. Frederick was home from the Continent and no sooner had he returned than George had grown more wild than he had been recently, for the influence of Mrs Fitzherbert had been a good one and for a time he had appeared to live a quiet and domestic life with her; but with the return of Frederick there had been wild parties, practical jokes, drinking and gambling – the sort of activities to set the King worrying.

And now William. She had thought William had settled down; he had had his wild moments, of course, and had at times been uncomfortably involved with women. She remembered a time when he had deserted his ship to come home and tell her that he had fallen in love with a young woman in Portsmouth – was it Portsmouth? some such place! – and pleaded with her to intercede with his father to allow him to marry this young woman. The King had quickly had William transferred to Plymouth, she believed. The places were unimportant. It had only been necessary to remove him from the young woman.

Now here he was back again, disobeying orders, having forgotten that lesson which they had once believed that he had learned so well – that as a sailor he was no different from any other man.

What a trial the boys were! She would make sure – and so would the King – that the girls did not give their parents the same sort of trouble.

‘You hear this. You hear this?’ demanded the King. ‘The young fool. Deserted his ship. Come home… without permission. What next, eh, what?’

‘Where is he?’ asked the Queen fearfully.

‘In Cork Harbour. He’s to sail to Plymouth without delay. Young jackanapes. What does he think, eh? Who does he think…? Sons! Who’d have them? Fred’s the best of the bunch. Hope
of the house. As for George…’ The King’s face grew more scarlet merely to think of his firstborn. ‘Arrogant young dandy! Prancing about. That woman…’

‘She seems to be having a good influence.’

‘Good influence! Aping at marriage. Disgusting. Nice woman. Too good for him. Fine state of affairs.’

‘Your Majesty should calm yourself.’

He looked at her quickly. What was she suggesting, eh? But he knew. She was frightened of what would happen if he continued with his tirade. She thought he might start to rave, and was afraid that he might do something… violent.

So was he.

William had committed a grave indiscretion for which any other captain of a vessel would have been court-martialled.

When he brought the
Pegasus
into Plymouth badly damaged, for on the way from Ireland they had encountered a bad storm and the mainmast had been struck by lightning, he found orders awaiting him there. He was to remain in Plymouth, supervise repairs to the
Pegasus
and await orders to sail again.

The trip to London which he had no doubt promised himself was not to take place. If he had thought to have a pleasant reunion with his family he was mistaken.

He was depressed and angry. For the first time in his life he was in revolt, but when he considered what he had done he was appalled. He had been eight years in the Navy during which time he had conformed to discipline and now some spirit had got into him and he had flown straight into the face of authority.

What would they do to him? He did not care much. Perhaps he was tired of never being at home for long; perhaps he wanted an end to the wandering life. He had seen a great deal of the world. Was he to roam all his life?

And now here he was confined to Plymouth with none of the amusements he had promised himself. It was as bad here as it would have been in Quebec. He might as well have stayed there and prevented all the fuss.

While he was brooding on his wrongs and studying the accounts of the damage to the ship one of his men came to tell him that visitors had arrived and were asking to see him.

He grimaced. No doubt Lord Chatham, the First Lord; or some such dignitary come to lecture him, or worse still.

‘Bring them in,’ he said.

They came. He stared; then he gave a cry of joy; he flung himself into their arms.

‘If you could not come to London,’ said the Prince of Wales, ‘there was only one thing for Fred and me to do. So we did it, didn’t we, Fred? We came to Plymouth.’

The brothers were laughing and hugging each other. William felt suddenly emotional, and seeing this the Prince produced his ever-ready tears.

‘Of course we came. We weren’t going to let you be bored to death in Plymouth. Have you forgotten the old motto?’

‘I haven’t,’ cried William.

Frederick grinned. ‘United we stand,’ he said.

There were gay occasions in Plymouth. Surely it was a time for celebrations with three princes in the city, and one of them the heir to the throne.

The Prince of Wales with his brothers made a tour of the dockyards much to the delight of the people of the town who flocked out in their thousands to welcome them.

In the suburb of Stonehouse where the assembly rooms were situated gala balls and banquets were arranged. Wherever the Prince of Wales appeared there was elegance, and Plymouth wanted to show it could entertain royalty as well as Brighton or Cheltenham, Worthing or Weymouth. In the Long Room at Stonehouse the Prince danced with the ladies, and Frederick and William did their duty with him. There was racing and gambling and for three days Plymouth was as gay and famous as Brighton and London.

William, happy to gain what he had come home for and what he had feared would be denied him – his brothers’ company – was full of high spirits. He was more at home in Plymouth than his brothers were, being the sailor of the family. He could talk of ships in a manner which amused the Prince of Wales while it won his admiration.

Accompanied by his brothers George drove his phaeton through the town and into the surrounding country and it was
touching to see how delighted the people were to have a glimpse of their future King. George was in his element, gracious, charming, courteous and witty.

They were three exciting days.

During them William fell in love. She was a pretty girl named Miss Wynn and they immediately called attention to their feeling for each other because at the Long Room they were together throughout the ball and neither danced with anyone else.

The poet Peter Pindar who invariably brought out verses to suit every occasion wrote:

‘A town where, exiled by the higher powers

The Royal Tar with indignation lours;

Kept by his sire from London and from sin,

To say his catechism to Mistress Wynn.’

The verses were circulated and everywhere the revelries of the three brothers were being discussed. When they were brought to the King’s notice he ground his teeth in anger and wept with frustration. His sons flouted him, he complained; and he could not sleep at night for worrying about them. It seemed to the Queen that he was moving towards some fearful climax.

The Prince of Wales and Duke of York were accorded a royal salute as they rode out of Plymouth, and when they had left Captain Horatio Nelson sailed into the harbour where to William’s delight he spent a few weeks.

It was very pleasant to be in the company of this brilliant sailor, though it was very different from that of the Princes. With Nelson to listen to, William’s friendship with Miss Wynn began to wane; he became very interested in the Navy once more and was fired with enthusiasm to follow Horatio Nelson.

The Admiralty thought it was high time some action should be taken and William was transferred to the
Andromeda
and ordered to sail for Halifax.

The Queen was growing more and more worried about the King’s health although she sought to hide her fears from him and everyone else. While he was aware of his affliction he could to some extent control it but the Queen’s dread was that he would
become unaware of it and be unable to hide his growing aberrations.

He was in a continual state of anxiety. Ever since the loss of the American Colonies he had been fretful; he blamed himself for this colossal blunder – and not without reason; the conduct of his sons was a perpetual source of worry. He would wake in the night and cry out: ‘Is he married to that woman? Is it true that she’s a Catholic, eh, what?’ Almost everything he said was in the form of a question ending in ‘eh, what?’ which his listeners found most disconcerting for they never could be sure whether or not an answer was expected.