Page:The life and times of King Edward VII by Whates, Harry Richard 1.djvu/24

6 LIFE AND TIMES OF EDWARD VII. expressed the same thought in a con- fidential letter to Lord Melbourne, which has not been published in the selection authorised by King Edward, but the tenor of which can be divined from his reply. Though a swift recovery was made from the illness, she complained of lowness and depression of spirits. Lord Melbourne answered with delicate sym- pathy ; he well knew how to feel for those who suffered under depression, for he himself had much of it. And he turned to cheer her by expressing his joy at hearing so good an account of the Heir Apparent. " Your Majesty cannot offer up for the young Prince a more safe and judicious prayer," he wrote, " than that he may resemble his father. The char- acter, in Lord Melbourne's opinion " his letters are in the third person, as are all Ministerial letters to the Sovereign, though Lord Melbourne had ceased to hold office " depends much upon the race, and on both sides he has a good chance. Be not over solicitous about education. It may be able to do much, but it does not do so much as is expected from it. It may mould and direct the character, but it rarely alters it." Then followed in the letter as given in " The I/etters of Queen Victoria," a sage little dissertation upon the education of George IV. and others of that time. Thus early, apparently, was Her Majesty thinking of the education of her son. Of more urgency was the question of his christening. The name of Albert Edward had been decided upon during the first week. Lord Melbourne, to whom the choice had been communicated, hinted a preference for Edward as the first name a hint that may have borne fruit in the ultimate decision to be known as King Edward the Seventh, though the chief reason was that the Christian name of Albert should be exclusively associated with the Prince Consort. " Edward is a good English appellation," wrote Lord Melbourne, as seen by "The Letters of Queen Victoria," "and has a certain degree of popularity attached to it from ancient recollections. Albert is also an old Anglo- Saxon name the same, Lord Melbourne believes, as Ethelred but it has not been so common nor so much in use since the Conquest. However, Your Majesty's feel- ings, which Lord Melbourne perfectly understands, must determine this point." The selection of sponsors was not with- out embarrassment to the Royal house- hold, which early in December had removed from London to Windsor. " We arrived here, sains et sau/s, with our awfully large nursery establishment yes- terday morning," the Queen wrote on the 7th of December the use of " awfully " as a humorous exaggeration had crept into feminine correspondence thus early in the century. On that day Letters Patent were signed creating the infant Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. " Know ye," the people were enjoined, " that we have made our most dear son (Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Duke of Saxony, Duke of Cornwall) Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. And him, our most dear son, we do ennoble and invest with the said Principality and Earldom by girding him with a sword, by putting a coronet on his head and a gold ring on his finger, and also by delivering a gold rod into his hand, that he may preside there and may direct and defend those parts." The strong feeling of embarrassment as to the