Hancock's door. The Commissioners applied for protection to the Governor, who referred them to the Legislature. That body would give neither advice nor assistance, and the Commissioners, finding themselves threatened, were driven to seek refuge in a fortress called Castle William, situate on an island at the mouth of the harbour.

A town meeting was called forthwith. But the inhabitants of Boston, espousing Hancock's interest, remonstrated with Governor Bernard upon the seizure of the sloop, and requested him to order the Romney to quit the harbour. The Legislature eyeing these proceedings with indifference took no measures to assist the Governor or protect the King's officers.

As a result of all this the law-abiding inhabitants were filled with consternation and alarm. The Governor dissolved the Assembly, and refused to convene a new one without instructions from home.

There was only one way now for the Imperial Government to act, and that was to send troops in aid of the helpless civil powers in Boston.

CHAPTER IX

THE KING IN PRIVATE LIFE

OCCUPIED as George was in the Council Chamber and the royal closet with public affairs, his private life, whether at Buckingham House, Richmond Lodge, Kew, or Windsor, was marked by many episodes, some of them joyous, a few of deep melancholy. Almost alone of his family, Charlotte never gave him a moment's anxiety. His married life on the whole was of unusual felicity. The birth of an heir to the throne went far to atone for the Queen's social shortcomings, for it cannot be gainsaid that to London society Charlotte was a disappointment. The highest expectations had been current at Court of seeing the new reign lit by splendour and gaiety. The young and frivolous desired St. James's to emulate the vivacity and extravagance of Versailles. Dissoluteness was still in fashion; neither Lord Holland nor Lord Chesterfield thought it unbecoming in a father to inculcate immorality or condone gaming and inebriety in their children.

Both too deeply impressed with the evils which were eating out the heart of the nation, and the one too greatly immersed in State business to leave time for frivolity, George and Charlotte had on other

grounds no desire to emulate Versailles. The young King's principles as well as tastes were on the side of dignified quiet and decency. The young Queen, although partaking of the public diversions, and obviously gratified at the pleasure which her presence afforded, delighted more in the tranquil society of her own friends. The "blended dignity and sweetness" with which she went through the formal ceremonies of the Court days, her grace of manner and gentleness of conversation, made, as they truly deserved to make, a favourable impression.

Between their public and private life George and his Queen drew a line. The testimony of many intimates supplies a touching picture of the simplicity of the royal habits and occupations. Scarcely wedded, George was anxious for his Queen to become proficient in the English tongue. None, at first he playfully declared, should teach his Charlotte but himself; yet afterwards he called in a worthy gentleman and scholar, Dr. Majendie, to assist the Queen in her studies. While he was called away daily to read and sign despatches and to confer with Ministers, Charlotte read aloud passages from Shakespeare, Milton, and Addison. Such was the royal pupil's application, that she was soon able to speak fluently and write English not only correctly, but with elegance. Charlotte was that rare creature, a really domestic woman. was fond of needlework, and took a deep interest in horticulture. She played on the harpsichord, and sang agreeably.

She

We are told by Miss Burney that the Queen had

A TYPICAL ENGLISH GENTLEMAN

no love for jewels, nor had dress any fascination for her. She admitted that when first she became a queen to adorn herself had not been unpleasing to her, but then she was only seventeen, and it was her eyes and not her reason that was dazzled. "She told me with the sweetest grace imaginable," wrote Miss Burney, "how well she had liked at first her jewels and ornaments as Queen; but how soon' she cried,' was that over! Believe me, Miss Burney, it is a pleasure of a week-a fortnight at most-and to return no more. I thought at first I should always choose to wear them; but from the fatigue and trouble of putting them on, and the care they required, and the fear of losing them, believe me, in a fortnight's time I longed again for my own earlier dress, and wished never to see them more!'"1

George was the typical English gentleman of his time. Not, let us hasten to add, the finicking, frivolous, heartless, three-bottle townman of quality, but the pleasant, God-fearing, self-respecting, amiable country squire. He had a great fund of humour. If he took business seriously, it is because the business of the times demanded seriousness. He was fond of reading, and especially recitation. Music delighted him. He flung himself ardently into outdoor sports, especially riding, cricket, and baseball.2 While delighting in a game of cards, George was too

1 Madame D'Arblay, Diary and Letters, vol. i. pp. 202–3.

2 It is, by the way, a whimsical fact that to the royal predilection for the game of "rounders" that America owes her national game. It was brought over by a royal governor, who had seen the Prince of Wales darting, flushed and eager, round the "diamond" at Cliveden.

much a witness of the criminal folly of gambling to indulge it. For several reigns it had been the custom to play hazard at Court on Twelfth Night. Large sums were staked by or in the presence of the sovereign, and openly changed hands. Dice had been originally used, but they were replaced by cards in the last reign. In 1765 the King issued an order prohibiting gaming in the royal palace under any circumstances whatsoever.

As the public demands on his time increased, that which was left for leisure was welcome indeed to both. Dinner was a simple affair. George's appetite was good. There were plenty of nourishing viands, but no French fal-lals. At the beginning of his reign indeed, at St. James's, he not only had a French cook, but even intimated that his palate was capable of discerning a glass of good port. The King's extreme temperance dates from a conversation three or four years later with the Duke of Cumberland, whose unwieldly corpulence distressed both himself and his friends. "Unless your Majesty take care," ran Cumberland's Cumberland's warning, "you will be as fat as I; I would to God I had renounced high living in my youth." George stared at his uncle, but the hint was not lost upon him; from that day he commenced a system of restraint upon his palate. We are even told lest family conviviality should lead him beyond his strict rules of temperance, he long condemned himself to eat alone, of the plainest food and in the smallest quantities. He also increased his indulgence in exercise. Years afterwards somebody commended him for his heroic