The brothers were very popular in Coburg, and, when the time came for them to be confirmed, the preliminary examination which, according to ancient custom, was held in public in the “Giants’ Hall” of the Castle, was attended by an enthusiastic crowd of functionaries, clergy, delegates from the villages of the duchy, and miscellaneous onlookers.  There were also present, besides the Duke and the Dowager Duchess, their Serene Highnesses the Princes Alexander and Ernest of Wurtemberg, Prince Leiningen, Princess Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and Princess Hohenlohe-Schillingsfurst.  Dr. Jacobi, the Court chaplain, presided at an altar, simply but appropriately decorated, which had been placed at the end of the hall; and the proceedings began by the choir singing the first verse of the hymn, “Come, Holy Ghost.”  After some introductory remarks, Dr. Jacobi began the examination.  “The dignified and decorous bearing of the Princes,” we are told in a contemporary account, “their strict attention to the questions, the frankness, decision, and correctness of their answers, produced a deep impression on the numerous assembly.  Nothing was more striking in their answers than the evidence they gave of deep feeling and of inward strength of conviction.  The questions put by the examiner were not such as to be met by a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no.’  They were carefully considered in order to give the audience a clear insight into the views and feelings of,the young princes.  One of the most touching moments was when the examiner asked the hereditary prince whether he intended steadfastly to hold to the Evangelical Church, and the Prince answered not only ‘Yes!’ but added in a clear and decided tone:  ’I and my brother are firmly resolved ever to remain faithful to the acknowledged truth.’  The examination having lasted an hour, Dr. Jacobi made some concluding observations, followed by a short prayer; the second and third verses of the opening hymn were sung; and the ceremony was over.  The Princes, stepping down from the altar, were embraced by the Duke and the Dowager Duchess; after which the loyal inhabitants of Coburg dispersed, well satisfied with their entertainment.”

Albert’s mental development now proceeded apace.  In his seventeenth year he began a careful study of German literature and German philosophy.  He set about, he told his tutor, “to follow the thoughts of the great Klopstock into their depths—­though in this, for the most part,” he modestly added, “I do not succeed.”  He wrote an essay on the “Mode of Thought of the Germans, and a Sketch of the History of German Civilisation,” “making use,” he said, “in its general outlines, of the divisions which the treatment of the subject itself demands,” and concluding with “a retrospect of the shortcomings of our time, with an appeal to every one to correct those shortcomings in his own case, and thus set a good example to others.”  Placed for some months under the care of King Leopold at Brussels, he came