om Holyhead, and who takes his seat in the train for
Dublin, may see from the window of the railway carriage an obelisk, not
very imposing either in its height or in its sculptured form, which
seems a little out of place amid the ordinary accessories of a railway
and steamboat station. This is the monument which the grateful
authorities of the Irish capital erected to commemorate the spot on
which George the Fourth had set his august feet when he landed on the
shores of Ireland. Except for the obelisk and the change of name there
was not much done to keep the memory of the King green in the
recollections of the Irish people.

On August 12 George landed at Dunleary, where anxious and enthusiastic
crowds had long been waiting to welcome him. He was received with
universal cries of "The King! God bless him!" to which he replied by
waving the foraging-cap which he had been wearing, and crying out, "God
bless you all; I thank you from my heart." Then he got into his
carriage, and with a cavalcade of his attendants and a concourse of
admiring followers he drove to the Viceregal Lodge in Phoenix Park,
some eight or nine miles' distance. When he arrived at the Lodge he
alighted from the carriage and proclaimed to the crowd, "In addressing
you I conceive that I am addressing the nobility, gentry, and yeomen of
Ireland. This is one of the happiest moments of my life. I feel
pleased being the first of my family that set foot on Irish ground.
Early in my life I loved Ireland, and I rejoice at being among my
beloved Irish friends. I always considered them such, and this day
proves to me I am beloved by them." Then he went on to say that
"circumstances of a delicate nature," to which it was needless to
advert, had prevented him from visiting them earlier. Rank, station,
and honor were nothing to him, but "to feel that I live in the hearts
of my Irish subjects is to me the most exalted happiness." He wound up
with the touching words, "I assure you, my dear friends, I have an
Irish heart, and will this night give a proof of my affection towards
you, as I am sure you will towards {26} me, by drinking your health in
a bumper of whiskey punch."

[Sidenote: 1821--The King and the Primacy of all Ireland]

This speech may be taken as the keynote of George's behavior throughout
the entire visit. On the 17th of the month he made his grand state
entrance into Dublin in an open carriage drawn by eight horses, and he
wore in his h