"Sir, I wish to go abroad."

"Well, sir, I should remind you that that is something you cannot do without my consent. And I do not give that consent. You understand me, eh? You understand, what?"

Miserably, his heart full of hatred towards his father, the Prince left.

But at least he knew where she was, and there was the comfort of pen and ink-pot. He wrote pages to her which gave him some pleasure. He would shut himself in his apartments and cover sheet after sheet. Although the Prince had been deeply affected by women since his adolescence he had never before been in love like this. The most surprising thing of all was that he remained faithful. No other woman could be of the slightest interest to him. All through the winter his only comfort was talking to his friends about his devotion to Maria, writing impassioned letters to her, keeping couriers running back and forth across Europe. These were often arrested as spies and only the help of the Duc d'Orleans saved them from imprisonment. When he explained that the mission of these men was love and not espionage they were immediately freed and given every facility to reach Maria.

But she stubbornly remained out of the country in spite of his appeals and everyone now understood that Maria Fitzherbert was not playing a waiting game in the hope of luring the Prince to indiscretion; she really was the deeply religious woman she had made herself out to be and she would not consider living with the Prince on any terms but marriage.

Sir James Harris, the English Ambassador to the Hague, came to London to report and the Prince seized the opportunity of sending for him.

Harris had been a friend of the Prince; and as ambassador in a country such as Holland over which the French and the English were fighting for control, he was often in the depths of intrigue. He was therefore in close touch with the King and his ministers, and understood many of the problems not only of State but of the royal family.

Like all those who wished the family well, he deplored the Prince's absorbing passion for a woman whom he could not marry and who had refused to live with him on any other terms. If Mrs. Fitzherbert had given in, the problem would have been immediately solved; it was ironical, but it was Mrs. Fitzherbert's virtue which was causing such concern.

The Prince greeted Harris warmly at Carlton House and immediately came to the reason for his visit.

"I want to know whether it would be possible for me to go to The Hague as a private person, and if I did how would you, as the King's representative there, receive me?"

Harris was alarmed. So much depended on his answer, but he hesitated only briefly and said: "I should be very sorry to see Your Highness in Holland otherwise than in a character which would allow me to receive you in a manner conformable with the respect and affection I bear Your Highness. Your coming abroad, however, without the King's consent, would imply that you came after having been refused it. You may rest assured that in this case I should have received orders as to how I should act on your arrival and however much these orders were in contradiction to my feelings, as the King's servant, I should be obliged to obey them."

"I should be the last person to ask you to do otherwise. But what can I do? Am I refused the right of every other individual? Cannot I travel legally as a private person, without the King's consent?"

"It seems immaterial to know whether Your Highness can or not, since it is evident that you cannot with any propriety to the public or satisfaction to yourself, cross the seas without it."

"Why not? I wish to travel economically, to be unknown and to live in retirement."

"I confess that no event would give me so much pain as an Englishman to see a Prince of Wales abroad under such a description."

"But what can I do? The King suggests I put aside £10,000 a year to pay my debts at a time when, with the strictest economies, my expenses are twice my income. I am ruined if I stay in England."

"Your Royal Highness will find no relief in travelling in the way in which you propose. You will be slighted or the object of intrigue."

"What can I do? The King hates me. He has hated me since I was seven years old."

"His Majesty may be dissatisfied with Your Highness but surely he cannot hate you. I am convinced that nothing would make him and the Queen so happy as to restore their affections to you. This would be the greatest blessing to the nation and comfort to the royal family."

"That may be so but it cannot be. We are too wide asunder."

"I do believe Your Highness should try every possible means before you carry into execution your plan of travelling."

The Prince sighed. "I see I shall have to think it over."

Couriers were leaving Carlton House for Germany as well as Holland, for the Prince was now writing not only to Maria but also to his brother Frederick. Frederick had been his close companion in youth and the affection between them had been great; they had helped each other out of many a scrape and the fact that they had been parted was an added grievance against the King. When the Prince had heard that his brother was to be sent to Germany to train for the Army, he himself had begged for a commission that they might continue to be together. Why could they not both serve in the English Army? Why must Frederick go to Hanover? All the objections had been ignored and the brothers parted. But they had declared they would be friends for ever.

Frederick had heard of the charms of Maria Fitzherbert and of his brother's devotion and how nothing would satisfy him but marriage with this lady; and he, who had been at his brother's side during the affair with Perdita, who had attended those clandestine meetings on Eel Pie Island to be at hand to give a warning if needed, now declared himself entirely at his brother's service over the matter of Maria Fitzherbert.

If necessary, wrote the Prince, he would give up the Crown, which would mean that Frederick would inherit it. Was Frederick agreeable to make this sacrifice?

Frederick replied that he would make any sacrifices for his brother.

Dear, dear brother, how cruel to keep them apart I Frederick must realize, the Prince reminded him, that at some time he himself might want to marry someone who was not acceptable as a future Queen of England.

Frederick's reply was characteristic of him. In that event there was William, Edward, Ernest, Augustus or Adolphus to step into the breach. There was one thing for which they must be grateful to their parents; they had been generous in providing substitutes should they feel unable to accept the Crown.

They could always laugh together. The Prince was a little more hopeful and the people in the streets were singing more than ever, with sympathy and interest in their emotional, lovesick, but never boring Prince of Wales:

"I'd crowns resign To call thee mine, Sweet lass of Richmond Hill."

Maria wrote to him. He must forget her, she told him. It was no use his talking wildly of marrying her and giving up the Crown. This she appreciated but even if he disobeyed his father and was so imprudent as to follow her abroad, she could never marry him. She implored him to try to forget her.

She would always remember his devotion to her and be grateful for it; the memory of his fidelity and devotion sustained her in her exile; but he must not think of leaving England. It would be a fatal mistake which he would regret for the rest of his life—and she would never forgive herself if she allowed him to do this.

She thought of him often; she would not deny that she loved him. Yet if he came abroad she would never stay with him, but would make sure that he could not find her. This she meant and she begged him to be calmer, to wait a while, to see if his feelings changed in the next months.

He read and re-read that letter. It seemed to hold a gleam of hope; and at last he began to see that it would be impossible for him to leave the country and that no good could come of.

* * *

That brilliant young man who had the appearance of having been born old, called on the King: William Pitt, the younger, whose great claim to the King's loyalty was that he was in opposition to Charles James Fox.

The Prime Minister had come to talk to the King about that disturbing subject the Prince of Wales, a subject equally distasteful to both of them.

"His Highness," said Mr. Pitt, "has incurred many debts which Your Majesty feels should be discharged."

The King grumbled about the follies of youth. Not that Mr. Pitt was very old, but being of an entirely different temperament from that of the Prince of Wales he would understand the King's meaning. There had been little time for youthful follies in the life of a young man who had become Prime Minister of England at the age of twenty-four: and to Mr. Pitt the so-called pleasures of the Prince were childish pastimes; how could the pursuit of a woman compare with his own quest for the Great Seal? Pitt was at the head of the country and there he intended to remain. He had no fears of the Prince's animosity; but he did fear Fox. There was a man brilliant enough to unseat him, one of whom he must be ever watchful. And the Prince had made it perfectly clear that Fox was his friend and Fox's politics his.

"Yes," said the King. "I feel these debts should be discharged.

The Prince is living beyond his income and there are some members of the Government who feel that the income he receives is not adequate for a Prince of Wales."

"Sentiments most forcefully expressed in the House by Mr. Charles James Fox," said Pitt grimly. "Has it occurred to Your Majesty that if we gave the Prince of Wales a sum of money with which to discharge his debts, a large amount of this might possibly be used for the advancement of the Whigs?"

The King looked startled. His brows bristled and looked whiter than ever because his face had flushed scarlet with rage. His eyes bulged and he cried: "Eh, what?" three times while Mr. Pitt regarded him coldly. The King was rather incoherent sometimes and this made Mr. Pitt very uneasy, for what if he were to become incapable and it was necessary to appoint a Regency? He saw the figure of the Prince grown powerful and beside him the shadow of a wily Fox.

No, the King must keep his place. He was after all a young man yet. He could not be more than forty-seven. Yet he had seemed to grow old during the last years.

Pitt went on: "I think that the Prince's debts should be discharged on one condition."

"Condition, eh? What condition?"

"That he breaks with the Whigs and Mr. Charles James Fox."

The King smiled slowly. Nothing would please him more than to see that break. It was a good idea. Trust young Mr. Pitt to come up with the right answer.

The King decided to use Sir James Harris in his negotiations with the Prince and, sending for him, told of his conversation with his Prime Minister.

"Now, my dear Harris, you will go to the Prince and acquaint him with the conditions with which he must comply before his debts are settled."

When Harris arrived the Prince burst out before lie could say anything: "If you have come to dissuade me from travelling, let me anticipate your kind intentions by telling you that I have put that idea out of my mind. My friends, as well as yourself, are against it, and I subscribe to their opinion."

Harris expressed his satisfaction and told him that he had in fact come to speak about the Prince's debts.

The Prince listened horrified. "Abandon my friends! How could I do that? Give up my opinions for the sake of money!"

"It would, Your Highness, bring about a reconciliation between you and your father. His Majesty is more distressed by your connection with the Whigs and Mr. Fox, than by anything else; and I believe that if you were no longer devoted to them there would be a basis for building up strong family affection."

"No, no, my dear Harris, even if I would do this, there would never be a reconciliation. The King hates me. I will show you our correspondence over the last six months when I first asked his permission to go to Holland. You will see how I have attempted to be friendly with him and how he rebuffs me."

"Sir, do you think it wise for me to see this correspondence?"

"Yes, I do, so that you may know how the King treats me. I wish the people knew what I have to endure."

"I should be sorry indeed, sir, if the enmity between the King and yourself were public knowledge."