Kitabı oku: «Speeches and Addresses of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales: 1863-1888», sayfa 14
Such thoughts have no bearing on party politics, but are naturally suggested in remembering the reception given in 1871 to the heir to the British Crown.
A succession of engagements and of entertainments took place, as on the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1868. The military display in the Ph[oe]nix Park was even more brilliant than on that occasion. One notable incident in 1871 was the installation, with great ceremony, of His Royal Highness as Grand Patron of the Masonic Institution in Ireland. A formal address of welcome having been read, His Royal Highness made the following reply: —
"Most Worshipful Sir and Brethren, – I thank you very much for your cordial and grateful address, and for the kind sentiments expressed in it towards myself. It was a source of considerable satisfaction to me when I was elected a member of the craft, and I think I may without presumption point to the different Masonic meetings which, since my initiation, I have fraternally attended. As a proof of the interest I take in all that relates to Freemasonry, I can assure you that it has afforded me great gratification to become the Patron of the Most Ancient and Honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons in Ireland, and that an opportunity has been given to me by my visit to Ireland of being installed here to-day."
The Grand Master then clothed His Royal Highness with the collar, apron, and jewel, as Patron. The Brethren then, according to ancient custom, saluted the Prince as Patron of the Order in Ireland, the Grand Master himself giving the word. His Royal Highness then said: —
"Most Worshipful Sir and Brethren, – I have now to thank you heartily and cordially for your fraternal reception, and for the honour you have done me, and I beg to assure you of the pleasure I feel on having been invited to become the Patron of the Order of Freemasons in Ireland. It is a source of considerable satisfaction to me to know that my visit to this country has afforded this opportunity of meeting you, Brethren, in Lodge, and so interchanging these frank and hearty greetings. It is true I have not been a Mason very long. I was initiated, as you perhaps know, in London, a few years ago, after which I visited the Grand Original Lodge of Denmark, and a short time afterwards I had the signal satisfaction of being elected a Past Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England. Last year I had the honour of being elected Patron of the Order in Scotland; and, Brethren, though last, not least, comes the special honour you have conferred on me. I thank you for it from the bottom of my heart. I may, I think, refer with some pride to the number of Masonic meetings I have attended in England since my initiation as a proof of my deep attachment to your Order. I know, we all know, how good and holy a thing Freemasonry is, how excellent are its principles, and how perfect the doctrine it sets forth; but forgive me if I remind you that some of our friends outside are not as well acquainted with its merits as we are ourselves, and that a most mistaken idea prevails in some minds that, because we are a secret society, we meet for political purposes, or have a political bias in what we do. I am delighted, Brethren, to have this opportunity of proclaiming what I am satisfied you will agree with me in – that we have as Masons no politics; that the great object of our Order is to strengthen the bonds of fraternal affection, and to make us live in pure and Christian love with all men; that though a secret we are not a political body; and that our Masonic principles and hopes are essential parts of our attachment to the Constitution and loyalty to the Crown."
His Royal Highness's address was received with great applause. The Lodge was then closed in due form.
THE ILLNESS OF DECEMBER, 1871
How much the Prince of Wales had endeared himself to all classes in the nation was attested by the deep anxiety and the universal sorrow when he was struck down with illness in December, 1871. Those who remember that time, can tell how, for some weeks, all thoughts were turned to the chamber of sickness at Sandringham; with what earnest anxiety the daily bulletins were looked for; and with what fervent devotion the prayers of millions ascended to the throne of grace. The "dark December" of 1861, when the good Prince Consort lay on his deathbed, increased the ominous foreboding. Touching incidents of that critical period are still told. The watchful attendance of the Princess of Wales was illustrated in no way more strikingly than in the anecdote of her request to the clergyman at Sandringham to alter the order of the morning service so as to let her, after joining in the public prayer for recovery, hasten back to her husband's side. We remember, too, the affectionate anxiety of the royal mother, and brothers and sisters; and how the Prince himself, when he recovered consciousness, asked thoughtfully about the condition of the servant, who died of the same fever which nearly proved fatal to his master.
Had the Prince been "taken" at this period of his life, history would have recorded the loss in terms of tender regret, such as had been, more than once, felt towards Princes of Wales who died before coming to the throne. The eldest son of James I., for instance, was long remembered with deepest sorrow, so much was he loved, and so large the hopes of the nation which had been centered in him. Had our Prince been lost in that illness, there would have been another instance of what inspired one of the noblest of all passages in classic literature, the "Tu Marcellus eris" of Virgil. Happily it was otherwise ordained, and the enthusiasm of joyful thankfulness at the recovery of the Prince was as truly national as had been the anxiety and grief at his illness. The special Thanksgiving Collect, written by the Archbishop of Canterbury, expressed well the universal feeling of the nation: —
"O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, we thank Thee that Thou hast heard the prayers of this nation in the day of our trial. We praise and magnify Thy glorious name for that Thou hast raised Thy servant Albert Edward Prince of Wales from the bed of sickness. Thou castest down and Thou liftest up, and health and strength are Thy gifts. We pray Thee to perfect the recovery of Thy servant, and to crown him day by day with more abundant blessings both for body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
When the Thanksgiving day was proclaimed, it was still doubtful whether the Prince himself would be allowed by his medical attendants to risk the winter journey for Osborne, along with the Queen. But his own desire to be present nerved him for the effort, and he obtained the assent of Sir James Paget, who had gone specially to give his opinion.
The danger had increased in the end of November and the first weeks of December. The first hopeful announcement was made on December 17th, and on January 3rd convalescence had decidedly begun. A public thanksgiving service was proclaimed for the 21st of January. On February 22nd the Letter of the Queen to the nation was published, and then followed the National Thanksgiving Service in St. Paul's on the 27th.
With regard to the Royal procession, and the display inside the Cathedral, the scene was far less imposing than on that famous day, the 23rd of April, 1789, when King George III. and Queen Charlotte went to St. Paul's to return public thanks for His Majesty's restoration to health. On that occasion there was more of heraldic pageantry, and more of official display, than accords with modern usage. But everything was done to make this assemblage as far as possible representative of all classes in social and public life. Not fewer than 13,000 persons had places allocated to them in the Cathedral. In the Times of Wednesday, February 28th, a full classified list of the ticket-holders will be found. About 300 Mayors and Provosts from all parts of the kingdom had places. There were 560 places for representatives of the Army and Navy. The Peers and Commons had 885 tickets for each house. The Dean of St. Paul's had nearly 1300 tickets at his disposal. The Corps Diplomatique, "distinguished foreigners," London School Board, the Board of Works, Learned Societies, Nonconformists, and numerous other bodies figure in the catalogue. The wearers of uniform and official dress, besides the gaudy civic corporations, gave variety to the scene. The Judges, English, Scotch, and Irish, with robes and wigs, gave warm tone to the Law corner. Special state chairs were occupied by the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker, representing Parliament. The Press had 80 places, and the "General Public" made up the number 12,480 tickets – those who took part in the procession – the stewards, police, firemen, and the officials bringing up the total to about 13,000.
The crowds lining the streets, for about seven miles along which the procession passed, were innumerable; and every window and coign of vantage, with numerous scaffoldings along the line, appeared filled with spectators. Not even when the Princess of Wales entered London was there such a dense multitude seen, and it is only on rare occasions that one can see "all London in the streets." In our time we can remember some such occasions – the funeral of the Duke of Wellington, the reception of the Princess of Wales, and the entrance of Garibaldi, being among them.
It was not in the Metropolis alone, that the rejoicing was universal. Every city and town had its festivities, and its services of thanksgiving in Church and Chapel. Addresses came, by hundreds, from all quarters, and the announcement was made of holiday gatherings, of crowded meetings, of illuminations, and every form of public rejoicing. The telegraph flashed news of similar excitement throughout the whole of the Empire; and religious services were held wherever Englishmen are found on the Continent, in the Colonies, and in India. If ever a rejoicing could be called national and imperial, it was this, on the Thanksgiving Day for the recovery of the Prince of Wales.
The service commenced with the Te Deum, composed expressly for the occasion by Dr. Goss. The music of the anthem, from the words of Psalm 118th, verses 14-21, and 28, was by the same composer. Among other musical pieces was the choral hymn, "Gotha," by the Prince Consort. The whole of the service, devotional and musical, was most impressive, and the special prayers and thanksgivings were joined in by the vast congregation with devoutest feeling. It was noted by one who was present, with regard to the familiar "General Thanksgiving," that "the sublimity of the service culminated, and reached its highest and intensest expression, during the silent pause which followed the inserted words: "Particularly to Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, who desires now to offer up his praises and thanksgiving for Thy late mercies vouchsafed to him."" The famous words which close the poem of the Seasons: "Come then expressive silence muse His praise," could be well understood in that perfect pause of a few moments, almost awful in its intensity, in the service at St. Paul's Cathedral. When the anthem had been sung, the Archbishop of Canterbury gave a short sermon or address, from Romans xii. 5: "Every one members one of another." This was followed by the special Thanksgiving Hymn, written by the Rev. J. S. Stone, author of "The Church's one foundation," and "Sonnets of the Sacred year." It was sung to the good and familiar tune Aurelia, by Dr. S. Wesley. Then the Archbishop pronounced the benediction. When the organ sounded the grand notes of the National Anthem, Her Majesty came forward and bowed twice, and the Prince bowed also. The organ continued to play variations of the anthem as the Royal procession moved down the nave. Thus ended this grand and joyful service, which will be remembered in English history.
Altogether it is with the utmost gratification we can look back upon that memorable 27th of February. A demonstration more general and spontaneous has not been recorded even in the annals of this loyal nation. Among high and low, rich and poor, there was one harmonious spirit of thankful joy, in regard to the recovery of the Prince. But apart from the special and personal aspect of the occasion, there was much to cause national gratulation. The combined feeling of religion and of loyalty showed that in this England of ours, the divine precepts: "Fear God, Honour the King," are as inseparable as they are powerful, and that their influence pervades the nation, when circumstances call them into exercise.
The words of the "Thanksgiving Hymn" well express the sentiment of the whole service of the day: —
"O Thou our soul's salvation!
Our Hope for earthly weal!
We, who in tribulation
Did for Thy mercy kneel,
Lift up glad hearts before Thee,
And eyes no longer dim,
And for Thy grace adore Thee
In eucharistic hymn.
"Forth went the nation weeping
With precious seed of prayer,
Hope's awful vigil keeping
'Mid rumours of despair;
Then did Thy love deliver!
And from Thy gracious hand,
Joy, like the southern river,
O'erflowed the weary land.
"Bless Thou our adoration!
Our gladness sanctify!
Make this rejoicing nation
To Thee by joy more nigh;
O be this great Thanksgiving
Throughout the land we raise,
Wrought into holier living
In all our after days!
"Bless, Father, him Thou gavest
Back to the loyal land,
O Saviour, him Thou savest,
Still cover with Thine Hand:
O Spirit, the Defender,
Be his to guard and guide,
Now in life's midday splendour
On to the eventide!"
What may be the depth of the duration of the feelings thus alluded to, it is not for man to judge; but it is not as mere forms, that in tens of thousands of churches there are still uttered, week by week and day by day, prayers for the Queen, and for the Prince and Princess of Wales, – expressing the faith, and the goodwill, and the loyalty, of the people of this empire, as truly and heartily as on that special thanksgiving day in St. Paul's.
NORFOLK AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
June 19th, 1872
The loyal people of King's Lynn and its neighbourhood retained pleasant remembrance of the festival time when, in 1869, the Prince and Princess of Wales came to open the new Alexandra Dock. In 1872 they were gladdened by the announcement that the Royal visitors were again coming from Sandringham, on the 19th June, to visit their ancient town, at the annual exhibition of the Norfolk Agricultural Society. At the east gate of Lynn the Royal carriage was met by the Mayor, who, with the Town Clerk, and two leading citizens, asked permission to conduct the Prince and Princess through the town. The Earl of Leicester and Lord Sondes were in the Royal carriage, a third carriage containing Lord Sheffield and Lady Anne Coke. At the entrance of the Show, an address was read, from the Norfolk Agricultural Association, to which the Prince made the following reply: —
"Gentlemen, – I thank you sincerely for this address. It has been a source of the greatest gratification to have had it in my power to contribute in any degree to the success of your association and to promote the interests of agriculture in Norfolk. It is with these feelings that I have endeavoured to make myself acquainted with some of the operations of farming, and to acquire some knowledge of stock, and if I have not always been successful in the path of competition, I have at least obtained prizes sufficient to encourage me to persevere, and to indulge in the hope that I shall obtain more. The Princess is always willing to come among you, – and to be present on occasions like the present. We both desire to take this opportunity of expressing the deep sense we entertain of the sympathy and interest which were manifested towards us in our late trials by yourselves and by every class in the county of Norfolk."
Then followed the inspection of the Show, and the parade of the prize animals before the Grand Stand. The Prince was a successful exhibitor, having taken a second prize in Shorthorn heifers, a second prize in the class of ponies not above thirteen hands high, a first prize for the best Southdown ram, the second prize in Southdown ewe lambs, a second prize for ten wether lambs, two prizes (second and third) in the class of Norfolk and Suffolk red-polled cattle.
In the afternoon at a banquet attended by a large number of guests, the Prince took the chair, with the Princess of Wales on his right. Grace having been said by the Bishop of Norwich, the toast of "The Queen" was received with enthusiasm, and the Earl of Leicester then gave "The Health of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the rest of the Royal Family." He tendered the thanks of the society to the Prince of Wales for the aid which he had extended to agriculture, for his liberal assistance to the local charities, for the interest which he had displayed in county affairs, and, last but not least, for his support to the fox-hounds. The society was also still more indebted to Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales for her gracious presence that evening. Ladies ought always to interest themselves in their husbands' pursuits, and he believed that agriculture came quite within their province. The Earl next alluded to the illness of the Prince of Wales in December last, and expressed his hope that His Royal Highness's life might long be spared, as it would be devoted to the welfare of the people of England, and the promotion of all that was good and noble. The toast was drunk with rounds of cheering, renewed when the Prince rose to reply.
His Royal Highness said that "he and the Princess were deeply thankful for the reception which they had experienced during the day. He was very glad that it had been in his power to fulfil the promise which he gave some time since that he would preside over the meeting. It had been a success, and he should ever esteem it a high compliment to have been associated with it. During the ten years in which he had lived in Norfolk, he had endeavoured not to lag behind those other county landlords who so ably fulfilled their duties. It would always be his earnest endeavour to promote the welfare of the county, in which he was much interested. He had to thank the meeting for the kind reception which the Princess of Wales always experienced whenever she appeared in public. It was most desirable that ladies should associate themselves in their husbands' pursuits, and when the Princess did not accompany him he always felt that there was something wanting. With regard to his illness, he should never forget the sympathy which had been extended towards him. He accepted that sympathy as a token of the feeling of this great and enlightened country towards himself and the Princess, the Queen, his mother, and the Monarchical system which we had adopted."
After acknowledgment had been made by Lord Leicester, for the toast of the Lord-Lieutenant of the county, and the Bishop had responded for the Clergy, the Prince rose to give what he called the toast of the evening: "Prosperity to the Norfolk Agricultural Association."
His Royal Highness traced "the progress of the society and especially the rapid advance which it had made since it adopted the principle of holding its Shows periodically in all the towns of the county, instead of limiting its meetings to Norwich and Swaffham only. At the present Show there were sixty more stock entries and one hundred more implements. Norfolk had always been held up as a great agricultural county, and was the home of the great nobleman, better known as 'Coke of Norfolk.' The fame of Coke of Norfolk had not been forgotten by his son, the present Earl of Leicester. The county was a great cattle-breeding county, the home of such men as Lord Sondes, Mr. Brown, Mr. Aylmer, and Mr. Overman. One other great Norfolk breeder, the late Lord Walsingham, had passed away, but he trusted that the present Lord Walsingham would continue to maintain the reputation of the Merton flock.
"His Royal Highness expressed his own great personal interest in the Society and in the cause of agriculture generally. His late father, the Prince Consort, always felt the greatest interest in agriculture, and used to take his children to inspect his prize animals. It might be desirable to increase the area of the Society on the model of the Bath and West of England Society, by bringing in Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and Essex. For his own part, he supported such an extension of the Society. A landlord ought to feel a pride in having the working classes properly housed on his estate. Those who worked from morning to night should find a comfortable house, which would promote their moral and social wellbeing. He had endeavoured to improve the cottages on his own estate, and he felt pride and satisfaction in having his workmen properly housed. In conclusion, His Royal Highness strongly supported the idea of having a great county school for Norfolk, and said it would give him the greatest pleasure to support the enterprise."
After various other toasts, the last being "The Ladies," proposed by the Royal chairman, the Prince and Princess returned to Sandringham.
