He therefore, from
the first, laid down strict, not to say severe rules for his guidance. He
imposed a degree of restraint and self-denial upon his own movements which
could not but have been irksome, had he not been sustained by a sense of
the advantage which the throne would derive from it.
'He denied himself the pleasure--which, to one so fond as he was of
personally watching and inspecting every improvement that was in progress,
would have been very great--of walking at will about the town. Wherever he
went, whether in a carriage or on horseback, he was accompanied by his
equerry. He paid no visits in general society. His visits were to the
studio of the artist, to museums of art or science, to institutions for
good and benevolent purposes. Wherever a visit from him, or his presence,
could tend to advance the real good of the people, there his horses might
be seen waiting; never at the door of mere fashion. Scandal itself could
take no liberty with his name. He loved to ride through all the districts
of London where building and improvements were in progress, more
especially when they were such as would conduce to the health or
recreation of the working classes; and few, if any, took such interest as
he did in all that was being done, at any distance east, west, north, or
south of the great city--from Victoria Park to Battersea--from the
Regent's Park to the Crystal Palace, and far beyond.
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