Page:T.R.H., the Prince and Princess of Wales by Whates, Harry Richard.djvu/25

His Birth and Boyhood. while Prince Albert Victor was only just six, and Prince George two years younger, when they were placed under the tutorial care of John Neale Dalton, at that time a curate at Sandringham, a man of the highest character and marked ability.

It was about this time that Bishop Wilberforce observed in a letter: "Both interesting children; the eldest, Edward, that inward look of melancholy which his father had; George full of fun and spirits and life." Many stories are still told about Sandringham and on Deeside concerning the high spirits and boundless energy of the younger Prince. He was nicknamed by one of his German relations "The right Royal pickle;" he delighted in every form of out-door sport and game, and was a vigorous swimmer, a keen skater, and a good rider. He is said to have always declared most positively that he intended to be a sailor; perhaps this desire on his part was partly owing to his early associations with the late Rev. W. Lake Onslow, who, when chaplain of the Galatea, had been naval instructor to the Duke of Edinburgh.

It is easy also to imagine what thrilling