thence along
the coast of Wales, landing at Bangor, from whence there was an
expedition to Penryn Castle, and thence past the Isle of Man to the
Scottish coast. Of this journey a detailed account is given in a letter
to Baron Stockmar. At Rothesay in the Isle of Bute, the Prince Consort
says, "The people were as much rejoiced to see the Duke of Rothesay as
the Welsh were to salute the Prince of Wales on their native ground." It
was this enthusiasm about local associations that led the Queen, after
the first visit to Ireland, to desire for the Prince the title of Earl
of Dublin.

During 1848 and the following year there was much in the state of public
affairs, at home and abroad, to occupy the attention of the Queen and
the Prince Consort, but they were anxiously considering the plans for
the future education of the Prince of Wales. In May 1848 negociations
had been opened with Mr. Birch, who had been highly recommended as
tutor. In the spring of 1849 the appointment was made, and Prince
Albert, in a letter to the Dowager Duchess of Gotha, dated Windsor
Castle, 10th April, thus wrote, "The children grow more than well.
Bertie will be given over in a few weeks into the hands of a tutor, whom
we have found in Mr. Birch, a young, good-looking, amiable man, who was
a tutor at Eton, and who not only himself took the highest honours at
Cambridge, but whose pupils have won especial distinction. It is an
important step, and God's blessing be upon it, for upon the good
education of Princes, and especially of those who are destined to
govern, the welfare of the world in these days very greatly depends."

Of the course and conduct of the studies of the Prince, under Mr. Birch,
from 1849-1851, and under his successor, Mr. Gibbs, from 1851-1858, it
is not necessary to speak. His other teachers were efficient in their
departments, such as Mr. Corbould, who taught drawing to all the Royal
children; and M. Brasseur, the French teacher, to whom the Prince paid a
visit when in Paris in 1888. As in the earlier years, so when he was
under tutors, the real education for public life was less in study than
in the companionship and the example of his parents. A man of wide
knowledge and of varied accomplishments like the Prince Consort had
higher views of education than mere scholastic routine. He took his son
to all places where a love of arts and sciences might be encouraged and
fostered, and hence the Prince obtained knowledge and acquired