He
looked upon England as the home of political freedom. "Out of its
bosom," he stated, "singly and solely has sprung America's free
Constitution, in all its present power and importance, in its
incalculable influence upon the social condition of the whole human
race; and in my eyes the English Constitution is the foundation-,
corner-, and cope-stone of the entire political civilization of the
human race, present and to come."
He soon became the Prince's confidential adviser, and his unrivalled
knowledge and strict sense of truth and duty proved of the utmost
value.
He endeared himself to both the Queen and the Prince, and successive
statesmen trusted him absolutely for his freedom from prejudice and
for his sincerity.
In 1842 he drew up for the Queen some rules for the education of her
children. "A man's education begins the first day of his life," was
one of his maxims. He insisted that "the education of the royal
infants ought to be from its earliest beginning _a truly moral and
a truly English one_." The persons to whom the children are entrusted
should receive the full support and confidence of the parents,
otherwise "education lacks its very soul and vitality." He suggested
that a lady of rank should be placed at the head of the nursery, as
being better able to understand the responsibilities and duties
attached to the education and upbringing of the Queen's children.
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