"But there is the Constitution," the Princess had pointed out.
"Made for William the Dutchman. Naturally, the people wanted it then. The man was a foreigner; and they had just turned out James II, who lacked the intelligence of his brother. And after that there was Anne, who was a woman, and then they looked to the House of Hanover. Neither of the two previous Georges cared about England, and the English sensed that. But now it is changed.
Our George is an Englishman born and bred in England. It is time this country returned to true kingship.”
"And the Government?”
"Ah, my love has put her finger on the trouble. While we have Mr. Pitt at the head of affairs this country will be ruled by its government and not by its king.”
"And what do you propose, my love?”
"To rid ourselves of Mr. Pitt.”
"The people's idol?”
"The people quickly forget their idols.”
"And you think Mr. Pitt will agree to retire?”
"Mr. Pitt, my dearest, must be brought to such a pass that he can do nothing else but retire.”
"It will need very careful handling.”
Lord Bute smiled at her. "Shall we call on His Majesty.”
The Princess nodded, and rising, slipped her arm through that of the lover. Both the Princess and Lord Bute were aware of the King's new determination when they found him at his desk studying state papers. He greeted them warmly, embracing them both.
"Your Majesty will forgive this intrusion on your time," murmured Lord Bute.
"My dear friend, I am always happy to see you.”
"And your mother, I trust?" asked the Princess.
"My dearest mother, you know it.”
"The Princess and I have been talking of the war," said Bute.
George frowned. He hated wars. Killing! he thought. Men who are strong one moment and killed or even worse, maimed the next. A terrible price to pay for power. Yet, Mr. Pitt had assured him that it was necessary for the welfare of the people.
"We were saying," added his mother, "What a blessing it would be if there could be an end to all this bloodshed.”
"I am in absolute agreement with you.”
"I fear," said Bute sadly, 'that Mr. Pitt has other ideas.”
"Mr. Pitt is of course a great statesman," said the King. "I hear that he is known throughout the country and abroad as the greatest Englishman.”
"Yes. The Great Commoner," laughed Bute. "I admit that at one time he did good work for the country, as Your Majesty and I have often agreed. Success goes to a man's head. It was the same with the Duke of Marlborough. Resounding victories throughout Europe. Blenheim, Oudenarde, Malplaquet. Wonderful, Wonderful! And all adding greatly to the glory of England and the Duke.
And Pitt? Victories in North America and India ... an Empire no less. But the trouble with these heroes is that they do not know when to stop.”
"You mean," said George, 'that first they fight for the glory of England and then for their own.”
"Your Majesty has a pretty turn of wit. Yes, that is what I mean.”
"And you think that the war is no longer necessary?”
"I think Mr. Pitt should be ordered to bring his war to an end.”
The Princess gasped. Was dear Lord Bute a little too blunt? Dare one attack the Great Commoner in such terms? What if it were passed on to the man himself? Would he turn and attempt to flick Lord Bute from his path as he might a fly? Oh, but Lord Bute was no lightweight to be flicked aside. Might it not be Pitt himself who would come off worst from such an encounter? Still, it was against their policy to emerge too far out into the open.
George was astonished at such comment on the great Mr. Pitt, for he himself, the King no less, was overwhelmed in the presence of the Great Commoner who, although he always showed the utmost respect for the Crown, in fact he was apt to grovel before royalty, always conveyed the impression that he was the first minister and real leader of the country's policy, in other words the ruler, not King George.
"I think," went on Bute, 'that Your Majesty should study the possibilities of an early peace. The French are eager for it, and I am sure Your Majesty will agree with me that it could be brought about without any loss of face.”
"I should like to see an end to the war," the King agreed. "The thought of all the bloodshed appals me.”
"I knew that Your Majesty, Her Highness and I would be of one mind," murmured Bute.
Then, with the Princess, he sat with the King at his table and they studied the state papers together. The Princess noted that although the King listened to Bute, he no longer deferred to him in quite the old way; and when they left she said: "There is a change in George. It is becoming more and more apparent.”
"It is inevitable," replied Bute complacently. "Each day he becomes more and more aware that he is King.”
"He is not so ready to agree.”
"We must be more sure of our arguments. He is still very inexperienced.”
"And Pitt ...? Do you think we were perhaps a little too frank?”
Bute's smile grew even more complacent. "When George came to the throne Pitt was supreme. He had proved his policies. He was the people's idol and the late King believed that he could do no wrong. He was the most successful politician in Europe. Such success breeds envy, and there are many powerful men in the Government whose greatest desire is to see Pitt expelled from it.”
"And you have talked with these men?”
"I have ... sounded them, shall we say. Bedford, Hardwicke, Grenville and ... Fox. They are all on the side of peace. In fact they are ready to range themselves against Pitt.”
"Fox!”
"Yes, my love. Fox himself.”
The Princess was satisfied. Of course her dear lord knew what he was doing. With these men on his side he would have a good chance of ousting Pitt and with their help achieve that for which he had cautiously and assiduously worked even before George had come to the throne. Lord Bute with Fox as his lieutenant would rule England.
**** As William Pitt's carriage took him through the London streets he was recognized and acclaimed.
The Great Commoner was the people's idol. He had brought an Empire to England and prosperity overseas meant prosperity at home. There was a war, yes; and wars meant taxation and loss of lives; but there was work to be had and even a soldier at war was better than a soldier starving in the streets.
Pitt acknowledged the cheers with somewhat disdainful dignity. Although he was almost obsequious to the King, he could be almost contemptuous of the people in the streets; they did not seem to resent this. He was the great Pitt and the more he showed his contempt for them the more they seemed to respect him. His hawklike eyes stared straight ahead and he sat very straight, so that he never failed to appear the tall and imposing figure he was. He was immaculate in full dress coat and tie wig as usual; and looked as scrupulously well dressed on any occasion as he did on this visit to the King.
He guessed the reason for the King's summons was connected with the French desire for peace negotiations; and he had made up his mind that he was not going to give way to the inexperienced young man who happened to be the King. He would have to explain to him patiently why, in his opinion, peace was undesirable at this stage; and being Pitt he had no doubt that he could do so effectively. He had enemies, of course, the chief of whom was Lord Bute, who had, at one time, declared his support of Pitt's policies. But Bute was an ambitious man and his peculiar relations with the Princess Dowager but perhaps one should not say peculiar at all, for they were, alas for the morality of the country, all too common had doubtless given him the notion that he could lead the King whither he, Bute, desired him to go. Bute must be taught a lesson in this respect.