University of Virginia Library

Search this document 

collapse sectionI. 
 I. 
 II. 
 III. 
 IV. 
 V. 
 VI. 
 VII. 
 VIII. 
 IX. 
 X. 
 XI. 
XI. ROYAL EDUCATION.
 XII. 
 XIII. 
 XIV. 
 XV. 
 XVII. 
 XVIII. 
 XX. 
 XXI. 
 XXII. 
 XXIII. 
 XXIV. 
 XXVI. 
 XXVII. 
collapse sectionII. 
 I. 
 II. 
 III. 
 IV. 
 V. 
 VI. 
 VII. 
 VIII. 
 IX. 
 X. 
 XI. 
 XII. 
 XIII. 
 XIV. 
 XV. 
 XVI. 
 XVII. 
 XVIII. 
 XIX. 
 XX. 
 XXI. 
 XXII. 
 XXIII. 
 XXIV. 
 XXV. 
 XXVI. 
 XXVII. 
 XXVIII. 
 XXIX. 
 XXX. 
 XXXI. 
 XXXII. 
 XXXIII. 
 XXXIV. 
 XXXV. 
 XXXVI. 
 XXXVII. 
 XXXVIII. 
 XXXIX. 
 XL. 
 XLI. 
 XLII. 
 XLIII. 
 XLIV. 
 XLV. 
 XLVI. 
 XLVII. 
 XLVIII. 
 XLIX. 
 L. 
 LI. 
 LII. 
 LIII. 
collapse sectionIII. 
 I. 
 II. 
 III. 


45

XI. ROYAL EDUCATION.

A NURSERY SONG.

I am a babe of royalty;
Queen Charlotte was my grannam;
And Parliament has voted me
Six thousand pounds per annum;
To teach me how to read and write,
To teach me elocution,
To teach me how to feast and fight
For the king and constitution,

46

As a well-taught Prince should do,
Who is taught by contribution.
I'll have a doll of porphyry
With diamonds in her curls,
And a rocking-horse of ivory,
And a skipping rope of pearls;
I'll have a painted paper kite
With banker's bills for wings,
And a golden fiddle to play at night
With a silver wire for strings,
As a well-taught Prince should have,
Who is sprung from the German kings.
My woman of the bed chamber
Shall dress in the finest silk;
And a nobleman of Hanover
Shall boil my bread and milk;
My breeches shall be of cloth of gold,
My night-cap of Mechlin lace,
And Cologne water, hot and cold,
Shall be ready to wash my face,
As a well-taught Prince should wash,
Who is come of a royal race.
And when my coach and six shall jog,
With horns, huzzas, and banners,
To some gaunt German pedagogue
Who teaches Greek and manners,

47

How very ready I shall be
To show that I'm fit for ruling,
By gaming and by gallantry,
And other kinds of fooling
Which a well-taught Prince should learn,
Who costs so much in schooling.
I'll learn of Uncle George to make
A sword-knot, and a bow,
And I'll learn of Uncle York to take
The long odds, and a vow;
And Uncle Clarence shall supply
The science of imprecation,
And you, my own papa, shall try
To teach me fabrication,
Which a well-taught Prince should study,
Whose tutors are paid by the nation.
I'll learn of Peel his lunacy
About the priests and popes;
From ... to live in infamy,
From Canning to talk in tropes;
From Blomfield to discern new lights,
To darken the old, from Scott,
From Liverpool the chartered rights
Which an Englishman has not,
As a well-taught Prince should know,
Who is born for a kingly lot.

48

While education day by day
My native wit enlarges,
Oh shall I not at last repay
The country's heavy charges!
As wise as any other Guelph,
As useful and as dear,
Oh shall I not procure myself
A people's scorn and fear,
Which a well-taught Prince should earn,
With six thousand pounds a year!