Page:The life and times of King Edward VII by Whates, Harry Richard 1.djvu/29

11 BOYISH PRANKS ii glimpse we get of him is at the age of one year, when Baron Stockmar, the con- fidential adviser of the Prince Consort, presents him in one of his letters as " strong upon his legs, with a calm, clear, bright expression of face," but " a little plagued with his teeth." " Princey " was his nursery name, and about those teeth Mr. Punch made a capital joke. Sir Charles Ross painted a portrait of the boy " a bright, chubby-faced infant in a baby cap," says Mrs. Tooley in describ- ing his work. " The Prince of Wales," observed the Jester, " was safely delivered of a tooth one day last week, when Sir Charles Ross, the miniature painter, received instructions to draw it." By pleasantries such as these the nation was kept in touch with the life of the Royal nursery, and stories more or less trivial gained currency as the little man learned to toddle and developed a personality. A governess was installed in the person of I,ady Lyttelton, sister of Mrs. Gladstone, and it is not improbable that she found " Princey " " something of a handful " at times, for his disposition was lively, and he enjoyed exuberant health. Indeed, nothing is told of the ailments common to early childhood ; these he seems to have escaped, being more fortunate in that respect than his elder sister. Sir Charles Lyell saw him on one of his visits to Balmoral. " A pleasing, lively boy," is his description ; and he set down what the Prince had told him of a conjuring trick of Anderson's : " He cut to pieces Mamma's handkerchief, then darned it and ironed it so that it was as entire as ever. He then fired a pistol and caused five or six watches to go through Gibbs's head [Gibbs was one of the footmen]. But Papa knows how all these things are done, and had the watches really gone through Gibbs's head he could hardly have looked so well though he was con- founded." Mrs. Tooley tells a story of a boyish prank at the expense of Burnand, the sculptor, who was commissioned to make the first bust of the Prince. A studio was arranged for him close to the nurseries at Buckingham Palace, and each morning " Princey " came to sit. He was a lively little fellow of five years old, and not fond of keeping in one position. He was much interested in the sculptor's work, how- ever, and begged to be allowed to model his own face. Mr. Burnand was glad to afford him this amusement, and gave him a cast to fill with clay. " Princey " was greatly delighted, and after he had finished filling the cast, brought it to the sculptor. As Mr. Burnand turned to look, the little Prince in a mischievous mood dashed it in the unfortunate sculptor's face, laughing merrily the while. Lady Lyttelton was an admirable gov- erness, much beloved by her little charges and their illustrious parents. As was her habit, the Queen consulted Lord Melbourne on this matter. He agreed with Her Majesty that the person chosen should be a lady of rank, but it was of more importance, he observed, that she should be a woman of sense and dis- cretion than a duchess, a marchioness or a countess. Given capacity to fulfil the duties of the office, " it would not be well to consider either high or low rank as a disqualification." The Queen wrote to him later : " Lady Lyttelton is established here [Buckingham Palace] in her office, and does everything admir- ably." With that discreet and gracious