Fitzherbert, Maria Anne, 1756-1837; George IV, King of Great Britain, 1762-1830
'The R-y-l Host, in livery clad,
(An honour long design'd her),
Waltz'd with his scullion, nearly mad,
To _Terry O, the grinder_.
'Ben Bloomy[99] and the fat old Cook,
Herself a perfect larder,
A simple jig together took,
The tune was _Shave the Barber_.
'And Cunning-one[100] mov'd not a limb
But stood amazed with wonder!
To see the K--'s disgraceful whim,
And vow'd she'd pull'm asunder.
'The fiddlers play'd, the dancers scream'd,
And all was in commotion;
Like waves they roll'd--the noise it seem'd
Just like a troubled ocean.
'Great G--e at supper next attends,
Amidst his new compeers;
When drunk "Low life above Stairs" ends
With thrice three times three cheers.'
In the beginning of January, 1820, the inhabitants of Brighton were
allowed, for a fortnight, to visit the Pavilion and view its wonders,
as far as it was then completed; on the 29th of the same month the
old King died, and Florizel, then in his fifty-ninth year, succeeded
him, as George IV. He came to the Pavilion at the end of February, and
stayed at Brighton nearly the whole of March.
A satirical print represents him as being at the Pavilion in November
of this year. It is called 'MOMENTS OF PAIN.' The scene is an apartment
in the Pavilion, and the surroundings are all Chinese. The King is
dressed in full Chinese costume, the great 'Fum' bird being embroidered
on his bosom; he is very ill, and a physician is feeling his pulse.
On the floor lies a huge roll of a 'List of Addresses presented to
Caroline, Queen of England,' and an attendant is trying to prevent
the entrance of a messenger, who brings the news of 'The Bill turned
out.' This was the Bill of pains and penalties brought into Parliament
against her by Lord Liverpool on July 5, 1820; the trial began on
August 19, and the Bill was abandoned on November 18.
The King spent his Christmas at Brighton, and as he was a full-fledged
monarch, his ideas expanded as to his country residence, and the
assembly-room of the Castle Tavern was absorbed into the building, and
converted into a chapel. Then also was arranged the alterations which
have made the Pavilion the extraordinary conglomeration of buildings it
now is. The chapel was consecrated on January 1, 1822.
He left Brighton in April, went to Scotland in August, and returned
to Brighton in October. In January, 1823, he had a terrible attack of
gout, and he did not leave the Pavilion till April. Naturally, now that
he was King, he had to spend much of his time in London; but he spent
the Christmas of 1824 at Brighton, and stayed there till the following
February. He never made but one more visit to Brighton--from January
23, 1827, to March 7--and Florizel's stupendous Folly knew him no more.
[Illustration: Decorative motif]
FOOTNOTES:
[93] 'The Journal of Mary Frampton from 1779 to 1846,' 8vo., pp. 264,
265; London, 1885.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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