. I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 QUEEN VICTORIA 
 
'SaSantgne pres# 
 
 BAI.LANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. 
 
 Edinburgh and London 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2017 with funding from 
 Getty Research Institute 
 
 / 
 
 https://archive.org/details/lifeofhermajestyOOsmit 
 
'Photograph, by A fBassano , 
 
 Copyright. 
 

 
 
 
 LIFE * OF HER * 
 
 Compiled from Jl BvaUa&u Sourced * 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 g; barn l tt sn • 
 
 
 
 ^AlJTtlOa ov 
 
 1 THE 7'teiWE M!M>r .qiVk.s V7 r -,v, 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 PEOPLE S EDITION- 
 
 
 
 % * 
 
 LON. OMUfe: 
 
 GI OivGE RoBt I oeP .• 
 
 U L A $ #UW . \ €W . t .<V - 
 
 
LIFE OF HER MAJESTY 
 
 QUEEN VICTORIA 
 
 Compiles from all Available Sources 
 
 BY 
 
 G. BARNETT SMITH 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 “ THE PRIME MINISTERS OF QUEEN VICTORIA,” ETC, 
 
 PEOPLE’S EDITION, 
 
 LONDON 
 
 GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS 
 
 BROADWAY, LUDGATE HILL 
 GLASGOW AND NEW YORK 
 
 1887 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
 
 “ The best biography of the Queen.”— Truth. 
 
 “ A tasteful volume.A pleasing memento.’*— Daily Telegraph. 
 
 “A workmanlike compilation, the material well arranged, the narrative 
 clear and undeviating, and treated with taste and discretion.”— Saturday 
 Review. 
 
 “A charming and enduring memorial of the Queen’s Jubilee.”— Lloyd's 
 Newspaper. 
 
 “ The work has been compiled with great care and sound judgment.”— 
 North British Mail. 
 
 '• Completely fulfils its purpose.”— A thenceum. 
 
 “ A work worthy of the importance of the subject.”— Halifax Courier. 
 
 “ Will be perused with unqualified approval by readers of all classes.” 
 —Morning Post. 
 
 “ Mr. Barnett Smith has done his work thoroughly.’’— Graphic . 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The approaching Jubilee of the Queen’s reign offers a 
 favourable opportunity for relating the story of her 
 Majesty’s life. This I have endeavoured to trace in 
 the following pages. All sources of information have 
 been consulted, and I have dealt as fully as possible 
 with the inner life of the Sovereign from the time of 
 childhood to that of mature age. Although deprived 
 of a father’s care in her infancy, it will be seen how, 
 in her early years, she was tended by the loving 
 ministrations of a wise mother. The chapter “ Victoria 
 Regina ” gives a full account of her accession to the 
 throne, while the one immediately ensuing deals with 
 her happy marriage, when she found a devoted partner 
 in the Prince Consort, and one able to guide her in 
 important matters as well as to sustain her by his 
 affection. Succeeding chapters show the home life of 
 the royal couple and their children, together with 
 
vi 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 their movements and public appearances. One section 
 furnishes details of the severe affliction which befell 
 the Queen and the nation by the death of the Prince 
 Consort; and the remaining chapters describe the 
 Queen’s life and public labours since that melancholy 
 event. While Englishmen may differ upon theories 
 of government, all may unite, after a study of her 
 Majesty’s character and career, in recognizing in her 
 the dutiful child, the loving wife, the watchful and 
 affectionate mother, and the judicious Sovereign. 
 
 G. B. S. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHIP. 
 
 I. Early Years 
 
 II. Y ICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 III. Betrothal and Marriage . . , 
 
 IV. Wedded Happiness . 
 
 Y. Joys and Cares op Howe and State . 
 
 VI. Last Years of Wedded Life 
 
 VII. Death op the Prince Consort . 
 
 VIII. Early Days op Widowhood . . e 
 
 IX. Later Years of the Queen’s Reign . 
 
 X. Characteristics.—Conclusion . • 
 
 PAG E 
 
 I 
 
 44 
 
 i°5 
 
 144 
 
 172 
 
 269 
 
 348 
 
 361 
 
 377 
 
 430 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY YEARS. 
 
 In the long and chequered annals of the British 
 Empire two reigns have been especially illustrious, and 
 in both those reigns a woman wielded the sceptre of 
 England. Probably there is no age more brilliant 
 in history than that of ‘ The Maiden Queen/ Rome 
 vaunted its martial renown; Constantinople its 
 opulence and magnificence; Greece its superb triumphs 
 of art; but the age of Elizabeth had a glory which 
 is destined to outlive them all. It was an epoch of 
 lofty genius and of many-sided power. Invincible in 
 arms, it was also transcendent in intellect. The age 
 of Raleigh, of Frobisher, and of Drake, was likewise 
 the age of Burleigh and of Bacon, of Spenser and of 
 Shakespeare. These great Englishmen have be¬ 
 queathed to ns an undying inheritance; and down 
 to the latest syllable of recorded time their descen¬ 
 dants will continue to catch some echoes from ‘ the 
 spacious times of great Elizabeth/ 
 
2 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VIGTOBIA 
 
 The other noble epoch in British history is that 
 associated with our own beloved Sovereign. If in 
 the Elizabethan age our literature touched its culmi¬ 
 nating point of splendour, and the fame of our prowess 
 travelled beyond the seas; in the Victorian age we 
 have, on the other hand, witnessed an expansion of 
 England that would have seemed incredible to our 
 ancestors, while the triumphs of science and the arts, 
 and the progress of the people, are without a parallel 
 in the history of the world. In these various develop¬ 
 ments, as in all that concerns the welfare and happiness 
 of her people, the Queen has taken a deep and con¬ 
 tinuous interest; and it has been vouchsafed to her, as 
 it has been vouchsafed to few sovereigns, to look back 
 upon a long period of beneficent governance, whose 
 record will be writ large in the history of Britain. 
 And now, as she reaches the jubilee of her reign, the 
 hearts of all her subjects will turn towards her Majesty 
 with gratefulness as they remember the past, and with 
 affectionate solicitude as they contemplate the future. 
 
 I propose in the following pages to relate the life 
 of the Queen, and not the history of her reign, which 
 may be read in various forms elsewhere. Neverthe¬ 
 less, the personal narrative will necessarily be inter¬ 
 woven with public events, for a monarch, beyond all 
 other persons, cannot escape the pressure and burden 
 of the times. An ideal sovereign, besides his or 
 her private joys and sorrows, bears in remembrance 
 those of the people; and such a sovereign has Queen 
 Victoria been, from the time when, still youthful in 
 years, she assumed her high destiny as ruler of these 
 realms, to the present year of grace, which is not the 
 least memorable in a memorable reign. 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 3 
 
 Only six sovereigns of England since tlie Norman 
 Conquest attained an age equal to or beyond that 
 which the Queen will attain on the 24th of May 
 1887. These were: Queen Elizabeth, who reached 
 69 years; James II., 68 years; George II., 77 
 years; George III., 82 years; George IV., 68 years; 
 and William IV., 72 years. Her Majesty’s reign has 
 only been twice exceeded in length; namely, by Henry 
 III., who reigned for 56 years; and by George III., 
 who reigned for 60 years; but the reign of one other 
 sovereign, Edward III., equalled it, by extending to 50 
 years. Queen Victoria is only eighth in descent from 
 James I., a long stretch of history being covered by the 
 seven intervening lives. She is fourteenth in descent 
 from Edward VI.; twenty-eighth in descent from 
 Henry I.; thirty-fifth in descent from Alfred the 
 Great; and thirty-seventh in descent from Egbert, the 
 first sole monarch of England. The ramifications of 
 her pedigree connect her with many other illustrious 
 personages, in addition to those already named. 
 
 Her Majesty was born at Kensington Palace on 
 the 24th of May 1819. She was the only child of 
 Edward, Duke of Kent, and her Serene Highness 
 Victoria Mary Louisa, daughter of the Duke of Saxe- 
 Coburg Saalfeld. widow of Emich Charles, Prince of 
 Leiningen, and sister of Prince Leopold. After their 
 marriage, in 1818, the Duke and Duchess of Kent 
 retired to Ainorbach, the residence of the Leiningen 
 family; but when there was good hope of an heir 
 being born to the Duke, the Duchess yielded to her 
 husband’s patriotic wish that their child should be 
 born on English soil. Upon their return, so anxious 
 was the Duke for the safety of his wife and his ex- 
 
4 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 pected offspring, that he himself drove the carriage 
 throughout the whole of the land journey from the Castle 
 of Amorbach to Kensington Palace, where they arrived 
 early in April 1819. As the time of her accouche¬ 
 ment approached, the Duchess of Kent, following the 
 custom of her native land, confided herself to the 
 care of 1 Dr.’ Charlotte Siebold, though the regular 
 medical attendants were available in case of need. 
 Tbe birth took place at about 4 A.M., and it was imme¬ 
 diately notified to the Ministers and Privy Councillors, 
 who had assembled in an adjoining room, and amongst 
 whom were the Duke of Sussex, the Duke of Welling¬ 
 ton, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Lansdowne, 
 the Bishop of London, and George Canning. 
 
 The little Princess was baptized on the 24th of 
 June in the grand saloon of Kensington Palace. 
 The Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Manners Sutton) 
 performed the ceremony, being assisted by the Bishop 
 of London (Dr. Howley); and the child received the 
 names of Alexandrina Victoria. The Prince Regent 
 was godfather, and the sponsors were the Emperor 
 Alexander of Russia (represented by the Duke of 
 York), the Queen Dowager of Wiirtemberg (repre¬ 
 sented by the Princess Augusta), and the Duchess 
 Dowager of Coburg (represented by the Duchess 
 Dowager of Gloucester). It is stated by the Hon. 
 Amelia Murray, in her Recollections , that the Duke of 
 Kent wished to name his child Elizabeth, that being 
 a popular name with the English people; but at the 
 baptism the Prince Regent gave only the name of 
 Alexandrina. The Duke requested that another 
 name might be added, whereupon the Prince said : 
 * Give her her mother’s also, then; but it cannot 
 

 EARLY YEARS. 
 
 5 
 
 precede that of the Emperor.’ So the Princess came 
 to be called Alexandrina Victoria. Greville says that 
 George IV. wished her to be christened Georgiana. 
 It is interesting to note that the Princess Victoria 
 was successfully vaccinated in the following August, 
 and that she was the first member of the royal family 
 of Britain who received the benefit of Jenner’s re¬ 
 markable discovery. 
 
 There seemed little probability that the child thus 
 ushered into the world would ever become Queen of 
 England. The Duke of Kent was the fourth son of 
 George III. ; but a series of unexpected changes soon 
 brought his daughter near the throne. Upon the 
 death of the deeply lamented Princess Charlotte, the 
 only child of George IV., the Duke of York had 
 become heir-presumptive to the crown. His Royal 
 Highness had no children, however, and the Duke of 
 Clarence, the third son of George III., came next in 
 succession. The Duke of Clarence had married, and 
 his wife, the Princess Adelaide, bore him a daughter, 
 who, if she had lived, would in the natural order of 
 things, have become Queen. But this child died in 
 infancy, leaving the Princess Victoria the only scion 
 of the royal stock. 
 
 The Duke and Duchess of Kent, with their infant 
 daughter, went to Sidmouth, on the east coast of 
 Devon, at the close of 1819. Early in the following 
 year the Princess had a narrow escape from death. 
 A youth, who had obtained possession of a gun, fired 
 at some small birds so near to the residence of their 
 Boyal Highnesses that the charge broke the nursery 
 windows, and some of the shot passed quite close to 
 the head of the infant Princess, then in the arms of 
 
6 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 her nurse. The offender was brought before the Duke, 
 but, owing to the kindliness of disposition of his 
 Royal Highness, he escaped with a reprimand on 
 promising not to pursue his pleasures so recklessly. 
 
 The stay at Sidmouth, however, was destined to 
 have a sad and fatal termination. The Duke of 
 Kent was seized with a severe indisposition, occa¬ 
 sioned by delaying to change his wet boots after a 
 walk through the snow. Affection for his child had 
 drawn him to the nursery immediately on reaching 
 • home. To a severe chill succeeded inflammation of 
 the chest, with high fever, which resulted fatally. 
 The Duke was perhaps more highly esteemed than 
 any other son of George III. His public conduct 
 was judicious and self-sacrificing. In the army he 
 initiated many healthful reforms; after he ceased 
 from active service in it, he interested himself in 
 humanitarian movements of all kinds, especially 
 devoting himself to the cause of the widow and the 
 orphan. The result was r tkat he became known as the 
 1 Popular Duke,’ and no royal personage ever better 
 deserved the title. He was of regular and temperate 
 habits, kind to all, and the firm friend of those who 
 put their trust in him. His generosity was such that 
 it frequently outran discretion, causing embarrassment 
 to himself; but the poor had the benefit of it. I find 
 that the Duke was officially connected with sixty-two 
 societies, every one of which was devoted to some 
 noble religious or charitable object. The personal 
 virtues of the Duke, the love he bore his country, 
 and the untiring exertions he displayed in the cause 
 of philanthropy and religion, justly gave him a high 
 place in the affections of his fellow-countrymen. It 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 7 
 
 was auspicious that the Queen should have had such 
 a father, for many of his traits, with the gentleness 
 and uprightness which distinguished the mother, 
 descended in large measure upon the child. 
 
 Two days after the death of the Duke, the Duchess 
 of Kent, accompanied by her babe and her brother, 
 Prince Leopold, set out for London. Where all was 
 sad and mournful there was one gleam of sunshine; 
 for the infant, c being held up at the carriage window 
 to bid the assembled population of Sidmonth farewell, 
 sported and laughed joyously, and patted the glasses 
 with her pretty dimpled hands, in happy uncon¬ 
 sciousness of her melancholy bereavement.’ The 
 Duchess arrived at Kensington Palace on the 29th of 
 January, and on that very day the Prince Regent 
 succeeded to the throne by the death of his father. 
 The likeness of the Duke of York to her lost father 
 deceived the little Princess Victoria, and when the 
 former came on his visit of condolence, and also sub¬ 
 sequently, she stretched out her hands to him in the 
 belief that he was her father. The Duke was deeply 
 touched by the appeal, and clasping the child to his 
 bosom, he promised to be indeed a father to her. 
 Many addresses of condolence were received by the 
 Duchess, and as she generally received them with her 
 infant in her arms, there was frequently a painful 
 contrast witnessed between the tear-stained face of 
 the mother and the happy countenance, wreathed with 
 smiles, of the daughter. 
 
 Interesting stories are told of the times when 
 Princess Victoria appeared, at fifteen months old, in 
 a child’s phaeton, tied safely to the vehicle with a 
 broad ribbon round her waist. Her half-sisteij 
 
8 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Princess Feodore, some years her senior, would draw 
 the child in this carriage. The baby liked to be 
 noticed, and answered all who spoke to her : she 
 would say ‘lady 5 and ‘good morning,’ and, when 
 told, would hold out her soft dimpled hand to be 
 kissed, with an arch expression on her face. ‘ Her 
 large blue eyes, beautiful bloom, and fair complexion, 
 made her a model of infantine beauty.’ On one 
 occasion she was nearly killed by the upsetting of 
 the pony carriage. A private soldier, named Maloney, 
 claimed the honour of having saved England’s future 
 sovereign on this occasion. He was walking through 
 Kensington Gardens, when he saw a very small pony 
 carriage, in which was seated a child. The pony was 
 led by a page, a lady walked on one side, and a 
 young woman beside the chaise. A large water dog 
 having got between the pony’s legs, the startled pony 
 made a sudden plunge on one side, and brought the 
 wheels of the carriage on to the pathway. The child 
 was thrown out head downwards, and would in a 
 moment have been crushed beneath the weight of the 
 carriage, then toppling over, had not Maloney grasped 
 her dress before she came to the ground, and swung 
 her into his arms. He restored her to the lady, and 
 was praised by a number of persons, who speedily 
 collected, for rescuing ‘ the little Drina,’ as the child 
 was called. He was told to follow the carriage to 
 the Palace, where he received a guinea, and the 
 thanks of the Duchess of Kent, for ‘ saving the life 
 of her dear child, the Princess Alexandrina.’ Such 
 was the statement of Maloney, made late in life, and 
 published in the daily journals. 
 
 William Wilberforce had a very early introduction 
 
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, the Queen’s Mother. 
 
 After afi Kn^riivinsf by R~ J- Lane , A.r- 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 9 
 
 to the Princess Victoria, and the way in which he 
 records it testifies to the childlike simplicity of his 
 own nature. Writing to Hannah More on the 21st of 
 July 1820, he says: ‘In consequence of a very civil 
 message from the Duchess of Kent I waited on her 
 this morning. She received me, with her fine 
 animated child on the floor by her side, with its 
 playthings, of which I soon became one .’ The widowed 
 Duchess resolved that her child should be brought up 
 under her own eye, and to this work she religiously 
 devoted herself. 1 A few months after the birth of 
 my child,’ said the Duchess, describing her situation 
 at this time, 4 my infant and myself were awfully 
 deprived of father and husband. We stood alone, 
 almost friendless and unknown, in this country. I 
 could not even speak the language of it. I did not 
 hesitate how to act. I gave up my home, my kindred, 
 and other duties, to devote myself to a duty which 
 was to be the sole object of my future life.’ And an 
 admirable home training, after the best of English 
 traditions, was the result of this devotion. Simplicity 
 of diet, regularity of hours, and no excitement, were 
 the main principles upon which the Duchess pro¬ 
 ceeded in rearing her offspring. The life at Kensington 
 was as simple as that of any English household. 
 4 The family party met at breakfast at eight o’clock 
 in summer-time, the Princess Victoria having her 
 bread and milk and fruit put on a little table by her 
 mother’s side. After breakfast, the Princess Feodore 
 studied with her governess, Baroness Lehzen, and the 
 Princess Victoria went out for an hour’s walk or drive. 
 From ten to twelve her mother instructed her; after 
 which she would amuse herself by running through the 
 
10 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 suite of rooms, wMcli extended round two sides of the 
 palace, and in which were many of her toys. Hei 
 nurse was a Mrs. Brock, whom the Princess used to 
 call her “ dear, dear Boppy.” At two came a plain 
 dinner, while the Duchess took her luncheon. After 
 this, lessons again till four ; then would come a visit 
 or drive ; and after that the Princess would ride or 
 walk in the gardens ; or occasionally, on very fine 
 evenings, the whole party would sit out on the lawn 
 under the trees. At the time of her mother’s dinner, 
 the Princess had her supper laid at her side; then, 
 after playing with her nurse, she would join the 
 party at dessert; and at nine she would retire to her 
 bed, which was placed by the side of her mother’s.’ 
 
 King George the Fourth presented the Princess on 
 her fourth birthday with a superb token of remem¬ 
 brance, being a miniature portrait of himself richly 
 set in diamonds. He also gave a State dinner party 
 to the Duchess and her daughter. In the following 
 year, in response to a message from his Majesty, 
 Parliament voted an annual grant of £6000 to the 
 Duchess of Kent for the education of the young 
 Princess. A suitable preceptor was now sought for, 
 and the choice of the Duchess fell upon the Eev. 
 George Davys, afterwards Bishop of Peterborough. 
 She made it a rule that the Bible should be daily 
 read to the young Princess. The Duchess confided 
 fully in Dr. Davys; and when it was suggested to her, 
 after her daughter became direct heir to the throne, 
 that some distinguished prelate should be appointed 
 instructor, she expressed her perfect approval of Dr. 
 Davys, and declined any change ; but hinted that if 
 a clergyman of superior dignity were indispensable to 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 11 
 
 fill the important office of tutor, there would be no 
 objection to Dr. Davys receiving the preferment he 
 had always merited. Earl Grey acted upon the hint, 
 and made Dr. Davys Dean of Chester not long after¬ 
 wards. The Baroness Lehzen was also retained 
 through the whole term of the Princess’s education, 
 and proved an excellent instructress. After six years 
 spent under the care of her tutors, the Princess could 
 lay claim to considerable accomplishments. Owing 
 to the exercise of unusual natural abilities, she could 
 speak French and German with fluency, and was 
 acquainted with Italian ; she had made some progress 
 in Latin, being able to read Virgil and Horace with 
 ease; she had commenced Greek, and studied mathe¬ 
 matics, in which difficult science she evinced much 
 proficiency; and she had likewise made considerable 
 progress in music and drawing. 
 
 Occasionally the child longed for companions of her 
 own age, and a delightful anecdote is related in 
 illustration of this. As the youthful Princess took great 
 delight in music, her mother sent for a noted child 
 performer of the day, called Lyra, to amuse her with 
 her remarkable performances on the harp. On one 
 occasion, while the young musician was playing one 
 of her favourite airs, the Duchess of Kent, perceiving 
 how deeply her daughter’s attention was engrossed 
 with the music, left the room for a few minutes. 
 When she returned she found the harp deserted. 
 The heiress of England had beguiled the juvenile 
 minstrel from her instrument by the display of some 
 of her costly toys, and the children were discovered, 
 ‘seated side by side on the hearthrug in a state of 
 high enjoyment, surrounded by the Princess’s play- 
 
12 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN YICTOEIA. 
 
 things, from which she was making the most liberal 
 selections for the acceptance of poor little Lyra/ 
 The chronicler of this incident states that among the 
 flowery bowers of Claremont the Queen’s education 
 was informally yet delightfully promoted by the 
 conversation of her accomplished uncle, Prince 
 Leopold, who, taking advantage of the passionate 
 love his young niece and adopted daughter manifested 
 for flowers, gave her familiar lessons in botany, a 
 science in which he greatly excelled. A daily journal 
 of the studies of the Princess Victoria, of' her progress 
 and mode of conduct, was kept by the Baroness 
 Lehzen, and submitted once a month to the inspection 
 of Prince Leopold, whose affectionate solicitude for 
 his niece’s welfare was not without its beneficial 
 results. 
 
 Lord Albemarle, Leigh Hunt, and others, have 
 testified in almost identical terms to the many charms 
 of the Queen as a young girl, and the natural artless¬ 
 ness and attractiveness of her disposition. From an 
 account written by one of those who saw her in child¬ 
 hood I must quote the following paragraph : 6 Passing 
 accidentally through Kensington Gardens a few days 
 since, I observed at some distance a party, consisting 
 of several ladies, a young child, and two men-ser¬ 
 vants, having in charge a donkey gaily caparisoned 
 with blue ribbons, and accoutred for the use of the 
 infant. The appearance of the party, and the 
 general attention they attracted, led me to suspect 
 they might be the royal inhabitants of the Palace. 
 I soon learned that my conjectures were well founded, 
 and that her Boyal Highness the Duchess of Kent was 
 in maternal attendance, as is her daily custom, upon 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 13 
 
 her august and interesting daughter in the enjoyment 
 of her healthful exercise. On approaching the royal 
 party, the infant Princess, observing my respectful 
 recognition, nodded, and wished me a “ good morning ” 
 with much liveliness, as she skipped along between 
 her mother and her sister, the Princess Feodore, 
 holding a hand of each. Having passed on some 
 paces, I stood a moment to observe the actions of the 
 child, and was pleased to see that the notice with 
 which she honoured me was extended in a greater or 
 less degree to almost every person she met. Her 
 Royal Highness is remarkably beautiful, and her gay 
 and animated countenance bespeaks perfect health 
 and good temper. Her complexion is excessively 
 fair, her eyes large and expressive, and her cheeks 
 blooming. She bears a very striking resemblance to 
 her late royal father, and indeed to every member of 
 our reigning family.’ 
 
 Charles Knight, in his Passages of a Working life , 
 furnishes a glimpse of the Princess as he saw her in 
 1827. ‘I delighted to walk in Kensington Gardens/ 
 he observes. 4 As I passed along the broad central 
 walk I saw a group on the lawn before the Palace, 
 which to my mind was a vision of exquisite loveliness. 
 The Duchess of Kent and her daughter, whose years 
 then numbered nine, are breakfasting in the open 
 air—a single page attending upon them at a respectful 
 distance; the matron looking on with eyes of love, 
 whilst the fair, soft English face is bright with smiles. 
 What a beautiful characteristic it seemed to me of 
 the training of this royal girl, that she should not 
 have been taught to shrink from the public eye ; that 
 she should not have been burdened with a premature 
 
14 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 conception of her probable bigb destiny; tbat sbe 
 should enjoy the freedom and simplicity of a child’s 
 nature; that she should not be restrained when she 
 starts up from the breakfast-table and runs to gather 
 a flower in the adjoining parterre ; that her merry laugh 
 should be as fearless as the notes of the thrush in the 
 groves around her. I passed on, and blessed her; and 
 I thank God that I have lived to see the golden fruits 
 of such training/ 
 
 A tender consideration for others was inculcated 
 systematically upon the young Princess, and the 
 effects of this were demonstrated in a variety of ways. 
 Perhaps none is more pleasing than an incident that 
 occurred at a London jeweller’s, in which the Princess 
 was one of the chief actors. She was in the habit 
 of amusing herself by going incognita in a carriage to 
 different shops, and not only making purchases herself, 
 but observing with interest the movements of others. 
 Being one day at the jeweller’s referred to, she per¬ 
 ceived a young and intelligent lady, who was engaged 
 in looking over different gold chains for the neck. 
 She at length fixed upon one, but finding the price 
 more than she expected, she regarded the chain very 
 wistfully. 4 Could it not be offered cheaper ? ’ she 
 inquired. 4 Impossible,’ was the reply. The would- 
 be purchaser was obliged to give up all idea of the 
 chain, which she did most reluctantly, and to be 
 content with a cheaper article. After she had left, 
 the Princess Victoria, who had observed everything, 
 inquired of the jeweller who she was, and on receiving 
 satisfactory information, she ordered the much-admired 
 chain to be packed up and sent to the young lady. 
 A card was forwarded with it, intimating that the 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 15 
 
 Princess Victoria was so well pleased in observing 
 that the young lady who had been so much taken 
 with the beauty and workmanship of the chain had 
 yet so much command of her passions as not to suffer 
 those to overcome her prudence, that she desired her 
 to accept the chain which she so much admired, in 
 the hope that she would always persevere in that 
 laudable line of conduct upon which female happiness 
 so much depended. 
 
 Another illustration of the Princess’s kindness of 
 heart, and of her filial solicitude in carrying ont the 
 wishes of her parents, occurred in connection with the 
 family of a soldier named Hillman. It appears that 
 Hillman was with the Duke of Kent when he was at 
 Gibraltar. The Duke’s regiment were inclined to 
 mutiny, but Hillman remained faithful. Upon his 
 return to England, the Duke provided a cottage for 
 Hillman near his palace at Kensington. Just before 
 his death his Royal Highness begged his wife to look 
 after the soldier and his family. This wish the 
 Duchess faithfully observed, taking her daughter with 
 her on her visits. Hillman at length died, leaving 
 one son and a daughter. The boy was very ill, and the 
 Princess Victoria visited him at frequent intervals 
 until his death. The daughter also suffered from 
 a complication of diseases. Two days after the 
 Princess’s accession to the throne, the child’s regular 
 pastor visited her, and found her unusually bright and 
 cheerful. Being questioned as to the cause of this, 
 she drew forth from under her pillow a book of 
 Psalms. c Look there,’ she exclaimed, ‘ look what the 
 new Queen has sent me to-day by one of her ladies, 
 with the message that, <c though now Queen of Eng- 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 16 
 
 land, as she had to leave Kensington, she did not 
 forget me.” ’ The messenger from the Queen told the 
 sick girl that the lines and figures in the margin of 
 the book were the dates of the days on which the 
 Queen herself used to read the Psalms, and that the 
 marker with the little peacock on it was worked by 
 the Princess’s own hand. ‘Was it not beautiful, sir ? * 
 added the girl, bursting into tears. The words above 
 quoted, ‘ She did not forget me,’ emphasize a very 
 admirable trait in the Queen’s character. From her 
 very earliest years she remembered and studied to the 
 last the welfare of those in whom she had once taken 
 an interest. 
 
 Considering the principles in which she was reared, 
 there was no wonder that the Princess developed from 
 a dutiful daughter into a loving wife, a vigilant 
 mother, a kind mistress, a generous benefactor, and 
 an exemplary Christian. She had been schooled in 
 habits of sobriety and religion, and the sentiments of 
 obedience and self-control, which were from the first 
 impressed upon her, bore their legitimate fruit in 
 after-life. 
 
 The Princess was an excellent singer, and had for 
 her master the famous Lablache. She was also a good 
 dancer, and excelled in archery. But of all out-door 
 exercises she was most passionately fond of that of 
 riding. She was much devoted to the animals that 
 bore her, from a favourite donkey presented to her by 
 her uncle, the Duke of York, to the pony which carried 
 her in her latest Highland excursions. 
 
 A Yorkshire lady has related an anecdote of the 
 youthful days of the Princess. She went with 
 the Duchess on a visit to Earl Fitzwiiliam, at 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 *7 
 
 Wentworth House, and while there found great delight 
 in running about alone in the gardens and shrubberies. 
 She was thus disporting herself one wet morning, 
 when the old gardener—unaware of the little visitor’s 
 name and rank—saw her about to descend a treacherous 
 piece of ground from the terrace, and called out, 4 Be 
 careful, miss; it’s slape ! ’—this being a Yorkshire 
 word for slippery. The Princess turned and asked, 
 4 What’s slape ? ’ and immediately received a practical 
 answer, for her feet flew from under her, and she fell 
 down. As the old gardener carefully lifted her up he 
 remarked, 4 That's slape, miss.’ Another account states 
 that it was Earl Fitzwilliam himself who called out, 
 4 Now your Royal Highness has an explanation of the 
 term 44 slape ” both theoretically and practically.’ 
 4 Yes, my Lord,* the Princess replied, 4 1 think I have. 
 I shall never forget the word 44 slape.” ’ 
 
 The Princess had a ready wit. On one occasion her 
 teacher had been reading in her classical history the 
 story of Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi—how 
 she had proudly presented her sons to the first of 
 Roman ladies with the words, 4 These are my jewels. ’ 
 4 She should have said my Cornelians’ immediately 
 remarked the Princess. Of course, 4 the divinity 
 that doth hedge a king’ extends in popular eyes in 
 some degree to a Princess, and people are apt only to 
 look on the roseate side. But none knows better 
 than the Queen herself that human nature is a 
 complex thing, and that, however a child may desire 
 perfection, there is a good deal of the old leaven of 
 imperfection in every one. So the Princess Victoria, 
 noble in character as she was, exhibited some of thoie 
 imperfections which no child is without, unless it be 
 
i8 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 those precocious creatures in whom supernatural good¬ 
 ness is developed from the first at the expense of 
 a healthy organization. The Princess was impulsive, 
 sometimes not a little wilful and imperious; but 
 the affections being strong and the head well trained, 
 these matters always righted themselves, and the 
 young offender was herself quick to acknowledge the 
 wrong. She had an ingrained sense of justice which 
 could always redress the balance. 
 
 The first grief which the Princess was able to 
 appreciate to the full arose from the death of the 
 Duke of York. The Princess was at this time in 
 her eighth year, and as she had ever experienced great 
 kindness and affection at the hands of her uncle, his 
 loss affected her keenly. The Duke of York and the 
 Duchess of Clarence were the two members of the 
 royal family towards whom her youthful heart was 
 most strongly drawn out. At the time of the Duke’s 
 death she was unconscious that his demise brought her 
 one step nearer the throne. The marriage of her 
 sister, the Princess Feodore, to Prince Hohenlohe- 
 Langenbourg, was another wrench to the child, and one 
 which seriously narrowed her restricted home circle. 
 
 The gaieties of Court life were first brought within 
 the actual apprehension of the future Queen in 1828, 
 when she was in her tenth year. At a Drawing Room 
 held during the season the Princess had an oppor¬ 
 tunity of observing how a queen but little older than 
 herself was received with royal honours at the Court 
 of George IV. This young Sovereign was Donna 
 Maria da Gloria, Queen of Portugal. The two children 
 had previously exchanged some formal State visits, but 
 official etiquette did not admit of a close intimacy. 
 
The Princess Victoria at the Age of Ten. 
 
 From the Picture by Wm. Fowler. 
 
 (By Permisssion of Messrs. Henry Graves <S J Co., Pa.ll Mall.) 
 

 ! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 
 
EAELY YEARS. 
 
 19 
 
 The first occasion on which the Princess Victoria 
 danced in public was at a juvenile ball given by the 
 King to Donna Maria. The young queen presented 
 an appearance of great splendour, for her dress blazed 
 with all the jewels of the Portuguese crown; she was 
 surrounded by her Court, and was led to the ballroom 
 by the hand of the King himself. Little Victoria was 
 dazzled by so much magnificence; but, as a chronicler 
 of the scene remarks, ‘ the elegant simplicity of the 
 attire and manners of the British heiress formed 
 a strong contrast to the glare and glitter around the 
 precocious queen. These royal young ladies danced in 
 the same quadrille, and though the performance of 
 Donna Maria was greatly admired, all persons of 
 refined taste gave the preference to the modest graces 
 of the English-bred Princess.’ The Princess Victoria 
 had for partners at her first ball Lord Pitzalan, heir 
 to the Dukedom of Norfolk, Prince William of Saxe- 
 Weimar, the young Prince Esterhazy, and the sons of 
 Lords De-la-Warr and Jersey. 
 
 Getting away from the lights of the ballroom into 
 the open air, we have another sketch of the Princess 
 as she appeared, untrammelled by State surroundings, 
 to a well-known literary man. 4 We remember well,’ 
 writes Leigh Hunt in The Old Court Suburb , c the 
 peculiar pleasure which it gave us to see the future 
 Queen, the first time we ever did see her, coming up a 
 cross path from the Bayswater gate, with a girl of her 
 own age by her side, whose hand she was holding as 
 if she loved her. A magnificent footman in scarlet 
 came behind her, with the splendidest pair of calves in 
 white stockings which we ever beheld. He looked 
 somehow like a gigantic fairy, personating for his 
 
20 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 little lady’s sake the grandest kind of footman he 
 could think of; and his calves he seemed to have 
 made out of a couple of the biggest chain lamps in 
 the possession of the godmother of Cinderella.’ 
 
 In a cottage in the demesnes of Claremont there 
 dwelt in the first quarter of the present century the 
 aged mother of a distinguished novelist, with her two 
 daughters. One of those daughters was Miss Jane 
 Porter, the author of The Scottish Chiefs , Tliaddeus of 
 Warsaw, &c. She had abundant opportunities of 
 observing the Princess Victoria in her childhood, and 
 in a private letter which she wrote shortly after the 
 Queen’s accession she detailed her reminiscences at 
 length. From this letter I extract the following 
 entertaining passages :— c My mother had warmly loved 
 the noble virtues of Princess Charlotte. She did not 
 less admire their corresponding continuance in Prince 
 Leopold; and she delighted in thinking the young 
 Princess Victoria resembled Princess Charlotte in her 
 infancy. My mother, attended by a favourite little 
 white poodle dog, with a crook-headed stick in her 
 hand, assisting, but not yet supporting, her still unen¬ 
 feebled steps, generally chose her places for walking 
 where she would be most likely to meet the young 
 hope of England taking her morning exercise; and 
 great was the pleasure with which she marked every 
 animated movement of the youthful Victoria, whether 
 walking by the side of her governess, or running 
 forward in the eagerness of childhood’s happy im¬ 
 pulses, with a bounding elasticity of active enjoyment 
 which full health only, or the spring of earliest youth, 
 can know. 
 
 ‘ My own opportunities were not less than my 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 21 
 
 gratified mother’s of seeing the Princess, being, 
 indeed, with my dear sister, a sharer in these walks; 
 and we had yet more frequent occasions given to us 
 of knowing her most interestingly developing cha¬ 
 racter from persons whose duty or other circum¬ 
 stances brought them almost domestically under the 
 royal roof. 
 
 4 In describing the infancy of the Princess I would 
 say she was a beautiful child, with a cherubic form of 
 features, clustered round by glossy fair ringlets. Her 
 complexion was remarkably transparent, with a soft 
 but often heightening tinge of the sweet blush-rose 
 upon her cheeks, that imparted a peculiar brilliancy 
 to her clear blue eyes. Whenever she met any 
 strangers in her usual paths she always seemed, by 
 the quickness of her glance, to inquire who and 
 what they were? The intelligence of her counte¬ 
 nance was extraordinary at her very early age; but 
 might easily be accounted for on perceiving the extra¬ 
 ordinary intelligence of her mind. 
 
 4 1 remember a little incident that may illustrate 
 this. One Sunday, at Esher Church, when the 
 Princess Victoria might be about six years old, my 
 attention was particularly attracted to the Claremont 
 pew, in which she and the Duchess of Kent and her 
 royal unde (then the widowed Prince Leopold) sat. 
 It occupies a colonnaded recess, elevated a little, in 
 the interior south wall of the church. Parallel to it 
 runs a small gallery of pews, from one of which (my 
 mother’s), being directly opposite to the royal seat, I 
 could see all that passed. I should not voluntarily 
 have so employed myself at church, but I had seen a 
 wasp skimming backwards and forwards over the 
 
22 
 
 THE LIFE OF QIJEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 head and before the unveiled summer bonnet of the 
 little Princess ; and I could not forbear watching the 
 dangerous insect, fearing it might sting her face. 
 She, totally unobserving it, had meanwhile fixed her 
 eyes on the clergyman, who had taken his seat in 
 the pulpit to preach the sermon, and she never with¬ 
 drew them thence for a moment during his whole 
 discourse. 
 
 ‘Next day, a lady, personally intimate at Claremont, 
 called at our humble little abode, and I remarked to 
 her the scene I had witnessed the preceding morning 
 at church; wondering what could possibly have en¬ 
 gaged the young Princess’s attention so unrecedingly 
 
 to the face of the Rev. Dr. --, a person totally 
 
 unknown to her, and whose countenance, though 
 expressive of good sense, was wiry and rough-hewn, 
 and could present nothing pleasing enough to fix the 
 eyes of a child. “ It was not himself that attracted 
 her fixed eyes,” replied our visitor; “it was the 
 sermon he was preaching. For it is a custom with 
 her illustrious instructress to inquire of Princess 
 Victoria, not only the text of the discourse, but also 
 the heads of its leading subjects. Hence she neither 
 saw the wasp when in front of her, nor heard the 
 whisking of the protective handkerchief behind her. 
 Her whole mind was bound up in her task—a rare 
 faculty of concentration in any individual, therefore 
 more wonderful in one hardly beyond infancy. And 
 with a most surprising understanding of the subjects, 
 she never fails performing her task in a manner that 
 might grace much older years.” ’ 
 
 After citing numerous incidents illustrative of the 
 Princess Victoria’s goodness of heart, of a character 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 23 
 
 similar to those I have already given, Miss Porter goes 
 on to say : i There were several mistaken reports about 
 this period, representing the Princess in a feeble state, 
 unable to walk, &c.; and as they made their way 
 into the newspapers, the public anxiety became pain¬ 
 fully excited. But not a word of truth was in the 
 statement. At the very time they were deploring 
 her weakened steps she was running like an antelope 
 over Claremont lawn, ' or moving with an elastic 
 grace in the rudiments of dancing which only perfect 
 symmetry of foot and ankle could possess; and where 
 perfect symmetry of form exists there needs no 
 words to prove that perfect health must be in all its 
 parts. 
 
 c This sweet spring of the Princess’s life was thus 
 dedicated to the sowing of all precious seeds of know¬ 
 ledge, and the cultivation of all elegant acquirements; 
 in the midst of the indigenous flowers which every¬ 
 where sought her eager eye, imparting the sportive 
 gladness of the ever gay butterfly to her youthful 
 spirit, just awakened into this beautiful world—a 
 reflection of Paradise! The heavenward lark was 
 also in that infant bosom, for, young as she was, she 
 sang with sweetness and taste ; and my brother, Sir 
 Robert (who when in England frequently had the 
 honour of dining at Claremont), often had the plea¬ 
 sure of listening to the infant chorister, mingling its 
 cherub-like melody with the mature and delightful 
 harmonies of the Duchess of Kent and Prince 
 Leopold. 
 
 £ But time wore on, with its succession of months 
 (we hardly may count a march by years to youth 
 only yet advancing to its teens), and the young 
 
24 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Princess gradually found a closer attention to her 
 graver pursuits grow upon her. She read general 
 history, under the guidance of one of England’s best 
 scholars in that essential branch of education—and 
 more especially she “ fixed the eyes of her mind ” on 
 the ancient annals of her own future dominions. Not 
 being satisfied with our celebrated historians, Hume, 
 Bapin, and others of modern date, she sought after 
 the original authorities; and those venerable pen¬ 
 men in Hack-letter were constrained to give up their 
 lore (generally hidden lore from woman’s eye) to the 
 youthful heiress of their almost worshipped themes— 
 our Saxon Alfred, our Norman Henries and Edwards. 
 Succeeding chroniclers also yielded to her the same 
 genuine tribute, till they told of the happily united 
 royal streams in the bosoms of the Stuart and the 
 Brunswick race—herself a nobly conscious daughter 
 of both. And now that she has become the bride of 
 a Prince of the most revered Saxon line—of the 
 glorious posterity of John Frederick, Elector of 
 Saxony, the friend of Luther and Melancthon, and 
 the defender till death of the restored purity of the 
 Christian Church—let us hail the auspicious sign as a 
 pledge from Heaven that the present constitution of 
 this realm, bequeathed by Alfred, and the Christian 
 Church, established in simplicity and truth amongst 
 us, most especially by the Brunswick race, are to 
 remain in our land firm as the rock in which its soil 
 is bedded.’ 
 
 The Duchess of Kent early familiarized her 
 illustrious daughter with the features of her own 
 country, interesting her in it by personal visits to its 
 chief cities and towns. Mother and child visited 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 *5 
 
 together Birmingham, Worcester, Kenilworth, and 
 Carnarvon, with their strange commingling of his¬ 
 toric interest and modern enterprise. They were 
 also seen alternately at Malvern, Broadstairs, Rams¬ 
 gate, Brighton, Leamington, and Tunbridge Wells ; 
 and they further honoured by their presence various 
 members of the English aristocracy at their country 
 seats. 
 
 The portraits of the Princess Victoria, executed 
 during her infancy and childhood, are somewhat 
 numerous. Sir William Beechey painted a picture in 
 oil, representing the Duchess seated on a sofa, upon 
 which her young daughter stood beside her, and this 
 painting is in the possession of the King of the 
 Belgians. Turnerelli, the sculptor, executed an ex¬ 
 cellent bust of the Princess when she was in her 
 third year; and in 1827 Mr. Behnes produced a 
 marble bust, which is now in one of the corridors of 
 Windsor Castle. It was justly regarded as one of 
 the most beautiful specimens of sculpture ever exhi¬ 
 bited in the British schools of art, the likeness being 
 perfect, the features delicately portrayed, and the 
 expression admirable. Mr. Fowler, an artist of 
 Ramsgate, executed two portraits of the Princess, one 
 in her ninth year. This latter portrait Sir Thomas 
 Lawrence declined to admit into the Royal Academy 
 Exhibition, and an argumentative correspondence 
 ensued between the Duchess of Kent and the Presi¬ 
 dent. The Duchess regarded the portrait as the best 
 that had been taken of her daughter, with the excep¬ 
 tion of the bust by Behnes; and the attitude of 
 Sir T. Lawrence led to a good deal of prejudicial 
 feeling against him. Mr. Westall, R.A., painted a 
 
25 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 trustworthy full-length portrait of the Princess as she 
 appeared when in her twelfth year. 
 
 It was not until the spring of 1830 that the 
 Princess Victoria became aware of her nearness to 
 the British throne. One account states that she was 
 reading English history with her governess, the 
 Baroness Lehzen, and in the presence of her mother, 
 when some question arose in connection with the suc¬ 
 cession to the crown. The point had probably been 
 purposely suggested. Her Boyal Highness studied 
 her genealogical table for some time; and the 
 account thus proceeds, the discussion being opened 
 by a question from the Princess: 
 
 4 In the event of the death of the King, my uncle, 
 who would be the presumptive successor to the 
 throne ? ’ 
 
 The Baroness parried the question by the reply: 
 4 The Duke of Clarence will succeed on the death of 
 the present King.’ 
 
 4 Yes,’ said the Princess, 4 that I know; but who 
 will succeed him ? ’ 
 
 The governess, who saw the bearing of the inquiry, 
 hesitated a moment, and then answered, 4 Princess 
 you have several uncles ! ’ 
 
 Her Boyal Highness now became agitated; the 
 colour rose rapidly to her cheek, and she observed 
 with much seriousness, 4 True, I have; but I perceive 
 here,’ pointing to her table, 4 that my papa was next 
 in age to my uncle Clarence ; and it does appear to 
 me, from what I have just been reading, that when 
 he and the present -King are both dead, I shall 
 become Queen of England ! ’ 
 
 The Baroness looked silently towards the mother 
 
EAELY YEARS. 
 
 27 
 
 of the Princess, who, after a short pause, replied to the 
 following effect: 
 
 c We are continually looking forward, my beloved 
 child, in the hope that your dear aunt, the Duchess 
 of Clarence, may yet give birth to living children. 
 Should it please God, however, that this be not the 
 case, and that you are spared to the period, very 
 distant I trust, which terminates the valuable lives of 
 our revered Sovereign and the Duke of Clarence, you 
 will indeed, by the established laws of our country, 
 become their undoubted successor. Should this 
 event—at present too remote and uncertain to engage 
 our attention, further than to stimulate our endea¬ 
 vours so to form your mind as to render you not 
 unworthy so high a destiny—should this event indeed 
 occur, may you prove a blessing to your country and 
 an ornament to the throne you are called to fill!’ 
 
 But we have another account of this interesting 
 and, to the youthful participator in it, momentous 
 conversation, and one which contains more tender 
 and childlike touches. It is furnished in a letter 
 written by the Baroness Lehzen, and as the Queen 
 has herself placed the letter before her subjects, its 
 authenticity may be accepted beyond question. This 
 narrative, which fixes a year later than that given in 
 the preceding account as the date of the conversation, 
 is as follows :— 
 
 “ I ask your Majesty’s leave to cite some remark¬ 
 able words of your Majesty when only twelve years 
 old, while the Begency Bill was in progress. I then 
 said to the Duchess of Kent, that now for the first 
 time your Majesty ought to know your place in the 
 succession. Her Boyal Highness agreed with me, and 
 
28 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 I put tlie genealogical table into the historical book. 
 When Mr. Davys (the Queen’s instructor, afterwards 
 Bishop of Peterborough) was gone, the Princess 
 Victoria opened the book again as usual, and seeing 
 the additional paper said, ‘ I never saw that before.’ 
 ‘ It was not thought necessary you should, Princess,’ 
 I answered. £ I see I am nearer the throne than I 
 thought.’ 1 So it is, madam,’ I said. After some 
 moments the Princess answered, c Now, many a child 
 would boast, but they don’t know the difficulty. 
 There is much splendour, but there is more responsi¬ 
 bility.’ The Princess having lifted up the fore-fingei 
 of her right hand while she spoke, gave me that little 
 hand, saying, ‘ I will be good. I understand now 
 why you urged me so much to learn even Latin. My 
 aunts Augusta and Mary never did ; but you told me 
 Latin is the foundation of English grammar and of all 
 the elegant expressions, and I learned it as you 
 wished it; but I understand all better now.’ And the 
 Princess gave me her hand, repeating, c I will be good.’ 
 I then said, ‘ But your aunt Adelaide is still young 
 and may have children, and of course they would 
 ascend the throne after their father William IV., and 
 not you, Princess.’ The Princess answered, c And if 
 it was so, I should never feel disappointed, for I know 
 by the love aunt Adelaide bears me how fond she is 
 of children.’ ” This is much more simple and natural, 
 and the incident throws an agreeable light upon the 
 early life of the Queen. 
 
 When William IV. ascended the throne in 1830, 
 it became necessary to provide for the contingency of 
 the Princess Victoria’s accession before attaining the 
 age of eighteen, that being the period of her majority. 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 29 
 
 A Regency Bill was introduced by Lord Lyndhurst, 
 but a change of Government occurring before it was 
 carried, it devolved upon Lord Brougham, the Lord 
 Chancellor in Lord Grey’s Administration, to take up 
 and adopt the measure. The position was a singular 
 one, because Parliament had to contemplate the 
 possibility that William IV. might die leaving a 
 posthumous child. Lord Brougham could not find a 
 parallel case in English history since the death of 
 Geoffrey, son of Henry II., who left a son, Prince 
 Arthur, whose claims were thrust aside by the usurpa¬ 
 tion of King John. The possibility of posthumous 
 issue in William's case having been provided for, the 
 Bill passed both Houses and became law. The 
 Duchess of Kent was named guardian of the infant 
 Princess and regent of the kingdom, but she was to 
 be assisted by a Council of Regency drawn from the 
 royal family and the Ministers of State. Some 
 months afterwards further provision was made for the 
 education and maintenance of the Princess, and for 
 the support of her honour and dignity as heiress 
 presumptive. A sum of ;£ 10,000 a year was voted, 
 in addition to the original annual grant of ^6,000. 
 
 The Princess Victoria’s first appearance at Court 
 during the new reign was made at the celebration of 
 Queen Adelaide’s birthday, on the 24th of Pebruary 
 1831. The drawing-room held by her Majesty was 
 stated to have been the most magnificent witnessed 
 since that which signalized the presentation of the 
 Princess Charlotte of Wales on the occasion of her 
 marriage. The Princess Victoria stood on Queen 
 Adelaide’s left hand. Her dress was made entirely 
 pf articles manufactured in the United Kingdom, 
 
30 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 She wore a frock of English blonde over white satin, 
 a pearl necklace, and a rich diamond agrafe fastened 
 the Madonna braids of her fair hair at the back of 
 her head. She was the object of interest and admi¬ 
 ration on the part of all assembled. The scene was 
 one of the most splendid ever remembered, and the 
 future Queen of England contemplated all that passed 
 with much dignity, but with evident enjoyment. 
 
 When King William prorogued his first Parliament 
 an interesting circumstance occurred, which caused much 
 enthusiasm amongst those who witnessed it. Queen 
 Adelaide and the princesses witnessed the spectacle of 
 the royal State procession. The people cheered the 
 Queen lustily, but, forgetting herself, that gracious 
 lady took the young Princess Victoria by the hand, 
 led her to the front of the balcony, and introduced 
 her to the happy and loyal multitude. In January 
 1831 the Princess made her first appearance at the 
 theatre, visiting Covent Garden, and thoroughly 
 entering into the pleasures of the children’s enter¬ 
 tainment provided. 
 
 A strange omission, and one which gave rise to 
 much comment, was observed in connection with the 
 coronation of King William IV. and Queen Adelaide, 
 in Westminster Abbey, on the 8th of September 
 1831. The absence of the heiress presumptive, 
 Princess Victoria, from the ceremony was particularly 
 remarked upon; and it appears that no place had 
 been assigned to her, nor any preparation made in 
 expectation of her gracing or witnessing the corona¬ 
 tion. Here was a splendid opportunity for the quid¬ 
 nuncs, and amongst the items of gossip served up it 
 was roundly asserted that Earl Grey, the' Prime 
 
EABLY YEAB& 
 
 3 1 
 
 Minister, obstinately opposed all idea of inviting the 
 Princess to be present. Others affirmed that the 
 Duchess of Northumberland, the governess of the 
 Princess, in the exercise of a superior and enlightened 
 judgment, and in consideration of the then alleged 
 delicate health of her young charge, advised that her 
 pupil should not be present at the coronation of King 
 William and Queen Adelaide. No other explanation 
 being at the moment forthcoming, this was accepted 
 by those who did not throw the blame of that ‘con¬ 
 spicuous absence ’ on Queen Adelaide herself and her 
 royal consort; but, as an anonymous writer observed, 
 ‘Who that knew the good King William and his 
 incomparable Queen, would believe that any slight 
 was put by them on their well-beloved niece and the 
 heiress presumptive to the throne ? ’ Another report 
 stated that ‘the Duchess of Northumberland was 
 seeking to give a political bias to the education of the 
 Princess ; and some uneasiness was therefore created 
 at the palace.’ A morning journal asserted that the 
 Duchess of Kent had ‘ refused to attend—yes, refused 
 to attend,’ and it reproved her in somewhat harsh 
 terms, alluding to the impertinence of the widow of 
 a mediatized German prince in withholding her 
 daughter from a ceremony at which she could never 
 at one time have expected to see a daughter of hers 
 as heiress presumptive to the crown of England ! 
 Other papers made the alleged refusal to attend rest 
 on the course taken by Lord A. Fitzclarence, who, 
 in marshalling the coronation procession on paper, 
 had assigned a place to the Princess Victoria after 
 the other members of the royal family, instead of 
 next to the King and Queen. This singular contro- 
 
32 THE LIFE OF QUEEH VICTORIA. 
 
 versy was finally set at rest by an authoritative 
 statement to the effect that, the Duchess having 
 pleaded the delicate state of her daughter’s health, 
 had obtained the King’s sanction to her absence ; a 
 natural explanation which might have occurred to any 
 one who was not interested in finding a more 
 ambiguous one. 
 
 Meanwhile, away from the Court, the Princess 
 continued her studies. In addition to the tuition she 
 received from Dr. Davys and the Baroness Lehzen, 
 she was taught music by W. J. B. Sale, first engaged 
 at the special request of George IV.; and dancing by 
 Madame Bourdin. In writing and arithmetic she was 
 instructed by Mr. Steward, the writing-master at 
 Westminster School, and under his guidance she 
 acquired that free and bold hand manifested by her 
 autograph signature. She learnt with facility all 
 that was taught her, and exhibited a special talent 
 in the acquisition of living languages. In the Isle 
 of Wight and at Claremont she also received daily 
 instruction from the Duchess; and the future Queen 
 gave good promise in every way both as to talent and 
 disposition. In the summer and autumn of 1832 
 the Duchess of Kent took her daughter upon a tour 
 through many of the English counties, and also 
 through the Welsh principality. The main objects 
 of this royal progress were of an intellectual character. 
 Coventry, Shrewsbury, Powis Castle, Wynnstay, and 
 Beaumaris were visited in turn, and all matters of 
 historical, statistical, or industrial interest were closely 
 examined. The royal pair took up their residence for 
 some time in the Isle of Anglesey, and the Princess 
 visited the Eisteddfod at Beaumaris, investing the 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 33 
 
 musical victors with the prizes awarded for their 
 performances. Returning in October through the 
 Midland counties, the travellers were warmly wel¬ 
 comed at Worcester, Chester, Chatsworth, Matlock, 
 and other places. During this autumnal tour the 
 Princess Victoria laid the foundation-stone of a school, 
 named a bridge, planted an oak, and stood god¬ 
 mother to the infant daughter of Lord and Lady 
 Robert Grosvenor. The Duchess zealously strove to 
 interest her in all ranks and classes of the people 
 over whom she was destined to govern. The Princess 
 was cosmopolitan in her tastes. At Lichfield Cathe¬ 
 dral she was struck with admiration by Chantrey’s 
 exquisite group of the ‘ Sleeping Children ’; while at 
 Bromsgrove she exhibited a keen interest in the works 
 of the nailers and other iron manufactures in the 
 vicinity. She was especially delighted with a present 
 from the nailers of Bromsgrove, consisting of a 
 thousand little nails of all patterns enclosed in a 
 quill and presented in a small gold box. Oxford 
 University stirred in her other sentiments and 
 emotions; and at the University the visitors were 
 welcomed by an address from the Vice-Chancellor. 
 The Princess also received at the famous University 
 Press a present of a magnificent Bible, and the 
 history of her visit printed on white satin. 
 
 In the following year (1833) the Duchess and her 
 daughter took up their residence at their beautiful 
 seat of Norris Castle, Isle of Wight. Unembarrassed 
 by the trammels of society, they were able to enjoy the 
 delightful scenery of the island, sometimes taking 
 long walks and excursions alone. A tourist on one 
 occasion strolled into the old churchyard at Arreton, 
 
34 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 to search out the grave of Elizabeth Wallbridge, the 
 heroine of Legh Bichmond’s popular religious story, 
 The Dairyman s Daughter. Beside a grassy mound he 
 discovered a lady and a young girl seated, c the latter 
 reading aloud, in a full melodious voice, the touching 
 tale of the Christian maiden. The tourist turned 
 away, and soon after was told by the sexton that the 
 pilgrims to that humble grave were the Duchess of 
 Kent and Princess Victoria/ 
 
 From Norris Castle the royal ladies made many 
 marine excursions in the Emerald yacht. Southampton, 
 Carisbrooke, and Winchester were visited; while at 
 Plymouth and Torquay minute attention was paid by 
 the future Sovereign to the details of marine affairs. 
 In acknowledging an address from the inhabitants of 
 Torquay on the anniversary of one of England’s great 
 naval victories, the Duchess of Kent said : c It has ever 
 been my pride to lead the Princess to regard with 
 warm feelings all the recollections that belong to this 
 day in relation to the naval service of the country/ 
 And in replying to an address from Plymouth she 
 referred with satisfaction to her residence in the Isle 
 of Wight, which permitted her, as a part of the 
 education of her daughter, to visit the coast, and the 
 great arsenal so associated with the naval renown of 
 Britain. Another providential escape from destruction 
 marked the Princess Victoria’s homeward voyage from 
 the Eddystone to Norris Castle in the Emerald yacht. 
 It seems that the vessel ran foul of the Active hulk, 
 and the mainmast of the Emerald being sprung, her 
 sail and a piece of heavy wood were detached. The 
 pilot, Mr. Saunders, quick as thought, sprang to where 
 the Princess was standing, lifted her in his arms to a 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 3S 
 
 more safe position further aft, and the next moment 
 crash came the topmast down where the Princess had 
 originally stationed herself. But for the prompt action 
 of Mr. Saunders she must have been crushed to death. 
 Her Royal Highness bore herself with calmness while 
 the event was passing, but after fully perceiving her 
 imminent danger she burst into tears, and thanked her 
 preserver with artless grace for his great presence of 
 mind. The pilot was promoted to be a master, and 
 when the Princess became Queen of England he was 
 invited to Court. On the death of Mr. Saunders, 
 moreover, the Queen made provision for his wife and 
 family. 
 
 After the return to Kensington Palace the Princess 
 suffered from a severe attack of illness. For some 
 time preceding her fifteenth birthday she looked pale 
 and languid, and the violent changes of temperature 
 subjected her to the only serious indisposition she had 
 hitherto experienced. She soon recovered her health, 
 however, and was able to accompany King William 
 and Queen Adelaide to the Grand Musical Festival in 
 Westminster Abbey, when she was greeted with 
 enthusiasm and affection by the loyal crowds which 
 had assembled on the occasion. 
 
 The Ascot races of June 1835 were witnessed 
 by a brilliant gathering. On the principal day the 
 Princess Victoria made her first appearance on a race¬ 
 course with the Royal Family. The Life Guards 
 preceded the royal cortege , and the coup d'ceil when the 
 latter appeared on the ground was splendid in the 
 extreme. The uniforms of the soldiery, and the 
 magnificent attire of the ladies of rank and fashion, 
 who attended in their thousands, combined with the 
 
3 & 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 glorious summer day, gave eclat to a scene never to 
 be forgotten. The Princess was then just sixteen, not 
 very tall in stature as yet, but glowing with youth, 
 health, and happiness. Her hair, which appeared of 
 an almost flaxen hue, was braided in what were known 
 as Clotilde bands, the ancient style worn by the Plan- 
 tagenet queens, and it became the Princess’s contour 
 of face exceedingly well. For costume she wore 
 a large pink bonnet and a rose-coloured satin dress, 
 broche , with a pelerine cape trimmed with black lace. 
 Though the cynosure of all eyes, it is stated that the 
 Princess seemed much more delighted at any ex¬ 
 pression of loyalty bestowed on her royal uncle, the 
 King, than by all the intoxicating applause lavishly 
 accorded to herself. N. P. Willis, the American 
 author, then on his travels, viewed this scene at Ascot, 
 and thus described the illustrious personages present : 
 4 In one of the intervals I walked under the King’s 
 stand, and saw her Majesty the Queen and the 
 young Princess Victoria very distinctly. They were 
 leaning over the railing, listening to a ballad singer, 
 and seeming as much interested and amused as any 
 simple country folk could be. The Queen is un¬ 
 doubtedly the plainest woman in her dominions, but the 
 Princess is much better-looking than any picture of 
 her in the shops, and for the heir to sucb a crown as 
 that of England, unnecessarily pretty and interesting. 
 She will be sold, poor thing! bartered away by those 
 great dealers in royal hearts, whose grand calculations 
 will not be much consolation to her if she happens to 
 have a taste of her own.’ The plain-spoken American 
 was wrong in his prophetic vision. There was no such 
 bartering as he anticipated, for not long after this the 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 37 
 
 girl of whom lie wrote plighted her troth in a genuine 
 love-match, if ever there was one in the annals of 
 royal houses. 
 
 On the 30th of August 1835 the Princess Vic¬ 
 toria was confirmed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 assisted by the Bishop of London, in the Chapel 
 Boyal, St. James’s. In addition to the Princess and 
 the Duchess of Kent, only the King, Queen Adelaide, 
 and the Duchess of Saxe-Weimar, with some other 
 members of the Royal Family, were present. The 
 scene was very touching. We read that the young 
 Princess exhibited great marks of sensibility during 
 the beautiful and pathetic exhortation in which the 
 Archbishop represented to her the great responsibility 
 attaching to her high station; and when he spoke of 
 the struggle she must prepare for between the world 
 and Heaven, and, above all, of the absolute necessity 
 of her looking up to the King of kings for counsel 
 and support in all the trials that awaited her, her 
 composure gradually gave way, till at length she was 
 bathed in tears, and, unable to subdue the violence 
 of her emotion, she laid her head upon her mother’s 
 shoulder and sobbed aloud. The Duchess of Kent 
 was scarcely less affected, while the King and Queen 
 were also much moved. 
 
 In strange contrast to this scene, Greville relates 
 one which is alleged to have occurred at Windsor on 
 the 21st of August 1836. It was the King’s birth¬ 
 day. Being Sunday, the celebration was what was 
 called private, but there were a hundred persons at 
 dinner, either belonging to the Court or from the 
 neighbourhood. The Duchess of Kent sat on one 
 side of the King, and one of his sisters on the other; 
 
38 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTOBIA. 
 
 the Princess Victoria opposite. All that passed was 
 heard by Adolphus Fitzclarence, who would seem to 
 have reported it. By the Queen’s desire the King’s 
 health was drunk, and by way of reply his Majesty 
 delivered an extraordinary and outrageous speech. ‘1 
 trust in God,’ he is reported to have said, ‘that my 
 life may be spared for nine months longer, after 
 which period, in the event of my death, no regency 
 would take place. I should then have the satisfac¬ 
 tion of leaving the royal authority to the personal 
 exercise of that young lady (pointing to the Princess), 
 the heiress presumptive of the crown, and not in the 
 hands of a person now near me, who is surrounded by 
 evil advisers, and who is herself incompetent to act 
 with propriety in the station in which she would be 
 placed. I have no hesitation in saying that I have 
 been insulted—grossly and continually insulted—by 
 that person; but I am determined to endure no 
 longer a course of behaviour so disrespectful to me. 
 Amongst many other things, I have particularly to 
 complain of the manner in which that young lady has 
 been kept away from my Court; she has been re¬ 
 peatedly kept from my drawing-rooms, at which she 
 ought always to have been present; but I am fully 
 resolved that this shall not happen again. I would 
 have her know that I am King, and I am determined 
 to make my authority respected; and for the future I 
 shall insist and command that the Princess do upon 
 all occasions appear at my Court, as it is her duty 
 to do.’ 
 
 Though the King concluded with an affectionate 
 allusion to the Princess and her future reign, it may 
 readily be conceived that such a speech as this, if 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 39 
 
 delivered in the precise terms reported, would create a 
 most painful sensation. Greville adds that the awful 
 philippic was uttered with a loud voice and excited 
 manner; that the Queen was in deep distress, while 
 the Princess burst into tears, and the whole company 
 were aghast. As for the aggrieved and insulted 
 Duchess of Kent, she said not a word, but announced 
 her immediate departure, and ordered her carriage. 
 However, a sort of reconciliation was patched up, and 
 she was prevailed upon to stay till next day. We 
 will hope that the whole scene, though no doubt 
 unseemly enough, was greatly exaggerated; but it is 
 unfortunately true that the King’s temper too fre¬ 
 quently got the better of him, and that he more than 
 once, in unkingly and ungentlemanly terms, and 
 terms the reverse of fraternal, vented it upon the 
 Duchess of Kent. 
 
 In May 1836 the Duke of Coburg, together with 
 his two sons, Prince Ernest and Prince Albert, paid a 
 visit to England, and spent nearly four weeks at 
 Kensington Palace with the Duchess of Kent. It 
 was now that the Princess Victoria saw for the first 
 time her future husband. The distinguished visitors 
 yere fited at Windsor and at St. James’s by the King 
 and Queen, and by every member of the Royal Family 
 in England. In the company of the Duchess of Kent 
 and her daughter they also visited the chief attrac¬ 
 tions of the metropolis. Before Prince Albert bade 
 farewell to his fair cousin they went together to 
 behold the touching spectacle of the anniversary of the 
 London Charity Schools at St. Paul’s. Both were much 
 moved by the scene, especially when the children joined 
 m ringing that sublime composition, the Hundredth 
 
40 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA, 
 
 Psalm. After the proceedings were over, the royal 
 party were entertained at luncheon at the Mansion 
 House by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress. The 
 large party of citizens who had the honour of being 
 invited, says a contemporary account, were charmed 
 with the fresh, healthful beauty of the Princess, and 
 with the frank, unaffected manner of the Princes her 
 cousins, all three of whom entered freely into conver¬ 
 sation with their host and hostess, and the other 
 guests, and expressed themselves as highly delighted 
 with the scene they had just witnessed^. 
 
 The Princess Victoria attained her legal majority on 
 the 24th of May 1837, being then eighteen years of 
 age. She was serenaded at Kensington Palace, at 
 seven in the morning, by a band of thirty-seven vocal 
 and instrumental performers in full dress. Her Royal 
 Highness sat at one of the windows during the 
 performance of the concert (she was always an 
 early riser), and she graciously requested the repe¬ 
 tition of one of the songs, which contained an allusion 
 to her illustrious parent. The performance concluded 
 with ‘ God save the King,’ in which the assembled 
 spectators joined in full chorus. During the day 
 many congratulatory visits were paid to the Duchess 
 of Kent and the Princess; and amongst the birthday 
 gifts to her Royal Highness was a magnificent grand 
 pianoforte, of the value of 200 guineas, from the 
 King. It was asserted that his Majesty offered to 
 give the Princess £10,000 a year from his privy 
 purse, provided she would allow him to name the 
 officers of her establishment; but that she declined to 
 accept the money on that condition. 
 
 The royal birthday was observed as a holiday in 
 
EARLY YEARS. 
 
 4i 
 
 London, and neither House of Parliament sat. A 
 grand State ball was given at St. James’s Palace, at 
 which a brilliant party assembled to do honour to her 
 Royal Highness; but the King and Queen were absent 
 on account of the severe indisposition of the former. 
 At this ball the Princess Victoria for the first time 
 took precedence of her mother, occupying the central 
 chair of State, supported by the Duchess of Kent and 
 the Princess Augusta. The metropolis was brilliantly 
 illuminated in the evening, and the happy event was 
 likewise celebrated in various parts of the country by 
 demonstrations of public rejoicing. 
 
 The celebration was rendered further memorable 
 by addresses of congratulation being voted by the 
 City of London in Council to the Princess and her 
 illustrious mother the Duchess of Kent. As the 
 circumstance was without precedent, touching an heir 
 presumptive to the throne, some members of the 
 Corporation opposed the resolution; but the addresses 
 were carried, and the Lord Mayor and aldermen, &c., 
 duly attended at Kensington Palace to present them. 
 The Duchess, in her reply, first referred to the loss of 
 her husband and the education of her daughter, to 
 which she had devoted herself after the Duke’s death; 
 and then came these interesting passages : 4 1 have 
 in times of great difficulty avoided all connection 
 with any party in the State; but if I have done so, 
 I have never ceased to impress on my daughter her 
 duties, so as to gain by her conduct the respect and 
 affection of the people. This I have taught her 
 should be her first earthly duty as a constitutional 
 sovereign. The Princess has arrived at that age 
 which now justifies my expressing my confident ex- 
 
42 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 pectation that she will be found competent to execute 
 the sacred trust which may be reposed in her; for, 
 communicating, as she does, with all classes of society, 
 she cannot but perceive that the greater the diffusion 
 of religion, knowledge, and the love of freedom in a 
 country, the more orderly, industrious, and wealthy is 
 its population, and that with the desire to preserve 
 the constitutional prerogatives of the Crown ought 
 to be co-ordinate the protection of the liberties of the 
 people/ The address to the Princess Victoria was 
 then read ; and her Royal Highness, very simply and 
 naturally, but with blushing timidity, replied : 4 1 am 
 very thankful for your kindness, and my mother has 
 expressed all my feelings/ 
 
 Addresses continued to be presented to the 
 Duchess and Princess for many days, and on one day 
 alone no fewer than twenty-four addresses were 
 received and acknowledged. Mr. Attwood, in pre¬ 
 senting an address from the Birmingham Political 
 Union, said a few words, with peculiar solemnity and 
 earnestness, expressive of the gratitude and respect 
 due to the Duchess for her wise maternal conduct, 
 which caused her Royal Highness to be deeply moved. 
 Another address which the Princess received with 
 special pleasure was one presented by the inhabitants 
 of Kensington, through their reverend vicar, Arch¬ 
 deacon Pott. When this venerable clergyman was 
 introduced the young Princess advanced to meet him 
 with a smiling welcome, and assured him of the high 
 gratification with which she received the warm senti¬ 
 ments of affectionate attachment he was commissioned 
 by his parishioners to lay before her ; and at the same 
 time promised him that 4 the welfare and interest of 
 
EAELY YEARS. 
 
 43 
 
 her native town should never fail to be zealously for¬ 
 warded by any means which it might please God to 
 place in her power.’ 
 
 The Queen’s last appearance at Court as Princess 
 Victoria was at the drawing-room in honour of the 
 King’s birthday, May 29, 1837; an( ^ shortly after¬ 
 wards she made her final appearance in public as heiress 
 presumptive at the memorable charity ball given at 
 the Opera House for the benefit of the Spitalfields 
 weavers. Her life as Princess thus closed with a 
 charitable act, and she had the satisfaction of know¬ 
 ing that the terrible sufferings which afflicted the 
 poor in the East End were soon afterwards alleviated. 
 
 We have now come to the parting of the ways. 
 The life of the Princess has been traced from her birth, 
 and through her childhood and girlhood, up to the 
 verge of womanhood. She had grown up a fair and 
 graceful type of the English maiden, and notwith¬ 
 standing her high destiny she had been reared in 
 the paths of duty and of self-sacrifice. Who knows 
 not how to serve, knows not how to govern. The 
 people owed a debt of gratitude to the Duchess of 
 Kent for the admirable all-round training she gave 
 her child. None knew of the nearness of that blow 
 which was soon to fall upon the Royal House, remov¬ 
 ing the King from the midst of his subjects ; but 
 that his successor was prepared for her lofty position 
 whenever he should be called away, was due to that 
 constant teaching and supervision which had nourished 
 her soul in rectitude and in affectionate solicitude for 
 the welfare of the people. 
 
( 44 ) 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 VICTORIA REGINA . 
 
 The illness which prevented King William IY. from 
 taking part in the birthday festivities of the Princess 
 Victoria developed rapidly towards the close of the 
 month of May. His Majesty exhibited signs of great 
 debility and exhaustion, with oppression of breathing; 
 and he had lost the power of walking. Preparations 
 had been made to convey him to Brighton for change 
 of air early in June, but these had to be abandoned. 
 On the 9th he experienced some relief from the most 
 distressing symptoms, and transacted business with Sir 
 Herbert Taylor. All who came in contact with the 
 King observed how his illness had refined him and 
 made him gentle and resigned. Indeed, his unwearied 
 patience and cheerfulness excited the admiration and 
 astonishment of all who had opportunity of witnessing 
 them. All his sailor-like bluntness of speech had 
 disappeared. On the morning of the 16th he ob¬ 
 served to the Queen: ; I have had some quiet sleep; 
 come and pray with me, and thank the Almighty for 
 it/ When the King’s devotions were over, the Queen 
 said : c And shall I not pray to the Almighty that you 
 may have a good day ? ’ To which his Majesty 
 replied : c Oh, do ! I wish I could live ten years for 
 the sake of my country. I feel it my duty to keep 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 4$ 
 
 well as long as I can.* On the morning of Sunday 
 the 11 th, seeing Lady Mary Fox occupied with a 
 book, the King inquired what she was reading, and 
 being told that it was a Prayer-book, his countenance 
 beamed with pleasure. The Queen asked whether it 
 would be agreeable if she read the prayers to him. 
 His Majesty answered: 1 Oh, yes ! I should like it 
 very much; but it will fatigue you.’ Ascertaining 
 that the Rev. Mr. Wood was the preacher that morn¬ 
 ing in the chapel of the Castle, the King desired him 
 to be sent for. When he entered, the royal sufferer 
 said: 1 1 will thank you, my dear sir, to read all the 
 prayers till you come to the prayer for the Church 
 militant.’ By this injunction the King intended to 
 include the Communion Service and all the other 
 parts of the Liturgy used in the celebration of public 
 worship. It is stated to have been both an affecting 
 and an instructive lesson to observe the devout 
 humility of the King, who fervently dwelt, as could be 
 perceived from his manner and the intonation of his 
 voice, on every passage which bore even the most 
 remote application to his own circumstances. 1 It has 
 been a great comfort to me,’ he exclaimed afterwards 
 to the Queen. Nor was it a transitory feeling, for on 
 each day of the ensuing week Lord Augustus Fitz- 
 clarence received his Majesty’s command to read to 
 him the prayers either of the morning or evening 
 service. 
 
 By Sunday the 18th the King’s illness had become 
 so alarming that only a fatal result could be appre¬ 
 hended. Nevertheless, he transacted official business, 
 and his last act of sovereignty was to sign a free 
 pardon to a condemned criminal. Shortly afterwards 
 
46 
 
 THE LIFE OE QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 tlie Archbishop of Canterbury attended, and adminis¬ 
 tered the sacrament to the King and Queen, the 
 former appearing calm and collected, and his attitude 
 being one of humility and gratitude to God. Early 
 on the morning of this day the King had remembered 
 that it was the anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, 
 and he had said to Dr. Chambers:« 4 Let me but live 
 over this memorable day—I shall never live to see 
 another sunset.’ Dr. Chambers answered: 4 1 hope 
 your Majesty may live to see many.’ To which the 
 King replied in a phrase which he commonly em¬ 
 ployed : 4 Oh ! that is quite another thing.’ When he 
 awoke on the morning of the 19th the King 
 remarked to the Queen, 4 1 shall get up once more to 
 do the business of the country; ’ and as he was 
 wheeled in his chair from the bedroom to the dress¬ 
 ing-room, he looked with a gracious smile on the 
 Queen’s attendants, who were standing in tears near 
 the door, and said, 4 God bless you! ’ and waved his 
 hand. When the Archbishop came and read the 
 Service for the Sick, and the Articles of Faith, the King, 
 though much exhausted, enunciated with distinct 
 and solemn emphasis the words, 4 All this I stead¬ 
 fastly believe.’ For the first time the Queen was 
 now overpowered by the weight of her affliction. The 
 King perceived her emotion, and said in a tone of 
 encouragement, 4 Bear up, bear up.’ Once or twice 
 during the day he raised his eyes and exclaimed, 
 
 4 Thy will be done ! ’ When the Archbishop left him 
 for the last time he said to the Eiing, 4 My best 
 prayers are offered up for your Majesty; ’ whereupon 
 the dying monarch replied, with feeble yet distinct 
 utterance, 4 Believe me, I am a religious man.’ At 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 47 
 
 twelve minutes past two on the morning of the 20th, 
 the King passed away, leaving behind him the 
 memory of a sovereign who was just and upright, 
 while as a man he was a sincere friend, a forgiving 
 enemy, and a gracious and indulgent master. His 
 defects were mainly surface defects, and these were 
 forgotten in the wide and genuine tribute called forth 
 by his sterling virtues. 
 
 The King is dead ! God save the Queen ! To the 
 veteran of threescore and ten has succeeded the 
 maiden of eighteen. The manner in which the young 
 Sovereign received the news of her accession has been 
 told by Miss Wynn in her Diary of a Lady of Quality, 
 and the account is extremely interesting. The Arch¬ 
 bishop of Canterbury (Dr. Howley) and the Lord Cham¬ 
 berlain (the Marquis Conyngham) left Windsor im¬ 
 mediately after the King’s death, posting to Kensing¬ 
 ton Palace, to inform the Princess Victoria of the 
 melancholy event. Leaving Windsor shortly before 
 half-past two, they did not reach Kensington until 
 five o’clock in the morning. 1 They knocked, they 
 rang, they thumped for a considerable time before 
 they could rouse the porter at the gate. They were 
 again kept waiting in the courtyard, then turned into 
 one of the lower rooms, where they seemed forgotten 
 by everybody. They rang the bell, and desired that 
 the attendant of the Princess Victoria might be sent 
 to inform her Eoyal Highness that they desired an 
 audience on business of importance. After another 
 delay and another ringing to inquire the cause, the 
 attendant was summoned, who stated that the Prin¬ 
 cess was in such a sweet sleep that she could not 
 venture to disturb her. Then they said : “We are 
 
48 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 come on business of State to tlie Queen, and even her 
 sleep must give way to that.” It did ; and to prove 
 that she did not keep them waiting, in a few minutes 
 she came into the room in a loose white nightgown 
 and shawl, her nightcap thrown off, and her hair 
 falling upon her shoulders, her feet in slippers, tears 
 in her eyes, but perfectly collected and dignified. , 
 
 Bishop Fulford states that on being informed of 
 her new dignity, the first words which the young 
 Queen uttered were these, addressed to the Arch¬ 
 bishop : 4 1 ask your prayers on my behalf.’ They 
 knelt down together, and Victoria inaugurated her 
 reign, like the young King of Israel in the olden 
 time, by asking from the Most High, who ruleth over 
 the kingdoms of men, an understanding heart to judge 
 so great a people. 
 
 Another incident which redounds to the honour of 
 the youthful Sovereign is recorded. The first act of 
 her life as Queen was to write a letter, breathing the 
 purest and tenderest feelings of affection and con¬ 
 dolence, to Queen Adelaide. Her manner of doing it 
 evinced a spirit of generosity and consideration which 
 obtained for her golden opinions everywhere. Her 
 Majesty wrote the letter spontaneously, and having 
 finished it, folded and addressed it to 4 Her Majesty 
 the Queen.’ Some one in her presence, who had a 
 right to make a remark, noticing this, mentioned that 
 the superscription was not correct, and that the letter 
 ought to be addressed to 4 Her Majesty the Queen 
 Dowager.’ 4 1 am quite aware,’ said Queen Victoria, 
 4 of her Majesty’s altered character ; but I will not be 
 the first person to remind her of it.’ 
 
 The Queen’s first Privy Council was held at Ken- 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 49 
 
 sington Palace on the morning of the 2ist. The 
 incidents of this memorable Council have been pre¬ 
 served in the pages of Greville, and that acid diarist 
 himself seems to have been struck with admiration at 
 the bearing of the young Queen : 4 Never was any¬ 
 
 thing like the first impression she produced, or the 
 chorus of praise which is raised about her manner and 
 behaviour, and certainly not without justice. It was 
 very extraordinary, and something far beyond what 
 was looked for. Her extreme youth and inexperience, 
 and the ignorance of the world concerning her, 
 naturally excited intense curiosity to see how she 
 would act on this trying occasion, and there was 
 a considerable assemblage at the Palace, notwith¬ 
 standing the short notice which was given. The first 
 thing to be done was to teach her her lesson, which 
 for this purpose Melbourne had himself to learn. I 
 gave him the Council papers, and explained all that 
 was to be done, and he went and explained all this to 
 her/ 
 
 Melbourne asked the Queen if she would enter the 
 room accompanied by the great officers of State, but 
 she said she would go in alone. When the Lords 
 were assembled the Lord President informed them of 
 the King’s death, and suggested, as they were so 
 numerous, that a few of them should repair to the 
 presence of the Queen and inform her of the event, 
 and that their lordships were assembled in con¬ 
 sequence ; and accordingly the two Royal Dukes of 
 Cumberland and Sussex, the two Archbishops, the 
 Lord Chancellor, and Melbourne, went with him. The 
 Queen received them in the adjoining room alone. As 
 soon as they had returned, the proclamation was read, 
 
THE LIFE OF QtJEEH VICTORIA. 
 
 So 
 
 and tlie usual order passed. When the doors were 
 thrown open and the Queen entered, accompanied by 
 her two uncles, who advanced to meet her, she was 
 quite plainly dressed, and in mourning. The Queen 
 bowed to the lords, took her seat, and then, in a clear, 
 distinct, and audible voice, and without any appear¬ 
 ance of fear or embarrassment, she read the following 
 declaration to the Council :— 
 
 £ The severe and afflicting loss which the nation has 
 sustained by the death of his Majesty, my beloved 
 uncle, has devolved upon me the duty of administering 
 the government of this empire. This awful re¬ 
 sponsibility is imposed upon me so suddenly, and 
 at so early a period of my life, that I should feel 
 myself utterly oppressed by the burden, were I not 
 sustained by the hope that Divine Providence, which 
 has called me to this work, will give me strength for 
 the performance of it, and that I shall find in the 
 purity of my intentions, and in my zeal for the public 
 welfare, that support and those resources which usually 
 belong to a more mature age and to long experience. 
 
 c I place my firm reliance upon the wisdom of 
 Parliament, and upon the loyalty and affection of my 
 people. I esteem it also a peculiar advantage that I 
 succeed to a Sovereign whose constant regard for the 
 rights and liberties of his subjects, and whose desire 
 to promote the amelioration of the laws and insti¬ 
 tutions of the country, have rendered his name the 
 object of general attachment and veneration. 
 
 ‘ Educated in England, under the tender and en¬ 
 lightened care of a most affectionate mother, I have 
 learned from my infancy to respect and love the 
 Constitution of my native country. 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 5i 
 
 ‘ It will be my unceasing study to maintain tlie 
 Reformed religion as by law established, securing 
 at the same time to all the full enjoyment of religious 
 liberty ; and I shall steadily protect the rights and 
 promote to the utmost of my power the happiness and 
 welfare of all classes of my subjects/ 
 
 Greville goes on to say with regard to the sub¬ 
 sequent proceedings : 1 After she had read her speech 
 and taken and signed the oath for the security of the 
 Church of Scotland, the Privy Councillors were sworn, 
 the two Royal Dukes first, by themselves; and as 
 these two old men, her uncles, knelt before her, 
 swearing allegiance, and kissing her hand, I saw her 
 blush up to the eyes, as if she felt the contrast 
 between their civil and their natural relations, and 
 this was the only sign of emotion which she 
 evinced. Her mannei to them was very graceful 
 and engaging: she kissed them both, and rose from 
 her chair, and moved towards the Duke of Sussex, 
 who was farthest from her, and too infirm to reach 
 her. 
 
 ‘ She seemed rather bewildered at the multitude of 
 men who were sworn, and who came one after 
 another to kiss her hand, but she did not speak to 
 anybody, nor did she make the slightest difference in 
 her manner, or show any in her countenance, to any 
 individual of rank, station, or party. I particularly 
 watched her when Melbourne and the Ministers and 
 the Duke of Wellington and Peel approached her. 
 She went through the whole ceremony—occasionally 
 looking at Melbourne for instruction when she had 
 any doubt what to do, which hardly ever occurred— 
 with perfect calmness and self-possession, but at the 
 
52 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 same time with a graceful modesty and propriety 
 particularly interesting and ingratiating.’ 
 
 But the Queen’s speech had not passed over with¬ 
 out a curious colloquy between two eminent men. 
 Although generally admired, Brougham found fault 
 with it, and worked himself into a state of consider¬ 
 able excitement. He said to Sir Robert Peel, by 
 whom he was standing, but with whom he was not in 
 the habit of communicating : 
 
 c Amelioration—that is not English ; you might 
 perhaps say melioration; but improvement is the 
 proper word.’ 
 
 1 Oh,’ rejoined Peel, 4 I see no harm in the word ; 
 it is generally used.’ 
 
 £ You object,’ said Brougham, 4 to the sentiment; 
 I object to the grammar.’ 
 
 4 No,’ said Peel, 4 I don’t object to the sentiment.’ 
 
 4 Well, then, she pledges herself to the policy of our 
 Government,’ said Brougham. 
 
 Greville adds: c Peel told me this, which passed in 
 the room, and near the Queen. He likewise said how 
 amazed he was at her manner and behaviour, at the 
 apparent deep sense of her situation, her modesty, and 
 at the same time her firmness. She appeared in fact 
 to be awed, but not damped; and afterwards the 
 Duke of Wellington told me the same thing, and 
 added that if she had been his own daughter he 
 could not have desired to see her perform her part 
 better.’ 
 
 In signing the State documents the Queen simply 
 wrote her name 4 Victoria,’ without the c Alexan¬ 
 dria,’ and this necessitated many alterations in the 
 records. The written rolls of the House of Lords, 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 53 
 
 and the printed forms of the oath at the House of 
 Commons, described the Queen as her Majesty 
 4 Alexandrina Victoria;’ but after the proceedings at 
 the Council, when her Majesty signed ‘Victoria,’ the 
 forms required to be altered. In some instances new 
 forms were provided; but in others there was not 
 time, and the pen was consequently run through 
 the first name, 4 Alexandrina.’ The Lord Chancellor 
 attached a foot-note to the rolls, recording that such 
 erasures were made after the morning sitting, and 
 after the peers’ signatures then affixed had been 
 written. There also became necessary an important 
 and curious interlineation in the oath—namely, the 
 addition, within parenthesis, of the words, 4 saving 
 the right of any issue of his late Majesty King 
 William the Fourth, which may be born of his late 
 Majesty’s consort.’ 
 
 The Princess Victoria was formally proclaimed 
 Queen of Great Britain and Ireland on the 21 st of 
 June, from St. James’s Palace. Long before the 
 hour fixed for the ceremony all the avenues to the 
 palace were crowded, every balcony, window, and 
 elevated position being filled with spectators. The 
 space in the quadrangle, in front of the window at 
 which her Majesty was to appear, was crowded with 
 ladies and gentlemen, and even the parapets above 
 were filled with people. The great Irish agitator, 
 O’Connell, in the front line opposite the windows, 
 attracted considerable attention by waving his hat and 
 cheering most vehemently. 
 
 The guns in the park fired a salute at ten o’clock, 
 and immediately afterwards the Queen made her 
 appearance at the window of the Presence Chamber. 
 
54 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 She stood between Lords Melbourne and Lansdowne, 
 and was received with deafening cheers. Her mother 
 also, who was close behind her, received most cordial 
 plaudits. The Queen looked very fatigued and pale, 
 but returned the repeated cheers with which she was 
 greeted with remarkable ease and dignity. She was 
 dressed in deep mourning, with a white tippet, white 
 cuffs, and a border of white lace under a small black 
 bonnet, which was placed far back on her head, 
 exhibiting her light hair in front simply parted over 
 her forehead. The Queen and the Duchess of Kent 
 regarded the proceedings with much interest. As 
 her Majesty appeared at the window the band of the 
 Hoyal Guards struck up the National Anthem. On 
 its conclusion, Sir William Woods, acting for the 
 Garter King-at-Arms, and accompanied by the Duke 
 of Norfolk as Earl Marshal of England, read aloud 
 the proclamation containing the official announcement 
 of the death of King William IV., and of the con¬ 
 sequent accession of Queen Victoria to the throne of 
 these realms. The proclamation was as follows:— 
 c Whereas it has pleased Almighty God to call to 
 His mercy our late sovereign lord, Ehng William 
 the Fourth, of blessed and glorious memory, by whose 
 decease the imperial crown of the United Kingdom 
 of Great Britain and Ireland is solely and rightfully 
 come to the high and mighty Princess Alexandrina 
 Victoria (saving the rights of any issue of his late 
 Majesty King William the Fourth which may be 
 born of his late Majesty’s consort) : We, therefore, the 
 lords spiritual and temporal of this realm, being here 
 . assisted with those of his late Majesty’s Privy Council, 
 with numbers of others, principally gentlemen of 
 quality, with the Lord Mayor, aldermen, and citizens 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 55 
 
 of London, do now hereby, with one voice and consent 
 of tongue and heart, publish and proclaim that the 
 high and mighty Princess Alexandrina Victoria is 
 now, by the death of our late Sovereign of happy 
 memory, become our only lawful and rightful liege 
 lady, Victoria, by the grace of God Queen of the 
 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 
 Defender of the Faith, saving as aforesaid: To 
 whom, saving as aforesaid, we do acknowledge all 
 faith and constant obedience, with all hearty and 
 humble affection, beseeching God, by whom kings 
 and queens do reign, to bless the royal Princess 
 Victoria with long and happy years to reign over us. 
 God save the Queen !* 
 
 While the proclamation was being read there was 
 considerable movement among the crowd, who con¬ 
 tinued to cheer and cry ‘ God save the Queen! ’ 
 until the stentorian voice of Daniel O’Connell com¬ 
 manded c Silence ! ’ Her Majesty stood during the 
 whole rehearsal of the proclamation. She was 
 deeply affected at the acclamations which rent the 
 air, and was observed to shed tears. This touching 
 incident was commemorated by Mrs. Browning (then 
 Miss Elizabeth Barrett) in a poem, of which the 
 following were the last two stanzas:— 
 
 * God save thee, weeping Queen.! 
 
 Thou shalt be well beloved: 
 
 The tyrant’s sceptre cannot move 
 As those poor tears have moved. 
 The nature in thine eyes we see 
 Which tyrants cannot own— 
 
 The love that guardeth liberties. 
 Strange blessing on the nation lies, 
 Whose Sovereign wept— 
 Yea, wept to wear its crown 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 $6 
 
 ‘ God bless thee, weeping Queen! 
 
 With blessing more divine, 
 
 And fill with better love than earth’s 
 That tender heart of thine ; 
 
 That when the throne of earth shall be 
 As low as graves brought down, 
 
 A pierced hand may give to thee 
 
 The crown which angels shout to see: 
 
 Thou wilt not weep 
 To wear that heavenly crown.’ 
 
 Auspicious as her accession was, the gravity of the 
 occasion and the weight of her new responsibilities 
 caused the Queen to be overcome more than once by 
 her emotion on that trying day. As soon as she 
 found herself disengaged from all the duties of the 
 solemn ceremonial, she traversed the palace with 
 hasty steps till she arrived at her mother’s apartment, 
 and flinging herself on her bosom, she gave vent to 
 her contending feelings in a flood of tears. The 
 Duchess gently soothed her, and then the Queen 
 said : 
 
 ‘ I can scarcely believe, mamma, that I am Queen 
 of England; but I suppose I really am so—am I 
 not ? 5 
 
 ‘You know, my love, you are. You have just 
 left a scene which must have assured you of it.’ 
 
 ‘ And in time,’ replied her Majesty, ‘ I shall become 
 accustomed to my change of character; meanwhile, 
 since it really is so, and you see in your little daughter 
 the Sovereign of this great country, will you grant 
 her the first request she has had occasion in her regal 
 capacity to put to you ? I wish, my dear mamma, to 
 be left for two hours alone.’ 
 
 The Duchess understood the reason for this request, 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 57 
 
 and for the first day in her daughter’s life she left 
 her alone. The young Queen desired in human 
 solitude, but in the presence of her Maker, to com¬ 
 mune with herself upon the duties which would now 
 lie before her, day after day, and year after year, as 
 the monarch of a great and powerful empire. 
 
 One result of the Queen’s accession escaped without 
 comment in almost all the journals. The descent of 
 the English crown to a female necessitated the 
 separation from it of the kingdom of Hanover, which, 
 according to Salic law, passed to the Queen’s uncle, 
 Ernest, Duke of Cumberland. 
 
 Her Majesty’s first assumption of royalty in the 
 Council Chamber at Kensington Palace formed the 
 subject of a historical picture by Sir David Wilkie. 
 In that picture the ‘Maiden Queen’ is seen at the 
 head of the table, while at the foot, facing her, is the 
 Duke of Sussex in his black velvet skull-cap. Other 
 noticeable figures in the group are those of the great 
 Chancellor Lyndhurst; Brougham, the clever and 
 indiscreet, with his restless features ceaselessly in 
 action; the Duke of Wellington, with his striking 
 countenance; Lord John Russell, a statesman whose 
 capacity was not to be measured by his inches, and 
 who was humorously described, when he married the 
 stately young widow, Lady Ribblesdale, as 1 the 
 widow’s mite ’; John Campbell, the writer of the 
 4 Lives of the Chancellors ’; and Lord Melbourne, 
 gentleman and statesman, and one who was soon high 
 in the confidence of his Sovereign. 
 
 When the news of Queen Victoria’s accession 
 became known to Prince Albert, who was then a 
 student at Bonn, he wrote to her Majesty as follows 
 
 c 
 
58 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 on the 26th of June:—‘Now you are queen of the 
 mightiest land of Europe, in your hand lies the 
 happiness of millions. May Heaven assist you and 
 strengthen you with its strength in that high but 
 difficult task. I hope that your reign may be long, 
 happy, and glorious, and that your efforts may be 
 rewarded by the' thankfulness and love of your sub¬ 
 jects/ The Prince’s demeanour at this time was 
 diffident and retiring; he was strongly averse to 
 putting himself forward in any way; and it was 
 determined by the friends both of the Queen and the 
 Prince that, to prevent the premature report of a 
 formal engagement between the cousins, as well as to 
 allow the young Queen time for the consideration of 
 her own feelings, Prince Albert should travel for some 
 months. This he accordingly did, in company with 
 his brother, through Switzerland and Northern 
 Italy. 
 
 The first honour conferred by the Queen upon any 
 one was the bestowal of the Grand Cross of the Order 
 of the Bath upon the Earl of Durham. His lordship 
 was a well-known Whig, and all the associations of 
 the young Sovereign were with that party. Her 
 father had been a decided Liberal, and the Duchess 
 held similar views, which were shared also by Leopold, 
 King of the Belgians. Lord Melbourne was the 
 Queen’s adviser, and although in many other relations 
 of life he was careless and insouciant , in this capacity 
 he was ever earnest, sincere, and judicious. He was 
 not greedy of power, nor did he use any unfair means 
 of getting or keeping it. c The character of the 
 young Sovereign seems to have impressed him deeply. 
 His real or affected levity gave way to a genuine and 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 59 
 
 lasting desire to make her life as happy and her 
 reign as successful as lie could. Tire Queen always 
 felt the warmest affection and gratitude for him, and 
 showed it long after the public had given up the 
 suspicion that she could be a puppet in the hands of 
 a Minister.’ But the boastful tone of some of the 
 Whigs, who spoke of the accession too much in the 
 tone of a party triumph, ruffled the Tories so greatly 
 that there was not always on the part of the latter 
 that cordial loyalty which might have been expected. 
 
 The Queen took up her residence at Buckingham 
 Palace on the i 3th of July, and four days later she 
 went in State to dissolve Parliament. An immense 
 concourse of persons witnessed the procession, and 
 the cheering all along the route was most deafening. 
 As she entered the House all the peers and peeresses 
 present rose at the flourish of trumpets, and remained 
 standing. Her Majesty was attired in a splendid 
 white satin robe, with the ribbon of the Garter cross¬ 
 ing her shoulder, and a magnificent tiara of diamonds 
 on her head, and a necklace and stomacher of large 
 and costly brilliants. When she had ascended the 
 throne and taken her seat, Lord Melbourne, who stood 
 close to her right hand, whispered to her that it was 
 customary to desire the peers and peeresses to be 
 seated; whereupon her Majesty, in rather a low voice, 
 and bowing condescendingly, said, ‘ My lords, be 
 seated.’ The usual formalities having been gone 
 through, the Queen read her first speech from the 
 throne. The closing passages of this document, which 
 breathed of the constitutional spirit that has marked 
 the whole course of her Majesty’s reign, ran as 
 follows: 
 
6 o 
 
 THE LIFE OE QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 ‘ I ascend the throne with a deep sense of the 
 responsibility which is imposed upon me; but I am 
 supported by the consciousness of my own right inten¬ 
 tions, and by my dependence upon the protection of 
 Almighty God. It will be my care to strengthen our 
 institutions, civil and ecclesiastical, by discreet im¬ 
 provement wherever improvement is required, and to 
 do all in my power to compose and allay animosity 
 and discord. Acting upon these principles, I shall 
 upon all occasions look with confidence to the wisdom 
 of Parliament and the affections of my people, which 
 form the true support of the dignity of the Crown, and 
 ensure the stability of the Constitution.’ 
 
 Her Majesty read the speech deliberately, and with 
 a sweet voice which was heard all over the House, 
 while a natural grace and modest self-possession cha¬ 
 racterized her demeanour. Fanny Kemble, who was 
 present on this historic occasion, thus wrote concerning 
 its central figure : ‘ The Queen was not handsome, 
 but very pretty, and the singularity of her great posi¬ 
 tion lent a sentimental and poetical charm to her 
 youthful face and figure. The serene, serious sweet¬ 
 ness of her candid brow and clear soft eyes gave 
 dignity to the girlish countenance; while the want of 
 height only added to the effect of extreme youth of 
 the round but slender person, and gracefully moulded 
 hands and arms. The Queen’s voice was exquisite, 
 nor have I ever heard any spoken words more musical 
 in their gentle distinctness than “ My Lords and 
 Gentlemen,” which broke the breathless silence of the 
 illustrious assembly, whose gaze was riveted on that 
 fair flower of royalty. The enunciation was as perfect 
 as the intonation was melodious, and I think it is im- 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 61 
 
 possible to hear a more excellent utterance than that 
 of the Queen’s English by the English Queen.’ 
 
 Soon after her Majesty’s accession she was called 
 upon to sign her first death-warrant. It was pre¬ 
 sented to her by the Duke of Wellington, and con¬ 
 cerned a deserter who had been condemned to death 
 by court-martial. The Queen, with tears in her eyes, 
 asked, 1 Have you nothing to say in behalf of this 
 man ? ’ 
 
 ‘ Nothing ; he has deserted three times,’ replied the 
 Duke. 
 
 ‘ Oh, your Grace, think again! * 
 
 ‘ Well, your Majesty,’ said the brave veteran, 4 though 
 he is certainly a very bad soldier , some witnesses spoke 
 for his character, and, for aught I know to the con¬ 
 trary, he may be a good man . 1 
 
 4 Oh, thank you for that a thousand times! ’ ex¬ 
 claimed the Queen; and writing 4 pardoned ’ on the 
 paper, she pushed it across the table to the Duke, her 
 hand trembling with emotion. 
 
 Another anecdote also deserves to be recorded. It 
 was told by Lord Melbourne. Immediately she was 
 in a position to do so, she said to the Prime Minister: 
 £ I want to pay all that remain of my father’s debts. 
 I must do it. I consider it a sacred duty.’ Lord 
 Melbourne said that the earnestness and directness of 
 that good daughter’s manner, when speaking of her 
 father, brought the tears into his eyes. The Duke of 
 Kent had not had a very large allowance, considering 
 his position and his natural generosity, which caused 
 him to contribute beyond his means to excellent insti¬ 
 tutions of all kinds. However, the Queen never rested 
 until all his liabilities had been conscientiously dis- 
 
62 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 charged. Amongst the Duke’s creditors were the late 
 Lords Eitzwilliam and Dundas. Representatives of 
 these peers received the amounts of their debts, accom¬ 
 panied by a valuable piece of plate from the Queen, 
 with a letter expressive of the obligations she felt 
 towards those who had been her father’s friends, and 
 the pleasure she and the Duchess of Kent felt in being 
 enabled thus to express their feelings. 
 
 The Queen was exceedingly popular with all classes. 
 At one time, when some foolish person talked of 
 deposing £ the all but infant Queen ’ and putting the 
 Duke of Cumberland in her place, O’Connell said: ‘If 
 necessary, I can get 500,000 brave Irishmen to defend 
 the life, the honour, and the person of the beloved 
 young lady by whom England’s throne is now filled.’ 
 Charles Dickens also was but the representative of 
 many others who were filled with enthusiasm over the 
 grace and beauty of the young Sovereign. Occa¬ 
 sionally the devotion of her admirers was somewhat 
 embarrassing. This was especially so in the case of a 
 gentleman who, for some time before the Queen left 
 Kensington Palace, laboured under the delusion that 
 he was one day destined to marry her Majesty. His 
 attentions became very annoying, and on one occasion 
 he actually succeeded in writing his name in the 
 visiting-book, only to be erased, however, as soon as 
 the autograph was discovered. Although a gentleman 
 in means, he would actively assist the workmen in 
 weeding the piece of water in Kensington Gardens, in 
 the hope of obtaining a sight of her Majesty; and 
 every evening he would wait in his phaeton in the 
 Hxbridge Road until the Queen’s carriage appeared in 
 sight, when he would follow it in whatever direction it 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 63 
 
 might proceed. Once the Duchess directed a page to 
 request the pertinacious one to drive off, but he refused. 
 When the Queen left Kensington for Buckingham 
 Palace he was noticed as being most vociferous in his 
 demonstrations of loyalty. As soon as her Majesty 
 entered her carriage, he rushed out of the courtyard, 
 and, running at full speed down the avenue, and 
 jumping into his phaeton, preceded the royal cortege 
 to the palace at Pimlico. It was some time before he 
 discovered that he had misread his destiny. 
 
 From the general consensus of praise induced 
 by the Queen’s conduct and demeanour immediately 
 after her accession, Greville in his later volumes 
 is somewhat of a dissentient. As history or bio¬ 
 graphy cannot claim to be candid which does not 
 set forth all possible aspects of a question, I shall 
 give some extracts from Greville’s pages. At the 
 same time, two things should be borne in mind : first, 
 that Greville himself always found a keener pleasure 
 in animadverting and criticizing than he did in 
 admiring and approving; and secondly, his in¬ 
 formants frequently permitted their confidences to 
 be tinged with personal feeling or prejudice. 
 
 Writing on July 30th, 1837, Greville says: 
 
 Madame de Lieven told me yesterday that she had an 
 audience of the Queen, who was very civil and 
 gracious, but timid and embarrassed, and talked of 
 nothing but commonplaces. Her Majesty had pro¬ 
 bably been told that the Princess was an intrigante, 
 and was afraid of committing herself. She had 
 afterwards an interview with the Duchess of Kent, 
 who (she told me), it was plain to see, is overwhelmed 
 with vexation and disappointment. Her daughter 
 
6 4 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 behaves to her with kindness and attention, but 
 has rendered herself quite independent of the Duchess, 
 who painfully feels her own insignificance. The almost 
 contemptuous way in which Sir John Conroy has been 
 dismissed must be a bitter mortification to her. The 
 Duchess said to Madame de Lieven, “ Quil riy avait 
 'plus cCavenir pour elle ) qu'elle rietait plus rien ; ” that for 
 eighteen years this child had been the sole object 
 of her life, of all her thoughts and hopes, and now 
 she was taken from her, and there was an end of all 
 for which she had lived heretofore. Madame de Lieven 
 said that she ought to be the happiest of human 
 beings, to see the elevation of this child, her pro¬ 
 digious success, and the praise and admiration of 
 which she was universally the object; that it was 
 a triumph and a glory which ought to be sufficient for 
 her; at which she only shook her head with a melan¬ 
 choly smile, and gave her to understand that all this 
 would not do, and that the accomplishment of her 
 wishes had only made her to the last degree unhappy. 
 King William is revenged, he little anticipated how or 
 by what instrumentality; and if his ghost is an ill- 
 natured and vindictive shade, it may rejoice in the 
 sight of this bitter disappointment of his enemy. In 
 the midst of all her propriety of manner and conduct, 
 the young Queen begins to exhibit slight signs of a 
 peremptory disposition, and it is impossible not to 
 suspect that, as she gains confidence, and as her 
 character begins to develop, she will evince a strong 
 will of her own. In all trifling matters connected 
 with her Court and her palace she already enacts the 
 part of Queen and mistress, as if it had long been 
 familiar to her/ 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 65 
 
 The Queen having, in a letter to her uncle King 
 Leopold, spoken of her sad childhood, Greville assumes 
 that the expression referred to the Duchess’s treatment 
 of her, but all other accounts of the Queen’s child¬ 
 hood take a different view. Nevertheless, the Court 
 gossip gives this passage : 4 The person in the world 
 she (the Queen) loves best is the Baroness Lehzen, and 
 Lehzen and Conroy were enemies. There was formerly 
 a Baroness Spaeth at Kensington, lady-in-waiting 
 to the Duchess, and Lehzen and Spaeth were intimate 
 friends. Conroy quarrelled with the latter and got her 
 dismissed, and this Lehzen never forgave. She may 
 have instilled into the Princess a dislike and bad 
 opinion of Conroy, and the evidence of these senti¬ 
 ments, which probably escaped neither the Duchess 
 nor him, may have influenced their conduct towards 
 her; for, strange as it is, there is good reason to believe 
 that she thinks she has been ill-used by both of them 
 for some years past. Her manner to the Duchess is, 
 however, irreproachable, and they appear to be on 
 cordial and affectionate terms. Madame de Lehzen is 
 the only person who is constantly with her. When any 
 of the Ministers come to see her, the Baroness retires 
 at one door as they enter at the other, and the 
 audience over, she returns to the Queen.’ 
 
 The statement as to the Baroness Lehzen’s domi¬ 
 nant influence over the Queen is scarcely consis¬ 
 tent with her well-known dependence on Melbourne. 
 So complete was this dependence that, as Greville 
 himself says, 4 her reliance upon Melbourne’s advice 
 extends at present to subjects quite beside his con¬ 
 stitutional functions, for the other day somebody asked 
 her permission to dedicate some novel to her, when she 
 
66 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN YICTOBIA. 
 
 said she did not like to grant the permission without 
 knowing the contents of the work, and she desired 
 Melbourne to read the book and let her know if it was 
 fit that she should accept the dedication. Melbourne 
 read the first volume, but found it so dull that he 
 would not read any more, and sent her word that she 
 had better refuse, which she accordingly did.’ 
 
 In the light of knowledge gathered from other 
 sources we must also regard the ensuing passage 
 as containing exaggerated statements, which cannot 
 be implicitly accepted. The Queen ‘ now evinces in all 
 she does an attachment to the memory of her uncle, 
 and it is not to be doubted that, in the disputes which 
 took place between him and her mother, her secret 
 sympathies were with the King; and in that celebrated 
 scene at Windsor, when the King made so fierce an 
 attack upon the Duchess’s advisers, and expressed his 
 earnest hope that he might live to see the majority of 
 his niece, Victoria must have inwardly rejoiced at 
 the expression of sentiments so accordant with her 
 own. Her attentions and cordiality to Queen Adelaide, 
 her bounty and civility to the King’s children, and the 
 disgrace of Conroy, amply prove what her sentiments 
 have all along been.’ Whatever may have been the 
 Queen’s feelings with regard to Sir John Conroy, it is 
 impossible for a moment to conceive that her Majesty 
 could have borne with the least complacency William 
 IV.’s unwarrantable and passionate attack upon her 
 mother; and although she was civil and considerate 
 towards the King’s children, her thoughts invariably 
 turned first towards the Duchess of Kent. 
 
 Greville has a weakness for accentuating too much 
 any roughness of speech or character in the persons 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 67 
 
 whom he describes. Now, another chronicler has 
 a very interesting anecdote relating to the Queen ; but 
 while he illustrates the discipline which the Sovereign 
 inculcated in her household, he does not omit to add an 
 incident which also testifies to the kindness of her 
 heart. A certain high and noble lady, who had been 
 appointed to a place of great distinction about the 
 royal person, did not observe with strict punctuality 
 her hours of official duty. On the second or third 
 morning that this circumstance occurred her Majesty 
 received her noble attendant with her watch in her 
 hand. 
 
 1 1 am afraid I have unfortunately been the occa¬ 
 sion of detaining your Majesty,’ observed her lady¬ 
 ship in an apologetic tone. 
 
 4 Yes, full ten minutes,’ rejoined the Queen, 
 gravely; 4 and I beg this want of punctuality ' may 
 not happen again.’ 
 
 Then, perceiving that her ladyship, in the agitation 
 caused by this reproof, experienced some embarrass¬ 
 ment in the arrangement of her shawl, her Majesty, 
 as if to prove that no unkind feeling had prompted 
 her remark, condescended to assist her with her own 
 hand, observing with great sweetness as she did so, 
 1 We shall all become more perfect in our duties in 
 time, I hope.’ 
 
 On the 22nd of August the Queen removed with 
 her Court to Windsor Castle, where a week later she 
 received her uncle the King of the Belgians and his 
 consort, Queen Louise. Later in the autumn her 
 Majesty visited Brighton, returning to London on the 
 4th of November. 
 
 There was a magnificent pageant on the occasion 
 
68 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 of her first visit to the City as Queen, on Lord 
 Mayor’s Lay, the 9th of November. A general 
 holiday was observed that day in London, and crowds 
 of persons assembled along the whole route from 
 Buckingham Palace to the Guildhall. The Queen 
 sat in the royal state carriage, attended by the 
 Duchess of Sutherland as Mistress of the Robes, and 
 the Earl of Albemarle as Master of the Horse. Her 
 Majesty wore a splendid pink satin robe shot with 
 silver, her hair encompassed with a splendid tiara; 
 and she looked the picture of health. As the pro¬ 
 cession filed along the Strand the church bells rang 
 forth merrily, and mingling with their peals enthu¬ 
 siastic cheers came Horn thousands of human voices. 
 Rows of national flags and heraldic banners were 
 stretched across the thoroughfare at several points, 
 and busts and portraits of the Queen were placed in 
 conspicuous positions. Her Majesty, who was in 
 high spirits, acknowledged the continuous greetings 
 of her subjects in the most gracious manner. After 
 the Queen, the only distinguished person generally 
 cheered was the Duke of Wellington, though the 
 King’s College boys gave a warm greeting to the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 Temple Bar was a point of great interest, for here 
 the City bounds began. The Lord Mayor and sheriffs, 
 with the aldermen, who had been accommodated in 
 Messrs. Childs’ banking-house, proceeded to mount 
 their chargers a little before two o’clock. In the case 
 of one worthy alderman the equestrian exercise 
 proved too much for him. Desiring to perform with 
 unusual grace and gallantry an obeisance to a 
 fair lady at a window, he was sent sprawling upon 
 
IMajesty in Military Costume at a Review at Windsor, Sept. 28, 
 
 From the Picture by Prentice. 
 
 (By Permission of Mr. Thomas McLean, Hay market.) 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 69 
 
 the gravel, while his horse walked over him. Never 
 since the days of John Gilpin did feat of a London 
 citizen excite so much masculine laughter and femi¬ 
 nine sympathy. He sustained little injury, however, 
 and was successfully hoisted into the saddle again. 
 The incident was quickly forgotten in the near 
 approach of the royal procession. When the arrival 
 of the Queen was announced, the Lord Mayor dis¬ 
 mounted, and taking the City sword in his hand, 
 stood on the south side of Temple Bar. Her 
 Majesty’s carriage then drew up within the gateway, 
 and the Lord Mayor presented the keys of the City to 
 the Queen, which her Majesty, after keeping them for 
 a few moments, restored in a gracious manner. At 
 this moment the multitude of spectators rent the air 
 with their acclamations. The Lord Mayor remounted, 
 and, holding the City sword aloft, took his place 
 immediately before the royal carriage; after which 
 the aldermen, the members of the Common Council, 
 and other civic authorities formed in procession. 
 
 One of the most interesting episodes of the day 
 occurred in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral, where a 
 booth had been erected for. the accommodation of the 
 boys of Christ’s Hospital. The royal carriage stopped 
 in the middle of the road opposite the cathedral gate, 
 and a platform was wheeled out on which were Mr. 
 F. G. Nash, senior scholar of Christ’s Hospital, and 
 the head-master and treasurer. The scholar, in con¬ 
 formity with an old usage, delivered an address of 
 congratulation to her Majesty, concluding with an 
 earnest prayer for her welfare. 1 God save the Queen ’ 
 was then sung by the scholars and a great part of the 
 other spectators. The Queen was much pleased with 
 
70 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 the proceedings, and in 1 subsequently returning his 
 oration to Master Nash with her signature added, she 
 wrote a note expressive of her approbation.’ 
 
 On arriving at the Guildhall, whose rooms had been 
 sumptuously fitted up and decorated, the Queen 
 received the chief guests in the drawing-room. 
 Another ad dress was presented, and the dinner was 
 announced. The Queen descended the hall preceded 
 by the Lord Mayor, and was conducted by the Lord 
 Chamberlain to the throne, the band playing c 0 ! the 
 roast beef of Old England.’ The dinner was much 
 like other dinners for the viands, but one dish deserves 
 special mention. This was a salmon, and the only 
 one at the banquet. It had been caught in the River 
 Tivy, near Kenarth, in the county of Carmarthen, by 
 William Griffiths, a poor lame fisherman, who with 
 unbounded loyalty sent it by the mail to the Lord 
 Mayor, requesting that it might form part of the 
 civic entertainment to the Queen. £ The health of 
 our Most Gracious Sovereign Queen Victoria’ was 
 drank amidst loud applause, and in response the 
 Queen rose and bowed several times very affably to 
 the company. Her dress .attracted much attention. 
 It was richly embroidered with silver; and over 
 her left shoulder the Queen wore the riband of the 
 Order of the Garter, with the George appended; 
 on her head she had a splendid diadem and circlet; 
 she also wore diamond earrings, and had a stomacher 
 of brilliants. At the royal table were the Dukes of 
 Sussex and Cambridge; the Duchesses of Kent, 
 Gloucester, Cambridge, and Sutherland; Prince George 
 and Princess Augusta of Cambridge; and the Countess 
 of Mulgrave. Her Majesty was rather flurried at one 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 7i 
 
 point of tlie proceedings, when the common crier 
 shouted in stentorian tones, £ Her Majesty gives the 
 Lord Mayor, and prosperity to the City of London.’ 
 The Queen proceeded to drink the toast. Unfortu¬ 
 nately, after doing so her lace ruffles accidentally 
 became entangled with her bouquet and fan, which 
 with her smelling-bottle she had laid on the table 
 beside her plate, and this was the occasion of her 
 breaking the glass in which she had drunk the 
 popular toast. This little accident appeared to cause 
 her some concern. 
 
 Only one more toast was given, that of c The 
 Royal Family,’ and then the Queen retired from the 
 hall to the drawing-room, where she was served with 
 tea in a splendid gold service. The value of the 
 plate at the whole entertainment was estimated at 
 ^400,000. Sir George Smart conducted the orchestra 
 on this occasion, which included all the chief vocal and 
 instrumental performers of the metropolis. At the final 
 rehearsal, on the preceding day, Sir George had said 
 to the performers, c We must be very particular ; for 
 if we are at all at fault, her Majesty’s ear will detect 
 our blunder.’ 
 
 At half-past eight o’clock a flourish of trumpets 
 announced the arrival of the Queen’s carriage. 
 Her Majesty then left, and when she arrived 
 at the carriage door she turned round to the 
 Lord Mayor, who stood at the step, and said with a 
 smile, c I assure you, my Lord Mayor, that I have 
 been most highly gratified.’ She then warmly shook 
 hands with the chief magistrate, and drove off amid 
 ringing cheers. On the homeward route the royal 
 carriage pulled up for a few minutes at the end of 
 
72 
 
 THE LIFE OE QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Cheapside, where, under the direction of the Sacred 
 Harmonic Society, several hundred voices sang c God 
 save the Queen.’ 
 
 Her Majesty afterwards conferred a baronetcy on 
 the Lord Mayor, Sir John Cowan, and knighted the 
 two sheriffs, Sir John Carroll and Sir Moses Monte- 
 fiore. The latter gentleman was the first Jew to 
 receive the honour of knighthood from a British 
 Sovereign, and the country warmly approved this act 
 of distinction. 
 
 • About this time a German named Stuber was 
 arrested for threatening to shoot the Queen and the 
 Duchess of Kent. He was proved to be insane, and 
 was sent to the Hoxton Lunatic Asylum. On the 
 4th of November also, as the Queen was passing 
 through the Birdcage Walk, St. James’s, in an open 
 carriage, a person in the garb of a gentleman sprang 
 suddenly to the side of the vehicle, and holding up 
 his fist in a threatening manner, made use of very 
 offensive language towards the Queen, adding, 1 I’ll 
 have you off the throne, and your mother too.’ 
 He then ran off, but was subsequently taken into 
 custody, and discovered to be one John Goode, for¬ 
 merly a captain in the 10th Hussars. He likewise 
 was found to be insane. 
 
 Her Majesty opened her first Parliament on the 
 20th of November, her progress to the House being 
 marked by the most loyal demonstrations. When 
 she had ascended the throne in the House of Lords, 
 the Queen directed the Lord Chancellor to read the 
 following declaration, which we are told she repeated 
 after his lordship, sentence by sentence, very articu¬ 
 lately, and with much feeling and solemnity :—- 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 73 
 
 * I, Victoria, &c., do solemnly and sincerely, in tlie 
 presence of God, testify and declare that I do believe 
 that in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper there is 
 not any transubstantiation of the elements of bread 
 and wine into the body and blood of Christ, at or 
 after the consecration thereof, by any person whatso¬ 
 ever ; and that the invocation or adoration of the 
 Virgin Mary, or any other saint, and the sacrifice of 
 the Mass, as they are now used in the Church of 
 Borne, are superstitious and idolatrous. And I do 
 solemnly, in the presence of God, profess, testify, and 
 declare, that I do make this declaration, and every 
 part thereof, in the plain and ordinary sense of the 
 words read unto me, as they are commonly under¬ 
 stood by English Protestants, without any evasion, 
 equivocation, or mental reservation whatsoever, and 
 without any dispensation already granted me for this 
 purpose by the Pope, or any other authority or 
 person whatsoever, and without thinking that I am 
 or can be acquitted before God and man, or absolved 
 of this declaration, or any part thereof, although the 
 Pope, or any other person or persons or power what¬ 
 soever, shall dispense with or annul the same, or 
 declare that it was null and void from the beginning/ 
 The question of the Civil List was settled by 
 Parliament this session. The Queen placed un¬ 
 reservedly in the hands of Parliament the hereditary 
 revenues transferred to the public by her immediate 
 predecessor. In the House of Commons the Chan¬ 
 cellor of the Exchequer pointed out that, whilst former 
 Sovereigns had inherited considerable personal property, 
 Queen Victoria had not done so, and would further 
 be deprived of the revenues of Hanover, which had now 
 
74 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 become a separate kingdom. Tlie sum of £3 8 5,000 was 
 therefore voted as the annual income of the Sovereign. 
 The amount was thus distributed : Her Majesty’s privy 
 purse, £60,000 ; salaries of her Majesty’s household 
 and retired allowances, £131,260 ] expenses of her 
 Majesty’s household, ;£ 17 2,5 00; royal bounty, alms, 
 and special services, ^13,200; and unappropriated 
 balances, ^8,040. Mr. Joseph Hume made an in¬ 
 effectual attempt to reduce the whole grant by 
 ;£5 0,000. At the suggestion of the Queen, Parlia¬ 
 ment also voted an additional grant of £8,000 a 
 year to the income of the Duchess- of Kent, thus 
 raising it to ^30,000 per annum. 
 
 The Queen entered fully into all business matters 
 brought before her by the Prime Minister. She 
 would know the why and the wherefore of everything. 
 Indeed, one authority says that Melbourne was heard 
 to declare that he would rather have ten kings to 
 manage than one queen. He could not place a 
 single document in her Majesty’s hand for signature 
 but she first asked an infinite variety of questions 
 respecting it, and she not infrequently ended her 
 interrogatories by declining to put her name to the 
 paper in question until she had taken further time to 
 consider its merits. The Premier on a certain occa¬ 
 sion had submitted an Act of Government for her 
 Majesty’s approval, and was proceeding to urge its 
 expediency, when he was thus stopped short by the 
 Queen: 
 
 c I have been taught, my lord, to judge between 
 what is right and what is wrong; but expediency is 
 a word which I neither wish to hear nor to under¬ 
 stand/ 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 75 
 
 Again, when Melbourne was anxious to obtain tbe 
 Queen’s signature to an important State document, lie 
 argued for it with all the force and eloquence at his 
 command. But the Sovereign had resolved upon 
 having further information before affixing her signa¬ 
 ture. It was in vain that he explained and argued, 
 and in the end, when he pleaded the paramount 
 importance of the matter he was met by the reply: 
 
 1 It is with me a matter of paramount importance 
 whether or not I attach my signature to a document 
 with which I am not thoroughly satisfied.’ 
 
 But the other side of the picture reveals the 
 admirable relations existing between the Queen and 
 her Minister. George Villiers told Greville that he 
 had been exceedingly struck with Melbourne’s manner 
 to the Queen, and hers to him—his, so parental and 
 anxious, but always so respectful and deferential; hers, 
 indicative of such entire confidence, such pleasure in 
 his society. c She is continually talking to him,’ 
 continues Greville, c let who will be there; he always 
 sits next her at dinner, and evidently by arrange¬ 
 ment, because he always takes in the lady-in-waiting, 
 which necessarily places him next her, the etiquette 
 being that the lady-in-waiting sits next but one to 
 the Queen. It is not unnatural, and to him it is 
 peculiarly interesting. I have no doubt he is pas¬ 
 sionately fond of her, as he might be of his daughter, 
 if he had one—and the more because he is a man with 
 a capacity for loving, without having anything in the 
 world to' love. It is become his province to educate, 
 instruct, and form the most interesting mind and 
 character in the world. No occupation was ever more 
 engrossing or involved greater responsibility. I have 
 
76 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 no doubt that Melbourne is botb equal to and worthy 
 of the task, and that it is fortunate she has fallen 
 into his hands, and that he discharges this great duty 
 wisely, honourably, and conscientiously. It is a great 
 proof of the discretion and purity of his conduct and 
 behaviour that he is admired, respected, and liked by 
 all the Court.’ 
 
 As soon as her Majesty’s State duties were de¬ 
 spatched, she occupied the time (when not engaged in 
 riding or walking) with music, reading, or drawing. 
 She took great delight in Italian music, and also in 
 the compositions of Handel, Haydn, Beethoven, and 
 Mozart. To these was subsequently added Mendels¬ 
 sohn, who was also a favourite with the Prince Consort. 
 Her voice was a mezzo-soprano of good tone, and her 
 singing was excellent. Her talents for drawing were 
 such that one of her masters said : c The Princess 
 Victoria would have made the best female artist of 
 the age if she had not been born to wear a crown.’ 
 After she became queen, she would frequently enter¬ 
 tain her distinguished guests by singing in the draw¬ 
 ing-room, after dinner, choice popular airs, in which 
 she was accompanied by the Duchess of Kent on the 
 piano. Some other personal details may be men¬ 
 tioned. As her Majesty has herself declared that 
 ‘ she is rather small for a queen,’ we are emboldened 
 to give her stature, which is just five feet two inches. 
 But her carriage and imposing appearance always 
 seem to indicate a considerably greater height. Her 
 head is finely and fully developed, and those pro¬ 
 fessedly skilled in such matters affirm that benevo¬ 
 lence, justice, and firmness are very prominent 
 organs; that self-esteem also is fully developed; while 
 
VICTOKIA BEGINA. 
 
 77 
 
 veneration is scarcely enough so. The whole expres¬ 
 sion of face is intellectual. About the time of her 
 marriage the Queen’s complexion was delicately 
 transparent; her cheeks were beautifully tinted if 
 exertion or animation flushed their natural fairness ; 
 her nose was a well-formed and very delicate aquiline; 
 her eyes blue, but with well-marked eyebrows. 
 Altogether she had a comeliness which pertained to 
 none of the Brunswick line since the time of Augusta 
 of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales, and the Queen’s 
 great-grandmoth er. 
 
 But we must now pass on to the coronation, the 
 great event of 1838, and the greatest spectacle of her 
 Majesty’s reign. Long before the day fixed for the 
 ceremony the deepest interest was manifested in it. 
 Amongst the proclamations issued was one declaring 
 it to be the Queen’s royal will and pleasure to dispense 
 with,» at her approaching coronation, all the ceremonies 
 usually performed in Westminster Hall on such an 
 occasion. These ceremonies included the entry of the 
 Champion of England on horseback, whose right it 
 was to throw down his gauntlet in defence of the 
 Sovereign, challenging any one to take it up. Another 
 proclamation stated that the peers were to be relieved 
 from doing homage in the usual fashion by kissing 
 the left cheek of the Sovereign. One can imagine 
 the girl-Queen’s dismay if this ancient custom had 
 been maintained in her case. For her royal uncles to 
 kiss her cheek was only a natural proceeding, but that 
 some six hundred spiritual and temporal peers should 
 follow each other in kissing the Sovereign’s left cheek 
 would have been an appalling prospect. The old 
 custom was for each peer, according to his rank and 
 
73 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEBN VICTORIA. 
 
 profession, singly to ascend tlie throne, to touch with 
 his hand the crown on the Sovereign’s head, and then 
 to kiss her on her cheek. Though all the peers would 
 no doubt have taken care to be present on such an 
 interesting occasion, it cannot be matter of surprise 
 that they were relieved from this and other onerous 
 duties. 
 
 The first issue of sovereigns bearing the impress of 
 Queen Victoria took place on June 14, but the 
 bankers were only supplied with limited numbers, and 
 could not gratify the whole of their clamorous cus¬ 
 tomers at once. 
 
 The crown in which the Queen was to appear at 
 the coronation was made, and exhibited for public 
 inspection, by Messrs. Rundell & Bridge. It was 
 more tasteful than that worn by George IV. and 
 William IV., Which had been broken up. The old 
 crown weighed more than seven pounds, and the new, 
 which was smaller, only about three pounds. It was 
 composed of hoops of silver, enclosing a cap of deep 
 blue velvet; the hoops were completely covered with 
 precious stones, surmounted by a ball covered with 
 small diamonds, and having a Maltese cross of brilliants 
 on the top of it. The cross had in its centre a 
 splendid sapphire; the rim of the crown was clustered 
 with brilliants, and ornamented with fleur-de-lis and 
 Maltese crosses, equally rich. In the front of the 
 large Maltese cross was the enormous heart-shaped 
 ruby which had been worn by Edward, the Black 
 Prince, and which afterwards figured in the helmet of 
 Henry V. at the battle of Agincourt. Beneath this, 
 in the circular rim, was a large oblong sapphire. 
 There were many other precious gems, emeralds, 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 79 
 
 rubies, and sapphires, and several small clusters of drop 
 pearls. The lower part of the crown was surrounded 
 with ermine. The value of the jewels on the crown 
 was estimated at;£ii2,76o. The following is a sum¬ 
 mary of the precious stones comprised in the crown :—- 
 I large ruby, irregularly polished; i large broad-spread 
 sapphire ; 16 sapphires; 11 emeralds ; 4 rubies ; 
 
 1,363 brilliant diamonds; 1,273 rose diamonds; 147 
 table diamonds; 4 drop-shaped pearls; 273 other 
 pearls. 
 
 Amid great pomp and ceremony the coronation of 
 her Majesty took place in Westminster Abbey, on 
 Thursday, the 28th of June. London was awake 
 very early on that day, and by six o’clock strings of 
 vehicles poured into the West End. Crowds of foot- 
 passengers also were on the move, all converging 
 towards one point. From Hyde Park Corner to the 
 Abbey there was scarcely a house without a scaffolding, 
 soon to be filled with sightseers. Seats were sold at 
 a very high rate, while tickets for the interior of the 
 Abbey were bought on the eve of the ceremony at 
 more than twenty guineas each ; and the Earl Marshal 
 had to apprise the public that forged tickets were in 
 circulation, the holders of which would not only be 
 stopped but given into custody. Notwithstanding the 
 immense number of persons in the Green Park and 
 St. James’s Park, and in the vicinity of Buckingham 
 Palace, the police and military preserved admirable 
 order. 
 
 At ten o’clock a salute of twenty-one guns, and the 
 hoisting of the imperial standard in front of the 
 palace, intimated that her Majesty had entered the 
 State carriage. The procession then set forth, pre- 
 
So 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 ceded by trumpeters and a detachment of Life Guards. 
 Then came the foreign ministers and ambassadors, 
 followed by the carriages of the Royal Family, contain¬ 
 ing the Duchess of Kent, the Duchess of Gloucester, 
 the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the Duke of 
 Sussex; next her Majesty’s carriages, containing the 
 members of the household and others ; and then, after 
 officers and guards of various kinds, came the State 
 coach, drawn by eight cream-coloured horses, conveying 
 the Queen and the Mistress of the Robes and Master 
 of the Horse. All the royal personages were loudly 
 cheered, but when the State carriage bearing the 
 young Sovereign came in view the enthusiasm was 
 something tremendous. Her Majesty appeared in 
 excellent spirits, and highly delighted with the 
 imposing scene. The troops saluted in succession as 
 she passed, and remained with presented arms until 
 the royal carriage had passed the front of each 
 battalion, the bands continuing to play the National 
 Anthem. To the credit of the crowd, a hearty cheer 
 was raised for Marshal Soult, which the French veteran 
 acknowledged with great satisfaction, not unmingled 
 with surprise. It is said that every window along 
 the route was a bouquet, every balcony a parterre of 
 living loveliness and beauty; and as the Queen passed, 
 scarfs, handkerchiefs, and flowers were waved with 
 the most boisterous enthusiasm. Her Majesty was 
 more than once visibly affected by these exhilarating 
 demonstrations, and occasionally turned to the 
 Duchess of Sutherland to conceal or express her 
 emotion. 
 
 Westminster Abbey was reached at half-past eleven. 
 On each side the nave, galleries were erected for the 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 81 
 
 spectators, with accommodation for a thousand persons. 
 Under the central tower of the Abbey, in the interior 
 of the choir, a platform was raised, covered with a 
 carpet of cloth of gold, and upon it the chair of 
 homage, superbly gilt, was placed, facing the altar. 
 Further on, within the chancel, and near the altar, 
 was Edward the Confessor’s chair. The altar was 
 covered with massive gold plate. Galleries were pro¬ 
 vided for members of the House of Commons, foreign 
 ambassadors, and other persons of distinction, the 
 Judges, Masters in Chancery, Knights of the Bath, 
 the Lord Mayor, and the members of the Corpora¬ 
 tion, &c. 
 
 Shortly before noon the grand procession began 
 to enter the choir. It was headed by the prebenda¬ 
 ries and Dean of Westminster, followed by the great 
 officers of her Majesty’s household. Then came the 
 Lord Privy Seal, the Lord President of the Council, 
 the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, the Archbishop of 
 Armagh, the Archbishop of York, the Lord Chan¬ 
 cellor of England, and the Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 The Princesses of the blood royal succeeded: the 
 Duchess of Cambridge, in a robe of estate of purple 
 velvet and wearing a circlet of gold, her train borne 
 by Lady Caroline Campbell, and her coronet by 
 Viscount Villiers; the Duchess of Kent, in a robe of 
 estate of purple velvet and wearing a circlet of gold, 
 her train borne by the hapless Lady Flora Hastings, 
 and her coronet by Viscount Emlyn. Next came 
 one of the most interesting parts of the procession— 
 the Regalia. St. Edward’s staff was borne by the 
 Duke of Roxburghe; the golden spurs by Lord 
 Byron ; the sceptre with the cross by the Duke of 
 
82 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Cleveland ; tlie curtana, or sword of mercy, by tbe 
 Duke of Devonshire; the second sword by tbe Duke 
 of Sutherland, and the third sword by the Marquis 
 of Westminster. Black Rod and Deputy Garter 
 were succeeded by Lord Willoughby d’Eresby, Lord 
 Great Chamberlain of England. The Princes of the 
 blood royal now appeared : the Duke of Cambridge, 
 in his robes and carrying his baton as Field Marshal; 
 and the Duke of Sussex, also in his robes of estate. 
 Then in order were the High Constable of Ireland, 
 the Duke of Leinster; the High Constable of Scot¬ 
 land, the Earl of Erroll; the Earl Marshal of 
 England, the Duke of Norfolk; Viscount Melbourne, 
 bearing the sword of State ; the Lord High Con¬ 
 stable of England, the Duke of Wellington; the 
 Bishop of Bangor, bearing the patina; the Bishop of 
 Winchester, bearing the Bible ; and the Bishop of 
 London, bearing the chalice. After these came 
 the Queen, in her royal robe of crimson velvet, 
 furred with ermine and bordered with gold lace, 
 wearing the collars of her Orders, with a circlet of 
 gold upon her head. On one side of her was the 
 Bishop of Bath and Wells, with ten gentlemen-at- 
 arms; and on the other the Bishop of Durham, also 
 with ten gentlemen-at-arms. Her Majesty’s train 
 was borne by the following eight young ladies, the 
 daughters of well-known noblemen of high rank in 
 the peerage: Lady Adelaide Paget, Lady Frances 
 Elizabeth Cowper, Lady Ann Wentworth Fitzwilliam, 
 Lady Mary Augusta Ffederica Grimston, Lady Caro¬ 
 line Amelia Gordon Lennox, Lady Mary Alethea 
 Beatrix Talbot, Lady Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina 
 Stanhope, and Lady Louisa Harriet Jenkinson. 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 83 
 
 The last distinguished personages in the pro¬ 
 cession were the Lord Chamberlain of the House¬ 
 hold ; the Duchess of Sutherland, Mistress of the 
 Eobes; the Marchioness of Lansdowne, First Lady of 
 the Bedchamber; six other ladies of the bedcham¬ 
 ber ; eight maids of honour ; eight women of the 
 bedchamber; Gold Stick of the Life Guards; the 
 Master of the Horse; the Captain of the Guard, and 
 other high officials. 
 
 The scene which followed her Majesty’s entry into 
 the Abbey was one of the most impressive which 
 could possibly be conceived. From a variety of 
 sources we have gathered our description of its most 
 interesting features. The Queen, looked extremely 
 well, and had a very animated expression of counte¬ 
 nance. Some of the foreign ambassadors had 
 numerous and splendid suites, and were magnificently 
 attired ; but by far the most gorgeous was Prince 
 Esterhazy, whose dress, down to his very boot- 
 heels, sparkled with diamonds. The scene within the 
 choir which presented itself to the Queen on her 
 entrance was very gorgeous, and indeed almost over¬ 
 whelming. The Turkish ambassador, it is reported, 
 was absolutely bewildered; he stopped in astonish¬ 
 ment, and for some time would not move up to his 
 allotted place. 
 
 The Queen was received with hearty plaudits as she 
 advanced slowly towards the centre of the choir; the 
 anthem, 4 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us 
 go into the house of the Lord,’ being meanwhile sung 
 by the musicians. Then, with thrilling effect and full 
 trumpet accompaniment, 4 God save the Queen ’ was 
 rendered. The booming of the guns outside was 
 
84 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 deadened by the tumultuous acclamations of those 
 within the Abbey, which did not close till the 
 beloved object of this enthusiastic homage reached 
 the recognition-chair, on the south-east of the altar. 
 Here the Queen knelt at the faldstool, engaging in 
 silent prayer. Her mind must have been agitated 
 with deep and conflicting emotions at this awful 
 moment, when the vast weight of her responsibilities 
 pressed in upon her. There were many who shed 
 tears as the simple maiden, the centre of so much 
 splendour and the cynosure of a whole empire, im¬ 
 plored the Divine strength in the fulfilment of her 
 sovereign duties. 
 
 When she rose from her devotions the pealing 
 notes of the anthem rang through the arches of the 
 Abbey. Scarcely had the music ceased when, in 
 pursuance of their prescriptive right, the West¬ 
 minster scholars rose up with one accord and 
 acclaimed their Sovereign. They shouted in almost 
 deafening chorus, 1 Victoria , Victoria ! Vivat Victoria 
 Regina ! ’ This was the first actual incident in the 
 proceedings of the coronation. 
 
 The Archbishop of Canterbury now advanced from 
 his station at the great south-east pillar to the east 
 side of the theatre or platform, accompanied by the 
 Lord Chancellor, Lord Great Chamberlain, the High 
 Constable, and the Earl Marshal, preceded by Garter 
 King-at-Arms ; and presenting the youthful monarch 
 to her people, made the recognition in these words : 
 
 4 Sirs, I here present unto you Queen Victoria, the 
 undoubted queen of this realm; wherefore, all you 
 who are come this day to do your homage, are you 
 willing to do the same ? ’ 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 «S 
 
 In response there was a rapturous and general shout 
 of ‘God save Queen Victoria!’ The Archbishop and 
 the great officers of State made the same recognition 
 to the people on the other three sides of the Abbey, 
 south, west, and north ; the Queen remaining standing, 
 and turning herself about to face her loyal lieges on 
 each side as the recognition was made, which was 
 answered with long and repeated acclamations. The 
 last recognition over, the drums beat, the trumpets 
 sounded, and the band struck up the National Anthem. 
 This part of the ceremonial has been described as one 
 of the most striking and picturesque. 
 
 The bishops who bore the patina, Bible, and 
 chalice in the procession, now placed the same on 
 the altar. The Queen, attended by the Bishops of 
 Durham and Bath and Wells and the Dean of West¬ 
 minster, with the great officers of State and noblemen 
 bearing the regalia, advanced to the altar, and kneel¬ 
 ing upon the crimson-velvet cushion, made her first 
 offering, being a pall or altar-cloth of gold, which she 
 delivered to the Archbishop of Canterbury, by whom 
 it was placed on the altar. Her Majesty next placed 
 an ingot of gold, of one pound weight, in the hands 
 of the Archbishop, by whom it was put into the obla¬ 
 tion basin. The bearers of the regalia, except those 
 who carried the swords, then proceeded in order to the 
 altar, where they delivered St. Edward’s crown, the 
 
 ( sceptre, dove, orb, spurs, and all the other insignia of 
 royalty, to the Archbishop, who delivered them to the 
 Dean of Westminster, by whom they were placed on 
 the altar. The religious ceremony now began with 
 the reading of the Litany by the Bishops of Worcester 
 and St. David’s. Then followed the Communion 
 
86 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEH VICTORIA. 
 
 Service, read by the Archbishop of Canterbury and 
 the Bishops of Rochester and Carlisle. The Bishop 
 of London preached the sermon from the following 
 text, in the Second Book of Chronicles, chap, xxxiv. 
 verse 3 i st:— 
 
 ‘ And the king stood in his place, and made a 
 covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and 
 to keep his commandments and his testimonies and 
 statutes, and with all his heart and all his soul to 
 perform the words of the covenant which are written 
 in this book/ 
 
 Her Majesty paid profound attention to the words 
 of the sermon, in the course of which the Bishop 
 praised the late King for his unfeigned religion, and 
 exhorted his youthful successor to follow in his foot¬ 
 steps. The earnest manner in which she listened, 
 and the motion with which, at the mention of her 
 dead uncle, she bowed her head on her hand to conceal 
 a falling tear, were highly touching. 
 
 On the conclusion of the service the Archbishop 
 advanced towards the Queen, addressing her thus : 
 
 4 Madam, is your Maj esty willing to take the oath ? ’ 
 
 The Queen replied, 4 I am willing.’ 
 
 4 Will you solemnly promise and swear,’ continued 
 the Archbishop, 4 to govern the people of this United 
 Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the 
 dominions thereto belonging, according to the statutes 
 in Parliament agreed on, and the respective laws and 
 customs of the same ? ’ 
 
 In an audible voice the Queen answered, 4 I solemnly 
 promise so to do.’ 
 
 c Will you, to your power, cause law and justice, in 
 mercy, to be executed in all your judgments ? ’ 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 87 
 
 ‘I will.’ 
 
 Then said the Archbishop ; 4 Will you, to the utmost 
 of your power, maintain the laws of God, the true 
 profession of the Gospel, and the Protestant reformed 
 religion established by law ? And will you maintain 
 and preserve inviolably the settlement of the united 
 Church of England and Ireland, and the doctrine, 
 worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law 
 established within England and Ireland, and the terri¬ 
 tories thereunto belonging? And will you preserve 
 unto the bishops and clergy of England and Ireland, 
 and to the churches there committed to their charge, 
 all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall 
 appertain to them or any of them ? ’ 
 
 Clearly and firmly the Queen replied, 4 All this I 
 promise to do.’ 
 
 Her Majesty, with the Lord Chamberlain and othei 
 officers, the sword of State being carried before her, 
 then went to the altar and took the coronation oath. 
 Laying her right hand upon the Gospels in the Bible 
 carried in the procession, and now brought to her by 
 the Archbishop, she said, kneeling: 
 
 4 The things which I have here before promised I 
 will perform and keep. So help me, God ! 5 
 
 Then the Queen kissed the book, and to a transcript 
 of the oath set her royal sign manual. The Duchess 
 of Kent was observed to be deeply affected during the 
 whole of this office. After signing, her Majesty knelt 
 upon her faldstool while the choir sang Veni , Creator , 
 Spiritus. 
 
 The next part of the ceremony, the anointing, 
 was extremely interesting. The Queen sat in King 
 Edward’s chair; four Knights of the Garter—the 
 
88 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Dukes of Buccleuch and Rutland, and the Marquises 
 of Anglesey and Exeter—held a rich cloth of gold over 
 her head ; the Dean of Westminster took the ampulla 
 from the altar, and poured some of the oil it contained 
 into the gold anointing-spoon; then the Archbishop 
 anointed the head and hands of the Queen, marking 
 them in the form of a cross, and pronouncing these 
 words: 
 
 { Be thou anointed with holy oil, as kings, priests, 
 and prophets were anointed. And as Solomon was 
 anointed king by Zadok the priest and Nathan 
 the prophet, so be you anointed, blessed, and con¬ 
 secrated queen over this people, whom the Lord your 
 God hath given you to rule and govern. In the name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 
 Amen.’ 
 
 The Archbishop then pronounced a prayer or bless¬ 
 ing over the Sovereign. 
 
 The spurs were presented by the Lord Chamberlain 
 to the Queen, who returned them to the altar. The 
 sword of State was presented by Lord Melbourne 
 to the Archbishop, who in delivering it into the 
 Queen’s right hand said : 4 Receive this kingly sword, 
 brought now from the altar of God, and delivered to 
 you by the hands of us, the servants and bishops 
 of God, though unworthy. With this sword do 
 justice, stop the growth of iniquity, protect the holy 
 Church of God, help and defend widows and orphans, 
 restore the things that are gone to decay, maintain the 
 things that are restored, punish and reform what 
 is amiss, and confirm what is in good order; that 
 doing these things, you may be glorious in all virtue, 
 and so faithfully serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 89 
 
 life that you may reign for ever with Him in the life 
 which is to come. Amen.’ 
 
 Lord Melbourne, according to custom, redeemed the 
 sword 1 with a hundred shillings,’ and carried it un¬ 
 sheathed before her Majesty during the remainder 
 of the ceremony. Then followed the investing with 
 the royal robe and the delivery of the orb. At this 
 point there was some little confusion, and when the orb 
 was put into the Queen’s hand she turned to Lord 
 John Thynne and said : ‘ What am I to do with it ? * 
 ‘Your Majesty is to hold it, if you please, in your 
 hand.’ 1 Am I ? ’ she said : c it is very heavy.’ As each 
 article of the regalia was given to the Queen the 
 Archbishop accompanied it with a suitable exordium. 
 When the investiture per annulum et baculum —the 
 ring and sceptre—was performed, it was found that the 
 ruby ring had been made for her Majesty’s little finger 
 instead of the fourth, on which the rubric prescribes 
 that it should be put. When the Archbishop was to 
 put it on, she extended the former, but he said it 
 must be on the latter. She replied that it was too 
 small, and that she could not get it on. The Arch¬ 
 bishop said it was right to put it there, and as he in¬ 
 sisted, she yielded, but had first to take off her other 
 rings, and then this was forced on, but it hurt her 
 very much, and as soon as the ceremony was over, she 
 was obliged to bathe her finger in iced water in order 
 to get it off. 
 
 One curious custom was observed by the Duke 
 of Norfolk, who, as lord of the manor of Worksop, 
 holds an estate by the service of presenting to the 
 Sovereign a right-hand glove during the ceremonial of 
 the coronation. The Duke left his seat, and approach- 
 
 D 
 
90 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 ing the Queen, kneeling, presented to her a glove for 
 her right hand, embroidered with the arms of Howard, 
 which her Majesty put. on. His Grace afterwards 
 occasionally performed his high feudal office of sup¬ 
 porting the Sovereign’s right arm, or holding the 
 sceptre by her side. 
 
 The Archbishop, in delivering the sceptre with the 
 cross into the Queen’s right hand, said: c Receive the 
 royal sceptre, the ensign of kingly power and justice.’ 
 Next he delivered the rod with the dove into the 
 Queen’s left hand, this being c the rod of equity 
 and mercy.’ The Archbishop then took the crown into 
 his hands, and laying it upon the altar, offered up 
 a prayer. Turning from the altar with the other 
 bishops, he now received the crown from the Dean of 
 Westminster, and placed it on her Majesty’s head; 
 whereupon the people, with loud and repeated shouts, 
 cried ‘ God save the Queen! ’ At the moment the 
 crown was placed on the head of the Sovereign 
 the act was made known by signal to the semaphore 
 at the Admiralty, from whence it was transmitted to 
 the outports and other places. A double royal salute 
 ef forty-one guns was fired, and the Tower, Windsor, 
 Woolwich, and other guns gave a similar greeting to 
 the crowned monarch of the British realms. 
 
 On the assumption of the crown, the peers and 
 peeresses put on their coronets, the bishops their caps, 
 and the kings-of-arms their crowns ; while the trumpets 
 sounded, the drums beat, and the Tower and park 
 guns fired their volleys. Then the full burst of the 
 orchestra broke forth, and the scene was one of such 
 grandeur as to defy description. The Queen was 
 visibly agitated during the long-reiterated acclama- 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 9i 
 
 tions. Her bosom heaved with suppressed emotion, 
 and she turned her expressive eyes involuntarily, as if 
 for maternal support, on her sympathizing mother, 
 who, with infinitely less command of her feelings, was 
 drowned in tears, and occasionally sobbed most audibly. 
 By a strong effort her Majesty regained her composure, 
 and the august ceremonial proceeded. 
 
 After an anthem had been sung, the Archbishop 
 presented the Bible to the Queen, who gave it to the 
 Dean of Westminster to be placed on the altar. The 
 benediction was then delivered by the Archbishop, all 
 the bishops, with the rest of the peers, responding to 
 every part of the blessing with a loud and hearty 
 ‘ Amen ! ’ The choir then began to sing the Te Deum , 
 and the Queen proceeded to the chair which she first 
 occupied, supported by two bishops. She was then 
 1 enthroned,’ or c lifted,’ as the formulary states, into 
 the chair of homage, by the archbishops, bishops, and 
 peers surrounding her. Then began the ceremony of 
 homage. The Archbishop of Canterbury knelt and 
 did homage for himself and other lords spiritual, 
 who all kissed the Queen’s hand. The royal dukes, 
 with the temporal peers, followed according to their 
 precedence, class by class. Ascending the steps lead¬ 
 ing to the throne, and taking off their coronets, they 
 repeated the oath of homage in the following quaint 
 and homely Saxon form :— 
 
 1 1 do become your liegeman of life and limb, and 
 of earthly worship ; and faith and truth I will bear 
 unto you, to live and die, against all manner of folks, 
 So help me God ! ’ 
 
 Each peer then in his turn touched the cross 
 on her Majesty’s crown, in token of his readiness 
 
92 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 to support it against all adversaries. He then kissed 
 the Sovereign’s hand and retired. 
 
 A pretty and touching scene took place when the 
 royal dukes, who alone kissed her Majesty’s cheek, 
 come forward to do homage. The Duke of Sussex, 
 who was suffering from indisposition, was feebly and 
 with great difficulty ascending the steps of the throne, 
 when the Queen, yielding to the impulse of natural 
 affection, flung her fair arms about his neck and 
 tenderly embraced him. The Duke was so overcome 
 by this genuine display of feeling that he was 
 supported from the theatre by some of the peers, being 
 unable to repress his emotion. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington, Earl Grey, and Lord 
 Melbourne were loudly cheered as they severally 
 ascended the steps of the throne. Another incident 
 which went to the heart of the people—for it showed 
 that the Queen’s kindness of heart had not forsaken 
 her even in the midst of so great a ceremony— 
 occurred when old Lord Rolle, who was between 
 eighty and ninety years of age, went up to do 
 homage. Harriet Martineau, who was in the Abbey 
 and witnessed the scene, thus describes it: 1 The 
 
 homage was as pretty a sight as any: trains of peers 
 touching her crown and then kissing her hand. It 
 was in the midst of that process that poor Lord 
 Holle’s disaster sent a shock through the whole 
 assemblage. It turned me very sick. The large 
 infirm old man was held up by two peers, and had 
 nearly reached the royal footstool, when he slipped 
 through the hands of his supporters, and rolled over 
 and over down the steps, lying at the bottom ooiled 
 up in his robes. He was instantly lifted up, and 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 93 
 
 he tried again and again, amidst shouts of admiration 
 of his valour. The Queen at length spoke to Lord 
 Melbourne, who stood at her shoulder, and he bowed 
 approval; on which she rose, leaned forward, and held 
 out her hand to the old man, dispensing with his 
 touching the crown. He was not hurt, and his self- 
 quizzing on his misadventure was as brave as his 
 behaviour at the time. A foreigner in London 
 gravely reported to his own countrymen, what he 
 entirely believed on the word of a wag, that the 
 Lords Eolle held their title on the condition of 
 performing the feat at every coronation!’ 
 
 Another account observes that the Queen’s ‘ first 
 impulse was to rise, and when afterwards Lord Rolle 
 came again to do homage she said, “ May I not get 
 up and meet him ? ” and then rose from the throne 
 and advanced down one or two of the steps to prevent 
 his coming up—an act of graciousness and kindness 
 which made a great sensation. It is in fact the 
 remarkable union of naivete , kindness, and native 
 good nature, with propriety and dignity, which makes 
 her so admirable and so endearing to those about her, 
 as she certainly is. I have been repeatedly told that 
 they are all warmly attached to her, but that all feel 
 the impossibility of for a moment losing sight of the 
 respect which they owe her. She never ceases to be 
 a queen, but is always the most charming, cheerful, 
 obliging, unaffected queen in the world.’ 
 
 While the lords were doing homage, the Earl of 
 Surrey, Treasurer of the Household, threw coronation 
 medals in silver about the choir and lower galleries, 
 which were scrambled for with great eagerness. A 
 London alderman was thrown on the ground and 
 
94 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 rolled over in tlie struggle for one of these medals. 
 It was feared that a battle-royal would ensue between 
 some of the competitors. One of the sons of the 
 Duke of Richmond secured thirteen of the medals, 
 which he placed in his page’s sash, in Oriental fashion. 
 High-born ladies entered into the struggle as well as 
 the sterner sex. 
 
 At the conclusion of the homage the choir sang the 
 anthem, £ This is the day which the Lord hath made.’ 
 The Queen received the two sceptres from the Dukes 
 of Norfolk and Richmond; the drums beat, the 
 trumpets sounded, and the Abbey rang with exultant 
 shouts of ‘ God save Queen Victoria! Long live 
 Queen Victoria! May the Queen live for ever! ’ The 
 members of the House of Commons raised the first 
 acclamation with nine cheers. Of the House of 
 Commons as then constituted there survive only three 
 members who are members of the Lower House at the 
 present time—Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Villiers, and Mr. 
 Christopher M. Talbot. 
 
 The solemn ceremony of the coronation being now 
 ended, the Archbishop of Canterbury went to the 
 altar. The Queen followed him, and having divested 
 herself of the symbols of sovereignty, she knelt down 
 before the altar. The Gospel and Epistle of the 
 Communion Service having been read by two bishops, 
 her Majesty made her offering of bread and wine for 
 the communion, in the paten and chalice. A second 
 oblation was a purse of gold, which was placed on the 
 altar. The Queen received the sacrament kneeling on 
 the faldstool by the chair. Afterwards she put on 
 her crown, and with her sceptres in her hands, took 
 her seat again upon the throne. The Archbishop 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 95 
 
 then proceeded with the Communion Service, and 
 pronounced the final blessing. The choir sang the 
 noble anthem, ‘ Hallelujah! for the Lord God omni¬ 
 potent reigneth.’ 
 
 The Queen then left the throne, and attended by- 
 two bishops and noblemen bearing the regalia and 
 swords of State, passed into King Edward’s Chapel, 
 the organ playing. The Queen delivered the sceptre 
 with the dove to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who 
 laid it on the altar. She was then disrobed of her 
 imperial robe of State, and arrayed in her royal robe 
 of purple velvet by the Lord Chamberlain. The 
 Archbishop placed the orb in her left hand. The 
 gold spurs and St. Edward’s staff were delivered by 
 the noblemen who bore them to the Dean of West¬ 
 minster, who placed them on the altar. The Queen 
 then went to the west door of the Abbey wearing her 
 crown, the sceptre with the cross being in her right, 
 and the orb in her left hand. The swords and 
 regalia were delivered to gentlemen who attended to 
 receive them from the Jewel Office. It was nearly 
 four o’clock when the royal procession passed through 
 the nave at the conclusion of the ceremony. As the 
 Queen emerged from the western entrance of the 
 Abbey, there came from the thousands and tens of 
 thousands of her subjects assembled in the vicinity 
 thunders of acclamation and applause. Similar 
 greetings awaited her on the whole of the homeward 
 route ; and the scene was even more impressive than in 
 the morning, as her Majesty now wore her crown, and 
 the peers and peeresses their robes and their jewelled 
 coronets. 
 
 To the coronation succeeded the festivities. The 
 
96 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN YICTOEIA. 
 
 Queen gave a grand banquet to one hundred guests, 
 and the Duke of Wellington a ball at Apsley House 
 which was attended by 2000 persons. On the next 
 day, and for three succeeding days (omitting Sunday), 
 a fair was held in Hyde Park, this popular festive 
 entertainment being visited by her Majesty on the 
 Friday. All the theatres in the metropolis, and nearly 
 all other places of public amusement, were by the 
 Queen’s command opened gratuitously on the evening 
 of the coronation. The peaceable and orderly be¬ 
 haviour of hundreds of thousands of persons belonging 
 to the middle and lower classes during the festivities 
 extorted the admiration of foreign residents in 
 London, and was much commented upon. The 
 accidents and offences reported were extraordinarily 
 few. Enthusiastic demonstrations took place through¬ 
 out the country, and public dinners, feasts to the poor, 
 processions, and illuminations were the order of the 
 day. Every town in England had its rejoicings ; 
 while in the chief continental cities British subjects 
 assembled to celebrate the auspicious event. 
 
 A parliamentary return showed that the entire ex¬ 
 penses of the coronation amounted to £69,42 1 is. 10 d. 
 of which sum nearly half was incurred by the fitting 
 up of Westminster Abbey. The coronation expenses 
 of George IV., which the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 estimated would not exceed A 100,000, amounted to 
 £238,000. 
 
 There was quite a shower of honours and dignities 
 in connection with the Queen’s coronation ; but the 
 peers need not detain us, and out of the twenty-nine 
 baronets created, only two will enjoy a permanent 
 fame—namely, Edward Bulwer Lytton, as representing 
 
VICTORIA HE GINA. 
 
 97 
 
 literature, and John Frederick William Herschel, as 
 representing science. 
 
 A Sovereign is exposed to annoyances from which 
 private individuals are free. Mary Queen of Scots, 
 Marie Antoinette, and other female monarch?, attracted 
 by their loveliness and other qualities an admiration 
 which frequently proved embarrassing. We have 
 already seen that this was the case with the Princess 
 Victoria, and after she became queen she had both 
 her admirers and assailants. She was subjected to 
 many annoyances during the year succeeding her 
 coronation. A Scotch youth travelled from the far 
 North to Windsor that he might become personally 
 acquainted with her Majesty, whom he announced 
 he was destined to espouse. His mental malady 
 having become only too apparent, he was placed under 
 restraint. Another individual succeeded in obtaining 
 admission to the Chapel Royal, and planted himself 
 opposite to the royal closet. After greatly disturbing 
 the Queen by his rude and eager gaze, he began to 
 bow and kiss his hand to her, till ho was removed by 
 the proper authorities. Incoherent letters, the result 
 of similar aberrations of reason, were addressed to the 
 Queen in great numbers, and some of them found 
 their way into the public journals. 
 
 In the spring of 1839 her Majesty was passing in 
 her carriage through the triumphal arch facing the 
 Duke of Wellington’s mansion in Piccadilly, when a 
 man rushed from the crowd and threw a letter into the 
 coach with such violence that it struck the Queen 
 upon the face. She remained quite calm, and 
 indicated the offender, who was seized and conveyed 
 to the police station, when it was found that he was 
 
98 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 the victim of a hallucination. Amongst other cases 
 were those of Thomas Flowers, who was found in the 
 Queen s apartments at Buckingham Palace; and 
 Charles Willets, traveller to a commercial house in 
 Basinghall Street. The conduct of the latter was 
 especially offensive. As the Queen was taking an 
 airing in Hyde Park in July 1839, he followed 
 her on horseback, and endeavoured to get by the side 
 of her Majesty. Foiled in this, he kept crossing and 
 recrossing in front of the Queen, and endeavoured to 
 attract her attention by placing his hand on his left 
 breast, waving his hand, and otherwise acting in a 
 most ridiculous manner. As nothing could be done 
 with him, Colonel Cavendish gave him into custody. 
 Being brought up at Bow Street, he was fined £5 for 
 assaulting the Queen’s outrider, and ordered to find 
 bail, himself in £200 , and two respectable house¬ 
 holders in ;£ioo each, to keep the peace for six 
 months. 
 
 But more important events still must have kept 
 the young Sovereign’s mind under high tension at 
 this time. The Ministry was falling into disrepute ; 
 there was war in Canada, and much discontent at 
 home; while a great Court scandal arose in con¬ 
 sequence of the painful case of Lady Flora Hastings. 
 The Queen did all she could to smooth matters, and 
 was much distressed by the turn of events. But there 
 were some persons so animated by party spirit that 
 they strove to make the innocent young ruler account¬ 
 able for the mistakes committed by her ladies. It 
 seems incredible that Melbourne, who was generallymost 
 judicious in Court matters, should have permitted the 
 case of the unfortunate Lady Flora to go as far as it 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 99 
 
 did, with the necessary consequence of the strongest 
 public sympathy being manifested in her favour. 
 The death of Lady Flora Hastings was prematurely 
 hastened by the cruel, and, as the event proved, 
 unnecessary, indignity to which she was subjected. 
 There can be no doubt that her Majesty was very 
 badly advised in this matter. 
 
 But turning from this melancholy incident to a 
 more agreeable subject, the following account of the 
 Queen’s daily life at Windsor will be read with great 
 interest:— c She gets up soon after eight o’clock, 
 breakfasts in her own room, and is employed the 
 whole morning in transacting business: she reads all 
 the despatches, and has every matter of interest and 
 importance in every department laid before her. At 
 eleven or twelve, Melbourne comes to her, and stays 
 an hour, more or less, according to the business he 
 may have to transact. At two she rides with a large 
 suite (and she likes to have it numerous); Melbourne 
 always rides on her left hand, and the equerry-in¬ 
 waiting generally on her right; she rides for two 
 hours along the road, and the greater part of the 
 time at a full gallop. After riding she amuses herself 
 for the rest of the afternoon with music and singing, 
 playing, romping with children, if there are any in 
 the Castle (and she is so fond of them that she 
 generally contrives to have some there), or in any 
 other way she fancies. The hour of dinner is nomi¬ 
 nally half-past seven o’clock, soon after which time 
 the guests assemble, but she seldom appears till near 
 eight. The lord-in-waiting comes into the drawing¬ 
 room and instructs each gentleman which lady he is 
 to take into dinner. 
 
IOO 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTOKIA. 
 
 c When the guests are all assembled the Queen 
 comes in, preceded by the gentlemen of her house¬ 
 hold, and followed by the Duchess of Kent and all 
 her ladies; she speaks to each lady, bows to the men, 
 and goes immediately into the dining-room. She 
 generally takes the arm of the man of the highest 
 rank, but on this occasion she went with Mr. Stephen¬ 
 son, the American Minister (though he has no rank), 
 which was very wisely done. Melbourne invariably 
 sits on her left, no matter who may be there; she 
 remains at table the usual time, but does not suffer 
 the men to sit long after her, and we were summoned 
 to coffee in less than a quarter of an hour. In the 
 drawing-room she never sits down till the men make 
 their appearance. Coffee is served to them in the 
 adjoining room, and then they go into the drawing¬ 
 room, when she goes round and says a few words to 
 each, of the most trivial nature—all, however, very 
 civil and cordial in manner and expression. When 
 this little ceremony is over, the Duchess of Kent’s 
 whist table is arranged, and then the round table is 
 marshalled; Melbourne invariably sitting on the left 
 hand of the Queen, and remaining there without 
 moving till the evening is at an end. At about half- 
 past eleven she goes to bed, or whenever the Duchess 
 has played her usual number of rubbers, and the 
 band have performed all the pieces in their list for 
 the night. This is the whole history of her day. 
 She orders and regulates every detail herself; she 
 knows where everybody is lodged in the Castle; settles 
 about the riding and driving; and enters into every 
 particular with minute attention.’ 
 
 While it was quite natural that her Majesty should 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 IOI 
 
 cling to Melbourne, seeing that she had had no other 
 instructor and adviser in matters of State, there were 
 those who regarded the Premier’s monopoly of the 
 Queen as injudicious. They argued that whenever a 
 change of Government came about, she must feel the 
 separation from her Minister and friend very keenly. 
 Such a trial came sooner than was expected, though 
 it could not in any case have been much longer 
 delayed. The Melbourne Ministry resigned office on 
 the 7th of May 1839, in consequence of having been 
 placed in a minority of five on the question of the 
 government of Jamaica. The Queen sent for the 
 Duke of Wellington, and subsequently for Sir Robert 
 Peel. The latter undertook to form a Cabinet, and 
 on the 9th submitted a list of his proposed colleagues. 
 At the same time, as a public evidence of the Queen’s 
 confidence, he asked for the dismissal of certain ladies 
 related to members of the ex-Ministry, and holding 
 high appointments in her Majesty’s household. This 
 was construed as undue action on Peel’s part, and 
 was afterwards spoken of as c The Bedchamber Plot.’ 
 Various and conflicting accounts have been published 
 of this semi-political imbroglio, but as the latest, given 
 by Greville, contains many details which are not to 
 be found elsewhere, I shall follow his account of the 
 transaction. Peel being unable to bring the Queen 
 round to his views, sent Lord Ashley, in the hope 
 that he might be able to influence her, but Lord 
 Ashley fared no better. Then the Duke of Wellington 
 and Peel saw her together, but only to find her firm 
 and immovable. She was prepared with answers 
 and arguments to all that they could advance. They 
 told her that she must consider her ladies in the same 
 
102 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 light as her lords, to which she replied, c No; I have 
 lords besides, and these I give up to you/ When 
 they still pressed her, she said: ‘Now, suppose the 
 case had been reversed—that you had been in office 
 when I had come to the throne; Lord Melbourne 
 would not have required this sacrifice of me/ 
 
 Peel was obliged to consult his friends, and in the 
 meantime a meeting of the old Cabinet was convened 
 at Melbourne’s house. The ex-Premier laid before 
 the ex-Ministers a letter from the Queen, written in a 
 strain such as Elizabeth might have used. She said: 
 4 Do not fear that I was not calm and composed. 
 They wanted to deprive me of my ladies, and I sup¬ 
 pose they would deprive me next of my dressers and 
 my housemaids; they wished to treat me like a girl; 
 but I will show them that I am Queen of England! * 
 A letter was composed for her Majesty, and in accord¬ 
 ance with its terms she wrote to Sir Robert Peel that, 
 4 having considered the proposal made to her yesterday 
 by Sir Robert Peel, to remove the ladies of her bed¬ 
 chamber, she cannot consent to a course which she 
 conceives to be contrary to usage, and is repugnant to 
 her feelings/ Peel then resigned his commission. 
 As soon as the affair became known it caused the 
 greatest excitement in London. The Queen was 
 warmly applauded for the part she had taken, but the 
 Tories were bitterly incensed against the Whigs. An 
 opinion strongly adverse to Peel speedily gained 
 ground, though a different complexion has since been 
 given to his conduct by a statement made by Lord 
 Whamcliffe. His lordship said that, so far from there 
 being a lack of deference and consideration on the 
 part of Peel, he manifested a desire to consult her 
 
VICTORIA REGINA. 
 
 103 
 
 wishes and feelings in every respect; and that, instead 
 of a sweeping demand for the dismissal of all her 
 ladies, he merely suggested the expediency of some 
 partial changes. There was no disposition on the 
 part of Peel to regard her with distrust, or to fetter 
 her social habits; and when she said, ‘ Yon must not 
 expect me to give up the society of Lord Melbourne,’ 
 he replied that ‘nothing could be further from his 
 thoughts than to interfere with her Majesty’s society 
 in any way, or to object to her receiving Lord Mel¬ 
 bourne as she pleased, and that he should always feel 
 perfectly secure in the honour of Lord Melbourne that 
 he would not avail himself improperly of his inter¬ 
 course with her.’ But when he began to talk of c some 
 modification of the ladies of her household ’ she stopped 
 him at once, and declared that she would not part 
 with any of them. As no point of agreement could 
 be formed, Lord Melbourne was recalled by her 
 Majesty, and he and his late colleagues agreed to 
 resume their places. There was a good deal of 
 recrimination in consequence between Whigs and 
 Tories, and a debate in Parliament, and it was long 
 before the public excitement subsided. 
 
 But the time had come when the Queen felt that 
 she desired a nearer and yet a dearer one than any of 
 the companions or counsellors of either sex by whom 
 she was surrounded. The cares of State weighed 
 heavily upon that young heart, and she required some 
 one upon whom she could lean in times of anxiety and 
 trouble, and whose love and counsel would cheer and 
 sustain her in periods of perplexity. Speculation had 
 long been rife as to when, and with whom, she would 
 enter upon the wedded state. Fortunately, however, 
 
io4 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 for her happiness, no reasons of State were allowed to 
 dictate her course in this the most momentous change 
 in a woman’s life. We shall presently see that when 
 her marriage came to be celebrated, it was one of 
 affection, and that it was the woman as well as the 
 Queen who stood before the hymeneal altar. 
 
( *°5 ) 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 On tlie 2 6th of August 1819—the same year which 
 witnessed the birth of the Queen—there was bom to 
 the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld a son, 
 who was afterwards named Albert. The birth took 
 place at the Rosenau, the summer residence of the 
 Duke, about four miles from Coburg. This child, 
 who was destined to be closely allied with England, 
 was lineally descended from those great Saxon 
 princes £ whose names are immortalized in European 
 history by the stand they made in defence of their 
 country’s liberties against the encroaching power of the 
 German emperors, as well as by the leading part they 
 took in the Reformation.’ 
 
 Albert was brought up with his elder brother 
 Ernest, and the two boys would seem to have vied 
 with each other in their winning ways and affec¬ 
 tionate disposition. When the younger was but 
 five years old the Duke and Duchess separated in 
 consequence of an unhappy estrangement, and a 
 divorce followed, and the little brothers never saw 
 their mother again. But their two grandmothers 
 were passionately attached to them, and have left many 
 interesting descriptions of the boys. Albert was a 
 delicate, nervous child, with a beautiful countenance—* 
 
io6 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 almost too much of a seraph, it was thought, for this 
 mundane sphere ; but by the time he was six years 
 old he showed that he was pretty much like other 
 boys, and in a naive little diary which he kept there 
 oocur these two somewhat startling items £ 9th 
 April. I got up well and happy; afterwards I had a 
 fight with my brother/ { 10th April. I had another 
 fight with my brother: that was not right/ The 
 young Princes were active and courageous, but they 
 were also very studious. Albert’s grandmamma 
 Coburg led him to take an interest in his cousin the 
 Princess Victoria, and to correspond with her at an 
 early date. The Duchess was the mother of Prince 
 Leopold and the Duchess of Kent. She died when 
 Prince Albert was twelve years old. The young 
 Prince’s training was very thorough, embracing 
 tuition in various branches of science, languages, 
 music, literature, ethics, and politics. He had also a 
 fine moral and physical training, so that as he 
 advanced towards manhood he was upright both in 
 mind and body. A programme of studies which he 
 drew up for himself when in his fourteenth year is of 
 a most comprehensive and useful character. His 
 mind was further enlarged by travel, and after tours 
 in Germany, Austria, and Holland, he visited Eng¬ 
 land, spending some time, as we have seen, with the 
 Duchess of Kent and his cousin at Kensington 
 Palace. At the close of his university career at 
 Bonn, Prince Albert travelled with Baron Stockmar 
 in Switzerland and Italy. The Edng of the Belgians 
 had always favoured a marriage between the cousins 
 Victoria and Albert, but King William IV. had 
 strongly discouraged it. 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 107 
 
 However, the Princess Victoria repeatedly declared 
 that she would marry nobody else (though five suitors 
 were found for her), and when she became Queen 
 she of course had her right of choice without let or 
 hindrance. 
 
 In his home at Erenburg, in the spring of 1839, 
 Prince Albert was agreeably surprised, on entering his 
 apartments after a long journey, to receive a smiling 
 welcome from the features of his fair cousin, the 
 young Queen of England. It appears that she had 
 sent her portrait, executed by Chalon, for his accept¬ 
 ance, and it was privately placed, by her desire, so 
 that it should be the first object to meet his view on 
 his return. 
 
 The two brothers, Ernest and Albert, again visited 
 England in the ensuing October, this being the third 
 occasion on which they had done so. They reached 
 Buckingham Palace on the 10th, and were conveyed 
 thence in the royal carriages to Windsor Castle. The 
 Queen appears to have been still more impressed than 
 before with her younger cousin, and in writing to her 
 uncle Leopold she remarked : 4 Albert’s beauty is most 
 striking, and he is most amiable and unaffected; in 
 short, very fascinating.’ Then, with maidenly reserve, 
 as though she had been too communicative, she has¬ 
 tened to add : 4 The young men are both amiable, and 
 delightful companions, and I am glad to have them 
 here.’ 
 
 The manner of life at Windsor during the stay of 
 the Princes is thus described: 4 The Queen break¬ 
 fasted at this time in her own room; they afterwards 
 paid her a visit there ; and at two o’clock had luncheon 
 with her and the Duchess of Kent. In the afternoon 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 io8 
 
 they all rode—the Queen and the Duchess and the 
 two Princes, with Lord Melbourne and most of the 
 ladies and gentlemen in attendance, forming a large 
 cavalcade. There was a great dinner every evening, 
 with a dance after it three times a week/ The 
 Queen now put off the monarch, and was the woman 
 alone. She danced with Prince Albert, and showed him 
 many attentions which she could never show to others. 
 ‘ At one of the Castle balls, just before the Queen 
 declared her engagement with her royal cousin to her 
 Council, she presented his Serene Highness with her 
 bouquet. This flattering indication of her favour 
 might have involved a less quick-witted lover in an 
 awkward dilemma, for his uniform jacket was fastened 
 up to the chin, after the Prussian fashion, and offered 
 no button-hole wherein to place the precious gift. 
 But the Prince, in the very spirit of Sir Walter 
 Raleigh, seized a penknife, and immediately slit an 
 aperture in his dress next his heart, and there trium¬ 
 phantly deposited the royal flowers/ 
 
 Royal courtships naturally excite curiosity, for 
 those undistinguished in position are eager to learn 
 whether love is after all the ‘ leveller ’ he is repre¬ 
 sented. Her Majesty’s experience proved that he 
 was. One report says that the Queen, endeavoured 
 to encourage her lover by asking him how he liked 
 England, to which he responded ‘Very much/ Next 
 day the query was repeated, and the same answer 
 was returned. But on the third occasion, when the 
 maiden-monarch, with downcast eyes and tell-tale 
 blushes, asked ‘ If he would like to live in England ? * 
 he rose to the occasion. Emboldened by the Queen’s 
 demeanour, it is stated that ‘ on this hint he spoke' 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 109 
 
 of feelings that he had treasured up in strictest 
 secrecy since his first visit to England ; having, with 
 that sensitive delicacy which is the inseparable com¬ 
 panion of true love, waited for some encouraging 
 token before he ventured to offer his homage to the 
 4 bright particular star ’ of his devotions. 
 
 Another account says that her Majesty inquired of 
 his Serene Highness whether his visit to this country 
 had been agreeable to him ?—whether he liked Eng¬ 
 land ? And on the answer being given, 4 Exceedingly,’ 
 4 Then,’ added the Queen, 4 it depends on you to make 
 it your home.’ 
 
 All this is very pretty and very pleasant, but as a 
 matter of fact the Queen actually proposed to the 
 Prince, and was necessitated to do so from the cir¬ 
 cumstances of her position. We have it on her own 
 admission that she directly made the proposal. Some 
 days after she had done so she saw the Duchess of 
 Gloucester in London, and told her that she was to 
 make her declaration the next day. The Duchess 
 asked her if it was not a nervous thing to do. She 
 said, 4 Yes; but I did a much more nervous thing a 
 little while ago.’ 4 What was that ? ’ c I proposed to 
 Prince Albert.’ 
 
 The engagement was made on the 1 5 th of October. 
 Prince Albert had been out hunting with his brother, 
 and returned to the Castle about noon. Half an hour 
 afterwards he received a summons from the Queen, 
 and went to her room, finding her alone. After a few 
 minutes’ conversation on other subjects, the Queen 
 told him why she had sent for him, and the whole 
 story of mutual love was once more quickly told. 
 4 Though as Queen,’ observes one writer, 4 she offered 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VIOTOKIA. 
 
 IK) 
 
 the Prince her coveted hand—that hand which had 
 held the sceptre of sceptres, and whi«h princes and 
 peers and the representatives of the highest powers 
 on earth had kissed in homage—it was only as a poor 
 little woman’s weak hand, which needed to be upheld 
 and guided in good works by a stronger, firmer hand; 
 and her head, when she laid it on her chosen husband’s 
 shoulder, had not the feel of the crown on it. Indeed, 
 she seems to have felt that his love was her real coro¬ 
 nation, his faith her consecration/ 
 
 She was not long in communicating the joyful news 
 to her dear friend, Baron Stockmar. It came with 
 some little surprise upon him, for, shortly before, the 
 Queen had assured him that she did not intend to 
 change her unmarried state for a long period. And 
 now she wrote : 1 I do feel so guilty I know not how to 
 begin my letter; but I think the news it will contain 
 will be sufficient to ensure your forgiveness. Albert 
 has completely won my heart, and all was settled 
 between us this morning. I feel certain he will make 
 me happy. I wish I could feel as certain of my 
 making him happy.’ 
 
 The Prince himself, writing to his affectionate 
 grandmother of Gotha, said : c The Queen sent for me 
 alone to her room the other day, and declared to me, 
 in a genuine outburst of affection, that I had gained 
 her whole heart, and would make her intensely happy 
 if I would make her the sacrifice of sharing her life 
 with her, for she said she looked on it as a sacrifice; 
 the only thing which troubled her was that she did 
 not think she was worthy of me. The joyous openness 
 with which she told me this enchanted me, and I was 
 quite carried away by it/ 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 hi 
 
 Her Majesty appears to have repeatedly dwelt on 
 the Prince’s sacrifices. In one of the typical entries 
 in her Journal we read : c How I will strive to make 
 Albert feel as little as possible the great sacrifice he 
 has made! I told him it was a great sacrifice on his 
 part, but he would not allow it.’ Although many 
 would have regarded the Prince as only to be envied, 
 in one sense the Queen was quite right. She was not 
 called upon to surrender anything, while she received 
 the love and devoted care of a good husband. He, on 
 the other hand, left his native home to dwell amongst 
 strangers, with whom he had yet to make his way. 
 He expatriated himself from Germany and from his 
 much-loved brother, and took upon himself a portion 
 of the burdens of the English Sovereign, without 
 taking equal rank with her in the rights and privi¬ 
 leges of sovereignty. 
 
 But the young couple were very happy. They had 
 many tastes and sympathies in common. The Prince 
 had considerable facility as an artist, and still more as 
 a composer. The music he composed to the songs 
 written by his brother was beyond the average in 
 sweetness of melody, and some of his sacred com¬ 
 positions, notably the tune ‘ Gotha,’ were of a high 
 order, and found their way into the psalmodies. He 
 also sang well and played with skill. During his stay 
 at Windsor Castle her Majesty frequently accom¬ 
 panied him on the pianoforte, and at a later period 
 they often sang together the admired productions 
 of Rossini, Auber, Balfe, and Moore. Before he left 
 the Castle, his engagement being then known, the 
 Prince drew a pencil portrait of himself, which he 
 presented to the Duchess of Kent. Both he and his 
 
112 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 brother were exceedingly fond of outdoor and field 
 sports of all kinds. 
 
 Of course Greville has something to say about the 
 royal engagement, and, as is frequently the case, his 
 remarks are not of the pleasantest character. Ac¬ 
 cording to his account, her Majesty treated the Prime 
 Minister rather slightingly. £ The Queen,’ he says, 
 1 settled everything about her marriage herself, and 
 without consulting Melbourne at all on the subject— 
 not even communicating to him her intentions. The 
 reports were already rife, while he was in ignorance ; 
 and at last he spoke to her : told her that he could not 
 be ignorant of the reports, nor could she; that he did 
 not presume to inquire what her intentions were ; but 
 that it was his duty to tell her that if she had any, it 
 was necessary her Ministers should be apprised of 
 them. She said she had nothing to tell him ; and 
 about a fortnight afterwards she informed him that 
 the whole thing was settled: a curious exhibition of 
 her independence, and explains the apprehensions 
 which Lady Cowper has recently expressed to me 
 of the serious consequences which her determined 
 character is likely to produce. If she has already 
 shaken off her dependence on Melbourne, and begins 
 to fly with her own wings, what will she not do when 
 she is older, and has to deal with Ministers whom she 
 does not care for, or whom she dislikes ? ’ 
 
 Now, this does not quite accurately represent what 
 really occurred. There was no soreness felt by Mel¬ 
 bourne, who was as kind as ever when the Queen, 
 feeling that the time had come when she could confide 
 in him, told him of her intentions. This she did on 
 the 14th of October, the day before the engagement 
 
BETEOTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 113 
 
 was made. She said she had made her choice, where¬ 
 upon Melbourne expressed his great satisfaction, and 
 added (as it is stated in the Queen’s Journal): ‘I 
 think it will be very well received, for I hear that 
 there is an anxiety now that it should be, and I 
 am very glad of it.’ Then he said, in a paternal 
 tone: ‘You will be much more comfortable, for a 
 woman cannot stand alone for any time in whatever 
 position she may be.’ 
 
 The King of the Belgians took a special interest in 
 the engagement. Before he was aware of its con¬ 
 clusion he had written to the Queen as follows con¬ 
 cerning his nephews : 4 1 am sure you will like them 
 the more the longer you see them. They are young 
 men of merit, and without that puppy-like affectation 
 which is so often found with young gentlemen of 
 rank; and though remarkably well-informed, they are 
 very free from pedantry. Albert is a very agreeable 
 companion. His manners are so quiet and harmonious 
 that one likes to have him near one’s self. I always 
 found him so when I had him with me, and I think 
 his travels have still further improved him. He is full 
 of talent and fun, and draws cleverly.’ Then comes a 
 very direct hint in the King’s letter: 4 I trust they will 
 enliven your sejour in the old castle, and may Albert 
 be able to strew roses without thorns in the pathway 
 of life of our good Victoria. He is well qualified 
 to do so.’ 
 
 A letter from the Queen to the King crossed this 
 one. 4 My dearest uncle,’ she wrote, 4 this letter will I 
 am sure give you pleasure, for you have always shown 
 and taken so warm an interest in all that concerns me. 
 My mind is quite made up, and I told Albert this 
 
H4 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTOBIA. 
 
 morning of it. The warm affection he showed me at 
 learning this gave me great pleasure. He seems per¬ 
 fection, and I think I have the prospect of very great 
 happiness before me. I love him more than I can say, 
 and shall do everything in my power to render this 
 sacrifice (for such in my opinion it is) as small as 
 I can. It is absolutely necessary that this determina¬ 
 tion of mine should be known to no one but yourself 
 and uncle Ernest, until after the meeting of Par¬ 
 liament, as it would be considered otherwise neglectful 
 on my part not to have assembled Parliament at once 
 to inform them of it.’ The writer added: c Lord 
 Melbourne has acted in this business as he has always 
 done towards me, with the greatest kindness and 
 affection. We also think it better—and Albert quite 
 approves of it—that we should be married very soon 
 after Parliament meets, about the beginning of 
 February.’ 
 
 King Leopold sent a very affectionate reply from 
 Wiesbaden: 4 My dearest Victoria, nothing could 
 
 have given me greater pleasure than your dear letter. 
 I had, when I learnt your decision, almost the feeling 
 of old Simeon— 44 Now lettest thou thy servant depart 
 in peace.” Your choice has been for these last years 
 my conviction of what might and would be best for 
 your happiness; and just because I was convinced of 
 it, and knew how strangely fate often changes what 
 one tries to bring about as being the best plan one 
 could fix upon—the maximum of a good arrangement 
 —I feared that it would not happen.’ 
 
 We have glimpses of the royal lovers in their cor¬ 
 respondence with each other and with their friends 
 and relatives. Thus, Prince Albert, writing to Baron 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 H5 
 
 Stockmar, remarks: c An individuality, a character 
 which shall win the respect, the love, and the con¬ 
 fidence of the Queen and of the nation, must be the 
 groundwork of my position. If, therefore, I prove a 
 “ noble ” Prince in the true sense of the word, as you 
 call upon me to be, wise and prudent conduct will 
 become easier to me, and its results more rich in 
 blessings/ But his new position brought anxieties 
 with it. ‘ With the exception of my relation to her 
 (the Queen),’ he wrote to his stepmother, c my future 
 position will have its dark sides, and the sky will not 
 always be blue and unclouded. But life has its thorns 
 in every position, and the consciousness of having 
 used one’s powers and endeavours for an object so 
 great as that of promoting the good of so many, will 
 surely be sufficient to support me.’ 
 
 The Princes Ernest and Albert remained for a 
 month at Windsor, and we hear of a beautiful emerald 
 serpent ring which the latter presented to his lady¬ 
 love. In the bracing November weather the engaged 
 couple were present at a review, in the Home Park, of 
 the battalion of the Eifle Brigade quartered at 
 Windsor. Her Majesty has thus described this 
 interesting scene: 1 At ten minutes to twelve I set 
 off in my Windsor uniform and cap, on my old 
 charger 11 Leopold,” with my beloved Albert, looking 
 so handsome in his uniform, on my right, and Sir 
 John Macdonald, the Adjutant-General, on my left, 
 Colonel Grey and Colonel Wemyss preceding me, a 
 guard of honour, my other gentlemen, my cousin’s 
 gentlemen, Lady Caroline Barrington, &c., for tho 
 ground. A horrid day: cold, dreadfully blowy, 
 and, in addition, raining hard when we had been out 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 116 
 
 a few minutes. It, however, ceased when we came to 
 the ground. I rode alone down the ranks, and then 
 took my place as usual, with dearest Albert on my 
 right, and Sir John Macdonald on my left, and saw 
 the troops march past. They afterwards manoeuvred. 
 The Rifles looked beautiful. It was piercingly cold, 
 and I had my cape on, which dearest Albert settled 
 comfortably for me. He was so cold, being en grande 
 tenue , with high boots. We cantered home again, and 
 went in to show ourselves to poor Ernest, who had 
 seen all from a window.’ 
 
 The Princes returned to the Continent on the 14th 
 of November. After so many happy weeks the Queen 
 felt her loneliness very much, and she spent a good 
 deal of her time in playing over the musical composi¬ 
 tions which she and her lover had enjoyed together. 
 She had also another reminder of him in the shape of 
 a beautiful miniature, which she wore in a bracelet on 
 her arm when she subsequently announced her 
 intended marriage to the Privy Council. Writing to 
 his aunt, the Duchess of Kent, the Prince observed: 
 1 What you say about my poor little bride sitting all 
 alone in her room, silent and sad, has touched me to 
 the heart. Oh, that I might fly to her side to cheer 
 her! ’ The Queen herself afterwards wrote : ‘ For the 
 “ poor little bride ” there was no lack of those sweet 
 words, touched with the grateful humility of a manly 
 love, to receive which was a precious foretaste to her 
 of the happiness of the years to come.’ The Prince 
 wrote to his bride: c That I am the object of so much 
 love and devotion often comes over me as something 
 I can hardly realize. My prevailing feeling is, what 
 am I that such happiness should be mine? For 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 ii 7 
 
 excess of happiness it is for me to know that I am so 
 dear to you.’ And again, alluding to his grandmother’s 
 regret at the impending separation from her: 1 Still 
 she hopes, what I am convinced will be the case, that 
 I may find in you, my dear Victoria, all the happiness 
 I could possibly desire. And so I shall , I can truly 
 tell her for her comfort.’ Yet once more, writing 
 from 1 dear old Coburg,’ he says: c How often are my 
 thoughts with you! The hours I was privileged to 
 pass with you in your dear little room are the radiant 
 points of my life, and I cannot even yet clearly 
 picture to myself that I am indeed to be so happy as 
 to be always near you, always your protector.’ Tell¬ 
 ing the Queen that in an hour he was to take the 
 sacrament in the church at Coburg, he added, with 
 mingled affection and solemnity : c God will not take it 
 amiss if in that serious act, even at the altar, I think 
 of you, for I will pray to Him for you and for 
 your soul’s health, and He will not refuse us His 
 blessing.’ 
 
 The Queen had more than one trying ordeal before 
 her. She left Windsor with the Duchess of Kent on 
 the 20th of November for Buckingham Palace, and 
 immediately summoned a Council for the 23rd. It 
 was held in the bow-room of the palace, on the ground 
 floor. Amongst those assembled was the venerable 
 Duke of Wellington, respecting whom and the 
 Sovereign an amusing anecdote had just been current. 
 It was gravely reported that in an interview with 
 her Majesty Lord Melbourne had represented to the 
 Sovereign the advisability of her marriage, and had 
 begged her to say whether there was any person for 
 whom she entertained a preference. Her Majesty 
 
ii8 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 deigned to acknowledge that there was one man for 
 whom she conld conceive a regard, and that was 
 Arthur, Duke of Wellington! If this anecdote were 
 as true as it is good, it bore testimony to the sly 
 humour of the Queen. 
 
 Her task before the Council was an embarrassing 
 one, but her courage, as she tells us, was inspired by 
 the sight of the Prince’s picture in her bracelet. 
 4 Precisely at two I went in,’ writes the Queen in her 
 Journal. ‘The room was full, but I hardly knew 
 who was there. Lord Melbourne I saw looking 
 kindly at me with tears in his eyes, but he was not 
 near me. I then read my short declaration. I felt 
 my hands shook, but I did not make one mistake. 
 I felt most happy and thankful when it was over. 
 Lord Lansdowne then rose, and in the name of the 
 Privy Council asked that this most gracious and most 
 welcome communication might be printed. I then 
 left the room, the whole thing not lasting above two 
 or three minutes. The Duke of Cambridge came into 
 the small library where I was standing, and wished 
 me joy.’ 
 
 The Queen’s declaration to her Council was as 
 follows: 1 1 have caused you to be summoned at the 
 present time in order that I may acquaint you with 
 my resolution in a matter which deeply concerns the 
 welfare of my people and the happiness of my future 
 life. It is my intention to ally myself in marriage 
 with the Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. 
 Deeply impressed with the solemnity of the engage¬ 
 ment which I am about to contract, I have not come 
 to this decision without mature consideration, nor 
 without feeling a strong assurance that, with the 
 
Her Majesty Queen Victoria. 
 
 After" a Portrait by Sir IV. C. Ross.. R.A> 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 119 
 
 blessing of Almighty God, it will at once secure my 
 domestic felicity and serve the interests of my country. 
 I have thought fit to make known this resolution to 
 you at the earliest period, in order that you may be 
 apprised of a matter so highly important to me and 
 to my kingdom, and which, I persuade myself, will be 
 most acceptable to all my loving subjects/ 
 
 In her new-found bliss as an affianced bride, and 
 while receiving and exchanging daily warm assurances 
 of mutual affection, the Queen did not forget her 
 subjects, and especially those who were the most 
 unfortunate of her own sex. Only on the day before 
 she opened Parliament she sent a donation ot ^50 to 
 the Manor Hall Eefuge for Destitute Females released 
 from prison, signifying at the same time, in a gracious 
 communication to Mrs. Fry—that noble friend of the 
 outcast and the degraded—her intention of always 
 supporting the above-mentioned benevolent and truly 
 serviceable institution. 
 
 Parliament was opened by the Queen in person on 
 the 16th of January 1840. It had been rumoured 
 that the recent death of her Majesty’s aunt, the Land¬ 
 gravine of Hesse Homburg, would prevent the Queen 
 from attending the House of Lords, but this proved 
 not to be the case. The Queen had consulted her 
 royal aunts, the Princess Augusta and the Duchess 
 of Gloucester, on the subject, and they both advised her 
 to pursue the course of performing her duty to the 
 Senate. 1 You are, my dear, the highest public 
 functionary,’ said the Princess Augusta, ‘ and must 
 not permit your private respect to your family to 
 interfere with the proper discharge of your duties to 
 your empire.’ In her course to the Houses of Parlia- 
 
120 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA, 
 
 ment the Queen was received witli fervent demonstra¬ 
 tions of loyalty, and the knowledge of the happy errand 
 she was upon lent additional interest to her progress 
 on this occasion. The marriage that was soon to be 
 solemnized touched the people deeply, for they knew 
 it was one of affection, and not one 4 arranged ’ merely 
 for purposes of State. 
 
 The first part of her Majesty’s speech, which was 
 delivered with some amount of trepidation, was as 
 follows: 4 Since you were last assembled I have 
 
 declared my intention of allying myself in marriage 
 with the Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. 
 I humbly implore that the Divine blessing may prosper 
 this union, and render it conducive to the interests of 
 my people, as well as to my own domestic happiness ; 
 and it will be to me a source of the most lively 
 satisfaction to find the resolution I have taken 
 approved by my Parliament. The constant proofs 
 which I have received of your attachment to my 
 person and family, persuade me that you will enable 
 me to provide for such an establishment as may 
 appear suitable to the rank of the Prince and the 
 dignity of the Crown.’ 
 
 A Bill for the naturalization of Prince Albert was 
 at once passed through both Houses, and the Queen 
 subsequently conferred upon her future husband the 
 title of 4 His Royal Highness,’ as well as the rank of 
 a Field Marshal in the British army. The question 
 of the Prince’s annuity created a good deal of dis¬ 
 cussion in the House of Commons on the 27th of 
 January. Lord John Russell proposed an annual sum 
 of A5 0,000, but this was opposed by Mr. Joseph 
 Hume on the ground of economy. He sought to 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 121 
 
 reduce the amount to A2i,000, and caused much 
 laughter by a remark to the effect that ‘ the noble 
 lord must know the danger of setting a young man 
 down in London with so much money in his pockets.’ 
 The amendment was negatived by 305 to 38 ; but 
 another amendment, proposed by Colonel Sibthorp, 
 reducing the sum to A3 0,000, was carried by 262 
 to 158. A curious rumour had got afloat that her 
 Majesty had incurred debts beyond the amount of her 
 allowance ; and Government was asked if such were 
 the fact, and also whether Parliament was to be 
 called upon to contribute towards the expenses of the 
 approaching royal nuptials. Lord John Russell 
 stated that both reports were entirely unfounded. 
 With regard to the pecuniary position of Prince 
 Albert, it may be stated, on a Coburg authority, that 
 when he attained his majority he was put in posses¬ 
 sion of the property bequeathed to him by his 
 mother, which produced a revenue of 28,000 florins 
 (about A2,4 00) per annum. When it was decided 
 that he should leave the country to marry Queen 
 Victoria, the Prince granted certain pensions to 
 persons attached to his household, and then trans¬ 
 ferred the estate to his elder brother. 
 
 The royal marriage was fixed for the 10th of 
 February, and on the afternoon of the 8th Prince 
 Albert arrived at Buckingham Palace, accompanied 
 by his father and elder brother. The Prince brought 
 as a wedding gift to his bride a beautiful sapphire 
 and diamond brooch ; and her Majesty in return pre¬ 
 sented the Prince with the Star and Badge of the 
 Garter, and the Garter itself, set in diamonds. The, 
 Queen had been exceedingly gratified by the high 
 
 E 
 
122 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEH VICTORIA. 
 
 tributes paid to the personal character of Prince 
 Albert by men of all parties. Sir Robert Peel, tbe 
 leader of tbe Opposition in tbe House of Commons, 
 bad especially spoken in generous terms, and felici¬ 
 tated tbe Sovereign and tbe country upon tbe forth¬ 
 coming auspicious union. 
 
 Tbe question of tbe precedence of Prince Albert, 
 however, caused a great deal of difficulty, and much 
 annoyance to tbe Queen. Greville has told tbe inner 
 and secret history of tbe struggle. Writing in bis 
 diary under tbe date of February 4th, be says: c On 
 Friday tbe Cabinet agreed to give up tbe precedence 
 over tbe Prince of Wales; but to a question of 
 Brougham’s, tbe Lord Chancellor said be bad no 
 other concession to offer. It was then agreed that 
 tbe discussion should be taken on Monday. On 
 Saturday, Clarendon spoke to Melbourne himself, and 
 urged him to consider seriously tbe inconvenience of 
 a battle on this point, and prevailed upon him to go 
 to the Duke of Wellington and talk it over with him. 
 He wrote to tbe Duke, who immediately agreed to 
 receive him. Then be went to Apsley House, and 
 they bad an hour’s conversation. Melbourne found him 
 with one of bis very stiffest crotchets in his bead, 
 determined only to give the Prince precedence after 
 the Royal Family, and all be could get from him was 
 that it would be unjust to do more. All argument 
 was unavailing, and he left him on Saturday evening 
 without having been able to make any impression on 
 him, or to move him by a representation of tbe 
 Queen’s feelings to make concessions to meet those 
 tbe Government were prepared to make; for tbe 
 Queen would have been content to accept precedence 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 123 
 
 for her life, and saving the rights of the Prince of 
 Wales. This, however, they would not consent to; 
 and so determined were they to carry their point, that 
 they made a grand whip up, and brought Lord 
 Clarendon all the way from Grimsthorpe to vote upon 
 it. Under these circumstances the Government re¬ 
 solved to withdraw the clause, and they did so, thus 
 leaving the Prince without any specific place assigned 
 by Parliament, and it remains with the Queen to do 
 what she can for him, or for courtesy, tacit con¬ 
 sent, and deference for her Consort, to give him the 
 precedence virtually which the House of Lords refuses 
 to bestow formally. 
 
 4 1 think the Duke of Wellington has acted 
 strangely in this matter, and the Conservatives 
 generally very unwisely. Volentibus non fit injuria , 
 and the Dukes of Sussex and Cambridge, who alone 
 were concerned, had consented to the Prince’s pre¬ 
 cedence. The King of Hanover, it seems, was never 
 applied to, because they knew he would have refused ; 
 and they did not deem his consent necessary. There 
 is no great sympathy for the lucky Coburgs in this 
 country, but there is still less for King Ernest, and 
 it will have all the effect of being a slight to the 
 Queen out of a desire to gratify him. There cer¬ 
 tainly was not room for much more dislike in her 
 mind of the Tories; but it was useless to give the 
 Prince so ungracious and uncordial a reception, and 
 to render him as inimical to them as she already is. 
 As an abstract question, I think his precedence un¬ 
 necessary ; but under all the circumstances it would 
 have been expedient and not unjust to grant it.’ 
 
 The precedence controversy became so warm that 
 
124 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Greville looked up the authorities and the ancient 
 practice on the subject. He came to the conclusion 
 that the Queen had power to grant the Prince pre¬ 
 cedence everywhere but in Parliament and in Council, 
 and on the whole he considered that her husband 
 ought to have precedence. He accordingly wrote a 
 pamphlet on the subject, which was very favourably 
 regarded by the Queen. In the end the Queen 
 settled the precedence problem, so far as England was 
 concerned, by declaring it to be her royal will and 
 pleasure, under her sign-manual, that her husband 
 should enjoy place, pre-eminence, and precedence next 
 to her Majesty. 
 
 Sunday, the 9th of February, Prince Albert spent 
 in paying visits to the various members of the Royal 
 Family, remaining for some time with the Queen 
 Dowager and the Princess Augusta. His frank and 
 manly bearing impressed all the Queen’s relatives in 
 his favour. So deeply did his religion enter into 
 everything, tinging all with seriousness, though not 
 with gloom, that only a very short time before the 
 wedding ceremony he wrote to the venerable Dowager 
 Duchess of Saxe-Coburg, who had enacted the part 
 of a second mother to him, as follows : i In less than 
 three hours I shall stand at the altar with my dear 
 bride. In these solemn moments I must once more 
 ask your blessing, which I am well assured I shall 
 receive, and which will be my safeguard and future 
 joy. I must end. God help me, or rather God be 
 my stay! ’ He could not, even in the prospect of so 
 much happiness with his wife,* lose sight of the fact 
 that as a stranger in the land he would have much to 
 live down, and would have as it were to make ^ 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 125 
 
 position for himself in the affections of the English 
 people. 
 
 An anecdote of a different but interesting kind is 
 told of the Queen and her approaching wedding. It 
 is said that the Archbishop of Canterbury waited 
 upon her Majesty, and inquired if it were her wish 
 that any alteration should be made in that portion of 
 the Service appointed in the Liturgy for the solemni¬ 
 zation of matrimony which included the promise of 
 ‘ obedience ’—a curious promise for the Sovereign of 
 Great Britain to make to her newly naturalized sub¬ 
 ject Prince Albert, who had just taken the oath to 
 her as his liege lady. The Queen, according to the 
 report, replied that ‘ it was her wish to be married in 
 all respects like any other woman, according to the 
 revered usages of the Church of England, and that, 
 though not as a queen , as a woman she was ready to 
 promise all things contained in that portion of the 
 Liturgy.’ 
 
 Many were the ejaculations of c God bless her ! ’ 
 which went up from the citizens of London on the 
 morning of the 10th of February as they thought of 
 the royal bride. The wedding ceremony was one of 
 unusual interest, for more than a century had elapsed 
 since the nuptials of a reigning Queen of England 
 had been celebrated, besides which the youth and 
 grace of Victoria had touched all loyal hearts. At 
 an early hour a dense throng of persons assembled in 
 front of Buckingham Palace, from whence the pro¬ 
 cession was to set out for St. James’s, where the 
 marriage was to be solemnized. At a quarter before 
 twelve the bridegroom’s procession issued forth, con¬ 
 sisting of Prince Albert, his father, the Duke of 
 
126 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 
 Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, his brother Prince Ernest, and 
 their suites. At ten minutes past twelve the signal 
 was given for the departure of the Queen. Accom¬ 
 panied by the Duchess of Kent, and attended by the 
 Duchess of Sutherland, her Majesty seated herself in 
 her full-dress carriage. For the benefit of lady 
 readers I may state that the Queen wore on hei 
 head a wreath of orange blossoms and a veil of 
 Honiton lace, with a necklace and earrings of dia¬ 
 monds. Her dress was of white satin, with a very 
 deep trimming of Honiton lace, in design similar to 
 that of the veil. The body and sleeves were richly 
 trimmed with the same material, to correspond. 
 The train, which was of white satin, was trimmed 
 with orange blossoms. The cost of the lace alone on 
 the Queen’s dress was Ai,ooo. The satin was 
 manufactured in Spitalfields, and the lace at a village 
 near Honiton. More than two hundred persons were 
 employed upon the latter for a period of eight months, 
 and as the lace trade of Honiton had seriously declined, 
 all these persons would have been destitute during 
 the winter had it not been for the Queen’s express 
 order that the lace should be manufactured by them. 
 
 As her Majesty entered her carriage she was ex¬ 
 tremely pale and agitated, but the cheers of the 
 people quickened her spirits, and brought the blush 
 to her cheeks and the smiles to her eyes. She 
 bowed repeatedly in response to the joyous acclama- 
 mations which greeted her on every side as the 
 carriage moved off. All the way to St. Jamesk 
 Palace nothing was to be heard but enthusiastic* 
 cheering, and nothing to be seen but the waving of 
 brides’ favours and snow-white handkerchiefs. 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 127 
 
 At St. James’s, the colonnade through which the 
 procession passed to the chapel was excellently 
 arranged and fitted up, rows of spectators being 
 accommodated on each side. A host of celebrities, 
 and of young and fashionable women, assembled here 
 as early as ten o’clock. Smiles were exchanged as the 
 band marched into the court, playing the appropriate 
 air, 4 Haste to the wedding.’ Many of the grand func¬ 
 tionaries of State, and favoured persons invited to view 
 the nuptial ceremony, passed through the colonnade 
 to the Chapel Royal. The first arrival of interest was 
 the Duke of Sutherland, escorting his two beautiful 
 daughters, the Ladies Elizabeth and Evelyn Leveson 
 Gower, to their seats in the chapel. They were said 
 to be the prettiest girls there, and were elegantly 
 dressed in trains of the palest pink, trimmed all 
 round with blush roses. The Bishop of London and 
 the Archbishop of Canterbury next gravely passed 
 by, followed by the Duke of Somerset and his hand¬ 
 some Duchess. Then came the Duke of Devonshire, 
 the Earl of Carlisle and one of his many beautiful 
 daughters; the Duke of Wellington in his uniform as 
 a Field Marshal, and with his truncheon; and the 
 Marquis of Anglesey in his splendid uniform as 
 colonel of the 7th Hussars, covered with Orders, and 
 wearing conspicuous bridal favours. The hero of 
 Waterloo, who looked infirm, and did not move with 
 his usual alacrity, was the only individual the specta¬ 
 tors stood up to honour and to cheer. He bowed 
 with great dignity in return, but appeared to be sink¬ 
 ing under the weight of his years and his honours. 
 The Baroness Lehzen, the Queen’s governess and 
 friend, attracted considerable attention. She was a 
 
128 
 
 Me life of queeh yictobia. 
 
 lady with dark eyes and hair, and a complexion white 
 as marble, which appeared all the whiter by contrast 
 with her black velvet Spanish hat, which was sur¬ 
 mounted by a white plume. Her countenance exhi¬ 
 bited great energy and talent. 
 
 At twenty minutes past twelve a flourish of trumpets 
 and drums gave notice of the approach of the royal 
 bridegroom, and shortly afterwards the band played 
 the triumphant strains of ‘ See the conquering hero 
 comes! ’ The Prince wore a Field Marshal’s uniform, 
 with the star and ribbon of the Garter, and the bridal 
 favours on his shoulders heightened his picturesque 
 appearance. One who stood near him thus made notes 
 of his person: ‘ Prince Albert is most prepossessing. 
 His features are regular; his hair pale auburn, of 
 silken glossy quality; eyebrows well defined and 
 thickly set; eyes blue and lively; nose well pro¬ 
 portioned, handsome mouth, teeth perfectly beautiful, 
 small mustachios, and downy complexion. He greatly 
 resembles the Queen, save that he is of a lighter com¬ 
 plexion ; still, he looks as though neither care nor 
 sorrow had ever ruffled or cast a cloud over his placid 
 and reflective brow. There is an unmistakable air of 
 refinement and rectitude about him, and every year 
 will add intellectual and manly beauty to his very in¬ 
 teresting face and form.’ 
 
 Contemporary accounts state that as the Prince 
 moved along he was greeted with loud clapping of 
 hands from the men, and eathusiastic waving of 
 handkerchiefs from the assembled ladies. In his hand 
 he carried a Bible bound in green velvet. Over his 
 shoulders was hung the collar of the Garter sur¬ 
 mounted by two white rosettes. On his left knee was 
 
His Royal Highness Prince Albert. 
 
 After a by /. Louise De Meyern Tl^enberg. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 129 
 
 the garter itself, which was of the most costly work¬ 
 manship, and literally covered with diamonds. He had. 
 suffered much from sea-sickness in coming over from 
 Germany, but the effects of this had passed away ; 
 and his graceful and engaging manners, and pensive 
 looks, won golden opinions from the fair spectators. 
 The Prince’s father and brother also received a cordial 
 welcome, with which they were apparently much 
 pleased. When the bridegroom’s procession reached 
 the chapel, the drums and trumpets filed off without 
 the door, and the procession advancing, his Eoyal 
 Highness was conducted to the seat provided for him 
 on the left hand of the altar. Here he was engaged 
 for some time in conversation with the Queen 
 Dowager. 
 
 At half-past twelve the drums and trumpets sounded 
 the National Anthem as a prelude to the arrival of the 
 bride. Every person rose as the doors were again 
 opened, and the royal procession came in with solemn 
 steps and slow. The coup d'ocil was now magnificent, 
 as floods of sunshine streamed through the windows 
 upon the many gorgeous costumes in which the royal 
 and distinguished persons who appeared in the pro¬ 
 cession were attired. The Primnesses attracted much 
 attention. First came the Princess Sophia Matilda of 
 Gloucester, still very beautiful, and dressed in lily- 
 white satin ; then the Princess Augusta of Cambridge, 
 in pale blue, with blush roses round her train; next 
 the Duchess of Cambridge, in white velvet, leading by 
 the hand the lovely little Princess Mary, who was 
 dressed in white satin and swansdown, the mother all 
 animation and smiles at the applause which greeted 
 her child; and lastly the Duchess of Kent, regal in 
 
13 ° 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 stature and dignity, and dressed in white and silver, 
 with blue velvet train. The Duke of Cambridge and 
 the Duke of Sussex succeeded, the latter 1 looking 
 blithe and full of merry conceits. 5 One account says 
 that the Duchess of Kent appeared somewhat dis¬ 
 consolate and distressed, and that there were traces of 
 tears upon her countenance. 
 
 Immediately after Lord Melbourne, who carried the 
 sword of State, came the Queen herself, the central 
 figure, and one of universal interest. She wore a 
 chaplet of orange-blossoms on her head, and her bridal 
 veil was fastened to the back of her head with a small 
 brilliant pin. She had round her neck the collar 
 of the Garter, but wore no other ornaments or jewels. 
 She looked anxious and excited, and with difficulty 
 restrained her agitated feelings. Her Majesty’s train 
 was borne by twelve unmarried ladies, the daughters 
 of well-known peers. These noble demoiselles were 
 the Ladies Adelaide Paget, Sarah Frederica Caroline 
 Villiers, Frances Elizabeth Cowper, Elizabeth West, 
 Mary Augusta Frederica Grimston, Eleanora Caroline 
 Paget, Caroline Amelia Gordon Lennox, Elizabeth 
 Anne Georgiana Dorothea Howard, Ida Hay, Catherine 
 Lucy Wilhelmina Stanhope, Jane Harriet Bouverie, 
 and Mary Charlotte Howard. The bridesmaids, like 
 their royal mistress, were attired in white. Their 
 dresses were composed of delicate net, trimmed with 
 festoons of white roses over slips of rich gros de 
 Naples, with garlands of white roses over the head. 
 The Duchess of Sutherland walked next to the Queen, 
 and the ladies of the bedchamber and the maids of 
 honour closed the bride’s procession. 
 
 The Chapel Boyal was specially prepared and 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 131 
 
 decorated for the ceremony. The altar and hautpas had 
 a splendid appearance, the whole being lined with 
 crimson velvet. The wall above the communion¬ 
 table was hung with rich festoons of crimson velvet 
 edged with gold lace. The Gothic pillars supporting 
 the galleries were gilt, as were the mouldings of the 
 oaken panels, and the Gothic railing round the com¬ 
 munion-table. The communion-table itself was covered 
 with a rich profusion of gold plate. On one side 
 was a stool for the Archbishop of Canterbury, and 
 on the other one for the Bishop of London. On 
 the left-hand side of the altar, and on the haut pas, 
 were four stools, with footstools to match, for the 
 Dukes of Sussex and Cambridge, the Princess Augusta 
 and the Duchess of Gloucester; while on the opposite 
 side were six stools of a like description for the 
 Duchess of Cambridge, the two Princesses of Cam¬ 
 bridge, Prince George of Cambridge, Prince Ernest 
 and the reigning Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the 
 brother and father of the bridegroom. To the left side 
 of the altar, and in front of the four stools, first 
 described, were two State chairs—that next the railing 
 of the altar for her Majesty, and that nearer to the 
 aisle for the Duchess of Kent. On the opposite side 
 were also two State chairs—that next the railing for 
 Prince Albert, and that nearer the aisle for the 
 Dowager Queen Adelaide. Close to the railing of the 
 altar were two fald-stools for her Majesty and Prince 
 Albert, to be used during the ceremony. The entire 
 floor was covered with a blue-and-gold pattern carpet, 
 with the Norman rose. The whole of the remaining 
 part of the interior was decorated; and the ceiling, 
 which is adorned with the arms of Great Britain in 
 
132 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEER VICTORIA. 
 
 various coloured devices and compartments, presented 
 a very tasteful appearance, Raving been completely 
 renewed. 
 
 The royal and illustrious personages having all 
 taken their places in the chapel, after the lapse of a 
 few minutes her Majesty rose, and with the Prince 
 advanced to the steps of the altar. The Archbishop 
 of Canterbury then began the service with impressive 
 solemnity, the Bishop of London making the responses. 
 All eyes were now fixed upon the Queen. Prepara¬ 
 tory to the commencement of the holy rite, her 
 Majesty bowed her head upon her hand, and remained 
 for some moments in silent prayer. When she had 
 concluded her devotions, the Archbishop began the 
 exhortation in the usual words. The entire service 
 was precisely that of the Church liturgy, the simple 
 names of ‘Albert 5 and ‘Victoria 5 being used. To 
 the usual questions Prince Albert answered firmly ‘ I 
 will. 5 
 
 The corresponding inquiries were then addressed to 
 her Majesty, ‘Victoria, wilt thou have Albert to thy 
 wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance 
 in the holy estate of matrimony ? Wilt thou obey 
 him and serve him, love, honour, and keep him, in 
 sickness and in health, and, forsaking all other, 
 keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall 
 live ? 5 
 
 The Queen—in accents which, though full of soft¬ 
 ness and music, were audible at the most extreme 
 corner of the chapel—replied, ‘ I will; 5 and in so 
 responding, she ‘ accompanied the expression with a 
 glance at his Royal Highness, which convinced all 
 who beheld it that the heart was with her words. 5 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 133 
 
 When the Archbishop inquired, 1 Who giveth this 
 woman to be married to this man ? ’ the Duke of 
 Sussex advanced, and holding the Queen’s hand, said, 
 ‘ I do.’ The Archbishop then took her Majesty’s 
 hand, and placed it in that of Prince Albert, where¬ 
 upon the usual forms of trothing faith were gone 
 through. Both bride and bridegroom spoke in 
 a tone of voice and with a clearness of enunciation 
 which are seldom witnessed on similar occasions in 
 the humbler walks of life. One who was present at 
 the ceremony has observed that her Majesty’s expres¬ 
 sion of the words £ love, cherish, and obey,’ and the 
 confiding look with which they were accompanied, 
 were inimitably chaste and beautiful. 
 
 Prince Albert then took the wedding-ring, which 
 was quite plain, off his own finger, and gave it to the 
 Archbishop. His Grace handed it back to the Prince, 
 who then placed it, as directed, on his wife’s finger. 
 At this moment the Earl of Uxbridge gave the 
 signal, and the cannon fired the royal salute, which 
 was answered by the Tower artillery firing alternately 
 with the Park guns, while all the bells in London and 
 Westminster rang out a joyous peal of congratulation. 
 Every citizen in the metropolis knew at the same 
 moment that his beloved Sovereign had become a 
 wedded wife. 
 
 Returning to the scene in the chapel; the remain¬ 
 ing portions of the ceremony were impressively read 
 by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Upon the con¬ 
 clusion of the service, the Queen shook hands cordially 
 with the various members of the Boyal Family, who 
 now took up their positions in the procession as 
 arranged for the return. The Duke of Sussex, after 
 
134 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 shaking the royal bride by the band with great 
 warmth, affectionately kissed her cheek. Her Majesty 
 then crossed over to the other side of the altar, where 
 the Queen Dowager was standing, and the two illus¬ 
 trious ladies embraced with evident and unaffected 
 cordiality. Prince Albert next kissed the hand of 
 Queen Adelaide, and acknowledged her congratula¬ 
 tions. 
 
 The procession, being formed, left the chapel much 
 in the same order as it had entered. But her Majesty 
 and her newly wedded consort now walked together 
 hand-in-hand, ungloved—Prince Albert with spark¬ 
 ling eyes and a heightened colour smiling down upon 
 the Queen, and she appearing very bright and 
 animated. 
 
 When the Queen and her husband passed through 
 the corridor, after leaving the chapel, the clapping of 
 hands and waving of handkerchiefs were renewed 
 again and again, until they had vanished out of sight. 
 Whether by accident or design, Prince Albert en¬ 
 closed her Majesty’s hand in his own in such a 
 way as to display the wedding-ring, which appeared 
 more solid than is usual in ordinary weddings. The 
 various royal ladies in the procession were warmly 
 cheered, but an ovation more prolonged and enthu¬ 
 siastic than any other given during the whole day, 
 was reserved for the Duke of Wellington as he left 
 the chapel. The Duke was not part of the royal pro¬ 
 cession, and it had passed to some distance before he 
 made his appearance. But no sooner had the veteran 
 saviour of his country arrived in the centre of the 
 colonnade, than the whole company rose spontaneously, 
 and, without signal of any kind, gave him three 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 135 
 
 hearty cheers. The Duke was visibly touched by this 
 greeting. 
 
 The procession passed on to the State apartments, 
 but the Queen and Prince Albert, with their royal rela¬ 
 tives and the principal Ministers of State and members 
 of the Privy Council proceeded to the throne-room, 
 where they were joined by the Archbishops of Canter¬ 
 bury and York, and the Bishop of London. The 
 attestation of the marriage now took place upon a 
 splendid table prepared for the purpose. Her Majesty 
 and Prince Albert signed the marriage register, and 
 it may here be mentioned that the name of the Queen 
 is Alexandrina Victoria Guelph, while that of the 
 Prince Consort was Francis Albert Augustus Charles 
 Emanuel Busici. The marriage was attested by the 
 Duke of Sussex and twenty-nine other persons. The 
 attestation book, which is bound in rich purple velvet, 
 is a speaking memento of royal nuptial ceremonies for 
 many generations past. It is in the custody of the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury. Amongst the witnesses 
 who signed at the Queen’s marriage was the Duke of 
 Wellington, and it is an interesting fact that his 
 signature also appeared at the attestation of her 
 birth. 
 
 When all was concluded within St. James’s, the 
 procession to Buckingham Palace was reformed in 
 almost the same order as when it set out in the 
 morning. Prince Albert now took his place in the 
 same carriage with her Majesty, while the Duchess of 
 Sutherland took her place in another carriage with 
 the Earl of Albemarle, who on this occasion alone 
 waived his official right to be in the same carriage 
 with her Majesty. In the royal carriage the Queen 
 
136 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA, 
 
 occupied tlie place of honour, and Prince Albert and 
 the Duchess of Kent sat opposite. Her Majesty’s 
 faithful subjects were so desirous of seeing her, and 
 were so eager in their demonstrations of loyalty, that 
 she put down the closed windows of the carriage, and 
 bowed, with much sweetness upon her smiling features, 
 on the right hand and on the left. 
 
 The wedding-breakfast was given at Buckingham 
 Palace, the guests including the various members of 
 the Koyal Family, the officers of the household, the 
 Ministers of State, and the Archbishop of Canterbury 
 and the Bishop of London. The wedding-cake, which 
 was admirably designed, was a great object of attrac¬ 
 tion. It was more than nine feet in circumference 
 by sixteen inches deep. Its weight was three hundred 
 pounds, and the materials of which it was composed 
 cost one hundred guineas. On the top of the cake 
 was the figure of Britannia in the act of blessing the 
 illustrious bride and bridegroom. The figures were 
 nearly a foot in height, and by the feet of the Prince 
 was the effigy of a dog, intended to represent fidelity, 
 while at the feet of the Queen were two turtle-doves, 
 denoting the felicities of the marriage state. A Cupid, 
 beautifully modelled, was writing in a volume ex¬ 
 panded on his knees the date of the day of the 
 marriage, and various other Cupids were disporting 
 themselves after the manner of Cupids. There were 
 numerous bouquets of white flowers, tied with true- 
 lovers’ knots of white satin riband, on the top of the 
 cake ; and these were intended for presents to the 
 guests at the nuptial breakfast. There were large me¬ 
 dallions upon shields bearing the letters c V.’ and c A.,’ 
 and supported by Cupids on pedestals, while all round 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 37 
 
 and over the cake were wreaths and festoons of orange- 
 blossom and myrtle, entwined with roses. 
 
 Another matter of interest to the fair sex is that 
 each of the royal bridesmaids received a magnificent 
 brooch, the gift of her Majesty. This brooch was in 
 the shape of a bird, the body being formed entirely of 
 turquoises; the eyes were rubies and the beak a dia¬ 
 mond ; the claws were of pure gold, and rested on 
 pearls of great size and value. The whole workman¬ 
 ship was very exquisite, and the design was furnished 
 by the Queen. 
 
 Shortly before four o’clock the royal party left 
 Buckingham Palace for Windsor amid the acclama¬ 
 tions of a vast multitude. The first carriage contained 
 the Queen and Prince Albert, the second Prince Ernest 
 of Saxe-Coburg, and three others the members of the 
 royal suite. Just as the procession left the palace the 
 sun shone forth brilliantly upon the newly married 
 pair, an emblem, it was universally hoped, of their 
 future happiness. Prince Albert was very simply 
 attired in a plain dark travelling dress, and the 
 Queen appeared in a white satin pelisse, trimmed 
 with swansdown, with a white satin bonnet and 
 feather. 
 
 On the road to Windsor the principal houses in the 
 villages were illuminated, and crowds came forth to 
 testify their loyal delight on the happy occasion. 
 Eton College presented one of the finest spectacles on 
 the route. Opposite to the college was a representa¬ 
 tion of the Parthenon at Athens, which was brilliantly 
 illuminated by several thousand variegated lamps; it 
 was surmounted by flags and banners, and under the 
 royal arpas was displayed the following motto : £ Gratu- 
 
138 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 latus Etona Victorias et Alberto * Beneath the clock- 
 tower of the college there was a blaze of light, and a 
 number of appropriate devices were displayed in various 
 coloured lamps. A triumphal arch, composed of ever¬ 
 greens and lamps tastefully displayed, extended across 
 the road. The Etonians, wearing white favours, were 
 marshalled in front of the College. They received the 
 Queen with loud acclamations, and escorted her to the 
 Castle gates. 
 
 By the time Windsor was reached the shades of 
 evening had gathered. The whole town could be 
 perceived therefore brilliantly illuminated before the 
 royal carriage entered it. A splendid effect was 
 created by the dazzling lights as they played upon 
 the faces of the multitude. The crowd on the Castle- 
 hill was so dense at half-past six that it was with the 
 utmost difficulty a line was kept clear for the royal 
 carriages. The whole street was one living mass, 
 whilst the walls of the houses glowed with crowns, 
 stars, and all the brilliant devices which gas and oil 
 could supply. At this moment a flight of rockets was 
 visible in the air, and it was immediately concluded 
 that the Queen had entered Eton. The bells now 
 rang merrily, and the shouts of the spectators were 
 heard as the royal cortege approached the Castle. At 
 twenty minutes before seven the royal carriage arrived 
 in the High Street, Windsor, preceded by the 
 advanced guard of the travelling escort. The shouts 
 were now most loud and continuous, and from the 
 windows and balconies of the houses handkerchiefs 
 were waved by the ladies, whilst the gentlemen 
 huzzaed and waved their hats. The carriage, owing 
 to the crowd, proceeded slowly, the Queen and her 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 139 
 
 royal consort bowing to the people. Her Majesty 
 looked remarkably well, and Prince Albert seemed in 
 the highest spirits at the cordiality with which he 
 was greeted. When the carriage drew up at the 
 grand entrance the Queen was handed from it by the 
 Prince ; she immediately took his arm and entered 
 the Castle. To the royal dinner party which followed 
 only Lady Sandwich, the lady-in-waiting, the maids 
 of honour, the Hon. Misses Cocks and Cavendish, Lord 
 Torrington, Major Keppel, and Mr. Seymour, the 
 groom and equerry in waiting, had the honour of 
 being invited. 
 
 A splendid State banquet in celebration of the 
 royal wedding was given at St. James’s Palace in the 
 grand banqueting-room. The Duchess of Kent, who 
 was the only royal personage present, did the honours 
 of the occasion, being supported on her right by the 
 Earl of Erroll, and on her left by the Earl of Albe¬ 
 marle. Upwards of a hundred distinguished persons 
 received invitations, and all attended in court dresses, 
 the members of the orders of knighthood wearing 
 their respective insignia. The Queen Dowager gave 
 a banquet at Marlborough House, at which several 
 members of the Royal Family were present; and 
 dinners were given by Viscount Melbourne, Lord John 
 Russell, Lord Palmerston, and other members of the 
 Cabinet. The theatres were thrown open free, and at 
 every house the National Anthem was sung with 
 rapturous enthusiasm. The gaieties in London and 
 several of the provincial towns were kept up for some 
 days. 
 
 The Dowager Lady Lyttelton, who was an eye¬ 
 witness of the marriage, and who was thrown much 
 
140 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 into the company of the Sovereign as a lady of the 
 bedchamber, and subsequently as governess to the 
 royal children, wrote at a later date respecting the 
 wedding: £ The Queen’s look and manner were very 
 pleasing, her eyes much swollen with tears, but great 
 happiness in her countenance, and her look of 
 confidence and comfort at the Prince when they 
 walked away as man and wife was very pleasing to 
 see. I understand she is in extremely high spirits 
 since; such a new thing to her to dare to be un¬ 
 guarded in conversation with anybody, and, with her 
 frank and fearless nature, the restraints she had 
 hitherto been under from one reason or another with 
 everybody must have been most painful.’ 
 
 For one day only, the 11 th of February, were the 
 Queen and Prince alone together at Windsor, and on 
 that day her Majesty wrote to Baron Stockmar, 
 ‘ There cannot exist a dearer, purer, nobler being in 
 the world than the Prince.’ On the 12th the Duchess 
 of Kent, the Duke of Coburg, the hereditary Prince, 
 and the whole Court joined the happy couple, who 
 would doubtless have been glad if the exigencies of 
 State could have been relaxed a little more. After 
 two more brief days the Court returned to London, 
 for royalty was not able to indulge in a honeymoon as 
 ordinary folk. On the I 8th the Queen held a Court 
 at Buckingham Palace for the reception of congratu¬ 
 latory addresses from the Houses of Parliament. 
 Subsequently she received addresses from the London 
 clergy, the Corporation of London, the University of 
 Cambridge, the Society of Friends, and the General 
 Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The Duke of 
 Wellington also headed a deputation from Oxford, 
 
BETROTHAL AND MARRIAGE. 141 
 
 and read a complimentary address to her Majesty; 
 and several Hundred students of the University were 
 present in academic costume. On the 26th of 
 February the Queen and Prince Albert visited Drury 
 Lane Theatre in State, receiving a most enthusiastic 
 welcome, and we read afterwards of visits to the 
 hunting-field, to the Royal Academy, and other 
 sources of outdoor and intellectual enjoyment. Further 
 honours were conferred upon the Prince. He was 
 made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the 
 Bath, and appointed Colonel of the 1 ith Regiment of 
 Light Dragoons, which was now armed, clothed, and 
 equipped as Hussars, and called 1 Prince Albert’s Own 
 Hussars.’ 
 
 The Duke of Coburg left England on the 28th of 
 February on his ret mm to Germany. Piince Albert’s 
 sorrow at parting with his father was very great, for 
 it now meant permanent separation. The Queen, 
 writing in her Journal , remarks concerning Prince 
 Albert’s feelings at this time: e He said to me that I 
 had never known a father, and could not therefore feel 
 what he did. His childhood had been very happy— 
 Ernest, he said, was now the only one remaining here 
 of all his earliest ties and recollections ; but if I 
 continued to love him as I did now, I could make up 
 
 for all.Oh ! how I did feel for my dearest, 
 
 precious husband at this moment! Father, brother, 
 friends, country, all has he left, and all for me. God 
 grant that I may be the happy person, the most happy 
 person to make this dearest, blessed being happy and 
 contented. What is in my power to make him happy 
 I will do.’ Another severe trial for the Prince 
 occurred some weeks later, when he said adieu to his 
 
142 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTOKIA. 
 
 brother Ernest. c They bade farewell, German student 
 fashion, singing together the parting song, Abschied? 
 The brothers embraced each other affectionately, 1 poor 
 Albert being pale as a sheet, and his eyes full of 
 tears.’ 
 
 The Queen was absolutely obliged for her own 
 comfort, as well as to establish the rights of her 
 husband, to issue letters patent conferring on him pre¬ 
 cedence next to herself. All kinds of objections and 
 disputes would have arisen but for this step, and some 
 indeed did so before the issue of the patent. As to 
 the general conduct of the Prince, it was most wise 
 and unexceptionable. He sank himself in order to 
 smooth the course of the Queen, but was always ready 
 with his counsel and advice. As the Prince himself 
 subsequently expressed it, he resolved 1 to sink his own 
 individual existence in that of his wife, to aim at no 
 power, by himself or for himself, to shun all ostenta¬ 
 tion, to assume no separate responsibility before the 
 public; continually and anxiously to watch every part 
 of the public business in order to be able to advise 
 and assist her at any moment, in any of the multi¬ 
 farious and difficult questions brought before her— 
 sometimes political or social, or personal—as the 
 natural head of the family, superintendent of her 
 household, manager of her private affairs, her sole 
 confidential adviser in politics and only assistant in 
 her communications with the affairs of the Govern¬ 
 ment.’ Again, writing to his father he said, ‘I 
 endeavour quietly to be of as much use to Victoria in 
 her position as I can.’ 
 
 How well and judiciously on the whole the Prince 
 fulfilled his functions as the Queen’s adviser, history 
 
BETBOTHAL AND MABBIAGE. 
 
 143 
 
 has already borne testimony. If he sometimes made 
 mistakes, he certainly made fewer than might have 
 been expected from one in his difficult position. But 
 his unquestioned integrity, his sincerity, honesty, and 
 high principle, stood him in good stead ; and they 
 were a sheet-anchor upon which the Queen could 
 always rely. Neither her Majesty nor her husband 
 expected to find life easy in their exalted station; but 
 as both were in deep sympathy with each other, and 
 as love, trustful and unfeigned, was the moving spring 
 of both, difficulties were overcome instead of becoming 
 themselves insurmountable. If ever it could be said 
 of any marriage—and I rejoice that it can be so said 
 in thousands of cases—the Queen’s was a marriage of 
 profound happiness and mutual trust, for it was a real 
 union of souls. 
 
( 144 ) 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 WEEDED HAPPINESS. 
 
 Auspiciously as the Queen’s married life began, it 
 necessarily caused some friction in quarters which 
 were ruled by old Court principles. It was difficult 
 for the officials of the palaces to settle down under 
 the new conditions. All was altered, and Prince 
 Albert found that even in his own home it was 
 necessary to be stern sometimes and to exercise his 
 authority. Writing to his old comrade, Prince 
 Lowenstein, he said he was very happy and contented, 
 but that he had difficulty in filling his place with 
 proper dignity, as he was only the husband and not 
 the master of the house. When the Queen was 
 appealed to on the subject she stated that she had 
 pledged herself to obey as well as to love and honour 
 her husband, and that £ this sacred obligation she 
 could consent neither to limit nor define.’ 
 
 Dickens has covered with everlasting contempt the 
 system of red-tapeism, but the red-tapeism of the 
 public offices never approached in sheer ridiculousness 
 to that which presided over the domestic arrange- 
 raents of the royal palaces. Some ludicrous ex¬ 
 amples of the working of the system are furnished 
 in Sir Theodore Martin’s ‘ Life of the Prince Consort,’ 
 and in Baron Stockmar’s c Memoirs.’ For instance, 
 the three great officers of State, the Lord Steward, 
 
WEDDED HAPPINESS. 
 
 *45 
 
 the Lord Chamberlain, and the Master of the Horse, 
 who were changed with the removal of the Ministry 
 for the time being, had each a governing voice in the 
 regulation of the household. 1 Thus one section of 
 the palace was supposed to be under the Lord Cham¬ 
 berlain’s charge, another under that of the Lord 
 Steward, while as to a third it was uncertain whose 
 business it was to look after it. The above high officials 
 were responsible for the interior of the building, but 
 the outside had to be taken care of by the department 
 of the Woods and Forests. The consequence was, that 
 as the inside cleaning of the windows belonged to the 
 Lord Chamberlain’s department, the degree of light 
 to be admitted into the palace depended proportion- 
 ably on the well-timed and good understanding 
 between the Lord Chamberlain’s office and that of the 
 Woods and Forests. One portion of the personnel of 
 the establishment again was under the authority of 
 the Lord Chamberlain, another under that of the 
 Master of the Horse, and a third under the jurisdic¬ 
 tion of the Lord Steward.’ Baron Stockmar writes 
 that 1 the Lord Steward finds the fuel and lays the 
 fire, and the Lord Chamberlain lights it. In the 
 same manner, the Lord Chamberlain provides all the 
 lamps, and the Lord Steward must clean, trim, and 
 light them. Before a pane of glass or a cupboard 
 door could be mended, the sanction of so many 
 officials had to be obtained, that often months elapsed 
 before the repairs were made.’ 
 
 The absurd rules prevailing operated curiously and 
 inconveniently in other ways. 4 As neither the Lord 
 Chamberlain nor the Master of the Florse has a 
 regular deputy residing in the palace, more than two- 
 
146 
 
 THE LIFE OP QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 thirds of all the male and female servants are left 
 without a master in the house. They oan come on 
 and go off duty as they choose; they can remain 
 absent for hours and hours on their days of waiting, or 
 they may commit any excess or irregularity; there is 
 nobody to observe, to correct, or to reprimand them. 
 The various details of internal arrangement whereon 
 depend the well-being and comfort of the whole 
 establishment, no one is cognizant of or responsible 
 for. There is no officer responsible for the cleanli¬ 
 ness, order, and security of the rooms and offices 
 throughout the palace.’ This anomalous state of things 
 was ultimately altered owing to the exertions of the 
 Prince, but not until several years had elapsed and the 
 needed reforms had been strongly insisted upon. 
 
 The Queen and Prince Albert spent their first 
 Easter together at Windsor, and here also they took 
 the Sacrament in common for the first time. Refer¬ 
 ence has already been made to the Prince’s religious 
 convictions, and the Queen has remarked concerning 
 the taking of the Sacrament: c The Prince had a 
 very strong feeling about the solemnity of the act, 
 and did not like to appear in company either the 
 evening before or on the day on which he took it, 
 and he and the Queen almost always dined alone on 
 these occasions.’ Describing one of these evenings 
 in the Early Years of the Prince Consort , her Majesty 
 says: ‘We two dined together. Albert likes being 
 quite alone before he takes the Sacrament. We played 
 part of Mozart’s Requiem, and then he read to me 
 out of Stunden den Andacht (Hours of Devotion) the 
 article on Selbster Kentniss (Self-Knowledge).’ In how 
 many Courts have evenings been spent after this fashion? 
 
WEDDED HAPPINESS. 
 
 147 
 
 Towards the end of April there was a wedding in 
 Paris which had a special interest for the Queen and 
 Prince Albert. The Due de Nemours led to the altar 
 Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg, only daughter of the 
 head of the Catholic branch of the family, sister of 
 the King Consort of Portugal, and first cousin both 
 to the Queen and Prince Albert. The Princess had 
 spent much of her youth at Coburg, and had been 
 the playmate of the Prince. She had also been 
 the friend of the Queen from girlhood. Her 
 Majesty wrote of their friendship : 4 We were like 
 sisters : bore the same name—married the same year. 
 There was in short a similarity between us which, 
 since 1839, united us closely and tenderly/ 
 
 At this time the Queen parted with her mother, 
 who now felt it right to retire to a separate establish¬ 
 ment. The Duchess consequently removed to Ingestre 
 House, Belgrade Square, which henceforth became her 
 home. But even this separation did not interrupt 
 the close sympathy and affection which had always 
 existed between mother and child. There were still 
 frequent occasions when the loving counsel of the 
 parent was sought by the daughter, and their inter¬ 
 course continued to be of the same intimate character 
 as before. 
 
 Her Majesty spent her birthday at Claremont, and 
 in the company of her husband enjoyed her first 
 period of uninterrupted leisure and relaxation from 
 the affairs of State. The attractions of that charming 
 seat afforded great delight to the royal couple, who 
 wandered about at their will, undisturbed by the 
 bustle and cares of a full Court. On one occasion they 
 were caught in a shower, and sought shelter in a 
 
148 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 cottage inhabited by an old and solitary dame. This 
 good cottager entertained her visitors with many 
 stories touching the Princess Charlotte and Prince 
 Leopold, once the owners of Claremont, little imagin¬ 
 ing the rank of her listeners. When the royal visitors 
 left she lent them her umbrella, with many strict in¬ 
 junctions to Prince Albert that it should be taken 
 care of and faithfully returned. Keport speaks not of 
 her demeanour when she ultimately became aware of 
 the high station of her visitors. 
 
 Prince Albert early revealed his predilections 
 towards music and art. Music especially moved him to 
 enthusiasm, and his first appearance in this connec¬ 
 tion was at the Ancient Music Concerts. In private 
 he played and sang much with the Queen, the organ 
 being his favourite instrument. Lady Lyttelton thus 
 records her impressions of one musical evening: 
 1 Yesterday evening, as I was sitting here comfort¬ 
 ably after the drive by candle-light, reading M. Guizot, 
 there suddenly arose from the room beneath—oh, such 
 sounds! It was Prince Albert, dear Prince Albert, 
 playing on the organ, and with such master skill as 
 it appeared to me—modulating so learnedly, winding 
 through every kind of bass and chord, till he wound 
 up with the most perfect cadence; and then off again, 
 louder, and then softer: no tune, as I was too 
 distant to perceive the execution or small touches, so 
 I only heard the harmony; but I never listened with 
 much more pleasure to any music. I ventured at 
 dinner to ask him what I had heard. “ Oh ! my 
 organ—a new possession of mine. I am so fond of 
 the organ ! It is the first of instruments; the only 
 instrument for expressing one's feelings.” 5 In paint- 
 
WEDDED HAPPINESS. 
 
 149 
 
 ing, and etching also, the Prince passed a considerable 
 portion of his time; and as an outdoor occupation he 
 developed great taste in landscape gardening. 
 
 The first occasion on which the Prince manifested 
 his deep sympathy with humanitarian movements— 
 one of the conspicuous features of his career—was on 
 the 1st of June, when he presided over a meeting 
 called to promote the abolition of the slave trade. 
 He had carefully prepared his speech beforehand, 
 committed it to memory, and repeated it to the Queen. 
 The Prince made a successful entree upon public life. 
 Caroline Fox, the Quaker, makes mention of the 
 Prince’s appearance in her Memoirs : ‘ The acclamations 
 attending his entrance were perfectly deafening, and he 
 bore them all with calm, modest dignity, repeatedly 
 bowing with considerable grace. He certainly is a very 
 beautiful young man—a thorough German, and a fine 
 poetic specimen of the race. He uttered his speech in 
 a rather low tone, and with the prettiest foreign accent.’ 
 
 London was startled on the evening of the 10th of 
 June by the report of Oxford’s attempt to assassinate 
 the Queen. From the various accounts published at 
 the time, and subsequently, it appears that the Queen 
 and Prince Albert left Buckingham Palace by the 
 garden gate opening from Constitution Hill for a 
 drive. The hour was about six o’clock. They were 
 seated in a very low German droschky, drawn by four 
 horses, with postillions, preceded by two outriders 
 and followed by two equerries. As soon as the 
 carriage had proceeded a short distance up Constitu¬ 
 tion Hill, thus getting clear of spectators, a young 
 man on the park side of the road presented a pistol, 
 and fired it directly at the Queen. The Prince, hear- 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 ISO 
 
 ing the report, turned his head in the direction whence 
 it came; her Majesty at the same instant rose, but 
 Prince Albert immediately pulled her down by his 
 side. ‘ The report of the pistol,’ said a witness of 
 the occurrence, c attracted my attention, and I heard 
 a distinct whizzing or buzzing before my eyes, between 
 my face and the carriage. The moment he fired the 
 pistol he turned himself round, as if to see whether 
 any one was behind him. He then set himself back 
 again, drew a second pistol with his left hand from 
 his right breast, presented it across the one he had 
 already fired, which he had in his right hand, and 
 fired again, taking very deliberate aim.’ Several 
 persons rushed upon the miscreant. The fellow was 
 quite calm and collected, admitted having fired the 
 pistols, and went quietly with two of the police to the 
 Queen Square station. He was discovered to be one 
 Edward Oxford, seventeen years of age, and recently 
 employed as barman at a public-house in Oxford Street. 
 
 The Queen, as might naturally be supposed, was 
 seriously alarmed at the occurrence, but besides 
 being extremely pale did not betray any outward 
 agitation. Rising to show that she was unhurt, she 
 ordered the postillions to drive to Ingestre House, her 
 first thought being for her mother. The Duchess of 
 Kent received her daughter safely before there had 
 been time for her to be shocked by the news of the 
 attempted assassination. The Queen and the Prince 
 remained with the Duchess for a short time, and 
 then returned by way of Hyde Park. The royal pair 
 were received with every symptom of deep satisfaction 
 by a large gathering of ladies and gentlemen in the 
 park, and escorted to Buckingham Palace. Large 
 
WEDDED HAPPINESS. 
 
 I 5 I 
 
 numbers of tbe nobility called in the evening to offer 
 their congratulations. 
 
 For many days after the dastardly affair there was 
 an exhibition of almost unbounded loyalty. The 
 journals of the day report that thousands of people 
 continued to assemble before the palace, and hundreds 
 of noblemen, members of the Government, and private 
 ladies and gentlemen, called to congratulate or inquire, 
 and to present their grateful addresses on such a 
 happy and providential deliverance. Whenever her 
 Majesty and the Prince drove out they were escorted 
 by hundreds of ladies and gentlemen on horseback, 
 who accompanied them like a bodyguard; whilst the 
 immense sympathizing crowds cheered most en¬ 
 thusiastically. At first there was a surmise as to a 
 widespread conspiracy being on foot, but this report 
 was discovered to be unfounded, though there had 
 been some slight countenance for it. 
 
 At the different theatres, and at places where 
 public dinners were held, as soon as the news trans¬ 
 pired on the Wednesday evening, the day of the 
 attempt, £ God save the Queen 9 was sung with loyal 
 fervour. A grand concert was being held at the 
 Opera House for the benefit of the New Musical Fund : 
 it was to have terminated with Mozart’s overture 
 to Idomeneo , but Sir George Smart, the conductor, 
 stepped forward, and having informed the audience of 
 the attempt on her Majesty’s life, proposed to 
 substitute the National Anthem. His suggestion was 
 received with great enthusiasm. 
 
 On the 1 2 th a remarkable scene of loyalty was 
 witnessed at Buckingham Palace. The sheriffs of 
 London, the Cabinet Ministers, and others, attended 
 
152 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 early to present addresses of congratulation ; but the 
 great event of the day was the presentation of addresses 
 from the two Houses of Parliament. At two o’clock 
 the State carriage of the Speaker of the House of 
 Commons entered the court, followed by 109 carriages 
 filled entirely with members of Parliament: never 
 before, it is said, was the Speaker followed by 
 so numerous a cortege on the occasion of present¬ 
 ing an address. As soon as the carriages of the 
 Commons had left the court, the procession of the 
 Lords began to enter—the barons first, and then the 
 other peers, rising in rank to the royal Dukes of 
 Sussex and Cambridge ; the Lord Chancellor bringing 
 up the rear. There were eighty-one carriages in the 
 peers’ procession, which was brilliant and imposing 
 to an extraordinary degree. Many of the lords wore 
 splendid uniforms and decorations of various Orders: 
 the Duke of Wellington especially was attired with 
 much magnificence. The procession of the Commons 
 passed with little notice from the crowd; but on the 
 Duke’s appearance the cheering was enthusiastic and 
 universal. The Dukes of Sussex and Cambridge also 
 were cheered. Whilst the lords were alighting from 
 their carriages the grand terrace in front of the 
 palace was crowded with distinguished persons in 
 splendid costumes. 
 
 ‘ The Queen received the address on the throne. 
 The Lord Chancellor and the Speaker of the House of 
 Commons advanced side by side. The Dukes of 
 Sussex and Cambridge walked in a line with the Lord 
 Chancellor, the peers and commoners following. Prince 
 Albert stood on the left of the throne; the great 
 officers of State and of the household on the right. 
 
WEDDED HAPPINESS. 
 
 *53 
 
 Tlie Lord Chancellor read the address, and the Queen 
 was graciously pleased to receive it.’ 
 
 Similar enthusiasm was manifested all over the 
 country. On the 16th and 18th the Queen and 
 Prince Albert went to Ascot races, receiving a remark¬ 
 able ovation. Two days later the Queen visited the 
 opera for the first time after the atrocious attempt on 
 her life, and the appearance of the Sovereign here 
 was likewise the signal for a loyal demonstration of a 
 very striking character. The vast audience rose, the 
 National Anthem was sung with great enthusiasm, 
 the assembly loudly cheering at the end of each verse; 
 Her Majesty standing all the time, and graciously 
 acknowledging the congratulations of the audience. 
 As soon as the singing of the anthem was concluded 
 Prince Albert was called, and received three hearty 
 cheers. 
 
 Her Majesty and the Prince paid a visit to Green¬ 
 wich Hospital on the 27 th, going down from White¬ 
 hall in the Admiralty barges. They had lunch 
 with the Governor, Vice-Admiral Fleming, and then 
 walked through the different halls, and inspected the 
 dinners prepared for the veteran tars. Grace having 
 been said, the Queen partook of the soup, bread, and 
 meat provided for the gallant inmates of the Hospital, 
 and handed a piece of the bread to one of the ladies 
 of her suite. The veterans were highly delighted 
 with the affable manners of the Queen, and the kind 
 manner in which she inquired after their welfare. 
 Round the grand square 1,000 pensioners of all 
 classes were drawn up, while 800 schoolboys and 
 the nurses and girls in the establishment took up 
 various positions assigned to them. The day was a 
 
 F 
 
154 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN YICTOEXA, 
 
 memorable one, and tbe royal visitors were mucli 
 struck by tbe excellence of tbe arrangements. 
 
 Oxford was brought to trial at tbe Central Criminal 
 Court on tbe 8tb of July. There bad been found at 
 bis lodgings, after be was searched, a quantity of 
 powder and shot, and tbe rules of a secret society 
 styled ‘Young England,’ prescribing, among other 
 things, that every member should, when ordered to 
 meet, be armed with pistols and a sword, and a black 
 crape cap to cover bis face. Tbe charge against 
 Oxford was high treason in its most exaggerated 
 form—that is, a direct attempt on tbe life of tbe 
 Queen. Tbe Attorney-General prosecuted, and a 
 considerable number of witnesses were examined. 
 There was a curious nonchalance on tbe part of tbe 
 prisoner all through, which pointed to insanity. 
 
 When Lord Uxbridge visited him in bis cell, 
 Oxford coolly and impudently asked, c Is tbe Queen 
 well?’ to which bis lordship responded, ‘How dare 
 you ask such a question ? ’ Tbe prisoner frankly 
 owned having fired tbe pistols, which be stated were 
 well loaded. Mr. Fox Maule put in tbe following 
 deposition, which tbe misguided youth bad voluntarily 
 made and signed at tbe Home Office :—‘ A great many 
 witnesses against me. Some say that I shot with my 
 left, others with my right band. They vary as to tbe 
 distance. After I fired tbe first pistol, Prince Albert 
 got up as if be would jump out of tbe carriage, and 
 sat down again, as if be thought better of it. Then 
 I fired tbe second pistol. This is all I shall say at 
 present.— Edward Oxford.’ 
 
 Witnesses were called for tbe defence to show that 
 a predisposition to insanity existed in tbe prisoner’s 
 
WEDDED HAPPINESS. 
 
 155 
 
 mind, and that it was hereditary in his family, his 
 grandfather haying died in a lunatic asylum. The 
 prisoner himself, it was shown, had before behaved 
 in an alarming manner. There seemed to be no 
 doubt that Oxford was suffering from insanity, which 
 manifested itself in a morbid desire for notoriety; 
 and the jury found him guilty, at the same time 
 declaring him to be insane. The prisoner, who had 
 remained unmoved during the whole of the proceed¬ 
 ings, was ordered to be confined during her Majesty’s 
 pleasure. 
 
 It seems, perhaps, to have been a great hubbub 
 created over one miserable, crazy youth—addresses, re¬ 
 joicings, grand processions, and a great State trial; 
 but then even a small pistol and a crazy youth might 
 have been the means of causing a great disaster, 
 and plunging a whole nation into mourning. Little 
 wonder, then, that it should have been plunged into 
 universal rejoicing instead. With regard to the 
 future of Oxford, he was confined first in Bedlam, and 
 then in Dartmoor. He always explained his act as 
 having been prompted by sheer vanity and desire for 
 notoriety. After about thirty-five years’ imprison¬ 
 ment he was released on condition that he would go 
 to the Antipodes. Not many years ago he was 
 earning his living as a house-painter in Australia. 
 
 Towards the close of the parliamentary session of 
 1840 a Regency Bill was introduced. The prospect 
 of an heir to the throne rendered it necessary to make 
 provision for her Majesty’s possible death or lengthened 
 disqualification for reigning. Both political parties 
 were consulted in the matter, and a Bill was brought 
 forward, providing that Prince Albert should be 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 156 
 
 Regent in the event of tlie death of Queen Victoria 
 before her next lineal descendant and successor should 
 have attained the full age of eighteen years. The 
 measure was well received, and, with the exception of 
 a speech made by the Duke of Sussex in the Lords, it 
 passed both Houses unanimously and without objection, 
 and became law. 
 
 The daily life of the royal pair has been described 
 in the Early Years of the Prince Consort. From the 
 pages of this work we learn that the Queen and 
 Prince breakfasted at nine, and took a walk every 
 morning soon afterwards. When in London these 
 walks were taken in Buckingham Palace gardens, 
 which the Prince had already enlivened with different 
 kinds of animals and aquatic birds. ‘ In their morn¬ 
 ing walks in the gardens it was a great amusement to 
 the Prince to watch and feed these birds. He taught 
 them to come when he whistled to them from a bridge 
 connecting a small island with the rest of the gardens/ 
 
 After the walk £ came the usual amount of business 
 (far less heavy, however, then than now), besides which 
 they drew and etched a great deal together, which 
 was a source of great amusement, having the plates 
 bit in the house. Luncheon followed at the usual 
 hour of two o’clock. Lord Melbourne, who was 
 generally staying in the house, came to the Queen in 
 the afternoon; and between five and six the Prince 
 usually drove her out in a pony phaeton. If the 
 Prince did not drive the Queen he rode, in which case 
 she drove with the Duchess of Kent or the ladies. 
 The Prince also read aloud most days to the Queen. 
 The dinner was at eight o’clock, and always with the 
 company. In the evening the Prince frequently played 
 
Wedded happiness. 
 
 157 
 
 at double chess, a game of which he was very fond, 
 and which he played extremely well.’ On returning 
 from his rides, which were generally into those London 
 districts where improvements were going on, the 
 Prince ‘ would always come through the Queen’s 
 dressing-room, where she generally was at that time, 
 with that bright loving smile with which he ever 
 greeted her, telling her where he had been, what new 
 buildings he had seen, what studios he had visited.’ 
 The practice in English houses for gentlemen to remain 
 alone at the table for a considerable time after dinner 
 was never favourably viewed by the Queen; and in 
 this she had a seconder in her husband, who was a very 
 temperate man, and not addicted to the pleasures 
 of the table. Lord Campbell thus speaks of a royal 
 dinner at which he was present: ‘ The Queen and the 
 ladies withdrawing, Prince Albert came over to her side 
 of the table, and we remained behind about a quarter 
 of an hour, but we rose within the hour from the 
 time of our sitting down. A snuff-box was twice 
 carried round and offered to all the gentlemen. Prince 
 Albert, to my surprise, took a pinch.’ 
 
 The Prince made his way with all classes, 
 even with those Tories who at first looked rather 
 askance at him. He was conciliatory and judicious; 
 and to show the way he had advanced in the public 
 esteem, the remark which Melbourne made to the 
 Queen on the Regency Bill may be quoted: ‘ Three 
 months ago they would not fiave done it for him; it is 
 entirely his own character.’ The Duke of Wellington 
 was so completely won over that he remarked: ‘Let 
 the Queen put the Prince where she likes, and settle it 
 herself; that is the best way.’ His Grace also made 
 
! 5 8 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 short work of questions of State etiquette, and when 
 Lord Albemarle, Master of the Horse, held out about 
 his right to sit in the Sovereign’s coach on State 
 occasions, he said, on being asked for his opinion : 
 
 ‘ The Queen can make Lord Albemarle sit at the top 
 of the coach, under the coach, behind the coach, or 
 wherever else her Majesty pleases.’ 
 
 The Queen prorogued Parliament on the I ith of 
 August, Prince Albert accompanying her for the first 
 time. Next day the Court left for Windsor. On 
 the 26th his Royal Highness attained his majority, 
 and the event was celebrated by a breakfast at Adelaide 
 Lodge. The Prince went to London on the 28th for 
 the purpose of receiving the freedom of the City. At 
 this ceremony the names of six aldermen and common 
 councilmen, who undertook to vouch for the eligibility 
 of the Prince, were read, together with the declaration 
 upon oath. The oath was as follows: ‘We declare, 
 upon the oath we took at the time of our admission to 
 the freedom of the city, that Prince Albert is of good 
 name and fame; that he does not desire the freedom 
 of this city whereby to defraud the Queen or this city 
 of any of their rights, customs, or advantages; but 
 that he will pay his scot and bear his lot: and so we 
 all say.’ 
 
 The Chamberlain then proposed the freeman’s oath 
 to the Prince, and it was remarked that he was 
 evidently moved at that part where he swore to keep the 
 peace towards her Majesty. Husbands do not always 
 voluntarily swear to keep the peace towards their wives. 
 The Chamberlain having next addressed his Royal 
 Highness, the Prince delivered the following answer 
 Very distinctly and audibly: c It is with the greatest- 
 
WEDDED HAPPINESS. 
 
 159 
 
 pleasure that I meet you upon this occasion, and offer 
 you my warmest thanks for the honour which has been 
 conferred upon me by the presentation of the freedom 
 of the City of London. The wealth and intelligence 
 of this vast city have raised it to the highest 
 eminence amongst the cities of the world ; and it 
 must therefore ever be esteemed a great distinction 
 to be numbered amongst the members of your ancient 
 Corporation. I shall always remember with pride and 
 satisfaction the day on which I became your fellow- 
 citizen; and it is especially gratifying to me, as 
 marking your loyalty and affection to the Queen/ 
 
 Prince Albert was sworn a member of the Privy 
 Council on the 11 th of September, and it is stated 
 that so anxious was he to discharge conscientiously 
 every duty which might devolve upon him, that in 
 his retirement at Windsor he set to work to master 
 Hallam’s Constitutional History with the Queen, 
 and also began the study of English law with a 
 barrister. 
 
 Early in November preparations were made at 
 Buckingham Palace for the approaching accouchement 
 of the Queen. The Court removed from Windsor to 
 London on the 13 th, and on the 21st the Princess 
 Royal was born at Buckingham Palace at 1.40 p.m. 
 In the Queen’s chamber were the Duchess of Kent, 
 Prince Albert, and the medical men, with Mrs. Lilly, 
 the nurse, and some of the ladies of the bedchamber. 
 In an adjoining apartment, the door of which was 
 open, were the Duke of Sussex, the Archbishop of 
 Canterbury, the Bishop of London, the Lord Chan¬ 
 cellor, Lord Melbourne, Lord Palmerston, Lord Erroll, 
 Lord Albemarle, Lord Joha Bussell, and other Privy 
 
i6o 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Councillors, whoso constitutional duty it was to be 
 present at the birth of an heir to the throne. At 
 ten minutes before two Mrs. Lilly entered the ante¬ 
 chamber where the Privy Councillors were assembled, 
 with the c young stranger ’—a beautiful, plump, and 
 healthful princess—wrapped in flannel, in her arms. 
 Sir James Clark followed the nurse. The babe was 
 for a moment laid upon the table, but the loud tones 
 in which she indicated her displeasure at thus being 
 made ‘the observed of all observers/ while they 
 proved the soundness of her lungs and the maturity 
 of her frame, rendered it advisable that she should be 
 returned to her chamber to receive her first attire. 
 Prince Albert received the congratulations of all 
 present, and then the officials retired to spread the 
 happy news throughout the metropolis. The Tower 
 guns were fired in honour of the event. According to 
 the gossip of the time, Prince Albert expressed a fear 
 that the people might be disappointed, whereupon the 
 Queen reassured him by saying, c Never mind ; the 
 next shall be a boy,’ adding that she hoped she might 
 have as many children as her grandmother, Queen 
 Charlotte. The Queen has recorded the traits of 
 tenderness shown by her husband during her seclu¬ 
 sion. ‘ He was content to sit by her in a darkened 
 room, to read to her, and write for her. No one but 
 himself ever lifted her from her bed to her sofa, and 
 he always helped to wheel her on her bed or sofa 
 into the next room. For this purpose he would 
 come instantly when sent for, from any part of the 
 house. His care for her was like that of a mother, 
 nor could there be a kinder, wiser, more judicious 
 nurse.’ 
 
WEDDED SAPPINESS. 
 
 161 
 
 On tL.0 very day after the birth of the Princess 
 Boyal, 4 the boy Jones ’—who seems to have had a 
 mania for surreptitiously entering Buckingham Palace 
 —was found concealed under a sofa in a room next 
 to the Queen’s. It was not the first time he had 
 entered the palace, and when he was questioned as to 
 how he had come there, he impudently replied, 4 The 
 same way as before,’ adding that he could find his 
 way into the palace at any time he pleased. It was 
 believed that he scaled the garden wall about half 
 way up Constitution Hill, and effected an entrance 
 through one of the windows of the palace. On the 
 last occasion on which he was caught, he was found 
 about i a.m. crouched in a recess, with his shoes off, 
 by the police-sergeant on duty in the interior of the 
 palace. The rascally youth boasted that, screened 
 by some article of furniture, he had coolly listened for 
 some time to the conversation of the Queen and her 
 Boyal Consort. Jones was taken to the Home Office, 
 but the authorities scarcely knew what to do with 
 him. Being deemed too young for serious punish¬ 
 ment, he was committed to the House of Correction, 
 Tothill Fields, as a rogue and vagabond for three 
 months. He behaved remarkably well while in 
 prison. Some time after his release he was induced 
 to become an apprentice for five years on board a 
 vessel bound for Australia, where he learned discipline 
 and became a steady seaman. 
 
 The Queen speedily recovered from her accouche¬ 
 ment, and opened Parliament in person on the 2 6th of 
 January 1841. Prince Albert, in the uniform of a 
 field marshal, entered the House of Lords with the 
 l’oyal procession, and took his seat on the chair of 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 162 
 
 State appropriated for liim on the left of the throne. 
 The Queen’s speech was not an exciting document. 
 Happily, affairs were peaceful at home at this time, 
 though abroad there were wars and rumours of wars. 
 We were just passing through one of our many difficul¬ 
 ties with China ; serious differences had arisen between 
 Spain and Portugal on the navigation of the Douro ; 
 and affairs in the Levant were in a serious condition. 
 England had concluded with Russia, Prussia, Austria, 
 and Turkey a convention intended to effect a pacifica¬ 
 tion of the Levant, to maintain the integrity and 
 independence of the Ottoman Empire, and thereby to 
 afford additional security for the peace of Europe. 
 We had also just concluded treaties with the Argen¬ 
 tine Republic and the Republic of Hayti for the sup¬ 
 pression of the slave trade. 
 
 An accident happened to Prince Albert on the 
 9th of February, which, but for the Queen’s presence 
 of mind, might have had serious consequences. His 
 Royal Highness was skating in Buckingham Palace 
 Gardens when the ice suddenly gave way, and he was 
 immersed in deep water. He had to swim for several 
 minutes before he was got out. The Queen was close 
 by the Prince when the accident occurred, and was 
 the only person who had sufficient presence of mind 
 to render him any material assistance. 
 
 The christening of the Princess Royal took place 
 on the 1 oth, in the throne-room at Buckingham 
 Palace. The font, new for the occasion, was very 
 elegant in form and exquisitely finished. It was of 
 silver gilt, elaborately carved with the royal arms, &c. 
 The water used for the ceremony was brought from 
 the river Jordan. The Archbishop of Canterbury 
 
WEDDED HAPPINESS. 
 
 163 
 
 officiated, with the assistance of the Bishops of 
 London and Norwich, and the Dean of Carlisle. The 
 Duke of Wellington appeared as sponsor on behalf of 
 the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and the other 
 sponsors present were the Queen Dowager, the 
 Duchess of Gloucester, the Duchess of Kent, the 
 King of the Belgians, and the Duke of Sussex. 
 Queen Adelaide named the royal infant 4 Victoria 
 Adelaide Mary Louisa.’ Prince Albert wrote to the 
 Dowager Duchess of Gotha : 4 The christening went 
 off very well; your little great-grand-daughter behaved 
 with great propriety and like a Christian. She was 
 awake, but did not cry at all, and seemed to crow with 
 immense satisfaction at the lights and brilliant 
 uniforms, for she is very intelligent and observing. 
 The ceremony took place at half-past six P.M. After 
 it there was a dinner, and then we had some instru¬ 
 mental music. The health of the little one was 
 drank with great enthusiasm.’ 
 
 The ensuing summer saw the Queen and her 
 husband entering into the pleasures of the people and 
 sharing them with much zest. They listened to the 
 moving declamation of the great French actress, 
 Bachel, and welcomed Adelaide Kemble, who made 
 her first appearance in opera this season. The Queen’s 
 influence upon the stage was a healthful and restrain¬ 
 ing one. As Mrs. Oliphant has observed, she was 4 in 
 the foreground of the national life, affecting it always 
 for good, and setting an example of purity and virtue. 
 The theatres to which she went, and which both she 
 and her husband enjoyed, were purified by her 
 presence; evils which had been the growth of years 
 disappearing before the face of the young Queen.’ 
 
164 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 The Whig Ministry, having been defeated in the 
 House of Commons by a majority of one, on a vote of 
 want of confidence proposed by Sir Robert Peel, 
 determined to appeal to the country. Parliament was 
 dissolved accordingly, and the elections were held in 
 July. The Conservatives gained a great majority, 
 and when the new Parliament assembled in August, 
 Ministers were placed in a minority of 91 in a House 
 of 6 2 9 members. Lord Melbourne and his colleagues 
 consequently resigned office. The Queen’s parting 
 with the Premier was a very trying one on both sides. 
 In taking his leave of the Sovereign, Melbourne con¬ 
 gratulated her on the great advantage she possessed 
 in the presence and counsel of the Prince, which would 
 have the effect of softening to her the trial of the first 
 change of Ministers in her reign. 1 For four years,’ 
 added Melbourne, 1 I have seen you every day; but it 
 is so different from what it would have been in 1839. 
 The Prince understands everything so well, and has a 
 clever, able head.’ This tribute to her husband 
 greatly touched the Queen, who has recorded her 
 regret at parting with c a faithful and attached friend, 
 as well as Minister.’ It was with great pleasure and 
 pride that she listened to Melbourne’s praise of her 
 royal husband. 
 
 Sir Robert Peel came into power as Prime Minister, 
 and his bearing appears to have been everything that 
 was admirable and judicious. Care had been taken to 
 avoid any such esclandre as the ‘ Bedchamber Plot,’ 
 for when it was becoming apparent that a change 
 of Ministry must take place, it was arranged that 
 those of the Queen’s ladies whose removal the Tories 
 considered essential, on account of their close relation^ 
 
WEDDED HAPPINESS. 
 
 165 
 
 ship to leading Whig Ministers, should voluntarily 
 retire. As the result of this understanding, the 
 Duchess of Bedford, the Duchess of Sutherland, and 
 Lady Normanby resigned their positions as ladies of 
 the bedchamber. A passage in the Life of the Prince 
 Consort , referring to the bearing of the new Premier, 
 says : ‘ Lord Melbourne told Baron Stockmar, who had 
 just returned from Coburg, that Sir Robert Peel had 
 behaved most handsomely, and that the conduct of 
 the Prince throughout had been most moderate and 
 judicious.’ All the friction caused by that little 
 matter of Peel’s attitude towards the Royal Annuity 
 Bill had entirely passed away from the Prince’s mind. 
 
 One of the earliest acts of the new Minister was to 
 propose a Fine Arts Commission, with Prince Albert 
 as chairman. Its more immediate object was the 
 superintendence of the artistic work at the new 
 Houses of Parliament. Nothing could have been 
 suggested which would have afforded greater pleasure 
 to the Queen and the Prince than this commission, 
 and the latter spoke of it as his real initiation into 
 public life. It gave him an opportunity to display 
 his taste, and to advance the liberal arts in the 
 country. As to social reforms, it should be stated to 
 the Prince’s credit that it was owing to his influence, 
 and that of the Duke of Wellington, that the practice 
 of duelling disappeared from the British army. 
 
 There was great rejoicing at Buckingham Palace on 
 the 9th of November 1841, when the Queen gave 
 birth to her first-born son, and consequently the heir 
 to the throne. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the 
 Premier, and all the great officers of State were sum¬ 
 moned to the palace as early as seven o’clock in the 
 
166 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 morning, and the Duchess of Kent arrived at nine. 
 The Queen was then very ill, and had been so at 
 intervals during the two preceding hours. Prince 
 Albert manifested the greatest anxiety and interest, 
 as he remained in attendance with the medical men, 
 Sir James Clark, Dr. Locock, and Mr. Blagden. 
 Shortly before eleven o’clock the Prince was born. 
 He was conveyed by the nurse to the Privy Council¬ 
 lors and others in the adjoining apartment, who there¬ 
 upon signed a declaration as to the birth of an heir to 
 the British Crown. Intelligence of the happy event 
 was immediately communicated to all the members of 
 the Royal Family, including the Queen Dowager, who 
 was at Sudbury Hall; the Duchess of Cambridge, who 
 was at Kew; the Princess Sophia, who was at Black- 
 heath ; and the Duchesses ©f Gloucester and Cambridge, 
 and the Duke of Cambridge and Prince George, who 
 were in London. 
 
 Official etiquette, usually as strong as the law of 
 the Medes and Persians, was for once set aside in the 
 great joy over the birth of a Prince. It appears that 
 almost every influential individual in the household of 
 her Majesty stepped out of his proper sphere, and 
 gave directions which belonged to the departments of 
 others. There was a complete confusion of places for 
 at least half an hour after the event, and Court officials 
 rushed hither and thither with the gratifying intelli¬ 
 gence of the birth of a Prince; three messengers 
 arrived at Marlborough House within two minutes, all 
 desirous of being the first to convey the news to the 
 Queen Dowager* An act of royal clemency marked 
 the happy occasion of the birth of an heir to the 
 throne. Her Majesty was pleased to notify to the 
 
WEDDED HAPPINESS. 
 
 167 
 
 Home Secretary that those convicts who had behaved 
 well should have their punishment commuted; and 
 that those deserving this clemency on board the 
 various hulks should have their liberty at once granted 
 to them. On the 11 th of November the Lord Mayor 
 and Lady Mayoress, and the sheriffs, were received at 
 Buckingham Palace. After having had caudle served, 
 the party were conducted by the Lord Chamberlain to 
 the apartments of Prince Albert, to pay a visit of 
 congratulation to his Royal Highness. The infant 
 Prince was brought into the room in which the com¬ 
 pany were assembled, and was carried round to all the 
 distinguished visitors present. The Archbishop of 
 Canterbury issued a special prayer to be offered up in 
 all churches on behalf of the Queen and the infant 
 Prince. 
 
 For the post of nurse to the royal child there had 
 been many applications, some being from ladies of 
 wealth and position. The choice of the Queen fell 
 upon Mrs. Brough, an under-servant at Claremont, 
 who was herself, before her marriage, a housemaid in 
 the establishment. At the birth of the Princess 
 Royal the previous wet-nurse received A5 00; but on 
 the birth of the Prince of Wales all the gratuities 
 were doubled. 
 
 There was great happiness within the palace. At 
 Christmas the Queen wrote in her Journal: ‘ To think 
 that we have two children now, and one who enjoys 
 the sight already (the Christmas-tree) ; it is like a 
 dream. 5 Prince Albert, writing to his father, said: 
 ‘This is the dear Christmas Eve on which I have 
 so often listened with impatience for your step, which 
 was to convey us into the gift-room. To-day I 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 168 
 
 have two children of my own to make gifts to, who, 
 they know not why, are full of happy wonder at the 
 German Christmas-tree and its radiant candles.’ Her 
 Majesty gives us another sketch of a peaceful 4 interior’: 
 4 Albert brought in dearest little Pussy (Princess Vic¬ 
 toria), in such a smart, white merino dress, trimmed 
 with blue, which mamma had given her, and a pretty 
 cap, and placed her on my bed, seating himself next 
 to her, and she was very dear and good; and as my 
 precious, invaluable Albert sat there, and our little 
 love between us, I felt quite moved with happiness 
 and gratitude to God.’ Writing some weeks later to 
 King Leopold, she said : 4 I wonder very much whom 
 our little boy will be like. You will understand how 
 fervent are my prayers, and I am sure everybody’s 
 must be, to see him resemble his father in every 
 respect, both in mind and body.’ And in another 
 letter she remarked: 4 We all have our trials and 
 vexations; but if one’s home is happy, then the rest 
 is comparatively nothing.’ 
 
 When the baby Prince was a month old the Queen 
 issued a patent creating 4 our most dear son ’ Prince of 
 Wales and Earl of Chester. He was already Duke of 
 Saxony, Duke of Cornwall and Itothesay, Earl of 
 Garrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, and 
 Great Steward of Scotland. With regard to his new 
 Welsh dignity the patent ran: 4 As has been accus¬ 
 tomed, we do ennoble and invest him with the said 
 principality and earldom, by girting him with a 
 sword, by putting a coronet on his head and a gold 
 ring on his finger, and also by delivering a gold rod 
 into his hand, that he may preside there, and may 
 direct and defend those parts.’ 
 
WEDDED HAPPINESS. 
 
 i^9 
 
 The christening of the Prince of Wales, which was 
 made a very imposing ceremony, took place on the 
 25th of January 1842 in St. George’s Chapel, 
 Windsor Castle. The King of Prussia had arrived at 
 the castle three days before, on a visit to the Queen, 
 and to stand as chief sponsor at the christening. He 
 was accompanied by the famous savant , Baron 
 Alexander von Humboldt. The Archbishops of 
 Canterbury and York, and the Bishops of London, 
 Winchester, Oxford, and Norwich, officiated at the 
 baptismal ceremony. The sponsors were the King of 
 Prussia, the Duke of Cambridge, the Duchess of Cam¬ 
 bridge (proxy for the Duchess of Saxe-Coburg), and 
 the Princess Augusta of Cambridge (proxy for the 
 Princess Sophia). When the infant Prince was 
 brought in and given into the hands of the Arch¬ 
 bishop of Canterbury, the sponsors named him 
 c Albert Edward,’ by which names he was accordingly 
 christened by his Grace. On the conclusion of the 
 ceremony the Hallelujah Chorus was sung by the 
 full choir, by request of Prince Albert, and the 
 overture to Handel’s oratorio of Esther was performed. 
 The name of Albert was given to the young Prince, 
 after his father, and that of Edward, after his maternal 
 grandfather, the Duke of Kent. 
 
 After the christening the Queen held a chapter of 
 the Order of the Garter, when the King of Prussia, 
 as c a lineal descendant of King George I.,’ was 
 elected a Knight Companion, the Queen buckling the 
 garter round his knee. Then followed luncheon in 
 the White Breakfast Boom, and in the evening there 
 was a grand banquet in St. George’s Hall. The dis¬ 
 play of plate was amazing, and there was one immense 
 
i;o 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 gold vessel, described as more like a bath than any¬ 
 thing else, capable of containing thirty dozens of wine. 
 To the great surprise of the Prussian visitors, it was 
 filled with mulled claret. Four toasts were drank, 
 which were given by the Lord Steward, the Earl of 
 Liverpool, in the following order: 1 His Royal High¬ 
 ness the Prince of Wales, 5 4 The King of Prussia,’ 
 c The Queen, 5 and 4 His Royal Highness Prince Albert. 5 
 An immense royal christening cake was placed in the 
 Waterloo Chamber after the banquet. The expenses 
 incurred in connection with the christening ceremony 
 and the subsequent festivities amounted to about 
 ^ 200 , 000 . 
 
 The Queen paid special honour and deference to 
 her august visitor, the King of Prussia. When she 
 first met him, on his arrival at Windsor, she kissed 
 him twice, and made him two low curtseys. In her 
 Journal she writes of the King: 4 He was in common 
 morning costume, and complained much of appearing 
 so before me. He is entertaining, agreeable, and 
 witty; tells a thing so pleasantly, and is full of 
 amusing anecdotes. 5 The King was magnificently 
 entertained during the whole of his stay by the 
 Queen, and also by many of the leading members of 
 the aristocracy. He manifested great interest in the 
 historic buildings and other sights of London, and 
 was indefatigable in visiting the chief points of 
 attraction. 
 
 There never was a period in her Majesty’s life 
 when she was more jubilant in spirits, or more 
 profoundly happy, than this which immediately 
 succeeded upon the birth of the Prince of Wales. 
 Supremely blest in the choice she had made of a 
 
WEDDED HAPPINESS. 
 
 171 
 
 husband, she rejoiced to see her royal Consort daily 
 making his way in the affections of the people, and 
 now that there was an heir to the crown, the 
 Sovereign and the people were drawn closely together 
 by a new and auspicious bond. The weight of State 
 cares no longer pressed heavily upon her, and her cup 
 of happiness was full even to overflowing. 
 
1/2 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 
 
 But the year 1842 brought with it many sad episodes. 
 Terrible news came from Afghanistan, where £ the 
 fatal policy of English interference with the fiery 
 tribes of Northern India in support of an unpopular 
 ruler had ended in the murder of Sir Alexander 
 Burnes and Sir William Macnaghten, and-the evacua¬ 
 tion of Cabul by the English.’ Other disasters suc¬ 
 ceeded, chief amongst which was the destruction of 
 her Majesty’s 44th Regiment. The soldiers were cut 
 down almost to a man, and only one individual of the 
 whole British force was able to reach Jellalabad. 
 This was Dr. Brydon, who arrived there, faint and 
 wounded, on the 13 th of January. The story of his 
 sufferings, as well as a graphic narrative of the whole 
 campaign, is to be read in the journals of the period. 
 The British army marched through the Khyber Pass, 
 defeated Akbar Khan in the Tezeen Valley, and 
 eventually reached Cabul, when the prisoners, long 
 pent up within that city, were released. Cabul was 
 subsequently evacuated, and Jellalabad was destroyed. 
 The British arms ultimately triumphed, but only after 
 a fearful and bloody campaign, in which many of the 
 finest of our troops were cut off by a harassing guerilla 
 warfare. 
 
 As the year opened we were also at war with 
 
JOYS AND CAKES OF HOME AND STATE. 173 
 
 China. Fortunately, the uniform success which had 
 attended our previous hostile operations against that 
 Power once more smiled upon our arms, and brought 
 the Celestials to reason. After the taking of Chin- 
 keang-foo by the British, and the appearance of our 
 squadron before Nankin, hostilities were suspended, 
 and negotiations for peace were entered into and con¬ 
 cluded between the Chinese Commissioners and Sir 
 Henry Pottinger. 
 
 But the condition of things at home was very 
 serious. Not only was there a continuous fall in the 
 revenue, but an ever-growing agitation throughout 
 the country on the subject of the Corn Laws. Loud 
 and general complaints were heard of depression in all 
 the principal branches of trade, accompanied by dis¬ 
 tress among the poorer classes; and after all allow¬ 
 ance had been made for exaggeration there still 
 remained a real and lamentable amount of misery and 
 destitution. Though the people bore their sufferings 
 with exemplary patience and fortitude, there could be 
 no doubt that they were passing through a period of 
 deep trial and privation. 
 
 It was not, therefore, without a shadow over her 
 happiness that the Queen opened Parliament in person 
 on the 3rd of February. The ceremony was attended 
 by more than usual pomp and splendour in consequence 
 of the presence of the King of Prussia. Madame 
 Bunsen, who was a spectator of the scene in the 
 House of Lords, wrote: c The opening of Parliament 
 was the thing from which I expected most, and I was 
 not disappointed. The throngs in the streets, in the 
 windows, in every place people could stand upon, all 
 looking so pleased; the splendid Horse Guards, the 
 
174 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA, 
 
 Grenadiers of the Guard, of whom might be said as 
 the King said on another occasion, “ An appearance 
 so fine, you know not how to believe it true;” the 
 Yeomen of the Bodyguard; then in the House of 
 Lords, the peers in their robes, the beautifully dressed 
 ladies with very many beautiful faces; lastly, the pro¬ 
 cession of the Queen’s entry, and herself, looking 
 worthy and fit to be the converging point of so many 
 rays of grandeur. It is self-evident that she is not 
 tall, but were she ever so tall, she could not have 
 more grace and dignity, a head better set, a throat 
 better arching; and one advantage there is in her 
 looks when she casts a glance, being of necessity cast 
 up and not down, that the effect of the eyes is not 
 lost, and they have an effect both bright and pleasing. 
 The composure with which she filled the throne while 
 awaiting the Commons I much admired; it was a 
 test—no fidget, no apathy. Then her voice and 
 enunciation cannot be more perfect. In short, it 
 could not be said that she did well , but that she was the 
 Queen —she was, and felt herself to be, the descendant 
 of her ancestors. Stuffed in by her Majesty’s mace- 
 bearers, and peeping over their shoulders, I was 
 enabled to struggle down the emotions I felt at 
 thinking what mighty pages in the world’s history 
 were condensed in the words so impressively uttered 
 by that soft and feminine voice: peace and war, the 
 fate of millions, relations and exertions of power felt 
 to the extremities of the globe: alterations of corn 
 laws, birth of a future Sovereign: with what should it 
 close but the heartfelt aspiration, God bless her, and 
 guide her for her sake, and the sake of all.’ 
 
 From the throne to the home is but a step. The 
 
JOYS AND GABES OE HOME AND STATE. 175 
 
 Queen and Prince Albert were profoundly interested 
 in Marcli by tbe news of tbe approaching marriage of 
 Prince Ernest to tbe Princess Alexandrina of Baden. 
 Writing to King Leopold on tbe subject, ber Majesty 
 said: e My heart is full, very full, of this marriage ; 
 it brings back so many recollections of our dear 
 betrothal—as Ernest was with us all tbe time, and 
 longed for similar happiness. I have entreated Ernest 
 to pass bis honeymoon with us, and I beg you to urge 
 him to do it, for he witnessed our happiness, and 
 we must therefore witness his.’ Prince Albert much 
 wished to go over to Carlsruhe for the wedding, which 
 took place on the 3rd of May, but he felt that he 
 could not leave the Queen at this anxious time. The 
 prevalent distress, which led to rioting in the English 
 and Scotch mining districts, the agitation on the 
 subject of the Corn Laws, the fears of a Chartist 
 rising, and the unsettled condition of affairs abroad, 
 all impelled him to remain by the side of her 
 Majesty, and amongst the people whose sufferings he 
 was anxious to alleviate. 
 
 On the 12th of May the Queen gave a grand 
 bed masque at Buckingham Palace, which is spoken of 
 as £ the Queen’s Plantagenet Ball.’ The object of the 
 ball was to endeavour to give a stimulus to trade in 
 London, which had gradually been getting worse. At 
 the Palace on this brilliant occasion a past age was 
 revived with great picturesqueness and splendour. 
 Her Majesty appeared as Queen Philippa, consort of 
 Edward III., and Prince Albert as Edward III. him¬ 
 self ; the costumes of those of the Queen’s own circle 
 belonging mostly to the same era. Fabulous sums 
 were spent upon dresses, diamonds, and jewels, which 
 
176 
 
 THE LIFE OE QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 could hardly have a direct effect upon the trade of the 
 East-end, though they undoubtedly did upon that of 
 the West. Her Majesty’s dress, however, was entirely 
 composed of materials manufactured at Spitalfields. 
 In her crown she had only one diamond, but that was 
 a treasure in itself, being valued at A 10,000. The 
 leading feature of the ball, according to the journals 
 of the day, was the assemblage and meeting of the 
 Courts of Anne of Brittany (the Duchess of Cambridge) 
 and Edward III. and Philippa. All the arrangements 
 were made in exact accordance with the period. 
 Amongst those representing distinguished characters 
 were the Princess Augusta of Cambridge as Princess 
 Claude, the Duke of Beaufort as Louis XII., the Earl 
 of Pembroke as the Comte d’Angouleme, Prince 
 George of Cambridge as Gaston de Foix,the Marchioness 
 of Ailesbury as the Duchesse de Eerrare, Lord Cardi¬ 
 gan as Bayard, Lady Exeter as Jeanne de Conflans, 
 Lord Claud Hamilton as the Comte de Chateau¬ 
 briand, and Lady Lincoln as Anne de Villeroi. There 
 were French, German, Italian, Scotch, Greek, and 
 Russian quadrilles, as well as a Crusaders’ quadrille 
 led by the Marchioness of Londonderry, and a 
 Waverley quadrille, led by the Countess De-la-Warr. 
 Subsequently there were dancing reels, Russian 
 mazurkas, &c. 
 
 Some other characters in this famous historic scene 
 must be mentioned. There were the Duchess of 
 Beaufort as Isabella of Yalois, Queen of Spain; Lady 
 Clementina Villiers as Vittoria Colonna; the Ladies 
 Frances and Alexandrina Yane as Rowena and Queen 
 Berengaria; the Countess of Chesterfield as Donna 
 Florinda; the Countess of Westmorland as Joan 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 177 
 
 Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt; Earl De-la- 
 Warr in the armour of his ancestor as worn at the 
 battle of Cre<£y; the Earl of Warwick as Thomas 
 Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, England’s Marshal- 
 General at the battle of Poictiers; the Duke of Nor¬ 
 folk as Queen Elizabeth’s Earl Marshal; the Duke of 
 Boxburghe as David Bruce, the captive King of Scot¬ 
 land ; Mr. Monckton Milnes (Lord Houghton) as the 
 poet Chaucer; and Sir E. Bulwer Lytton in an 
 anonymous dress of dark velvet slashed with white 
 satin. 
 
 About a fortnight after this pageant a grand ball 
 was given in her Majesty’s Theatre for the benefit of 
 the Spitalfields weavers, at which the Queen was 
 present with a brilliant circle. Fancy balls were also 
 given at Stafford House and Apsley House for the 
 same charitable object. 
 
 Two daring attempts to assassinate the Queen were 
 made this year, within a few weeks of each other. 
 The first was by a man named John Francis. Towards 
 seven o’clock on the evening of May 30, her Majesty 
 and party were proceeding down Constitution Hill. 
 When about halfway down, the would-be assassin 
 Francis was seen to take a pistol from his side, and to 
 fire it in the direction of the royal carriage, from 
 which he was distant not more than seven feet. The 
 Queen manifested her usual courageous demeanour 
 under the outrage. Francis was immediately seized 
 by Private Allen, of the Fusilier Guards, and Police 
 Constable Turner, who was attempting to dash the 
 pistol out of his hand when the shot was fired. The 
 culprit was taken to the lodge adjoining the Palace, 
 where he was searched ; and a ball, with a little 
 
i 7 8 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 powder, and the still warm pistol, were taken from 
 his person. The man maintained a dogged silence as 
 to his motive, and refused to give any explanation 
 about his antecedents; but it was subsequently as¬ 
 certained that he was the son of a machinist in Drury 
 Lane Theatre, and had for some months been out of 
 employment. When the news of the outrage reached 
 the Houses of Parliament, both Lords and Commons 
 adjourned in confusion, as it was found impossible to 
 carry on the public business amidst the excitement 
 which the attempt occasioned. 
 
 All concurrent accounts speak of the admirable 
 bravery and presence of mind of the Queen. It 
 appears that on the previous Sunday, while the Queen 
 and Prince were driving along the Mall, having been 
 to service at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s, Prince 
 Albert saw a man step out of the crowd of cheering 
 spectators and present a pistol at him. Happily, the 
 pistol did not go off, and the Queen, who was bowing 
 to the people on the other side, neither heard nor 
 saw anything. As the Prince’s own knowledge of 
 the attempt was corroborated by an independent 
 witness, her Majesty was apprised of the occurrence. 
 The Prince, in afterwards writing to his father, said 
 that both he and the Queen were naturally much 
 agitated, and that his wife had become nervous and 
 unwell. Her Majesty’s doctor desired her to continue 
 going out, however. The Queen herself was strongly in 
 favour of this. She c never could have existed,’ she 
 herself said afterwards, c under the uncertainty of a 
 concealed attack. She would much rather run the 
 immediate risk at any time than have the presenti¬ 
 ment of danger constantly hovering over her.’ But 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 179 
 
 with that generous consideration which has always 
 distinguished her, she would not permit her female 
 attendants to accompany her, in accordance with the 
 usual practice, on her dangerous drive. Lady Bloom¬ 
 field, who was then Miss Liddell, one of the maids-of- 
 honour in waiting, has described how her Majesty’s 
 attendants waited at home all the afternoon, expecting 
 a summons, which never came, to go the usual drive. 
 The Queen went out with the Prince alone, and 
 when they came back the news of the dastardly 
 •attempt spread through the palace. To Miss Liddell 
 her royal mistress said: 1 1 dare say, Georgy, you 
 were surprised at not driving with me this afternoon, 
 hut the fact was, that as we returned from church 
 yesterday a man presented a pistol at the carriage 
 window, which flashed in the pan; we were so taken 
 by surprise that he had time to escape; so I knew 
 what was hanging over me, and I was determined to 
 expose no life but my own.’ The Queen and her 
 husband had driven out by Hampstead, being warmly 
 cheered along the route, and had nearly accomplished 
 the return journey, when between the Green Park and 
 the garden wall, and just opposite to where Oxford 
 had made his attempt two years before, the miscreant 
 Francis, who was lying in wait, fixed his pistol, being 
 then about five or seven paces off. The Prince at 
 once recognized the man as the same 4 little swarthy 
 ill-looking rascal ’ who had made the abortive*attempt 
 on the preceding day. 
 
 ‘ We felt as if a load had been taken off our hearts,’ 
 wrote the Prince when all was safely overpast, 1 and 
 we thanked the Almighty for having preserved us a 
 second time from so great a danger. 5 The Duchess of 
 
THE LIFE OF QHEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 180 
 
 Kent was deeply affected wlien she met the Queen at 
 the palace after the affair. Falling upon her 
 daughter’s neck, she burst into tears, and the Queen 
 c endeavoured to reassure her with cheerful words and 
 affectionate caresses.’ As for the Sovereign lady her¬ 
 self, she soon recovered her wonted equanimity, and 
 writing to King Leopold on the following day, she 
 said : £ I was really not at all frightened, and feel very 
 proud at dear uncle Mensdorff calling me “ very 
 courageous,” which I shall ever remember with 
 peculiar pride, coming from so distinguished an officer 
 as he is.’ It may be stated that the c uncle Mens¬ 
 dorff’ here mentioned was a private gentleman, a 
 French emigre , who became a distinguished officer in 
 the Austrian service, and who married the Duchess of 
 Kent’s eldest sister. 
 
 Her Majesty attended the Royal Italian Opera on 
 the evening of the attempt, desirous of showing her¬ 
 self as early as possible to her subjects. There was a 
 scene of extraordinary enthusiasm, and the National 
 Anthem was performed to the accompaniment of 
 repeated bursts of cheering. On the following day 
 congratulatory addresses were voted by both Houses 
 of Parliament to the Queen on her escape from assas¬ 
 sination ; and numerous similar addresses were sub¬ 
 sequently forwarded by corporate bodies throughout 
 the kingdom. At Windsor, on the i 3 th of June, the 
 Queen • received an address of congratulation from 
 the Eton boys ; and she and the Prince were enthusi¬ 
 astically cheered on leaving the Castle for London by 
 the scholars, who had assembled on the Mount. The 
 journey to London on this occasion was the first which 
 the Queen had made by railway, and the time occupied 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 181 
 
 in travelling from Slough to Paddington was twenty- 
 five minutes. 
 
 The trial of John Francis for shooting at the 
 Queen took place on June 17th, when the prisoner 
 was found guilty and sentenced to death. On the 
 conclusion of Chief Justice Tindall’s address, Francis 
 fell insensible into the arms of one of the turnkeys, 
 and in that state was carried out of the court. The 
 Queen directed a reprieve of the sentence, although she 
 was £ fully conscious of the encouragement to similar 
 attempts whick might follow from such leniency.’ The 
 death sentence on Francis was commuted to trans¬ 
 portation for life, and he was sent out to Tasmania. 
 
 On the very day following this noble exercise of 
 the royal clemency—that is, Sunday the 3rd of July— 
 another daring attempt was made to shoot the Queen. 
 It occurred while she was driving to the Chapel 
 Royal, St. James’s, accompanied by her uncle the 
 King of the Belgians. A deformed youth, named 
 John William Bean, levelled a pistol at the Queen 
 and attempted to fire it. The pistol was loaded, but 
 very fortunately did not go off. The hunchback was 
 seized by a youth named Dassett, but the police at 
 first treated the thing as a joke. But when Dassett 
 was in danger of being arrested as the actual culprit, 
 witnesses came forward who proved the real state of 
 the case. The pistol was found to contain only 
 powder, paper, and some bits of a tobacco-pipe, 
 rammed together. It was also discovered that Bean, 
 who was a chemist’s assistant, had written a letter to 
 his father stating that he c would never see him again, 
 as he intended doing something which was not dis¬ 
 honest, but desperate,’ 
 
182 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 The Queen Rad no knowledge of Bean’s attempt 
 until ker return to the palace, and when apprised of 
 it she betrayed no alarm, but said { she had expected 
 a repetition of the attempts on her life so long as the 
 law remained unaltered by which they could be dealt 
 with only as acts of high treason.’ In the Life of the 
 Prince Consort we read: { Sir Robert Peel hurried up 
 from Cambridge, on hearing what had occurred, to 
 consult with the Prince as to the steps to be taken. 
 During this interview her Majesty entered the room, 
 when the Minister, in public so cold and self-con¬ 
 trolled, in reality so full of genuine feeling, out of 
 his very manliness, was unable to control his emotion, 
 and burst into tears.’ 
 
 Although a hare-brained love of notoriety had 
 quite as much to do with these attempts as any desire 
 to kill, it had now become absolutely necessary to 
 pass some law to meet such alarming offences against 
 the person of the Sovereign, Accordingly, on the 
 12th of July the Premier introduced a Bill into 
 Parliament making attempts on the Queen’s life 
 punishable as high misdemeanours by transportation 
 for seven years, or imprisonment, with or without 
 hard labour, for a period not exceeding three years. 
 Further, the culprit was to be publicly or privately 
 whipped as often and in such manner and form as 
 the court should direct, net exceeding thrice. This 
 measure became law on the 16th. Bean was brought 
 to trial on the 25 th of August following, at the 
 Central Criminal Court. The pistol having missed 
 fire, the capital charge was abandoned, and the 
 hunchback was tried for misdemeanour. He was 
 convicted upon this charge, and Lord Abinger 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 183 
 
 sentenced him to eighteen months’ imprisonment in 
 Newgate. 
 
 To the anxiety caused by these dastardly attempts 
 upon the life of the Sovereign succeeded a sad 
 incident which caused deep grief to the Queen and 
 her husband. On the 13th of July intelligence was 
 received in London to the effect that the Duke of 
 Orleans, while riding in his carriage, was suddenly 
 thrown from it and killed on the spot. Her Majesty 
 was much affected on receiving this deplorable news, 
 and wrote an autograph letter of condolence to the 
 Royal Family of France. This illustrious house and 
 our own were connected by many ties, three members 
 of the Coburg family—the near relatives of Queen 
 Victoria and Prince Albert—having married three 
 members of the French Royal Family. Her Majesty 
 thus gave utterance to her own grief for the Queen 
 Louise and for the young widow—a highly-cultured 
 but physically weak German princess : 4 My poor 
 
 dearest Louise, how my heart bleeds for her! I know 
 how she loved poor Chartres (the earlier title of the 
 Due d’Orleans), and deservedly, for he was so noble 
 and good. All our anxiety now is to hear how poor 
 dear frail Helene (the Duchesse d’Orleans) has borne 
 this too dreadful loss. She loved him so, and he was 
 so devoted to her.’ 
 
 But the time was not all sorrowful. Amongst the 
 lighter and happier episodes of the summer of 1842 
 were the two visits of Mendelssohn, the celebrated com¬ 
 poser, to the Queen and Prince Albert at Buckingham 
 Palace. A most interesting and graphic account of 
 the second visit was given by Mendelssohn himself, in 
 a letter to his mother, and this account we reproduce :— 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 a 84 
 
 4 1 must tell yon all the details of my last visit 
 to Buckingham Palace. It is, as G. says, the one 
 really pleasant and thoroughly comfortable English 
 house where one feels a son aise. Of course, I do 
 know a few others ; but yet on the whole I agree 
 with him. Joking apart, Prince Albert had asked 
 me to go to him on Saturday at two o’clock, so 
 that I might try his organ before I left England. I 
 found him alone, and as we were walking away the 
 Queen came in, also alone, in a simple morning dress. 
 She said she was obliged to leave for Claremont in an 
 hour; and then, suddenly interrupting herself, ex¬ 
 claimed : 44 But, goodness ! what a confusion ! ” for the 
 wind had littered the whole room, and even the pedals 
 of the organ (which, by the way, made a very pretty 
 feature in the room), with leaves of music from a 
 large portfolio that lay open. As she spoke she 
 knelt down and began picking up the music. Prince 
 Albert helped, and I too was not idle. Then Prince 
 Albert proceeded to explain the stops to me, and she 
 said that she would meanwhile put things straight. 
 
 4 1 begged that the Prince would first play me 
 something, so that, as I said, I might boast about it 
 in Germany; and he played a chorale by heart, with 
 the pedals, so charmingly and clearly and correctly, 
 that it would have done credit to any professional; 
 and the Queen, having finished her work, came and 
 sat by him, and listened and looked pleased. Then 
 it was my turn, and I began my chorus from St. Paul , 
 44 How lovely are the messengers.” Before I got to 
 the end of the first verse, they both joined in the 
 chorus; and all the time Prince Albert managed the 
 stops for me so cleverly—first a flute, at the forte 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 1S5 
 
 the great organ, at the D major part of the whole ; 
 then he made a lovely dAminumdo with the stops, and 
 so on to the end of the piece, and all by heart, that 
 I was really qnite enchanted. Then the young 
 Prince of Gotha came in, and there was more 
 chatting ; and the Queen asked if I had written any 
 new songs, and said she was very fond of singing my 
 published ones. “You should sing one to him,” said 
 Prince Albert; and after a little begging she said she 
 would try the Fruhlingslied in B flat—“ if it is still 
 here,” she added, “ for all my music is packed up for 
 Claremont.” Prince Albert went to look for it, but 
 came back saying it was already packed. “ But one 
 might perhaps unpack it,” said I. “We must send 
 
 for Lady -,” she said. (I did not catch the 
 
 name.) So the bell was rung, and the servants were 
 sent after it, but without success; and at last the 
 Queen went herself, and while she was gone Prince 
 Albert said to me: “ She begs you will accept this 
 present as a remembrance,” and gave me a little case 
 with a beautiful ring, on which is engraved—“ Y. R. 
 I 842.” 
 
 1 Then the Queen came back and said: “ Lady 
 
 -is gone, and has taken all my things with her. 
 
 It really is most annoying.” (You can’t think how 
 that amused me.) I then begged that I might not 
 be made to suffer for the accident, and hoped she 
 would sing another song. After some consultation 
 with her husband, he said, “ She will sing you some¬ 
 thing of Gluck’s.” 
 
 ‘ Meanwhile, the Princess of Gotha had come in ; 
 and we five proceeded through various corridors and 
 rooms to the Queen’s sitting-room, where there was a 
 
 G 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEH VICTOKIA. 
 
 186 
 
 gigantic rocking-horse standing near the sofa, and 
 two big bird-cages, and pictures on the walls, and 
 bound books on the table—music on the piano. The 
 Duchess of Kent came in too ; and while they were 
 all talking I rummaged about amongst the music, and 
 soon discovered my first set of songs. So, of course, 
 I begged her rather to sing one of those than the 
 Gliick, to which she very kindly consented; and 
 which did she choose ?—“ Schoner und Schdner schmuckt 
 sich ! ’’-—sang it quite charmingly, in strict time and 
 tune, and with very good execution. Only in the 
 line a Der Prosa Zasten und Huh” where it goes down 
 to D, and comes up again chromatically, she sang D 
 sharp each time ; and as I gave her the note both 
 times, the last time she sang D, and there it ought to 
 have been D sharp. But with the exception of this 
 little mistake, it was really charming, and the last 
 long G I have never heard better or purer or more 
 natural from any amateur. Then I was obliged to con¬ 
 fess that Fanny had written the song (which I found 
 very hard, but pride must have a fall), and begged 
 her to sing one of my own also. If I would give her 
 plenty of help, she would gladly try, she said; and 
 then she sang the Pilgerspruch , “ Lass dich nurr” 
 really quite faultlessly, and with charming feeling 
 and expression. 
 
 4 1 thought to myself, one must not pay too many 
 compliments on such an occasion; so I merely thanked 
 her a great many times, upon which she said: “ Oh, 
 if only I had not been so frightened; generally I have 
 such long breath.” Then I praised her heartily, and 
 with the best conscience in the world ; for just that 
 part with the long G at the close she had done so 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 187 
 
 well, taking the three following and connecting notes 
 in the same breath, as one seldom hears it done; and 
 therefore it amused me doubly that she herself should 
 have begun about it. 
 
 c After this Prince Albert sang the Arndte-lied , 
 “ Us ist ein Schnitter ; ” and then he said I must play 
 him something before I went, and gave me as themes 
 the chorale which he had played on the organ and 
 the song he had just sung. If everything had gone 
 as usual, I ought to have improvised most dreadfully 
 badly—for it is almost always like that with me when 
 I want it to go well—and then I should have gone 
 away vexed the whole morning. But—just as if I 
 was to keep nothing but the pleasantest, most charm¬ 
 ing recollection of it—I never improvised better. I 
 was in the best mood for it, and played a long time, 
 and enjoyed it myself; so that between the two 
 themes I brought in the songs that the Queen had 
 sung, naturally enough; and it all went off so easily 
 that I would gladly not have stopped; and they 
 followed me with so much intelligence and attention 
 that I felt more at ease than I ever did in improvis¬ 
 ing to an audience. She said several times she hoped 
 I would soon come to England again and pay them a 
 visit; and then I took leave. And down below I saw 
 the beautiful carriages waiting, with their scarlet out¬ 
 riders; and in a quarter of an hour the flag was 
 lowered, and the Court Circular announced: “ Her 
 Majesty left the palace at twenty minutes past three.” 
 And I went off in the rain to the Klingemanns, and 
 had the double pleasure of pouring out all my news 
 to them and to Cecile. 
 
 1 I must add that I begged the Queen to allow me 
 
88 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 to dedicate my A minor Symphony to her, as that 
 had really been the inducement to my journey, and 
 because the English name on the Scotch piece would 
 look doubly well. Also I forgot to tell you how, just 
 as she was going to begin to sing, she said, “ But the 
 parrot must go out first, or he will screech louder than 
 I shall sing.” Upon which Prince Albert rang the 
 bell; and the Prince of Gotha said he would carry it 
 out; and I said, “ Allow me,” and carried the great 
 cage out, to the astonishment of the servants.’ 
 
 I have given this lengthy extract, because nothing 
 can better illustrate or show forth the inner domestic 
 life of the Queen and her husband. Such glimpses 
 as these are deeply interesting, as everything must 
 be which tends to reveal the personal and human 
 aspects of a monarch’s nature. We like to see and to 
 feel that they are moved by the same emotions and 
 aspirations as ourselves. It is not mere curiosity 
 which prompts this, but a feeling of kinship between 
 the highest and the lowest of the sons and daughters 
 of humanity. 
 
 Her Majesty’s first visit to Scotland—the land for 
 which she afterwards came to entertain such affec¬ 
 tion—was paid in the year 1842. On the 29th 
 of August the Queen and Prince Albert, accom¬ 
 panied by the Duchess of Norfolk and the Earl of 
 Morton, as lady and lord in waiting, and other 
 members of the household, embarked at Woolwich in 
 the Royal George yacht, commanded by Lord Adolphus 
 Eitzclarence. When her Majesty arrived off Tilbury 
 Port—a place associated with the name of her 
 illustrious predecessor, Queen Elizabeth—she was re¬ 
 ceived with a royal salute from the guns of tha 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 189 
 
 fortress, and the troops in the garrison were drawn 
 out and presented arms. The scene on the Gravesend 
 shore, where considerable numbers of spectators had 
 assembled, was very animated. The royal squadron 
 was received with loud cheers as it passed, the 
 Gravesend steamers hoisted their flags, and the 
 different bands played £ God Save the Queen,’ until 
 the royal yacht was out of sight. It appears from the 
 Annual Register that during the progress of the 
 squadron to the North every tower and beacon along 
 the coast vied in demonstrations of loyalty. The 
 Mayor of Ipswich, with a party, came forth in a 
 steamer to offer his obeisance; but the authorities of 
 Sunderland, in the exuberance of their loyal feelings, 
 were a day too early. Off Berwick, the Modern Athens 
 of Dundee was the first Scotch vessel to welcome the 
 Sovereign. She was shortly followed by other steamers, 
 and all fired a royal salute in welcome. The Queen 
 came on deck, and acknowledged the enthusiastic greet¬ 
 ings of her Scottish subjects, who were delighted to 
 see her wearing a Scotch shawl of Paisley make. The 
 royal fleet entered the Firth of Forth about midnight 
 on the 3 1 st, and anchored for the night on the north 
 side of the island of Inchkeith. 
 
 At nine on the morning of September 1 st the 
 Queen landed at Granton Pier, and proceeded direct to 
 Dalkeith Palace, the splendid seat of the Duke of 
 Buccleuch. The civic authorities of Edinburgh, 
 who did not anticipate so early an arrival, were not 
 prepared for her Majesty’s reception. At night the 
 city was brilliantly illuminated. As the royal visit to 
 the Scottish capital was one of national importance, 
 Edinburgh presented a spectacle such as had never 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 190 
 
 before been witnessed. An immense concourse of 
 people gathered together from all parts of the country, 
 journeying by steamer, rail, and stage-coach, while 
 some trudged on foot from the remotest districts of 
 the North. 
 
 The Queen, who had suffered severely from sea¬ 
 sickness during the latter part of her voyage, had 
 entirely recovered her health by the morning of the 
 2nd, and took a drive in the direction of Dalhousie 
 and Melville castles. Prince Albert, with the Duke of 
 Buccleuch, ascended Arthur’s Seat. 
 
 Her Majesty yielded to the desire for a State pro¬ 
 cession through Edinburgh, which accordingly took 
 place on the 3rd. Having taken the city, as it were, 
 by surprise on her first entry, this new arrangement 
 was made to meet the wishes of the people, and to 
 compensate the civic authorities for their disap¬ 
 pointment of the 1st, when they were unable to give 
 the Queen that right royal reception they had prepared 
 for her. The State procession was of a most successful 
 and gratifying character, and was described with great 
 circumstantiality of detail in all the Scotch and 
 English papers. 
 
 The Queen set out from Dalkeith Palace about half¬ 
 past ten o’clock a.m. Around her carnage were the 
 Royal Company of Archers. Her Majesty wore a 
 tartan plaid of the Royal Stuart pattern. As the 
 Queen entered the precincts of the royal grounds a 
 salute was fired from the Castle. Amidst the loud 
 cheers of the people the procession moved up the 
 Canongate and the High Street to the Cross, where 
 the city barrier was erected. Here the magistracy 
 were assembled to present the keys of the city to the 
 
JOYS AND CABES OE HOME AND STATE. 191 
 
 Sovereign, and the crowd was excessive. There were 
 Rso drawn up at this spot the members of the Celtic 
 Society, in the full costume of their respective clans. 
 They saluted the Queen with their claymores in true 
 Highland fashion, and her Majesty made a gracious 
 acknowledgment. The society then formed in the rear 
 of the royal corUgc , and escorted her Majesty to the 
 Castle. The procession halted in front of the Royal 
 Exchange, about fifty yards from the barrier, where 
 the Lord Provost advanced, and after delivering a 
 brief address, presented the keys of the city to her 
 Majesty. 
 
 The Queen, after receiving the keys, replied, with 
 much dignity mingled with kindness of manner : c I 
 return the keys of the city with perfect confidence 
 into the safe keeping of the Lord Provost, magistrates, 
 and council.* 
 
 The procession then resumed its course up the 
 High Street and Lawnmarket. On entering the 
 esplanade of the Castle her Majesty was received by 
 the Commander of the Forces, Sir Niel Douglas. 
 Escorted by the Governor and the Fort Major, on 
 either side, and holding the arm of her husband, her 
 Majesty—followed by Sir Robert Peel, the Earl of 
 Aberdeen, the Earl of Liverpool, the Duke and 
 Duchess of Buccleuch, the Duchess of Norfolk, the 
 Duke and Duchess of Argyll, and others—walked up 
 the shelving slopes and through the narrow passages 
 which lead to the upper part of the famous fortress, 
 and proceeded to view all that it contained of novelty 
 and interest. She seemed gratified and surprised at 
 the sight of the celebrated gun, c Mons Meg,’ whose 
 fortunes she appeared perfectly well acquainted with. 
 
192 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEH VICTOKIA, 
 
 After viewing the magnificent scene over the Firth of 
 Forth from the Mortar Battery, the Queen proceeded 
 to the Half-moon Battery, and thence to the Old 
 Barrack Square. The Crown Jewel Office was next 
 visited, where are deposited the regalia of Scotland, 
 which, after being lost for a long period, were re¬ 
 covered in i 81 8, chiefly through the instrumentality of 
 Sir Walter Scott. Her Majesty was much interested in 
 the insignia. Queen Mary’s rooms were now visited, 
 and here the Queen was accompanied by Prince 
 Albert only. The chamber in which King James was 
 born her Majesty regarded with special interest. 
 
 Everything of historical interest having been 
 viewed, the Queen returned to the Castle gate, where 
 she again entered her carriage. Amidst the loud 
 cheering of the multitude she drove down the Castle 
 Hill. In Bank Street there was a dense mass of 
 spectators, and a serious accident occurred owing to 
 the sudden rush of the crowd upon the extensive 
 temporary gallery which had been erected at the foot 
 of the Mound, within the railing at the northernmost 
 angle of the East Princes Street Gardens. Shortly 
 after the royal procession had passed the wooden 
 structure gave way with a loud crash, and fifty persons 
 were injured, two of them fatally. In Princes Street 
 and Queensferry Street the crowd was enormous: 
 thousands who could find no situation from whence a 
 sight of the Sovereign could be obtained quickly 
 traversed the road through which her Majesty was to 
 pass until they were fortunate enough to meet with a 
 coign of vantage. 
 
 Sir Thomas Hick Lauder has preserved some of the 
 humorous incidents of the Queen’s entry into Ed in- 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 193 
 
 burgh in his memorial of the Sovereign’s first visit to 
 Scotland. He states that on Castle Hill an elderly- 
 woman succeeded by a coup de main et de force in 
 making her way past the guards; and having most 
 unceremoniously passed through the party in atten¬ 
 dance on her Majesty, she exclaimed in a convulsive 
 state of excitement: c Oh, will ye no let me see the 
 Queen ? ’ The military pushed her back, but she was 
 not to be so easily beaten. She again squeezed for¬ 
 ward until she stood within a yard of the royal 
 carriage. ‘ Hech, sirs ! ’ she exclaimed, clasping her 
 hands, ‘ is that the Queen—is that the Queen ? 
 Weel, what have I no seen this day ? Eh ! but she’s 
 a bonnie leddie ! ’ The poor woman had not only 
 seen the Queen, but she was gratified by the Queen’s 
 recognition of herself. Another anecdote is told in 
 illustration of the Queen’s quickness of observation 
 and condescension on all such public occasions. A 
 gentleman who lived near Edinburgh said to his 
 servant on the evening of the Queen’s first visit to the 
 city, 4 Well, John, did you see the Queen?’ ‘Troth 
 did I that, sir.’ ‘ Well, what did you think of her, 
 John ? ’ ‘ Troth, sir, I was terrible feared afore she 
 
 came forrit—my heart was amaist in my mouth; but 
 whan she did come forrit, od, I wasna feared at a’; 
 I jist looked at her, an’ she lookit at me, an’ she 
 bowed her heid to me, an’ I bowed my heid to her. 
 Od, she’s a raal fine leddie, wi’ fient a bit o’ pride 
 aboot her at a’.’ 
 
 On leaving Edinburgh, the royal party proceeded to 
 Dalmeny Park, where the Earl of Rosebery—the pre¬ 
 decessor of the young statesman who now bears that 
 title—had provided a sumptuous luncheon. It had 
 
194 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 been arranged that after the dejeuner the Queen 
 should walk in the grounds which command a view 
 of the Forth, the islands which stud it, and the 
 heights beyond; but the rain fell heavily. A great 
 multitude of persons had assembled on the lawn, 
 however, undeterred by the weather; and in order 
 not to disappoint them, her Majesty went to the 
 library, whose windows opened upon the lawn, and 
 advancing to the open window remained there for 
 some time amidst the most enthusiastic demonstrations 
 of loyalty. In the afternoon the Queen and Prince 
 Albert left Dalmeny Park for Dalkeith, passing 
 through Leith, which was en fete , and where her 
 Majesty stopped to receive a civic address. 
 
 While the Queen had been viewing Edinburgh 
 Castle, the foundation-stone of the Victoria Hall, 
 and the buildings erected for the accommodation of 
 the General Assembly, was laid by Lord Frederick 
 Fitzclarence, Acting Grand Master Mason of Scotland, 
 accompanied by the Earl of Buchan, Acting Depute, 
 with the members of the Grand Lodge, and about 300 
 brethren of other lodges. 
 
 Sunday, the 4th of September, being the first 
 Lord’s Day which the Queen had spent in Scotland, 
 her Majesty at noon attended divine service in a 
 chapel in Dalkeith Palace, fitted up expressly for the 
 use of the Boyal Family and suite. The Rev. E. B. 
 (afterwards Dean) Ramsay, of St. John’s Episcopal 
 Church, Edinburgh, officiated. A little ecclesi¬ 
 astical war followed upon this circumstance in 
 the newspapers. The Presbyterians were greatly 
 dissatisfied because her Majesty did not attend the 
 Church of Scotland, and it was some time before 
 
JOYS AND CARES OP HOME AND STATE. 195 
 
 their angry feelings were allayed. The arrangements 
 for the Queen were made without any c malice afore¬ 
 thought, 5 however ; and the Ministers in attendance 
 upon her—Sir Robert Peel and the Earls of Aberdeen 
 and Liverpool—did attend divine service in the parish 
 church. 
 
 On the 5th her Majesty held a levee in Dalkeith 
 Palace, which was attended by an extraordinary 
 concourse of the nobility and gentry of Scotland. 
 Holyrood House could not be used on the occasion, 
 because of a contagious fever lately prevalent in the 
 vicinity. The Queen received a number of deputa¬ 
 tions, including one from the Church of Scotland, and 
 in replying to the address of the latter she said: 4 I 
 acknowledge with gratitude the inestimable advantages 
 which have been derived from the ministrations of the 
 Church of Scotland. They have contributed in an 
 eminent degree to form the character of a loyal and 
 religious people. 5 Addresses were also presented from 
 the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, St. Andrews, 
 and Aberdeen, and from the Lord Provost and magis¬ 
 trates of Edinburgh. 
 
 The remainder of the Queen’s Scotch visit was 
 thoroughly enjoyed by the Sovereign and her husband. 
 On the 6th they left Dalkeith and went to Queens- 
 ferry, where they embarked in a royal steamer. 
 Landing at North Ferry, in Fifeshire, they proceeded 
 to Dupplin Castle, where they dined with the Earl of 
 Kinnoull. The Lord Provost and town council of 
 Perth attended to present an address, and subse¬ 
 quently her Majesty drove into Perth, where a hand¬ 
 some triumphal arch of Grecian architecture had beef 
 erected in honour of her visit. The Queen dine 
 
196 ‘THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 and slept at Scone Palace, the seat of the Earl of 
 Mansfield. Next morning, at the solicitation of the 
 authorities of Perth, the Queen and Prince enrolled 
 their names in the Guildry Books, in imitation of the 
 precedents therein contained of King James VI. and 
 King Charles I. The following were the inscrip¬ 
 tions :— 
 
 Bleu et /ifton Droit. 
 
 VICTORIA R. > 
 
 Scone Palace, 
 
 September 7th, 1842. 
 
 tlreu un& 3fest. 
 
 ALBERT. 
 
 Scone Palace, 
 
 September 7th, 1842. 
 
 Taymouth Castle, the seat of the Marquis of Bread- 
 albane, was next visited, and her Majesty’s stay here 
 was rendered full of interest. She was received at 
 Dunkeld by a gallant array of Lord Glenlyon’s clans¬ 
 men, 1000 in number; and alighting from her 
 carriage she walked round the Green, witnessing the 
 performance of the Highland reel and other national 
 dances. On the approach to Taymouth Castle a 
 striking display was made of fine, tall Highlanders in 
 their national costume; and in passing through the 
 park her Majesty accosted the Marquis with the 
 remark: c Keeper, what a quantity of fine High- 
 landmen yon have got! ’ A magnificent display of 
 fireworks greeted the Queen’s arrival; and the even¬ 
 ing was passed in the exhibition of Highland 
 dancing on a platform formed under the windows of 
 the Castle. 
 
Joys and cares oe home and state. 197 
 
 Prince Albert was entertained on tlie 8 th to a 
 deer-stalking expedition, in which 150 men were 
 engaged. The Prince was the only person who fired, 
 s and he killed nineteen roe-deer, besides several brace 
 of grouse and other game. The Queen occupied 
 herself in walking through the gardens of the Castle. 
 She also visited the dairy, and, to the surprise and 
 delight of the woman in charge, had some milk and a 
 piece of bread. The amusements were continued on 
 the 9th; and in the evening a ball was given, which 
 her Majesty opened with the Duke of Buccleuch and 
 the Prince with the Duchess. 
 
 On the loth, previously to leaving Taymouth 
 Castle, the Queen planted a fir and an oak tree in 
 the grounds as a memorial of her visit. The royal 
 party then embarked on Loch Tay, and were rowed up 
 to Auchmore, a distance of sixteen miles. ‘ As the 
 barges and boats proceeded slowly and majestically up 
 the loch, they exhibited to the spectators a very beau¬ 
 tiful sight. The surrounding scenery also was very 
 grand; and its enjoyment, on the part of royalty, was 
 enhanced by the singing of Gaelic songs by the boat¬ 
 men, with which the Queen appeared to be highly 
 pleased. Her Majesty landed at Auchmore; and after 
 partaking of luncheon in the Marquis of Breadalbane’s 
 cottage, resumed the journey to Crieff, the drive to 
 which—passing by Killin, Glen Ogle, Loch Earn, St. 
 Fillans, and Comrie—was through very wild and 
 romantic mountain scenery/ The party reached 
 Drummond Castle at seven o’clock in the evening. 
 Here the Queen was most cordially received by Lord 
 and Lady Willoughby d’Eresby, whose guest she was. 
 
 A picturesque scene took place on the 1 2 th, when a 
 
198 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 hundred Highlanders in the Drummond tartan, some 
 armed with Lochaber axes, others with swords and 
 bucklers, paraded before her Majesty. An old man 
 known as Comrie of Comrie, who claimed to be here¬ 
 ditary standard-bearer of the Perth family, displayed 
 the very flag which was rescued by his great-uncle, 
 after it had been taken by King George’s troops at 
 the battle of Culloden; and he also wore the same 
 claymore which did service on that occasion. Early 
 on the morning of the 13 th the Queen and Prince 
 Albert left Drummond Castle on their return south. 
 On reaching the estate of Viscount Strathallan, her 
 Majesty passed under a beautiful arch, over which 
 was inscribed the words: f Adieu! fair daughter of 
 Strathearn ’—an allusion to the title of the Queen’s 
 father as Duke of Kent and Strathearn. 
 
 At Stirling, an interesting incident occurred. The 
 Provost, in receiving her Majesty, informed her that 
 he had the honour to serve under the Duke of Kent 
 for twenty-four years. The Queen was quite de¬ 
 lighted, and replied: 1 It gives me great satisfaction 
 to meet, in the Provost of this town, one who has 
 served under my revered father.’ After visiting 
 Stirling Castle, the royal party went on to Falkirk, 
 and from thence pursued their journey towards Edin¬ 
 burgh, passing on the way the fine old ruin of Niddry 
 Castle, the retreat of Mary Queen of Scots on her 
 escape from Loch Leven. Her Majesty and the 
 Prince Consort reached Dalkeith Palace at six o’clock, 
 after a very fatiguing day. 
 
 It is mentioned as illustrating the accuracy with 
 which the Queen’s progress was carried out as regards 
 time, that although no fewer than 656 horses were 
 
JOYS AND CAKES OF HOME AND STATE. 199 
 
 engaged in conveying her Majesty and suite to and from 
 Taymouth Castle, with the exception of five minutes 
 lost at Linlithgow, not the slightest delay occurred. 
 
 The freedom of the City of Edinburgh was con¬ 
 ferred on the Prince Consort on the 14th, and Dr. 
 Lee, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, also 
 delivered to his Royal Highness the diploma of an 
 honorary LL.D., conferred by the Senatus Academicus. 
 The Queen and Prince subsequently drove to Roslin. 
 The beautiful and perfect architecture of the chapel 
 filled them, as it must fill every one, with astonish¬ 
 ment and admiration. The royal party then drove 
 round to Hawthornden and viewed the romantic 
 scenery of the glen from the remains of the Castle. 
 The Queen and the Prince remained for some time at 
 the Poet’s Seat, and next viewed with great interest the 
 celebrated plane-tree under which the poet Drummond 
 and Ben Jonson had met 250 years previously. The 
 royal visitors went over the Castle and grounds, and 
 then returned to Dalkeith Palace. 
 
 The Queen was so deeply impressed with the 
 heartiness of her reception by all classes of her 
 Northern subjects, that before leaving Scotland she 
 caused the Earl of Aberdeen to write the following 
 letter, in which she gave expression to her gratified 
 feelings : c The Queen cannot leave Scotland without 
 a feeling of regret that her visit on the present 
 occasion could not be further prolonged. Her Majesty 
 fully expected to witness the loyalty and attachment 
 of her Scottish subjects; but the devotion and 
 enthusiasm evinced in every quarter, and by all ranks, 
 have produced an impression on the mind of her 
 Majesty which can never be effaced.’ 
 
200 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Her Majesty quitted Scotland on ttte morning of 
 the 15th of September, after a stay of exactly a 
 fortnight in the Northern portion of her dominions. 
 At Granton Pier she embarked on board the steamer 
 Trident , belonging to the General Steam Navigation 
 Company, with the flag of Sir Edward Bruce, Vice- 
 Admiral of the White, flying at the fore. The 
 steamer had a safe passage, and at 10 a.m. on the 
 17th the royal party landed at Woolwich amid the 
 cheers of the assembled multitude and the thunder 
 of cannon. 
 
 The Duke of Wellington received the Queen, 
 the Prince, and the royal children on a visit at 
 Walmer Castle, near Deal, on the 10th of November 
 ensuing. The veteran soldier welcomed her Majesty 
 at the gate of the Castle, and she ascended the grand 
 staircase leaning upon his arm. The Queen was in 
 excellent health and spirits, and soon after her arrival, 
 it being a moonlight night, she walked out upon the 
 ramparts, and enjoyed the fine view which presented 
 itself from that elevation. For two or three weeks 
 the royal visitors remained at Walmer, taking daily 
 walks or drives in the neighbourhood. On one occa¬ 
 sion the Queen and Prince took a very rough walk 
 completely unattended except by their favourite dogs, 
 and they went as far as the village of Kingsrlown, 
 calling on the way at the cottage of an old fisher¬ 
 man, and chatting for a short time with his daughter. 
 On the night of the 22nd there was a fearful gale; 
 and four Deal boatmen, in attempting to board a 
 foreign ship in the Downs, in a distressed and 
 hazardous state, were unfortunately drowned. Her 
 Majesty, on being apprised of the circumstances, 
 
JOYS AND CAKES OF HOME AND STATE. 201 
 
 caused to be forwarded to the Mayor of Deal a cheque 
 for £ 20, to be divided between the poor families 
 which had been thus suddenly bereaved. 
 
 During her stay at Walmer, the Queen received 
 the important and gratifying intelligence of the re¬ 
 conquest of Afghanistan by British troops, as well as 
 the news of the conclusion of peace with China. On 
 the 3rd of December, the Boyal Family took leave of 
 the Duke of Wellington and returned to Windsor, 
 travelling the whole distance by road in closed car¬ 
 riages and four. 
 
 When Parliament assembled on the 1 st of 
 February 1843, the Queen was unable, for the first 
 time since her accession, to open it in person. But 
 not long after this we find that she manifested her 
 anxiety for the highest interests of the people by 
 returning a gracious answer to an address forwarded 
 to her at the instance of the philanthropic Lord 
 Ashley (the Earl of Shaftesbury of honoured memory), 
 praying the Sovereign seriously to consider the best 
 means of diffusing the blessings of a moral and 
 religious education among the working classes. 
 
 The Duke of Sussex, uncle of the Queen, died on 
 the 2 1st of April, at Kensington Palace, after linger¬ 
 ing for many days in a serious condition. Pfince 
 Albert, on behalf of her Majesty, paid a visit of con¬ 
 dolence to the sorrowing relatives. On the 3rd of 
 May the body of the Duke lay in State, admission 
 being given to all persons who were dressed in 1 decent 
 mourning.’ There was an immense crowd at Ken¬ 
 sington, for the deceased had been highly esteemed 
 by all classes, and it was computed that 25,000 
 visitors passed through the chamber of death, The 
 
202 . 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Duke was interred at Kensal Green on the 4th with 
 mnch ceremony, and the reports state that Prince 
 Albert seemed to be more affected than any other 
 person at the funeral. 
 
 Another daughter was born to her Majesty at 
 Buckingham Palace on the 25th of April. The 
 Prince Consort was present; but, with the exception 
 of the Earl of Liverpool, Lord Steward of the House¬ 
 hold, all the official personages arrived too late. They 
 came just in time to see the first bulletin, and then 
 left again, the Queen and infant being reported as pro¬ 
 gressing most favourably. The infant Princess was 
 christened on the 2nd of June, and received the names 
 of Alice Maud Mary. The sponsors were the King of 
 Hanover, Prince Ernest, the Princess Sophia Matilda, 
 and Princess Eeodore. The child grew up to be an 
 especial favourite with the English people, who sym¬ 
 pathized deeply with her in the many sorrows which 
 marked her married life. 
 
 The Princess Augusta Caroline, eldest daughter of 
 the Duke of Cambridge, was married . on the 2 8th of 
 June to the Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg- 
 Strelitz. The wedding was solemnized with great 
 splendour in the new Chapel Royal at Buckingham 
 Palace, in the presence of the Queen and Prince 
 Albert, and other royal relatives and guests, and the 
 most distinguished personages in the kingdom. 
 Amongst the guests of the Queen and Prince Albert 
 were the King and Queen of the Belgians, and the 
 Duchess of Kent. The following amusing passage in 
 Dr. Raikes’s Journal will show that jealousy of the 
 Prince Consort had not yet died out in at least one very 
 high quarter,— c This morning, at breakfast, the Duke of 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 203 
 
 Wellington said to me : “ Did you hear what happened 
 at the wedding ? ” meaning that of the Princess 
 Augusta of Cambridge. Replying in the negative, he 
 continued: u When we proceeded to the signatures, 
 the King of Hanover was very anxious to sign before 
 Prince Albert; and when the Queen approached the 
 table he placed himself by her side, watching his 
 opportunity. She knew very well what he was about, 
 and just as the Archbishop was giving her the pen, 
 she suddenly dodged round the table, placed herself 
 next to the Prince, then quickly took the pen from 
 the Archbishop, signed, and gave it to Prince Albert, 
 who also signed next, before it could be prevented.” 
 The Queen was further anxious to give precedence at 
 Court to King Leopold, and consulted me about it, 
 and how it should be arranged. I told her Majesty 
 that I supposed it should be settled as we did at the 
 Congress of Vienna. “ How was that ? ” said she ; 
 “ by the first arrival ? ” “ No, madam,” said I, 
 
 “ alphabetically; and then, you know, B comes before 
 H.” This pleased her very much, and it was done.’ 
 The Queen sent a message to Parliament respecting 
 the grant of an annuity of £3000 to the Princess 
 Augusta. The grant was stoutly opposed by Joseph 
 Hume, but he was defeated by 223 votes to 57. 
 
 The first public result of the labours of the Royal 
 Commission on the Fine Arts, of which Prince Albert 
 was President, was witnessed in June 1843. O n the 
 29th of that month the Queen and the Prince Con¬ 
 sort, accompanied by the King and Queen of the 
 Belgians, visited an exhibition of cartoons in West¬ 
 minster Hall. They were prize cartoons for the decora¬ 
 tion of the new Houses of Parliament. Designs were 
 
2p4 
 
 The Life of queen Victoria. 
 
 afterwards carried out in frescoes, but unfortunately 
 the process has not proved so durable as was expected 
 at the time by the artists and experts concerned. 
 Some time before the decoration of the Houses of 
 Parliament, Prince Albert had also given orders for a 
 series of fresco paintings from Milton’s Comus , in 
 eight lunettes, to decorate a pavilion in the grounds 
 of Buckingham Palace. Amongst the distinguished 
 artists employed were Maclise, Leslie, Landseer, Dyce, 
 Ewins, and Stanfield. The Queen and Prince took 
 great interest in the work, and made frequent visits 
 to the pavilion to see how the artists were progressing. 
 Ewins, in writing of this time, has observed that in 
 many things the Queen and her Consort were a 
 pattern to their age. £ They have breakfasted, heard 
 morning prayers with the household in the private 
 chapel, and are out some distance from the Palace, 
 talking to us in the summer-house, before half-past 
 nine o’clock, sometimes earlier. After the public 
 duties of the day, and before dinner, they come out 
 again, evidently delighted to get away from the bustle 
 of the world to enjoy each other’s society in the 
 solitude of the garden. Here, too, the royal children 
 are brought out by the nurses, and the whole arrange¬ 
 ment seems like real domestic pleasure.’ 
 
 The ordinary life at the Palace, as Lady Bloomfield 
 has shown, was delightful in its simplicity, both as 
 regards its occupations and its enjoyments. As maid- 
 of-honour to the Queen at the time of which we are 
 writing, the Hon. Georgiana Liddell (who afterwards 
 became the wife of Lord Bloomfield, the diplomatist) 
 was thrown constantly into the society of her Majesty, 
 and the Queen seems to have had an especial affection 
 
joys and oaees of home and state. 205 
 
 for her. The following extracts from Lady Bloom¬ 
 field’s j Reminiscences of Court and Diplomatic Life will 
 be read with interest:— 
 
 £ Windsor Castle, Aug. \ 2 th, 1843. —I had a de¬ 
 lightful ride with the Queen yesterday, who most 
 kindly lent me her habit, hat, collar, and cuffs. Con¬ 
 sidering the great difference in our figures, the habit 
 
 fitted me wonderfully.We rode all about the 
 
 park for two hours and a quarter, and I never enjoyed 
 anything more. I do hope the Queen will continue 
 to ride, because as neither Lady Dunmore nor Matilda 
 Paget ever do, I should probably always have to 
 accompany her Majesty. No one dined here last 
 night, so we talked a great deal to the Queen, and 
 afterwards played at vingt-et-un, and I won eight- 
 pence, which was much for me, as I generally come off 
 second-best in the round games. The Queen told us 
 a funny anecdote of the little Princess Royal. Whilst 
 they were driving the other day the Queen called her, 
 as she often does, u Missy.” The Princess took no 
 notice the first time, but the next she looked up very 
 indignantly, and said to her mother, “ I’m not Missy, 
 I’m the Princess Royal.” She speaks French fluently, 
 and she was reading the other day when Lady Lyttelton 
 went up to her; so she motioned her away with her hand, 
 and said, “ JST approchez pas moi , moi ne veut pas vousL 
 
 ‘The Duchess of Kent very kindly sent me an 
 immense heap of music yesterday, vocal and instru¬ 
 mental. I delight in looking over new music. We 
 took a long drive, and the more I see of this lovely 
 park the more I admire it; the scene varies so much, 
 that almost every day I become acquainted with fresh 
 beauties. The Queen went with the little Princess 
 
206 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 and the Duchess of Buccleuch in one of the small 
 pony carriages, and before we started there was a 
 little delay, so I witnessed a most interesting scene 
 between the Duke of Wellington and the Princess. 
 She looked at him very hard, and he bent down in the 
 most gallant manner and kissed her tiny hand, and 
 told her to remember him, as well she may. The 
 Duke is looking very well, and rode part of the way 
 with us, but he refrained from accompanying us all 
 the time we drove, for the Queen drives so fast, it is 
 very hard work riding by her carriage. 
 
 c August 26th .—We drove with the Queen and the 
 little Princess yesterday. The latter chattered the 
 whole time, and was very amusing. Prince Albert 
 rode away to look at a house he is having built, and 
 the carriage stood still till he returned. The Queen 
 was talking to us, and not taking any notice of the 
 Princess, who suddenly exclaimed, “There’s a cat 
 under the trees ”—fertile imagination on her part, as 
 there was nothing of the kind ; but having succeeded 
 in attracting attention, she quietly said, “ Cat come 
 out to look at the Queen, I suppose.” Then she took 
 a fancy to some heather at the side of the road, and 
 asked Lady Dunmore to get her some. Lady Dun- 
 more observed she could not do that, as we were 
 driving too fast; so the Princess answered, “No, you 
 can’t, but those girls might get out and get me some ” 
 •—meaning Miss Paget and me.’ 
 
 The Queen’s attachment to Miss Liddell was shown 
 by the following letter, which her Majesty addressed 
 to her maid-of-honour on learning of her engage¬ 
 ment:— c Osborne, July 29, 1845.—My dearest 
 Georgiana,—i received this morning your kind letter 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 207 
 
 announcing yonr marriage with Mr. Bloomfield, 
 which has surprised us most agreeably. I do not 
 think you guilty of any inconsistency, and we 
 only hope you will be as happy through a long life as 
 we are; I cannot wish you more than this. I highly 
 approve your choice, having a high opinion of Mr. 
 Bloomfield; and I shall be much pleased to have, as 
 the wife of my representative at St. Petersburg, a 
 person who has been about me, whom I am so partial 
 to, and who I am sure will perform the duties of her 
 position extremely well. I pity you much for the 
 painful separation from Mr. Bloomfield to which you 
 will be subjected. Once more, repeating our sincere 
 wishes for your happiness, and with our kind regards 
 to your parents, who we hope are better, believe me, 
 always yours affectionately, Victoria BP 
 
 At the close of August 1843, h- er Majesty and the 
 Prince went on a yachting expedition round the Isle 
 of Wight, subsequently proceeding to Dartmouth, 
 Plymouth, and Falmouth. At the last-named place, 
 the Queen was rowed round the harbour in a barge, 
 and Lady Bloomfield, who accompanied her Majesty, 
 states that the crowd was awful. Vessels and boats 
 of every description, large and small, filled to the 
 utmost; and the moment they caught sight of the 
 royal barge, the people seemed to lose their heads 
 completely, left the helms to take care of themselves, 
 and rushed to the side of the vessel nearest the barge, 
 so that it was really alarming, and the Queen ex¬ 
 pressed great anxiety for her loyal subjects. Lord 
 Adolphus Fitzclarence ordered the men to pull away 
 as hard as they could when he saw an opening, so the 
 royal barge outdistanced the pleasure boats and got 
 
2g3 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 back safe to the yacht. Here the Queen received the 
 Mayor, who, being a Quaker, asked permission to 
 remain with his hat on. 
 
 The royal party left Falmouth on board the Victoria 
 and Albert , and sailed for Cherbourg, in order that her 
 Majesty might pay her expected visit to King Louis 
 Philippe. In Lady Bloomfield’s Reminiscences occurs 
 this entertaining passage: c I remained on deck a long 
 time with her Majesty, and she taught me to plait 
 paper for bonnets, which was a favourite occupation of 
 the Queen’s. Lady Canning and I had settled ourselves 
 in a very sheltered place, protected by the paddle-box, 
 and remarking what a comfortable spot we had chosen ; 
 her Majesty sent for her camp-stool and settled herself 
 beside us, plaiting away most composedly, when sud¬ 
 denly we observed a commotion amongst the sailors, 
 little knots of men talking together in a mysterious 
 manner; first one officer came up to them, then 
 another, looking puzzled, and at last Lord Adolphus 
 Fitzclarence was called. The Queen, much puzzled, 
 asked what was the matter, and inquired whether we 
 were going to have a mutiny on board ? Lord Adolphus 
 laughed, but remarked that he really did not know 
 what would happen unless her Majesty would be 
 graciously pleased to remove her seat. “Move my 
 seat,” said the Queen, “ why should I ? What possible 
 harm can I be doing here?” “Well, ma’am,” said 
 Lord Adolphus, “ the fact is, your Majesty is un¬ 
 wittingly closing up the door of the place where the 
 grog tubs are kept, and so the men cannot have their 
 grog! ” “ Oh, very well,” said the Queen, “ I will move 
 on one condition, viz., that you bring me a glass of 
 grog,” This was accordingly done., and after tasting it, 
 
JOYS AND CALEB OF HOME AND STATE. 209 
 
 the Queen said, “ I am afraid I can only make tlie 
 same remark I did once before) that I think it would 
 be very good if it were stronger I ” This of course 
 delighted the men, and the little incident caused much 
 amusement on board.’ 
 
 The royal yacht passed Cherbourg and Dieppe 
 without calling at either place, and at half-past five on 
 the afternoon of September 2 came in sight of Eu. 
 As soon as she was seen, King Louis Philippe, 
 accompanied by the Due d’Aumale and the Due de 
 Montpensier, Lord Cowley, and several of the suite, 
 put off in the royal barge, and immediately came on 
 board the yacht. The King embraced the Queen on 
 both cheeks, and then kissed her Majesty’s hand, and 
 welcomed her most heartily to the shores of France. 
 It was the first time an English Sovereign had visited 
 France since the Field of the Cloth of Gold. At first 
 the King seemed quite overcome; but he soon re¬ 
 covered himself, and spoke in excellent English. On 
 the Queen leaving her yacht, the Royal Standard 
 of England was lowered, and the Standards of England 
 and France were hoisted on the King’s barge. 
 
 Under a large canopy close to the shore were Queen 
 Marie Amelie, the Queen of the Belgians, Madame 
 Adelaide, the King’s old sister, the Prince and Princess 
 de Joinville, the Duchesse d’Orleans, the Prince and 
 Princess Augustus of Saxe Coburg, and many others. 
 As the royal barge approached they came close to the 
 landing stage, falling close in line behind the Queen of 
 the French. The King took the Queen of England by 
 the hand and assisted her up the steps. As the two 
 Queens advanced to meet each other, the most en¬ 
 thusiastic cheering broke forth from the spectators, 
 
210 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEER VICTORIA. 
 
 and the cannon boomed. Louis Philippe presented her 
 Majesty to the Queen of the French, who took her by 
 both hands and saluted her several times on both 
 cheeks, with evident warmth of manner. The Queen 
 of the Belgians, and other ladies of the Boyal Family^ 
 then came forward, and also saluted her with great 
 cordiality and affection. Prince Albert was presented 
 to all the ladies in the same way. There were mean¬ 
 while continuous shouts of c Vive la Peine Victoria ! 5 
 ‘Vive la Peine d’Angleterre ! 5 and the two Queens 
 were visibly moved by their emotion. 
 
 The various illustrious personages moved off in 
 quite a mediaeval procession for the Chateau d’Eu. The 
 Castle is especially interesting as having been the 
 scene of many historical events. William the Con¬ 
 queror was married here, and it was long the residence 
 of the Due de Guise. The Queen’s rooms were 
 elegantly furnished with beautiful Beauvais tapestry, 
 parquet floors, painted ceilings, and the pictures 
 which were saved by the fidelity of servants during 
 the French Revolution. In the evening there was a 
 grand entertainment in the banqueting-room, when all 
 the royalties were in high spirits. Queen Victoria had 
 the Prince de Joinville on her right hand, and carried 
 on a most animated conversation with him during the 
 whole time of dinner; laughing and talking with 
 much enjoyment and freedom. The Duchess of Orleans, 
 being in widow’s weeds, did not join the party at 
 dinner, this being French etiquette; but Queen Vic¬ 
 toria visited her after dinner, and saw 4 the young 
 people,’ to whom she paid such gratifying attentions 
 that she speedily became a great favourite with all of 
 them. 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 211 
 
 Sunday the 3rd was a quiet day, and as lier 
 Britannic Majesty had not a chaplain with her, she 
 had prayers read in a private apartment by one of the 
 persons in her suite. The members of the French 
 Royal Family forbore from the gay amusements usual 
 in France in compliment to the feelings of the English 
 party. 
 
 A grand fete, 'champetre was the great event of the 
 4th. It was given by the King to his illustrious 
 visitors, on the Mont d’Orleans, an elevated spot 
 in the midst of the forest of Eu. A very pleasing and 
 picturesque appearance was presented by the groups of 
 gaily dressed persons who had assembled, and who 
 mingled with the soldiers, gendarmes, and peasants. 
 There was a splendid luncheon, the King of the 
 French sitting at the centre of the table, with Queen 
 Victoria on his right. A very interesting gathering 
 of statesmen was to be seen further down the table, 
 where M. Guizot was seated between Lord Aberdeen 
 and Lord Liverpool. After luncheon the King gave 
 his arm to Queen Victoria, and walked round the 
 platform before the tent, being followed by Prince 
 Albert with the Queen of the French. This presen¬ 
 tation by the King of his youthful guest to the crowd 
 led to a burst of cheers, which were again and again 
 renewed till the departure of the whole party, and 
 until they were out of sight on their way back to Eu. 
 
 In the evening there was a large dinner-party at 
 the chateau, the guests numbering more than seventy; 
 and after dinner there was a beautiful instrumental 
 concert conducted by Auber. Lady Bloomfield states 
 that the King had sent for the Corps de l’Opera, in 
 order to have an opera; but, unfortunately, they only 
 
212 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 brought two pieces—one ridiculed the English, and 
 the other was said to be so improper that the Queen 
 objected to it; so that the visitors had to content 
 themselves with the musical performance, which was 
 very good and well executed. 
 
 Prince Albert attended a review of the troops given 
 in his honour on the morning of the 5 th. In the 
 afternoon the royal party visited the collegiate church 
 of the Virgin and St. Lawrence of Dublin, which 
 adjoins the chateau. 1 We afterwards descended to 
 the crypt,’ writes Lady Bloomfield, 1 where there are 
 the ancient monuments of the Comtes d’Eu; they had 
 recently been repaired, and are curious. The place 
 was lighted with candles, and was exceedingly pictu¬ 
 resque. The poor Duchesse d’Orleans went down with 
 us, but was so overcome she was obliged to leave us ; 
 and when we returned into the body of the church, we 
 found her and the Queen of the Belgians prostrate 
 before one of the altars, and the Dnchess was weeping 
 bitterly. She had never appeared in public since the 
 Duke’s death till the Queen’s arrival, and when she 
 was seen for the first time, and was received with 
 acclamations of u Vive la Duchesse d’Orleans! ” she 
 was completely overcome. She seemed a most 
 amiable, charming person, and her two little boys 
 were very pretty children. After seeing the church, 
 we drove in chars-a-bancs to Treport, where an 
 immense multitude had collected, as it was rumoured 
 that the Queen intended going on board the yacht. 
 The sea was, however, too rough; so we returned to 
 Eu, and walked round the gardens, and home 
 through the pleasure-grounds. I was shown two 
 beech-trees, which existed in the time of the Guises, 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 213 
 
 and it is said the League was signed under their 
 boughs.’ 
 
 There was another forest fete on the following day, 
 and on the 7th the Queen and Prince took leave of 
 the King, expressing their warmest thanks for his 
 great hospitality. The royal party embarked on 
 board their yacht the Victoria and Albert , and sailed 
 for England, being accompanied by a squadron of 
 French yachts under the command of Prince de 
 Joinville. Arriving off Brighton, the royal barge was 
 lowered, and was rowed towards the eastern side of 
 the pier by ten of the Queen’s crew. The approach 
 of her Majesty to the shore was the signal for loud 
 cheering by thousands on the beach and on the cliffs. 
 The bathing-women and the fishermen ran far out 
 into the water, waving their hats and testifying the 
 utmost joy. Her Majesty stood up again and again, 
 and bowed and kissed her hand. The scene was very 
 picturesque and heart-stirring, and this warm welcome 
 from her own people made a deep impression upon 
 the Sovereign. 
 
 A few days after her return, the Queen again left 
 her native shores for Ostend, on a visit to the King 
 and Queen of the Belgians. On landing at Ostend, 
 her Majesty and Prince Albert were received by the 
 King and Queen, and drove off to the royal palace at 
 Laeken. On the 15 th of September, the royal party 
 went from Ostend to Bruges, and spent the day in 
 visiting this quaint and venerable seat of the merchant 
 princes of the Middle Ages, and which had further 
 been the abode of the Counts of Flanders and the 
 regal residence of the Dukes of Burgundy. Never 
 .had the old city presented a more brilliant or animated 
 
214 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN YICTOEIA. 
 
 appearance than on the present occasion, when the 
 royal visitors made their progress through its streets. 
 As Queen Victoria and the Prince passed through the 
 Grand Place, which they did several times during the 
 day, the bells in the great tower or belfry above the 
 Cloth Hall pealed forth 4 Pule, Britannia/ 4 God save 
 the Queen,’ and other English airs. Ghent, that other 
 ancient and venerable city, was visited on the follow¬ 
 ing day, and the Queen was deeply interested by the 
 University, the convent of Belgian nuns, and the 
 Cathedral of St. Bavon. At the last-named place she 
 inspected the celebrated font in which the Emperor 
 Charles V. was christened. On a triumphal arch in 
 one of the principal streets of Ghent were inscriptions 
 pointing out the fact that the city had been visited 
 by Philippa of Hainan] t, Queen of England in 1343, 
 and after the lapse of exactly five centuries by another 
 Queen of England. 
 
 On the 19th the royal party left the palace at 
 Laeken, and travelled by special train to Antwerp. 
 They visited the cathedral, and also witnessed the 
 antique pageant of the Giant, before the palace in the 
 Place de Mer—described as 4 the most perfect vestige 
 of the ancient pageants now in existence in any city 
 in Europe.’ Next day the Queen and Prince em¬ 
 barked for England and landed at Woolwich on the 
 morning of Thursday, September 2 I. 
 
 In October came a very interesting visit to Cam¬ 
 bridge. The Queen and Prince Albert arrived at the 
 lodge of Trinity College on the afternoon of the 25 th, 
 when they were received in State by the Chancellor 
 of the University (the Duke of Northumberland) and 
 a large number of Masters of Arts in residence, 
 
JOYS AND CARES OP HOME AND STATE, 215 
 
 Addresses were presented by Lord Lyndhurst, the 
 high steward of the University, and Mr. Whewell, the 
 Vice-Chancellor, and the heads of the University were 
 presented to her Majesty. In the evening the Queen 
 held a levee , and she remained L for the night at 
 Trinity College. Next morning she and the Prince 
 proceeded to the Senate House, where the degree of 
 LL.D. was conferred upon his Royal Highness with 
 the usual ceremonies. After he had been duly 
 admitted to the degree by the Vice-Chancellor, the 
 Prince was invested with the doctor’s scarlet robe, 
 and took the velvet cap in his hand. A loud burst of 
 cheering, accompanied with the waving of caps, went 
 through the hall as his Royal Highness, thus equipped, 
 walked back to his seat beside her Majesty. Amidst 
 the cheering some cries were heard of ‘ Doctor Albert.’ 
 
 The royal pair afterwards visited the various 
 colleges, the University library, &c., and in the after¬ 
 noon proceeded to Wimpole, the seat of the Earl of 
 Hardwicke, about ten miles south-west of Cambridge. 
 Although a select party was invited to meet the illus¬ 
 trious visitors, the visit was a strictly private one, in 
 accordance with the Queen’s wish. Her Majesty 
 breakfasted at the early hour of eight next morning, 
 and then enjoyed herself in the grounds. In the 
 evening a splendid ball was given, to which the 
 leading county families were invited. Colonel Ram¬ 
 say, who was on escort duty with the Queen, has 
 recorded some amusing incidents of this ball. One of 
 these incidents was as follows :—‘ During the dancing 
 several circles were formed. There was one reserved 
 exclusively for her Majesty and Prince Albert, who 
 waltzed together, In an adjoining circle, very much 
 
2l6 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 crowded, an officer, who was dancing with a veiy 
 pretty girl, now the wife of a peer, burst out of it with 
 his partner, and said, “ Let ns go to some other circle.” 
 Not observing the Queen, he said : “ Halloa ! there is 
 no one here; ” and dashed in, waltzing in a somewhat 
 eccentric manner, with his elbows stuck out. He just 
 escaped coming against her Majesty, who was seated. 
 We all rushed forward to stop them dancing, when 
 the Queen said, a Let them stay—they are very 
 amusing.” When they finished, they found themselves 
 directly opposite her Majesty, whose eyes were firmly 
 fixed upon them. Their consternation was very great, 
 and they fled precipitately amid general laughter.’ 
 
 The Queen paid other visits to several of her dis¬ 
 tinguished subjects towards the close of the year. 
 The Premier, Sir Robert Peel, had the honour of 
 receiving her at Drayton Manor, on the 28th of 
 November, when the visit was a complete success. 
 At the banquet given by Sir Robert, we read of the 
 Queen looking very nice in a pink silk gown with 
 three flounces. After dinner she completely unbent, 
 and heartily enjoyed a game at patience with the 
 ladies. Prince Albert went into Birmingham on the 
 29th, and visited the chief manufactories, as well as 
 the Town Hall, the Free Grammar School, the Proof 
 House, &c. On the 30th he and the Queen visited 
 Lichfield, and went over the Cathedral. 
 
 From Drayton Manor her Majesty and the Prince 
 proceeded to Chatsworth, on a visit to the Duke of 
 Devonshire. The Hon. Matilda Paget, who was in 
 waiting on the Queen, wrote concerning this visit, under 
 date Chatsworth, the 1st of December:—‘The gran¬ 
 deur of this place far surpasses anything I could have 
 
JOYS AND CARES OP HOME AND STATE. 217 
 
 imagined. At half-past one the Queen and Prince went 
 over the State rooms with the Duke, then after luncheon 
 we drove out, and at half-past six we all went to see 
 the conservatory lighted up. The ball last night was 
 very pretty, in a grand banqueting-hall with a rococo 
 ceiling. Mrs. Arkwright was there, and was taken 
 up and presented to the Queen, who talked to her for 
 some time. This evening there have been lovely 
 fireworks, the cascades and fountains all lighted up 
 with red and green lights, which had a fairy-like 
 effect. I was so amused at the Duke of Devonshire 
 coming up to me in the middle of it all, when every 
 one was so amazed and excited, and saying, in an 
 insinuating voice, “ Do you like my little fireworks ? ” 
 I went into dinner with Lord Beauvale, and his wife 
 is charming. The Queen is well, and danced the 
 country dance with Lord Leveson with much vigour, 
 and her Majesty waltzed with the Prince. The royal 
 magnificence of everything here is overpowering. No 
 other place can come up to it. On Sunday there 
 were prayers at eleven, and then we went to the 
 kitchen garden. In the evening we walked through 
 the statue gallery and conservatory, and there was 
 some delightful music performed by the Duke’s own 
 band—some of Eossini’s Stabat Mater , the Creation , 
 
 &c.The Queen left Chatsworth at nine, and 
 
 the Duke of Devonshire, who accompanied her Majesty 
 as far as Derby, was in the highest spirits, and 
 delighted at the way everything had gone off*. At 
 Chesterfield I helped the Queen to get up on a chair, 
 that her Majesty might look out of a very high 
 window. She took such very tight hold of my hand 
 t3 prevent herself falling, that one said her Majesty is 
 
218 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 evidently not used to getting on chairs. The crowds 
 at Derby and Nottingham were perfectly astonishing, 
 especially at the latter place, which was more like 
 Edinburgh than anything else, and we arrived here 
 [Belvoir Castle, Dec. 4] at half-past one.’ Belvoir, 
 the Duke of Rutland’s seat, was next visited, and 
 from Belvoir her Majesty and the Prince -returned 
 to Windsor Castle, which was reached on the yth. 
 
 The indoor and outdoor life of the Royal Family 
 at Windsor have been happily described by Lady 
 Bloomfield, and from her Reminiscences I select the 
 following interesting extracts :— 
 
 £ Windsor Castle , Dec. 15, 1843.—I went to the 
 Queen’s room yesterday, and saw her before we began 
 to sing. She was so thoroughly kind and gracious. 
 The music went off very well. Costa [Sir Michael] 
 accompanied, and I was pleased by the Queen’s telling 
 me, when I asked her whether I had not better prac¬ 
 tise the things a little more, that u that was not 
 necessary, as I knew them perfectly.” She als"o said, 
 “ If it was convenient to me I was to go down to her 
 room any evening to try the Masses.” Just as if 
 anything she desired could be inconvenient I ... . 
 
 4 We had a pleasant interview with the royal children 
 in Lady Lyttelton’s room yesterday, and almost a romp 
 with the little Princess Royal and the Prince of Wales. 
 They had got a round ivory counter, which I spun for 
 them, and they went into such fits of laughter it did 
 my heart good to hear them. The Princess Royal is 
 wonderfully quick and clever. She is always in the 
 Queen’s room when we play or sing, and she seems 
 especially fond of music, and stands listening most 
 attentively, without moving. 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 219 
 
 6 Dec. 18.—We walked with the Queen and Prince 
 yesterday to the Home Farm, saw the turkeys 
 crammed, looked at the pigs, and then went to see the 
 new aviary, where there is a beautiful collection of 
 pigeons, fowls, &c., of rare kinds. The pigeons are 
 so tame they will perch upon Prince Albert’s hat 
 and the Queen’s shoulders. It was funny seeing the 
 royal pair amusing themselves with farming! 
 
 £ Dec . 19.—My waiting is nearly over, and though 
 I shall be delighted to get home, I always regret 
 leaving my dear kind mistress, particularly when I 
 have been a good deal with her Majesty, as I have 
 been this waiting. We sang again last night, and 
 after Costa went away, I sorted a quantity of music 
 for the Queen; and then Prince Albert said he had 
 composed a German ballad, which he thought would suit 
 my voice, and he wished me to sing it. So his Royal 
 Highness accompanied me, and I sang it at sight, which 
 rather alarmed me ; but I got through it, and it is very 
 pretiy. The Duchess of Kent has promised to have it 
 copied forme. The Prince of Wales stayed sometime 
 in the room while we were practising. He was very 
 attentive, and both he and the Princess Royal seem to 
 have a decided taste for music. We sang some of my 
 beloved Masses (Mozart’s), and you cannot think how 
 beautiful they are with all the parts filled up. Costa had 
 composed a very pretty Miserere, which we also sang/ 
 The Queen had some strange visitors at Windsor 
 near the close Of the year—to wit, eight Indians of 
 the Chippewa tribe. There were five chiefs, two 
 women, a little girl, and a half-breed. They were 
 under the charge of Mr. Catlin, the interpreter, and 
 her Majesty received them in the Waterloo Gallery. 
 
220 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA, 
 
 One of the chiefs made a speech, in the course of 
 which he said that he was much pleased that the 
 Great Spirit had permitted them to cross the large lake 
 (the Atlantic) in safety, in order that they might 
 see their great mother (the Queen), whom they had 
 much wished to behold. They found everything in 
 England to be far greater than they expected ; they 
 were especially pleased with the wigwam (Windsor 
 Castle), which was very grand. But they should 
 return to their own country quite happy and con¬ 
 tented—- c they thanked the Great Spirit they had 
 enough to oat—they were satisfied.’ Prince Albert 
 shook hands with the chiefs, all of whom had fought 
 for British interests. We are told that they looked 
 exceedingly grave, and were dressed with large 
 bunches of feathers on their heads, having on large 
 skins, while their faces were dreadfully tattooed. 
 The women had long black hair, and a dress which 
 came down to their feet. They had quantities of 
 coloured beads hung about them, and one had a small 
 looking-glass. The chiefs danced two war-dances, 
 which very much astonished and interested the Queen. 
 
 An accident occurred to her Majesty on the 5 th of 
 January, 1844, but happily it was not attended 
 with serious results. The Queen, attended by the 
 Marchioness of Douro, left Windsor in an open pony- 
 phaeton and pair, driven by a postillion, in order to be 
 present at the meeting of Prince Albert’s harriers at 
 the Manor House at Horton. The driver took too 
 short a turn in entering the road near the Five Bells, 
 and the near wheel of the carriage, from the rotten¬ 
 ness of the side of the road—occasioned by a rapid 
 thaw—sank into the ditch. The carriage was thrown 
 
Joys and cares of Some and state. 221 
 
 against the hedge; the horse upon which the postilion 
 was riding sinking in from the same cause. Her 
 Majesty and the Marchioness of Douro were rescued 
 from their perilous position by Colonel Arbuthnot, 
 who was in attendance on horseback. The Queen 
 accepted the offer of a pony-carriage belonging to 
 Mr. Holderness, of Horton, and was driven back to 
 Windsor, while a messenger was despatched for the 
 Prince Consort. Some labourers who assisted in 
 getting the carriage out of the ditch were liberally 
 rewarded by command of the Queen. 
 
 The first public statue of her Majesty which had 
 been erected in any part of her dominions was 
 unveiled at Edinburgh on the 24th of January, in 
 this year. It was a colossal statue by Mr. (afterwards 
 Sir John) Steell, and it was placed in position on the 
 colonnade of the Royal Institution, fronting Prince’s 
 Street. From the high elevation of the pedestal, the 
 gigantic figure, which was nearly four times life size, 
 assumed to the spectators almost natural proportions, 
 and harmonized with the massive building on which 
 it was placed. The whole composition was modelled 
 on the severest principles of Grecian art, and it still 
 remains a classic conception of much grandeur. Her 
 Majesty is represented seated on a throne, with the 
 diadem on her brow, while her right hand grasps the 
 sceptre, and her left leans on the orb, emblematic of 
 her extended sway. 
 
 The last days of January were saddened for the 
 Queen and her Consort by the death of Prince Albert’s 
 father, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, at the age of 
 sixty years. The Prince had been looking forward to 
 a reunion in Germany, and now the Queen was called 
 
THE LIFE OF QEHEH VICTORIA. 
 
 222 
 
 upon to write as follows to Baron Stoekmar :— c Ok, if 
 yon could be here now witk us ! My darling stands 
 so alone, and kis grief is so great and toucking. He 
 says (forgive my bad writing, but my tears blind me) 
 I am now all to kim. Ok, if I can be, I skall be 
 only too kappy; but I am so disturbed and affected 
 myself, I fear I can be but of little use.’ Tke 
 Prince, however, found deep solace in her affection, 
 observing to an intimate friend that she felt and 
 shared kis grief, and was tke treasure on which kis 
 whole affection rested. Prince Albert went over to 
 Germany at Easter, and as he was now absent from 
 tke Queen for tke first time since their marriage, both 
 felt tke separation poignantly. Tke letters written to 
 kis wife during kis absence breathe tke most affec¬ 
 tionate solicitude. c My own darling,’ began tke first 
 of these letters, written at Hover, ‘ I have been here 
 about an hour, and regret the lost time which I might 
 have spent witk you. Poor child, you will, while I 
 write, be getting ready for luncheon, and you will find 
 a place vacant where I sat yesterday; in your heart, 
 however, I hope my place will not be vacant. I, at 
 least, have you on board witk me in spirit. I reiterate 
 my entreaty, “ Bear up,” and do not give way to low 
 spirits, but try to occupy yourself as muck as possible; 
 you are even now half a day nearer to seeing me 
 again; by tke time you get this letter you will be a 
 whole one; thirteen more and I am again within your 
 arms.’ 
 
 On tke i st of February tke Queen opened Parlia¬ 
 ment in person. Tke Irish Repeal agitation was at 
 this time causing muck concern, and State trials were 
 proceeding in Dublin. Daniel and John O’Connell 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 223 
 
 and six other prisoners were charged with conspiracy 
 in endeavouring to obtain a repeal of the union 
 between Great Britain and Ireland. Her Majesty, in 
 receiving an address on the 2nd of February from the 
 Corporation of Dublin, said: ‘ I receive with satisfac¬ 
 tion the assurance that sentiments of loyalty and 
 attachment to my person continue to be cherished by 
 you. The legal proceedings to which you refer are 
 now in progress before a competent tribunal, and I 
 am unwilling to interrupt the administration of justice 
 according to law.’ O'Connell and his fellow-agitators 
 were convicted, and sentenced to various terms of 
 imprisonment; but an appeal being made to the 
 House of Lords, the judgment was reversed. The 
 Repeal agitation, however, did not flourish after the 
 trial. 
 
 A curious but important domestic reform was 
 inaugurated in the royal household at Windsor early 
 this year. At the suggestion of her Majesty, all the 
 unused bread of the various departments, which 
 amounted to an enormous quantity in* the course of 
 the year, and which had hitherto been disposed of in 
 an unsatisfactory manner, was directed to be given in 
 future to the inmates of the several almshouses within 
 the burgh of Windsor. A visitor at the Castle has 
 referred to the enormous preparation and expense 
 which were going forward every day, and to the 
 strange sight which the royal kitchen almost daily 
 presented. ‘ The fire was more like Nebuchadnezzar's 
 “ burning fiery furnace ” than anything else I can 
 think of; and though there is now no company at 
 Windsor, there were at least fifteen or twenty large 
 joints of meat roasting. Charles Murray told me that 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 224 
 
 last year they fed at dinner 113,000 people. It 
 sounds perfectly incredible; but every day a correct 
 list is kept of tlie number of mouths fed; and this 
 does not include tlie ball suppers, &c. &c., but merely 
 dinners/ 
 
 A distinguished visitor arrived at Windsor in March, 
 in the person of General Tom Thumb. He was under 
 the charge of his guardian, the enterprising Barnum, 
 and the General afforded much entertainment to her 
 Majesty, Prince Albert, the Duchess of Kent, and the 
 members of the royal household, by his extraordinary 
 intellectual display. It was stated that his smart 
 replies to the various questions put to him by the 
 Queen caused great astonishment. Mr. Barnum sub¬ 
 sequently wrote that 4 surprise and pleasure were 
 depicted on the countenances of the royal circle at 
 beholding this remarkable specimen of humanity so 
 much smaller than they had evidently expected to find 
 him.’ The General advanced with a firm step, and as 
 he came within hailing distance, made a very graceful 
 bow, and exclaimed: 4 Good evening, ladies and 
 
 gentlemen! ’ A burst of laughter followed this 
 salutation. 
 
 The Queen then took him by the hand, led him 
 about the gallery, and asked him many questions, the 
 answers to which kept the party in an uninterrupted 
 state of merriment. The General familiarly informed 
 the Queen that her picture gallery was 4 first rate,’ and 
 told her he should like to see the Prince of Wales. 
 The Queen replied that the Prince had retired to rest, 
 but that he should see him on some future occasion. 
 The General gave them his songs, dances, and recita¬ 
 tions; and after a conversation with Prince Albert 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 225 
 
 and all present, which lasted for more than an hour, 
 he was permitted to depart. As he retired, the 
 General was startled by the barking of the Queen’s 
 favourite poodle, and he at once began an attack 
 upon that animal with hi? little cane. A funny fight 
 ensued, greatly to the merriment of the royal party. 
 A lord-in-waiting expressed a hope that the General 
 had sustained no damage in the encounter, adding 
 playfully that in case of injury to so renowned a per¬ 
 sonage, he should fear a declaration of war by the 
 United States. 
 
 In April General Tom Thumb paid a second and a 
 third visit to Buckingham Palace by command of the 
 Queen. The second visit was especially interesting 
 and amusing, and it has thus been described by 
 Mr. Barn urn in his volume entitled Struggles and 
 Triumphs :— 
 
 ‘We were received in what is called the “Yellow 
 Drawing-room,” a magnificent apartment, surpassing 
 in splendour and gorgeousness anything of the kind I 
 had ever seen. It is on the north side of the gallery, 
 and is entered from that apartment. It was hung 
 with drapery of rich yellow satin damask, the couches, 
 sofas, and chairs being covered with the same material. 
 The vases, urns, and ornaments were all of modern 
 patterns and the most exquisite workmanship. The 
 room was panelled in gold, and the heavy cornices 
 beautifully carved and gilt. The tables, pianos, &c., 
 were mounted with gold inlaid with pearl of various 
 hues, and of the most elegant designs. 
 
 ‘We were ushered into this gorgeous drawing-room 
 before the Queen and royal circle had left the dining¬ 
 room ; and as they approached the General bowed 
 
226 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 respectfully, and remarked to ker Majesty tkat 44 lie 
 kad seen ker before; ” adding: “I tkink tkis is a 
 prettier room tkan tke picture gallery ; tkat ckandelier 
 is very fine.” 
 
 c Tke Queen took kim by tke kand, and said ske 
 koped ke was very well. 
 
 4 44 Yes, madam,” ke replied ; “I am first-rate.” 
 
 4 44 General,” continued tke Queen, 44 tkis is tke 
 Prince of Wales.” 
 
 4 44 How are you, Prince ? ” said tke General, shaking 
 kim by tke kand; and tken, standing beside tke 
 Prince, ke remarked : 44 Tke Prince is taller tkan I 
 am ; but I feel as big as anybody; ” upon wkick ke 
 strutted up and down tke room as proud as a peacock, 
 amidst skouts of laughter from all present. 
 
 4 Tke Queen tken introduced tke Princess Royal, and 
 tke General immediately led ker to kis elegant little 
 sofa, wkick we took with us, and with muck polite¬ 
 ness sat himself down beside ker. Tken, rising from 
 his seat, ke went through kis various performances, 
 and tke Queen handed kim an elegant and costly 
 souvenir , wkick kad been expressly made for kim by 
 ker order, for wkick ke told ker 44 ke was very muck 
 obliged, and would keep it as long as ke lived.” Tke 
 Queen of tke Belgians (daughter of King Louis 
 Philippe) was present on tkis occasion.’ 
 
 On tke third visit, King Leopold was present, and 
 ke put a multitude of questions to Tom Thumb. Tke 
 General was dressed in a full Court suit. Queen 
 Victoria desired kim to sing a song, and asked kim 
 what song ke preferred to sing. 4 Yankee Doodle,’ 
 was tke prompt reply. Tkis answer was as unex¬ 
 pected by Mr. Barnum as it was by tke royal party. 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 227 
 
 When tlio merriment which it occasioned had sub¬ 
 sided, the Queen good-humouredly remarked: e That 
 is a very pretty song, General; sing it, if you please/ 
 The General complied, and shortly afterwards took 
 leave of his delighted and distinguished audience. 
 The souvenir which her Majesty gave to Tom Thumb 
 was very superb, being of mother-of-pearl set with 
 rubies, and bearing a crown and the royal initials, 
 4 V. R/ After each visit also a handsome sum was 
 presented to Mr. Barnum. 
 
 The great Court event of the year was the visit of 
 the Emperor of Russia—the hard, cold, cruel, hand¬ 
 some, and imposing Nicholas. He was just in the 
 prime of life, and struck every one by the grandeur 
 of his bearing, though he must have thrown the 
 officials of the royal household into a flutter, seeing 
 that he slept upon straw, and always took with him 
 a leathern case, which, at every stage of his journey, 
 was filled with fresh straw from the stables. This 
 strange potentate won upon the woman’s heart of the 
 Queen by his unstinted praise of her husband. 4 No¬ 
 where,’ he said, 4 will yon find a handsomer young 
 man; he has such an air of nobility and goodness.’ 
 There must really have been little in common, how¬ 
 ever, between the Russian Bear and the gentle-natured 
 Prince Albert. 
 
 The Emperor came in the Russian war-ship Cyclops^ 
 and landed at Woolwich on the 1st of June. He 
 drove straight to the Russian Embassy. The King of 
 Saxony also arrived on the same day at Buckingham 
 Palace on a visit to her Majesty. On the 2nd, 
 Prince Albert went to call upon the Emperor at the 
 Russian Embassy, and the two illustrious personages 
 
228 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 met on the grand staircase. Their greeting was of 
 the most affectionate and cordial kind. The Czar 
 threw his arms round the neck of the Prince, and 
 embraced him fervently, Prince Albert returning the 
 salute. Very scant notice had been given of the 
 Emperor’s visit, but her Majesty expressed a strong 
 hope that he would take up his abode at Buckingham 
 Palace, and this he did after some days spent at 
 Windsor. The Emperor paid visits to the various 
 members of the Royal Family, and also to the Duke of 
 Wellington, evincing the deepest interest in the 
 veteran soldier. 
 
 On the 4th, the Emperor, the King of Saxony, 
 and Prince Albert witnessed the races at Ascot, and 
 on the following day there was a grand military 
 review in the Great Park at Windsor. The greatest 
 enthusiasm was manifested for the Iron Duke, who 
 really attracted more attention than the Czar; but 
 Wellington took off his hat, and waving it in the 
 air, said to the people very earnestly : c No, no! not 
 me—the Emperor ! the Emperor ! ’ The people then 
 warmly cheered the Czar. During the inspection of 
 troops, the Emperor was most keenly interested in 
 the 17th Lancers and 47th Foot. He surveyed them 
 minutely, saying that he wished to see the regiments 
 which had fought and gained onr battles in India. 
 On the approach of the Life Guards, the Duke of 
 Wellington put himself at the head of his regiment, 
 and advanced with it before her Majesty ; the spectacle 
 calling forth an exhibition of unusual enthusiasm. 
 In spite of the immense number of spectators present, 
 not a single accident occurred during the day. 
 
 On the evening of this day, and for several sue-* 
 
JOYS AND CAEES OF HOME AND STATE. 229 
 
 ceedi-ng days, there were splendid festivities at 
 Windsor and at Buckingham Palace, and on the 8th 
 of June the Duke of Devonshire gave a grand fete to 
 the Emperor and the King of Saxony at his Grace’s 
 surbnrban villa at Chiswick. The Queen, Prince 
 Albert, the Czar, and the King subsequently attended 
 the opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre, which was 
 crowded in every part. On the 10th, the Emperor 
 Nicholas left London on his return to Russia. 
 During his stay in England, the Emperor’s private 
 gifts had been on the most lavish and princely scale, 
 no one being forgotten; while as regards his public 
 benefactions, he gave IOOO guineas to the Society 
 for the Relief of Foreigners in Distress; .£500 to 
 the Nelson Testimonial Fund ; A 00 to the Welling¬ 
 ton Testimonial Fund; a piece of plate, of the value 
 of ^500, to be annually run for at Ascot races; 
 200 guineas to the poor of St. George’s parish; 
 100 guineas towards the formation of a Hospital for 
 Distressed Germans in London, &c. 
 
 The Queen gave birth to a son on the 6th of 
 August at Windsor Castle. The event was scarcely ex¬ 
 pected so soon, and only three hours before, her Majesty 
 had signed the Commission for giving the royal 
 assent to various Bills. The Queen’s happy delivery 
 was announced in the Times in precisely forty minutes 
 after it had taken place at Windsor Castle ; and as 
 this was the first occasion on which the electric tele¬ 
 graph had been so used, the rapid publication of the 
 news was considered very surprising. The young 
 Prince was christened on the 6th of September in the 
 names of Alfred Ernest Albert, being afterwards 
 created Duke of Edinburgh. One of the sponsors 
 
230 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 at the christening was the Prince Royal of Prussia 
 (now Emperor of Germany), who was then on a visit 
 to her Majesty. 
 
 As Byron and other poets and writers have 
 celebrated the virtues of the dog, it will not appear 
 trivial here to note the death of Prince Albert’s 
 favourite greyhound, Eos. She had been the Prince’s 
 companion since he was fourteen years of age, and 
 now after eleven years of affectionate and faithful 
 friendship, she was found dead without any previous 
 symptoms of illness. The remains were buried on the 
 top of the bank above the slopes of Windsor, and the 
 spot is marked by a bronze model of the hound. 
 
 The Queen had intended visiting Ireland in the 
 summer of 1844, but the unsettled condition of the 
 country rendered this unadvisable, and a second visit 
 to Scotland took the place of the projected Irish tour. 
 Her Majesty and the Prince left Windsor on the 9th 
 of September, taking the little Princess Royal with 
 them, the three other children being sent during their 
 parents’ absence to the sea-side. The Queen and 
 Prince and c little Vicky’ embarked at Woolwich for 
 the North. Blair Castle had been placed at the 
 Queen’s disposal by Lord Glenlyon, afterwards Duke of 
 Athole, for a brief sojourn. The royal party arrived 
 in the Tay early on the morning of the I ith, and 
 landed at Dundee. There was a great reception by 
 the loyal Scotch, which was repeated at Coupar- 
 Angus, and Dunkeld. Proceeding by way of Pit- 
 lochrie and through the beautiful Pass of Killiecrankie, 
 Blair Athole was reached at three in the afternoon. 
 Her Majesty was received at the Castle by the Master 
 and Lady Glenlyon. 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 231 
 
 This stay in the North was most delightful and 
 refreshing to the royal travellers. Her Majesty took 
 constant walks and drives in the romantic scenery 
 with which the district abounds, visiting Glen Tilt, 
 the Falls of Garry, Tulloch Hill, the Falls of the 
 Tummel, Killiecrankie, and the Falls of Bruar. She 
 also ascended Ben-y-Gloe, witnessed the Highland 
 dancing; the fascinating sports of deer-stalking and 
 otter-hunting; watched the women reapers in the 
 glens, and otherwise entered with interest into 
 the life of the people in this charming region. She 
 gave considerable satisfaction by avowing a penchant 
 for Athole brose—a very pleasant composition, which 
 consists of honey, whisky, and milk. Only two 
 incidents of a disturbing nature arose during the 
 whole of the visit. The first occurred in the Pass of 
 Killiecrankie, when at the most critical part of the 
 Pass, near a narrow bridge, the leader horses in the 
 carriage immediately behind that which contained the 
 royal pair, got restive, plunged tremendously, and 
 were nearly running in contact with the Queen’s 
 carriage. The animals at last threw their legs over 
 the traces, and got so entangled as to arrest their 
 progress. The royal equerries rode forward to assure 
 the Queen that nothing serious had occurred, when 
 she said, £ This is a pretty job, certainly,’ and inquired 
 which of the horses had been at fault. The answer 
 was— c It was Wasp.’ ‘I thought as much,’ said her 
 Majesty ; c it was like him.’ 
 
 The other unpleasant incident was not a vehicular 
 but an ecclesiastical one. Her Majesty having at¬ 
 tended the parish church of Blair Athole, where the 
 worship was that of the Church of Scotland, the 
 
232 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Episcopalians were terribly enraged, and emptied the 
 vials of tbeir wratb in the newspapers. The Queen 
 bad intimated that sbe bad gone North for tbe pur¬ 
 pose of enjoying a period of strict quietude and 
 seclusion, and sbe was surely not to blame for wor¬ 
 shipping on this one occasion as she felt inclined. 
 Bigotry, however, long kept tbe visit to the Church of 
 Scotland open as a cause of theological strife. 
 
 The Queen was able to leave behind her almost 
 entirely the heavier cares of her position, and she 
 devoted herself to the rural recreations which had 
 such a charm both for herself and her husband. The 
 chroniclers of the time, however, were assiduous in 
 following her movements, and we catch by their means 
 many interesting glimpses of her Majesty’s doings. 
 It was her habit to rise with the sun, and to take her 
 morning walk in the grounds, accompanied by the 
 Prince Consort and the Princess Royal. £ Vicky ’ was 
 always mounted on her Shetland pony when she 
 accompanied her royal parents in their morning walk; 
 but Prince Albert would sometimes take her in his 
 arms, and point out any object within view that 
 might attract the wondering fancy of a child. The 
 Queen’s piper, Mackay, who attended her during the 
 whole of her Majesty’s sojourn at Blair Athole, had 
 orders to play the pibroch under the Queen’s window 
 every morning at seven o’clock; and at the same 
 early hour a bunch of fresh heather, with some of the 
 icy cold water from the celebrated spring at Glen Tilt, 
 were presented to the Queen. 
 
 The following characteristic anecdote was published 
 in one of the local journals :— c One morning about 
 seven o’clock, a lady plainly dressed left the Castle; 
 
.TOYS AND DARES OF HOME AND STATE. 233 
 
 who, though observed by the Highland guard on duty, 
 was allowed to pass unnoticed, until after she had 
 proceeded for a considerable distance ; when some one 
 having discovered that it was the Queen, a party of the 
 Highlanders turned out as a royal body-guard. Her 
 Majesty, however, signified her wish to dispense with 
 their services, and they all returned to their stations. 
 The Queen, in the meanwhile, moved onwards through 
 the Castle grounds, perfectly alone, until she reached 
 the lodge, the temporary residence of Lord and Lady 
 Glenlyon ; where, upon calling with the intention, as 
 was understood, of making some arrangements for a 
 preconcerted excursion to the Falls of Bruar, she was 
 informed that his lordship had not yet risen. The 
 surprise of the domestic may be conceived when her 
 Majesty announced who was to be intimated as having 
 called upon his lordship. 
 
 1 On her return, her Majesty having taken a 
 different route, and finding herself bewildered by the 
 various roads which intersect the grounds in every 
 direction, applied to some reapers whom she met to 
 direct her to the Castle by the nearest way. They, 
 not being aware to whom they spoke, immediately 
 did so, by directing her Majesty across one of the 
 parks, and over a paling that lay before her— 
 which she at once climbed over, and reached the 
 Castle—a good deal amused, no doubt, with her 
 morning’s excursion.’ 
 
 Journeys up the hills on Scotch ponies was a 
 favourite recreation with the royal pair. The Queen 
 on these occasions proved herself a bold and expert 
 horsewoman, disdaining, according to the reports, the 
 broad winding paths of the hills, and venturing upon 
 
234 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 more direct roads which presented obstacles that 
 would have deterred many other persons, including 
 even natives of the district. On one occasion she 
 ascended the hill of Tulloch, reaching the very top. 
 The view from this point was exceedingly fine, em¬ 
 bracing a whole range of lofty mountains, including 
 Ben-y-Chat, Ben Vrackie, and Ben-y-Gloe, and also 
 the Falls of the Bruar and the Pass of Killiecrankie. 
 ‘ It was quite romantic/ wrote the Queen afterwards. 
 ‘ Here we were with only this Highlander (Sandy 
 McAra) behind us, holding the ponies—for we got off 
 twice and walked about. Not a house, not a creature 
 near us, but the pretty Highland sheep, with their 
 horns and black faces, up at the top of Tulloch, 
 surrounded by beautiful mountains.’ To use her 
 Majesty’s own language, it was the most delightful 
 and the most romantic ride she ever had. 
 
 When the time came for journeying South again 
 the Queen and her Consort left Scotland with great 
 regret; they had begun to appreciate the beauty and 
 grandeur of its scenery, and the charms of solitude 
 which this * land of the mountain and the flood ’ 
 afforded so abundantly. But they had afterwards a 
 permanent reminder of their visit to Blair Athole, for 
 the ponies ridden by the Queen, Prince Albert, and 
 the Princess Royal—and to which they had become 
 much attached—were presented to their royal riders 
 by Lord Glenlyon. 
 
 Louis Philippe, King of the French, arrived at 
 Windsor Castle, on the 8th of October, on a visit to 
 her Majesty. It was an event of great national 
 interest and importance, for that distinguished yet 
 unfortunate Sovereign was the first and only French 
 
JOYS AND CARES OE HOME AND STATE. 235 
 
 monarch who had ever landed in the British islands 
 on a visit of peace and amity. The British nation 
 hailed him with the heartiest demonstrations of 
 welcome. Prince Albert went down to Portsmouth 
 to receive him. The King was awaiting his arrival, 
 and eagerly advancing, he embraced the Prince, and 
 saluted him in the continental fashion, on each cheek. 
 The Prince returned the monarch’s greeting with 
 warmth, though restraining himself to the English 
 modes. As the King landed a volley of cheers 
 went up from the spectators, whereupon his Majesty 
 bowed repeatedly on all sides, laying his hand on his 
 heart. 
 
 When the King and Prince reached Windsor Castle 
 they found the Queen waiting for them in the grand 
 vestibule fronting George the Fourth’s gate. The 
 Queen advanced to the threshold, and in the most 
 cordial manner extended her arms, whilst Louis 
 Philippe and the Prince descended from the carriage. 
 The King’s 4 embrace of the Queen was very parental 
 and nice/ He was much moved, and his hand rather 
 shook as he alighted; his hat being off, his grey hair 
 was seen quite plainly. The Queen wrote this account 
 of Louis Philippe’s arrival in her Journal :— c The King 
 said, as he went up the grand staircase to his apart¬ 
 ments, “ Heavens, how beautiful!”.... I never 
 saw anybody more pleased or more amused in looking 
 at every picture, every bust. He knew every bust, 
 and knew everything about everybody here in the 
 most wonderful way. Such a memory ! such activity! 
 It is a pleasure to show him anything, as he is so 
 pleased and interested. He is enchanted with the 
 Castle, and repeated to me again and again (as did 
 
236 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 also liis people) how delighted he was to be here; 
 how he had feared that what he had so earnestly 
 wished since I came to the throne would not take 
 place, and u Heavens! what a pleasure it is to give 
 yon my arm ! ” ’ The King had seen many vicissi¬ 
 tudes, and the Queen wrote concerning a conversation 
 with him during a banquet on the 8th : c He talked 
 to me of the time when he was u in a school in the 
 Grisons, a teacher merely,” receiving twenty-pence a 
 day, having to brush his own boots, and under the 
 name of Chabot. What an eventful life his has 
 been! ’ 
 
 On the 9th the King was duly installed, and with 
 great pomp, a Knight of the Order of the Garter. 
 Her Majesty sat in a State chair in the throne-room, 
 wearing the blue velvet mantle of the Order, and 
 having upon her head a diamond tiara. Round the 
 table before her sat ten Knights Companions of the 
 highest rank. The Sovereign announced the election 
 in French, and the new knight was introduced by 
 Prince Albert and the Duke of Cambridge. He was 
 invested by the Queen with the George, and received 
 the accolade. 4 Albert then placed the garter round 
 the King’s leg,’ wrote the Queen ; L I pulled it through 
 while the admonition was being read, and the King 
 said to me, u I wish to kiss this hand,” which he did 
 afterwards, and I embraced him.’ c The ceremony,’ as 
 Sir Theodore Martin has observed, ‘ must have been 
 pregnant with suggestions to all present who re¬ 
 membered that the Order had been instituted by 
 Edward III. after the battle of Cressy, and that its 
 earliest knights were the Black Prince and his compa¬ 
 nions, whose prowess had been so fatal to France/ 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 237 
 
 During his stay addresses were presented to the 
 King by the corporations of Windsor, London, and 
 Dover. In acknowledging the first, his Majesty said 
 that the union of France and England was of great 
 importance to both nations, but not from any wish of 
 aggrandizement. France had nothing to ask of Eng¬ 
 land, and England had nothing to ask of France, but 
 cordial union. The King left England on the 13 th, 
 by way of Dover, having been unable to proceed by 
 way of Gosport to Treport, as he intended on the 
 preceding day, in consequence of the swell in the 
 Channel. 
 
 The Queen and the Prince Consort, after the de¬ 
 parture of their guest, went upon a short cruise, and 
 visited the house and grounds of Osborne, then the 
 property of Lady Isabella Blatchford, but which were 
 to be sold. Her Majesty was favourably impressed by 
 the place, and as it was not far from London, and yet 
 had all the advantages of a country house, the royal 
 couple ultimately purchased it. On the 21 st of 
 October, the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, 
 the Queen and the Prince visited Nelson’s ship, the 
 Victory , then lying off Portsmouth. Her Majesty 
 went to the quarter-deck, where there is a brass-plate 
 bearing the inscription : 1 Here Nelson fell.’ The 
 Queen gazed upon the inscription in silence, shedding 
 tears the while. She also inspected the poop of the 
 Victory with its inscription, c England expects every 
 man to do his duty.’ In the cabin the Queen viewed 
 the exact spot where Nelson breathed his last. Here 
 she remained in reflection for some time, almost over¬ 
 powered by the recollections which the scene awakened. 
 On leaving the vessel, she requested that there should 
 
238 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 be no firing; but sbe could not prevent the three 
 tremendous British cheers which the tars raised 
 instead. 
 
 London saw a splendid show on the 28 th of 
 October, when the Queen opened the new Royal 
 Exchange. The procession was magnificent, and very 
 similar to the one at the Coronation. From Buck¬ 
 ingham Palace to the Exchange every place, hole, 
 or cranny which commanded the smallest view of the 
 route was crammed to suffocation. The Lord Mayor and 
 Aldermen met the Queen at Temple Bar at twelve and 
 escorted her to her destination. On alighting at the 
 Exchange, she walked round the colonnade, and 
 through the inner court. She then went upstairs, and 
 walked through the second banqueting-hall to show 
 herself ; subsequently receiving an address in a small 
 room prepared for the purpose. After the address, she 
 created the Lord Mayor (Sir William Magnay) a 
 baronet. A few hours before his lordship had been in 
 the most pitiable distress, for in going to receive her 
 Majesty he had put on an enormous pair of jack-boots 
 to protect himself from the mud ; and as the Queen 
 approached he was unable to get them off—or at least 
 one of them. He had one on and one off just as the 
 Sovereign was about to draw up at Temple Bar, and in 
 an agony of fright he ordered the attendants, who 
 were tugging at the immovable boot, to let it alone and 
 to replace the other one, which they did. These boots 
 he was compelled to wear until after the ceremony. 
 
 The new buildings now opened formed the third 
 Exchange. Gresham’s original Exchange was destroyed 
 in the Great Fire of London, and its successor was 
 burnt down in 1838, one of the bells pealing forth the 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 239 
 
 tune, c There’s nae luck aboot the house/ during the 
 conflagration. In opening the third building, the 
 Queen announced it as her pleasure that it should be 
 hereafter called c The Royal Exchange.’ A grand 
 dejeuner followed the opening ceremony, and in the 
 evening there were great festivities in the City. 
 
 At Windsor Castle, on the 30th of October, the 
 Queen received Sir Robert and Lady Sale; and her 
 Majesty heard from the lips of the heroic lady a 
 narrative of the privations to which she and other 
 captives had been exposed in Afghanistan. Lady Sale 
 went through fearful hardships during the disastrous 
 retreat from Cabul. She was severely wounded on the 
 second day of the march, and for nine days she was 
 compelled to wear a habit that was like a sheet of solid 
 ice, for having been wet through it had afterwards 
 frozen. She was in captivity ten months, with her 
 daughter, Mrs. Sturt, and the latter was confined of a 
 child during the time in a tiny room without light or air. 
 The baby lived, however, notwithstanding that its 
 mother and Lady Sale were frequently twenty-four 
 hours without food. Akhbar Khan treated them 
 cruelly while pretending to be their friend. He said 
 he would sooner part with all his prisoners than Lady 
 Sale, for 1 she was the only hold he had upon her devil 
 of a husband ! ’ 
 
 On the 12th of November, the Queen and Prince 
 Albert proceeded to Burghley House, near Stamford, on 
 a visit to the Marquis and Marchioness of Exeter. 
 Her Majesty was present at the christening of her 
 host’s infant daughter, to whom was given the name 
 of Victoria Cecil. The Queen kissed her little 
 namesake after the ceremony, and Prince Albert, who 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA, 
 
 340 
 
 stood godfather, presented her with a gold cup, bearing 
 the inscription, ‘ To Lady Victoria Cecil, from her god¬ 
 father Albert.’ There were many things at Burghley 
 to remind the Queen of the visit paid to that seat by 
 her great predecessor, Elizabeth. Her Majesty returned 
 to London on the 1 5 th, and a fortnight later occurred 
 the death of the Princess Sophia Matilda. She was 
 the daughter of the Duke of Gloucester, George III.’s 
 brother, and sister of the succeeding Duke, who 
 married his cousin, Princess Mary, The Princess was 
 buried on the iofch of December in St. George’s 
 Chapel, Windsor. 
 
 In the ensuing January the Queen and Prince 
 Albert went on a visit to the Duke and Duchess of 
 Buckingham at Stowe. It is not very pleasant to 
 read the details of a battue which took place in 
 honour of his Royal Highness, and at which the 
 Prince, the Duke, Sir Robert Peel, and others were 
 present. Beaters to the number of fifty beat up the 
 game, and when they had successfully performed their 
 task, £ a regular running fire instantly commenced 
 upon the devoted hares. The ground immediately in 
 front of the shooters became strewn with dead and 
 dying ; within a semicircle of about sixty yards from 
 his Royal Highness, the havoc was evidently greatest. 
 The gun was no sooner to his shoulder than the 
 animal was dead. In other cases wounded hares 
 vainly endeavoured to limp away, but every provision 
 had been made to avoid the infliction of prolonged 
 torture. Keepers were in readiness to follow up and 
 kill such as were maimed.’ Pheasants were also 
 beaten up, and the total amount of game shot by the 
 party consisted of 200 hares, 100 pheasants, and one 
 
JOYS AND CABES OF HOME AND STATE. 241 
 
 snipe. Prince Albert shot 144 hares, 29 pheasants, 
 and the only snipe killed. We are not surprised to 
 learn that this and similar incidents gave much 
 strength to the movement against the game laws. 
 The Duke of Buckingham’s battue was the reverse of 
 manly sport, and the Prince would have done well 
 had he resisted the entertainment provided in his 
 honour. It could have afforded him no pleasure 
 comparable with that which attends upon true sport. 
 
 A few days later the Queen and Prince Albert went 
 on a visit to the Duke of Wellington at Strathfield- 
 saye. The visit was made as private as possible, and 
 the Duke’s efforts to secure this were of a somewhat 
 amusing character. To a newspaper representative, 
 who applied for the facilities usually accorded on such 
 occasions, the Duke wrote: £ Field Marshal the Duke 
 
 of Wellington presents his compliments to Mr. -, 
 
 and begs to say that he does not see what his house 
 at Strathfieldsaye has to do with the public press.’ 
 The Duke also caused a notice to be conspicuously 
 posted in his grounds, desiring those who wished to 
 see the house to drive up to the hall-door and ring 
 the bell; but they were particularly requested not to 
 walk on the flag-stones or look in at the windows. 
 There was some company in the house, and the 
 Duke’s daily method of procedure has been thus 
 described :—‘ The Duke takes the Queen in to dinner, 
 sits by her Majesty, and after dinner gets up and 
 says: “ With your Majesty’s permission, I give the 
 health of her Majesty,” and then the same to the 
 Prince. They then adjourn to the library, and the 
 Duke sits on the sofa by the Queen (almost as a 
 father would sit by a daughter) for the rest of the 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 evening, nntil eleven o’clock; the Prince and the 
 gentlemen being scattered abont in the library or the 
 billiard-room, which opens into it. In a large con¬ 
 servatory beyond, the band of the Duke’s Grenadier 
 regiment plays through the evening.’ Lawn-tennis 
 and shooting were the sports at Strathfieldsaye pro¬ 
 vided for the Prince, but instead of having a battue 
 the veteran Duke trudged through the hard fields 
 with his royal guest in quest of real sport. At all 
 the places which she visited the Queen planted trees 
 of some kind; the oak, however, being generality 
 selected. 
 
 After the opening of Parliament in February 1845, 
 the Queen and the Prince Consort went down to 
 Brighton to make a short stay at the Pavilion. From 
 thence they visited Arundel Castle and Buxted Park. 
 During her stay at Brighton the Queen was exposed 
 to great annoyance in consequence of the rude beha¬ 
 viour of the crowd, who lay in wait to follow her in 
 her walk from the Pavilion to the pier. She was 
 very glad when the time came for taking possession 
 of Osborne, which she and the Prince did on the 
 29th of March following. The park and grounds 
 attached to this marine residence comprised upwards 
 of 300 acres, chiefly sloping to the east, and well 
 stocked with noble timber. The views from Osborne 
 are very extensive, commanding Portsmouth, Spit- 
 head, &c. A new mansion was subsequently built 
 for the Queen in lieu of the old house. 
 
 Her Majesty held a Court at Buckingham Palace 
 on May 21, to receive an address from the Lord 
 Mayor and Corporation of Dublin, inviting her to 
 visit Ireland. The very rumour that the Queen in- 
 
JOYS AND CARDS CD SOME AND STATE. 243 
 
 tended to visit Ireland had filled every heart with 
 gladness. In the course of her reply her Majesty 
 said: 1 Whenever I may be enabled to receive in 
 Ireland the promised welcome, I shall rely with 
 confidence on the loyalty and affection of my faithful 
 subjects. 5 
 
 On the 6th of June, at Buckingham Palace, the 
 Queen gave a grand costume ball illustrating the 
 period of George II. The precise period selected 
 was the ten years from 1740 to 1750. The com¬ 
 pany numbered about 1,200, and amongst those present 
 were the Duke and Duchess of Nemours and the Prince 
 of Leiningen, then on a visit to her Majesty. Noble¬ 
 men, ambassadors, statesmen, senators, and judges 
 attended the ball. Ladies were most perplexed 
 to fulfil all the points of the costume of the 
 period, and it was de rigueur that they should thus 
 appear. c However, it was discovered that the powder 
 made the complexion show more brilliant, and if the 
 hoop disguised the figure, the stomacher displayed it; 
 while both hoop and stomacher displayed the glowing 
 jewellery, the rich and elegant lace, the splendid 
 brocades, magnificent velvets, and gorgeous trimmings, 
 that were the pride of the evening. 5 The men ap¬ 
 peared in coats of velvet—crimson, black, or blue— 
 adorned with gold or silver; and powdered wigs were 
 universal. Many wore the dresses of their old 
 ancestors copied from family portraits. The beauty 
 of the ball was the Marchioness of Douro, daughter- 
 in-law of the Duke of Wellington. 
 
 Her Majesty, as the Lady of the Feast, wore a 
 magnificent dress of the period, rich with point lace, 
 diamonds, &c., the chief part of which was from the 
 
244 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA, 
 
 hoards of Queen Charlotte. Prince Albert wore a 
 suit of crimson velvet and gold, the coat-lining and 
 waistcoat of white satin, with the insignia of the 
 Garter. The Queen and the Prince Consort opened 
 the ball with a polonaise, followed by their most dis¬ 
 tinguished guests. Then came a minuet in the throne- 
 room, headed by the Queen and Prince George of 
 Cambridge, with the Duchess of Nemours and Prince 
 Albert, and six other couples. Various other dances 
 followed, and at midnight supper was served in the 
 great dining-room. The ball closed with the old 
 country dance of ‘ Sir Roger de Coverley,’ the Lady 
 of the Feast dancing with her husband. 
 
 The Queen and Prince Albert, accompanied by the 
 Lords of the Admiralty, inspected the Experimental 
 Squadron at Spithead on the 21 st of June. It was 
 a splendid spectacle to see the noble vessels as the^ 
 got under way. The war-ships off Spithead at this 
 time had a total of 926 guns, 26,208 tons; being 
 6,412 tons more than the fleet amounted to with 
 which England won the battle of the Nile. After 
 the evolutions, the Queen passed through the squadron 
 on her return to Cowes, much gratified by the display 
 she had witnessed. 
 
 Her Majesty prorogued Parliament on the 9th of 
 August, and on the evening of the same day set out 
 with the Prince Consort on her first visit to Germany. 
 Such a tour must have had special interest for her, 
 seeing that Germany was not only her husbands 
 country, but that of her mother also. The royal 
 party left Woolwich in the Fairy , the Queen’s new 
 yacht. Lord Aberdeen, Lord Liverpool, Lady Gains¬ 
 borough, Lady Canning, and Sir James Clark were on 
 
lOYS AftD CAKES OF HOME AND STATE. 245 
 
 board. For the first time in her many excursions by 
 sea and land, the Queen had unfavourable weather. 
 Her Majesty and Prince Albert disembarked at 
 Antwerp, and went on to Malines, where they were 
 met by the King and Queen of the Belgians, who 
 escorted them through their dominions to Yerviers 
 and Aix-la-Chapelle, where the King of Prussia was 
 in readiness to receive them. Then came in succes¬ 
 sion Cologne, Bonn, and the royal palace of Bruhl. 
 At Bonn the Queen was quite pleased to meet with 
 some of her husband’s old professors. Of the Prince’s 
 4 former little house,’ her Majesty writes: 4 It was 
 such a pleasure for me to be able to see this house. 
 We went all over it, and it is just as it was—in no 
 way altered. We went into the little bower in the 
 garden, from which you have a beautiful view of the 
 Kreuzberg —a convent situated on the top of a hill. 
 The Siebengeberge (Seven Mountains) you also see, but 
 the view of them is a good deal built up.’ 
 
 One can imagine the delight with which the Prince 
 would point out to his wife the various places dear to 
 his youth, as well as the many other romantic spots in 
 which this part of Germany abounds. Then also 
 there were the people of the 4 fatherland ’ to interest 
 them both. The King of Prussia behaved admirably, 
 and soon made the Queen feel perfectly at home in 
 her new surroundings. In proposing the Queen’s 
 health at a grand banquet in the palace of Bruhl his 
 Majesty said: 4 There is a word of inexpressible 
 
 sweetness to British as well as to German hearts. 
 Thirty years ago it echoed on the heights of Waterloo 
 from British and German tongues, after days of hot 
 and desperate fighting, to mark the glorious triumph 
 
246 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEER VICTORIA. 
 
 of our brotherhood in arms. This day, after a peace 
 of thirty years’ duration—the fruit of those arduous 
 days—it resounds in the lands of Germany, on the 
 banks of our noble Rhine. That word is Victoria ! 
 Gentlemen, empty your glasses to the bottom. The 
 toast is, “ Her Majesty, the Queen of Great Britain and 
 Ireland. Long live Queen Victoria and her illustrious 
 Consort! ” ’ 
 
 Baron Bunsen observed, with regard to the effect of 
 this happy speech, that 1 the Queen bowed at the first 
 word, but much lower at the second. Her eyes 
 brightened through tears, and as the King was taking 
 his seat again she rose and bent towards him and 
 kissed his cheek, then took her seat again with a 
 beaming countenance.’ 
 
 On the 12 th the royal visitors witnessed the 
 inauguration of Beethoven’s statue at Bonn, and in the 
 evening there was a splendid spectacle on the river: 
 Cologne was illuminated, and the Rhine was made one 
 vast feu-de-joie. c The royal party embarked in a 
 steamer at St. Tremond, and glided down the river; 
 as they passed the banks blazed with fireworks and 
 musketry; at their approach the bridge glared with 
 redoubled light, and, opening, let the vessel pass to 
 Cologne, whose cathedral burst forth, a building of 
 light, every detail of the architecture being made out 
 in delicately coloured lamps—pinkish, with an under¬ 
 glow of orange. Traversing in carriages the illumi¬ 
 nated and vociferous city, the King and his com¬ 
 panions returned by the railroad to Bruhl.’ Another 
 visit was paid to Cologne on the I 3 th, and when the 
 Queen returned to Bruhl she was welcomed by the 
 King and Queen of the Belgians, who had just 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 247 
 
 arrived. In the evening a grand concert was given, 
 at which Meyerbeer conducted in person, and a cantata 
 which he had composed in honour of her Majesty was 
 sung. Jenny Lind, Yiardot, and Liszt were among 
 the performers. 
 
 Next day the Queen and Prince Albert, with their 
 host, steamed up the Rhine in the King’s yacht, the 
 Konig. Her Majesty seems at first to have been 
 disappointed with the river; but as the vessel moved 
 majestically along, breasting the current of the 
 exulting and bounding stream, the Siebengebirge, 
 with c the castled crag of Drachenfels,’ and the c wild 
 rocks shaped as they had turrets been,’ crowning the 
 grey summits of the Stronberg, and Wolherburg, 
 and Hemmerich, burst upon the view; and her 
 Majesty expressed her admiration and delight at the 
 glorious spectacle in glowing terms.’ This admiration 
 was renewed when Coblentz came in view, with noble 
 Ehrenbreitstein on the left. In the midst of all this 
 picturesque scenery the smoke from the firing of 
 twenty thousand troops, all eager to welcome the 
 Queen, ‘ brought home to the imagination the din and 
 lurid splendours of a battle.’ 
 
 The august party made its halt for the day at the 
 palace of Stolzenfels, whither Humboldt and Prince 
 Mettemich had come; but next day the King and 
 Queen of Prussia took leave of their royal visitors, as 
 the latter again set forth on their? travels. On the 
 16th they reached Mayenee ; next day, being Sunday, 
 was spent quietly : but on the Monday they pushed 
 forward to Wurtzburg, and on the 19th entered 
 Coburg, where they were received with every demon¬ 
 stration of delight. Here they found Duke Erestn 
 
248 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 (the Prince Consort’s brother) and King Leopold and 
 Queen Louise. There was a picturesque reception— 
 triumphal arches, &c., and young girls dressed in 
 white, who presented bouquets and verses. ‘ I cannot 
 say how much I felt moved on entering this dear old 
 place,’ wrote the Queen, ‘ and with difficulty I re¬ 
 strained my emotion. The beautifully ornamented 
 town, all bright with wreaths and flowers, the numbers 
 of good affectionate people, the many recollections 
 connected with the place—all was so affecting.’ The 
 Duchess of Kent had already arrived at Coburg on a 
 visit to her nephew, and she and the Duchess and 
 Dowager-Duchess of Coburg, Prince Albert’s sister-in- 
 law and stepmother, welcomed the young royal couple. 
 The Queen said it was an affecting but exquisite 
 moment, and one which she should never forget. 
 
 The Queen and the Prince took up their residence 
 at the palace of Rosenau, which with kind thoughtful¬ 
 ness had been set apart for them by the Duke, and 
 they occupied the very room in which the Prince 
 Consort was born. Her Majesty thus wrote after¬ 
 wards of the time and the place: ‘ How happy, how 
 joyful we were, on awaking, to find ourselves here, at 
 the dear Rosenau, my Albert’s birthplace, the place 
 he most loves. He was so happy to be here with me. 
 It is like a beautiful dream.’ Five or six days of 
 pleasure now followed, husband and wife going 
 about together everywhere. A visit was paid to the 
 fortress overhanging the town, which has Luther’s 
 room in it, with his chair and part of his bed. 
 Kalenburg, another of the Duke’s seats, was likewise 
 visited. On the 22nd the royal party were present 
 at a festival entitled the 1 Feast of St. Gregorius,’ a 
 
SOt S AND CARES 01 ? HOME AND STATE. 249 
 
 species of carnival, in which the citizens and country 
 people, their wives and children, disguised in fancy 
 dresses, indulge in unrestrained gaiety. The Queen 
 entered into the spirit of the festival, and astonished 
 the children by conversing with them in their own 
 language. 1 Tired of dancing and processions, and 
 freed from all awe by the ease of their illustrious 
 visitors, the children took to romps, u thread-my- 
 needle,” and other pastimes, and finally were well 
 pelted by the royal circle with bons-bons , flowers, and 
 cakes.’ Concerts and various sights filled up other 
 days; and on the 25th, which was Prince Albert’s 
 birthday, there was another festival, which ended with 
 a fancy ball. Her Majesty wrote concerning this 
 day, which was the first the Prince had spent at 
 Rosenau since he was fifteen: 1 To celebrate this dear 
 day in my beloved husband’s country and birthplace 
 is more than I ever hoped for, and I am so thankful 
 for it! I wished him joy so warmly when the singers 
 sang as they did the other morning ! ’ 
 
 The family group broke up from Rosenau on the 
 27th, when the travellers left c with heavy hearts.’ 
 They proceeded to Reinhardtsbrunn, a beautiful 
 castellated hunting-seat of the Duke of Coburg. 
 From thence they were to go on the following day to 
 Gotha, on a visit to the Prince’s grandmother, who 
 was then seventy-four years of age. But the old lady 
 astonished her grandchildren by travelling eight 
 miles before breakfast in order to anticipate their 
 visit. The Queen thus speaks of the meeting: 1 1 
 hastened to her, and found Albert and Ernest with 
 her. She is a charming old lady, and though very 
 small, remarkably nice-looking, erect and active, but 
 
 1 
 
250 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 unfortunately very deaf. She was so happy to see 
 us, and kissed me over and over again. Albert, who 
 is the dearest being to her in the world, she was 
 enraptured to see again, and kissed so kindly. It 
 did one’s heart good to see her joy.’ In the afternoon 
 the royal travellers proceeded to Gotha, where they 
 found many things to remind them touchingly of the 
 late Duke, whose body had not yet been moved to its 
 vault at Coburg. Next day there was a pic-nic in the 
 Thiiringerwald forest, with a deer-drive or battue. 
 Stags were driven into an enclosure and shot, the 
 ladies of the party looking on from a pavilion. 
 Speaking of this sport, her Majesty has said in her 
 Journal that c none of the gentlemen like this 
 butchery.’ 
 
 The following day, which was Sunday, was spent 
 quietly at Gotha. Then the last day came, ‘with its 
 inevitable sadness. “ I can’t—won’t think of it,” 
 wrote the Queen, referring to her approaching depar¬ 
 ture. She drove and walked, and, with her brother- 
 in-law and his Duchess, was ferried over to the 
 “Island of Graves,” the burial-place of the old Dukes 
 of Gotha when the Duchy was distinct from that of 
 Coburg. An ancient gardener pointed out to the 
 visitors that only one more flower-covered grave was 
 wanted to make the number complete. When the 
 Duchess of Gotha should be laid to rest, with her late 
 husband and his fathers, then the House of Gotha, in 
 its separate existence, would have passed away. One 
 more drive through the hay-fields and the noble fir- 
 trees to the vast Thiiringerwald, and “ with many a 
 longing, lingering look at the pine-clad mountains,” 
 the Queen and the Prince turned back to attend a 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 251 
 
 ball given in their honour by the townspeople in the 
 theatre.’ 
 
 Next day, the 3rd of September, was a day of 
 sorrowful farewells, and then the royal travellers 
 turned their faces homewards. They stopped on the 
 way at Eisenach, and visited the fortress of Wartburg, 
 which has Luther for its hero, and St. Elizabeth, of 
 Kingsley’s Saint's Tragedy , for its heroine. The Queen 
 and Prince Albert came afterwards to Eulda, then to 
 Frankfort, and then to Biberich, on the Rhine; from 
 whence they steamed to Bingen, where they went on 
 board their own yacht The Fairy. As they were now 
 going homeward, home was of course first in their 
 thoughts, notwithstanding the beauty of the scenes 
 which had given them such pleasure on first beholding 
 them. At Antwerp, the travellers re-embarked in the 
 royal yacht Victoria and Albert , but instead of sailing 
 direct for English waters, they made for Treport, to 
 pay a flying visit to Louis Philippe, in response to the 
 King’s urgent entreaty. Off Treport an unexpected 
 contingency presented itself. It was low water when 
 the yacht arrived, and as the shore shelves greatly 
 here, there was water over a great extent of sands too 
 shallow for a boat to swim. A flippy thought on the 
 part of the King of the French got the party out of 
 their difficulties; ‘and a reigning Queen, a King, a 
 Prince Consort, a Prince of the Blood, a Duke of the 
 Empire, and the Prime Minister of France, made a 
 triumphal debarkation at a royal palace in a bathing- 
 machine ! ’ One day only, besides that of her arrival, 
 could the Queen stay at Chateau d’Eu, but into that 
 short time the King crowded as much entertainment 
 as he possibly could, while he also took the oppor- 
 
252 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA, 
 
 tunity of emphatically declaring his policy in regard 
 to the Spanish marriages. c He would never consent,’ 
 he said, ‘ to Montpensier’s marriage to the Infanta of 
 Spain until her sister the Queen was married and had 
 children.’ 
 
 There was a very affectionate parting between the 
 old and the young monarch, after which the Queen’s 
 yacht stood for England. On the ioth her Majesty 
 and the Prince reached their home at Osborne, where 
 a joyous welcome awaited them as they 1 drove up 
 straight to the house after landing ; for there, look¬ 
 ing like roses, so well and so fat, stood the four 
 children.’ The Queen has left it on record that this 
 visit to Germany was one of the most exquisite periods 
 of enjoyment in her whole life. 
 
 The ensuing winter of 1845-6 was a disastrous 
 one in some respects in our domestic history. In 
 England the railway mania had hurried many into 
 ruin, while in Ireland there was fearful destitution 
 through the failure of the potato crop. The settle¬ 
 ment of the great corn-law question was seen to be 
 imperative towards the close of 1845, and Sir Robert 
 Peel resigned office in order that Lord John Russell 
 and the Whigs might come in and grapple with this 
 long-vexed question. Lord John was unable to form 
 a Ministry, however, and on the 5 th of December 
 Sir Robert Peel returned to power. He courageously 
 resolved to abolish the corn-laws, and although by 
 doing so he incurred great odium with his party, the 
 country generally acknowledged with gratitude his 
 great and disinterested services. The obnoxious corn 
 laws were swept away, and Peel’s action was more 
 than jus f ffied by subsequent events. 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 253 
 
 During the thick of the political conflict the 
 Queen gave birth, at Buckingham Palace, on the 
 25 th of May, to her third daughter, Princess Helena, 
 afterwards Princess Christian. 
 
 In the closing days of June the Government was 
 defeated on its Irish Coercion Bill, a measure to check 
 assassination in Ireland, and on the 6th of July the 
 Prime Minister resigned office. The Queen felt the 
 parting with Peel and Lord Aberdeen most keenly. 
 Writing to King Leopold on the 7th she said: 
 ‘Yesterday was a very hard day for me. I had to 
 part from Sir Robert Peel and Lord Aberdeen, who 
 are irreparable losses to us and to the country. They 
 were both so much overcome that it quite upset me. 
 We have in them two devoted friends: we felt so 
 safe with them. Never during the five years that 
 they were with me did they ever recommend a person 
 or a thing that was not for my or the country’s best; 
 
 and never for the party's advantage only .I 
 
 cannot tell you how sad I am to loss Aberdeen; you 
 cannot think what a delightful companion he was. 
 The breaking-up of all this intercourse during, our 
 jc umeys is deplorable.’ But the Queen had still one 
 person on whose counsel she could rely, and one far 
 dearer to her than her Ministers. ‘ Albert’s use to 
 me, and I may say to the country, by his firmness 
 and sagacity in these moments of trial, is beyond all 
 belief.’ 
 
 The infant Princess was christened at Buckingham 
 Palace on the 25th of July in the names of ‘Helena 
 Augusta Victoria.’ The sponsors were the Duchess of 
 Orleans, represented by the Duchess of Kent; the 
 Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz ; and 
 
254 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 the Duchess of Cambridge—the two latter being pre¬ 
 sent at the ceremony. 
 
 A few days after this Prince Albert went to Liver¬ 
 pool, and formally opened the Albert Dock there; and 
 on the following day his Royal Highness laid the 
 foundation-stone of the Sailors’ Home. While the 
 Prince was away the Queen wrote to Baron Stock- 
 mar : i I feel very lonely without my dear master, and 
 though I know other people are often separated, I feel 
 
 that I could never get accustomed to it. 
 
 Without him everything loses its interest. It will 
 always cause a terrible pang for me to be separated 
 from him even for two days, and I pray God not to let 
 me survive him. I glory in his being seen and loved/ 
 
 Her Majesty and the Court, accompanied by the 
 King and Queen of the Belgians, removed from Buck¬ 
 ingham Palace to Osborne on the yth of August. 
 After a stay of five days here, the royal visitors 
 returned to Belgium. Baron Stockmar, who was over 
 at Osborne at the time, was greatly impressed by 
 the ripening powers of the Queen. He thus expressed 
 himself on this matter: 1 The Queen improves greatly, 
 and she makes daily advances in discernment and ex¬ 
 perience. The candour, the tone of truth, the firm¬ 
 ness, the considerateness with which she judges men 
 and things, are truly delightful; and the ingenuous 
 self-knowledge with which she speaks of herself is 
 simply charming/ 
 
 On the 18th of August, her Majesty, the Prince 
 Consort, and several members of the Royal Family, 
 embarked on board the Victoria ancl Albert for a 
 sail down the Channel. They visited Weymouth, 
 Babbicombe, and Mount Edgcumbe, and went up the 
 
JOYS AND CAMS OP HOME AND STATE. 255 • 
 
 Tamar to visit the curious old lions© of Cothele. 
 Sailing from Plymouth Sound, the royal party next 
 visited Guernsey. They landed at St. Pierre, and 
 drove through the principal parts of the island. 
 Some days later, the Queen, the Prince, and their 
 children again left Osborne in the royal yacht, and 
 proceeded across the Channel to Jersey. In the 
 course of this trip the Prince of Wales first appeared 
 in his sailor’s dress, and his appearance in nautical 
 attire was hailed with rapturous delight by the officers 
 and sailors on board the yacht. Her Majesty and 
 Prince Albert were greatly charmed with the scenery 
 of Jersey, which they thoroughly explored. From 
 Jersey the royal party sailed to Falmouth, and on the 
 5 th of September left that place and sailed along the 
 coast of Cornwall as far as Land’s End. In the Fairy 
 they next went round the beautiful St. Michael’s 
 Mount. On Sunday, the 6th, her Majesty and the 
 Prince having returned to the royal yacht from in¬ 
 specting the old castle of St. Michael, the brief sea 
 service was read by Lord Spencer. In the afternoon 
 the whole party sailed from Mount’s Bay, and the 
 Queen and her family were rowed in the barge to see 
 the curious caves in the Serpentine Bocks. Falmouth 
 and Penryn were the next places visited, and subse¬ 
 quently the royal party went on board the Fairy and 
 steamed up the rivers Truro and Tregony. On the 
 8 th the Queen and Prince Albert landed at Fcwey, 
 and drove to the old castle of Bestormel and the mine 
 of that name, both belonging to the Duchy of Corn¬ 
 wall. At the mine the royal pair got into one of the 
 trucks, and were dragged in by miners. In honour of 
 the occasion the mine was lighted by candles, which 
 
*$6 1 HE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 tlie miners carried in their hands. The royal party 
 then drove through the little town of Lostwithiel. 
 Returning from thence to the place of embarkation, 
 they set sail for the Isle of Wight, and arrived at 
 Osborne on the ioth. A few days later the Queen 
 and Prince took possession of that portion of their 
 new marine residence intended for their occupation. 
 We read pleasant accounts of the house-warming. 
 The Queen’s health was drunk, and then that of her 
 husband. After it the Prince said, somewhat seriously, 
 ‘ We have a psalm in Germany for such occasions,* 
 and then he began to quote the hymn in question, 
 which was Luther’s. It was a paraphrase of the 
 1 21 st Psalm, and Sir Theodore Martin gives this 
 translation of the quaint verse quoted by the 
 Prince: 
 
 ‘ * God bless our going out, nor less 
 
 ! Our coming in, and make them sure $ 
 
 God bless our daily bread, and bless 
 YVhate’er we do—whate’er endure ; 
 
 In death unto His peace awake us, 
 
 And heirs of His salvation make us.* 
 
 We have already made some allusion to the Franco- 
 Spanish marriages, and something more is necessary 
 to be said here, Louis Philippe agreed in September 
 to that double alliance against which he had more 
 than once solemnly pledged himself to the Queen; 
 and the marriage of the Due de Montpensier with the 
 Infanta Luisa was announced simultaneously with the 
 marriage of her sister, the Queen of Spain, to her 
 cousin the Due de Cadiz. The King of the French no 
 doubt thought that he had outwitted Great Britain 
 
I The Queen in the Royal Closet, St. George’s Chapel, Wint>sor 
 
 After G . E . Dawe , 184.6. 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 257 
 
 and Europe by this policy, but he was destined to 
 witness disastrous results from it. However, the 
 marriages were arranged, and Queen Amelie was 
 deputed to announce the fact to the Queen of England. 
 Her Majesty sent a very dignified reply to the letter 
 of the Queen of the French : 4 You will perhaps 
 
 remember/ she wrote from Osborne, on the 10th 
 September, 4 what passed at Eu between the King and 
 myself. You are aware of the importance which 
 I have always attached to the maintenance of our 
 cordial understanding, and the zeal with which I have 
 laboured towards this end. You have no doubt been 
 informed that we refused to arrange the marriage 
 between the Queen of Spain and our cousin Leopold 
 (which the two queens had eagerly desired) solely 
 with the object of not departing from the course 
 which would be more agreeable to the King, although 
 we could not regard the course as the best. You will 
 therefore easily understand that the sudden announce¬ 
 ment of this double marriage could not fail to cause 
 us surprise and very keen regret.’ The 4 two queens ’ 
 referred to by her Majesty were the young Queen of 
 Spain and her mother the Queen Dowager Christina. 
 The course which Queen Victoria did not regard as the 
 best, but which she nevertheless respected, was the re¬ 
 cognised one of confining the Queen of Spain’s selec¬ 
 tion of a husband to a Bourbon Prince, a descendant of 
 Philip Y. 
 
 Her Majesty and Prince Albert visited the Queen 
 Dowager at Cashiobury on the 19th of September 
 and spent a few days with her in strict privacy. They 
 then proceeded to Hatfield House, the seat of the 
 I Marquis of Salisbury, being met on the road by the 
 
258 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Marquis, the Duke of Wellington, and other noblemen 
 and gentlemen, who formed an equestrian escort. 
 Amongst the guests invited to receive the Queen were 
 Lord John Russell, Lord Melbourne—'who seems now 
 to have quite fallen out of the Queen’s life—and Lord 
 and Lady Beauvale. At Hatfield the Queen was 
 much interested in examining the famous Cecil papers. 
 She found also much pleasure in outdoor recreation, 
 visiting the vineyard, and the celebrated oak under 
 which Queen Elizabeth was found sitting when she re¬ 
 ceived the news of her accession. On the 1 st of De¬ 
 cember, the Queen and the Prince Consort visited 
 the Duke of Norfolk at Arundel Castle. Besides 
 being the Premier of the nobility and hereditary Earl 
 Marshal, his Grace now filled the political office of 
 Master of the Horse. Elaborate preparations were 
 made to receive the royal guests, while in the evening 
 the Keep was brilliantly illuminated, and the whole 
 town became one blaze of light. A sumptuous dinner 
 was given to every poor person in Arundel. On the 
 following day the Queen and Prince Albert each 
 planted a young oak tree in the Small Park. From 
 Arundel the visitors returned to Osborne House to 
 spend Christmas. 
 
 The year 1847 opened very gloomily. The com¬ 
 mercial depression from which the country had been 
 suffering had been further aggravated, while the ravages 
 of the potato disease had reduced the people of Ireland 
 to a terrible condition of starvation and disease. Con¬ 
 sequently when her Majesty opened Parliament in 
 person on the 19th of January, the Royal Speech was 
 not a cheerful document. Fortunately, foreign affairs 
 were hi a satisfactory condition, and as regards the 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 259 
 
 home difficulties, the Government of Lord John Russell 
 took prompt measures for relieving the distress in 
 Ireland. They also brought in a new Irish Poor Law 
 measure, which was quickly passed, together with other 
 remedial legislation. 
 
 But the season in London, always inexorable, was 
 not without its gaieties. The theatre saw the re¬ 
 appearance of Fanny Kemble, whilst at the Italian 
 Opera a new prima donna appeared, concerning whom 
 the Queen thus wrote : 1 Her acting alone is worth 
 going to see, and the piano way she has of singing, 
 Lablache says, is unlike anything he ever heard. He 
 is quite enchanted. There is a purity in her singing 
 and acting which is quite indescribable.’ The new 
 operatic star which thus suddenly came upon the 
 horizon was that popular favourite, Jenny Lind. 
 
 Lord Campbell records an amusing incident which 
 occurred at Court in February of this year : c I had an 
 audience,’ says his lordship, who was then Chancellor 
 of the Duchy of Lancaster, c that her Majesty might 
 prick a sheriff for the county of Lancaster, which she 
 did in proper style, with the bodkin I put into her 
 hand. I then took her pleasure about some Duchy 
 livings and withdrew, forgetting to make her sign the 
 parchment roll. I obtained a second audience, and 
 explained the mistake. While she was signing, Prince 
 Albert said to me: “ Pray, my lord, when did this 
 ceremony of pricking begin ? ” Campbell —“ In ancient 
 times, sir, when Sovereigns did not know how to write 
 their names.” Queen (as she returned me the roll with 
 her signature) : “ But we now show we have been to 
 school.” ’ 
 
 One day, in the following month, Lord Campbell 
 
266 
 
 THE LIFE OP QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 and his wife and daughter dined at Buckingham 
 Palace, and his lordship thus vivaciously describes the 
 event: 1 On our arrival, a little before eight, we were 
 shown into the picture gallery, where the company 
 assembled. Bowles, who acted as master of the cere¬ 
 monies, arranged what gentleman should take what 
 lady. He said, “ Dinner is ordered to be on the table 
 at ten minutes past eight, but I bet you the Queen 
 will not be here till twenty or twenty-five minutes 
 after. She always thinks she can dress in ten 
 minutes, but she takes about double the time.” True 
 enough, it was nearly twenty-five minutes past eight 
 before she appeared. She shook hands with the ladies, 
 bowed to the gentlemen, and proceeded to the salle a 
 manger. I had to take in Lady Emily de Burgh, and 
 was third on her Majesty’s right, Prince Edward of 
 Saxe-Weimar and my partner being between us. The 
 greatest delicacy we had was some very nice oat-cake. 
 There was a Highland piper standing behind her 
 Majesty’s chair, but he did not play as at State 
 dinners. We had likewise some Edinburgh ale. The 
 Queen and the ladies withdrawing, Prince Albert 
 came over to her side of the table, and we remained 
 behind about a quarter of an hour, but we rose within 
 the hour from the time of our sitting down to dinner. 
 .... On returning to the gallery we had tea and 
 coffee. The Queen came up and talked to me. She 
 does the honours of the palace with infinite grace and 
 sweetness, and, considering what she is both in 
 public and domestic life, I do not think she is 
 sufficiently loved and respected. Prince Albert took 
 me to task for my impatience to get into the new 
 House of Lords, but I think I pacified him, com- 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF SOME AND STATE. 261 
 
 plimenting his taste. A dance followed. The Queen 
 chiefly delighted in a romping sort of country dance, 
 called the Te 7 n$ete. She withdrew a little before twelve.’ 
 
 Prince Albert was elected Chancellor of the Uni¬ 
 versity of Cambridge on the 28th of February, re¬ 
 ceiving 953 votes as against 837 given to his oppo¬ 
 nent the Earl of Powis. The installation of the Prince 
 took place on the 6th of July, amid circumstances 
 of great pomp and splendour, her Majesty being pre¬ 
 sent at the investiture. The ceremony was performed 
 in the hall of Trinity College. The journals report that 
 the Queen, being seated on a chair of State Qn the 
 dais, the new Chancellor (in his gorgeous robes of 
 office), supported by the Duke of Wellington (Chan¬ 
 cellor of the sister University of Oxford), the Bishop 
 of Oxford, the Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, and 
 heads of houses approached, when the Chancellor read 
 an address to her Majesty, congratulatory on her ar¬ 
 rival. The Queen made a gracious reply, and the 
 Prince retired with the usual profound obeisances—a 
 proceeding which caused her Majesty some amuse¬ 
 ment. 
 
 A convocation was then held in the Senate House, 
 the Royal Chancellor presiding, and the Queen attend¬ 
 ing as a visitor. There was great enthusiasm among 
 the young gownsmen. Three German princes and 
 other distinguished personages received honorary de¬ 
 grees. A grand dinner was given by the Vice- 
 Chancellor, and in the evening there was a concert in 
 the Senate House. The royal visitors occupied during 
 their stay at Cambridge the Master’s Lodge at Trinity 
 College. Describing the incidents in Trinity Hall, 
 Bishop Wilberforce wrote : 1 The Cambridge scene was 
 
26 2 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 very interesting. There was such a burst of loyalty, 
 and it told so on the Queen and Prince. E. would 
 not then have thought that he looked cold. It was 
 quite clear that they both felt it as something new he 
 had earned, and not she given, a true English honour; 
 and he looked so pleased and she so triumphant. 
 There were also some such pretty interludes when he pre¬ 
 sented the address, and she beamed upon him, and once 
 half smiled, and then covered the smile with a gentle 
 dignity, and then she said in her clear musical voice, 
 1 The choice which the University has made of its 
 Chancellor has my most entire approbation? The 
 Queen herself observed in her diary : ‘ I cannot say how 
 it agitated and embarrassed me to have to receive this 
 address and hear it read by my beloved Albert, who 
 walked in at the head of the University, and who 
 looked dear and beautiful in his robes, which were 
 carried by Colonel Phipps and Colonel Seymour. 
 Albert went through it all admirably, almost absurd, 
 however, as it was for us. He gave me the address, 
 and read the answer, and a few kissed hands, and then 
 Albert retired with the University. 5 
 
 The installation ode, written by the Poet Laureate, 
 William Wordsworth, was performed, next day, Tues¬ 
 day, in the presence of the Prince Chancellor, with 
 great ceremony. Her Majesty was again present as 
 a visitor, and there was an immense crowd to hear the 
 performance. The ode contained many happy allu¬ 
 sions to the Queen and her consort. The proceedings 
 were followed by a flower show and a magnificent 
 dinner at Trinity. After dinner the royal guests 
 strolled forth to enjoy a private walk in the university 
 grounds. The Queen has sketched this interesting 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 263 
 
 scene :— c Albert in bis dress-coat, with a mackintosh 
 over it, I in my evening dress and diadem, and with a 
 veil over my head, and the Princes in their uniforms, 
 and the ladies in their dresses and shawls and veils. 
 We walked through the small garden, and could not 
 at first find our way, after which we discovered the 
 right road, and walked along the beautiful avenues of 
 lime-trees in the grounds of St. John’s College, along 
 the water and over the bridges. All was so pretty and 
 picturesque—in particular the one covered bridge of St. 
 John’s College, which is like the Bridge of Sighs at 
 Venice. We stopped to listen to the distant hum of 
 the town; and nothing seemed wanting but some 
 singing, which everywhere but here in this country we 
 should have heard. A lattice opened, and we could 
 fancy a lady appearing and listening to a serenade.’ 
 This scene might well have inspired some painter or 
 poet. 
 
 On the Wednesday her Majesty held a lev6e in 
 Henry VIII.’s drawing-room at Trinity Lodge, when 
 the masters, professors, and doctors, with their ladies, 
 were presented. The Prince Chancellor also held a 
 levee, and received the Mayor and Corporation. After¬ 
 wards the Queen and Prince went to a public breakfast 
 in the grounds of Trinity College, and this breakfast 
 was no ordinary one, for it was attended by some 
 thousands of the principal ladies and gentry of the 
 eastern counties. In the afternoon the royal visitors 
 returned to London, having, by their general bearing 
 and condescension, riveted the chains of royalty upon 
 her Majesty’s Cambridge subjects. 
 
 The Queen resolved upon spending the early autumn 
 of 1847m Scotland. This was partly due to the 
 
264 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 pleasure derived from her previous visit, and the bene¬ 
 ficial effect it had upon her health, and also to the 
 strong desire of the Prince Consort to enjoy the really 
 fine sport of chasing the red-deer in their native 
 forests. Accordingly, on the 11th of August, her 
 Majesty and Prince Albert, with the Prince of Wales, 
 the Princess Eoyal, and the Prince of Leiningen left 
 Osborne in the Victoria and Albert yacht, with the 
 Fairy as tender. They made first for the Scilly 
 Islands, spending a night there, as the Queen suffered 
 from sea-sickness. This had disappeared next day, 
 and under more favourable weather the royal yacht 
 sailed through the Menai Straits—views of Snowdon 
 and of Carnarvon Castle being obtained—and past 
 the Isle of Man. The yachts, which were accompanied 
 by a fleet of war-vessels, then steered for the mouth of 
 the Clyde. The Fairy took her Majesty up the Clyde 
 as far as Dumbarton. The river was alive with ships 
 and boats of all descriptions; it seemed as if all 
 Glasgow had been suddenly seized with an aquatic fit. 
 The royal party minutely inspected the ancient and 
 celebrated Castle of Dumbarton. In returning, her 
 Majesty steamed past Greenock, and leaving Roseneath 
 on the right, passed on to Loch Long, a splendid lake 
 surrounded by grand hills, and reminding the visitors 
 of Switzerland. At Rothesay they went on board the 
 Victoria and Albert. The little Prince of Wales was 
 loudly cheered as Duke of Rothesay. The old castle 
 here was a relic of great interest. 
 
 On the 18 th the royal party went through the 
 Kyles of Bute, that noble water-pass through verdure- 
 clad mountains. The Queen was much impressed by 
 the beautiful scene, which has moved every traveller 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 265 
 
 of whatever degree. The yachts next proceeded up 
 Loch Fyne, famous for its herrings as well as its 
 scenery. A pause had been made at Tarbert to 
 enable the travellers to view the expansive and magni¬ 
 ficent panorama. { The approach to Inveraray,’ writes 
 the Queen in her Journal , ‘ is splendid; the loch is 
 very wide; straight before you a fine range of moun¬ 
 tains splendidly lit up—green, pink, and lilac; to 
 the left the little town of Inveraray; and above it, 
 surrounded by pine woods, stands the Castle of In¬ 
 veraray.’ 
 
 The Queen and Prince had a true Highland recep¬ 
 tion. The Duke and Duchess of Argyll, the Duchess 
 of Sutherland, Lord Stafford, Lady Caroline Leveson- 
 Gower, and others, were waiting at the landing-place, 
 which was all ornamented with heather. There was 
 also the Celtic Society, with Campbell of Islay. The 
 royal visitors went by a beautiful winding drive to the 
 castle. Outside the house ‘ stood the Marquis of Lome, 
 just two years old—a dear, white, fat, fair little fellow, 
 with reddish hair, but very delicate features, like both 
 his father and mother : he is such a merry, independent 
 little child. He had a black velvet dress and jacket, 
 with a “ sporran,” scarf, and Highland bonnet.’ The 
 Queen little imagined that the child she thus saw was 
 to become the husband of one of her daughters, just as 
 she had little foreseen a similar event when she had 
 seen the little Prince Louis of Hesse on her German 
 tour. 
 
 From Inveraray the party proceeded to Ardrishaig, 
 at the head of the Crinan Canal. Passing through 
 the canal—which is a work of time, on account of its 
 eleven locks—they reached Crinan, where they spent 
 
266 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 the night. Next morning they went through the 
 Sound of Jura and past the island of Kerrera to Oban, 
 which is the centre of some of the finest scenery in 
 Scotland. From thence they steered for Staffa, and 
 anchored close before the island. The Queen and all 
 her party were rowed in a barge towards the cele¬ 
 brated cave. Her Majesty thus speaks of the island 
 and the cave : 1 The appearance it (the island) presents 
 is most extraordinary; and when we turned the corner 
 to go into the renowned Fingal’s Cave, the effect was 
 splendid—like a great entrance into a vaulted hall: it 
 looked almost awful as we entered, and the barge 
 heaved up and down in the swell of the sea. It is 
 very high, but not longer than 227 feet, and narrower 
 than I expected, being only 40 feet wide. The sea is 
 immensely deep in the cave. The rocks under water 
 were all colours—pink, blue, and green—which had a 
 most beautiful and varied effect. It was the first 
 time the British standard, with a Queen of Great 
 Britain and her husband and children, had ever entered 
 Fingal’s Cave, and the men gave three cheers, which 
 sounded very impressive there/ 
 
 From Staffa the royal party went to Iona, where 
 the Queen and her ladies sketched the ruins of the 
 cathedral, while the Prince Consort and the Prince of 
 Leiningen inspected the sepultures of the ancient 
 kings and heroes of Scotland. Tobermory, in Mull, 
 was the next place visited, and from thence, on the 
 20th, the flotilla proceeded down the Sound of Mull 
 to Loch Eil, and anchored off Fort William. Prince 
 Albert landed here, and went to see Glencoe, celebrated 
 for its wild and rugged scenery, and the terrible 
 massacre of the Macdonalds in William III/s time. 
 
JOYS AND CARES OF HOME AND STATE. 267 
 
 On Saturday, the 21st, Her Majesty and party quitted 
 the squadron at Fort William, and proceeded by land 
 to Ardverikie, on Loch Laggan, the place she had 
 selected for her autumnal residence. ‘ I am quite 
 sorry we shall have to leave our yacht,’ she wrote, c in 
 which we have been so comfortably housed, and that 
 this delightful voyage and tour among the western 
 lochs and isles is at an end—they are so beautiful, and 
 so full of poetry and romance, traditions and historical 
 associations.’ 
 
 Ardverikie, the estate upon which Her Majesty’s 
 temporary residence was situate, is said to have been 
 used as a hunting park by King Fergus of Scotland. 
 The present lodge was erected by the Marquis of Aber- 
 corn in 1840 ; it was now rented by Lord George 
 Bentinck, who lent it to the Queen : it has since been 
 destroyed by fire. It was a very plain and unpreten¬ 
 tious building, and the greatest point of interest about 
 it was that on the bare walls of two of the principal 
 apartments Landseer had drawn masterly sketches of 
 his inimitable productions, c The Challenge,’ and c The 
 Stag at Bay.’ There was also, in a long corridor, a 
 splendid collection of stags’ heads, many of them with 
 thirteen and fourteen points. In front of the house 
 lay Loch Laggan, stretching away on either side, and 
 having a total length of eight miles. 
 
 In this country abode the Queen enjoyed herself in 
 riding, sketching, fishing, &c. Prince Albert followed 
 exhilarating sport of various kinds with gun and rod, 
 and made pedestrian excursions through the wild 
 scenery adjacent; while the royal children found 
 great delight in outdoor pastimes and in riding 
 ponies. For four weeks this life of enjoyment and 
 
268 
 
 the Life of queen Victoria* 
 
 of perfect retirement lasted. c Tire Queen was greatly 
 delighted with the Highlands,’ wrote Lord Campbell, 
 1 in spite of the bad weather, and was accustomed to sally 
 forth for a walk in the midst of a heavy rain^putting 
 a great hood over her bonnet, and showing nothing of 
 her features but her eyes. The Prince’s invariable 
 return to luncheon about two o’clock, in spite of 
 grouse-shooting and deer-stalking, is explained by his 
 voluntary desire to please the Queen, and by the in¬ 
 tense hunger which assails him at this hour, when he 
 likes, in German fashion, to make his dinner.’ 
 
 The royal party left Ardverikie on the 17th of Sep¬ 
 tember, and embarking on board the yacht, sailed for 
 the south, paying a visit to the Isle of Man, where the 
 Prince landed. Ultimately her Majesty and the 
 Prince, with their children, disembarked at the new 
 port of Fleetwood, and performed the rest of the 
 journey home by rail. 
 
 They reached Buckingham Palace on the evening of 
 the 21st. Upon this period of calm and peaceful 
 repose in the Highlands was shortly to supervene one 
 of profound care and anxiety 
 
( 26Q ) 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 LAST YEATS OF WEDDED LIFE . 
 
 The year 1848 was one of great upheaval amongst 
 the States of Europe. France was the first to feel the 
 force of the revolutionary movement. The policy of 
 Louis Philippe, and especially his intrigues with a view 
 to Bourbon aggrandisement, had long rendered the 
 King very unpopular. The public discontent now found 
 vent in revolution, and the dynasty was swept away, 
 and a republic proclaimed. 
 
 The proud monarch and his family fled from Paris, 
 and became fugitives and wanderers. The King suc¬ 
 ceeded in escaping to England, and landed at New- 
 haven in the name of 1 John Smith.’ Before his 
 arrival the Queen had written to King Leopold: ‘About 
 the King and Queen (Louis Philippe and Queen Amelie) 
 we still know nothing. We do everything we can for 
 the poor family, who are indeed sorely to be pitied ; 
 but you will naturally understand that we cannot make 
 common cause with them, and cannot take a hostile 
 position to the new state of things in France. We 
 leave them alone; but if a government which has the 
 approbation of the country be formed, we shall feel it 
 necessary to recognise it, in order to pin them down to 
 maintain peace and the existing treaties, which is of 
 the greatest importance. It will not be pleasant to do 
 this, but the public good and the peace of Europe go 
 before one’s personal feelings.’ 
 
270 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 After Louis Philippe arrived at Claremont, lie paid 
 a private visit to the Queen, by whom he was received 
 in the most affectionate and hospitable manner : and 
 this was her attitude towards the whole of the 
 members of the Orleans family. 1 You know my love 
 for the family,’wrote her Majesty to Baron Stockmar; 
 c you know how I longed to get on terms with them 
 again, and you said, “ Time alone will, but certainly, 
 bring it about.” Little did I dream that this would 
 be the way we should meet again and see each other, 
 all in the most friendly way. That the Duchess de 
 Montpensier, about whom we have been. quarrelling 
 for the last year and a half, should be here as a fugi¬ 
 tive, and dressed in the clothes I sent her, and should 
 come to thank me for my kindness , is a reverse of for¬ 
 tune which no novelist would devise, and upon which 
 one could moralize for ever.’ Some regret must surely 
 have passed through the mind of Louis Philippe him¬ 
 self, that he had not striven to govern, like the Sove¬ 
 reign of England, upon strict constitutional principles. 
 
 The effects of the revolutionary spirit were felt in 
 other countries—Italy, Spain, Prussia, and Austria ; 
 but in Belgium the attempts to incite the people 
 against the monarchy proved abortive, and the throne 
 of her Majesty’s uncle remained secure. This, how¬ 
 ever, was not the case with her brother and brother- 
 in-law, the Princes of Leiningen and Hohenlohe, who 
 were compelled to abdicate their seignorial rights. 
 
 In the midst of the general solicitude for the peace 
 of England during this time of convulsion the Queen 
 was delivered of her fourth daughter, the Princess 
 Louise. The royal infant was christened at Bucking¬ 
 ham Palace on the I 3th of May following, receiving the 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 271 
 
 names of Louise Caroline Alberta, the first being the 
 name of tbe child’s grandmother on the father’s side, 
 and the last being the feminine form of her father’s 
 name. The sponsors were the Duke Augustus of 
 Mecklenberg-Schwerin,the Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, 
 and the Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, but all 
 were represented by proxies. Prince Albert composed, 
 for the occasion, the music to the following chorale :—- 
 
 * In life’s gay morn, ere sprightly youth 
 By vice and folly is enslaved, 
 
 Oh ! may thy Maker’s glorious name 
 Be on this infant mind engraved. 
 
 So shall no shades of sorrow cloud 
 The sunshine of thy early days, 
 
 But happiness, in endless round, 
 
 Shall still encompass all thy ways.’ 
 
 Life and death are ever close together. Only a 
 few days after the birth of the Princess Louise, comes 
 the record of the death of Princess Sophia, the 
 youngest surviving daughter and twelfth child of 
 George III. and Queen Charlotte. She fell, as a shock 
 of corn fully ripe, at the age of seventy-one. 
 
 Not long after the birth of her daughter, the Queen 
 —whose thoughts were even then directed to her 
 people—wrote to King Leopold : c I heard all that 
 passed, and my only thoughts and talk were political. 
 But I never was calmer, or quieter, or less nervous. 
 Great events make one calm; it is only trifles that 
 irritate my nerves.’ Chartist disturbances were ex¬ 
 pected at this time, and there was considerable 
 discontent over the income-tax and the increased 
 grants for the army and navy. On the 1 3 th of March 
 a Chartist meeting was held on Kennington Common, 
 
2 72 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA; 
 
 but it did not prove itself so formidable as bad been 
 anticipated. Great preparations were made, however, 
 in view of possible outbreaks, and disturbances 
 occurred in the north of England, and also in London. 
 But the military and other authorities acted with 
 promptitude, and the leaders of the movement having 
 been arrested, the agitation subsided. The excitement 
 in London, nevertheless, was at one time so great that 
 nearly 200,000 special constables were sworn in, 
 amongst them being Prince Louis Napoleon (after¬ 
 wards Emperor of the French) and the Earl of Derby. 
 When the danger was all over the Queen wrote to 
 King Leopold : c The Chartist meeting and procession 
 have turned out a complete failure. The loyalty of 
 the people at large has been very striking, and their 
 indignation at their peace being interfered with by 
 such wanton and worthless men, immense/ Irish 
 agitation gave a good deal of trouble at this time, and 
 eventually the three most prominent leaders, Mitchell, 
 Meagher, and Smith O’Brien, were brought to trial for 
 sedition. No conviction was obtained in the cases of 
 Meagher and O’Brien, but Mitchell was found guilty 
 and transported for fourteen years. 
 
 By way of showing the immense labour which 
 devolved upon the Queen and Prince Albert, as well 
 as the Foreign Secretary, during this year of trial and 
 anxiety, it is stated that ‘ no less than twenty-eight 
 thousand despatches were received by or sent out from 
 the Foreign Office/ 
 
 The Queen prorogued Parliament in person on the 
 5th of September, and on the afternoon of the same 
 day her Majesty and the Prince Consort, accompanied 
 by the Prince of Wales, the Princess Boyal, and 
 
Last Years of weeded life. 
 
 2?3 
 
 JPrince Alfred, embarked in the royal yacht at Wool- 
 wicli for Scotland. Their destination on tbis occasion 
 was Balmoral Castle, which, on the recommendation of 
 Sir James Clark, Prince Albert had leased from the 
 Earl of Aberdeen. The royal squadron entered Aber¬ 
 deen Harbour on the yth, and on the following day 
 her Majesty proceeded, amidst the most loyal demon¬ 
 strations, to Balmoral. The place seems to have 
 created a favourable impression upon the royal visitors 
 from the first. ‘ It is a pretty little castle, in the old 
 Scottish style,’ remarked the Queen, in her Journal. 
 1 There is a picturesque tower and garden in the front, 
 with a high wooded hill : at the back there is a wood 
 down to the Dee, and the hills rise all around.’ 
 
 Sport and riding were the order of the day, and on 
 the 16th the Queen ascended Loch-na-Garr on a pony 
 led by Mr. Farquharson’s head-keeper, Macdonald. 
 Prince Albert endeavoured to stalk a deer, but in vain, 
 and then he would occasionally make a detour after 
 ptarmigan. When her Majesty had nearly reached the 
 top of the mountain, the mist drifted in thick clouds, 
 so as to hide everything not within a hundred yards 
 or so. The ascent was determinedly finished, however; 
 but when the visitors descended, the wind blew a hurri¬ 
 cane, and they were almost blinded with the mist. 
 Another day was devoted to a £ drive ’ in the pic¬ 
 turesque wood of Balloch Buie, where Prince Albert 
 shot a magnificent stag. The sport was successful, 
 and every one was delighted, Macdonald and the 
 keepers in particular; the former saying that c it was 
 her Majesty’s coming out that had brought the good 
 luck.’ The Queen was supposed to have £ a lucky 
 foot,’ of which the Highlanders think a great deal. 
 
274 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTOBIA. 
 
 I 
 
 During lier Majesty’s stay in Scotland important 
 events were transpiring abroad. England was com¬ 
 paratively quiet, though, the sudden death of the 
 Conservative leader, Lord George Bentinck, caused 
 great sensation. In France, Prince Louis Napoleon 
 had been elected by no fewer than five departments to 
 the new French Chamber, while news came from 
 Frankfort of a terrible riot in which two members of 
 the German States Union were assassinated. 
 
 The royal party at Balmoral attended a £ gathering 
 of the clans ’ at Invercauld, and were much interested 
 in the wild and manly sports of the Highlanders. On 
 the 28th, the Court left Balmoral for the South. Only 
 a stay of a day was made in London, however, and 
 then the Queen and her family proceeded to Osborne. 
 In returning from their marine residence on the 9th of 
 October, the royal party witnessed a sad accident in 
 the Channel. The Queen’s yacht passed the frigate 
 Grampus , which had. just returned from her station in 
 the Pacific. The day was misty and stormy, but five 
 women, relatives of the men on board the Grampus , had 
 gone out in a small boat to meet them, being rowed 
 by two watermen. A sudden squall swamped the boat, 
 without the knowledge of any one on board the two 
 vessels. The men on board a Custom-house boat, how¬ 
 ever, perceived a man clinging to the capsized boat, 
 and immediately came up to render assistance. Prince 
 Albert was the first person on board the Fairy to 
 realize what had occurred. The Queen was quite over¬ 
 come. The royal yacht was stopped, and one of its 
 boats lowered, which picked up three women, two of 
 whom were unfortunately dead. The storm was very 
 violent, and Lord Adolphus Fitzclarence, the com- 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 275 
 
 mander of the Queen’s yacht, having decided that 
 nothing further could be done, held on his course, 
 affirming that it would be very unsafe to delay. The 
 Queen and Prince Albert were strongly in favour of 
 staying, and her Majesty felt the sad incident very 
 much, for she wrote afterwards : 4 It was a dreadful 
 moment; too horrid to describe. It is a consolation 
 to think we were of some use, and also that, even if 
 the yacht had remained, they could not have done 
 more. Still, we all keep feeling we might, though I 
 think we could not. It is a terrible thing, and haunts 
 me continually.’ 
 
 In the ensuing month of November, Lord Mel¬ 
 bourne, the Queen’s first Minister—and a man to whom 
 she had become much attached, in cou sequence of his 
 almost paternal devotion to her in her early youth— 
 passed away, having been for some time in seclusion. 
 Her Majesty wrote concerning him: 4 Truly and sincerely 
 do I deplore the loss of one who was a most disin¬ 
 terested friend of mine, and most sincerely attached 
 to me. He was, indeed, for the first two years and 
 a half of my reign almost the only friend I had, except 
 Stockmar and Lehzen, and I used to see him constantly 
 —daily. I thought much and talked much of him 
 all day.’ The Queen also wrote in her Journal a day 
 or two subsequently: 4 1 received a pretty and touch¬ 
 ing letter from Lady Palmerston, saying that my last 
 letter to poor Lord Melbourne had been a great com¬ 
 fort and relief to him, and that during the last melan¬ 
 choly years of his life we had often been the chief 
 means of cheering him up. This is a great satisfaction 
 to me to hear.’ 
 
 Parliament was opened by the Queen in person, on 
 
276 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 the 2nd of February, and, in addition to its reference 
 to the continued Irish distress at home, the Royal Speech 
 lamented that a formidable rebellion had broken out in 
 the Punjab. The war proceeded with disastrous conse¬ 
 quences, and although the fiercely contested battle of 
 Chillianwallah left the British masters of the field, 
 the Sikhs inflicted terrible losses upon our troops. Sir 
 Charles Napier was sent out, but before he arrived in 
 India Lord Gough had encountered the combined 
 forces of the enemy at Goojerat, and had totally 
 defeated them. The rebellion was suppressed, and 
 the Punjab was annexed to the British possessions in 
 India. 
 
 On the 19th of May another dastardly attack was 
 made upon her Majesty. After holding a Drawing 
 Room at Buckingham Palace, she went out in an open 
 carriage, with three of her children, to take a drive 
 round the Parks. Shortly before six o’clock the royal 
 carriage had arrived about midway down Constitution 
 Hill on its return, when a man who stood within the 
 railings of the Green Park discharged a pistol in the 
 direction of the Queen. He was immediately seized 
 by the bystanders, and would probably have been the 
 victim of lynch law, had not a park-keeper and a 
 constable interfered and arrested him. The carriage 
 stopped for a moment, but her Majesty, with great 
 coolness and decision, stood up, and motioned the 
 driver to go forward. The prisoner was brought up 
 and identified as one William Hamilton, of Adare, in 
 the county Limerick. He was a bricklayer’s labourer, 
 who for five years past had led a roving life in 
 France and England. His last place of abode was in 
 Pimlico, in the house of a fellow-irishman, whose 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 277 
 
 wife had lent him an old rusty pistol, ostensibly to 
 make 1 a sight in the air among the trees.’ He was 
 afterwards found in the Green Park under the circum¬ 
 stances narrated. Hamilton was put on his trial at 
 the Central Criminal Court, when witnesses proved 
 the presenting of the pistol at the carriage, and its 
 explosion. The prisoner was sentenced to seven 
 years’ transportation. 
 
 The Queen’s long-expected visit to Ireland was paid 
 in August 1849. Her Majesty and Prince Albert, 
 with their four children, embarked at Cowes on the 
 1st, in the royal yacht, and steered to the westward, 
 convoyed by a squadron of four steamers. They 
 arrived at the Cove of Cork at 10 p.m. on the fol¬ 
 lowing day, and came to anchor amidst the booming 
 of artillery and the blaze of a universal illumination 
 on sea and land. Next morning the most deafening 
 cheers hailed her Majesty’s first landing on Irish 
 ground. The Queen received a number of addresses, 
 and communicated her royal pleasure that the town of 
 Cove should, in commemoration of its being the spot 
 chosen for her landing, henceforth bear the name of 
 Queenstown. The royal party re-embarked, and pro¬ 
 ceeded to Cork amid the enthusiastic shouts of 
 thousands of Irish Celts. A royal progress was made 
 through the city, the Queen being much struck by the 
 noisy but good-natured crowd, and by the beauty of 
 the women. The royal squadron next sailed to Water¬ 
 ford, and from there went on to Dublin. As the 
 vessels came into Kingstown Harbour, and the Queen 
 appeared on deck, there was a burst of cheering, 
 renewed again and again, from some 40,000 spec¬ 
 tators. 
 
278 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Early on tlie following day, Lord Clarendon, tire 
 Lord Lieutenant, and Lady Clarendon, with Prince 
 George of Cambridge, the Archbishop of Dublin, and 
 various officers of State, went on board to be in atten¬ 
 dance on her Majesty. A deputation from the county 
 of Dublin, headed by the Earl of Charlemont, pre¬ 
 sented an address. At ten o’clock the Queen and 
 Prince Albert prepared to land, with their children. 
 As the Queen’s foot touched the shore, the royal stan¬ 
 dard swept aloft, the populace shouted, and the 
 booming of the heavy guns veritably shook the earth. 
 An eye-witness thus describes her Majesty’s passage 
 from the boat to the railway: £ It was a sight never 
 to be forgotten, a sound to be recollected for ever. 
 Ladies threw aside the old formula of waving a white 
 pocket-handkerchief, and cheered for their lives, while 
 the men waved whatever came first to hand—hat, 
 stick, wand, or coat (for the day was very hot)—and 
 rent the air with shouts of joy, which never decreased 
 in energy till their beloved Sovereign was far out 
 of sight. The Queen, turning from side to side, bowed 
 repeatedly. Prince Albert shared in and acknowledged 
 the plaudits of the people, while the royal children 
 were objects of universal attention and admiration. 
 Her Majesty seemed to feel deeply the warmth of 
 her reception. She paused at the end of the platform 
 for a moment, and again making her acknowledg¬ 
 ments, was hailed with one universal and tremendous 
 cheer as she entered the terminus. The royal party 
 then went by rail to the capital. 
 
 The royal carriages were in waiting at the terminus, 
 and her Majesty now made her progress through 
 Dublin, having first received the keys of the city from 
 
LAST YEARS OE WEDDED LIRE. 
 
 V 9 
 
 the Lord Mayor, and graciously returned them to him. 
 There was a triumphal arch of great size and beauty 
 at the entrance to the city, but it was the human 
 element all along the route which most deeply inter¬ 
 ested the Queen. c It was a wonderful and stirring 
 scene,’ she wrote; * such masses of human beings, so 
 enthusiastic, so excited, yet such perfect order main¬ 
 tained. Then the number of troops, the different 
 bands stationed at certain distances, the waving of 
 hats and handkerchiefs, the bursts of welcome that 
 rent the air, all made it a never-to-be-forgotten scene 
 when we reflected how lately the country had been 
 under martial law.’ Dublin, with its magnificent 
 Sackville Street, was greatly admired by the royal 
 visitors. In the midst of all the shouting and excite¬ 
 ment, at the last triumphal arch, a tame dove, with 
 an olive-branch round its neck, was let down into the 
 Queen’s lap—an incident which deserves recording to 
 the honour of some poetic Celt. 
 
 On the following day, the 7 th, the Queen drove 
 into Dublin, and with the Prince Consort, who had 
 followed her on horseback, viewed the various public 
 buildings and institutions, including the Bank, the old 
 Parliament House, and Trinity College. In the after¬ 
 noon, her Majesty visited Kilmainham Hospital, and 
 alsq went to College Green. Next day there was a 
 full Court and levee at the Castle, when congratulatory 
 addresses from the most important bodies in Ireland 
 were presented. On the 9th there was a grand 
 review in the Phoenix Park, and the day following 
 the Queen and Prince Albert, with Lord and Lady 
 Clarendon, went on a quiet visit to Carton, the seat of 
 the Duke of Leinster, ‘Ireland’s only duke.’ Her 
 
$8o ■ 
 
 the Life of queek victoria. 
 
 Majesty was much interested and amused by the Irish 
 dancing and other things that she witnessed. 
 
 The royal party re-embarked at Queenstown the 
 next day. 4 As the yacht approached the extremity 
 of the pier near the lighthouse, where the people were 
 most thickly congregated, and who were cheering 
 enthusiastically, the Queen suddenly left the two ladies- 
 in-waiting, with whom she was conversing, ran with 
 agility along the deck, and climbed the paddle-box to 
 join Prince Albert, who did not notice her till she was 
 nearly at his side. Reachiog him, and taking his 
 arm, she waved her right hand to the people on the 
 piers.’ She also ordered the royal standard to be 
 lowered in courtesy to the cheering thousands on shore. 
 Lord Clarendon said ‘ there was not an individual in 
 Dublin who did not take as a personal compliment to 
 himself the Queen’s having gone upon the paddle-box 
 and ordered the royal standard to be lowered three 
 times.’ 
 
 A very rough passage was experienced before the 
 royal yacht anchored at three in the morning in Car- 
 rickfergus Road, about seven miles below Belfast. As 
 there was not sufficient draught of water here for the 
 Victoria arid Albert , the illustrious party transferred 
 themselves to the Fairy, in which vessel they glided 
 up the Lough to Belfast. Here they were welcomed 
 by Lord Londonderry and his family, Lord Donegal, and 
 the Mayor of Belfast. Deputations of Presbyterians, 
 and from the linen trade, &c., were received. The 
 Queen knighted the mayor, as she had done his brother- 
 mayor of Cork. The royal party landed and went to 
 view the principal sights of the city. Her Majesty 
 was greatly delighted with her reception by the Irish 
 
LAST AeARS OF WELDED LIFE. 
 
 2S1 
 
 people o£ all classes, and before leaving the country 
 she resolved upon creating her eldest son c Earl of 
 Dublin,’ a title which had been borne by her honoured 
 father. 
 
 The Queen intended to go on to Scotland from Bel¬ 
 fast, but at the time of her proposed departure the 
 wind blew a hurricane, which continued throughout 
 the night, and the whole of the next day, Sunday. 
 Taking advantage of a momentary lull, however, the 
 royal squadron was enabled to make the voyage in the 
 afternoon of the last-named day. After a very tem¬ 
 pestuous passage, the royal yacht cast anchor in Loch 
 Ryan, on the western coast of Argyllshire ; Prince 
 Albert made a short detour from this point by Loch 
 Lomond, and rejoined her Majesty at Loch Goil, 
 whence they proceeded to Glasgow, where the honour 
 of knighthood was conferred upon the Lord Provost. 
 The Queen and the royal party inspected the fine 
 cathedral of Glasgow, and then departed by rail for 
 Stirling and Perth. 
 
 From the latter place the journey to Balmoral wa3 
 made entirely by the royal carriages, which bore 
 the distinguished visitors through some of the finest 
 of Highland scenery. Balmoral was reached on the 
 15 th. The Queen remained in her Highland home 
 for about six weeks, enjoying, with her husband and 
 children, real privacy. There were fewer servants and 
 attendants upon them than at any other time. On one 
 occasion her Majesty accompanied the Prince Consort 
 on a distant excursion, and twice slept at a solitary hut 
 on an island on Loch Muich—the lake of darkness or 
 gloom. The Queen was impressed by the stern sublimity 
 of the scenery. At her Majesty’s Highland abode there 
 
 K 
 
282 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 was trout-fishing, &c., by day, and whist with a 
 dummy in the evening, together with a walk round 
 the diminutive garden, c where the silence and solitude, 
 only interrupted by the waving of the fir-trees, were 
 very striking.’ 
 
 Greville was summoned to Balmoral in September, 
 to attend a Council called to order a prayer for relief 
 from the cholera, which was then committing its 
 ravages in London and elsewhere. This picturesque 
 account of the Queen and Prince Albert at their 
 Scotch home.appears in Greville’s Journal: c They live 
 there without any State whatever ; they live not merely 
 like private gentlefolks, but like very small gentle¬ 
 folks—small house, small rooms, small establishment. 
 There are no soldiers, and the whole guard of the 
 Sovereign and the whole Royal Family is a single 
 policeman, who walks about the grounds to keep off 
 impertinent intruders or improper characters. Their 
 attendants consisted of Lady Douro and Miss Dawson, 
 lady and maid-of-honour ; George Anson and Gordon; 
 Birch, the Prince of Wales’s tutor, and Miss Hildyard, 
 the governess of the children. They live with the 
 greatest simplicity and ease. The Prince shoots 
 every morning, returns to luncheon, and then they 
 walk and drive. The Queen is running in and out 
 of the house all day long, and often goes about alone, 
 walks into the cottages, and sits down and chats with 
 the old women. 
 
 1 1 never before was in society with the Prince, or 
 had any conversation with him. On Thursday morn¬ 
 ing John Russell and I were sitting together after 
 breakfast, when he came in and sat down with us, 
 and we conversed for about three-quarters of an hour. 
 
LAST YEARS OF WELDED LIFE. 
 
 283 
 
 
 1 was greatly struck with him. I saw at ouce (what 
 I had always heard) that he is very intelligent and 
 highly cultivated, and, moreover, that he has a 
 thoughtful mind, and thinks of subjects worth think¬ 
 ing about. He seemed very much at his ease, very 
 gay, pleasant, and without the least stiffness or air of 
 dignity. After luncheon we went to the Highland 
 gathering at Braemar—the Queen, the Prince, four 
 children, and two ladies in one pony carriage; John 
 Russell, Miss Hildyard, Mr. Birch and I in another ; 
 Angus and Gordon on the box ; one groom, no more. 
 The gathering was at the old Castle of Braemar, and 
 a pretty sight enough. We returned as we came, 
 and then everybody strolled about till dinner. We 
 were only nine people, and it was all very easy and 
 really agreeable, the Queen in very good humour 
 and talkative; the Prince still more so, and talking 
 very well; no form, and everybody seemed at their 
 case.’ 
 
 The royal party left Balmoral on the 27th of 
 September, and travelled by way of Edinburgh and 
 Berwick, calling upon Earl Grey at Howick. At 
 Reading they branched off for Gosport, and crossed 
 over from the latter place to Osborne. A few days 
 after reaching their marine residence, the Queen and 
 Prince Albert were much moved on learning of the 
 death of Mr. Anson, the Prince’s private secretary 
 and keeper of the Queen’s privy purse. These offices 
 were afterwards respectively filled by Colonel Phipps 
 and General Grey. 
 
 The new London Coal Exchange was opened on the 
 30th of October, and the Queen had intended to 
 perform the ceremony in person, but a slight attack 
 
284 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 of chicken-pox prevented her. Prince Albert took her 
 place, and was accompanied by the Prince of Wales 
 and the Princess Royal, who made their first appear¬ 
 ance in public on this occasion. The illustrious party 
 went down the Thames in the royal barge, and there 
 was a grand water pageant such as had not been seen 
 for almost a century. When the barge emerged from 
 London Bridge there was a perfect forest of masts in 
 the Upper Pool. The landing-place was the Custom 
 House Quay, from whence the royal party proceeded 
 through a covered corridor to the principal entrance 
 to the Coal Exchange. After the opening ceremony 
 there was of course the usual dejeuner , and the little 
 Prince and Princess were much astonished at the 
 enthusiasm with which the toast of their healths was 
 received. Prince Albert was much gratified with 
 the whole proceedings, and said to his children as 
 they re-embarked in the Fairy , c Remember that you 
 are indebted to the Lord Mayor for one of the happiest 
 days of your lives/ 
 
 The Dowager Queen Adelaide died on the 2nd of 
 December, at her country seat of Bentley Priory, at 
 the age of fifty-seven years. Towards the close of 
 November, Queen Victoria had paid her last visit to 
 her, afterwards writing to King Leopold : c There was 
 death written in that dear face. It was such a picture 
 of misery, of complete prostration, and yet she talked 
 of everything. I could hardly command my feelings 
 when I came in, and when I kissed twice that poor 
 dear thin hand. I love her so dearly; she has ever 
 been so maternal in her affection to me. She will 
 find peace and a reward for her many sufferings/ In 
 accordance with the Queen Dowager’s wishes, there 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 285 
 
 was no embalming, lying-in-state, or torchlight pro¬ 
 cession, and she was buried at Windsor without any 
 pomp or state. 
 
 Her Majesty’s third son and seventh child was born 
 on the 1 st of May 1850, and as this was the birthday 
 of the Duke of Wellington, it was determined to give 
 him the same name, Arthur. Writing to Baron 
 Stockmar, the Queen said : ‘ It is a singular thing 
 that this so much wished-for boy should be born on 
 the old Duke’s eighty-first birthday. May that, and 
 his beloved father’s name, bring the poor little infant 
 happiness and good fortune.’ The child was christened 
 c Arthur William Patrick Albert.’ The second name 
 was given after Prince William of Prussia (now the 
 Emperor of Germany), Patrick was in remembrance of 
 the Queen’s visit to Ireland, and Albert was chosen 
 after the Prince Consort. 
 
 Only a few weeks after the birth of her child, a 
 most cowardly attack was made upon the Queen by 
 one Lieutenant Pate, a man of good family. As her 
 Majesty was leaving Cambridge House, where she had 
 called to inquire after the Duke of Cambridge, who 
 was seriously ill, Pate darted forward, and struck a 
 blow with a cane at her Majesty’s face. The force of 
 the blow was broken by the bonnet, but a severe 
 bruise was inflicted on the Queen’s forehead. The 
 perpetrator of this shameful outrage was a dandy, and 
 a conspicuous frequenter of the Parks. No motive 
 was ever assigned for the attack. At Pate’s trial, the 
 usual plea of insanity was put forward, but the jury 
 declined to recognize it, and the prisoner was sentenced 
 to seven years’ transportation. 
 
 Preparations were at this time being made for the 
 
286 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Great Exhibition, and Prince Albert was much 
 chagrined at the opposition manifested in the press 
 and in the House of Commons at the choice of Hyde 
 Park as the site for the Exhibition. Immediately 
 upon this came the melancholy news of the death of 
 Sir Robert Peel, who met with an accident, which 
 terminated fatally, while riding up Constitution Hill 
 on the 29th of June. In all matters relating to the 
 Exhibition the deceased statesman warmly supported 
 the Prince, and after his death the latter wrote to 
 Baron Stockmar: ‘We are in deep grief; add to 
 which, I cannot conceal from you that we are on the 
 point of having to abandon the Exhibition altogether. 
 We have announced our intention to do so, if on the 
 day the vast building ought to be begun the site is 
 taken from us.’ To the Duchess of Kent the Prince 
 wrote: ‘ Death has snatched from us Peel, the best of 
 men, our truest friend, the strongest bulwark of the 
 throne, the greatest statesman of his time! * Very 
 different was the position Peel latterly occupied at 
 Court compared with that he held at the time of the 
 ‘Bedchamber Plot,’ which was the only misunder¬ 
 standing her Majesty ever had with any of her 
 Ministers. 
 
 The arbitrary action of Lord Palmerston as Foreign 
 Minister at this juncture caused her Majesty and the 
 Prince great concern. It was complained of him that 
 in interviews he would apparently agree with the 
 Sovereign’s views, but would go away and write 
 despatches in a completely opposite sense. Some of 
 his own colleagues, Lord Lansdowne particularly, dis¬ 
 approved of Palmerston’s proceedings; ‘ yet by their 
 weak connivance he was allowed to set at defiance the 
 
LAST YEARS OP WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 287 
 
 Sovereign, tlie Government, and public opinion, while 
 the Queen could get neither redress nor support from 
 Lord John Russell, and was forced to submit to such 
 degradation.’ Minutes submitted to the Queen in one 
 form were changed by Palmerston into other forms; 
 and Austria declined to send any ambassador to 
 England, because he could not transact business with 
 her Secretary of State. At length, matters reached 
 such a pitch, that the Queen wrote a strong memo¬ 
 randum, which was submitted to Lord John Russell, 
 and by him shown to Lord Palmerston, insisting upon 
 the Foreign Secretary’s rigid adherence to his duties, 
 and indicating what she regarded as the exact nature 
 of those duties. 
 
 The Queen and the Prince experienced considerable 
 relief when the House of Commons decided that Hyde 
 Park should be the site of the projected Great Exhibi¬ 
 tion. Punch had made fun of Prince Albert in con¬ 
 nection with this subject, but he took its jokes very 
 good-humouredly. 
 
 In July 1850, the popular Duke of Cambridge 
 died. He was the youngest of the sons of George III. 
 who attained manhood. Prince George, the present 
 Duke, succeeded, and Parliament voted him A 12,000 
 per annum in lieu of the ^27,000 which his father 
 enjoyed as the son of a previous Sovereign. Not long 
 after the Duke of Cambridge’s death, news arrived of 
 the decease of Louis Philippe, ex-King of the French, 
 in his seventy-seventh year. He had not long survived 
 his reverse of kingly fortune. 
 
 Her Majesty and her family visited the North again 
 in the autumn, calling on the way at Castle Howard, 
 the seat of the Earl of Carlisle. From thence she 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA^ 
 
 288 
 
 proceeded to the Tyne, where she opened a splendid 
 railway bridge, and she subsequently opened a second 
 one over the Tweed. At Edinburgh, the Queen 
 stayed for one night at Holyrood Palace, where she and 
 the Prince, and their children, were deeply interested 
 in the memorials and reminiscences of Mary, the hap¬ 
 less Queen of Scots. Prom Arthur’s Seat, the royal 
 party viewed the fair city of Edinburgh. On the 
 second day of the visit Prince Albert laid the founda¬ 
 tion-stone of the Scotch National Gallery, and made 
 his first speech before an Edinburgh audience, ac¬ 
 quitting himself very creditably. Later in the day, 
 the Scott Monument, the High Street, the Canongate, 
 Donaldson’s Hospital, and the Queen’s Park were 
 visited. A brilliant circle assembled at Holyrood in 
 the evening, including the Queen and the Prince, 
 the Buccleuchs, the Roxburghes, the Mortons, the 
 Belhavens, &c. It was in remembrance of this 
 evening that some years later Lord Belhaven be¬ 
 queathed to her Majesty a cabinet which had been 
 brought by Queen Mary from France, and given by 
 her to II13 Regent Mar, from whom it passed into the 
 family of Lord Belhaven. It contained a lock of 
 Queen Mary’s hair, and a purse worked by her. 
 
 Next day the royal party travelled to Balmoral. 
 The celebrated Braemar gathering was attended this 
 year by the Queen and the whole of her family as 
 well as by the Duchess of Kent. Another amusement 
 was that of witnessing the spearing of salmon in the 
 Dee. A singular and somewhat laughable incident 
 occurred, which was thus described in one of Prince 
 Albert’s letters: c Our people in the Highlands are 
 altogether primitive, true-hearted and without guile, 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 289 
 
 Yesterday the Forbeses of Strath Don passed through 
 here. When they came to the Dee, our people (of 
 Strath Dee) offered to carry them across the river, and 
 did so, whereupon they drank to the health of Victoria 
 in whisky (schnapps), but as there was no cup to be 
 had, their chief, Captain Forbes, pulled off his shoe, 
 and he and his fifty men drank out of it.’ The 
 Forbeses marched through the grounds of Balmoral, 
 
 ‘ piping ’ and cheering. 
 
 The stay at Balmoral was very pleasant, but it was 
 not without causes of anxiety. The visit of General 
 Haynau, the Austrian woman-whipper, caused great 
 indignation in London, and in connection with a 
 disturbance at Barclay’s Brewery during Haynau’s 
 visit, Lord Palmerston wrote a despatch which had to 
 be recalled. 
 
 The Queen of the Belgians was seriously ill during 
 the stay of her Majesty in the Highlands, and im¬ 
 mediately after the return of the Court to Osborne 
 she died, leaving the Queen’s uncle Leopold bitterly 
 to lament her loss. 
 
 Great sensation was caused in the following winter 
 by the issue of a Papal Bull redistributing the Roman 
 Catholic bishoprics in England, and placing a Cardinal 
 Archbishop at their head. The Pope’s policy was 
 strongly resented by the Prime Minister, Lord John 
 Russell, who introduced the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill. 
 The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge presented 
 formal protests to the Queen, which her Majesty 
 acknowledged. Like many of the more sober judges 
 of the question, the Queen felt that the Pope could 
 do no harm; he might do what he pleased, but he 
 could never make England Catholic ; and this sensible 
 
29 o 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA, 
 
 view prevailed throughout the country as the momen¬ 
 tary excitement passed away. 
 
 Lady Lyttelton, who had been governess to the 
 royal children for eight years, retired from that post 
 in January 1851. She was the daughter of the 
 second Earl Spencer, and married at twenty-six the 
 third Lord Lyttelton. At the time of her retirement 
 from the Queen’s service she was fifty-four, and she 
 desired to spend the remainder of her life in rest and 
 repose. Writing of her farewell, Lady Lyttelton said : 
 ‘ I was sent for to my last audience in the Queen’s 
 own room, and I quite broke down and could hardly 
 speak or hear. I remember the Prince’s face, pale as 
 ashes, and a few words of praise and thanks from 
 them both, but it is all misty; and I had to stop on 
 the private staircase and have my cry out before I 
 could go up again.’ Her ladyship was succeeded by 
 Lady Caroline Barrington—sister of Earl Grey—who 
 remained in the Queen’s household until her death in 
 l8 75 * 
 
 The greatest domestic event of 1851, and indeed 
 of many years, was the opening of the Great Exhibition 
 in Hyde Park. This precursor of so many inter¬ 
 national festivals was held in the palace of glass 
 designed by Sir Joseph Paxton, who was knighted for 
 his services. Prince Albert chose the motto of the 
 exhibition— £ The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness 
 thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein; ’ and 
 from all quarters of the universe came goods and 
 treasure to the great central storehouse, which peace¬ 
 fully represented the progress of the human race in 
 art, science, industry, and commerce. Never had 
 such a triumph been witnessed in all that concerns 
 
LAST YEAES OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 291 
 
 the internal welfare and advancement of States and 
 Empires. 
 
 The inaugural ceremony took place on the 1st of 
 May, and it is almost superfluous to say that it was a 
 most imposing sight. The Queen and Prince Albert 
 and all the royal children, as well as the Duchess of 
 Kent and the young Count Gleichen, were present. 
 The Park presented a wonderful spectacle, and the 
 scene in the streets recalled that of the Coronation 
 Day. The Queen wrote a graphic account of the 
 ceremony in her diary, and as it takes us below the 
 surface, and exhibits the inner emotions of her 
 Majesty, as well as the main features of the ceremonial 
 on this great day, I shall make extracts from her 
 account in preference to those given in the daily 
 journals. The following are the chief passages in the 
 Sovereign’s description:— 
 
 4 At half-past eleven the whole procession in State 
 carriages was in motion. The Green Park and Hyde 
 Park were one densely crowded mass of human beings, 
 in the highest good-humour and most enthusiastic. 
 I never saw Hyde Park look as it did, as far as the 
 eye could reach. A little rain fell just as we started, 
 but before we came near the Crystal Palace, the sun 
 shone and gleamed upon the gigantic edifice, upon 
 which the flags of all the nations were floating. We 
 drove up Rotten Row, and got out at the entrance on 
 that side. 
 
 ‘The glimpse of the transept through the iron 
 gates, the waving palms, flowers, statues, myriads of 
 people filling the galleries and seats around, with the 
 flourish of trumpets as we entered, gave us a sensa¬ 
 tion which I can never forget, and I felt much moved. 
 
292 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN YICTOEIA, 
 
 We went for a moment to a little side room where we 
 left onr shawls, and where we found mama and 
 Mary (now Princess of Teck), and outside which 
 were standing the other Princes. In a few seconds 
 we proceeded, Albert leading me, having Vicky at his 
 hand, and Bertie holding mine. The sight as we 
 came to the middle where the steps and chair (which 
 I did not sit on) were placed, with the beautiful 
 crystal fountain just in front of it, was magical, so 
 vast, so glorious, so touching. One felt—as so 
 many did whom I have since spoken to—filled with 
 devotion more so than by any service I have ever 
 heard. The tremendous cheers, the joy expressed in 
 every face, the immensity of the building, the mix¬ 
 ture of palms, flowers, trees, statues, fountains—the 
 organ (with 200 instruments and 600 voices, which 
 sounded like nothing), and my beloved husband, the 
 author of this “ Peace Festival,” which united the 
 industry of all nations of the earth—all this was 
 moving indeed, and it was and is a day to live for 
 ever. God bless my dearest Albert! God bless my 
 dearest country, which has shown itself so great to¬ 
 day ! One felt so grateful to the great God who 
 seemed to pervade all and to bless all! The only 
 event it in the slightest degree reminded me of was 
 the Coronation, but this day’s festival was a thousand 
 times superior. In fact, it is unique, and can bear no 
 comparison, from its peculiarity, beauty, and com¬ 
 bination of such different and striking objects. I 
 mean the slight resemblance only as to its solemnity; 
 the enthusiasm and cheering too were much more 
 touching, for in a church naturally all is silent. 
 
 ‘ Albert left my side after “ God save the Queen ” 
 
LAST TEAKS OE WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 293 
 
 had been sung, and at the head of the Commissioners 
 —a curious assemblage of political and distinguished 
 men—read me the report, which is a long one, and 
 to which I read a short answer. After this the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury offered up a short and 
 appropriate prayer, followed by the “ Hallelujah 
 Chorus,” during which a Chinese mandarin came for¬ 
 ward and made his obeisance.^ This concluded, the 
 procession began. It was beautifully arranged, and 
 of great length—the prescribed order being exactly 
 adhered to. The nave was full, which had not been 
 intended; but still there was no difficulty, and the 
 whole long walk from one end to the other was made 
 in the midst of continued and deafening cheers and 
 waving of handkerchiefs. Every one’s face was 
 bright and smiling, many with tears in their eyes. 
 Many Frenchmen called out, “ Vive la Eeine ! ” One 
 could of course see nothing but what was here in the 
 nave, and nothing in the courts. The organs were 
 but little heard, but the military band at one end had 
 a veiy fine effect as we passed along. They played 
 the march from Athalie. The beautiful Amazon in 
 bronze, by Kiss, looked very magnificent. The old 
 Duke and Lord Anglesey walked arm-in-arm, which 
 was a touching sight. I saw many acquaintances 
 amongst those present. 
 
 4 We returned to our own place, and Albert told 
 Lord Breadalbane to declare that the Exhibition was 
 opened, which he did in a loud voice : 44 Her Majesty 
 commands me to declare this Exhibition open,” which 
 
 * This incident was not provided for in the official programme. 
 It was purely spontaneous on the part of the mandarin, who 
 was apparently overcome by the solemnity of the scene. 
 
294 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 was followed by a flourish of trumpets and immense 
 cheering. All the Commissioners, the Executive Com¬ 
 mittee, &c., who worked so hard, and to whom such 
 immense praise is due, seemed truly happy, and no 
 one more so than Paxton, who may be justly proud; 
 he rose from being a common gardener’s boy. 
 Everybody was astonished and delighted; Sir George 
 Grey (Home Secretary) in tears. 
 
 ‘ The return was equally satisfactory ; the crowd 
 most enthusiastic, the order perfect. We reached the 
 Palace at twenty minutes past one, and went out on 
 the balcony and were loudly cheered. The Prince 
 and Princess (of Prussia) quite delighted and im¬ 
 pressed. That we felt happy—thankful—I need not 
 say ; proud of all that had passed, of my darling 
 husband’s success, and of the behaviour of my good 
 people. I was more impressed than I can say by the 
 scene. It was one that can never be effaced from my 
 memory, and never will be from that of any one who 
 witnessed it. Albert’s name is immortalized, and 
 the wicked and absurd reports of dangers of every 
 kind which a set of people—viz., the soi-disant 
 fashionables and the most violent Protectionists 
 spread—are silenced. It is therefore doubly satis¬ 
 factory that all should have gone oS so well, and 
 
 without the slightest accident or mishap. 
 
 Albert’s emphatic words last year, when he said that 
 the feeling would be “ that of deep thankfidness to the 
 Almighty for the blessings which He has bestowed upon 
 us here below f have been this day realized. 
 
 ‘ I must not omit to mention an interesting episode 
 of this day—viz., the visit of the good old Duke on 
 this his eighty-second birthday to his little godson, our 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 295 
 
 dear little boy. He came to ns botli at five, and gave 
 him a golden cup and some toys, which he had himself 
 chosen, and Arthur gave him a nosegay. 
 
 ‘We dined en famille , and then went to the Covent 
 Garden Opera, where we saw the two finest acts of the 
 H'ltgucnots given as beautifully as last year. I was 
 rather tired ; but we were both so happy, so full of 
 thankfulness! God is indeed our kind and merciful 
 Father!’ 
 
 Lord John Russell congratulated the Queen upon 
 the triumphant success of the day’s proceedings. All 
 the arrangements had been most perfectly carried out. 
 In addition to 25,000 people within the building, 
 it was calculated that nearly 700,000 people were 
 assembled on the route between it and Buckingham 
 Palace; yet the Home Secretary was able to report to 
 her Majesty next day that there had not been one 
 accident or one police case due to this assemblage. 
 Such a circumstance was probably unexampled in the 
 history of great popular celebrations. Well might the 
 Queen assert that this Exhibition of 1851 would 
 contribute to give imperishable fame to Prince Albert, 
 while the day of its opening, the 1st of May, would 
 ever remain ‘ the proudest and happiest of her happy 
 life ! * 
 
 The Queen and the Prince Consort entered into 
 other enjoyments at this time. They heard Rachel in 
 the Andromaque , were present when Macready took 
 leave of the stage, and attended a performance at 
 Devonshire House on behalf of the newly formed 
 Guild of Literature and Art, when Charles Dickens, 
 Douglas Jerrold, John Forster, and others, appeared in 
 Not so Bad as We Seem. The Prince was also very 
 
296 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 prominent in charitable and scientific enterprises, and 
 manifested a deep interest in the British Association. 
 
 A grand fancy ball was given by the Queen at 
 Buckingham Palace on the 13th of June. All the 
 characters and costumes were drawn from the Restora¬ 
 tion period. Her Majesty and the Prince were 
 superbly dressed. Pour national quadrilles—English, 
 Scotch, French, and Spanish—were danced; and 
 subsequently there was a ‘ Rose ’ quadrille. In opening 
 the general ball, which followed, the Queen danced the 
 Polonaise with Prince Albert, the Duke of Cambridge, 
 and Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar. Prince Albert 
 next danced with the Duchess of Norfolk, the premier 
 peeress, and after supper the Queen danced with the 
 Prince of Leiningen. Lady Ashburton appeared 
 as Madame de Sevigne, and the Countess of Tankerville 
 as the Duchesse de Grammont, whom she personated 
 in right of her mother-in-law, Corisande de Grammont, 
 granddaughter of Marie Antoinette’s friend, Gabrielle 
 de Polignac. Mr. Bancroft Davies, Secretary of the 
 United States Legation, appeared as William Penn; 
 and there were many other assumptions of distinguished 
 characters. Miss Burdett Coutts and Lady Lon¬ 
 donderry surprised every one by their dazzling display 
 of jewels. The Duke of Wellington was in the scarlet 
 and gold uniform of the period; Lord Galway was in 
 a plain cuirass and gorget; while Mr. Gladstone— 
 mirabile dictu —appeared as a judge of the High 
 Court of Admiralty in Charles’s reign, ‘ in a velvet 
 coat turned up with blue satin, ruffles and collar of old 
 point, black breeches and stockings, and shoes with 
 spreading bows.’ 
 
 The City also gave a grand ball at the Guildhall on 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 29 7 
 
 the 9th of July, to celebrate the opening of the 
 Exhibition. The Queen and Prince Albert, and large 
 numbers of the aristocracy, were present. The great 
 hall in which the ball took place was splendidly fitted 
 up. There was a striking array of banners em¬ 
 blazoned with the arms of the nations and cities re¬ 
 presented at the Palace in Hyde Park, while the com¬ 
 partments beneath the balconies were filled with 
 pictorial representations of the finest and most striking 
 contributions in the Exhibition. After the dancing, 
 supper was served in the crypt, which was made to 
 represent an old baronial hall. On leaving, her 
 Majesty thanked Lord Mayor Musgrove for his hospi¬ 
 tality, and announced her intention of creating him 
 a baronet. Prince Albert told Baron Stockmar that 
 this City ball passed off most brilliantly, and that a 
 million of people remained till three in the morning 
 in the streets, and cheered her Majesty on her return 
 with great enthusiasm. 
 
 On the 27th of August the Queen, Prince Albert, 
 and several of the royal children, left London for 
 Balmoral, travelling for the first time by the Great 
 Northern Railway. A halt was made at Peterborough, 
 where her Majesty had a kindly interview with the 
 venerable Bishop, Dr. Davys, who had been the tutor 
 of her childhood. Boston, Lincoln, and Doncaster 
 were next visited, the royal party stopping for a night 
 at the last-named town, selecting the Angel Inn for 
 their resting-place. Going on next day to Edinburgh, 
 her Majesty and the Prince drove through the city, and 
 remained for the night in the State apartments of 
 Holyrood Palace. The honour of knighthood was 
 conferred on the Lord Provost of Edinburgh. 
 
298 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Balmoral was readied on tlie evening of the 29th. 
 The castle and domain had now become royal property. 
 The estate extended to upwards of seven miles in length 
 and four in breadth. The stay this year was not marked 
 by any special incidents, though several features of 
 interest attended the return journey. Leaving her 
 Highland residence on the 7th of October, the Queen 
 journeyed with her family to the South. Between 
 Forfar and Glasgow the axle of a carriage truck 
 became ignited, and the carriage had to be disengaged; 
 while between Glasgow and Edinburgh one of the 
 feeder-pipes from the tender to the engine burst with 
 a loud explosion. No evil results occurred from these 
 misadventures. At Lancaster the royal party alighted 
 to view John of Gaunt’s ancient castle. The Queen 
 and the Prince then proceeded to Oroxteth Park, the 
 seat of the Earl of Sefton. From thence, on the 
 following day, a royal progress was made through 
 Liverpool, in accordance with previous arrangements. 
 Great preparations had been made for her Majesty’s 
 reception, but the weather was disastrously unfavour¬ 
 able. The rain poured down in torrents, and all 
 objects were concealed in a deep mist. The Queen 
 and the Prince, nevertheless, courageously went 
 through the whole of the programme ; and the streets 
 were crowded with persons whose loyalty defied the 
 elements. The royal party visited the Docks, and 
 sailed round the mouth of the Mersey. They then 
 visited the Town Hall and St. George’s Hall. At the 
 Town Hall addresses were presented, and her Majesty 
 knighted the Mayor, Mr. John Bent. From Liver* 
 pool the royal party went by barges on the Bridge- 
 water Canal to Worsley Hall, the seat of the Earl of 
 
LAST YEAES OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 299 
 
 Ellesmere. Next day was a grand gala day at Man¬ 
 chester. There was a royal progress through the 
 town, the Queen being received everywhere with the 
 utmost enthusiasm; and in Peel Park nearly 80,000 
 children, belonging to all religious denominations, 
 were arranged in fourteen tiers of galleries. It was 
 during this royal visit that Sir John Potter received 
 his knighthood. Her Majesty returned to Worsley 
 Hall, and next day the royal travellers journeyed to 
 Watford, where they took carriages to Windsor. 
 
 The Queen paid a farewell visit to the Exhibition 
 on the 14th of October, and shortly afterwards it was 
 dismantled. During the five and a half months it had 
 remained open, the visitors had been 6,200,000, and 
 the total receipts .£500,000. 
 
 Several events of moment occurred before the close 
 of the year. In November the King of Hanover 
 died. He was the fifth and last surviving son of 
 George III. and Queen Charlotte, and as Duke of 
 Cumberland he had been anything but popular. 
 Louis Kossuth came over to England in the autumn 
 of 1851, and created intense interest and excitement. 
 But the most startling incident of all this year 
 occurred on the 2nd of December, that fatal day 
 which witnessed the coup d'etat of Louis Napoleon. 
 By the aid of the army, the ambitious Bonaparte 
 ruthlessly violated the rights of the people, laying the 
 foundation of his power in bloodshed and despotism. 
 A good deal of ill-feeling resulted between England 
 and France, but all fears of French aggression ulti¬ 
 mately died out. Lord Palmerston was compelled to 
 resign in consequence of his too-ready acceptance of 
 the coup d'etat and his acquiescence in the measures of 
 
3oo 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Louis Napoleon; but be bad bis revenge early in tbe 
 following year, wben be was mainly instrumental in 
 overthrowing tbe Liberal Government on its Militia Bill. 
 
 The year 1852 was one of appalling disasters. 
 Early in January tbe splendid mail steam-ship 
 Amazon was destroyed by fire as she was entering tbe 
 Bay of Biscay. Out of a total of 161 persons on 
 board no fewer than 140 perished. Amongst those 
 who met a terrible fate on this occasion was that 
 admirable writer, Mr. Eliot Warburton. Another 
 fearful catastrophe occurred in April, wben her 
 Majesty’s steam troop-ship Birkenhead went down 
 near tbe Cape of Good Hope. Heart-rending 
 accounts were published of tbe disaster from sur¬ 
 vivors. Out of 630 persons on board, chiefly military 
 passengers and their wives and children, only 194 
 were saved. A third catastrophe, which occurred at 
 home, was the bursting of the Bilberry reservoir, near 
 Holmfirth, on the borders of Yorkshire and Lanca¬ 
 shire. An immense destruction of life and property 
 ensued. Nearly one hundred persons perished ; and, 
 as an example of the wreck and ruin involved, it may 
 be stated that one family who the night before were 
 worth £ 10,000, were reduced to ask for clothes to 
 cover them. More than 7,000 persons were instantly 
 rendered destitute, and the total damage was esti¬ 
 mated at A6oo,ooo. Her Majesty was greatly moved 
 on learning of these dire calamities. 
 
 When the London season commenced this year, 
 an interesting correspondence took place between 
 the King of the Belgians and the Queen. The former 
 was afraid lest the wear and tear of London life 
 should have an injurious effect upon her Majesty. 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 
 The Queen’s reply set her uncle’s mind at rest: 
 4 The London season for us consists of two State balls 
 and two concerts. We are hardly ever later than 
 twelve o’clock at night, and our only dissipation is 
 going three or four times a week to the play or 
 opera, which is a great amusement and relaxation to 
 us both. As for going out as people do here every 
 night to balls and parties, and to breakfasts and teas 
 all day long besides, I am sure no one would stand it 
 worse than I should; so you see, dearest uncle, that 
 in fact the London season is nothing to us.’ 
 
 While her Majesty was staying at Osborne in the 
 summer, she received news of the death of Count 
 Mensdorff, who had married the sister of the Duchess 
 of Kent, and was consequently uncle by marriage both 
 to the Queen and Prince Albert. Princess Hohenlohe 
 came over on a visit at this time; she was in great 
 distress and anguish, having just lost her eldest 
 daughter from consumption. 
 
 In July the Queen and Prince Albert made a 
 marine excursion along the Devonshire coast, and in 
 the ensuing month they went over to Brussels on 
 a brief visit to King Leopold. Shortly after their 
 return, her Majesty received intimation that a large 
 legacy had been bequeathed to her absolutely by an 
 eccentric barrister of Lincoln’s Inn, named John 
 Camden Nield. The testator had inherited a large 
 fortune from his father, which he had greatly in¬ 
 creased by his penurious habits. Mr. Nield’s personalty 
 was sworn under £2 5 0,000. 
 
 The Court proceeded to Balmoral in August, and 
 on the 16th of the following month, while on an 
 excursion to the Glassalt Shiel, the Queen received 
 
302 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTOKIA. 
 
 intelligence of the death of the greatest of her subjects. 
 The illustrious Wellington, ‘ the great Duke/ had 
 passed away at Walmer, after a few hours’ illness, 
 and with no suffering, at the patriarchal age of 
 eighty-three. Keenly did her Majesty feel this great 
 loss, for the Duke had in a measure held towards her 
 the triple capacity of father, hero, and friend. In 
 the plenitude of her grief, and with an exaggeration 
 of language which will be understood in consequence* 
 she spoke of him as ‘ England’s, or rather Britain’s, 
 pride, her glory, her hero, the greatest man she had 
 ever produced.’ 
 
 Thousands of British hearts, however, echoed the 
 Queen’s sentiment when she wrote that ‘one cannot 
 think of this country without “ the Duke,” our 
 immortal hero ! ’ Full justice was done by the Queen 
 in the following passage to the great soldier’s 
 character: ‘ In him centred almost every earthly 
 
 honour a subject could possess. His position was the 
 highest a subject ever had—above party—looked up 
 to by all—revered by the whole nation—the friend of 
 the Sovereign—and how simply he carried these 
 honours! With what singleness of purpose, what 
 straightforwardness, what courage, were all the 
 motives of his actions guided. 
 
 ‘The Crown never possessed—and I fear never 
 will —so devoted, loyal, and faithful a subject, so 
 staunch a supporter ! To us (w T ho, alas! have lost 
 now so many of our valued and experienced friends) 
 his loss is irreparable , for his readiness to aid and 
 advise, if it could be of use to us, to overcome any 
 and every difficulty, was unequalled. To Albert he 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 3°3 
 
 showed the greatest kindness and the utmost confi¬ 
 dence. His experience and knowledge of the past 
 were so great too ; he was a link which connected us 
 with bygone times, with the last century. Not an 
 eye will be dry in the whole country.’ 
 
 While the pessimism of grief pervaded this tribute, 
 it indicated very clearly the characteristics of the man 
 whom all Britain mourned as with one heart. The 
 body of the Duke was brought up to London, and 
 conveyed to Chelsea Hospital, where it lay in State 
 for four days, and was viewed privately on the first 
 day by the Queen and Prince Albert and their 
 children. On the 18th the great Duke was laid to 
 rest in St. Paul’s Cathedral, the funeral being such as 
 had never before been celebrated for any Englishman. 
 At the close of the funeral rites in the Cathedral, the 
 body was lowered into the vault amid the solemn 
 strains of the ‘ Dead March.’ A sense of depression, 
 of personal loss, then came over the vast assembly. 
 Prince Albert, it is stated, was deeply moved, and the 
 aged Marquis of Anglesey, the octogenarian companion 
 in arms of the deceased, by an irresistible impulse 
 stepped forward, placed his hand on the sinking coffin 
 that contained the remains of his chief in many 
 battles, and burst into tears. Verily, a prince and a 
 great man had fallen in Israel! 
 
 In December 1852 the Derby-Disraeli Government 
 fell upon its Budget, which was attacked with great 
 force by Mr. Gladstone. Lord Aberdeen became 
 Prime Minister, and his Ministry included many of 
 the leading Whigs and Peelites, Mr. Gladstone being 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer for the first time. 
 
3°4 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Across the Channel, the French Empire had just been 
 declared, and Louis Napoleon had made his public 
 entry into Paris as Emperor. 
 
 On the 19th of March 1853 a disastrous fire 
 broke out in Windsor Castle, which at one time placed 
 that magnificent structure and the whole of its 
 contents in jeopardy. Fortunately, the flames were 
 subdued and the injury was confined to the ceilings 
 of the dining-room in the Prince of Wales’s Tower, 
 and two floors of bedrooms immediately over it, 
 which were practically destroyed. The fire was 
 supposed to have originated from the heating of the 
 flues. The Court was at Windsor at the time, and 
 the Queen, in writing upon the fire to the King of the 
 Belgians, said: 4 Though I was not alarmed it was a 
 serious affair, and an acquaintance with what a fire is 
 and with its necessary accompaniments, does not pass 
 from one’s mind without leaving a deep impression. 
 For some time it was very obstinate, and no one could 
 tell whether it would spread or not. Thank God, 
 no lives were lost.’ The principal treasures in the 
 State rooms were removed in safety on the announce¬ 
 ment of the outbreak. 
 
 The eighth child of her Majesty, and her fourth 
 son, was born at Buckingham Palace on the 7th of 
 April. He was named Leopold George Duncan Albert, 
 the first name being after King Leopold, the second 
 after the King of Hanover, and the fourth after 
 Prince Albert. The third name was a compliment to 
 Scotland. With regard to the name of Leopold, the 
 Queen said to her uncle, 4 Stockmar will have told you 
 that Leopold is to be the name of our fourth young 
 gentleman. It is a mark of love and affection which 
 
last years of wedded life. 
 
 305 
 
 I hope yon will not disapprove. It is a name which 
 is the dearest to me after Albert, one which recalls 
 the almost only happy days of my sad childhood.’ 
 When the young Prince arrived at manhood it was 
 arranged to retain this popular name of Leopold by 
 styling his Royal Highness £ Prince Leopold, Duke of 
 Albany.’ 
 
 On the 21 st of June there was a splendid military 
 spectacle at Chobham, when a sham fight and a series 
 of military manoeuvres were carried out before the 
 Queen and Prince Albert, the King and Queen of 
 Hanover, and the Duke and Duchess of Coburg, then 
 on a visit to the English Court. Queen Victoria 
 excited great admiration as she rode down the lines, 
 dressed in a half-military riding-habit, and mounted 
 on a splendid ebony steed. 
 
 That royalty is subject to the ordinary ills of 
 humanity was proved early in July, when various 
 members of the Queen’s family were attacked with 
 measles. The Prince of Wales was the first sufferer, 
 but he was quickly convalescent; Prince Albert 
 suffered more virulently; the Princess Royal and the 
 Princess Alice took the infection mildly, and the 
 Queen also suffered from a very mild attack of the 
 disorder. All happily recovered without any serious 
 consequences; but the disease was subsequently con¬ 
 veyed by the Queen’s visitors to the Courts of Hanoy er 
 and Belgium. 
 
 Her Majesty held a grand naval review at Spithead 
 on the 11 tk of August, and there were present with 
 her as spectators the Prince of Prussia, the Crown 
 Prince and Princess of Wiirtemburg, and three Russian 
 archduchesses. The sight was splendid, as the noblest 
 
306 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 vessels in the British fleet passed majestically along, 
 and afterwards engaged in mimic warfare. 
 
 On the 29th of August, the Queen and Prince 
 Albert, with the Prince of Wales and Prince Alfred, 
 crossed over from Holyhead to Dublin, to visit the 
 Exhibition of Art and Industry which had been opened 
 in the Irish capital. It was an offshoot of the Hyde 
 Park Exhibition. On landing, the royal party were 
 received by the Lord Lieutenant, the Archbishop of 
 Dublin, the Duke of Leinster, and numerous other 
 peers and dignitaries. The same enthusiasm was 
 shown by the crowds of spectators as on the occasion 
 of the previous visit. Her Majesty took a walk in 
 the Phoenix Park in the afternoon, and a drive in the 
 evening, when Dublin was brilliantly illuminated. 
 Next day, the Queen and the Prince, and their two 
 children, were received in State at the Exhibition; an 
 address was presented to her Majesty, thanking her 
 for her support of the Exhibition, and her contribu¬ 
 tions; and in her reply the Queen eulogized the 
 manner in which the enterprise had been carried out, 
 ‘ with no pecuniary aid but that derived from the 
 patriotic munificence of one of her Irish subjects. 5 This 
 subject was Mr. Dargan, who had erected the Exhibition 
 building at his own expense, and who now came forward 
 and kissed hands amid the loud applause of the assembly. 
 
 The royal visitors remained in Dublin for a week, 
 evincing great interest in the various Irish manufac¬ 
 tures and industries. On the afternoon of one day 
 the Queen and Prince Albert drove out to Mount Ann- 
 ville, the residence of Mr. Dargan. Her Majesty 
 would have made its owner a baronet, but he was 
 anxious that this should not be done. 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 30? 
 
 ' On the 3rd of September the royal party left 
 Kingstown in the Victoria, and Albert , and crossed 
 over to Holyhead. Here they transferred themselves 
 to the Fairy , and cruised along the beautiful shores of 
 Carnarvon Bay. Returning to Holyhead, they pro¬ 
 ceeded thence by rail to Scotland, reaching Balmoral 
 on the afternoon of the 6th. The only event of 
 interest during the Queen’s stay at her Highland 
 home this year was the laying the foundation-stone 
 of the new house at Balmoral. This was done, with 
 all due ceremony, on the 28th of September. The 
 Rev. Mr. Anderson, parish minister of Crathie, prayed 
 for a blessing on the work, and then her Majesty 
 affixed her signature to a parchment recording the 
 day upon which the foundation-stone was laid. 
 
 The Court returned to Windsor Castle earlier than 
 usual, in consequence of the critical state of affairs in the 
 East of Europe. In reply to the movement of Russian 
 troops across the Danube the Turks declared war, and the 
 French and English Governments notified to the Czar 
 that if any further warlike steps were taken against 
 Turkey, the Allied fleets would enter the Black Sea, 
 and take up the cause of the Porte. Meanwhile, 
 there were dissensions in the English Cabinet, and 
 when Lord Palmerston, who represented the strong 
 British war feeling, withdrew from the Government, 
 great popular excitement ensued. There was loud 
 talk about Court prejudice and intrigue, and it was 
 openly said that Prince Albert was acting as a hostile 
 influence ‘behind the Throne’ against Lord Palmer¬ 
 ston and the wishes of the people. The feeling was 
 now as strong against the Prince as it had been in his 
 favour a few years before. Tories and Liberals were 
 
3o8 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 alike embittered against him. Writing to Baron 
 Stockmar, the Prince said : c One word more about the 
 credulity of the public. You will scarcely credit that 
 my being committed to the Tower was believed all 
 over the country—nay, even “that the Queen had 
 been arrested.” People surrounded the Tower in 
 thousands to see us brought to it.It was any¬ 
 
 thing but pleasant to me that so many people could 
 look upon me “as a rogue and traitor,” and I shall 
 not be at ease until I see the debate in Parliament 
 well over; for it is not enough that these rumours 
 should be dispelled for the time—they must be knocked 
 on the head, and the disease radically cured. Then, 
 what has occurred may be of the greatest service for 
 the future.’ The Queen wrote to Lord Aberdeen : ‘ In 
 attacking the Prince, who is one and the same with 
 the Queen herself, the Throne is assailed, and she 
 must say she little expected that any portion of her 
 subjects would thus requite the unceasing labours of 
 the Prince.’ In January 1854, when Parliament met, 
 the calumnies against the Prince were completely 
 refuted by Lord Aberdeen in the House of Lords, and 
 Lord John Bussell in the House of Commons. Lord 
 Campbell, Lord Derby, and Mr. Walpole, all high con¬ 
 stitutional authorities, vindicated the right of the 
 Prince to support the Sovereign by his advice in all 
 matters of State. 
 
 Her Majesty heartily rejoiced when the clouds 
 lifted, and a letter she wrote to Baron Stockmar, on 
 the anniversary of her marriage, showed the strength 
 of her womanly feelings. ‘ This blessed day,’ she 
 observed, £ is full of joyful, tender emotions. Four¬ 
 teen happy and blessed years have passed, and I con- 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 309 
 
 fidently trust many more will, and find us in old age 
 as we are now—happy and devotedly united. Trials 
 we must have ; but what are they if we are together ? * 
 A family masque was performed on this occasion, in 
 which all the royal children took part. At one point 
 in the proceedings the Princess Helena appeared as 
 Britannia, and pronounced a blessing on the Queen 
 and Prince, in the name of all the Seasons, which had 
 been represented respectively by the Princess Alice, 
 the Princess Royal, Prince Alfred, and the Prince of 
 Wales. 
 
 Not long after this peaceful scene, war was declared 
 against Russia, and on a cold March morning a pain¬ 
 fully interesting incident was witnessed in front of 
 Buckingham Palace, when the Fusiliers marched past, 
 cheering the Queen heartily. Her Majesty was much 
 touched over the farewell to her gallant troops, now 
 setting out for the East. There were many sorrowing 
 friends to bid good-bye to the soldiers. High and low 
 felt the grief of parting, and amongst the former was 
 the Duchess of Cambridge, who bade farewell to her 
 son, now the Commander-in-Chief. Some days later 
 the Queen went to Spithead, to view the magnificent 
 fleet under Sir Charles Napier, before it sailed for the 
 Baltic. 
 
 Her Majesty’s birthday was this year spent at 
 Osborne, and to commemorate the occasion, the royal 
 children were presented with the Swiss cottage in the 
 grounds, for their own youthful use and behoof. Un¬ 
 deterred by wars and rumours of wars, the young 
 Princes and Princesses enjoyed themselves exceedingly. 
 Each had a flower and vegetable garden, greenhouses, 
 hothouses and forcing-frames, nurseries, tool-houses, 
 
3io 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 and even a carpenter’s shop. All worked at gardening 
 con amove. On this juvenile property there was also a 
 building, the ground-floor of which was fitted up as a 
 kitchen, with pantries, closets, dairy, and larder; and 
 the young Princesses might sometimes be seen arrayed 
 a la euisinidre, floured to the elbows, and deep in the 
 mysteries of pastry-making, or cooking the Vegetables 
 from their own gardens, preserving, pickling, baking, 
 &c. The Queen resolved to give all her children a useful 
 training. She further taught them to love and appre¬ 
 ciate Nature by keeping up for their benefit a museum 
 of natural history, furnished with curiosities collected 
 by the royal party in their rambles and researches. 
 The children were taught the structure of animals, 
 plants, and birds. 
 
 A thoroughly friendly alliance having been estab¬ 
 lished between England and France, Prince Albert 
 went over to Paris in September, on a special visit 
 of some days to the Emperor Napoleon. Shortly 
 after his return the Court proceeded to Balmoral, 
 where the news reached it of the victory of the Alma. 
 During this visit to Scotland the Queen listened for 
 the first time to one who was afterwards honoured by 
 her warm friendship, the Rev. Norman Macleod. His 
 sermon greatly impressed her, while she was still more 
 deeply moved by his sympathetic prayer for { the 
 dying, the wounded, the widow, and the orphan.’ 
 Returning from Balmoral by Edinburgh, the royal 
 party visited Gateshead, where there had been a 
 terrible conflagration, and Great Grimsby, with its 
 splendid docks. 
 
 All the interest of the country now centred in the 
 war news, the Queen sharing the feeling of anxiety 
 in all its intensity. In October came the ever- 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 3ii 
 
 memorable charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, 
 and on the 5 th of November the brilliant but costly 
 victory of Inkermann. Then ensued a disastrous period 
 of mismanagement in the Crimea. Her Majesty thus 
 wrote to Lord Raglan: 4 The sad privations of the 
 army, the bad weather, and the constant sickness, are 
 causes of the deepest concern and anxiety to the 
 Queen and Prince. The braver her noble troops are, 
 the more patiently and heroically they bear all their 
 trials and sufferings, the more miserable we feel at 
 their long continuance. The Queen trusts that Lord 
 Raglan will be very strict in seeing that no unnecessary 
 privations are incurred by any negligence of those 
 whose duty it is to watch over their wants. 5 But the 
 serious blundering and mismanagement continued, 
 and the only light in the gloom was the noble- 
 hearted service rendered by Florence Nightingale 
 and the ladies who went out with her to the East as 
 nurses. 
 
 Her Majesty felt so keenly the hardships endured 
 ; by the troops and the prolonged siege of Sebastopol, 
 that when Lord Cardigan returned to England and 
 visited her at Windsor, one of the royal children said 
 to him: 4 You must hurry back to Sebastopol and 
 take it, else it will kill mama! 5 A motion for a 
 I Sebastopol inquiry was brought forward in the House 
 of Commons by Mr. Roebuck, and this led to the 
 dissolution of the Ministry. Lord Palmerston formed 
 a new Government, and prosecuted the war with 
 vigour. On the 2nd of March Europe was startled 
 by the news of the death of the Emperor Nicholas, an 
 ! event due as much to the failure of his plans in the 
 Crimea as to the chilling influences of the 4 Generals, 
 January and February. 5 
 
312 
 
 ME LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 The Queen and the Prince visited the wounded 
 Soldiers at Chatham on the 3rd of March. During 
 the same month a sale of water-colour drawings took 
 place in London for the benefit of the widows and 
 orphans of officers killed in the Crimea, and a clever 
 and spirited drawing by the Princess Eoyal, then a 
 girl of fifteen, was sold (amongst other pictures) for 
 a large sum. In April the Emperor and Empress 
 of the French arrived at Windsor Castle on a visit to 
 the Queen. By a curious coincidence the Emperor’s 
 bedroom was the same which had been occupied on 
 previous occasions by the late Emperor Nicholas and 
 Louis Philippe. Her Majesty has thus recorded the 
 reception of her Imperial guests: 1 1 cannot say what 
 indescribable emotions filled me, how much all seemed 
 like a wonderful dream. These great meetings of 
 Sovereigns, surrounded by very exciting accompani¬ 
 ments, are always very agitating. I advanced and 
 embraced the Emperor, who received two salutes on 
 either cheek from me, having first kissed my hand. 
 I next embraced the very gentle, graceful, and 
 evidently very nervous Empress. We presented the 
 Princes (the Duke of Cambridge and the Prince of 
 Leiningen) and our children (Vicky, with very alarmed 
 eyes, making very low curtsies); the Emperor em¬ 
 braced Bertie; and then we went upstairs, Albert 
 leading the Empress, who in the most engaging 
 manner refused to go first, but at length with graceful 
 reluctance did so, the Emperor leading me, expressing 
 his great gratification at being here and seeing me, 
 and admiring Windsor.’ The 1 two salutes on either 
 cheek ’ which her Majesty alludes to, gave great offence 
 to the French Kepublicans, and to English svmpa- 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 3U 
 
 thizers with the Republic, who spoke of Louis Napoleon 
 as c a villain,’ and ‘ a traitor.’ 
 
 The Queen was delighted with the Empress, finding 
 her ‘ full of courage and spirit, yet so gentle, with 
 such innocence and enjouement , that the ensemble is 
 most charming. With all her great liveliness, she 
 has the prettiest and most modest manner.’ Addresses 
 were received, and reviews of troops were held in 
 honour of the Emperor. There was also a grand ball 
 in the Waterloo Room, when the Queen danced a 
 quadrille with her Imperial visitor. She writes that 
 the Emperor danced with great dignity and spirit, 
 and adds: ‘ To think that I, the granddaughter of 
 George III., should dance with the Emperor Napoleon, 
 nephew of England’s greatest enemy, now my nearest 
 and most intimate ally, in the Waterloo Room, and 
 this ally only six years ago living in this country in 
 exile, poor and unthought of.’ Success gilds many 
 careers which in themselves are neither noble nor 
 exalted. 
 
 There was a Council of War on the day after the 
 Emperor’s arrival, and subsequently he was invested 
 with the Order of the Garter. Bishop Wilberforce, 
 who was present at the Chapter, describes Louis 
 Napoleon as ‘ rather mean-looking, small, and with a 
 tendency to embonpoint; a remarkable way, as it were, 
 of swimming up a room, with uncertain gait; a small 
 grey eye, looking cunning, but with an aspect of soft¬ 
 ness about it too. The Empress, a peculiar face from 
 the arched eyebrows, blonde complexion; an air of 
 sadness about her, but a person whose countenance at 
 once interests you.’ 
 
 A splendid banquet was given to the Emperor and 
 
 L 
 
314 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Empress in the Guildhall, and the guests also went 
 in State with the Queen and Prince to the Italian 
 Opera. The carriages had to make their way through 
 what was literally a sea of human beings. The 
 audience in the Opera-house was immense, and the 
 cheering most enthusiastic when her Majesty led the 
 Emperor to the front of the royal box, being followed 
 by Prince Albert with the Empress. Next day the 
 Queen and Prince accompanied their Imperial guests 
 to the Crystal Palace at Sydenham. All went off well, 
 though her Majesty was anxious about the Emperor’s 
 reception by the people. 1 1 felt, as I leant on the 
 Emperor’s arm, 5 she wrote afterwards, c that I was 
 possibly a protection for him. All thoughts of 
 nervousness for myself were lost. I thought only of 
 him, and so it is, as Albert says, when one forgets 
 oneself, one loses this great and foolish nervous¬ 
 ness.’ 
 
 A second Council relating to the Crimean War was 
 held at Windsor on the 20 th of April. The Queen 
 was present, and took such a profound interest in 
 public affairs, that she said it was one of the most in¬ 
 teresting scenes she was ever present at, and one which 
 she would not have missed for the world. The 
 Emperor and Empress left on the 21 st, and the Prince 
 Consort escorted them to Dover. A memorandum 
 written by the Queen showed that she anticipated 
 much, in a political sense, from the Imperial visit. 
 
 A touching scene was witnessed on the 2 1 st of 
 May, in front of the Horse Guards, when her Majesty 
 distributed medals to some of the heroes of the war 
 in the East. Many of these gallant soldiers had been 
 sadly injured and mutilated in their country’s cause, 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 3*5 
 
 and some were so weak that they could scarcely stand 
 to receive the medals. Tears of gratification stood in 
 their eyes, that they should receive these honourable 
 distinctions from the Queen’s own hands. Some of 
 the officers were wheeled past her Majesty in Bath- 
 chairs, and one of these was young Sir Thomas 
 Troubridge, who had had both feet carried off in 
 battle, but who insisted on commanding his battery to 
 the end, only desiring his limbs to be raised in order 
 to stop the loss of blood. The Queen leaned over Sir 
 Thomas’s chair and handed him his medal, telling him 
 that she appointed him one of her aides-de-camp; 
 whereupon he replied, c I am amply repaid for every¬ 
 thing.’ 
 
 Four of the royal children—Prince Arthur and 
 Prince Leopold, and the Princesses Louise and Alice— 
 were attacked with scarlet fever in the summer. The 
 disease was not very virulent, however, and fortunately 
 did not spread. 
 
 On the 18th of August her Majesty, accompanied 
 by Prince Albert, the Prince of Wales, and the Princess 
 Royal, went over to France on a visit to the Emperor 
 and Empress. Never since the infant Henry VI. was 
 crowned at Paris in 1422, had an English Sovereign 
 been seen in the beautiful French capital. The Queen’s 
 visit was therefore a remarkable event, and it was 
 doubly significant as marking the close of the 4 natural 
 enmity ’ which for centuries had exasperated two 
 hostile nations. The royal party landed at Boulogne, 
 where they were received by the Emperor, who saluted 
 the Queen, kissing her hand and both cheeks. It was 
 late when the visitors made their progress through 
 Paris, but her Majesty saw enough of the capital to be 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 3i6 
 
 struck by its beauty and magnificence. The Palace of 
 St. Cloud was placed at the disposal of the Queen and 
 Prince Albert. 
 
 The following day being Sunday her Majesty kept 
 it as in England. On Monday, the Palais des Beaux 
 Arts, a portion of the Great Exposition d’lndustrie, 
 was visited. Lunch was had at the Elysee, and then 
 Notre Dame, the Hotel de Ville, the Place de la Bastille, 
 and other memorable places, were visited. The Queen 
 and the members of her family quite won the hearts 
 of the French people by their frank and winning 
 manners. Tuesday was devoted to Versailles, with a 
 State visit to the Opera in the evening. The Emperor 
 was completely drawn out of his usual impassiveness 
 by the conversation of the Queen, and the interest she 
 manifested in everything. The Municipality of Paris 
 gave a splendid ball in the Hotel de Ville on the 
 evening of Thursday—a ball which is said to have 
 surpassed in brilliancy and magnificence all previous 
 experience. Next day there was a review of 45,000 
 troops in the Champ de Mars, and a visit to the 
 Hospital of the Invalides, to see the resting-place of 
 the great Emperor Napoleon. The Palace of St. 
 Germains was visited on Saturday, and at night there 
 was a grand f&te at the Palace of Versailles. The 
 illuminations were magnificent, and when they closed 
 with a representation of the towers and battlements 
 of Windsor Castle, there was a loud burst of applause 
 from the spectators, succeeded by the strains of c God 
 save the Queen ’ from the orchestras. 
 
 After two more days filled with delightful or im¬ 
 posing scenes, the royal visitors left Paris on the 
 return journey, and proceeded to Boulogne, where— 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 3i7 
 
 accompanied by the Emperor—her Majesty reviewed 
 the magnificent army encamped on the heights. At 
 nine on the following morning the English Court 
 embarked for Osborne. 
 
 Through the Earl of Clarendon, her Minister in 
 attendance, the Queen addressed the following official 
 letter to Sir George Grey expressive of the great 
 pleasure the visit to France had afforded her : 1 The 
 Queen is profoundly sensible of the kindness with 
 which she has been received by the Emperor and 
 Empress, and of those manifestations of respect and 
 cordiality on the part of the French nation by which 
 she has everywhere been greeted. On personal and 
 political grounds the visit to Paris has afforded the 
 highest gratification to her Majesty.’ 
 
 One or two incidents during this visit are especially 
 worthy of mention. In the course of a quiet drive 
 which the Queen took with the Emperor, she explained 
 her friendly attitude towards the Orleans family, which 
 it had been said would displease the Emperor. She 
 told him that they were her friends and relations, and 
 that she could not abandon them in their adversity, 
 though politics were never touched upon between her 
 and them. The Emperor understood the situation and 
 accepted the explanation. Prince Albert’s birthday 
 was celebrated in the course of the visit, and the 
 Emperor gave him a picture by Meissonier, and the 
 Empress a mounted cup carved in ivory. In her diary 
 subsequently, the Queen wrote concerning her parting 
 with the Empress at Paris: 4 When all was ready, the 
 Empress could not bring herself to face the ordeal, and 
 the Emperor said to the Queen that if she would go 
 to her room it would make her come. When we went 
 
318 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 in, the Emperor called her: u Eugenie, here is the 
 Queen;” and she came and gave me a beautiful fan, 
 and a rose and heliotrope from the garden, and Vicky 
 a beautiful bracelet, set with rubies and diamonds, 
 containing her hair.’ At Boulogne, where the 
 Emperor bade farewell to his guests, the Queen and 
 the Emperor embraced, and the latter shook hands 
 warmly with the Prince Consort, the Prince of Wales, 
 and the Princess Poyal. Once more, at the side of the 
 vessel, her Majesty pressed her late host’s hand, and 
 embraced him, saying: 4 Adieu, Sire.’ When the 
 Emperor saw her looking over the side of the ship 
 towards his barge, he called out: 4 Adieu, Madame, au 
 revoir to which the Queen replied : 4 Je l’espere bien.’ 
 
 Early in September the English Court proceeded 
 to Balmoral. The new house, though not yet com¬ 
 plete, was sufficiently advanced for occupation, and as 
 the Queen entered the hall an old shoe was thrown 
 after her for good luck. On the 10th, the Duchess 
 of Kent, who was staying at Abergeldie, went over 
 to' Balmoral to dinner. Lord Granville, Minister in 
 attendance upon her Majesty, received a telegram this 
 day from General Simpson, stating that Sebastopol 
 was in the hands of the Allies. 4 God be praised for 
 it! ’ wrote the Queen, who, like the rest, could 
 scarcely realize the good though long-desired news. 
 Guns were fired and bonfires lit, and there was a 
 great scene of excitement in this distant comer of 
 the Highlands. 
 
 This visit to Balmoral was also memorable for its 
 happy domestic news. The Prince of Prussia had 
 some time before made a proposal of marriage for the 
 Princess Poyal on behalf of his only son, Prince 
 
LAST YEAFS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 3i9 
 
 Frederick William, tlien twenty-four years of age. 
 As tke Princess was only fifteen, however, the Queen 
 and her husband resolved that the question should 
 not be forced, that time must be afforded so that the 
 Princess might have an opportunity of knowing more 
 of the Prince, and of seeing whether her affections 
 willingly tended in that direction. Nevertheless, the 
 young wooer came over to Balmoral on a visit, and 
 all-potent Love settled the difficulty, as he has done 
 thousands of times both before and since. 
 
 Writing in her diary on the 29th of September, 
 her Majesty tells briefly the story of the Prince’s 
 wooing: 1 Our dear Victoria was this day engaged to 
 Prince Frederick William of Prussia, who had been 
 on a visit to us since the 14th. He had already 
 spoken to us on the 20th of his wishes; but we were 
 uncertain, on account of her extreme youth, whether 
 he should speak to her himself, or wait till he came 
 back again. However, we felt it was better he should 
 do so; and during our ride up Craig-na-Ban this 
 afternoon, he picked a piece of white heather (the 
 emblem of “ good luck ”) which he gave to her, and 
 this enabled him to make an allusion to his hopes and 
 wishes as they rode down Glen Girnoch, which led to 
 this happy conclusion.’ 
 
 Shortly after the return of the Court from Bal¬ 
 moral, the King of Sardinia (our ally in the Crimean 
 War) came to England on a visit to her Majesty, 
 and was splendidly entertained at Windsor. Several 
 addresses were presented to the King during his stay, 
 and he was invested with the Order of the Garter. 
 
 On the last day of January 1856, the Queen 
 opened Parliament in person under auspicious cir- 
 
320 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN YICTOKLA 
 
 cumstances. Two months later the war in the East 
 was at an end, and peace was signed. London and 
 the provinces rejoiced greatly over the event. Though 
 our troops had suffered severely in the Crimea, British 
 pluck had once more triumphed, and, together with 
 her Allies, England had gained the victory over the 
 Bussians. But the struggle had been a fierce and 
 deadly one, and peace was everywhere welcomed with 
 enthusiasm. Lord Palmerston, who had done much 
 to ensure the later successes of the British arms, was 
 created a Knight of the Garter. 
 
 The Queen and Prince Albert reviewed the troops 
 at Aldershot on the I 8th of April, remaining in camp 
 over night in a pavilion prepared for their use. At 
 the first day’s review her Majesty wore a field-marshal’s 
 uniform with the Star and Order of the Garter, and 
 a dark blue riding-habit. She also visited the sick 
 and wounded soldiers in the Chatham hospitals, being 
 deeply moved by the sad cases of some of the men 
 whom she visited in the wards. One had received 
 four dreadful wounds in the Eedan, losing both feet; 
 another had had thirteen pieces of his skull removed; 
 while a third had received thirty-one wounds in the 
 cavalry action at Balaclava. The Queen distributed 
 liberal donations amongst the sufferers. On the 23rd 
 of April she held a naval review at Spithead, which 
 was on an unprecedented scale, both as to the amount 
 of force engaged and the number of spectators 
 attracted. Addresses were moved to the Queen by 
 both Houses of Parliament on the conclusion of the 
 war and the signing of peace, and in the upper House 
 Lord Ellesmere, the mover, gave utterance to the 
 national sentiment when he referred to the deep debt 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 321 
 
 of gratitude which the country owed to Florence 
 Nightingale. The Lords and Commons went in pro¬ 
 cession to Buckingham Palace to present their 
 addresses to the Queen, and her Majesty subsequently 
 gave a State ball to celebrate the peace. Some days 
 later she laid the foundation-stone of the military 
 hospital at Netley. 
 
 The Princess Royal was confirmed in the private 
 chapel, Windsor, on the 20th of March. Two months 
 later, while her affianced bridegroom was on a visit to 
 England, an accident occurred to her Royal Highness 
 which might easily have proved fatal. When engaged 
 in sealing a letter at a table, the Princess saw with 
 horror that the sleeve of her light muslin dress had 
 caught fire. Fortunately, Princess Alice and her 
 sister’s governess, Miss Hildyard, were in the room, 
 and they wrapped the hearthrug round the Princess 
 Royal, thus no doubt saving her life. The Princess 
 showed great self-possession, though suffering much 
 pain. Her arm was burnt from below the elbow to 
 the shoulder, but not so severely as to cause per¬ 
 manent disfiguration. When the accident occurred, 
 she uttered no cry, but she said, 4 Don’t frighten 
 mama ; send for papa first.’ 
 
 The Queen had several royal visitors this summer. 
 First came King Leopold, always specially welcome, 
 with his younger son and his daughter, Princess 
 Charlotte, and subsequently the Prince and Princess 
 of Prussia, who, in the course of the next two years, 
 were to find a daughter in the Princess Royal. 
 
 Her Majesty paid another visit to Aldershot in July, 
 and reviewed the troops returned from the Crimea. 
 As the officers and four men of each of the regiments 
 
322 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 which had been under fire c stepped out ’ of the ranks, 
 the Queen stood up in her carriage and thus addressed 
 them : c Officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, 
 I wish personally to convey through you to the regi¬ 
 ments assembled here this day my hearty welcome on 
 their return to England in health and full efficiency. 
 Say to them that I have watched anxiously over the 
 difficulties and hardships which they have so nobly 
 borne, that I have mourned with deep sorrow for the 
 brave men who have fallen in their country’s cause, 
 and that I have felt proud of that valour which, with 
 their gallant Allies, they have displayed on every field. 
 I thank God that your dangers are over, while the 
 glory of your deeds remains ; but I know that should 
 your services be again required, you will be animated 
 with the same devotion which in the Crimea has ren¬ 
 dered you invincible.’ A great cry of £ God save the 
 Queen ’ rent the air when the mellifluous voice became 
 silent; helmets, bearskins, and shakos were thrown 
 aloft, and the Dragoons rendered the scene still more 
 picturesque by waving their sabres. 
 
 The Guards were welcomed home on the next day 
 by her Majesty, and about this time a very sad and 
 touching incident occurred at Buckingham Palace. 
 Lord Hardinge, the Commander-in-Chief, was suddenly 
 struck down by paralysis while having an audience 
 with the Queen. His lordship resigned his appoint¬ 
 ment (in which he was succeeded by the Duke of 
 Cambridge), and died not long afterwards. 
 
 The Queen and her family reached Balmoral on the 
 30th of August this year. The new house was quite 
 finished, and the old one had been demolished. This 
 favourite residence of the Queen is not far from Bal- 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 323 
 
 later, where the railway now ends, Aberdeen having 
 previously been the end of her Majesty’s railway 
 journey. Two roads run from Ballater, following the 
 course of the river—one passing through Crathie and 
 the other leading through the fir and birch woods of 
 Abergeldie. From both roads are to be obtained 
 glimpses of the three great mountain ranges, Cairngorm, 
 Glengairn, and Lochnagar. Balmoral was originally 
 Prince Albert’s property, as Osborne was the Queen’s. 
 He purchased this Highland estate, and c it was by a 
 bequest in his will that it came, with all its memories, 
 to his widow.’ Three different monuments to the 
 Prince, on as many elevations above the Castle, at 
 once attract the eye. The highest, which is a con¬ 
 spicuous object from many points of view, is a gable¬ 
 like cairn, where the tenantry and others assemble on 
 the Prince’s birthday to drink to his memory; the 
 second is a figure of the Prince, attended by his grey¬ 
 hound, Eos; and the third is an obelisk erected by 
 the tenantry and servants to their master. 
 
 Balmoral Castle is a reddish-granite structure in 
 the baronial style. Over the principal entrance are 
 the coats-of-arms, and two bas-reliefs which indicate 
 the character of the building. One of these shows a 
 hunting-lodge under the patronage of St. Hubert, sup¬ 
 ported by St. Andrew of Scotland and St. George of 
 England, and the other represents groups of men 
 engaged in Highland games. Inside, the house is 
 full of relics of the chase, and of expeditions made in 
 the district. The furniture is Scotch, with hangings 
 and carpets representative of various royal tartan sets. 
 The rooms are, of course, not so large as in the royal 
 palaces proper ; but they are commodious enough for 
 
$24 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 the restricted circle which has always gathered there 
 with her Majesty. The ball-room is a long and pic¬ 
 turesque hal], one story in height, bearing numberless 
 Highland devices on its walls. The yearly ball was 
 an event which many looked forward to, in addition 
 to the royal children, some of whom at least greatly 
 distinguished themselves in Highland reels. 
 
 Crathie Church is a little white building standing 
 upon a green and wooded eminence, and looking 
 across the Dee to Balmoral. The gallery of the 
 church, which is the principal seated part of the 
 structure, contains the Queen’s pew and that of the 
 Prince of Wales. There are two stained windows in 
 the building, the gifts of her Majesty in memory of 
 her sister, the Princess Hohenlohe, and of Dr. Norman 
 Macleod. The finest orators in the Church of Scot¬ 
 land have preached in this little building, and amongst 
 their auditors have been celebrated British statesmen 
 and men of letters. Near to the Castle are the Queen’s 
 cottages, whose occupants are admirably looked after, 
 and who possess many reminders of a concrete charac¬ 
 ter of her Majesty and her family. Then there is the 
 one shop in the place, and probably the only shop in 
 her dominions in which the Queen has herself in¬ 
 dulged in the favourite feminine occupation of 
 £ shopping.’ Amongst other northern places whose 
 names have long been familiar to the Queen’s subjects 
 is Abergeldie, first associated with the Duchess of 
 Kent, and more recently with the Prince and Princess 
 of Wales. The house is of white stone, with a single- 
 turreted tower. The spot which her Majesty most 
 favours in the vicinity of Balmoral is the romantic 
 district which includes Alt-na-Giuthasach and the 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 325 
 
 Glassalt Shiel. The Queen’s modest dwelling on the 
 Glassalt stands near the head of a loch two miles long, 
 and is built quite close to the waters of the lake. 
 
 There is little wonder, especially considering its 
 associations with the Prince Consort, that the Queen 
 came to love Balmoral dearly. It was one of the 
 happiest of royal homes, and it has become endeared 
 to her Majesty by her annual residences there for 
 upwards of thirty years. It was the birthplace of 
 many hopes, as it was the home of unclouded happi¬ 
 ness for an all too brief period; and its memories are 
 now the most ineffaceable from the Queen’s affections, 
 as she looks back through a long vista to the time 
 when she first visited it with the beloved partner of 
 her life. 
 
 In November 1856, while the Court was at Wind¬ 
 sor, the Queen received intimation of the death of her 
 brother, the Prince of Leiningen, from apoplexy. He 
 was in his fifty-third year, and left behind him two sons, 
 the elder of whom, Prince Ernest, entered the English 
 navy. Her Majesty felt the Prince’s death very 
 keenly. Writing to King Leopold, she said: ‘ Oh ! 
 dearest uncle, this blow is a heavy one, my grief very 
 bitter. I loved my dearest, only brother, most ten¬ 
 derly.We three were particularly fond of each 
 
 other, and never felt or fancied that we were not real 
 geschwister [children of the same parents]. We knew 
 but one parent, our mother, so became very closely 
 united, and so I grew up ; the distance which differ¬ 
 ence of age placed between us entirely vanished.’ 
 
 A pleasing international incident occurred in 
 December, when the Queen accepted from the 
 American people the gift of the Resolute , one of the 
 
326 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 English ships which went to the North Seas in search 
 of Sir John Franklin. It had been abandoned in the 
 ice, bnt had been discovered by an American vessel 
 and conveyed across the Atlantic refitted. 
 
 The Queen’s fifth daughter, and last and ninth 
 child, was born at Buckingham Palace, on the 14th 
 of April 1857. The infant Princess received the 
 names of Beatrice Maiy Victoria Feodore. A few 
 days after her birth there was another death in the 
 Royal Family, the Duchess of Gloucester—the last of 
 the children of George III.—passing away in her 
 eighty-third year. The Queen thus wrote of her to 
 her uncle : 1 Her age, and her being a link with 
 bygone times and generations, as well as her great 
 kindness, amiability, and unselfishness, rendered her 
 more and more dear and precious to us all, and we all 
 looked upon her as a sort of grandmother.’ 
 
 The approaching marriage of the Princess Royal 
 having been announced to Parliament, the House of 
 Commons, in a spirit of liberality which was gratifying 
 to her Majesty, voted an annuity of .£8,000 to the 
 Princess, and a dowry of ^40,000. 
 
 Amongst the visitors to Osborne in the summer 
 were the Archduke Constantine, Admiral-in-Chief of 
 the Russian Navy, and the young Archduke Maximilian 
 of Austria—the destined husband of the Queen’s 
 cousin, Princess Charlotte of Belgium. Don Pedro of 
 Portugal—whose marriage with the Princess 
 Stephanie of Hohenzollern Prince Albert had been 
 desired to negotiate—also came over to England; 
 and Prince Frederick William too spent some time in 
 wooing at Osborne. 
 
 Prince Albert opened the Fine Art Exhibition at 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 327 
 
 Manchester in May ; and on the 25 th of the following 
 month the Queen formally conferred upon him, by 
 letters patent, the title of ‘ Prince Consort.’ It was 
 deemed advisable to take this step in order to ensure the 
 due recognition of the Prince’s rank at foreign Courts. 
 
 An interesting spectacle was witnessed in Hyde 
 Park on the 26th of June, when her Majesty made 
 the first distribution of that much-coveted distinction, 
 the Victoria Cross, or Cross of Valour. There was a 
 vast concourse of spectators, who cheered lustily as 
 the Queen rode up to the place appointed for the 
 ceremony. The c mighty men of valour ’ were called 
 up one by one (to the number of sixty-two), and the 
 Queen, with that singular air of majesty and grace 
 which sits upon her so naturally on all occasions of 
 State, pinned the cross upon each man’s breast with 
 her own hands. The Prince Consort saluted the 
 recipient with a courteous gesture, and he retired a 
 proud and happy man. As each brave man withdrew 
 from the Queen’s side, the spectators saluted him with 
 clapping of hands and loud cheers. The Victoria 
 Cross is in the form of a Maltese cross, formed from 
 the cannon captured at Sebastopol. The riband is 
 blue for the Navy and red for the Army. The royal 
 crown is in the centre of the cross, surmounted by 
 the lion. On the clasp are two branches of laurel, 
 and from it the cross hangs, supported by the initial 
 ‘ V.’ The decoration carries with it a pension of 
 ;£lO per annum. 
 
 The Queen and the Prince Consort, with their four 
 elder children and Prince Frederick William of 
 Prussia, paid a visit to Manchester in July. The 
 royal party received addresses, visited the Exhibition, 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 328 
 
 and made a progress through, tlie streets to Peel Park, 
 where a statue of her Majesty had just been erected. 
 Towards the close of the month Prince Albert went 
 over to Brussels to attend the marriage of the Prin¬ 
 cess Charlotte and the Archduke Maximilian. Who 
 could foresee the terrible close of this happy and 
 apparently auspicious union ? While the Prince was 
 away, the Queen wrote to King Leopold : 4 You can¬ 
 not think how much this costs me [her husband’s 
 absence], nor how completely forlorn I am and feel 
 when he is away, or how I count the hours till he 
 returns. All the numerous children are as nothing to 
 me when he is away. It seems as if the whole life of 
 the house and the home were gone.’ 
 
 There was a happy visit to Balmoral in September; 
 and this extract from the Queen’s Journal shows the 
 deep interest which the Sovereign took in the hum¬ 
 blest of her subjects and neighbours: 4 Albert went 
 out with Alfred for the day, and I walked out with 
 the two girls and Lady Churchill, stopped at the 
 shop, and made some purchases for poor people and 
 others; drove a little way, got out and walked up the 
 hill to Balnacroft, Mrs. P. Farquharson’s, and she 
 walked round with us to some of the cottages to show 
 me where the poor people lived, and to tell them who 
 I was. Before we went into any we met an old 
 woman, who, Mrs. Farquharson said, was very poor, 
 eighty-eight years old, and mother to the former dis¬ 
 tiller. I gave her a warm petticoat, and the tears 
 rolled down her old cheeks, and she shook my hands, 
 and prayed God to bless me : it was very touching. I 
 went into a small cabin of old Kitty Kear’s, who is 
 eiglity-six years old—quite erect, and who welcomed 
 
LAST YEAES OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 329 
 
 ns with a great air of dignity. She sat down and 
 spun. I gave her, also, a warm petticoat; she said, 
 “ May the Lord ever attend ye and yours, here and 
 hereafter ; and may the Lord be a guide to ye, and 
 keep ye from all harm.” .... 
 
 ‘We drove back, and got out again to visit old 
 Mrs. Grant [Grant’s mother], who is so tidy and clean, 
 and to whom I gave a dress and handkerchief, and she 
 said, “ You’re too kind to me, you’re over kind to me, 
 ye give me more every year, and I get older every 
 year.” After talking some time with her, she said, “ I 
 am happy to see ye looking so nice.” She had tears 
 in her eyes, and speaking of Vicky’s going (marriage), 
 said “ I am very sorry, and I think she is sorry her¬ 
 self ;” and having said she feared she would not see 
 her (the Princess) again, said : “ I am very sorry I 
 said that, but I meant no harm ; I always say just 
 what I think, not what is fut ” (fit). Dear old lady ; 
 she is such a pleasant person. Really the affection of 
 these good people, who are so hearty and so happy to 
 see you taking interest in everything, is very touching 
 and gratifying.’ 
 
 The stay at Balmoral this season was overshadowed 
 by the terrible news of the mutiny in India, and the 
 massacre at Cawnpore. The intelligence of the 
 dramatic relief of Lucknow alleviated the gloom a 
 little, but the Queen was sorely distressed at the 
 severity of the measures adopted to avenge the native 
 cruelties. The mutiny was happily suppressed, and in 
 the succeeding year Parliament rendered a great 
 service to India herself by placing that vast de¬ 
 pendency under the immediate control and govern¬ 
 ment of the Queen. 
 
330 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA, 
 
 On the 25tli of January 1858, the Princess Royal 
 was married to Prince Frederick William of Prussia, 
 now the Crown Prince of Germany. For days before, 
 the ceremony had been the common topic of conversa¬ 
 tion in society. The Princess was very popular, and 
 the many splendid gifts she received were some slight 
 evidence of this popularity. Several interesting and 
 touching incidents are recorded in connection with the 
 marriage. Before the service on the Sunday pre¬ 
 ceding, the Princess Royal gave the Queen a brooch 
 with the Princess’s hair, clasping her mother in her 
 arms as she did so, and telling her that she hoped to 
 prove worthy to be her child. Her Majesty felt the 
 approaching parting with her daughter very deeply. 
 She has recorded her feelings on the morning of the 
 wedding, when she felt more nervous even than her 
 child, for she was now solicitous for another, and had 
 not 1 that blessed feeling, elevating and supporting, of 
 giving herself up for life to him whom she loved and 
 worshipped—then and ever/ This thought had sus¬ 
 tained her on her own wedding-day. Just previous 
 to setting out for the ceremony, a daguerreotype was 
 taken of the family group, father, mother, and 
 daughter, but the Queen trembled so that her own 
 likeness came out very indistinctly. 
 
 The marriage was celebrated in the Chapel Royal 
 of St. James’s, and all the members of the Royal 
 Family were present, besides many other illustrious 
 and noble guests. Her Majesty wore a train of lilac 
 velvet, with petticoat of lilac and silver moire antique, 
 and a flounce of Honiton lace ; corsage ornamented 
 with diamonds, the Koh-i-noor as a brooch ; head¬ 
 dress, a magnificent diadem of diamonds and pearls. 
 
LAST YE AES OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 331 
 
 The Prince Consort and King Leopold were in field- 
 marshal’s uniforms ; the Prince of Wales and the othei 
 Princes in Highland costumes; and the Princesses 
 Alice, Helena, and Louise—who went hand-in-hand 
 behind their mother in the procession—wore white 
 lace over pink satin, with daisies and blue cornflowers 
 in their hair. The bridegroom, who looked very 
 soldierly and stately, was in the blue uniform of a 
 Prussian General. When he appeared in the chapel 
 he bowed low to the Queen and to his mother. The 
 bride came into the chapel walking between her father 
 and King Leopold, the latter being both her godfather 
 and grand-uncle. She wore a white dress of moire 
 and Honiton lace, with wreaths of orange and myrtle 
 blossoms. Her train was borne by eight bridesmaids, 
 the unmarried daughters of dukes, marquises, and earls, 
 and the very flower of English beauty and nobility. 
 Their names were as follows:—Lady Susan Pelham 
 Clinton, Lady Emma Stanley, Lady Susan Murray, 
 Lady Victoria Noel, Lady Cecilia Gordon Lennox, Lady 
 Catherine Hamilton, Lady Constance Villiers, and Lady 
 Cecilia Molyneux. The bridesmaids were in white 
 tulle, with wreaths and bouquets of pink roses and 
 white heather. 
 
 The Annual Register states that as the Princess 
 advanced to the altar she paused, and made a deep 
 reverence to her mother, the paleness of her face 
 flushing to a deep crimson the while. A similar 
 observance was made to the Prince of Prussia. The 
 bridegroom then came forward, and, dropping on one 
 knee, took her hand and pressed it with an expression 
 of fervent love and admiration. The marriage cere- 
 many was performed by his Grace of Canterbury, 
 
332 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 assisted by the Bisliops of London, Oxford, and 
 Chester, and the Dean of Windsor. At its conclu¬ 
 sion, the ‘ Hallelujah Chorus ’ was sung. As soon as 
 the ring had been placed on the Princess’s finger, the 
 cannon were fired, and telegrams despatched to Berlin. 
 
 The congratulations to the bride were given amid a 
 scene of strangely conflicting but very human emo¬ 
 tions. The Princess gave way to her pent-up feelings, 
 and threw herself upon her mother’s bosom, her whole 
 form heaving with agitation. The Queen, whose 
 feelings also now became uncontrollable, warmly 
 embraced her daughter again and again. Prince 
 Frederick William next claimed his privilege with a 
 gentle firm embrace, and then the bride’s father 
 enfolded her in his arms. The bridegroom kissed first 
 the hand and then the cheek of his father and 
 mother, saluted the Prince Consort and King Leopold 
 in German fashion, and was embraced by the Queen. 
 The Princess was about to kiss her father-in-law’s 
 hand, but he drew her towards him, and kissed her 
 cheek. The familiar strains of Mendelssohn’s ‘Wed¬ 
 ding March ’ were heard as the bride and bridegroom 
 went forth from the chapel hand-in-hand. 
 
 Buckingham Palace, to which the royal procession 
 returned, was in a state of friendly siege, being en¬ 
 vironed by a dense crowd. In response to repeated 
 bursts of cheering, her Majesty appeared on the 
 balcony with the royal children, and then retiring, led 
 back the bride by the hand, and presented her to her 
 loyal subjects. Prince Frederick William also stood 
 forward, and placing himself by the side of his wife, 
 the happy couple stood together hand-in-hand, and 
 received the vociferous greetings of the multitude. 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 333 
 
 The bride and bridegroom subsequently left for 
 Windsor, where they were to spend the honeymoon. 
 
 The day was observed as a general holiday through¬ 
 out the United Kingdom, and in the evening London 
 was brilliantly illuminated. Only two days after the 
 marriage the Court removed to Windsor, and her 
 Majesty created her royal son-in-law a Knight of the 
 | Order of the Garter. On the 29th, the Court and the 
 newly married couple returned to Buckingham Palace. 
 In the evening a State visit was paid to Her Majesty's 
 Theatre, when The Rivals and The Sjpitalfields ’ Weaver 
 were performed. Addresses of congratulation poured 
 in upon the bride and bridegroom on the following 
 day. 
 
 The 31st was a Sunday, and apprehensive of the 
 coming separation, the Queen wrote : ‘God will carry 
 us through, as He did on the 25 th, and we have the 
 comfort of seeing the dear young people so perfectly 
 happy.’ The Princess, however, was much distressed 
 at the thought of parting, and said to her mother: 
 ‘ I think it will kill me to take leave of dear papa.’ 
 The separation came on the 2nd of February, and 
 there was not a dry eye in the Palace. Wrote her 
 Majesty : ‘ I clasped her in my arms, and blessed her, 
 and knew not what to say.’ And again : ‘ I kissed 
 good Fritz, and pressed his hand again and again. He 
 was unable to speak, and the tears were in his eyes.’ 
 The Prince Consort and the Prince of Wales, and Prince 
 Alfred, accompanied the Prince and Princess Frederick 
 William to Gravesend. The last farewell of the tender 
 father to his daughter on this snowy winter’s day was 
 very affecting. The Queen keenly felt the separation 
 for long after, but both she and her husband began to 
 
334 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 find solace in tlie loving assiduities of the Princess 
 Alice. 
 
 The year 1858 was a busy one for the Sovereign. 
 In the month following her daughter’s marriage the 
 Palmerston Government went out of office on the 
 Conspiracy Bill, and Lord Derby became Premier, 
 though he had only a short lease of power. In May 
 the Prince Consort went over to Germany for a brief 
 visit, and in June he accompanied the Queen to Stone- 
 leigh Abbey, the seat of Lord Leigh. Her Majesty 
 visited Birmingham, and also opened the People’s 
 Museum and Park at Aston. The royal party stayed 
 for a night at Aston Hall, and the Queen had for her 
 boudoir the room in which Charles I. slept when 
 his army was on its way from Shrewsbury to relieve 
 Banbury Castle. Warwick Castle was visited next 
 day, in the evening of which the Court returned to 
 London. 
 
 Early in August, her Majesty and the Prince 
 Consort, with the Prince of Wales, visited the Emperor 
 of the French on the occasion of the inauguration of 
 Cherbourg. The Queen received c such a salute from 
 the ships and fortress itself as seemed to shake earth 
 and sky.’ The Emperor and Empress visited the 
 Queen and Prince on board the royal yacht, and after 
 they had gone, her Majesty went below and occupied 
 herself in reading, nearly finishing £ that most interest¬ 
 ing book Jane Eyre? Next day the royal party landed 
 and drove through the town. In the evening there 
 was a State dinner on board the French ship Bretagne. 
 As the relations between England and France were not 
 quite so cordial as they had been, her Majesty was 
 a little nervous as to the .possible character of the 
 
LAST YEARS OE WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 335 
 
 speeches, but in proposing the c Health, of his Illus¬ 
 trious Visitors, 5 the Emperor declared his adherence to 
 the French alliance with England. Mext day the 
 Queen and Prince returned to Osborne in time to dine 
 with their other children. After dinner they danced 
 a merry country dance with them on the terrace. 
 
 A few days later her Majesty and the Prince 
 Consort crossed over to Antwerp in the royal yacht, 
 and proceeded to pay a visit to their daughter in her 
 German home. During a halt at Diisseldorf, Prince 
 Albert received a telegram announcing the death of 
 his faithful valet, Cart, who had accompanied him to 
 England, and had been in his service since the Prince 
 was a child of eight. It was a severe blow both to the 
 Prince and his wife. ‘All day long the tears would 
 rush into my eyes, 5 wrote her Majesty ; ‘ he was the 
 only link my loved one had about him which connected 
 him with his childhood, the only one with whom 
 he could talk over old times. 5 
 
 But the happy meeting with her child modified this 
 grief. Next day, on the arrival of the royal party at 
 the Wildpark Station, near Magdeburg, they found 
 the Princess waiting for them on the platform with a 
 nosegay in her hand. She stepped into the carriage, 
 and the Queen says : ‘ Long and warm was the em¬ 
 brace as she clasped me in her arms; so much to say 
 and to tell, and to ask, yet so unaltered; looking well, 
 quite the old Vicky still. It was a happy moment, for 
 which I thank God! 5 Her Majesty stayed at the 
 Palace of Babelsburg during her visit, which extended 
 over fourteen days. Flying visits were paid to Berlin, 
 Potsdam, and Charlottenburg. When the time came for 
 parting, it was more keenly felt by the Queen than had 
 
336 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 been tlie original separation almost, for, as her Majesty 
 wrote : 4 All would be comparatively easy were it not 
 for the one thought, that I cannot be with her at that 
 very critical moment when every other mother goes to 
 her child.’ 
 
 On the 6th of September, the Queen interrupted 
 her journey to Scotland by staying at Leeds to open the 
 new Town Hall, a building second only to St. George’s 
 Hall, Liverpool, in size and beauty. She had a 
 memorable reception from all ranks and classes of the 
 people. After the opening ceremony, her Majesty 
 knighted the Mayor, Mr. Fairbairn, who is described 
 in her Journal as a 4 perfect picture of a line old man,’ 
 and as looking in his crimson velvet robes and chain 
 of office 4 the personification of a Venetian doge.’ 
 
 The first grandchild of the Queen was born at 
 Berlin on the 27th of January 1859. The infant 
 Prince’s mother was then only nineteen years of age, 
 and his grandmother only forty. At his christening 
 the child had forty-two godfathers and godmothers. 
 In April came the confirmation of the Princess Alice, 
 respecting whom the Queen wrote : ‘ She is very good, 
 gentle, sensible, and amiable, and a real comfort to 
 me.’ At this time the Prince of Wales was travelling 
 in Italy, and Prince Alfred was on board his ship in 
 the Levant. In the midst of war rumours the great 
 Volunteer movement was established in England. The 
 new Parliament was opened in June, and in the 
 course of the same month Lord Derby resigned the 
 Premiership, and was succeeded by Lord Palmerston. 
 
 The Queen and the Prince Consort made a yachting 
 excursion to the Channel Islands in August;, and then 
 proceeded to Balmoral. As the meeting of the British 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 337 
 
 Association was held at Aberdeen in September, Prince 
 Albert presided over the conference, and afterwards 
 entertained two hundred members of the Association 
 at a Highland gathering at Balmoral. During her 
 stay in the North this year, the Queen made successful 
 ascents of three famous Highland mountains—Morven, 
 Lochnagar, and Ben Macdhui, the last being the 
 loftiest mountain in Scotland, and upwards of 4000 
 feet high. Before returning to the South, the Queen 
 opened the great Glasgow waterworks, which have 
 their fountain-head at Loch Katrine, and which cost 
 the city of St. Mungo altogether nearly A 1,5 00,000. 
 From Balmoral the Court returned to Osborne, where 
 a very happy and i a merry Christmas ’ was spent this 
 year. 
 
 Parliament was opened by the Queen in person on 
 the 24th of January, and she was accompanied for the 
 first time by the Princesses Alice and Helena. Her 
 Majesty was not so occupied in State matters as to 
 forget art and literature. In the Academy Exhibition 
 this year was Phillips’s picture of the 1 Marriage of 
 the Princess Royal,’ the Queen’s property, and now 
 hung in the great corridor at Windsor Castle. The 
 Queen and Prince were great admirers of Tennyson’s 
 new work, the Idylls of the King , also of c George 
 Eliot’s’ Adam Bede , and at Osborne there hangs, as a 
 pendant to a scene from the Faery Queene , a represen¬ 
 tation of the young squire watching Hetty in the 
 dairy. Another royal link with literature was the 
 appointment of Sir Arthur Helps as Clerk of the 
 Privy Council, in June. 
 
 Her Majesty received the officers of Volunteer rifle 
 corps at a special levee at St. James’s Palace on the 
 
T 1 IS LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 338 
 
 7 tli of March, and on the 23 rd of June following 
 she held a great Volunteer review in Hyde Park. 
 The Queen drove to the ground in an open carriage, 
 accompanied by the King of the Belgians, the Princess 
 Alice, and Prince Arthur. The Prince Consort and 
 the Prince of Wales were on horseback. The. scene 
 presented was one worthy of note in a nation’s history, 
 for the 20,000 citizen soldiers reviewed were a prac¬ 
 tical embodiment of the patriotic spirit which animated 
 the whole of the country. Her Majesty also attended 
 the first meeting of the National Bifle Association at 
 Wimbledon in July. She instituted a handsome 
 annual prize of A200, and fired the first shot at the 
 meeting, the rifle being so arranged that when she 
 touched the trigger the shot struck the bull’s-eye, and 
 caused three points to be scored for the fair shooter. 
 
 Many domestic events occurred during the year. 
 The Prince of Wales went out to Canada, and had a 
 most successful progress through the Dominion, with 
 a visit to the American President at Washington. It 
 was arranged that Prince Alfred should also visit a 
 distant English colony, and land at the Cape of Good 
 Hope. It was hoped that these visits would strengthen 
 still further the friendly bonds existing between Eng¬ 
 land and her dependencies. In July, a daughter was 
 born to the Prince and Princess Frederick William, at 
 Potsdam, and the infant Princess received the bap¬ 
 tismal names of Victoria Elizabeth Augusta Charlotte. 
 
 On the way to Balmoral in August the Court halted 
 at Edinburgh, where the Queen held a Volunteer review 
 in the Queen’s Park. From every point of view the 
 review was successful, and the whole scene was ani¬ 
 mated and picturesque in the highest degree. Out of 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 339 
 
 a total of 30,000 Scotchmen who had enrolled them¬ 
 selves as Volunteers, and many of whom dwelt in 
 regions beyond the railway, upwards of 18,000 
 appeared in battle array before her Majesty. Thi> 
 spectators, who numbered hundreds of thousands, 
 occupied the vast natural slopes of Arthur’s Seat, from 
 the summit down to the great expanse of hill-ground 
 shelving down in front of Salisbury Crag. c The view 
 presented to all these spectators was in the highest 
 degree romantic. In the grassy hollow below was the 
 long line of the Volunteers, massed in battalions, 
 their ranks flanked by the quaint towers of Holy rood, 
 while still further to the west rose, pile above pile, the 
 antique buildings of the ancient capital, terminated by 
 the fortress-rock. Behind rose the Calton Hill, and 
 far beyond that the blue Frith, and the distant hills.’ 
 The Queen came upon the ground accompanied by her 
 venerable mother, the Duchess of Kent, the Princes 
 Arthur and Leopold, and the Princesses Alice, Helena, 
 and Louise. The Prince Consort was on horseback, 
 surrounded by a group of the Scottish nobility and 
 lords-lieutenant. At the close of the march past, the 
 whole force reformed in line, and, advancing, presented 
 arms and saluted. Her Majesty having acknowledged 
 the salute, ‘ the men burst into enthusiastic cheers, 
 which, being taken up by the multitudes assembledon the 
 hills in front, a sound arose, the like of which the high 
 places of “ Auld Reekie ” had never before re-echoed.’ 
 
 Shortly after the Queen’s arrival at Balmoral, news 
 came of the death of the Duchess of Kent’s only 
 surviving sister, the widow of the Grand Duke Con¬ 
 stantine of Russia. Her Majesty and the Prince 
 Consort, with the Princesses Alice and Helena, 
 
340 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 ascended Ben Macdhui during tlieir stay, and, as tlie 
 weather was most favourable, a splendid view was 
 obtained. A still longer expedition followed, which 
 necessitated a stay for a night of the whole royal 
 party at a village inn. As they travelled incognito, 
 a certain amount of piquancy was added to the 
 adventure. 
 
 After their return South, the Queen and the Prince 
 Consort, with the Princess Alice, paid a visit to the 
 ancestral States of the Saxe-Coburg Gothas. They 
 embarked in the Victoria and Albert at Gravesend, on 
 the 2 2nd of September, and reached Antwerp the 
 following evening. Next day the King of the Bel¬ 
 gians arrived, and escorted the travellers through his 
 dominions. The Prince Regent of Prussia met them 
 at Aix-la-Chapelle, and accompanied them for some 
 distance, and they were welcomed at Frankfort by the 
 Princess of Prussia and the Grand Duke and Duchess 
 of Baden. The Queen and the Prince reached Coburg 
 on the 25 th, where they were received by the Duke 
 and Duchess, and also the Prince and Princess Frede¬ 
 rick William. One sorrowful incident had occurred, 
 which threw a gloom over the visitors: this was the 
 death of the Dowager Duchess of Coburg, the mother 
 of the Prince Consort. The Grand Duchess and the 
 Princess Royal consequently appeared in the deepest 
 German mourning, with long black veils. The Queen 
 writes that as she met her daughter there was c a 
 tender embrace, and then we walked up the staircase. 
 I could hardly speak, I felt so moved, and quite 
 trembled.’ 
 
 The holiday passed in a quiet fashion, but it was 
 nearly marred by what might have proved a terrible 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 341 
 
 and even fatal accident to the Prince Consort. His 
 Royal Highness was driving alone in an open carriage 
 when the horses took fright, and ran away at full 
 gallop towards a spot where a bar was put up to 
 guard a level railway-crossing, and in front of which 
 a waggon was already waiting. Foreseeing that a 
 crash was inevitable, the Prince jumped out and 
 escaped with several bruises and cuts, while the driver 
 was thrown out and seriously injured. The Queen 
 was informed of the accident and of her husband’s 
 escape before more alarming reports could reach her; 
 and in gratitude for the Prince’s preservation, she 
 founded a charity to provide for young men and 
 young women, of good character, suitable provision on 
 their marriage and settlement in life. 
 
 The royal travellers left Coburg on the 10th of 
 October, and proceeded by Mayence and Coblentz to 
 Brussels. In consequence of a very severe cold with 
 sore throat, her Majesty remained as the guest of her 
 uncle for three days. She had never been so seriously 
 unwell since her childhood. Happily she made a good 
 and quick recovery. During her enforced inactivity, 
 We learn that Lady Churchill read to her The Mill on 
 the Floss. The royal visitors left Brussels on the 16th y 
 and reached Windsor on the following day. 
 
 Prince Louis of Ilesse-Darmstadt came over to 
 England in December, and his betrothal to the 
 Princess Alice came about during this visit. Her 
 Majesty in giving an account in her Journal of ‘how 
 it all happened,’ wrote: ‘ After dinner, whilst talking 
 to the gentlemen, I perceived Alice and Louis con¬ 
 versing before the fireplace more earnestly than 
 usual, and when I passed to go to the other room 
 
342 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTOBIA. 
 
 both, came up to me, and Alice in much agitation said 
 he had proposed to her, and he begged for my bless¬ 
 ing. I could only squeeze his hand, and say 
 “ Certainly,” and that we would see him in our room 
 later. We got through the evening work as well as 
 we could. Alice came to our room .... agitated but 
 
 quiet.Albert sent for Louis to his room, went 
 
 first to him, and then called Alice and me in. ... . 
 Louis has a warm, noble heart. We embraced our dear 
 Alice and praised her much to him. He pressed and 
 kissed my hand, and I embraced him. After talking 
 a little we parted; a most touching, and to me 
 most sacred, moment. 5 
 
 In the closing days of this year the Prince Consort 
 suffered from one of those painful gastric attacks 
 which had unfortunately now become somewhat fre¬ 
 quent with him. 
 
 Early in 1861 Prince Frederick William became 
 Crown Prince of Prussia by the death of his uncle. 
 At home, there were two events at this time of interest 
 to the royal circle. The Prince of Wales matriculated 
 at Cambridge, and the Queen and Prince celebrated 
 the twenty-first anniversary of their wedding-day. 
 Writing to King Leopold, her Majesty observed : 4 Very 
 few can say with me that their husband, at the end 
 of twenty-one years, is not only full of the friendship, 
 kindness and affection which a truly happy marriage 
 brings with it, but of the same tender love as in the 
 very first days of our marriage. 5 
 
 But a heavy trial was impending over the royal 
 house, though not that supreme sorrow which was also 
 to be experienced before the close of this disastrous 
 year. The Duchess of Kent, now in her seventy-sixth 
 
LAST YE AES OE WELDED LITE. 
 
 343 
 
 year, was showing alarming symptoms of breaking 
 health. She had just lost her faithful and attached 
 secretary, Sir George Couper, and to this loss suc¬ 
 ceeded physical suffering for the Duchess herself, 
 as she had been called upon to undergo a surgical 
 operation for a complaint affecting her right arm. 
 On the 15th of March, while ‘resting quite happily 
 in her armchair,’ the Duchess was seized with a 
 shivering fit, from which serious consequences were 
 apprehended. The Queen, the Prince, and Princess 
 Alice left Buckingham Palace immediately on receiving 
 the information, and reached Frogmore in two hours, 
 which seemed to her Majesty like an age. 
 
 The Prince Consort first went up to see the 
 Duchess, and when he returned with tears in his eyes, 
 the Queen knew what to expect. She went up the 
 staircase with a trembling heart, and entered her 
 mother’s room. ‘ Here,’ she afterwards wrote, ‘ on a 
 sofa, supported by cushions, the room much darkened, 
 sat, leaning back, my beloved mama, breathing 
 rather heavily—in her silk dressing-gown, with her 
 cap on, looking quite herself.’ One of the attendants 
 whispered that the illustrious patient’s end would be 
 easy, whereupon the Queen writes in her diary : ‘ Oh, 
 what agony, what despair was this! Seeing that our 
 presence did not disturb her, I knelt before her, kissed 
 her dear hand, and placed it next my cheek ; but, 
 though she opened her eyes, she did not I think know 
 me. She brushed my hand off, and the dreadful 
 reality was before me, that for the first time she did 
 not know the child she had ever received with such 
 
 tender smiles! I went out to sob.I asked the 
 
 doctors if there was no hope. They said they feared 
 
344 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEtf VICTORIA. 
 
 none whatever, for consciousness had left her.It 
 
 was suffusion of water on the chest which had come on/ 
 
 The Queen remained through the night by the 
 side of the unconscious sufferer. In the morning her 
 husband took her away for a short time, but she soon 
 returned to her vigils. Holding the Duchess’s hand, 
 she sat down on a footstool and awaited the issue. 
 * I fell on my knees,’ subsequently wrote her Majesty, 
 1 holding the beloved hand, which was still warm and 
 soft, though heavier, in both of mine. I felt the end 
 was fast approaching, as Clark went out to call Albert 
 and Alice, I only left gazing on that beloved face, and 
 
 feeling as if my heart would break.It was a 
 
 solemn, sacred, never-to-be-forgotten scene. Fainter 
 and fainter grew the breathing; at last it ceased, but 
 there was no change of countenance, nothing; the 
 eyes closed as they had been for the last half-hour. 
 .... The clock struck half-past nine at the very 
 moment. Convulsed with sobs, I fell on the hand 
 and covered it with kisses. Albert lifted me up and 
 took me into the next room—-himself entirely melted 
 into tears, which is unusual for him—and clasped me 
 in his arms. I asked if all was over ; he said, “ Yes.” 
 I went into the room again after a few minutes, and 
 gave one look. My darling mother was sitting as she 
 had done before, but was already white. 0 God ! 
 how awful, how mysterious ! But what a blessed end ! 
 Her gentle spirit at rest, her sufferings over/ The 
 Prince Consort bade his daughter Alice c comfort 
 mama,’ and the Princess Royal came over from 
 Germany with the same filial purpose. 
 
 Great respect was shown by the Houses of Parlia¬ 
 ment and the whole nation to the memory of the 
 
LAST YEAES OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 345 
 
 deceased. The Duchess bequeathed her property by 
 will to the Queen, and appointed the Prince Consort 
 sole executor. Her remains were interred in the vault 
 beneath St. George’s chapel, Windsor, on the 25th of 
 March. The pall-bearers were six ladies, and the 
 Prince Consort was chief mourner. Her Majesty and 
 her daughters remained at home c to pray together, and 
 to dwell on the happiness and peace of her who was 
 gone.’ The allowances which the Duchess of Kent 
 had made to her elder daughter, the Princess Hohen- 
 lohe, and to her two grandsons, Prince Victor Hohen- 
 lohe and Prince Edward of Leiningen, were continued 
 by the Queen, who also pensioned her mother’s servants. 
 Progmore, the house associated with the Duchess’s last 
 days, and in which the heir to the Prince of Wales 
 was unexpectedly born some years later, has received 
 many visits from her Majesty, who has loved to linger 
 amidst its peaceful scenes, and to recall the joys of the 
 past before death made its cruel inroads upon the 
 royal circle. 
 
 There was mourning at Osborne after the death of 
 the Duchess, but more joyous events soon supervened. 
 On returning to Buckingham Palace in April, the 
 Queen announced to the Privy Council the forthcoming 
 marriage of the Princess Alice. Parliament voted a 
 dowry of A3 0,000 and an annuity of A6,ooo to the 
 Princess. Prince Louis came over at Whitsuntide, 
 and had the misfortune to suffer from measles, which 
 he communicated to Prince Leopold, who suffered 
 severely, and with permanent ill effects. Other visitors 
 in the summer were King Leopold and the Crown 
 Prince and Princess of Prussia, with their children. 
 These were succeeded by the King of Sweden and his 
 
 u 
 
34 $ 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 son, and the Archduke Maximilian and his wife. The 
 Queen spent the birthday of the late Duchess of Kent 
 at Frogmore. 
 
 In August her Majesty and the Prince paid another 
 visit to Ireland. They were accompanied by Prince 
 Alfred (who had just returned from the West Indies) 
 and the Princesses Alice and Helena. The Prince of 
 Wales was already in Ireland, serving in the Curragh 
 Camp, and the royal party attended a field-day at the 
 Curragh. This was followed by a visit to the Lakes 
 of Killarney, which her Majesty greatly enjoyed, 
 naming a point in the course of a row on one of the 
 lakes. The Prince Consort was also much moved by 
 the grandeur and beauty of the scenery, exclaiming 
 again and again, ‘ This is perfectly sublime ! ’ There 
 was a stag-hunt at Killarney, and there were delightful 
 visits to Kenmare House and Muckross Abbey. 
 
 On the 29th the royal visitors left Ireland and 
 proceeded to Balmoral, which was reached on the 
 31 st. Here the usual free and unconstrained life 
 was led for some weeks, but in the midst of her deep 
 happiness the Queen sometimes felt an undercurrent 
 of sadness. Her reflection after an enjoyable excur¬ 
 sion to Cairn Glaishie was, ‘ Alas! I fear our last 
 great one. The Court left Balmoral on the 22nd of 
 October, and slept that night at the Palace of Holy- 
 rood. Next day the Prince Consort performed two 
 interesting public acts at Edinburgh—namely, the 
 laying of the foundation-stone of the new General 
 Post-office, and afterwards that of the Industrial 
 Museum of Scotland. The royal party arrived at 
 Windsor the next day. 
 
 Fortunate for humanity is it that a veil lies between 
 
LAST YEARS OF WEDDED LIFE. 
 
 347 
 
 it and the future. Little could any member of the 
 happy royal party which now journeyed southward 
 imagine that for one of its members, and that the 
 noble and self-sacrificing Prince Consort himself, the 
 last journey had been made to Balmoral, and that 
 the ceremonials at Edinburgh were the last public 
 acts which it was the will of Providence he should 
 perform. Take the moment only given thee, 0 man, 
 and live it as it should be lived ! 
 
( 348 ) 
 
 CHAPTER YU. 
 
 DEATH OF THE PRINCE CONSORT. 
 
 A profound and melancholy interest attaches to all the 
 details published by Sir Theodore Martin concerning 
 the illness and death of the Prince Consort. Death 
 often strikes waywardly ; it takes those who desire to 
 live ; and leaves those who are ready to die. But in 
 the case of the Prince the great enemy found him 
 ready; he was perfectly prepared for the end. It 
 is stated that not long before his fatal illness he said 
 to the Queen : 1 I do not cling to life. You do ; but I 
 set no store by it. If I knew that those I love were 
 well cared for, I should be quite ready to die 
 to-morrow.’ It has never been accurately ascertained 
 how the fever under which he sank originated; but it 
 is strongly surmised that the first predisposing cause 
 was the Prince’s visit to Sandhurst on the 22nd 
 of November. He went to inspect the buildings for 
 the new Staff College and Military Academy, and as 
 the day was one of incessant rain, he suffered from 
 exposure and fatigue. Next day came news of the dis¬ 
 tressing death of the young King of Portugal, and 
 other members of his family, from malignant typhoid 
 fever; and this intelligence weighed heavily upon the 
 Prince’s spirits. 
 
 On the 24th, which was Sunday, the Prince com¬ 
 plained of being full of rheumatic pains, and he wrote 
 
Death of the pbince console 
 
 349 
 
 in his diary that he had scarcely closed his eyes 
 for the past fortnight. Next morning, although the 
 weather was cold and stormy, he travelled to Cam¬ 
 bridge to visit the Prince of Wales. He still got 
 worse, and on the 28th became greatly disturbed 
 at the news of the American outrage on the British 
 flag by the seizure of the Trent. Civil war had broken 
 out in the United States, and the English steamer, 
 Trent , in coming from Havannah to England with the 
 English mails, had on board, among other passengers, 
 Messrs. Slidell and Mason, who had run the blockade 
 from Charlestown to Cuba, and were proceeding to 
 Europe as envoys sent by the Confederates to the 
 Courts of England and France. The Trent was met by 
 the San Jacinto , a Federal war-ship, and the com¬ 
 mander of the latter, Captain Wilkes, boarded the 
 Trent , and demanded the surrender of Slidell and 
 Mason, and their companions. The envoys, to relieve 
 the English captain from his embarrassment, sur¬ 
 rendered themselves. There was great excitement in 
 England when the facts became known, and the 
 British Government took a high tone—too high a 
 tone, thought the Prince, whose last public act was the 
 writing of a draft to Lord Bussell in correction of his 
 draft to the English ambassador at Washington. 
 This document, while sufficiently dignified, was of a 
 conciliatory character, and it was accepted by Ministers 
 and favourably received by the American Government. 
 The ominous cloud which had been gathering on the 
 horizon, now happily blew over. In response to the re¬ 
 presentations made, the American President ordered 
 the release of the gentlemen who had been seized. 
 
 Though very ill, the Prince continued to go out, 
 
THE LIFE OF QtJEEH VICTORIA. 
 
 35 ° 
 
 and wrapped in a fur-lined coat on one occasion lie 
 witnessed a review of tlie Eton College Volunteers. 
 On Sunday, December 1 st, lie walked out on the 
 terrace, and attended sendee in the chapel, and not¬ 
 withstanding his weakness he insisted upon 1 going 
 through all the kneeling.’ Low-fever was next men¬ 
 tioned, and this greatly discomposed her Majesty, 
 especially as she remembered the terrible mortality 
 from this cause in the Portuguese royal family. But 
 in speaking of his own illness, the Prince said that it 
 was well it was not fever, c as that, he felt sure, 'would 
 be fatal to him.’ Lord Palmerston, who was not one 
 as a rule to take gloomy views, w T as so alarmed by 
 what he heard at the Castle, that he suggested the 
 calling in of another physician. Dr. Jenner and Sir 
 James Clark, however, reassured the Queen with the 
 hope that the fever which was feared might pass off. 
 
 There was now nothing left to do but to wait and 
 hope for the best; but unfortunately the Prince lost 
 strength daily, and there would sometimes be c a 
 strange wild look ’ upon his face. He would smile 
 ■when his pet child, Princess Beatrice, was brought to 
 him, but his most constant companion was the Princess 
 Alice. The Prince had long resisted the entreaties of 
 the medical men that he should undress and go to 
 bed, and when at length he was prevailed upon to do 
 this it was too late. Fever having unmistakably de¬ 
 clared itself, knowledge of the unfavourable change 
 could no longer be kept from the Queen, who was 
 almost broken down by her grief. As she expressed 
 it in her diary, she seemed to be constantly living 
 ‘ in a dreadful dream.’ The sufferer was moved on 
 the 8th of December into a more commodious room, 
 
DEATH OF THE PEINCE CONSOET. 
 
 35i 
 
 and as fate would liave it, it was the very room in 
 which both William IV. and George IY. had died. 
 At the Prince’s request a piano was brought into the 
 room, and his daughter Alice played two hymns—one 
 of them, £ A strong tower is our God/ During the 
 playing his eyes were filled with tears. 
 
 The day was Sunday, and in a letter written by a 
 member of the Queen’s household shortly after the 
 Prince Consort’s death, the following touching pas¬ 
 sages described the events of the day: ‘ The last 
 Sunday Prince Albert passed on earth was a very 
 blessed one for the Princess Alice to look back upon. 
 He was very ill, and very weak, and she spent the 
 afternoon alone with him, while the others were in 
 church. He begged to have his sofa drawn to the 
 window, that he might see the sky and the clouds 
 sailing past. He then asked her to play to him, and 
 she went through several of his favourite hymns and 
 chorales. After she had played some time she looked 
 round and saw him lying back, his hands folded as 
 if in prayer, and his eyes shut. He lay so long with¬ 
 out moving that she thought he had fallen asleep. 
 Presently, he looked up and smiled. She said: 
 T Were you asleep, dear papa?” “ Oh, no,” he 
 answered, “only I have such sweet thoughts.” 
 During his illness his hands were often folded in 
 prayer; and when he did not speak, his serene face 
 showed that the “ happy thoughts ” were with him 
 to the end. 
 
 1 The Princess Alice’s fortitude has amazed us all. 
 She saw from the first that both her father’s and 
 mother’s firmness depended on her firmness, and she 
 set herself to the duty. He loved to speak openly of 
 
352 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 his condition, and had many wishes to express. He 
 loved to hear hymns and prayers. He could not speak 
 to the Queen of himself, for she could not bear to 
 listen, and shut her eyes to the danger. His daughter 
 saw that she must act differently, and she never let 
 her voice falter, or shed a single tear in his presence. 
 She sat by him, listened to all he said, repeated hymns, 
 and then when she could bear it no longer, would 
 walk calmly to the door, and rush away to her room, 
 returning with the same calm and pale face, without 
 any appearance of the agitation she had gone through. 
 Of the devotion and strength of mind shown by the 
 Princess Alice all through these trying scenes it is 
 impossible to speak too highly. Her Royal Highness 
 has indeed felt that it was her place to be a comfort 
 and support to her mother in this affliction, and to her 
 dutiful care we may perhaps owe it that the Queen 
 has borne her loss with exemplary resignation, and a 
 composure which under so sudden and so terrible a 
 bereavement could not have been anticipated.’ 
 
 Returning to the last days of the Prince, the illness 
 obtained such hold that Dr. Watson and Sir Henry 
 Holland were called in. While the doctors regarded 
 the case as grave, they by no means thought it hope¬ 
 less. The great irritability and restlessness of the 
 Prince, which were characteristic symptoms of the 
 disease, gave way to delight when the Queen was by 
 his side. The patient would tenderly caress her cheek, 
 and whisper loving words in German, such as ‘ Dear 
 little wife, good little wife.’ By the 12th of December 
 it became manifest that the fever and the shortness of 
 breathing had increased. There was also a probability 
 of congestion of the lungs, and on the I 3th Dr. Jenner 
 
DEATH OF THE PRINCE CONSORT. 
 
 353 
 
 was compelled to make known to lier Majesty tkat tlie 
 illness was very serious. Tke Prince was wheeled 
 into the next room, according to custom for the last 
 few days, but he sat with his hands clasped, gazing 
 abstractedly out of the window. 
 
 Princess Alice now summoned the Prince of Wales 
 from Cambridge on her own responsibility. Next 
 morning, however, Mr. Brown, of Windsor, the medical 
 attendant of the Boyal Family for twenty years, told 
 the Queen that he thought the Prince much better, 
 ‘ and that there was ground to hope the crisis was 
 over.’ As Mr. Brown knew the Prince’s constitution 
 well, this news was felt to be very reassuring. Unfor¬ 
 tunately, the apparent improvement proved only to be 
 that brief recovery which frequently comes before 
 the end. As the Queen entered the sick-room on the 
 morning of the 14th, she was more than ever struck 
 by the unearthly beauty upon the patient’s face. His 
 eyes were dazzlingly bright, but they were fixed on 
 vacancy, and did not notice her entrance. The 
 medical men were now extremely anxious, and to the 
 Queen’s inquiry whether she might go out for a breath 
 of air, responded, 1 Yes, just close by, for a quarter of 
 an hour.’ Going out upon one of the terraces with 
 the Princess Alice, they heard a band playing in the 
 distance, whereupon the Queen burst into tears and 
 returned to the Castle. 
 
 Although Sir James Clark said he had seen a 
 recovery in worse cases, the Queen gave way to despair 
 as she saw the dusky hue stealing over her husband’s 
 face. Some hours passed without further change. In 
 the afternoon, after the Prince had been wheeled into 
 the middle of the room, the Queen went up to him 
 
354 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 and saw with dismay that his life was fast ebbing 
 away. The sufferer ejaculated in German his last 
 loving words : c Good little wife/ kissed her, and with 
 a moaning sigh laid his head upon her shoulder. He 
 dozed and wandered, speaking French sometimes. All 
 his children who were in England came into the 
 room, and one after the other took his hand, Prince 
 Arthur kissing it as he did so, but the Prince made no 
 sign of knowing them. He roused himself, and asked 
 for his private secretary, but again slept. Three 
 of the gentlemen of the household, who had been 
 much about the Prince’s person, came up to him and 
 kissed his hand without attracting his attention. All 
 of them were overcome; only she who sat in her place 
 by his side was quiet and still. So long as enough air 
 passed through the labouring lungs, the doctors would 
 not relinquish the last grain of hope. Even when the 
 Queen found the Prince bathed in the death-sweat, so 
 near do life and death still run, that the attendant 
 medical man ventured to say it might be an effort of 
 nature to throw off the fever. 
 
 But the last hope was at length abandoned. Not long 
 before the end came, the Queen bent over her husband 
 and said in German: £ It is your little wife.’ The 
 dying man recognized the voice, and answered by 
 bowing his head and kissing the Queen. The sands of 
 life were now rapidly running out. The Queen retired 
 into the next room to weep, but she was soon sent for 
 again into the chamber of death. She knelt by her 
 husband’s side, holding his hand, their children also 
 kneeling around; while the Queen’s nephew, Prince 
 Ernest Leiningen, the gentlemen of the Prince’s suite, 
 General Brace, General Grey, Sir Charles Phipps, the 
 
DEATH OF THE PRINCE CONSORT. 
 
 355 
 
 Dean of Windsor, and the Prince’s favourite German 
 valet Lohlein, reverently watched for the end. The 
 Prince died at a quarter to eleven o’clock, thus passing, 
 in his forty-third year, to { where beyond these voices 
 there is peace.’ 
 
 The great bell of St. Paul’s tolled at midnight, 
 spreading the mournful news over the vast city. Early 
 on the following day, which was Sunday, the sad in¬ 
 telligence was flashed by telegraph to all parts of the 
 Empire. In the churches, the omission of the Prince 
 Consort’s name from the Litany told many for the first 
 time of the calamity which had fallen upon the nation. 
 There was not a house in the land that was not 
 saddened by the news, while the hearts of all the 
 people went out to the Queen, who was thus made 
 c a widow at forty-two.’ There had seemed such a long 
 period of married happiness still in store for her; and 
 now all was over. The sorrow which continued to be 
 expressed recalled in its intensity the national mourn¬ 
 ing for the Princess Charlotte. c All diversities of 
 social rank and feeling were united in one spontaneous 
 manifestation of sympathy with the widowed Queen 
 and the bereaved family ; for the loss of the husband 
 and father was instinctively felt to be as grievous 
 to the most exalted rank as to the humblest. The 
 highest family in the realm had lost, indeed, with 
 scarce a warning or a presentiment of woe, the manly 
 soul, the warm heart, the steady judgment, the fertile 
 mind, the tender voice, and the firm hand, thatfor 
 twenty-one years had led, and guided, and cheered 
 them through the trials and dangers inseparable from 
 theirs as from every position. Through a period 
 of many trials he had been the dearest friend and 
 
356 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 most devoted servant of his Sovereign ; while it was 
 known to her subjects that her Majesty fully valued 
 the blessing of the love and care of so good and so 
 wise a husband and companion.’ 
 
 The news of her father’s death was communicated 
 to the Princess Royal at Berlin; and it was also 
 conveyed to Prince Leopold at Cannes under specially 
 painful and melancholy circumstances. The young 
 Prince was in great grief over the death of his 
 governor, General Bowater, who had just expired in a 
 chamber next to that of his Royal Highness, when 
 a telegram came announcing the still more crushing 
 calamity of the Prince Consort’s death. The message 
 was directed to the dead general. When it was opened 
 it was found to contain the dreadful tidings : c Prince 
 Albert is dead ! ’ The anguish of Prince Leopold 
 knew no bounds, and he called out in his desolation: 
 ‘ My mother ! I must go to my mother.’ The child’s 
 sobs and tears were most touching, as he exclaimed 
 in his grief: ‘ My mother will bring him back again. 
 Oh ! I want my mother! ’ 
 
 At Windsor there was great solicitude for the 
 Queen and the Princess Alice. For three days they 
 suffered terribly, and her Majesty’s weakness was 
 so great that her pulse could scarcely be felt. The 
 Princess afterwards said that she wondered how her 
 mother and herself had lived through these first 
 bitter days. The Queen ‘ spoke constantly about 
 God’s knowing best, but showed herself broken¬ 
 hearted.’ At length the countiy was relieved on learn¬ 
 ing that exhausted nature had somewhat recovered 
 itself, and that the Queen had slept. 
 
DEATH OF THE PRINCE CONSORT. 
 
 357 
 
 Her Majesty was again and again urged to leave 
 Windsor before the funeral, but she wept bitterly, and 
 said her subjects were never advised to leave their 
 homes or the remains of those lost to them. It was 
 only when the safety of her children was pleaded as a 
 means of giving them immunity from the fever, that 
 she was prevailed upon to leave Windsor and repair to 
 Osborne. Attired in her deep widow’s mourning, 
 she set out in the strictest privacy, accompanied only 
 by the Prince of Wales and the Princesses Alice 
 and Helena. 
 
 But before going to her desolate home in the Isle of 
 Wight, her Majesty visited Frogmore to choose a site 
 for a mausoleum, where her husband and herself were 
 yet to lie side by side. Leaning on the arm of 
 the Princess Alice, she walked round the gardens, and 
 selected the spot for the ultimate and final reception of 
 the Prince’s remains. Then she left for Osborne, in all 
 her sorrow and loneliness. 
 
 The funeral took place at Windsor on the 23rd of 
 December. The service was held in St. George’s 
 Chapel, where had assembled the company who had 
 received commands to be present at the ceremony, in¬ 
 cluding the Ministers of the Cabinet, the foreign am¬ 
 bassadors, the officers of the household, and repre¬ 
 sentatives of the nobility and the higher clergy. The 
 Knights of the Garter were in their stalls, and repre¬ 
 sentatives were present of all the foreign States con¬ 
 nected by blood or marriage with the late Prince. The 
 chief mourner was the Prince of Wales, who was 
 supported by his brother Arthur, a boy of eleven. 
 Thei'e were also present the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, the 
 
358 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Prince’s brother, the Crown Prince of Prussia, the sons 
 of the King of the Belgians, Prince Louis of Hesse, 
 Prince Edward of Saxe-Weiraar, Count Gleichen, the 
 Due de Nemours, and the Maharajah Dhuleep Singh. 
 
 When the coffin arrived, bouquets from Osborne 
 were placed upon it. One bouquet of violets, with a 
 white camellia in the centre, was from the Queen. 
 At the head of the coffin stood the Prince of Wales, 
 with his brother and uncle, the Lord Chamberlain 
 being at the foot, and the other mourners grouped 
 around. The service was taken by the Dean of 
 Windsor. The grief of the young Princes for their 
 father, as well as that of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg 
 for his beloved brother, greatly moved the spectators. 
 The Prince of Wales, himself overcome, spoke a few 
 soothing words to his little brother, and for a short 
 time both seemed comforted. As the body was com¬ 
 mitted to its resting-place in the vault, a guard of 
 honour of the Grenadier Guards, of which the Prince 
 Consort had been colonel, presented arms, and minute- 
 guns were fired at intervals by Horse Artillery in the 
 Long Walk. The Thirty-ninth Psalm, Luther’s Hymn, 
 and two chorales were sung during the funeral service 
 and while the coffin was uncovered and lowered in the 
 grave. 
 
 During the last moments the spectacle was very 
 touching. The two Princes hid their faces and sobbed 
 bitterly, and almost every other person present was 
 overcome by his emotion. It was a solemn period 
 when the coffin began slowly to sink into the vault ; 
 the half-stifled sobs of the mourners were audible from 
 all parts of the choir. The silence could almost be 
 
DEATH OE THE PRINCE CONSORT. 
 
 359 
 
 felt as tlie coffin gradually descended and finally dis¬ 
 appeared from view. The service being concluded, 
 Garter King-at-Arms advanced to the head of the 
 vault, and proclaimed the style and titles of the de¬ 
 ceased Prince. When he came to the prayer for lie 7 : 
 Majesty, for the first time during her reign the word 
 £ happiness ’ was left out, and only the blessings of 
 £ life and honour ’ were besought for her. As the 
 strains of the Dead March in Saul pealed forth, the 
 mourners advanced to take a last look into the deep 
 vault. The Prince of Wales approached first, and 
 stood for one brief moment with hands clasped, looking 
 down; then all his fortitude suddenly deserted him, 
 and bursting into a flood of tears, he hid his face, and 
 was led away by the Lord Chamberlain. Prince Arthur 
 now seemed more composed than his elder brother; it 
 seemed as though his unrestrained grief had exhausted 
 itself in tears and sobs. Heartfelt sorrow was de¬ 
 picted on the face of every mourner, as one by one 
 they slowly left the side of the vault. 
 
 Throughout the country there was long and genuine 
 mourning for the £ blameless Prince.’ 
 
 This is not the place in which to attempt an exhaus¬ 
 tive estimate of the character of the Prince Consort. 
 But it has been well remarked that his influence for 
 good, alike in the affairs of State, over public morals, 
 and over the sentiments and conduct of private life— 
 his interest in the arts, in the sciences, and in those 
 manufactures into which art and science enter as vivi¬ 
 fying forces, were ever alive, ever present, and ever 
 most beneficially exerted. He was wise and temperate 
 in his judgment of public events; and he influenced 
 
36 o 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 the counsels of a great nation in its relations with 
 foreign States by a love of order united with an equal 
 loye of freedom. In private life he was deservedly 
 beloved. While the Sovereign mourned the coun¬ 
 sellor, the wife sorrowed for the tender and affectionate 
 husband; and the children who had profited so much 
 by his love and guidance, have since risen up to c call 
 his memory blessed.’ No man could well exchange 
 worlds under happier conditions. 
 
( 36i ) 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 EARLY DAYS OF WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 Notwithstanding the cheering sympathy of the Prin¬ 
 cess of Hohenlohe and the King of the Belgians— 
 who came over to Osborne on a mission of consolation 
 —the daily sense of her loss pressed heavily upon the 
 Queen. c There is no one near me to call me 
 “ Victoria ” now ! 5 she is said to have exclaimed on 
 the morning after her bereavement, and this touching 
 expression strongly illustrates her great loneliness. 
 But she did not forget the sorrow of others in her 
 own, and when, within a month of the death of the 
 Prince Consort, the fearful disaster occurred at the 
 Hartley Colliery, by which 204 lives were lost, her 
 Majesty sent a message, to the effect that c her ten- 
 derest sympathy is with the poor widows and mothers, 
 and that her own misery only makes her feel the more 
 for them.’ 
 
 In February, the Queen took leave of the Prince of 
 Wales, who went on a lengthened tour in the East, 
 accompanied by Dean Stanley and General Bruce. 
 Gradually the Sovereign began to evince a renewed 
 interest in State affairs, and the Princess Alice was 
 made the great medium of communication between 
 her and her Ministers. On the 1st of May the In¬ 
 ternational Exhibition was opened, amid much pomp 
 and ceremony. In his Inauguration Ode, the Poet 
 
362 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Laureate thus happily recalled Prince Albert’s deep 
 interest in these peaceful triumphs of art and com¬ 
 merce— 
 
 * 0, silent father of our kings to be, 
 
 Mourned in this golden hour of jubilee, 
 
 For this, for all, we weep our thanks to thee! * 
 
 About this time, when a dear friend expressed her 
 surprise at finding the Queen more calm than after 
 her mother’s death, her Majesty said, 1 I have had 
 God’s teaching, and learned to bear all He lays upon 
 me.’ The Queen spent her birthday at Balmoral, and 
 summoned thither the Rev. Hr. Norman Macleod, 
 whose ministrations she had found most helpful. He 
 preached a sermon, in which he dwelt upon the duty 
 of resignation, for he believed that the lesson was 
 necessary to her Majesty, who appeared not sufficiently 
 reconciled to her loss. The manly fulfilment of his 
 duty was received in a truly noble spirit by the Queen, 
 who not only wrote him a tender letter of thanks in 
 recognition thereof, but summoned him to her room. 
 
 - She was alone,’ the Doctor writes, in his account of 
 the interview. 4 She met me with an unutterably 
 sad expression, which filled my eyes with tears, and at 
 once began to speak about the Prince. She spoke of 
 his excellences—his love, his cheerfulness; how be 
 was everything to her. She said she never shut her 
 eyes to trials, but liked to look them in the face ; how 
 she would never shrink from duty, but that all was at 
 present done mechanically; that her highest ideas of 
 purity and love were obtained from him, and that God 
 could not be displeased with her love.’ 
 
 The marriage of Princess Alice to Prince Louis of 
 
EARLY DAYS OF WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 3^3 
 
 Hesse—which had been delayed by the Prince Con¬ 
 sort’s death—took place at Osborne, on the 1st of 
 July, the ceremony being of a private character. The 
 Archbishop of York officiated, his Grace of Canterbury 
 being indisposed. The Queen attended in deep 
 mourning, and without a vestige of State. The Prince 
 of Wales, and the Princes Alfred, Arthur, and Leo¬ 
 pold were present, and the Princess’s bridesmaids were 
 her sisters—the Princesses Helena, Louise, and Bea¬ 
 trice, and the Princess Anna of Hesse. The bride, 
 who was given away by her uncle, the Duke of Saxe- 
 Coburg Gotha, wore a dress of Honiton lace, made 
 after a design furnished by her deceased father. The 
 Queen conferred on the bridegroom the rank of Royal 
 Highness. The Princess Alice was already a great 
 favourite with the English people, and her departure 
 for the Continent shortly after the wedding was fol¬ 
 lowed by many heartfelt wishes and blessings. 
 
 The Queen went to Balmoral with her children in 
 August, and on the 21 st there was an expedition to 
 the top of Craig Lowrigan, where her Majesty and 
 each of the elder Princes and Princesses laid a stone 
 on the foundation of the Prince’s cairn. The royal 
 party also went to the summit of Craig Gowan on the 
 late Prince’s birthday. On the 1 st of September her 
 Majesty left England for Germany, accompanied by 
 all her sons and daughters who were still at home. 
 A passing visit was made to King Leopold at Laeken, 
 and here the Queen had her first interview with her 
 future daughter-in-law, the Princess Alexandra of Den¬ 
 mark. At the German hunting-seat of Reinhardts- 
 brunn, in Thuringia, her Majesty was joined by the 
 Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia and their 
 
364 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTOEIA. 
 
 children, and by Prince Louis and Princess Alice, and 
 Prince Alfred. Before leaving Germany the Queen 
 visited the venerable Baron Stockmar at Coburg, and 
 heard from his lips many reminiscences of the dead 
 Prince. After her return to England, her Majesty wel¬ 
 comed her daughter Alice, with her husband, Prince 
 Louis, on a visit, and subsequently the Princess 
 Alexandra came over from Denmark on a brief visit. 
 
 The remains of the lamented Prince Consort were 
 removed on the 18th of December from the vault 
 beneath St. George’s Chapel to the noble mausoleum 
 prepared for them by the Queen and the royal children 
 at Frogmore. This memorial edifice stands in Prog- 
 more Park. It is cruciform in plan, with a cell in the 
 crossing, and the arms directed towards the cardinal 
 points. The cell is lighted by three semicircular 
 windows in the clerestory. It is decorated externally 
 with polished shafts of Aberdeen granite; the roof is 
 of copper, octagonal in plan, with a square tower, 
 surmounted by a gilt cross. The transepts are square 
 in plan, lighted by a clerestory to correspond with 
 the cell. The whole exterior of the mausoleum is 
 faced with Aberdeen and Guernsey granite, and with 
 different coloured building stones; the interior is also 
 faced with variously-coloured marbles and stones, and 
 is decorated with statues. Beneath the dome of the 
 cell is placed the sarcophagus of the Prince, upon 
 which rests a recumbent figure of the deceased by 
 Baron Marochetti. The ceremonial observed on the 
 removal of the Prince’s body was strictly private. The 
 coffin was placed in a hearse, and the Prince of Wales 
 and his brothers and Prince Louis of Hesse followed as 
 mourners. After a brief appropriate service, the 
 
EARLY DAYS OF WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 365 
 
 coffin was placed in the sarcophagus. The Princes then 
 arranged upon it the wreaths of flowers which their 
 sisters had woven with their own hands c to rest over 
 the breast of the fondest and noblest of fathers.’ 
 
 On one of the closing days of this year the Duchess 
 of Sutherland presented to the Queen a sumptuously 
 bound Bible, the gift of ‘ loyal English widows.’ 
 Her Majesty returned the following beautiful letter of 
 thanks- for this offering : ‘ My dearest Duchess,—I 
 am deeply touched by the gift of a Bible “ from many 
 widows,” and by the very kind and affectionate address 
 
 which accompanied it.Pray express to all these 
 
 kind sister-widows the deep and heartfelt gratitude of 
 their widowed Queen, who can never feel grateful 
 enough for the universal sympathy she has received, 
 and continues to receive, from her loyal and devoted 
 subjects. But what she values far more is their 
 appreciation of her adored and perfect husband. To 
 her, the only sort of consolation she experiences is in 
 the constant sense of his unseen presence, and the 
 blessed thought of the eternal union hereafter, which 
 will make the bitter anguish of the present appear as 
 naught. That our Heavenly Father may impart to 
 “ many widows ” those sources of consolation and sup¬ 
 port, is their broken-hearted Queen’s earnest prayer. 
 . . . . Believe me, ever yours most affectionately, 
 Victoria.’ 
 
 London, and indeed the whole of England, was 
 alive with pleasurable excitement on the 7 th of 
 March, when the Princess Alexandra, 1 Sea-kings’ 
 daughter from over the sea,’ arrived off Gravesend 
 as the bride-elect of the heir to the British Crown. 
 She was accompanied by her father, mother, brother, 
 
366 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA, 
 
 and sister, and was met by the Prince of Wales, 
 who drove with her through the streets of London 
 amid the cheers of an enthusiastic crowd. The 
 royal party went by train to Slough, where they 
 were received by the Princes of Prussia and Hesse, 
 and Princes Leopold and Arthur. Eton was not 
 reached till a little past six. There was heavy rain 
 here, but it did not damp the ardour of the Eton 
 boys, who gave nine hearty cheers for the Danish 
 Princess. The royal party proceeded by carriages to 
 Windsor. In one of the rooms of the Castle the 
 Queen and the Princesses Louise and Beatrice were 
 anxiously awaiting their arrival. Her Majesty gave 
 her new daughter a warm motherly greeting. 
 
 The wedding took place in St. George’s Chapel on 
 the ioth of March. The Queen, attended by the 
 Hon. Mrs. Bruce, was present in the royal closet, in 
 widow’s weeds, but she took no part in the brilliant 
 ceremonial. All the members of the Eoyal Family 
 attended, and the general company included many 
 illustrious and distinguished personages. The Prince 
 of Wales wore a full general’s uniform, with the stars 
 of the Garter and the Indian Order, and the ribbon 
 and band of the Golden Fleece round his neck. Over 
 his uniform was the mantle of the Garter. The bride, 
 whose beauty touched all hearts, and who was in her 
 nineteenth year, wore a dress of white satin and 
 Honiton lace, with a silver moire train. She also 
 wore the necklace, earrings, and brooch of pearls and 
 diamonds which were the gift of the bridegroom; a 
 riviere of diamonds, given by the Corporation of 
 London, and valued at ;£io,ooo ; an opal and diamond 
 bracelet, given by the Queen; a diamond bracelet^ 
 
EARLY DAYS OF WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 367 
 
 given by the ladies of Leeds ; and an opal and diamond 
 bracelet, given by tlie ladies of Manchester. On 
 reaching the haut pas , the bride made a deep and 
 reverent curtsey to the Queen, and during the service 
 her Majesty was much affected. A spectator indeed 
 observed, as a characteristic feature of the marriage, 
 that all the English Princesses wept behind their 
 bouquets on beholding their brother waiting for his 
 bride alone, and without the support of the beloved 
 father who was gone. After the ceremony, the bride 
 and bridegroom returned to the Castle, alighting at 
 the grand entrance, where they were received by the 
 Queen. The marriage was attested in the White 
 Room, and then the wedding-breakfast was served in 
 the dining-room to the royal guests, and in St. George's 
 Hall to the diplomatic corps, &c. The Prince and 
 Princess of Wales subsequently left Windsor for 
 Osborne, to spend their honeymoon. London and all 
 the large towns were brilliantly illuminated in the 
 evening, and the rejoicings over this happy event 
 were kept up for some days. The crowds were so 
 dense in the City to witness the illuminations on the 
 loth that six persons were crushed or trodden to 
 death, and this melancholy circumstance drew a very 
 sympathetic letter from the Prince of Wales addressed 
 to the Lord Mayor. Marlborough House was selected 
 as the town residence of the bride and bridegroom, 
 and Sandringham as their country house. 
 
 During the stay of the Princess Louis of Hesse at 
 Windsor she gave birth to a Princess. The Queen 
 watched over her daughter with affectionate solicitude 
 at this interesting time. 
 
 On the 9th of May her Majesty paid a long visit to 
 
363 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTOBIA. 
 
 tlie military liospital at Netley, the foundation-stone 
 of winch she had laid seven years before. On that 
 occasion she had been accompanied by the Prince 
 Consort, who took a great -interest in the hospital, and 
 afterwards visited it many times. This later visit by 
 the Queen was strictly private. Before she went into 
 the hospital, her Majesty went first to view the 
 foundation-stone. She bore the visit firmly, though 
 she was evidently moved by painful reminiscences. 
 Subsequently she went through a great many of the 
 wards. In one ward an old soldier from India lay nearly 
 at the point of death. When the Queen had spoken 
 to him, he said : u I thank God that He has allowed 
 me to live long enough to see your Majesty with my 
 own eyes.’ The Queen and the Princess Alice were 
 much touched by this speech, which evidently came 
 from the heart. As her Majesty passed along, the 
 corridors were thronged with Indian invalids, fine old 
 soldiers, bearded and bronzed, some of whom were 
 overcome with emotion at the kindly recognition of 
 tbeir Sovereign. The women’s quarters were next 
 visited, and altogether the Queen walked over several 
 miles of ground. Wherever she went, her royal and 
 womanly bearing deeply affected all who were honoured 
 by her kindly notice and attention. 
 
 Her Majesty paid a visit to Belgium and Germany 
 in August and September, being accompanied by 
 the Princesses Helena and Beatrice and Princes Alfred 
 and Leopold. The royal party crossed over from 
 Greenhithe to Antwerp in the Victoria and Albert. 
 The King of the Belgians received the Queen and her 
 children at Scharbeck, and drove with them to Laeken. 
 Prom thence the royal party travelled to the Castle of 
 
EARLY DAYS OF WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 369 
 
 Rosenau, near Coburg, where her Majesty made a 
 considerable stay, and where she was joined by the 
 Crown Prince and Princess of Prussia, and Prince and 
 Princess Louis of Hesse. Though shattered in health, 
 the Queen received visits from the King of Prussia 
 and the Emperor of Austria. Leaving Rosenau on 
 the 7th of September, the Queen spent a day with 
 her daughter, the Princess Alice, and her family, at 
 Kranichstein, near Darmstadt, and then returned to 
 England. 
 
 The Court went to Balmoral in August. The 
 Prince’s cairn on Craig Lowrigan had been completed. 
 It forms a fine sharp pyramid of granite, thirty-five 
 feet high, and can be seen for miles from the valley. 
 The cairn bears the following inscription :—‘ To the 
 beloved memory of Albert, the great and good Prince 
 Consort. Raised by his broken-hearted widow, Victoria 
 R. August 2 1st, 1862. “ He being made perfect in 
 
 a short time fulfilled a long time ; for his soul pleased 
 the Lord; therefore hastened He to take him away 
 from among the wicked.’ (Wisdom of Solomon, iv. 
 13, 14.) This Scripture passage is said to have been 
 chosen by the Princess Royal. 
 
 On the 15 th of September the Queen went to 
 Blair, to visit the Duke and Duchess of Athole. The 
 Duke was suffering from an incurable illness, but he 
 received her Majesty, and presented her with the 
 white rose, which, according to tradition, is presented 
 by the Lords of Athole on the occasion of the Sove¬ 
 reign’s visit. The Queen went into the Duke’s little 
 room, which was full of rifles and other implements of 
 sport, and sat with him for some time. When the time 
 came for leaving, writes her Majesty in her Journal , 
 
370 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 ‘ the poor Duke insisted on going with me to the sta¬ 
 tion, and he went in the carriage with the Duchess 
 and me. At the station he got out, walked about, 
 and gave directions. I embraced the dear Duchess, 
 and gave the Duke my hand, saying, “ Dear Duke, 
 God bless you ! ” He had asked permission that his 
 men, the same who had gone with us through the 
 glen on that happy day two years ago, might give me 
 a cheer, and he led them on himself. Oh ! it was so 
 dreadfully sad! ’ The Duke of Athole died in the 
 following year from cancer. 
 
 An alarming accident happened to the Queen on 
 the yth of October, as she was returning with the 
 Princesses Alice and Helena from an expedition to 
 Altnagiuthasac. The usual coachman, Smith, was 
 driving the royal party, but after proceeding about 
 two miles in the darkness, though along a good road, 
 the carriage turned over on its side, and all the 
 occupants were precipitated to the ground. Her 
 Majesty came down very hard, with her face upon the 
 ground. Both horses were also down, and the scene 
 was one of danger and anxiety. John Brown called 
 out in despair, c The Lord Almighty ' have mercy on 
 us ! Who did ever see the like of this before ? I 
 thought you were all killed.’ The Princesses were 
 entangled by their clothing, but were eventually 
 released without injury. The traces of the carriage 
 were cut, and the horses got up unhurt. The ladies 
 then sat down in the carriage, covered with plaids. 
 The Queen’s face was a good deal bruised and swollen, 
 and a little claret was all that could be got to bathe 
 it with. After sitting for some half-hour in the dark, 
 a servant who had gone on before with the ponies, 
 
EARLY DAYS OF WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 37i 
 
 feeling alarmed lest a disaster should have occurl ad, 
 returned to the spot with the ponies. The Queen and 
 her daughters then rode home. No one at Balmoral 
 knew what had happened, but her Majesty told her 
 sons-in-law, the Crown Prince of Prussia and Prince 
 Louis of Hesse, who had long been awaiting the 
 arrival of the party. 
 
 A few days afterwards the Queen went to Aberdeen 
 to unveil the statue of the Prince Consort. She has 
 left on record how terribly nervous she was, and that 
 she longed not to have to go through the ordeal. Her 
 Majesty was accompanied by the Crown Prince and 
 Princess of Prussia, Prince and Princess Louis of 
 Hesse, Princesses Helena and Louise, and Princes 
 Arthur and Leopold. The day was very wet. There 
 was a long, sad, and melancholy procession through the 
 crowded streets of Aberdeen, where all were kindly, 
 but all were silent. The Queen trembled during the 
 ceremony, which was the first she had attended in 
 public since her husband’s death. An address was 
 presented, and her Majesty knighted the Provost, 
 a reply being afterwards forwarded to the address. 
 The Prince’s statue, by Marochetti, was considered to 
 be very faithful and lifelike. After it had been 
 unveiled, the Queen, who appeared much depressed, 
 scanned it for some time narrowly. 
 
 On the 14th of December, the anniversary of the 
 Prince’s death, the Queen, accompanied by all the 
 members of the Royal Family, proceeded at an early 
 hour from Windsor Castle to the Royal Mausoleum at 
 Frogmore, where a devotional service was held. This 
 has since been observed as an apnual custom, and 
 all the members of the household, including the 
 
372 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEH VICTORIA. 
 
 servants, are likewise permitted to pay their tribute 
 of love and respect to the memory of the Prince. 
 This wonderfully beautiful tomb, as the Princess 
 Alice described it, with all its elaborate decorations, 
 was erected at a cost of upwards of ^200,000, 
 which was entirely defrayed from her Majesty’s privy 
 purse. 
 
 A joyful but unexpected event occurred at Frog- 
 more on the 8th of January 1864, when the Princess 
 of Wales was prematurely confined of a son, Prince 
 Albert Victor. There was no nurse in attendance, and 
 no preparation had been made for the advent of ‘ the 
 little stranger,’ who had not been expected until 
 March. The Queen was immediately apprised of the 
 happy news of the birth of a direct heir to the 
 Crown. The Prince was christened at Buckingham 
 Palace on the first anniversary of his parents’ marriage. 
 The Princess of Wales made a speedy recovery, and 
 congratulations poured in upon the Prince and Princess, 
 and also upon the Queen, on the birth of the infant 
 Prince. 
 
 Her Majesty’s birthday was kept in May 1864 
 with all the old tokens of state and rejoicing, which 
 had not been observed since 1861. There were the 
 usual salutes from the Tower and the Park, and a 
 grand review of the household troops on the parade 
 behind the Horse Guards. In the following August, 
 on her way to Balmoral, the Queen inaugurated a 
 statue of the Prince Consort at Perth. She was 
 accompanied on this occasion by several members 
 of her family, and by the Duke and Duchess 
 of Saxe-Coburg ^Gotha. In the following year, 
 
EARLY DAYS 0P WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 373 
 
 Prince Alfred, on attaining liis majority, was for¬ 
 mally adopted by the Duke of Saxe-Oobnrg as his 
 heir. 
 
 On the ist of January 1865 the Queen once more 
 manifested her solicitude for her subjects by causing a 
 letter to be written to the directors of the leading 
 railway companies, calling attention to the increasing 
 number of accidents which had lately occurred on 
 various lines of railroad. 4 It is not for her own 
 safety,’ wrote Sir Charles Phipps, 4 that the Queen has 
 wished to provide in thus calling the attention of the 
 company to the late disasters; her Majesty is aware 
 that when she travels extraordinary precautions are 
 taken; but it is on account of her family, and 
 those travelling upon her service, and of the people 
 generally, that she expresses the hope that the same 
 security may be insured for all as is so carefully 
 provided for herself. The Queen hopes it is un¬ 
 necessary for her to recall to the recollection of the 
 railway directors the heavy responsibility which they 
 have assumed since they have succeeded in securing 
 the monopoly of the means of travelling of almost the 
 entire population of the country.’ This letter received 
 from the press and from the directors of the various 
 railway companies the attention which its importance 
 deserved. 
 
 Her Majesty visited the Consumption Hospital 
 at Brompton on the 14th of March, going through the 
 four galleries called respectively the 4 Victoria,’ the 
 4 Albert,’ the c Foulis,’ and the 4 Jenny Lind.’ She 
 entered many of the wards, speaking to several of the 
 bed-ridden patients, and bestowing kindly smiles and 
 
374 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 sympathizing looks upon all; and then she visited in 
 turn the chapel, the vestry, the library, and the 
 kitchens. 
 
 When England was startled by the sad news of the 
 assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the Queen wrote 
 with her own hand a touching letter of condolence to 
 the widow of the late President. Addresses upon the 
 untoward event were presented to the Crown by the 
 two Houses of Parliament, and to these addresses her 
 Majesty returned the following reply :— 1 1 entirely 
 participate in the sentiments you have expressed in 
 your address to me on the subject of the assassination 
 of the President of the United States, and I have 
 given directions to my Minister at Washington to 
 make known to the Government of that country 
 the feelings which you entertain, in common with 
 myself and my whole people, with regard to this 
 deplorable event.’ 
 
 On the 8th of August the Queen left England on a 
 visit to Germany, accompanied by Prince Leopold and 
 the Princesses Helena, Louise, and Beatrice. The 
 illustrious party embarked at the Royal Arsenal pier 
 on board the steam yacht Alberta, under the command 
 of Prince Leiningen. Coburg was reached on the i ith, 
 and the Queen at once proceeded to Rosenau. The 
 birthday of the Prince Consort was celebrated by the 
 inauguration of a costly monument to his memory at 
 Coburg. It took the shape of a gilt bronze statue, ten 
 feet high, which was unveiled in the public square of 
 the town. On the conclusion of the ceremony, the 
 Queen,. accompanied by her children, walked across 
 the square, and handed to the Duke of Saxe-Coburg 
 
EARLY DAYS OF WIDOWHOOD. 
 
 375 
 
 a large bouquet of flowers, which he laid on the 
 pedestal. All the children did the same, until the 
 flowers rose to the feet of the statue. Princess 
 Alice writes of the 1 terrible sufferings ’ of the first 
 three years of the Queen’s widowhood, but adds 
 that after the long storm came rest, so that the 
 daughter could tenderly remind the mother, without 
 reopening the wound, of the happy silver wedding 
 which might have been this year, when the royal 
 parents would have been surrounded by so many 
 grandchildren in fresh young households. The royal 
 family returned from Germany on the 8th of Sep¬ 
 tember, visiting King Leopold at Ostend on the 
 journey. 
 
 Her Majesty spent September and October in the 
 Highlands. In addition to an expedition to Invermark 
 she went to Dunkeld on a visit to the Duchess of 
 Athole. This visit was strictly private, and the Queen 
 found comfort in the companionship of the Duchess, 
 who, like herself, had been bereaved of her husband. 
 4 The life was even quieter than at Balmoral. Her 
 Majesty breakfasted with the daughter who accom¬ 
 panied her, lunched and dined with the Princess, 
 Duchess, and one or more ladies. There were long 
 drives, rides, and rows on the lochs, sometimes 
 in mist and rain, among beautiful scenery, like 
 that which had been a solace in the days of deepest 
 sorrow; tea amongst the bracken or the heather, or 
 in some wayside house; friendly chats, peaceful 
 readings.’ 
 
 In October the popular Premier, Lord Palmerston, 
 died, and the Queen keenly felt his loss, forgetting the 
 
376 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 intractability lie had displayed some years before. But 
 the year I 8 6 5 closed with a much greater personal loss 
 than this: on the 9th of December her Majesty’s 
 uncle, King Leopold, passed away at the age of seventy- 
 six. I11 the deceased King, Queen Victoria not only 
 mourned a dear relative, but a faithful friend and 
 counsellor—one whose sympathy and advice had been 
 constant and unfailing ever since she ascended the 
 throno. 
 
( 577 ) 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 LATER YEARS OF THE QUEER'S REIGN . 
 
 The earliest occasion on which her Majesty attended 
 any State ceremony after the death of the Prince 
 Consort was on the 6th of February 1866, when she 
 opened the first session of her seventh Parliament. 
 The event attracted much attention, and gave great 
 satisfaction. Enthusiastic crowds lined the whole 
 route of the procession to the Houses of Parliament. 
 In the House of Lords the scene was one of great 
 splendour, peers and peeresses being resplendent in 
 their robes and jewels. After prayers had been read 
 by the Bishop of Ely, at a signal from the Usher of 
 the Black Rod the whole assembly rose en masse — 
 peers, peeresses, bishops, judges, and the foreign 
 ambassadors—to receive the Prince and Princess of 
 Wales. The Princess was escorted to the place of 
 honour on the woolsack, immediately fronting the 
 throne. Shortly afterwards the whole assembly rose 
 again; the door to the right of the throne was flung 
 open, and the Queen entered, preceded by the State 
 officials. Her Majesty, who was attired in half¬ 
 mourning, walked with slow steps to the throne, stop¬ 
 ping on the way to shake hands with the Princess of 
 Wales. The Queen wore a deep purple velvet robe 
 trimmed with white miniver, and a white lace cap 
 a la Marie Stuart; around her neck was a collar of 
 
 N 
 
3/3 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 brilliants, and over her breast the blue riband of the 
 Order of the Garter. During the proceedings and 
 the reading of the royal speech the Queen sat silent 
 and motionless, with her eyes fixed upon the ground. 
 She appeared wrapt in contemplation, and was doubt¬ 
 less moved by reminiscences of the time when she 
 stood, proud and happy, with her husband by her side, 
 and took an active part in this august ceremony. 
 When the Lord Chancellor had concluded the reading 
 of the speech, her Majesty rose from the throne, 
 stepped slowly down, kissed the Prince of Wales, who 
 sat almost at her feet, and shook hands with Prince 
 Christian. Escorted by the heir to the Crown, and 
 followed by the Princess of Wales and the Duke of 
 Cambridge, the Queen retired by the door at which 
 she had entered, with the usual ceremonies in which 
 heralds and Garter kings-of-arms delight. 
 
 A new decoration, styled the Albert Medal, was 
 instituted by royal sign-manual in March. It was 
 to be awarded to those who should, after the date of 
 the warrant, endanger their own lives in saving, or 
 endeavouring to save, the lives of others from ship¬ 
 wreck or other peril of the sea. 
 
 On the 13 th of March, for the first time during 
 five years, the Queen visited the camp at Aldershot, 
 and reviewed the troops in garrison. She was accom¬ 
 panied by Princess Helena and the Princess Hohenlohe. 
 The inspection was followed by a grand march past 
 of the regiments, and then the royal party drove 
 through the South Camp by way of the Prince Con¬ 
 sort’s library to the artillery and cavalry barracks, 
 and by the main road past the Memorial Church to 
 the Pavilion, where luncheon was served. In the 
 
LATE 11 YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 379 
 
 afternoon there was a review of the cavalry, artillery, 
 pontoon, and military trains. Not long afterwards 
 her Majesty paid a second visit to Aldershot, the 
 cause of this latter visit being the presentation of a 
 new pair of colours to the gallant 89th Regiment, in 
 lieu of the battered shreds which the corps had with 
 great distinction borne in all parts of the world for 
 the past thirty-three years. 
 
 The eminent American philanthropist, Air. Peabody, 
 having about this time added to his splendid gift for 
 the improvement of the dwellings of the poor of 
 London another munificent donation, the Queen signi¬ 
 fied her intention of presenting him with a miniature 
 portrait of herself, specially painted. She would 
 gladly have conferred upon him either a baronetcy or 
 the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, but he felt 
 himself debarred from accepting such distinctions. In 
 thanking the Queen for the honour done him for his 
 efforts in connection with the poor of London, Mr. 
 Peabody wrote: 1 Next to the approval of my own 
 conscience, I shall always prize the assurance which 
 your Majesty’s letter conveys to me of the approba¬ 
 tion of the Queen of England, w'hose whole life has 
 attested that her exalted station has in no degree 
 diminished her sympathy with the humblest of her 
 subjects. The portrait which your Majesty is gra¬ 
 ciously pleased to bestow on me I shall value as the 
 most precious heirloom that I can leave in the land of 
 my birth, where, together with the letter which your 
 Majesty has addressed to me, it will ever be regarded 
 as an evidence of the kindly feeling of the Queen of 
 the United Kingdom towards a citizen of the Unite4 
 States/ 
 
380 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Two marriages were celebrated in the royal circle 
 in 1 866. The first was that of the Princess Mary of 
 Cambridge to Prince Tech, which took place at the 
 village church of Kew on the 12 th of June. The 
 Queen was present, and looked remarkably well, but 
 it was noticed that she was attired in mourning so 
 deep that not even a speck of white relieved the 
 sombreness. On the 5th of July her Majesty’s third 
 daughter, the Princess Helena, was married in St. 
 George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, to Prince Christian 
 of Schleswig-Holstein, the bride being in her twenty- 
 first and the bridegroom in his thirty-sixth year. The 
 Princess was accompanied to the altar by her mother 
 and the Prince of Wales, and the Queen gave her 
 daughter away. 
 
 The war in Germany this year saw the husbands of 
 two of the Queen’s daughters ranged on opposite sides. 
 During the progress of the war in the immediate 
 vicinity of Darmstadt the third daughter of our 
 Princess Alice was born. The mother was deeply 
 concerned for her husband in the field, but even¬ 
 tually he was restored to her in safety. Austria was 
 utterly worsted in the conflict, and Prussia ultimately 
 annexed Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, &c., as the spoils of 
 victory. 
 
 In October the Queen evinced her interest in the 
 sanitary concerns of the people by opening the fine 
 new waterworks at Aberdeen. In 1806 the daily 
 water supply of Aberdeen was only 60,000 gallons, 
 but the new waterworks would furnish a supply of 
 6,000,000 gallons of pure water from the Dee. An 
 address was presented to the Queen by the Commis¬ 
 sioners, and her Majesty, speaking for the first time 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 381 
 
 in public since her great loss, said : c I Rave felt that 
 at a time when the attention of the country has been 
 ^o anxiously directed to the state of the public health, 
 it was right that I should make an exertion to testify 
 my sense of the importance of a work so well calcu¬ 
 lated as this to promote the health and comfort of 
 your ancient city.’ 
 
 The Queen again came forth from her seclusion 
 in February 1867, when she once more opened Par¬ 
 liament in person. The Reform question was the all- 
 absorbing one occupying the public attention, and 
 before the session closed the Conservative Government 
 succeeded in carrying a measure which provided for a 
 large extension of the suffrage. 
 
 In the course of the year there appeared the in¬ 
 teresting work entitled The Early Years of H.E.H. 
 the Prince Consort , compiled under the direction of 
 her Majesty by Lieut-General the Hon. C. Grey. In 
 this book the Queen pays an affectionate tribute to the 
 virtue and character of her deceased husband, and the 
 biography contains much material furnished directly 
 by the Sovereign herself. 1 No homage which the 
 Queen has paid to her husband’s memory is more 
 expressive than the humility and simple confidence 
 with which she has in these pages trusted to the 
 world particulars relating to herself. The candour 
 with which she has published the events that led to 
 their engagement, and their feelings and impressions, 
 is not more striking than the assiduous self-denial 
 which causes the interest always to centre in the 
 Prince. The Queen is kept out of sight whenever her 
 presence is not required to illustrate his life.’ What 
 the book gives is c not merely the privilege of over- 
 
382 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTGETA. 
 
 hearing tlie tale o£ love and grief, whispered by a 
 mother to her children, bnt a great argument of 
 history, a resolute attempt to make the nation under¬ 
 stand the most illustrious character the Royal Family 
 has possessed since the accession of the dynasty. To 
 accomplish this high purpose, the Queen has not 
 shrunk from the sacrifices which men seldom make, 
 and monarchs never.’ 
 
 On the 20th of May her Majesty in person laid the 
 first stone of the Hall of Arts and Science at Ken¬ 
 sington Gore. This important edifice, which is now 
 known as the Royal Albert Hall, was to be available 
 for the following objects—Congresses, both national 
 and international, for purposes of science and art; 
 performances of music, distributions of prizes by 
 public bodies, conversazioni for the promotion of science 
 and art, agricultural, horticultural, and industrial ex¬ 
 hibitions, and displays of pictures and sculpture. The 
 ceremony at the laying of the foundation-stone was of 
 an imposing character. The Queen was accompanied 
 by the Princesses Louise and Beatrice, Prince Leopold 
 and Prince Christian; and she was received by the 
 Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Lord 
 Steward, and the Lord Chamberlain : her Majesty wore 
 deep mourning, a plain widow’s cap and a dark crape 
 mantle. The Princesses wore dresses of green and 
 white, and Prince Leopold a Highland dress. The 
 Prince of Wales, bowing to his mother, handed her a 
 beautiful bouquet. The Queen, as she took it, kissed 
 both her elder sons, and went forward into the build¬ 
 ing, being received by the whole company with hearty 
 cheers, waving of handkerchiefs, and clapping of 
 bands. The Queen advanced to the edge of the 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 383 
 
 raised dais, and curtsied three times, first to the right, 
 next to the' left, and then to those in front of her. 
 The Prince of Wales read an address to the Queen, 
 who replied, contrary to custom with her, in a scarcely 
 audible tone of voice. She referred to the struggle 
 with which she had nerved herself to take part in the 
 day’s ceremony, but said she had been sustained by the 
 thought that she was assisting to promote the accom¬ 
 plishment of the Prince’s great designs. To his 
 memory, the Queen continued, ‘ the gratitude and 
 affection of the country are now rearing a noble 
 monument, which I trust may yet look down on such 
 a centre of institutions for the promotion of art and 
 science as it was his fond hope to establish here.’ 
 
 In June the Queen of Prussia arrived at Windsor 
 Castle on a visit to the Queen; and in the following 
 month the Sultan was also hospitably housed for a time 
 at the Castle. His Majesty was made the centre of a 
 round of gaieties and celebrations at the Crystal 
 Palace and elsewhere; but a grand naval review, at 
 which he was present, off Spithead, was spoilt by 
 tempestuous weather. The Sultan left England much 
 impressed by his visit. On the day before his de¬ 
 parture from Buckingham Palace the Queen received 
 at Osborne another illustrious visitor in the person of 
 the Empress of the French. 
 
 On the 20th of August the Queen left Windsor for 
 Balmoral, paying a visit on the way to the Duke and 
 Duchess of Boxburghe at Floors Castle. The pro¬ 
 cession from Kelso to the castle was quite a triumphal 
 one, and at one point a beautiful scene was witnessed, 
 when fifty young ladies and girls dressed in white, and 
 wearing chaplets of ivy, strewed the road with 
 
384 THE LIFE OP QUERIST VICTORIA. 
 
 exquisite bouquets of flowers. At night, beacon-fireS 
 were lit on the bill-tops over a wide extent of country, 
 there being no fewer than thirteen bonfires on the 
 Duke of Roxburghe’s estate, so that the fires may¬ 
 be said to have ranged from the Eildons to the 
 Cheviots. The Queen visited Melrose Abbey and 
 Abbotsford on the 22nd, and Jedburgh on the suc¬ 
 ceeding day. At Abbotsford she inspected the me¬ 
 morials of Sir Walter Scott, and acceded to a request 
 to write her name in the Great Wizard’s journal; 
 though she afterwards wrote in her own Journal that 
 she felt it to be presumption on her part to do so. On 
 the 24th she proceeded to Balmoral. During her stay 
 in the North she paid a visit to Glenfiddich, the 
 shooting-lodge of the Duke of Richmond. The luggage 
 having failed to arrive on the same day as the travellers, 
 the Queen and her ladies were compelled to dine 
 in their riding-skirts, and her Majesty put on a black 
 lace veil belonging to one of her attendants, which 
 was arranged as a coiffure. On the 1 5 th of October, 
 the engagement day of the Queen and Prince Consort, 
 a statue of the Prince was unveiled at Balmoral. 
 
 In February 1868 her Majesty received an address 
 of loyalty and affection from the Irish residents in 
 London, a demonstration evoked by the Fenian con¬ 
 spiracy and the Clerkenwell outrage. The address 
 was signed by 22,603 persons. 
 
 An exciting debate took place in the House of 
 Commons early in May, arising out of Mr. Disraeli’s 
 interview with the Queen after the defeat of the 
 Government on Mr. Gladstone’s Irish Church Resolu¬ 
 tions. The Premier stated that he had recommended 
 a dissolution of Parliament to her Majesty, but that he 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 3S5 
 
 liad afterwards placed his resignation at her disposal 
 if she should be of opinion that it would conduce to a 
 more satisfactory settlement of the Irish Church 
 question. Mr. Gladstone and other members strongly 
 censured the use that had been made of the Queen’s 
 name, as well as the policy of the Premier, which 
 condemned the House of Commons by anticipation 
 if any of its votes should be displeasing to the Govern¬ 
 ment. 
 
 Great indignation was caused in England by the 
 news that the Duke of Edinburgh, while accepting 
 the hospitality of the friends of the Sailors’ Home at 
 Clontarf, near Port Jackson, New South Wales, had 
 been shot in the back by one O’Farrell. The wound, 
 happily, was not fatal: the ball was extracted, and in 
 eight days the Duke was sufficiently recovered to go 
 on board his ship. 
 
 On the I 3 th of May the Queen laid the foundation- 
 stone of the new buildings for St. Thomas’s Hospital, 
 and in her reply to the address presented to her she 
 referred to the founding of the Hospital by her royal 
 predecessor Edward VI., and to the interest which her 
 late husband always took in it. She also alluded to 
 the fortunate preservation of her son, the Duke of 
 Edinburgh, from the hand of an assassin. In Wind¬ 
 sor Park, on the 20th of June, there was a review of 
 27,000 Volunteers by the Queen, the day being 
 observed as a holiday by most of the public offices 
 and large business establishments of London. 
 
 Her Majesty left England on a visit to Switzerland 
 on the 5th- of August, travelling incognita as the 
 Countess of Kent: en route she stayed for a day at 
 the English Embassy, Paris, where she received the 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 386 
 
 Empress Eugenie. She proceeded next day by rail 
 to Lucerne. During their sojourn at this place, the 
 Queen and her children—Prince Leopold and the 
 Princesses Louise and Beatrice—occupied a beautifully 
 situated residence called the Villa (Pension) Wallace. 
 It stands on a hill overlooking the town, with the 
 Righi on the left, and Mont Pilatus, distinguished by 
 its serrated ridge, upon the right, and the lake and 
 snowy St. Gothard range of Alps immediately in 
 front. After enjoying for a month the delightful 
 scenery of Switzerland, her Majesty left Lucerne on 
 the 9th of September, reached Windsor Castle on the 
 1 ith, and proceeded to Balmoral on the 14th. During 
 her stay in her Scottish home she interested herself, as 
 usual, in all the doings of the humble occupants of the 
 cottages on the estate. One of the typical visits she 
 was accustomed to pay to the cottagers has thus been 
 described by the Rev. Dr. Guthrie, who had himself 
 visited this particular cottar’s home :— c Within these 
 walls the Queen had stood, with her kind hands 
 smoothing the thorns of a dying man’s pillow. There, 
 left alone with him at her own request, she had sat 
 by the bed of death—a Queen ministering to the com¬ 
 fort of a saint—preparing one of her humblest subjects 
 to meet the Sovereign of us all. The scene, as our 
 fancy pictured it, seemed like the breaking of the day 
 when old prophecies shall be fulfilled : kings become 
 nursing fathers, and queens nursing mothers to the 
 Church.’ Whether at the Scotch communion service, 
 or at a deathbed or the graveside, the Queen testified 
 by her presence and sympathy to the oneness of 
 humanity. 
 
 Before the close of the year there appeared the 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN'S REIGN. 387 
 
 Queen’s volume, Leaves from the Journal of our 
 Life in the Highlands, from 1841 to 1861/ &c. Ac. 
 While the work laid no claim to the dignity of history 
 or the gravity of literature, it had qualities of its own 
 which ensured a ready acceptance amongst all readers. 
 These records were not originally intended for publica¬ 
 tion, but, as her husband had passed away, the Queen 
 decided to give them to the world, in order that it 
 might learn how great was the loss which she and 
 England had sustained by the death of so good and 
 able a man as the Prince Consort. Her Majesty sent a 
 copy of this volume to Charles Dickens, as a gift from 
 ‘ one of the humblest of writers to one of the greatest.'* 
 The Queen visited the City of London on the 6th of 
 November 1869, for the purpose of opening the new 
 bridge over the Thames at Blackfriars, and the new 
 viaduct over the Fleet Valley from Holborn Hill to 
 Newgate Street. The citizens of London gave a warm 
 welcome to their Sovereign after her prolonged 
 absence from their midst. The journey from Pad¬ 
 dington to Blackfriars Bridge—the Queen was ac¬ 
 companied by the Princesses Louise and Beatrice and 
 Prince Leopold—was a continued ovation. After the 
 ceremony at the bridge her Majesty proceeded to the 
 new Holborn Viaduct, where there was an immense 
 assemblage of people, who greeted her with the 
 liveliest acclamations. Having declared the Viaduct 
 open, the Queen drove by way of Holborn to Pad¬ 
 dington. The Lord Mayor gave a banquet at the 
 Mansion House in the evening, when the Queen’s 
 reply to the address presented was read, expressive of 
 the pleasure it had afforded her to visit the City, to 
 open new works in which she recognized c the spirit 
 
3SS 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 of enterprise and improvement which has ever charac¬ 
 terized the citizens of London.’ 
 
 Another very interesting ceremony was witnessed 
 in May 1870, when the Queen, accompanied by the 
 Prince and Princess of Wales, formally opened the 
 new buildings erected for the University of London 
 in Burlington Gardens. The address presented made 
 reference to the fact that it was in the year of her 
 Majesty’s accession to the throne that the University 
 began its labours 1 for the encouragement of a regular 
 and liberal course of education among all denomina¬ 
 tions of the subjects of the Crown; ’ and it further 
 offered dutiful thanks to the Queen for consenting to 
 open a building granted by Parliament and fully 
 satisfying all the requirements of the University. 
 Lord Granville, as Chancellor of the University, read 
 the address, to which her Majesty replied, and then 
 said in firm and clear tones, 1 I declare this building 
 open.’ Many distinguished visitors were present, who 
 were all cordially received, but the warmest greetings 
 were extended to Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Disraeli, and the 
 Indian religious reformer, Baboo Keshub Chunder Sen. 
 
 The year 1870 was an eventful one upon the Con¬ 
 tinent. The war between France and Germany—in 
 which the Queen’s sons-in-law, the Crown Prince of 
 Prussia and Prince Louis of Hesse were engaged—led 
 to the re-making of the map of Europe so far as 
 France and Germany were concerned; and as one 
 result of the deadly struggle the Emperor and 
 Empress of the French were driven into exile. Under 
 changed and melancholy conditions Queen Victoria 
 visited the Empress Eugenie at Chislehurst towards 
 the close of the year. 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 389 
 
 Her Majesty’s stay at Balmoral in 1869 liad been 
 diversified by a most enjoyable visit of ten days to 
 Invertrossachs, from which point the royal party ex¬ 
 plored some of the most beautiful lake scenery in 
 Scotland. The visit to Balmoral in the autumn of 
 1870 was marked by a happy incident of another 
 description. On the 3rd of October the Princess 
 Louise became engaged to the Marquis of Lome, 
 eldest son of the Duke of Argyll. The engagement 
 took place during a walk from the Glassalt Shiel to 
 the Dhu Loch. The Queen writes in her Journal : 
 
 ‘ We got home by seven. Louise, who returned some 
 time after we did, told me that Lome had spoken of 
 his devotion to her, and proposed to her, and that she 
 had accepted him, knowing that I would approve. 
 Though I was not unprepared for this result, I felt 
 painfully the thought of losing her. But I naturally 
 gave my consent, and could only pray that she might 
 be happy.’ Dr. Macleod, who had long known Lord 
 Lome, told the Queen that he had a very high 
 opinion of him, and that 1 he had fine, noble, elevated 
 feelings.’ 
 
 The year 18 71 was a very anxious one for the 
 Queen, as during its course another daughter left the 
 parental roof on her marriage, while before it closed 
 the life of the Prince of Wales was in imminent 
 danger. 
 
 Her Majesty opened Parliament in person on the 
 9th of February. The royal speech, however, was 
 read by the Lord Chancellor, and as he proceeded 
 the Queen sat with eyes cast down and perfectly still, 
 a slight movement of her fan being all that was at 
 any time perceptible. The chief home topics of in- 
 
390 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 terest were tlie approaching marriage of the Princess 
 Lonise and the agitation for army reform, which ulti¬ 
 mately ended in the abolition of purchase. 
 
 The marriage of the Princess Louise to the Marquis 
 of Lome was solemnized at St. George’s Chapel, 
 Windsor, on the 2ist of March. The ceremony was 
 distinguished by much pomp. The Duke of Argyll 
 attracted special attention when he appeared in ‘ the 
 garb of old Gaul,’ with kilt, philibeg, sporran, and 
 claymore complete. The bridegroom, who was sup¬ 
 ported by Earl Percy and Lord Ronald Gower, looked 
 pale and nervous. All the members of the Royal 
 Family were present. The bride was supported on 
 the right by the Queen, and on the other side by the 
 Prince of Wales and the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and 
 Gotha. The bridesmaids were dressed in white satin 
 decorated with red camellias, with long and drooping 
 leaves; and the bride wore a white satin robe, with a 
 tunic of Honiton lace of ingenious and graceful design. 
 In this tunic were bouquets composed of the rose, the 
 shamrock, and the thistle, linked together by a floral 
 chain, from which hung bouquets of various flowers. 
 The veil, which was of Honiton lace, was worked from 
 a sketch made by the Princess Louise herself. When 
 the Bishop of London put the usual question as to the 
 giving away of the bride, the Queen replied by a 
 gesture, and then the bishop joined the hands of the 
 young couple. At the close of the ceremony the 
 Queen lovingly embraced her daughter. The bride 
 and bridegroom left Windsor for Claremont, to spend 
 the honeymoon. For their London residence, rooms 
 were allotted to them in Kensington Palace. 
 
 Her Majesty opened the Royal Albert Hall on the 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIUN. 391 
 
 29th of March, in the presence of the members of the 
 Royal Family, the chief officers of State, ancl a large 
 and distinguished assembly, consisting of some 8,000 
 persons. On the entrance of the Queen the whole 
 audience rose to receive her, and remained standing 
 while the National Anthem was performed. At its 
 conclusion the Prince of Wales read an address to 
 her Majesty. The Queen handed to the Prince a 
 written answer, and said in a clear voice: c I wish to 
 express my great admiration of this beautiful hall, 
 and my earnest wishes for its complete success.’ A 
 prayer was offered by the Bishop of London, and then 
 the Prince exclaimed : 1 The Queen declares this hall 
 to be now opened.’ The announcement was followed 
 by a burst of cheering, the National Anthem, and the 
 discharge of the park guns. The opening was cele¬ 
 brated by a concert, under the direction of Sir Michael 
 Costa, who composed a cantata expressly for the occa¬ 
 sion. The cost of the hall was estimated at £2 00,000, 
 and—what is probably unique in the history of public 
 buildings—this cost was not exceeded. 
 
 Early in April the Queen, accompanied by Prince 
 Leopold, paid a visit to the Emperor Napoleon and the 
 Empress Eugenie at Chislehurst. The Emperor was 
 suffering greatly both in mind and body, but he was 
 much touched by this manifestation of friendship. 
 
 On the 2 1st of June her Majesty opened the new 
 St. Thomas’s Hospital, and knighted the treasurer, Mr. 
 Francis Hicks. 
 
 The Queen did not return from her usual visit 
 to Balmoral until a late period this autumn, and when 
 she reached Windsor, on the 25 th of November, she 
 was met by the disturbing news that a feverish attack 
 
392 
 
 TEE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 from which the Prince of Wales had for some time 
 been suffering had assumed a grave aspect. A bulletin, 
 issued by Drs. Jenner, Gull, Clayton, and Lowe, stated 
 that the Prince’s illness was typhoid fever. Her 
 Majesty proceeded to Sandringham on the 29th. The 
 Princess Louis of Hesse and her children were staying 
 at Sandringham, and the Queen at once despatched the 
 Prince of Wales’s three elder children and those of 
 the Princess Louis to Windsor. Princess Alice re¬ 
 mained at Sandringham to share the vigils of the 
 Princess of Wales. The news of the Prince’s illness 
 created profound sorrow and solicitude throughout the 
 United Kingdom. As the fever continued to run its 
 course for some days without any alarming symptoms, 
 her Majesty returned to Windsor ; but on the 8th of 
 December a very serious relapse occurred. The life 
 of his Royal Highness was in imminent danger, and 
 the Queen and all the members of the Royal Family 
 hurried to Sandringham. For some days the whole 
 nation was plunged in gloom, and the excitement 
 respecting the daily bulletins was intense. By the 
 Queen’s desire, special prayers were used on and after 
 the 1 oth in all churches and chapels of the Establish¬ 
 ment. Prayers also went up from the Jewish syna¬ 
 gogues and from Catholic and Dissenting churches. 
 The national anxiety and suspense were continued 
 until the night of Wednesday, the 14th—the anni¬ 
 versary of the Prince Consort’s death—when there 
 was a slight amelioration of the worst symptoms, and 
 the invalid obtained long-needed and refreshing sleep. 
 From that day forward the Prince continued gradually 
 to recover. The Queen returned to Windsor on the 
 19th of December, and on the 26th she wrote the 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 393 
 
 following letter to her people : 4 The Queen is very- 
 anxious to express her deep sense of the touching 
 sympathy of the whole nation on the occasion of the 
 alarming illness of her dear son, the Prince of Wales. 
 The universal feeling shown by her people during 
 those painful, terrible days, and the sympathy- evinced 
 by them with herself and her beloved daughter, the 
 Princess of Wales, as well as the general joy at 
 the improvement of the Prince of Wales’s state, have 
 made a deep and lasting impression on her heart, 
 which can never be effaced. It was indeed nothing 
 new to her, for the Queen had met with the same 
 sympathy when, just ten years ago, a similar illness 
 removed from her side the mainstay of her life, 
 the best, wisest, and kindest of husbands. The Queen 
 wishes to express at the same time, on the part of the 
 Princess of Wales, her feelings of heartfelt gratitude, 
 for she has been as deeply touched as the Queen 
 by the great and universal manifestation of loyalty 
 and sympathy. The Queen cannot conclude without 
 expressing her hope that her faithful subjects will 
 continue their prayers to God for the complete re¬ 
 covery of her dear son to health and strength.’ 
 
 The 27th of February 1872 was observed as 
 a day of national thanksgiving for the Prince’s 
 recovery. A more joyous and successful celebration 
 was never witnessed in London. The progress of her 
 Majesty and the Prince and Princess of Wales 
 and Princess Beatrice to St. Paul’s was one con¬ 
 tinuous ovation. Amid the incessant cheering cries 
 were heard of 4 God save the Queen! ’ and 4 God 
 bless the Prince of Wales ! ’ . His Royal Highness in¬ 
 sisted upon continually removing his hat in response 
 
394 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 to the congratulations. At Temple Bar tlie City 
 sword was presented and returned, after which the 
 Lord Mayor remounted his horse and rode before the 
 Queen to St Paul’s. The sight in the cathedral, 
 where 13,000 persons were gathered, was very im¬ 
 posing. The Queen, who had the Prince of Wales on 
 her right and the Princess of Wales on her left hand, 
 took the Prince’s arm, and walked up the nave to 
 the pew specially prepared for the Royal party. The 
 service began with the Te Deum , and then there was a 
 special form of thanksgiving, which opened as follows : 
 1 0 Father of mercies, 0 God of all comfort, we thank 
 Thee that Thou hast heard the prayers of this nation 
 in the day of our trial; we praise and magnify Thy 
 glorious name for that Thou hast raised Thy servant 
 Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, from the bed of 
 sickness.’ The sermon was preached by the Arch¬ 
 bishop of Canterbury, his text being taken from the 
 Epistle to the Romans : c Members one of another. 
 When her Majesty left the Cathedral, the Lord Mayor 
 and Aldermen led the procession to the bounds of the 
 City. After reaching Buckingham Palape the Queen 
 and the Prince of Wales appeared for a short time on 
 the central balcony. In the evening London was 
 brilliantly illuminated. Her Majesty on the following 
 day issued a letter to the people, stating how deeply 
 touched and gratified she had been by the immense 
 enthusiasm and affection exhibited towards her son and 
 herself on their progress through the capital. 
 
 Only two days after this happy event, the Queen 
 was returning from a drive in the park, her carriage 
 hawing just entered the courtyard when a lad suddenly 
 rushed forward to the left-hand side of the carriage, 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 395 
 
 and held out a pistol in his right hand and a paper in 
 his left. He next rushed to the other side and held the 
 pistol and the paper at the full stretch of his arms 
 towards the Queen, who w^as then seated to his right, 
 appearing quite calm and unmoved. The lad was 
 speedily seized by her Majesty’s personal attendant, 
 John Brown. The pistol proved to be unloaded. On 
 the offender’s person a knife was found, and also a 
 petition, written on parchment, for the release of the 
 Fenian prisoners. He had managed to scale some iron 
 railings about ten feet high, and thus gained access to 
 the courtyard. He proved to be an Irish youth named 
 Arthur O’Connor, seventeen years of age, and a clerk 
 to an oil and colour firm in the Borough. Great 
 popular indignation was aroused in consequence of the 
 outrage, and coming so close after the thanksgiving 
 service, it accentuated the loyalty of the people towards 
 the Queen. O’Connor was subsequently brought to 
 trial, and sentenced to one year’s imprisonment with 
 hard labour, and a whipping with a birch rod. The 
 Queen had for some time past contemplated instituting 
 a medal as a reward for long or faithful service 
 among her domestic servants, and she now inaugurated 
 the institution by conferring on John Brown, her 
 faithful attendant, a medal in gold, with an annuity of 
 £ 2 5, as a mark of her appreciation of his presence of 
 mind and of his devotion on the occasion of the 
 attack made upon her Majesty. 
 
 While the Queen was at Balmoral in the ensuing 
 June she received tidings of the death of her valued 
 friend and spiritual adviser, Dr. Norman Macleod. The 
 Queen and all her household were much affected by 
 the loss. The deceased had on many occasions cheered 
 
39 $ 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 and comforted the Sovereign in times of trouble. c No 
 one ever raised and strengthened one’s faith more than 
 Dr. Macleod,’ wrote her Majesty. 4 His own faith was 
 so strong, his heart so large, that all, high and low, 
 weak and strong, the erring and the good, could alike 
 find sympathy, help, and consolation from him. How 
 I loved to talk to him, to ask his advice, to speak to 
 him of my sorrows, my anxieties ! But, alas! how 
 impossible I feel it to be to give any adequate idea of 
 the character of this good and distinguished man.’ 
 
 On the 1st of July, the Queen, accompanied by the 
 Duke of Edinburgh , the Princesses Louise and Beatrice, 
 and Prince Leopold, visited the national memorial 
 erected in Hyde Park to the memory of the Prince 
 Consort. This magnificent and costly monument was 
 then complete, save for the statue of the Prince, 
 which was to be executed by Mr. Foley, and to form 
 the central and principal figure. The structure, which 
 is very elaborate in all its parts, reaches to a height of 
 180 feet, and terminates in a graceful cross. 
 
 Her Majesty visited Dunrobin in September, and 
 laid the memorial stone of a monument to the memory 
 of her dear friend the Duchess of Sutherland in the 
 grounds of Dunrobin Castle. The stone bore a brass 
 plate, with a suitable inscription, closing thus : 4 This 
 
 foundation-stone was laid by Queen Victoria of Eng¬ 
 land, in testimony of her love and friendship, 9th of 
 September 1872.’ 
 
 Before the month closed her Majesty received in¬ 
 telligence of the death of her beloved sister, the 
 Dowager Princess of Hohenlohe Langenburg, who 
 expired at Baden-Baden. There was ever a warm 
 attachment between the two illustrious ladies, and the 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 397 
 
 Princess was deeply mourned, not only by the Queen, 
 but by a wide circle. The Duke of Edinburgh and 
 Prince Arthur went over to Germany to the funeral, 
 at which also were present the Emperor of Germany 
 and the Prince and Princess Louis of Hesse. 
 
 A strange and chequered. career came to a close 
 in January 1873, when the Emperor Napoleon died 
 after much physical suffering at Chislehurst. Messages 
 of sympathy with the Empress Eugenie and the Prince 
 Imperial were sent by the Queen and various European 
 Sovereigns. 
 
 On the 2nd of April the Queen paid a visit to 
 Victoria Park, and her appearance in the East End was 
 welcomed with great enthusiasm by large crowds of her 
 poorer subjects, who lined both sides of the thorough¬ 
 fares. It seemed as though every court and alley of 
 this densely populated portion of the metropolis had 
 poured forth all its occupants of both sexes, who vied 
 with each other in their demonstrations of loyalty. 
 
 A sad and fatal accident befell one of the Queen’s 
 grandsons, Prince Frederick William of Hesse, at 
 Darmstadt, on the 28 th of May. Shortly before 
 eight o’clock in the morning, the nurses had as usual 
 brought the royal children into Princess Alice’s bed¬ 
 room. c On this occasion there were but three—viz., 
 Prince Ernest, Prince Frederick William, and the 
 baby, Princess Victoria. Out of the bedroom opened 
 a bathroom., into which Prince Ernest ran. The 
 Princess, knowing the window to be open, as was also 
 the one in her bedroom, hastily got up and followed 
 the child, leaving Prince Frederick William and the 
 baby on the bed. During her short absence, Prince 
 Frederick William let a toy with which he was playing 
 
393 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN YICTOEIA. 
 
 fall out of tlie window, and while trying to recover it 
 he fell a height of twenty feet to the ground. The 
 Princess, hearing a noise, rushed back, but only in 
 time to see the unhappy child in the air. Her shrieks 
 soon brought assistance, but all efforts were useless, 
 and the poor little fellow died about eleven o’clock. 
 He had been weakly from his birth, but he was of a 
 gay and lively disposition, and his death caused 
 profound sorrow to his parents, with whom much 
 sympathy was felt.’ As an illustration of the rigidity 
 of Court etiquette it may be mentioned that, while 
 Court mourning was ordered in England for the little 
 prince, there was none ordered in Darmstadt, as 
 the deceased child was not twelve years old. 
 
 During their stay in Scotland, in September, the 
 Queen and Princess Beatrice spent a week at Inver- 
 lochy, near Ben Nevis, Lord Abinger having placed 
 his seat there at her Majesty’s disposal. The Queen 
 afterwards went through the Caledonian Canal, greatly 
 enjoying its beautiful scenery. Prom Inverness the 
 royal travellers went on to Balmoral. 
 
 On the 23 rd of January 1874 the Duke of 
 Edinburgh was married to the Grand Duchess Marie 
 of Eussia, the ceremony taking place in the Winter 
 Palace at St. Petersburg. In the succeeding March 
 the royal couple made a public entry into London. A 
 heavy snowstorm somewhat marred the proceedings, 
 but the Queen, with the Duchess and the Duke 
 of Edinburgh and Princess Beatrice, drove through 
 the streets of the metropolis in an open carriage. On 
 arriving at Buckingham Palace the newly wedded 
 couple met with an ovation from a large crowd of 
 persons who had assembled in front of the palace. 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 399 
 
 In April her Majesty visited Gosport, and inspected 
 the sailors and marines of the Royal Navy who 
 had gallantly borne their part, with three regiments of 
 the army, in the successful campaign against the 
 Ashantees. At a later period she personally conferred 
 the medals awarded for conspicuous gallantry during 
 the Ashantee war upon nine seamen and marines. In 
 connection with this war Sir Garnet Wolseley received 
 the Order of St. Michael and St. George, and Lord 
 Gifford that of the Victoria Cross. 
 
 On the occasion of the j ubilee meeting of the Royal 
 Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, held on 
 the 22nd of June, the Queen, through Sir Thomas 
 Biddulph, addressed a letter to the President, Lord 
 Harrowby. Her Maj esty desired to give expression to her 
 warm interest in £ the success of the efforts which are 
 being made at home and abroad for the purpose of dimi¬ 
 nishing the cruelties practised on dumb animals. The 
 Queen hears and reads with horror of the sufferings 
 which the brute creation often undergo from the 
 thoughtlessness of the ignorant, and she fears also 
 sometimes from experiments in the pursuit of 
 science. For the removal .of the former the Queen 
 trusts much to the progress of education, and in regard 
 to the pursuit of science she hopes that the entire 
 advantage of those anaesthetic discoveries from which 
 man has derived so much benefit himself in the allevia¬ 
 tion of suffering may be fully extended to the lower 
 animals.’ 
 
 The interesting festival of Hallowe’en was celebrated 
 on a great scale at Balmoral on the 4th of November. 
 As soon as darkness set in, her Majesty and the Prin¬ 
 cess Beatrice, each bearing a large torch, drove out in 
 
4co 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 an open phseton. A procession, consisting of the 
 tenants and servants on the estates, followed, all 
 carrying huge lighted torches. They walked through 
 the grounds and round the Castle, and the scene was 
 very weird and striking. There was an immense 
 bonfire in front of the Castle, and when the flames 
 were at the highest a figure dressed as a hobgoblin 
 appeared on the scene, drawing a car surrounded by a 
 number of fairies carrying long spears, the car con¬ 
 taining the effigy of a witch. A circle having been 
 formed by the torch-bearers, the presiding elf tossed 
 the figure of the witch into the fire, where it was 
 speedily consumed. Reels were then begun, which 
 were danced with great vigour to the stirring bagpipe 
 strains of Willie Ross, the Queen’s piper. The Queen 
 and Princess Beatrice, who remained as spectators of 
 the show, were highly entertained. 
 
 A pleasing international incident occurred on the 
 3rd of December, when her Majesty received at 
 Windsor an address of thanks from the French nation 
 for the services rendered by the English people to the 
 sick and wounded in the war of 1870-71. The 
 address was contained in four large volumes, which 
 were beautiful as works of "art; and by command of 
 the Queen these volumes were placed in the British 
 Museum, in order that the public might have an 
 opportunity of inspecting them. 
 
 There appeared this year the first volume of Sir 
 Theodore Martin’s Life of the Prince Consort —a 
 work valuable for giving a complete picture of the 
 man; and amongst other tributes to the Prince was 
 the erection of the statue to his memory at the ter¬ 
 mination of the Holborn Viaduct. This statue was 
 
LATER YEARS OE THE QUEERS REtGN. 401 
 
 presented to the Corporation by a wealthy gentleman 
 of the City. 
 
 Many distinguished men who had been personally 
 honoured by the Queen passed away in this and the 
 following year. The mournful death-list included 
 Bishop Wilberforce, Sir E. Landseer, Charles Kingsley, 
 W. C. Macready, and her Majesty’s literary adviser 
 and clerk of the Council, Sir Arthur Helps. 
 
 It had been announced that the Queen would open 
 Parliament in person in February 1875, but the 
 alarming illness of her youngest son, Prince Leopold, 
 prevented her from carrying out her design. The 
 Prince had been seized with typhoid fever during the 
 Christmas vacation at Osborne (though the disease 
 bad been contracted at Oxford University), and for a 
 long time a fatal termination was feared to his illness. 
 Happily, however, he eventually recovered. As the 
 Princess Alice said, he had already been given back 
 three times to his family from the brink of the grave. 
 
 Her Majesty was an involuntary witness of a 
 lamentable accident which occurred as she was cross¬ 
 ing over from Osborne to Gosport in the royal yacht 
 on the 18th of August. A yacht called the Mistletoe , 
 belonging to Mr. Heywood, of Manchester, ran across 
 the bows of the Alberta , and a collision took place. 
 The Mistletoe turned over and sank, and the sister-in- 
 law of the owner was drowned. The master, who 
 had been struck by a spar, also died afterwards, but 
 the rest of the crew were saved. The Queen was 
 greatly distressed by the occurrence, and personally 
 aided in restoring one of the sufferers to consciousness. 
 Colonel Ponsonby some time afterwards addressed a 
 letter to the Commodore of the Royal Victoria Yacht 
 
402 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Club, deprecating the constant practice of private 
 yachts in approaching the royal yacht from motives 
 of loyalty or curiosity. As the Solent is generally 
 crowded with vessels in summer, this was a very 
 dangerous custom, which might lead to lamentable 
 results, and the Queen hoped it would be discontinued. 
 This letter gave rise to much controversy; and as it 
 appeared immediately after the verdict of the Gosport 
 jury, which attributed the disaster partly to error on 
 the part of the officers of the royal yacht, it was in¬ 
 terpreted as an expression of the Queen’s opinion that 
 the master of th q Mistletoe was to blame. Her Majesty 
 hastened to remove this impression, and an explana¬ 
 tion was published from Colonel Ponsonby to the effect 
 that his letter was written three weeks before the ver¬ 
 dict had been pronounced, and was not in any way 
 intended to anticipate that verdict by laying the 
 blame on either party. 
 
 The Queen paid a visit to the Duke and Duchess 
 of Argyll at Inveraray in September, and from thence 
 proceeded to Balmoral. At Crathie, on the 2 I st of 
 October, her Majesty and Princess Beatrice attended 
 the funeral of Mr. John Brown, father of the Queen’s 
 attendant. The weather was wet and bleak, but the 
 Queen and her youngest daughter followed on foot 
 from the house to the hearse, which, from the nature 
 of the roads, could not be got near the door. After 
 the hearse had moved off, her Majesty returned to the 
 house, and stayed some time, endeavouring to com¬ 
 fort the widow. Most of the members of the Court 
 attended the old man’s funeral. 
 
 In October the Prince of Wales left England for 
 his lengthened tour through her Majesty’s Indian 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN'S REIGN. 403 
 
 dominions. He met with a grand reception in 
 Bombay, and his birthday was kept in India. The 
 Prince visited the chief wonders of India, including 
 the caves of Elephanta. There was an elephant hunt 
 in Ceylon, and an illumination of the surf. Colombo, 
 Bombay, Baroda, Calcutta, and Madras were all 
 visited. The tour was in every respect a perfect 
 success, and created a most favourable impression 
 amongst the Queen’s Indian subjects. In the follow¬ 
 ing year the Royal Titles Bill was passed, and her 
 Majesty was proclaimed Empress of India. 
 
 The Queen made many public appearances in 1876. 
 Early in February she opened Parliament in person, 
 and on the 25 th of the same month attended a State 
 concert given at the Albert Hall, when she was accom¬ 
 panied by the Princess of Wales, Princess Beatrice, 
 and Prince Leopold, and received by the Duke of 
 Edinburgh. Another of her Majesty’s personal friends, 
 Lady Augusta Stanley, passed away on the 1st of 
 March, and the Queen erected a memorial cross to 
 her memory in the grounds at Frogmore. On the 
 7th of March her Majesty opened a new wing of the 
 London Hospital, which had been built by the Grocers’ 
 Company at a cost of £20,000. Altogether the sum 
 of £90,000 was contributed by public subscription 
 for the enlargement of the hospital. The statue of 
 the Prince Consort in the Albert Memorial was un¬ 
 veiled on the 9th, without any ceremony. This 
 splendid recognition of a Queen’s affection and a 
 nation’s gratitude was now complete. Towards the 
 close of March the Queen proceeded to Germany for 
 a visit of some weeks—during which she visited her 
 sister’s grave—travelling under the name of the 
 
404 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTOBIA. 
 
 Countess of Kent. On the homeward journey, on 
 the 20th of April, her Majesty rested at Paris, and 
 had an interview with Marshal Macmahon, the French 
 President. On the 2nd of May she reviewed the 
 troops at Aldershot; the march past took place in 
 the midst of a violent hailstorm. On the 13th the 
 Queen opened a loan collection of scientific instru¬ 
 ments at South Kensington Museum; and on the 
 27th her birthday was kept in London with more 
 than customary public rejoicings in honour of the 
 Prince of Wales’s return from India. 
 
 The Albert Memorial at Edinburgh was unveiled 
 by the Queen with great ceremony on the 17th of 
 August. The memorial, which is in Charlotte Square, 
 consists of a colossal equestrian statue of the Prince 
 Consort, in field-marshal’s uniform and bare-headed, 
 standing on a pedestal, at the four corners of which 
 are groups of figures looking up to the central figure. 
 The sculptor of the whole composition was Mr. John 
 Steell, upon whom and Professor Oakeley, the com¬ 
 poser of the chorale which was sung on the occasion, 
 her Majesty conferred the honour of knighthood. The 
 Queen took up her quarters at Holy rood Palace for 
 two days, and in her diary she records the coincidence 
 that the last public appearances of both her husband 
 and her mother were made in Edinburgh. The cere¬ 
 mony of unveiling the statue passed off very success¬ 
 fully. The Queen was well seen by her subjects, for 
 she insisted, upon standing throughout the whole 
 ceremony, although chairs of State had been prepared 
 for her and Princess Beatrice and Prince Leopold. 
 As the memorial was uncovered the band played the 
 * Coburg March,’ which much touched her Majesty. 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S RERUN. 405 
 
 She walked round the statue, and expressed her com¬ 
 plete satisfaction with the work. 
 
 On the 26th of September the Queen presented 
 new colours to the 79th Regiment, 1 Royal Scots,’ at 
 Ballater. The rain came down in torrents. After 
 the piling of the drums, her Majesty handed the new 
 colours to the two sub-lieutenants, who were kneeling, 
 and addressed them in these words: c In entrusting 
 these colours to your charge, it gives me much plea¬ 
 sure to remind you that I have been associated with 
 your regiment from my earliest infancy, as my dear 
 father was your colonel. He was proud of his pro¬ 
 fession, and I was always told to consider myself a 
 soldier’s child. I rejoice in having a son who has 
 devoted his life to the army, and who, I am confident, 
 will ever prove worthy of the name of a British 
 soldier. I now present these colours to you, con¬ 
 vinced that you will always uphold the glory and 
 reputation of my first Regiment of Foot—the Royal 
 Scots.’ The Queen was terribly nervous while 
 speaking. 
 
 Her Majesty again opened Parliament in person on 
 the 8th of February 1877. The year was com¬ 
 paratively uneventful at home, and in September the 
 Queen visited Loch Maree, staying at the Loch Maree 
 Hotel for a week, and greatly enjoying the magni¬ 
 ficent scenery which Ross-shire affords. She made 
 several sketching excursions, and has left a pleasant 
 record of her whole sojourn in her Journal. 
 
 Lord Beaconsfield was honoured by a visit from her 
 Majesty at Hughenden in December. The little town 
 of High Wycombe was almost beside itself with 
 enthusiasm as the Queen drove through. The Premier 
 
40 6 
 
 THE LIFE OF QEEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 received his royal visitor at the door of Hughenden 
 Manor. The Queen and Princess Beatrice lunched 
 with Lord Beaconsfield, and remained about two 
 hours. Before leaving the Queen planted a tree 
 on the lawn in front of the house, to serve as a 
 memorial of her visit, and Princess Beatrice planted 
 another tree close by. 
 
 The Queen’s grandchild, Princess Charlotte of 
 Prussia, was married at Berlin, in February 1878, to 
 the hereditary Prince of Saxe Meiningen; and her 
 cousin, Princess Elizabeth of Prussia, was married at 
 the same time to the hereditary Grand Duke of 
 Oldenburg. Early in the summer the Queen’s cousin, 
 the blind ex-King of Hanover, died at Paris in exile ; 
 his body was brought to England and interred in the 
 vaults of St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. 
 
 On the 2 9th of April the Queen held an investiture 
 of the Imperial Order of the Crown of India at Windsor 
 Castle. The following ladies were introduced sepa¬ 
 rately to her Majesty, and personally invested with 
 the badge of the Order : The Marchioness of Salisbury, 
 the Marchioness of Ripon, the Countess Dowager 
 of Elgin, the Countess of Mayo, Lady Hobart, Lady 
 Jane Emma Baring, Baroness Napier of Ettrick, 
 Baroness Lawrence, Lady Northcote, Lady Temple, 
 Lady Denison, and Mrs. Gathorne Hardy. 
 
 Amid a heavy storm of rain her Majesty reviewed a 
 portion of the fleet at Spithead. In consequence of 
 the confined space, the crowds of shipping and small 
 boats, the violent squalls of wind, and the occasional 
 blinding showers, certain projected evolutions were 
 abandoned. 
 
 At the close of the month the Queen, with the 
 
J 
 
 LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 40? 
 
 Princess Beatrice and Prince Leopold, proceeded to 
 Scotland, paying a visit on the way to the Duke and 
 Duchess of Roxburgh e at Broxmouth. While here she 
 received news of Madame Yan de Weyer’s death, and 
 her Majesty wrote in her diary : 1 Another link with the 
 past gone, with my beloved one, with dearest uncle 
 Leopold, and with Belgium ! ’ Not long afterwards 
 the Queen’s faithful friend and servant, Sir Thomas 
 Biddulph, died at Abergeldie Mains. Her Majesty 
 visited him, and found him able to converse. ‘ He 
 said, “ I am very bad.” I stood looking at him, and 
 took his hand, and he said : “ You are very kind 
 to me ; ” and I answered, pressing his hand, u You have 
 always been very kind to me.” ’ The Queen further 
 records that 1 under a somewhat undemonstrative 
 exterior, Sir Thomas was the kindest and most tender¬ 
 hearted of men.’ 
 
 Her Majesty was much shocked on learning of the 
 dreadful catastrophe which occurred on the Thames 
 off Woolwich on the 3rd of September, when the 
 Princess Alice steamboat, in returning from a pleasure 
 trip, was run down by the Bywcll Castle . By this 
 tenable disaster some six hundred persons lost their 
 lives. 
 
 The Marquis of Lome, who had been appointed 
 Governor-General of Canada, sailed for the Dominion 
 in November, accompanied by the Princess Louise. 
 The heartiest good wishes followed them in their 
 new sphere. 
 
 A severe gap was made in the Royal Family in 
 December by the death of the lamented Princess 
 Alice. Some time before, diphtheria had broken out in 
 the Darmstadt household, and every member of it was 
 
408 
 
 THE LIFE OF QtJEEN VIOTOEIA. 
 
 attacked in succession. Princess Marie, who was 
 only four years old, died on the 16th of November. 
 The Princess caught the infection as the result of her 
 devoted attention to others, and from having on one 
 occasion rested her head, from sheer sorrow, on 
 the Duke’s pillow, without having taken the necessary 
 precautions. She made all her preparations in the 
 event of death. Once she was heard to murmur 
 in her sleep, ‘Four weeks—Marie—my father.’ On the 
 morning of her death, having just taken some refresh¬ 
 ment, she said, 1 Now I will again sleep quietly for a 
 longer time.’ These were her last words, as she slept 
 the sleep which knows no earthly waking, passing 
 away on the 14th of December, the seventeenth 
 anniversary of her father’s death. Few princesses 
 have been more warmly beloved than the Princess 
 Alice. The remains of the Princess were interred 
 in the mausoleum at Kosenhohe, on May 18, the 
 Prince of Wales, Prince Leopold, and Prince Christian 
 being amongst the mourners. A beautiful recumbent 
 figure in white marble of the Princess, in which she is 
 represented as clasping her infant daughter to her 
 breast, has been placed near the tomb, as a token of 
 Ihe loving remembrance of her brothers and sisters. 
 The Queen issued a letter to her subjects expressing 
 her heartfelt thanks for the universal and most touch¬ 
 ing sympathy called forth by the death of her beloved 
 daughter. 
 
 During the month of January 1879 Edward Byrne 
 Madden was tried at the Central Criminal Court for 
 sending threatening letters to the Queen. Being found 
 of unsound mind, he was ordered to be detained 
 during her Majesty’s pleasure. Madden was of Irish 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN S REIGN. 409 
 
 parents, but was bom at Bruges. He developed a 
 mania for threatening Sovereigns, and before the 
 charge against him in England, had already been con¬ 
 fined in Austrian, Belgian, French, and American 
 asylums for threatening the lives of the Emperor 
 Francis Joseph, King Leopold, Napoleon III., and 
 President Johnson. 
 
 In March the Duke of Connaught was married to 
 the Princess Louise of Prussia, at St. George’s, 
 Windsor. Some days later the Queen left England 
 with the Princess Beatrice for Lago Maggiore, where 
 they remained for four weeks. News reached them of 
 the death of Prince Waldemar, one of the sons of the 
 Crown Prince and Princess of Germany, from fever. 
 Her Majesty returned to England on the 24th of 
 April, travelling by way of Milan, Turin, Paris, and 
 Cherbourg. 
 
 On the 1 2 th of May the Queen’s first great-grand¬ 
 child, the daughter of the Princess of Saxe Meiningen, 
 was bom. A fortnight later her Majesty proceeded to 
 Balmoral, and, accompanied by the Princess Beatrice, 
 she inspected the cross of Aberdeen granite which an 
 affectionate mother had reared to a beloved daughter. 
 The cross bears this inscription : c To the dear memory 
 of Alice, Grand Duchess of Hesse, Princess of Great 
 Britain and Ireland. Born April 25, 1843. Hied 
 December 14, 1878. This is erected by her sorrowing 
 mother, Queen Victoria. “ Her name shall live, though 
 now she is no more.” ’ 
 
 Her Majesty was at Balmoral when she received 
 the mournful news of the death of the Prince Imperial, 
 who was slain in the Zulu war. The Queen could not 
 at first credit the news, but it was confirmed by a 
 
 o 
 
4io 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 telegram from Lady Frere, despatched from the Govern¬ 
 ment House, Cape Town. Her Majesty feared for the 
 effect of the terrible news upon the Empress Eugenie, 
 and thus wrote in her Journal: 4 To think of that dear 
 young man, the apple of his mother’s eye, born and 
 nurtured in the purple, dying thus, is too fearful, too 
 awful; and inexplicable and dreadful that the others 
 should not have turned round and fought for him. 
 It is too horrible ! ’ 
 
 The Queen opened Parliament in person on the 
 5th of February 1880, and on the ensuing 25th of 
 March left England for Baden Baden and Darmstadt. 
 She was present at the confirmation of her grand¬ 
 children, the Princesses Victoria and Elizabeth, 
 daughters of the Duke and the late Duchess of 
 Hesse ; and she also visited the grave of their mother 
 at Rosenhohe. Her Majesty in the following Septem¬ 
 ber welcomed the Duke of Connaught and his bride 
 at Balmoral, where a cairn had been erected in their 
 honour. 
 
 The last month of this year and the early months of 
 1881 were signalized by three great losses in English 
 literature and politics. George Eliot died in Decem¬ 
 ber 1880, Carlyle in February 1881, and the Earl 
 of Beaconsfield in the following April. The Conserva¬ 
 tive leader was buried at Hughenden, and the Queen 
 and Princess Beatrice visited the funeral vault while 
 it was still open, and placed flowers upon the coffin. 
 At a later period a monument was erected in Hughen¬ 
 den Church to Lord Beaconsfield 4 by his grateful 
 and affectionate sovereign and friend, Victoria R.T, 
 JCings love him that speaketh right (Prov. xvi. 13)/ 
 Prince Leopold was created Puke of Albany in 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S RETGN. 411 
 
 June 1881, and took liis seat in the House of 
 Lords. 
 
 On the 19th of September, President Garfield died 
 after a long and painful struggle, the victim of an 
 assassin. When it was known that he had succumbed 
 to his wounds, the utmost sympathy was manifested 
 throughout Europe, and the English Court went into 
 mourning, a custom hitherto only observed in regard 
 to the death of crowned heads. The President was 
 buried on the 24th. One of the largest and most 
 exquisite of the floral decorations on the bier bore a 
 card with the inscription: 4 Queen Victoria to the 
 memory of the late President Garfield : an expression 
 of her sorrow and her sympathy with Mrs. Garfield 
 and the American nation.’ 
 
 Not many months afterwards another attempt was 
 made on the Queen’s own life. On the 2nd of March 
 1882, her Majesty, accompanied by Princess Beatrice, 
 was entering her carriage at Windsor station, on re¬ 
 turning from London, when she was fired at by a 
 man named Roger Maclean, who was at once arrested. 
 Fortunately, neither the Queen nor any one else was 
 injured. It was discovered that the antecedents of 
 Maclean were perfectly respectable, but that he had 
 fallen into want. He was committed for trial on a 
 charge of high treason, but being found not guilty on 
 the plea of insanity, was sentenced to be confined 
 during her Majesty’s pleasure. In both Houses of 
 Parliament addresses were unanimously adopted, 
 expressing horror and indignation at the attempt 
 made on the Queen’s life, and congratulations on her 
 t scape. 
 
 Her Majesty left England on the 14th of March 
 
41* the LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 accompanied by Princess Beatrice, on a visit to Men-* 
 tone, travelling by way of Portsmouth, Cherbourg, 
 and Paris. The royal travellers returned to Windsor 
 on the 14th of April, having had a very rough passage 
 from Cherbourg to Portsmouth. 
 
 A fortnight later the marriage of the Duke of 
 Albany to Princess Helen of Waldeck was celebrated 
 in St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, in the presence of 
 the Queen and the Boyal Family. The young couple 
 had Claremont assigned to them as their residence, 
 and the usual parliamentary provision was made. 
 
 An interesting ceremony took place at Epping on 
 the 6th of May. The Queen and Princess Beatrice 
 went in State from Windsor to the forest, where they 
 were received by the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, the 
 Duke of Connaught as Banger of the Forest, &c. 
 An address was presented by the Corporation of 
 London, after which her Majesty declared the forest 
 dedicated to the use and enjoyment of the public for 
 all time. Upon her return to Windsor the Queen 
 received the melancholy news of the assassination of 
 Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke in Phoenix: 
 Park, Dublin. Towards the end of May, Albert 
 Young, a railway clerk at Doncaster, was sentenced at 
 the Old Bailey to ten years’ penal servitude for sending 
 a letter to Sir Henry Ponsonby threatening to murder 
 the Queen. 
 
 On the 17th of August her Majesty presented new 
 colours to the 2nd battalion Berkshire Begiment (the 
 66th) at Parkhurst, Isle of Wight. This gallant 
 regiment lost its old colours in the engagement with 
 Ayoub Khan, at Maiwand, on July 14, 1880, when 
 370 of its officers and men were killed, including its 
 
LATER YEARS OE THE QUEERS REELS’. 413 
 
 commanding officer, Colonel Galbraith. Two of the 
 companies wore the Afghan cross, struck in memory 
 of the march from Cabul to Candahar. 
 
 When the Egyptian war broke out the Duke of 
 Connaught was amongst the officers who accompanied 
 Sir Garnet Wolseley into Egypt. The progress of the 
 campaign was watched with much solicitude by the 
 Queen and the Duchess of Connaught, who were at 
 Balmoral during the thick of the engagements. News 
 at last arrived of the great British victory at Tel-el- 
 Kebir. 4 How anxious we felt, I need not say,’ wrote 
 the Queen in her Journal, 4 but we tried not to give 
 way. I prayed earnestly for my darling child, and 
 longed for to-morrow to arrive. Read Korner’s 
 beautiful Gebet vor der Schlacht , Vater ich lufe Dich 
 ( 44 Prayer before the Battle: Father, I call on 
 Thee ”). My beloved husband used to sing it often.’ 
 A telegram arrived at Balmoral: k A great victory; 
 Duke safe and well; ’ and this was succeeded by a fullei 
 one containing the words, 4 the Duke of Connaught 
 is well and behaved admirably, leading his brigade to 
 the attack.’ This message diffused great joy and 
 thankfulness over the royal circle. The Duke and 
 Duchess of Albany arrived at Balmoral in the midst 
 of the rejoicings, and were warmly welcomed after their 
 bridal tom*. The healths of the bride and bridegroom 
 having been drunk with Highland honours, the Queen 
 requested her son to propose a toast 4 to the victorious 
 army in Egypt,’ coupled with the name of the Duke 
 of Connaught. The toast was received with pride 
 and enthusiasm. 
 
 On the 18th of November the Queen reviewed in 
 St. James’s Park about 8,000 troops of all arms who 
 
414 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 had recently returned from service in Egypt. After 
 parading before her Majesty, the troops marched by 
 way of Birdcage Walk, Grosvenor Place, Piccadilly, 
 and Pall Mall, where they were enthusiastically re¬ 
 ceived by large crowds. Three days later the Queen 
 distributed Egyptian war medals to the generals and 
 representatives of various branches of the service at 
 Windsor; and she also delivered a brief address to 
 those present. On the 24th she held an investiture 
 of orders conferred for distinguished service in Egypt. 
 
 The new Law Courts in the Strand, which had been 
 erected after the designs of Mr. G. E. Street, E.A., 
 were formally opened by the Queen on the 4th of 
 December. There was an imposing ceremonial, her 
 Majesty being received in the hall by the judges and 
 representatives of the Bar. The Prime Minister and 
 a great number of other distinguished persons were 
 present. Lord Chancellor Selborne was advanced to 
 the rank of an earl on this occasion, and the honour 
 of knighthood was conferred upon the treasurers of 
 the various Inns of Court. 
 
 The year 1883 was an uneventful one in the life 
 of the Queen as regards public appearances; but in 
 March her subjects learnt with regret that she had 
 sustained a somewhat severe accident. It appears 
 that while her Majesty was at Windsor Castle she 
 slipped upon some stairs, and, falling, sprained her 
 knee. The accident was at first regarded as of slight 
 consequence, but it became the source of much pain 
 and inconvenience. A month later the Court Circular 
 announced that the effects of the sprain were still so 
 severe as to prevent her walking, or even standing for 
 ^ore than a few seconds. Eventually these ill effects 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 415 
 
 passed away, but not until the expiration of a year 
 from the time of the accident. 
 
 A great trial befell her Majesty in 1884 by the 
 untoward death of her youngest son, the Duke of 
 Albany. From his childhood upward the Prince had 
 been of delicate health. Alike from inclination and 
 necessity, he had always been given to studious pur¬ 
 suits. As he reached manhood he was not only 
 proficient in music and painting, but developed strong 
 literary tastes. He had an excellent and refined 
 judgment, and had gathered copious stores of book 
 learning. He lived a comparatively retired life, 
 suffering much from a constitutional weakness in the 
 joints, and from a dangerous tendency to haemorrhage, 
 which rendered the extremest care necessary. On 
 several occasions his life was in danger from sudden 
 and severe fits of indisposition. His intellectual gifts, 
 combined with his ill-health, rendered him an object 
 of pride as well as of solicitude to the other members 
 of the Royal Family. Towards the close of his exist¬ 
 ence he seemed, by the interest he took in literature 
 and science, and the graceful public speeches which 
 he delivered, about to take the place once held by 
 his honoured father. He had a happy marriage, and 
 in 1883 a daughter was born to him, to whom was 
 given the name of his beloved and revered sister, 
 Alice. 
 
 The career of this much-esteemed Prince, however, 
 was cut prematurely short. In March 1884 he went 
 to Cannes to avoid the inclement east winds, leaving 
 the Duchess behind him at Claremont. His stay in 
 the south of France proved of considerable service in 
 restoring his health; but on the 27th of March, as 
 
416 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 Jie was ascending a stair at the Cercle Nautique, he 
 slipped and fell, injuring the knee which had been 
 hurt on several occasions before. The accident did 
 not at first seem serious, and the Duke wrote a reas¬ 
 suring letter to his wife from the Villa Nevada, 
 whither he had been conveyed. A fit of apoplexy 
 supervened during the following night, however, and 
 at three o’clock on the morning of the 28 th he expired 
 in the arms of his equerry, Captain Perceval. When 
 the fatal news reached Windsor it was gently broken 
 to the Queen by Sir H. Ponsonby. Though almost 
 overwhelmed with her own grief, her Majesty’s 
 thoughts turned at once to the young widow at 
 Claremont. 
 
 The Prince of Wales went over to France to bear 
 the remains of his brother back to England. The 
 Queen and the Princess Christian and Princess Beatrice 
 met the body at the Windsor railway station. On 
 reaching the Castle, it was conveyed to the chapel, 
 where a short service was held in the presence of her 
 Majesty and her children. The afflicted Duchess of 
 Albany bent one last look upon the bier. The funeral 
 took place on the 5 th of April, the Prince of Wales 
 being chief mourner. The father-in-law and the 
 sister-in-law of the deceased Prince were also present. 
 The Queen entered St. George’s Chapel leaning on the 
 arm of the Princess of Wales, and followed by the 
 Princess Christian, the Princesses Louise and Beatrice, 
 and Princess Frederica of Hanover. The Duchess of 
 Albany and the Duchess of Edinburgh were too ill to 
 attend the funeral. The Dean of Windsor conducted 
 the service, and when he came to the words, 1 earth to 
 earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust,’ Lord Brooke, the 
 
J 
 
 LATER TEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REION. 417 
 
 intimate friend of the deceased, cast a handful of 
 earth upon the coffin. With deep and evident emo¬ 
 tion the spectators mournfully gazed upon the flower¬ 
 laden coffin as it was slowly lowered into the vault 
 and disappeared from view. 
 
 Addresses of condolence to the Queen and the 
 widowed Duchess were passed by both Houses of 
 Parliament, and these addresses reflected the high 
 sense of the Prince’s mental powers and moral worth 
 left upon those who were brought into contact with 
 him. Earl Granville in the Lords, and Mr. Gladstone 
 in the Commons, eloquently dwelt on the many claims 
 which the memory of the Prince had upon the 
 affectionate regard and admiration of his country¬ 
 men. So universal and spontaneous was the national 
 regret for the lamented Duke, that the Queen pub¬ 
 lished a letter thanking her people for their sym¬ 
 pathy with herself and her daughter-in-law in their 
 affliction. 
 
 After some months of comparative seclusion, the 
 Queen and Princess Beatrice left England on the 3 1 st 
 of March for Aix-le-Bains. From thence they pro¬ 
 ceeded on the 22 nd of April to Darmstadt, travelling 
 by way of Geneva, Berne, and Bale. At Darmstadt 
 her Majesty assisted at the confirmation of her grand¬ 
 daughter, Princess Irene of Hesse, which took place in 
 the Chapel Royal. 
 
 The Queen returned to Windsor on the 2nd of 
 May. During this year she thanked the New South 
 Wales and other colonies for their prompt offers of 
 co-operation in the event of the extension of the war 
 in Egypt; presented medals to a party of non¬ 
 commissioned officers and men from the Soudan ; and 
 
418 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 visited tlie sick and wounded soldiers from the Sou¬ 
 dan at Netley Hospital. 
 
 On tlie 23rd of July 1885 tlie marriage of 
 Princess Beatrice with Prince Henry of Battenberg 
 was celebrated at Wbippingbam Church, Isle of Wight, 
 in the presence of the Queen, the Boyal Family, and 
 a distinguished party of English nobility and others ; 
 but no representatives of the German reigning dy¬ 
 nasties attended. Provision was made by Parliament 
 for the Prince and Princess, and a Naturalization Bill 
 on behalf of the former carried through both Houses. 
 With this wedding the Queen saw the last of her 
 children united in the bonds of matrimony. It may 
 be stated here that the sons and daughters of the 
 Queen have already become parents of thirty-four 
 princes and princesses, twenty-nine of whom are 
 living, and twenty of them resident in England. 
 
 Her Majesty has erected many monuments at 
 Windsor to those whom she holds in loving remem¬ 
 brance. One of the chief attractions of the Albert 
 (formerly the Wolsey) Chapel—beautifully restored by 
 the Queen—is a pure white marble figure of the 
 Prince, represented as a knight in armour, with the 
 epitaph on the pedestal, c I have fought the good 
 fight, I have finished my course.’ In St. George’s 
 Chapel are five monuments. The first is an alabaster 
 sarcophagus to her father ; the second, a white marble 
 statue to King Leopold, whom the Queen has de¬ 
 scribed as her secoud father; the third monument is 
 to her Majesty’s aunt, the Duchess of Gloucester; the 
 fourth to the late King of Hanover ; and the fifth to 
 the son of King Theodore of Abyssinia. The young 
 Prince died in England, and his monument bears the 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 419 
 
 epitaph: 1 1 was a stranger, and ye took me in/ 
 Theed’s admirable group of the Queen and her hus¬ 
 band stands at the entrance to the corridor which runs 
 round two sides of the quadrangle of the Castle. The 
 corridor contains many pictures and mementoes of 
 events and persons relating to the Queen’s life and 
 reign. At Frogmore is Marochetti’s recumbent figure 
 of the Prince, and space has been left for a similar 
 statue of her Majesty. There are also memorials of 
 Princess Alice and of the Queen’s dead grandchildren 
 in the mausoleum. In an upper chamber belonging 
 to a separate vault is a statue of the Duchess of Kent 
 by Theed. At Osborne are many groups, statues, and 
 busts of the Queen’s children and other relatives, 
 which serve to remind her Majesty—if she needed 
 such reminders—of the happy years in the past. 
 
 The Queen once more opened Parliament in person 
 in January 1886. She was received with deafening 
 shouts of welcome by the crowds assembled along 
 the route from Buckingham Palace to Westminster. 
 There was a brilliant scene in the House of Peers, 
 where the Prince of Wales and other members of the 
 Royal Family, and a gorgeously apparelled throng of 
 peers and peeresses, had already assembled before her 
 Majesty’s arrival. As the Queen entered the House 
 the Prince of Wales stepped down from his State chair 
 and raised his mother’s hand to his lips, her Majesty 
 moving to him with a graceful gesture. The Queen 
 then took her place on the throne. She was dressed 
 in black velvet trimmed with ermine, and wore the 
 Koh-i-noor as a brooch, a small coronet, the Order of 
 the Garter, and the family Orders. The representa¬ 
 tives of the people having arrived from the Lower 
 
420 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 House, the Queen handed the manuscript of the Royal 
 Speech to the Lord Chancellor, who proceeded to 
 read it in clear and firm tones. Her Majesty then 
 left the House and returned to Buckingham Palace 
 amid enthusiastic greetings from the people, similar to 
 those which had marked her progress to Westminster. 
 
 The year was destined to be fruitful in political 
 surprises. The Conservative Ministry were defeated 
 on the labourers’ allotment question during the de¬ 
 bates on the Address, and resigned office. Mr. 
 Gladstone became Prime Minister, and introduced his 
 Home Rule measure. Being defeated in this, he 
 appealed to the country. The elections were un¬ 
 favourable to him, and he resigned; Lord Salisbury 
 once more returning to the helm of State with a 
 Conservative Government. 
 
 On the 24th of March the Queen laid the founda¬ 
 tion-stone of the new Medical Examination Hall of 
 the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, on 
 the Victoria Embankment. Her Majesty was ac¬ 
 companied by Princess Christian and Prince and 
 Princess Henry of Battenberg, and appeared to be in 
 very good health. She was evidently much gratified 
 at the many marks of respect and loyalty paid to her 
 by the people. The ceremony took place in a spacious 
 pavilion, holding about 1,000 persons. The Prince 
 of Wales, Princess Louise, Prince Christian, the Duke 
 of Cambridge, and the Marquis of Lome awaited 
 the arrival of Her Majesty, whose advent was 
 heralded by the strains of the National Anthem. 
 The proceedings began with a prayer offered by the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, followed by a hymn sung 
 by the Savoy choristers to the Prince Consort’s tune 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 42 
 
 ‘ Gotha.’ The President of the Royal College of 
 Surgeons then read an address. The Queen in her 
 reply said: c The erection of this hall is mainly due to 
 the efforts you have made, in conjunction with the 
 President of the Royal College of Physicians (Sir W. 
 Jenner), with whom I have been long personally 
 acquainted, and whose eminent abilities and far-seeing 
 knowledge have justly placed him in the foremost 
 rank of those who have benefited mankind.’ A num¬ 
 ber of lengthy documents relating to the origin of the 
 hall, and to the two corporations, were then presented 
 to the Queen, and these were mercifully taken as read. 
 The stone, which bore the following inscription, and 
 in which were placed the usual mementoes, was then 
 lowered to its bed:—‘Victoria, Queen of Great 
 Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, laid with her 
 own hand this stone—24th March 1886.’ The 
 Prince of Wales, who has a ripe experience in laying 
 foundation-stones, admirably assisted his mother in 
 well and truly laying the stone of the new hall. The 
 Archbishop pronounced the benediction, and after a 
 stay of a few minutes her Majesty left the pavilion. 
 
 On the afternoon of the same day, while the Queen 
 was taking a drive along Constitution Hill, a man ran 
 out from the footway, and approaching close to the 
 carriage, threw a letter into the vehicle. The package 
 was immediately thrown out again, and as the man was 
 stooping down to pick it up, he was surrounded by a 
 number of spectators and the police, and arrested. 
 The Queen continued her drive, though she had been 
 somewhat startled by the incident. The offender was 
 taken to King Street police station. He gave his 
 name as Thomas Brown, and was apparently about 
 
422 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN YICTOEIA. 
 
 thirty-five years of age. The paper which he threw 
 was a petition, setting forth that the writer had been 
 in the army, but had been discharged and sent to a 
 lunatic asylum. Having been released from there, he 
 again enlisted, suppressing all knowledge of his 
 previous discharge and its cause. On the facts being 
 discovered he was tried by court-martial and dismissed 
 the service without a pension. He now pleaded that 
 a pension should be granted to him, as he had served 
 her Majesty for twenty-three years. After his second 
 dismissal he had again been for some time in a 
 lunatic asylum. As the doctors were not prepared 
 to certify to his insanity, out of consideration for 
 his general good character, Brown was released from 
 custody. 
 
 The Colonial and Indian Exhibition—the most 
 successful and extensive of a series of admirable 
 exhibitions at South Kensington—was opened by the 
 Queen on the 4th of May. The Prince of Wales was 
 the actual promoter, the executive President, and 
 practically the director of this Exhibition, which 
 reflected the highest credit upon the euergy and 
 exertions of his Boyal Highness. The opening 
 ceremony was very imposing, both from the dense 
 crowds in the vicinity of the Exhibition and the 
 brilliant gathering within the building. Her Majesty 
 was received with the most fervent greetings. As 
 she entered the hall the fact was announced by a 
 flourish of trumpets. She was received by the Prince 
 of Wales, and joined by the Princess of Wales, the 
 Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duchess of Connaught, 
 and other ladies of the Royal Family. The Prince of 
 Wales and the Duke of Connaught each kissed her 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 423 
 
 hand, and were in return kissed on the cheek by 
 their royal mother. A procession was formed, which 
 proceeded through the main portions of the building 
 to the Eoyal Albert Hall, where the opening ceremony 
 was to take place. Here the scene was brilliant in 
 the extreme. The Queen was conducted by the 
 Prince of Wales to the royal dais, where she took 
 her seat on the throne. The National Anthem was 
 then sung, the first verse in English and the second 
 in Sanskrit. At its conclusion hearty cheers were 
 given for her Majesty. An ode followed, written for 
 the occasion, at the special desire of the Prince of 
 Wales, by the Poet-Laureate, and set to music by Sir 
 A. Sullivan. It was sung by Madame Albani and 
 the choir, and it was observed that after each verse 
 the Queen smiled her thanks to the singer and clapped 
 her hands. The Prince of Wales next read an address 
 setting forth the nature of and the reasons for the 
 Exhibition. 
 
 Her Majesty made the following reply :— c I receive 
 with the greatest satisfaction the address which you 
 have presented to me on the opening of this Exhibi¬ 
 tion. I have observed with a warm and increasing 
 interest the progress of your proceedings in the 
 execution of the duties intrusted to you by the 
 Royal Commission, and it affords me sincere gratifica¬ 
 tion to witness the successful results of your judicious 
 and unremitting exertions in the magnificent exhibi¬ 
 tion which has been gathered together here to-day. 
 I am deeply moved by your reference to the circum¬ 
 stances in which the ceremony of 1851 took place, 
 and I heartily concur in the belief you have expressed 
 that the Prince Consort, my beloved husband (had he 
 
424 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 been spared), would have witnessed with intense 
 interest the development of his ideas, and would, I 
 may add, have seen with pleasure our son taking the 
 lead in the movement of which he was the originator. 
 I cordially concur with you in the prayer that this 
 undertaking may be the means of imparting a stimulus 
 to the commercial interests and intercourse of all 
 parts of my dominions, by encouraging the arts of 
 peace and industry, and by strengthening the bonds 
 of union which now exists in every portion of my 
 empire.’ 
 
 At the conclusion of the speech the Prince of 
 Wales kissed the Queen’s hand, but she, drawing him 
 towards her, kissed him on the cheek. The Lord 
 Chamberlain, at the command of her Majesty, then 
 declared the Exhibition open, the announcement being 
 marked by a flourish of trumpets and the firing of a 
 royal salute in Hyde Park. A prayer was offered 
 up by the Archbishop of Canterbury; the Hallelujah 
 Chorus was performed by the choir; and Madame 
 Albani sang with thrilling effect, ‘Home, Sweet Home.’ 
 The Queen then bowed to the company, and amid loud 
 and prolonged cheers descended from the da'is, and, 
 traversing the whole breadth of the building, mounted 
 the steps to the royal entrance. As she took her 
 departure, followed by the Royal Family, she expressed 
 to Sir P. Cunliffe Owen her great satisfaction with the 
 Exhibition. 
 
 Only a few days after this ceremony the Queen 
 visited Liverpool, where she opened an International 
 Exhibition of Navigation, Commerce, and Industry. 
 Her Majesty was accompanied by the Duke of Con¬ 
 naught and the Prince and Princess Henry of Batten- 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 425 
 
 berg. During her visit the Queen stayed at Newsham 
 House. The Exhibition was opened on the 11 th of 
 May, the Queen being the centre of a brilliant throng 
 upon a specially erected throne, while the vast body 
 of spectators numbered some thirty thousand persons. 
 As soon as her Majesty had taken her place the 
 orchestra performed an overture by Mr. F. H. Cowen, 
 with which had been incorporated by royal per¬ 
 mission a chorale composed by the late Prince Consort. 
 An address was then read by the Mayor, and pre¬ 
 sented to the Queen in a casket. Her Majesty, in 
 clear tones, read a reply expressive of her gratification 
 in witnessing so successful an exhibition. A prayer, 
 offered by the Archbishop of York, and a performance 
 from Mendelssohn’s 4 Hymn of Praise,’ followed. The 
 National Anthem having next been sung, the Mayor 
 presented to her Majesty a golden key, which she 
 turned in a model lock, and at her command Lord 
 Granville declared the Exhibition open. The doors of 
 the building flew open, and the fact being signalled 
 to the North Fort, the guns were fired. Her Majesty 
 knighted the Mayor, who rose Sir David Radcliffe 
 amid loud cheers. The royal party then left the 
 Exhibition and returned to Newsham House. Liverpool 
 was brilliantly illuminated in the evening, and the 
 Mayor gave a grand banquet at the Town Hall. 
 
 On the 12th there was a royal progress through the 
 streets of Liverpool. The thoroughfares were lavishly 
 decorated by private citizens as well as by the municipal 
 body. The Town Hail and St. George’s Hall were 
 especially gay in appearance, and in front of the latter 
 place a grand stand had been erected, which accom¬ 
 modated five thousand persons. There was a grand 
 
426 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 procession of trade and friendly societies, embracing 
 16,000 persons, with vehicles, bands, and banners. 
 Although unfortunately the weather was very wet, the 
 programme was carried out in its entirety. The Queen 
 and the royal party left Newsham House at three 
 o’clock, and as the cavalcade drove through the streets 
 it was everywhere loudly cheered. The route lay past 
 the Exhibition and through Sefton Park. At the 
 plateau in front of St. George’s Hall her Majesty 
 halted to receive an address from the Corporation of 
 Liverpool. Presentations were then made to the 
 Queen, after which the royal cortege drove off to the 
 Prince’s Pier-head. Here the distinguished party em¬ 
 barked on board the ferry steamer Claughton , and 
 steamed town the river on the Lancashire side, 
 returning up the stream near the Cheshire shore. The 
 Claughton went as far as the Sloyne, and steamed 
 round the Great Eastern , which was then lying there. 
 Her Majesty also had an opportunity of seeing the 
 training and reformatory ships moored in the Mersey, 
 and the boys of those vessels gave her a warm re¬ 
 ception. The return journey through the streets 
 of Liverpool was made in somewhat better weather. 
 The Queen did not reach Newsham House until seven 
 o’clock, when she was much fatigued, after four hours 
 of driving and sailing. 
 
 Her Majesty left Liverpool on the 13th amid 
 warm popular demonstrations. Before entering the 
 train at the Exhibition station she expressed to the 
 Earl of Sefton her deep gratitude for the cordiality 
 with which she had been received in Liverpool. She 
 then turned to the Mayor and told him how much 
 pleasure she had derived from the reception she had 
 
LATER TEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 427 
 
 met with from all classes. The royal train steamed out 
 of Liverpool at ten o’clock A.M., and reached Windsor 
 at 3.15. Through Sir Henry Ponsonby the Queen 
 gave A100 to the poor of Liverpool, and to Lady 
 Badcliffe she presented a costly diamond bracelet, ex¬ 
 pressing at the same time her gratification at all that 
 had been done for the comfort of herself and her 
 children. The Court Circular afterwards stated that 
 her Majesty was fatigued by all her exertions during 
 the three days of her visit, but that she was greatly 
 gratified and touched by the warm and kind reception 
 which she and the Duke of Connaught and Prince and 
 Princess Heniy of Battenberg met with from all 
 classes of her subjects at Liverpool. 
 
 On the 30th of June the Queen opened the Eoyal 
 Holloway College for Women at Mount Lee, Egham. 
 The college owed its being to the munificence of the 
 late Mr. Thomas Holloway. It was erected and 
 endowed at a cost of a quarter of a million sterling, 
 and it offers every luxury and comfort for young 
 ladies who may be fortunate enough to pursue the 
 various branches of higher education within its walls. 
 The list of visitors on the opening day included a 
 large number of persons distinguished in all ranks of 
 life. The Queen, with Princess Beatrice, the Duke of 
 Connaught, Prince Henry of Battenberg, and Princess 
 Louis of Battenberg, and suite, drove from Windsor 
 Castle by way of Frogmore and Runnymede to Egham. 
 At the entrance of the college her Majesty was met by 
 Mr. G. Martin Holloway, who conducted her to the 
 chapel, where the ceremony was appointed to take 
 place. The choir sang an ode written by Mr. Martin 
 Holloway, and set to music by Sir George Elvey, after 
 
428 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA, 
 
 which the Archbishop of Canterbury offered up a 
 prayer. The royal party then visited the picture 
 gallery, where the contractor, Mr. Thompson, presented 
 to her Majesty a gold key to typify the nature of the 
 function which she had consented to perform in 
 opening the college. The key was most elaborate and 
 costly in its design and construction, consisting of 
 gold work, with a laurel wreath of diamonds. After 
 passing through the other portions of the college, the 
 Queen at length reached the dais erected in the upper 
 quadrangle, from which she was formally to open the 
 college. When she had taken her seat upon the chair 
 of State which had been provided, an address was pre¬ 
 sented to her Majesty by Mr. Martin Holloway, setting 
 forth the designs and intentions of the founder of the 
 college. The Queen returned the following reply :— 
 ‘I thank you for the loyal address which you have 
 presented to me on behalf of the governors and 
 trustees of this college. In opening this spacious and 
 noble building it gives me pleasure to acknowledge the 
 generous spirit which has been manifested in the com¬ 
 pletion by voluntary effort of a work promising so 
 much public usefulness. I gladly give the assurance 
 of my goodwill to the administration to whom the 
 college is about to be entrusted, and I earnestly hope 
 that their efforts to promote the objects for which 
 it has been founded and planned by your relative may 
 be rewarded by a career of abiding success.’ The 
 Earl of Kimberley, who was standing on the Queen’s 
 left, then stepped forward and said : 4 1 am com¬ 
 manded by her Majesty to declare this college open. 
 This announcement was the signal for a flourish of 
 trumpets, after which the benediction was pronounced 
 
LATER YEARS OF THE QUEEN’S REIGN. 429 
 
 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the proceedings 
 terminated. The Queen and the royal party left the 
 building amid loud and continuous expressions of 
 loyalty. 
 
 With this latest of the public ceremonials in which 
 her Majesty has engaged the present chapter may fitly 
 conclude. We are now passing through the fiftieth 
 year of the Queen’s reign, but by the Sovereign’s 
 desire the Royal Jubilee will not be formally celebrated 
 until the year has run its course. In all quarters of 
 the world that celebration has already excited the 
 utmost interest in advance, and every member of the 
 Anglo-Saxon race is looking forward with affectionate 
 and loyal solicitude to the time when, amidst universal 
 rejoicing, we shall be able to say that it is an accom¬ 
 plished fact. 
 
( 430 ) 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CHAR A C TERISTICS.—CONCL US ION. 
 
 In approaching the end of this biographical sketch of 
 her Majesty there are still some aspects of the Sove¬ 
 reign’s life and character which demand attention. 
 It will have been seen that, in compiling the fore¬ 
 going narrative, I have mainly kept in view the Queen 
 herself, and that if I had attempted to trace in detail 
 the social, domestic, foreign, and political movements 
 of her reign, this work would have vastly increased in 
 magnitude. The history of these movements can be 
 read elsewhere; my object has been to trace the 
 career of our beloved Monarch from her birth down 
 to the jubilee year of her reign—presenting her as 
 child, maiden, wife, mother, and Queen. I am con¬ 
 scious of many imperfections in the work, but I trust 
 the reader will forgive these in the interest which he 
 must feel in the life of one under whose benignant 
 rule it is his happiness to live. 
 
 Amongst the attractive features of the Queen’s 
 character has been her consistent admiration for men 
 of genius. She is really cosmopolitan in this respect. 
 The actress Rachel, Jenny Lind, and others received 
 valuable mementoes from her; and as far back as 
 1839 she invited Daniel Webster to stay at Buck¬ 
 ingham Palace. The great contemporary poets and 
 novelists of England and America have exercised con- 
 
CHAEACTEEISTICS.—CONCLUSION. 
 
 43i 
 
 siderable fascination over her—Tennyson, Longfellow, 
 Dickens, and George Eliot; and in an interview she 
 had with Carlyle she quite charmed the philosopher of 
 Chelsea by her considerate and unaffected demeanour. 
 An amusing story is related of Campbell the poet. 
 At her Majesty’s coronation he wrote to the Earl 
 Marshal, saying: 4 There is a place in the Abbey 
 called 44 The Poets’ Corner,” which suggests the possi¬ 
 bility of there being room in it for living poets also.’ 
 This gained him a ticket of admission, and he was so 
 delighted with the young Queen’s bearing that he 
 thus gave expression to his admiration : 4 On returning 
 home I resolved, out of pure esteem and veneration, 
 to send her a copy of all my works. Accordingly, I 
 had them bound up, and went personally with them 
 to Sir Henry Wheatley, who, when he understood my 
 errand, told me that her Majesty made it a rule to 
 decline presents of this kind, as it placed her under 
 obligations which were not pleasant to her. 44 Say to 
 her Majesty, Sir Henry,” I replied, 44 that there is 
 nothing which the Queen can touch with her sceptre 
 in any of her dominions which I covet; and I there¬ 
 fore entreat you to present them with my devotion as 
 a subject.” But the next day they were returned. I 
 hesitated to open the parcel, but on doing so I found, 
 to my inexpressible joy, a note enclosed, desiring my 
 autograph on them. Having complied with this wish, 
 I again transmitted the books to her Majesty, and in 
 the course of a day or two received in return this 
 elegant portrait engraving, with her Majesty’s auto¬ 
 graph, as you see, below.’ 
 
 Evidences of the Queen’s sympathetic nature will 
 have been apparent all through this biography. One 
 
43 * 
 
 THE LIFE OE QHEEH VICTORIA. 
 
 of the latest examples of it is found in her letters on 
 the death of Principal Tulloch, made public by Mrs. 
 Oliphant. Writing to the Rev. W. W. Tulloch from 
 Osborne, under date Feb. 13, 1886, her Majesty said: 
 6 I am stunned by this dreadful news : your dear, ex¬ 
 cellent, distinguished father also taken away from us, 
 and from dear Scotland, whose Church he so nobly 
 defended. I have again lost a dear and honoured 
 friend, and my heart sinks within me when I think I 
 shall not again on earth look on that noble presence, 
 that kindly face, and listen to those words of wisdom 
 and Christian large-heartedness which used to do me 
 so much good. But I should not speak of myself 
 when you, his children, and your dear mother, and 
 our beloved Scotland lose so much. Still I may be, 
 I hope, forgiven if I do appear egotistical, for I have 
 lost so many, and when I feel so alone. Your dear 
 father was so kind, so wise, and it was such a pleasure 
 to see him at dear Balmoral! No more ! Never again ! 
 These dreadful words, I so often have had to repeat, 
 make my heart turn sick. God’s will be done! Your 
 dear father is at rest, and his bright spirit free! We 
 must not grieve for him. When I saw you at Bal¬ 
 moral you seemed anxious about him, and I heard the 
 other day he could not write. Pray convey the ex¬ 
 pression of my deepest sympathy to your dear mother, 
 whose health I know is not strong, and to all your 
 family. I mourn with you. Princess Beatrice is 
 deeply grieved, and wishes me to express her true 
 sympathy with you all. I shall be most anxious for 
 details of this terrible event.—Ever yours truly and 
 sorrowingly, 
 
 ‘ Victoria R. & 1 / 
 
CHARACTERISTICS.—CONCLUSION. 
 
 433 
 
 Addressing Mrs. Tulloch some days later, and in 
 anticipation of the funeral, her Majesty wrote: 
 ‘You must allow one who respected, admired, and 
 loved your dear distinguished husband to write to you, 
 though personally unacquainted with you, and to try 
 to say what I feel. My heart bleeds for you—the 
 dear worthy companion of that noble, excellent man, 
 so highly gifted and large-hearted, and so brave! 
 whose life is crushed by the greatest loss which can 
 befall a woman. To me the loss of such a friend, 
 whom I so greatly respected and trusted, is very great; 
 and I cannot bear to think I shall not again see him, 
 and admire that handsome, kindly face and noble pre¬ 
 sence, and listen to his wise words, which breathed 
 such a lofty Christian spirit. I am most anxious to 
 visit you, and trust that you will allow me to do so 
 quite quietly and privately, as one who knew your 
 dear husband so well, and has gone through much 
 sorrow, and knows what you feel and what you suffer. 
 Pray express my true sympathy to all your children, 
 who have lost such a father. My thoughts will be 
 especially with you to-morrow, and I pray that God 
 may be with you to help and sustain you.’ 
 
 The same sympathetic feeling extended to persons 
 in the humbler ranks of life. Some years ago, the 
 wives of two Cornish miners, who were anxious to join 
 their husbands in Nova Scotia—but were unable to 
 provide that portion of money necessary to secure an 
 emigration grant from the Cornwall Central Relief 
 Committee—wrote to her Majesty and acquainted her 
 with their poverty and their great desire. The Queen 
 caused inquiries to be instituted, and these being 
 satisfactory, she very kindly commanded the necessary 
 
434 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA.. 
 
 sum of £10 to be sent to the humble occupants 
 through the rector of Illogan. 
 
 The love of the Queen for domestic life has had a 
 great deal to do in binding her children together in 
 the bonds of fraternal affection. They are a happy 
 and united family, and this comes chiefly from the 
 example set them by their parents. It has been said 
 that to know the real character of such a Sovereign as 
 Victoria we must look away from the glittering palace 
 life of London and Windsor to the secluded dales and 
 mountain nooks of the Scotch Highlands; to the 
 little village church of Crathie; to her numerous 
 unostentatious charities ; to her ardent attachment to 
 home, her constant longing after domestic tran¬ 
 quillity, her motherly love for her offspring; a dis¬ 
 like of display, and a positive aversion to the pomp 
 and pageantry of public life. While admiring great¬ 
 ness in all walks of life, she has ever put goodness 
 before it. 
 
 In the course of last year a statement got abroad 
 to the effect that her Majesty had lately invested 
 ;£ 1,000,OOO in the purchase of ground-rents in the 
 city of London. Sir Henry Ponsonby thus gave a 
 categorical denial to the report, in a letter to Major 
 Boss, M.P.: ‘ The Queen has bought nothing and 
 possesses nothing in the city of London; she has 
 invested no money in ground-rents, and she does not 
 possess a million to invest.’ 
 
 The humblest tributes to the Queen have sometimes 
 been the most striking. For example, there was that 
 paid to her by the Welsh nurse of Prince Arthur, the 
 wife of a mason at Rhyl, when she wound up her 
 description of Cornet life with the expression that ‘ the 
 
CHARACTERISTICS.—CONCLUSION. 
 
 435 
 
 Queen was a good woman, quite fit to have been a 
 poor man’s wife as well as a Queen.’ This homely 
 nurse made the further remark, that the royal children 
 were c kept very plain indeed—it was quite poor living 
 —only a bit of roast meat and perhaps a plain 
 pudding.’ 
 
 It would be easy to recall many tender illustrative 
 examples of the Queen’s solicitude for others, but one 
 or two must suffice. The governess of the royal 
 children was for several years the orphan daughter of 
 a Scottish clergyman. During the first year of her 
 residence at Windsor her mother died. Before her 
 death the governess had been anxious to resign her 
 charge, in order to go and nurse her. The Queen 
 would not hear of her sacrificing her post altogether, 
 but said to her in tones of gentle sympathy, “ Go at 
 once to your mother, child; stay with her as long as 
 she needs you, and then come back to us. I will 
 keep your place for you. Prince Albert and I will 
 hear the children’s lessons ; so in any event let your 
 mind be at rest in regard to your pupils.’ The 
 governess went and returned. On the anniversary of 
 her mother’s death she was quite broken down with 
 grief. The Queen went to her and said, ‘ I meant to 
 have given orders that you should have this day 
 entirely to yourself. Take it as a sad and sacred 
 holiday—I will hear the lessons of the children.’ 
 Then she added: 1 To show you that I have not 
 forgotten this mournful anniversary, I bring you this 
 gift,’ clasping on her arm a mourning bracelet with a 
 locket for her mother’s hair, marked with the date of 
 that mother’s death. 
 
 The Queen never forgets any person towards whom 
 
THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 436 
 
 she has been drawn, and when she was away on State 
 business at Edinburgh she turned aside to visit the 
 grave of a young Italian dressing-maid in Rose- 
 bank Cemetery, over which she had erected a chaste 
 and simple monument. The deceased maid seems to 
 have won in a remarkable degree the affection of her 
 royal mistress. When her Majesty left Balmoral for 
 the South some seasons ago, she promised to bring 
 the daughter of a cottar a toy in the following year. 
 Important State affairs intervened, and the Queen 
 went over to France on a visit to the Emperor. The 
 promise was forgotten on one side, that of the High¬ 
 land girl; but not so on the other, for on arriving at 
 Balmoral next season the Queen presented the 
 humble lassie with the promised toy, remarking: c See, 
 I have not forgotten you/ 
 
 The incumbent of Osborne has furnished a most 
 interesting picture of a cottage interior, showing the 
 Queen as a Scripture-reader. The incumbent had 
 occasion to visit an aged parishioner, and on arriving 
 at the house he found, sitting by the bedside, a lady 
 in deep mourning, reading th8 Word of God. He 
 was about to retire, when the lady remarked : c Pray 
 remain. I should not wish the invalid to lose the 
 comfort which a clergyman might afford.’ The lady 
 retired, and the clergyman found lying on the bed a 
 book, with texts of Scripture adapted to the sick; and 
 he found that out of the book portions of Scripture 
 had been read by the lady in black. This lady 
 visitor was the Queen of England. 
 
 Her Majesty has outlived all her early friends and 
 faithful servants. All who officiated at her coronation 
 have passed into the land of shadows; and of the 
 
CHARACTERISTICS.- CONCLUSION. 
 
 437 
 
 distinguished statesmen then living only one, Mr. 
 Gladstone, remains. Amongst personal friends the 
 Queen has been called upon to mourn the loss of the 
 good Duchess of Sutherland and Lady Augusta 
 Stanley. Then, too, Archbishop Tait, Dr. Macleod, 
 Dean Stanley, and Principal Tulloch, have all gone. 
 If she has tasted all the happiness of human life, she 
 has tasted likewise all its bitterness, for Death has 
 ever been busy laying his finger here and there upon 
 her beloved friends, relatives, and associates. 
 
 The Eoyal Jubilee of 1887 will recall the 
 memorable events of a memorable period in British 
 history. The Queen’s reign is coincident with the 
 most surprising progress at home and abroad. It has 
 been the age of railways, of trans-oceanic steaming, 
 and of the telegraph; of free trade, parliamentary 
 reform, and the abolition of the Corn Laws. There 
 has been no stagnation, not even for a brief period, 
 in the arts and sciences. While some peoples have 
 risen and others have fallen during the last fifty 
 years, the English race has continued to spread and 
 multiply, and to exhibit evidences of its vitality in all 
 quarters of the world. With much of this progress, 
 and the attachment of the nation to constitutional 
 liberty, the name of the Queen is inextricably 
 associated. The historian of the future will adopt 
 the language of our living poet, and say: 
 
 * Her Court was pure, her fife serene; ; 
 
 God gave her peace, her land reposed, 
 
 A thousand claims to reverence closed 
 In her as mother, wife, and queen.* 
 
 The late Earl of Carlisle once happily observed 
 that the glories of her Majesty’s reign were ‘ the 
 
438 
 
 THE LIFE OF QUEEN VICTORIA. 
 
 glories of peace, of industry, of commerce, and of 
 genius; of justice made more accessible; of education 
 made more universal; of virtue more honoured; of 
 religion more beloved; of bolding forth the earliest 
 gospel light to the unawakened nations ; the glories 
 that arise from gratitude for benefits conferred; and 
 the blessings of a loyal and chivalrous because a con¬ 
 tented people/ 
 
 Through years of revolution abroad, of shock and 
 change, of wars and popular tumults, we have seen 
 the Sovereign of England conspicuously manifesting 
 the influence and power of virtue, and bearing a 
 name untouched by any suspicion and unblemished 
 by any reproach. Notwithstanding the 4 fierce light 
 that beats upon a throne,’ the character of the 
 Sovereign has borne the test of that light, and has 
 enshrined itself in the hearts of her people. It is 
 considerations like these which have made her reign 
 as noble as it has been illustrious; and they must 
 invest her jubilee with a double interest and signifi¬ 
 cance. As men compute life, her Majesty is not yet 
 advanced in age—her years thus far number but 
 sixty-seven; and I therefore close with an aspiration 
 that will find an echo in the breast of every English¬ 
 man, be his political opinions or abstract theories of 
 government what they may: for many years to 
 come, whether at the festive board or at public 
 celebrations, at home or abroad, on land or on sea* 
 may Britons be able to raise the loyal and affectionate 
 cry of “ God save the Queen! ” 
 
 PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. 
 LONDON AND EDINBURGH 
 
By the same Author 
 
 PRIME MINISTERS OF QUEEN VICTORIA 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BARNETT SMITH 
 
 London: GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS 
 

 piipipip 
 
 HBr£b&kh@1 
 
 mmm 
 
 mm 
 
Illlll 
 
 
 
 
 | 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 jKSESoljK^ 1 
 
 ^r^BKj^yF* ^Sdr SSp5rv'\7l 
 
 
 Hm 
 
 
 rcSrSKK*£!\